News
School of Chemistry and Materials Science

Alumni Brandy ’08 and Luiz ’07 Freitas, founding members of RIT’s Sentinel Society, are proud that they are able to give back to the university community that means so much to them. Each year, the generosity and impact of donors are honored during RIT’s Day of Thanks. Today, all RIT donors will be sent a “thank you” video message, and faculty and staff donors are encouraged to visit the Student Alumni Union until 1:30 p.m. to pick up a special chocolate bar.

More than 200 international students began their studies at RIT remotely in fall 2020, including 65 undergraduate students and 159 master’s students. RIT Admissions officials said the students have done remarkably well given the challenging circumstances, and 83 percent of those students are now studying at RIT’s campus in Henrietta.

A $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation will be used to establish the first national academic research network on wasted food in the United States. Under the grant, researchers from American University will lead 13 other institutions, including RIT, in a five-year project.

Professor Christy Tyler from the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences and Associate Professor Matthew Hoffman from the School of Mathematical Sciences secured two NOAA Marine Debris Program awards to lead interdisciplinary projects with big environmental implications.

Philadelphia magazine features Gabby Gonzalez, a first-year chemistry student who went on tour with Jon Anderson of the band Yes.

Ten College of Science students received funding to work with faculty mentors on summer-long research projects as part of the HHMI Inclusive Excellence Summer Research Experience. The program is for students who just completed their first year at RIT and helps broaden RIT’s research groups to include a greater diversity of culture.

How do you teach students to use scientific instrumentation when a pandemic forces classes online and the students have no access to the usual lab or analytic equipment? Adjunct Professor Bruce Kahn found a creative solution this spring while teaching an experimental techniques class.

It began in 2015 with a research grant, a team of undergraduates, and an outstanding mentor. Today these RIT alumni are developing new cancer therapies, celebrating a patent, writing in science journals, and teaching the next generation of scientists.

Michael Heagy has been appointed the new head of RIT’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science. Heagy comes to RIT from the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, where he began his academic career as an assistant professor in 1996 and has served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry since 2016.

CTV News talks to Nathan Eddingsaas, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, about the presence of microplastics in the human body.

The Globe and Mail features work by Christy Tyler, associate professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, and Nathan Eddingsaas, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science.

A team of RIT researchers will explore how tiny particles of plastic pollution are impacting Lake Ontario thanks to new funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The multidisciplinary group will examine how microplastics are transported and transformed in the lake, where they ultimately end up and what effects they have on the ecosystem.