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Children are cheering for the country’s only “Molecularium” which opened last week in The Junior Museum’s Lally Digistar II Planetarium. The “Molecularium” uses a planetarium setting to teach K-3 students about molecules and matter. It is a collaboration of Rensselaer’s Nanotechnology Center and The Junior Museum, with funds from the NSF’s Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative. Learn More
Practical Design
Student architects Brendan Harnett and Michelle Myers designed a mobile HIV/AIDS health clinic that won “Best Student Entry” and second-place overall in an international competition sponsored by Architecture for Humanity. Harnett and Myers were the only student team and the only U.S. entrants to win in a field of more than 522 teams representing 50 nations. The unit will be used in sub-Saharan Africa to combat the AIDS pandemic.
Leading by Example
Richard McNutt has been rated number one in the nation in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program out of a field of 4,000 students. A senior at Rensselaer, he excelled in a rating system that considered academics, fitness, and leadership. Known for never slacking off, McNutt maintains a 4.0 grade point average with dual majors in biophysics and biochemistry, can run two miles in 12 minutes, and leads by example. He was recently profiled in the Times Union.
Building Better Body Parts
Tiny three-dimensional scaffolds of bioengineered tissue hold promise for the replacement of damaged body parts or entire organs. Jan Stegemann, a biomedical engineer, is developing a blood vessel embedded in a matrix of collagen and fibrin to study how the cell's function changes in a non-native environment. His findings will lead to a better understanding of how to build biological structures that can become fully formed and functional implantable tissue.
Obstacles and Entrepreneurs
Rensselaer alumnus John J. McDonnell Jr., CEO of Transaction Network Services, cautioned students that every young business runs into some problem. “It's how you react to the unplanned, unforeseen obstacles that determines how successful your business is,” he said. McDonnell was just named Rensselaer’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
James Tien Named Yamada Corporation Professor
James Tien '66 has been named the Yamada Corporation Professor at Rensselaer. Tien, chair and professor of the Department of Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems, is internationally known for research that includes systems modeling, public policy, decision analysis, and information systems. An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honors accorded an engineer, Tien twice served as acting dean of Rensselaer's School of Engineering.
Nuclear Future
The looming shortage of a qualified nuclear workforce and the need to strengthen collaborations between universities, industry, and government were the subject of a major conference sponsored by Rensselaer, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the U.S. Department of Energy. This week’s conference produced a list of recommended actions to strengthen America’s preparedness in research and education. |
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