March 2, 2020

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

The Institute of Optics will be at center stage when the Rochester Engineering Society presents its annual awards on April 18 at the Riverside Convention Center.

Susan Houde-Walter ’83MS ’87PhD, the Institute’s first woman professor and CEO of LMD Power of Light Corp. (doing business as LaserMaxDefense) will receive the 2019 Engineer of the Year Award.
Nick Vamivakas, professor of quantum optics and quantum physics and AS&E dean of graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs, will receive the 2019 Kate Gleason Young Engineer of the Year Award.
Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering, director of the Center for Freeform Optics, and co-founder of LighTopTech, will receive an Engineer of Distinction Award.
Leonard Zheleznyak ’05 ’06MS ’14PhD, vice president of vision science at Clerio Vision Inc., will be recognized as a finalist for the Young Engineer of the Year Award.

This is not only wonderful recognition for four very talented people, but a testament to the important role The Institute continues to play in supporting and advancing the strong optics and photonics industry in the Rochester region. Read more here.

A new High Content Imaging Core User Facility, in 228 Goergen Hall, provides access to high speed and live sample imaging to students and researchers. Operated by the Department of Biomedical Engineering, it provides access and training to operate the state-of-the-art Dragonfly Spinning Disc Confocal, as well as expert advice for sample preparation and experimental set up. Spinning disk confocal microscopy projects a series of 1,000 or more parallel excitation light beams through multiple pinholes or slits onto a specimen. The technique is used for high speed imaging of living cells expressing fluorescent proteins or stained with membrane-permeant synthetic dyes. Click here for the fee schedule, and to learn more about other biomedical core facilities. You can also contact William Houlihan.

So what are students learning from their surveys of historic forts along the coast of Ghana as they participate in the Digital Heritage of West African Monuments Field School? You can find out at 6 p.m. this evening in 1400 Wegmans Hall. Students Sabastian Abelezele, Katherine Korslund, Marcos Dos Santos, Jiacheng Sun, Selman Tezcan, and Robert Cecil, along with faculty members Chris Muir, Michael Jarvis, and Renato Perucchio will present their structural engineering and archaeological research findings. “The students have been working hard since last summer and they have produced interesting results,” Renato says. “We have already submitted their work for presentation to the Structural Analysis of Historical Construction 2020 conference in Barcelona, September 2020 – the premiere international engineering meeting for this field.” Pizza and soft drinks will be served. Click here for background on the field school and its work last summer.

Here are some other events and deadlines to mark on your calendar.

Current PhD and professional doctorate (research) candidates are eligible to compete in this year’s Three Minute Thesis — a competition that challenges doctoral students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. Research travel awards will be presented to the first-place winner ($750), runner-up ($500), and people’s choice winner ($250), who could also be the first-place winner or runner-up. Registration will open next Monday, March 9, at 8 a.m. and close Friday, March 13, at 4 p.m. For more information, contact: Daniel Curran, PhD student in chemistry, or Olivia Marola, PhD student in pathology.

The fourth in Dean Donald Hall’s series, “Difficult Conversations as a Catalyst for Change” — which strives to broaden the perspectives of University students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends — will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19 at Strong Auditorium. Michael Eric Dyson, an author, political analyst, and Georgetown University sociology professor, will give a talk on “In Caricature: Racial Profiling and its Impact on Black America.” He previously appeared at the University as the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative speaker. Seating is limited; tickets must be reserved at http://www.rochester.edu/michaelericdyson.

We will be accepting submissions for our Art of Science competition through March 20. Again this year we have an online submission form. Entries should be high resolution jpegs (300 dpi, at least 3,000 pixels wide). Cash prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 will be awarded to winning student entries; student, faculty, and staff entries will all be eligible for a People’s Choice Award of $250. For inquiries, contact Brian McIntyre and the project team at artofscience@gmail.com. Click here to read about last year’s winning entries.

The Society for Women Engineers (SWE) is holding another in its annual series of Spring Workshops for girls in kindergarten through 6th grade from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. March 28 at Goergen Hall. These very popular workshops introduce young students to basic engineering and science concepts through fun, theme-based group activities under the supervision of University student role models who share their own testimonials. This year’s theme is Superheroes, and the activities will include cryptography with code, an Iron Man Challenge (projectile motion with marshmallow shooters), and strawberry DNA extraction. A light snack is included. Sounds like fun! Register here.

Last, but certainly not least, our students have until April 1 to apply for $500 Hajim School International Experience Scholarships to help cover the costs of participating in UR Study Abroad Programs, international research opportunities or internships, or short-term faculty-led programs next fall. Read more here.

Have great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman