July 22, 2019

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Engineering and the applied sciences must include a diverse community of people with different backgrounds — and different ways of looking at problems — if we are to solve the most challenging problems we face as a society.  So I am thrilled that the Hajim School has been recognized for the work that we have done and will continue to do to attract and retain women, first-generation and/or underrepresented minority students, staff, and faculty members. Last week the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) included the Hajim School in its first cohort of Bronze Award engineering schools as part of its Diversity Recognition Program.  This signifies that we are “among the nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence,” according to Gregory Washington, chair of the ASEE Engineering Deans Council.

In our application to the program we cited several Hajim School initiatives, including our involvement with the Kearns Center’s Upward Bound program for Rochester City School District students, our STEM-Gems program to increase our retention of first-year underrepresented and/or first-generation engineering students, our “on-ramp” courses to encourage students with limited science and math backgrounds to consider engineering, and our proactive efforts to identify and recruit women and under-represented minority faculty members.

None of these programs would be possible without the help of Hajim School faculty, staff, and students; thanks to all of you who have contributed to our efforts in these areas. As we continue to build on these successes, we will become eligible for advanced Silver and Gold Awards from ASEE. Read more here.

We all know the challenge of trying to make our scientific poster stand out in a room crowded with presenters. Biomedical engineering alumnus Derek Crowe ’10, now a PhD student in biomedical genetics at the Medical Center, has some tips for us. Derek, who was included in a recent Forbes article about a new movement to improve poster design, had a former career in visual communication and design and has taught a Medical Center course on Scientific Communication and Visual Design for Diverse Audiences. He shares his poster design tips online, providing step by step instructions on how to organize the poster, and how to think about the content in a visual way. “Like the graphic novel did for literature, visual languages have the power to add more dimensions to scientific storytelling,” Derek says. “I’m excited to see what happens as the greater science community begins to take advantage of well-established visual storytelling tools.” Thanks, Derek, for sharing your thoughts on this.

Speaking of scientific posters, be sure to drop by the Feldman Ballroom a week from today, on July 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the Kearns Center’s annual Research Symposium. McNair Scholars, Xerox Engineering Research Fellows, Kearns Summer Research Scholars, and students participating in three REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) programs will share their findings from their lab work this summer. Oral presentations are from 9:10 a.m. to 1 p.m., lightning talks from 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m., and a poster session from 3:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. An awards and recognition ceremony will be from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Have a great week,

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman