News by Topic: Experiential Learning

Dimitris Chachlakis became the first student to be awarded the new Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering this May from RIT. The new degree builds upon the Ph.D. in engineering, a multi-disciplinary degree established several years ago, and since then refined into three distinct programs.

Micatu Inc. donated its groundbreaking Gridview optical sensors to RIT for a new campus learning lab. The equipment allows faculty and students to monitor renewable integration and manage the addition of distributed energy resources onto the campus microgrid.

A pioneer of one of RIT’s earliest study abroad programs and a founding member of the biotechnology and molecular bioscience program has retired. Professor Robert Rothman from the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences taught his final courses in Genetics and Evolution and Creationism this spring, capping off an RIT career that began in 1984.

RIT Dubai completed phase one of construction on its state-of-the-art new campus and began officially operating out of the new location in the Dubai Silicon Oasis earlier this semester. The new campus was built with an overarching theme of interactive learning and spans 129,000 square meters with collaborative teaching and research spaces designed to accommodate up to 4,000 students.

President Joe Biden recently called for more resources to bolster the computer chip industry to meet consumer and commercial demands. Lynn Fuller has done more than his share to provide assets for this important industry. Fuller established the first microelectronic engineering program in the country in 1982 at RIT, and today many program graduates lead efforts at the top microchip firms advising the president.

RIT students have had a banner year in securing awards from the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program. RIT has a record four Fulbright finalists plus three alternates for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Ashley Tucker, a graduating senior majoring in biomedical sciences and biology, will travel to Nigeria at the end of the summer on a Fulbright Research award. Tucker will work with a malaria research group at University of Ibadan College of Medicine. Her research will help improve the rapid diagnostic testing for the deadly tropical disease.

Tyler Pugeda, a master’s student with concentrations in cell biology and healthcare entrepreneurship in RIT’s School of Individualized Study, will travel to Germany in September to fulfill the requirements of his Fulbright Research award. Using post-mortem human brains afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, Pugeda will investigate treatments to slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Hira Abid crossed continents to come to RIT. The chemical engineering student from Pakistan will make another global connection when she begins graduate school in Turkey as one of RIT’s newest Fulbright awardees.

Sarah Sabal secured two prestigious international scholarships—a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) and a Boren Awards Scholarship—that will allow her to spend a year intensively studying the Chinese language in an immersive setting. She is one of several students who contributed to a record-breaking year for RIT in terms of securing funding for international experiences.

More than 50 students are expected to earn their Ph.D. degrees by the end of June. The hooding ceremony, which will also include Ph.D. recipients in the class of 2020, is May 15.

Nearly 60 students will graduate this May from the College of Health Sciences and Technology’s clinical programs—physician assistant BS/MS, diagnostic medical sonography BS, and the echocardiography (cardiac ultrasound) certificate program. These students spend the final year of their programs immersed in practical work experience at clinics and hospitals in the region.