Biotechnology research conference showcases RIT-UR faculty and students

Faculty and students from RIT and the University of Rochester will participate in an informational session “Bridging Gaps between Education and Employment in the Biotechnology Sector of Upstate NY” from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, in Goergen Hall on the UR-River Campus. The program will focus on the emerging field of biotechnology and the many options within the field in Rochester.

“This will be one of the first coordinated events of this kind with the University of Rochester and RIT,” says Kathleen Lamkin-Kennard, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and a participant in the conference. “The focus will be on the current research being done in the field of engineering and medicine.”

Several RIT students will present poster sessions at the event including Melissa Gilbert, a member of the mechanical engineering senior design project team, to discuss “Upper Extremity Motion Capture System,” a second-generation project of the design and implementation of a wireless bio-signal controlled device. The overall focus of the project is to promote different aspects of the biomedical field of electrical engineering at RIT as well as create a device that may be used for rehabilitation purposes, Gilbert says. Other RIT student participants include Ed Harding, Emily Berg, Josa Hanzlik, David Gomez, and Jim Cezo.

Opening the session is Diana Jensen-Dooling, New York state director of Project Lead the Way, an engineering teacher-training program for middle- and high school faculty. Heather Erickson, president of MedTech, a biosciences trade association, will also address the group about the growing employment opportunities in biomedical technologies.

The session is free and open to faculty, staff and students, including high school students, interested in biotechnology fields. The program is sponsored by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society; more information can be found at Rochester_EMBS@ieee.org