Campus Spotlight
9/28/2012
Shop One˛ is a fine art and craft gallery representing RIT affiliated artists including students, faculty, staff and alumni. Today, sculptor Susan Ferrari-Rowley ’81 launches her Angular Extremes bracelet collection from 4–7 p.m.
9/27/2012
Amanda Bao, an assistant professor in the College of Applied Science and Technology’s civil engineering technology/environmental management and safety program, was one of several faculty who presented work-in-progress at the Research Seed Funding in Action event hosted by Sponsored Research Services on Sept. 27. She discussed her research about dynamic soil-structure interaction on bridges to facilitate sustainable design. Her studies will help determine bridge structural capabilities subject to seismic loads, blasts and strong winds.
9/26/2012
RIT’s Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services hosted the Fall 2012 Career Fair on Sept. 26 in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The fair, which had a record number of 250 employers in attendance, also attracted a groundbreaking 3,235 students and alumni, which exceeded initial estimates.
9/25/2012
Dangerous Signs, a performance poetry group from the NTID Masquers Drama Club, has a unique blend of African-American, deaf and original poetry mixed with dance, music, mime and the spoken word.
9/24/2012
RIT students participated in Mud Tug 2012, the annual all out tug-of-war tournament held behind Grace Watson Hall on Sept. 22. RIT unofficially broke the world record with 1,647 tuggers.
9/24/2012
Al Biles, professor of interactive games and media, played his unique brand of technology-inspired music at the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival on Sept. 22.
9/24/2012
RIT/NTID Dance Company performed AstroDance at the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival on Sept. 22. The dance was conceived and choreographed by Thomas Warfield, director of the RIT/NTID dance program.
9/24/2012
Barnes & Noble @ RIT hosted a meet-and-greet with the RIT women’s hockey team on Sept. 22 to benefit RIT’s chapter of the Fight to Be Healed Foundation. The foundation offers support to pediatric cancer patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital.
9/22/2012
“Spirits Within,” a collaboration among Eastman School of Music professor Stephen Kennedy, dancers from FuturPointe Dance Company and RIT professor Marla Schweppe’s 3-D Digital Design students, was performed during the Rochester Fringe Festival on Sept. 21.
9/21/2012
RIT’s state-of-the-art “green” facility, Golisano Institute for Sustainability, will serve as a center for sustainability research, technology transfer, education and outreach and will provide a showcase for green construction and design.
9/20/2012
Isaiah Thomas himself made a surprise appearance at the 2012 Isaiah Thomas Awards honoring the American Antiquarian Society, a national research library that Thomas founded. He gave an impassioned history lesson on his life during the colonial period. He said: “It was in Nova Scotia that I first began fighting for the rights each American holds as inalienable. First I rallied against the Stamp Act and then later back in Boston for independency from Great Britain. My printing establishment was called the “sedition foundry.” In 1770, I began publishing a new newspaper for the middling class, entitled the Massachusetts Spy. It soon became the most widely read paper in all the colonies! In it I published the first eyewitness accounts of the battles of Lexington and Concord. I have always believed in a free and unfettered press. Should the liberty of the press be once destroyed, farewell the remainder of our invaluable rights and privileges!”
9/20/2012
RIT Provost Jeremy Haefner presented Ellen Dunlap, president of the American Antiquarian Society, with the 2012 Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing during a ceremony Sept. 20 in Worcester, Mass. The award is given annually to a person or an organization for outstanding contributions to the industry. Currently celebrating the 200th anniversary of its founding by the patriot printer and publisher Isaiah Thomas himself, the American Antiquarian Society is dedicated to preserving the legacy and advancing the mission of its founder. Its vast and highly accessible collection of history, literature and cultural documents spans the life of America’s people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Thomas (in back) made an appearance at the event.
9/20/2012
The Little Theatre (240 East Ave.) is the home venue for RIT during the inaugural First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival Sept. 19-23. Theatre, film, dance, music and art are among the offerings by RIT students and faculty. Gallery r, Christ Church and The Little Theater will feature presentations. For a complete list of RIT performances, go to www.rit.edu/fringefest. For more on the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival, go to www.rochesterfringe.com.
9/19/2012
The Fall Community Service Fair took place on Sept. 19 in the Student Alumni Union lobby. Nonprofit agencies from the Rochester area provided students, faculty and staff with information on the types of services they provide and the volunteer opportunities available. Here, Emma Griffith, a fourth-year marketing student, learns about Foodlink from volunteer coordinator Tim Scott.
9/18/2012
RIT students have partnered with residents in Rochester’s Marketview Heights neighborhood to create several gardens throughout the community. Through the University/Community Partnerships program in the College of Liberal Arts, RIT students educate neighborhood children about proper nutrition, where their food comes from, the benefits of growing their own food, and musical and artistic expression in the garden. In addition, all of the food cultivated in the garden is free to community residents. Here, RIT alumnus Cameron Hebda ’12 takes pride in educating youngsters about healthy eating. To read more, go to www.rit.edu/news/athenaeum_story.php?id=49344.
9/17/2012
Taylor Deer, a fourth-year management student from Williamsville, N.Y., will lead the student community as the newly elected RIT Student Government President.
9/14/2012
Among RIT’s contributions to the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival is AstroDance, a series of pieces related to astrophysics and the phenomenon of black holes. From left are Joseph Fox; Thomas Warfield, director of the NTID Dance Ensemble; and Nicholas Shaw. The festival runs Sept. 19-23 with AstroDance performing at 6 p.m. Sept. 22 at The Little Theatre. For more information on the festival, go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49378.
9/13/2012
The College of Liberal Arts’ Kern Lecture Series presented a talk on Sept. 13 by Jonathan Clancy, program director and American fine and decorative art faculty member at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Clancy presented “Crafting Modernism(s): American Studio Ceramics in the Post-War Period” in recognition of the Frans Wildenhain exhibit, running through Oct. 2 at Bevier Gallery and the Dyer Arts Center. Jonathan Schroeder, the Kern Professor of Communication at RIT, sponsored the talk.
9/13/2012
RIT kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 13 with food, music, poetry and dance in the Fireside Lounge. Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
9/12/2012
Monica Kempsell Sears knew early on that she wanted to be an engineer and work in the field of nanolithography. The microsystems engineering doctoral student has taken that interest, first discovered in high school, into the research area of manipulating wavelengths of light. This focus area is one of the innovative ways being sought to integrate more transistors onto computer chips to meet the demand for increased storage, power and speed for today’s sophisticated technology. Read more at www.rit.edu/news/athenaeum_story.php?id=49346.
9/11/2012
Hundreds of students enjoyed apple beignets, apple butter, apple cake, apple cider and just plain apples at NTID’s annual Applefest on Sept. 7. The event, welcoming new and returning students to campus, also featured information booths for student and campus organizations.
9/10/2012
Members of the Col. Andrew J. Dougherty squadron have been asking for $1 donations to plant flags in the area in front of Carey Hall, near Global Village. Half of the donations will benefit a 9/11 charity. Air Force ROTC cadets and a handful of active duty service members performed a memorial ceremony the morning of Sept. 11. Here, Thomas Skowronski, a first-year student in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, places a flag among hundreds of others.
9/10/2012
Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the Xbox and president of Innovative Leisure, discussed the evolution of gaming “From Arcades to Apps” at the fourth IEEE Consumer Electronics Society International Games Innovation Conference. The “Designing for Play” conference was hosted Sept. 7-9 by RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong.
9/5/2012
“Frans Wildenhain 1950-75: Creative and Commercial American Ceramics at Mid-Century” exhibition is on view simultaneously in the Bevier Gallery and Dyer Arts Center through Oct. 2. An opening reception in Bevier Gallery is 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 7.
9/3/2012
Construction is under way for Sebastian and Lenore Rosica Hall. The $8 million, 23,000-square-foot building is intended for research and innovation at NTID. Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.
9/1/2012
RIT held its seventh annual Lighting The Way ceremony on Aug. 31 to welcome new female students to campus. The event was sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender, RIT’s Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and RIT’s Office of the Vice President of Finance and Administration.
9/1/2012
RIT held its seventh annual Lighting The Way ceremony on Aug. 31 to welcome new female students to campus. The event was sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender, RIT’s Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and RIT’s Office of the Vice President of Finance and Administration.
8/31/2012
Taylor Deer, president of Student Government, welcomed new students and their families during the Student Convocation on Aug. 30.
8/31/2012
Student Convocation welcomed new students and their families on Aug. 30. The program included remarks from President Bill Destler; Mary-Beth Cooper, senior vice president for student affairs; and Taylor Deer, president of Student Government. Neil Hair, associate professor, E. Philip Saunders College of Business and 2011-2012 Eisenhart Outstanding Teaching Award recipient, served as keynote speaker.
8/31/2012
RIT community members cheer on incoming freshman students Aug. 30 as they take the Tiger Walk to the Gordon Field House for New Student Convocation.
8/30/2012
RIT community members cheer on incoming freshman students Aug. 30 as they take the Tiger Walk to the Gordon Field House for New Student Convocation.
8/30/2012
Dr. Daniel Ornt, dean of the College of Health Sciences and Technology, meets with incoming students and their families Aug. 30. Ornt joined the university last December from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. The College of Health Sciences and Technology is RIT’s ninth college and will educate the next generation of health-care providers and related researchers.
8/30/2012
College of Health Sciences and Technology Dean Daniel Ornt, M.D., meets with incoming students and their families Aug. 30.
8/29/2012
Thousands of incoming RIT students and their families attended the Resource Fair on Aug. 29 in the Gordon Field House. In support of the university’s sustainability initiatives, new students received reusable RIT water bottles for the first time as part of their orientation gifts.
8/29/2012
The Resource Fair, held Aug. 29, featured introductions to a variety of RIT departments. Here, RIT student Patience Ibezim directs new students and families to register.
8/29/2012
RIT President Bill Destler lends a hand to first-year students during Move-In Day Aug. 29.
8/28/2012
Hundreds of incoming graduate students attended the annual Graduate Student Orientation on Aug. 28. RIT President Bill Destler and Hector Flores, dean of graduate studies, were among those who welcomed them. Representatives from various departments were on hand to answer students’ questions and talk about all the services and clubs RIT offers.
8/28/2012
President Bill Destler welcomed back the faculty and staff with his annual “Address to the Community” Aug. 28 in Ingle Auditorium. He looked back on RIT’s recent accomplishments and outlined upcoming university priorities. “RIT’s time has come,” Destler said. “RIT’s financial health and our focus on innovation and creativity, coupled with an increasing national expectation that higher education institutions demonstrate real added value and prepare students for global employment, has positioned RIT to move strongly upward in the ranks of the world’s great universities.”
8/22/2012
Members of Perinton Youth Hockey, ages 11-12, wait for their opportunity to take the ice during Tigers Hockey School at Ritter Arena. The RIT men’s hockey program sponsors the camp each summer to assist young athletes with skills development and other life lessons. Youth teams from across Monroe County participate in the hockey school annually.
8/20/2012
Tom Caruso ’72 (finance and management) learned that construction was his future career while on co-op at RIT in the 1970s. Today he is vice president of Campus Construction.
