Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Coat of arms designed by Richard Clipston Sturgis in 1904
Former names	Rensselaer School (1824–1834) Rensselaer Institute (1834–1861)
Motto	"Knowledge and Thoroughness"
Type	Private research university
Established	November 5, 1824; 200 years ago (November 5, 1824)
Accreditation	MSCHE
Academic affiliations	NAICU AITU Space-grant
Endowment	$864 million (2022)
President	Martin A. Schmidt
Provost	Prabhat Hajela
Academic staff	488 (2019)
Administrative staff	1,291 (2019)
Students	8,142 (2019)
Undergraduates	6,203 (2019)
Postgraduates	1,366 (2019)
Other students	573 (2019)
Location	Troy , New York , United States 42°43′48″N 73°40′39″W / 42.7300°N 73.6775°W / 42.7300; -73.6775
Campus	Small city, 265 acres (107 ha)
Other campuses	Bolton Landing Hartford New York North Berwick
Newspaper	The Rensselaer Polytechnic
Colors	Cherry and white
Nickname	Engineers
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III – Liberty League ECAC Hockey
Mascot	Red Hawks Puckman

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is a private research university located in Troy, New York. It also has a campus in Hartford, Connecticut. RPI was founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton. Their goal was to teach people how to use science for everyday life. It is the oldest technology-focused university in the English-speaking world.

RPI's campus is about 265 acres and sits on a hill. From here, you can see the city of Troy and the Hudson River. The university also has a special place called a business incubator. This helps new companies grow. It also has a large Rensselaer Technology Park.

RPI has six main schools with 37 departments. It focuses a lot on science and technology. It is known for its very high level of research activity. Many engineers, including Ivar Giaever, have been part of RPI's faculty and alumni.

History of RPI

Early Years (1824–1900)

Stephen Van Rensselaer started the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824. He asked Samuel Blatchford to be its first president. Amos Eaton was named the first senior professor. The school opened on January 5, 1825, in Troy. Tuition was about $40 per semester. Many students came from far away because of Eaton's good reputation.

In 1826, the state of New York officially recognized the school. In its early days, the Rensselaer School was more like a graduate school. It attracted students who had already graduated from other colleges.

Under Amos Eaton, the school, renamed Rensselaer Institute in 1832, became a lively place for technology research. In 1835, it gave out the first civil engineering degrees in the U.S.. Many famous civil engineers of that time studied there. Important visitors included Joseph Henry and Thomas Davenport. Davenport sold the world's first working electric motor to the institute.

In 1847, alumnus Benjamin Franklin Greene became the new senior professor. He had studied European technical schools to find ways to improve Rensselaer. In 1850, he reorganized the school into a three-year polytechnic institute. It had six technical schools. In 1861, its name changed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

On May 10, 1862, a huge fire, known as "The Great Fire", destroyed many buildings in Troy. The school's building was also destroyed. Columbia University suggested that Rensselaer move to New York City and merge with them. But RPI decided to stay in Troy and moved its campus to the hillside. Classes were held in temporary places until 1864. Then, the institute moved to a new building on Broadway.

In 1890, one of the first Latino student groups in the U.S. was founded at RPI. It was called the Club Hispano Americano.

RPI Since 1900

Undergraduate Student Numbers:
1825: 10 students
1850: 53 students
1875: 181 students
1900: 225 students
1910: 650 students
1925: 1,240 students
1945: 1,604 students
1950: 3,987 students
1965: 5,232 students
2018: 7,962 students

In 1904, RPI's main building was destroyed by fire again. However, the institute grew a lot under President Palmer Ricketts. He became president in 1901. Ricketts added new departments like Arts, Science, and Business Administration. He also started the Graduate School. He expanded the number of degrees offered from two to twelve. These included electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biology, chemistry, and physics. During his time, student numbers grew from about 200 in 1900 to 1,700 in 1930.

After World War II, RPI expanded even more. Many veterans used their GI Bill benefits to attend college. The "Freshman Hill" dorms opened in 1953. In 1966, Herta Regina Leng became RPI's first female full professor. In 1961, the Gaerttner Linear Accelerator was built. It was the most powerful in the world at that time. The Jonsson-Rowland Science Center also opened. The current Student Union building opened in 1967.

