Photo Spotlights

It took 50,000 K’Nex pieces to build the Theme Park Engineering exhibit on display in the Gordon Field House. The recently formed RIT Theme Park Enthusiast Club was a first-time exhibitor at Imagine RIT.

Imagine RIT kicked off with an 8:30 a.m. pre-event, Dr. Destler’s Challenge, in the Gene Polisseni Center. Dubbed “RIT Meets the Jetsons: Flying Cars,” the event involved 14 teams participating in a two-part challenge piloting quadcopters around the Polisseni Center.

“Graduate Thesis 2” represents work from the School of Art, School of Design and School for American Crafts. The exhibit in Bevier Gallery will be on view through May 2 during Imagine RIT.

College of Liberal Arts Dean James Winebrake visits the “Resistance, Rebellion, and Renewal in Rochester: Narratives of Progress and Poverty” exhibit in the RIT Museum. The exhibit examines more than 100 years of Rochester’s history to illuminate the co-existence of wealth and progress with poverty and lack of opportunity and is on view through May 29 in the RIT Museum, on the third floor of The Wallace Center. More information on special events related to the exhibit, including a film screening at 7:30 p.m. today, is available at library.rit.edu.

Second-year fine art students Sydney DeBruyn and Madeleine Jason, right, work on their portion of an interactive art installation. Nearly 20 students are contributing to the project “Space Invaders” that will debut at the Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival on May 2.

Bouffant is in! NTID Performing Arts presentation of the Broadway musical Hairspray, set in Baltimore in 1962, brings energy and fun to the story of lovable, plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad who has one desire—to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. Directed by Luane Davis-Haggerty and choreographed by Thomas Warfield, Hairspray is a family-friendly production that runs April 24-May 3 in NTID’s Panara Theatre. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. April 24, 25, 30 and May 1; 2 p.m. April 26 and May 3. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for faculty/staff.

Purdue University engineering dean Leah Jamieson is the first recipient of the Kate Gleason Medal for Engineering Education. Prior to receiving the medal, she toured several of the labs in the engineering college, including the Brinkman Lab, with Professor Denis Cormier. The medal was designed by Cormier and 3D printed. It is being given by RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering to acknowledge the influential role academic leaders like Jamieson play in creating the engineers of the future.

Jennifer Lesser Henley, director of security operations at Facebook, discussed the state of cybersecurity as part of the Golisano Dean’s Lecture Series on April 23.

Serial IT entrepreneur John Smith has been named recipient of the 2015 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award by RIT’s Saunders College of Business. He was honored at a luncheon at Oak Hill Country Club on April 21. Smith, who has a deep-seated “family-first” focus, has launched more than 20 companies in Rochester over the past four decades—including JTS Computer Services, Brite Computers, Solu Technology Partners, StormFRog, CloudDOCX and Dealer DOCX.

RIT’s Saunders College of Business announces the Daniel D. Tessoni Endowed Chair in Accounting to honor the esteemed assistant professor of accounting who has served as a member of the faculty since 1974. Tessoni is an astute practitioner of the art of accounting both in the classroom and in his role as a practicing CPA, as well as a board member for several corporations including Genesee Regional Bank, International Textile Group and Western New York Energy LLC. During his 40 years at RIT, he has touched the lives of literally thousands of students and actively stays in touch to provide, advice, counsel and encouragement.

Climate scientist and activist James Hansen talked to the RIT community on April 21 about sea level rise and superstorms, and the dangers of global warming. Hansen, a former director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testified in 1988 before Congress about fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions contributing to the greenhouse effect. He was in Rochester for a public presentation, sponsored by the Sierra Club Rochester Regional Group, RIT and other local organizations.

Melquea Smith, left, of Syracuse, and Brittany Landry of Herkimer, N.Y., attended Tora-Con 2015 at RIT on Saturday. More than 2,500 anime enthusiasts attended the two-day event, which featured discussion panels, celebrity appearances, a concert, live action performances and countless costumed characters. The 11th annual event was put on by RIT’s Student Anime Club.