Photo Spotlights

NTID-supported student researchers presented posters and demonstrated their research at NTID’s third annual Student Research Fair April 13. The fair showed how students are breaking new ground in access technology, health science, astrophysics, mathematics, biochemistry, communication studies, psychology, education, environmental research, and more. Andrew Smith (BFA-3DDD) and Maliki Callahan (AAS-3DGT), and their project advisor, Heather Smith-Schmitz (seated) demonstrate NTID’s Motion Capture system.

Spider-Man and Spider-Woman characters were spotted in the Student Alumni Union, one of the many locations on campus participating in Tora-Con 2018 on April 14-15. Nearly 3,000 people attended the two-day event, where attendees are encouraged to dress up as their favorite character. The 14th annual event was put on by RIT’s Student Anime Club.

NTID’s Performing Arts Department presents The Wonderful World of Oz April 19-22. A few of the performers, pictured here from left to right, are Fred Michael Beam, Perseus McDaniel, Amy Ausdenmoore and Jeff Pratt. Show times are 7:30 p.m. April 19–21 and April 27-28; and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22. Tickets are $12 for general audiences; $10 for alumni, faculty, staff and children age 12 and older; and $5 for students, seniors (60+) and children under age 12. Tickets may be purchased through the RIT box office online at https://rittickets.com or by phone at 585-475-4121. Tickets also will be available on performance days two hours prior to curtain. The production will raise funds to support NTID’s performing arts activities.

Members of the RIT Ambulance corps demonstrated emergency medical service techniques during its 50th anniversary reunion on April 14. The agency, an all-volunteer, student-run organization, was recently recognized for its exemplary training, emergency preparedness and community service.

The RIT student team from Aesthetician Labs took first place in the New York State Game Dev Challenge, hosted by RIT and sponsored by Empire State Development, for their game Crazy Platez. From left, Noah Ratcliff, Sam Cammarata and Aidan Markham accepted the $12,000 prize from RIT President David Munson at an event at The Strong in downtown Rochester on April 12. Crazy Platez is described as a high-octane, Rochester-themed game in development that encourages players to race to deliver “plates” to residents and refill tanks before they run out of gas.

Philip Gelsomino, visiting lecturer in the Saunders College of Business, received RIT’s Outstanding Teaching Award for Non-Tenure Track Faculty. Gelsomino, who graduated from RIT in 1986, was named the Distinguished Alumnus for the Saunders College of Business in 2008.

Alex Lobos, associate professor in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, is one of the recipients of the 2018 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award encourages the professional growth and development of RIT faculty and specifically recognizes those members of the academic body who contribute most to enhance student learning. Full-time faculty with seven years or more of full-time teaching experince are eligible for this award.

Steven Ciccarelli, associate professor in the College of Applied Science and Technology, is one of the recipients of the 2018 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award encourages the professional growth and development of RIT faculty and specifically recognizes those members of the academic body who contribute most to enhance student learning. Full-time faculty with seven years or more of full-time teaching experince are eligible for this award.

A devoted volunteer to several Rochester charities and nonprofits and a student passionate about global volunteerism received this year’s Alfred L. Davis Distinguished Public Service Awards on April 12. Twyla Cummings, dean of Graduate Education, received the 2018 Four Presidents Distinguished Public Service Award. Claire Finnerty, a fourth-year biomedical sciences and public policy dual major from Rochester, N.Y., received the 2018 Bruce R. James Award. From left are James Macchiano, selection committee chairperson; Finnerty; RIT President David Munson; Cummings; and Cindee Gray, selection committee chairperson.

Assistant professor of mathematical sciences Nathaniel Barlow received the 2018 Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The honor is given to faculty who have taught three years or less and who foster excellence in teaching and leadership in the campus community. In addition, Barlow won the Innovative Teaching with Technology award for adapting technology as a teaching tool in his undergraduate courses.

Telecommunications engineering technology professor Mark Indelicato and REDCOM President & CEO Dinah Gueldenfennig Weisberg were among the group celebrating a recent equipment donation to the REDCOM Advanced Telecommunications System Laboratory in CAST. The company has been a long time partner of RIT and CAST, providing resources for student coursework and faculty research in the telecommunications field.

Five teams of RIT student entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas to a panel of Rochester-area investors during the Tiger Tank competition, hosted by the Albert J. Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, on April 5. Taking first place was the team from SignSpeak, a communication system for deaf and hearing users that interprets American Sign Language into English and transcribes spoken English conversations when interpreters or captionists are not available. Students, from left to right, are Nicholas Wilkins, a third-year computational mathematics student; Michael Johnson, a third-year mechanical engineering student; Priyanka Patil, a first-year computer science student; Caleb Kellicutt, a third-year computation mathematics student; and Nikolas Kelly, a second-year industrial systems and engineering student. More than 60 proposals were submitted for the chance to win $4,750 in cash prizes as well as scholarships for graduate studies at RIT’s Saunders College of Business.