Student spotlight: Outside opportunities provide academic growth

Rochester Institute of Technology received a boost in funding recently, as a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State will continue the work led by professors Clyde Eirikur Hull and Eric Williams with entrepreneurships based on circular economy principles in member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The circular economy refers to an industrial economy that focuses on reducing waste by reusing and recycling materials. It’s designed to keep products and resources in use for as long as possible through thoughtful design. ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states that promotes intergovernmental cooperation in a wide range of areas, including the economy, politics, and education. The member states include Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.   ‌ Photo provided by Clyde Hull RIT Professor Clyde Eirikur Hull takes a question from the audience during the Second Symposium on Accelerating Science, Technology, and Circular Innovation in Vientiane, Laos, this past July. The one-year extension, made possible through the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership under the leadership of Program Manager Helen Santiago Fink, aims to help organizations in ASEAN countries train entrepreneurs, businesses, and lawmakers to use sustainability science to identify profitable, eco-friendly opportunities. It focuses on developing innovative technologies and business models that strengthen local economies, foster ties with the U.S., and reduce environmental harm. By applying circular economy principles and leveraging the team’s expertise in innovation and technology management, the initiative collaborates with local partners and the State Department to deliver training that supports sustainable business growth and environmental preservation. The professors are joined by Israa Ameen Thiab, visiting assistant professor at Saunders and a Ph.D. candidate in RIT’s sustainability program; Mihloti Williams, senior program manager at the Competitive Sustainability Center at the Saunders College of Business; research program manager Khant Oak Soe ’23 (technology innovation management and entrepreneurship); and senior program specialist Rachel Spangler ’16 (metals and jewelry design). They will be continuing their circular economy education training with over 50 partners in the ASEAN region, which includes over 37 universities and 15 business incubators and non-profit organizations, while also lending financial support to new circular economy startup companies. In total, more than 100 teachers and nearly 1,000 students have been trained. Hull, professor of management in RIT’s Saunders College of Business, center director at the Competitive Sustainability Center and the grant’s principal investigator, was grateful for the creative solutions that his team has witnessed from within the region, from businesses finding solutions for food waste, to high-tech plastics recycling, and organic fertilizer stemming from local materials that originally went to waste stations. “A key lesson we’ve learned is the value of training diverse groups—ranging from those with no work experience or high school education to individuals with advanced degrees,” Hull said. “The people who do our training are starting an amazing array of circular businesses, which is both good for the environment and profits.” ‌ Photo provided by Clyde Hull RIT professor Eric Williams explains his research on use of end of first-use electronics and the effect of informal recycling in ASEAN member nations. Williams, professor of sustainability in Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) and co-PI on the grant, focuses his research on the end of first-use electronics and how informal recycling practices impact ASEAN member nations. “We aim to reduce environmental harm from informal recycling in Asian nations by shifting materials to proper facilities, which are more efficient and environmentally sound,” Williams said. “This approach could yield a win-win-win: greater material recovery, less environmental damage, and improved economic benefits for those in the end-of-use chain, including the informal sector. While outcomes depend on policy and other factors, we’re working to nudge things in the right direction.” Their research abroad also comes stateside. Thiab recently led a circular economy entrepreneurship workshop at RIT’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, bringing insight from practices in her native Jordan to local businesses. The workshop focused on transforming existing business ideas into circular business ventures that both enhance profitability and help reduce the amount of waste going into landfills. “It’s very exciting to see our work having an impact, making a difference in people’s lives, in the local economy, and for the environment,” Hull said. “Our students and the students of our partners create jobs for themselves and others where there were no jobs, and they make a profit reducing the flow of things into the landfill. That's a great reason to get out of bed in the morning.” Hull and Williams have established expertise in circular economy entrepreneurship, especially when applied in developing nations to benefit the local economy and environment.   Hull has decades of experience working with entrepreneurs through RIT’s Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Venture Creations, and the aforementioned Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Competitive Sustainability Center. Williams was the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant to research international electronic waste, the results of which influenced the environmental standard for computers in the United States. In addition to the original grant from the State Department, the team has also received funding to help entrepreneurs in the Middle East form circular economy businesses. As part of the funding, the group will hold its third annual Symposium on Accelerating Science, Technology, and Circular Innovation in July 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Nathan Williams, assistant professor at the Golisano Institute of Sustainability, has long been fascinated with solving complex problems. Williams’ passion was in mathematics and physics, but his wanderlust landed him with the Peace Corps, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa. While teaching math and science in a remote, unelectrified village, Williams learned a valuable lesson in energy access. His curiosity pushed him to create his own sustainable solutions. He tinkered with solar panels and batteries and built a solar home system, eventually helping friends in the community with their own systems. The experience provided the lightbulb that powers his academic journey. “Those two years were a transformative experience, not just with electricity, but with life in general,” Williams said. “It got me interested in energy access and the importance of improving people’s quality of life. I started to ask myself, ‘How can I use my technical background and skills to address these sticky development problems?’” Williams’ collaborative work tackles the subject of energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, the United Nations established Sustainable Development Goal 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. This goal, Williams believes, is especially vital for advancing quality of life in energy-limited regions. According to research from the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, the United Nations Statistics Division, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization, 685 million people across the world live without electricity, with a majority located in the region that Williams and his colleagues focus on. “Professor Williams is committed to and excels in conducting research that explores sustainability issues in developing nations with a particular focus on African nations such as Kenya and Rwanda,” said Amit Batabyal, interim head of the Department of Sustainability and the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts. “This work aligns well and is consistent with the sustainability department’s mission to provide a broad-based, systems perspective on sustainability challenges both in and outside the United States.” Williams is not one to take full credit for his work. His work integrates a collaborative approach, recruiting students from regions who bring invaluable local perspectives. These collaborations contribute to innovative solutions, blending data science with hands-on fieldwork to bridge information gaps in energy research across the continent. “I specifically recruit students from the region because they bring a perspective that I don’t have,” Williams said. “I see sort of a privilege that I have as a professor is helping them to get a voice and have a platform in this space, because sometimes the communities that are struggling with access challenges aren’t sufficiently represented in the solutions.” In 2022, Williams secured a Rockefeller Foundation grant to use data science and remote sensing to understand the role of infrastructure access in rural development. These funds helped alumni like Lefu Maqelepo ‘24 (sustainability), who explored the economic and operational challenges facing mini-grid systems. Maqelepo’s work supported a subsidy program pitch for mini grids in Sierra Leone. He currently works as an analyst at Massachusetts-based ISO New England, an independent, not-for-profit regional transmission organization. One of the projects that alumnus Fhazhil Wamalwa ’24 (sustainability) embarked upon focused on integrated planning for energy access and irrigation farming, a synergistic approach to fostering development in the most food-insecure region in the world. Wamalwa, who is from Kenya and was one of Williams’ first students, experienced the challenges of limited electricity access and food insecurity caused by several factors. “I deeply value the relevance of Dr. Williams’ work,” said Wamalwa, who is an assistant professor in electrical engineering at San Francisco State University. “His research addresses these critical issues and offers practical solutions aligned with the achievement of multiple sustainable development goals. It exemplifies the impactful and transformative work being done at RIT, positioning the university as a key contributor to addressing pressing global challenges in developing world.” Sustainability Ph.D. student Tunmise Raji examined how electrifying agriculture, especially for irrigation and processing, holds potential for economic upliftment in rural areas, where agriculture remains a primary occupation. Raji notes that Williams consistently pushed him to consider not just the technical solutions, but also its real-world impact. “Our work in Professor Williams’ labs stand out for its focus on not only the supply side of the energy access challenges in Africa but also the demand side, with the goal of empowering local communities to use electricity productively,” Raji said. “For example, his approach of combining satellite imagery analysis with on-the-ground fieldwork fundamentally bridges the data access gaps that researchers face when focusing on Africa. I believe these make our work particularly valuable for advancing universal access to electricity in the region." Williams views his work not as a standalone achievement but as part of a larger, collaborative effort to address significant global challenges in energy and sustainability. “I don’t want to put too much on myself that I’m somehow saving the world,” Williams said. “I have a small role to play, and I love what I do. It certainly is a privilege to be a part of that larger community that’s tackling important problems.”

As an interdisciplinary artist and researcher, Carlos Castellanos is encouraging the arts community to play a core role in developing artificial intelligence (AI). “Right now, AI systems are simply not built to have reciprocal interplay with their environments and thus they demonstrate little interest in emergence, adaptation, or developing mutually productive relationships with the natural world,” said Castellanos, an assistant professor in RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media. “I wanted to present at a2ru to challenge prevailing AI ontologies and introduce arts-based models of ecological AI.” ‌ Elizabeth Lamark Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, from the University of Maryland, speaks about the creativity and limits of large language models at the a2ru panel “Highlighting Those Making Steps Towards Change.” Castellanos was joined by over 170 other higher education professionals from across the country at the 2024 a2ru National Conference, which was hosted by RIT in the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) Nov. 14-16. The conference’s theme, “Generate | Integrate: Technology, the Arts & Design,” encouraged attendees to celebrate and explore the role of technology within the arts and design fields. RIT President David Munson helped kick off the event with a welcome address, stating that the conference was well timed amidst “seismic shifts” that affect education, research, and the creative practice of craft. “As the arts and higher education wrestle with the rapid emergence of AI, human-machine interaction, and immersive technologies ranging from virtual reality to extended reality, we prompt you to take a more holistic and serious look at these issues to chart a collective way forward,” said Munson. The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across higher education to share innovations and perspectives in the arts. The organization advances the full range of arts- and design-integrative research, curricula, programs, and creative practice to acknowledge, articulate, and expand the vital role of higher education in our global society. In partnership with an international network of leading higher education institutions, allies, and partners, a2ru envisions a world in which universities—students, faculty, and leaders—explore, embed, and integrate the arts in everyday practice and research. “Each year, a2ru brings together a dynamic, international group of creative thinkers, innovators, and makers who bridge the arts with other disciplines. At their home institution, they may feel like they are one of only a few doing this challenging work but, at our conference, they find a community of like-minded individuals,” said Maryrose Flannigan, executive director of a2ru. “Over the course of three days, our members formed new research partnerships, brainstormed collaborative projects, and gathered inspiration for new programs. Those long-lasting and powerful connections start here.” Samantha Lazar, curator of academic programming at Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center for the Arts, said she attends the conference every year. This year, Lazar was gathering inspiration for a new arts integration initiative she’s developing at Dartmouth. “At my college, we are striving to fundamentally blend the arts with other disciplines and make them a core part of every student’s education, not just an add-on,” said Lazar. “Arts integration expands ways of thinking and creates new avenues for creativity and innovation—it can really nourish the creative side of you.” ‌ Elizabeth Lamark Kelly Hurlburt, a senior staff designer at Adobe and 2017 RIT alumna, gave a keynote talk on empowering users to stay creative and in control of AI. RIT alumna Kelly Hurlburt ’17 (new media design) gave one of two keynote presentations during the conference. Hurlburt works as a senior staff designer at Adobe and was the lead designer of Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI model. During her keynote, she shared her own insights about the intersection of technology and design. “The best innovations come from a deep empathy with the people we’re building for. We want to push creative tools forward, and we recognize the unique role each discipline has to play in this shared goal,” said Hurlburt. Hurlburt also shared reflections on AI’s evolution in the creative industry so far, drawing from both her personal experience and professional observations. She offered new perspectives on the topic of “tech inevitability,” and underscored the importance of starting from real user needs when developing new technologies. She added, “I hope skeptical creatives walk away feeling more excited about generative AI. But, more importantly, I hope technology builders will recognize their agency. Innovation isn’t some mystical, uncontrollable force. Innovation is shaped by our choices, both individually and collectively. We have the power to design experiences that solve meaningful problems and empower the people who use our tools.”