8/17/2012
Hanna Stoehr, a fourth-year museum studies major, talks with Wildenhain pottery collector Robert Johnson about her exhibition design for “Frans Wildenhain 1950-75: Creative and Commercial American Ceramics at Mid-Century” in Bevier Gallery. Johnson donated his collection of 330 pieces of Wildenhain pottery to RIT in 2010. In the background, Steve Bodnar, at left, a communication graduate student, talks with Winn McCray, Johnson’s partner. The exhibit is on view simultaneously in the Bevier Gallery and Dyer Arts Center through Oct. 2. For more information on the exhibit, go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49257.
8/15/2012
Brian Duddy, senior research administrator for RIT’s Sponsored Research Services, recently published “Invasion Stripes: The Wartime Diary of Captain Robert Uhrig, USAAF and the Dawn of American Military Airlift.” The book is a biography of Uhrig’s service during World War II, told in his own words from extensive diary entries and letters to his wife. According to Duddy, the story is “an original source of history, written completely in the moment.” The book can be purchased by contacting Duddy directly or through the Lulu website, www.lulu.com.
8/12/2012
More than 450 people attended the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 10. Undergraduate students presented their research in either oral presentations or poster presentations. Here, Noella Kolash explains her poster on the accessible viewing device. Sessions were broken up by the following themes: chemistry and materials, energy and sustainability, imaging and optics, modeling and simulations, social sciences and humanities, and biomedical and life sciences. RIT alumna Brandy Pappas, now a biophysics graduate student at Harvard, and Edward Reinfurt, director of the division of science, technology and innovation within the Empire State Development Corp., delivered keynote addresses.
8/12/2012
More than 450 people attended the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 10. Undergraduate students presented their research in either oral presentations or poster presentations. Sessions were broken up by the following themes: chemistry and materials, energy and sustainability, imaging and optics, modeling and simulations, social sciences and humanities, and biomedical and life sciences. RIT alumna Brandy Pappas, now a biophysics graduate student at Harvard, and Edward Reinfurt (shown here), director of the division of science, technology and innovation within the Empire State Development Corp., delivered keynote addresses.
8/10/2012
More than 450 people attended the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 10. Undergraduate students presented their research in either oral presentations or poster presentations. Sessions were broken up by the following themes: chemistry and materials, energy and sustainability, imaging and optics, modeling and simulations, social sciences and humanities, and biomedical and life sciences. RIT alumna Brandy Pappas (shown here), now a biophysics graduate student at Harvard, and Edward Reinfurt, director of the division of science, technology and innovation within the Empire State Development Corp., delivered keynote addresses.
8/9/2012
Forty community volunteers assisted 39 bikers during Lose the Training Wheels, hosted by the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Aug. 6-10. The camp helps kids with autism learn how to ride a conventional bike without training wheels, which organizers say builds self-confidence and provides inclusion with peers. Above, Ethan McNally, an 8-year-old from Rochester, gets pointers from Victoria Vazzana, a senior at Mercy High School in Rochester. UNYFEAT, an organization that supports individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families, sponsored the event.
8/9/2012
Caroline DeLong, assistant professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts (right), works with Kenneth Tyler Wilcox, a fourth-year psychology major from Skaneateles, N.Y., at Rochester’s Seneca Park Zoo to study object perception in river otters. The research in this area began with marine mammals—namely dolphins and whales—and now involves other aquatic animals, including goldfish and otters. Wilcox and zookeeper Catina Wright will give a poster presentation on their otter research Aug. 10 at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
8/6/2012
“Under the Influence: DRAW Artists and Their Mentors” is on exhibit in the NTID Dyer Arts Center through Aug. 10. The women of DRAW include Connie Ehindero, Mary Buchan, Anne Marcello, Christine Knoblauch, Jean DeHaven, Elyse Capell, Carolyn Marshall, Andrea Sands, Deb VanWert and Kate Lipsky.
8/3/2012
Building a robotic vehicle was only one of the activities that drew female deaf and hard-of-hearing middle schoolers to attend RIT/NTID’s TechGirlz camp. The program offers girls the chance to get a head start thinking about their dream careers by participating in science, technology, engineering and math activities. Along the way the students made new friends from all over the United States and had fun visiting an amusement park. TechBoyz, underway at the same time, offered similar opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing middle school boys.
8/2/2012
In the foreground, Matt Switzer, left, updates professors John Waud and Sarah Brownell on the modifications his senior design team made to a UV water-treatment system used in Mexico. In the background, Phil Floroff, left, Evan Hall, center, and Tyler Josselyn unpack the circuit board that will operate the system.
7/26/2012
A new partnership between RIT and the Democrat and Chronicle introduced six area high school students to the world of multimedia journalism through the Taub Scholars Multimedia Journalism Academy. On July 25 and 26, the students met with current RIT journalism students and “tracked down” and reported campus stories occurring throughout the week. By the end of the program, the students produced online journalism pieces that included shooting video, taking photos, writing stories and utilizing social media such as Twitter and Facebook for story promotion. Here, Michael Frazier Jr. and Tymoni Correa-Buntley, both seniors at School Without Walls, interview Jodi Carville about an engineering camp on campus.
7/24/2012
Campers learned about the different parts and processes needed to build a skateboard as part of the Everyday Engineering Camp. The girls, from area middle schools, took to the assembly line in the Toyota Production Systems Lab to put together all the components of the skateboards they’d eventually be able to ride. The activity was part of the “World in Motion” theme of the camp, hosted by the Women in Engineering program in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering.
7/23/2012
After graduating RIT in 1953, Neil Montanus began his dream job at Kodak. His 35-year career included 55 Coloramas, innovative underwater photography and portraits. An exhibit of his work is on view through Sept. 5 at the High Falls Gallery in Rochester.
7/23/2012
High school students from across the country visited the RIT campus for NTID’s Explore Your Future, a career exploration summer camp. Students here are in an investigative science class, learning to separate the molecules of Kool-Aid.
