November 30, 2020

Beauclaire Mbanya, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, is the third University of Rochester student or alumnus to receive a Rhodes Scholarship, and the first in 56 years. (Photo: Yassine Khalfalli ’21)

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

As we bring the on-campus portion of the semester to a successful close, we can all take pride in remarkable and noteworthy achievements involving our current and recent students, a staff member, and a faculty member.

Beauclaire Mbanya ’20 of chemical engineering, who graduated in May, took full advantage of every opportunity at our school and University, from research to the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars program to a leadership position within the National Society of Black Engineers. Through a Davis Project for Peace Fellowship and a company he co-founded, Beauclaire is doing inspiring work to develop renewable energy solutions for remote villages in his home country of Cameroon. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship he has received –only the third such award in the University’s history and the first in 56 years. And I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this very promising leader. Well done, Beauclaire! Read more here.

Muhammad Miqdad ’19, another chemical engineering alumnus, is also doing inspiring work, investing the prize money he and his teammates won in last year’s Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition to install wells for drinking water in remote villages of Pakistan’s Thar desert.  “These projects will serve over 2,000 people over the next 10 to 15 years and will save them countless hours spent fetching water from sources far, far away,” says Muhammad, who is partnering with CDRS Comprehensive Disaster Response Services, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO). Muhammad and the EZ Water team, whose members have included Afnan Ahmed ’21, a business major; Claude Mulindi ’22 of engineering science; Sara Anis ’20 of biomedical engineering, and Karim Abdelmaqsoud ’22 of chemical engineering, took first place and $5,000 in the 2019 Forbes competition. “This is our gift to the University. I brought a piece of UR with me to Pakistan and shared it with my people,” Muhammad says. Read more here.

The University’s first-ever student team to enter the global iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) competition, advised by Anne Meyer, associate professor of biology, received numerous awards and was the most recognized team from North America–surpassing contenders including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Cornell.  A total of 248 teams from six continents competed. The 12 undergraduates, who developed the first-ever method to diagnose endometriosis without the need for invasive surgery, include Nello Gu ’21, Ethan Chen ’21, Linh Hoang ’22, and Helen Shammas ’22, all of biomedical engineering. Ram Gona, a PhD student in materials science, and Omar Soufan ’17, ’18 (MS), a technical associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, provided technical support. Read more about this remarkable effort here.

And another team, comprised entirely of Hajim School juniors, recently took first place and a $20,000 prize in the Ain Center’s 2020 Swarm Starter Competition for a device to aid growers in quick and early crop disease detection. Francis Pellegrino and Heriniaina Rajaoberison of optical engineering, Ryan Balloun of electrical and computer engineering, and Andrew Thankson of computer science also received a passport to OneValley, which offers access to mentors, templates and guides, and free and discounted services.

It is worth noting that Beauclaire, Muhammad, all of his EZ Water teammates, and Francis are all current participants in–or recent graduates of–our Grand Challenges Scholars program. Scholars design a personalized education program to explore one of 14 societal challenges identified by the National Academy of Engineering. For more information, contact Emma Derisi, our Grand Challenges Scholars program director, at emma.derisi@rochester.edu

Last, but certainly not least, James Allen, our John H. Dessauer Professor of Computer Science, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The world’s largest general scientific society elects fellows based on distinguished scientific and social efforts to advance science or its applications. James, who is also associate director and a senior researcher at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, is one of 489 fellows chosen this year. He is being recognized for “broad contributions to artificial intelligence and natural language understanding, including seminal contributions in temporal logic.” Well done, James! Read more here.

FOR STUDENTS

The second iteration of the UR COVID-19 Challenge, UR Innovation Challenge: Community Health Crises will be held from January 11 to January 22, 2021 and is open to all University undergraduate & graduate students. In this two-week-long innovation challenge, students will work in virtual teams to develop solutions for health and community crises in the City of Rochester. At the end of the challenge, they will present their solution to their respective community partner and a panel of judges. Cash prizes will be awarded. Registration is open here. NOTE: The challenge could be used as a part of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program to fulfill entrepreneurship or service requirements. It ties in with the Health and Security themes.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Tyrone Porter, professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, will give a talk on “Cultural Tax: The Cost of Being the Only or the Few” as part of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Distinguished Seminar Lecture Series from noon to 1 p.m. this Wednesday, December 2. Department chair Marvin Doyley says Tyrone will describe his experience as a minority in STEM, and also highlight some of the challenges we will have to overcome to improve diversity. I urge all our faculty, graduate students, and staff to attend this talk and learn more about this important issue. The Zoom link is https://rochester.zoom.us/s/92474082834 Passcode: 066310.

The resurgence of COVID-19 will test our patience and resolve. I urge all of our students — those returning home and those staying on campus — and all our staff and faculty to do your best to continue to follow the safety protocols that kept our campus safe this fall. Hopefully this will enable us to gather again on campus for the spring semester. Continue to follow @Rochester, Read This, and the University’s COVID-19 Resource Center for guidance and updates. Please take note, especially, of the additional restrictions that will be in effect on our campus now that it is part of a NY-state designated Orange Zone.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman