Our cover story reports on six students who are eagerly anticipating their “graduation” into the workforce.  Their stories remind me of a recent conversation my husband and I had with our 11-year-old son.

Our son has unequivocally been stricken with a case of spring fever—simple chores are taking much longer to complete and are accompanied by a series of complaints; his motivation (or lack thereof) regarding his schoolwork is waning; his love for playing baseball is being replaced by “vegging out” in front of the television playing video games; and, perhaps it’s puberty that’s taken control, but there are times when he’s just being difficult, irrational, emotional, for no apparent reason.

My husband and I knew that an intervention was required, and we talked with our son about what it means to grow up, be responsible, give 110 percent, and be passionate about something—besides the best weapon to use to battle the Call of Duty zombies. We talked about drive, commitment and hard work—and the results of drive, commitment and hard work.

The student success stories that are featured in Athenaeum are examples of determination, perseverance and tenacity.  I told my son about how hard our students work, how brilliant they are, and how throwing in the towel isn’t an option for them. I told him that life is hard, and giving up is easy.  But you can’t take the easy way out—that’s not how we were raised and that’s not how we plan to raise him.

I thought about how inspired I am by our graduates, who make me want to learn a little bit more—about everything.

He said that he understood what we were telling him. My husband and I realize that we will probably have this conversation with him at least a dozen more times—and we’re OK with that. It’s the presence of students, teachers, fathers, mothers, siblings, friends—people who inspire us—who prove that these reminders are valuable.

Congratulations and best wishes to our graduates. You’ve worked hard and have earned all of the good things that will undoubtedly come your way.

Enjoy this issue of Athenaeum. To those of you who will remain on campus throughout the summer or will return this fall, Athenaeum will be back for the start of the new academic year filled with a whole new batch of inspirational stories.

Hey, if it’s a good idea—steal it! The cover story for the winter 2011-12 edition of RIT: The University Magazine, our alumni publication, featured alumni who have created amazing things, from the Super Bowl trophy to electric car technology.

Athenaeum’s cover story looks at RIT faculty members (and an amazing student-run project, made possible with faculty assistance) who have created their own masterpieces in the pursuits of engineering, science, robotics, design and the arts. Have you created something unique and amazing? Would you like to? Reach out to any one of these folks to find out how they got their creative juices flowing.

Everyone knows I have a soft spot for great human-interest stories. (Yeah, yeah – I know…who else but humans would find these stories interesting, right?) Our Student Spotlight looks into the amazing life of Bertin Mboko, a May graduate from the College of Liberal Arts’ international and global studies department. In 1997, soft-spoken Bertin led African refugees through the rainforest to safety in Gabon to escape brutal conditions resulting from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. As their leader, he worked with the United Nations and U.S. Embassy in Gabon to receive international aid before settling in the United States in 2007. Fast forward to 2013, and Bertin will take the stage in May as the College of Liberal Arts’ commencement undergraduate delegate.
This is an uplifting story that is an example of how hard work and perseverance can change a life.

Thanks for reading—enjoy!

Elissa Nesbitt, Xerox Corp. and Anthony Hennig, RIT Student Government

The students love their mentors, advisors and teachers, and the sport (yes, FIRST is considered a “Varsity Sport for the Mind”) moves forward because of them. Here are a few of the movers and shakers of FIRST with some RIT connections:

CAST’s Chris Brown and Team 1585 of FIRST.

When he wasn’t out front cheering on the students of Manchester-Shortsville HS – Team 1585 – Chris Brown, lab manager in CAST’s electrical, computer and telecommunications engineering technology department, was in the pit area helping the team put in final adjustments on a very successful robot. He is both an alumni of the high school (class of ’84), and returned to work as a mentor for Team 1585. When asked about him, the most unanimous and enthusiastic descriptor was “Awesome!”

Volunteer coordinators Kate Leipold, lecturer in KGCOE’s mechanical engineering department and Matt Campbell, software engineer with ITS, juggle more than 100 volunteers over the two days from judges to safety techs. Both have been leading the volunteer charge for several years. Kate is also a Woodie Flowers Award winner (a major big deal in FIRST – given by teams to stellar mentors.)

