November 27, 2017

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Optics Express, celebrating its 20th anniversary as the first regularly published, peer-reviewed, open access journal in the physical sciences, has had a strong connection with The Institute of Optics, starting with the journal’s founding editor-in-chief, Joseph Eberly, the Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics and professor of optics. Carlos Stroud, professor of optics, and J.A. West of the Institute authored one of the six papers in the first edition. Current faculty member and former Institute director Wayne Knox, then director of the Advanced Photonics Research Department at Bell Labs, co-authored another. Among the top 30 of its 100 most cited papers are ones co-authored by Thomas Brown, professor of optics and one of the original associate editors of the journal; William Renninger, assistant professor who joined The Institute earlier this year; and Govind Agrawal, the James C. Wyant Professor of Optics. Read more here.

These are exciting times for undergraduate summer research opportunities at the University and the Hajim School. In addition to the two new REUs (research experiences for undergraduates) we launched last summer, a third REU in “Nano-, Bio-, and Quantum Photonics” debuts this coming summer, led by PI Andrew Berger, associate professor of optics. You can now visit the REU’s website, which includes a list of projects that students can choose from and that illustrates the breadth of exciting research occurring here. Applications close on Feb. 15.

These are also “exciting times for UR BME,” writes Diane Dalecki, chair of biomedical engineering, in the department’s just-published fall newsletter. Click here, and you’ll understand why. Kudos to Courtney Nielsen, the department’s marketing specialist, for attractively packaging lots of updates about BME’s research, awards, and alumni.

Earlier this year, three University students, including two from the Hajim School, decided to address the low percentage of African high school graduates who go on to universities, and the high dropout rates among those who do. Realizing the obstacles posed by poverty and lack of quality institutions of higher learning throughout the African continent, William Kaseu ’18, a financial economics major; Frederico Hama ’20 of mechanical engineering; and Dewey Bazirake ’20 of data science and international business, co-founded KBH Consultancy to help international students understand the steps required to attend a university in the United States. They have been joined by Samkeliso Ndlovu ’20 of mechanical engineering and Renaldo Nel ’19, a finance major. Check out their web site to learn more.

Have great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman