November 20, 2023

Dean Wendi Heinzelman met with parents of Hajim School students in Guangzhou, China for the University of Rochester China Parent Network Committee Annual Meeting. (Photo provided)

Recently, I had an incredible opportunity to travel to Asia and connect with many Hajim School alumni and families of current Hajim School students.

In Guangzhou, China I got to speak to hundreds of family members who gathered for the ninth annual University of Rochester China Parent Network Committee Annual Meeting. This was quite an impressive group of dedicated and involved parents who provided invaluable feedback on their children’s experiences. They were gracious hosts and showed a lot of Yellowjacket pride from displaying Rocky everywhere to singing our alma mater, “The Genesee.”

I also spoke at two Boundless Possibility events in Singapore and Hong Kong. During these events, I was able to share insight with alumni about the University’s next chapter and outline some of the ways the Hajim School is contributing to the strategic plan.

I’m also looking forward to attending three upcoming Boundless Possibility events with President Sarah Mangelsdorf in Tucson on December 1, San Diego on December 2, and Los Angeles on December 3. Associate Professor Christopher Kanan from the Department of Computer Science will be a featured speaker at the San Diego and Los Angeles events, sharing some of the latest advances in artificial intelligence. I hope to see many of our West Coast Hajim School alumni there!

STUDYING QUANTUM CHEMISTRY AT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Credit: NASA/JPL

An international team of scientists including Nicholas Bigelow, the Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Physics and a professor of optics, produced a quantum gas containing two types of atoms for the first time in space. The achievement, outlined in a new study published in Nature, marks another step toward bringing quantum technologies currently available on Earth into space.

Through experiments at NASA’s Cold Atom Lab facility aboard the International Space Station controlled remotely on Earth, the researchers produced Bose-Einstein condensates—a quantum state of matter made from an atomic gas cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. These quantum tools can be used to enhance the study of the essence of quantum matter, aid in the navigation between planets, as well as to help solve mysteries of the universe and deepen our understanding of the fundamental laws of nature.

Congratulations to Nick and his team for this interesting work! Read more at the News Center.

DAVID WILLIAMS AND FORMER ROCHESTER COLLEAGUES RECEIVE RANK PRIZE

David Williams, Don Miller, and Junzhong Liang around the first adaptive optics system for the eye at Rochester in 1996. (Photo provided)

David R. Williams, the William G. Allyn Professor of Medical Optics, and three of his former doctoral and postdoctoral researchers are getting international recognition for their pioneering work using adaptive optics technologies to capture high-resolution images of the living human retina. David, Junzhong Liang, Austin Roorda, and Donald T. Miller ’96 PhD (optics) will receive the 2024 Rank Prize for Optoelectronics at an event in London on July 1, 2024.

Their pioneering research at Rochester generated new fundamental insights into the structure and function of the human eye in both health and disease as well as new clinical interventions to remedy sight loss from common disorders. Congratulations to David and his team for this well-deserved recognition! Read more at the Rank Prize website.

WELL-BEING FOR LIFE AND LEARNING TRAINING PROGRAM

(University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

One of the Hajim School’s academic advisors was featured in a terrific story by LearningWell magazine. Hana Goldstein spoke about how the University’s recently-launched Well-being for Life and Learning Training Program helps provide student support staff tools to support struggling students.

Hana talks about how the curriculum-based training program helps faculty and staff support struggling students, and each other, in a way beyond “report and refer.” She says workshops like the Compassion Fatigue program provide advisors like her well-tailored advice, and she tells the reporter, “It was nice to hear about it from the perspective of someone who is not necessarily student-facing, but from someone who is more staff- and faculty-facing.”

On a bittersweet note, Hana will be leaving the Hajim School at the end of the month. She received a terrific opportunity at NYU that will allow her to be closer to family. Congratulations Hana and thank you for all you have done to make the Hajim School a great place to work, grow, and succeed!

VOX SPOTLIGHT ON THE CENTER FOR MATTER AT ATOMIC PRESSURES

Vox interviewed researchers from the Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures (CMAP) for a terrific video about how under extreme pressures, matter defies the rules of physics as we know it.

Inside planets and stars, the crushing force of gravity begins to overwhelm the electromagnetic and nuclear forces that keep atoms apart and maintain the shapes of molecules. The video showcases how researchers at CMAP are using tools like the Laboratory for Laser Energetics to simulate planetary cores and see what happens.

Adam Frank, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and chemistry graduate student Alexa LaPierre provide great commentary for this highly entertaining look at some of the research happening at CMAP. Watch the 11-minute video on Vox’s YouTube page.

WIC-MIC INDUSTRY PANEL Q&A TONIGHT

Join Women and Minorities in Computing (WiC-MiC) for an opportunity to network with recent Rochester graduates tonight from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in room 1201 in Wegmans Hall.

The event will feature Anela Karamustafic ’22 (computer science), a quantitative strategist at Goldman Sachs; Melissa Kagaju ’20 (computer science), a software engineer at Morgan Stanley; Lisa Pink ’22 MS (data science), a data scientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center; and Sunishka Misala ’23 (data science and business analytics), a data analyst at ServiceNow. Register on Campus Community Connection.

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman