April 30, 2018
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
Congratulations to Henry Kautz, professor of computer science and the founding director of the Goergen Institute for Data Science. Henry has been appointed to serve a three-year rotation as director of the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems at the National Science Foundation. The division supports artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and data science. Henry will help create calls for research proposals, manage the process for reviewing proposals and making award decisions, and work with other NSF officials to set strategy and policy. This is a wonderful opportunity for Henry and a recognition of his stature as an outstanding researcher and leader in this all-important field. I can’t think of anyone more qualified than Henry to take on this position. Read more here.
Last year, members of the fledgling Chem-E-Car team took it in stride when their car would not start at their first ever regional competition. They were ecstatic just to get into the competition and pass the safety component. This year’s team had even more to be excited about. Not only did the car start; the team placed 11th among 21 teams competing at the RIT campus in a regional contest that our team co-hosted. And they finished second in the poster contest. “Although we by no means finished on the top of the pack, we were ecstatic that everything came together after all our hours of work,” says team captain Charles Chiang ’19, who was also a member of last year’s team. Charles says he was “jumping for joy” when the car stopped in the last second before the time limit. Be sure to watch Dawn Wendt’s video, which does a wonderful job of capturing the team’s excitement, and read more here.
Our Baja SAE team was also in action recently, competing against 95 other U.S. and international collegiate teams in an off-road vehicle competition in Mechanicsville, Maryland. Despite some breakdowns, the team finished 45th in the endurance race and did particularly well in the acceleration contest (14th) and design (16th). Next up: competitions in Pittsburgh, Kansas and Portland, Oregon in May.
A lot of remarkable work by students, staff, and faculty members comes to fruition this week.
Please join me in congratulating the winners of our Art of Science competition from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at the VISTA Collaboratory in Carlson Library. We received a record 52 entries; thanks to all who submitted! Guest speakers will include Harold Clark, senior director for STEM Learning and Community at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, and Mary Ann Mavrinac, our vice provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean of University of Rochester Libraries.
Presentations and judging for the Charles and Janet Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition for Hajim School undergraduates will take place that same afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. in 407 Schlegel Hall. Seven teams involving total of 24 students will be competing. A reception will follow the presentations. Register online or call the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship at 276-3500.
And on Friday we will showcase 94 design projects carried out by our seniors and our Center for Medical Technology and Innovation masters students from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Goergen Athletic Center. The winner of our annual Dottie Welch Student Enrichment Award also will be announced.
Our University observes its annual Day of Giving tomorrow. Gifts of any amount make a difference and ensure the University’s continued impact on countless lives, our community, and the world. Learn more here.
Also, mark your calendar for the Center for Visual Science’s upcoming annual symposium. The topic — “Frontiers in Virtual Reality” — will be of interest to many of our students and faculty. The symposium, which will be held June 1 to 3 at the Memorial Art Gallery, will bring together leaders in vision, neuroscience, multisensory research, optics, computer science, and clinical applications whose work connects to new developments in virtual and augmented reality. Click here for a list of speakers, and details about registration.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
