“In the News” October 2009
Following is a selection of news media stories about Rensselaer people and programs. The stories are listed by date, with the most recent articles first. Note that some publications may require subscriptions or logins to access individual articles online. Additionally, archived links may change or be available online for a limited time.
10/31/09
From barren to beautiful
Times Union
Photographer and gallery owner Debra Lockrow is working with eight artists and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Proctor's theater owner, to adorn the 84 Fourth St. building with artwork.
Read the story, which was also covered by the Troy Record
10/31/09
Prankster With a Purpose
New York Times
Before they were the Yes Men they were solo saboteurs. Mr. Bonanno — who is really Igor Vamos, an assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — once switched hundreds of the electronic voice boxes between Barbie dolls and G.I. Joes, then placed them back on store shelves. Mr. Bichlbaum, while working on a Sims game, once slipped images of bikini-clad men into the background. Before anyone noticed, more than 50,000 copies were shipped.
Read the story.
10/30/09
Priming the work force
Times Union
RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson, the keynote speaker of the event, foreshadowed Tucker's announcement during her speech, urging business leaders to realize that "human" capital is as important as financial capital. "An innovation ecosystem must have human capital," Jackson said. "It will scuttle all our efforts to spur innovation unless it is addressed."
Read the story, which was also coverd by the Detroit Free Press, and Business Review.
10/27/09
Sandia labs wants to improve the world's lighting
AP
E. Fred Schubert, Wellfleet senior constellation professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., who works in the LED field, said no one talked much about solid state lighting until Sandia brought it to the forefront about a decade ago.
Read the story.
10/25/09
UCLA stabbing again puts focus on college students' mental health
LA Times
Colleges try to retain students if they are not violent, said Keith Anderson, chairman of the American College Health Assn.'s best practices task force in mental health. "The goal is to keep them in school, keep them functioning and engaged, and in treatment at the same time," said Anderson, who is a staff psychologist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. In the great majority of cases, that proves successful, he said.
Read the story.
10/23/09
RPI to lead research center for social networks
WCAX
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute had received $16.75 million from the Army Research Laboratory to launch a new research center devoted to the study of social and cognitive networks. The Center for Social and Cognitive Networks is part of the newly created Collaborative Technology Alliance, which includes four nationwide centers focused on different aspects of the emerging field of network science.
Read the story.
Read the Rensselaer news release.
10/21/209
ACM, IEEE-CS Honor Pioneer of Grid Computing Francine Berman
HPC Wire
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) will jointly present the inaugural Ken Kennedy Award to Dr. Francine Berman for her leadership in building national-scale cyberinfrastructure, the environment that supports rapidly expanding computing and information services over networked resources, including the Internet. Berman, vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is a pioneer in grid computing, a structure that lets companies or universities link many computational and other resources over a network to solve current health, environment and social problems. She will receive the 2009 Kennedy Award at the SC09 Conference Nov. 14-20, in Portland, Ore.
Read the story. Read the Rensselaer news release.
10/21/09
RPI wins radiation model grant
The Engineer Online
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have received a $1m grant from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to model how different metals are affected by neutron irradiation. The three-year study, awarded by the DoD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and led by Suvranu De, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at RPI, could lead to more effective, more predictable performance of electronic shielding materials in satellites and structural components in submarines and nuclear reactors.
Read the story.
Read the Rensselaer news release.
10/17/09
Spirituality is the call for this college chaplain
Times Union
The Rev. Beth Illingworth: Protestant chaplain and spiritual adviser at Russell Sage College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At RPI, I work with more actively Protestant students. I don't conduct services although I do honor the liturgical year, especially since it's different than the academic year. I have a Sunday group that's more a Bible study and I have a women's group.
Read the story.
10/17/09
Flu Fears Curb Life’s Rituals
New York Times
Students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., are being asked to refrain from playing beer pong, a communal drinking game, after an outbreak of illness that officials feared might be swine flu.
Read the story, which was also covered by Fox News, The Huffington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Times Union, and numerous other media outlets.
10/09/09
Lake George hits 23rd 'dead zone' summer
Times Union
With new rules to protect Lake George’s streams still to be unveiled, this summer marked the 23rd in a row in which a pollution-fueled "dead zone" formed in deep water at the southernmost end of the lake. Since the seasonal dead zone was first discovered in 1986, it has not spread northward, said Larry Eichler, research scientist at the Bolton Landing-based Darrin Freshwater Institute, an affiliate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Read story.
10/01/09
The First Synthetic Organelle
Scientific American
In recent years scientists have made synthetic versions of key parts of the cell, such as chromosomes and ribosomes. Now researchers have developed the first working artificial prototype of an “organ” of a human cell — the Golgi apparatus. Made up of a network of sacs piled together like a stack of pancakes, the Golgi apparatus chemically modifies proteins to help make them stable and functional, and it helps to manufacture complex sugars. But it remains one of the most poorly understood organelles. “The sacs are fluid and constantly change shape, so it’s difficult to get a handle on,” explains Robert Linhardt, a chemist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Read the story, which was also found in Ethioplanet.
Read the Rensselaer news release.
10/1/09
Rensselaer researchers to develop and test next-generation radar systems
PhysOrg.com
Professor Birsen Yazici at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is leading a new project to develop and test radar systems comprised of hundreds of miniature sensors communicating with ground sensors, unpiloted aerial vehicles, and satellites. The research is funded by a grant for $792,000 from the U.S. Air Force to create a new laboratory for developing and testing next-generation radar systems that overcome one of the key limitations of conventional radars.
Read the story.
Read the Rensselaer news release.
