In the News

The New York Times quoted Albert Simeoni, professor, interim department head, fire protection engineering, in in this article. (see: Precious Time Lost subhead) “The only thing that surprised me is that this disaster didn’t happen sooner,” Simeoni told The Times.

The MetroWest Daily News sought insight from Alexander Wyglinski, professor of electrical and robotics engineering, for this article. Wyglinski said many autonomous vehicles on the road today are electric and tend to have better technology inside them. Also, they’re easier to gauge range-wise since they run on a battery.

This article headlined the Worcester Business Journal highlighting how the university is receiving the funding for an initiative with Quinsigamond Community College to develop and run a curriculum for Greater Worcester public school students. President Leshin praised the initiative of bringing together public and private partners along with higher education. "When these three sectors can come together effectively, powerful things can happen," Leshin said.

Computer science professor Neil Heffernan’s opinion piece in the Hechinger Report takes a look at the need for new technology and evidence-based instructional practices, such as online homework tools, to address inequities in our public school system.

The Worcester Business Journal quoted Assistant Professor Pratap Rao, mechanical engineering, on how technological advancements have dropped prices of hydrogen and made it more feasible to store hydrogen for fueling stations.

This article, penned by Bonnie Walker, executive director, diversity and inclusion strategy,  was featured in the Worcester Business Journal’s “Outside the Box” section.

The Worcester Business Journal interviewed Andrew Palumbo, dean of admissions and financial aid, for this article. Citing the fact that in 2009 WPI became the first test-optional technical school, Palumbo said, “enough is known about the subjective nature of standardized testing and its negative correlation to social inequalities...we realized we had better tools to predict success.”

The Boston Globe covered yesterday’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first man to the moon, held at the JFK Library. The celebration featured astronaut Michael Collins, the command module pilot on Apollo 11, Caroline Kennedy, and Jeff Bezos, among others. The Globe quoted President Laurie Leshin, who attend the event, and who formerly served as a NASA official. "Are we alone in the universe? Is there a more profound question that we as scientists can ask?" she said during a panel discussion.

WGBH’s “Morning Edition” profiled bird research by Associate Teaching Professor Marja Bakerman, “Tracking Massachusetts’ Disappearing Whip-Poor-Wills”. The research project, a collaboration between WPI and Mass Wildlife, features catching and putting GPS tags on the birds to collect data on their travels,” the report stated.  

The Telegram & Gazette sought input from WPI’s Glenn Gaudette, the Willliam Smith Dean’s Professor of Biomedical Engineering, for this article. “From a scientific point of view, it is not that shocking if you think about all we can do in regards to genetic engineering in human and animal cells,” Gaudette told the T&G.  “There has been some amazing work done in plant biology that just doesn’t get the same press as human biology.”

Boston 25 News reported on WPI research on women and alcohol. “Professor Jeanine Skorinko from Worcester Polytechic Institute wanted to find out about the perceptions women face when they go out for a drink,” the broadcast stated.

The Robotics Business Review highlighted work by Major Qualifying Project (MQP) teams, ranging from an autonomous vehicle platform to a robot that can guide prospective students around a campus.

National Public Radio’s TED Radio Hour featured a conversation with WPI’s Jennifer Wilcox, the James H. Manning Professor of Chemical Engineering and an internationally renowned expert on capturing and storing carbon dioxide, during its ‘Climate Crisis’ segment.

The New York Times featured WPI’s study abroad program, including students in Albania, Singapore and Kyoto, in this article. “This is about solving an open-ended problem in an entirely different culture, in an entirely different location without friends and family,” President Leshin told The Times, which referred to study abroad as a “boots-on-the-ground” experience with challenge and purpose.

Inside Higher Ed featured this op-ed by Richard Vaz, director, Center for Project-Based Learning. “The benefits of having students tackle authentic problems are powerful. Problems that communities or organizations face are almost always interdisciplinary and require consideration of a range of stakeholders’ perspectives,” he wrote.

In this article, the Telegram & Gazette reported on Eric Young, assistant professor of chemical engineering, being part of a team developing a biosecurity tool that can detect engineered microorganisms based on their unique DNA signatures. “There’s this huge change in how civilization works” thanks to the advent of GMOs, he told the T&G, “and the dream is that it’s a much more sustainable way of producing things.”

In a report on its website, CBS Boston highlighted WPI’s roll in Polar Park - the future home of the Worcester Red Sox. The facility, expected to open in 2021, will “embrace the future of the game experience through a technology partnership with WPI,” the station reported (2nd graph from bottom). “We made an early commitment to technology,” Pawtucket Red Sox Principal Owner and Chairman Larry Lucchino told the station. “I don’t think we have robots yet in this ballpark, but we do want to have the next generation of technological advantage.”

Inside Higher Ed interviewed WPI Librarian Anna Gold, and Lori Ostapowic-Critz, associate director, library academic strategies, for this article. Gold noted that WPI’s Shuster Lab for Digital Scholarship (centered on project-based learning) is a popular home for informal and course-related digital scholarship.

Numerous business-related publications, including Business Insider cited a report by Assistant Professor Dimitrios Koutmos, Foisie Business School. He said he’s sounding the alarm for investors, calling his report a “cautionary note” for fans of cryptocurrency.

WPI got a shout out on CNN-International when Michael Smerconish (on his program, “Smerconish”), discussed the SAT and named the university as one of “the great schools” that has gone test optional.