Photo Spotlights

Nicholas Schneider, one of RIT’s Outstanding Undergraduate Student Scholars, celebrated his honor with Denis Coakley, a long-time mentor from St. Francis High School, Athol Springs, N.Y. Twenty-seven faculty mentors from various high schools and community colleges across the country attended the scholarship event April 2 in Gordon Field House and Activities Center.

The Isaac L. Jordan Diversity Award was presented to Thomas Warfield on March 30. The award is given to an RIT faculty or staff member who has made a significant contribution to diversity efforts on campus and within the Rochester community.

Johnnetta Cole, the first African-American woman to serve as president of Spelman College in Atlanta, was the keynote speaker for the fourth annual Diversity Day on April 1. The program, sponsored by the RIT Board of Trustees, focused on the diversity initiatives taking place on campus.

RIT announced a new research and academic collaboration with Singapore during a ceremony on March 26. The agreement between the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology will include graduate student exchanges, joint research projects in sustainable production and additional academic partnerships.

Ainoa Mazeika, left, a sustainable engineering graduate student, discusses job opportunities with Karen Klein from Life Technologies during RIT’s Spring Career Fair. Representatives for 170 employing organizations gathered in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center on March 25. While the current economic slowdown affected overall employer attendance, small to mid-size companies, such as Life Technologies, took on added prominence.

The importance of making and crafting things in American society and culture was the focus of a hands-on “makers” workshop by new-media journalist, author and web logger Mark Frauenfelder on March 27. The event was sponsored by the Caroline Werner Gannett Project.

Filmmakers Willy Lindwer and Tom Linszen gave a talk on the making of their collaborative documentary film, Anna’s Silent Struggle, which will be featured in the Deaf Rochester Film Festival March 26-29. For more information on the Deaf Rochester Film Festival, including descriptions and schedules of screenings, workshops, panels and other activities, refer to ideatools.rit.edu/drff.

Country star Billy Currington performed March 21 in RIT’s Gordon Field House.

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gallery r March 26 at an auction benefit at One Bausch & Lomb Place. 13 WHAM-TV news anchor Norma Holland will emcee the event, and each $150 ticket admits two guests and guarantees one work of original art from an RIT student, alumni or faculty member. Above is a bowl created by Ronald Pearson. The reception runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. with light hors d’oeuvres, desserts and cash bar, followed by the art drawing from 7 to 9 p.m. For tickets, call 475-5154 or 475-2733.

Dan Batcheldor, associate research scientist in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, has expanded the Hubble Space Telescope’s capability without the need for new instruments or billions of dollars. Batcheldor and his team improved the calibration of the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer to enable high-precision polarimetry, a tool used for reading scattered light when investigating active galactic nuclei and for finding proto-planets around very young stars.

RIT’s 2009 United Way Campaign kicked off March 19 in the SAU with a variety of fun-filled activities including celebrity scoopers at Ben & Jerry’s. The carnival event offered arcade games, a putting green, clowns and a Guitar Hero competition.

Eastman Kodak Co. CEO Antonio Perez participated in a March 19 discussion with RIT students, faculty and staff. Perez emphasized the importance of conviction over convenience, striving for continuous improvement, transparency and sticking to one’s principles. The event was sponsored by the E. Philip Saunders College of Business and focused on corporate responsibility. Perez discussed Kodak’s ongoing transformation within its industries and the company’s commitment to the environment and the community.