Tiger Love: Couple finds love and community far from home

When Kim Shearer began working at RIT in 1983, she was asked why she chose the university for her career. “I responded that I was interested in the free tuition for my children,” said Shearer. “When asked how many kids I had, I replied—‘none, but I’m planning on it.’” Shearer’s proclivity and proficiency for planning ahead led to roles in the College of Applied Science and Technology and the inception of RIT’s computing college, where she served as the inaugural director of operations at Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. Following the plan, Shearer took a couple of years away from RIT to raise her kids. Two of her sons graduated from RIT. And she did too—completing an applied arts and sciences degree (now called the individualized program) in 2012. “I love so many things about RIT—the people, its progressive thinking, and the belief that we can accomplish anything,” said Shearer, who will retire in June. Below are some reflections Shearer shared about her career at RIT. What are some of your best memories from creating a new college at RIT? When our journey began in the beautiful new GCCIS facility in 2003, we had 2,990 students and generated 14,432 credit hours that fall. Comparatively, today we have 4,561 students and generated 34,468 credit hours this past fall.  In the beginning, I assisted with furniture selection for all the faculty offices and we’ve now had more than 20 major renovations that have kept our building fresh. I take great pride in making the building look nice and have some warm touches too. For example, the planters in the GCCIS atrium were originally in the Student Alumni Union and were made by Harry Bertoia, a famous Italian artist. Our contractors had their work cut out for them. They had to design a turntable in the base of each planter that was sturdy enough to hold our large trees and allow us to turn the trees to get an equal amount of sunlight from the windows on the east. What are you proud of from your time at RIT? ‌ RIT Archives Kim Shearer, bottom right, with members of the 1999-2000 Staff Council executive committee.   I was fortunate to be elected as chair of RIT’s Staff Council. During that time, we were able to expand the role of the Ombuds Office to provide service to faculty and staff and not just students. We also helped create an incremental customer service position to assist end users with implementation of the new Oracle system. I was so fortunate to receive the prestigious RIT Staff Recognition Award based on that work. I was also really proud to revamp and develop new unconscious bias training for the university’s faculty search committees. At first, I just volunteered to do it for GCCIS, but people liked it so much that they asked me to train other colleges. I felt really passionate about that because I grew up in a town with little diversity. When I got to RIT I recognized the value of that and wanted to share that with others. We later received the Changing Hearts and Minds Award for our work in diversifying the faculty in GCCIS. Are there any special features at RIT that people should pay attention to? I am very proud to have served as co-project manager on the design and build of the ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute wing of GCCIS. That building has some unique stories to tell. The overhead lights on the bridges connecting the new wing to the main GCCIS facility are binary codes: “R” is on the first floor, “I” is on the second, and “T” is on the third. Also, there is an embedded message in the three-story orange backlit binary wall to the right of the main entrance. Take some time to try and decipher it. We came up with the message just to add some fun to a building that will be here for a long time.

A video game created by Rochester Institute of Technology students and faculty has reached a long-awaited milestone. That Damn Goat, developed and published through RIT’s MAGIC Spell Studios, is now available for purchase on the popular Nintendo Switch gaming console. More than 60 RIT students and faculty from across the university’s nine colleges developed the game over three years. ‌ RIT ‘That Damn Goat,’ a video game developed by RIT students and faculty, is now available on the Nintendo Switch gaming console. Aaron Nieboer, a production associate for RIT’s MAGIC Spell Studios, explained that “this game was meant to give students an opportunity to work on something that was going to be released into the marketplace. So, the fact that we’re able to have our game available on the Nintendo Switch platform gets us all excited and validates the work that we’ve done.” Mike Santos, a second-year student in RIT’s game design and development master’s degree program, is the game’s console port engineer and is thrilled to have a published game on his résumé. “Being able to have a game published on the Nintendo Switch allows me to show that I can apply my skills in various ways,” said Santos, who is from Rome, N.Y. “This looks great to companies in the game industry and will ultimately help me achieve my dream of becoming a senior-level development lead on a high-profile AAA game.” That Damn Goat gets its name from the non-playable goat character, a conniving animal with the power to randomly change scenarios by switching environments and player-selected characters, teleporting itself or players to other locations within the game, and more. The game development team also celebrated the release of That Damn Goat on the Steam platform in December 2023. “Throughout my time at RIT, I have not only learned how to code, but I have also developed the problem-solving capabilities necessary to tackle challenging situations and develop games for multiple platforms,” added Santos. “I’ve been able to explore the path of optimization and learn different techniques that are required to excel at it. This has expanded my job options and has shown me that getting a job in an optimization or game-porting position is something I would really enjoy.”

Rochester Institute of Technology is offering a groundbreaking partnership with Synapse Virtual Production (Synapse VP) to deliver an exclusive in-person Virtual Production (VP) immersion course in Los Angeles through RIT Certified. Scheduled over 10 days (June 10-14 and June 17-21), the RIT Certified Mastery Certificate in Virtual Production course will be hosted at Synapse VP's Flagship Volume at LA Center Studios. It welcomes experienced industry professionals seeking to upskill and future-proof their careers and is also a good fit for recent graduates in early-career film, animation, and production positions. RIT Certified Mastery Certificate Highlights:Hollywood Immersion: Direct access to the industry at Synapse VP's soundstage at LA’s Center Studios. Hands-on Learning: Creative workflows and roles in VP, Master virtual art production and previsualization, plus VP stage engineering and operation. Expert Mentorship: Gain insights from RIT’s MAGIC Center faculty and Synapse VP leaders. Career Advancement: Earn the RIT certification, opening doors to in-demand VP roles. RIT boasts a unique position in virtual production, rooted in its legacy as home to the first motion picture science (MPS), imaging science, and color science programs in the U.S., coupled with extensive industry connections and a vast alumni network. These strengths are amplified by RIT Certified, the university’s professional training and workforce development division, and RIT’s world-class MAGIC Center, a hub for virtual production research and development since 2020.  This groundbreaking program fosters collaboration between technical and creative minds, driving innovation as creative engineers, filmmakers, and artists learn side-by-side, replicating the real-world dynamics of successful productions. “This isn’t just a workshop for creatives needing technical skills or engineers needing creative exposure. It’s about the synergy between technical brilliance and creative storytelling,” explains David Long, RIT MAGIC Center director.  “By mastering the latest techniques, workshop graduates position themselves for long-term success in this rapidly evolving industry. They'll walk away with the adaptability and problem-solving mindset needed to thrive," adds Dennis Di Lorenzo, executive director of RIT Certified. Synapse VP, renowned for its extensive expertise in the VP domain, will provide an unparalleled learning environment for participants in its state-of-the-art virtual reality production studios.  “Virtual production is the future of filmmaking, and addressing the talent gap is essential," said Aaron Gordon, COO of Synapse VP and a proud RIT film and animation alumnus. “As a partner in a company whose mission is to set a sustainable gold standard for the VP space, it's an honor to give back and collaborate with my alma mater. Participants will leave with the skills and knowledge to step directly onto a virtual production crew, making them a valuable asset to any production team." Gordon noted that a number of experts from Synapse VP will speak during the immersion, including VP Cinematographer Christopher Probst, ASC who is CIO and author of Cine Lens Manual, Emily Haldeman ’19 (film and animation), and Rich Lee, CCO and veteran director, Previz/VFX supervisor, and artist. RIT’s David Long will co-teach the course along with Flip Phillips and Mark Reisch in the College of Art and Design’s School of Film and Animation. “RIT is known for training filmmakers and storytellers to embrace technology in a way that they can achieve great creative outcomes. This incredible partnership with Synapse continues that tradition as we expand our educational and research programs in LA,” commented RIT’s assistant provost Tom Connor, a former Disney executive hired to lead RIT’s LA programs.

Emma Herz Thakur ’24 (ceramics and illustration) feels fortunate that at RIT she met people who have won major grants, had their work featured in museums, and are connected with scholars from around the world. Now, she is one of them. Meet the other 2024 Fulbright U.S. Student awardees Joseph Casale will analyze aerial hyperspectral imagery to map the species of trees in Malaysia. Peyton D’Anthony will teach English in Kosovo. Mikkael Lamoca will research age-related neurodegeneration in Singapore. Izzy Moyer will work with The State Archives in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Sarah Sabal will pursue a graduate education in Taiwan. Herz Thakur will travel to France to complete a Fulbright scholarship. She is one of a record six Fulbright U.S. Student awardees this year from RIT. Herz Thakur, from Millerton, N.Y., will split her time between Paris and Neuilly-en-Sancerre to complete her work, which has an overarching goal of creating connections between practicing artisans and museum collections. She explains that forming these connections can bring new life to museum collections and open doors for culturally responsive conversations regarding museum collecting, colonization, and the repatriation of artifacts. Specifically, she will study collections sourced from former French colonies at the National Museum of Natural History to build a new body of ceramic work inspired by the collections and traditional French craftsmanship. “This area of study is incredibly important. For me personally, my experience in a bi-cultural marriage with someone who is from a formerly colonized country gives me a unique perspective on the nuances around repatriation and cultural exchange,” said Herz Thakur. “Looking at how creatives can enhance and complement natural sciences and history collections can expand our minds in terms of what community interaction with these collections can look like.” Herz Thakur is grateful or the support she received from her mentors at RIT, including Associate Professor Rebecca Scales, Professor Juilee Decker, Ann Mowris Mulligan Endowed Professor Jane Shellenbarger, and Assistant Professor Peter Pincus. As she anticipates traveling to France, Herz Thakur is hopeful as she faces the world of possibilities that being a Fulbright Scholar will bring to her life. “I don’t know where this is all going to lead me. That’s the other thing about the Fulbright that's so daunting: the different avenues and the networking available to me is so broad. While I'm focused on this project, other doors might open for me that I don't know about yet,” said Herz. “All of these potential opportunities are both terrifying and exciting.”

Peyton D’Anthony enjoys identifying patterns and creating new connections. Those are just two of the skills she hopes to instill in her students as a teacher in Kosovo this fall. Meet the other 2024 Fulbright U.S. Student awardees Joseph Casale will analyze aerial hyperspectral imagery to map the species of trees in Malaysia. Emma Herz Thakur will create connections between artisans and museums in France. Mikkael Lamoca will research age-related neurodegeneration in Singapore. Izzy Moyer will work with The State Archives in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Sarah Sabal will pursue a graduate education in Taiwan. After earning a double major in applied modern language and culture (Spanish) and international and global studies in 2024, D’Anthony also received a Fulbright U.S. Student Award. The Fulbright will take D’Anthony to a university in Kosovo for a 10-month stint as an English teaching assistant. In 2024, RIT had a record six Fulbright U.S. Student awardees. This will not be D’Anthony’s first time abroad—nor her first time in Kosovo. With RIT, she was able to study abroad four times. One of those trips was through the Fred Cuny Peace and Conflict Summer Program. She spent a summer traveling about the Balkans and taking classes at RIT’s Kosovo campus, including one course on post-conflict resolution. “With Kosovo’s recent history, it is a uniquely politically charged place where everyone is engaged in politics,” said D’Anthony. “I’m excited for what the university students will bring to my class, and to create an open dialogue to hear what they have to say about the conflict.” While at RIT, D’Anthony also took part in a spring break research class at RIT’s Croatia campus. In 2022, she was selected for the Gilman Scholarship, issued by U.S. Department of State, allowing her to spend a semester in Spain. There, she took classes at the University of Seville and taught English as a second language for elementary school students. She has also spent summers teaching at her hometown elementary school in Ripley, N.Y. D’Anthony advises RIT students to seek out an eye-opening study-abroad experience—even if it has nothing to do with their major. In addition to her passion for language and travelling to new places, D’Anthony also completed minors in anthropology and sociology, international relations, and women’s and gender studies. To carefully plan all her trips throughout her time at RIT, D’Anthony worked closely with RIT’s global offices, including Jenny Sullivan, director of Education Abroad and International Fellowships at RIT. “Thanks to Jenny, the Fulbright program has been on my radar since freshman year,” said D’Anthony. “I’m not sure what I want to do after this, but I hope the Fulbright experience will open the next door.”

Joseph Casale ’24 (computational mathematics and computer science) had hardly been on a plane when he traveled to Malaysia to do research a year ago. Now, he gets the opportunity to do it again. Meet the other 2024 Fulbright U.S. Student awardees Peyton D’Anthony will teach English in Kosovo. Emma Herz Thakur will create connections between artisans and museums in France. Mikkael Lamoca will research age-related neurodegeneration in Singapore. Izzy Moyer will work with The State Archives in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Sarah Sabal will pursue a graduate education in Taiwan. Casale, who is from Rochester, N.Y., is one of RIT’s record-setting six 2024 Fulbright U.S. awardees. He will be traveling back to Malaysia after previously going there with Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science professor Tony Vodacek to work with the Universiti Teknologi Mara. On his previous trip to Malaysia, Casale was part of a group of students who spent time in the Taman Negara National Park. The research team was looking to quantify biodiversity in the rainforest with audio processing. Casale’s future project will be analyzing aerial hyperspectral imagery to map the species of trees. “The great thing about doing machine learning is it allows you to be a scientist and allows you to work with plenty of different people across all different types of fields,” said Casale. “Being able to go to Malaysia with Dr. Vodacek directly formed the connections that led to this project.” Casale originally wanted to study aerospace engineering and began his academic career at Monroe Community College, but then realized he was more interested in pure analytical mathematics. When he transferred to RIT, his interest in machine learning and optimization started him on the path to earning the prestigious international experience that a Fulbright Scholarship brings. Having the opportunity to travel around the world as a RIT student has broadened Casale’s interests and has shown him the possibilities that are available through academia. Earning a Fulbright scholarship serves to enhance what he has already experienced. “Before I left for Malaysia, I didn’t really see the potential of becoming an international researcher,” said Casale. “But there is room for people to do that, it is something that can be achieved with a little bit of luck.”