News by Topic: Faculty

As the RIT community prepares to return to campus this fall, an environment of physical distancing and reduced classroom occupancies has added a new component to the course scheduling process. Throughout the summer, every college has worked to rebuild the fall schedule to accommodate the unique requirements of the fall semester.

CTV News talks to Nathan Eddingsaas, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, about the presence of microplastics in the human body.

Researchers at RIT and the University of Rochester discovered an alternative to successfully purify biological particles to better understand how cells communicate with one another.

The Globe and Mail features work by Christy Tyler, associate professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, and Nathan Eddingsaas, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science.

A study abroad experience for RIT’s College of Engineering Technology (CET) students took place over Zoom when the class connected with peers from Hochschule Mittweida University of Applied Sciences in central Germany.

In a biology lab in Gosnell Hall, Professor André Hudson has been spending hours this summer testing products to see whether they are effective at killing and filtering microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. The effort is part of RIT’s Infrastructure and Health Technologies task force, which is putting changes in place to make RIT’s campus as safe and clean as possible in the fall.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, RIT’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion wanted to create a way for faculty and staff to connect with people from different backgrounds despite the limitations that come with physical distancing. In April, they launched the “What’s Your Diversity” program, a weekly storytelling and dialogue hour held via Zoom that allowed RIT faculty and staff to share how diversity impacts their lives.

Josh Owen, an internationally renowned designer, author and faculty-researcher who has led RIT’s industrial design program to national prominence since coming to the university a decade ago, has been named the new director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies and the Massimo and Lella Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design.

Richard Doolittle has been named interim dean of RIT’s College of Health Sciences and Technology, effective immediately. Doolittle has a long history with RIT’s health care programs, and he has served as vice dean of CHST for nearly a decade.

RIT students this fall can have a creative outlet to help them reflect on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by producing comics and visual arts narratives. Kriota Willberg, a New York City-based comic artist and illustrator, will be teaching a weekly online workshop called “Graphic Medicine,” being offered by the School of Individualized Study and the Center for Engaged Storycraft in the College of Liberal Arts.

A new 15-week program at RIT is teaching people all the skills they need to start a new career in cybersecurity. Starting in July, learners can enroll in RIT’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp, an immersive hands-on training course that will prepare them for critical entry-level roles in the cybersecurity workforce. The program aims to help professionals from all backgrounds and abilities set themselves up to transition into an in-demand career.

Matt Huenerfauth, a professor and expert in computing accessibility research, has been named director of RIT’s iSchool (School of Information). Huenerfauth takes the helm Aug. 1 from Stephen Zilora, who is stepping down after eight years of leadership.