February 6, 2017

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

The current issue of Rochester Review takes a look at the success our Department of Computer Science has had attracting women students to a field in which they have been significantly underrepresented. To help illustrate the story, Euakarn (Som) Liengtiraphan ’17, a computer science major and president of Women in Computing, drew on her skills as a studio art minor to tell the story of pioneering computer scientist Grace Hopper. Well done, Som!

The Gwen M. Greene Career & Internship Center is looking for Hajim School students to hire for its team of peer career advisors. The advisors are trained and supervised student employees who provide career development assistance to their peers and serve as liaisons between students and staff. This is not only a great way to help your fellow students, but an opportunity to gain marketing, communication, and leadership skills you can use yourself, to network with career professionals and on-campus recruiters, and thereby enhance your own chances of securing an internship or job. Applications, due by Thursday, Feb. 9, should be made through JobLink and also in Handshake, where you can search for the peer career advisor position. Questions? Contact Katie Ferruzza.

John Pershing ’10, a computer science alumnus, talks about volunteering for the  “Real Reader” program in a recent newsletter from Advancement. “The University was looking for alumni to work with students and provide them with relevant, professionally informed feedback about things like résumés and cover letters – and be available to answer questions about life after graduation,” says Pershing, now a distinguished software developer at 1010data and member of our Hajim Young Leadership Council. “This is something I wish existed when I was a student, and it’s enormously satisfying to help students make decisions about career trajectory.” Thanks so much for helping our students, John. Click here to learn more about ways to stay connected as a volunteer.

Back in November Joan Rubin, the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center, extended an invitation for Hajim School faculty members to engage in helping the center bridge core disciplines in the humanities with those in engineering, computer science, and other natural sciences. Joan advises that faculty members can now apply for Bridging Fellowships to help them do just that. Proposals must be connected to the Humanities Center’s theme, which next year is “Memory and Forgetting.” Fellowships are ordinarily for one semester, and release fellows from teaching obligations during that period. This could be especially useful for faculty members who have a research project that could be enhanced by creative engagement with next year’s Humanities Center fellows and visiting lecturers, whose expertise spans such disciplines as musicology, political theory, philosophy, history, literary and communication studies, neuroscience, creative writing, and studio art. If interested, contact Joan as soon as possible; the deadline for proposals is mid-February.

Thanks to the more than 100 alumni, friends, and Industrial Associate members who attended our Optics reception recently at Photonics West in San Francisco.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman