July 1, 2024

Headshots of the twelve Hajim School faculty members who received promotions. Top row: Hussein Aluie, Ajay Anand, Cantay Caliskan, Michael Giacomelli, Michael Heilemann, and Ehsan Hoque. Bottom row: Selçuk Köse, Sreepathi Pai, Marc Porosoff, Adam Purtee, Stephen Wu, and Yuhao Zhu.

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

I am pleased to announce that 12 Hajim School instructional and tenure-track faculty have received promotions this past academic year. Effective today, the following faculty members have been promoted:

Hussein Aluie, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, promoted to professor.
Ajay Anand, associate professor of instruction in the Goergen Institute of Data Science, promoted to professor of instruction.
Cantay Caliskan, assistant professor of instruction in the Goergen Institute of Data Science, promoted to associate professor of instruction.
Michael Giacomelli, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical engineering, promoted to associate professor with tenure.
Michael Heilemann, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and with the Audio and Music Engineering program, promoted to associate professor of instruction.
Ehsan Hoque, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, promoted to professor.
Selçuk Köse, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, promoted to professor.
Sreepathi Pai, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, promoted to associate professor with tenure.
Marc Porosoff, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, promoted to associate professor with tenure.
Adam Purtee, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Computer Science, promoted to associate professor of instruction.
Stephen Wu, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, promoted to associate professor with tenure.
Yuhao Zhu, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, promoted to associate professor with tenure.

Please join me in congratulating these individuals whose hard work has paid off and have reached important new milestones in their professional careers!

NEW DEPARTMENT CHAIRS

Headshots of Darren Lipomi, left, and Chen Ding, right.

Effective today, we have new department chairs for the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science.

Professor Darren Lipomi, chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, joins the University after serving as a professor of nanoengineering and associate dean for students at the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego. Darren earned his PhD from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University and was a US Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Department of Chemical Engineering. We are thrilled to have Darren join the Hajim School!

Professor Chen Ding assumed the role of chair of the Department of Computer Science after serving as associate chair for the past year. Chen joined the department as an assistant professor in 2000 after earning his PhD from Rice University. Chen’s leadership and intimate familiarity with the department will serve it well.

I want to thank our two outgoing chairs for their tremendous service. Professor Michael Scott had led the Department of Computer Science most recently since 2020, but he also previously served as chair from 1996-1999, as interim chair in 2007, and as acting chair in 2017. Professor Mitch Anthamatten has served as the chair of the department of Chemical Engineering since 2018.

Both Michael and Mitch have expanded their faculty, with outstanding hires of both junior and senior faculty, overseen increases in research funding, and shepherded important changes to their undergraduate programs. Both the Computer Science and the Chemical Engineering departments have been greatly strengthened through their leadership, and I am grateful for their partnership throughout their terms as chair.

USING NANOPARTICLES FOR PRECISION DRUG DELIVERY TO HEAL TENDONS

Blue, green, yellow, and red nanoparticles illuminate a muscle tendon.

Emmanuela A. Adjei-Sowah / Loiselle & Benoit Labs / University of Rochester

Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center and the Hajim School developed an intriguing new tool for healing surgically repaired tendons. In a new Science Advances paper, the team outlines how they used nanoparticles to deliver drugs precisely, reducing scar tissue formation and improving mechanical function.

“There are very few effective drug regimens to assist the tendon healing process, despite the high number of these injuries and the poor outcomes that often result,” said Alayna Loiselle, associate professor in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research with a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“We want to pivot from using suturing alone to incorporating therapeutics,” said Emmanuela Adjei-Sowah, a biomedical engineering PhD student and first author on the study. “Advances in multiomics and drug delivery using nanoparticles open up new possibilities in treatment.”

COLE GOODMAN PLACES 21ST IN OLYMPIC TRIALS DEBUT

Cole Goodman leaps through the air in front of an outdoor crowd while performing the triple jump.

Seawon Park

Congratulations to computer science student Cole Goodman ’25, who took to the runway Friday night on the national stage to close out his 2023-24 season, competing at the United States Track & Field Olympic Team Trials at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

Cole, the reigning NCAA Division III Outdoor champion in the triple jump, ended in 21st place during the competition that featured past Olympic champions, world champions and United States champions, along with several NCAA Division I jumpers. We are so proud of Cole for all he accomplished this year and for representing the University so well! Read about his performance at the Rochester Athletics website

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND CALL FOR PRE-PROPOSAL APPLICATIONS

The Technology Development Fund (TDF) is now accepting pre-proposal applications for its 22^nd round of funding. The fund supports University researchers who wish to further the process of translating their research into commercial opportunities. Awards can range from $40,000 to $100,000 to support projects of approximately one year in duration. Faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, students, and employees of the University who have submitted (or who will submit by July 31, 2024) an invention disclosure to the URVentures Office are encouraged to apply.

The deadline for submitting pre-proposal applications for consideration of funding this cycle is July 31, 2024. Several pre-proposals will be selected for full application submission and funding consideration. URVentures anticipates sending invitations for full proposals the week of August 19. For more information, go to the URVentures website.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

At night, two people use sparklers to draw the letters U and R while standing in front of an illuminated Rush Rhees Library.

University of Rochester photo / Richard Baker

The University will be closed on Thursday in celebration of Independence Day.

Have a wonderful Fourth of July!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman