Rochester Institute of Technology received a substantial grant to fund 36 scholarships for economically disadvantaged, academically talented students and to develop faculty programming to improve engineering technology education. The National Science Foundation awarded RIT’s College of Engineering Technology nearly $1 million for “S-STEM: Self-Determined Critical Mass of Engineering Technology Scholars,” also referred to as S-D CoMETS. Scholarship funding, a formal mentoring network for scholarship recipients based in the college and faculty development in addition to family resources are primary elements of the overall S-D CoMETS proposal, said Jeanne Christman, principal investigator for S-D CoMETS and associate professor in RIT’s College of Engineering Technology. A. Sue Weisler Undergraduate students Crystal McFarland, a second-year student from Mt. Vernon, N.Y., and Monique DeJesus, a third-year student from Syracuse, N.Y. discuss engineering technology projects with faculty-researcher Jeanne Christman in the Embedded Systems Laboratory. “We are providing a student-centered support network that would include knowledgeable faculty and peers who are aware of available campus resources and can act as advocates,” said Christman. “The network includes dedicated support within the College of Engineering Technology, but will also better leverage what is already existing at RIT in the way of academic, professional, social, emotional, affiliate and safe-space support. It surprises me the number of students who don’t use the plethora of resources that already exist.” The CoMETS framework is based on “Self Determination Theory” which highlights relatedness, autonomy and competence. Increasing these attributes, according to the theory, is a positive indicator toward students’ persistence in demanding college degree programs and other endeavors. This NSF award builds upon previous work by the college to increase the diversity of its student population. The original CoMETS program, which ended in June 2017, provided 44 scholarships. Thirty-nine of these students would go on to graduate from the College of Engineering Technology (CET) or another of RIT’s STEM colleges. “I think that is important. Even if they did not stay in CET, they stayed in STEM, and that is still meeting the goal of creating a diverse STEM workforce,” said Christman. “The percentage of women who leave engineering is about the same percentage as men, but the women who leave have higher GPAs, so they don’t necessarily leave because they are failing. Retention of students from under-represented groups through graduation is important for increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce. While I would love them all to graduate in engineering technology, if they’ve built the confidence and graduate in a STEM field, that would be success as well.” Coupled with academic and social student support, the S-D CoMETS initiative will further develop faculty engagement, particularly in improving engineering technology education and enhancing coursework to make it more inclusive. Engineering and engineering technology classrooms are undergoing a culture change, said Christman, whose work is in bias in STEM education and its contribution to the under-representation of women in engineering. “The shift is toward changing the culture, not fixing the students,” she said. Christman is one of a core group of faculty-researchers in CET with expertise in building collaborative learning environments, generally seen as an asset for engineering education. Trends in this area today involve blending theoretical engineering principles with more real-world applications, and varying the style of presenting engineering information to students to better connect theory with practice. One of the organizations leading this transformation is the Kern Foundation. “KEEN is based around Curiosity, Connections and Creating Value. The research shows is that many students from under-represented groups in engineering and engineering technology have a different style of learning,” Christman explained, adding that access to network resources such as class project ideas that incorporate more real-world examples to foster curiosity can engage a greater diversity of learners. RIT joined the KEEN Network this past fall, and since then, engineering and engineering technology faculty have participated in professional development trainings and workshops to improve teaching. Members of the S-D CoMETS research team and co-principal investigators from the College of Engineering Technology include Christman; Michael Eastman, associate dean for Academic Programs and Continuous Improvement; Maureen Valentine, interim department chair for the Department of Civil Engineering Technology/Environmental Management and Safety; and Betsy Dell, professor, and Jennifer O’Neil, assistant professor, both of the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology.

