January 22, 2019

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Our tally of faculty members and scientists recognized as fellows by their respective professional societies has been very impressive this academic year, and continues to grow. Thomas Brown, professor of optics, has been named a fellow of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Tom’s citation is for his achievements in optical modeling and multidimensional microscopy. He is in good company. Recent Nobel laureates Gerard Mourou, a former Institute of Optics faculty member, and Donna Strickland ’89, former Institute PhD student, were also chosen new fellows of SPIE for  “achievements in the method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses.” They shared this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for developing chirped-pulse amplification at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Also in the new class of SPIE fellows is another Institute alumna, Linda Smith ’89, president of CERES Technology Advisors Inc. and member of our Visiting Committee. Linda is being recognized for her achievements in entrepreneurship. Read more here.

Congratulations as well to Warish Zaman Orko ’21 of biomedical engineering, who teamed with Niki Linganur ‘20, an economics major, to finish in the top eight percent of more than 400 teams at the recent World Universities Debating Championship in Cape Town, South Africa. This is the first time a University debate team has advanced this far at this prestigious tournament.  Read more here.

A hand-held device developed by a company co-founded by Scott Carney, director of the Institute of Optics, is undergoing trials at Johns Hopkins University and the results are promising. The Diagnostic Photonics Inc. device uses optical coherence tomography (OCT) with interferometric synthetic aperture microscopy (ISAM) to image tissue — in this case to assess margins of tissue excised during a lumpectomy, at the time of surgery. The goal is to help ensure all malignant tissue is removed and to reduce the need for additional surgery. In a pilot study involving 46 patients with early stage breast cancer, pathology showed eight patients had at least one positive margin. The device identified positive margins for five of these patients, meaning re-operation could potentially have been avoided for them.  The work is described in the Winter Issue of the Johns Hopkins Surgery newsletter.

Final reminder! Hajim School students interested in qualifying as Grand Challenges Scholars can attend a regional meeting from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday in the Barbara J. Burger iZone at Rush Rhees Library.  The event will be held in collaboration with the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship, which will offer an interactive workshop called “The Voice of a Customer.” Students participating in this meeting from our University, RIT, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry will fulfill the Entrepreneurship competency of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program. The agenda also will include a Design Thinking workshop, Project Management 101 workshop, a hands-on project with a community partner, and brainstorming and collaborating with other students about projects. Students who participate also will get a certificate in Design Thinking. Students not yet enrolled in the Grand Challenges Scholar Program, but interested in doing so, are welcome to participate if space allows. All majors welcome. Interested? RSVP to emma.derisi@rochester.edu.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman