Photo Spotlights

More than 450 people attended the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 10. Undergraduate students presented their research in either oral presentations or poster presentations. Sessions were broken up by the following themes: chemistry and materials, energy and sustainability, imaging and optics, modeling and simulations, social sciences and humanities, and biomedical and life sciences. RIT alumna Brandy Pappas (shown here), now a biophysics graduate student at Harvard, and Edward Reinfurt, director of the division of science, technology and innovation within the Empire State Development Corp., delivered keynote addresses.

Forty community volunteers assisted 39 bikers during Lose the Training Wheels, hosted by the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Aug. 6-10. The camp helps kids with autism learn how to ride a conventional bike without training wheels, which organizers say builds self-confidence and provides inclusion with peers. Above, Ethan McNally, an 8-year-old from Rochester, gets pointers from Victoria Vazzana, a senior at Mercy High School in Rochester. UNYFEAT, an organization that supports individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families, sponsored the event.

Caroline DeLong, assistant professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts (right), works with Kenneth Tyler Wilcox, a fourth-year psychology major from Skaneateles, N.Y., at Rochester’s Seneca Park Zoo to study object perception in river otters. The research in this area began with marine mammals—namely dolphins and whales—and now involves other aquatic animals, including goldfish and otters. Wilcox and zookeeper Catina Wright will give a poster presentation on their otter research Aug. 10 at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

“Under the Influence: DRAW Artists and Their Mentors” is on exhibit in the NTID Dyer Arts Center through Aug. 10. The women of DRAW include Connie Ehindero, Mary Buchan, Anne Marcello, Christine Knoblauch, Jean DeHaven, Elyse Capell, Carolyn Marshall, Andrea Sands, Deb VanWert and Kate Lipsky.

Building a robotic vehicle was only one of the activities that drew female deaf and hard-of-hearing middle schoolers to attend RIT/NTID’s TechGirlz camp. The program offers girls the chance to get a head start thinking about their dream careers by participating in science, technology, engineering and math activities. Along the way the students made new friends from all over the United States and had fun visiting an amusement park. TechBoyz, underway at the same time, offered similar opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing middle school boys.

In the foreground, Matt Switzer, left, updates professors John Waud and Sarah Brownell on the modifications his senior design team made to a UV water-treatment system used in Mexico. In the background, Phil Floroff, left, Evan Hall, center, and Tyler Josselyn unpack the circuit board that will operate the system.

A new partnership between RIT and the Democrat and Chronicle introduced six area high school students to the world of multimedia journalism through the Taub Scholars Multimedia Journalism Academy. On July 25 and 26, the students met with current RIT journalism students and “tracked down” and reported campus stories occurring throughout the week. By the end of the program, the students produced online journalism pieces that included shooting video, taking photos, writing stories and utilizing social media such as Twitter and Facebook for story promotion. Here, Michael Frazier Jr. and Tymoni Correa-Buntley, both seniors at School Without Walls, interview Jodi Carville about an engineering camp on campus.

Campers learned about the different parts and processes needed to build a skateboard as part of the Everyday Engineering Camp. The girls, from area middle schools, took to the assembly line in the Toyota Production Systems Lab to put together all the components of the skateboards they’d eventually be able to ride. The activity was part of the “World in Motion” theme of the camp, hosted by the Women in Engineering program in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering.

High school students from across the country visited the RIT campus for NTID’s Explore Your Future, a career exploration summer camp. Students here are in an investigative science class, learning to separate the molecules of Kool-Aid.

After graduating RIT in 1953, Neil Montanus began his dream job at Kodak. His 35-year career included 55 Coloramas, innovative underwater photography and portraits. An exhibit of his work is on view through Sept. 5 at the High Falls Gallery in Rochester.

“Under The Influence, DRAW Artists and Their Mentors” is on exhibit in the NTID Dyer Arts Center through Aug. 10. The women of DRAW include Connie Ehindero, Mary Buchan, Anne Marcello, Christine Knoblauch, Jean DeHaven, Elyse Capell, Carolyn Marshall, Andrea Sands, Deb VanWert and Kate Lipsky.

RIT’s state-of-the-art “green” facility, Golisano Institute for Sustainability, will serve as a center for sustainability research, technology transfer, education and outreach and will provide a showcase for green construction and design.