[1] In 1820, Columbia appointed Renwick professor of natural philosophy, a position he held until 1854.

In 1838, the U.S. government appointed him one of the commissioners to explore the line of the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, which was settled in 1842 by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

His textbooks, Outlines of Natural Philosophy (1822), Elements of Mechanics (1832), and First Principles of Chemistry (1840) were among the first works of their kind published in the United States.

[3] Renwick was responsible for the idea and initial design of the inclined planes on the Morris Canal.

[5] Renwick married in 1816 Margaret Anne Brevoort (1791–1868), from a wealthy and socially prominent New York family.