June 22, 2020
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
We’re getting a more detailed picture of what students, staff, and faculty can expect as we reopen the campus and bring students back for classes in late August. In a message shared with the University community on Friday, Provost Rob Clark outlined the rollout of a “Restart and Recovery” plan for the fall semester. This comprehensive plan will be announced upon receiving final guidelines from the governor’s office. In the meantime, Friday’s message also includes details for the various schools and programs throughout the University and the announcement of a weekly Rochester Restart newsletter. We still have many details to work out. But I am confident we will meet our goal of providing a meaningful educational experience this fall, while maintaining the health and safety of our students, staff, and faculty.
Cristiano Tapparello, research assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been involved in a couple of exciting collaborations.
Cristiano, who also serves as the director of software engineering for the innovative UR Health Lab led by chemical engineering alumnus Dave Mitten ’88 ’92(MD), spent some long hours back in March helping the lab develop the chatbot technology now familiar to many of us as Dr. Chatbot, which enables the University to screen its employees daily for symptoms of COVID-19.
Initially devised to screen incoming calls to the Medical Center’s COVID-19 Hotline, the technology was then adapted to also screen essential Medical Center employees during the lock down. That iteration of Dr. Chatbot is now being extended to non-Medical Center employees and students as well. (Read more here.)
The technology now has been further adapted so that citizens throughout our 13-county region can voluntarily respond daily to a brief questionnaire about whether they have symptoms, as part of the ROC Covid-19 project. This will be an important tool to help regional health officials quickly detect any uptick in cases — within individual zip code areas — as the region continues a phased reopening of businesses and other activities. Please consider participating in this daily screening as well; with enough participation, we lessen the chances of having to shut down the entire region again.
Cristiano, the front end designer for the interactive displays you see at these chatbot sites, has also been working with Mt. Hope Family Center research associate Christie Petrenko to create the first mobile phone app for caregivers of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This has been a great interdisciplinary collaboration that I’ve been privileged to be part of as a co-investigator, along with Zhiyao Duan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Elizabeth Handley, research associate at Mt. Hope Family Center; and Heather Carmichael Olson, a research scientist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Well done, Cristiano!
Our graduate students play an important and often overlooked role in our teaching and research. So I am pleased to see that four Hajim School PhD students are among the 13 recipients of the 2020 Edward Peck Curtis Awards for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. They are:
Laasya Bangalore, computer science.
“Laasya served as the lead teaching assistant for CSC280/480 Computer Models and Limitations in spring 2019. This was the first time I served as an instructor for such a big class and I could really count on Laasya for anything. I can say, without a doubt, that she went above and beyond what was required as a teaching assistant and I could not have run this class without her assistance and support,” wrote Muthuramakrishnan Venkitasubramaniam, associate professor of computer science.
Joseph (Tre) Dipassio, electrical engineering.
“As the senior TA in a course with several first time TAs, he seamlessly took on the role of leader, helping new graduate students get oriented in the labs and preparing for the types of questions they were likely to face. As he continues to develop as a teacher and work with a greater variety of courses and students, Tre continually adapts his methods and content in the constant aim to meet and exceed the needs of the students he serves,” wrote Sarah Smith, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Antonio Ladron de Guevara Ruiz, biomedical engineering.
“Antonio was a teaching assistant for me in BME211/411 Cell and Molecular Biology for the fall of 2019, and he was the finest TA I have worked with in 30 years. Antonio came up with a unique format for an in-class quiz based on the Quizizz ap. Antonio also came up with a weekly cell biology-based meme competition. Antonio encouraged the students to send him memes that reflected the current week’s content, and then chose the best to send out in an all-class email. This was a fantastic idea, as the students began trolling cell biology-based websites for clever memes, and ‘accidentally’ learned a bit of the course material in the process!” wrote Ian Dickerson, associate professor of neuroscience.
Sedigheh Sheykholeslami Poul, mechanical engineering.
“I worked closely with Sedy when she was teaching assistant for ME 225 Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, when I taught it in the fall of 2018. This demanding junior-level course assumes prerequisite knowledge of integrals and vector calculus and deals with sophisticated concepts that can be tricky to teach. Sedy came prepared for every meeting and every recitation, working example problems at length and making well organized notes. Sedy was someone I could trust to teach effectively. She even went to the whiteboard during staff meetings to teach me and the other TAs powerful mnemonics and simpler problem-solving methods than I had seen before,” wrote Douglas Kelley, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
Current and incoming students, it is not too late to take EAS 144 Innovation and Engineering Design this summer. This 2-credit course, which starts June 30, is geared for undergrads who are not sure if they want to pursue engineering, “especially if someone has convinced them that engineering is just how you get a job while studying math and physics, and that doesn’t really appeal,” says Scott Carney, director of the Institute of Optics who teaches the class. It is also great for math and physics students, and for non-engineers (including seniors) who can benefit from the focus on problem solving and working in teams. No technical background is required. “I’ve had a few kids on the brink of leaving engineering rediscover their passion through this course and I’ve had artists learn how to lead a team of engineers,” Scott says. There will be an added twist this summer. Scott will teach the class in parallel with John Thode at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with opportunities for students from both universities to team up on projects. To register, go here.
This year’s graduating students face an uncertain job market due to COVID-19. Over time, our students will be well positioned for jobs because of their degrees. But in the meantime, Joe Testani, executive director of the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections, encourages students to cast a wide net and lean on the University community during the search process. Read more here.
I’d like to thank all of our engineering alumni, friends, and parents who made a gift, volunteered or engaged with the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and overall University community in other ways during this fiscal year. We are truly grateful for your commitment to advancing the Hajim School. Your generosity allows us to provide the highest quality education and research opportunities through engaging experiences and environments that promote critical thinking, creativity, ethics and leadership.
On behalf of everyone at the Hajim School and the University of Rochester, thank you again for your generosity and for your belief in our work. We could not do it without you! For those who are still interested in making a gift please visit our Hajim giving page or email Tyrone.Jimmison@Rochester.edu.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
