In the News

WPI takes a stand against a program that only factors students’ scores on the College Board’s PSAT citing university’s admissions process considers the “whole student”.

Battery Resources, co-founded by WPI professors Diran Apelian and Yan Wang, has been named a finalist in MassChallenge’s  2016 Top Startups. Battery Resources recycles spent lithium-ion batteries into cathode materials, which can be used in new batteries. 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute announced it will no longer participate in the National Merit Scholarship Award program.

The Worcester Business Journal takes a look at the intellectual property policies at area colleges, with an interview with Todd Keiller, WPI’s director of intellectual property and innovation. 

WPI joins UConn, Northeastern University, Tufts University, UMass, Amherst and University of Rhode Island in a higher education alliance focused on expanding diversity in STEM fields.

BBC News quotes from the blog “Securing Phones and Securing Us (Revisited)” by WPI professor and cybersecurity expert Susan Landau on the issue of the government accessing encrypted information on iPhones. Landau wrote last week that the answer is not a bill allowing easier access but “instead we must increase law enforcement’s capabilities to handle encrypted communications and devices. 

Alex Wyglinski, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and his team of Ph.D. candidates and fellow faculty members are working to apply bumblebee communication methods to driverless cars.

WPI’s Katrina Hansen and Glenn Gaudette demonstrate changes in heart function that occur directly in the region where researchers delivered stem cells. 

A team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is headed to Alabama soon to test a blanket that doesn't snuff out flames, but keeps them going to clean oil spills.

Fearlessness, curiosity, and mastery of statistics are keys to data science success, says Elke Rundensteiner, director of WPI’s Data Science program. 

Mike Gennert, head of WPI’s Robotics program, highlights lessons learned from the DARPA Robotics Challenge  

Lee Sheldon, professor of practice in the computer science department, recalls his time as writer and producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Wally Towner, director of the WPI Center for Innovative Manufacturing Solutions, offers guidance on flexible manufacturing systems.

Martha Cyr, executive director of the STEM Education Center at WPI, discusses Seeds of STEM, an initiative to create STEM curriculum for preschool in partnership with Head Start.

WPI professor Susan Landau weighs in on the debate of whether law enforcement should have "back door" access to private, encrypted networks to investigate crime and terrorism. 

Professor Yan Wang demonstrates how lithium ion batteries can ignite and explode when overheated. Older devices with battery management systems that no longer work are especially dangerous.

Professor Sergey Makarov explains how 5,000 high resolution cross sections of a cadaver, digitally stitched together in a lab at WPI, will aid medical researchers.

Kristen Tichenor, senior vice president at WPI, explains why making SAT and ACT test scores optional for applicants increased enrollment of women and underrepresented minorities.

Professor Sergey Makarov exhibits the "virtual human" 5,000 high resolution cross sections of a cadaver, digitally stitched together in a lab at WPI, to aid medical research.

As part of a list of contributions to the field of robotics made in Massachusetts, WPI is noted as the first university in the country to offer a major in robotics engineering.