From totality to Springfest and everything in between, here’s how we spent April at the University of Rochester. Photos by J. Adam Fenster unless otherwise noted.
IN THE DARK: The University’s River Campus viewed from across the Genesee River during the total solar eclipse on April 8.
TOTAL RECALL: Rush Rhees Library and Eastman Quad as seen during totality (and through a student’s cell phone).
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE: Owen Tu ’25 demonstrates an apparatus used to track eye movements in the lab of Michele Rucci, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences. Researchers led by Rucci have found that blinking plays a pivotal role in processing visual information.
RIDING THE WAVES: Optics PhD students Arjun Iyer and Wendao Xu run experiments in the lab of Will Renninger, an assistant professor of optics. They have a forthcoming paper about using surface acoustic waves for connecting and controlling hybrid quantum devices.
REGALE US: Data science master’s student and bookstore employee Selene Tulsa pulls regalia from boxes as seniors and other graduates of the Class of 2024 gear up ahead of this year’s Commencement.
SPRING IN YOUR STEP: As trees flower outside, people pass through the glass-covered bridge connecting Wilson Commons and the Frederick Douglass Building.
TIME TO CELEBRATE: Seniors Nathalee Arroyo and Alexis Mclemore pose for a photo as they pick up their regalia.
SURVEY SAYS: Mike Jarvis, a professor of history, and students attempt a ground-penetrating radar survey of the Eastman Quad area between Schlegel Hall and Strong Auditorium, trying to map the old Oak Hill Golf Club clubhouse that once stood at the site.
KEEPING IT CLEAN: University employees Phil Piedmont, Linda Battaglia, and Amy Kadrie pick up trash along the east bank of the Genesee River during Celebrate Earth Week.
TICK, TICK, BOOM: Department of Biomedical Engineering seniors Lawrence Chen, Rachelle Gomez-Guevara, Sarah Manning, and Anjali Patel test their senior design project—a tick collection system for use in Costa Rica.
GOING FOR A QUICK SPIN: Maggie Scholes ’24 negotiates a rotating cylinder while emerging from the fun house on Dandelion Day during Springfest Weekend.
SHAKE IT OFF: Students cheer as the YellowJackets a cappella group performs a Taylor Swift cover on Dandelion Day.
IN CONCERT: An Eastman School of Music ensemble performs for inmates in the rehabilitation unit at the Monroe County Jail. The occasion marks the first time live music has been performed within the jail walls by Eastman School musicians.
WHERE WE’RE GOING, WE DON’T NEED ROADS: The UR Baja SAE team unveils its 2024 car in Rettner Atrium. The group is a student-run, nonprofit organization that designs, fabricates, tests, and competes with a single-seater off-road vehicle.
