Research VP named
President Shirley Ann Jackson has named Omkaram Nalamasu vice president for research effective May 1. Dr. Nalamasu is widely recognized for his research in the crossover of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology. He is also known as a strong proponent of public private partnerships in research. Jackson also noted that Nalamasu has had extensive experience in monetizing research and patent portfolios as well as licensing and leveraging existing research and technologies. He is also known for his experience in materials science, chemistry, optics, electronics, and engineering as well as his interest in bringing his research to fruition. Nalamasu currently heads RPI’s largest research center, which presently has over $10 million in funding, 50 faculty, and 100 graduate students, staff, and postdoctoral fellows. Additionally, he serves as the director of the Center for Integrated Electronics and is a professor of materials science and chemistry.
Grant awarded
ssistant professor of biology, has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the James D. Watson Investigator Program Awards. The grant recognizes Wang’s research into the biology of Alzheimer’s disease and aging using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
Wang, whose long term goal is to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, is working at RPI’s Biotechnology Center as he tries to come to a better understanding of the aging of the human body as it pertains to neuronal dysfunction later in life.
The award, announced by state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is part of an ongoing effort to give funding and recognition to engineers who have potential for research and leadership excellence in the field of biotechnology.
Rioting in Troy
In the wake of what Troy police have labeled a riot, two homes and three cars on Tyler St. were vandalized last Thursday by approximately seven to 15 people. Apparently, the group targeted the homes and cars of the people who lived there for a reason that has yet to be discovered.
Shortly after the crime, a van and its occupants were identified by the victims and all were arrested. Forty-year-old Roshan Dorsey, who wielded a hammer against the houses and cars, was charged with criminal mischief, second-degree rioting, second-degree menacing, and fourth-degree possession of a weapon.
Her 16-year-old son, Rashdo Dorsey, was charged with criminal mischief, along with two other teenagers, who face misdemeanor charges associated with both the vandalism and violating city curfew.
New website debuts
The RPI Department of Public Safety has launched a new website, aimed at providing RPI students with user-friendly access to crime alerts, safety tips, educational programs, and many other services. The site is intended to give students a new level of awareness about the DPS presence on campus.
The new site, located at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/public_safety/, not only contains the information present on the previous site, but offers a great deal of content not previously accessible.
