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LATEST WPI NEWS
- WPI Faculty Awarded $600,000 Carnegie Corporation Grant for “Mapping Global China”WPI faculty members Jennifer Rudolph, historian of modern China and professor in humanities and arts, and Lane Harrison, data visualization expert and associate professor in computer science, have received a $600,000, two-year International Peace and Security Program grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to advance an international project called Mapping Global China, with collaborator Maria Adele Carrai, assistant professor of Global China Studies at New York University Shanghai. Mapping Global China aims to help people better understand China’s expanding role on the world stage by creating an open-access digital platform that integrates curated datasets, interactive maps, and advanced data visualization. By combining qualitative and quantitative data, the initiative enables scholars, policymakers, educators, and students to explore how China’s global engagements intersect with local contexts and impact global structures. This innovative, interdisciplinary approach brings together expertise in history, law, economics, cartography, and geography with WPI’s strengths in computer science and data visualization to provide accessible, unbiased resources that help reposition understanding of China both within and outside of its state borders. “Mapping Global China is designed to provide a clearer, more nuanced understanding of China’s global presence,” said Rudolph. “By allowing users to access integrated and reliable data sets to create tailored maps that advance significant research questions, the site supports informed decision-making for scholars and policymakers worldwide.” The grant also supports extensive student and faculty involvement at WPI. Harrison and Rudolph are leading a collaborative effort that includes advising two Major Qualifying Project (MQP) student teams, co-advised by Diane Strong, professor in WPI’s Business School, and incorporating into the site a story map on Confucius Institutes developed by a WPI Chinese Studies minor with assistance of the Global Lab. In January 2026, a WPI PhD student in computer science will join the project to incorporate cutting-edge machine learning and visualization technologies to take the project and the field to new levels. A second advanced WPI PhD student in computer science will join in year two of the grant. In addition to the interactive digital platform that will allow users to create their tailored maps, the project will produce a collected volume, Global China: Histories, Methods, Encounters, co-edited by Rudolph and Carrai, as well as an atlas. The Mapping Global China initiative also includes themed working groups, research briefs, story maps, and interviews with experts on various aspects of China’s global impact.
- WPI Researchers Send Experiment to Space Aboard Blue Origin SpacecraftEquipment from the lab of Jamal Yagoobi is prepared for launch aboard a Blue Origin spacecraft. A WPI experiment focused on a new way to prevent electronics from overheating flew into space Sept. 18, 2025, aboard a Blue Origin spacecraft, giving researchers led by Jamal Yagoobi a critical opportunity to advance their technology by testing it in zero-gravity and multi-gravity settings. The uncrewed suborbital flight lasted just over 10 minutes, including slightly more than three minutes of weightlessness, and carried more than 40 scientific and research payloads. Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft blasted off and landed at a site near El Paso, Texas, while Yagoobi, the George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering, watched a live webcast of the flight in his Multi-Scale Heat Transfer (MHT) Laboratory with students who had worked on the WPI experiment. “Many people, including students and collaborators at NASA, deserve credit for working hard on this project during the years leading up to this mission,” says Yagoobi. “The results of our experiment aboard the flight confirm that our design can significantly reduce the surface temperatures of electronics in zero-gravity and much higher gravity conditions. Because of the excellent results we obtained, we are very close to commercializing our electrohydrodynamic cooling technology, as our project has reached a new level of maturity as designated by NASA’s Technology Readiness Level.” The project, funded by NASA, sought to address an out-of-this-world challenge that could have implications for future spaceships and satellites. On Earth, liquids boil upon encountering hot objects, and vapor carries away the heat, making boiling a liquid an efficient way to cool heated items. However, in space, where there is no gravity, vapor bubbles cannot rise from a boiling liquid and heat does not dissipate effectively or at all. To enable heat transfer in small spaces to avoid overheating, Yagoobi and his team adopted an electrohydrodynamic approach.
- WPI and MCPHS Expand Longstanding Partnership with New Degree PathwaysWorcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), two nationally recognized institutions with complementary strengths in health science and biomedical engineering, are expanding their academic partnership with new degree pathways. Building on a long-standing relationship, this new agreement creates streamlined pathways for students to pursue advanced degrees across disciplines such as pharmacy and biomedical engineering—while remaining immersed in Worcester’s thriving academic and innovation ecosystem. The expanded partnership promotes collaborations of mutual interest and benefit and formalizes a series of articulated degree programs that will allow qualified undergraduate students from one institution to seamlessly transition into graduate programs at the other. These pathways are designed to help students accelerate their education, broaden their career prospects, and contribute to the evolving landscape of healthcare, life sciences, and technology. Students graduating from WPI with degrees in biology, chemistry, or related STEM fields will now have streamlined access to advanced degrees at MCPHS, including the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. Similarly, MCPHS students completing degrees in molecular biology, biotechnology, or pharmacy will be able to pursue graduate-level studies at WPI in biomedical engineering. The agreement comes at a pivotal moment, as interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration are increasingly essential to addressing global challenges. With Worcester emerging as a regional hub for biotechnology, medical research, and advanced manufacturing, WPI and MCPHS are uniquely positioned to train professionals who will drive innovation and improve lives. “By creating clear, cross-institutional pathways that connect WPI’s strengths in biomedical engineering with MCPHS’s expertise in pharmacy and health sciences, we are preparing students to advance from rigorous undergraduate programs into specialized graduate study,” said WPI President Grace Wang. “These programs will produce highly skilled professionals ready to make real impact, from leading breakthrough medical research to developing innovative biotech and pharmaceutical solutions that improve health and fuel the growth of the life sciences economy.” “Through this agreement, this partnership reflects the spirit of collaboration that defines Worcester’s higher education ecosystem. MCPHS is proud to strengthen our long-standing partnership with WPI, creating new opportunities for students to seamlessly advance their education and careers at the intersection of healthcare, life sciences, and technology,” said Richard Lessard, president of MCPHS. The degree pathways feature clearly defined academic journeys, streamlined admissions processes, and personalized advising from faculty and admissions liaisons at both institutions. Students will benefit from an efficient transition between institutions to study in the heart of Worcester, a city rich with opportunity, innovation, and a strong sense of community. Students enrolled in these programs must meet GPA and course prerequisites, and final admissions decisions will be handled by the relevant program at each institution. Details for each program pairing will be available on the WPI and MCPHS websites, ensuring transparency and consistency. This agreement reflects a shared mission to empower students, support workforce development in the region, and strengthen the city’s position as a center of academic and professional excellence.
LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Project Advising 101 Series: Responding to Student WritingTuesday, November 18, 2025 12 pm - 1 pm CC: Mid-Century Room In this workshop, participants will review several styles of written commentary, considering how the type, placement, and quantity of comments on student drafts can affect their revision and learning. Participants will learn and practice with a “reader-based” approach that has the potential to: 1) Reduce the time you spend marking student papers 2) Model for your students how to better anticipate and respond to a reader's needs 3) Help your students become less dependent on your editing and directive feedback This workshop is one component of our Project Advising 101 program for faculty new to IQP and MQP advising. The workshop is equally helpful to faculty teaching writing-intensive courses in any discipline, as well as faculty working with graduate students on theses and journal articles. All are welcome to attend! Please register by Tuesday, November 11th, so we can finalize the headcount for lunch.
- Registration is open for Intro to Mindfulness Meditation in B-TermMIEA Intro to Mindfulness is a four-week evidence-based mindfulness curriculum the Center for Well-Being is offering to WPI employees and graduate students at no cost. Registration is now open for the in-person program that runs Tuesdays, 4:00 to 5:15 PM, Nov 11 to Dec 2. Register here
- "Currents of Change" Exhibit Kickoff NOVEMBER 3rd, 3-5pmJoin WPI Archives & Special Collections in celebration of the new 2025-2026 Gladwin Gallery exhibit, "Currents of Change: Electrical & Computer Engineering at WPI from the Dawn of the Electric Age to Present Day". This event will be hosted on the ground floor of George C. Gordon Library on Monday, November 3rd from 3-5pm. It is a casual drop-in/drop-out style gathering with a brief welcome and short program led by ECE faculty at the start. After the introduction, attendees will be welcome to explore the exhibit and some interactive elements on their own. Light refreshments provided. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and guests are welcome. Registration preferred. Please email archives@wpi.edu with any additional questions.