2017 July Two projects designed and built by students in the School of Architecture are recognized among “The Best Student Design-Build Projects Worldwide 2017.”

2017 July Assistant Professor Jacob Shelley is developing plasma-based ambient mass spectrometry instruments that could lead to user-friendly analyses with broad capabilities for applications in law enforcement, manufacturing, and health care.

2017 August A new approach to optical imaging makes it possible to quickly and economically monitor multiple molecular interactions in a large area of living tissue—technology that could have applications in medical diagnosis, guided surgery, or pre-clinical drug testing.

2017 August A team of researchers shows that wood frogs that evolved increased tolerance to pesticides showed greater susceptibility to a dangerous virus, although they also demonstrated reduced susceptibility to a parasitic worm.

2017 September The fourth annual Rensselaer Research Showcase offers government and private sector research partners an opportunity to learn more about insights emerging from research in biotechnology and the life sciences, and the current climate for the biopharmaceutical economy that work supports.

2017 September A synthetic version of low molecular weight heparin is poised for clinical trials and development as a drug for patients with clotting disorders, and those undergoing procedures such as kidney dialysis, heart bypass surgery, stent implantation, and knee and hip replacements.

2017 October Researchers from Rensselaer and Albany Medical Center work together to develop 3D bioprinting and imaging techniques that will generate and analyze tumor models in the laboratory, with the goal of accelerating the development and optimization of personalized anti-cancer drugs.

2017 October The Institute launches the $1 billion “Transformative: Campaign for Global Change” capital campaign.

2017 October The School of Architecture ranks as 13th best undergraduate program in the nation by the architectural research organization DesignIntelligence.

2017 November Study led by Rensselaer faculty and graduate students shows that surgeons who train on simulation platforms before they enter an actual operating room have higher levels of cortical activation and faster times for cutting tasks.

2017 November The Master of Business Analytics program at the Lally School of Management is ranked as one of the top three in the nation by TFE Times.

2017 November Findings from a team of researchers point to the potential for an increase in waterborne pathogens as a result of climate change.

2017 December Researchers at the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications, together with the University of New Mexico and industry partner ABB, are awarded over $2 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

2017 December Rensselaer students take top prizes in the North American finals of the 14th annual New York University Cyber Security Awareness Week games—the world’s largest and most comprehensive set of student-led security challenges.

2017 December Students and graduates use zero-gravity flight in Florida to test experiment bound for the International Space Station.

2018 January Linda Pitzi Jojo ’87, ’92G, executive vice president, technology, and chief digital officer at United Continental Holdings, and T.J. Wojnar Jr. ’80, vice president of corporate strategic planning at ExxonMobil, are named to the Board of Trustees.

2018 January The Department of Energy announces that Rensselaer is among five organizations to receive competitively awarded, cost-shared funding as part of a $13.4 million investment in community-based advanced transportation projects.

2018 February The Institute hosts the inaugural Engineering Innovation for Society Undergraduate Student Competition for creating devices and systems for individuals with disabilities.

2018 February The Art Career Project and GameDesigning.org both name the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program as among the top in the nation.

2018 March Researchers develop a new technique using heat to enable lithium-metal self-healing to eliminate dangerous dendrite buildup in battery anodes, paving the way for more powerful battery technologies.

2018 March A record total of 20,403 high school students file applications to attend Rensselaer.

2018 March Rensselaer introduces a first in the nation “data dexterity” requirement for all undergraduate students to help prepare them to use datasets to define and solve complex real-world problems.

2018 April An international team of researchers discovers water, in the form of “water-wires,” contained in another molecule could be used as a potential building block for artificial aquaporins, proteins that serve as water channels to regulate the flow of water across biological cell membranes.

2018 April Researchers develop a method to use a byproduct in the papermaking industry to build a rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery that could be used to power big data centers, as well as provide a cheaper energy-storage option for microgrids and the traditional electric grid.

2018 May A study of cell division offers a path for controlling the balance between cell growth and division, which is implicated in countless diseases, including cancers.

2018 May Rensselaer graduates 1,945 students with a total of 2,010 degrees.

2018 May Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the Institute’s creditworthiness as A3, citing its large scale of operations, healthy student demand for its technology-oriented programs, growing net tuition revenue, strong fundraising, and President Shirley Ann Jackson’s transformative leadership.

2018 June The Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program ranks No. 9 nationally by Animation Career Review. The program was on the list of top game design programs in the United States and No. 7 nationally among schools offering a bachelor of science degree in game design. Among East Coast colleges and universities, Rensselaer is ranked at No. 4; on the list for private schools and colleges, Rensselaer is ranked No. 7; and among programs offered in New York, No. 3.