Photo Spotlights

RIT President Bill Destler was recognized for his long-time support of FIRST Robotics and the annual Finger Lakes Regional competition on March 17. Destler, left, was honored by Rick Byrant, a member of the Finger Lakes Regional Planning Committee.

More than 150 students from packaging science programs across the country came to RIT for the annual Packaging Jamboree. Conference attendees were able to learn about the latest industry trends, network with professionals in the field and present current research about packaging projects underway. One of those projects, presented by RIT graduate packaging student Kevin Cosgrove, is about how the packaging industry will incorporate drone technology into e-commerce delivery.

Kara Massie, producer at Vicarious Visions, spoke at the kickoff for the first-ever New York State Game Dev Challenge at the MAGIC Center. On March 10, RIT announced the New York State Game Development Challenge, a statewide competition for students and indie developers that will help bring game ideas to production. Participants will have about nine weeks to develop their games and winners will be announced during an event in May. RIT was named one of three Digital Gaming Hubs in New York state by Empire State Development. The goal is to increase the economic impact to New York state by fostering innovation and creating collaborative activities that spur new games or companies as well as providing resources and mentoring to encourage students and entrepreneurs to enter the growing gaming industry.

Hal Daume III, associate professor in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, meets with computing and information sciences Ph.D. students and faculty facilitators prior to his talk during the Distinguished Computational Linguistics Lecture, where he will talk about natural language processing on creative content.

Photography professor Michael Peres has an exhibit, “Snowflakes Up Close,” at the Rochester Museum & Science Center through April 30. The exhibit area, set up to be similar to Peres’ garage where he does his work, includes a microscope, photographic prints of snowflakes and pages from his recent children’s book, Michael Photographs a Snowflake. His snowflake photography has been featured in Time, The Weather Channel and CNN. More examples can be seen on his Instagram @michael_peres.

Photography professor Michael Peres has an exhibit, Snowflakes Up Close, at the Rochester Museum & Science Center through April 30. The exhibit area, set-up to be similar to Peres’ garage where he does his work, includes a microscope, photographic prints of snowflakes and pages from his recent children’s book, Michael Photographs a Snowflake. His snowflake photography has been featured in Time, the Weather Channel and CNN. More examples can be seen on his Instagram @michael_peres.

Celebrity ice cream scooper Matt Marshall, associate dean in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, serves 3-year-old Jack Fox with his mother, Becki Schicker, manager of donor relations at United Way of Greater Rochester. The activity was part of the Fuel the Fun Carnival Day kickoff for the 2017 RIT United Way Campaign. To make your online pledge, go to rit.edu/unitedway.

Editor in Chief of Reporter Magazine Mandi Moon spoke as part of the “What Matters to Me and Why” series March 7. The informal series focuses on personal values and growth of members of the RIT community. The talks are sponsored by the Spirituality Committee of RIT’s Student Wellness Initiative. The next conversation is with Rebecca Johnson, associate of the University, March 21 at 12:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Reading Room.

Students, faculty and staff braved the cold March 5 to participate in Ellie’s 5k Run/Walk, in honor of former RIT/NTID staff member Ellie Rosenfield. Participants also were involved in games of skill, yoga and other activities throughout the day. Eleanor (Ellie) Rosenfield, associate dean for Student and Academic Services at RIT/NTID, died on March 7, 2010, after a two-year battle with lymphoma.

Chief Design Officer for Microsoft Office Product Group Michael Gough held a workshop for graduate students in visual communication design and industrial design on March 3.

RIT alumna Jane M. Elliott, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Global Payments based in Atlanta, delivered the keynote presentation at the eighth annual Power Your Potential women’s networking event hosted by Saunders College of Business.

Xiao Cui, left, a first-year graduate student in visual communication design from China, talks with Steven Rubenstein, a chemist from Eastman Kodak Co., at RIT’s Spring Career Fair March 1. More than 245 employers from across the U.S. interviewed more than 4,000 students seeking a co-op or full time employment at the event.