RIT grads to become first-ever microsystems engineering Ph.D.s

By 6:30 p.m. May 21,there will be two peoplein the world who holddoctorates in microsys-tems engineering. Eachwill be a stone’s throwaway—or, more pre-cisely, a graduation-captoss away—from RIT’sGordon Field House andActivities Center.

Anand Gopalan andMark Steinke will havethe distinction ofbecoming the first-everrecipients—anywhere—of doctoral degrees inmicrosystems engineer-ing during the com-mencement ceremonyfor RIT’s Kate GleasonCollege of Engineering.The day will bring to aceremonial end years ofundergraduate andgraduate study thatpeaked when eachdefended his doctoraldissertation last month. And it willmark the beginning of their profes-sional lifetimes featuring salutationsstarting with “Dr.”

“That will be nice—it soundsgood,” says Gopalan. Steinke saystitles don’t matter much to him—even though he will be the first in hisfamily to earn a Ph.D. Gopalan, on

the other hand, is not the first in hisfamily to earn a doctorate. Hismother, Kamala, an instructor at theUniversity of Mumbai in India, holdsa doctorate in English literature.The path to an RIT Ph.D.: Paved inhard work and determination(and bricks, of course!)

After earning RIT master’s degrees

in engineering, Gopalan and Steinkebegan doctoral studies when RITlaunched the microsystems engineer-ing Ph.D. program in December2002.

Gopalan, who completed his M.S.in electrical engineering in 2002,researched and designed built-in, self-test circuits and techniques for high-speed communication devices such ascell phones and wireless circuits. Hisresearch, partially funded by Semicon-ductor Research Corp. and conductedwith his advisor, P.R. Mukund, professorof electrical engineering, created newmethodology for efficient and cost-effective testing of RF (radio-frequency)circuitry.

“It’s an exciting project,” saysGopalan of his research, which hasattracted the attention of industry.Commercial applications are likelywithin two years, he says.

Gopalan, originally from Mumbai,India, is currently interviewing forpost-graduation positions in indus-try. After gaining real-world experi-ence, he doesn’t rule out one dayreturning to academe and followingin his mother’s footsteps by becominga college instructor. “I would love to,”he says. “The tilt towards academicshas always been there.”

As for RIT’s microsystems engi-neering Ph.D. program, Gopalan says,“It was all that I expected it to be.”

Anand Gopalan ’02, left, and Mark Steinke ’00, ’02 will become

the first-in-the-world recipients of doctoral degrees in microsys-

tems engineering during RIT commencement ceremonies on

May 21.

Microsystems engineering Ph.D.s, page 12

news&eventsRochester Institute of Technology www.rit.edu/newsevents

13 May 2005

13 May 2005 | 1 | www.rit.edu/news

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A yearlong celebration of RIT’s richhistory culminates May 20-21 asthousands of parents and familymembers, friends and members ofthe university community gather oncampus for the 120th annual com-mencement.

“This promises to be an excitingtime as we celebrate the accomplish-ments of our graduates, and RITwraps up its celebration of 175 yearsof education, exploration and inno-vation,” says RIT President AlbertSimone. The 2004-2005 academicyear has featured a variety of eventsto showcase the university’s 175thanniversary.

President Simone will conferdegrees on more than 3,500 under-graduate and graduate students dur-ing academic convocation. Sen.Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) will pres-ent the keynote address and receivean honorary degree during the con-vocation event at 4 p.m. on May 20.(See related story.)

Also during academic convocation,RIT recognizes the excellence of itsstudents and professors. The cere-mony hails RIT’s graduating honorsstudents and professors who wonoutstanding teaching awards. Eachcollege, including the American Col-lege of Management and Technologyin Croatia and the American Univer-sity in Kosovo, selected an undergrad-uate student to represent their collegeas college delegate.

“Students are what the university isall about,” states Simone. “Our cele-bration honors our graduates and

offers a culminating experience forthem, their families and friends. It is acapstone of their time at RIT and afitting finale to years of hard workand sacrifice.”

RIT’s eight colleges celebrate com-mencement in individual ceremoniesand receptions. The college delegateswill each speak at their respective ceremonies.

“Graduation is the highlight eventof the university community,” statesStanley McKenzie, RIT provost. “It istime for the faculty and staff to takepride in our students’ accomplish-ment and congratulate them on a jobwell done.”

Adds Kit Mayberry, vice presidentfor academic affairs: “Each graduate is

a living embodiment of a successfulacademic career, possessing theknowledge and skills to begin thenext phase of his or her career. We,the faculty and staff, appreciate theopportunity to celebrate with themand the people important to them.”

Academic convocation and alldegree ceremonies will be real-timecaptioned and interpreted for thedeaf. Tickets are not necessary, andample seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

To help visitors with questions,information booths will be locatedaround campus and volunteer usherswill be present at the convocation andeach college ceremony. n

Paul Stella | [email protected] & Lomb enhanced its long-standing partnership with RIT byannouncing that the Bausch & LombFoundation is committing $2.5 mil-lion to fund the Bausch & LombEndowed Chair in MicrosystemsEngineering, based in RIT’s KateGleason College of Engineering.

In addition, the company and RITwill collaborate on the developmentof several research programs thatcould involve additional funding of$2.5 million from the eye health com-pany over the next five years. The goalof the research being considered is todevelop potential therapeutic anddiagnostic technologies to addressocular diseases and conditions thatimpair vision.

Bausch & Lomb chairman andCEO Ronald Zarrella shared the newsat the company’s annual meeting onApril 26 at RIT. RIT President AlbertSimone and Harvey Palmer, engineer-ing dean, joined Zarrella for theannouncement.

“The endowment of the Bausch &Lomb professorship acknowledges theoutstanding assets that RIT has alreadyassembled in the field of microsystems

Members of the Class of 2004 helped kick off RIT’s yearlong 175th anniversary celebration.

Class of 2005 ‘caps off’ RIT’s 175th anniversary

Bausch & Lomb CEO Ronald Zarrella, far

right, with RIT President Albert Simone, cen-

ter, and Engineering Dean Harvey Palmer.

B&L $2.5Mgift createsprofessorship

Friday, May 20

Academic Convocation4 p.m., Gordon Field House andActivities Center

National Technical Institutefor the Deaf7 p.m., Ritter Ice Arena

B. Thomas Golisano College ofComputing and InformationSciences7:30 p.m., Gordon Field Houseand Activities Center

Saturday, May 21

College of Applied Scienceand Technology8:30 a.m., Gordon Field Houseand Activities Center

College of Business9 a.m., Ritter Ice Arena

College of Imaging Arts andSciences12:30 p.m., Gordon Field Houseand Activities Center

College of Liberal Arts1 p.m., Ritter Ice Arena

College of Science4 p.m., Ritter Ice Arena

Kate Gleason College ofEngineering4:30 p.m., Gordon Field Houseand Activities Center

See Page 2 for parking and shuttledetails. Additional information isavailable at www.rit.edu/commencement.

B&L professorship, page 12

RIT grads to become first-evermicrosystems engineering Ph.D.s

Additional funding for eye research expected

Sen. DanielInouye (D-Hawaii),the thirdmost seniormember ofthe U.S.Senate, willaddress RITgraduatesand the RITcommunity as the 2005 com-mencement speaker at 4 p.m.Friday, May 20, in the GordonField House and Activities Center.In addition, Inouye will receive anRIT honorary degree.

Inouye, elected to the Senate in1962, is serving his seventh consec-utive term. A senior member of theSenate Commerce Committee andthe ranking Democrat on the Sen-ate Defense Appropriations Sub-committee, he has focused ondefense matters that strengthennational security and enhance thequality of life for military personneland their families. He has champi-oned significant support for RIT’sDefense Modernization and Sus-tainment initiative in the Center forIntegrated Manufacturing Studies.

A World War II veteran, Inouyewas presented with the Medal ofHonor, the nation’s highest awardfor military service, in 2000. Hereceived a Distinguished ServiceCross, the nation’s second highestaward for military valor, and heearned a Bronze Star, a PurpleHeart and 12 other medals andcitations.

Graduation schedule

Senate icon to deliverconvocation address


Stacey Mahany

Friday, May 20Shuttle service will be available from12:30 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, May 21Shuttle service will be availablebeginning at 7 a.m.

“People movers”Senior citizens and individuals with

special needs are invited to use cartsoperated by RIT staff. Carts areavailable at one of the many people-mover stations across campus.

Seating/special needs

Both the Gordon Field House andActivities Center and the Ritter IceArena have bleacher seating, which

have steps. Each location will havestaff on hand to assist with specialneeds; however, prior arrangementsmust be made.

If you or any member of yourfamily uses a wheelchair, contactRIT Campus Safety at http://fin-web.rit.edu/CampusSafety, thenclick on “Forms” followed by

“Parking and Seating Requests;” orcall 475-2074 (v/tty) for accessibilityarrangements.

Wheelchairs are not available oncampus. To rent a wheelchair, con-tact Monroe Wheelchair at 546-8595or www.monroewheelchair.com orFonte Surgical Supply at 338-1000or 800-836-2130.

Special parking and

transportation needs

If you need special parking ormobility van transportation, callCampus Safety at 475-5879 (voice)or 475-2074 (TTY), even if yourvehicle already has a disabled parking permit.

2005 College Delegates

Please use entrances off Jefferson Road. RIT Campus Safety personnel will direct you to parkingareas. Shuttle service to and from the academic convocation and commencement ceremony locationswill be available Friday and Saturday, as noted below. On both days, shuttles will make continuousloops throughout all parking lots and ceremony locations and will return guests to parking lots afterthe ceremonies.

College of Applied Science and TechnologyStacey Mahany, from Dansville, N.Y., is receiving her bachelor’sdegree in civil engineering technology. The recipient of many schol-arships and awards, Stacey has worked co-op positions with the PikeCo., Kiewit Constructors and A.L. Blades. She has accepted a full-time position with Pike to begin after graduation. Mahany plans tocomplete the requirements for a certificate in structural design andeventually pursue graduate studies.

David Krauter

College of BusinessDavid Krauter is a management information systems major fromCranford, N.J. He is a recipient of Madelon and Richard RosettMerit Scholarship and completed co-ops with Siemens HearingInstruments and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Krauter is consider-ing pursuing an MBA or employment in the field of informationtechnology management after graduation.

Margaret Korkor Mensah

College of BusinessMargaret Korkor Mensah, originally from Ghana, is the College ofBusiness graduate. She is pursuing an MBA in entrepreneurship.A Ford Foundation Scholar, Mensah has been a volunteer withCommunity Microenterprise Center, doing research and design of an incubator to provide business services to entrepreneurs.She completed an internship with ECDC Enterprise DevelopmentGroup Virginia, working with a portfolio manager in disbursementof loans to micro entrepreneurs. Long term, Mensah would like toset up a micro-finance organization in Ghana to help eradicatepoverty, set up incubators and train rural communities in soundbusiness practices.

Vaughn Micciche

B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information SciencesFrom Stewartstown, Pa., Vaughn Micciche is an information tech-nology major with concentrations in database and Web develop-ment and a minor in science, technology and environmental studies.He is co-founder of Net Impact, a partnership focusing on customWeb application and site development, managed hosting, opera-tions, project management and customer relationship management.Micciche is a professional mountain bike stunt rider. Upon gradua-tion, he plans to work and eventually pursue graduate studies.

Nicole Heiges

Kate Gleason College of EngineeringNicole Heiges is from Dillsburg, Pa., and is receiving her bachelor’sdegree in industrial engineering. On campus, Heiges has worked asa catering services student manager. Her experience also includes anergonomics co-op with Paychex Inc. and an industrial engineeringco-op with Hershey Foods Corp., where she will be working full-time after graduation. Heiges also plans to begin work on her MBAat Penn State Harrisburg in September.

Jonathan Bove

College of Liberal ArtsJonathan Bove, from Rutland, Vt., is a major in the professional andtechnical communication program He was senior editor for RIT’sstudent magazine, Reporter, and a programming assistant for stu-dents living at the RIT Inn & Conference Center. President ofLambda Pi Eta National Communication Honors Fraternity, Bovealso served as a peer mentor and an instructor in the First-YearEnrichment program. He plans to pursue graduate work in the fieldof higher education and student administration.

Stephanie Shubert

College of ScienceStephanie Shubert, from Lincoln, Neb., is receiving a bachelor’sdegree in imaging science. The recipient of many awards and schol-arships, Shubert was an ACCESS student assistant, working withdeaf students and their professors to improve access for all studentsin the classroom. Last summer, she was a computer intern for theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Prior to that,she was an image analyst for Kresge Hearing Research Institute.Shubert plans to work as an imaging scientist in a research anddevelopment for medical imaging or remote sensing systems.

Juan Rodriguez

National Technical Institute for the Deaf From Hoboken, N.J., Juan Rodriguez is receiving his A.A.S. inaccounting technology. He has worked as a resident advisor andtutor, and he has contributed his time to work as an administrativeassistant for the American Society for Training and Development.He plans to work in the accounting field and continue his educa-tion. In the future, Rodriguez would like to own a business.

Adnan Secibovic

American College of Management and TechnologyAdnan Secibovic, from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a hospi-tality and service management major with a specialization in financeat American College of Management and Technology in Dubrovnik,Croatia. He has had co-op experiences at World Bank Group-SEEDin Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and at Hyatt InternationalCorp. in Colorado. Secibovic also worked on the National Environ-mental Action Plan in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a project coordi-nator on the support team. After graduation, he hopes to pursue acareer in the financial business world and a master’s degree infinance after acquiring additional work experience.

Arben Sahiti

American University in KosovoArben Sahiti is a member of AUK’s first graduating class, earning anassociate degree in applied arts and science with a concentration inentrepreneurship and management. He has been a Dean’s List stu-dent every quarter and is an active member of AUK’s Charity andBusiness Clubs. This spring, Arben received the Madeleine AlbrightScholarship for academic excellence, which allowed him to spend aquarter studying at RIT. Last summer he completed a successfulinternship with the Kosovo Ministry of Economics and Finance,working in the Department of International Economic Cooperation.Sahiti’s plans are to continue his education at AUK this fall.

Vandna Jain

College of Imaging Arts and SciencesFrom New York City, Vandna Jain is receiving her Bachelor of FineArts in graphic design with a concentration in economics, market-ing and photography, and a diploma in management with a focuson marketing. Jain has had varied experiences in her field whichinclude establishing Vane Design, a network of illustrators, photog-raphers and designers through which she obtains freelance work,and working as designer for RIT ESPN SportsZone. She plans towork as a graphic designer or art director upon graduation.

Student delegates were selected for personal achievements that demonstrate the ideals of RIT including, but not limited to,academic excellence. They will speak at their respective college commencement ceremonies.

Arriving at the RIT campus

Shuttle service and parking information

Time capsule captures special RIT moment in time


RIT students Lindsay Tendler, second-year photo major, and Jim Harding, sec-ond-year biology major, pick up trash and debris along RIT’s nature trail duringthe Earth Day campus cleanup on April 22. Sponsored by the Student Environ-mental Action League, the event was among several activities celebrating EarthDay, including a sapling sale and photo contest.

Tending to the Earth

NTID gets

A $1.5 million bequest from the benefactors of the NationalTechnical Institute for the Deaf ’sDyer Arts Center will ensure that thecenter be secured as an exhibitionspace for perpetuity. The Joseph F.and Helen C. Dyer Arts CenterEndowment Fund was created byJoseph Dyer, a retired mechanicalengineer, who is deaf. The Dyersdonated $2.5 million to NTID to create the center, which opened in 2001.

“This generous bequest will allowNTID to take the Dyer Arts Centerto a new level of exhibition excel-lence,” says T. Alan Hurwitz, RIT vice president and NTID dean.“The gift will be used to fund additional curatorial and supportstaff, special exhibitions, expansionof the college’s permanent collection,marketing campaigns and regularmaintenance.”

Located in NTID’s Lyndon BainesJohnson Building, the 7,000-square-foot exhibition space is one of theworld’s few art galleries devoted toexhibiting significant works by deafartists. It includes seven exhibitionareas in which visitors can viewNTID’s permanent collection, stu-dent work, sculptures, paintings,photography and visiting exhibits.

n $1.25M PEN grantThe Nippon Foundation of Japanawarded the Postsecondary Educa-tion Network-International, a grantprogram housed at NTID, $1.25 mil-lion to fund its fifth year of pro-gramming to improve education andcareer opportunities for college-agedeaf students worldwide. To date,The Nippon Foundation of Japanhas awarded PEN-Internationalmore than $5.8 million.

Students in Japan, China, Russia,the Czech Republic, Thailand andthe Philippines will continue to ben-efit from PEN-International’sexpertise in the areas of curriculumdevelopment, access, technology andteacher training.

“We’re especially pleased this yearto see so many faculty members atour partner institutions movingfrom being importers of knowledgeand technological skills to self-suffi-cient users of this technology to thefinal step-becoming true exporters,sharing their expertise at other uni-versities within their respectivecountries,” says James DeCaro, direc-tor of PEN-International.

For more information about PEN-International and its global partnersvisit www.pen.ntid.rit.edu. n

Karen Black | [email protected]

There is a new spirit on campus.You see it in the explodingattendance at campus events.

It is apparent in the growth in tiger-related attire traversing the quartermile.

This renewed spirit is especiallyevident through conversations withenthusiastic students, faculty and staffabout the positive changes madeacross campus over the past severalyears. Fortunately, this spirit is beingdisplayed in another, significant way:there is a growing spirit of giving atRIT.

Nearly four years ago, the univer-sity officially embarked on the mostambitious fundraising endeavor inits history. Through Powered by theFuture: The Campaign for RIT, theuniversity is committed to raising$300 million for the continuedgrowth and support of the campusand its students. The largest cam-paign in the university’s 175 year his-tory, this was, and still is, an ambi-tious goal. But RIT doesn’t startsomething it can’t finish.

Thanks to the generosity of over30,000 alumni, parents, faculty, staff,corporations, foundations and otherfriends, the campaign has alreadyraised $232 million for hundreds ofprojects across campus.

Let’s look at some of the accom-plishments of these gifts to date. Welaunched a new college, the B. ThomasGolisano College of Computing andInformation Sciences, which openedits doors in 2001 as the most compre-hensive computing college in thenation. We built a new signature,160,000-square-foot student facility,the Gordon Field House and Activities

Center, which has, in just a few shortmonths, become the center of studentactivity across campus.

In a less visible but no less impor-tant way, we established 145 new stu-dent scholarships and awards andfour new endowed professorships.RIT added over $25 million to itsendowment. These funds are sup-porting thousands of deserving stu-dents and quality faculty each yearand are helping to build a strongerRIT.

Reaching this level of support is aremarkable achievement for RIT, andthe campus community has played abig part in this success. Nearly 60 per-cent of RIT faculty and staff have

made a commitment to Powered bythe Future. In addition, parents ofour current students have committedmore than $2.3 million since thecampaign began in 2002. Our alumniare reaching out as volunteers anddonors, increasing alumni participa-tion in giving from eight to 11 per-cent in the past four years. Thisresponse illustrates one of the greatestachievements—the renewed campusspirit is encouraging people to engagewith the university and support it likenever before.

With 13 months to go and $68million yet to raise, there is still workto be done. Fortunately, this highlevel of support will clearly not endwith the campaign in 2006. Rather,thanks to the renewed campus spirit,RIT friends will undoubtedly con-tinue the growing momentum of giv-ing throughout the current strategicplan and beyond.

This is a testament to a new spiritat RIT—a spirit of support and giv-ing to the university.

Cauda is RIT’s interim vice president

for development and alumni relations.

This column presents opinions and ideas on issues relevant to higher education. We hope “Viewpoints”inspires discussion

among the RIT community. To suggest an idea for the column, e-mail [email protected].

Support powers RIT’s present and futureby Lisa Cauda

Viewpoints

With the most recent gift of $2.5

million from Bausch & Lomb, the

Campaign for RIT now stands at

$232 million. RIT plans to raise

$300 million.

RIT student filmmakers in the Schoolof Film and Animation work all yearto produce films with that “it” factor.The best undergraduate and graduatestudent productions will be featuredin the annual Honors Show onSunday, May 22.

First-year students through gradu-ate students all submit films for con-sideration for the Honors Show. Acommittee comprised of SOFA fac-ulty and students select about 20films from more than 400 entries. Thestudents’ films include narratives,

experimental produc-tions, animations (2-Dand 3-D) and documen-taries.

“The Honors Showprovides professional-quality projection at anice theatre and a pub-lic screening of the stu-dents’ works,” says JackBeck, SOFA associateprofessor. “For thoseparticipating, it is anopportunity for them tocelebrate a significantachievement with theirfamily and friends.”

Krystal Lord, afourth-year studentgraduating this May, isthe executive creativeproducer of the film, AThing or Two About OldPeople. The comedy isabout a young couplegetting married and theevents that unravel whenthe groom learns hisgrandmother is running an “unortho-dox” business out of her home.

“The process of working on thefilm over the past year has been very

demanding in time, energy and cre-ativity,” says Lord. “Our film has beenin development since last May. I spentthe summer working with another

student writing the film. From therewe went into production in the fall.”

Derek Deems, director, and JoshKesner, cinematographer are alsofourth-year students.“This film wasthe most professional one I’ve workedon so far,” says Deems.“It would meana lot to me to have the film chosen forthe Honors Show. I’m my own worstcritic, and I sometimes have a hardtime seeing anything but my own mis-takes when I watch my films. It cer-tainly helps my opinion of my workwhen other people appreciate or like it.”

“The film/video program withinthe School of Film and Animation isextremely challenging, but equallyrewarding,” adds Lord. “I can’texplain how gratifying it is to spend ayear on a project and have a well-exe-cuted film to show for it.” n

Kelly Downs | [email protected]

Derek Deems, director (foreground), Krystal Lord, executive

creative producer, and Josh Kesner, cinematographer, are

shown on location in Brockport shooting their film, A Thing

or Two About Old People. It’s one of the films under consid-

eration for SOFA’s annual Honors Show.

Student filmmakers present their best at show

SOFA Honors Show is at 3 p.m.

May 22 at the Little Theatre, 240

East Ave., Rochester. Admission is

$5 (free for RIT students with

ID). For more information, call

475-6175.

Academy Award hopefuls

Three animated films producedby students in the School of Filmand Animation are among thefinalists in our region for StudentAcademy Awards. The filmmakersare Brittney Lee, Kimberly Miner,Bill Robinson and Jacquie White.The Academy of Motion PictureArts and Sciences will announcethe winners next month.

Miner received a gold medal inthe animation category of theStudent Academy Awards in 2003for her film, Perpetual Motion.

Future generations of RIT students,faculty and staff will be able toreflect on the university’s 175thanniversary when they crack open atime capsule decades or perhapscenturies from now.

Inside the time capsule are treas-ures commemorating RIT’s history.These include an RIT hockey uni-form, RIT decals, a spiRIT bracelet,the RIT documentary DVD, copiesof Reporter and The UniversityMagazine, a student’s blog burnedon a CD, examples of industrialdesign projects, and letters fromcurrent RIT students expounding on the future.

The time capsule was buried at a ceremony on May 12. The buriedtreasure is located in a garden areaoutside the Student Alumni Union,near the RIT tiger sculpture. Aninscribed granite stone marker islocated at the site.

A time capsule buried in 1969 tocommemorate the new Henrietta

campus was dug up in 2003 duringconstruction of The Sentinel sculp-ture. Unfortunately, since the cap-

sule was not weather-tight, its contents were not intact. n

Bob Finnerty | [email protected]

Some of the items that were placed inside a time capsule and buried in a garden near the

Student Alumni Union on May 12.

Sound knowledge of his subject area. Enthusiasm. Patience. Theseare but a few of the qualities Abi Aghayere brings to his RIT class-room. Alone, they might make for a good teacher. Aghayere, how-ever, is one of RIT's outstanding teachers.

“Yes! Praise the Lord . . . I won it . . . I won it!” That wasAghayere’s reaction upon learning he would be one of this year’srecipients of the Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching. Heand other recipients will receive the award, in recognition of fac-ulty excellence, during Academic Convocation on May 20.

“Dr. Abi is extremely deserving of this award,” says MaureenValentine, associate professor and chair of civil engineering tech-nology/environmental management and safety in the College ofApplied Science and Technology, where Aghayere is an associateprofessor (he will be promoted to full professor this September).“He is an excellent, passionate teacher, respected by his studentsand colleagues alike. We are thrilled that his talents have been rec-ognized by others at the university.”

In the classroom, Aghayere stresses interactive learning and theintegration of theory and practice using real-world examples—many stemming from his active outside consulting work. He pro-vides students with timely and frequent feedback, and he setshigh standards for them and for himself.

“I consistently reflect on my teaching and on student learning,and I have developed a continuous course-assessment mechanismto gauge my students’ level of understanding throughout thequarter,” says Aghayere, referring to a tool he created to measureand improve student learning using ongoing assessment of“intended learning outcomes.” As a result, students derive immediate benefit from ongoing feedback while a course is still in session.

“I believe in a holistic teaching-learning approach and believethat students should be given the opportunity to develop non-

technical skills—including teamwork, leadership and oral com-munication skills—even in technical courses,” he continues.

Both inside and outside the classroom, Aghayere aims to beavailable, approachable, helpful and caring while serving as amentor and positive role model. He strives to develop rapportwith his students as he motivates and challenges them to learnand succeed in college and beyond.

“I view my students and myself as working towards the samegoal of student success and excellence,” Aghayere says. “I view thesuccess of my students as my success and see our alumni asambassadors of my department and RIT. This motivates me to bethe best teacher, mentor and coach that I can be. I believe myprofessional relationship with my students does not end whenthey graduate.

“Because my field deals with life-safety issues, I set high stan-dards for my students and challenge them to work hard whilehelping them in every way I can,” Aghayere continues. “In andout of class, I let my knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subjectflow through to the students, creating in them intellectual excite-ment and the motivation to learn.”

Aghayere, originally from Benin-City, Nigeria, in West Africa,came to RIT in 1996. Previously, he was a structural engineerwith Halsall Associates Ltd. in Toronto, a research associate incivil engineering at the University of Alberta in Canada, a teach-ing and research assistant at the University of Alberta, and a lec-turer in civil engineering at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria.

