Photo Spotlights

About 400 designers and coders came to RIT April 18-19 for the first BrickHack hackathon. The 24-hour competition allows computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, project managers and interface designers, to build and create projects from the ground up. The hackathon also featured talks, a Humans vs. Zombies mini game and a hacking fair, to show off what people created. Here, from left, RIT students Osamu Fujimoto and Felipe Petroski were joined by Bryan Ngadimin, a computer science graduate from the University of Rochester.

The Deaf Fashion Designer Association, in collaboration with Tiger’s Next Top Model, presented “Fashion of the Future,” a runway show and exhibition displaying the work of three NTID students. The April 17 event at Dyer Arts Center featured designs from students Ray Ramirez, Sammi Shupe and Brent Aguilar.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced new legislation at RIT on Friday to bolster manufacturing education at universities and train the workforce to meet the growing demands of the 21st century manufacturing sector. Gillibrand introduced “The Manufacturing Universities Act of 2015,” a bipartisan bill that would designate 25 universities “Manufacturing Universities” and provide schools with incentives to better align their educational offerings with the needs of modern manufacturers. The legislation will provide qualifying universities grants of $5 million per year, for a four-year period, that will help universities enhance their engineering programs to emphasize manufacturing skills, incentivize partnerships with local manufacturers, increase internship and cooperative education opportunities for students, and help more recent graduates launch new manufacturing businesses.

The 2014-2015 Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars were celebrated with a reception and awards ceremony April 16. In order to receive the scholars designation, students must have earned a GPA of 3.85 and completed more than two-thirds of the credit hours required for a bachelor’s degree. Selection is also based on factors complementing their academic achievement, including creative work, independent research and community service. More than 100 students were honored at the event.

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit highlights his photography taken in space while aboard the International Space Station. Pettit, who spoke to a packed audience in Webb Auditorium on April 13, spent 370 days in space, orbiting the Earth more than 3,000 times while traveling 82 million miles. The space traveler has also taken nearly a half-million photos to capture the awe of his journeys.

NASA Astronaut Donald Pettit toured RIT Tuesday to learn more about the university’s capabilities in photography, imaging science and science. Here, Pettit, on right, meets with Professor Don Figer, director of RIT’s Center for Detectors. Student researchers in the Center for Detectors later showed off their work to Pettit. Pettit traveled to RIT to help solve a problem. Digital cameras on the International Space Station are subject to repeated cosmic ray strikes that permanently affect the registering of light levels and degrade cameras, sensors and the images. The students’ solutions will ultimately extend the life of onboard space cameras and help recover thousands of damaged photos for NASA.

RIT and Gleason Corp. announced details of a new research partnership to further advance manufacturing, materials science and product development, and dedicated new equipment on loan from the company for RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Participating at the event were (from left) Ryne Raffaelle, vice president for research at RIT; Michael Walker, mechanical engineering manager, Gleason Corp.; Brian Perry, vice president of operations, Gleason Corp.; John Perrotti ’82 (business administration, accounting), president and CEO, Gleason Corp.; Edward Hensel, associate dean for research and graduate studies in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering; and Thomas Courtney, director, New Product Development, Gleason Corp. The new 400H Gear Hobbing equipment was moved into the college’s Machine Tool Lab recently. The gear hobbing machine is designed to cut shaft and wheel-type work pieces, tooling processes necessary for the gears found in automobiles, airplanes, turbines and other commercial equipment.

Members of Alpha Sigma Alpha led the Heel Violence walk on April 12. The proceeds from the mile-long walk benefit the Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims (ASADV) and will be donated through the RIT United Way Campaign. ASADV is a local organization that provides free services to people who are deaf and hard of hearing who have experienced domestic violence or sexual abuse.

Students were treated to a Prom Night special meal at Gracie’s. The meal included appetizers, chicken cordon bleu, baked gemelli alfredo, grilled steak, shrimp scampi and decadent desserts.

More than 100 eighth-graders from Greece Athena visited RIT to explore future careers. Friday is Spring Preview Day for high school juniors and below. This program is designed for students who are just starting their college search, and approximately 600 students are registered.

Mei Nagappan, assistant professor of software engineering, uses his expertise in big data mining to find software engineering problems that aren’t being explored. Currently, he is researching the hidden cost of mobile advertisements for software developers. To read more, go to rit.edu/news/athenaeum_story.php?id=51694.

A restored 1967 Airstream trailer houses contemporary ceramics and travels from coast to coast. The current tour “Art for the Table”, features 25 nationally recognized studio potters. In addition, artists Lorna Meaden and Tara Wilson demonstrated in the ceramics studio here.