Science & Technology

Optical physics and quantum optics will have a profound effect on our daily lives in the decades to come, and two Rochester faculty are among the authors of a new survey of the biggest scientific challenges and questions in the field.

Rochester jumped three spots to number 61 on this year’s top 100 rankings from the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association.

Does the universe contain planets with truly sustainable civilizations? Or does every civilization that may have arisen in the cosmos last only a few centuries before it falls to the climate change it triggers? Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank and his collaborators have developed a mathematical model to illustrate how a technologically advanced population and its planet might develop together, putting climate change in a cosmic context.

Wolf served on the Rochester faculty for more than 50 years and was a leading expert in coherence and polarization of optical fields. His Principles of Optics is the most cited textbook in physics.

University researchers are using data science to analyze more than 1 million facial expressions to more accurately detect deception based on a smile.

A new hands-on learning and research lab envisioned for the Carlson Science and Engineering Library will give students and faculty a place to explore augmented and virtual reality—regardless of their level of expertise.

For their senior design project, a team of biomedical engineering students are working to bring screening and treatment to a remote region suffering from endemic diabetes.

Pip, an app developed by a team of graduating seniors in the Digital Media Studies Program, will let users check their fridge or freezer wherever they are using only their voice.

As a classical guitarist, Juan Estrella ’18 chafes at the constraints traditional instruments place on artistic expression. As an engineer, he is attempting to create a “new electronic musical interface” that would set a new standard for instrument design.

For young children with developmental disabilities, learning to walk can be a long-term process. An inexpensive, “hybrid” walker designed by a team of biomedical engineering seniors can help.

Lenses and mirrors with freeform rather than symmetric can lead to optical devices that are more effective than ever before. A new design method would eliminate the expensive trail-and-error needed to work with freeform optics.

What began as a “silly pastime” of tossing ice chunks down a borehole in Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, has led to a video with more than 8 million views and a collaboration between an acoustics expert and a climate scientist.