Photo Spotlights

Scottsville Veterinary Adoptions brought puppies to campus for a Freeze Fest event on Feb. 3. Paulina Evoy, left, director of College Activities Board, and CAB member Avis Lyons, right, hold two of the shelter dogs. CAB member Rachael Bisbo and student Wade Fuller look on. For more information on pet adoption and volunteer opportunities, go to www.petadoption.cc/index.htm.

Sebastian Seung, professor of computational neuroscience and physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, captivated a standing-room-only crowd in RIT’s Webb Auditorium Feb. 2 as the featured speaker for the Caroline Werner Gannett Project’s “Visionaries in Motion” series. Seung’s research has spanned the fields of neuroscience, physics and bioinformatics and he is currently mapping out a new model of the brain that focuses on the connections between each neuron that he calls our “connectomes.” Guests were able to “connect” with Seung one-on-one after the talk during a book-signing event and reception.

The annual Freeze Fest celebration on campus is Feb. 3-5. Photo ice crystals and hot chocolate were offered in the Student Alumni Union. Here, Phoenix Walter, a fourth-year student in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, shows off her likeness in a cube.

Scott Franklin, RIT professor of physics, co-wrote Explorations in Physics: An activity-based approach to understanding the world. The class won an award for Inquiry Based Instruction from Science Magazine.

The annual Packaging Science Career Fair took place on Feb. 1. The fair is designed to offer employers and students a forum to meet and discuss the packaging field and career opportunities. Employers have the opportunity to present their company and meet students in the Packaging Science program who are looking for co-op and full-time job opportunities. Students are able to gather general information about companies as well as specific co-op and full time opportunities within them.

RIT students had the opportunity to speak with Søren Stærmose Feb. 1 when he visited Michael Sarnowski’s “Worlds of Writing” class in Liberal Arts Hall. Stærmose was the producer of the film adaption of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” based on the Swedish novels written by the late Stieg Larsson. As part of a whirlwind tour of the United States, Stærmose addressed the university and Rochester communities at a talk in Carlson Auditorium.

Matt Hamill visited RIT on Jan. 30 for a showing of “The Hammer,” the movie about his early life and wrestling career at RIT. Hamill, shown with NTID Student Congress President Gerilee Cristina and Student Government President Greg Polluck, hosted a Q&A session after the movie.

Alumni talked about the future of technology in media and entertainment during an event Jan. 26 at the New York Yacht Club in New York City. Panelists included, from left, Becky Brubaker ’93, senior vice president for manufacturing and distribution at the Chicago Tribune; Tom Curley ’77, president and chief executive officer at The Associated Press; and Katie Linendoll ’05, TV host, producer and technology expert. William Snyder ’81, four-time Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist and program chair for photojournalism, moderated the event.

The event was sponsored by RIT Trustee Arthur Gosnell, chairman and CEO of Stonehurst Capital Inc.

Shark Tank, featuring five student teams competing for the opportunity to turn their start-up businesses into reality, took place on Jan. 24. The first place winners were Christopher Burton (shown here), a junior in management information systems, and Alexander Bennett, a sophomore in industrial design. The student entrepreneurs won $2,000 for their Kinetic Beacon, a non-battery-powered hand-held device used as a GPS tool for intrepid outdoor adventurers.

The Center for Student Innovation Fellows Program hosted a nerd auction Jan. 20. The fellows, who represent many of RIT’s colleges, raised $500 to develop their projects and sponsor work by other students. Pictured above is fellow Richard Latham, right, a third-year industrial and systems engineering major, talking to RIT Professor Tony Harkin from the School of Mathematical Sciences. People bid on items the fellows made. The fellows themselves were also up for bid and participants won time with a student for help on a project or problem. The students hope to make this an annual event.

The Gallery at the Arts & Cultural Council, 277 N. Goodman St., presents an exhibit of paintings and sculptures by RIT Professor Leonard Urso. The exhibit is on view through Feb. 28.

In the mid-1990s, Garth Fagan Dance gave its Rochester performances in the Robert F. Panara Theatre at NTID. Fagan Dance, now in its 40th year, and one of the premier modern dance companies in the United States, returned to perform as part of RIT’s annual Expressions of King’s Legacy Celebration on Jan. 23.