Opportunities at RIT’s Tait Preserve continue to expand with the addition of a $2.1 million field station, currently under construction and set to open next fall. The one-story building will include a classroom space and a laboratory, along with a garage for light maintenance and equipment storage. The space will be open and available to all departments across the RIT community and allow for researchers to remain on-site instead of having to always move research materials between the preserve and the main campus. “The building has been designed with input from the academic groups to be flexible,” said David Brault, director of Tait Preserve. “It’s not exclusive to one group or college, it’s really for all the academic units.” Since acquiring the 177-acre property in 2019, Tait Preserve, which operates within University Arenas in the Division of Finance and Administration, has continued its growth as a research area, event space, and agricultural center. Current research at Tait includes using Limnocorrals to study the fate of microplastics, deploying and testing underwater remote operated vehicles, and collecting data via remote sensing and digital imaging. The Leenhouts Lodge on site provides 4,500 square feet of event space for up to 100 people for meetings, meals, presentations, and special events. The site offers yoga and Pilates classes on the weekends through RIT’s Better Me wellness program. Other public events are held throughout the year, like a container garden workshop led by Gardens and Grounds Specialist Meghan Gilbert. Tait’s three-person team also includes Manager of Events and Operations Maggie Newton. With Brault’s background in agriculture and Gilbert’s horticulture expertise, the grounds are cultivated year-round to provide for the RIT community. The raised bed garden provides approximately 2,000 pounds of produce each year, which is mostly sent to Gracie’s dining on campus. The garden beds are turned over multiple times each growing season to keep current vegetables and herbs ready to harvest. Tait Preserve also has an apple orchard and flower garden. Volunteers assist with planting native grasses and native wildflowers throughout the south field during spring and fall planting events. A 2-mile trail surrounds the 60-acre lake. “It’s all part of an effort to get people out here and to provide activities that are unique to the property,” added Brault. “We try to provide experiences that you can’t always get on campus.” The property was gifted to RIT by Amy Leenhours Tait and Robert C. Tait, Rochester natives and highly successful real estate entrepreneurs. The Tait Preserve land previously operated as a sand quarry. It is located in Penfield, N.Y., 25 minutes from RIT’s Henrietta campus. For more information on events and opportunities at the site, visit the Tait Preserve website. ‌ Edge Architecture A rendering of the new field station as viewed from the south.

Whether coordinating the logistics of challenging SAE Baja Racing events in Rochester or helping organize overnight programs with current and prospective engineering students, Marca Lam has taken a non-traditional approach to educating engineers. Coupling these experiences with teaching interesting courses across the curriculum such as optimization, system dynamics, and engineering vibrations, Lam has made an impact as a teacher, mentor, adviser, and friend over her 30-plus years as an educator. ‌ Provided Each year, Marca Lam coordinates travel for a group of RIT students to attend the annual SWE conference and organizes a meet and greet with engineering alumni who are also members of the organization. Lam is being honored with the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award, presented by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at its annual conference in October. The prestigious award is given to individuals who make significant contributions to engineering education over at least 20 years. It is one of the highest honors given by the international organization to celebrate the achievements of female engineers, particularly those considered role models who advance engineering as well as the careers of future engineers through learning, advocacy, professionalism, and leadership. Since arriving at RIT in 2006, Lam has served multiple academic, administrative, and service leadership roles within RIT and the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. She began as a visiting associate professor and advanced to the undergraduate program director for the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Throughout her career she has developed, improved, and taught many courses with the goal of finding the best ways to present the challenging materials essential to sending skilled engineers into the workforce. As part of SWE since 2009, Lam served as secretary, webmaster, and eventually president of the Rochester professional chapter. In 2010, she became adviser for RIT’s student chapter of SWE, a position she has held for 15 years. Many young women such as Amanda Weissman ’09 (electrical engineering), ’09 MS (materials science), one of Lam’s nominators, look back at careers that were encouraged and supported because of her mentorship, advocacy for students, and her role in fostering strong connections between current students and alumni. “It's Marca's personal investment in students that’s always impressed me,” said Weissman, principal systems engineer for Lockheed Martin. Weissman designs combat systems for surface navy ships and works at the company’s Adelaide, Australia, site. “Not only knowing their names, but building relationships with them, encouraging them, and helping them understand how an organization like SWE can help them in their careers. I am thrilled to see Marca recognized with this award.” Prior to coming to RIT, Lam taught at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. She taught design courses in the undergraduate engineering program and began on a path to develop courses not yet a regular part of the curriculum in the areas of control systems, materials science, and dynamics. Her work in this area significantly increased the number and variety of elective options for students. This pattern would continue when she came to RIT in 2006 and began to collaborate on new courses and adaptations to current content with peers from each of the Kate Gleason College departments. She led the second-year engineering student honors courses about the new product design cycle, which included coordinating national and international travel excursions for students to engineering companies. “It is a privilege to have been nominated for this award. It reflects all the work I have done to support students in general, and women specifically. This is truly the career award for me,” said Lam. “My teaching philosophy has always been that you create an interactive learning environment by asking good questions of the class, paying attention to answers, and covering theory but also working through exercises that are tied closely to real-world problems.” This is the second award and recognition given to Lam, who was honored as SWE Outstanding Faculty Advisor in 2015. The SWE Distinguished Engineering Educator Award will be presented at the annual SWE conference scheduled for Oct. 23-25 in New Orleans.

Researchers at the New York State Center of Excellence in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing (COE-ASM) at Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) are helping advance a lab-born breakthrough into viable climate technology. Project lead and GIS mechanical engineer Catherine Swail is leading efforts to scale a method that captures carbon dioxide and locks it into rock-like materials using industrial waste. The sequestration process was developed and patented at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and licensed to Carbon To Stone for scale-up deployments. Their researchers developed a method to accelerate a naturally occurring mineralization process using a reusable, low-energy solvent system. The process starts with gaseous industrial waste streams that are introduced to a chemical solution, which is mixed with byproducts of heavy industry, such as steel slag or cement kiln dust. These elements react in a slurry to form a solid carbonate that is filtered, separating the solvent for reuse from the solid “mineralized material.” This sustainable material can be used in cement or concrete production, thereby permanently locking away the captured carbon dioxide. The potential is two-fold for industry partners, as they can utilize their waste resources to help meet emission regulations and generate carbon capture credits as well as revenue through the sale of the mineralized products. Successful laboratory demonstration of this crystallization technology prompted the founders of Carbon To Stone to form the startup in 2022, with the goal of scaling the process for real-world industrial impact. That’s where COE-ASM comes in. Swail and a multidisciplinary team of engineers and technicians have spent the last nine months designing and building a mobile prototype system. The goal is to capture tons of carbon dioxide per year from an industrial waste stream, a step toward commercial use. “It’s not as simple as just doubling everything,” Swail said about bringing the system to scale. “The goal is to stagger the timing of the reactions between the two reactors by adding semi-automated controls and measurement to enable more continuous carbon capture.” Among the many upgrades Swail and her team implemented are a custom flue gas conditioning system (including a chiller and heat exchanger), a second reactor, an upgraded filtration press to handle more material throughout, and LabVIEW based software to communicate with a programmable logic controller. The custom software developed by the GIS team gives an operator control over valves, pumps, sensor readings and shutdowns as well as records data for analysis from a computer interface. The system is mounted within a trailer, which will allow the startup to be more mobile, piloting the technology at various partner sites. “Material handling has been a challenge, especially with the slurry,” Swail said. “You need specific types of pumps and compatible materials, and even small details like pressure and height differentials in the lines make a substantial difference. We’ve been testing and redesigning as we go, adding things like a compressed air line to clear blockages. It’s all part of the iterative design process.” The partnership began through Scale for ClimateTech, when RIT Technical Program Manager Mark Walluk conducted a manufacturing readiness level assessment of Carbon To Stone’s technology and recommended the RIT team’s support given the company’s preparedness to scale. “Working with COE-ASM significantly accelerated our product development timeline,” said Sravanth Gadikota, CEO of Carbon To Stone Inc. “They bring a team with broad expertise in various disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, machining and project management. Further, the funding support from New York state agencies made it possible for us to access such incredible skills, right here in Upstate New York. Working with this team is a no-brainer.” Funding for the project was provided by the New York State Department of Economic Development. “New York state funding allows the Center of Excellence to offset the cost of helping companies advance their green technologies,” added Walluk. “It’s very rewarding to help startups like Carbon To Stone on their journey to bring new and impactful technology to the market.” Note: Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DED.

