News by Topic: Creativity And Innovation

Experts from Australia, Hong Kong, Peru, and Vietnam will join faculty from RIT’s New York and international campuses for a conference on the future of international education in a post-COVID world.

Eric Avar ’90 (industrial design), Nike’s vice president and creative guide of innovation design, has been selected as a 2021 commencement speaker on May 14 and 15. Avar, who was honored with the College of Art and Design Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016, joins Andrea Ghez—a 2020 Nobel Prize winner in physics—as the university’s first-ever dual commencement speakers during a two-day celebration of the Class of 2021.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 47: RIT’s Theme Park Enthusiasts started as a casual group of roller coaster fanatics. Today, they have won national design competitions and have found co-ops and jobs in the field of theme park entertainment. Travis Faircloth, current club leader, talks to alumnus and former member Robert Cybulski, CAE Analyst at Roush Industries, and Michael Deneau, vice president of Entertainment Engineering at Roush Industries. They share insights about the growth of the club and what it takes to succeed in a very competitive and rewarding industry.

Louise Fili, an American graphic designer recognized for her elegant use of typography and timeless quality in her design, is the 2021 recipient of the Frederic W. Goudy Award for Excellence in Typography, given to an outstanding practitioner in type design and related fields.

Transitioning demanding engineering classes to the online environment throughout the pandemic was a challenge, but Associate Professor Amanda Bao adjusted by supplementing lectures with a series of interactive and accessible materials that enhanced student learning.

Three fourth-year advertising photography majors—Jordan Hundelt from Seattle, Julia Abbonizio from Downingtown, Pa., and Bianca Ranciato from Wallingford, Conn.—won gold at the the 2021 Rochester ADDY awards, which honor the best in local advertising and cultivate the highest creative standards in the industry.

Renovation work inside RIT’s College of Art and Design—including key areas within the internationally recognized School of Photographic Arts and Sciences—is part of a five-year masterplan that has already begun to renovate, rejuvenate, and transform spaces to meet the growing demands for a college that serves as the university’s intersection of technology, art, and design.

Emmett Ientilucci's rapport with students is earning him recognition as the recipient of this year’s Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes tenure-track faculty who excel in teaching and leadership on campus.

Associate Professor Amanda Bao brings extensive experience in building bridges and strong connections to students to her classroom, and she is being honored with a 2021 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Professor Mark Fairchild, head of the Integrated Sciences Academy and director of the Munsell Color Science Laboratory and the program of color science in RIT’s College of Science, received the 2021 Otto Schade Prize, which recognizes vision scientists, human factor engineers, and engineers whose efforts have led to major improvements in the visual quality of electronic displays.

The success of RIT’s Tiger Testing campaign is made possible by campus-wide collaborations involving more than 100 employees working behind the scenes to support RIT’s COVID-19 response.

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I)—led by RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability—has developed a free, interactive toolkit that municipalities can use to design, implement, and manage food waste programs at the local level.