News
Imaging Science Ph.D.

Undergraduates aren’t the only students taking advantage of RIT’s co-op and internship program. Across the university, Ph.D. students are securing prestigious work experiences to provide important gateways to careers in industry, foundations, and government.

Move over, Silicon Valley. Rochester, N.Y., can be the next great American technology hub.

A team of researchers that develops artificial intelligence systems is putting its work to a unique new test: creating machines capable of playing the popular video game Starcraft II. Researchers think it could be an important stepping stone to advancing practical solutions such as self-driving cars, service robots, and other real-world applications.

An RIT faculty member is creating new artificial intelligence systems that could empower agricultural researchers, breeders, nurseries, and other users to analyze the roots of their crops with the power of their smartphones. Assistant Professor Guoyu Lu is receiving a $450,000 New Investigator grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct the research.

Several School of Physics and Astronomy faculty secured large grants as principal investigators during a banner summer.

Analytical thinking, complex problem solving, creativity, resiliency, and flexibility are among the top skills needed for emerging careers by 2025. Anticipating these rapid changes in the workplace—further accelerated by lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic—RIT is seizing on the opportunity to guide students to “new economy majors” that are multi­disciplinary, transformative, and future-focused.

Imaging scientists at RIT have several new projects in the works to improve the way waveform LiDAR can be used to study forests. LiDAR currently does a good job of outlining the top portion of forests, but by using a more complex form of LiDAR, it can reveal much more detail about what lies beneath the forest canopy’s surface.

RIT will celebrate graduate research during the 13th annual Graduate Education Week and Showcase: A Vision into the Future. The virtual event—Nov. 16 to 20—creates a platform for sharing and exchanging ideas during the COVID-19 pandemic, with pre-recorded and live presentations, demonstrations, visual exhibitions, and an alumni panel discussion.

Through the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing (DIRS) Enterprise Center, customers can now hire faculty and staff from RIT’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science to provide training, consulting, data collection, equipment calibration and more in relation to drones, imaging and remote sensing technology.

Scientists from RIT and the University of Rochester aim to use virtual reality to help restore vision for people with stroke-induced blindness. The team of researchers led by RIT's Gabriel Diaz, are developing a method they believe could revolutionize rehabilitation for patients with cortically induced blindness, which afflicts about 1% of the population over age 50.

As states begin to reopen, how will our communities stay safe? Find out how thermal imaging technology is being used as one low-impact screening tool.

RIT student, Benjamin Roth, credits his mentors for his interest in remote sensing. His research focuses on retrieving accurate biophysical information on forest health from remote sensing platforms.