Kelly Norris Martin has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology. Martin, who has been a faculty member in the college for over a decade, has served as interim dean of the college since April 2023. She was selected as dean after a national search and will assume the role on Dec. 1. “I am delighted that Dr. Martin will serve as the next dean of the College of Liberal Arts,” said Prabu David, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs. “She has strengthened the college during her tenure as interim dean and with a clear vision championed for the humanities, social sciences, and performing arts at RIT.” Since joining RIT’s faculty in 2011, Martin has served in several roles within the college including as the associate dean for Faculty and Staff Affairs, the director of the School of Communication, and the co-founder of RIT’s Expressive Communication Center. Martin received the Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2013 and, in 2019, she received the RIT Innovative Teaching with Technology Award. “Watching my colleagues and our students grow, explore, and find their passions during my time at RIT has been incredibly rewarding. Serving as interim dean gave me even greater insight to the power, creativity, and capability of our talented community,” said Martin. “It’s an honor to lead a community like ours. I look forward to continuing to support and uplift the work of our faculty, staff, and students so they can continue to drive change and our liberal arts mission both on campus and beyond.” Martin studies workforce and communication education and visual communication methods. She is currently a principal investigator (PI) on a Teagle Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities Cornerstone Implementation grant and has a served as PI on an Engineering Information Foundation grant and co-PI on two National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded projects examining the skills that help U.S. college students succeed and increase employer competitiveness. She also served as a mentor for an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program for eight years. Martin currently serves as editor of the Graphic Design Archives Chapbook Series with RIT Press and she has published work in leading journals in her field including Communication Education, American Educational Research Journal, Visual Communication Quarterly, Physical Review Physics Education Research, and Design Issues. Martin earned her Ph.D. in communication, rhetoric, and digital media at North Carolina State University, where she developed a schema that graphically maps hierarchical relationships of visual research methods. Her program also awarded her the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017.

Bob Mather ’74 will forever remember the summer of 1970. He was attending a visual performance in American Sign Language at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Sue Mozzer ’74 was signing. “I’ll never forget her smile,” Bob said. “That’s when I fell in love.” ‌ Provided The Mathers were engaged in 1973 Although he wouldn’t get that first date with Sue until years later, the two eventually made their way to the altar and are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year. During his first few months at NTID, Bob changed his major twice before committing to the social work program. Sue was also enrolled in the social work program. Coincidence? Not according to Sue. “I was really independent and wanted to focus on my studies,” she said. “My best friend tried to set us up several times, but I wasn’t interested. After Bob transferred into social work, we hung out as friends and study partners for nearly three years.” The turning point came when Bob planned a surprise birthday party for Sue. “We graduated with our bachelor’s degrees in 1974 and got married later that summer,” said Sue. “The rest is history.” Sue arrived at NTID two years after the college began its operations; Bob came the following year. They witnessed the growing pains of bringing together deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students. Sue learned from her hearing brother, Dick, who also attended RIT, that many of the university’s hearing students were upset about the benefits deaf students received. These benefits included vocational services for reducing tuition and the cost of books. “Growing up, Dick was not encouraged to learn sign language,” said Sue. “We had a typical sibling relationship mixed with rivalry and some shared activities and used gestures for communication.” Sue was dedicated to promoting Deaf culture and combating negative stereotypes about deaf people on campus. She organized a “Listen to the Deaf Week” event in Rochester, aimed at raising awareness and fostering understanding. She also distributed colorful pins featuring the ASL sign for “I love you,” helping to introduce this sign to more people. Her efforts led to increased awareness and appreciation of Deaf culture among hearing students. “People often ask what NTID means to me,” said Sue. “NTID provided a connection to my brother. NTID is where we could talk with each other using sign language.” After graduating, Bob continued on to law school with Sue as his confidante. “There were many times when others doubted me. I wondered whether I could really become an attorney. But Sue was always in my corner and so positive. After I finished law school, it was my turn to support Sue as she completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in linguistics,” said Bob. The Mathers, who live in Maryland, have two grown children. Their daughter, Roberta, an NTID alumna, was recently promoted to chief communications officer for the International Labor Affairs Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, and their granddaughter, Savannah, is attending NTID this fall. Sue’s brother also met his wife, Sharon, at RIT. They, too, are celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary. Reflecting back at his time at NTID, Bob is grateful for the opportunities. “At one point, deaf people were told that we could do some things, but not all things. But, at NTID, we were encouraged to grow, and we were suddenly given opportunities to dream. There were no limitations, and the world opened up for us.”