March 19, 2018

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

When Marty Guenther bid farewell recently, she offered advice that could serve as a guide for undergraduate coordinators everywhere. ““Remind students that their behavior has consequences. Help them reach their full potential. Get them graduated and on their way. And keep track of them wherever they land.” Marty, who served in that capacity for the Department of Computer Science from the inception of its undergraduate program in 1995, did all of that and much more. (Read more here.) We wish her all the best as she enjoys retirement.

Brynn Wilkins, the department’s new undergraduate program manager, is well acquainted with Rochester, the department, and our University. A graduate of Allendale Columbia School, she is also a 2014 alumna in film and media studies and a KEY Scholar who served as an administrative assistant in the Computer Science department from 2013 to 2015. She returns after two years as creative content coordinator for the Nichols School in Buffalo. Welcome aboard, Brynn!

A warm welcome as well to three former Xerox research scientists who have joined the Goergen Institute’s Rochester Data Science Consortium. John Handley, Wencheng Wu, and Beilei Xu have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to quickly acquire new computational skills, then pivot to apply them to new and interesting challenges different from anything they worked on previously. In other words, they’re a perfect fit for the consortium, which will be helping local companies solve data science challenges. Read more here.

Congratulations to:

Joseph Plyan-Franke ’17 (T5) , a computer science and linguistics major, who is one of 13 University of Rochester students and recent alumni who are semifinalists in the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Grant Program, the government’s flagship international educational exchange program.
Two biomedical engineering undergraduates – Dilshawn Gamage ’19 and Hetince Zhao ’18 – who were on teams competing in regional semifinals for the Hult Prize, the world’s largest social entrepreneurship contest. Dilshawn competed in Dubai with the Plate Technologies team. Their project: To provide portable stoves powered by renewable energy sources as an alternative to open-fire cooking in developing nations. Hetince competed in Singapore with the UR Connected team. Their project: To create a wearable assistive technology to improve self-care and social interaction among isolated elderly populations in developed nations.

David Narrow ’12, a member of the BME senior design team that came up with the MonoMano tricycle for disabled persons, is now CEO of Sonavex Inc. The Baltimore-based medical device company has just received $4.5 million in venture capital funding to accelerate its launch later this year of a new implant to mark soft tissue sites after surgery. Read more here.

Do you know junior or senior high school students who excel in math and physics, and enjoy working on projects with others? They are invited to attend this summer’s Photon Camp at the Institute of Optics. The free camp, from June 25 to 29, lets students explore the growing field of optics and optical engineering by attending faculty lectures, participating in field trips, and working in laboratories. The object is to have fun while learning. Students end the camp with presentations of projects they developed, which family members, teachers, and friends are encouraged to attend. Limited slots are available. For more information contact the Institute of Optics undergraduate program coordinator Dustin Newman.

The Industrial Associates of The Institute of Optics will be here Thursday through Sunday for their spring meeting. This is a tremendous opportunity for our optics students and representatives of leading optics companies to get acquainted. The day-long Friday symposium at the Feldman Ballroom will include a welcome and overview by Institute director Scott Carney; a faculty research highlight by Nick Vamivakas, associate professor of quantum optics and quantum physics; a distinguished alumna talk by Susan Houde-Walter (’87 PhD); a presentation on women in optics and photonics by Elizabeth Rogan, CEO of the Optical Society; graduate student research talks; senior design and master’s student showcases; a poster session; award presentations; and brief IA company overviews, followed by an interactive meet-and-greet with students. There is also an evening reception. See the full schedule here.

Still Time to Submit: March 30 is the deadline for students, faculty, and staff to submit entries for this year’s Hajim School Art of Science Competition. Digital images, illustrations, posters, and videos should incorporate the imaginative use of science, art, and technology. Cash prizes of $500, $300, and $200 will be awarded for the top three visual designs and a $500 prize for best digital video. Click here for more details about this year’s contest, and here to see last year’s winners. Contact Sandra Turner at hseasartofscience@gmail.com with questions and to submit an entry.

From the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship:

Check out Entrepreneur Connector, a wall in the Dewey Hall tunnel system by the vending machines, where students looking for partners to work on an innovative project can post exactly what or who they are looking for, or the skills they can offer for other projects.
Deadline is Thursday, March 22, to apply for e5, a fifth, tuition-free year of college to launch a project and engage in an experiential pursuit.
Workshop 2 in the 2018 Mark Ain Business Model Competition Workshop Series, “Market Intelligence for Customer Discovery” by Mitch Lovett, associate professor of marketing at the Simon Business School, is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, in Schlegel Hall 103. Free and open to all members of the University and the public.
Students 2 Startups, designed to connect university students with local startup founders, will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 28 at NextCorps (formerly High Tech Rochester) downtown at Sibley Square. A Students 2 Startups shuttle departs at 6:45 p.m. from ITS in Rush Rhees Library. Register online.

Mark your calendar: Computer science alumnus Rick Rashid (’77M, ’80PhD), founder of Microsoft Research and former professor at Carnegie Mellon, will be here April 16 to speak on “Basic Research in the era of Big Data – How Data Science has Changed and Continues to Change the Research Enterprise.” The talk, from noon to 1 p.m. in Wegmans Hall 1400, is in conjunction with the dedication of three conference rooms in recognition of a gift by Rick. Read more here. Rick is definitely someone worth hearing!

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman