President’s Page

Sarah Mangelsdorf

I’m delighted that after a bit of a hiatus, Rochester Review is once again in print! The COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary for us to focus on other things since the previous issue last winter, but it’s important that we share a status report of sorts about how our University has responded to the challenges of this year. There is much to be thankful for as well as notable news to celebrate.

We’re obviously not out of the woods yet, and, as I’m writing this, there are troubling reports of increasing infection rates across the United State. We’ll have to see what the coming months bring.

What has struck me most during the last few long months is the resilience and dedication of the University’s staff and faculty and the conscientiousness of our students. We have all had to adapt quickly, whether continuing to provide outstanding medical care or figuring out how to teach remotely or how to feed undergraduates while maintaining social distancing or providing quarantine space—and how to conduct random COVID surveillance testing.

We’ve developed new ways of connecting virtually with our graduates and new ways of conducting research in labs. We’ve offered virtual concerts, exhibitions, and other events.

All of us owe a debt of gratitude to the clinicians, faculty, staff, and students who have taken on the challenges of this pandemic and demonstrated their commitment to this University and to our Meliora values.

And our graduates around the world have demonstrated their commitment, too, providing encouragement and support and engaging with us from afar.

Rochester Review is primarily for our graduates, but it is the only publication that is provided to all members of the University of Rochester community. So it was extremely important to me that we connect again in a tangible way through this magazine.

You’ll be able to read about some of the ways our University has responded to the pandemic in the following pages, but you’ll also find stories about University people and projects that continue to move forward despite the pandemic. It’s so important to keep in mind that the work of this University goes on and the impact of this University continues unabated.

In October, we cheered the news that Dr. Harvey J. Alter ’56, ’60M (MD) was awarded a share of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. That means that in the last four years, three Rochester graduates have been awarded Nobel Prizes. And this recognition doesn’t focus on a single area of academic strength: the awards have been in Medicine, Physics, and Economics. I haven’t made a careful study of this, but I expect that few, if any, other universities can match this achievement.

In May, our URMC colleagues began participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials, in large part because of Rochester’s long-standing expertise and research leadership in vaccine technology, immunology, and infectious diseases. In November, the entire country was heartened by the announcement that one of those vaccines has been identified as being highly effective in preventing the disease.

And recently, a research team led by Professor Ranga Dias of the Hajim School reported in the journal Nature that they have developed a material that for the first time achieves room-temperature superconductivity.

The significance of this discovery should not be underestimated and has the potential to change the world, with applications from transportation and medicine to more efficient power grids and electronics. This is a discovery that has been sought for over a century and has been described as a “holy grail” of condensed matter physics.

It’s clear that when we are confronted with a challenge, the University of Rochester rises to the occasion. We continue to learn, discover, heal, and create—even when we’re wearing our masks, washing our hands, and maintaining social distance!

I hope you enjoy this issue, and I hope it finds you in good health.

Meliora.

Contact President Mangelsdorf at sarah.mangelsdorf@rochester.edu. Follow her on Instagram: @urochestermangelsdorf.