(l to r) Tom Viola, Xerox Corp., Kate Leipold, Alex Viola, 5th year mechanical engineering, Rick Bryant, CS alum and regional planning committee chair

The 2013 Woodie Flowers award winner, one of the most prestigious awards given, was given to CAST alumnus Larry Lewis. And the regional director, Rick Bryant of Xerox, is a graduate of RIT’s computer science program.

Volunteers on the floor and in the pits included: Laurie DelConte, formerly of NTID Audiology, (and a big, big RIT hockey fan) and Anthony Hennig, a mechanical engineering student and representative of RIT’s Student Government.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. While the event focuses on the teens and their robots (always fascinating and interesting), the behind-the-scenes connections are equally interesting because some of the biggest fans of FIRST are among us!

At least that’s been my experience in my new role as director of University News Services here at RIT. And I couldn’t be happier for it.

In my approximately three months on campus, I’ve met so many interesting (and incredibly friendly) students, faculty, administrators and fellow staffers. I’ve filled notebooks with information on the people and programs of the various colleges, and tried to read up on wide range of campus activities, in hopes that I’ll soon find time to join in some. I’ve even learned how to traverse campus from one end to the other without going outside too much, and where along the route to get a cup of coffee – actually, it’s usually an iced tea – and a cookie.

By way of introducing myself, I came to RIT via the world of journalism and public relations. I spent 25  years at the Democrat and Chronicle, as a reporter and editor, with my last job there as assistant managing editor for business news. From there, I spent more than six years as a vice president at the Rochester Business Alliance – the regional chamber of commerce – managing their marketing, communications and membership departments.

Here at RIT, I’m working with the talented staff of writers and editors at UNS to share the many exciting stories being generated here across a variety of media platforms – print, TV, radio, video, social media. We welcome story ideas, so if you have something to share, contact me at Ellen.Rosen@RIT.edu. I’m also on Twitter @Er_Rosen, so you can follow me there and I’ll return the favor.

It’s all part of the learning process. And believe me, there’s a lot to be learned here at RIT.

The 1,000-word cover story for the February/March edition of Athenaeum—Performing Arts at RIT—just isn’t enough to fully convey the passion, commitment and dedication of our students and faculty who devote much of their time to dance, music and drama. Several pages of interview notes were whittled down in an attempt to give our readers an inside look at the scholars who display such devotion to their crafts.

Our story reinforces the fact that many students who are engaged in the performing arts choose to supplement their already full academic loads with selections of more than 40 credit-bearing, performing arts courses including Music Theory, Modern European Theater and Beethoven, to name just a few.

Throughout the course of writing this story, I had the opportunity to meet with Michael Ruhling, professor of performing arts/music; Carl Atkins, professor and director of performing arts; and Thomas Warfield, director of the NTID Dance Company, all of whom spoke at length about the value of a strong performing arts curriculum and the steps that RIT should take to ensure the continued success of the program.

Right brain or left brain? Nonsense.  I learned that participating in the performing arts uses both sides of the brain. It’s creative and fluid, and involves a high degree of technical ability and concentration. It’s both a craft and a science.

A series of videos produced by University News’ Matt Gregory accompanies our cover story, providing a glimpse of performing arts students in action.  To see the videos, go to the RIT University News YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/RITUniversityNews and search for “Performing Arts.” In addition, this week’s News & Events Daily Friday “Student Spotlight” features Gabrielle Potts, a fourth-year industrial design major and president of RIT’s Pep Band. To read the spotlight, check out tomorrow’s News & Events Daily at www.rit.edu/news.

Other featured stories in this issue include a look at RIT’s rich architectural past, present and future; an explanation of mind-blowing research being conducted by a computing and information sciences Ph.D. student who is using a series of complex equations to pinpoint the exact origins of heart attacks; and a fun piece about 3-D print technology used to design working, scale-models of musical instruments. To see a video about this last story, go to the RIT University News YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/RITUniversityNews and search for “RIT Printed Ukulele.”

Enjoy!

NOTE: In the print edition of Athenaeum, photo credit for the images in the cover story and the cover photo was inadvertently left out. A. Sue Weisler, manager of photography for University News, spent many long hours creating the photography for this piece and we truly appreciate her time and energy to make it perfect.

In fact, keep your eyes peeled this week for summer graduates and fall Dean’s List announcements!

I’m really excited about this program because it’s great for students and the university. Student can get their achievements out there—which is especially helpful when more and more companies are Googling potential employees and checking their social media outlets.

Let’s take graduation and see how this works. At the end of the quarter, I request a list of graduates from the Registrar’s office. I ask for their names, e-mail addresses, hometown and ZIP code, program and degree in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. I then write up a template using the column headers from the spreadsheet. It looks something like “(Name) graduated from RIT’s (college) with a (degree) in (program).” I upload these documents to Readabout.me, and it fills in the appropriate blanks and sends the release to the appropriate newspapers, based on the students’ ZIP codes. Then the student gets an e-mail saying that RIT wrote a story about them so they can then post it wherever they want. And it creates an online profile, so if I send more stories about these students, everything collects in one place. Pretty neat!

As always, student privacy is a priority. When we send a release through Readabout.me, we do so in accordance with the student privacy policy. Any student who does not want directory information released must notify the Office of the Registrar in writing. Directory information includes name, program, hometown, dates of attendance at RIT and degrees and awards received.

If you have any questions about Readabout.me, take a look at its Frequently Asked Questions page, leave a comment below or e-mail me at mdluns@rit.edu.

Athenaeum

Our talented “temporary” communication specialist Matt Gregory has written our Dec. 13 cover story about the rise in the popularity of RIT club sports and the athletes who comprise these teams. While most of us are familiar with club sports such as ultimate Frisbee, skiing and badminton, I admit there are a few RIT clubs that are a bit unusual—the Paintball Club, Quidditch Club (for you Harry Potter fans) and the Skeptics Club (which sounds like a perfect fit for me.) But without a doubt, the vast number of club sports available for student participation—21 total—only reinforces the theory that there is truly something for everyone.

This edition spotlights the remarkable successes of three of RIT’s club sports—bowling, equestrian and cycling—with members who have selected RIT not only because of our academic programs, but their ability to continue their involvement in a sport they are truly passionate about. What you’ll find even more amazing after reading Matt’s story is the commitment level of these club athletes. Without financial support from RIT, members manage to fund their own equipment purchases, travel expenses and match and tournament fees. For these club-sport student athletes, it comes down to passion, dedication and perseverance.

Just another reason why I think the people of RIT make for interesting storytelling.

Matt has produced three videos that help tell the story of RIT’s bowling, equestrian and cycling clubs. Click on the following links to watch:

Bowling: http://bit.ly/XcXxxZ,

Equestrian: http://bit.ly/VWNe5V

Cycling: http://bit.ly/U8DKiv

Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

But the mysteries of computers and engineering—I’m just happy devices go on when I hit the start button.

But this past week, some of the mystery was revealed.

Engineer and developer Rob Bishop, left, joined host Antonio Mondragon, CAST professor, at the Nov. 30 ARM Developer Day at RIT.

Rob Bishop, engineer and designer with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a UK technology nonprofit, exposed the mystery to entice a new generation of engineering and computing geniuses during RIT’s third annual ARM Developer Day. The event showcases the latest Open Source technologies and a way for future innovators and entrepreneurs to kick-start projects. This year’s event had more than 300 participants, double that of 2011.

“Many people have smart phones, yet people go their entire lives without ever knowing what’s inside the plastic case,” says Bishop.  (That’s me in a nutshell.)

Bishop’s keynote address was all about taking the mystery out of computing and engineering and bringing to the forefront the innovation and creativity naturally found in both.

Here are some excerpts from a conversation Bishop and I had during the event about emphasizing creativity and how this can widen the circle of interest in STEM disciplines:

About encouraging young people toward engineering classes by putting the cart before the horse, so to speak:

“In order to be a good engineer, you need to know the foundations. Problem is that is quite dry. We’re trying to inspire people into STEM, not by saying, if you are good at math, you should do STEM. We’re inspiring people by showing them cool things they can make and then letting them realize on their own accord that they need STEM in order to achieve that.”

The Raspberry Pi organization developed this “computer,” with all the electronics exposed for easier access. The board can accommodate different peripherals, and has real world performance similar to a 300MHz Pentium 2. It is the size of a credit card, and under $50.

About more guys than gals in STEM programs:

“It’s pretty much the same around the world; we’re all alike, driven by the same base desires—intelligent guys wanting to make cool stuff…”

…Ahem…and the intelligent gals?

“It’s a tragedy because I don’t understand how we’ve gone from the point where we have people who are interested in creative things, people of all backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, making stuff. And yet, engineering, which is the art of making things, seems to be mostly white, male college-educated guys. What are we doing wrong? We need to push the creative side of things, along with the education. I think there’s always a tendency to be unintentionally elitist when things are perceived to be difficult.”

Connecting with the creative types:

“If you survey 11- to 13-year-old girls, they love art because it is creative. In engineering, the best engineers are creative people—novel solutions, designing things, coming out with new ways of solving problems. In order to do that, you need knowledge. But the problem is, the way we teach that knowledge is very un-creative, it’s very learning by rote, taking notes, exams. If we are not careful, we’ll lose those creative people because they see engineering as a non-creative discipline.”

I could have listened to him all day—and not because of his classy British accent, which was quite enjoyable. He, and organizations like Raspberry Pi, are changing the focus of what we need to do and say to encourage young people to go into STEM programs—very much like the way the company has exposed the computer’s inner workings, turning the mystery inside out.

By the mid-2000s, we were publishing stories and photos on the Web first, updating the content multiple times online and then turning a story for print. We added videos, photo galleries, podcasts, online quizzes and blogs. By 2010, we were doing all of this and then advertising it on Facebook and Twitter.

Now it’s all about mobile devices. We have to do all of the above and make it available to people in the format in which they want to read it. After all, our goal is to keep you informed about your university, so it’s our job to make it easy for you to get the information.

That is why we are proud to announce the tablet version of The University Magazine for the iPad, Kindle Fire and Nexus 7.

The tablet version includes extra content, such as videos, photo galleries and hyperlinks. We at University News Services felt it was important to launch the free app on several devices because we know our alumni, students, faculty and staff keep up with the latest technology trends. We also are testing an iPhone version. (Download it from the App Store and take a look.)

Like the print edition, the tablet version of the magazine comes out three times a year. The spring 2012 and fall 2012 issues are currently available in the Apple, Amazon and Google app stores and the winter issue will be out the week of Thanksgiving.

Download the app and let us know what you think. Send comments and suggestions to umagwww@rit.edu.

Thanks for reading.

The magazine highlights RIT’s comprehensive coursework and training programs in entrepreneurship, offered through the E. Philip Saunders College of Business and the Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship. These efforts have helped hundreds of students become engaged and educated entrepreneurs while also promoting the development of numerous start-up businesses. Alums of the program include prominent tech entrepreneurs Steve Shapiro, founder of Digsby, and Austin McChord, founder of Datto Inc.

An accompanying video further showcases the unique opportunities being offered through a discussion of Saunders Summer Start-up, an intensive three-month training course which places students in multidisciplinary teams to develop a business concept and ultimately pitch it to potential investors. Previous participants include Strong Arm Technologies, which won the $100,000 grand prize as part of the 2012 MassChallenge, the world’s largest start-up accelerator.

The breadth, depth and impact of these efforts are why the Simone Center was named the best college student incubator in 2012!

I hope you enjoy the magazine, and feel free to contact me to learn more or visit the Research at RIT website.