RPI History Revealed

Posted by John Dojka on April 23, 2008
Every month or so, I select an image to feature on our home page, and today I chose a picture of the 1948 lacrosse team. The fun fact about this team is that they represented the United States in a demonstration game against England in the 1948 Summer Olympics. So the match was essentially RPI vs. England.
Posted by John Dojka on April 11, 2008
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for another round of Mystery Image! There is still a thick folder of unidentified photographs on my desk so let's get to it! My best guess about this prof is that he is/was in the School of Engineering.  I like the self-satisfied, arms crossed pose. Do you recognize him? If so, click on Comments and ring in —  wait, that's another show —  type in?!
Posted by John Dojka on April 9, 2008
There are several centennials to mark this year at RPI, so I've been doing a lot of research in the period 1907 to 1909. I just installed a new exhibit in the Folsom Library titled Russell Sage Laboratory 100 Years: A Glance Back at the Beginning. One hundred years ago this month, ground was broken for the construction of Russell Sage Laboratory. Funding for the new building was made possible through a $1 million gift from Margaret Olivia Sage.
Posted by Amy the Archivist on March 28, 2008
Grand Marshal Week is just ahead and the campus is covered in campaign signs. This past week, while looking through a scrapbook compiled by Dwinel French Thompson, I found a few news clippings regarding GM week during the 1870s.
Posted by John Dojka on March 4, 2008
Every RPI student and alum has invariably heard the term "'Tute Screw" often used metaphorically and also embodied as an actual object. No one knows who coined the term or how long it has been in use, but the object itself has a documented origin. In the Fall of 1949, Sigma Phi Epsilon awarded the first 'Tute Screw in a ceremony on the '87 Field. Three hooded fraternity brothers known as "The Order of the Royal Screw" presented the "trophy" to the freshmen class.
Posted by John Dojka on February 8, 2008
This photograph has been kicking around my desk for some time. The house looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I showed it to my colleagues and they also remembered seeing it before — but where?
Posted by John Dojka on January 16, 2008
Who is this corn cob pipe-smoking, bow tie-wearing professor at the typewriter?
Posted by John Dojka on January 4, 2008
Here's a question about RPI's alma mater -- did the lyrics include the first few digits of pi? The answer is no, but there was a cheer that included it along with some other math lingo. Do you know it? E to the X - DY -DX E to the X - DX cosine, secant, tangent, sine, 3 - point - 1 - 4 - 1 - 5 - 9 square root, cube root, log of pi, DISINTEGRATE THEM, RPI!
Posted by John Dojka on December 21, 2007
Do you know this professor? Can you identify any of the formulas on the blackboard?
Posted by Amy the Archivist on December 1, 2007
This blog is published and maintained by the archivists in the Institute Archives and Special Collections at Rensselaer and reveals almost two centuries of history in the making. Through images, artifacts, documents and memorabilia housed in the Archives  the archivists strive to continually highlight bits of information that pertain to the cultural and social landscape of the Institute by putting a name to a face, locating a building, describing an object or getting the full story behind events, traditions or incidents.
Back to top