Faculty member Meghdad Asadilari is several steps closer to launching an animated film about his immigration story thanks to seed funding provided by RIT’s MAGIC Spell Studios. ‌ Meghdad Asadilari Asadilari, an assistant professor in the College of Art and Design whose expertise is in 2D and 3D animation, visual effects, and computer simulations, used the funding to acquire powerful equipment to use advanced industry-standard animation and simulation software, like Houdini and Unreal, to enhance the visual effects in the film. Features like flowing threads and the texture of his grandfather’s carpet-weave design will appear more realistic, bringing the engaging story to life for viewers. The new MAGIC Spell grants, earmarked for digital media projects in art, games, interactivity, and creativity, provide RIT researchers in any college with funding up to $5,000 to help in their pursuits to secure additional external grants in their fields. “The MAGIC Spell grant program provides an essential financial boost to help projects cover early development costs,” said David Long, MAGIC Spell Studios director. “Researchers know that early results and prototypes can bring lucrative external funding. The goal of our grant program is to kickstart this process.” The seed grant program is available to all full-time faculty or staff members engaged in research. Funding can be used for a variety of purposes including hardware and software, wages for student research assistants, costs associated with experiments, conference travel, and networking. Asadilari said grants like this enable researchers to take their projects to the finish line. He is soon planning to submit his film to festivals. “Earning this grant demonstrates that my project is strong enough to be considered for additional funding from sources outside of the university,” said Asadilari. “I’m proud to be able to make and share this film with the world because it tells the special story of my Iranian family, an experience that so many people can relate to.” ‌ Pamela Beach Pamela Beach, associate dean in the College of Health Sciences and Technology, used seed funding from the MAGIC Spell grant program to develop a games prototype to assist children with visual impairments in orientation and mobility. In the game, children use a virtual cane to practice their navigation and cane skills using real-world scenarios. “Research shows that children with visual impairments tend to be more reclusive, lack self-confidence, and can have lower rates of employment in the future,” said Beach. “The early-intervention prototype that we’re building and testing can be used at home or in clinical settings with their caregivers to expose these children to scenarios in a fun, safe environment that will enhance critical skills and, ultimately, their quality of life.” Working with students in RIT’s game design and development program, Beach’s games controllers mimic canes that provide auditory information and haptic feedback. These cues help users navigate their virtual environments. Beach has already play-tested her game at Camp Abilities in Brockport, N.Y., and is gathering data to improve the games’ sensory feedback. “One of the greatest parts of this grant is the opportunity to collaborate with faculty members from other colleges and disciplines that I wouldn’t normally have the chance to interact with,” said Beach. “We’re all working toward the same goal: to develop meaningful research that is making a difference.” To date, six seed funding grants have been distributed. Applications for the 2026 cohort will be due by Jan. 12, 2026.

Animation is most often viewed on a screen. But when animators break traditional rules and abandon the “almighty rectangle,” Christine Banna says artistic magic can happen. See the concert The next performance of “The Hundred Windows” is on Monday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. at the JCC Hart Theater as part of the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival. Get your tickets on the Mount Hope World Singers website. Banna, assistant professor in RIT’s School of Film and Animation, encourages her students to explore experimental animation techniques. Recently, Banna and two students leaned into this outside-the-box approach to the craft for “The Hundred Windows,” a choral performance curated in collaboration with the Mount Hope World Singers and Composer and Sound Designer Logan Barrett. “Opening students’ eyes to a more experimental way of working—showing them how to break the rules they’ve learned—is enriching. They can discover more about the creative process,” said Banna. “Most filmmaking is product-driven and focused on that final export of the film. But with experimental work, sometimes the product is an afterthought and the process itself is the real artwork.” “The Hundred Windows” is an immersive, multidisciplinary exploration of the senses featuring 12 choral works from around the globe, a quadraphonic electronic soundscape, and projected animations. Both the soundscape and animated projections are live-mixed, making each performance unique. The show premiered in June 2025 and was performed at RIT twice this month. The next performance is on Sept. 15 as part of the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival. Banna was the lead projection designer, animator, and VJ for the show. Bathschèba Duronvil, a third-year film and animation graduate student, and Katelyn Park ’25 (film and animation) worked as Banna’s assistant projection design interns. Their goal was to create an immersive, sensory-rich experience that paralleled the emotional arc of the music and reinforced the symbolic sensory experiences embodied by each song. Each animation was handcrafted using watercolor and collage techniques that were digitally manipulated to introduce “glitching” throughout the course of the concert. ‌ Jackie McGriff From left, Katelyn Park ’25, Christine Banna, and Bathschèba Duronvil pose for a photo on the stage set for “The Hundred Windows.” Duronvil and Park helped Banna determine what colors, shapes, and visual movement would best reflect each song, and assisted with creating the physical and digital animation assets. During the performances, they helped Banna with live mixing, guiding her based on written and improvisational musical cues. As Duronvil looks toward crafting their senior thesis film this year—for which they aim to collaborate with Ghanaian artists and musicians—working on “The Hundred Windows” offered insight on how to nurture a respectful, collaborative environment. “I have never worked with such a well-established singing group before, but my fear quickly dissipated when I reminded myself that an internship is all about learning new skills,” said Duronvil, from Portland, Ore. “I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons through this internship and just by watching Christine as a professor.” Park said she was delighted to work alongside one of her mentors, who she met during her first year at RIT, on this project. “Christine has shown me that some of the most wonderful, spontaneous, and creatively liberating ideas come from chaos—from embracing the things we’re most scared of and taking that leap of faith. I saw this project as a wonderful opportunity to continue to learn from how she brings her experimental practices to collaborative projects,” said Park. She added that this project was also an opportunity to take her learning off campus. Engaging with the local artistic community was an inspiring reminder of the power that art can hold. “This has shown me that it’s possible to create the kind of art I feel most fulfilled creating in a way that deeply and directly touches the community around me,” she said. “To see these artists practicing their craft so passionately just a bus ride away from my house made me feel more connected to Rochester than I’ve ever been.” ‌ Christine Banna Katelyn Park, left, and Bathschèba Duronvil, right, sit in Christine Banna’s studio, using custom gear to digitally alter the watercolor animations created for the show. Annika Bentley, artistic director of the Mount Hope World Singers and creative director of “The Hundred Windows,” said the show is inspired by the umwelt, a term coined by biologist Jakob von Uexküll, and An Immense World, a non-fiction work by Ed Yong that examines animal senses. An umwelt is the specific way in which organisms of a particular species perceive and experience the world, shaped by the capabilities of their sensory organs and perceptual systems. Bentley said pairing this term with the themes from Yong’s book made for a fascinating exploration of how humans view each other and the world, and how those perceptions impact the way we interact and connect with others. “The Hundred Windows” marks Bentley and Banna’s second collaboration, the first being for a performance titled Stories From the Living Tree. “Christine and I are very sympathetic in our artistic attitude. I think that her work allows us to explore and expand on the songs in a more creatively free way,” she said. “It lets the audience access the larger ideas of the performance on a more profound level.” Barrett echoed Bentley’s positive view on the collaboration. “Annika's artistic direction was both open-ended enough to inspire ideas, and specific enough to challenge me and push me to places I couldn't have thought of otherwise,” he said. “Toward the end of our process, Christine and I were surprised to find that our individual methods lead us to very similar interpretations of the subject matter and the music.” For more information and to get tickets to the upcoming performance, go to the Mount Hope World Singers website. Go to the School of Film and Animation webpage for more information about RIT’s animation programs.

RIT has been recognized with the Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Champion Award, as announced by Insight Into Academia magazine. This marks the 12th consecutive year RIT has received the HEED Award and the 11th consecutive year of being named a champion. The HEED Award is given annually to higher education institutions that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to inclusion and belonging across campus. Awardees earn the distinction after a comprehensive review of the institution’s policies, strategies, programs, initiatives, demographics, and protocols. HEED Champions exceed expectations and often surpass goals. “RIT’s longevity in receiving this award is a testament to our ongoing commitment to making our university a welcoming, open space for people of all backgrounds,” said Keith Jenkins, vice president and associate provost for Access, Engagement, and Success. “We are honored to once again be recognized for this distinction.” As one of 62 recipients at the undergraduate level, RIT will be featured in an upcoming issue of Insight Into Academia. The publication describes itself as a leader in advancing best practices in higher education excellence and belonging. Its awards help celebrate undergraduate institutions, community colleges, health professions schools, graduate schools, and law schools. More information on the HEED Award and the magazine can be found at the Insight Into Academia website.