Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (/rɛnsəˈlɪər/; RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut, closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton for the "application of science to the common purposes of life" and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere.
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 |
| Accreditation | MSCHE |
Academic affiliations | |
| 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 | , , United States 42.7300°N 73.6775°W |
| Campus | Small city, 265 acres (107 ha) |
| Other campuses | |
| Newspaper | The Rensselaer Polytechnic |
| Colors | Cherry and white |
| Nickname | Engineers |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot |
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| Website | www |
I have established a school at the north end of Troy, in Rensselaer county, in the building usually called the Old Bank Place, for the purpose of instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life...
— Stephen van Rensselaer of Albany to Samuel Blatchford of Lansingburgh.
Built on a hillside, RPI's 265-acre (107 ha) campus overlooks the city of Troy and the Hudson River. The institute operates an on‑campus business incubator and the 1,250-acre (510 ha) Rensselaer Technology Park.
RPI is organized into six main schools which contain 37 departments, with emphasis on science and technology. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity". As of 2017, RPI's faculty and alumni included 6 members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 6 National Medal of Technology winners, 5 National Medal of Science winners, 8 Fulbright Scholarship recipients, and Nobel Prize winning engineer Ivar Giaever.