News

RIT is working with the U.S. Department of Defense to get high school students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The RIT-Rochester Prep High School Partnership gives high school seniors college-level research experience with faculty mentors.

In his role for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, Clayton Turner oversees executive leadership, strategic planning, and overall management of all technology maturation and demonstration programs for critical space-focused technologies.

Two high school STEP scholars, Calvin Davis and Alexia Savage, worked together on a research project that they showcased at various Junior Science and Humanities Symposium competitions. They first presented at the Central/Western New York Subregional JSHS competition, held in January at RIT. They placed first, which punched their ticket to the two-day regional event in Albany.

RIT’s summer day camp—Camp Tiger—offers four weeks of hands-on-learning in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. New this year is a partnership with Rochester City Ballet that brings dance programs to RIT’s new creative center, the SHED.

AEOP replaces "apprenticeships" with "internships" in new title and messaging efforts with a rebranding that aims to provide more clarity to the community within the Army Educational Outreach Program.

This year’s RIT-RPHS capstone program allowed small groups of students from the Rochester-based charter school to work with faculty in one of five subject areas. On Feb. 13, final presentations were made at Ingle Auditorium to an audience of their families, peers and teachers; leadership from the K-12 University Center; and distinguished guests such as RIT President David Munson, who made a welcoming address.

With complementary research experiences to help bolster Maya Rigor's passion of mechanical engineering, the honors student from the University of Delaware joined the Army Educational Outreach Program last year, having completed a project with university faculty. AEOP Internships and Fellowships is administered by RIT's K-12 University Center on behalf of the U.S. Army to provide high school through postdoctoral individuals from across the country with paid, interactive STEM experiences at Army labs and university partner sites.

Kenzie Moore, a fifth-year electrical engineering technology major from Los Gatos, Calif., volunteered with the Engineering Up afterschool program, partnered with the Rochester City School District (RCSD), which engages K-12 students in STEM-related fields.

Twenty-three Rochester Prep High School students are part of this school year's capstone program that allows them to work weekly with an RIT professor on a specifically designed research project that simulates work in a college course. Subjects include bacteria and biology, criminal justice, data to map large trends, fiber bundles and game design.

The Science and Technology Entry Program at RIT's K-12 University Center often teams up with RIT students and campus groups. STEP Director Ashley Simmons said those collaborations allow STEP scholars to learn firsthand what it’s like to be in various majors and programs, by gaining new perspectives, engaging in peer mentorship and networking opportunities, and building confidence.

For Jane Amstey, community engagement and working with youth is part of her identity. The newly appointed senior director for the Office of Pre-College Programs, through the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology, has dedicated her life to giving back to those she helps serve in and out of the office.