News by Topic: Interdisciplinary Studies

Like many fields, the world of academia is wrestling with the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI tools. While a few K-12 school districts, international universities, and businesses have attempted to ban the use of AI tools, RIT is acknowledging that it’s here to stay and can be used as a force for good.

Zines—which are loosely defined as small-circulation, self-published mini-magazines—have long existed in alternative subcultures. In recent years, a growing number of RIT students, staff, and faculty across campus are using this unique medium to express themselves and communicate ideas.

The inaugural production in the newest building on the RIT campus, AstroDance II: Across the Universe, premiered Dec. 1 to 3 and featured a variety of dance, aerial and circus arts, and augmented reality. 

Students enrolled in an Opinion Media course flexed their creative muscles and persuasive writing skills by producing a new publication about gun violence printed with ink made from an assault rifle.

A history class dug into the RIT Archives to sample the cutting-edge domestic science curriculum taught in 1893 at the Mechanics Institute, a forerunner to RIT.

Meet Gabe Carson, a third-year computing and information technologies major from Williamsport, Pa., who works at the SHED information booth.

Students in RIT’s Multidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD) program worked on The Overcomer, a patented device being used by children and adults with mobility challenges to play sports at the Special Olympics and in schools, nursing care facilities, sports leagues, and homes around the world.

The employee roster of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is, as expected, full of scientists, engineers, and cybersecurity experts. But there is one RIT College of Liberal Arts alumna among the ranks of experts at the lab working to solve some of the nation’s most complex national security challenges.

Faculty in RIT’s Modern Languages and Cultures department received an International Research and Studies grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund the development of new materials and curricula for Chinese, Italian, and Spanish courses that focus on STEAM. Associate Professor Zhong Chen, Principal Lecturer Elisabetta D’Amanda, and Department Chair Sara Armengot will spend the next three years developing, testing, and implementing the new materials in the classroom.

The partnership will deepen the connection between RIT and Dolby, provide more training for faculty on the latest software and technology, and form a bridge for mentorship between RIT students and industry professionals working at Dolby.

RIT researcher Bolaji Thomas is leading a $650,000 study to compare the genetic response in cattle in sub-Saharan Africa to the parasitic disease Trypanosomiasis, or “sleeping sickness,” that attacks their blood and brain. As parasites adapt to a warming world, the biting fly that transmits Trypanosomiasis could someday migrate to northern climates.

The low-cost multispectral imaging system MISHA, or the Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts, was developed by RIT experts to uncover object details that aren’t visible to the naked eye.