In the News

President Leshin was interviewed by NBC Boston for the segment, “Containing Covid at WPI” (6:35 mark). The report cited President Leshin saying that students are following the university’s masking and social distance guidelines.

Andrew Palumbo, assistant vice president for enrollment management & dean of admissions & financial aid, was quoted in The Telegram & Gazette article, “Pandemic Enrollment Effect a Mixed Bag for Central Mass. Colleges".

WPI was noted in The Worcester Business Journal article, “Fitchburg State Drops $50 Application Fee.” “Worcester Polytechnic Institute announced it, too, was dropping its $70 application fee. The school said the change was part of an ongoing effort to make its application process more accessible,” the article stated.

More than 70 media outlets, including the Latin Trade , Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and the Oklahoman carried the news of WPI welcoming 19 full-time educators and researchers to its faculty for the 2020-21 academic year. 

WPI was noted (last graph) in the Worcester Business Journal article, “Worcester Officials: Colleges Dedicated to Pandemic Safety.”

Spectrum News1 Worcester interviewed Kathy Chen, executive director of the STEM Education Center at WPI, and Nicole Anterni, director of sponsorship and events, about the university’s involvement with Massachusetts STEM week. Supported by the Governor’s office, the week highlights the importance of encouraging young people to get involved in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

Boston 25 (6:36 mark) reported on WPI eliminating its undergraduate application fee, supporting its mission of expanding access to a high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

Mass Live featured the article and quoted Health Director Lisa Pearlman. “We are focused on the health of our students,” she said. “adding new facilities and extra staff members to help us manage all the health needs of our campus.”

President Laurie Leshin was quoted in The Wall Street Journal article, “How a Pioneering Covid Testing Lab Helped Keep Northeast Colleges Open,” talking about how colleges’ and universities’ partnerships with the Broad Institute have helped institutions like WPI test their campus communities for COVID-19. The ability to test community members frequently has enabled higher education institutions to stay open during the academic year, and keep people healthy.

The Telegram and Gazette reported in its College Town section on WPI eliminating its undergraduate application fee, supporting its mission of expanding access to a high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

The Boston Globe article noted WPI as one of the universities that played a key role in the initiative (scroll to bottom).

The Guardian (UK) quoted WPI Associate Research Engineer Marco Kaltofen in their article (15th graph). “We shouldn’t ask how airborne radioactive risk from fracking compares to the waterborne risk. We should ask if it’s a good idea to add radioactive particulates to either air or water. This study suggests that the answer is no,” he said.

The Worcester Business Journal was the latest to report on WPI eliminating its undergraduate application fee, supporting its mission of expanding access to a high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

U.S. News & World Report included WPI in its piece highlighting colleges and universities whose early acceptance rate was nearly 50 percentage points higher on average than the regular acceptance rate.

Times Higher Education reported on how some colleges and universities are facing criticism about resuming in-person education at the start of the new academic year. The article included a quote from President Leshin on how it is too early to judge whether or not colleges or universities made the right decision: “It’s way too soon for anybody to gloat; it’s way too soon for any of us to declare success, and way too soon to point fingers,” she said.

Wired interviewed Professor Emmanuel Agu, computer science, for their article. (scroll down to interview beginning in 7th paragraph). “He and his coworkers also used smartphones to measure intoxicated sway, and even built an inebriation-detecting app called AlcoGait,” Wired wrote. “Gait-sensed impairment is quite accurate, which is why the police have used the field sobriety test for decades,” Agu added.

Bio-Medicine reported that a team of scientists from Johns Hopkins, the University of Arkansas, WPI, and elsewhere developed a faster and more objective way to examine the surfaces of fossilized teeth, a practice used to figure out the diets of our early ancestors.

Alex Wyglinski, professor of electrical and computer engineering, appeared in a story and webcast discussing his research in 5G wireless communications. In the interview, Wyglinski, director of WPI’s Wireless Innovation Laboratory, noted how Internet of Things devices and vehicles will connect to 5G networks.

The Boston Herald reported on the effort that is under way to prevent Massachusetts colleges from turning into coronavirus hot zones as students return to campus. President Laurie Leshin, who also served on Gov. Charlie Baker’s Reopening Advisory Board and as chair of the Massachusetts Higher Education Working Group, described how critical testing is to protecting the health and safety of students, faculty, staff members, and people in the communities that surround college campuses.

Defense Visual Information Distribution Service explained how researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory collaborate with academic partners at WPI and other institutions in the Northeast. Bogdan Vernescu, WPI's vice provost for research, is quoted in the piece talking about each of the universities collaborating to meet the Army’s needs.