RIT is celebrating a record year for sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2025, receiving  $105 million. Milestones include reaching a new record for National Science Foundation awards at more than $21 million. Additionally, RIT faculty submitted 30 NSF CAREER Award submissions this past year, which is another record. Assistant Professor Shima Parsa from the College of Science and Associate Professor Rui Liu from the Kate Gleason College of Engineering are the most recent recipients of the prestigious NSF CAREER Award honors. RIT received approximately 72 percent of its awards from federal funding agencies. “The breadth and depth of our university researchers showcases the innovation that continues to propel RIT forward and move us into a new category of research excellence,” said Ryne Raffaelle, vice president for Research. “These new levels of sponsored activity demonstrate that the research work of our faculty is worthy of national and international recognition, even in such a challenging times for federal research funding.” Kate Gleason College of Engineering led the RIT colleges by receiving more than $20 million in new sponsored research awards, and the College of Science led in the number of research funding proposals submitted with more than 200 throughout fiscal year 2025. “Our faculty is conducting research on the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing, semiconductor and quantum technologies, biomedical and healthcare engineering, artificial intelligence, and much more,” said Doreen Edwards, dean of the College of Engineering. “In addition, our master’s and Ph.D. students are working side-by-side with our faculty. This environment is rich with opportunities to develop the next generation of engineers who will carry this research to the next level.” Additionally, several of the university’s interdisciplinary research centers, including the K-12 University Center, Battery Development Center, NanoPower Research Labs, and Personalized Healthcare Technology that draw faculty from across colleges and disciplines to create solutions for some of society’s current challenges, each exceeded $7 million in sponsored funding.  Added Raffaelle: “Looking ahead, we are energized and driven to advance and support  our faculty researchers to win research awards that allow them to advance their disciplines and create technologies and findings that have the potential to improve our world.”

Distinguished engineer Anshu Kak doesn’t believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace people. Instead, it can augment human capabilities—but the key is understanding how to leverage it effectively. Kak, the global vice president for Google Cloud Platform and Data/Private AI Practice at Kyndryl, will headline the 2025 Eugene H. Fram Signature Lecture in Critical Thinking at RIT. The highly accomplished C-level executive will offer insights into leadership and technology. Her presentation, “Augmented Leadership: Critical Thinking in the Age of GenAI,” will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, in RIT’s Ingle Auditorium, Student Alumni Union. The talk is free and open to the public. There will be a light reception in Fireside Lounge after the lecture. Kak’s presentation will focus on the critical role of leaders as orchestrators of intelligent systems and facilitators of seamless human-AI collaboration. She will explore how to navigate complexities of autonomous agents, cultivate critical thinking in the context of industry-relevant use cases, and drive informed, strategic decisions. “Critical thinkers can continually adapt to rapidly evolving technological, aesthetic, and social environments, and manifest new ideas, both individually and collectively,” said Jennifer Schneider, professor, senior director of Integrated Curriculum, and Eugene H. Fram Chair of Applied Critical Thinking. “We must think critically to assess all our technologies—including AI and the information it is built upon—as they integrate into and across our lives.” Attendees to this year’s Fram Lecture will learn how to lead effectively in an era defined by continuous AI evolution, empower teams, and foster AI-driven decision-making. As a technical executive, Kak has more than 25 years of experience at tech giants Google, IBM, and GE. She led Google Cloud’s global Principal Architect community and spearheaded Google’s Solution Design Method, an approach grounded in critical and design thinking that reflects her commitment to solving complex problems through thoughtful, human-centered leadership. The annual Eugene H. Fram Signature Lecture in Critical Thinking is part of the campuswide Applied Critical Thinking initiative, which integrates critical thinking improvement in classes and community life and promotes it through events. The Eugene H. Fram Chair was founded in 2011 through a donation from an RIT alumnus who wished to recognize the impact of Eugene H. Fram, a professor emeritus of marketing. Fram taught at RIT for 51 years and was a chair in Saunders College of Business. Register online to attend the lecture.

Rochester Institute of Technology and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo are offering a new pathway to medical school for eligible RIT students. The Early Opportunity Program in Medicine (EOPIM) is a pre-admission program to the Jacobs School. Accepted students will gain professional interaction and career training at the medical school while earning their undergraduate degree at RIT. The program is seeking applicants with a 3.5 or higher grade point average who have experienced social-economic challenges and other barriers to education. An information session will take place at noon on Sept. 17 in the Louise Slaughter Hall, room 1630, to share details about the program and application process. The RIT nominating committee will accept applications through Nov. 1 and submit recommendations to the Jacobs School by March 1. During the spring semester, the RIT committee will inform applicants of their status and next steps for students nominated for the UB program, according to Todd Camenisch, RIT director of biomedical sciences.  “Admission to medical school is highly competitive, and RIT is excited to offer students an affiliation with the University at Buffalo,” Camenisch said. “Many RIT students have life experiences and academic achievements that will make them outstanding and compassionate medical doctors. This new EOPIM program gives students an opportunity to get into medical school and positively impact the human condition.” RIT can nominate as many as six students per year, or 18 students over three years, for consideration into the early assurance program at the Jacobs School. The universities will reassess the agreement at the end of three years. According to Camenisch, the EOPIM program can benefit students in different ways, such as by:Waiving the required secondary application and fee; Preparing students for the medical school entrance exam; Coaching students on the interview and letter writing skills of successful candidates; Connecting students with peer mentors who are current medical school students; and Hosting a summer academic program at the Jacobs School for students between their junior and senior year. Camenisch will lead the early assurance program and nominating committee. He will work closely with the Jacobs School admission team throughout the process. The majority of students who apply to medical school enroll in the College of Health Sciences and Technology, while other pre-med students pursue undergraduate degrees mostly from programs in the College of Science and the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. The RIT Office of Pre-Health Professions, led by Amber Charlebois, is a universitywide resource for all RIT students navigating pre-med requirements and is represented, along with the different colleges, on the selection committee. Contact Todd Camenisch, at tdcbms@rit.edu, or Amber Charlebois, at afcphp@rit.edu, for more information.

With more than 3,000 students participating in the performing arts at RIT, including a record 601 new Performing Arts Scholars and more than 50 performing arts-focused student clubs, it’s not hard to find instrumental, vocal, theatrical, and dance performances on and around campus throughout the year. RIT’s School of Performing Arts and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf have released their 2025/2026 Joint Theatrical and Dance Season. From small ensembles playing in intimate settings such as the Allen Chapel, to staged, ticketed productions in the Robert F. Panara Theatre and the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater in the SHED, there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the students’ talents. “The Performing Arts ecosystem on campus has grown at a staggering pace, with one in seven undergraduate students on campus a Performing Art Scholar,” said Erica Haskell, director of the School of Performing Arts. “We offer our students the opportunity to major in STEM-focused fields while participating, at a high level, in music, theater, technical theater, and dance. Our performing students continue to exceed expectations.” ‌ Carlos Ortiz/RIT Double Stop!, a rocking cello duo featuring Brandon Faunce, seated, and Gavin Palmer performed as the previous year’s winners during last February’s Ovation: RIT Performing Arts Competition. Students have recently won prestigious awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and the RIT Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the College Band Director’s National Association Eastern Convention. “These honors are usually only achieved by students pursuing degrees in the performing arts,” Haskell said. “Our highly qualified and deeply interdisciplinary faculty provide expertise and inspiration that enrich students’ experience and result in exceptional performances while the Rochester arts community offers ample events and performances to attend.” Among the first public performances this year are during the communitywide ESL Rochester Fringe Festival, Sept. 9-20, which boasts more than 600 events. Several are RIT-related, including performances of a cappella groups, dance, improv, and short films by RIT students. All RIT events are free and held in downtown Rochester at the Little Theater, 240 East Ave. Free shuttle service on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays is available for students. On Oct. 17-19, numerous performances by student groups will be held throughout campus during Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend. The comedic thriller The 39 Steps, adapted from a movie by Alfred Hitchcock, runs Nov. 7-10. As with all RIT/NTID Performing Arts productions, deaf actors will use American Sign Language, while hearing actors will perform in spoken English. Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with a technological twist, will be performed Nov. 13-16. It will include music with ambient electronic backing tracks and live percussion, performed by students stationed throughout the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater. “Each percussion station, positioned on the balconies, will feature a mix of traditional instruments such as cymbals and drums, and unconventional ‘found instruments’ such as brake drums, metal pipes, wrought iron fencing, thunder sheets, wooden boxes, and metal tanks,” said Joel Hunt, assistant professor of music and the production’s musical director. The popular student talent competition, Ovation: RIT Performing Arts Competition, is scheduled for Feb. 6 in Ingle Auditorium. There are typically a wide variety of acts, some solo, some bands, some ensembles, and some surprises. Students audition for a spot to compete for top honors. On March 26-29, The Nether, a sci-fi thriller that examines the nature of mortality in a virtual age, will be performed in the Sklarsky theater. Living in a virtual world, the characters explore the boundaries of reality, ethics, and identity. The inaugural event at the new Music Performance Theater, featuring a 750-seat theater, is expected this spring. Till There Was You, directed by Christopher Ryan, celebrates the diverse ecosystem at RIT with theater, dance, and music, with various selections from musical theater. On April 17-19, Pure Imagination: The Magical Candy Shoppe, will feature a fantastical world told through fusion of dance, music, American Sign Language, and multimedia, with ballet, tap, jazz, modern, Afro hip-hop, acrobatic dance, animated avatars, and cutting-edge projection technology. It will also be the final performance at RIT for Professor of Practice Thomas Warfield before his retirement. And dozens of campus bands with hundreds of student musicians are expected at the Unlabeled Music Festival on April 18 in the SHED. For more information on the productions and ticket information, visit the Performing Arts website.

RIT’s City Art Space is ready to welcome visitors to its new downtown location in the heart of Rochester’s Neighborhood of Play. The gallery will host an opening reception on Friday, Sept. 5, from 6-9 p.m. The new space, located at 30 Adventure Place, is steps away from the recently renovated Strong National Museum of Play, along with neighboring residences, restaurants, and live music venues. On Sept. 3, the gallery hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new location and welcomed RIT President Bill Sanders, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney, New York State Assemblyman Demond Meeks, and New York State Assemblymember Harry Bronson. During the event, Evans remarked that the Neighborhood of Play has made a great impact on revitalizing the downtown Rochester community. He said the addition of City Art Space makes the district even more vibrant and welcoming. “This is the place where creativity, innovation, and play all come together. That combination is part of what makes Rochester such a unique place to live: A place where ideas turn into art, and art inspires new ideas,” said Evans. “RIT’s City Art Space isn’t just a gallery. It’s a bridge between campus and community. A place where students and faculty can share their work, and where all of us can come to see, learn, and be inspired.” Sanders said that the ribbon cutting and new location for the gallery underscores the university’s commitment to the City of Rochester. “City Art Space has long been a place where our students, faculty, alumni, and community artists share their creativity, their connections, and showcase the incredibly breadth of talent that defines RIT and the city,” he said. “This is RIT’s only downtown venue dedicated to art, design, and creativity, and we are thrilled to continue that legacy.” Operated by RIT’S College of Art and Design, the gallery hosts exhibitions, events, and educational programming year-round, serving as a site for experiential learning for students, while remaining free and open to the public. Todd Jokl, dean of the College of Art and Design, underscored the significance of the gallery’s new location, highlighting the “strong” partnership between RIT and the Strong Museum. “We are ecstatic as we enter this next chapter in RIT City Art Space’s more than two decades located in the downtown community,” said Jokl. “We encourage you to come down for a visit to RIT City Art Space, the Strong Museum, and the wonderful restaurant and entertainment partners all around us in this vibrant Neighborhood of Play.” Gallery Director John Aasp teased upcoming programs and events, including the Roc Indie Book & Zine Fair and exhibitions featuring work from RIT faculty and students that will sustain and grow RIT’s connection to downtown Rochester. What he looks forward to most, he says, is deepening the connection between RIT students and the local community. When visiting the new, centralized location, students can explore the gallery, visit the Strong Museum, get a bite to eat or drink, and appreciate the culture of downtown Rochester. ‌ Carlos Ortiz/RIT The new, central location for the gallery will open the door for more student and community engagement. The first exhibition, DESIGN X GLASS, features work produced through a partnership with RIT and the Corning Museum of Glass. “You’re always going to see something different when you visit. It could be a group of students working on their senior projects, it could be a faculty member showing their recent work, or a big community collaborative project,” said Aasp. “We aim to keep a variety of meaningful, expressive, creative projects that are accessible and spark different aspects of learning for many different audiences. That has been something that we've been committed to for a quarter century.” DESIGN X GLASS is the gallery’s premiere exhibition in its new location. Inspired by the historic vision of influential designers Lella and Massimo Vignelli, this exhibition highlights individual projects by contemporary designers from all disciplines in collaboration with master glass blowers at the Corning Museum of Glass. On view from Sept. 5 through Sept. 21, the exhibition will feature work born from an ongoing partnership between the Corning Museum of Glass and RIT design faculty, staff, and students. Other new exhibitions coming to City Art Space this fall include:Jennifer Schoonmaker + Christina Leung exhibition, open Oct. 3 through Oct. 26. Eric Kunsman: "Felicific Calculus" exhibition, open Oct. 31 through Nov. 23. First Year MFA Projects 2025 exhibition, open Dec. 5 through Dec. 21. Downtown history City Art Space has an over 25-year history in downtown Rochester. It began as Gallery r on Park Avenue in 1999, driven by a small group of art faculty who wanted to keep a connection between RIT students and the downtown art community. In 2012, it moved to a new space on College Avenue near Village Gate Square, continuing its mission in Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts. With its rebranding and relocation to Sibley Square in 2018, City Art Space further expanded its scope and widened its impact on Rochester’s arts and culture community. Over the last seven years, the space has broadened its programs, including new collaborations with local artists and organizations, projects with major museums and collections, while continuing to feature the creative work of RIT students, faculty and alumni. Artist talks, panel discussions and community gatherings are frequent, alongside First Fridays, Rochester’s monthly city-wide gallery night. Go to the City Art Space Website for more information, or subscribe to the gallery’s newsletter for updates.

Sherralyn Sneezer, a Ph.D. candidate at RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability, has been selected as a 2025 Quad Fellow. She joins a cohort of 37 students focused on applying science and technology to pressing global problems. Now in its third year, the Quad Fellowship supports emerging STEM leaders through cross-cultural exchange and policy engagement. Backed by the “quad” governments of the U.S., Japan, Australia, India, along with 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the program offers financial support and a yearlong series of workshops and mentorship opportunities for fellows studying in the U.S. and Japan. It is administered by the Institute of International Education and funded by partners, which include Google. For Sneezer, the fellowship arrives at a pivotal moment as she nears the end of her doctorate journey. “Honestly, I applied because I needed funding,” she said with a laugh. “But during the process I realized how much this program can impact my research.” Sneezer (Navajo/Diné and San Carlos Apache) is researching how the development of clean energy can support energy sovereignty on tribal lands. “For example, some tribes are installing solar arrays to lower monthly bills for their members. Others are bringing power to homes that have never had electricity,” Sneezer said. “I’m interested in how these projects reflect tribal priorities and offer solutions that align with self-reliance.” Through interviews and case studies, Sneezer is also examining environmental and policy pressures, which shape tribal energy decisions. She’s tracking how data center development, mineral extraction, and policy complexity intersect with the growing environmental costs of meeting energy demand. These tensions are growing. According to research from MSCI, the vast majority of U.S. reserves of critical minerals—lithium, copper, nickel, and cobalt among them—are located within 35 miles of Native American reservations. One example she brings up is a longstanding dispute in Oak Flat, Ariz., a place sacred to the San Carlos Apache and other Western Apache tribes. It’s also the site of one of the largest copper deposits in North America. It’s a battle that has reached the Supreme Court and is currently in appeal. She brought up those issues during the fellowship interview process, an experience Sneezer described as eye-opening. “I ended up talking about how many critical resources in the U.S. are located near tribal land, and who stands to benefit from that,” she said. “Someone I talked to in an interview put it this way: ‘Indian Country has been inventoried by many people.’” Sneezer, who was named GIS’ Outstanding Graduate Woman in 2023, credits the support of her peers and mentors, including her adviser, assistant professor Nathan Williams, and professor Callie Babbitt, for helping her refine both her research and her voice. “What really sets her work apart is that it is fundamentally grounded in engaging with and understanding the values and objectives of Tribal communities,” said Williams. “Too often, researchers look for solutions first and then try to find problems that their solution can solve. Sherry has taken the time to first engage with communities and understand challenges from their perspectives.” “Sherry’s approach exemplifies so much of what it means to be a Sustainability scholar,” added Babbitt, who serves on Sneezer’s Ph.D. committee. “She shows an understanding of the interconnection between social, economic, and environmental issues, an appreciation for the broader human, policy, and cultural factors surrounding technology decisions, and an ability to communicate and collaborate across academic disciplines and with the broader public community.”