7/20/2012
“Under The Influence, DRAW Artists and Their Mentors” is on exhibit in the NTID Dyer Arts Center through Aug. 10. The women of DRAW include Connie Ehindero, Mary Buchan, Anne Marcello, Christine Knoblauch, Jean DeHaven, Elyse Capell, Carolyn Marshall, Andrea Sands, Deb VanWert and Kate Lipsky.
7/19/2012
RIT’s state-of-the-art “green” facility, Golisano Institute for Sustainability, will serve as a center for sustainability research, technology transfer, education and outreach and will provide a showcase for green construction and design.
7/18/2012
Summer Start Up Program works with student entrepreneurs to help them accelerate the development of their business concepts. The program is sponsored by the E. Philip Saunders College of Business and the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
7/17/2012
RIT’s fourth annual Graduate Research and Creativity Symposium evolved into a regional symposium this year. Graduate students from RIT’s nine colleges along with students from University of Rochester, Nazareth College, University at Buffalo and Syracuse University presented their research on July 17. In addition to the oral presentations, there were poster and interactive presentations. Here, RIT student Alexander Grier presents his poster, “A Database of Predicted Structural Motifs.”
7/16/2012
Caroline DeLong, RIT assistant professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts, works with Catina Wright, a zookeeper at Rochester’s Seneca Park Zoo, to study object perception in river otters. DeLong’s research in this area began with marine mammals—namely dolphins and whales—and now involves other aquatic animals including goldfish and otters.
7/13/2012
Members of the University of Michigan’s solar-car team inspect one of their vehicles in preparation for the 2012 American Solar Challenge, “Eight States in Eight Days.” The collegiate design competition and race, featuring a 1,600-mile route bordering the Great Lakes, launched from RIT. For the full story, go to American Solar Car Challenge Launches ‘Eight States in Eight Days’ Race.
7/12/2012
RIT students have partnered with residents in Rochester’s Marketview Heights neighborhood to create several gardens throughout the community. Through the University/Community Partnerships program in the College of Liberal Arts, RIT students educate neighborhood children about proper nutrition, where their food comes from, the benefits of growing their own food, and musical and artistic expression in the garden. In addition, all of the food cultivated in the garden is free to community residents.
7/5/2012
Many of RIT’s international students enroll in classes organized by the English Language Center, established in 1979. The center teaches classes at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels in grammar, reading, writing, conversation and vocabulary. Students can also choose from a variety of electives including American culture, business communication, writing research papers, presentation skills, understanding academic lectures and pronunciation. Here, students participate in the Listening and Discussion class taught by instructor Nicole Martello. To read a story about RIT’s global community, go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49182.
7/3/2012
Abdul Syed, a doctoral candidate in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, won the Best Student Paper award at the International Conference on Geographical Object-based Image Analysis in Rio de Janeiro, held May 7-9. To read more, go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49175.
6/29/2012
Data-center cooling technology developed by OptiCool Technologies was recently installed in the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation. The technology, which uses an oil-free, pumped refrigerant and a modular cooling-unit design that increases cooling capacity and decreases overall energy, has saved RIT more than $30,000. OptiCool is a start-up company that recently graduated from RIT’s Clean Energy Incubator. RG&E recognized RIT’s achievement at a news conference on June 29. Above, David Brown, director of technical solutions with OptiCool, discusses some of the equipment.
6/29/2012
Graduate student Alexandra Artusio-Glimpse recently won a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The fellowship provides her with a three-year, $30,000 annual stipend in support of her project “Optical Lift: Innovating Devices that Fly by Light.” Artusio-Glimpse is a graduate student in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and works closely with Grover Swartzlander, joint associate professor of imaging science and physics.
Go to www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49219 to read more.
6/20/2012
Annie McKee, the best-selling author and Fortune 500 executive-leadership coach, gives advice and encouragement as keynote speaker of the second annual RIT Women’s Leadership Conference, “Breakthrough Leadership—It’s Personal,” hosted on June 19 at RIT. McKee teaches the importance of compassion and emotional intelligence to becoming a breakthrough leader.
6/19/2012
More than 80 graduate students at RIT Dubai received master’s degrees last week in the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed bin Saqer Al Nahyan, chairman of the RIT Dubai board, said: “We are happy to share the joy of the graduates. Each one of them has earned their degrees through perseverance and hard work. This is also a proud moment for us at RIT Dubai for having delivered our third batch of graduates. With the skills gained, we are confident that the students will put their learning to good practice and add value to their working environment.” RIT Dubai began offering graduate degree programs in 2008 in engineering, computing, business and service leadership. RIT Dubai also now offers bachelor degrees in marketing, management, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. To learn more, go to www.rit.edu/dubai.
6/14/2012
The university held its 14th annual RITirees Picnic in the Gordon Field House on June 13. The picnic honored all RIT retirees and welcomed a new class of retirees from 2012. The 2012 “RITirees Award” honored retired faculty member William Keyser from the School for American Crafts and retired staff member Linda Sallade, shown here, from Student Affairs.
6/14/2012
The university held its 14th annual RITirees Picnic in the Gordon Field House on June 13. The picnic honored all RIT retirees and welcomed a new class of retirees from 2012. The 2012 “RITirees Award” honored retired faculty member William Keyser, left, from the School for American Crafts and retired staff member Linda Sallade from Student Affairs.
6/13/2012
Orange and brown are popular colors in the wardrobes of the Lamb family. From left, Connor, Chuck, Susan and Devin are all active members of the RIT community and “tigers” at heart.
6/11/2012
Ryan Norris, left, and Benson Yu, fifth-year engineering majors, are part of the senior-design team that helped put a little extra swirl in Wegmans Food Markets marble cakes. The team designed equipment consisting of swirler modules to be used in the Bakeshop.
6/7/2012
Design professor David Royka led a 10-week class whose project was to work with the Toy Resource Center in Rochester, a nonprofit that offers a variety of toys and equipment to enrich play experiences between children and their caregivers. Students in the class gained real-world experience with a client. Here, Christina Salvas, a third-year graphic design major, and Royka are in front of a logo she designed. The class wrapped up at the end of May.
6/5/2012
RIT student Rachel Zoyhofsky is headed to the U.S. Olympic time trials in July for the race walk. If her time holds up, she will be selected to represent the United States at the London Olympic games. The environmental science student started competing in the race walk during high school and she is among the youngest competitors in the country in this event. To read more, go to www.rit.edu/news/athenaeum_story.php?id=49180.
6/4/2012
Nicole Mallory, a third-year physician assistant student, competed in the U.S. Olympic trials for flat-water kayaking in April, hoping to earn a coveted spot on the Olympic team. She placed fourth overall in the 500-meter race and took second place in the 500-meter kayak double with her racing partner, falling just short of making the team. Mallory has her sights set on the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
6/1/2012
Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology and University at Buffalo held the Joint Workshop on Disaster Response May 30-June 1 to stimulate innovation in the remote-sensing industry by bringing together industry members, researchers and representatives of the emergency response community. The RIT Information Products Laboratory for Emergency Response and the UB Center for Geohazards Studies shared advances in remote sensing technologies used to create “information maps” that can assess damage to buildings and infrastructure, detect toxic plumes in water or conduct land-cover analysis to identify crops contaminated by radiation, such as in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi. The event was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation, RIT Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, and the UB Center for Geohazards Studies.
5/31/2012
There are dollar signs associated with RIT’s Financial Management Association, a student organization under the helm of the E. Philip Saunders College of Business. Members get to manage real money, track an investment portfolio with a market value of $110,000 and decide whether to invest or not invest based on their analysis. Eight members presented financial assessments during a late-April field trip, as they met with company executives in New York City’s financial marketplace. Jaré Allocco Allen, left, assistant controller at RIT, accompanied students William (Jon) Weintraub, Guangjun Ding, Troy Lubberts, Russell Sisipenzi, Harpreet Singh, Deep Ashar and Seerat Sodhi, along with Daniel Tessoni, right, accounting professor in the Saunders College (not pictured is Financial Management Association President Mayank Bindal). Tessoni was responsible for arranging executive meetings at WL Ross & Co. and International Textile Group (Cone Denim). James Watters, senior vice president of finance and administration at RIT, was responsible for arranging the executive meeting at Goldman, Sachs & Co.
5/30/2012
RIT Staff Council hosted the Bob Howie Memorial Classic Car Display on May 30, in conjunction with RIT’s 16th annual Staff Appreciation Day & Community Picnic. About 40 classic vehicles belonging to RIT employees, retirees, trustees, alumni and students were displayed. The show is named for Bob Howie, who first organized the classic car display as an RIT retiree of Campus Connections bookstore. Howie died in 2008.
5/29/2012
Adena Thomson is an accounting major with a 4.0 GPA who will be graduating with an MBA degree from RIT in February 2013. She enjoys playing the violin and is the captain of RIT’s intramural volleyball team. Read more about Thomson and her journey to RIT in Athenaeum and at www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49188.
5/29/2012
RIT celebrates its new crop of graduates with the university’s 127th commencement. The two-day observance kicked off during Academic Convocation on May 25 in RIT’s Gordon Field House and Activities Center. Here, students from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf line up for their ceremony in the Ritter Ice Arena. To see more photos from Academic Convocation, go to bit.ly/Kb0pEG.
5/28/2012
RIT celebrates its new crop of graduates with the university’s 127th commencement. The two-day observance kicked off during Academic Convocation on May 25 in Gordon Field House and Activities Center. During the ceremony, RIT President Bill Destler conferred degrees on both undergraduate and graduate candidates. To see more photos from Academic Convocation, go to bit.ly/Kb0pEG.
5/25/2012
Bill Nye, scientist and beloved TV personality, provided the keynote address at RIT’s 127th commencement celebration May 25 in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. Nye’s message on fostering a scientifically literate society proved popular among graduates, many of whom grew up watching “Bill Nye the Science Guy” during its originally run on public television from 1992 to 1998. To see more photos from Academic Convocation, go to bit.ly/Kb0pEG.
5/24/2012
Neil Hair is a 2012 recipient of an Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. Hair is an associate professor of marketing in the E. Philip Saunders College of Business. In 2006, he received the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Both awards are named in honor of M. Herbert and Elsa Bausch Eisenhart. Mr. Eisenhart was the longtime president and board chairman of Bausch & Lomb Inc. and a member of RIT’s Board of Trustees for more than 50 years.
5/24/2012
Bernard Brooks is a 2012 recipient of an Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. Brooks is an associate professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences in the College of Science and a gifted researcher and teacher. The award is named in honor of M. Herbert and Elsa Bausch Eisenhart. Mr. Eisenhart was the longtime president and board chairman of Bausch & Lomb Inc. and a member of RIT’s Board of Trustees for more than 50 years.
5/22/2012
Dan Bogaard is a 2012 recipient of an Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. Bogaard, an associate professor of information technology in the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, is a faculty advisor for the college’s Web development minor and teaches courses in information technology, including Web client-side and client-server programming. The award is named in honor of M. Herbert and Elsa Bausch Eisenhart. Mr. Eisenhart was the longtime president and board chairman of Bausch & Lomb Inc. and a member of RIT’s Board of Trustees for more than 50 years.
5/22/2012
The creativity of student artists from RIT’s School for American Crafts was highlighted during the school’s annual “Walk-Through” event May 21.
5/21/2012
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris toured the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies on May 21. Harris visited RIT to learn more about the Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative, an effort led by the center in the nine-county region. The project is focused on enhancing the food-processing supply chain, such as growing crops or raising livestock, food-processing equipment and packaging and selling food products. Federal, state and local leaders see more opportunity to increase economic development regionally.
5/21/2012
Paula Garcia, a third-year industrial design major from Bethesda, Md., has re-designed a hand splint for spinal cord patients. Garcia is currently applying for a provisional patent. She has presented her design at the University of Buffalo and at the University of Maryland. Garcia is involved in various campus clubs including CSTEP, Entrepreneurship Hall, the McNair Scholars Program and Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity. She is also a fellow in the Center of Student Innovation.
5/20/2012
Jason Kolodziej, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, is the 2012 recipient of the Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award is given each year to a faculty member with one to three years of teaching experience at RIT. Read more about Kolodziej in Athenaeum.
5/18/2012
Dylan Heuer, a photo intern for RIT’s Sports Information Department, has landed a job as assistant photo editor for MLB.com. He has also worked with the Rochester Red Wings for the past two summers as a team photographer.
5/17/2012
Grover Swartzlander, professor in the Department of Physics and the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, created the optical vortex coronograph to help astronomers find planets in other solar systems. Now, he is extending his research to extract information from other unresolved sources of light.
5/16/2012
RIT welcomes dt ogilvie as dean of the E. Philip Saunders College of Business, effective Aug. 1. She joins RIT from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Rutgers Business School at Newark-New Brunswick, where ogilvie serves as a professor of business strategy and urban entrepreneurship. She is the founding director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development and founding director of the Scholars Training and Enrichment Program at Rutgers. Ogilvie takes over the helm from Ashok Rao, who joined RIT as dean of the Saunders College in 2007 and will retire at the end of the academic year.
5/15/2012
Daniel Maffia, a sign-language interpreter for the College of Liberal Arts team and fitness instructor, shares his dramatic weight-loss story on the new TurboFire DVD workouts. Maffia’s accomplishments are featured on the DVD, and he is also one of featured trainers in the nationally televised infomercials.
5/14/2012
College of Science students Kimbria Blake and Colin Axel have won scholarships from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program. Blake, a second-year biochemistry student, will receive $15,000 toward her next two years at RIT; Axel, a third-year imaging science major, will receive $7,500 for his senior year. Samuel Kennedy, a third-year applied mathematics major, not pictured, received an honorable mention.
5/12/2012
“Silent Laughter” is a silent movie performed live on stage and celebrates the glory days of the great comic actors of the 1920s such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Mack Sennett Comedy Factory. The play features deaf and hearing actors on stage without voice interpretation for the deaf actors or ASL interpretation for the hearing actors. Performance dates are May 10-13 in the Robert F. Panara Theatre and the production is directed by Jerry Argetsinger.
5/11/2012
Mary-Beth Cooper, senior vice president for student affairs, ‘throws’ her support into the Quarter Mile Challenge on May 10. The campus-wide fundraiser, which featured a dunking booth, targets support toward beautification efforts along RIT’s Quarter Mile.
5/11/2012
Silent Laughter is a silent movie performed live on stage and celebrates the glory days of the great comic actors of the 1920s such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Mack Sennett Comedy Factory. The play features deaf and hearing actors on stage without voice interpretation for the deaf actors or ASL interpretation for the hearing actors. Performance dates are May 10-13 in the Robert F. Panara Theatre and the production is directed by Jerry Argetsinger.
5/10/2012
Shawn Gray, left, fourth-year film and animation major, and Thomas Macias, third-year multidisciplinary studies major, rehearse for the upcoming production of “Dog Sees God” May 17-20 in Booth Hall room A428.
5/10/2012
The RIT Color Run, a 5-kilometer road race, took place on May 6 at RIT. Runners started with a white T-shirt and had colored powder thrown at them at regular intervals throughout the race. Proceeds go to the Trevor Project, an organization providing support to LGBTQ youth.
5/9/2012
“Fine Arts Studio Senior Exhibition” runs through May 19 at Gallery r, 100 College Ave. in Rochester.
5/8/2012
Refugee children from Mary’s Place joined RIT alumni and graduate students on a tour of Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival on May 5. Dave Kelbe (orange shirt), a doctoral candidate in imaging science, arranged the outing.
5/8/2012
Four people were inducted in RIT’s Innovation Hall of Fame on May 4. From left to right, Kevin Surace ’85; Robin Cass, representing the School for American Crafts in honor of the late Aileen Osborn Webb; Patricia Moore ’74; Dean Kamen and President Bill Destler.
5/6/2012
A record 35,000 spectators discovered the latest in the arts, science, technology and entrepreneurship on May 5 at the Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival. The festival, with Time Warner Cable as the premier sponsor, involved 2,700 participants and more than 600 volunteers. The festival has now drawn more than 140,000 visitors in five years. In 2013, the festival will be held May 4.
5/5/2012
More than a dozen teams in the inaugural E-Dragster Race, this year’s kickoff event to Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival, took off on May 5. Participants, who included RIT students, faculty and staff, competed with electric-powered dragsters in time trials. The winning car, Hot Wheelz (shown here), from the Women in Engineering team, won a banjo from President Bill Destler’s personal collection.
5/4/2012
Seabreeze Amusement Park in Irondequoit was the subject of the 27th RIT Big Shot on May 3. More than 1,500 students, faculty and community volunteers, manned with flashlights and flashes, lit up the historic Rochester landmark while RIT photographers shot a 30-second exposure from a nearby platform.
5/3/2012
“He was an entrepreneur, a risk taker and always did it his way,” John Del Monte, president of E.J. Del Monte Corp., said about his father, the late Ernest J. Del Monte Sr., during a luncheon on May 3 at Oak Hill Country Club. John Del Monte accepted the 2012 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award in honor of his father, who founded his company in 1953, established Delcrete Building Systems and owned several Marriott franchise properties. The Vanden Brul award was established in 1984 and the annual event is sponsored by RIT’s E. Philip Saunders College of Business.
5/3/2012
Sculptor and MacArthur-award winner Elizabeth Turk engaged an audience of more than 150 people during her May 2 presentation, “Emptiness of Matter,” wrapping up the 2011-2012 season of the Caroline Werner Gannett Project’s “Visionaries in Motion V” series. Turk discussed her tools, methods, drawings and preparations, and she revealed her sources of inspiration, as well as some of her creations. Go to www.cwgp.org and click on “Celebrating Six Visionary Years” to read comments about the series from past speakers.
5/2/2012
The RIT community gathered May 2 for a reception in appreciation of Georgia Gosnell, left. Her $5 million commitment to the university creates the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences in the College of Science. The naming comes in recognition of her late husband, who served as chairman of RIT’s Board of Trustees from 1987 to 1992. RIT President Bill Destler, right, joined the celebration.
5/2/2012
RIT Hillel sponsored a free falafel pita tasting on April 30 in front of the Student Alumni Union. The event was a celebration of Israel’s 64th Independence Day on April 26.
5/1/2012
Tracey O’Dowd and Mike Higham share some love with dogs from Scottsville Veterinary Adoptions. The pooches visited April 27 as part of the Spring Festival but had to depart early because of the cold weather.
4/30/2012
In partnership with the George Eastman House, RIT and Visual Studies Workshop, photographers from Magnum Photos documented Rochester April 14-29. Students researched, assisted and scouted locations for the photographers—who, on April 28, discussed the project and signed books at the George Eastman House. Here, RIT Professor Willie Osterman, right, project coordinator for RIT students, talks with Jim Goldberg, one of the Magnum photographers, during the book signing. Magnum Photos is an agency owned by its photographer members and founded in 1947 by documentary photographers.
4/27/2012
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand convened leading experts from industry, government and academia for a summit at RIT’s Center for Student Innovation on April 27. The event focused on strategies to bring about a manufacturing renaissance to upstate New York. Golisano Institute for Sustainability Director Nabil Nasr looks on.
4/27/2012
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand convened leading experts from industry, government and academia for a summit at RIT’s Center for Student Innovation on April 27. The event focused on strategies to bring about a manufacturing renaissance to upstate New York. Here, U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson provided the keynote address.
4/26/2012
RIT President Bill Destler, center, prepares to face off against more than a dozen teams in the inaugural E-Dragster Race, this year’s kickoff event to Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival on May 5. Participants, which include RIT students, faculty and staff, gathered April 26 for a media preview in Simone Plaza. Electric-powered dragsters will take part in time trials, and the winning team claims either $1,000 or a banjo from President Destler’s personal collection.
4/26/2012
Sen. Joe Robach, second from right, poses with members of RIT’s team in the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute’s first-annual Greening Your Campus competition. RIT’s Team Powers addressed greenhouse-gas emissions and mercury releases as a direct result of RIT’s electricity purchases. The team, which placed second, consists of students Nikhil Kale, left; Steven Barber, second from left; Ayham Haddad, right; and faculty/staff advisor Chance Glenn (not pictured). Clarkson University took first place and University at Buffalo took third place. Students were presented awards at a ceremony in Albany after exhibiting their projects.
As part of its Research and Development Program, the Pollution Prevention Institute had developed a student competition in which teams must identify a specific activity at their university with a high environmental footprint and define a solution for lowering the impact.
4/24/2012
Fifth-year packaging student Zack Loughery worked with the preservation team at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film to protect some of photography’s history using modern packages. He was part of a team that developed a new archival storage and protection covering for daguerreotypes.
4/23/2012
The College of Liberal Arts honored students April 20 with a luncheon and awards presentation in University Gallery. Student achievement in writing was recognized with the 2012 Henry and Mary Kearse Student Honors Awards for excellence in liberal arts coursework. Faculty members recommended students based on writing assignments done in individual classes. The awards were created in 1980 thanks to a donation from Henry J. Kearse and his wife, Mary, a longtime member of RIT’s Nathaniel Rochester Society. Pictured are (front row, left to right): Amy Pease, Diana Bonilla, College of Liberal Arts Dean James Winebrake and Danielle DiGaspari. In the back row are Benjamin Liu, Adam Oest, Matthew Steski, Nicholas Giordano, Terese Davies and Kenneth Tyler Wilcox. Missing from the photo are Caitlin Purdy, Michael Rousselle and Nikolas Cairns.
4/23/2012
The RIT Anime Club hosted its annual convention, Tora-Con, on April 21-22 on campus. The RIT Anime Club, with more than 150 members, is one of the largest in the country. Anime is an art form and an expression of Japanese culture. The weekend featured music, a cosplay contest, a dance and panel discussions.
4/21/2012
The RIT women’s hockey team captured its first NCAA Division III championship and the first national championship for a women’s sport at RIT on March 17. A celebration for the team took place April 20 in Fireside Lounge. Here, Kim Schlattman autographed a poster for a fan.
4/21/2012
Lorraine Justice, dean of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, spent seven years in China as dean of the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her new book, China Design Revolution, from The MIT Press, is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and the MIT Press website. The book discusses the history of design and innovation in China along with current designs and global brands. It explores design’s role in China’s economic boom.
4/20/2012
The RIT women’s hockey team captured its first NCAA Division III championship and the first national championship for a women’s sport at RIT on March 17. A celebration for the team took place April 20 in Fireside Lounge. Players signed autographs on posters and shirts.
