Featured Post from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Leading Game Designer Lists Top Ten Board Game Suggestions While Stuck at Home

Mar 31, 2020

1 min

Maurice Suckling is more qualified than just about anyone to recommend the best board games for families, couples, and others stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.


A professor of practice in the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he teaches about game writing, board games as storytelling, and games as historical simulations. He has credits on over 50 published video games and is also a published board game designer. His most recent board game, Chancellorsville: 1863, is in production with Worthington Publishing and will be released later in 2020. 


Instead of relying on old standbys like Monopoly and Risk, the choices on Suckling’s list range from cooperative games such as the aptly-named Pandemic Legacy: Season 1, where you rip up cards and put stickers on the board that continue to affect subsequent rounds, to role-playing games you can play together or solo like Legacy of Dragonholt, to games for families with children of all ages. Suckling’s picks reflect the transformation of the board game industry into a dynamic sector valued at over $12 billion.


Suckling’s bio: https://news.rpi.edu/expert?expert=maurice.suckling


Suckling can speak about the game industry as a whole and about how board games bring people together.


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2 min

Gates Foundation to Fund RPI Research to Develop Low-Cost Monoclonal Antibody Treatments

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2 min

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Launches New Quantum Computing Minor to Prepare Next Generation of Quantum Professionals

The School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has launched a new minor in quantum computing, positioning students at the forefront of one of the most rapidly developing fields in technology. The minor leverages RPI's unique status as the first university in the world to house an IBM Quantum System One on campus, providing students with unprecedented access to utility-scale quantum computing technology. The minor, which is now available to all currently enrolled students, requires four courses drawn from physics, computer science, mathematics, and engineering. The curriculum provides both theoretical foundations and practical exposure to quantum hardware and software, and gives students a leg up in a field rapidly approaching quantum advantage — the point at which quantum systems outperform classical computing approaches on meaningful tasks. "The quantum computing minor will augment the training of RPI students with insight into an emerging technology that will reshape industries from pharmaceuticals to artificial intelligence," said Steven Tait, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Science. "With direct access to the IBM Quantum System One, our students will gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools that are not yet widely available. This minor equips them with the interdisciplinary foundation needed to understand and contribute to quantum-enabled innovation." The minor arrives at a pivotal moment in quantum computing's evolution. IBM's demonstration of quantum utility in 2023 marked the beginning of an era in which quantum systems serve as scientific tools to explore complex problems in chemistry, physics, and materials science — areas where quantum advantage offers transformative potential. Hannah Xiuying Fried, graduating this December, is one of the first students to declare the minor. “I'm not a physics or computer science major, so it allows me an accredited way to prove a relevant background to future employers,” she said. “It prepares me for graduate school where I plan to continue pursuing quantum hardware research.” Currently enrolled students may declare the minor now and pursue it alongside their established degree programs. Interested students should contact Chad Christensen at sciencehub@rpi.edu.

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