News

RIT’s Venture Creations technology business incubator has named upstate New York entrepreneur Peter Parts as interim director. Parts assumes the role from former director Richard Notargiacomo, who will continue his work with Venture Creations as a coach while he transitions into retirement.

Fortune Magazine features Amit Batabyal, the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, discussing tariffs and trade with China.

WXXI’s “Connections” program features William Snyder, professor and chair, photojournalism program.

NPR features a story by WXXI in which Karl Korfmacher, a professor of environmental science, discusses how asphalt creates “urban heat islands” and how vegetation can combat the effects of heat waves.

As part of a growing trend in enriching engineering education, RIT has approved a new course in soft skills for engineers. The one-credit elective course, originally piloted in the last academic year, has been approved as a credit-bearing option for students in RIT’s College of Engineering Technology and will begin in September.

Grab your needles, yarn or thread, and get crafting for democracy in a community-wide tribute to Rochester’s legacy of social activism with a contemporary twist. Fiber artists are needed to contribute to a yarn installation celebrating the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Sewing Society at a historic site on Corinthian Street.

A therapeutic game called Space Adventure designed by an RIT class officially launched this month on the Rochester Society for the Protection and Care of Children (SPCC) website. The SPCC specializes in supporting families whose lives have been impacted by trauma.

Handcrafted pussyhats, subversive embroidery (“resist”), protest banners and quilts are among the politically charged textiles inspired by the rise of President Donald Trump, and they are the focus of a new exhibit and catalog curated by two RIT professors.

The New York Times talks to Evan Selinger, professor of philosophy, about facial recognition technology.

RIT computing professor Linwei Wang, whose research is advancing non-invasive personalized healthcare for heart diseases, is receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.

RIT hospitality and service systems students returning to campus in the fall will now be part of Saunders College of Business.

A new Netflix glassblowing reality series features an RIT alumna as an expert glassmaker. Blown Away, which begins airing July 12 on the streaming platform, follows a group of 10 highly skilled glassmakers who compete in challenges in 10 episodes. Catherine Ayers ’06 (glass) is one of six Corning Museum of Glass experts who assists the two finalists in the last challenge.