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Mechanical Engineering BS

Friday’s celebration of the Class of 2020 certainly cannot replace the atmosphere of a traditional commencement, which RIT plans to host on campus when it’s deemed safe. But many of graduates say they won’t let the pandemic, or the circumstances surrounding the virtual celebration, define them or their feelings about their time at RIT. (Pictured: Bradley Speck, who will finish his classes online this summer, has a job waiting for him at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, where he completed four co-ops.)

Jeff Benck ’88 (mechanical engineering) is the president and CEO of Benchmark, a global provider of engineering, design and manufacturing services. Benchmark is working with about 10 clients who are making products that will help treat patients infected with COVID-19.

Ke Du and Blanca Lapizco-Encinas, both faculty-researchers in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, worked with an international team to collaborate on the design of a next-generation miniature lab device that uses magnetic nano-beads to isolate minute bacterial particles that cause diseases. This new technology improves how clinicians isolate drug-resistant strains of bacterial infections and difficult-to-detect micro-particles such as those making up Ebola and coronaviruses.

Many RIT faculty, students, staff and alumni are among the collaborations here and across the nation, providing expertise to improve or create much-needed equipment and protective gear for medical personnel fighting the Coronavirus.

The annual festival, now in its 13th year, is a showcase day for RIT. But Imagine RIT isn’t just a one-day celebration. Every day, RIT students, faculty and staff are working to pair technology, art and design in ways that move the world forward.

Kristina Klishko, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student from San Diego, spent her summer in Fremont, Calif., working for Tesla.

RIT is one of hundreds of universities and organizations across the country involved in National Engineers Week, taking place Feb. 16-22. Events include talks with engineering alumni and open house sessions for K-12 students and families.

As part of an interactive games and media course, 12 RIT students made cardboard and digital pinball machines designed around themes of their own choosing. For the final exam, students brought their creations to The Strong National Museum of Play and had visitors give their physical and virtual pinball machines a test drive.

The coaster contest was a thrill ride for RIT’s Theme Park Enthusiasts student group at the annual Ryerson Invitational Thrill Design Competition. For the second time since the competition began, the club won first place overall at the competition.

Claudia Alant, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student from Niskayuna, N.Y., has worked for the Writing Commons for five semesters. According to Alant, being a peer consultant for the commons is “one of the coolest jobs an undergraduate student can have” on campus.

ASME.org features David Swerzenski '17 (mechanical engineering) and talks to Tim Landschoot, principal lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Catherine Osadciw, fifth-year software engineering major.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers features Risa Robinson, department head, mechanical engineering.