Photo Spotlights

The Cotton Club comes alive to the hot sounds of jazz legend Duke Ellington at the piano, Feb. 10. And Ellington’s orchestra accompanied him while dancers performed before a captivated audience. Students in the production photography course chose the jazz era and the famous New York City hotspot as the backdrop for this photograph, transforming the Memorial Art Gallery into the Cotton Club. Dozens of models wearing period clothing were recruited for the photo shoot.

The School for American Crafts’ hot glass studio is a hotbed for fun and creativity! Steve Jacobs, IT professor, and Rachel Kaster, second-year graduate student, create a glass paperweight as part of a fundraiser for the Glass Guild student organization. Sessions are $50 and open to anyone in the RIT community who would like to make a paperweight. To reserve a slot, e-mail Becky Macomber. The money will help pay for glass students to attend the International Glass Art Society Conference in Australia.

Former RIT President M. Richard Rose (far right) and his wife, Clarice, are presented with RIT’s prestigious Founders Award, Feb. 11. Joining them are President Albert Simone (far left) and Trustee Richard Eisenhart. Rose served as RIT president from 1979-1992 and will be remembered for leading RIT through a period of unprecedented growth, advancing RIT’s reputation as one of the leading technical universities in the nation. The Founders Award has been presented to 16 individuals since it was established in 1934.

Soup's on! In fact, customers at RIT's Red Hot Bowl Sale got to choose from three different soups. The steaming hot treat came with the purchase of a ceramic bowl--all part of a student fundraiser in the School for American Crafts. The event also included potter's wheel demonstrations from members of the Ceramics Guild.

An RIT student tries out “Cycle Sim,” a computer engineering senior design project that simulates bicycle riding. The invention is one of 16 computer-controlled robotic creations demonstrated by RIT computer engineering majors on Feb. 10.

Students should mark their calendars for a free gift to welcome in the start of the 2005-06 academic year! Nick Bradish, Pam Stomel, and Lauren Hodulich, members of RIT’s print media club ‘PUB.' inspected calendars as they were printed on RIT’s Heidelberg Sunday 2000 Web Press. ‘PUB’ has been working for months acquiring photographs and coming up with the calendar’s final design. The free calendars will be distributed to students in the fall.

Scottie Siu, a second-year packaging science/business administration major, chats about co-op positions with Kristi Halgren, a packaging engineer with Kraft Foods, at an annual career fair hosted by RIT’s packaging science program on Feb. 2. The event, the largest on-campus career fair targeted to a specific major, drew representatives from 20 firms.

Nichole Bolding, a member of RIT’s print media club ‘PUB’ works with Wanda Alicea, an 8th grader from James Madison School of Excellence. Members of PUB volunteer weekly to teach the younger students about scanning photographs, typography and page layout. The final product becomes a book, featuring a compilation of the children’s photographs and writings. This is the second year PUB has taken part in this community service project.

Smiles were in the forecast--without a "shadow" of a doubt--at the first annual Groundhog's Day Gala. The event was sponsored by RIT's Department of Communication. Tommy O'Connor from the Facilities Management team was among the partygoers to pose as Punxsutawney Phil. Despite the celebration, six more weeks of winter are still on tap.

RIT President Albert Simone, Provost Stanley McKenzie and GCCIS Dean Jorge Diaz-Herrera present Richard Cheng with an honorary doctorate of science. Cheng founded RIT’s School of Computer Science and Technology in 1971. The ceremony was held during GCCIS first conference on computing and information sciences.

Gary Casper and Christina Fisher from RIT's Commission for Promoting Pluralism helped create RIT's Diversity Trailblazers exhibit. The displays highlight men and women whose contributions allowed RIT to become a community where differences are respected and celebrated. This particular display features photography alumnus Bernie Boston, who went on to a highly successful career in photojournalism.

SEAL, RIT’s Student Environmental Action League, collected 2.2 tons of unwanted electronic equipment during its second annual Electronic Waste Recycling Day on Jan. 21. Shown here, Jon Panko, a third-year environmental management and technology major in CAST and a member of SEAL, adds to the pile of used computers and other electronics in the Student Alumni Union lobby. The electronic gear will be refurbished or recycled since it is illegal to dispose of such waste in everyday trash.