News by Topic: Creativity And Innovation

Some people categorize themselves as right-brained or left-brained when describing what they excel at—whether they are more analytical and practical, or more creative and artistic. Both sides have their value, and Maddy Schoenfeld ’20 (metals and jewelry design) believes that combining the analytical and creative can elevate a small business.

RIT will receive $2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce to update and expand its Semiconductor Fabrication Lab to accommodate research in semiconductor technologies and prepare the workforce for the growing domestic microelectronics manufacturing industry. The funding was included as part of the fiscal year 2023 omnibus funding package.

Students shared artwork that communicated social issues that are important to them during the Sociological Imagination Art Fair, part of Assistant Professor Wenjie Liao’s Foundations of Sociology courses.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy features Austin McChord ’09 (bioinformatics), member of RIT's Board of Trustees.

Microsystems engineering Ph.D. student Katelynn Fleming is hard at work making new discoveries on the moon. But her ultimate goal is to use technology to help all of us on Earth. Fleming recently won a 2022 NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTGRO) award and will work at NASA centers as part of the visiting technologist experiences.

RIT recently became one of the inaugural academic partners in the BrainChip University AI Accelerator Program. As part of the partnership, RIT’s computer engineering program will receive hardware as well as lecture modules for classes detailing how the novel chips can be programmed and used to provide neuromorphic computing solutions to real-world problems.

Student Janessa Steenberg’s plant-based Parmesan-style cheese start-up company, Panacheeza, has earned her a spot in Venture Creations’ Ignite initiative, which gives promising entrepreneurs the power they need to become successful business owners.

The Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) and the renovated Wallace Library will reopen in less than a year. Work has begun to schedule the fall semester classes that will be held for the first time in the SHED complex, and Joe Loffredo, RIT associate vice president for Academic Affairs and registrar, is leading the effort to assign the classrooms in Wallace Library.

Developed and taught by Assistant Professor Peter Pincus, the course Josiah Wedgewood’s Legacy is a unique meld of art history, philosophy, and ceramics education and encourages students of all majors to explore and learn freely through experimentation and trial and error.

Members of the RIT Board of Trustees and President Munson recently took a walking tour of the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED). The $120 million complex stretches from Wallace Library to Monroe Hall and will include the Brooks H. Bower Maker Showcase, the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater, and music and dance studios. The SHED’s focus on hands-on learning extends to the 27 new classrooms—five extra-large learning spaces designed for active learning and 22 regular-sized flexible classrooms in the renovated Wallace Library. 

Fast Company features a cast iron match striker, designed by Josh Owen, Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design.

The world needs collaborative thinkers who can identify and solve the most pressing and vexing global problems of our times.