March 27, 2017

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Professor Chunlei Guo and his team at the Institute of Optics use laser pulses to change the surfaces of materials in amazing ways — so that they repel water, attract water, or absorb great amounts of light without any type of coating. Now they’ve developed a way to record ultrafast movies of how this happens — from the moment a laser hits the material to melting, transient surface fluctuations, and resolidification as permanent micro- and nanostructures. This will help the team better understand how these tiny structures are formed, and hopefully streamline their creation for applications as varied as anti-corrosive building materials, energy absorbers, fuel cells, space telescopes, airplane de-icing, medical instrumentation, and sanitation in third world countries. Read more here.

Here’s another cutting edge project in the Hajim School involving Gaurav Sharma, professor of electrical and computer engineering and graduate student Karthik Dinesh in his lab. They are collaborating with Ray Dorsey, professor of neurology at the Medical Center, on using MC10 BiostampRC sensors to monitor the tremors of patients with Parkinson’s disease, and the unsteady gait and jerky movements of patients with Huntington’s disease. The sensors, which can be worn for 46 hours at a time, provide a wealth of data to help clinicians more accurately track the progression of these diseases in each individual, and adjust medications accordingly.  Gaurav and Karthik are using data science techniques, including machine learning, to analyze the data, then make it intelligible to clinicians. Read more here.

Congratulations to Rob Lavaque, lecturer in audio and music engineering, who is recipient of a “Silver Addy” (American Advertising Award) from the Rochester Advertising Federation for the audio and music he produced for the Medical Center’s memorable “You are my sunshine” television ad that ran during the 2016 Super Bowl. Rob, by the way, is bringing in guest lecturers Brandon Campbell ’10, who composes music for Hans Zimmer Remote Control Productions (noon to 1 p.m., April 5, CSB 209), and Guy Whitmore,  the studio audio director of PopCap Games (noon to 1 p.m., April 19, CSB 209), to talk about their work and field questions. Is it any wonder our audio and music engineering major is so popular, when students can learn from award-winning practitioners like Rob and from his colleagues in the industry?

Congratulations as well to two students who have received scholarships from the Rochester Engineering Society. Gina Bolaños ’18 of mechanical engineering, recipient of the Staud-Freckleton Memorial Scholarship, is an undergraduate research assistant working with the lab of Associate Professor Jong Hoon Nam and is also a teaching assistant, has been active in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers, and has been a Meridian Society tour guide. Diego Martinez ’18 of optical engineering, recipient of the Keith W. Amish Memorial Scholarship, is business manager for the OSA chapter, plays trumpet with Mariachi Meliora, has been a workshop leader for two classes, and has been working with a classmate on a research project for Sydor Optics under the mentorship of Professor Wayne Knox. Well done, Gina and Diego!

Students with our Engineers Without Borders chapter have worked closely with a school in Don Juan, Dominican Republic, to install a reliable water supply. A dinner and dance from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the May Room — featuring authentic Dominican food and performances by 10 groups, including the YellowJackets, Midnight Ramblers, Raas, and Sihir — will help raise additional funds for this project. Sounds like fun! You can purchase tickets for $12 at the Common Market in Wilson Commons.

Our spring Full Spectrum newsletter is hot off the press. Click here to learn more about Bravo chips, the Department of Computer Science’s remarkable success in attracting women students, our increased enrollment of master’s students, the value of internships, and some of the engineering alums and faculty members our student awards are named after.

Have a great week,

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman