Photo Spotlights

The Nathaniel Rochester Society held its annual summer gala in July with a Western theme. Robert Wayland-Smith, left, and his late wife Kathleen, were awarded the Whitaker Service Medallion for their outstanding volunteer service and leadership. Bruce James, center, and his wife Nora were the recipients of the NRS Award for their contributions to the advancement of RIT President Simone, right.

Brick City Catering announces the launch of a new online catering ordering system that enables clients to track orders, receive immediate cost estimates, view order history and create new orders. Log onto www.rit.edu/catering for more information about the new online ordering system, or call Brick City Catering at 475-2346.

What started out as a whim landed four RIT students center stage at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s annual international convention in Indianapolis earlier this month. RIT’s quartet, Four’s Complement, is comprised of Jamie Bedford, a baritone and an information technology major, Michael Ho, a tenor and a software engineer, John Santino, who sings lead and and studies computer science, and Bryce Cooney, a bass singer and a computational mathematics major.

Keith Simmons, center, an alumnus of RIT, was one of three alumni who worked with students from the Rochester City School District on a pilot program called “Rochester Digital Ripple.” The project, supported by Rochester Institute of Technology’s Lab for Technological Literacy, studied the feasibility of providing wireless Internet access for Rochester. During the summer program, the students built routers that were mounted on lightpoles around the Edgerton Community Center. The routers provide a free wireless network in the neighborhood near the center. The Lab for Technological Literacy hopes to replicate the program at a regional and national level.

ROTC student James Bagg stands next to a Marine Corps HMMV, part of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies’ military research project. Bagg is now in his third cooperative education assignment with the center and has assisted in both military and industrial research programs.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Edward McCarthy, senior program manager at RIT’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, and his family have been named recipients of the National Military Family Association’s Family Award. McCarthy, his wife, Karen, and their five children are one of 12 families in the nation chosen for the honor and the first retired military family ever selected.

Prospective homeowners admire the accommodations at The Moorings at Rivers Run at the grand opening Aug. 4. The $20-million housing community for individuals 55 and older is located along the banks of the Genesee River on 28 acres of land originally owned by RIT. In addition to 67 cottage homes for sale and 82 apartments for lease, The Moorings features a community center, a full-service restaurant, club room, lecture halls, fitness center, café/store, computer center, library and more. The community center will also be the future home of RIT’s Athenaeum.

Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy (center) and RIT President Albert Simone (left) today announced the creation of the Public Safety Initiatives Center (PSIC) charged with developing a comprehensive anti-violence plan for the City of Rochester. The public safety plan would involve law enforcement, government services and various community assets. PSIC will create public safety and anti-crime policies and initiatives based on data research of Rochester crime trends and patterns. Center director John Klofas, at right, chair of criminal justice at RIT, will serve as a loaned executive to the city for two years.

Barry Culhane, executive assistant to the president at RIT, stands in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Rochester. Monroe County and the City of Rochester will celebrate "Barry Culhane Day" on Sept. 9. Culhane is the president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Greater Rochester. Culhane is stepping down as memorial president later this year, after serving 20 years.

The Rochester Biomedical Experience, a collaboration between RIT and MCC, began earlier this summer with a white coat ceremony. Wilson Magnet High school graduate Brianca Parker and eight other students were given personalized lab coats to symbolize their new status as young scholars. Here, RIT President Al Simone gives Parker a hand while MCC Vice President Janet Glocker helps.

Michael Rogers, professor of glass in RIT's School for American Crafts, is one of six artists whose work is showcased at the Rochester Biennial at the Memorial Art Gallery through Sept. 10. The event is an invitational and features artists who live and work in the upstate New York area. This piece is In the Wake.

Fans cheer on the athletes participating in the Empire State Games, which concluded on July 30. RIT was among a variety of venues across the Rochester area hosting the four days of competitions. Organizers of the Empire State Games estimate that up to $10 million is pumped into the local economy by visitors who come to support the more than 6,000 athletes taking part.