Members of the RIT community lined up to sample more than 150 different food items at the Taste of RIT. Organizers say 1,130 people turned out for the annual kick-off to RIT's United Way campaign, hundreds more than have attended in years past. The 2001 event, considered by many to be the tastiest ever, also proved to be the most profitable, raising nearly $11,000.

A group of 17 girls, sophomores and juniors from seven Rochester-area high schools, explored possible future engineering studies when they shadowed RIT engineering students on March 23. As part of "Shadow Day," the girls also got an early taste of college life by staying overnight in Nathaniel Rochester Hall and attending classes. Participating in a variety of hands-on engineering activities, the girls seemed most impressed with the "clean room," where computer chips are manufactured, in RIT’s microelectronic engineering department. Shown above, Koh Kim, a Brighton High School sophomore, far left, and Elizabeth Ciminelli, an Aquinas High School junior, far right, work with RIT fifth-year mechanical engineering major Tera Waclawski on cars made from green peppers. "Shadow Day" was sponsored by RIT’s student chapters of the Society of Women Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Ken Hsu, professor of computer engineering, far left, greets Y.Y. Lee, deputy representative from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C., second from right, at a reception in the Fireside Lounge in RIT’s Student Alumni Union on March 21. The reception marked the opening of Taiwan Today, a three-day film and photography exhibit highlighting present-day Taiwan. Later that evening, Lee gave a presentation on democracy to an Ingle Auditorium audience of 200. Also shown are David Wu, second from left, and Sam Huang, both on the faculty of the University of Rochester. Huang is president of the Taiwanese Association of Rochester, a co-sponsor of theevent with the Taiwanese Student Association of RIT.

Clifford Janey, RIT’s new Minett Professor standing to the right, talks to Diane Barber, chief information officer, at his welcome reception on March 21. Janey, the Rochester city school district superintendent, is teaching a leadership class this quarter.

Constellation Brands CEO Richard Sands (second from left) accepts the 2001 Herbert W. VandenBrul Entrepreneurial Award, presented by RIT's College of Business (COB). Sands was honored for his innovative leadership, helping Constellation top $3 billion in annual gross sales. Joining Sands (from left to right) are RIT President Albert Simone, COB Dean Thomas Hopkins and Herbert W. VandenBrul.

Monroe County Executive Jack Doyle recently paid a visit to the RIT Research Corp., along with Rocco DiGiovanni, director, Department of Planning and Development, and Thomas Battley, manager of Economic Development as part of the Executive Outreach Program. After a tour of the facility, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIT, Doyle presented Research Corp. president Bill Trachtenberg with a plaque as a "Partner in Economic Development."

Lawrence Peckham, retired founder of LPA Software Inc. (now called Xelus Inc.), far left, visited RIT on March 21 for a presentation on entrepreneurship to approximately 75 students in Xerox Auditorium in the James E. Gleason Building. Peckham, a member of RIT’s Nathaniel Rochester Society and the advisory board for the computer engineering technology program, was joined at the talk by RIT trustee Christine Whitman, former chairman of CVC Inc. Following the presentation, Peckham and Whitman visited with students at a reception in the Gordon atrium, sponsored by the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.