
Food for thought—and research
In fields like anthropology and linguistics, scholars must earn the trust of the communities in which they work. A basic key to that trust involves the sharing of food.

Uncertainty in a date dampens interest in a mate
A new study by psychologists in Rochester and Israel shows those who feel greater certainty that a prospective romantic partner shares their interest will put more effort into seeing that person again.

‘High-risk’ research receives University seed funding
University Research Awards for 2018-19 have been awarded to 15 projects ranging from an analysis of the roles of prisons in the Rochester region, to a new approach to genome editing, to new initiatives for advanced materials for powerful lasers.

Outstanding dissertations honored with PhD student awards
Each year Arts, Sciences & Engineering and the School of Medicine and Dentistry recognize outstanding research and dissertations by PhD students.

The ethics of autonomous vehicles
As a computer science major minoring in philosophy, Josh Pachter was ideally suited for developing concepts for programming self-driving cars that behave ethically. His idea: create ethical machines through a process similar to how we raise children.

An improbable route to Rochester, then Harvard
Growing up in Los Angeles, Matthew Lyskawa ’18 saw no purpose in school. But a teacher saw a spark and lit the fire that set Lyskawa on his journey, first to community college, then Rochester, and now to begin a doctoral program in philosophy at Harvard.

Seniors show beauty of urban art with augmented reality
Four Rochester students saw the beauty of graffiti art in abandoned city subway tunnels. Banding together as the ExSpace Artist Collective, they designed an augmented reality project to share that beauty with others.

A local polyglot prepares to globe-trot
Rochester native Cherish Blackman has always had a knack for languages. “I wanted to study languages that weren’t very close to English,” she recalls. The double major in Russian and East Asian studies is heading to China next year, but is bringing her Spanish books with her.

‘Leap of faith’ leads to data science studies
Anya Khalid came to the University without having ever coded in her life—but she was eager to get in on the ground floor of the new undergraduate major in data science. Now the Washington, D.C., resident is graduating with degree in economics as well, bound for Seattle and a job as a data analytics consultant.

A musical celebration of Polish independence
Pianist Kazarzyna Musial will perform music by Polish composers, including including Ignacy Jan Paderewski—Poland’s first prime minister—in a celebration of 100 years of Polish independence.