For 200 years, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been educating students who go on to become scholars, inventors, and engineers. The private college in Troy celebrated the historic milestone this weekend with a campus and community carnival.
Packing Anderson Field, food trucks, tents and tables, and a 70-foot Ferris wheel brought students together to take pride in their institution. After graduating in May, Reggie Durden is a first-year master’s student studying supply chain management. He was the first to sit down when the DJ beckoned students to hear from President Martin Schmidt.
“I just love what he brings to the school,” Durden said. “It's such a change from the previous his excitement, his energy, he's always around. So, if he's there for us, we gotta be there for him.”
Schmidt, formerly the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the 19th president of RPI. He succeeded Shirley Ann Jackson in 2022. Schmidt says the celebration serves as a reflection point.
“From the Brooklyn Bridge to the Ferris wheel to landing a man on the moon leading NASA's. And we'll have an astronaut here in a couple of weeks, who's going to fly around the moon next year. So, just a great time to be here and reflect on our history,” Schmidt said. “But also think about where, what are we going to do for the next 200 years?”
Founded in 1824, the private college, which was the first technological research university in the country, focuses on science and technology research.
George Ferris, an RPI grad and bridge builder, invented the Ferris wheel to out-Eiffel the famous Paris tower. Chris Letchford heads the school’s department of civil and environmental engineering. He says Ferris invented the wheel for the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
“Within 50 years of founding, we'd crossed the country with the transcontinental railway, and since then, we've been crossing the planet with microprocessors and all sorts of inventions, typically electronic for civil engineering, the Ferris wheel represents, typically, the first time we moved away from utilitarian bridges to amusement rides, something for people to enjoy rather than just use,” Letchford said.
Some carnival-goers were feeling lucky and filled up before taking a spin. Katherine Barney, a senior studying computational biology, was enjoying a gyro before tackling her fear of heights.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah, it's bussin’, it’s really yummy,” Barney said.
“Have you tried anything else here today?”
“No, just the gyro,” Barney said.
Students took selfies in front of the Ferris wheel, played cornhole, and mingled with classmates and faculty.
Bringing hip beats to the party was Kevin Krolik, better known as disc jockey Kev. He graduated from the college in 2012 with a degree in industrial and management engineering. Now, he is the director of the chapel and cultural center on campus. He says RPI was too good to leave.
“Seeing the outcome just like at events today, the campus community is very strong in community sense, students interact with faculty, interact with staff, building really strong community connections,” Krolik said. “And I saw that right away from my time being involved as a student and affinity grew into purchasing a home in Troy and having a job as a staff RPI and doing this for fun.”
And we couldn’t leave without taking a trip around the wheel. Gabby Irvin, a sophomore studying aerospace engineering, and Stephen Fajen, a senior studying biochemistry say they were most excited for the glut of food trucks.
“I tried a lot today, but I would like to try the tacos,” Irving said. “That sounds good.”
“Did you try anything?”
“Yeah, I had a pulled pork sandwich. Slider was pretty good from Slidin’ Dirty,” Fajen said. “And we had a whoopie pie as well. It's very good.”
“And did any of your professors cancel class so you could come here today?”
“Mine did not, but I only had one,” Irving said.
“Mine kind of did, was a review session, optional,” Fajen said.
