January 8, 2024
(University of Rochester photography / J. Adam Fenster)
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful, recharging holiday season. The Hajim School is already off to a busy start in 2024 and I want to begin the year by sharing a video that showcases what makes a Hajim education so distinct. Please take a minute to watch this short video and reflect on how you can empower Hajim students to make the world ever better.
A LINK BETWEEN THE OCEAN’S WEATHER AND GLOBAL CLIMATE
(University of Rochester / Benjamin Storer)
An international team of scientists led by Hussein Aluie published a study in Science Advances showing the first direct evidence linking seemingly random weather systems in the ocean with climate on a global scale. Hussein, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and staff scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, says the work creates a promising framework for better understanding the climate system.
“Scientists have long speculated that these ubiquitous and seemingly random motions in the ocean communicate with climate scales, but it has always been vague because it wasn’t clear how to disentangle this complex system to measure their interactions,” says Hussein. “We developed a framework that can do exactly that. What we found was not what people were expecting because it requires the mediation of the atmosphere.”
Read more about this interesting work at the News Center.
MACHINE LEARNING BOOSTS SEARCH FOR NEW MATERIALS
(University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics photo / Danae Polsin and Gregory Ameele)
Hajim School scientists are using deep learning to supercharge a technique that is already the gold standard for characterizing new materials. An interdisciplinary team led by Associate Professor Niaz Abdolrahim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Professor Chenliang Xu from the Department of Computer Science developed models to better leverage the massive amounts of data that X-ray diffraction experiments produce.
During X-ray diffraction experiments, bright lasers shine on a sample, producing diffracted images that contain important information about the material’s structure and properties. Niaz Abdolrahim says conventional methods of analyzing these images can be contentious, time-consuming, and often ineffective.
“There is a lot of materials science and physics hidden in each one of these images and terabytes of data are being produced every day at facilities and labs worldwide,” says Abdolrahim. “Developing a good model to analyze this data can really help expedite materials innovation, understand materials at extreme conditions, and develop materials for different technological applications.”
Learn more about the study, published in npj Computational Materials, at the News Center.
ASARO BIGGAR PROFESSORSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS IN DATA SCIENCE
Zhen Bai and Lee Murray (University of Rochester photography / J. Adam Fenster)
I’m delighted to share the newest recipients of the Asaro Biggar Professorships/Fellowships in Data Science, which support tenured or tenure-track faculty from the Hajim School and the School of Arts & Sciences who use data science methods to frame, analyze, and resolve the most pressing issues in their fields. Assistant Professor Zhen Bai from the Department of Computer Science is the Asaro Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science, and Associate Professor Lee Murray from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science is the Stephen Biggar ’92 and Elisabeth Asaro ’92 Fellow in Data Science.
Zhen, an NSF CAREER Award winner, creates embodied and intelligent technologies that augment human learning and communication, particularly for people with diverse abilities (e.g., autism, Deaf and hard-of-hearing) and backgrounds (e.g., underrepresented students in STEM). Lee’s research examines the coupling of reactive chemistry in Earth’s atmosphere with the climate system, aiming to understand the natural and human factors that control variability in atmospheric composition across the past, present, and future, and how this chemistry then feeds back onto the climate system.
The Asaro Biggar Professorships/Fellowships in Data Science are a gift from Trustee Stephen Biggar ’92 and his wife, Elisabeth Asaro-Biggar ’92, to support data science at the University. The Biggars’ gift helps the University to recruit and retain the best talent in the rapidly growing and competitive field of data science by funding fellowships for junior faculty and professorships for senior faculty. Fellowships carry a three-year term and allow the University to honor and encourage outstanding faculty early in their careers.
For more information, go to the Goergen Institute for Data Science website.
SUBMIT AN ENTRY TO THE ART OF SCIENCE COMPETITION
One of my favorite annual traditions, the Art of Science Competition, is now accepting entries for 2024. The goal of the competition is to explore and illuminate the aesthetic beauty that results when science, art, and technology intersect.
The 2024 competition will give consideration to the artistic representation of science, technology, engineering, math, and sustainable themes. Entries with a focus on creativity and uniqueness will be favorably considered. All University of Rochester students, faculty, and staff are invited to enter submissions by 11:59 p.m. on March 17, 2024.
For more information about the contest, including rules and the submission form, go to the Hajim website.
NEWLY FUNDED RESEARCH
Marc Porosoff and Nick Vamivakas (University of Rochester photography / J. Adam Fenster)
Congratulations to several faculty members who recently secured funding for new sponsored research projects:
Next week, the University will be closed in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so Hajim Highlights will return January 16. I encourage you to take advantage of the events the University has planned to celebrate the holiday, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address on Friday, January 19.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
