News

After going virtual for 2021, thousands of people came to the RIT campus on Saturday for an in-person Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival, which featured more than 250 exhibits throughout the campus from more than 1,800 students and faculty.

Three student teams showed what technology, the arts, and design means at RIT. They designed technology to help astronauts keep physically fit in space, incorporated virtual reality to enhance signing and captioning support for the Deaf, and built a modern sculpture of the human body made of computers.

ROAR (Raise Our Annual Responses) Day is an annual day of giving that provides alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends the opportunity to come together to support the area of the university they care about most. This year marks the 16th ROAR Day at RIT.

After going virtual for 2021, the Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival is back in person and virtually, planned from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, on the RIT campus in Henrietta and online at the Imagine RIT website.

For RIT biomedical sciences major Maduka Gunasinghe, compassion for others is a gift he shares freely and community service is the expression of his character. RIT has recognized his commitment to other people’s well-being with a Bruce R. James Distinguished Public Service Award. He will receive the award at a ceremony on April 5.

RIT graduate degree programs in engineering, science, and business were featured in the U.S. News & World Report 2023 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released in March.

The National Institutes of Health are funding RIT scientists to explore vesicular stomatitis virus’s (VSV) potential for treating prostate cancer. Associate Professor Maureen Ferran from the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences secured a three-year, $451,718 Research Enhancement Award (R15) grant from the NIH to investigate prostate cancer cells’ susceptibility to the virus.

Students and faculty from the exercise science program are using high-speed cameras, motion capture technology, and other sensors to analyze the motions of RIT baseball players as they swing the bat.

More women are applying to RIT than ever before, especially in STEM programs. Applications from women were up 13 percent across the board from last year. The surge in women applicants in STEM is helping an overall record year for applications.

RIT is extending a special graduate tuition scholarship program to recent alumni as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year. The program helps alumni who graduated during the pandemic enhance their skill set for the new economy through master’s degrees that build upon collaboration, analytical thinking, complex problem solving, and flexibility. 

RIT and the Global Health Association @ RIT are partnering with humanitarian organization InterVol in an urgent donation drive to aid the people of Ukraine affected by the Russian invasion. InterVol’s Ukraine Relief campaign is accepting donations through Thursday, March 10.

The Rochester Beacon features Barbara Lohse, head of RIT’s Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition.