Photo Spotlights

RIT's 35th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium was held July 30 in the SHED. The event gives undergraduate students from all colleges the opportunity to showcase their research and creative projects.

The console of a Barton Opus theater organ arrived at the RIT Performing Arts Center on July 17. Built in 1927 and rescued from the Hollywood Theater in Detroit before the building was demolished in 1963, the organ was stored in pieces until 2020, when Carlton Smith, a professional theater organ restorer from Indianapolis, began the restoration for RIT. The console can be seen at the RIT Performing Arts Center while work is being done on the two chambers and pipe installation, which is expected to be completed next year.

A record number of students graduated from RIT this year, including those attending global campuses in Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo. Here, Andrew Bradbury, left, software engineering MS graduate; Robert Tetreault, computer science BS graduate; and Alexander Van Eck, game design and development graduate, prepare for Academic Convocation on May 8.

Five honorary degrees were conferred during the Academic Convocation ceremony on May 8. Among those recognized was RIT alumna Katherine Hayles ’66 (chemistry), the Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the James B. Duke Professor Emerita from Duke University. Hayles, who is a leading voice in examining how digital media, computation, and scientific paradigms influence human thought, culture, and creativity in the 21st century, received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Pictured, from left to right, are RIT President Bill Sanders, RIT Provost Prabu David, Hayles, RIT Trustee Vice Chair Susan Holliday, and RIT Trustee Hyacinth Drummond.

The RIT Performing Arts Center saw a full house of 750 audience members for its inaugural performance on April 10. The cabaret-style show featured 11 student acts of music, dance, and theater.

During his most recent mission on the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit utilized a star tracker camera mount custom-made by RIT Associate Professor Ted Kinsman. Pettit, left, visited campus on March 25 to share insights about his experience as an astronaut and space photographer with Kinsman, right. They were interviewed by Christye Sisson, director of RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.

RIT President Bill Sanders and his wife, Emily, left, joined 112 students, faculty, and staff on March 4 to make 1,179 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches during the PBJam, which kicked off RIT’s 2026 United Way campaign. The sandwiches were donated to various United Way agencies including the Boys and Girls Club, The Center for Youth, Willow Domestic Violence Center, and YWCA.

Second-year biomedical engineering student Cameron Bennett, right, speaks with Codonics recruiter Garvin Seto at RIT’s Spring University-Wide Career Fair on Feb. 25, in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. Bennett, who is from Somerset, N.J., is hunting for a summer or fall co-op. To give her a leg up on the competition, Bennett used her engineering and manicuring skills to embed sensors in the layers of her nails that open her LinkedIn profile when she taps on her phone.

Author and scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. speaks during RIT’s annual Expressions of King’s Legacy event held at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center on Jan. 29. The program brings renowned speakers to campus to celebrate the life and impact of Martin Luther King Jr.

The RIT Women’s Hockey team, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and Sigma Chi fraternity hosted a teddy bear toss on Jan. 16. Fans brought new stuffed animals and threw them on the ice after the first goal. The bears are being donated to Rochester General Hospital.

On Friday, Dec. 12, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the community is invited to leave their mark on RIT’s new digital graffiti wall, located in the SHED, room 1360. Using a custom computer mouse designed to look and function like a can of spray paint, participants can flex their artistic skills and enjoy respite during this busy time of year. Above, fourth-year ASL-English interpretation major Alison Maselek tests out the wall during a preview event. The experience is supported by RIT’s Center for World Building and Storytelling, College of Liberal Arts, College of Art and Design, and staff in the SHED. The wall will be on display at Imagine RIT 2026.

From left to right, RIT students Sarah Vaughan (biotechnology), Olivia Urtz (civil engineering technology), and Anne Ford (painting) help fill bags with grains for The Hunger Project on Nov. 18 in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The annual community service event had hundreds of students, faculty, and staff volunteer alongside U.S. Hunger to package 30,000 healthy meals for Foodlink and RIT’s FoodShare. More than 500,000 meals have been assembled and donated in the eight years of The Hunger Project.