July 15, 2024

University of Rochester photo / Matt Wittmeyer

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

We are fortunate to have a dedicated and talented group of staff members supporting the Hajim School, and I’m proud that two members of the Hajim School were recognized with President’s Staff Awards this year. Veena Ganeshan, a senior laboratory engineer in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, received the Staff Community Service Award and Jill Morris, an academic operations manager in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received the Witmer Award for Distinguished Service.

The Staff Community Service Award honors a non-management staff member “whose career best exemplifies service to the University of Rochester or the Greater Rochester community” and that occurred in a capacity outside of their usual assignments. Veena was commended for providing COVID preparedness and meal services for frontline workers and homeless shelters and for her work with the Sri Vidya Temple Society.

The Witmer Award celebrates outstanding career contributions of staff who exemplify UR values in their daily work through clinical, research, or service endeavors. Department Chair Renato Perucchio said that Jill “is the pillar that supports the MechE community of faculty, staff, and students in all aspects of the administrative life within the University.” At close scrutiny, it’s easy to notice that there is a symbiotic relationship between Jill and the department. Simply stated, the department is central to Jill’s life and it’s hard to imagine MechE functioning without Jill.”

Veena and Jill were presented their awards during a ceremony at Helen Wood Hall with President Sarah Mangelsdorf and members of the Board of Trustees. Please join me in congratulating them for their wonderful contributions both in service of and beyond the University!

DIGGING INTO DATA SCIENCE

Each summer, the University hosts numerous pre-college programs for high school students to explore a variety of disciplines and learn from Rochester faculty and graduate students. WHEC-TV reported on one of those programs hosted by the Goergen Institute for Data Science that provides students a hands-on opportunity to experience the growing field of data science.

This year’s program is being taught by computer science PhD student Neeley Pate. She has incorporated more artificial intelligence and machine learning into the program, and last week fellow PhD student Xiaofei Zhou provided a guest lecture, showcasing some of the machine learning tools being developed in the lab of Assistant Professor Zhen Bai.

Watch the story on the WHEC website.

NICOLE SAMPSON NAMED INTERIM PROVOST

University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

President Mangelsdorf announced last week that she has appointed School of Arts & Sciences Dean Nicole Sampson to the position of interim University provost. Nicole, who has served as the Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences since August 2023, will assume her new interim responsibilities on August 1, when Provost David Figlio steps down for health reasons.

Nicole has helped the School of Arts & Sciences make great strides over the past year and I’ve enjoyed closely collaborating with her on many efforts, including the reorganization of the former Arts, Sciences & Engineering and co-launching an initiative aimed at expanding the natural sciences and engineering facilities.

I want to wish David the best and thank him for all his contributions as provost, including leading the development, launch, and implementation of the University’s 2030 strategic plan, Boundless Possibility. I look forward to working with Nicole in her new role.

NEWLY FUNDED RESEARCH

Congratulations to Associate Professor Chenliang Xu from the Department of Computer Science for receiving $75,000 in sponsored research from Cisco Systems, Inc. The funding supports a project titled, “MUTATIONS: Machine Unlearning for Trustworthy multi-modAl foundaTION modelS.”

CONGRATULATIONS TO SARA KLINKBEIL ON HER NEW ROLE

The Hajim School’s undergraduate studies team is excited to welcome a familiar face. Sara Klinkbeil has joined as assistant director for Hajim undergraduate programs and will be working with the electrical and computer engineering, audio and music engineering, and audio arts and technology programs. Prior to joining the team, Sara served as an undergraduate program coordinator in the Department of Computer Science. Welcome, Sara!

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman