Photo Spotlights

Graduating students marked 100 days before commencement by attending the annual Graduation Fair on Feb. 15. Representatives from RIT’s nine colleges and various other departments across campus took part in the event. The Graduation Fair is intended as a one-stop opportunity to gather important information related to commencement weekend, May 25-26.

Chris Spinelli ’08, ’09 (economics, MBA), left, and Jon Mervine ’07 (economics) are making a name for their Roc Brewing Co. in downtown Rochester. Their beer is sold in 15 Rochester bars and restaurants and their microbrewery attracts crowds of several hundred on weekend nights. The men also are beginning to get national recognition. Last fall, they were named one of two winners of the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Experienceship Award.

RIT students were serenaded at a Valentine’s Day dinner on Feb. 14 at Gracie’s. The special meal included garlic shrimp, teriyaki beef tips, chicken piccatta, braised red cabbage, vegetable lasagna, pesto tofu and a variety of desserts. Dining Services started this tradition more than 30 years ago.

A camera installed on the International Space Station is giving upper Midwest farmers real-time data about how their crops are growing. The camera was built by a company owned by three RIT graduates. From left, Lawrence Taplin ’02 (imaging science); Tracie Spiliotis ’99, ’01 (accounting, MBA); and Pano Spiliotis ’99, ’01 (imaging science, MBA) own FluxData, based at RIT’s business incubator, Venture Creations. The University of North Dakota hired the company in 2010 to build the multispectral imager for its International Space Station Agricultural Camera project.

RIT held its second annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Feb. 10. The event honored female athletes of all ages at the RIT women’s basketball game versus Rensselaer. Nine schools were represented from the Rochester City School District as the girls were mentored by female student-athletes from RIT’s athletic teams. The event promotes the power in women’s sports as well as a healthy and active lifestyle.

RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences is hosting the Rochester-Finger Lakes Middle and High School Community Exhibit at Bevier Gallery through Feb. 29. The exhibition features 232 student art submissions—chosen for display by 120 teachers in 40 area schools across the Rochester-Finger Lakes region—from Webster Schroeder to Rush-Henrietta to Wayland-Cohocton.

Members of the RIT/NTID Dance Company perform “Off the Wall” Feb. 9-12 in the Robert F. Panara Theatre at NTID. Tickets for the show, directed by Thomas Warfield, are $5 to $7 and are available at the NTID box office.

More than 40 paintings by Francis Marion Tuttle (1839-1910), a 19th century deaf artist from Geneva, N.Y., are on view at the Dyer Arts Center through March 2. A reception and talk by Diane Gutierrez is 3:30-5:30 p.m. Feb. 8. Interpreters provided.

RIT’s Freeze Fest weekend Feb. 3–5 featured comedian Donald Glover, best known for his role as Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community.

The Center for Campus Life helped bring the mountain to RIT this winter during the annual Freeze Fest. Students enjoyed Snowzilla, an 80-foot-high inflatable tubing slide, complete with a bounce house underneath.

The cultural organizations of RIT educate and entertain audience members through dance, fashion shows and singing at Global Union’s Unification. As main event at Freeze Fest 2012, Unification allows students and the public to learn more about RIT’s cultural diversity through performances. Global Union is a major student organization that represents international students and cultural organizations at RIT.

Lorraine Justice, dean of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, at “A Celebration of Innovation” Feb. 3 in the Vignelli Center for Design Studies’ University Gallery. The event was part of the Office of the Vice President for Research’s monthly celebration of scholarship conducted by RIT faculty and students. The event included exhibits highlighting innovative work by sculptors, craft makers, illustrators, photographers, filmmakers and sign language performers, and it featured the work of world-renowned arts alumni, including the seven graduates who have received Pulitzer Prizes for photography.