June 13, 2022
Jesús Sánchez Juárez, a PhD student in the lab of Jaime Cardenas, with the automatic scanning device he developed to detect monolayers. (Photo by J. Adam Fenster/University of Rochester)
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
Monolayers—two-dimensional materials less than 1/100,000th the width of a human hair—are highly sought for use in electronics, photonics, and optoelectronic devices because of their unique properties.
Jesús Sánchez Juárez, a PhD student in the lab of Jaime Cardenas, assistant professor of optics, has made it much easier for research labs and companies to detect monolayers. The breakthrough technology Jesús developed—an automated scanning device described in Optical Materials Express—can detect monolayers with 99.9 percent accuracy, at a fraction of the cost, in far less time, and with readily available materials. How? Learn more here.
SUMMER RESEARCH FOR UNDERGRADUATES
Summer is the best time for undergraduates to gain research experience in a lab. With no classes competing for their attention, students can devote full time to their lab work. Many Hajim students are doing that on our campus this summer, thanks to several programs available to them.
For example, this summer’s Schwartz Scholars, funded through the Office of Undergraduate Research, include these Hajim students (mentors in parentheses):
Jeewong Chang ‘23 computer science (Fatemah Nargesian), Darien Dennis ’24 computer science (Danielle Benoit), Rachelle Gomez-Guevara ’24 biomedical engineering (Indika Chandrasiri), Megan Pung ’24 chemical engineering (David Foster), Muhammad Qasim ’24 computer science (Yuhao Zhu), Joshua Rainbolt ’23 biomedical engineering (Chao Xie), Zachary Sobel-Pressman ’24 optical engineering (Benjamin Miller), Linh Vu ’23 mechanical engineering (Niaz Abdolrahim), Wenqi Di ’25 biomedical engineering (Mark Buckley), Lianming Hu ’23 mechanical engineering (Shuai Zhang), Yurong Liu ’23 computer science (Fatemah Nargesian), Ethan Tokar ’24 mechanical engineering (Hesam Askari), Yunlong Xu ’23 computer science (Fatemah Nargesian), Haochen Zeng ’23 computer science (Emily Sherwood), and Hanna Berger ’24 audio and music engineering (Sarah Smith).
The Ronald E. McNair Program, offered through the David T. Kearns Center, provides a summer program for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority undergraduates to conduct research with a faculty mentor and also prepare intensively for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and take a course titled “The Culture of the Academy.” Ronald E. McNair scholars in Hajim are:
Anand Idris ‘23 optics (Mujdat Cetin) and Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha ‘24 biomedical engineering (Joseph Wedekind). In addition, Joshua Teague ’23 of optics (Will Renninger) is a summer STEM Scholar through the Kearns Center.
Computational Methods for Music, Media and Minds REU (research experience for undergraduates), offered by the Goergen Institute for Data Science, combines machine learning, music theory, and cognitive science. Participating in this REU is:
Sara Jeiter-Johnson ’24 computer science (Jens Kipper).
Eisenberg Summer Research Fellowships offer financial support for selected chemical engineering students finishing their sophomore or junior year to participate in a meaningful summer work experience working closely with CHE faculty on projects that will complement the academic program and enhance the students’ understanding of the use of chemical engineering principles. The following students are working as Eisenberg Fellows this summer:
Rebecca Choi ’24 (Wyatt Tenhaeff), Danielle Getz ’23 (Marc Porosoff), Nhuja Maharjan ’24 (Mark Porosoff), Catherine Milas ’23 (Andrew White), Andrew Rojnuckarin ’23 (David Foster), Allison Roll ’24 (Andrew White), Yiwen Sun ’24 (David Foster), Teona Taseska ’24 (Astrid Müller), Quinn Taylor ’24 (David Foster), Paul Williams ’24 (David Foster), and Wanqing Yu ’23 (Astrid Müller).
Thanks to the Kearns Center, the Office for Undergraduate Research, a generous donation from Richard Schwartz ’63 ’66 (MS) and Vicki Schwartz ’62, and all our faculty mentors, many of whom are working with more than one student this summer.
BAJA SAE
Friends, alumni, and current members of the Baja SAE team gather to honor the memory of Kevin Bonko 17, former team president.
The opportunity to design, build, and race an off-road vehicle in competition against other college teams has been a primary focus throughout the long tradition of the Baja-SAE team at our University. But Baja is more than competition. It’s also about applying skills learned in the classroom to a real-world challenge. Perhaps most importantly, Baja is about the camaraderie and lasting friendships that develop from working closely as a team. This was especially evident when the team closed out its season recently against 90 other teams at the Baja competition sponsored by RIT at Hogback Hill in Palmyra.
Cheered on by friends and alumni, the team showed it had addressed the problems that emerged during their previous competition in Tennessee. The team placed in all the static and dynamic events, including 26th of 75 teams able to participate in maneuverability, faculty advisor Chris Muir reports. “This is an event they were not able to complete in the last competition, so it was a great boost for the team,” Chris says. “The team worked very well together and are energized for the coming season.”
Chris also notes that the team has placed a plaque, shown above, in the team’s welding cell in Taylor Hall to honor the memory of former team president Kevin Bonko ’17 of mechanical engineering. Kevin passed away after a long battle with leukemia in 2019. “He was respected by all and known for his unique sense of humor, ability to get tasks done, and his commitment to the team and his teammates,” the plaque reads. “Kevin will be missed by all, but his spirit and legacy live on.”
ALUMNUS IN THE NEWS
Alan Nye, who earned his PhD in mechanical and aerospace science here in 1975, retires this summer as professor and associate department head of mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute for Technology. Alan, who joined the RIT faculty in 1976, was a pillar of the RIT Performance Team Racing community for more than 40 years. He advised RIT teams participating in Mini Baja, Formula SAE and other competitions, and received multiple honors from SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), including Outstanding Faculty Advisor nine times, the SAE Excellence in Engineering Education Award in 2004, and the 2022 Medal of Honor, one of SAE’s highest tributes.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
