April 2, 2018

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Congratulations to Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering. She is among theÂ eight influential women pioneers in augmented and virtual reality listed by the organizers of the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in the first posting of their new blog “Women in AR+VR.” Jannick “has applied her expertise in optical system design to eyewear displays for Augmented Reality, first designing stereoscopic head-worn displays for medical visualization in the 1990s,” the post states. Read more here.

Congratulations as well to the Institute of Optics students who received awards at the recent Industrial Associates meeting. They included these undergraduates:

David Lippman, H.D. Polster Prize, awarded to a senior who has demonstrated through academic performance or a special project, unusual ability in the field of 0ptics.
Kaia Williams, Faculty Prize, awarded to a senior who best exemplifies the ideals of character, scholarship, and service.
Cherine Ghazouani, Britton Award, given to a first-year student who has excelled academically and demonstrates a keen interest in optics.
Jonathan Dietz, Sommargren Research Award, presented to a deserving undergraduate studying in the field of optics.
Grayce Huang, Dr. Kevin Thompson Award, given to a student who demonstrates a keen interest in optical design and/or metrology.

And these graduate students:

Kevin Liang, Spring 2017 Best TA Award for outstanding assistance and contribution to the education of his fellow students for Optics 287: Math Methods & Physics.
Wanyue (Fifi) Song, Fall 2017 Best TA Award for outstanding assistance and contribution to the education of her fellow students for Optics 544: Advanced Lens Design.
Qi Jin, the Rochester Precision Optics Award for Outstanding Graduate Projects. Given by Rochester Precision Optics to honor outstanding research conducted by a graduate student. Qi was honored for research he conducted on Broadband Terahertz Wave Generation from Water, in which he also made a pioneering discovery.

To all of these students, a hearty “well done!”

We will list more student awards as they are announced by other departments and by the Hajim School as a whole as we get closer to commencement.

Speaking of commencement, please check out our updated commencement web page for details about our ceremony this spring. Graduating seniors, especially, please read the four things you need to do ahead of time to ensure your graduation status and to assist us in planning the ceremony. Also, today is the deadline for seniors to submit new major/minor/degree declaration forms, and also to make name or other changes that they want reflected in the commencement program.

Our student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers will co-host the organization’s regional student conference this weekend, April 7 and 8. Planned entirely by students, the conference will gather over 250 chemical engineering students from 24 regional schools for professional development and chemical engineering related competitions. You can find further details about the conference at www.neaiche2018.com or email 2018eckhardtconference@gmail.com with questions.

The annual University Technology Showcase on April 12, sponsored by the Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences (CEIS), is a great opportunity for faculty and researchers in optics, imaging and photonics, data science, energy and materials, and biomedical technology to share their work with industry professionals. Students and faculty alike are encouraged to participate in the poster session. The winner of the poster presentation contest will receive $500. Register and upload your abstract by Wednesday, April 4, 2018.

Three speakers will present at this year’s showcase:

Bill Strassburg, vice president of strategic planning at Wegmans, will discuss how the grocery chain’s use of big data is a byproduct of the digital revolution’s effect on the food business. He also plans to address how food affects heath and some of the work that will be done with Rochester Data Science Consortium using Wegmans’ data.
Walt Johnson, executive director of the Goergen Institute for Data Science’s Rochester Data Science Consortium and Rochester Center of Excellence in Data Science, will give an overview of the UR data science program and the rationale behind its structure.
Art Papier, founder and CEO of VisualDx, will talk about “Machine Learning and Improving Medical Diagnosis.” Art has a particular interest in designing clinical systems that leverage the human ability for pattern recognition, thereby increasing clinical accuracy and reducing diagnostic error at the point of care.