Oct. 24, 2016
Dear members of the Hajim School community:
Last week’s 100th annual meeting of the Optical Society was the perfect setting to announce a new fellowship for graduate students in honor of Emil Wolf, the Wilson Professor of Optical Physics and a leading expert in the fields of coherence and polarization properties of optical fields. Emil, who joined the University in 1959, also collaborated with Nobel Laureate Max Born on the book Principles of Optics, which is still widely used. The award will alternate between the Institute of Optics and the Department of Physics. Additional contributions can be made by contacting Eric Brandt at eric.brandt@rochester.edu or (585) 273-5901. In addition, an oil painting of Emil, commissioned by Institute Director Xi-Cheng Zhang, was unveiled. It will hang in the Institute.
Congratulations to Muthuramakrishnan Venkitasubramaniam, assistant professor of computer science, who has received an NSF grant to collaborate with Abhi Shelat at Northeastern University on developing new techniques for constructing two-party secure computation protocols with low communication overhead. This project will focus on designing new techniques for secure computation of linear algebraic tasks and problems from computational geometry by exploiting the algorithmic structure of the underlying function.
Congratulations as well to Wyatt Tenhaeff, assistant professor of chemical engineering, who is collaborating with an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team on a $3 million ARPA-E project to find glassy lithium-ion conductors that are stable and can be fully integrated into battery cells at a low cost. Wyatt, whose $375,000 share will help fund a post-doc and possibly a masters student as well, will work on developing materials that will allow integrating the glassy lithium-ion conductors with conventional composite (porous) cathode materials and provide mechanical reinforcement. This is Wyatt’s third grant as PI or co-PI in recent months, totaling $956,000.
Attention local Hajim alumni: Would you like to help Hajim students polish their interview skills in order to make the best possible impression on prospective employers? The Gwen M. Greene Career & Internship Center is seeking volunteers to conduct interview role plays at Engineering Mock Interview Night on Monday, November 7, from 6-8 p.m. Register here or contact Laura Jones at laura.a.jones@rochester.edu for more information.
Reminder: The Global Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at Douglass Commons and Meliora Grand Ballroom is a great opportunity for Hajim School students to learn about study abroad opportunities, including how to apply and also to hear from other students about their global experiences.
And then head over to the annual Hajim School pumpkin launch and Halloween E-social, including costume contests, pumpkin carving, pizza, and ice cream, plus alternative food and beverages. The events start at 3 p.m. Friday at Rettner Hall and the adjoining Wilson Quad. Any faculty member or student who attends in a costume will get to choose from a set of prizes.
Gregory Heyworth, associate professor of English, will talk about how he combines computer science with his own discipline to recover lost manuscripts, at 5 p.m. tomorrow in Humanities Center Conference Room A on the second floor of Rush Rhees Library. I strongly encourage Hajim School students to take advantage of this opportunity to learn about a fascinating example of engineering meeting the humanities.
The University Bookstore would like to explore bringing in clothing with the Hajim School logo. If you’re interested in being part of a focus group of faculty, staff, and students from the Hajim School to talk about options, please email Lisa Norwood at lisa.norwood@rochester.edu by Friday.
For those of you who could not attend the recent dedication of the Edmund A. Hajim Science & Engineering Quadrangle and the unveiling of the eight-foot statue of Ed, please click here to read about the festivities — and the many outstanding contributions Ed has made to our school and University.
As Ed has so often said: May the force be with you!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
