May 6, 2024
University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster
The breadth and depth of Hajim School students’ ingenuity was on full display during our annual Design Day event. This year 266 students worked on nearly 80 capstone projects, including 67 team projects and 12 individual theses. Clients who have presented the design capstone teams with problems have been providing input throughout the semester as the students work on solutions under the guidance of their faculty advisors. Some of the projects showcased this year included:
Not only do these projects provide hands-on opportunities to create something novel, the design projects offer opportunities for students to connect with potential employers, engage in global experiences, and conduct interdisciplinary research with collaborators from places like the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).
Read more about this year’s projects at the News Center. To learn how to get involved by sponsoring a senior design project, visit the Hajim School website.
HEARING & BALANCE RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
John Schlia Photography
Researchers at the Hajim School and URMC have long been on the quest to understand the ear and vestibular system. The University is among the top 20 institutions in the United States in funding for hearing and balance-related research from the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD). But it is one of the few institutions on that list that does not have a designated center for the group.
In 2022, Laurel Carney, the Marylou Ingram Professor in Biomedical Engineering, led the group that formally organized nearly 20 faculty members and labs from across the University who study hearing and balance. Known as the Hearing & Balance Research Collective—the group has benefited from its concerted efforts to foster collaboration. The group also includes Hajim researchers like Professor Jong Hoon Nam, Associate Professor Ed Lalor, Associate Professor Anne Luebke, and Assistant Professor Adam Dziorny.
Go to the URMC Newsroom to read about their work to discover better drug-delivery methods and improve mechanistic and functional understandings of the hearing, balance, and brain connection.
ART OF SCIENCE WINNERS
University of Rochester photo / Mike Osadciw
We announced the winning entries of the 2024 Art of Science competition during a ceremony in the Carlson Library. Congratulations to the following University of Rochester community members for their impressive artwork that explored the beauty of science:
The winning entries will now be permanently displayed in the Carlson Library. To view the winner and read the artists’ statements, go to the News Center.
YELLOWJACKET RACING UNVEILS 2024 BAJA CAR
University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster
Last week, University of Rochester’s Baja SAE team unveiled their 2024 car and will soon put it to the test. Yellowjacket Racing is one of the 109 teams registered to compete at the Baja SAE Williamsport event May 16-19.
“The team has been working very hard over the last year to improve and refine their design,” says their advisor, Professor Chris Muir from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “We expect great things. Students on the team come from across the university from many different disciplines, but are united in the goal to Design, Build and Compete!”
Good luck to the team as they make final preparations. See more photos from the unveiling on the Hajim School Facebook page and follow @meliorabaja and @urbajasae to see their progress during the competition.
FIVE FROM THE HIVE: BRYCE SABIN
One of the students from the Baja team was featured in the University’s Five from the Hive Instagram series. Mechanical engineering student Bryce Sabin provided a behind-the-scenes peek into his life as a student through five photos from his camera roll.
In addition to being a part of the Baja team, Bryce is very involved with the Agape Christian Fellowship and plays on an intramural soccer team. Check out the @UofR Instagram account for more about his life on campus.
NEWEST MEMBERS OF TAU BETA PI
Megan Ball
Congratulations to the newest members of Rochester’s chapter of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Throughout the academic year our chapter holds community service activities, social events, corporate information sessions, and study sessions to help other engineering students succeed. These students were initiated in April:
- Calista Courtney, CHE, ‘24
- Katie Jarvis, ME, ‘25
- Daniel Kesler, CHE, ‘25
- William Knoff, ECE, ‘25
- Julia Kubes, CHE, ‘25
- Zirui Li, ECE, ‘25
- Teona Taseska, CHE, ‘24
- Theo Taylor, OPE, ‘25
- Sophia Wang, AME, ‘25
- Maximos Zipitis, ME, ‘25
SHERRY FENG EARNS MICHAEL KIDGER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster
An optics PhD student is receiving a prestigious scholarship to support her work tackling a challenging optical modeling problem that is critical to the next generation of single molecule microscopy methods. Sherry Yi-Ting Feng is the 2024 winner of the Michael Kidger Memorial Scholarship.
Tina Kidger, who initiated the scholarship to provide a lasting memory of her late husband Michael’s talent in the teaching of optical design, will present Sherry with the award at the SPIE Optics + Photonics conference in San Diego this August. Read more about how Tina Kidger and Emery Moore helped establish a distinguished professorship in optics at the Institute of Optics through the Wyant Challenge.
JOE BOCCHIARO ’81 NOTED AS AV LIVING LEGEND
Optical engineering alumnus Joe Bocchiaro ’81 was recently hailed as an “AV Living Legend” by Commercial Integrator. Read about his path from studying laser and optical sciences to a lifelong career in the audiovisual/building technologies industry.
WELCOME TO HANNAH KALLET
Lastly, I’m happy to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of the Hajim School team. Today, Hannah Kallet starts as a space planning specialist. She will be responsible for helping manage and plan construction projects in the school, and will report to Nicholas Ernst-Maynard, the director of space for both the School of Arts & Sciences and the Hajim School.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
