Student international travel update for fall 2021

The University continues to carefully monitor the COVID-19 pandemic globally and based on improving health and travel conditions is beginning a gradual restart of global experiences for students, including University-sponsored or supported travel undertaken by graduate or undergraduate students. This includes formal study programs, exchange programs, internships, conferences, research, fellowships, service learning, volunteer programs, performances, athletic competitions, and additional types of international experiences.

All global experiences planned for the 2021 fall semester must be submitted to the Center for Education Abroad first and will require review and approval by Global Engagement’s Travel Review Subcommittee. To date, a very limited number of programs have been approved and the majority have been postponed until at least the 2022 spring semester.

All departments or individuals in any school or division of the University currently planning a global student experience for the fall 2021 semester should complete this survey. Education Abroad will review and advise on further steps. Programs will only be considered if the planning is already well-developed. Current conditions related to the pandemic vary across the world and some regions are experiencing more severe conditions than others. This generally allows for opportunities in some regions, but limits opportunity in others.

If you have questions, please contact the Center for Education Abroad at (585) 275-7532 or Global Engagement at travelsecurity@rochester.edu.

Novel chirped pulses defy ‘conventional wisdom’

In a paper in Optica, Rochester researchers describe the first demonstration of highly chirped pulses created by using a spectral filter in a Kerr resonator—a type of simple optical cavity that operates without amplification. The new work is related to the approach used by Nobel laureates Donna Strickland ’89 (PhD) and Gerard Mourou, who helped usher in a revolution in the use of laser technology when they pioneered chirped pulse amplification while doing research at the University’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

• Dr. Chat Bot: Non–Medical Center faculty, staff, and all students | Medical Center employees
• What to do if you or your close contacts have symptoms or have been exposed
• University’s COVID-19 Resource Center
• Medical Center’s COVID-19 update page
• COVID-19 Concern Report

Mindfulness in June

If you are looking to learn about mindfulness and meditation or deepen your current practice, the Mindful University Project is offering a variety of sessions this month on Instagram. Each meditation will be 15–20 minutes long and will occur on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Visit their website for more information, as well as a June calendar featuring a variety of local organizations and their meditation and yoga sessions.

Virtual film screening, panel on music and mental health

The Eastman School of Music and Medical Center’s Department of Mental Health and Wellness will be among the cosponsors for a virtual screening and talkback panel of Orchestrating Change for this year’s Reel Minds Film Festival, taking place Tuesday, June 22, at 7 p.m. EDT. Orchestrating Change is a documentary following the Me2/Orchestra, the only classical music organization in the world created by and for people with mental illness and those who support them. A conversation will follow the screening moderated by Hochang Lee, the John Romano Professor of Psychiatry. To register, email Ruth Cowing.

As Pride Month continues, a reminder that Strong Memorial Hospital, Highland Hospital, and F.F. Thompson Hospital have been recognized as LGBTQ health care equality leaders by the Human Rights Campaign.