The next thirty years saw continued growth and new buildings. RPI also formed stronger ties with industries. The "H-building" became home to RPI's incubator program. This was the first such program sponsored only by a university. RPI then invested in creating the Rensselaer Technology Park. In 1982, New York State gave RPI $30 million. This was to build the George M. Low Center for Industrial Innovation. It became a center for industry-sponsored research.

In 1999, RPI was one of the first universities to require all students to have a laptop computer. This was also when Shirley Ann Jackson became the eighteenth president of RPI. She started "The Rensselaer Plan". This was a big plan to make the institute even better. Many improvements have happened under this plan.

In September 2007, RPI's Faculty Senate was suspended for over four years due to disagreements with the administration. On October 3, 2008, RPI opened the $220 million Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. That same year, 98 staff jobs were cut due to the economy. However, campus construction continued. The $92 million East Campus Athletic Village was completed. The new Blitman Commons dorm opened in 2009. By 2015, all staff jobs were back.

In July 2022, Martin A. Schmidt became RPI's nineteenth president. He was previously the provost at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

RPI Campus

RPI's 275-acre campus is on a hill. It looks over Troy and the Hudson River. The area around it is mostly homes. The city of Troy is at the bottom of the hill. A footbridge connects the two sides of the campus. Many buildings on campus were built in the early 1900s in a Colonial Revival style. The campus has grown in four main stages.

Early Campus (1824–1905)

RPI first started in downtown Troy. Over time, it moved to the hilltop. One building from this time is Winslow Chemical Laboratory. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is at the bottom of the hill and now holds the Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory.

Ricketts Campus (1906–1935)

President Palmer Ricketts oversaw the building of RPI's "Green Rooftop" buildings. These Colonial Revival style buildings give the campus a special look. Buildings from this time include the Carnegie Building (1906), Walker Laboratory (1907), and Russell Sage Laboratory (1909). Also built was "The Approach" (1907). This is a large granite staircase on the west side of campus. It connects the city to the university.

Post-War Growth (1946–1960)

After World War II, the campus grew a lot again. Nine dorms were built on "Freshman Hill". The Houston Field House (1949) was moved in pieces from Rhode Island and put back together. West Hall was bought by RPI in 1953. It was built in 1869 as a hospital. This fancy building is an example of French Second Empire architecture.

The Voorhees Computing Center (VCC) is another unique building. It was built in 1933 as a church chapel. RPI bought it in 1958. After being fixed up, it was the institute's library until 1976. Today, the VCC holds computer labs and supports the school's computer systems.

Modern Campus (Since 1961)

The modern campus has buildings like the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center (1961) and the Rensselaer Union (1967). The Jonsson Engineering Center (1977) and the Low Center for Industrial Innovation (1987) are also here. Tunnels connect some of these buildings. A tenth dorm, Barton Hall, was added to Freshman Hill in 2000. It has the largest rooms for first-year students.

On October 3, 2008, the university opened the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC). This building is on the edge of the hill. It has a 1,200-seat concert hall and a 400-seat theater. Most of the building is made of glass.

In 2008, RPI bought a hotel at the bottom of the hill. It was turned into a new dorm called the Howard N. Blitman, P.E. '50 Residence Commons. It houses about 300 students. This new dorm is part of a plan to connect students with the Troy community. RPI also owns other buildings in downtown Troy.

Other Campuses

RPI has a 15-acre campus in Hartford, Connecticut. It also had a distance learning center in Groton, Connecticut, which closed in 2018. These centers are for graduate students and working adults. They offer degrees in business, computer science, engineering, and information technology.

Academics at RPI

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has five schools:

• School of Architecture
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Lally School of Management & Technology
• School of Science

The School of Engineering has the most students. RPI also has programs in Information Technology, pre-health, and pre-law. Students can join Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) to become officers in the armed forces. There are also co-op programs and exchange programs. In total, RPI offers over 145 programs in nearly 60 fields. These lead to bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

RPI is a technology-focused university. All buildings and dorm rooms have high-speed internet. Since 1999, all new students have been required to have a laptop computer.

The Rensselaer Plan

When President Shirley Ann Jackson arrived in 1999, she announced "The Rensselaer Plan". Its goal is to make Rensselaer a more famous technology research university. Parts of the plan include:

• Bringing in more graduate students and new research faculty.
• Increasing student involvement in research.
• More international exchange programs.
• More "living and learning communities."

Many changes have happened under the plan. New buildings like the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center have been built. The number of applications to RPI has also increased. In 2018, RPI received a record 20,337 applications.

To reach its goals, the university needed more research funds. It set a goal of $100 million annually. In 2013, it reached this goal. The university also started a $1 billion fundraising campaign. An anonymous donor gave $360 million in 2001. This was believed to be the largest gift to a U.S. university at the time. By 2008, the $1 billion goal was met.

In 2012, an updated plan called "Rensselaer Plan 2024" was announced. In 2016, President Jackson announced a new $1 billion fundraising campaign for 2017. This campaign aimed to support financial aid for students and expand research facilities.

University Rankings

U.S. university rankings
ARWU World	401–500
THES World	601–800
USNWR National University	51
Washington Monthly National University	93
Forbes	177

For 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked Rensselaer tied for 53rd among national universities in the U.S. It was also ranked 40th for "Best Value" in undergraduate education. Its undergraduate engineering program was tied at 32nd.

In 2016, The Economist ranked Rensselaer No. 18 among four-year colleges. Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings placed Rensselaer among the top 50 universities for technology in the world. In 2016, Rensselaer was also listed among the top ten universities for highest median earnings for graduates.

Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering

The ECSE department is a major part of RPI. It offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. Students can study Electrical Engineering or Computer Systems Engineering. Electrical Engineering was first offered in 1907. Computer Systems Engineering was added later.

These two fields are similar, sharing many core classes. Electrical Engineering focuses more on hardware. Computer Systems Engineering focuses more on algorithms and systems. Many students choose to double major in these fields.

The ECSE department does research in many areas. These include information science, communication networks, control systems, energy, electronics, and computer systems design.

Notable alumni from this department include:

• Marcian E. Hoff, who created the microprocessor.
• Curtis P. Priem, who founded NVIDIA.
• Steven J. Sassoon, who invented the digital camera.
• Raymond S. Tomlinson, who invented e-mail.

Research and Development

Rensselaer is known for its very high research activity. It focuses on six main research areas:

• biotechnology
• energy and the environment
• nanotechnology
• computation and information technology
• media and the arts

Research is managed by the Office of the Vice President for Research. In 2018, Rensselaer had 34 research centers. It spent $100.8 million on sponsored research each year.

One of RPI's newest research centers is the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. This large facility is for basic and applied research in biotechnology. It focuses on understanding proteins and genes. It uses tools like biocatalysis and synthetic biology. Over the last ten years, the center has produced over 2,000 research papers. It employs over 200 scientists and engineers. The center trains many undergraduate and graduate students. Its partnerships have led to new developments in diagnostics, treatments, and medical devices.

Rensselaer also has the Tetherless World Constellation. This is a research group focused on the World Wide Web. They study how the web works and how it can be used in the future. A "constellation" at Rensselaer is a team of faculty, scientists, and students from different fields.

Along with this, Rensselaer runs the Center for Computational Innovations. This center is a $100 million project with IBM and New York State. It aims to advance nanotechnology. It has one of the most powerful university-based supercomputers in the world. This supercomputer can perform over 1.1 peta-FLOPS. The center focuses on making nanoscale materials cheaper to develop. It also supports research in biotechnology, medicine, and energy.

Rensselaer has a nuclear reactor and testing facility. It is the only university-run reactor in New York State. It also has the Gaerttner Linear Accelerator. In 2024, RPI and IBM unveiled a new quantum computer on campus. This aims to boost quantum computer research in New York State.

RPI Students

In 2018, Rensselaer had 7,442 students. This included 6,590 undergraduate and 1,329 graduate students. Over 71% of RPI students come from outside New York State. More than 20% of students are from other countries. RPI students come from all 50 U.S. states and over 60 countries. The ratio of undergraduate students to faculty is 13:1.

For the class of 2020, 66% of students were in the top 5% of their high school class. The average high school GPA was 3.88 out of 4.0.

Rensselaer's acceptance rate for the Class of 2021 was over 20%. The average SAT score range was 1330–1500. The average ACT score range was 29–33. In 2016, 94% of freshmen returned for their second year. Since 2000, undergraduate student numbers grew from 4,867 to 6,590 in 2018.

About 12% of students receive the Rensselaer medal. This is a scholarship worth $100,000 for top high school students in science and math. 95% of full-time students receive financial aid. In 2018, Rensselaer spent over $140 million on financial aid and scholarships.

Gender Ratio

RPI started allowing women to enroll in 1942. In 1966, there were 19 men for every 1 woman. By the early 1990s, it was about 5 men for every 1 woman. In 2009, the ratio was 2.5 men to 1 woman (72% male / 28% female). In 2016, for new students, it was 2.1 men to 1 woman (68% male / 32% female). This was the lowest in the school's history. In Fall 2016, over 1,000 women enrolled in RPI's engineering programs. This was 30% of engineering students and 32% of all students.

Grand Marshal and President of the Union

The Grand Marshal (GM) and President of the Union (PU) are student leaders at RPI. Students vote for them each spring. The GM wears a top hat, and the PU wears a derby hat. The GM position has existed since 1865. The PU position started in 1890. The week of voting is called GM Week. It includes campus events to encourage voting.

Grand Marshal (GM)

The Grand Marshal is the highest student position at RPI. The GM is elected by students. They play a big role in student government. They lead projects, appoint officers, and help the campus community. The first GM was Albert M. Harper. The current GM for 2024–2025 is Vivian Rost-Nasshan.

President of the Union (PU)

The President of the Union is also elected by students. Their main job is to choose an executive board of 15–20 students. This board manages the Rensselaer Union's budget. They prepare and approve the budget, manage funds, and handle business with other facilities. The PU also works closely with union staff, athletics staff, and student clubs. The first PU was W.C.H. Slagle. The current PU for 2021–2022 is Colleen Corrigan.

Greek Life

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has a long history of Greek organizations. These groups focus on leadership, strength, innovation, and growth. RPI has 29 active fraternities and 6 sororities. About 32% of male students and 18% of female students are involved.

Three Greek organizations were founded at Rensselaer:

• Theta Xi national engineering fraternity (1864)
• Sigma Delta Hispanic-interest local sorority
• Rensselaer Society of Engineers local engineering fraternity

The Theta Xi Fraternity Chapter House is on the National Register of Historic Places. RPI is also home to the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Alpha Phi Omega (APO). This is a national service fraternity. It runs a test-bank, lost & found, and 3D printing service on campus.

In 2017, Chi Phi and Theta Chi at Rensselaer hosted an event called "Brave A Shave For Kids With Cancer." They raised over $22,000 for pediatric cancer research. Many fraternities and sororities also help with Adopt-a-Highway programs and community events. They also take part in "Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond," which is RPI's student orientation.

Greek Life groups also have other related organizations. These include the Alumni Inter-Greek Council and Greek Spectrum, an LGBTQIA support group.

Athletics at RPI

The RPI Engineers are the university's sports teams. RPI has 23 sports teams. Most compete in NCAA Division III in the Liberty League. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete at the Division I level in ECAC Hockey.

In 1995, the nickname for some Division III teams changed from Engineers to Red Hawks. But the hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams kept the Engineers name. The Red Hawks name was not popular with students. In 2009, all teams changed their nickname back to Engineers.

The official ice hockey mascot is Puckman. He is a hockey puck with an engineer's helmet and is very popular.

A popular RPI cheer from the 1970s and 1980s was:

E to the x, dy/dx, E to the x, dx

Cosine, secant, tangent, sine

3.14159

Square root, cube root, log of pi

Disintegrate them, RPI!

Men's Ice Hockey

RPI has a strong Division I hockey team. They won NCAA national titles in 1954 and 1985. In the 1984–85 season, they were undefeated for 30 games. Continuing into the 1985–86 season, RPI went undefeated for 38 games. This streak ended against Boston University.

Adam Oates and Daren Puppa, who played during that time, became stars in the NHL. Joé Juneau and Brian Pothier also played many years in the NHL. Graeme Townshend, who played in the late 1980s, was the first man of Jamaican background to play in the NHL.

The hockey team is a big part of campus life. Thousands of fans come to the Houston Field House each week. Students even line up for season tickets months in advance. Since 1978, there has been a "Big Red Freakout!" game in early February. Fans wear red and white, and gifts like T-shirts are given out. RPI's biggest hockey rival is Clarkson University. They also have a rivalry with Union College.

Women's Ice Hockey

The women's ice hockey team moved to the NCAA Division I level in 2005. In the 2008–09 season, they won 19 games, a team record. On February 28, 2010, Rensselaer made NCAA history. They beat Quinnipiac 2–1 in five overtimes. This was the longest game in NCAA Women's Ice Hockey history.

Men's Lacrosse

The lacrosse team represented the United States in the 1948 Olympics in London. They won the Wingate Memorial Trophy as national college champions in 1952. Ned Harkness coached both the lacrosse and ice hockey teams. He won national championships in both sports.

Baseball

The Engineers baseball team is often at the top of the Liberty League standings. Eight players have gone on to play professionally. Four of them were chosen in the MLB draft. The team plays its home games at the historic Robison Field.

American Football

American rugby was played on campus in the late 1870s. College football started in 1886. RPI played its first game against Union College. Since 1903, RPI and Union have been football rivals. This is the oldest rivalry in New York State. The teams play for the Dutchman's Shoes trophy. RPI Football had its best season in 2003. They finished 11–2 and reached the NCAA Division III semifinal game.

Athletic Facilities

The Houston Field House is a 4,780-seat arena on the RPI campus. It opened in 1949. It is home to the RPI Engineers men's and women's ice hockey teams. It was renovated starting in 2007. The renovations included new locker rooms and a weight room. Solar panels were also installed on the roof to power the building.

As part of the Rensselaer Plan, RPI improved its athletic facilities. They built the East Campus Athletic Village. This included a new 4,842-seat football stadium and a basketball arena. It also has a new 50-meter pool, an indoor track, tennis courts, and weight rooms. The first phase of construction cost $78 million.

Student Life

RPI students have many clubs and organizations. About 170 of these are funded by the Student Union. Another thirty, mostly political and religious groups, support themselves. In 2006, Princeton Review ranked RPI second for "more to do on campus." The Union was the last entirely student-run union at a private university in the U.S. until 2017.

Phalanx is RPI's Senior Honor Society. It was founded in 1912. It recognizes students who show great leadership, service, and dedication to the university. Over 1,500 members have been inducted since it started.

RPI has about twenty intramural sports groups. These are for students who want to play sports for fun. Greek organizations and independent athletes compete in them. There are also thirty-nine club sports.

The Ski Club and Outing Club are popular groups. This is because RPI is close to the Berkshires, Green Mountains, and Adirondacks. The Ski Club offers weekly trips to ski areas in winter. The Outing Club offers weekly trips for various outdoor activities.

The Rensselaer Polytechnic is the student-run weekly newspaper. It used to print 7,000 copies each week. In 2018, it switched to online-only due to budget reasons. It gets all its money from selling advertisements. There is also a student-run magazine called Statler & Waldorf.

RPI has an improvisational comedy group called Sheer Idiocy. They perform several shows each semester. There are also several music groups. These include a cappella groups like the Rusty Pipes and the Rensselyrics. There are also instrumental groups like the orchestra and jazz band.

WRPI is the campus radio station. It broadcasts to a 75-mile area, including the greater Albany area. WRPI broadcasts on 91.5 FM.

The RPI Players is an on-campus theater group. It started in 1929. The Players perform at the 15th Street Lounge. This building used to be a USO hall for the U.S. Army. The Players have put on over 300 shows.

RPI Songs

There are several songs often played and sung at RPI events:

• "The Alma Mater (Here's to Old RPI)" – Sung at formal events like commencement. It is also played daily at noon by the quadrangle bell tower.
• "Hail, Dear Old Rensselaer" – This used to be the fight song in the 1960s. The Pep Band still plays it at sports events.
• "All We've Learned at Rensselaer" – Sung at RPI commencement ceremonies by the Rensselyrics.

First Year Experience and CLASS Programs

RPI has a "First-Year Experience" (FYE) program. New students start with a week called "Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond" (NRB). The FYE office offers programs for all students. These include family weekend and community service days. The FYE program won an award in 2006.

In 2008, the Division of Student Life updated its housing plan. This was based on "Clustered Learning Advocacy and Support for Students" (CLASS). It included a plan for all sophomores to live on campus. This program started in 2010.

NROTC

RPI's NROTC program trains students to become officers in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Students from RPI and Union College are part of this unit. The program officially started at RPI in September 1941. This was just before the U.S. entered WWII.

Since 1926, over 75 Naval Officers with RPI degrees have become flag officers. This is the largest number from any single institute besides the U.S. Naval Academy. Notable alumni from RPI NROTC include NASA Astronaut CDR Reid Wiseman. Also, RDML Lewis Combs, who founded the Navy Construction Battalion, known as the "Seabees."

Religious Clubs

RPI-Sage Hillel is a Jewish club for students from RPI and Russell Sage College. Hillel is part of a larger international organization. Its goal is to "Enrich the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world." Hillel meets on Fridays for services and has other activities.

