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Mapping Proteins
Two Rensselaer researchers are creating a better data-mining technique to determine basic rules of how proteins form. They are producing a 3-D image of each known protein and then reducing the image to a simpler 2-D representation, called a “contact map.” The map reveals the interactions among amino acids-data that are difficult to extract from the more complex 3-D images.
Rensselaer Ranks High With U. S. News
U.S. News & World Report once again places Rensselaer among the nation’s top 50 universities and rates the undergraduate engineering program at 15th in the nation, a jump from 17th last year. Rensselaer also ranks 34th as a “great school at a great price,” up from 42nd last year. Dean of Engineering “Bud” Baeslack credits the rankings climb to a forward-thinking atmosphere on campus and in the classroom.
Nanotube Union
The perfect combination of irradiation, heat, and luck led Rensselaer researchers to weld together single-walled carbon nanotubes. The first-ever junction unites pure carbon cylinders with remarkable electronic properties. The researchers believe this discovery could pave the way for controlled fabrication of molecular circuits and nanotube networks.
Semiconductor Expert to Head Future Chips Research
E. Fred Schubert, a pioneer in semiconductor research, has been appointed Senior Distinguished Professor of the Future Chips Constellation at Rensselaer. Schubert’s research has transformed traffic signals and runway lighting and could change residential lighting as we know it. At Rensselaer, he will advance research in imaging, lighting, sensing, and communications.
Crystal Rarity
In the ashes of an experiment to make superconducting nanotubes, researchers at Rensselaer found they had created rare symmetrical crystals of boron carbide. These large crystals, measuring a micron in size, rarely occur in nature at that size and could be harder than conventional engineering materials. Further research will determine potential applications of the material.
The Best Defense
Rensselaer alumnus Anthony Tether ’64 puts technology to work for our country's protection. He is the director of DARPA, the U. S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
How Stuff Works
Marshall Brain ’83 has turned his boundless curiosity into an award-winning media company called HowStuffWorks Inc. His Web site HowStuffWorks.com is the flagship of the operation and was named by Time magazine as one of the “50 Best Websites” for 2002. Hanker to see how stuff works? Take a look.
United Technologies Executive to Head Rensselaer at Hartford
Alan C. Eckbreth, an executive at United Technologies Corporation (UTC), has been named Vice President and Dean at Rensselaer at Hartford — the Institute’s Connecticut-based graduate center devoted to education for the working professional. Eckbreth directed the UTC Fuel Cells Program at United Technologies Research Center in East Hartford.
Rensselaer Creates Broadband Research Center
Supported by IBM, Rensselaer is forming a $33 million research center that will create an information technology infrastructure capable of the immense computing power needed to support massive Internet traffic and data storage for emerging scientific fields such as bioinformatics.
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