Photo Spotlights

RIT’s School for American Crafts sold its unique hand-blown glass pumpkins, gourds, vases and paperweights during the eighth annual Glass Pumpkin Patch fundraiser Oct. 6. More than $25,000 was raised. Proceeds from the sale benefit the School for American Crafts’ Visiting Artists Series as well as the Women’s Council scholarships. There are still pumpkins available. They will be for sale in the Student Alumni Union lobby from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10.

More than 50 representatives of the food-service industry, higher education and government learned how waste cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel at a workshop Oct. 5 sponsored by the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute at RIT and Monroe County. Here, David Fister, senior engineer at the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute, answered questions.

Fourth-year advertising and public relations students Jenna Deutsch, left, and Kathryn Sundiang accept an award presented to the RIT student body from United Way of Greater Rochester “in recognition and with grateful appreciation for extraordinary fundraising achievement” for the 2012 campaign. Joining them is Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Mary-Beth Cooper at a ceremony Oct. 4.

Mary Orth, a new media interactive development major, developed an interest in brewing during her Beers of the World class. She hopes to open her own bistro and brewery one day. To read more, go to target=new>www.rit.edu/news/story.php?id=49290.

David Kelbe, an imaging science doctoral candidate from Victor, N.Y., travels abroad and around Rochester to participate in various volunteer capacities. Locally, he works with refugee children at Mary’s Place. Here, Kelbe makes apple cider using an old cider press with some of the children. Kelbe was honored in 2012 with the Bruce R. James ’64 Distinguished Service Award.

Nicholas Higgins has enjoyed five different co-op experiences with Fisher-Price. The fifth-year mechanical engineering student hopes his time with the company will lead to a job when he graduates in May 2013. To read more, go to target=new>www.rit.edu/news/athenaeum_story.php?id=49351.

RIT alumnus Tristan O’Tierney ’08 went from being an RIT computer science student to a co-founder of Square, an electronic payment service that allows users to accept credit cards through their mobile phones, either by swiping the card on the Square device or by manually entering the details on the phone. O’Tierney shared his story and lessons with RIT students Oct. 1.

Shop One² is a fine art and craft gallery representing RIT affiliated artists including students, faculty, staff and alumni. Today, sculptor Susan Ferrari-Rowley ’81 launches her Angular Extremes bracelet collection from 4–7 p.m.

Amanda Bao, an assistant professor in the College of Applied Science and Technology’s civil engineering technology/environmental management and safety program, was one of several faculty who presented work-in-progress at the Research Seed Funding in Action event hosted by Sponsored Research Services on Sept. 27. She discussed her research about dynamic soil-structure interaction on bridges to facilitate sustainable design. Her studies will help determine bridge structural capabilities subject to seismic loads, blasts and strong winds.

RIT’s Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services hosted the Fall 2012 Career Fair on Sept. 26 in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The fair, which had a record number of 250 employers in attendance, also attracted a groundbreaking 3,235 students and alumni, which exceeded initial estimates.

Dangerous Signs, a performance poetry group from the NTID Masquers Drama Club, has a unique blend of African-American, deaf and original poetry mixed with dance, music, mime and the spoken word.

RIT students participated in Mud Tug 2012, the annual all out tug-of-war tournament held behind Grace Watson Hall on Sept. 22. RIT unofficially broke the world record with 1,647 tuggers.