Note: Some media outlets require users to log-in. The Gordon Library offers the WPI community free access to a number of newspapers. Visit newspaper database for details.
Do you know how quickly a Christmas tree can burn and what measures you can take to prevent this type of fire from happening in your home? Every year, WPI’s student chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers conducts a tree burn demonstration in a laboratory in the Department of Fire protection Engineering to educate students and the public on the dangers and dynamics of Christmas tree fires. The event highlights fire prevention and safety measures during the holiday season and highlights the hands-on learning opportunities available to students in WPI’s fire protection engineering program.
Faced with increasing competition, long-running food brands embrace various strategies to stay fresh. Purvi Shah, associate professor of marketing, spoke with Food Technology, a magazine from the Institute of Food Technologists, about these strategies, including limited time offers
WPI's online Master of Business Administration program was the biggest climber in a ranking of best online MBA programs. Poets&Quants, an online site that reports on graduate business education, ranked the program offered by The Business School at number 24 in the U.S., an increase of 17 positions in one year.
Kwamie Dunbar, associate professor of finance and director of WPI's FinTech programs, provided analysis for an article in Payments Dive that explains stablecoins, a virtual currency, and their potential practical applications.
The Brazilian newspaper O Globo interviewed Albert Simeoni, professor, and head of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, about the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris, upon the building’s restoration and reopening to the public. "The confusion over the approximate area of the fire and the time it took to reach the roof from the stairs resulted in a significant loss of time, which allowed the flames to grow beyond the firefighters' ability to control," Simeoni said.
Elke Rundensteiner, professor of computer science and head of the data science program, provided analysis for a Boston Globe article on Liquid AI. The startup's technology is inspired by the brain structure of a tiny roundworm, and the company seeks to build more efficient AI systems that require the use of less energy than current AI technology.
A weekend celebration in March 2025 paying tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach will include a concert including singers from WPI choirs, led by Joshua Rohde, director of choral activities.
The climate-focused site, The Cool Down, reported on research led by Xiaowei Teng, the James H. Manning Professor in Chemical Engineering, to make batteries more efficient by using silicate, with an eye towards potential energy storage.
Boston 25 News reported on the accomplishments of WPI students Antonio Marzoratti and Ivan Zou whose company developed a device to transform a manual wheelchair into one powered by a portable battery. The report also featured comments from Rosanna Garcia, the Beswick Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, who spoke about how the student innovators received support including mentorship and pitch competition experience from WPI’s i3 Lab. The students' company won the 2024 Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Pitch Competition.
Camila Gomez and Hassan Dajana, graduate students in WPI’s master’s in community climate adaptation program are exploring the potential operational and environmental impacts of using beet juice for treating roads and highways to avoid icing. They spoke with the Telegram & Gazette about preliminary findings from their year-long project with Worcester’s Department of Sustainability & Resilience which is aimed at providing a variety of recommendations to help the city address winter climate resilience.
Securing edge servers and edge data centers requires measures to protect against physical and environmental threats; and dangers from bad actors seeking to tamper with them. Shahin Tajik, assistant professor of electrical & computer engineering, shared his thoughts in StateTech on how to protect critical devices from vulnerability.
Antonio Marzoratti, a robotics student and co-founder of Technotonin Industries, spoke with GBH’s All Things Considered along with his business co-founder Arav Tyagi of Boston University about the company’s technology that can adapt manual wheelchairs into powered devices. The pair discussed how their idea became a business and the support they’ve received from wheelchair users and accelerator programs including the Goat Innovators Summer Accelerator at WPI's i3 Lab.
A group of WPI students, including Michael Massa and Lexi Joseph, helped celebrate National Adoption Day by dressing up as characters including Spider-Man and Rapunzel at the Worcester courthouse. The students are a chapter of the nonprofit A Moment of Magic and were on hand to mark the adoption of 30 children across Worcester county in emotional ceremonies.
Alex O’Neil, an AV Technology Specialist at WPI, recently completed and premiered “More Than a Fridge,” a documentary about the Worcester Community Fridges project, which provides 24/7 food access for area residents. Worcester Magazine wrote about Alex’s work and the project
Techopedia asked experts to weigh in on their expectations for new developments in technology in the new year. Alexander Wyglinski, professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate dean of graduate studies, shared insight on the potential applications of the rise of 6G technology, including remote health monitoring, information sharing among vehicles, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
WPI is offering educational programs aimed at improving the country’s software security. The Strengthen Workforce Education for Excellence in Programming Securely (SWEEPS) program will include a variety of options focused on improved security in computer coding, including online courses and certificate programs, offered by a coalition of universities and colleges. "The increasing frequency of large-scale cyberattacks reinforces the need for more experts in secure programming," said Xiaoyan (Sherry) Sun, associate professor of computer science, an administrator of the program.
WPI researchers are partnering with Grensol and XCharge North America to develop an industrial recycling solution for electric vehicle supply equipment, such as EV charging cables and modules in an effort to promote more sustainable electrified travel. The research at WPI is being led by Brajendra Mishra, the Kenneth G. Merriam Distinguished Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering and the director of the Metal Processing Institute at WPI, and Akanksha Gupta, a postdoctoral fellow in materials science & engineering.
Farnoush Reshadi, assistant professor of marketing in The Business School, provided answers to frequently asked questions about purchase protection plans, which are sometimes offered by retailers and credit card companies, for an article in WalletHub.
The Tech Edvocate, a blog that covers education technology in the PreK-12 and higher education sectors, has ranked The Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science at WPI as the top public K-12 school in Massachusetts. Mass Academy is a designated "school of excellence." The academy is an administrative unit within WPI, and 12th grade students at the academy enroll in classes at WPI.
A new agreement will allow pre-engineering students at Framingham State to transfer into WPI's School of Engineering to complete a bachelor's degree in engineering if they meet minimum academic requirements. The partnership also provides opportunities for students to join accelerated master's degree programs in data science, medicinal chemistry, and neuroscience.