The coaster contest was a thrill ride for Rochester Institute of Technology’s Theme Park Enthusiasts student group at the annual Ryerson Invitational Thrill Design Competition. For the second time since the competition began, RIT’s Theme Park Enthusiasts club won first place overall at the competition taking place in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 15-18. Their designs for theme park entertainment and landscape options as well as safety concepts were category winners helping the team place first overall at the challenge among 15 other collegiate teams. (Specific design specs developed by the teams are retained by Universal Creative, event host and co-sponsors.) “The judges were impressed by the diverse make-up of the team and talents that the group brought to the competition,” said Tim Landschoot, the team’s faculty adviser. “To put this performance into perspective, the last time RIT won the competition in 2016, they were one of three universities competing. This year there were 16 universities represented.” A. Sue Weisler RIT’s Theme Park Enthusiasts have been campus favorites at the annual Imagine RIT Creativity and Innovation Festival over the past several years and its designs of theme parks made of colorful K’Nex building sets have grown from one theme ride to extensive, interactive exhibits. Even though the competition is getting steeper, RIT’s team received first place in the Mechanical Design Challenge. The group was also presented with the Dr. Paula Stenzler Award for first place in the Experience and Containment Design Challenge. The award was named after Stenzler, senior director of engineering and safety at Universal Creative, who died in January 2019 to remember her service, advocacy and support of student careers in STEM. “Most of the challenges we entered were technical in nature. We were a pretty diverse group, and able to bring a different outlook to the event. Some teams just bring artists, some bring only engineers, but we had a mix and we were a smaller team,” said Julia Javorsky, a third-year mechanical engineering student in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. “It was good to be a part of such a diverse group, to see what everyone’s skills are. I felt that our knowledge fit well together, and when we have to create a deliverable, everyone was a strong contributor to our submission.” Hannah Brush, a third-year mechanical engineering student, agreed: “I think that themed entertainment, people don’t necessarily think, ‘Oh, I can be designing roller coasters or theme park rides,’ and when they find out they can, they get very excited. I think that is what draws people and combining the creative with the engineering to make something great in a collaborative environment.” Throughout the four-day competition, presented by Universal Creative, in partnership with Ryerson University (Canada), 120 students from around the world representing engineering, creative, architecture and business majors took on theme park design challenges varying from guest experience to attraction design. Students must demonstrate imagination and creativity, technical skills, collaboration and time management throughout the challenges that are then judged by Universal Creative leadership and industry leaders. According to competition organizers, more than 50 students who have participated in the competition over the past five years have gone on to receive internships or jobs with Universal Creative and other industry-leading organizations. “They are an amazing group of passionate students that continue to raise the bar whether it be at the Imagine RIT festival or at the Ryerson Competition,” said Landschoot, who is also a principal lecturer in the mechanical engineering department in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Landschoot and TPE alumni have been advocates for RIT in the theme park industry, building a foundation for a student-organization that provides real world experiences to its members. The team included Javorsky, from Hinkley, Ohio; Brush, from Greenvile, R.I.; Jessa Kaups, a mechanical engineering major from Cleveland, Ohio; Mathew Marinelli, an industrial engineering student from Boylston, Mass.; Michael McNaught, an industrial design major in RIT’s College of Art and Design from Wladwick, N.J.; and Anthony Ferraioli, a game design and development student in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences from Mahwah, N.J. Teams participating in the thrill design competition were from: Auburn University, Carnegie-Mellon University, Cornell University, Ryerson University, University of Arizona; University of Central Florida; Southern Methodist University; University of California – San Diego; University of Michigan; University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Drexel University; University of Florida; University of Notre Dame; and Savannah College of Art and Design. NOTE: RIT’s Theme Park Enthusiasts have been campus favorites at the annual Imagine RIT Innovation and Creativity Festival over the past several years and its designs of theme parks made of colorful K’Nex building sets have grown from one theme ride to extensive, interactive exhibits. Several RIT mechanical engineering alumni currently work for popular theme parks, said Landschoot, and three were on hand at the Orlando competition to share industry best practices and to provide advice to the students about seeking co-op or full-time positions: David Swerzenksi ’17 (mechanical engineering), an associate engineer at Universal Creative, Robert Cybulski ’18 (mechanical engineering) a CAE analyst at Roush Engineering—two of the original members of RIT’s Theme Park Enthusiasts group—and Dan Sawicki ’14 (mechanical engineering), a senior scheduler engineer at Walt Disney World.

The RIT Graduate Showcase symposium highlighted the university’s signature blend of technology, the arts and design, with research topics varying from carbon nanotubes to neutron stars to wooden toys and film. The event—now in its 12th year—has grown with the university’s focus on graduate education. The quality of scholarship displayed at the showcase “is a testament to RIT’s sense of itself as a student-centered research institution,” said RIT Provost Ellen Granberg at the showcase held Nov. 22. Graduate research at RIT began 30 years ago under RIT President Richard Rose, she noted, who saw opportunities for students and faculty to work together. RIT’s graduate education is on an upward trajectory. The university’s strategic plan anticipates the addition of 16 to 20 new Ph.D. programs by 2025. At the showcase, Granberg announced the next four potential Ph.D. programs entering the initial proposal phase—business administration, mechanical and industrial engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and biomedical and chemical engineering. Master’s education—“a historic strength at RIT,” Granberg said—will also expand with new degree programs focusing on specialized workforce needs, such as a master’s degree in artificial intelligence. The expanding graduate culture creates a new dynamic among students seeking advanced degrees, said Twyla Cummings, RIT associate provost and graduate dean. Working together and helping others—including younger students—is an essential part of graduate education. “Success comes from relationships,” Cummings said. Elizabeth Lamark Abigail Rolston, a master’s student in RIT’s environmental science program, shared her findings about biodegradable plastics at the Graduate Showcase. Abigail Rolston, an MS student in environmental science from Sodus Point, N.Y., formed a collaboration with the packaging science department to make samples of biodegradable plastics for her to test. “Instead of cleaning up the mess that is plastic by old recycling methods— we need to change plastic at its core, and that means molecularly into a different material,” she said. Rolston’s collaborators in the packaging science lab enabled her to collect data about biodegradable plastics that use starch blended polymers as plastic packaging alternatives. They introduced “me into the world of polymers, what it means and the background behind it,” she said. “They’ve been a wonderful, pivotal part of this whole project.” Research collaborations often extend beyond the RIT campus. Nicholas Schug, an MS student in chemistry from Syracuse N.Y., explores targeted molecular imaging agents that can be used in conjunction with medical imaging to illuminate cancer cells. “We make imaging agents that target cancer cells and light up the cells,” he said. “They are like lightbulbs.” Scientists at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, N.Y., are testing a molecule Schug synthesized at RIT. “It is satisfying,” Schug said. “It could be early detection of cancer.” Jag Pariti, a Ph.D. student in computing and information sciences from Alberta, Canada, shared his findings from a usability test he conducted for an “intelligent mobility cane” with individuals from the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The cane helps to guide the user through warning vibrations in the handset. “They found the vibration helped them navigate away from an obstacle,” he said. The Graduate Showcase gives master’s and Ph.D. students a chance to see what their peers are working on and practice communicating their research. As a doctoral student, Pariti is immersed in human-computer interaction for accessibility. The showcase gave him an opportunity to learn about research in other areas on campus. “It’s easy to get so focused and ‘siloed,’ but you can learn what other people are doing—methods or analysis—and adapt it to your own research,” Pariti said. Rolston pays attention to different ways of presenting and displaying information. “You’re able to see a lot of other people’s research, and seeing them, you’re able to take a step back and think about how you can present your research better to reach a wider audience,” Rolston said.

Claudia Alant, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student from Niskayuna, N.Y., has worked for the Writing Commons for five semesters. Since she was in high school, Alant has participated in advanced writing courses and has continued honing in on her communications skills as a student at RIT. After taking the Writing Genre, Theory and Practice course, she was recommended to work for the Writing Commons. According to Alant, being a peer consultant for the commons is “one of the coolest jobs an undergraduate student can have” on campus. Outside of her work and classes, Alant is an active member of the RIT Hot Wheelz team, where she assists with projects dealing with the suspension, wheels and propulsion groups for the racing car the team builds every year. After she graduates, she hopes to move to the West Coast to work in the aerospace industry. The Writing Commons provides writing support for students of all levels and disciplines free of charge. More information is available on the Writing Commons webpage. What is the Writing Commons and why is it useful for students? The Writing Commons is a collection of professors and students who provide writing support across all disciplines throughout the university. Whether a student needs a second set of eyes on a draft that’s almost done or needs help with formatting citations at the tail end of their paper, we can help. If you have feedback you need help understanding, or just the assignment in general, any consultant would be happy to help. We can help students with any stage of the writing process so long as they take the initiative to make an appointment. Why did you want to work at the Writing Commons? I think that writing is a critically important skill for any discipline. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a journalism major or an engineer, effective communication is key. By working as a consultant, I get to exercise my writing ability and meet a wide and diverse variety of students. Every shift can be really interesting because of the variety of assignments students bring in. Sometimes, people will come in with a humanities paper about a theoretical debate and they’re trying to craft their claim. Other times, people come in with very technical writing and they don’t know how to present their research effectively. I learn just as much as I teach, and that’s why I like it. What responsibilities do you have as part of your job? My responsibilities consist of three main things. First is working in consultations with students. This is where students can go online and book an appointment to get help from one of our many consultants. Second is an hour a week we dedicate to professional development. That’s where our consultants and Writing Commons coordinator, Phil Shaw, come together to foster a sense of community and to learn from one another’s expertise. My third main responsibility is called an inquiry project. Each consultant in the Writing Commons will research and draft an open-ended inquiry project that interests them throughout the semester. Then, we present them in the professional development meetings so we can sharpen our expertise, expand our knowledge and broaden our horizons on the kind of tools we can bring into play during a consultation. This semester, mine is about the use of predicates and what they can tell us about a student, which can influence the different tools we use during a session. In a technical institution, there are a lot of students who are visual learners, and writing isn’t usually visual to people. So, I’m looking at different tools we can use to make the process more visual to cement the understanding of writing fundamentals in students. Why do you think it’s important to have fellow students available to help students who may be struggling with writing, as opposed to exclusively having adult staff members? I think having students working here brings a little diversity into the Writing Commons since we all come from different disciplines. I’m a mechanical engineer, and we have a software engineer, a computer science engineer, an industrial engineer, communications and psychology students, and so on. There are a ton of different vantage points we can work from, so I think that fact brings something special to what we offer. Also, having student consultants brings a sense of camaraderie and even some compassion. Students will come in and, maybe, their assignment is due tonight, or it’s something they’ve been stressing about. Another student who works here can look at them and say, “I’ve been where you are and I know how you feel, but you’ve got this and I can help you.” How do you think having this job has made you a better student leader, or enhanced your understanding of writing and teaching? I think this position has helped me be a better a student leader by exposing me to a diverse group of writers in a variety of disciplines. There are many international students that I’ve met because of this, or students that I would have never encountered who work in different fields, and working with these students one-on-one has helped me to be more adaptive and experimental. The same tactics won’t work for every student, so I think that working here has helped me understand that. In terms of writing and teaching, I think the sheer exposure to writing inherently enhances my understanding of writing and improves my own writing process.

A college student’s first year on campus can be adventurous, exhilarating, challenging, academic, rewarding and even a bit scary. To help make that transition into higher education a bit easier, Rochester Institute of Technology has started an innovative program to help students discover how they can be active on campus and engage with new people and places. Called RIT 365, the program, believed to be the first of its kind, is intended to provide exposure to educational and social opportunities within a framework of reflection, self-awareness and community. Some 2,600 first-year students met weekly all over campus, from visiting a cadaver lab to a glass blowing studio. They encountered others with diverse cultures and were able to consider study abroad options. They then reflected on these experiences in facilitated dialogue with their classmates. “It helps them understand RIT in a broader sense,” said Stacy Nation-Knapper, director of Year One Programs at RIT. “They may not have known there was a glass lab on campus, a whole arts culture on campus. Why is there a glass lab at RIT? What would you do there? This helps them understand the community they are in and facilitates the pathways they choose for themselves. We’re introducing them to a whole array of things available to them.” Previously, first-year programs at RIT – and many other colleges – taught new students survival skills such as how to enroll in classes and manage their time, skills students often have when they arrive on campus. Each RIT 365 class had up to 24 students of varying majors; no more than 10 students from the same college could be in a group. More than 100 second-year or higher undergraduates were also involved, helping facilitate the classes and sessions to reflect upon those experiences. In 115 sections of the class, students engaged in experiential opportunities based on themes they ranked by preference: creativity, entrepreneurial, technology and society, well-being, innovation and global citizenship. A. Sue Weisler Mike Buffalin, (standing), manager of The Construct, shows students (left to right) Cheyenne Williams, a diagnostic medical sonography major from Rochester; Jack Buell, a mechanical engineering technology major from Plymouth, Pa.; and Darlene Ardila, a computer exploration major from Holyoke, Mass., how to use a biofeedback device to measure heart rate during an RIT 365 session. Students interested in entrepreneurship visited The Construct on the fourth floor of Institute Hall, where they got to look at their heartbeats on a biofeedback computer program and see where they could use 3D printers. “We want to expose them to the maker’s space,” said Mike Buffalin, manager of The Construct. “We want them to come back in some form or another, whether they are doing a capstone project, a club activity or just a personal project. If they just want to come and play, that’s perfectly fine.” Buffalin told them about a new $500 challenge offered by RIT to help students turn ideas into reality. “Maker spaces are popping up all over the country,” he said. “About 70 percent of the U.S. economy is based on service-based business, as opposed to manufacturing. The government hopes to change that.” To help commemorate Native American Heritage Month in November, some of the students attended a session to learn about wampum and used colored plastic beads make their own decorative belts. “I thought talking about the history of treaties would be appropriate,” said Nicole Scott, director of RIT’s Future Stewards Program. Rich Hamell and Aimee Carpenter from the Ganondagan State Historical Site explained to students that wampum belts were used not to wear, but to greet visitors to Native American villages. Hamell showed a string of wampum that was created around 1640, made of purple and white shells, the colors of the Haudenosaunee people. “These belts are sacred documents,” Hamell said. A. Sue Weisler Greg Paiement made a wampum belt with orange, white and black beads and planned to hang it in his room. Greg Paiement, a computer science major from Fairport, N.Y., made his wampum belt with orange, white and black beads and planned to hang it in his room. “I thought it was interesting what they were used for by Native Americans,” he said. The students also learned more about themselves and their fellow students. In another session, students gathered in a circle in the Schmitt Interfaith Center for an existential discussion. In sessions about culture, students were told to bring items of significance to them. Students brought chopsticks, headphones, even pizza slices. A. Sue Weisler Mason Lapine shows fellow first-year students his mezuzah, which contained specific Hebrew verses from the Torah. Mason Lapine, a computing exploration student from Stamford, Conn., took off his necklace and showed his mezuzah which contained specific Hebrew verses from the Torah. “I wear it every day,” he said. “It reminds me what values I have.” Paavo Hegley, a mechanical engineering technology major from New York City, held up a postage stamp. “I have family spread around the country, and this reminds me of just how important family and communication is,” he said. A. Sue Weisler Paavo Hegley showsd a postage stamp to fellow first-year students when asked to bring an item that had meaning to him during an RIT 365 session. He said his family was spread around the country and the stamp reminds him how important family and communication is. Taylor Liotta, a biomedical sciences major from Mississauga, Ontario, brought a hockey puck. She explained she’s a goalie on the RIT women’s hockey team. “Hockey has been a huge part of my life and has given me the chance to meet so many people and travel around the world,” she said. RIT’s leadership and faculty are supporting RIT 365, which will act as a possible feeder to introduce students to their classes, labs and resources. In the spring semester, the students will be invited to join programs on campus that can include service learning. “They get to start making choices in how they contribute as a member of the community,” Nation-Knapper said. She said several of the students also began selecting minors they’d like to pursue because of their exposure to the programs. A. Sue Weisler Taylor Liotta shows fellow first-year students a hockey puck, an item she said had a lot of meaning to her as she’s a goalie on the RIT women’s hockey team. Liotta reflected on her RIT 365 experiences, especially discussions with other students she’s met in her class. “It has exposed me to new cultures here and allowed me to meet people from all over the world,” Liotta said. After the students talked about their items, they heard from RIT Global’s study abroad team about how to collect new experiences, refined values and new ways of being and knowing. Jack Buell, a mechanical engineering technology student from Plymouth Meeting, Pa., said his favorite RIT 365 exercise was interviewing one of his professors. “It felt more personal,” Buell said. “I had to put effort into it.”

Four companies in Rochester Institute of Technology’s Venture Creations technology business incubator have made an impact recently in New York state-funded business competitions. Capro-X, an agritech spinoff based in Ithaca, N.Y., won $250,000 at the inaugural New York state Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Competition last month. The company, which joined Venture Creations in 2018, is helping to increase sustainability in the dairy industry by solving the acid whey waste problem prevalent in Greek yogurt production. Its WheyAway treatment technology uses naturally occurring, non-GMO microbes to upgrade dairy waste streams into clean water and natural and sustainable alternatives to palm oil chemicals. Industry estimates show that more than 60 million gallons of Greek yogurt are consumed in the United States each year. According to Juan Guzman, co-founder and CEO of Capro-X, the problem is that each cup of Greek yogurt produces more than 3 cups of waste, also called acid whey. “The Greek yogurt industry is booming,” said Guzman. “But every day, Greek yogurt producers in New York have to deal with 300,000 gallons of acid whey waste. Most of it is trucked around to local farms for feed and fertilizer, but the remainder is sent to wastewater treatment plants at a significant financial and environmental cost. By treating just 10 percent of the acid whey produced in New York, our company can yield 500,000 gallons of sustainable chemicals each year.” Guzman also said that the company’s solution to the problem will prevent 100,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions caused by transporting the waste. The Grow-NY competition is focused on growing an enduring food and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier regions of New York state. The competition offered a total of $3 million in funding to innovative, high-growth startups from across the globe focused on the food and agriculture industry. Nearly 200 food and agriculture startups applied for the competition, with the top 17 finalists matched one-to-one with experienced entrepreneurs from the region who served as mentors. In the regional FuzeHub competition, Venture Creations companies Molecular Glasses, Combined Energies and Circle Optics each were awarded $50,000 for their business plans. FuzeHub, a not-for-profit organization responsible for assisting small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York state, announced winners at the third annual FuzeHub Commercialization Competition Nov. 20 in Albany, N.Y. Molecular Glasses, founded by Mike Molaire, focuses on technology that converts materials to noncrystallizable and soluble molecular glasses— without affecting their original photo physical properties—for stable and long-lived organic light-emitting diodes and other organic electronics. Company leadership—with more than 100 years of combined experience in materials innovation—has developed OLEDIQ, a revolutionary new class of organic semiconductors capable of reducing power consumption in mobile applications, providing higher display resolution and reducing costs by enabling lower-cost manufacturing processes. Molecular Glasses also won $10,000 in the New York state-funded Luminate NY competition in 2018. Combined Energies, run by Rhonda Staudt (operations), Mark Sperry (business development) and John Vogel (product development), is focused on the design, production and sales of specialty power electronics for renewable power generation, energy storage and electric vehicle applications. Combined Energies’ patented DC to DC converter designs provide improved functionality, higher efficiency, smaller footprint and lower cost than available alternatives. Circle Optics has created the world's first parallax-free, 360-degree camera that solves the problem of stitching (putting together multiple images pixel by pixel to create one big image). The system instantly captures a perfect 360-degree representation of any scene, which is useful in the virtual reality, security, mapping and robotics industries. Current solutions create extraneous data from overlapping fields of view, require significant additional time and money in post-processing and often produce an imperfect scene with obvious seams and holes. “All of us at Venture Creations are proud of the hard work and accomplishments of our startup companies, particularly those that were recently recognized as outstanding by New York state-funded programs,” said Peter Parts, interim director of RIT’s Venture Creations incubator. “These business plan competitions draw the best and brightest startup companies in our region. By providing quality coaching, professional consulting and connections with industry professionals, Venture Creations creates an environment where these cutting-edge businesses can develop and thrive. New York state is an innovation hub, and Venture Creations is proud to be part of that ecosystem.”  Venture Creations was created in 2003 to provide services to incubating companies, facilitating the development and operation of these companies for the purpose of advancing the educational and research missions of RIT through the enhancement of faculty, student and staff involvement in high technology. It was also created to promote economic development and competitiveness in Monroe County and New York state by encouraging and facilitating the transfer of technology resources to the marketplace. The total number of launched companies now stands at 42, with 559 jobs having been created.

A town hall meeting tonight will explore graduate student life and issues facing master’s and Ph.D. students at RIT. The “What’s Up?” forum will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 in Institute Hall, room 1180. A panel of graduate students will address concerns about parking and transportation, career services and unexpected fees. The event will include free pizza and a raffle to win a Barnes & Noble gift card, and conclude with a hot chocolate mixer. “What’s Up?” is sponsored by RIT’s graduate student organizations, the Graduate Student Advisory Council and the Doctoral Student Association. The council is affiliated with the Office of Graduate Education and initiated the forum. The goal is to learn about concerns from fellow graduate students and address them with RIT administration in the spring semester, according to Emily Wilson, co-chair of the Graduate Student Advisory Council. “Our hope is the peer nature of the panel will allow grad students to feel they can speak freely about their concerns,” said Wilson, a Ph.D. student in the astrophysical sciences and technology program. The panelists will include Alyssa Recinella, president of the Doctoral Student Association, an RIT student club for RIT’s growing Ph.D. student community. Recinella, an engineering Ph.D. student, completed a BS/MS in mechanical engineering at RIT and has nine years’ worth of experience at the university to share. “We also want to have the opportunity for doctoral students and master’s students mix a little bit more,” Recinella said. “Even though DSA is primarily for doctoral students we are going to be hosting a lot more events that caters to both. We’re trying to partner with GSAC more to offer collaborative events.” In the spring, the Doctoral Student Association plans to host workshops on mentorship and what it means to get a Ph.D. “A lot of the reasons why DSA was started was for interdisciplinary collaboration and to work more with people you don’t know from fields that aren’t your own to help with career-professional development,” Recinella said. “We also wanted students to see more of Rochester.” The Doctoral Student Association is funded by RIT Student Government and focuses on community outreach, social outings and career networking opportunities with alumni and with employers seeking to hire Ph.Ds. The Graduate Student Advisory Council has a broader audience of both master’s and doctoral students and complements the Ph.D. student club. The council launched a newsletter this fall targeting both audiences with information about resources offered through Career Services, such as mock interviews, specialized career fairs and representation in RIT Student Government through Graduate Senator Nirup Dharshan Swaminathan Anandaraman. “We hope to continue publishing these newsletters throughout the school year as a way to demystify the role of the Graduate Student Advisory Council at RIT,” Wilson said. For more information about Graduate Student Advisory Council, contact co-chairs Emily Wilson at ecw7497@rit.edu, or Teresa Symons at tas4514@g.rit.edu. To learn about the Doctoral Student Association, contact Alyssa Recinella at anr6832@rit.edu.

R. Roger Remington, the Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design and RIT’s longest-serving faculty member, will retire in May after 57 years at the university. In addition to building a nationally recognized graphic design program in the College of Art and Design, Remington transformed RIT into an international archival resource for design, earning many of the industry’s most distinguished awards along the way. “It doesn’t feel at all like I’m closing the door and walking away because I don’t intend to,” Remington said. “I’m planning to stay around and be as much help as I can to my successor and to others involved in the Vignelli Center for Design Studies and the college.” Ellen Granberg, RIT provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said Remington leaves an indelible mark on RIT. “Roger has been the face of design at RIT for nearly six decades, raising the profile of the college and the university in the design world to new heights,” she said. “He leaves a wonderful legacy that will benefit the university—and the design world—for years to come.” Todd Jokl, dean of the College of Art and Design, noted that Remington’s impact on his students has been immeasurable. “Roger Remington has been a titan in the field of design both at RIT—through his efforts that established design as a pillar at our university—and in the broader world of design, where he is known as a world-class historian, scholar and designer, at large,” he said. “The impact Roger has had on the College of Art and Design as well as the field of design, overall, cannot be overstated.” “Additionally, Roger was the driving force at bringing the Vignelli archive to RIT, establishing and growing the world-class collection now housed in the Vignelli Center, and in realizing the remarkable building that now houses this astounding archive,” Jokl added. “Due in large part to Roger’s tireless work, the Vignelli Center for Design Studies now acts as an invaluable resource to our students, our faculty and design scholars around the globe.” Remington is renowned worldwide for his critical interests in design studies, research, writing and graphic design practice. Since 1982, he has been engaged in the research, interpretation and preservation of the history of graphic design. He was the catalyst in establishing RIT’s Cary Graphic Design Archive, which now features 45 existing graphic design collections of Modernist American graphic design pioneers such as Lester Beall, Will Burtin, Cipe Pineles, William Golden and Alvin Lustig. The crown jewel of his archival efforts, the Vignelli Center for Design Studies houses the archive of the late renowned designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli, whose graphic and product designs are icons of international design. When Massimo Vignelli, whose friendship with Remington began in 1979, decided it was time to downsize his New York City business around 2005, there was only one place in the world where he wanted his archive housed. The problem was that the collection was too big to fit with the others at The Wallace Center. After five years of planning and substantial institutional support, the Vignelli Center for Design Studies opened on campus in 2010 in a building designed by Vignelli. Inside, students have access to original source materials and examples of the late couple’s finished work, which includes corporate identity campaigns for Xerox, American Airlines and Bloomingdale’s; street signage; jewelry; glassware; and furniture. The Vignelli Center is currently marking its 10th anniversary. At the time of the center’s dedication, Massimo Vignelli said the project would never have been built without Remington, whom the late designer called the center’s soul who made the archive a teaching instrument and a formidable legacy to RIT. Josh Owen, Distinguished Professor and director of the industrial design program, said the Vignelli Center is a landmark gift to the world. Owen said the center’s archive is a uniquely valuable tool for RIT students. “The center is like an eternal flame for design education—Roger has provided the fuel,” Owen said. Remington said his ambition since opening the center was to make it even more valuable. He achieved that by expanding educational programming activities, including workshops and lecture series presented by modern-day design leaders. “It has been my major goal to help students achieve the highest possible level of visual aesthetics in their work,” Remington said. “Developing the Cary Graphic Design Archive and the Vignelli Center for Design Studies has been a major contribution to students, to RIT and to the profession.” Remington, who grew up in Glens Falls, N.Y., was first introduced to RIT in the 1950s when he was an art and design student. The head of the School of Art and Design at the time, Stanley Witmeyer, began transitioning the program from a traditional Beaux Arts academy to a modern design program. As a result, Remington recalled, he graduated from RIT in 1958 with a strong foundation in both styles. He applied to several graduate schools and was attracted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied printmaking and took advantage of the school’s art history program. After graduating, he returned to New York state and worked in packaging design for three years before the call to teaching grew stronger. Montana State University in Bozeman needed a design teacher and Remington took the job—“sight unseen,” he recalled, becoming the only graphic designer in the school’s small art department until 1963. “Then I got a call from Stan Witmeyer,” Remington recalled. “He said, ‘Would you like to come back to RIT to teach? We are building a new campus, and we would like to have you be part of our faculty.’” Remington said those early years at RIT were “both challenging and exciting at the same time.” The transition from an intimate downtown setting to the sprawling Henrietta campus was stressful, yet exciting, he recalled. He had the opportunity to work on the branding program for the new school, which was used by RIT for two decades. He helped build the first graphic design department, which he chaired for seven years while he began to make a significant impact on students in the classroom. Remington considers himself primarily a teacher, who has critical interests in design studies and graphic design practice. He received the Eisenhart Annual Award for Outstanding Teaching—RIT’s highest recognition of teaching excellence—in 1978. More recently, he and his colleagues created a Vignelli Center-based MFA option in design studies, which focuses on history, theory and criticism. Studying abroad is important to Remington, who worked as a guest professor at universities in Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and Hungary. He has won many of the design industry’s most prestigious awards. Remington received the Ladislav Sutnar Prize from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic, in 2015. The Ladislav Sutnar faculty of Design and Art has awarded the prize to honor outstanding international designers, educators, artists and institutions for their contributions to the world of design and art. In 2013, he was asked to join Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI), an elite society of graphic design professionals worldwide. Widely considered the “Academy Awards” of the design industry, AGI only admits members who have achieved high professional standing in the field of graphic design in their native country or internationally. Nominated by Massimo Vignelli, his official induction in London came shortly after he celebrated 50 years at RIT. The impressive list of inductees into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame throughout nearly 50 years includes such luminaries as Walt Disney, Andy Warhol, Ray Eames and Paul Rand. Remington became a laureate for the Hall of Fame in 2008. He has published seven books on design history and “has another one in the pipeline,” he said. To that point, Remington said he doesn’t plan on slowing down in retirement. “I’m still going to be in Rochester … and I’d like to still be part of the school, but on my own agenda,” he said. “I’m not really seeing retirement as the end of my relationship to RIT at all.”

Rochester Institute of Technology will use a substantial gift of real estate in Penfield to expand the university’s research and educational offerings in ecology, agriculture, sustainability and other fields. Amy Leenhouts Tait and Robert C. Tait, Rochester natives and highly successful real estate entrepreneurs, have gifted to the university their 177-acre property, which includes a 60-acre lake and a private mile of Irondequoit Creek adjacent to Ellison Park. The site, home of a former Dolomite sand quarry, will be dedicated as the Tait Preserve of RIT. “With this generous donation, the Tait family is providing RIT a transformative opportunity to expand our experiential education and research opportunities in many of our programs,” said RIT President David Munson. “The Tait Preserve of RIT will provide nearly endless possibilities for RIT and the broader community. We are deeply grateful to the Taits for their magnificent gift and commitment to this university and the Finger Lakes region.” Clyde Gillam The Leenhouts Lodge has a massive stone fireplace and an open concept interior with huge sections of glass walls that mechanically open to the outdoor patios Over the past four years, the Taits have worked to clean up the abandoned industrial site and restore its natural beauty, constructing a 5,000-square-foot luxury lodge amidst its wooded hills and open meadows. The Leenhouts Lodge, named in honor of the Leenhouts family members, has geothermal heating and air conditioning, a chef’s kitchen, a massive stone fireplace and an open concept interior with huge sections of glass walls that mechanically open to the outdoor patios, firepit and view of the lake and surrounding hillsides. “Bob and I are delighted that this property, which has special meaning to our family, will be loved and enjoyed for generations to come under the responsible stewardship of RIT,” Amy Tait said. “We are so inspired by RIT’s vision, which will benefit its constituents, the Penfield community, the broader region and potentially even the planet.” The Tait Preserve of RIT is located 25 minutes from the RIT’s Henrietta campus and 10 minutes from downtown Rochester. Given its convenient location, RIT expects to use the facility for a wide variety of education, research and conservation activities including:Environmental education and research, incorporating K-12 programming Agriculture and aquaculture research and education, including sustainable agriculture and community engagement Conservation, sustainability and urban ecology research and training Events and hospitality community functions Youth recreation “With the Tait Preserve’s close proximity to downtown, we also see this as an opportunity to offer the City of Rochester’s K-12 students unique experiences they would not otherwise have access to,” said James Watters, RIT senior vice president for Finance and Administration and treasurer. “The Leenhouts Lodge will provide a first-class event center where we can engage the RIT and Rochester communities in ways that fascinate and inspire.” RIT says it is committed to preserving and protecting the ecosystem and only anticipates adding infrastructure as required to maximize the site’s potential. Portions of the land have been earmarked for agricultural research and education to develop farming practices that benefit both the land and community. Clyde Gillam The property stretches over 177 acres and includes a 60-acre lake and a private mile of Irondequoit Creek adjacent to Ellison Park. “The Tait Preserve’s local field sites will be highly advantageous for our environmental science and biology programs,” said Sophia Maggelakis, dean of RIT’s College of Science. “Exclusive and protected access to the property is particularly valuable, as it will give access of the available field sites to our faculty and undergraduate and graduate students to work on research projects in a number of areas such as ecology, agricultural biotechnology, wildlife management, plant biology, wetland biogeochemistry and geographic information systems, just to name a few.” The Taits are longstanding business and community leaders. Bob and Amy Tait, together with Norman Leenhouts, co-founded Broadstone Real Estate in 2006, following their leadership roles at Home Properties. Their involvement with real estate and their demonstrated support of the community is modeled, in part, after Amy’s parents, Norman and Arlene Leenhouts, and Norman’s twin brother, Nelson Leenhouts, founders of Home Properties. This is the second major gift the Taits have made to RIT. The former Rochester Savings Bank building, located at 40 Franklin St., was donated to RIT in 2012 by Amy and Robert Tait through Rochester Historic Ventures. The building, now called the RIT Downtown Center for Entrepreneurship, is home to RIT’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, which provides business, mentoring and consulting services targeting new urban entrepreneurs or individuals who have an existing business or are hoping to launch a new business within the City of Rochester. RIT is in the midst of “Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness” which aims to raise $1 billion to fund the university’s future by attracting exceptional talent, enhancing the student experience, improving the world through research and discovery and leading future special initiatives. With this gift, the Campaign has now secured nearly $665 million in gifts, research grants and other support.