WPI

WPI researchers in @WPI_Robotics Engineering dept. have developed a palm-sized drone that navigates through fog, smoke, and darkness using ultrasound sensors and AI — inspired by how bats echolocate. bit.ly/40X7E35 Published in @ScienceRobotics. Photo: Nitin J. Sanket

🤖 New WPI Podcast episode: What sparks a passion for robotics? Hear how K-12 programs get students building, coding, and dreaming—and how WPI is the natural next step. 🎧 Listen: bit.ly/wpi-podcast-32 #WPIPodcast #Robotics #STEM

WPI welcomes Jeffrey Bardzell as the new Dean of Arts & Sciences! A leader in AI, interdisciplinary research, and academic innovation, he brings a bold vision for the future of education. bit.ly/4stFcBU

🌍 400+ WPI students. 22 project centers. 6 continents. D-Term '26 is underway. From Namibia 🇳🇦 to Japan 🇯🇵 to Armenia 🇦🇲—students are designing mobile boat classrooms, building mining industry apps, and investigating AI tools for out-of-school youth. And this year? The Namibia Project Center turns 25. 🎉 bit.ly/3PrGYoJ

When students have to use new-to-them virtual reality or AI tech for their team projects, the Global Lab often lends a hand behind the scenes, offering training support and boosting confidence. 💡 Meet the lab behind the breakthrough: bit.ly/4sx4jEb

💧 Happy World Water Day! Water is personal for many in the WPI community — it’s what inspired one alum to build cleaner electric watercraft, and what drove WPI students to travel to the Andes to help a village access clean water. Our latest WPI Journal issue is full of stories grounded in that connection. 🔗 Read them here: bit.ly/4bGqfpa

Just sending a reminder that campus will look like this in a few weeks. 🌷 Happy first day of spring! #springtime

Professor Nikolaos Gatsonis, head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, provided insight for a @BostonGlobe article on the significant contributions Robert Goddard, class of 1908, made to the advancement of space exploration. Gatsonis explained how many of Goddard's discoveries are critical elements of modern rockets. bit.ly/4uIHrDa

Tonight's University Lecture, “Launching the Next 100 Years: Industry, Innovation & the Future of Space,” will feature a panel discussion with leaders from industry, research, and finance discussing how emerging technologies, public-private partnerships, and visionary thinking will shape the future of space travel. Join us for a special University Lecture commemorating the 100th anniversary of Robert H. Goddard’s historic rocket launch: bit.ly/4rABg11.

Richard Lopez, assistant professor of neuroscience and psychology in the Department of Social Science & Policy Studies, was interviewed live on KTVU Fox in San Francisco about the impact of AI and chatbots on children's brain development. Lopez noted that there has been a shift from an "attention economy," in which technology companies capitalize on people's attention, to an "attachment economy" in which those companies target children's need for attachment and belonging. Lopez advises parents to limit exposure to AI and chatbots until late middle school or high school and explain to children how the tools work and how they should be used: bit.ly/3PecO8n.

Innovation often begins with one bold experiment. On March 16, 1926, Robert H. Goddard ’08 launched the first successful liquid-fueled rocket—an achievement that changed the future of space exploration. This National Goddard Day, we honor the visionary engineer and Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumnus whose work helped launch the modern space age. 🚀

WPI is celebrating the accomplishments of our alum Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, with a variety of events to pay tribute to his history-making rocket launch 100 years ago. Read more via @WBUR bit.ly/4scUf30

A desire to explore the universe drives Alexandra Van Gelder to study aerospace engineering and astrophysics, and lead WPI’s High Power Rocketry Club 🚀 She spoke with @worcestermag about how designing and building rockets with classmates exemplifies overcoming obstacles. #rocketry #Goddard #space bit.ly/4ls6YMo

The Goddard century: Launching dreams in aerospace research telegram.com/story/lifestyl… @MegSmith_Writer @WPI

When Robert H. Goddard ’08 helped launch the age of modern rocketry, Esther C. Goddard helped ensure the world would remember it. For decades, she carefully preserved his research, edited his journals, and championed the legacy of one of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s most influential alumni: bit.ly/4dau5sP. #WomensHistoryMonth #Goddard

WPI chemical engineering researchers and @uakron are studying a new technology that seeks to increase the rate of plastics recycling by overcoming challenges with existing processing methods. Learn more in @Plastics_Mag bit.ly/40toq9N

100 years ago this month, Class of 1908 alum Robert Goddard launched the space age 🚀 A new episode of The WPI Podcast explores the impact of his historic 1926 rocket launch as well as connections between modern WPI aerospace propulsion research and Goddard’s early work. Listen now! bit.ly/3NxBrwb 🔊 #Goddard #SpaceExploration #Aerospace

Peter Hansen, professor of history in the Department of Humanities and Arts and director of the International and Global Studies program, is featured in an episode of the Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures podcast, hosted by the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Want to hear what he had to say? Learn more: bit.ly/4biW4nC. @univofstandrews

New at Worcester Polytechnic Institute: BS in Marketing Analytics and BS in Business Analytics & Applied AI Two new programs preparing students for a business world powered by data, analytics, and AI. Because the future of work belongs to those who can turn data into decisions. bit.ly/4bec36i