Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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{{Infobox University |name = Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |image = Image:Rensspolyinstlogo.jpg |motto = Knowledge and Thoroughness |established = November 5, 1824 |type = Private |president = Shirley Ann Jackson |city = Troy |state = NY |country = USA |undergrad = 4,888 |postgrad = 1,291 |staff = 492 |campus = Urban, 275 acres/ 110 ha |free_label = Athletics |free = 23 varsity teams, 2 Division-I, 21 Division-III |mascot = The Redhawks, The Engineers or "Puckman" |website = www.rpi.edu }} Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a private university in Troy, New York, near Albany, founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world.
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History
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School November 5, 1824 with a letter to Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which he asks him to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's first senior professor. He also appointed the first board of trustees. On December 29th of that year, the president and the board met and established the methods of instruction, which were rather different from methods employed at other colleges at the time. Students performed experiments and explained their rationale and gave their own lectures rather than listening to lectures and watching demonstrations. The school opened on Monday, January 3, 1825 at the Old Bank Place, a building at the north end of Troy. The opening was announced by a notice, signed by the president, and printed in the Troy Sentinel of December 28. The school attracted students from the State of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The fact that the school attracted students from afar is attributed to the reputation of Eaton. Fourteen months of successful trial led to the incorporation of the school on March 21, 1826 by the State of New York.
Rensselaer enjoyed a period of academic and resource expansion under the leadership of President Palmer Ricketts. Born in 1856 in Elkton, Maryland Ricketts came to Rensselaer in 1871 as a student.[1] Named President in 1901, Ricketts liberalized the curriculum by adding the Department of Arts, Science, and Business Administration and the Graduate School. He also expanded the university’s resources and developed Rensselaer into a true Polytechnic Institute by increasing the number of degrees offered from two to a dozen; these included electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biology, chemistry, and physics. During Rickett's tenure, enrollment increased from approximately 200 in 1900 to a high of 1700 in 1930.
Academics
Rensselaer has five schools: Architecture, Engineering, Humanities & Social Sciences, The Lally School of Management and Technology, and Science. The School of Engineering is by far the largest by enrollment, followed by the School of Science, the School of Management, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Architecture. Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs are available for students desiring commissions as officers in the armed forces. Rensselaer offers programs in prehealth and prelaw, a program in Cooperative Education (Co-Op), as well as domestic and international exchange programs. RPI is a technology-oriented university; all of the residence hall rooms have hard-wired high speed internet access, and all incoming freshman have been required to purchase a laptop computer since 1999. In 2004, The Princeton Review ranked RPI #1 for having the "most connected campus."
The current president of RPI is Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. Dr. Jackson is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate degree from this institution. Her career prior to becoming Rensselaer’s president has encompassed senior positions in government, as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; in industry and research, as a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories; and in academe, as a professor of theoretical physics at Rutgers University. President Jackson is the 18th president of Rensselaer and the first African-American woman to lead a national research university[2].
Faculty
- Number of full-time faculty: 405
- Number of part-time faculty: 87
- Number of full-time faculty with Ph.D., First Professional, or other terminal degree: 387
- Percentage of full-time faculty with Ph.D.: 96%
- Student/Faculty ratio: 14:1
The Rensselaer Plan
The university is in the midst of great change. With the coming of the current president came the "Rensselaer Plan". Its goal is to achieve greater prominence as a technological research university. A large part of this is strengthening its research portfolio. New research infrastructure such as the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies have been built to support new programs. Accordingly, there is the need for a larger graduate student population. The need to attract greater funds for research is also paramount with a goal of $100 million annually. To enable the changes outlined in the Rensselaer Plan, the university has mounted a $1 billion capital campaign of which the public phase began in the fall of 2004. The university recognizes the relatively small size of its endowment compared to its competition, as well as its relatively strong dependence on funds from tuition to support its operations.
Tuition for the 2006-2007 academic year for full-time undergraduate and graduate students is $32,600 (not including room, board, or other expenses).
Rankings
Rensselaer ranks among the top 50 national universities in the United States according to US News & World Report. In 2005, the School of Engineering was ranked 18th in the nation for undergraduates. In 2004, the School of Engineering was ranked 33rd in the nation for graduate students. In 2003, the Lally School of Management & Technology undergraduate program was ranked 22nd. Its Entrepreneurship program was ranked in the top tier nationally in 2005. The Multimedia/Visual Communications graduate program has been ranked 8th in 2003 and 2004. The Applied Mathematics graduate program has been 21st in the nation in 2003 and 2004. Overall, the school was ranked in the top 10 by practicing engineers and 9th by corporate recruiters[3].
Research and development
Rensselaer has established five areas of research as institute priorities: biotechnology, information technology, nanotechnology, microelectronics, and modeling and simulation. Advances in these fields have the potential to effect dramatic transformations in 21st century society.
In addition, RPI is home to the United States' first on-campus high-tech business incubator. One of the largest companies to have originated in the incubator is MapInfo, a major publisher of mapping and geographic information systems software which is still headquartered in Troy, NY. Another incubator success is Vicarious Visions, a well known maker of video games.
RPI is also the professional home of David Musser, one of the primary inventors of the [[C++]] Standard Template Library[4].
Well-known researchers at RPI include:
- Pulickel Ajayan - nanotechnology, specifically carbon nanotubes
- Selmer Bringsjord - artificial intelligence
- Jonathan Dordick - biochemical engineering
- Ivar Giaever ('64) - Nobel Laureate 1973, physics professor emeritus
- Wayne Gray - cognitive science
- Bruce Watson [5] - deep-Earth geochemistry
- Xi-Cheng Zhang - Terahertz Technology
More detail can be obtained at RPI's Research site[6] or on RPI's News & Information site[7].
Campus
The 275-acre Rensselaer campus sits upon a hill overlooking historic Troy, New York and the Hudson River. RPI has a beautifully landscaped campus that features a series of Colonial Revival style structures built in the first three decades of the 20th century. [8] Image:RPICampus2.jpg
The campus has enjoyed five periods of expansion:
- Initial Sites, 1824–1862
- Climbing the Hill, 1864–1904
- The Ricketts Campus, 1906–1935 [9]
- Post-War Expansion, 1946–1960[10]
- Modern Campus, 1961–present[11]
Originally, located in downtown Troy, Rensselaer gradually moved to the hilltop that overlooks the city. Major fires in the downtown region helped prompt movement to the present site, as well as the potential for expansion that today's site offered. President Palmer Ricketts supervised the construction of the school's "Green Rooftop" Colonial Revival buildings that constitute its distinct architectural style. Buildings constructed during this period include the Carnegie Building (1906), Pittsburgh Building (1912), Quadrangle Dormitories (1916–1927), Troy Building (1925), and Ricketts Building (1935).
The campus underwent major expansion again after World War II at which time numerous dormitories were built and the Houston Field House (1949) reassembled after being moved from Rhode Island. West Hall, which was built originally as a hospital in 1869, was acquired by the Institute in 1953. The ornate building is an example of French Second Empire architecture.
The modern campus features such structures as the Rensselaer Union (1967), Folsom Library (1976), Jonsson Engineering Center (1977), Darrin Communications Center (1973), and Center for Industrial Innovation (1987). More recently, the university built a world-class research center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. The university is currently building an expansive Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)[12].
RPI also runs a second campus in Hartford, Connecticut, where graduate studies in Business Administration, Management, Computer Science, Computer and Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Information Technology are offered.
Student body
In the 2004–2005 academic year, RPI's enrollment included 4,921 resident undergraduate, 1,234 resident graduate, 705 graduate students on the Hartford campus, and 290 distance students.[13]
Statistics for the undergraduate class of 2009:
- Percentage of valedictorians and salutatorians: 9%;
- Percentage of students who were Rensselaer Medalists: 24%;
- Percentage of students in top 10% of high school class: 61%;
- Percentage of applicants accepted: 78%
- Average SAT combined: 1320;
- SAT 50th Percentile: 1220-1420;
- Average SAT Math: 686;
- Average SAT Verbal: 634;
- Average ACT score: 26;
- Average high school GPA: A−/B+ [14]
Enrollment was small before the twentieth century and has grown steadily ever since then. Enrollment figures are as follows:
- 1825 10 students;
- 1850 53 students;
- 1900 225 students;
- 1925 1,240 students;
- 1945 1,604 students;
- 1950 3,987 students (Note the jump in just five years. In the 1950s, there was an explosion of dormitory construction, the so-called "freshmen dorms".)
- 1965 5,232 students [15]
"The Ratio"
According to an about.com survey, RPI has a male-to-female ratio of 3:1, which is among the highest among major American universities. This is an improvement though, as recently as the early 1990s this ratio was about 5:1 and 8:1 in the early 1980's. This ratio is often cited as one of the greatest problems on campus. One of the stated goals of the Rensselaer Plan is to "reflect the diversity of the global community" [16] in the student body, which includes encouraging more women to enroll.
Athletics
The school features a competitive Division I ice hockey team, the Engineers, who won NCAA national titles in 1954 and 1985. The team plays a significant role in the campus' culture, drawing thousands of fans each week to the Houston Field House during the season. The team's popularity even sparked the tradition of the "hockey line", where students line up for season tickets months in advance of the on-sale date. The official nickname of some of the school's other Division III teams was changed in 1995 from the Engineers to the Red Hawks. (In addition to hockey, the football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams all chose to retain the Engineers name.)
The Lacrosse team won the national championship in 1952.[17] The Lacrosse team also represented the United States in the 1948 Olympics in London. Ned Harkness coached the lacrosse and ice hockey teams, winning national championships in both sports.
Notable alumni
See article: List of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute people
RPI songs
There are a number of songs commonly played and sung at various RPI events. Notable among them are:
- The Alma Mater (Here's to Old RPI) - sung at formal events such as commencement and convocation, also played by the Pep Band at Hockey games.
- Hail, Dear Old Rensselaer - the RPI fight song, played by the Pep Band during Hockey and Football games, especially when the teams score. (Most RPI students don't actually know the lyrics to this song).
- All We've Learned at Rensselaer - sung at the RPI commencement ceremonies by the Rensselyrics.
Clubs and organizations
The students of RPI have created and participate in a variety of student-run clubs and organizations funded by the Student Union. See the official listing of clubs and organizations for a full and up to date list.
About 130 organizations are funded by the Student Union. Another thirty, which consist mostly of political and religious organizations, are not funded by the Student Union.Image:Rpiunion.jpg
Greek organizations are popular with 31 social fraternities and 5 sororities. There are two coed fraternities, one of which is a social fraternity, Psi Upsilon, while the other, Alpha Phi Omega, is a service fraternity. As such, 39% of men are in fraternities and 18% of women are in sororities.
On Thursday, April 13, 2006 the Greek Community at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute learned, officially, that the administration has been, for several months, planning enormous changes behind its back. Many feel that these changes have the potential to destroy the heart of Greek Life at RPI, going against its own "Students Rights" policy: "The student body shall have a means of providing input on institutional policy affecting academic and student affairs." External website for more information on Saving greek life at RPI
Intramural sports are also very popular.
RPI has a very popular improvisational comedy group, Sheer Idiocy, which performs severals shows a semester. There are also several a capella groups on campus, such as the Rensselyrics, the Rusty Pipes and Partial Credit.
One notable organization on campus is WRPI, the campus radio station. WRPI differs from most college radio in that it serves a 75-mile radius including the greater Albany area.
Recent Commencement Speakers
- 2006 - Wesley Clark, former NATO commander
- 2005 - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York
- 2004 - Robert Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and 3Com founder
- 2003 - Ben Carson, neurosurgeon
- 2002 - Dennis Tito, space tourist
- 2001 - Bill Cosby, entertainer
- 1999 - Bill Nye, "The Science Guy"
Notable firsts
- 1824 - The institute became the first technological university in the English-speaking world.
- 1835 - The institute awarded the first civil engineering degree in the United States.
- 1864 - The Alpha (first national) chapter of Theta Xi fraternity opens at RPI.
- 1898 - The first association of Latin American students in the United States was formed at RPI, called the Union Hispano-Americana. This organization would later merge with other like-minded organizations and form the first Latin American fraternity in the United States, Phi Iota Alpha, in 1931.
References
External links
- RPI Players
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- RPI Student Senate
- RPI Student Union
- Rensselaer at Hartford
- RPI Men's Hockey
- RPI Women's Hockey
- AlumnServ
- WRPI, Troy 91.5 FM
- RPI Photography Club
- RPI Pep Band
- The Rusty Pipes
- A Postcard History of RPI
- SheerIdiocy.Net
- Rensselaer Crew
- Chapel + Cultural Center at Rensselaer
- Save RPI Greek life
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