Photo Spotlights

Barnes & Noble @ RIT made arrangements for Curious George to visit the children at Margaret’s House on Oct. 17. After the initial hesitation seeing the huge monkey, the children hugged and high-fived Curious George and presented him with a banana.

College students from across the region gathered at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Oct. 17 for the fourth annual Explore Rochester IT symposium. The goal is keep to keep students in the area after graduation by introducing them to local career opportunities, particularly related to information technology. Nearly a dozen of Rochester’s top employers took part in the program.

Marcin Lukowiak, assistant professor of computer engineering, and graduate students Ken Smith and Jacob Czapeczka, are conducting research to enhance the application of secure Bluetooth communication technology for military applications. The work is being conducted through a collaborative agreement with Harris Corp. and is part of the Corporate R&D at RIT program.

The RIT Student Music Association presented its 18th annual Kaleidoscope Concert on Oct. 11. Here, the RIT Singers performed, directed by Professor Edward Schell.

A harvest of hand-blown glass pumpkins is ripe for the picking at the annual Glass Pumpkin Patch sale. The fundraiser will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, in the Red Barn, west side of campus, off Minett Drive. Students and faculty from RIT’s School for American Crafts’ glass program made the one-of-a-kind pumpkins and gourds to sell. Vases and paperweights will also be available, with prices ranging from $15 to $150 (cash and checks accepted only). Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Visiting Artist Series in the School for American Crafts’ glass program and the RIT Women’s Council Scholarships.

Imaging science graduate student May Arsenovic is working with professor Carl Salvaggio and a team of research scientists to study the power production at a plant in Midland, Mich., using an airborne sensor similar to the one shown above. Arsenovic and senior scientist Bob Kremens will collect ground data in Midland throughout the winter.

Scientist, inventor, comedian and author Bill Nye served as this year’s Horton Distinguished Speaker Oct. 11. Nye is best known as the star of the PBS television series Bill Nye the Science Guy, which was awarded 28 Emmy awards within a five-year span.

RIT’s Brick City Homecoming, a fall tradition for alumni, family and students, took place Oct. 8-12. Joe Showers, who will be teaching juggling for RIT wellness classes, demonstrated technique to Nadine Morrison, a second-year science major.

RIT’s Red Barn, which has morphed into “Interactive Adventures” over the years, celebrated its 100th birthday on Oct. 11. Free rock climbing, a reception and live music were part of the festivities.

Ross Mayfield, Socialtext wiki co-founder of the Palo Alto-based social software company, was the keynote speaker at the 2008 RIT Entrepreneurs Conference which kicked off Brick City homecoming weekend on Oct. 10. The all-day conference focused on how serial entrepreneurs can utilize social networking to create and grow businesses.

Construction is set to kick off on the Student Alumni Union renovation project. A ceremony was held Oct. 10 in the Fireside Lounge to officially launch the construction and to unveil plans for a new Campus Center, which will be built in the old Woodward Pool area. Student Government President Ed Wolf (left) and RIT President Bill Destler were on hand for the ceremony.

RIT’s Brick City Homecoming, a fall tradition for alumni, family and students, takes place Oct. 8-12. The campus is decorated with several thousands of orange, brown and white balloons, the university’s colors.