Photo Spotlights

Incoming RIT President David C. Munson Jr. hosted an open forum on Feb. 28. A second forum will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 2 in Ingle Auditorium. While on campus, Munson also attended a Student Government meeting and will attend Staff Council and Academic Senate meetings.

From left, Loryn Johnson, first-year biotechnology major from Columbus OH; Jayshaud Potter, second-year biomedical science major from Battle Creek, MI; Shantel Forrest, fourth-year marketing major from Rochester, N.Y.; and Chib Onwunaka, a graduate student in sustainable systems from Newark, N.J., competed in the Black History Game Show on Feb. 28 in Fireside Lounge.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren answers questions from students in a public speaking class in the College of Liberal Arts Feb. 27. She said the rise of popularity of social media does not replace face-to-face conversations, which the students will need for job interviews. Although she admits she still gets nervous speaking in public, it helps to be prepared and know your audience, she said.

The annual WiC Hacks all-women hackathon, hosted by RIT’s Women in Computing group Feb. 25 and 26, helps support young women interested in the field of computing. For the 24-hour hackathon, teams worked together to create mobile apps, websites, games and other software that provide unique solutions to problems. The annual event is open to college and high school women of all skill levels—from those who have never programmed to coding experts.

The RIT women’s basketball team won its first conference title in the 30-year history of the program with an 85-72 win over Clarkson University in the Liberty League Tournament championship on Saturday at Clark Gymnasium. With the win, RIT secures the automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. It will be the first time in program history the Tigers will appear in the NCAA Tournament. To read the game coverage, go to ritathletics.com.

The RIT men’s hockey team participates in a rigorous strengthening and conditioning program twice a week. The exercises also help to prevent injury.

Visiting artist Bryan Czibesz built a 3D ceramic printer with students this week. He gave a lecture and several demonstrations on ways to use the technology in ceramic art and design, in combination with traditional methods or alone. The machine will remain at RIT for students to experiment with. Czibesz is assistant professor of art in ceramics at SUNY New Paltz.

Justin Hamilton, left, and Chris Stern, alumni of RIT’s civil engineering program and owners of the No. 1 company in Rochester’s Top 100 Companies of 2016, were featured as “Innovators & Entrepreneurs,” one of several alumni sessions that took place during National Engineers Week, Feb. 20-25 at RIT. Their construction management firm Hamilton Stern Construction LLC, was recognized this fall as one of the fastest growing private companies in the area, according to the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. RIT was one of hundreds of universities, corporations and government agencies involved in the national Engineers Week program to recognize engineers’ contributions to society and to increase understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology careers. Events for the week at RIT were planned by students, faculty and staff from the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, College of Applied Science and Technology and the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.

NTID celebrated Black History Month Feb. 22 with a presentation by Melanie Funchess, director of community engagement at the Mental Health Association in Rochester.

Steven Abitz, additive technology leader at GE Healthcare, gave the keynote speech for the Melbert B. Cary Jr. Distinguished Professor speaker and luncheon, as part of RIT’s Graduate Education Week Feb. 22. The week culminates with the ninth annual Graduate Research Symposium and Showcase Feb. 24 in CIMS 2120-2140. View the schedule here: http://bit.ly/2kPPajs

Student leaders of WOCHA—Women of Color Honor and Ambition—welcomed Rebecca Johnson on Feb. 20 for Motivational Mondays, a regular program highlighting women of diverse backgrounds in leadership roles. Johnson, psychologist and associate of the university, shared personal stories and advice. Motivational Mondays are organized by WOCHA and open to the campus community.

Sid Jadeja (center), an RIT industrial and systems engineering graduate student from India, explains the workings of an assembly line to Nazya McCray (left) and Jared Shelton, (right), as they work in the Toyota Production Systems Lab in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. The visiting students are ninth-graders in the Rochester Central School District and part of RIT’s Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to help students decide which college majors and careers they may be interested in.