News
School of Chemistry and Materials Science

RIT is spearheading a transformative $7.3 million research hub in collaboration with the University of Rochester. The center will study the lifecycle of microplastics, including its origin as plastic waste, distribution, and movement in the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem.

RIT third-year biochemistry student Aidan Miller has been awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious undergraduate research scholarship in the United States, given to students pursuing a career in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering.

RIT has been announced as one of 10 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutional Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Prize Competition award winners.

Ahmad Kirmani’s research is helping to expand and improve space exploration through understanding how the metal-halide perovskite, the next-generation printable semiconductor, reacts to harsh extraterrestrial conditions and self-heals in those conditions.

Twelve RIT alumni have been honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards for the 2023-2024 year. The Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented annually by each of RIT’s nine colleges, the School of Individualized Study, and the RIT Graduate School to alumni who have performed at the highest levels of their profession or who have contributed to the advancement and leadership of civic, philanthropic, or service organizations.

Emiliano Brini, assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health to support his research on building the next generation of drugs. Brini and his team of students will develop computational tools that can predict the strength of the interaction between two proteins and how drugs will modify this interaction.

A team of scientists at RIT will expand its work after receiving a large grant from the National Science Foundation to make chemistry more accessible for students who rely on American Sign Language interpreters in class. The team has been awarded nearly $380,000 for its proposal to transform chemistry for deaf and hard-of-hearing students via the design, implementation, and evaluation of a descriptive sign language lexicon.

Christopher Collison was appointed to the Jane King Harris Endowed Professorship and Emmett Ientilucci was selected for the Gerald W. Harris Endowed Professorship by College of Science Dean Andre Hudson. RIT alumnus Jeffrey Harris ’75 (photographic science and instrumentation) and his partner, Joyce Pratt, established the professorships in 2022 with a generous gift in honor of Harris’s parents, the namesakes of the positions.

More than 158 students presented research discoveries conducted over the past spring and summer at RIT’s 32nd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 3.

WROC-TV interviews recent RIT graduate Bobby Kovach, who managed to earn multiple degrees despite overcoming health challenges from a car accident.

Despite overcoming health challenges from a car accident, Bobby Kovach, who recently graduated from RIT, managed to earn two degrees in four disciplines at the same time.

Yahoo News features Amie Fornah Sankoh '17 (biochemistry).