In the News

Note: Some media outlets require users to log-in. The Gordon Library offers the WPI community free access to a number of newspapers. Visit newspaper database for details.  

Preview Graphic celebrating top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts

The Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts in 2024

President Grace J. Wang was named to the annual list which was featured in The Boston Globe Magazine as part of its Women & Power issue. The list was created by The Women’s Edge, a nonprofit that supports female business leaders, and celebrates the state’s leading companies and nonprofit organizations led by women. The group examined 2023 revenue or operating budget as well as other variables and ranked organizations according to its own formula. 

WalletHub

Farnoush Reshadi, assistant professor of marketing, provided analysis for a WalletHub article about the steps parents should take if they want to open a bank account for a child and how to teach kids about banking.

Telegram.com

New students participated in the traditional crossing of the Earle Bridge to mark their arrival on campus. "I really hold the traditions and the community of WPI really highly," Michaela Cluett, a senior from Charlton who serves as the president of WPI's Student Government Association, said.

Fortune

Rosanna Garcia, professor of innovation and entrepreneurship in The Business School, spoke with Fortune about how entrepreneurship-focused MBA programs help drill home an entrepreneurial mindset and the concert of "customer discovery."

 

Worcester Business Journal

The Worcester Business Journal named Theona Scola to its 40 under 40 list. Scola serves as a director of donor strategy and stewardship in the Division of University Advancement. The article outlines Scola's contributions to donor outreach efforts and service to WPI's Staff Council.

Worcester Business Journal

The Worcester Business Journal named Denis Brown to its 40 under 40 list. He serves as resident district manager for Chartwells Higher Education dining services at WPI. The article outlines his contributions including efforts to work with students to construct new meal plans.

 

Telegram.com

Dylan Shanes, an alumnus of the undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program, is featured in this Telegram & Gazette article on some of the region's first-time teachers.

 

 

Worcester Business Journal

New agreements with Mount Wachusett Community College and Middlesex Community College represent additional steps WPI has taken to encourage community college students to continue their STEM studies at WPI. Students who meet requirements at MWCC, MCC, and other regional community colleges who have agreements with WPI will be guaranteed admission to WPI.

Athol Daily News

A new agreement with Mount Wachusett Community College aims to provide pathways for students pursuing higher education in STEM fields. It seeks to facilitate and support the transfer of MWCC students into WPI's programs.

 

Telegram.com

For the first time this fall, the Great Problems Seminar, a program for first-year students, will feature two courses dedicated to understanding and thinking critically about artificial intelligence. The Telegram & Gazette highlighted one of the new courses: AI, Design, and Society. The course will provide a hands-on opportunity to build and use AI systems and to explore the history and future of AI. It will be co-taught by Sarah Stanlick, director of the Great Problems Seminar and assistant professor in the Department of Integrative and Global Studies, and Gillian Smith, director of the Interactive Media and Game Development Program and associate professor of computer science.

 

DesignNews

DesignNews reported on how using emerging technologies, including augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, can improve training for the workforce of the future. Robert Dempski, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, a member of the Interactive Media and Game Development program, and managing director of the Intentional Design Studio, discussed the demonstrated advantages of training tools he and his students are developing for laboratory safety and tool assembly.

Boston Guardian

Milosh Puchovsky, a professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, provided analysis for The Boston Guardian about the fire risks associated with batteries in e-bikes when they are charged improperly, stored incorrectly, or not up to industry safety standards.

Green Business Journal

The Green Business Journal in the United Kingdom reported on an analysis authored by faculty and PhD students in the Department of Chemical Engineering and researchers from the University of Bath. It found a simple and scalable technology could increase the viability of recycling products like food packaging and packing peanuts.

 

 

Inside Higher ED

Inside Higher Ed highlighted recent research by WPI researchers who looked into how syllabi can signal inclusivity in the classroom. The study, originally published in Nature's Humanities and Social Sciences Connections, was authored by Francesca Bernardi, Crystal Brown, Lindsay Davis, Michelle Ephraim, Rebecca Moody and Raisa Trubko. 

Live Science

Live Science explained the science behind the squeaking sounds of metal with the help of Robert Hyers, professor and department head of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at WPI. The article was also distributed through Yahoo! News and Inkl. 

Also featured in: Yahoo! News | Inkl
The Worcester Guardian

The Worcester Guardian reports WPI landed on College Raptor's 2025 "Best Colleges" rankings. These rankings, now in their tenth year, evaluate schools based on selectivity, financial health, academic rigor, and student success. WPI earned recognition as one of the top schools in the nation for AI, ranking 14th on the list.

Lowell Sun

At a ceremony on August 2, President Grace Wang and Middlesex Community College (MCC) President Phil Sisson signed an articulation agreement to provide a clear pathway for MCC students to transfer to WPI. "Graduates from this program will be well-prepared to contribute to the local economy, particularly in STEM fields that are vital to our region’s growth,” said Wang. “This initiative holds immense promise for both institutions and, most importantly, for the students who will benefit from it.”

Also featured in: The Bedford Citizen
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Milosh Puchovsky, professor of practice and associate head of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, provided analysis to the Las Vegas Review-Journal for its coverage of a fatal residential fire, and laws regarding retrofitting older buildings with fire protection equipment. Puchovsky discussed the benefits of sprinklers, including the additional time they provide residents to escape a fire.

Also featured in: Fire Engineering
GBH

Astronauts on the International Space Station will perform experiments for a study led by James Urban, assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering. A spacecraft carrying materials for the experiments was launched to the space station on August 4. Urban studies wildfires and believes the experiments in microgravity will provide insight on non-steady flame behavior and lead to better understanding of how wildfires spread on Earth. 

Worcester Business Journal

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is providing funding to Mehdi Mortazavi, associate teaching professor in the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering. The funding will support research to develop more efficient production of green hydrogen for use as fuel in heavy-duty transportation.  

Also featured in: Global Renewable News
Bangor Daily News

The Bangor Daily News and other media outlets reported on the results from a study by students at WPI's Acadia National Park, Maine Project Center in Bar Harbor. Students, as part of WPI's interactive qualifying project requirement and the Global Projects Program, have been collecting data on e-bike usage in the national park since 2019.