Photo Spotlights

James Stefano, electrical engineering system administrator (left), and Stefania LoMonaco '04, assistant director of Alumni Relations, sort food into gift boxes for U.S. troops stationed overseas as part of the Holiday SOS program by the Office of Alumni Relations. Sixty boxes were sent to members of the military from RIT.

RIT’s Gallery r and Children Awaiting Parents are participating in the national Heart Gallery movement—an exhibition showcasing artistic images of children currently in foster care and available for adoption. The Rochester premier of the “RIT Children Awaiting Parents Photojournalism Exhibition” opens with a public reception from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9. RIT alumni and photojournalism students, under the direction of Loret Steinberg, associate professor, RIT School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, have volunteered their time and skill to capture the true spirit and personality of 45 waiting children.

RIT's Brick City Singers perform a cappella holiday tunes at a tree decorating party in Fireside Lounge, Student Alumni Union, on Dec. 1. Students, faculty and staff sipped hot cocoa and cider and nibbled on candy floss, popcorn and cookies as they decorated ornaments for the tree. The event was sponsored by the Center for Campus Life.

Thomas Curley, left, president and CEO of The Associated Press and a 1977 graduate of RIT's MBA program, shares his expertise during Journalism in the Digital Age, a symposium sponsored by RIT’s Department of Communication. The Dec. 5 event looked at how traditional methods of news gathering and reporting are being revamped in response to the digital revolution. J. Ford Huffman, right, editor of USA Today, was also among the panelist.

A traveling exhibit showcasing Israel’s technological innovations in the computer, telecommunications and medical fields is on display at RIT. The first cellular telephone, voicemail and instant messaging are just some of the inventions developed in Israel that many of us use everyday. This unique exhibit, Israel: Technology for the Next Generation will be on display in the atrium of the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences through Dec. 7. It has traveled to universities across the country. The exhibit is sponsored by the Golisano College, RIT Hillel and the Israeli Consulate.

Chairperson Jackie Mozrall of industrial and systems engineering, Nabil Nasr, Earl W. Brinkman Professor of Engineering and director of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, and Robert Brinkman, CEO of Brinkman Int. Group and Davenport Machine, announce the collaboration of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering and Davenport Machine. Davenport has donated equipment worth over $200,000 for use in research and development at RIT's Brinkman Lab.

Irene Brooks, commissioner of the International Joint Commission, chats with James Quick, of Wolcott, who came to RIT Nov. 10 for a discussion on the future of the Great Lakes. In her talk, “The Great Lakes: The Challenge Is Yours,” Brooks discussed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the regulation of Lake Ontario outflows and levels, and the International Joint Commission watershed initiative. The commission is an independent advisor to the United States and Canada on boundary and transboundary issues. Brooks visit was sponsored by the mechanical engineering department in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering.

Teresa Drilling, ‘83, a key animator on such hit films as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the WereRabbit and Chicken Run, returned to her alma mater on Nov. 11. She critiqued the work of students in the computer graphics design program and the School of Film and Animation. Drilling was a featured presenter at this year’s High Falls Film Festival in Rochester. She entered the field of stop motion animation in the mid-eighties. Drilling grew up in Oakfield, N.Y. and currently lives in Portland, Ore.

An automated playing-card shuffler/dealer was among computer-controlled senior-design inventions demonstrated by computer engineering majors Nov. 10 in Erdle Commons in the James E. Gleason Building. Justin Madigan, left, and Matt Erhard, along with Brian Cody (not shown in photo), fifth-year B.S./M.S. computer engineering majors, built the device for less than $100. It includes settings for the number of players and the number of cards per player. Other projects demonstrated include an automated driver’s license test monitoring system and an automated pool maintenance system, among others.

Assemblyman Joe Morelle, right, examines the progress of construction to RIT's Center for Bioscience Education and Technology. Morelle, who helped to secure funding for the $12 million project, joined representatives from the local building trades on a tour of the site Nov. 14. At left, Jim Yarrington, RIT's director of campus planning and design services, discusses features of the new facility, which is scheduled to open next summer.

Directed by Ed Schell, music program director in RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, The RIT Singers, along with a string quartet, clarinetist, flutist and percussionist, premiered the classical piece “Away.” “Away” was composed by David Liptak and is a setting of a poem written by Dane Gordon, RIT professor emeritus and university historian. The concert featured The RIT Singers, The RIT Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble, and two local high school jazz ensembles. All of the music was commissioned by The Commission Project, a national music education organization based in Rochester.

The RIT Singers rehearse for a community concert at RIT. Directed by Ed Schell, music program director in RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, The RIT Singers, along with a string quartet, clarinetist, flutist and percussionist, premiered an original piece of music commissioned for RIT’s 175th anniversary at a community concert earlier this month.