Program Approved
The New York State Department of Education recently approved a new multidisciplinary science degree program at RPI.
As the first of its kind in New York state, the program will be focus on offering M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in multidisciplinary science to graduate students.
Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson said the multidisciplinary science degree programs are "designed to meet the needs of today’s graduates who require a more diversified background to compete effectively in industrial or governmental occupations that are multidisciplinary in nature."
Associate Dean of Science Samuel Wait noted that the degrees are structured for students whose particular interests overlap several different disciplines. "We can custom-make a program with all the right courses and a dissertation that spans different areas." said Wait.
Students interesting in studying for a career in pharmaceutical research could, for instance, construct a degree focusing on chemistry, biology, and computational sciences.
Nicolle Zellar, a pioneer of the new program, has Ph.D. work concentrating on researching the impact of the history of the earth-moon system and the implication of the origin and sustainability of life on Earth.
She says that she has a much better chance of fulfilling her dream of becoming a researcher in NASA’s astrobiology program, which studies the sustainability of life outside Earth, by having a broad background obtained through work in the multidisciplinary science program.
"I’ve been waiting for two years to see if this program was approved. My research is in lunar geochemistry and studies in the origins of life. I found the multidisciplinary nature of the program, with so many different topics applies to what I’m interested in."
Grzymala Named
Helen Grzymala has been named the new associate director of financial planning and budget.
Grzymala will assist in the transition effort of all portfolios to the new budget process, maintain the system’s budget data, administer the forecasting process, and develop trend, benchmarking, and variance analyses that will contribute to and enhance the decision-making process.
A graduate of Clarkson University with a bachelor’s in accounting and finance, she previously served as the financial manager for the School of Engineering, and worked in the Financial Planning and Budgeting Office at the University of Albany prior to that.
Scholarships
The Morris K. Udall Scholarships are available to any RPI students who are currently studying environmentally related fields or are Native Americans or Alaskan Natives involved in health care and tribal public policy studies.
To be considered for the scholarships, students must also be juniors or seniors during the 2001-2002 academic calendar and be nominated by the Institute.
The application deadline is February 15 and the awardees of the scholarship will be named in April.
The U.S. Congress created the scholarships in 1992 to honor the public service legacy of Congressman Morris King Udall.
For more information visit http://www.udall.com/ or contact Steve Breyman, associate professor of science and technology studies, at ext. 8515 or breyms@rpi.edu.
Re-accreditation received
The Lally School of Management and Technology recently received a reaffirmation of accreditation of its master’s, bachelor’s, and doctoral degree programs by the AACSB, the International Association for Management Education.
The accreditation reaffirmation includes all degree programs offered at the Troy campus and all business programs offered at the Hartford campus.
"This is a tribute to the high quality of our faculty, staff, and students," said Joe Ecker, dean of the Lally School.
Andrew Z. Lemnios, interim vice president of Rensselaer at Hartford, added, "This accreditation maintains our reputation as a top-tier university offering world-renown ed academic programs."
