Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Frank Spear, Ph.D., professor of earth and environmental sciences and Edward Hamilton Distinguished Educator Chair, is the 2024 recipient of the Walter H. Bucher Medal from the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The medal is presented annually to a “senior scientist in recognition of original contributions to the basic knowledge of crust and lithosphere.” It is considered a recognition of lifetime achievement.

Recently, RPI’s Richard Bonocora, Ph.D., senior lecturer in biological sciences, joined 29 other international participants for the Spaceflight Technology, Applications and Research (STAR) program. STAR is “a virtual NASA training for space biosciences.” The program, which will run until February, will give Bonocora an overview of the current topics in space biology, how to conduct an experiment in space and all of the unique considerations, and provide unique collaborative opportunities. He plans to share his new knowledge across campus with fellow faculty members as well as students. “I’m excited to gain knowledge through the STAR program that can help my students in many fields pursue these exciting opportunities,” said Bonocora.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Fengyan Li, Ph.D., professor of mathematical sciences, has been selected as a 2025 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). AWM Fellows demonstrate a sustained commitment “to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.”

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Gwo-Ching Wang, Ph.D., Travelstead Institute Chair, is the 2025 recipient of the Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics from the American Physical Society (APS). Wang is being honored for “pioneering contributions to the development and use of electron diffraction techniques to study surfaces, growth-front ordering, and two-dimensional materials.”

In ancient Greek mythology, the hero Theseus is famous for cleverly solving a labyrinth and defeating the Minotaur at its center. That story, as well as a famous maze experiment from the history of machine learning, is the inspiration for a new generative AI tool that helps researchers navigate the domain of computer modeling. 

A research study led jointly by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s (RPI) Gaetano Montelione, Ph.D., Professor and Constellation Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; and David Baker, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, HHMI investigator, and the director of the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington School of Medicine; describes a systematic high-throughput design approach for virtual screening and creation of novel polypeptide-based molecules that form regular secondary structures that can be used in biology or materials science research. Baker was recently named a co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the emerging field of de novo protein design.