Photo Spotlights

Members of the RIT Tiger Battalion, Army ROTC program, were commissioned for service at a ceremony in the Student Alumni Union on Nov. 20. The young men and women completing the program are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States military.

Students and administrators at RIT Dubai took part in last month’s Water Bucket Walk, a fundraiser intended to raise support and awareness of children around the world who do not have access to clean drinking water in schools. Walkers journeyed 3 kilometers carrying a bucket, much like children in rural communities are forced to do on a daily basis. RIT Dubai participants included graduate students Birgitta Feldges, Mohan Ramdas and Hari Krishnan Kirthivasan, along with Michelle Vaz, director of admissions and student services.

New York Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle was recognized by the RIT Board of Trustees recently for his nearly two decades of public service. Here, President Bill Destler and Board of Trustees Vice Chair Christine Whitman present Morelle with a framed resolution that expresses appreciation for his efforts on behalf of economic development in the Rochester region and his support of several research and technology transfer initiatives at RIT in areas such as sustainability, biotechnology and remanufacturing. He also announced a new lecture series that he will be jointly sponsoring with RIT, focusing on Rochester’s Innovation Economy. The series, to be held on campus, will begin on Jan. 28 with a presentation by Dr. Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

A quilt exhibit, featuring works by Theresa Matteson Coughlan and Rita Straubhaar, is on display through Nov. 21 in the RIT/NTID Dyer Arts Center.

Andrés Kwasinski, assistant professor in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, co-authored Cooperative Communications and Networking, a textbook about the newest trends in wireless technology. Hear him discuss the book in an Athenaeum “Author’s Spotlight” podcast: www.rit.edu/news/podcasts.

Liberty Hill Gallery, an enclosed porch area at the home of RIT President Destler and his wife, Rebecca Johnson, offers a distinctive setting for visitors to enjoy and appreciate art. The six-week rotational exhibitions showcase the work of students, faculty and alumni in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.

The RIT-led FIRST LEGO League team practices in preparation for its first competition Nov. 21 at Churchville-Chili middle school. The team is comprised entirely of middle school-aged girls. Stephanie Ludi, an RIT software engineering professor and the team’s coach, put the team together to encourage girls to get involved in computing and engineering.

Christine Whitman, RIT trustee, handed over the traditional gavel to Donald Boyce ’67 (business administration) on Nov. 13. Boyce, of Lake Forest, Ill., will serve a three-year term as chairman of the board of trustees. Boyce takes over for Mike Morley (’69 business administration), who had served as chair since 2005.

Construction continues for the new Campus Center, located in the heart of campus in the former Woodward Pool area. The center will serve as an alternate entry to the Student Alumni Union and have a second level overlook onto the Quarter Mile. The facility’s main level will house Student Government, the Leadership Institute and Community Service Center and the RIT Women’s Center. It will also include seven conference rooms and an area designated for RIT clubs and club services.

RIT observed Veterans Day with a presentation by the RIT Army and Air Force ROTC Color Guard, prayers and messages from veterans and other guests.

RIT’s Habitat for Humanity student organization, along with Engineers for a Sustainable World, have begun constructing the first RIT-sponsored sustainable home for a resident in need in Rochester’s poverty-stricken JOSANA neighborhood. To celebrate the continued revitalization of the area, RIT, in conjunction with Flower City Habitat for Humanity, hosted a “wall raising” ceremony on Nov. 7.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration presented the 2009 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Award for University-led Economic Development to RIT’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies during a Nov. 9 ceremony. The award recognizes the center’s commitment to advancing regional competitiveness and helping grow the local economy. The Economic Development Administration also announced the awarding of $500,000 to the center to assist small manufacturers in upstate New York become more globally competitive.