Last week, Rensselaer celebrated the long-awaited opening of the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations. This is yet another great technological milestone for RPI. We are now equipped with the fastest university–based supercomputer in the world. But what will this mean for us as students? While I cannot say exactly what the outcome will be, history often proves to repeat itself.
Around this time, three years ago, the Biotech Center opened its doors for research. While many speculated on what the outcome would be, one thing was for sure—great research would occur within its walls. Many world-renowned researchers joined the ranks at RPI and began their discoveries. But this is not only a story about the researchers, but also about the students.
With the opening of the Biotech Center, the campus fostered a new, more multidisciplinary focus on the convergence of biology and engineering. This new focus provided many students with the motivation to experiment with a rising industry and determine how they fit within the community. I have seen a multitude of change on campus, even over the last three years. I have seen many of my peers decide to pursue biomedical engineering, biochemistry, biophysics, and many other derivatives that the Center brought to campus. We are now ranked highly in the country for our studies in such areas. The Biotech Center empowered the students, not just researchers, to expand their limits and pursue newly emerging fields on the forefront of innovation.
We now reach a new chapter: The opening of the CCNI. This Center will allow for world-class research to occur, and will again empower the students to expand their constraints of thinking and develop world-changing technologies. Researchers and students will now be able to add another resource to their multifaceted approach to solving challenges that remain unanswered. The Biotech Center brought a focus on biology and engineering; the CCNI focuses on the convergence of technology and advanced computing power. In the forseeable future, we may witness the discovery of new drugs, solutions to global warming, and perhaps even the next must-have handheld device, all stemming from this new resource. As students, we will now have the resources to see our ideas into fruition, and may be the ones responsible for life-changing discoveries.
As I met with prominent alumni last weekend, I couldn’t help but think what students will be looking back upon in 50 or 100 years. From meeting one of the men responsible for the creation of sunscreen, to honoring the alumni who designed many major league baseball fields, including Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, it puts our purpose in perspective. We have all the resources available to discover, create, connect, and imagine our way into the lives of everyday people. If you think about the achievements that many before us have made with only a fraction of the resources available to us today, think about what we may accomplish one day. I encourage you to think globally about all the improvements at Rensselaer, and how you can play a role. You may find a connection between CCNI and EMPAC, the Biotech Center, or even the East Campus Athletic Village. Remember, all great accomplishments start with one small step, so take that step and create something wonderful.
