Honors Convocation
Last Sunday, RPI held its 10th annual Honors Convocation. The ceremony honored undergraduates, graduates, and faculty as well as awarded an honorary degree.
Among the honorees were the over 300 Rensselaer medalists who are part of this year’s freshmen class. The Rensselaer Medal is an award given to the top mathematics and science junior in any high school that wishes to participate and carries with it an annual scholarship.
Also honored were the 34 undergraduates who had maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA after accruing at least 90 credit hours and 68 students who received the Founders’ Award for “creativity, leadership, discovery, and the values of pride and responsibility.” Recipients of certain graduate fellowships were honored as were faculty members who received prestigious awards and endowed chairs.
The Honorary degree recipient was New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. After being presented with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree he expressed his thanks and gave a brief speech to those present. He congratulated all of the honorees, spoke to RPI’s reputation, and stated how important an individual’s attitude can be in distinguishing one’s self from others.
Terahertz research
The National Science Foundation recently granted RPI almost $4 million to fund research using terahertz radiation technology. The research will focus on applications involving imaging, networking, and microelectronics.
The grant includes graduate fellowships that cover a student’s full tuition and have a $27,500 stipend. They will be overseen by the department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy.
Some of the grant’s funds will go toward research conducted in RPI’s Center for Terahertz Research.
The research is expected to benefit many areas including microelectronics and biomedical engineering and imaging.
Not guilty plea
Gary Rullo pleaded not guilty to charges of stalking President Jackson last Friday in Rensselaer County Court. The prosecution told the judge that it was ready for trial.
All but two of the charges filed against the Delaware resident are felonies falling under hate crime statutes. Charged with seven crimes, Rullo has been held in the county jail since his arrest in September.
