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This Master’s in AI Program Is a Cross-University Collaboration. Here’s How Students Will Learn.
Elke Rundensteiner, the William Smith Dean's Professor of Computer Science and founding head of the WPI data science program, spoke with BestColleges about the university's new master's degree in artificial intelligence.
The Worcester Business Journal reported on WPI and the University of Massachusetts Lowell partnering to award more than $111,000 in seed funding to six different teams, focusing on work ranging from human-robot collaboration to cancer detection and rehabilitation for stroke patients.
In Iceland Project Center news, TV news station RUV interviewed Professors and project advisors Fred Looft (16:10, 17:46 marks) and Ingrid Shockey (16:57 mark) about the work students will be undertaking there related to transportation congestion. “They’ll be conducting surveys. I’m sure you’ll see our students around town,” Shockey told RUV.
The Telegram & Gazette’s College Town lead off with the news of WPI rolling out its bachelor’s degree program in data science. The article quoted Elke Rudensteiner, Data Science Program director, “As the availability of vast amounts of digital data increasingly impacts all facets of our daily lives, from health to business to entertainment, it is critical that we build a pipeline of programs to equip more students with the necessary skills for these 21st-century jobs,” she said.
Harold Walker, Schwaber Professor of Environmental Engineering, was interviewed for NPR affiliate WCAI about toxic algae blooms in Cape Cod ponds. In her on-air report, reporter Eve Zuckoff noted her conversation with Walker. “(Walker) basically said we’ve reached a point of high enough risk for ponds that the standard shouldn’t be ‘Is this unsafe?’ but rather, ‘Is there proof that this IS safe?’
WBZ radio interviewed Randy Paffenroth, associate professor of mathematical sciences, computer science, and data science, on his work to make NASA spacecraft lighter and more damage tolerant. “Any mission that NASA wants to do, they have to build spacecraft out of materials, and they want those materials to be stronger, to improve the safety of the spacecraft,” Paffenroth told WBZ. WPI, he said, helps make the materials even better.
WPI’s effort to help Worcester determine the city’s hottest areas was detailed in this Telegram & Gazette article. “Excessive heat is a public health threat, especially to people we’d describe as vulnerable,” said Associate Professor, IGSD, Seth Tuler, who is working on the project. He also noted that he hoped the project would provide “a more fine-grained understanding” of how that health threat is distributed across Worcester. WPI’s Global Lab was a project funder, the article added.
WBZ Radio featured WPI’s Fire Protection Engineering Lab, interviewing students and describing the research done there. “WPI boasts the largest fire lab in academia nationwide. They put the lab to good use doing a number of controlled burns over the course of the year,” WBZ reported.
IndiaWest newspaper reported on a new liquid biopsy chip developed by Balaji Panchapakesan, professor of mechanical engineering. The chip was designed to capture circulating tumor cells, making it possible for early-stage cancer detection.
The Worcester Business Journal announced that Casey Wall assistant dean/director of the Housing & Residential Experience Center, was named to its annual “40 Under 40” list.
In this front-page article, the Telegram & Gazette interviewed and photographed English Professor and internationally renowned Hendrix expert Joel Brattin. “When Hendrix’s guitar sings ‘bombs bursting in air,’ you hear not only the bombs, but you hear the cries of agony of the people on the ground who are experiencing those bombs,” Brattin told the T&G. “There’s a strong amount of political content, even if it’s nonverbal.”
An academic paper by Eleanor Loiacono, a professor in the Foisie Business School, and Data Science PhD student Huimin Ren was cited in a World Economic Forum article. (See link to paper below the video under header “Empowering neurodiversity in the digital workplace.”)
Mike Timko, associate professor of chemical engineering, did a Q&A with Advanced Science News about his renewable fuels research. The article also sites Mike's video, "A World Without Waste," which was submitted to the NSF's 2026 Idea Machine competition earlier this year.
WBZ Radio interviewed Balaji Panchapakesan, professor of mechanical engineering, on the chip he designed to capture circulating tumor cells, making it possible for early-stage cancer detection. “He says the chip could be revolutionary,” WBZ reported. “If we can detect it using this chip early detection, which is actually the key, we could actually save lives,” Panchapakesan said.
Ted Clancy, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Ziling Zhu, WPI PhD student, and Debra Latour, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Western New England University, spoke with Worcester News Tonight about developing wireless sensors to improve the performance of prosthetics for individuals with upper limb amputations.
The Worcester Business Journal is the latest to report on how Ted Clancy, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Xinming Huang, professor of electrical and computer engineering, are developing wireless sensors to improve the performance of prosthetics for individuals with upper limb amputations.
NBC Louisville reported on a new liquid biopsy chip developed by Balaji Panchapakesan, professor of mechanical engineering. The chip was designed to capture circulating tumor cells, making it possible for early-stage cancer detection.
An op-ed by Neil Heffernan, professor of computer science and director of Learning Sciences & Technologies, published by The 74 Million, discusses how sharing data can inform researchers whether education technology is actually working.
New England Cable News interviewed President Leshin about WPI alum Robert Goddard, known as the father of modern rocketry. “He was driven, he was a visionary, and he was not going to stop until he figured out how to get us beyond Earth,” Leshin told NECN, which aired a retrospective Saturday morning and evening, noting Goddard’s link to the university. The piece also included footage of the campus building where Goddard worked.
