Invited speakers present current research on a variety of topics relating to physics and astronomy; the departmental colloquium is generally held weekly. The talks are open to all members of the RPI community.

Robert Resnick was a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and headed the interdisciplinary science curriculum. He authored and co-authored seven textbooks on relativity, quantum physics, and general physics, translated into more than 47 languages. Resnick believed that physics could make all other knowledge more meaningful. He said, “We’ve humanized the scientist; now we must scientize the humanist. We didn’t try to cover physics...we uncovered it.”

The first woman faculty member in science at Rensselaer, was recognized as outstanding and gifted teacher who inspired many undergraduates to go on to graduate school.

Jeff Kodosky received a BS degree in Physics from Rensselaer in 1970. He is Co‐founder, Director, and Fellow at National Instruments, a leading developer and manufacturer of integrated software and hardware for engineers and scientists. LabVIEW, cocreated by Kodosky, is the industry‐standard graphical programming environment for measurement and automation.  Jeff is a Trustee of Rensselaer since 2002. Gail is a native of Troy, NY and is a retired administrative assistant.