September 18, 2023

Julie Shapiro ’83 (electrical engineering)

One of the things I love about the Hajim School is that we have a tight knit community full of people that support and guide one another. One of our trailblazing alumnae who recently capped off a more than 30-year career developing software and running large software development organizations shared how she’s spending part of her retirement giving back to those from her alma mater.

In a Q&A on the Alumni website, Julie Shapiro ’83 (electrical engineering) discussed her career path and how she’s helping members of the Rochester community through the Meliora Collective mentoring program. The program is a way for students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff to make meaningful connections with one another.

“I have navigated working in both a male-dominated profession, as well as male-dominated industries for my entire career,” says Julie. “Recognizing the unique challenges this brings, I was very involved in spearheading efforts that created community and opportunities to help level the playing field for women in technology. I am recently retired, and while I look back with pride at the systems that my teams and I built, it is really my legacy of mentoring and being a role model for other women in technology that I am most proud of.”

We are so fortunate to have such an active and engaged network of alumni to help guide our current students. I encourage you to read Julie’s Q&A on our alumni website and find out more about how you can make an impact here at the Hajim School.

FIVE STUDENTS WIN SYNOPSIS OPTICAL DESIGN COMPETITION

Five Institute of Optics students won the Synopsys 2023 Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition. From left to right: Ankur Desai, Yi-Teng (Sherry) Feng, Joanna Rosenbluth, Matthew Scibilia, and Xinyan Wang.

Congratulations to five students from the Institute of Optics who were winners of the Synopsys 2023 Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition. The annual competition celebrates exceptional research projects designed by college students in North America using Synopsys Optical Solutions software.

Our students accounted for five of the 13 winning entries. The winners included optics PhD candidates Ankur Desai and Yi-Teng (Sherry) Feng, and optical engineering undergraduate students Joanna Rosenbluth, Matthew Scibilia, and Xinyan Wang.

Visit the Synopsys page to read quotes from the winners and learn about their projects.

GRAND CHALLENGES SCHOLARS SPOTLIGHT: SUDARSHAN RAMANAN

Sudarshan Ramanan ’25, pictured here at the 2022 iGEM Jamboree in Paris, will speak at an information session about the Grand Challenges Scholars Program from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27 in the iZone.

As a reminder, the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) will host an info session from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27 in the iZone. Emma Derisi, director of GCSP, will do a brief presentation on the program, and three current GCSP students will discuss their projects. One of those students is computational biology student Sudarshan Ramanan ’25, who used his work on Rochester’s International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) team to address the grand challenge of engineering the tools for scientific discovery.

As the hardware manager for the iGEM team, he led the development of several synthetic biology-based biosensors including a novel device that can measure elevated levels of sugar and other small molecules in maple syrup in-situ. At the 2022 iGEM Jamboree in Paris, France, his team won a gold medal and was nominated as one of the top five teams in hardware design and functionality worldwide. Congratulations Sudarshan and team!

To read more about the team’s project, go to their iGEM Wiki page. Come learn about the GCSP and how you can be part of it on September 27.

MELIORA WEEKEND DRAWS CLOSER

Don’t forget to register for register for Meliora Weekend, which takes place from October 5-8. Themed “Be Boundless,” Meliora Weekend 2023 is gearing up to be an unforgettable experience for the University of Rochester community. The weekend offers a full range of intellectual and social activities and programs for alumni, students, families, friends, and faculty and staff.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman