Definition of Rensselaer polytechnic institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a nonsectarian, coeducational private research university in Troy, New York, a city lying just outside the state capital of Albany. It was founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer for the "application of science to the common purposes of life", and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. The institute is known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace.