News by Topic: Faculty

WHAM-TV features a workshop with RIT photography students at Roc City Skatepark.

Gardening, piracy, and contemporary art are just three of the varied topics students will delve into over this semester as part of RIT’s General Education curriculum.

RIT scientists have once again used data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey to change the way we think about the universe and its distant galaxies. Jeyhan Kartaltepe and Rebecca Larson co-authored a paper confirming very bright galaxies in the early universe, while also disproving the identification of what would have been the most distant galaxy ever found.

Gabriel Diaz, associate professor in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, and his team are aiming to understand the effects of cortical blindness on the processing of visual information used to guide behavior, like driving a vehicle. Cortical blindness affects nearly half a million stroke patients in the United States each year.

In his welcome to the community for the start of a new academic year, RIT President David Munson asserted the university is well positioned to thrive while laying out “challenges, opportunities, and vision” for RIT’s future.

RIT students, faculty, and staff will contribute music, dance, comedy, poetry, photojournalism, and more during the 12th annual Rochester Fringe Festival, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 12, and runs through Sept. 23 in downtown Rochester.

Christopher Collison was appointed to the Jane King Harris Endowed Professorship and Emmett Ientilucci was selected for the Gerald W. Harris Endowed Professorship by College of Science Dean Andre Hudson. RIT alumnus Jeffrey Harris ’75 (photographic science and instrumentation) and his partner, Joyce Pratt, established the professorships in 2022 with a generous gift in honor of Harris’s parents, the namesakes of the positions.

Researchers are improving non-invasive treatment options for degenerative disc disease, an ailment that impacts 3 million adults yearly in the U.S. Using state-of-the-art gene editing technology in mesenchymal stem cells, the researchers will add to the growing field of regenerative medicine, the process of producing cellular therapies to alleviate pain and lack of mobility.

As students and faculty return to classes, generative AI tools are presenting many challenges and opportunities. At RIT, the community is acknowledging that generative AI is here to stay and can be used as a force for good.

The Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) welcomed students, faculty, and staff into its teaching and learning spaces on Aug. 28. The SHED includes five new active learning classrooms alongside the newly renovated Wallace Library with its 22 new classrooms.

Turn big dreams into reality. That was just one piece of advice for the newest Rochester Institute of Technology students who attended the New Student Convocation on Aug. 24. The annual event included welcomes from administrators, the new Student Government president, and a lesson in adventure featuring RIT President David Munson.

Saunders College of Business is entering its first cohort of students into the college’s new Ph.D. in business administration this fall, marking the university’s inaugural social sciences doctoral program. The program is designed to inspire and train scholars to identify, investigate, and solve unique business challenges that influence business and society.