September 13, 2021
We are proud to recognize the contributions of, left to right, Tim Talley ’88, Jennifer Allen ’97 ’10 (MBA) and Peter Delfyett ’83MS as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative.
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
This week we continue our celebration of underrepresented minority faculty members, staff members, and alumni of the Hajim School who serve as outstanding role models.
Jennifer Allen ’97 ’10 (MBA) remembers bursting into tears of gratitude when she attended the 2009 dedication of the George Eastman statue on the Eastman Quad, honoring one of our most important benefactors. “I sat there, thinking ‘George had no idea how much this little girl from Malvern St. Elizabeth in Jamaica would benefit from this institution,” Jennifer recalls. Ever since, Jennifer has been drawing on the lessons and blessings of her own life and paying them forward to help others. For example, she chairs the board of trustees of the Young Women’s College Prep (YWCP) Charter School of Rochester, which graduates 97 percent of the 7th through 12th grade City School District students it accepts. Jennifer especially enjoys mentoring undergraduates at the Hajim School as a Real Reader. Many of the first-year students she mentors express the same uncertainties she experienced as an undergraduate, she says. Read more.
When Peter Delfyett ’83MS was an undergraduate, it occurred to him that a PhD in the newly emerging field of fiber optics communications “could potentially carry me through a career.” Has it ever. Peter, now the University of Central Florida Trustee Chair Professor of Optics, ECE & Physics, has received multiple awards, including election to the National Academy of Engineering. While at Rochester for his master’s degree, Peter met “many, many great faculty members, who impacted me tremendously,” he says. He has served two terms as president of the National Society of Black Physicists. “Basically, I was always taught and raised to recognize that . . . as a minority, you not only have to show that you’re good, but you have to excel well beyond what would be the norm for the majority of the population, just to be considered equal.” Universities not only need to create programs to increase minority representation, he says, but also cultivate an accepting culture, getting “buy-in from everyone within the academe, including staff and faculty.” Read more.
When Tim Talley ’88 quit a lucrative, mid-six-figure job to start a business of his own, his friends thought he was crazy. They called him up, trying to get him to change his mind. When Tim’s company fell on hard times—when he lost his car, his apartment, and ended up sleeping on a friend’s sofa, no less – he again got the calls. And again, he paid no heed. Within months, he was wooing a national TV audience and a panel of celebrity investors with a flawless pitch for his dual-patented modular, no-tie sneaker laces on CBS’ Shark Tank program. Read more here about Tim’s interesting path from electrical engineering to marketing and entrepreneurship, how he still uses his engineering skills every day–and the bargain he struck with Sidney Shapiro, former chair of electrical and computer engineering, to be sure he could get his degree.
CONGRATULATIONS TO . . .
Rebeca Zapiach ’23 of mechanical engineering and Danielle Getz ’23 of chemical engineering, who placed second this summer during the 15-day UR Innovation Challenge: Building Sustainable Futures. Teams of up to four students developed solutions for their assigned Rochester community partners. Rebeca and Danielle teamed with Sophia Samantaroy ’24, an environmental health major, to help publicize a City Roots Community Land Trust project.
The trust wants to develop abandoned property it recently acquired into retail space that could directly benefit the Beechwood community. The team’s solution–“Your Voice Matters: Meaningful Community Engagement to Transform 228 Parsells Avenue”—envisions engaging as many community residents in the project as possible through easily accessible means, such as a design contest at a local library, and a feedback box, displays, and signs at the property itself. The team received $1,000.
Both Rebeca and Danielle say the project was a great opportunity to learn more about Rochester and its challenges, and then work as part of a team to address them. “Prior to the challenge, I had never heard of a community land trust,” says Rebeca, who is interested in sustainability and entrepreneurship. “I also learned how low technology solutions can be more helpful in creating connections with the members of a community who lack access to stable wi-fi and the latest technology.”
Danielle says, “learning how to brainstorm, refine and pitch ideas was a really unique experience especially as these ideas ended up actually influencing real life communities.” Her participation will help her satisfy the entrepreneurship requirements as a Grand Challenges Scholar. Danielle, who works in the lab of Marc Porosoff, assistant professor of chemical engineering, plans to use the entrepreneurial skills she learned this summer to help members of Marc’s lab, other chemical engineering students, and members of Engineers for a Sustainable World compete in the Elon Musk X-Prize competition for carbon removal technology.
PRACTICE YOUR INTERVIEW SKILLS
Students, please note: The Greene Center for Career Education and Connections is hosting its annual Engineering Mock Interview Night from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, October 5 on Zoom. Seven enthusiastic alumni will help you practice and polish your skills for upcoming interviews by giving you feedback during a 1:1 mock interview with them. Slots with alumni are limited and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Thanks so much to these alumni who will be participating:
- David Aiken ‘79, electrical engineering, director of Consulting Services, Cisco Systems Inc.
- Jenifer Bunis ‘86, optical engineering, photonics consultant, Westlake Photonics
- Marcos Dos Santos ‘20, mechanical engineering, PhD student, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harold Lander ‘13, mechanical engineering, assistant project manager, The Durst Organization
- Johanna Miller ‘11, biomedical engineering, data scientist and systems engineer, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
- Keith Savino ‘14PhD, chemical engineering, senior process engineer, Zymtronix
- Charity Wallace ‘09, biomedical engineering, principal research associate, Moderna
To sign up, go to the associated Handshake posting for Engineering Mock Interview Night. Then, apply to the job posting with your current resume and sign up for an interview slot with one of the alums from the list above.
Bookmark the Greene Center website for additional resources, including how to prepare for interviews, and the emerging technologies career community page. And stay connected with the Greene Center on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
ALUMNI NEWS
Optics alumna Cristina Canavesi, ‘13 (MS TEAM) ‘14(PhD) ‘15(MBA), the co-founder and president of LighTopTech, a company that creates innovative optical instruments for noninvasive imaging in medicine and industry, has been named one of 50 inspiring women in Italy by accelerateHER. The global network and event series seeks to re-balance gender in the technology sector to secure women an inclusive future across all businesses.
“Bridging technology and business, Dr. Canavesi has a passion for creating products that are at the same time functional and visually pleasing,” the network notes. “Her vision is to make people’s lives better through healthcare innovations with advanced imaging solutions for optical biopsy and image-guided surgery.”
Cristina, who co-founded LighTopTech in 2013 with her PhD advisor, Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering, is also the senior center coordinator for the Center for Freeform Optics. She also serves as the secretary of WiSTEE (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship) Connect. This is great recognition for a very deserving recipient! Well done, Cristina!
Have great week!
Your dean
Wendi Heinzelman