At RIT, Aghayere developed the Structural Loads and Systemscourse and the structural design certificate program, and he pio-neered the development of online courses in civil engineeringtechnology. He serves as the faculty associate for scholarship inCAST—mentoring faculty by developing strategies to facilitatescholarship—and he chaired the CAST scholarship committee.

His ownscholarshipactivity sets apositive exam-ple. Aghayerehas written orco-writtennumerouspapers, one ofwhich earnedhim and co-author WileyMcKinzie, CASTdean, the BestPaper Awardfrom theAmericanSociety forEngineeringEducation in2003. He is co-author of arevised editionof ReinforcedConcrete Design,slated to be pub-lished next year. Aghayere also serves as faculty advisor to RIT’ssteel bridge and big-beam competition teams.

“For me, teaching is not what I have to do, it’s what I love todo and, by the grace of God, I will continue to seek ways toenhance my students’ learning experiences,” Aghayere says. n

Michael Saffran | [email protected]


Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching honoreesSince 1965, RIT’s Eisenhart Awards for Outstanding Teaching have honored and celebrated facultyexcellence. Up to four awards are given each year to recipients in various RIT programs. Winners arechosen through rigorous peer review of student nominations. This year, three professors will receivethe awards during the academic convocation on Friday, May 20.

The Eisenhart family, for whom the awards are named, has a long history with RIT. Thelate M. Herbert Eisenhart, president and board chairman of Bausch & Lomb, was an RITtrustee for more than 50 years. Richard Eisenhart continues the RIT connection, serving onthe board since 1972, as chairman for six years and now as trustee emeritus.

Holiday cards with illustrations of road signs hang on a wallin Doug Manchee’s office. The cards, from his students, sym-bolize what may be considered a Manchee mantra of teaching:providing guidance.

“I think that your job is to point them in directions thatmight influence them,” says Manchee. “There is so muchout there.”

Manchee, a recipient of an Eisenhart Award forOutstanding Teaching, credits a handful of professors at SanFrancisco State University as the beacons on his road of learn-ing. “They were inspiring. The one thing about all of themwas they had this astonishing energy. I think what I try toemulate is this wonderment of what the kids do. With myteachers, there was no bitterness or anger. There was no, ‘I’mright and you’re wrong.’ There was this dialogue and it was thegreatest way to learn.”

And Manchee encourages open dialogue in his classes. “Ilove to be challenged and told ‘that isn’t quite the right way tosee it.’ That encourages debate and also helps the studentadvocate for his way of looking at things.”

Manchee, a native of Pittsford, N.Y., moved back to the areawith his wife and two sons in 1989. While working as a free-lance photographer, he started teaching part-time in theSchool of Design in 1991. Manchee says he “wandered” over

to the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in 1993 curi-ous to learn more about it. Soon he began teaching advertis-ing photography—a path he continues to follow. At the startof the 2004-05 academic year, he was appointed chair of theadvertising photography department.

Manchee uses outlines in his classes, but his lecturessometimes go off on tangents. “I think that in what I do it’soften good to veer off course a little bit and talk aboutsomething that’s different, but relevant. It could be film, itcould be fiction, it could be fine art, it could be anything.What we [advertising photographers] do is inclusive ofmany other things so I have to be flexible and keep myoptions open.”

Having a sense of humor is another of Manchee’s teachingrecommendations. “You have to be serious about what you do,but you can’t take yourself too seriously.” A poster of threeguys who don’t take themselves too seriously—The ThreeStooges—hangs on Manchee’s wall.

Among the displayed holiday cards is a Valentine’s Day cardsigned by dozens of students. The admiration is mutual. “Thekids here are great. They always have been. I love their curios-ity and their willingness to learn. Far and away the best thing I love about my job is to walk into a classroom.” n


Abi Aghayere, College of Applied Science and Technology

Manchee: Mutual admiration

Aghayere: Holistic approach

“Ehhh, What’s up doc?”Bugs Bunny, the “wascally wabbit” star of Looney Tunes—

along with his memorable friends including Daffy Duck,Elmer Fudd and Pepe Le Pew (the amorous skunk who turnsoff Parisian lovers with his scent)—grace one entire wall ofRobert Barbato’s office in the College of Business.

This RIT professor has a sense of humor and good businesssense as well.

“I started collecting these Warner Brother animation cels along time ago and they still make me smile,” says Barbato,associate professor of management and director of the SmallBusiness Institute in the College of Business. “And they areprobably worth a lot more than I paid for them in the 1980s,”says the 26-year teaching veteran, who, true to form, alwaysremains a businessman.

Barbato—the former owner of USA Baby (a baby furnitureretail store) and Don’s Original (a local fast food restaurant)—is honored to be a recipient of the Eisenhart Award forOutstanding Teaching.

“No one is successful by himself,” says Barbato, whoseteaching expertise runs from business ethics and entrepreneur-ship to organizational behavior. “At RIT, I’ve had great stu-dents to teach and an environment that brings out the best inme, both professionally and personally.”

One touching example is his relationship with a young studentnamed Abel, whom he met while teaching as a Fulbright lecturer

in Ethiopia.“He wanted an MBA but had no money, no visa, nosponsor to bring him to the United States,”Barbato recalls.

“Thanks to the generosity of RIT, he came here, earned hisMBA and even lived with my family for awhile,” Barbato says.“Abel is now an accountant and lives in Virginia with his wife,Yenewud, and their two children. My wife, Linda, and our twodaughters, Lauren and Lisa, think of them as part of our family.”

Barbato believes he has changed as a teacher through theyears—“less focused on the breadth, more focused on the

depth of issues.”“Covering textbook comprehension is necessary, but in our

business ethics class we dig deep to understand the dynamics ofmoral behavior and corporate integrity,” Barbato notes. “Withtoday’s headlines, we never run out of things to talk about.”

One guest speaker who made a huge impact on Barbato’sstudents was a bond trader who broke the law while workingfor the state of Oklahoma. He worked deals, inflated prices,gave kickbacks and fraudulently earned millions of dollars.Trying to escape sentencing, he fled to Mexico—only to bechased by bounty hunters.

“He lost his family, his career and his country,” said Barbato,“so he returned home and served time in federal prison. Heknew he made the wrong kind of headlines when he received acall from Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes.”

Barbato says this was a great lesson for students. “Moreimportantly, I emphasize that ethical business leaders are notthe ones who are so frightened that they never do anythingwrong. Rather, they are the ones who have the strength andcourage to do what’s right.”

Could that also be a lesson for Bugs Bunny?“Maybe,” says Barbato, “because my favorite cel is ‘The

Rabbit of Seville’ based on the opera, Barber of Seville. Thepicture shows Bugs playing barber to an already-bald ElmerFudd. There’s got to be a moral issue in there somewhere!” n

Marcia Morphy | [email protected]

Robert Barbato, College Business

Barbato: Big ideas on small business

Doug Manchee, College of Imaging Arts and Sciences

Todd Pagano, winner of theRichard and Virginia EisenhartProvost’s Award for Excellence inTeaching, is passionate—no, makethat hyperkinetic—about science.The 30-year-old professor in theNational Technical Institute forthe Deaf ’s Laboratory ScienceTechnology program is wellknown for doing just about any-thing to get a point across, includ-ing dancing on tables to show“electronic transition states” andsprawling on counters to demon-strate “molecular vibrationschemes.”

“You never know what he’s going to do in class,” says studentAhmed Ibrahim. “That’s what makes every day exciting.”

Pagano, who has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the StateUniversity of New York at Oswego and a master’s in the same fieldfrom Tufts University, has been teaching in the LST program, whichprepares students for careers in environment, biotechnology, phar-maceuticals, food analysis and forensics, for three years.

The program has been growing steadily in popularity, in large

part due to Pagano’s tireless teaching efforts.He loves to confront “science phobia” in students by challenging

them to participate in his class before declaring any disdain for thefield.

“I met Professor Pagano during summer orientation, and heasked me if I liked science,” recalls Anita Kurian. “He said if I cameto his class, he guaranteed I would. We did DNA electrophoresis,and I fell in love with the program.”

Pagano, a native of Rochester whose parents are both teachers,explains his perspective on education by relating to one of hisfavorite interdisciplinary thinkers.

“Buckminster Fuller once depicted humanity’s reliance on non-renewable energy resources as an unborn chick in an egg,” Paganoexplains. “Fuller warns that humanity must view the use of earth’sfinite resources as the nutriment in an egg that is relied uponin order to provide the necessary time and energy required formankind to establish alternative energy sources for a sustainablefuture.”

Pagano believes that the role of the educator is that of a facilitator,or the provider of the “egg.” He says“At the end of the educationalprocess, the student emerges from the shell with the necessary skillsto be a renewable source of learning unto him or herself.”

Given the proper nutriment, Pagano says, a chick hatches tobecome a chicken and a student develops into a knowledgeable

lifelong learner.To facilitate that process, Pagano, who is active in the American

Chemical Society and a past advisor to the NTID/RIT CollegeBowl team, uses an inquiry-based teaching approach, which allowshim to detour occasionally from the planned curriculum to addresscurrent events and real-life issues.

When a student questioned a newspaper article about mercurylevels in fish, Pagano went to a local butcher,“begged for samples ofseveral types of fish,” and brought them in for students to analyze.

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab onto this student’sinnate curiosity and make a lesson out of it that the entire classcould enjoy,” he says.

“Professor Pagano has a way of teaching information that ismore conceptual and easier for me to learn,” says Ibrahim. “Everyday I leave class saying, ‘Thank you, Professor Pagano.’”

By putting his philosophies into practice, Pagano suggests achange in perspective on the age-old question: Which came first,the teacher or the student?

“I strongly believe that teaching is reciprocal,” Pagano states.“In the context of the shared mission of student success by theteacher and the student, instructors should be willing to learn, notonly by keeping current in their field, but also by learning fromtheir students.” n



Todd Pagano, National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Winning a Provost’s Award forExcellence in Teaching is thekind of feedback that can make a great teacher even better. It lets professors like Peter Hauser,a 2005 award recipient, knowthey’re on the right track.

“To have a group of adminis-trators, faculty, staff and studentsevaluate me and tell me that theyare pleased with my teaching isvery reinforcing,” Hauser says.“The award provides me withsome verification that I must bedoing something right.”

And by all accounts he is.Hauser, a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor of

psychology, joined RIT’s College of Liberal Arts in 2002. Prior tohis appointment, he had completed a clinical neuropsychologypost-doctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester School ofMedicine.

Since arriving at RIT, Hauser has wasted no time. With several

publications to his name—at least three in press—and a lengthylist of presentations, he actively pursues his passion: American SignLanguage neurolinguistics.

To excite and involve students in his research, Hauser created hisown laboratory on campus, the Deaf Studies Laboratory. DSL is aninterdisciplinary student-oriented lab that brings together COLAstudents and their peers from the B. Thomas Golisano College ofComputing and Information Sciences. Together, they collaborateon projects that combine Internet-based programs and software tocollect and analyze data for behavioral studies. The lab also collab-orates with the Bavelier Laboratory in the UR’s brain and cognitivescience program.

Students working at DSL are involved in such studies as theimpact of sign language experience and auditory deprivation onvisual perception, attention and memory; identity, culture, preju-dice and mental health; the validity of psychological assessmentinstruments given to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals; and an assessment of American Sign Language.

“DSL members present their work at weekly lab meetings,”Hauser says. “This helps students develop a better understanding of various research methods, data analyses and how to formallypresent research findings.”

Hauser, who became profoundly deaf at age five, appreciates“the differences as well as the similarities of peoples’ lives and iden-tities.” He credits that awareness with his ease in relating to andlearning from others.

He brings this perspective to the classroom where most of hisclasses are a combination of deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing students. Two interpreters voice what he says in class while he signsin ASL.

“I work closely with my interpreters to ensure that communica-tion is effective,” he says. “I hope that this teaches the deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing students how to communicate with each othereffectively. We have great discussions in class, which provides someexperiential learning of pluralism.”

Hauser emphasizes diversity, innovation and experiential learn-ing in his classroom teaching. “When I teach, I usually give bothdeaf and hearing examples,” he says. “I try to include everyone.This causes some dialogue among the students. I believe this assiststhem in learning about diversity, various perspectives and realapplications of the principles and theories discussed in class.”

Hauser lives in Rochester with his wife, three dogs and two cats.The Hausers are expecting their first child this summer. n

Susan Gawlowicz | [email protected]

Hauser: Integrated approach

Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching honorees

Public policy grad student explores KosovoLyndsey Fisher’s curiosity led her towar-torn Kosovo to see for herself theissues facing the U.N. protectorate.She traveled to the region for a weeklast fall on a visit to the AmericanUniversity in Kosovo, one of RIT’spartner universities, with Jim Myers,director of the Center for Multidisci-plinary Studies at RIT, and ClareLagiewski, AUK Program Coordinatorat CMS in RIT’s College of AppliedScience and Technology.

Having Myers as a professor forone of her classes and hearing abouthis involvement in Kosovo initiallysparked Fisher’s interest in the regionand her desire to get involved. Fromthis grew the topic of the public policymajor’s senior thesis, a student job asa research assistant to Lagiewski and

a chance to travel to a part of theworld Fisher had never seen.

Fisher, who will graduate this yearwith her bachelor’s degree, hasalready begun work on her master’sdegree in public policy at RIT. Hergraduate work will continue toexplore issues facing Kosovo.

“Because I knew my senior projectwas going to be rolling into my grad-uate thesis, it was a good way for meto gain first-hand experience and geta general understanding of Kosovo,”Fisher says of her trip.

While in Kosovo, Fisher conductedsurveys of AUK students and inter-views with representatives from theInternational Crisis Group, theRegional Environmental Center andthe Organization for Security and

Co-operation in Europe: Mission inKosovo. She came away from thecountry with a sense of the lack oflocal power given to this regionmarred by centuries of ethnic con-flict, self-segregation and insecurity.

Fisher also notes that urbanizationhas happened quickly in Kosovo. Airand water pollution is unregulated,and the electricity goes out severaltimes a day, she adds.

Her senior thesis recommendsincreased discussions between thelocal residents of Kosovo and mem-bers of the international organiza-tions based there. She also suggestseducation about environmental, eco-nomic and social issues, and ways toinitiate sustainable development-methods that improve the economywithout hindering the rest of societyor destroying the environment.

When Fisher returns to Kosovonext year as a graduate student, shewill be looking more closely at poli-cies to help create an educated work-force and economic development.

Fisher is hopeful for the future of Kosovo.

“It’s unstable and uncertain, but Iwas blown away by how friendly andmotivated the people are,” Fisher says.“The people really impressed me,especially the AUK students who areready to improve Kosovo and make adifference.” n

Susan Gawlowicz | [email protected] Fisher: The public policy grad student spent a week in war-torn Kosovo

In 1982, Brian Gonzalesentered the world 10 minutesahead of his twin brother. Notto be outdone, on May 21,Kevin Gonzales will beat his“older” brother to a collegediploma by a full half hour.

Not to say that either hadinput on the timing of thesemilestones. Kevin, a mathmajor, will join fellow Collegeof Science graduates for com-mencement in the Ritter IceArena at 4 p.m. Brian, an elec-trical engineering student, will walkthe stage of the Gordon Field Houseand Activities Center during the KateGleason College of Engineering cere-mony at 4:30 p.m.

For the Gonzales family, fromPennsville, N.J., that presents a prob-lem. Two brothers, separate butalmost simultaneous ceremonies, dif-ferent locations—how does one fam-ily be in two places at the same time?

“I went to the dean’s office to see ifthere was any way to work thingsout,” recalls Kevin. “They were verypositive about coming up with a planso that everyone could attend bothceremonies.”

After Kevin receives his diploma,the Gonzales family—including fouryounger siblings—will be escortedout of the arena. From there, they will

be transported on golf carts to shareBrian’s big moment. Both graduatesare receiving combined bachelor’sand master’s degrees.

“There’s definitely a sense ofachievement,” states Brian. “It’s theend of one phase of our lives, but it’salso the start of another.”

For both, the next phase includesdoctoral studies. Kevin has accepted a fellowship at Duke University andBrian is weighing his Ph.D. options.But these twins, roommates and bestfriends know that, for the first time,life is about to send them in separatedirections.

“It will be different,” says Brian,“but I’m not worried.”

Adds Kevin, “Yeah, we’ll keep in touch.”n

Paul Stella | [email protected]

Twin brothers Brian, left, and Kevin Gonzales graduate

from RIT in separate ceremonies.

The Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes faculty

members who have taught three years or less and who pursue excellence in teaching and leadership,

nurture the academic climate that fosters teaching at its best, and enhance teaching as a profession.

There are two award winners this year.

Peter Hauser, College of Liberal Arts

Pagano: Confronting science phobia

Diplomas for RIT twins,dilemma for their family

Annual thesis show

Graduate students earning mas-ters of fine arts in computergraphics design will showcasetheir work in a thesis show. The20th annual show, featuringmultimedia, animation, 3-Dand dynamic typography proj-ects is 6-8 p.m. May 20 in theJames E. Booth Building, room1315. Students will have boothsset up and be available toanswer questions. The show isfree and open to the public.

Buggy team competes

RIT’s Human-Powered Vehicleteam finished with the secondfastest time and earned sixthplace overall in NASA’s 12thAnnual Great Moonbuggy Racelast month in Huntsville, Ala.RIT and 28 other college teamsfrom 14 states, Germany andPuerto Rico traversed a half-mile obstacle course of simu-lated moonscape terrain at theU.S. Space & Rocket Center.

“We improved upon lastyear’s time by about nine min-utes and deemed it extremelysuccessful from an engineeringstandpoint,” says AndrewStreett, a fourth-year mechani-cal engineering major and teamco-captain.

RIT’s concrete canoe teamplaced fourth overall in the 18thannual National ConcreteCanoe regional competition lastmonth. RIT’s steel bridge teamalso competed at the event,hosted by Clarkson University.RIT will host next year’sregional concrete canoe andsteel bridge contests.

New security standards

The RIT Information SecurityOffice has issued a new securitystandard for desktop andportable computers. EffectiveJune 1, all users of RIT-ownedor leased computers arerequired to keep operating sys-tem patches up to date and runup-to-date anti-virus software, apersonal firewall, computermemory protection and an anti-spyware product. Informationon how to comply with the newstandard may be found on atwww.security.rit.edu.

News briefs

Offshore outsourcing of Americanjobs is reshaping the future of theUnited States workforce. In his newbook, Outsourcing America: What’sBehind Our National Crisis and HowWe Can Reclaim American Jobs, RonHira seeks to give readers a clearunderstanding of the phenomenathat are exporting highly skilled jobsto other countries.

“One of the reasons we wrote thebook is because there is a real hungerfor objective information on out-sourcing,” says Hira, assistant profes-sor of public policy at RIT, who co-wrote the book with brother, AnilHira, a professor of political scienceand Latin American studies at SimonFraser University in Vancouver,British Colombia.

A national expert on the issue, RonHira has twice testified before Congresson the implications of outsourcing andhas given more than 60 invited talks onthe topic. Anil Hira provides insightsinto the larger trends of globalizationand how developing countries attracthigh-technology industries and high-skill jobs.

The authors see the phenomena

increasing, with more types of jobsmoving overseas and lowered wagesfor Americans with “tradable” occu-pations. They note that higher educa-tion does not inoculate workers fromtheir jobs being outsourced. Still, they

regard outsourcing as neitherentirely good nor bad, rejectingthe simplistic black-and-whiteargument espoused by corporatelobbyists that divides proponentsand critics into two camps.Corporations are acting rationallyby trying to lower costs, the authorsexplain, but so are workers whoknow that if their jobs are out-sourced they cannot find equivalentwork.

RIT’s Professor Hira is criticalof corporate America for notbeing “more open and honestabout what jobs they are movingand how many” and the govern-ment for being slow to respond.

“This veil of secrecy creates allkinds of practical problems foreducators and workers,” he says.“If you knew what kinds of jobswere going to stay, then you’dtrain for them. Right now, no one

except the corporate leaders knowwhat kind of jobs are staying, andthey aren’t talking.”

“There has been no policyresponse in large part because corpo-rations have a disproportionate influ-

ence on the policy process,”Hira adds.

Exporting research and develop-ment may threaten national securityin the future, he warns.

“Our ace in the hole is supposed to be innovation,” he says. “The real-ity is that research and developmentis being outsourced. That undercutsassumptions being made that out-sourcing is all good.”

The authors recommend a numberof policy changes that the govern-ment needs to do “to emphasize thepositive about outsourcing and miti-gate the negative,” such as:

n Acknowledge the problems ofoutsourcing and encourage a nationaldialogue

n Collect reliable and objectivedata about the numbers and types ofoutsourced jobs and the reemploy-ment outcomes for displaced workers

n Fix the tax code and extend tradeadjustment assistance to people wholose jobs to outsourcing in the com-puter software and other servicesfields. Right now only manufacturingworkers qualify for assistance. n


Public policy Professor Ron Hira’s new book

New book sheds light on U.S. job outsourcing crisis


Some of the hundreds of Rochester-area middle school students who attended the15th annual E3 Engineering and Technology Fair on April 28 at RIT check outRoboSapien, a toy robot created by members of RIT’s Multidisciplinary RoboticsClub. The fair, sponsored by the Rochester Engineering Society, featured morethan two-dozen hands-on exhibits emphasizing engineering, exploration andexperimentation. Club members Steve Pomeroy, top right, and Iheanyi Umez-Eronini explain their group’s project. For more information about the RIT student robotics club, visit http://mdrc.rit.edu.

You get to do this in college? Cool—I’m going to RIT!

New discoveries coming from aNational Technical Institute for theDeaf-based research program are grab-bing the attention of media and peoplesuffering from age-related hearing loss.

Since 1991, NTID’s founding direc-tor, D. Robert Frisina, has been leadingthe nation’s largest National Institutesof Health-funded research program onage-related hearing loss. Under theumbrella program, InternationalCenter on Hearing Research, Frisina isworking with scientists from NTID, aswell as his son and fellow scientist,Robert Frisina, adjunct professor atRIT’s College of Science and professorof otolaryngology at the University ofRochester Medical Center.

They’ve learned that age-relatedhearing loss is accelerated by other age-dependent conditions like Type II dia-betes and thyroid problems. Usingboth human and animal subjectsthey’ve discovered:

n Age-related hearing changes beginearlier than originally thought. Theynow believe less noticeable first stagesstart as early as 40 years of age.

n With aging, the brain begins toprocess sound in new ways—whichmay be corrected with medication or adietary supplement.

n Age-related hearingloss is passed on throughfamilies, with a mother’shearing most influentialon the children’s hearing.

“Traditionally, scien-tists studying hearingproblems started lookingat the ear,” says RobertFrisina.“But we are find-ing patients with essen-tially normal ears whostill have trouble under-standing a conversation.There are many people who have goodinner ears who just don’t hear well.That’s because the auditory parts oftheir brains are aging.”

The number one hearing complaintamong the elderly is that they havetrouble hearing speech because ofbackground noise. Someone mighthear fine in a quiet environment liketheir home, but when they go to arestaurant or a meeting or a party, itsounds like chaos to them, D. RobertFrisina says. “That’s partly because thefeedback system is failing.”

The difficulties can isolate peoplefrom friends and family, beginningwhen people first have noticeable diffi-culty with age-related hearing loss in

their 50s and 60s. This problem isespecially tragic because just whenpeople have time to spend with theirchildren and grandchildren, they can’tunderstand what’s going on.

While there is not yet a cure for age-related hearing loss, some simple stepscan lessen its effects. Speaking loudly isan instinctual reaction when talking toa person who is hard of hearing. Butthat won’t help when talking to some-one with age-related hearing loss.

“Speaking slightly slower thanusual will help,” says the elder Frisina,“as if you were talking to someonefrom abroad whose native language isnot English.” n


Robert Frisina Jr. is interviewed by media.

During the past 30-plus years, theCollege of Business has graduatedfrom small to big business for RIT.The college is ranked in the top 4 per-cent of undergraduate businessschools (U.S. News & World Report)with 16,500 alumni worldwide in 50states and 38 countries. Alumniinclude 750 presidents, CEOs, chair-men, vice presidents and owners/entrepreneurs.

The college marked a major mile-stone, in 1969, when it launched anMBA program. COB subsequentlyreceived accreditation from theAssociation to Advance CollegiateSchools of Business, opened the U.S.Business School in Prague, foundedthe USA Today Quality Cup Award(1992 to 2000) and earned the U.S.News & World Report rankings in1996 and from 2001 to 2004.

More change is on the way withthe appointment of Brian O’Neil(currently associate dean at ClarksonUniversity School of Business), whowill begin June 1 as COB associatedean and director of graduate busi-

ness programs. Upon his arrival,Wayne Morse will become seniorassociate dean and chair of theDepartment of Accounting andFinance, and Donald Wilson willreturn to a full-time faculty positionin the Department of Managementand Marketing.

Additionally, Dean ThomasHopkins recently announced plans tostep down from his post on June 30,2006, after eight years as dean. InSeptember 2007, he will become aprofessor of economics in RIT’sCollege of Liberal Arts, where hetaught from 1988 to 1998.

“I’m ready for a change, and aftertaking a 12-month sabbatical leave, Ilook forward to resuming what Imost enjoy—teaching economics andscholarship in regulatory policy andbenefit-cost analysis,” Hopkinsexplains.

Indeed, 2005 has been a stellar yearfor Hopkins, who has presided overthe successful reaffirmation of RIT’sCollege of Business AACSB accredita-tion (which now extends through

2011), and was instrumental inlaunching new initiatives such as theFast-Track MBA to be completed byfull-time students in one year, and a15-month Executive MBA degreeprogram in which classes meet onalternate weekends.

The Fast Track one-year MBAadvantage, making its debut thissummer, is an accelerated, intensiveand fast-paced program for studentsinterested in pursuing a concentra-

tion in finance, management andleadership. The 18-course curriculumbegins with six two-week modulescovering core courses, followed byRIT’s traditional MBA schedulewhere students complete four coursesper quarter in fall, winter and spring.

The new 15-month ExecutiveMBA degree program also getsunderway this August and offers busyprofessionals the chance to earn theirdegrees in a reduced time frame. Inaddition, RIT will underwrite one-time only scholarships, valued at$12,900, to the first 30 accepted appli-cants to the new Executive MBA pro-gram.

“We are a college on the move, yetvery aware of the interpersonal andcareer goals of our students, facultyand alumni,” Hopkins says. “If theCollege of Business was competing ina business school triathlon, we wouldhave all the right components. Werecognize our strengths, have confi-dence in our overall performance andthrive on change.” n


SPOTLIGHT ON

College of BusinessFrom accreditation to new initiatives, this college is ‘on the move’

The Max Lowenthal Building, home of

RIT’s College of Business

175Celebrating

Researchers study age-related hearing loss

John Ettlie has been“granted” two wishes.

He was recentlyawarded a grant fromthe National ScienceFoundation to work ona joint project,Collaborative Research:Service Innovation,with Professor StephenRosenthal of BostonUniversity.

Ettlie is also therecipient of a Fulbrightgrant to teach inPortugal from Maythrough August.

“I will teach a version of the courseI teach here, and although it is offeredunder their MIS track, it is a two-partcourse on managing innovation,”explains Ettlie, who is director oftechnology management andMadelon L. and Richard N. Rosettchair in the College of Business.

“This is how you learn about a cul-ture, you live it,” Ettlie recalls abouthis teaching experience in Lisbon, athis host institution, Catolica, wherehe taught in 2003. “You speak onlythe native language, go where the

natives go, ride the bus,the subway, the tram,eat in local restaurants,and when you get backto the U.S., you under-stand the true meaningof diversity: tolerance,tolerance, tolerance.”

When he returns toRIT, Ettlie will embarkon a five-year study ofservice innovation, thefirst two years fundedby the NSF division ofInnovation andOrganizational

Change. The project is funded jointlybetween RIT and Boston University,together exceeding $200,000.

“Our focus is on service innova-tion extensions of manufacturingfirms,” Ettlie explains, “and partnerfirms include Kodak, Flextronics andseveral other leading companies inmanufacturing services.”

The NSF grant, says Ettlie, repre-sents a major new applied researchthrust by the technology manage-ment center in the College ofBusiness. n


A lot of young mothers wouldn’t havechosen to do what I did—leave theirbaby daughter in her husband’s careback in the States while she traveledback and forth for two years on a com-pany’s joint venture in China. But itwas one of the best things I’ve everdone and proved to be an amazing lifeexperience for all of us.

—Susan Riley ’81Susan Riley ’81 could easily play astarring role in a Donald Trump-likereality-television series about a self-reliant businesswoman who rides theelevator to the top of the corporateworld and never comes down.

“I encourage women to be inde-pendent and not be afraid to takerisks because there’s no limit to whatwomen can accomplish today,” saysthe RIT business-accounting alumna.“A career is the best life insurancepolicy a woman can have.”

Riley knows “what women want”and it’s much more than the satisfac-tion of watching corporations changetheir top executive’s pronouns from

he to she: It’s about achieving a reward-ing and satisfying career.

In the early stages, Riley performeddouble duty—attending classes atRIT and working as a co-op withlocal accountants Goldstein andViele. She took her first job with theRochester office of the national CPAaccounting firm Arthur Andersen,

then decided to move to New YorkCity and work as an accountant whileattending night classes to earn anMBA from Pace University.

“I chose to work at Bristol Myersbecause they wanted me to do inter-national audits and I couldn’t pass itup,” says Riley, who grew up inEurope and attended grade school inParis and high school in London.“WhenI returned to New York, I got marriedand pregnant, and took a job withTambrands Inc., which offered meopportunities to work in China, thenLatin America.”

While serving as chief financialofficer for Tambrands, Riley faced theheartbreaking news that her husband,Clive, was diagnosed with leukemia.He died in 1994.

“Clive was a lawyer and an incredi-ble father to his two children and ourdaughter,” Riley recalls. “He had todeal with such pain and still made thebest of his situation; he was very sup-portive of all of us.”

Now a single parent, Riley moved

her family to Arizona to become CFOfor Dial Corp., then decided to moveback east to assume the CFO positionof Mount Sinai Medical Center inNew York City.

She joined Abercrombie & Fitch inFebruary 2004 to serve as senior vicepresident and chief financial officer.Riley recently left the position due tocommuting problems between workingat Abercrombie headquarters in Ohioand returning weekends to spend timewith her daughter at their home inNew York. She is in the process of start-ing her own financial practice.

“My advice to the graduating classof 2005 at RIT is to try to be as flexi-ble as you can be with regard to theposition that you take and the locationthereof,” Riley says. “This world is a bigplace and the more flexible you are, thehigher the likelihood that you will finda position that you really like.”

Riley also believes in being veryupfront about career goals wheninterviewing for a job. “It has alwaysbeen my long-term intention to work

and live in New York City and I wasquite honest about it when I inter-viewed with Abercrombie, but it wasa very seductive job,” Riley says.

“The culture of the company is likethe store: you wear the clothes, walkthe talk and wear the brand. It wasexciting to pour myself into the jeans,the work and the controversy aboutour image,” Riley explains.

“Abercrombie’s magazine now con-tains celebrity interviews and beautifulpictures of beautiful places with beau-tiful people in them,” says Riley.

She hopes graduating students willfeel good about working for a com-pany and stand behind it 100 percentduring their employment. While atAbercrombie, Riley wore the jeans!

“By taking risks, being open to newopportunities and embracing change,you enhance your experience-base pro-fessionally and grow and become morewell-rounded personally. It’s the com-bination to open all the right doors,”says Riley. n



David Parish, second from right, president of the Livingston County HistoricalSociety, presents a copy of the 1830 published proceedings of the New York StateAssembly to RIT’s Cary Graphic Arts Collection. The book, which documentsthe charter of one of RIT’s forerunners, the Rochester Athenaeum, has beendonated to the collection in recognition of the university’s 175th anniversary.Among those attending the presentation were, from left, Scott Canaan, informa-tion and technology services senior database administrator and a member of theLivingston County Historical Society, David Pankow, Cary Collection curator,and Dane Gordon, College of Liberal Arts professor emeritus.

Documenting the birth of a university

Whether it’s a photograph of a home-less person or a portrait of Mrs.Smith and her prize-winning bundtcake, Loret Steinberg says photogra-phers have to focus on more thantaking a good picture.

“It’s not enough for the photogra-pher to show up and just beginrecording,” says Steinberg, associateprofessor in the School of Photo-graphic Arts and Sciences. “The pho-tographer needs to connect on ahuman level with his subject andthat’s when he will truly get a mean-ingful image.” She hopes her idea ofalternative story framing catches onamong her new co-workers.

Steinberg will join the photographystaff at The Record, a daily metropoli-tan newspaper covering northern NewJersey and Manhattan. The paper hashired Steinberg as a photographer/editorfor the summer. Steinberg will be goingout in the field and shooting photo-graphs, as well as editing and developingstory assignments for others.

The American Society of NewspaperEditors awarded a fellowship toSteinberg, along with 19 faculty mem-bers from other universities, to work atvarious newspapers around the country.

She will also conduct research.Steinberg joins a staff of six pho-

tographers. She will have at least twoassignments a day and when she’s notshooting, she will edit photographs.She says the staff is interested inlearning more about her ideas ofalternative story framing.

“Some of these ideas I think con-tribute not only to more meaningfulphotographs but better stories interms of what the reader needs tounderstand about a situation. I thinkthat’s one of the reasons why peopleare so confused about world and localevents because mainstream mediacovers them so superficially.”

While taking photographs for TheAssociated Press last summer in NewYork City during the RepublicanNational Convention, Steinberg saysshe found herself having “intense,intimate conversations with totalstrangers.” Six of those images arecurrently on exhibition in the RITSchool of Photography Faculty Show.

The AP assignment led to her cur-rent work with Poor People United,an organization of homeless and for-merly homeless people with volunteersworking to organize and help the poor.

Steinberg works overnight shifts on itsemergency hypothermia bus inRochester, documenting people’s per-sonal stories of life on the streets.

Once she settles in to her new sur-roundings, she’ll be photographingwith homeless and poverty activistsin New Jersey, Brooklyn andManhattan. “If I can make any kindof contribution to society, it would becivic engagement through my photo-graphs,” she says. n


WXXI Public Broadcasting Counciland the Rochester PhilharmonicOrchestra are collaborating on aspringtime fundraising event at RIT,A Renaissance Ball: Dancing, da Vinciand the RPO.

On May 14, the Gordon FieldHouse and Activities Center will betransformed into a Renaissance-stylegrand ballroom. Guests will dine anddance to jazz and swing music per-formed live by the RPO under thedirection of Jeff Tyzik.

Proceeds benefit the programs ofWXXI and the RPO. The gala includesa gourmet dinner with dessert, silentand live auctions and live entertain-ment. Ticket information available atwxxi.org or the RPO box office at 454-2100. n

Silandara Bartlett-Gustina | [email protected]

RPO,WXXI to holdfundraiser at RIT

John Ettlie

Ettlie earns distinctions

Susan Riley ’81

SPOTLIGHT ON

College of BusinessAlumna encourages grads to take risks, enhance opportunities and become well-rounded individuals

In an effort to fight hunger in Rochester, the RIT community made 2,000 peanutbutter and jelly bagels that were delivered to local food kitchens and communitycenters on May 3. Food donations for the fifth annual PB Jam were provided byGenesee Valley Foodlink and Wegmans. Originally a program sponsored by theHillel Jewish student organization, all members of the Interfaith Center joinedin PB Jam along with faculty, staff and alumni. In addition, special interestgroups, fraternities, sororities and other clubs took turns making and deliveringsandwiches.

‘Jamming’

175Celebrating

RIT prof heads back to on-the-job training

Loret Steinberg


Kayce Baker, center, special accounts manager for Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc.,views the winning portfolios from this year’s Fuji Scholarship competition. SeanMcGlincy, right, from Atlanta, earned $2,000 as the first-prize winner, andSarah Weeden from Canandaigua, N.Y., was awarded $1,000 for second prize.Both students are third-year advertising photography majors in the School ofPhotographic Arts and Sciences. Judging for the scholarship was based on visualquality, craft, presentation and creativity.

Prize-winning portfolios

The annual Davis Scholarship Awards luncheon gave special recognition to stu-dent leaders who significantly contribute to campus life. Alfred Davis, RIT vicepresident emeritus (shown in the front row), joined the winning scholars. Theyare Michele Avolio, Aisosa Ayela-Uwangue, Faviana Campbell, JessicaCampbell, Nathan Holland, James Macchiano, Jennifer Mack, Jessica Mills,Adam Peck, Matthew Pittorf, Evelyn Plazas, Daniela Ribinski, JonathanRomanowski, Amethyst Rule, Heidi Schille, Elizabeth Sorkin and AmrutaSudhalkar. Also pictured are Brunhilde Knapp (front row), Betsy Clark (secondrow, from left), Mary Lu Clark, Mary Birx, Nancy Burke (third row, from left),Joseph Burke, Peter Bourne and Peggy Birx.

Davis Scholars

The Alpha Sigma Lambda Honorary Society inducted 22 new students this year. The students were honored at a dinner inApril at Liberty Hill along with their chosen mentors. The honorary society annual inducts new members based on scholar-ship, participation in activities and leadership in academic and co-curricular student activities. This year’s honorees areTricia Andrew, Mary Kate Bloemker, David Branca, Heather Brazeau, Genevieve Deguire, Thomas DiPietro, Gloria Farr,Emma Fulton, Sumeet Gupta, Nicole Heiges, Vandna Jain, Chelsea Johnson, Amy Kennicutt, David Krauter, CatherineKrupa, Dayou Lu, Michael Maeder, Rachel McGinnis, Sarah Moyer, Dawn Pepin, Kasie Strong and Ashley Waltz.

Alpha Sigma Lambda Scholars

The Institute Writing Committee recognized the winners of this year’s StudentWriting Contest at a luncheon last month. In the front row with Andrew Moore,College of Liberal Arts dean, is Shannon Pytlak, a fourth-year film and anima-tion student who won an honorable mention in the nonfiction category. In thesecond row, from left, are Erin Snyder, a second-year new media design major,who won a creative writing honorable mention; Terry Men Chun Fung Ching, asecond-year computational mathematics major, who won a nonfiction honor-able mention; Ren Meinhart, a fourth-year visual media major, who took thecreative writing grand prize; Jennifer Treuting, a fourth-year film and videomajor, who the nonfiction grand prize; Katherine Mayberry, RIT vice presidentfor academic affairs; and Jennifer Loomis, a second-year software engineeringmajor, who won a nonfiction honorable mention.

Winning wordsmiths

RIT Provost Stanley McKenzie andOnline Learning hosted the 2005Exemplary Online Teaching Awardsand 2004/2005 Distance LearningScholarship Awards.

At the ceremony, the 2005Exemplary Online Teaching Awardwas presented to Roberta Klein,accounting lecturer, College ofBusiness; the 2005 Exemplary Dis-tance Learning Faculty Award waspresented to John Roche, assistanceprofessor, language and literaturedepartment, College of Liberal Arts;the Excellence In Online Teachingand Learning Department Awardwas presented to the Department ofCommunication, College of LiberalArts; the Distance Learning StudentScholarship Award was presented toDavid Goen, master’s candidate inprint media, School of Print Media;and the Lifetime AchievementAward in Distance Education wasawarded to Thomas Barker, profes-sor, the John D. Hromi Center forQuality and Applied Statistics, KateGleason College of Engineering.

Online learningawards given

The TRIO Support Services programin RIT’s Learning DevelopmentCenter honored recipients of theBennett Scholarship in a recent ceremony. The 2005 Bennett Scholarsare Justine Paoletti, Gina DiCaprio,Jonathan LeJeune, William Atkinson,Nicholas Pennise and Christina Bryce.

Bennett Scholarsrecognized

Two RIT science majors have won theprestigious Barry M. GoldwaterScholarship, the premier undergradu-ate award for students interested inpursuing careers in mathematics, thenatural sciences or engineering.

Russell Scott of Sunderland, Mass.,and Julia Bethel of Cape May, N.J., areRIT’s first Goldwater scholars. Thenational award, based on academicmerit, consists of a $7,500 scholarship.This year, 320 undergraduate awardeeswere selected from 1,091 nominees.

Scott, a third-year biotechnologymajor, has been involved in under-graduate research involving plant-associated bacteria. He has presentedhis research and has won summer fel-lowships for his work from theAmerican Society of Plant Biologistsand the American Society ofMicrobiology. Scott plans to earn hisdoctorate and pursue a career in bio-chemical genetics. He is in the RIT

Honors Program and holds aNathaniel Rochester SocietyScholarship. He is also a memberof the College of Science StudentAdvisory Board and the RITConcert Band.

Bethel, a third-year applied mathe-matics major, has conducted under-graduate research pertaining to the2001 meningococcal disease epidemicin Africa. She plans to obtain her doc-torate and pursue a career in mathe-matical biology. Bethel is in the RITHonors Program and holds aNational Science FoundationScholarship and an RIT PresidentialScholarship. She is also a math tutorand a member of the mathematicsassociation of RIT.

Second-year students Sarah Denial,a biochemistry major from Erie, Pa.,and Brad Loesch, a chemistry majorfrom Xenia, Ohio, were also RITGoldwater nominees.

Brandon Borgna, a third-year profes-sional and technical communicationmajor in the College of Liberal Arts,won the 2005 Ethics and CommunicationAward. The prize, made possiblethrough a donation from a PTCalumnus, was established in 2004 byRIT’s Department of Communication to recognize outstanding work in thestudy of ethics and communication byan undergraduate student enrolled inthe PTC program. Borgna is being recognized for his essay on the ethics of visual representations of RIT in its promotional literature.

Charles Volpe ’59accepts the recognitionof guests at theCelebration ofScholarship dinner.In 2002, Volpe and hiswife, Andrea, estab-lished a scholarship thatprovides full tuition toselected students inRIT’s engineering orcomputing programswho graduated from hisalma mater, Red JacketHigh School. Liz Kesel,left, is among the stu-dents receiving assis-tance from the Volpes.Celebration ofScholarship annuallysalutes the donors to a growing number oftuition assistance pro-grams. There are morethan 500 scholarshipsavailable at RIT, with31 created last year.

Honoring dream-makers

Essay earns awardfor PTC student

Two earn Goldwater Scholarships


International student scholars

The College of Liberal Arts’ annual Kearse Student Honor Awards recognizes students from across the university for theirexcellence in liberal arts coursework. Dean Andrew Moore, second from right in the front row, joined the winning scholars,Brenna Cammeron, Thomas Connelly, Edward Corridon III, Luiz Freitas, Erin Green, Inga Mareike Grote, JonathanHoward, Caitlin Jones, Joe Lacagnina, Brian Mahoney, Tiffany Miller, Julianne Muszynski, Alexandra Popa, Jennifer LynnSeaman, David Sly and Greg Smith. Missing from the photograph are Matthew Doll, Vidda Serrato, Erin Skirment andAzeez Waheed.

Recognizing excellence

Winners of the Institute Public Speaking Contest persuaded their audience withtopics of national importance. Visiting with contest coordinator Grant Cos, farleft, are Laurel Haydock, second-place winner and a fifth-year microelectronicsmajor, who talked about the importance of mentoring children (second fromleft); Adrienne Dahler, first-place winner and a fourth-year information tech-nology major, who spoke about the obesity myth; and Jason Botterill, third-placewinner and a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, who talked about crit-ical thinking. The contest is sponsored by RIT’s Department of Communicationand the College of Liberal Arts.

Speaking with persuasion

RIT honored students as Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars in a ceremony and reception held in April. Joined by StanleyMcKenzie, RIT Provost, top row, the scholars are Naser Almohri, Amy Alquist, Jonathon Donaldson, Teresa Hartford, RobinHoffman, Patti Humphrey, Iva Jozic, Maja Korica, John McVaigh, Sandra Miletic, Sarah Morgan and Iva Zaja from theCollege of Applied Science and Technology; Jon Ferguson, Carol Ferrera, Raina Foge, Sarah Foote and Minh Luong from theCollege of Business; Brian Ballsun-Stanton, Robert Brackett, Brian Castka, Christopher Connett, Brian Dagan, AdrienneDahler, Arpit Desai, Thomas Guzewich, Sean Hannan, Joseph Kardamis, Jonathan New, Josh Rosenberg, Yeuk Kei See,Mehak Sujan, Brian Tajuddin, Ritu Thaker, Gregory Von Pless, Benjamin Wise and Brian Ziegler from the B. ThomasGolisano College of Computing and Information Sciences; Jonathan Arbogast, Lance Barron, Dmitriy Bekker, JamieBoeheim, Douglas Brown, Alexey Chernyakov, Evan Clark, Erin Colquitt, Josh Dennie, Eric Ernst, Daniel Fava, GilbertHendry, Cory Hoffman, David Kann, Lindsay LaRocca, Bhushan Mehendale, Anna Murray, Ross Strebig and GeoffreyWatson from the Kate Gleason College of Engineering; Vladlena Belozerova, Andrew Bigelow, Mary Bonaparte-Krogh, JesseBorkowski, Kristine Dunham, Rose Figliomeni, Brigid Gloekler, Justin Kissida, Peter Lazarski, Jonathan Lesser, Amy Livings,Krystal Lord, Ryan Pancoast, Jennifer Plevy, Shannon Pytlak, Rebecca Ruby, Daniel Sax, Frank Solome, CourtneyThibaudeau, Mary Titus and Ashley Waltz from the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences; Gregory DeAngelo, JacquelineLicht and Vanessa Mazza from the College of Liberal Arts; Vandana Chakravartty, Marissa Clopper, John DeLisio, KevinGalens, Lukas Habegger, Zackery Knowlden, Matthew Montanaro, Christopher Plymire, Brad Tebbets, Megan Varner, NicoleWaxmonsky and Maureen Wood from the College of Science.

Outstanding undergraduates Student Government awardsRIT’s Student Government handedout a slew of awards at its seventhannual awards banquet in April. Theyincluded:

n The SG Extra Mile Award, whichwas presented to student servicesemployees in the electrical, computerand telecommunica-tions engineeringtechnology depart-ment in the Collegeof Applied Scienceand Technology.

n The SGPresident’s Awardswere given to Campus Safety andKaren Barrows, assistant to the RITpresident.

Campus Safety was awarded for itsdiligence to keep students informedabout changing bus routes and mak-ing sure that these services were notcut and students were not leftstranded.

Barrows received the award for herhelp in making sure that studentleaders and students alike are alwaysable to voice their opinions and con-cerns to RIT President AlbertSimone. This past year, she alsoplayed a large role in helping toorganize activities including theFrank Horton Distinguished SpeakerSeries event that featured RobertRedford, says Shiela Sarratore, outgo-ing Student Government president.

Other award recipients were HayleyFisch—RHA Member of the Year;Jennifer Seamans—OCASA Directorof the Year; Charles Sterling—NSCDr. Robert Frisina’s Past President

Award; RIT Anime and RIT Players—SG Outstanding ClubProgramming; Hillel—SGOutstanding Community Service;William Scarborough—SGOutstanding Club Advisor; DeafInternational Students Club—Global

Union Club of theYear; Qing Quan,Stephen Sudirgoand DanielaRibinski—OutstandingInternational

Student; AdrienneMorgan of Ebony Club—BACCAppreciation Awards; Russ Zumwalt,Triangle fraternity—Greek CouncilOutstanding Greek Man; SheilaSarratore, Alpha Sigma Alpha—GreekCouncil Outstanding Greek Woman;Andrea Napoli, Alpha Sigma Alpha—Outstanding Greek Advisor; MehakSujan and Ashish Rathour—PERDAOutstanding Student Award; FavianaCampbell and Steve Brownlee—IsaacL. Jordan Sr. Memorial Scholarshipfor Diversity; Evelyn Plazas—theCheryl Bulls, Lanette Moore andSusan Willoughby MemorialScholarship; Amy Cruz, AbenaaAddei, Lonnie Parker and OsaAghayere—Frederick DouglassScholarship; Anne-Marie Naumann—Student Government Member of theYear; Evelyn Plazas—Kathleen KeyesMemorial Scholarship; Tau KappaEpsilon—President’s Cup forOutstanding Greek Chapter; MichelleLipchick—Eric Scott Senna SpiritAward.

This year, 35 students from countries around the world were honored by RIT’s International Student Scholarship program. Thescholars are Titiksha Agarwal, Aisosa Ayela-Uwangue, Nagaraj Bijjala, Roman Blagovirnyy, Somi-Ruw BudhagodaArachchige, Paulo Choi, Moonsik Chung, Rohan Dang, Pari Dukovic, Daniel Fava, Nirav Gala, Alethia Jimenez Garcia, LucasHabegger, Timucin Karaca, Yaniv Koter, Kiran Lad, Kapil Lakhani, Mian Sheng (Leon) Lim, Sanjay Manglam, Itzel Morales,Marcos Mota, Pooja Munim, Tran Nguyen, Haida Ni, Franz Orban, Ankur Anil Pandhe, Ashish Rathour, Mayank Rathour,Gabriel Wiethorn Rinaldi, Marcos Daniel Romero-Lay, Arjun Sachdeva, Yeuk Kei See, Amardeep Sekhri, Rashmi Shah andAbdul Haleem Syed.

RIT’s College Panhel-lenic Association hon-ored 70 Greek womenfor their academicachievement at theirsecond annual SweetRewards DessertReception and cere-mony in April. KateMotter, second-yearnew media publishingmajor, was honored forhaving a cumulativeGPA of 4.0. Motter isa member of Alpha XiDelta and is in theRIT Honors Program.

The sweet rewards of success

There’s nothing to do—it’s bor-ing here.” And my favorite,“There’s no school spirit.”

In my few years on campus, I’veheard it all. Students complain thatRIT is simply not a fun place to be.They say there are limited entertain-ment options and that RIT has fewsocial opportunities.

So I list the events that occurredduring the past week, and I ask themif they attended any. They remainsilent. They have no rebuttal.

The problem with these students isa lack of perspective. Thankfully, I hadthe pleasure of transferring here fromVanderbilt University, which frequentlyranks high among America’s top univer-sities. I can say, without a doubt, thatRIT is as worthy of praise as these topschools. What RIT lacks in comparisonto bigger schools, it replaces with a heartof gold and an unwavering spirit toplease its students.

There is no reason to be bored atRIT. There are events occurring almostevery day. There are pool tournaments,cinema showings, plays, various contestsfor prizes, comedy and music acts,poetry readings, wall-climbing events,hockey games, 160 unique clubs, Greeklife, and the list goes on.

By putting even the most minisculeamount of effort into finding out what’shappening, we open up an immediateworld of opportunities and entertain-ment. Go ahead, add “EventsatRIT” toyour AIM list. It will take you about

seven seconds to do it. Step one ofbecoming fully entertained on campusis complete. I bet you can figure out therest.

While we are not always consid-ered a big school, we certainly act likeone. We’re often blessed with enter-tainers like the great comedian DaneCook, and musical artists Ludacrisand Kanye West, among other big-name acts who have performed here.

And we complain of boredom?Please!

While a school must entertain itsstudents, its primary focus is academ-ics. Any school can have strong cur-ricula to drive students toward com-pleting their degree. RIT is no excep-tion, seeing as how it developed thefirst information technology curricu-lum in the nation in 1992, which itcontinuously fine-tunes andimproves. What interests me is theunderlying foundation behind thisacademic experience, the human

quality that is its faculty and staff.Never have I met such selfless peo-

ple who try their very best to aid stu-dents, and my academic experiencehas been enhanced because of it. Forexample, Heather Roth is my aca-demic advisor in the IT department. Ihave often asked her to write letters ofsupport to send to my sponsors, usuallyto seek approval for my academicschedule. Not once have I sensed anyhesitation on her part. Within 24 hours,my letters are either waiting in my mailfolder or available for pick-up. No ques-tions asked, and always with a smile.

I have made friendships with vari-ous professors, taking my academicexperience to another level, some-thing I rarely noticed with professorsat Vanderbilt. I actually feel comfort-able with most of my professors, andconversations with them outside classhave always been entertaining andfruitful. Professors like Bogaard,Hartpence, Hill, Holden, Jenkins,

Mazanec and Stella have changed myviews about academia. They haveearned my respect and have made myexperience here more memorable.

RIT may not be for everyone, butwhen it comes to its efforts in enter-taining students and the quality ofthe faculty and staff, it can’t be beat.Students should realize how luckythey are to attend this great schooland learn to appreciate its manyfacets. Once this is accomplished, it’sonly a matter of time before theystart praising it.

“It’s exciting here.”“There’s plenty to do.”And my personal favorite, “School

spirit starts with me.”Shahab Al-Awadhi is a graduating infor-

mation technology major from Dubai, United

Arab Emirates.


Combinestudent cre-ativity withsuch tangi-ble tools asa potterywheel,blowtorchor kiln, andthe endresults areone-of-a-kind piecesproducedin the School for American Crafts.The students’ pieces, representingtheir work throughout the year, willbe showcased during a special one-day event. Spring Walkthrough isfrom 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 16,in the James E. Booth Building.

This is an annual tradition for theSchool for American Crafts. Anyoneis welcome to tour the school’s met-als, wood, ceramics and glass studios.There will be demonstrations high-lighting each of the four programs.For information, call 475-6114. n


It’s a job seeker’s oasis. Imaginedozens of potential employers, allgathered in one location waiting tomeet you.

Paradise arrived for RIT studentslast month at the Gordon FieldHouse and Activities Center. TheSpring 2005 Career Fair featured rep-resentatives from 85 companies andgovernment agencies—making it theuniversity’s largest career fair ever.

Caitlyn Young, a fourth-year illus-tration major, took notice of themany companies on hand. She saysthe energy generated between therecruiters and students made for animpressive, interactive environment.“Overall, it had a really good vibe,”she states.

Nearly 1,700 students seeking full-time and co-op positions attended theevent. Emanuel Contomanolis, assis-tant vice president of co-op and careerservices, says the opportunities avail-able to this year’s job seekers are moreplentiful than they were a year ago.

“The number of jobs thatrecruiters are looking to fill throughthe career fair program has morethan doubled,” he explains. “It’s asgood a reflection as any of increasedactivity and strength in the labormarket.”

It also reflects well on RIT. Theuniversity’s reputation and strengthof academic programs, its ties toindustry through co-ops and the hardwork of RIT’s co-op and career serv-ices staff all make the campus anattractive site for recruiting.

Companies such as Anheuser-Busch,Bausch & Lomb, Boeing, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Delphi Corp., ESPN,Harris Corp., Lockheed Martin,Microsoft and Paychex were amongthose attending the fair.

And what are their recruiters seek-ing? In terms of career skills,Contomanolis says software engineer-ing is particularly hot. Students withbackgrounds in science, computerscience, engineering and financialservices are also in demand.

There’s a need for artists, too.Caitlyn Young connected with a rep-resentative from one of the top com-panies on her list, Highlights forChildren magazine.

“I felt very hopeful about ourmeeting,” she says. “We agreed thatmy experiences in internships andclasses at RIT might be the right fitfor one of their full-time positions.”

An oasis! Who needs sunshine andpalm trees anyway? nPaul Stella | [email protected]

If you took a bowl of spaghetti andtipped it upside down, you mightcreate a scene that resemblesMammoth Cave. More than two mil-lion people visit Mammoth CaveNational Park in Kentucky each yearfor a glimpse of this winding 365-mile long underground maze.

Raymond Klass, a fourth-yearadvertising photography major inthe School of Photographic Artsand Sciences, spent three monthsdocumenting Mother Nature’simpressive span of nooks and cran-nies. Klass earned an artist-in-resi-dence position at the park as part ofan independent study. The resi-dency gave him unprecedentedaccess to the caves that would oth-erwise be allowed only with a per-sonal tour guide.

In fall 2003, he lived at the parkwith the initial idea of compiling abook of photographs for display inthe park’s visitors center. Two yearslater, he landed a book deal, a featurein a PBS documentary and an inter-view on National Public Radio.

Klass’ daily photography sessionsin the cave were arduous. He hauled90 pounds of equipment includinglanterns, power cords and flashlights.On average, he would spend twohours setting up the lights to illumi-nate a small section of the cave.

“As soon a tour would come by,

the lights the tourists were usingwould interfere with my exposure,and I would have to start the wholeprocess again. You might think ofthe exposures as literally ‘paintingwith light’, where it might take aminute or two to paint a small sec-tion, and 30 minutes to paint all thesections I was going to illuminate inthe image.”

In his book, Mammoth CaveNational Park: Reflections, which wasreleased in March, Klass outlines hisexperiences and provides detaileddescriptions of each photograph. His

parents and several professors helpededit the book.

Klass graduates this year with aB.A. in advertising photography anda minor in science, technology andenvironmental studies. He hopes towork full-time at a public garden.For now, he’s enjoying his status as apublished author. “It’s really quiteunbelievable the attention I’vereceived from magazines, newsletters,and individuals. It’s nice to see peo-ple really analyzing and exploring thepark through my experiences.” n


Pieces like Revenant will be

showcased at the SAC

Spring Walkthrough.

A student speaks with a recruiter from ESPN, one of 85 companies and government agencies

represented at the Spring 2005 Career Fair.

Mammoth Cave National Park: Reflections features images shot by Raymond Klass, fourth-

year advertising photography major. Klass, pictured within Mammoth Cave, appears in some

of the photographs to give readers a better perspective of the cave’s girth and depth.

Annual SACwalk-through

Largest career fair guides students to the workplace

This column presents opinions and ideas on issues relevant to higher education. We hope “Viewpoints”inspires discussion amongthe RIT community. To suggest an idea for the column, e-mail [email protected].

True school spirit starts with studentsby Shahab Al-Awadhi

Viewpoints

An insider’s view of Mammoth CaveThe 2005-2006 state budget includesadditional funding for two key initia-tives of RIT’s Center for IntegratedManufacturing Studies. CIMS willreceive $400,000 to continue andexpand its Remanufacturing Outreachprogram with industry.

Through this program, CIMSworks with regional manufacturingcompanies to enable them to incor-porate environmentally friendlyremanufacturing strategies into theirproduction lines and new productdevelopment.

An additional $250,000 was appro-priated for the “Roadmap Project,” inwhich the CIMS team is analyzing thestate of the manufacturing climate in10 industry clusters, and developingrecommendations for strengtheningcompanies’ competitiveness. The clus-ter approach has proven to be a suc-cessful economic development strat-egy, enabling companies in like indus-tries to share non-proprietary infor-mation that enables all companies inthe cluster to be more competitive.

The CIMS funding was supportedby the members of the assembly dele-gation from Rochester, includingAssemblymembers Joe Morelle,David Gantt, Susan John and DavidKoon. CIMS’ remanufacturing effortshave been a priority of the stateassembly’s economic developmentplans for several years through the

efforts of Morelle who chairs the sub-committee on manufacturing.

“I am pleased to support the workof the remanufacturing team at theCenter for Integrated ManufacturingStudies, as the center is essential toproviding assistance to manufactur-ing companies across New York state,”says Morelle. “CIMS helps to improveour economy and our environment,and I will continue to advocate fortheir successful work.”

“We are tremendously grateful forthis continued investment in our work,”says Nabil Nasr, assistant vice presidentfor Academic Affairs and director ofCIMS.“This funding will enable us tofurther extend CIMS’ reach into theregional manufacturing industry andprovide a positive return in terms ofeconomic development that will bene-fit the entire community.” n

Assemblyman Joe Morelle speaks with a

reporter in RIT’s Center for Integrated

Manufacturing Studies last year. Morelle met

with Nabil Nasr, CIMS director (background,

left), and RIT President Albert Simone.

‘

State funds CIMS outreach


RIT’s School of Print Media honored Thomas Curley, president and chief execu-tive officer of The Associated Press, April 26, with the Isaiah Thomas Award,which recognizes an individual for outstanding contributions to the publishingindustry. Curley, left, and Karen Magnuson, editor of the Democrat andChronicle, were also part of a panel discussion about freedom of information.Curley, a vice chairman of RIT’s Board of Trustees, began his career in Rochestermore than 30 years ago at The Times-Union. Before joining The AssociatedPress in 2003, Curley was publisher and president of USA Today.

Homecoming for publishing patriarch

A week after RIT commencementceremonies in Henrietta, RIT willreprise the occasion in Dubrovnik,Croatia—the home of RIT’s branchcampus, the American College ofManagement and Technology.

Commencement ceremonies, inSports Hall in Dubrovnik on May 28,will be unique this year. Sarah Knapp,a hotel and resort management majorand communication minor, willbecome the first American-borngraduate of ACMT when she joins294 fellow graduates.

“The experience is one I will neverforget,” says Knapp, who spent herfinal quarter studying in Croatia.“Getting to see a new culture andlearning environment was veryrewarding for me. We toured almostevery weekend—Bosnia, all of thecoast of Croatia and possibly Italybefore I leave. The memories andfriends I’ve made here are going to bewith me for life.”

Originally from Tully, N.Y., outside

Syracuse, Knapp plans to return toRochester following graduation topursue a sales position with a hotel orconvention center. She may also pur-

sue a master’s degree.Knapp’s parents are planning to be

with her for graduation ceremoniesin Dubrovnik, but they and Knapp

will miss commencement weekend inHenrietta. RIT dignitaries who will beon hand for ACMT graduationinclude Stanley McKenzie, provostand vice president for academicaffairs, Wiley McKinzie, dean of RIT’sCollege of Applied Science andTechnology, Francis Domoy, profes-sor and chair of RIT’s School ofHospitality and Service Management,and Kenneth Reed, trustee and chairof the RIT Alumni Network Board ofDirectors.

Established in 1997, ACMT cur-rently enrolls 630 students in two-and four-year degree programs inhospitality and service management.

Under the direction of CAST,enrollment has grown from 175 stu-dents in its first year. ACMT’s first-ever commencement was in 2001.Faculty from RIT’s School ofHospitality and Service Managementregularly spend full quarters teachingin Croatia. n


Remote sensing techniques may helpan RIT biology professor and her stu-dents observe the elusive otters thatlive in Black Creek.

Lei Lani Stelle, assistant professorof biological sciences, and a group of11 students are studying the success ofthe New York River Otter Project thatreintroduced 279 otters from theAdirondack and Catskill mountains to15 sites, including local creeks. Therelocation was completed by 2000.Since then, state organizations, such asthe Department of EnvironmentalConservation, have lacked funding totrack the project’s success.

Otters, which once lived naturallyin this area, were wiped out about 100years ago due to water pollution, habi-tat loss, hunting and trapping.

Stelle couldn’t pass up a chance torevive the project. Her concurrentwork studying marine mammals inBritish Columbia led to an opportu-nity to expand the otter project thereto compare the animals and their dif-ferent habits.

Locally, the otter project gives herstudents an opportunity to study ani-mal behavior, ecology, physiology andthe role of the otter in an ecosystem.By conducting fieldwork, studentshope to monitor how well the popula-tion has established itself through

breeding, dispersing and setting up a home range.

The project, which started inJanuary 2004, has been hindered byone glitch: No one on the team has yet to see an otter.

“I have a strong hunch thatthe otters are around, but hiding,”Stelle says.

What Stelle and her students arefinding instead is evidence of theotters’ healthy appetite and plentifulfood supply. According to Stelle, ottersestablish latrine or toilet sites wherethey leave their fecal matter and thecoded information it contains.Biologists debate the function of thesesites, which may communicate terri-tory boundaries or reproductive statusor both. Nevertheless, the sites arehelpful to the researchers, who canlearn a lot from what is left behind.

Fecal samples are collected andlater analyzed in the lab for informa-tion about the otters’ diet and energyneeds. Stelle’s students are also work-ing to extract DNA material thatcould genetically fingerprint individ-ual animals.

Hearing of the project, BobKremens, researcher in the Chester F.Carlson Center for Imaging Science,suggested a remote sensing solution.

Kremens’ research uses small cam-

eras and sensors to detect and moni-tor wildfires. He realized the samebasic technology could be extended toother applications and recommendedsetting up cameras at the otters’ toiletsites to document behavioral data.

Problems deriving reliable powerfrom the solar panels connected to thecamera and accessing the wireless datahave temporarily delayed implemen-tation of this part of the project.While those details are being ironedout, the team has looked to the SenecaPark Zoo for ways to study otterbehavior and to test the camera sys-tem with an available power supply.

Student project leader MarigoldBethany, a junior and a biologyresearch scholar at RIT, will analyzethe data acquired from the zoo.

In the interim, Stelle’s team hasborrowed a camera and VCR unitfrom a student at State University ofNew York at Brockport who studiedminks. This more cumbersome sys-tem requires batteries, tapes and regu-lar monitoring.

Stelle is also exploring a possiblecollaboration with biologists at FingerLakes Community College.

“Collaborations help with this kindof research,” Stelle says. “It’s hard todo solo.” n


The job of an art critic or music critic isto express an opinion about an artist’sstyle. Xerox Corp., along with RIT fac-ulty and students, has created its ownkind of style critic—technology thatchecks the aesthetics of documents,such as print advertisements or Websites. Xerox has filed seven patent appli-cations for the technology in the UnitedStates and Europe.

Steve Harrington, research fellow inXerox’s Imaging and Services Techno-logy Center in Webster, collaborated onthe technology with Fernando Naveda,chair of software engineering in the B.Thomas Golisano College of Com-puting and Information Sciences, RhysPrice Jones, RIT professor of comput-ing and bioinformatics, and NishantThakkar, a computer science graduatenow employed at IBM. Paul Roetling, aretired fellow from Xerox, served as aconsultant on the project.

The technology uses mathematics toidentify more than 150 measurablevalue functions such as color harmony,text size, white space, color balance andalignment to generate metrics. Thesemetrics can be used to automate thedocument design process.

