Computing and Information Sciences News

An RIT-funded spring break excursion to the heart of entrepreneurship and innovation aimed to give students the tools and inspiration to take their ideas to the next level.

Croatia has a treasure trove of historically significant manuscripts, but after 800 years of fading ink and worms eating their parchment, much of the text has become impossible to read. Scientists from RIT are using multispectral imaging to make the writing legible once again and preserve the important information the manuscripts hold.

DiwaTech, an interface design solution to improve video game accessibility, took home the $5,000 first prize during The Next Big Idea business competition, hosted by NTID.

Elephant and rhino poachers in South Africa can run, but they can’t hide from drones. An imaging system created by a team led by Elizabeth Bondi ’16 automatically detects illegal hunters infiltrating national parks at night. Bondi’s deep learning system alerts the monitoring team who notifies park rangers or law enforcement of a potential threat to the animals under their protection.

When he was in high school, Josh Geise, a fifth-year computing security student, was involved in a program that donated refurbished computers to local families. To continue his work in computer refurbishment and help increase computer accessibility in the Rochester area, Geise and friend Brian Martens ’18 started their own nonprofit organization that donates refurbished computers to people in need.

RIT’s College of Liberal Arts honored student achievement in writing on Friday with the presentation of more than a dozen writing awards for essays varying from sanctuary cities, how democracies can withstand outside meddling, and the excavation, preservation and reconstruction of a London theater where Shakespearian plays debuted.

More than 100 RIT students were honored Thursday as Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars. The students were also able to invite the high school or community college teacher that made the most impact on their education.

Launched in 2012, the RIT Venture Fund invests in early-stage, high-growth companies founded by students, faculty, staff, alumni and RIT Venture Creations client companies in fields that complement RIT’s core academic competencies. From block chain and clean-energy technology to telecommunications, manufacturing and game development, the Venture Fund looks to create industry diversity and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Researchers from RIT and Seneca Park Zoo are developing a virtual reality gaming environment that will let zoogoers experience a Madagascar rainforest ecosystem.

As The Benjamin Forman Collaborative Research Professorship, Victor Perotti acts as a facilitator for research alliances that benefit students and faculty that find value in building a portfolio around unique interdisciplinary partnerships. 

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 11: Artificial intelligence and deep learning have many research applications. Ray Ptucha, assistant professor of computer engineering in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, talks with computing doctoral student Robert Jimerson from the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences about a project using deep learning systems to help preserve the Native American Seneca language.

RIT student Shawn Liu is being recognized at the 2019 Game Developers Conference for creating an extraordinary video game that challenges players to finish a maze using Windows keyboard shortcuts.