MANE News and Events

Announcements

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $64 million in awards for advanced nuclear energy technology to DOE national laboratories, industry, and 39 U.S. universities in 29 states. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been awarded $800,000 for analysis of nuclear power plants’ accident propagation and mitigation processes.

Space Imaging

Rensselaer hosted the first annual Workshop on Image-Based Modeling and Navigation for Space Applications in June.

Lithium Dendrites

Rechargeable lithium-ion, the dominant battery technology for portable electronics, is increasingly becoming the battery of choice for electric-vehicle and electric-grid energy-storage applications.

Institute News

TROY, N.Y.  – Indigenous perspectives on the intersection of human rights and the environment will be the focus of a free public discussion featuring Sachem HawkStorm, chief of the Schaghticoke First Nations, and Kasike Roberto Múkaro Borrero, chief of the Guainía Taíno tribal community, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday, January 22.
TROY, N.Y. — Two-dimensional semiconductors, particularly those made of a class of material known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), hold exciting potential for a range of current and future technologies, like solar cells, LED lights, and quantum computing. But the field is fairly new, and there is still much that is unknown.
TROY, N.Y. – Hundreds of high school students will gather on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, January 4, for the season kickoff of the 2020 FIRST ® Robotics Competition. At the event, teams will learn the details of this year’s challenge — FIRST RISE, powered by Star Wars: Force for Change.
TROY, N.Y. — As the lithium-ion batteries that power most phones, laptops, and electric vehicles become increasingly fast-charging and high-performing, they also grow increasingly expensive and flammable.
TROY, N.Y. — Whether you’re traveling for work or for fun, nothing ruins the start of a trip quite like jet lag. Engineers affiliated with the Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a way to deliver personalized advice using smart wearable technology that would help travelers adjust more quickly.
TROY, N.Y. — Cardboard boxes being delivered to homes and businesses — one, two, even three packages at a time — are as ubiquitous as holiday lights this time of year. While most people enjoy giving and receiving gifts throughout the season, there’s increasing concern over the rise in congestion, emissions, and energy consumption associated with an influx of deliveries. A new survey conducted by a research team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute indicates that some online shoppers are open to receiving packages in another way, if it would help offset this growing problem.
TROY, N.Y. — Power generation, the heat in our homes, air-conditioning, even the manufacturing of some of the products we use each day rely on evaporation and condensation processes. Improving and controlling these phase-change phenomena could increase energy efficiency across a vast number of industries.
TROY, N.Y. — Many technologies that are essential for daily life — from communications to GPS navigation to weather forecasting — rely on the thousands of satellites that are orbiting Earth. When those satellites run out of gas and stop working, there’s not much that can currently be done to fix them.
TROY, N.Y. — Ge Wang, the Clark and Crossan Endowed Chair of biomedical engineering and director of the Biomedical Imaging Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to NAI fellow is the highest professional distinction given to academic inventors. It is bestowed on those who have created or facilitated inventions that have improved quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
By folding snippets of DNA into the shape of a five-pointed star using structural DNA nanotechnology, researchers have created a trap that captures Dengue virus as it floats in the bloodstream.