News Stories

For RIT students, the learning doesn’t stop when classes end. In 2021, three student teams took what they’re learning and used it to win national and international competitions in cybersecurity, racing, and design.

As an expert in microfluidic devices—tiny labs able to decipher bioparticles—Blanca Lapizco-Encinas and her research partners uncovered a mystery in how these particles can be better differentiated. As she has moved her own research forward, she is influencing a new generation of scientists to do the same.

The extensive renovation of RIT’s College of Art and Design—with keen focuses on key areas within the internationally recognized School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS) and School of Film and Animation—made significant strides in 2021.

When the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)—the long-awaited successor to the Hubble Space Telescope—becomes operational this year, Jeyhan Kartaltepe will co-lead a team of nearly 50 researchers to map the earliest structures of the universe.

RIT's outdoor athletic fields, including the outdoor track and baseball and softball fields, are getting a facelift. Next up: the installation of a state-of-the-art artificial turf field as well as the construction of a full stadium complex.

Three faculty members who chose to start their research careers at RIT received prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Awards in 2021. Their research aims to advance the foundations of machine intelligence, artificial intelligence, and clean energy.

RIT is contributing to Rochester’s revitalization efforts in a significant way, bringing a creative energy and economic development acumen translating into important arts, cultural, educational, and economic opportunities for the city.

RIT business students can expect major changes to Max Lowenthal Hall, home of Saunders College of Business, after the completion of a more than $20 million expansion and renovation project in fall 2023.

With thousands of RIT students involved in performing arts expected in the next few years, plans are moving forward for a performing arts complex that will feature a 750-seat theater and eventually a 1,500-seat orchestra hall for larger audiences.

RIT has an emerging new hotspot for interdisciplinary research about 25 minutes from the main campus. The Tait Preserve includes a 60-acre lake and a private mile of Irondequoit Creek adjacent to Ellison Park, offering endless opportunities for research, education, and conservation activities.

While students have engaged in virtual inter­national experiences throughout the pandemic, they once again began crisscrossing the globe last fall for in-person international education experiences.

The largest construction project on the RIT campus in more than 50 years remains on track to open in fall 2023. When complete, the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) will cover more than 120,000 square feet of new construction as well as more than 83,000 square feet of renovations in two existing buildings.