Afina Lupulescu, research associate professor of materials science and engineering and project director, and Martin Glicksman ’57, professor of materials science and engineering, have received a three-year NSF educational grant for $255,000 to develop a series of module sets for general use that parallel and amplify texts and notes already established for Diffusion in Solids, Kinetics, Solidification, and Crystal Growth — materials courses within Rensselaer’s School of Engineering. The proposed effort consists of three one-year phases: Phase A, to create modules and original exercises that reflect Rensselaer’s approach to the subject of undergraduate kinetics in materials. Phase B, the Co-PI's will add content to the basic kinetics modules, including development of original Java applets, as well as integration of available movies and programs from Internet sources. Under Phase C, modules will be developed for the subjects of solidification and crystal growth. All of the modules will be accessible free of charge on the Rensselaer Materials Science & Engineering public Web site, and as free CD-ROMs upon written request. 7/14/03

Tatiana Russell '03 won first place in the “most artistic imaging” category of the second annual Cornell University Microscopy Image Competition. Her image was a “lone SiC Coated Carbon Fiber.” Russell joins Nagesh Rao as the second Rensselaer winner of this contest, which is sponsored by the Cornell University Student Chapter of the Materials Research Society. Winners received a digital camera. 7/14/03

Michael Danchak, clinical professor of computer science, has been awarded a 2003 WebCT Exemplary Course Award for his fall 2002 course, Graphical User Interface (GUI) Building. The honor is one of only six awarded in 2003 to institutions in Canada, United States, and the United Kingdom. Exemplary Courses will be highlighted with a link on the WebCT Web site, and will be showcased in association with IMPACT 2003: the fifth annual WebCT User Conference, July 14-18 in San Diego. A plaque will also be awarded. GUI Building was developed by a course development team consisting of Danchak; course developer Marie-Pierre Huguet; production coordinator Kevin Foster; student services coordinator Brian Gabriel; technical coordinator Tim Robichaud; and student assistant Craig Patik. The course was delivered in an online conferencing mode, which combines asynchronous and synchronous elements to facilitate faculty-student interaction and student-student interaction. The class was made up of Troy and Hartford campus students, as well as distributed students nationwide. 7/14/03

Campus.News Features:

Rensselaer To Make Rehab Grants Available to Local Residents

School of Architecture Receives Getty Grant To Assess Its Historic Buildings

RAA Fellows Award: Samuel Wait Jr. ’53