Computing and Information Sciences News

Several students at NTID were honored with academic achievement awards ahead of RIT’s virtual commencement ceremony on May 8.

Friday’s celebration of the Class of 2020 certainly cannot replace the atmosphere of a traditional commencement, which RIT plans to host on campus when it’s deemed safe. But many of graduates say they won’t let the pandemic, or the circumstances surrounding the virtual celebration, define them or their feelings about their time at RIT. (Pictured: Bradley Speck, who will finish his classes online this summer, has a job waiting for him at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, where he completed four co-ops.)

Eight years ago, as a high school junior, Peter Yeung participated in NTID's Explore Your Future, a program that introduces deaf and hard-of-hearing high schoolers to career opportunities. Today, Yeung is an RIT/NTID graduate who has completed three degrees and has started his career as a user experience architect with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Springfield, Va.

Just because computing security student Jack McKenna is graduating, that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop learning. In his new job as a cybersecurity researcher at MITRE, McKenna, will constantly be on the lookout for new ways to use computing security techniques in order to help strengthen the nation’s cyber defenses.

A multidisciplinary team of first-year students has been working to develop an imaging system that can reveal information hidden in historical documents for their Innovative Freshmen Experience project-based course. But with the shift to remote classes, the students left campus with the device nearly complete. Although disappointed, they shifted focus to the opportunities the new situation would create.

Four of the best games created at RIT this year were recently honored in the IGM Games Showcase. More than 20 analog, digital, augmented reality and virtual reality games were submitted to the judging panel. Prizes were awarded to games in four categories.

Jonathan Witmer ’91 (computer science) sits at the helm of WestPoint Home, one of the world’s most successful luxury linen and textile companies. But Witmer’s company has shifted its focus and its workforce is now using its textiles to produce reusable facemasks for the nation’s frontline workers.

Peter Cinibulk was praised by staff leadership for his combination of outstanding service to the program and his peers, his strong academic achievements and participation in, and contributions to, extracurricular activities both on and off campus.

WROC-TV talks to Alexa Amoriello, second-year game design and development major, about the digital RIT campus that students are building in the video game Minecraft.

Associate Professor Brian Tomaszewski is working to create interactive coronavirus maps that provide deeper insight into the spread of COVID-19 in the hope that the public can use these mapping tools to help fight the pandemic.

One brick at a time — that’s how members of RIT’s Electronic Gaming Society are building a digital version of the RIT campus in the video game Minecraft. As universities across the country closed their campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students went to Minecraft as a way to stay connected with their schools. The game allows multiple players to collaborate on building structures and designing landscapes, including recreating physical places.

WROC-TV talks to Jonathan Weissman, senior lecturer of computing security, about phishing attempts targeting those awaiting stimulus checks.