Photo Spotlights

RIT students get to experience entrepreneurship firsthand at Saunders Summer Startup—a small-business launchpad where young innovators with bright ideas form interdisciplinary teams to start real companies. Established in 2011, RIT’s joint initiative between the Albert J. Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Saunders College of Business is an accelerated 10-week commitment that requires student teams to work full time on their businesses over the summer. The program culminates in an “Investor Night” from 6 to 10 p.m. Aug. 13 at RIT’s Student Innovation Hall.

African-American, Latino and Native American seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing came to RIT July 25-27 for Steps to Success. At this weekend mini-camp, students enjoyed hands-on, career-related activities, met fellow students from other states and made new friends.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students from all over the country arrived on campus July 19 for the Explore Your Future summer camp. A week on campus gives them the opportunity to get a taste of college life, sample possible careers and make new friends.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students from all over the country arrived on campus July 19 for the Explore Your Future summer camp. A week on campus gives them the opportunity to get a taste of college life, sample possible careers and make new friends.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Jay Williams listens as Michael Haselkorn, a senior staff engineer at Golisano Institute for Sustainability, explains material evaluation and product design in manufacturing parts. Williams toured RIT on July 24 to review federal investments made to RIT for economic development projects ranging from the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship to the Food Cluster Initiative hosted at Golisano Institute for Sustainability.

New York state has a rich history of innovation, and it was on display at the recent FLIP: Finger Lakes Interactive Play mobile app launch and demonstration on July 17. The app was designed and developed by a multidisciplinary team from RIT and with regional partners on the Finger Lakes Pathway Through History working group as well as the Empire State Regional Economic Development Council. One of the project managers, Rick Lagiewski, a faculty member in RIT’s School of International Hospitality and Service Innovation, talked about the features of the app that highlights 12 regional historic sites. Read more about the mobile app and the regional historic sites at rit.edu/news/story.php?id=50861.

Robert F. Panara, much beloved professor emeritus, author, poet, historian and international authority on deaf figures in literature, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf’s first deaf professor, died July 20. He was 94 years old. Mr. Panara, who was the first deaf person to earn an academic teaching position after graduating from New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, N.Y., and the first deaf person to earn a master’s degree in English from New York University, retired from NTID in 1987. Upon his retirement, the college named its theater after him and created a scholarship fund in his honor. To read more, go to rit.edu/news/story.php?id=50879.

RIT held a two-day engineering event for young high school women July 17-18. WE Explore included an engineering activity, lectures and inspirational sessions on how engineering impacts society. The marshmallow challenge was a 15 minute exercise to create the tallest freestanding structure with a marshmallow on top using only 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string and one marshmallow. From left, Courtney Russo and Erin Smith work on their project with their other teammates.

Coach Dave Wisniewski demonstrated a move during a practice session at an all-skills volleyball day camp for girls. The camp ran July 14-17.

A one-week summer camp this week on video production was part of RIT’s Liberty Partnerships Program with Greece Olympia High School. Here, Justin Ortiz, second from left, worked with students to interview owners of Phu Concepts, a Rochester marketing company. Ortiz is the executive director of Generation News and was the facilitator of the media camp. RIT’s Liberty Partnerships Program is part of the New York State Education Department’s Statewide Plan for Higher Education.

One of the highlights of last Thursday’s Nathaniel Rochester Society Gala was the dedication of the new NRS Honor Wall on the first floor of The Wallace Center. The mission of NRS is to develop friends and ambassadors to promote and support RIT, and the wall recognizes the more than 970 members of the organization. Cutting the ribbon are, from left, RIT Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Lisa Cauda, President Bill Destler, NRS Executive Committee Chair Patrick Talty, Library Director Shirley Bower and Associate Provost for Faculty Development and The Wallace Center Lynn Wild. Some 250 people attended the gala, held July 10 at The Wallace Center.

The seventh annual AutismUp iCan Bike Camp is July 7-11 at the Gordon Field House. The camp teaches individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disabilities how to ride a conventional bike without training wheels. Lose the Training Wheels provides specialized bicycle riding equipment, as well as a team of experts. Here, 10-year-old Maura Miles gets support from volunteers Robin Donnelly and Noah Henry.