University News

Images of two iconic planetary nebulae taken by the Hubble Space Telescope are revealing new information about how they develop their dramatic features. Researchers from RIT and Green Bank Observatory presented new findings about the Butterfly Nebula and the Jewel Bug Nebula at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on Friday, Jan. 15.

Members of RIT Ambulance this academic year have continued to answer 911 calls on the RIT campus all while taking additional precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. They responded to simple traumas, such as patients falling off a bike, falling out of bed, hitting their head or an allergic reaction. They also transported students to quarantine locations.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 42: Joshua Rashaad McFadden, an award-winning and internationally recognized assistant professor of photography, talks with Todd Jokl, dean of RIT’s College of Art and Design, about how his artwork transcends the genres of fine art, street photography, and photojournalism to bring forward powerful stories about the realities of the injustices Black people in America are still facing today.

More than a dozen RIT administrators and staff members have met regularly to discuss ways to help keep campus open as safely as possible as more is learned about COVID-19. To provide a student perspective, Griffin Warntz is serving on RIT’s Spring Planning Task Force.

Researchers have used pulsar measurements to help uncover new information about the density of dark matter in our home galaxy. In a new study led by RIT Associate Professor Sukanya Chakrabarti, researchers have now obtained the first direct measurement of the average acceleration taking place within the Milky Way.

RIT had its best year ever for sponsored research funding. For fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, RIT received 382 new awards totaling $82 million. The record funding follows almost $58 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2019, also a record.

As part of a summer faculty development workshop sponsored by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), Patricia Cyr was recommended by workshop leaders for the fellowship because of her work during the program and while teaching at RIT to advance engineering course activities and to improve student learning outcomes.

Faculty-researcher Cory Merkel recently received a grant from the Air Force Research Lab for developing more secure AI functionality including how it defends against system attacks, and, through training the system, how it could learn to anticipate triggers for possible system attacks.