AlumniNews by Topic: Science

CEOs, Chief Financial Officers, and Chief Technology Officers are among the 12 RIT alumni honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards for the 2024-2025 year.

During Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend, Big Tigers on Campus interviewed RIT/NTID alums Peter and Cindy Pickering and their daughter, RIT student-athlete and CODA, Emma Pickering, a member of RIT’s Division I Women’s Hockey Team. They discussed why Emma, who is majoring in exercise science, chose to play hockey, why she picked RIT for college, and her experience being involved in the Deaf and CODA communities.

Adam Stone ’04 has been named to the board of the Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf’s Alumni Association.

For the past decade, Jingjing Pan ’06 (chemistry), ’09 (chemistry) has worked as a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a federal government agency with the mission of ensuring food safety and protecting the public health. Originally from China, Pan’s interest in chemistry began in her childhood when she read magazines about science. 

Kayley Judd, an RIT/NTID student majoring in mechanical engineering technology, led the Deaf in STEM Conference last month, inviting deaf and hard-of-hearing alumni and professionals to the RIT campus to present on various STEM topics. This student-led conference was a tremendous success, drawing more than 100 attendees, including students, faculty, staff, volunteers, and walk-ins. 

Amie Fornah-Sankoh, SVP ’09, ’14 NTID (laboratory science technology), ’17 College of Science (biochemistry), graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology. Chemistryworld.com featured her as the first deaf Black woman to earn a STEM doctorate. She addressed the graduation ceremony as a featured speaker on Saturday, May 20, 2023. 

Thousands of visitors converged on the RIT campus April 29 to experience the future through multimedia presentations, exhibits, hand-on demonstrations, research projects, performing arts, and more at the annual Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival. RIT/NTID alumni enjoyed the experience of attending the festival and discovering amazing things. 

Recent RIT/NTID graduates or soon-to-be graduates who qualify for NTID support are eligible for 45-50 percent off the graduate tuition rate for any master’s degree program they choose.

The mother and brother of a late NTID faculty member and alumna are paying tribute to her memory by establishing the Skyer Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing students achieve success in STEM-related majors.

Eleven Rochester Institute of Technology alumni have been awarded Distinguished Alumni Awards for the 2022-2023 year.