News
Computer Science BS

Susan R. Holliday ’85 (MBA), who led the turnaround and growth of the Rochester Business Journal during nearly three decades as president, publisher, and owner, has been named the 2022 recipient of the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award, presented by Saunders College of Business.

Innovation, value, co-op education, and excellence in undergraduate teaching are among the categories in which RIT is highly ranked and listed as one of the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Rochester Business Journal reports on Wayfair's gift of roughly $850,000 in server equipment to RIT’s Computer Science House. The donation was facilitated by RIT alum Fred Oettinger, who works at the company.  

When RIT’s Computer Science House put out a call for hardware donations last year, Fred Oettinger—an alumnus and staff engineer at Wayfair—got an idea. He knew that Wayfair had just what they needed. Wayfair, one the world’s largest destinations for the home, has gifted RIT’s Computer Science House (CSH) about $850,000 in server equipment.

After graduating this year, computer science major Benjamin Gloger will spend almost a year living and working in Germany on a Fulbright Research scholarship. He will work on a project aimed at strengthening supply chains and their cybersecurity.

While many colleges and universities require general education courses, RIT’s immersion requirement takes it a step further. Beyond the typical writing, math, science, social science, global studies, art, and ethics requirements, students are asked to fulfill an additional nine credits in a topic of interest. The intended result is to produce well-rounded students who have gained broader, more diverse perspectives.

Franklyn Athias BS ’85 is chief technology officer and senior vice president of Xfinity Mobile Retail Convergence and is being honored by the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.

RIT Esports dominated the FACEIT Grand Finals tournament to become the best collegiate CS:GO team in North America this spring. The Tigers bested 68 teams to win the 2022 FACEIT championship, which is one of the main tournaments for collegiate Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) esports.

Aaron Gordon ’13, CEO of Optic Sky, an advertising and digital experience production company; Franklyn Athias ’85, CTO and senior vice president for Xfinity Mobile Retail Convergence; and Erin Sarofsky ’98, ’00 MFA, an award-winning creative visionary, discussed how the pandemic opened up the eyes of many industries to the future.

Olivia Gallucci is a second-year computing security and computer science double major from Lancaster, Pa., with a minor in free and open source software and free culture. She holds executive-board positions for two clubs, regularly presents research, and has received multiple internship opportunities. Gallucci enjoys sailing and writing about security, open source, and college on her personal website.

RIT’s Albert J. Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, created to help students invent and problem solve through experiential learning, offers multidisciplinary student teams a stipend for the unique opportunity to examine their businesses and, for some, move them to the next level of development.

Accomplished alumni are returning to campus to discuss the future of technology, art, and design as part of the Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival on April 23. The Imagine RIT Futurists Symposium is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Wegmans Theater, RIT MAGIC Center. It will also be available to watch as a livestream.