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Cyberattacks on critical US infrastructure keep happening. How worried should we be?
Professor Craig Shue, head of the computer science department, provided analysis for this USA Today article on the impact and frequency of cyberattacks that probe critical networks.
The Telegram & Gazette’s College Town lead off with the news of WPI rolling out its bachelor’s degree program in data science. The article quoted Elke Rudensteiner, Data Science Program director, “As the availability of vast amounts of digital data increasingly impacts all facets of our daily lives, from health to business to entertainment, it is critical that we build a pipeline of programs to equip more students with the necessary skills for these 21st-century jobs,” she said.
Harold Walker, Schwaber Professor of Environmental Engineering, was interviewed for NPR affiliate WCAI about toxic algae blooms in Cape Cod ponds. In her on-air report, reporter Eve Zuckoff noted her conversation with Walker. “(Walker) basically said we’ve reached a point of high enough risk for ponds that the standard shouldn’t be ‘Is this unsafe?’ but rather, ‘Is there proof that this IS safe?’
WBZ radio interviewed Randy Paffenroth, associate professor of mathematical sciences, computer science, and data science, on his work to make NASA spacecraft lighter and more damage tolerant. “Any mission that NASA wants to do, they have to build spacecraft out of materials, and they want those materials to be stronger, to improve the safety of the spacecraft,” Paffenroth told WBZ. WPI, he said, helps make the materials even better.
WBZ Radio featured WPI’s Fire Protection Engineering Lab, interviewing students and describing the research done there. “WPI boasts the largest fire lab in academia nationwide. They put the lab to good use doing a number of controlled burns over the course of the year,” WBZ reported.
WPI’s effort to help Worcester determine the city’s hottest areas was detailed in this Telegram & Gazette article. “Excessive heat is a public health threat, especially to people we’d describe as vulnerable,” said Associate Professor, IGSD, Seth Tuler, who is working on the project. He also noted that he hoped the project would provide “a more fine-grained understanding” of how that health threat is distributed across Worcester. WPI’s Global Lab was a project funder, the article added.
IndiaWest newspaper reported on a new liquid biopsy chip developed by Balaji Panchapakesan, professor of mechanical engineering. The chip was designed to capture circulating tumor cells, making it possible for early-stage cancer detection.
The Worcester Business Journal announced that Casey Wall assistant dean/director of the Housing & Residential Experience Center, was named to its annual “40 Under 40” list.
In this front-page article, the Telegram & Gazette interviewed and photographed English Professor and internationally renowned Hendrix expert Joel Brattin. “When Hendrix’s guitar sings ‘bombs bursting in air,’ you hear not only the bombs, but you hear the cries of agony of the people on the ground who are experiencing those bombs,” Brattin told the T&G. “There’s a strong amount of political content, even if it’s nonverbal.”
An academic paper by Eleanor Loiacono, a professor in the Foisie Business School, and Data Science PhD student Huimin Ren was cited in a World Economic Forum article. (See link to paper below the video under header “Empowering neurodiversity in the digital workplace.”)
Mike Timko, associate professor of chemical engineering, did a Q&A with Advanced Science News about his renewable fuels research. The article also sites Mike's video, "A World Without Waste," which was submitted to the NSF's 2026 Idea Machine competition earlier this year.
Ted Clancy, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Ziling Zhu, WPI PhD student, and Debra Latour, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Western New England University, spoke with Worcester News Tonight about developing wireless sensors to improve the performance of prosthetics for individuals with upper limb amputations.
WBZ Radio interviewed Balaji Panchapakesan, professor of mechanical engineering, on the chip he designed to capture circulating tumor cells, making it possible for early-stage cancer detection. “He says the chip could be revolutionary,” WBZ reported. “If we can detect it using this chip early detection, which is actually the key, we could actually save lives,” Panchapakesan said.
The Worcester Business Journal is the latest to report on how Ted Clancy, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Xinming Huang, professor of electrical and computer engineering, are developing wireless sensors to improve the performance of prosthetics for individuals with upper limb amputations.
NBC Louisville reported on a new liquid biopsy chip developed by Balaji Panchapakesan, professor of mechanical engineering. The chip was designed to capture circulating tumor cells, making it possible for early-stage cancer detection.
An op-ed by Neil Heffernan, professor of computer science and director of Learning Sciences & Technologies, published by The 74 Million, discusses how sharing data can inform researchers whether education technology is actually working.
New England Cable News interviewed President Leshin about WPI alum Robert Goddard, known as the father of modern rocketry. “He was driven, he was a visionary, and he was not going to stop until he figured out how to get us beyond Earth,” Leshin told NECN, which aired a retrospective Saturday morning and evening, noting Goddard’s link to the university. The piece also included footage of the campus building where Goddard worked.
In an interview that aired on WBZ radio (1030 AM) five times on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, WPI mechanical engineering PhD student Alex Castaneda discusses his upcoming reduced gravity research flight as well as the Apollo 11 mission’s influence on him. “It was the driving force for not only my interest in space research, but also for the interest to conduct space research as a country and as a planet,” he said.
NBC Boston 10 interviewed President Leshin as part of its look at alum Robert Goddard’s links to Worcester and the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. “When you’re visionary and when you really believe in an idea, you’ve got to keep working at it and see it through. I’m only sad that he didn’t live to see the Apollo astronauts walk on the moon,” Leshin told Boston 10 about Goddard, considered the father of modern rocketry.