“With this technology, Xerox hasdeveloped systems an author can use toevaluate his document’s style that willtell him of possible violations of graphicarts design rules,” says Harrington.

A grant from New York state andXerox funded the research. NishantThakkar was one of several co-op stu-dents who spent summers working onthe project at Xerox’s offices in Webster.

“The fact that these co-ops were allundergraduates speaks to both the cal-iber of RIT’s undergraduate studentsand academic formula,” says Naveda.

Computer graphic design studentsfrom the College of Imaging Arts andSciences volunteered their time to workon the project.

People working with document-cre-ation software could benefit from thistechnology. Other potential applica-tions could be to use it as a filteringmechanism on Internet search engines.

Price Jones says the patent applica-tions cover a method of criticism thattries to appreciate the beauty of currentworks.“There is no way that whatwe’ve done is anything original likePicasso did, but now that Picasso existsand is well studied, we have functionsthat can measure what makes Picasso’swork appealing,” he says. n


New technology‘sums up’ pagedesign and style

RIT is home to one of the fastestcomputers in the world. ThegravitySimulator is a special-purposecomputer designed to simulate theevolution of galaxies.

Built by RIT physics professorDavid Merritt, the computer sits inthe dedicated Laboratory forAstrophysical Dynamics in the B.Thomas Golisano College ofComputing and InformationSciences, forming an impressive wallof computational power.

The cluster contains 32 nodes.Each node houses a special-purposeaccelerator board called a GRAPE, orGRAvity PipEline. The GRAPEs,imported from Tokyo, are speciallydesigned to carry out gravitationalforce calculations.

“The GRAPE boards compute theinverse-square force for large numbersof particles simultaneously at speedsgreatly in excess of a general-purposesupercomputer,” Merritt says.

Adds Hans-Peter Bischof, associateprofessor of computer science andmember of Merritt’s team: “ThegravitySimulator is 1,000 times fasterthan a Mac G5 single processor desk-top machine. The machine can han-dle four million particles—each repre-

senting a star. And for this kind ofproblem, that’s enormous.”

The GrapeCluster project began inthe fall as a prototype with eightnodes built with $100,000 from RIT’sFirst in Class program. An additional$500,000 came from grants from NASAand the National Science Foundation,enabling the cluster upgrade.

Merritt is the first to create asupercomputer to study how gravita-tional forces cause black holes toform in the densest regions in theuniverse. He is driven to learn howblack holes evolve and interact withstars and how they continue to changeafter colliding with other black holes.He is also engaged in a long-term proj-ect called the Virtual Galaxy, the goal ofwhich is to simulate the entire MilkyWay galaxy, star by star.

Bischof ’s role in the project is toanimate the data Merritt collectsfrom the gravitySimulator. His teamof 10 students writes visualizationsystems illustrating Merritt’s data. Thismarks the first time anyone has tried tovisualize gravity-force calculations ofsuch a large size, combining particlesand depicting them as mini-movies.

“One of the tricky issues has beenworking with so many particles,”

Bischof says. “A one gigabyte machinewas running out of memory.”

In the future, Merritt hopes todouble the size of the cluster and usethe gravitySimulator to visualizeother components of galaxies, such asgas clouds. He sees the machine as animportant part of the development ofan astrophysical sciences and technol-ogy program at RIT.

Merritt’s team also includes StefanHarfst and Andras Szell, both post-doctoral research associates at RIT,and Rainer Spurzem, a professor atthe University of Heidelberg.

To learn more, visitwww.cs.rit.edu/~grapecluster\. n


RIT School of Hospitality and Service Management students Sarah Knapp and Luke Stephens

sit beside the Adriatic Sea in Dubrovnik, Croatia, home of RIT’s American College of

Management and Technology.

An image taken from an animated depic-

tion of three black holes shows three galaxies

starting to merge. The black holes, shown in

red, are surrounded by stars.

Hospitality major spends final quarter studying in Croatia

Remote sensing used to study otters

Interested in sharing a piece of RITwith a friend?

Then and Now is a new a book of23 postcards that will be available atCampus Connections duringCommencement weekend.

The postcards illustrate a slice ofRIT’s 175-year history. Photosinclude a mix of historic photo-graphs from the original downtownRochester campus and contemporaryviews of today’s sprawling 1,350-acreuniversity.

The book is flexible in that it willallow users to keep the photos intact,or tear away pages to use as post-cards. The book will be sold for $8during Commencement weekendand $10 after.

The commemorative 175thanniversary publication is a produc-tion of RIT’s Cary Graphic ArtsPress, University News Services andRIT Archives at Wallace Library. n


Postcards show‘then and now’

RIT supercomputer studies black holes

Ph.D. candidates are from Mars(Pennsylvania, that is)

Steinke came to RIT from Mars(Mars, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, thatis). After earning bachelor’s and mas-ter’s degrees in mechanical engineer-ing from RIT, in 2000 and 2002respectively, the timing was ideal forhim to enter the microsystems engi-neering doctoral program.

Steinke researched advanced liquid cooling methods for microprocessors—an area of criticalimportance, he says, due to antici-pated advancements in computer-chip processing capabilities over thenext few years. Faster and more pow-erful microprocessors generate addi-tional heat that needs to be dissi-pated. Conventional cooling meth-ods, such as the use of fans, mayprove inadequate, he says. “We canmake it, but can we cool it?” Steinkeasks, depicting the conundrum.

His microprocessor coolingmethod, developed with his advisor,Satish Kandlikar, the James E.Gleason Professor of MechanicalEngineering, uses a drop or less ofliquid (water, water-glycol mixturesor refrigerants) in microchannels.Liquid offers enhanced cooling effi-ciency compared with air, Steinkesays, and a “smaller footprint”required for microchannels translatesto increased space for more powerfulcomputer components. The result:smaller, faster and more powerfulelectronic devices.

After graduation, Steinke will join

IBM Corp. in Research Triangle Park,N.C., as a thermal engineer workingon next-generation microprocessorcooling for mid-size servers and per-sonal and laptop computers. IBM hasused liquid cooling for large serverssince 1964, Steinke says, and theprocess is viable for an array ofportable devices with integratedmicrosystems, including so-called“labs on a chip.” (Apple ComputerInc. currently utilizes liquid cool-ing—but not microchannels—insome personal computers, Steinkeadds.)

Like Gopalan, Steinke doesn’t ruleout a future return to academe. “I’vevery much enjoyed the experience ofteaching,” Steinke says of his experi-ence as an RIT instructor while pur-suing his Ph.D.

Steinke will leave RIT with morethan his three degrees. While here, hemet his future wife, Kate Prescott ’01(mechanical engineering). The cou-ple, wed in 1999, celebrate theiranniversary during commencementweekend. “It’s an action-packed week-end,” Steinke understates.Pioneers in a growing RIT family

Gopalan and Steinke will alwayshave the distinction of being pio-neers: the first to earn microsystemsengineering doctorates. By this timenext year, however, they won’t bealone—three more RIT graduates willjoin them. Currently, 26 other stu-dents are enrolled in RIT’s microsys-tems engineering Ph.D. program.

“This year’s commencement is a

landmark in the history of RIT anddefines the university’s role as a leaderand innovator of leading-edge tech-nology education,” says MustafaAbushagur, RIT professor and direc-tor of microsystems engineering.

For the next 12 months, however,Gopalan and Steinke will be uniqueamong 6.3 trillion people on PlanetEarth. Now that’s something they cantell their grandchildren one day. n


engineering,” states Zarrella, “and rec-ognizes RIT’s potential to take thesecapabilities and resources to national—even global—preeminence in thefield of nanotechnology, particularly asit relates to the eye.”

RIT, with its renowned capabilitiesin photonics, optics, microfabricationof devices and engineering, andBausch & Lomb, a world leader in eyehealth, will partner in the develop-ment of product innovations invision care and correction.

Research projects under considera-tion include advanced microsystemsand technologies to diagnose, moni-tor and treat eye disease, the develop-ment of biodegradable devices forsustained drug delivery to the eye,and accommodating intraocularlenses to provide presbyopic visioncorrection for cataract surgerypatients.

“I am particularly excited aboutthe major impact this partnershipwill have in creating a key focus areawithin our Ph.D. program inmicrosystems engineering,” explainsPalmer. “It will aid the developmentof microsystems technologies for bio-medical applications to enhance thequality of life for future generations.”

The relationship between Bausch& Lomb and RIT dates back to 1885

when company co-founder HenryLomb helped establish one of RIT’spredecessors—the Mechanics Insti-tute—to provide technical trainingfor local workers, replacing theapprentice system. Lomb laterbecame the first president of theinstitute’s Board of Trustees.

“Bausch & Lomb has a history ofcoming through for RIT when theopportunity is presented,” saysSimone. “We are grateful for this giftand for the company’s steadfast sup-port.”

“The university is committed toattracting top-notch researchers wholove to teach,” the RIT presidentadded. “This gift is a launching padfor discovery in an exciting new fieldbecause the funding will enable RITto draw candidates to Rochester whowould otherwise be at MIT, JohnsHopkins or any of several other lead-ing research facilities.”

With the counsel of scientists andresearchers from Bausch & Lomb,RIT will begin recruiting a scholar toassume the Bausch & Lomb Chair inMicrosystems Engineering. This indi-vidual will lead an interdisciplinaryteam of RIT faculty and students todevelop initiatives consistent with thecompany’s research interests. n

Paul Stella | [email protected]


Rochester Institute of Technology

One Lomb Memorial DriveRochester, NY 14623-5603

News & Events is produced by UniversityNews Services. Send comments to Building86, 132 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester,N.Y. 14623; 585-475-5064; fax: 585-475-5097; e-mail: news&[email protected].

Exe Contributing writers: Silandara Bartlett-Gustina, Karen Black, Kelly Downs, SusanGawlowicz, Steve Jaynes, Kathy Lindsley,Marcia Morphy

Look for News & Events at RIT online atwww.rit.edu/NewsEvents

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PAIDRochester, N.Y.

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news&events13 May 2005 | Volume 37 | Number 14

Executive Editors:Bob Finnerty, Paul Stella ’03Managing Editor:Vienna Carvalho-McGrainDeputy Managing Editor:Michael SaffranCopy Editor:Susan Gawlowicz ’95

Philip Saunders became a driving force in the highway transportation industryby offering something no one else thought of—or could match: a one-stop restarea called Truckstops of America, now called TravelCenters of America. Inrecognition of his contributions, RIT’s College of Business named Saunders asrecipient of the 2005 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award.

Taking the road less traveled

B&L professorship from page 1

Microsystems engineering Ph.D.s from page 1

Along withthe ongoingreconstruc-tion of themain campusentrance toRIT, JeffersonRoad is alsoundergoing a“facelift” withsignificantimprove-ments underwayby the New York State Department of Transportation.

Part of that reconstruction willinclude additional enhancements tothe stretch of Jefferson Road fromLomb Memorial Drive to John Street,including new lighting fixtures andother improvements, thanks to a$250,000 state grant secured throughthe efforts of Assemblymen David

Gantt, chairman of the AssemblyTransportation Committee andJoseph Errigo, representing the 130thAssembly district that includes theRIT campus.

“Jefferson Road is not only thegateway to RIT, but it is also the gate-way to the town of Henrietta,” saysDeborah Stendardi, vice president forgovernment and community rela-tions. “We felt that it was importantto ensure that this part of the Jeffer-son Road project provides a welcom-ing feeling that also reflects theprominent role of RIT within theHenrietta community and compli-ments the new campus entrance. Weappreciate the support of Assembly-men Gantt and Errigo in securingthese funds.”

“I am pleased to have worked withmy colleague, Assemblyman Gantt,who helped secure this funding. This

grant willserve theRIT campusand thecommunityby facilitat-ing neededimprove-ments andpromotingeasier acces-sibility tothe academic, commercial and resi-dential community,” said Errigo.

The Jefferson Road reconstructionproject is being done in three phases,with the first phase from ScottsvilleRoad to Lomb Memorial Drive cur-rently underway. Final completion ofthe project will take several years, butsome of the improvements adjacentto the campus will be completed inphase one. n

Joe Errigo David Gantt

Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, far left, is bringing the Hunter’sHope Candlelight Ball back to RIT for a second consecutive year. At a recentnews conference, RIT President Albert Simone, far right, who served as lastyear’s honorary event chair, introduced Tom Richards, RIT trustee and formerCEO of Rochester Gas & Electric, as this year’s event chair. The gala, afundraiser to fight leukodystrophies, takes place on July 29 at the RIT Inn &Conference Center. The Hunter’s Hope Foundation was established in 1997after Kelly’s son, Hunter, was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy.

Scoring another one for Hunter’s team

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‘Gateway to RIT’ getting new look

Simone chosenas Rochester‘power player’There are 20 individuals who drive orwield influence over significant localissues in the Greater Rochester area,according to Rochester Business Jour-nal. RIT President Albert Simone isamong these influential “power play-ers,” says the weekly business newspa-per in a recent special report.

Simone was cited for boostingenrollment, academic programs,community outreach and capitalimprovements in his 13-year tenureas RIT president. Key measures tothose selected as power players werewhat roles the nominee played inRochester and on the state, nationaland global stages. The presidentwas selected from more than 100nominations. n


RIT grads to become first-ever microsystems engineering Ph.D.s

Documents