Who is this man? What is he looking at? What is he doing? I think documentation meets artistic license, but my colleague thinks she knows things about the image and the gentleman depicted that might challenge my subjective interpretation. Our student assistant has offered a scientific perspective.

As many of you know, the main publication on the RPI campus is the Rensselaer Polytechnic.  But did you know why the Polytechnic was revived in 1885, after being out of publication for nearly fifteen years? I stumbled across the answer to this question while completing my first project as an intern here at RPI, digitizing nineteenth century student newspapers.

 “I remember my first chemistry professor…he was in the front of the class of course, and he said, ‘This reminds me of classes I had’--and he mentions where he was at the time--because that was co-ed. Here I am right in the middle of the first row with about…sixty fellows.”

The construction of the Main Building in 1864 marked the beginning of the steady expansion of Rensselaer’s campus up the hill on Troy’s eastern edge. There were two exceptions: the Gymnasium (the subject of our December 3 post) built just below the Main Building in 1887 and the lesser known Alumni Building erected on Second Street next to the Troy Savings Bank in 1893.

The Institute Archives wishes everyone a happy Spirit Day at Rensselaer. 

The staff of the Institute Archives is pleased to announce the digitization of back issues of RPI’s student newspaper, The Rensselaer Polytechnic.  As of January 2014, 121 volumes (1869, 1885-2001) are fully searchable in the library’s digital repository.  That’s roughly 2,800 issues, for a total of over 41,000 pag

It's time for another mystery image! I realized this morning that we haven't posted anything bewildering in quite a while. Who is the man in the photo? Can anyone tell us about that specimen he seems to be focusing on?

Lately we’ve been reviewing our collections for information about the era in which the first women students were admitted to Rensselaer.  This occurred in the fall of 1942, after the United States entered World War II, as industries clamored for female engineers to help replace men called

Following the Great Troy Fire of 1862, which completely destroyed Rensselaer’s physical plant, all of the Institute’s new buildings moved steadily east up the hill overlooking the city and Hudson River.

Today is the 189th birthday of Rensselaer and weR: The Spirit of Rensselaer Society had a fabulous idea - to serve cake in front of the Troy Building!