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WPI to research wildfires, from space
Astronauts on the International Space Station will perform experiments for a study led by James Urban, assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering. A spacecraft carrying materials for the experiments was launched to the space station in August. Urban studies wildfires and believes the experiments in microgravity will provide insight on non-steady flame behavior and lead to better understanding of how wildfires spread on Earth. The research was featured in Are We There Yet? - The Space Exploration Podcast, Spaceflight Now, Spectrum News 1, Industry Wired, and MassLive.
Monica Blondin, executive director of student aid and financial literacy, says WPI has increased student aid by 9 percent in the past five years, totaling $78 million last year; added more financial literacy classes for students and, in August, announced $5,000 grants for students to conduct overseas projects.
The Associated Press interviewed Marco Kaltofen, associate research engineer, for this article. "The problem with organic peroxides is they react with themselves. That's why we refrigerate them," Kaltofen told The AP, referring to organic peroxides, which caught fire at the plant amid the devastating flooding.
WCVB-TV Boston featured Albert Simeoni, professor, fire protection engineering, discussing WPI’s latest wildfire/wind tunnel technology, designed to help fire scientists to learn more about how wildfires burn in different environments, a blaze’s intensity, and what firefighters and urban housing developments face.
Inside Higher Ed published the article on WPI’s efforts to enroll more female students. WPI saw the female share of its incoming class go from 34 percent to 43 percent in a year, after adjusting aid policy. President Laurie Leshin, was interviewed for the article and described new changes in policies and efforts begun 10 years ago, when WPI admissions became SAT-optional.
Professor Yuxiang Liu's work regarding "Optical tweezers" and their use in moving nanoscale particles and measuring nanometer-scale displacements was recently published in the e-magazine of AMSE.org. This work is particularly "useful in biological and physical research, for example, measuring the motion of individual motor proteins or the mechanical properties of polymers."
WPI announced Global Projects For All, a university-wide initiative that will provide all students with access to an off-campus project experience. Beginning with the class of 2022, every full-time, degree-seeking student will receive a Global Project Scholarship, a credit of $5,000, to defray the cost of an off-campus project.
The latest edition of Advanced Manufacturing includes a guest column by Bogdan Vernescu, vice provost for research, about the importance of the manufacturing engineering education (MEE) grant program.
The Boston Globe’s ‘STAT’ section published an article today on WPI research aimed at helping the heart recover after parts of it die from lack of oxygen. “I want to fix people with heart attacks,” George Pins, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, told STAT. “I think it’s an important global health care problem and there’s significant unmet need.”
Kristin Tichenor, WPI senior vice president, was quoted in the article. “The quickest way to bridge the gap between the number of people we need with computing expertise to fill jobs and those with the talent to do that work, is to encourage more women and underrepresented minority students to pursue computer degrees in college,” she said.
WCVB TV 5’s Chronicle aired a story about PABI, a sophisticated and loveable robotic penguin developed by WPI and Salem State University that could change the way behavioral therapies are provided to children with autism. PABI is the brainchild of WPI mechanical and robotics engineering professor Gregory Fischer and Salem State University School of Education professor Laurie Dickstein-Fischer.
President Laurie Leshin was quoted in this article regarding a leaked internal memo at Google that raised questions for women looking to enter Silicon Valley tech companies or join academic STEM departments.
The Boston Business Journal reported on WPI’s announcement that the university is leasing innovation space in Boston’s Seaport District as it expands its economic development efforts across the Commonwealth.
Rob Gegear, assistant professor of biology and biotechnology, was interviewed in a story about legislation being filed by State Representative Carolyn Dykema of Holliston to minimize the use neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides that have a harmful effect on bees and bee colonies—a major threat to the ecosystem and agriculture.
Brian Meacham, associate professor of fire protection engineering, was interviewed by NBC Boston for this segment. The segment focused on the use of lightweight engineered wood and its structural integrity when exposed to flame.
Brian Meacham, associate professor of fire protection engineering, was interviewed for the second of a two-part series on last month’s Grenfell Tower fire in London. In an interview in his lab, Meacham described the concerns regarding the combustibility of materials used in the tower’s cladding system.
The Boston Globe interviewed Robert Gegear, assistant professor, biology and biotechnology, in the Q&A, “What Would Happen if Bees Disappeared?” Gegear discussed his new bee app that allows users to import a photo or video of a bee to a database for analysis.
International Fire Protection Magazine featured an article regarding an extensive literature review of fire safety codes conducted for the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research & Education Foundation by Nick Dembsey, professor of fire protection engineering.
VOX published an op-ed by Suzanne Mello Stark, an associate teaching professor in computer science, which raises questions about our voting system’s vulnerability to hackers.
