Dylan Sheils

Although of unparalleled importance to performance, algorithms can be difficult to develop. Copy Editor and Computer Science major Dylan Sheils ’24 gives several suggestions on how to start.

Apple released the Mac Studio with the new M1 Ultra chip on March 8. Apple argues that it matches and exceeds the performance of its high-end professional Intel-powered Apple desktops while being the same dimensions of the Mac Mini, at around 2.5 times its height.

For the first time since 2018, the Rensselaer Union will hold an in-person GM Week debate Tuesday in the McNeil room of the Rensselaer Union from 6 to 8 pm.

Copy Editor Dylan Sheils '24 goes through the seminal example of Grover's algorithm to highlight that quantum computers are not just faster computers but instead a fundamental shift in computing.

With the recent introduction of two-factor authentication, alumni have been restricted from accessing the Student Information System. Alumni inquiries for transcripts must now go through the Registrar or Human Resources.

Classes will return in-person this Monday. There have been 96 cases of COVID-19 in the RPI community as of Friday, according to RPI’s testing dashboard, surpassing the initial Trigger Level 1 Spring 2022 requirement of more than 70 cases among those with campus access. Since then, RPI has increased the threshold to reach Trigger Level 1 to 250 cases.

On December 23, an email from President Shirley Ann Jackson detailed policy changes for the upcoming Spring semester. The Spring semester will begin online with in-person instruction starting January 24. All eligible students must receive a booster of the COVID-19 vaccine by January 7. All residential students must have a COVID test 48 hours before arriving on January 17 and heading into a residential hall quarantine.

OpenCircuits, an online circuit designer, is seeing increased usage in classrooms at Rensselaer. Recently, Professor Konstantin Kuzmin decided to use OpenCircuits as his main circuit simulator when teaching Computer Organization. To learn more about the project, The Polytechnic interviewed the OpenCircuits RCOS project team.

With Spring semester course registration right around the corner, many RPI students are trying to put together their course schedules. A popular scheduling tool among RPI students is QuACS, the Questionably Accurate Course Scheduler. To get a better understanding of QuACS, The Polytechnic interviewed the QuACS team.

Imagine a circuit designer wants to verify the accuracy of a specific computation before it goes into production. Then, suppose a college is trying to find the best way to schedule all their exams. On the surface, the problems seem pretty different, but the two are both instances of the same problem: SAT, or Boolean satisfiability. Copy Editor Dylan Sheils ’24 explores the algorithmic development of SAT solvers.

Shuttle Tracker recently released a new public beta, called “the new Shuttle Tracker,” with a major new feature: crowd-sourced location data. The Polytechnic interviewed the Shuttle Tracker team on the Tracker's new features.

Copy Editor Dylan Sheils '24 discusses best practices for tech companies considering a switch to closed platform development.

The new unlimited meal plan, available for all students, replaces the 19 on-demand plan as the mandate for residential first-year students. The unlimited meal plan costs $7,270 a year and credits students with both $150 in Flex Dollars and an unlimited number of meal swipes, but has brought up concerns from current students.

Math performance in the United States is not up to par with many other countries. Associate Copy Editor Dylan Sheils ’24 argues and makes suggestions for change to the presentation of mathematics in America.

The 7th annual HackRPI hackathon was held virtually this year due to COVID-19. The free event ran as usual, with themes, events, and workshops. The most interesting aspect of the hackathon, though, was the diverse set of projects, ranging from a ride-sharing app called Carpool Coordinator to a modernized health care portal called Mediscope. The themes for this year were the following: artificial intelligence, climate change and environmental sustainability, and Public Health and Pandemic Response.

The Office of Student Living and Learning shared instructions about moving out for the remainder of the semester before Thanksgiving break and information for students remaining on-campus.