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WPI Class of 2025
WPI celebrated Commencement 2025 with ceremonies at the DCU Center, which included speeches by students, faculty, administrators, Michelle Gass ’90, president and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co, who delivered the undergraduate Commencement address, and graduate ceremony speaker Noubar Afeyan—inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of Flagship Pioneering, and co-founder and chair of Moderna.
To help document the graduation of nearly 1,300 undergraduates and more than 900 master's and doctoral students, multiple news organizations covered the ceremonies or interviewed graduating students.
Milosh Puchovsky, professor of practice and department head in Fire Protection Engineering, spoke with Spectrum News 1 during coverage of a demonstration of the benefits of residential fire sprinkler systems.
Multiple news outlets reported on WPI's recognition by U.S. News & World Report as 18th in the nation among ranked four-year schools for return on investment (ROI). After 40 years, the value of a WPI education is estimated at $3.4 million.
Ali Rangwala, professor in Fire Protection Engineering and head of WPI's Explosion Protection Engineering program, talked with MassLive about safety concerns surrounding the installation of large battery storage centers in municipalities.
If you see the movie Rule Breakers, look for a robot developed in 2022 by a student and professor from the robotics engineering program. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported on the student research work that drew movie producers to the program; and ultimately led to WPI's unique contribution to the film about Afghanistan’s first all-female robotics team and its inspiring journey to international competitions.
The Worcester Business Journal reported on a new ranking from The Princeton Review that named WPI's Interactive Media and Game Development program as the 12th best undergraduate game design program and 13th best graduate game design program in the nation in 2025.
Alexander Smith, associate professor of economics in the Department of Social Science & Policy Studies, provided analysis for a WalletHub article about ways to track personal expenses by categorizing them in budget categories. Smith also suggested advice on ways to be realistic, rather than optimistic, when budgeting.
Chemical engineering professor Michael Timko leads a team that has developed a novel process to remove harmful PFAS chemicals from sewage sludge during wastewater treatment. The process offers an additional benefit: it could also generate renewable fuel. Researchers hope the process will help address the PFAS problem and allow wastewater treatment facilities to reduce their use of energy and chemical additives for sludge disposal,
Recycling Today wrote about WPI researchers' findings that re-using auto parts can greatly cut greenhouse gas emissions compared with buying new parts. Brajendra Mishra, the Kenneth G. Merriam Professor in Mechanical Engineering, was lead author on the study.
Jean King, Peterson Family Dean of Arts and Sciences, shared her insights on being "hypervisible" and mentoring young scientists in a feature on Worcester's Black scientists for Worcester Magazine.
WPI’s wildfire research is featured in The Common, a podcast from WBUR, Boston's NPR. Listen to the interview with Albert Simeoni, head of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering – a former firefighter – and see photos on the podcast's website to learn more about what drives the research of faculty and students, their work that seeks to mitigate the impacts of large wildfires, and the experiments taking place in the department's laboratories.
On February 21, WPI hosted the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for an event to mark the release of the Massachusetts Climatetech Economic Development Strategy & Implementation Plan. President Grace Wang delivered introductory remarks. Attendees toured some of WPI’s laboratories where our faculty and student researchers are driving related advancementsin clean technology.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Spectrum News 1 visited WPI's Soft Robotics Lab to report on new National Science Foundation-funded research underway to develop a flexible robotic arm for wheelchair users. Spectrum News outlets in several markets across the country, including Columbus, Ohio, Syracuse, NY, and Austin, Texas, also broadcast coverage of the technology.
How will the way we move around change in the future? In a Creating Chemistry magazine article on the future of mobility, The Global School Dean Mimi Sheller provides analysis on infrastructure planning and what transportation planners should think about when they’re considering changes.
“It's really meaningful to see it out there in the world for people to get to know." Lucy Caplan, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities & Arts spoke to Worcester Magazine about her newly published book, Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera. The book offers an often-untold account of the Black composers, performers, critics, teachers, and students who helped shape the genre in the early 1900s.
Media outlets, including Forbes, reported on WPI's designation as an R1 institution. The classification from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching identifies WPI as a top-tier research institution based on research spending and the number of doctoral degrees awarded annually.
Demonstrating the impact and importance of higher education in Massachusetts, WPI President Grace Wang joined Governor Maura Healey and leaders in education and business at the State House for a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Worcester Magazine featured Kathryn Moncrief, Paris Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Humanities and head of the Department of Humanities and Arts. The article highlights Moncrief’s work as an associate director and dramaturg; and the projects she's worked on in partnership with her husband Brendon Fox, a theater director.