4/20/2012
Brian Koberlein, front, senior lecturer in RIT’s Department of Physics, and his team of educators asks Gwyn Guthiel and her middle-school classmates at the Harley School to “Prove Your World” during a science outreach presentation April 5. Koberlein and his colleagues are developing an inquiry-driven science television program, “Prove Your World,” for 8- to 13-year-olds—an age group with a teetering interest in science and technology. “Prove Your World” asks students to investigate science questions they find interesting. The pilot is in pre-production and will air on WXXI. Also pictured are artist and puppeteer Kevin Schoonover ’86 (graphic design), left; educator Julie Koberlein, back; Grant Guthiel, professor of psychology at Nazareth College, second from right; and Susan Sherwood, science education consultant, right. Not shown is Gail Grigg, professor of inclusive child education at Nazareth College.
4/19/2012
The Tiger East End Express connects the RIT campus to Rochester’s East End from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday nights. RIT students can hop the bus for the opportunity to explore Rochester clubs, theaters, restaurants, stores, galleries and museums.
4/18/2012
The annual Leadership Awards, presented on April 18, give special recognition to student leaders who significantly improve the quality of campus life. The Davis Scholarship (recipients pictured), Walls-Olson Memorial Scholarship and six other awards were presented to those who demonstrate leadership ability, good campus citizenship and high personal standards.
4/17/2012
J. Ford Huffman, writer, designer and award-winning former deputy managing editor of USA Today, presented a talk April 16 on the future of news. Huffman is known for recommending the design and art direction of Page One, as well as the front-page design of the Sept. 12, 2001, issue of USA Today, which sold 3.6 million copies. In the mid-1980s, he was managing editor of Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle. His presentation was sponsored by RIT’s Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts.
4/16/2012
About 400 men and women walked a mile in heels on April 15 to support victims of domestic violence. Alpha Sigma Alpha members coordinated the event. All proceeds went to the Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims, a Rochester organization that provides free services to people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and have experienced domestic violence or sexual abuse.
4/16/2012
About 400 men and women—some wearing heels—walked a mile on April 15 to support victims of domestic violence. Alpha Sigma Alpha members coordinated the event. All proceeds went to the Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims, a Rochester organization that provides free services to people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and have experienced domestic violence or sexual abuse. NTID President Gerry Buckley, center, and Student Government President Greg Pollock share a fist-bump while making the trek.
4/16/2012
Renowned Civil War artist Wendy Allen sets up shop in Louise M. Slaughter Hall in preparation for the American Statesmanship and Constitutionalism Colloquium (1776-1865), April 13-14. In addition to displaying and selling her paintings, prints and illustrations, Allen presented “An Artist’s Portrayal of Lincoln’s Statesmanship” during the two-day event, sponsored by RIT’s political science department.
4/15/2012
Photographer Kwaku Alston was recognized at this year’s Distinguished Alumni Awards. During his campus visit on April 13, Alston met with students and reviewed portfolios.
4/14/2012
Talent runs in the family as “Frances & Albert Paley” are the featured artists in University Gallery’s newest exhibition. The show is open to the public and runs through May 26, with an artist reception set for 5 to 7 p.m. May 15.
4/12/2012
RIT hosted its annual tribute to the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars on April 12 in the Gordon Field House. In order to receive the scholars designation, students must have earned a GPA of 3.85 and completed at least 125 quarter credits of study. Selection is also based on factors complementing their academic achievement, including creative work, independent research and community service.
4/12/2012
RIT hosted is annual tribute to the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars on April 12 in the Gordon Field House. In order to receive the scholars designation, students must have earned a GPA of 3.85 and completed at least 125 quarter credits of study. Selection is also based on factors complementing their academic achievement, including creative work, independent research and community service.
4/11/2012
During a stop today at RIT, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer announced his support for legislation to kill a rise in student-loan interest rates. On July 1, interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, unless Congress takes action to block the increase. Joined by RIT President Bill Destler, Schumer addressed students from RIT and other area colleges in the Fireside Lounge.
4/10/2012
Rebecca Edwards, associate professor of history and chair of the department, recently published her book, “Words Made Flesh: Nineteenth-Century Deaf Education and the Growth of Deaf Culture.” The book is part of the New York University Press’ The History of Disability Series.
4/9/2012
The Rochester Parkour group, which includes RIT alumni and students, cleaned up Manhattan Square Park on April 7. They meet on Saturdays in the park to practice their sport. Kyler Mulherin, a third-year game design student, has participated since he came to RIT.
4/6/2012
Graduate Thesis 2 is on view through April 18 in Bevier Gallery. The exhibit represents work from the School of Art, School of Design and School for American Crafts.
4/5/2012
Barry Schwabsky, art critic for The Nation, spoke to students in RIT Professor Alan Singer’s fine art painting class on April 5. Schwabsky is a poet, critic and teacher who has edited and published monographs on artists as diverse as Alex Katz and Jessica Stockholder.
4/5/2012
Erik Ellingson, a third-year photography major, picked RIT because of the photography program. He didn’t realize that his grandfather and great-grandfather made the university what it is today. Ellingson’s grandfather is Mark Ellingson, who was RIT’s fifth president from 1936-1969. Ellingson’s great-grandfather was John Randall, who was the fourth president of RIT from 1922 until 1936.
4/4/2012
A standing-room-only crowd listened to entrepreneur David Bornstein speak April 2 in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science auditorium. Bornstein, founder of Dowser.org and the author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of Ideas, discussed new-solutions journalism and social innovation during his talk, “Are We on the Verge of a New Enlightenment?” Bornstein joined the list of presenters for RIT’s 2011–2012 Caroline Werner Gannett Project’s “Visionaries in Motion V” speaker series. The series concludes May 2 with a presentation by sculptor Elizabeth Turk.
4/3/2012
“Three Artists, Three Views” is on exhibit in the NTID Dyer Arts Center through April 30. The exhibits feature photography, sculpture and paintings. An artists’ reception is 3:30-5 p.m. April 4.
