Rensselaer is America’s oldest technological research university, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology and web science, architecture, management, and the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The university offers degrees from five schools: Engineering; Science; Architecture; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and the Lally School of Management; as well as an interdisciplinary degree in Information Technology and Web Science.

Rensselaer offers more than 145 programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Students are encouraged to work in interdisciplinary programs that allow them to combine scholarly work from several departments or schools. The university provides rigorous, engaging, interactive learning environments and campus-wide opportunities for leadership, collaboration, and creativity.

Driven by talented, dedicated, and forward-thinking faculty, Rensselaer has dramatically expanded the research enterprise by leveraging our existing strengths and focusing on five signature research areas: biotechnology and the life sciences; energy and the environment; computational science and engineering; nanotechnology and advanced materials; and media, arts, science, and technology.

The Institute is especially well-known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

Identification and Mitigation of T-S Waves Using Localized Dynamic Surface Modification

Influence of the bluff body shear layers on the wake of a square prism in a turbulent flow

Synthetic jets

Professor Amitay's research interests are in developing active flow control techniques with applications in aeronautical/mechanical systems. He conducts state-of-the-art experiments to understand the flow physics of 3-D flow fields and the interaction of flow control actuators with these flows.

Active and Passive Flow Control

Experimental Aerodynamics

Aeronautical Systems

Active Flow Control Techniques

3-D Flow Physics

Mechanical Systems

Experimental Fluid Dynamics

Faculty Profile Page

Center for Flow Physics and Control

Harnessing the Wind with Jets of Air

Miki Amitay, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Expanding Wind Energy

RPI Professor Develops Aerodynamic Technology for Businesses

air-flow-expert-working-to-make-sure-new-jet-fighters-take-flight-and-land-safely

Director, Center for Flow Physics and Control & James L. Decker ’45 Endowed Chair Professor in Aerospace Engineering

The next generation of jet fighters are being designed to be both stealthy and high-speed and, as part of this makeover, their geometry will be unique and won’t include a vertical tail. The new design will improve the aircraft’s maneuvering, minimalize its visibility, and improve its overall performance — but it will also decrease the aircraft’s performance during takeoff and landing.

Miki Amitay, an endowed professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer and the director of the Center for Flow Physics and Control (CeFPaC), is an expert in this type of problem.

With the support of a new grant from the Office of Naval Research, Amitay and his team will use their extensive knowledge of flow physics to determine how air flow will affect these new jet fighters and how that flow can be manipulated or changed for optimal operation.

More specifically, the team will use state-of-the-art wind and water tunnels within CeFPaC to research the flow physics associated with this new plane geometry and then explore options for mitigating difficult flow conditions during takeoff and landing. Those options can’t include changing the shape of the plane itself, so the researchers will employ active flow techniques they have developed.

For example, Amitay has developed almost weightless actuators that can electrically generate a strong jet — called a synthetic jet — that pushes out puffs of air in such a way that it helps control the flow of air around various parts of the aircraft at specific and optimal times.

Amitay is available to talk about the flow physics associated with aircraft flight and new technologies — like his synthetic jet — that can improve performance, efficiency, and safety. 


Air Flow Expert Working to Make Sure New Jet Fighters Take Flight — and Land — Safely

It's windy in here. It's not just us. In this episode of Innovation Hall, we visited @RPI's Center for Flow Physics and Control, where we checked out some aeronautics research underway there that uses small jets of air to reduce turbulence around wind turbine blades. The idea is that this will make them more efficient and less prone to breaking, which means harnessing more energy from the wind.

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