October 19, 2020

This month’s outstanding student, Daron Teverovsky ’20 of optics, is remaining at the University for his PhD to work with Julie Bentley and the research group of David Williams at the Center for Visual Science.

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Ranga Dias and his lab made the cover of Nature magazine last week by creating, for the first time, material that is superconducting at room temperature. This is extraordinarily exciting news. The achievement–sought for more than a century–represents the “holy grail” of condensed matter physics and “can definitely change the world as we know it,” says Ranga, assistant professor of mechanical engineering who is also affiliated with the Materials Science and High Energy Density Physics programs. Applications include:

Power grids that transmit electricity without the loss of up to 200 million megawatt hours (MWh) of the energy that now occurs due to resistance in the wires.
A new way to propel levitated trains and other forms of transportation.
Medical imaging and scanning techniques such as MRI and magnetocardiography.
Faster, more efficient electronics for digital logic and memory device technology.

Congratulations to Ranga and the members of his lab. Read more here and watch this video to learn more about this important discovery.

In other research news, Aby Joseph, a PhD student in optics now interning at Facebook Reality Labs, is co-lead author of an exciting paper in eLIFE from the lab of Jesse Schallek, assistant professor of ophthalmology and neuroscience. The paper describes how Jesse’s Center for Visual Science lab has created a new microscopy technique that enables researchers for the first time to noninvasively image and track—without labeling—the interactions of translucent immune cells within live retinal tissue in animals. “We think this will be a game changer for ophthalmology and for our understanding of retinal diseases that lead to blindness,” Jesse says. Using his optics background, Aby added key engineering advances rendering immune cell imaging and blood flow quantification in the retina. “The use of low levels of infrared light to achieve this means that our approach can be safely translated to human study,” Aby says. Read more here.

AWARDS

Congratulations to four Hajim School and Laboratory for Laser Energetics researchers who are among 118 members of this year’s class of Optical Society (OSA) Fellows. The number of OSA fellows, chosen for a range of achievements in the field of optics and photonics, are limited to no more than 10 percent of OSA’s total membership.

The Rochester recipients are:

Jake Bromage, senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, for “significant and numerous contributions to the development and characterization of ultra-intense lasers and advanced Raman fiber-amplifiers for broadband telecommunications.”
Michael Campbell, director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, for “leadership and technical contributions to the development of inertial confinement fusion and the laser and optical technology needed in that effort.”
John R. Marciante, associate professor of optics, for “pioneering innovations and sustained contributions to the research and development of large-mode-area fibers, fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers, and photonic devices.”
Benjamin Miller, Dean’s Professor of Dermatology and professor of biomedical engineering, optics, and biochemistry and biophysics, for “pioneering science, engineering, and entrepreneurship in the design and manufacturing of integrated photonic biosensors.”

FOR STUDENTS

Feeling stressed and isolated amid the necessary restrictions imposed by COVID-19? Looking for ways to connect safely and responsibly with other students, student organizations, and campus events? Take a look at https://rochester.edu/college/wcsa/programs/making-connections.html. You’ll find links to everything from events sponsored by Wilson Commons Student Activities, to more than 280 student organizations, helpful student peers, Career Center skill-building courses, and opportunities to engage in fitness and meditation. Also, check out the Studio X website for an immersive tech speaker series starting this week as well as hands-on workshops to acquaint you with exciting AR/VR skills and career possibilities.

Students participating in – or interested in – our Grand Challenges Scholars Program are encouraged to attend the national GCSP annual meeting, which will be held virtually from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., November 9 and 10. The focus of this year’s meeting will be reflecting on the past, acknowledging the present, and imagining the future of GCSP. There will be a student showcase. Interested? Contact Emma Derisi, director of our GCSP program.

Reminder: Register here by next Monday, October 26 if you would like to participate in a salary negotiation workshop that will help you learn how to research your target salary, highlight your accomplishments, and find the right words—and confidence—to negotiate for better benefits and pay. This interactive webinar from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, October 27 will be led by alumna and faculty member Rachel Roberts ‘03E and co-facilitated by Blaire Koerner ‘19E. Contact Kirsten Buscetto for ASL interpreting, real-time captioning or other communication access.

The next in a monthly virtual coffee hour and chat on Female Perspectives in Optics, sponsored by The Institute of Optics, will feature assistant professor Jennifer Kruschwitz starting at 10 a.m. this Friday, October 23. You can sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0445ABAA23AAF49-female1

AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT

Optics is regarded as one of the toughest undergraduate degrees on the River Campus, with its heavy emphasis on physics and math. This month’s outstanding student, Doran Teverovsky ’20, made it look easy. He hit the ground running his first year, won the Institute’s Fujimara Prize for the sophomore who “represents the Institute’s values of academic excellence, research, and campus citizenship,” was doing independent research by his third year, and then was co-recipient of this year’s Kevin Thompson Award, given to students who “demonstrate a keen interest in optical design and/or metrology.” By the time he graduated with his BS in optics this spring, he had already completed half the coursework towards his PhD as well. And now, as a beginning grad student, he is redesigning and updating the adaptive optics that David Williams and his colleagues at the Center for Visual Science will use to pursue an ambitious research agenda that will hopefully find a cure for the diseases that cause blindness. Read more here.

ALUMNI NEWS

Suman Kumar ’19, a mechanical engineering alumnus, has been doing some remarkable work in his home country of Nepal, collaborating with the National Innovation Center in that country, and with researchers at University of California Berkeley and San Francisco and at Stanford University, on creating ventilators, PPE, a fabric making machine for N95 equivalent masks, reusable pneumasks, and a UVC disinfection chamber box. In addition, he reports, he has started a company that manufactures machines which, in one hour, can convert a ton of municipal solid waste into organic fertilizers. This will impact more than 17,000 farmers by increasing their agricultural output by 30 per cent, Suman says. Very impressive! Read more here.

Paul DiNunzio ’80, a chemical engineering alumnus and CFO of Techmer PM, writes in the department’s newsletter: “We have been especially busy this year with the production and sale of charge enhancer for use in PPE (personal protective equipment). Using a relatively new technology, the Techmer material is combined with nonwoven fabric used to make face masks. This technology allows the fabric to hold a charge and retain particles that carry the coronavirus (such as when the wearer coughs or sneezes).”

Daniel Rivera ’82, a chemical engineering alumnus and professor of chemical engineering at Arizona State University for 30 years, has been named a distinguished member of IEEE and was selected as the winner of the 2020 AIChE Computer and Systems Technology Division’s David Himmelblau award for innovations in computer-based chemical engineering education.

You can learn more about other CHE alumni–and get a complete roundup of research news, awards, and student news from the Department of Chemical Engineering’s attractive Fall 2020 newsletter, just out. Well done to all involved in producing it!

HAJIM OPEN HOUSE

A reminder to Hajim School staff, faculty, students, parents, friends, and alumni — as well as prospective students — to register for our virtual Hajim School Open House, to be held from 7-8 p.m. this Thursday, October 22. I’ll give a brief presentation, and then you will have an opportunity to hear from our department chairs and program and institute directors and ask them questions.

Have a great week! And, as always, don’t forget to wear those masks, keep a safe distance, wash your hands, and report to Dr. Chat Bot daily if you are coming on campus!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman