News
Come to our Open House to learn about majors & minors in Environmental Science and Geology (field trips! hands-on research! diverse career paths!). Meet faculty and students, ask questions, and find out how Earth and Environmental Sciences can complement your academic path.
Date
Sat, 11/14/2026 - 12:00
Location
JRSC 1W19
Microplastics Exhibit at Context Collective
95 4th Street, Troy
Through November 21, 2026
Artist Nicole Chockrek has been collecting plastic from the environment since 2022. This installation will bring together over 30,000 pieces of plastic collected through Microplastic recycling bins (including one in Troy). Over 50 RPI faculty and students have contributed to this installation by making a microplastic mosaic. Come find your contribution, or contribute yourself!
RPI Professor Karyn Rogers, director of the Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education Center, and graduate student Meri Herrero Perez are among the feature interviewees in the new PBS NOVA documentary Asteroids: Spark of Life?
Associate Professor Sasha Wagner, aboard the Alvin research submersible, sent a bit of “explosive” news from the East Pacific Rise in February 2025: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/science/deep-ocean-volcanic-eruption-pacific.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EE8.8kZg.367mj6Ktnugp&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Earth and Environmental Sciences grad students Meri Herrero, Samantha (Sam) Pryor, and Michael Hudgins are among those chosen as recipients of RPI’s Founders Award of Excellence, the highest honor given at the annual Honors Convocation ceremony held last month. The Founders Award of Excellence honors students who embody the qualities of creativity, discovery, and leadership, and the values of pride and responsibility at RPI.
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).
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has long been at the forefront of space exploration and discovery.
Although there is a large body of research on pests evolving tolerances for the pesticides meant to destroy them, there have been considerably fewer studies on how non-target animals in these ecosystems may do the same.
The Earth and Environmental Sciences Department is seeking graduate student applications. We have a rich geology, environmental science, and astrobiology program, as well as data science and geoinformatics. Applications submitted after the RPI deadline will still be considered - Follow this link to apply: https://admissions.rpi.edu/graduate/masters-and-phd-applicants
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute doctoral student Riley Barton has been selected as one of 87 outstanding graduate students in the United States by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program (SCGSR).
