April 12, 2021
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
We have more exciting research to report.
In a paper highlighted as an Editor’s Suggestion in Physical Review Letters, the lab of Ranga Dias, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, reports a new technique in the quest to create superconducting materials at lower pressures. Ranga and his collaborators describe separating hydrogen atoms from yttrium with a thin film of palladium inside a diamond anvil.
The resulting yttrium superhydride is superconducting at 12 degrees Fahrenheit and about 26 million pounds per square inch, still too high for practical applications. But it is a significant improvement over the pressures that were required for the room temperature superconducting material the researchers reported in a highly publicized paper in Nature last fall.
Physical Review Letters is ranked first among physics and mathematics journals by the Google Scholar five-year h-index. Moreover, only about one Letter in seven is highlighted as an Editors’ Suggestion–a good indication of the importance of the work being done by Ranga and his lab. Read more here.
Danielle Benoit, professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Materials Science Program, and Ruchira Singh, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the Flaum Eye Institute, are doing ground-breaking work as well. In a paper in Cell Stem Cell, they describe creating a three-dimensional (3D) lab model that mimics the part of the human retina affected in macular degeneration. They combined stem cell-derived retinal tissue and vascular networks from human patients with bioengineered synthetic materials.
This first patient-derived model of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choriocapillaris (CC) complex gives the researchers a platform to seek patient specific treatments for a disease that affects an estimated 196 million people–and has no cure. This exciting breakthrough is a great example of the fruitful research collaborations that are possible at our University, thanks to the close proximity of our world-class Medical Center to our engineers and scientists at the River Campus. Read more here.
OPEN SESSIONS
Our state-of-the-art recording studio at Gavett Hall resonated recently to the sound of a live performance by Bellwether Breaks, a Rochester band participating in Open Sessions. The unique program gives our audio and music engineering undergraduates a chance to apply the skills they’ve learned in the classroom by recording live performances of regional professional musicians. Despite the logistical challenges of recording musicians who are social distancing and wearing masks, students say the rewards far outweigh the challenges.
“This experience– especially during this time where there aren’t many opportunities to record–is incredibly important,” says Madeleine Vogel ’22, one of the recording engineers for the Bellwether Breaks session. “It’s worlds better to mess up your signal flow in an Open Session where others can help and you can make mistakes without fear–rather than on the job for a future internship.”
Special thanks to Alexa Silverman ’21, Beau Hanson ’21, and Sam Schachter ’20 who revived and adapted a program first launched by Senior Lecturer Stephen Roessner five years ago.
This is an example of why our signature audio and music engineering program is so popular with students, and how it gives them the skills they need to enter—and keep up with—the rapidly changing field of audio and sound engineering. Read more here about the benefits of Open Sessions for students and bands. You can also check the Open Sessions YouTube channel, which will host upcoming sessions with The Painted Birds this Friday April 16 and with Atlas Rex on May 7.
VACCINATIONS FOR STUDENTS
New York State has
expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals ages 16 years and older. I join the University in
strongly encouraging all of our students to get the shot at the earliest opportunity. There is no cost to do so, and multiple locations to choose from. Read more
here for tips on when and where to be vaccinated. This is
good news not only for our students but for keeping our campus as COVID-free as possible.
RESEARCH EXPO
Please set aside time this Friday April 16 for AS&E’s annual Undergraduate Research Expo, which will showcase the work of our engineering and computer science students, our Grand Challenges scholars, and students from the humanities and the natural and social sciences. You can tune in via zoom to hear students present their findings or join the on-line poster session from 12-1 p.m. to chat with the presenters or browse at your leisure.
Congratulations to these Hajim School students chosen by judges to give the three presentations during the Expo’s Engineering and Math Symposium:
- Mimi Jung ’21, biomedical engineering, Computational Model for Epithelial Cell Reintegration
- Margaret Flaum ’22, optical engineering, Using Holography to Measure Freeform Optics
- Leonor Teles ’21, biomedical engineering, Comparison of Pulsatile and Steady Flow Models for Stroke Prediction Using Carotid Artery CFD Simulations
Here’s the schedule:
- 9:50 a.m.: Welcome and Introductory Remarks (via Zoom)
- 10:00 a.m.: Engineering and Math Symposium (via Zoom)
- 11:00 a.m.: Humanities Symposium (via Zoom)
- 12-1:00 p.m.: Poster Session (virtual; presenters will be available to chat with attendees)
- 1:00 p.m.: Natural Sciences Symposium (via Zoom)
- 2:00 p.m.: Social Sciences Symposium (via Zoom)
- 3:00 p.m.: Closing Remarks (via Zoom)
Links to the symposium sessions and the Virtual Poster Session will be made available on the
Expo 2021 page.
Posters will be made public at 9 a.m. on April 16 and will
remain accessible for one year. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our undergraduate researchers and appreciate the depth and breadth of research opportunities that are available to them.
REMINDERS
Seniors: You have until this Friday, April 16, to submit your nomination for our Dottie Welch Student Enrichment Award. Here’s the list of eligible staff members. Please email the Hajim School Dean’s Office (hajimschool@ur.rochester.edu) with the name of the staff member you are nominating and a few sentences explaining why you think that person is deserving of the award.
And we all have until this Thursday, April 15, to cast our votes for the People’s Choice Award among 48 submissions to our annual, University-wide Art of Science Competition. Sign in here to pick your favorite entry. For inquiries, contact Brian McIntyre and the project team at artofscience@gmail.com.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
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