Another religious club at RPI is Cru. This is a non-denominational Christian club. It holds worship on Fridays. Cru also has small group meetings and a book club. Cru was founded in 1951 by Bill and Vonette Bright. Its values are faith, growth, and fruitfulness.

History of Women at RPI

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was mostly for men for a long time. The first woman to apply was Elizabeth R. Bruswell in 1873. However, she did not attend. It was suggested it would not be comfortable for her as the only woman. Women were not allowed to enroll in classes until 1942.

First Women at RPI

Female Students

Camilla (Trent) Cluett, Elizabeth English, Helen Ketchum, Lois Graham, and Mary Ellen Rathbun were the first women to enroll in 1942. Lois Graham and Mary Ellen Rathbun were the first to graduate on April 22, 1945. Antoinette A. Patti was the first woman to receive a master's degree from RPI in 1947. Reva R. G. Servoss was the first woman to receive a doctoral degree in 1954.

Female Faculty

Miss Hazel Brennan was the first woman assistant instructor in chemistry in 1918. In 1919, Marie De Pierpont was hired as an instructor in French. She later became a professor and head of the language department in 1928. She was the first woman to hold a full professorship at RPI. It was 11 years later, in 1943, that another woman was hired as an instructor. Herta Regina Leng became a full professor in the Physics Department in 1966.

The percentage of women at RPI has improved over time. As of 2020, about 32% of students were women and 68% were men.

Notable Alumni

The Rensselaer Alumni Association says there are nearly 100,000 RPI graduates living in the United States. Another 4,378 live abroad. In 1995, the Alumni Association created the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame.

Many famous civil engineers from the 1800s graduated from RPI. These include:

• Theodore Judah, who had the idea for the transcontinental railroad.
• Washington Roebling, engineer for the Brooklyn Bridge.
• George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., who designed the first Ferris Wheel.
• Leffert L. Buck, chief engineer of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City.

Many RPI graduates have made important inventions:

• Allen B. DuMont ('24), who created the first commercial television and radar.
• Keith D. Millis ('38), who invented ductile iron.
• Ted Hoff ('58), known as the "father of the microprocessor."
• Raymond Tomlinson ('63), often credited with inventing e-mail.
• Steven Sasson, who invented the digital camera.
• Curtis Priem ('82), who designed the first graphics processor for PCs and co-founded NVIDIA.
• RPI Prof. Matthew Hunter, who invented a process to refine titanium in 1910.
• H. Joseph Gerber, who pioneered computer-automated manufacturing systems.

RPI graduates have also founded or co-founded major companies like John Wiley and Sons, Texas Instruments, Fairchild Semiconductor, Garmin, and Rivian.

Several RPI graduates have been part of the U.S. space program:

• George Low (B.Eng. 1948, M.S. 1950) was manager of the Apollo 11 project. He also served as president of RPI.
• Astronauts John L. Swigert Jr., Richard Mastracchio, and Gregory R. Wiseman are alumni.
• Space tourist Dennis Tito is also an alumnus.

Political figures who graduated from RPI include:

• Federal judge Arthur J. Gajarsa (B.S. 1962).
• Major General Thomas Farrell of the Manhattan Project.
• Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki of Jordan.

Notable ice hockey players include:

• NHL Hockey Hall of Famer Adam Oates (1985).
• Stanley Cup winner Mike McPhee (1982).
• Joé Juneau (1991).
• Daren Puppa (1985).

Other notable alumni include:

• 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Ivar Giaever (Ph.D. 1964).
• Rosalyn Scott (B.S. 1970), the first African American woman to become a thoracic surgeon.
• Jon Hall (M.S. 1977), director of Linux International.
• Myles Brand (B.S. 1964), former NCAA president.
• Lois Graham (B.S.ME 1946), the first woman to get an engineering degree from RPI. She was also the first woman in the U.S. to get a PhD in engineering.
• David Ferrucci, lead researcher on IBM's Watson/Jeopardy! project.
• Matt Patricia, former head coach for the Detroit Lions.
• Andrew Franks, former placekicker for the Miami Dolphins.
• Sean Conroy, the first openly gay professional baseball player.
• Prem Jain, known as the "Father of Green Buildings in India."

See also In Spanish: Instituto Politécnico Rensselaer para niños Association of Independent Technological Universities