Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Research and Development

Research and Development

RPI has established six areas of research as institute priorities: biotechnology, energy and the environment, nanotechnology, computation and information technology, and media and the arts. Advances in these fields have the potential to effect dramatic transformations in 21st century society.

Some notable research centers operated by RPI are the Terahertz Research Center, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center, New York State Center for Polymer Synthesis, Darrin Fresh Water Institute, Center for Automation Technologies and Systems, and the Lighting Research Center. The Lighting Research Center (LRC) is the leading university-based research center devoted to lighting, offering the world's only master's degree in lighting. Since 1988 it has built an international reputation as a reliable source for objective information about lighting technologies, applications, and products. The LRC provides training programs for government agencies, utilities, contractors, lighting designers, and other lighting professionals.

RPI conducts nuclear research at the 60MeV Gaerttner Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Laboratory. The LINAC is used primarily for the testing of materials, but there is also ongoing research in neutron generation and other technologies. The lab made the news with discoveries regarding bubble fusion and portable pyroelectric fusion devices. Other important research facilities include the geotechnical centrifuge, used for civil engineering simulations, and RPI's array of six subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels.

In May 2006, RPI announced a partnership with IBM and the state of New York to create the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations, a supercomputing center to be used for nanotechnology research. As of June 2008, the $100 million center is North America's most powerful university-based supercomputing center and the 22nd most powerful supercomputing center of any kind in the world.

RPI is home to the United States' first on-campus business incubator, which has helped start over 180 companies in its lifetime, with a survival rate of about 80%. One of the largest companies to have originated in the incubator is MapInfo, a major publisher of mapping and geographic information systems software. Others incubator success stories include Vicarious Visions, a well known maker of video games, and CORESense, Inc., a leading provider of multi-channel retail software. RPI operates the Rensselaer Technology Park, which is home to over 50 technologically oriented companies. The 1,250-acre (510 ha) park is about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the campus along the Hudson River. Park tenants collaborate with faculty and students on research projects and hire students for internships, co-ops, and employment.

In conjunction with the incubator, Professor Gina O'Connor launched the Radical Innovation Project (RIP) at RPI, which is a project to create innovative new products out of new technologies. The approach is to start with a new technology, and then find radical innovations and product concepts, rather than the usual approach which starts with a problem and then looks for a technological solution. All projects originate out of research and development projects. The study of those projects is expected to provide insight on how to manage the "fuzzy front end": the earliest, most unclear stage of product innovation when innovators don't know yet what will eventually be the product. It was found that early product research generally does not employ a highly structured process as in the case of managing incremental NPD processes, but they follow logical processes. Such ultra-early stage are more exploratory and less customer driven. Possibly prototypes are developed at an early stage, preceding opportunity analysis, market research, and financial analysis. The Radical Innovation Project approach has been the subject of several research publications.