February 25, 2019

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Jim Zavislan, who has served us so ably as associate dean for the last six years, will return full time to his teaching and research at the Institute of Optics on July 1 — with our deep thanks for a job very well done.

The associate dean’s position is very much focused on our undergraduate programs – overseeing the assessment process that culminates every six years in ABET accreditation of our programs, for example. And organizing our annual design day. As well as working with non-Hajim departments such as math and physics that offer courses our students are required to take.

So, I am delighted to announce that Paul Funkenbusch, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, has agreed to be our next associate dean. Paul is already familiar with the ABET process, having guided the Department of Mechanical Engineering through the last cycle. He has also served as the department’s director of undergraduate studies and is currently the mentor for the University’s latest cohort of Posse scholars. Paul is very interested in undergraduate education – how we get students in the door, how we keep them here, and how we enable them to succeed. He cares about access, diversity, and providing experiential opportunities to all undergraduates. He is excited about the prospects for renovating space in Gavett Hall for teaching.

And Paul has a vested interest in our school. All four of his children, as well as his wife, are either current Hajim students or graduates.

Please join me in welcoming Paul to his new position, which will begin on July 1! And watch for an article about Jim’s contributions as associate dean in our upcoming spring edition of Rochester Engineering.

Katie Schwertz ’08 says she “didn’t really know anything about optics” until she took an introductory course at our Institute of Optics. Now she’s a senior design engineer at Edmund Optics – and one of 20 “inspiring engineers” profiled in a video collection produced by NBC News Learn as educational material for teachers, students, and parents. Katie does a great job of describing how optics makes our everyday lives easier – and why she loves engineering. “It’s really cool to see something that you’ve created or worked on then be used in the real world,” says Katie, who is a member of our Hajim School Young Leadership Council. Be sure to watch Katie’s video. The link includes a transcript and even a lesson plan. And thank you, Katie, for being such a great role model for women aspiring to be engineers!

Congratulations to:

Govind Agrawal, the James C. Wyant Professor of Optics, who has been selected as the 2019 recipient of the Max Born Award from the Optical Society (OSA). Govind is being recognized for his “sustained distinguished contributions to physical optics through innovative research on lasers, fiber-optical communications and nonlinear optics.” Well done, Govind! Read more here.
Three Hajim students — Emma Luke ’19 of biomedical engineering, Graeme McGuire ’18 (T5 ’19), a linguistics and computer science major, and Nicole Naselaris ’19 of optical engineering — who are among a record 27 University of Rochester students and recent alumni who have been named semifinalists in the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Grant Program, the government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Finalists will be announced over the next few months. Read more here.
Student-athlete Bryce Ikeda ’19 of electrical and computer engineering, who continues to receive awards for his outstanding play as co-captain of the men’s varsity soccer team, which reached the Division III Final Four for the first time last fall. Last week Bryce was named a D3soccer.com 1st Team All-American and was selected as the Division III Midfielder of the Year. Read more here.
Student-athlete Nancy Bansbach ’19 of biomedical engineering, who was selected to the Longstreth/NFHCA Division III All-American team for women’s field hockey. She is only the fourth player in the program’s history to earn First Team All-American honors. Read more here.

Students interested in an introduction to computer-aided design can sign up for EAS 143, a new 2-credit course that will be taught by Ethan-Burnham Faye, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, starting March 8. Students will learn the basics of generating three dimensional objects, how to combine individual parts into larger assemblies, drafting of parts and assemblies, and will work in small groups to complete an advanced modeling project. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is discussed, and the final project will be 3D printed for each student. At the end of the course, students will be able to manifest their own ideas and designs in the CAD workspace utilizing spacial reasoning and engineering design principles, a useful skill in all engineering disciplines. The class will meet 2-3:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in Meliora 210. The deadline for adding this course (paper add/drop form) is March 29.

Here’s an opportunity for students interested in qualifying as Grand Challenges Scholars – and having a summer internship in their home country. Muhammad Miqdad ’19 of chemical engineering is business development head of PakVitae, a Pakistan startup company that produces low-cost, gravity-based water filters for developing countries. To expand the company beyond Pakistan, he is hiring international students at our University as paid interns this summer to lead projects in their home countries, develop a local team to engage stakeholders, conduct market research, and deploy small-scale pilots. Interested? Drop by the iZone at 8 p.m. tomorrow, February 26, for a workshop Muhammad is leading in collaboration with the iZone, entitled “Global Water Crisis-Rapid Prototyping Workshop.” You can read more about Muhammad in this Campus Times article.

Students can learn more about the Grand Challenges Scholars program in general by attending these information sessions in the iZone:

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday March 6
3-4:30 p.m. Thursday March 7
12:30-2 p.m. Monday March 25

For more information about the program contact Emma Derisi.

Have great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman