“Image” is everything in the $20 billion market for AR/VR glasses. Consumers are looking for glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics that don’t look like “bug eyes.”

Researchers at the Institute of Optics have come up with a novel technology to deliver those attributes with maximum effect. In a paper in Science Advances, they describe imprinting freeform optics with a nanophotonic optical element called “a metasurface.”

The metasurface is a veritable forest of tiny, silver, nanoscale structures on a thin metallic film that conforms, in this advance, to the freeform shape of the optics—realizing a new optical component the researchers call a metaform.

The metaform is able to defy the conventional laws of reflection, gathering the visible light rays entering an AR/VR eyepiece from all directions, and redirecting them directly into the human eye.

“Metasurfaces are also called ‘flat optics’ so writing metasurfaces on freeform optics is creating an entirely new type of optical component,” says Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering and director of the Center for Freeform Optics. Read more here.

Detail from ‘Peripheral,’ poster art courtesy of Joey Hartmann-Dow ’12.

How are artists reimagining the world? What role do the arts have in promoting justice, equity, and citizenship?

These are just a few of the questions that artists worldwide of all disciplines will consider as they gather for the virtual “ARTs + Change Conference – Activate, Reimagine, Transform,” hosted by the University’s Institute for the Performing Arts, June 3 through June 6.

The mission of the Institute for the Performing Arts, which was formed in 2015, is to bring together the disciplines of music, theater, and dance. The institute works to increase collaborations in the Rochester community and strengthen the relationships among the College, the Eastman School of Music, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

“We will learn from one another,” says institute director Missy Pfohl Smith, who sees the conference as a way to connect artists and educators to inspire opportunities and collaborations. “Through performance, pedagogical considerations, and the coming together of creative minds, we seek to build and become a partner in a wider community advocating for equity, inclusion, diversity, and positive change.”

The conference is in partnership with Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center at the University; 540WMain Inc., a Rochester-based nonprofit creating change through community-based connection and antiracism education; Create A Space Now, a multimedia and performing arts platform to further discussion around race relations in America; and the Rochester Fringe Festival.

Over the course of the four-day event, sessions will include participatory workshops, panel discussions, research presentations, and guided discussions. The keynote speaker is Tamar Greene ’12E (MM), who is currently portraying George Washington in the Broadway company of Hamilton. An actor as well as a teacher of piano and voice, Greene will talk about his life, career, and the issues surrounding opportunities for people of color in the performing arts. Read more here.

With the advent of COVID-19 last spring, Silvia Sörensen had to adapt her REBUILD-VL project, which seeks to reduce the psychological effects of vision loss.

Sörensen initially envisioned conducting vision education groups, one-on-one resilience building coaching sessions, and interview-based surveys in person with what is now 27 cohorts of about 250 participants, age 55 and older, with vision loss that cannot be corrected.

“Our program was predicated on doing the work face to face. We had to move all of that to either phone or Zoom, so that’s been somewhat challenging,” Sorensen says.

Similarly, Samantha Daley has transitioned from in person to online research and back again for two National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded projects, both focused on youth with learning disabilities. One examines the motivational experiences of science museum visitors with disabilities; the other studies how motivational beliefs of middle and high school students with learning disabilities influence whether they will pursue degrees and careers in STEM fields.

“I think we have learned some benefits of online data collection that have actually been really helpful,” says Daley.

And for Jeffrey Choppin, COVID-19 has meant delays in conducting teacher observations and recruitment for his NSF-funded, in-depth study of the sustained and successful mathematics reform efforts at East High School, which could serve as a model for high-need and high-poverty schools.

However, this has also given him time to develop a separate set of questions to understand how COVID-19 and the move to online learning has impacted mathematics instruction the past year.

Read more here as the three Warner School faculty members share how the pandemic has affected their research agendas, how they have had to adjust their initial plans and courses of action, how their research has shaped out, and challenges and opportunities encountered along the way.

World Universities Network (WUN), in collaboration with the UNESCO Education Sector and UNSDSN, is holding a series of free virtual networking workshops for early career researchers under the theme of “developing the next generation of research leaders for sustainable development.”

The workshops will bring together early career researchers from all around the world interested in establishing connections to colleagues in their field.

The sessions are:

• June 8: Gender Equality: Opening Speaker: Bineta Diop, African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security
• June 15: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Opening Speakers: Romina Boarini, director of the OECD Centre for Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity; and Oliver Chinganya, director, African Centre for Statistics at the UN Economic Commission for Africa
• June 22: Life on Land: Opening Speaker: Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace

Although these workshops are primarily for the benefit of early career researchers, places will also be available for middle and senior career researchers to further enhance networking opportunities.

Read more here. Questions can be directed to webinar@wun.ac.uk.

The University of Rochester became a member of WUN in 2011.

On April 28, the FDA issued its first notice of non-compliance to Acceleron Pharma, Inc. for failing to submit required results information to ClinicalTrials.gov.

If Acceleron does not submit the required results within 30 days, the FDA may seek civil monetary penalties.

The FDA encourages voluntary compliance with ClinicalTrials.gov requirements but will take action to ensure information is available to the public when necessary. Notices of non-compliance are preceded by a “pre-notice” and both are delivered in writing.

If you receive a pre-notice or notice from the FDA regarding ClinicalTrials.gov, contact the Research Help Desk for assistance. For more information about ClinicalTrials.gov visit our website.

Here are important links for researchers:

• The University’s COVID-19 Resource Center for important updates and guidance on working, teaching, and learning remotely
• University of Rochester Medical Center website for restrictions, resources, and news
• The University’s COVID-19 “Restart and Recovery” web page

PLEASE NOTE that the University’s COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily and dashboard numbers may reflect additional cases confirmed later in the day. When a new case is known, the contact-tracing process begins immediately with the Monroe County Health Department, with confirmed exposures being contacted and required to quarantine. Remember:

If you feel like you’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, it’s best to report them through Dr. Chat Bot immediately. Even if you think your symptoms might be something else, like a cold, seasonal congestion, or allergies, it’s still important to tell University health professionals and contact tracers what you are experiencing—they always want to receive more, not less, information.

Common COVID-19 symptoms include:

• A temperature of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or higher
• Chills
• Muscle or body aches
• Severe fatigue
• Headache
• Congestion or runny nose
• Sore throat
• Loss of taste, smell, or appetite
• Cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea