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University Magazine Spring 2019 Tackling social, medical and conservation problems Ways we are doing good around the world Also inside: RIT Venture Fund helps turn ideas into businesses
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Serving the greater good
We shape the future and improve the world through creativity
and innovation. As an engaged, intellectually curious, and
socially conscious community, we leverage the power of
technology, the arts, and design for the greater good.
RIT University Magazine
RIT vision and mission, 2018-2025 Strategic Plan
Executive Editors
Lisa Cauda, Development and Alumni Relations
Bob Finnerty ’07 MS, Marketing and Communications
O
Deborah M. Stendardi,
Government and Community Relations ur university learning opportunities at our campuses in
John Trierweiler, Marketing and Communications isn’t like any China, Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo.
Editor other. RIT RIT prides itself in preparing our
Mindy Mozer, Marketing and Communications strives to be distinc- graduates to be citizens of the world. That
Art Director
tive, to do things means preparing our students not just for
Jeff Arbegast ’93 MS, Marketing and Communications in our own way. jobs and careers, but also for life. Today’s
Photography Editor
That mentality of world needs people who know how to cre-
Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito ’07 uniqueness is baked ate and innovate, analyze and implement,
into our university, collaborate and lead.
Contributing Editors
Kim Slusser, Development and Alumni Relations as we have no Creativity begins with people, and
Cindy Sobieraj, Development and Alumni Relations interest in the status quo. at RIT we have an unusual assembly of
Photographers In November, the RIT Board of Trustees exceptional individuals. Just take a look
Elizabeth Lamark ’00, Marketing and Communications approved the university’s new strate- at pages 20-29 for examples of RIT Tigers
A. Sue Weisler ’93 MS, Marketing and Communications
gic plan—Greatness Through Differ- doing good around the world.
Writers: Marketing and Communications ence: 2018-2025. The approved plan, along You’ll meet, among many others,
Luke Auburn ’09, ’15 MS Rich Kiley with a new vision and mission that cap- Sabina Ismailova ’13 (telecommunications
Scott Bureau ’11, ’16 MBA Greg Livadas
Michelle Cometa ’00 Vienna McGrain ’12 MS ture who we are and who we plan to be, is engineering technology), who is helping
Susan Gawlowicz ’95 Ellen Rosen now available at rit.edu/strategicplan. children with disabilities in Kazakhstan.
Copy Editor Greatness Through Difference is the And Associate Professor Marcos Esterman,
Marie Lang, Marketing and Communications product of 14 months of collaborative who with senior engineering students is
Print Production planning throughout the RIT community. helping at-risk residents of a Cali, Colom-
Brenda Monahan, Marketing and Communications Its 25 goals support four critical dimen- bia, neighborhood develop marketable
sions: People, Programs, Places and skills in fields like advanced manufactur-
Marketing and Communications
University Communications Partnerships. The animating theme of the ing and agricultural technology. Elizabeth
22 Lomb Memorial Drive plan is innovation—the pivotal innova- Bondi ’16 (imaging science) is using her
Rochester, NY 14623-5608
Voice: 585-475-5064
tion that can only be achieved through education to take action against elephant
Fax: 585-475-5097 harnessing the power residing within and rhino poachers in Botswana.
Email: umag@rit.edu the intersection of RIT’s core strengths of From Rochester to Honduras to Ghana
Office of Alumni Relations technology, the arts and design. In the RIT to Tanzania, RIT alumni, students, faculty
Crossroads 41 Lomb Memorial Drive context, “innovation” is not about novelty and staff are making a difference.
Rochester, NY 14623-5603
Voice: 585-475-ALUM, Toll Free: 866-RIT-ALUM
or originality; it is about leveraging these Now that’s Tiger pride.
TTY: 585-475-2764, Fax: 585-475-5308 signature strengths to produce graduates
Email: ritalum@rit.edu in every discipline capable of practicing Sincerely,
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, transformative change that serves the
New York, publishes RIT University Magazine. greater good.
RIT does not discriminate. RIT promotes and How are we doing this?
values diversity within its workforce and provides
equal opportunity to all qualified individuals We are supplementing our classroom David C. Munson Jr., President
regardless of race, color, creed, age, marital status, and online teaching with experiential and munson@rit.edu
sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, gender expression, national origin, veteran
interdisciplinary learning, which ranges Twitter: @RITPresident
status, or disability. from paid cooperative education positions
with startup and Fortune 500 companies P.S. We invite you to join us on Saturday,
Vol. 21, No. 1, 126M-P2362-4/2019-LANE-JSA to international experiences. On the glob- April 27, when nearly 400 exhibits will be
Printer: The Lane Press; Burlington, Vermont
© 2019 Rochester Institute of Technology al front, we are expanding our influence on display at our signature Imagine RIT:
All rights reserved with strategic partnerships and overseas Creativity and Innovation Festival.
Cover
Kristen Denninger
Snyder ’10 (environmental
science) is opening a
Photo by Kristen Denninger Snyder
center in Tanzania to
protect wildlife and
promote conservation.
This elephant, Meru, is
wearing a GPS device so
University Magazine
researchers can better
understand her behavior.
Spring 2019
2 10 20
RIT Esports is joining a national RIT research is helping North American A professor and engineering students
collegiate league and moving into a river otters survive in the wild and be are empowering citizens of Cali,
new esports lounge. content in captivity. Colombia. One of eight stories showing
how RIT is doing good in the world.
Departments Features
2 On Campus 12 16 20 30
6 About Students
Entrepreneurial Online RIT doing Faculty profile
8 Student Work
ecosystem education good around Meet Hamad
10 Research
The RIT Venture From MicroMaster the world Ghazle, who has
32 Alumni Updates Fund helps turn to RIT master— Alumni, students, taught hundreds
38 Class Notes ideas into how learners are faculty and staff of sonography
40 Tiger Love businesses. advancing their are making a students.
42 Tiger Cubs skills and careers. difference.
48 Archives
On Campus
Photo by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito
First-year applied mathematics student Brandon Lai practices with his esports team. RIT Esports is joining the Electronic Gaming Federation and will
have a new on-campus space for competitions. About 1,200 community members are involved with esports, including intramurals and recreational.
Esports levels up with new national league
R IT Esports is moving up a level,
joining a national collegiate league
commissioned by the Electronic
Gaming Federation and moving into a
new space the university is designating
“Being able to add RIT as a member
of EGF is one of my proudest moments,
and I can’t think of a better university to
help forge this path with,” said Schrodt ’13
(finance and international business), ’15
and best schools in the world,” said Chad
Weeden, assistant director of RIT’s School
of Interactive Games and Media and adviser
for RIT Esports. “Top collegiate esports
students can come to RIT to compete at a
for esports competitions. (MBA). “It’s great to see the university high level in something they love, while
The esports industry is continuing to taking this growing group seriously earning a great degree in anything from
grow worldwide, with more than 300 and supporting them.” engineering to graphic design.”
million people engaging in electronic RIT Esports currently has about 130 The lounge will be equipped with six
sports video games from the professional people playing in 14 different esports. gaming machines, gaming chairs, head-
to the amateur level. On college campuses, The university has won three national sets and keyboards for specific games and
student teams and programs are forming championships in the games Dota 2, Drop- player-types. It will also feature a coaching
to represent their universities. zone and Rainbow Six: Siege. Esports players space and production station for the
The Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF) have also received more than $22,000 students in charge of helping direct the
works similar to an NCAA for esports. EGF worth of prize money in tournaments. teams during gameplay. The Davis Room
will build on the model used in traditional To better support these RIT teams, the in the Student Alumni Union will also be
sports to govern a collegiate league, which university is adding a new esports lounge outfitted with equipment to host larger
includes competitive seasons for different in remodeled space on the first floor of esports events.
esports. Institute Hall. To learn more, go to esportsrit.com.
EGF was founded by RIT alumnus Tyler “This will be a premier place for esports
Schrodt. students to compete with the biggest Scott Bureau ’11, ’16 MBA
2 | SPRING 2019
Do you know this RIT slang? In Brief
Every generation has its own additions to the English Moving up
language. From having a blast in the ’50s to living your RIT is now listed as a “high research
best life today, slang vocabulary is always evolving. activity institution” or “R2” under the
updated Carnegie Classification of
We asked RIT students what slang they use today. Take this Institutions of Higher Learning.
quiz to test your knowledge of this generation’s slang terms. The R2 designation puts RIT among
the top 6 percent of colleges and univer-
Felicia Swartzenberg ’19 sities in the nation, those conferring at
least 20 research/scholarship doctorates
annually and spending a minimum
1
$5 million a year on research.
Photonics for quantum
Yo u fa il
your friend
e d your test and
tells you,
2 Nearly 200 scientists and engineers
developing cutting-edge quantum tech-
ur friend is—
nology shared their latest breakthroughs
ig o o f. ” Y o If someone at the Photonics for Quantum Workshop
“b refers to the at RIT in January.
se
at you becau RIT Weathe
A. Laughing r Machine, The conference was held in response
you failed they are talk to a congressional imperative to
ing about— accelerate quantum research. Speakers
n of the
B. Making fu A. The Quart
from the National Science Foundation,
professor er Mile NASA, AIM Photonics, national labora-
ing with you B. The Sentin tories, industry and academia discussed
C. Empathiz el quantum technology development in
C. The Zamb five main applications—computing,
oni
Gene Polisse in the communication, imaging, sensing and
ni Center clocks.
3 Don Figer, director of RIT’s Future
Photon Initiative, said RIT is in a unique
position to help usher in the new wave
of quantum technologies because of
4
Your friend is eating its multidisciplinary emphasis and
chicken wings and says, exceptional faculty and students.
Figer said another conference is
“this slaps!” Your friend
If friends are taking part planned for the summer of 2020.
is saying—
in HVZ, they are— Production set for April
In preparation for a future production
A. The wings are really good.
A. Participating in an featuring new and innovative technolo-
B. The wings are really gross. experiment in a lab gies in lighting, sound, special effects
and mixed reality, the College of Liberal
C. The wings are really spicy. B. Attending a Arts will be presenting a staged reading
group video of an original science-fiction play, AI-
game session Pollo, by COLA Theater Program Director
David Munnell.
C. Playing themed Three performances are planned April
tag on campus 26-28 in RIT’s new MAGIC Spell Studios
building. Students from COLA, College
Answers: of Art and Design, Golisano College of
1. C—“Big oof” is akin to the phrases “that sucks,” “sorry that happened” or “too bad.” Computing and Information Sciences
2. B—Students like to joke that former RIT President Bill Destler (and now President David and Kate Gleason College of Engineer-
Munson) use the tall sculpture The Sentinel to control the weather on campus. ing are collaborating on the multidis-
3. A—When something “slaps,” it is really great. ciplinary effort. For details on the free
4. C—Humans vs. Zombies (HVZ) is a live-action game of themed tag using Nerf guns. performance, go to rit.edu/theatrearts.
SPRING 2019 | 3
On Campus Photo by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito
Brainpower Fourth-year students Rockella Caporale, applied arts and sciences, and Andrew Hennis, biomedical sciences, work together to identify parts of a model brain during an advanced clinical neuroanatomy class. The class, an elective offered by the biomedical sciences program, enables students to later learn on a cadaver, which heightens the quality of education for all health majors.
About
Students
Photos by Lydia Palmer
Student Hailey Sanidad, kneeling, monitors sensors while members of Reynolds Battery fire a cannon at Genesee
Country Village & Museum. Students are creating a protocol to keep the buildings safe from cannon fire.
Engineering students help bring cannon
F our fifth-year engineering
students are putting some
fire back into histori-
cal reenactments at a country
museum near campus.
Mumford, N.Y., hosts a Civil
War Encampment, which draws
hundreds of infantry, cavalry
and artillery reenactors. A high-
light of the weekend used to be
Every July the Genesee a town battle around
Country Village & Museum in the museum’s 68 historic
structures.
But in 2015, the museum
From left: Fifth-year students stopped firing cannons in the
Dylan Corbin, mechanical historic village because the
engineering; Dilan Koc, industrial
black powder charges appeared
and systems engineering; Hailey
Sanidad, mechanical engineer- to be damaging the windows
ing; and Miles Bain, mechanical and plaster of the buildings.
engineering, worked on a plan “One of the reasons reenac-
to protect a museum’s historical tors enjoy coming here is the
buildings when a cannon is fired. opportunity to skirmish within
Photo by A. Sue Weisler
6 | SPRING 2019
Student Dylan Corbin uses sensors to monitor the vibration of windows The multidisciplinary senior design team measured and photographed the
during cannon fire so the team can assess potential damage. windowpanes. The goal is to safely reintroduce cannon fire this summer.
fire back to museum Watch
To see a video, go to
bit.ly/RITGCVM.
the historic village,” said Peter Sanidad. “Authenticity is our “Having that experience before I solving opportunities.
Wisbey, the curator of collec- main goal.” even start my career is great.” “It’s very different from a
tions at the museum. “To be To help reintroduce can- Industrial and systems class project where you are
able to move amongst a historic non fire for the reenactments engineering major Dilan Koc given a problem and you solve
village is really a unique per- this summer, the students are also emphasized the value of it with a defined process,” said
spective for a reenactor.” identifying the cause of the communication. Miles Bain, a mechanical engi-
The museum wanted to damage and creating a best “I try to explain our ideas to neering student.
reintroduce cannon fire but practices procedure to protect our clients in a language they “All of us will graduate with
needed a plan to protect the the buildings while maintain- understand,” Koc said. “Our the necessary technical skills,
100- to 200-year-old structures. ing authenticity. audience is not engineers, so but it’s going to be the non-
They looked to RIT’s multidisci- Mechanical engineering we need to change our language technical, soft skills that will
plinary senior design students student Dylan Corbin said the and our perspective to commu- separate us in the workplace.
from the Kate Gleason College experience has been invaluable. nicate well with them.” Having those skills makes the
of Engineering. “The communication aspect In addition to improving difference between a good
“We aren’t focusing on a of working with other disci- their skills in communica- engineer and a great engineer.”
physical product,” said mechan- plines has a lot of direct real- tion, this project also provides
ical engineering student Hailey world application,” said Corbin. students with unique problem- Felicia Swartzenberg ’19
SPRING 2019 | 7
Student
Work
Photo by Elizabeth Lamark
This sculpture, made by fine arts studio major Levi Cassidy Cooper, is being displayed on the
RIT campus near the entrance to the Vignelli Center for Design Studies.
Why I created this sculpture
I
“ ’ve always been quite existential and
extremely considerate in my inter
actions with the world. Feeling so
deeply, and expressing so intensely,
becomes exhausting if there is no
frequency that resonates and responds
to other vibrations.
“The point of this sculpture is to
address the energy fields that we are
all very familiar with, subconsciously.
digestion and energy that’s released Furthermore, by stepping inside and paus-
back to me. Art allows the courage to give ing for a few moments, giving in to the
up trying, to move confidently through moment and breathing deeply, it
the void, embracing the fear of success. becomes a sort of personal ground-
“FIELD was created and installed at RIT ing machine. It vibrates
in the spring of 2018. With guidance and in response to touch, it
support from Professor Elizabeth Kronfield, dances with the elements
I committed over 250 hours of welding and of nature and interacts
fabricating steel. The sculpture represents with life as we
the electromagnetic toroidal energy field do, as all art does.”
that all life generates.
“This energy body can be felt between Levi Cassidy Cooper
humans when they are close enough to
Fine arts studio BFA
share or blend this ‘personal’ space. While (now called studio arts)
sometimes we are drawn closer and other Class of 2020
times we resist, everything vibrates at a Hometown: Dansville, N.Y.
8 | SPRING 2019I am RIT for Life
Connected. Engaged. Involved.
These alumni embody the spirit of RIT for Life. They give of their time, talent,
and treasure to ensure Tiger Pride extends beyond campus and you can
too! Attend an alumni event, mentor a student, give to the area of RIT that
means the most to you—be RIT for Life.
Becky Brubaker ’93
“As a student, I knew then the
prestige of RIT. What I have later
learned is the great power that
has come from reconnecting and
seeing how much RIT continues
to transform the lives of many.
My reconnection, 15 years after
graduation, has strengthened the
pride I have in exponential ways.
It’s an honor to be RIT for Life and
give back.”
Denishea ’04 and
Orlando ’04, MBA ’08 Ortiz
“RIT led us to find our purposes.
We had great opportunities and we
Dave Gallagher ’91 want current and future students
to have even greater ones. This is
“RIT’s reputation allowed why we give back. We give back to
me to get my foot in the door help Tigers change the world, to
and its education allowed me set the standard, to be boundless at
to succeed, which is why I every opportunity. This is why we
continue to be RIT for Life and are RIT for Life.”
give back to the university.”
rit.edu/alumni
© 2019 Rochester Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.
Rochester Institute of Technology | One Lomb Memorial Drive | Rochester, New York 14623Research
Research will help river
otters survive in the wild
Caroline DeLong,
associate professor
of psychology, is
conducting research
R esearch involving North American
river otters based at a zoo in Roch-
ester has concluded that the aquatic
mammals can visually discriminate
between two-dimensional objects and
they are in various forms); and one study
will determine whether otters look at items
in a global perspective or a local one—the
question of whether one sees “the forest or
the trees.”
with river otters at the detect differences in shapes and colors. The new research, which continues
Seneca Park Zoo in “That is a significant finding because into 2019, is supported by a Summer
Rochester. The research otters may use visual object recognition to Undergraduate Research Fellowship
will help zoos better care detect predators and prey,” said Caroline Grant to support student research from
DeLong, an associate professor of psychol- the Department of Psychology and the
for the river otters.
ogy at RIT, who started doing otter research College of Liberal Arts.
at the Seneca Park Zoo in 2010. Catina Wright, the primary zoo keeper
The research, which also proved the first who cares for the otters at the zoo, was
preliminary behavioral evidence for color also instrumental in the research project
vision in North American river otters, was by training the otters—named Heather and
published in the journal Learning and Be- Sailor—to target on the stimuli, giving them
havior and a short video of the otters during gestures, talking to them and pointing to
their testing was produced by the BBC. the place where the otters start the trials,
DeLong said the research is helping ot- and rewarding them by giving them a fish
ters survive in the future in nature. River when they succeed.
otters practically disappeared from western The original study was supported by
New York for decades, as their habitat in grants from the River Otter Alliance Foun-
and along the Genesee River had them dation and the Milwaukee branch of the
clashing with predators, including humans American Association of Zookeepers, as
hunting them for their fur. In the 1990s, the well as support from RIT’s College of Liberal
state Department of Environmental Con- Arts and its Department of Psychology.
servation, with support from Seneca Park “This study took us about seven years to
Zoo, captured them in the Adirondacks and complete. It was a major research effort,”
repopulated them in western New York. DeLong said. “And there’s almost nothing
Transforming RIT “They would get caught in beaver traps, out there on the perceptual and cognitive
RIT publicly launched run over by cars … their habitat disappears abilities of North American river otters.
a $1 billion blended when they clash with humans,” DeLong There are very few scientists conducting
campaign last July said. “The more that we know about their research on North American river otters.”
called Transforming visual perception, the better we can do in RIT graduate students Irene Fobe ’17
RIT: The Campaign for future preservation efforts.” (experimental psychology), Kenneth Tyler
Greatness. A pillar of DeLong said the findings “can also assist Wilcox ’13 (psychology), ’17 MS (applied
the campaign, which is us to better take care of them in zoos. Otters statistics) and Evan Morrison, who expects
the largest fundraising need enriching activities when under hu- to graduate this spring with a degree in
effort in RIT’s history, man care.” experimental psychology, also participated
calls for the university As a result of her findings, DeLong is in the research, as well as numerous under-
to improve the world continuing otter research with two other graduate students from DeLong’s Compara-
through research and studies: One is whether otters have the tive Cognition and Perception Lab who
discovery. To learn ability to classify shapes into different assisted in running the research sessions.
more, go to rit.edu/ categories (such as being able to tell the
transformingrit. difference between circles and triangles if Greg Livadas
10 | SPRING 2019SPRING 2019 | 11
Photo by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVitoI have always felt like the
Venture Fund investors are like
our guardians. They provided
us with terrific support and a
home base in Rochester that
we could always come back to
if we needed it.”
Kailey Bradt ’15 (chemical engineering)
’18 MS (product development)
Photo by Pasha Kalachev
12 | SPRING 2019Entrepreneurial ecosystem
RIT Venture Fund
helps turn ideas
into businesses
1 2 3
Encountering the inconve- OWA’s sustainable haircare The line of powder hair wash
nience of traveling with many products are sourced from hydrates with water to form
bottles of liquid haircare, OWA naturally-derived ingredients ready-to-use products.
founder Kailey Bradt sought free of sulfates, parabens,
alternatives to conventional silicones, and artificial color
hair products. and fragrance.
OWA (Out of this World
K ailey Bradt ’15 (chemical engineer-
ing), ’18 MS (product development)
had an idea for a waterless, powder
shampoo that could change the way the
world looks at haircare.
a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.
With the Simone Center for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Prop-
erty Management Office, Center for Urban
Entrepreneurship, RIT Venture Creations
Amazing) Haircare
When she needed funding to get her technology business incubator, and the RIT
is headquartered company, OWA (Out of this World Amazing) Venture Fund, RIT is committed to pro-
in Manhattan. The Haircare, off the ground, she got it from her viding an innovative environment where
waterless shampoo will alma mater. makers and doers flourish.
be available this spring. Launched in 2012, the RIT Venture Fund “Typically, this early investment is the
invests in early-stage, high-growth com- hardest money to raise, and we understand
panies founded by students, faculty, staff, that,” said James Watters, RIT senior vice
alumni and RIT Venture Creations client president for Finance and Administration,
companies in fields that complement RIT’s treasurer and chief investment officer for
core academic competencies. RIT Venture Fund. “There are a lot of solid,
From block chain and clean-energy tech- marketable ideas out there, and RIT is fortu-
nology to telecommunications, manufac- nate to be able to help our growing commu-
turing and game development, the Venture nity of entrepreneurs around the world.”
Fund looks to create industry diversity and The fund typically invests between
SPRING 2019 | 13Bob Fabbio ’86 MS
(computer science),
a serial entrepreneur,
started eRelevance
five years ago.
Fabbio’s
company is one of
14 currently in the
RIT Venture Fund’s
porfolio.
Photo by Bill McCullough
14 | SPRING 2019Entrepreneurial ecosystem
$100,000 and $250,000 in select start-ups. Along on the journey
And, as with other venture capital arrange- Bradt’s OWA Haircare, which received
ments, RIT receives an equity in exchange funding in May of 2018, is headquartered in
for the financial support. Manhattan but will ship its products from
However, unlike most other venture cap- Rochester. The patent-pending shampoo
ital firms, the RIT Venture Fund is an “ever- is naturally derived and environmentally
green” fund, meaning all of the investment friendly and underwent years of testing
gains are re-invested into new start-ups. before hitting the market.
“I have always felt like the Venture Fund
eRelevance investors are like our guardians,” Bradt said.
Bob Fabbio ’86 MS (computer science) was “They provided us with terrific support and
part of the Venture Fund’s initial consulta- a home base in Rochester that we could al-
tion team just prior to launching five years ways come back to if we needed it. It means
ago. Today, Fabbio’s Austin-based eRele- so much to have the RIT Venture Fund come
vance is one of 14 companies currently in along on this journey with our team.”
the fund’s portfolio. And what a journey it has been. Bradt has
eRelevance helps small His company provides a tech-enabled exhibited her product in competitions and
companies generate service to small businesses, which are pitched to other potential investors all over
more business from spending money on digital ads that convert the world, from Los Angeles to New York
current customers leads into customers. to Paris. OWA is accepting orders through
Fabbio’s company captures the leads owahaircare.com and plans to expand to
and prospects. The
with software they developed and markets retail stores by the end of this year.
company is based in to potential customers across multiple “RIT has always been ahead of the game
Austin, Texas. digital channels to keep their interest while when it comes to investing in our com-
contacting them through an automated call munity members,” added Watters. “We
center to convert customer inquiries into are thrilled with how our companies have
business. grown and we look forward to expanding
As a result, eRelevance’s service is our portfolio in the coming years.”
increasing its customers’ lead-conversion
rates by up to 400 percent. Vienna McGrain ’12 MS
Fabbio started his business working with
clients in the elective health care industry.
He has since branched out to include real To learn more
estate firms, law and accounting firms and
HVAC companies, boasting more than 1,700 Over the past three years, the portfo-
clients throughout the United States and lio of RIT Venture Fund companies
Canada. has increased to 14, and it will con-
Fabbio is quick to add that being a serial tinue to add start-ups in expanding
entrepreneur—he has seven other start-ups industries such as machine learning,
under his belt—doesn’t guarantee success. cybersecurity and robotics. The start-
“The folks at RIT have all been very ups must adhere to criteria, including
supportive of entrepreneurship, and I truly having capable management teams,
appreciate the financial support they have the ability to prove significant market
provided eRelevance,” he added. “They’re an opportunity and distinct advantages
easy bunch to work with, and my intention over industry competitors. To learn
is to continue to stay involved and connect- more, go to rit.edu/venturefund.
ed to RIT for as long as they’ll have me.”
SPRING 2019 | 15Online education
From MicroMaster
to RIT master
E mily Parana began instructing
computing classes as an adjunct
professor at University of Pittsburgh
at Bradford a few years ago and immediately
caught the teaching bug.
are looking to advance their careers and
learn new skills. Learners who successfully
earn an RITx MicroMasters certificate may
apply for admission to the RIT program
that offers a pathway to credit aligned with
Once Emily Parana
earns a master’s degree
in computing security
this July, she will put
She decided that if she wanted to con- their certificate. If accepted, students may that degree to work as
tinue teaching, she needed to hone her be awarded nine credit hours toward their an adjunct professor
cybersecurity skills and earn a master’s graduate degree requirements—which typi- teaching in Pennsylvania.
degree. However, between her current job as cally take about 30 credits to complete. Parana got a jumpstart
a technical analyst II at the college, having Since RITx launched MicroMasters pro- on her RIT master’s
two young children at home and living in grams in Project Management and Cyberse-
degree by completing
the small town of Bradford, Pa., she needed curity in 2017, more than 500 people have
a flexible online option. completed a certificate. RITx also launched
the RITx Cybersecurity
After some research, she discovered RIT’s a Design Thinking MicroMasters program in MicroMasters program
fully-online master’s program in computing 2018, which the first learners will complete early last year.
security. She was also introduced to RITx—a in April. As a result of this edX partnership,
partnership that RIT has with the nonprofit more than 200 people have applied to RIT
online learning platform edX. master’s programs, with many now starting
RIT was one of the first universities to to matriculate.
offer a MicroMasters program on edX. This “Our partnership with edX has surpassed
new graduate-level learning opportunity our expectations,” said Thérèse Hannigan,
would allow Parana to try a few online director of RIT Online. “We have increased
offerings with RIT instructors and earn a visibility and introduced the RIT brand to
RITx MicroMasters certificate in cybersecu- hundreds of thousands of learners world-
rity. She would then have the chance to take wide. In addition to recruiting students for
it a step further and apply that certificate RIT, working with this global platform has
toward earning an accelerated and re- inspired pedagogical explorations, online
duced-cost master’s degree from RIT. delivery innovations and collaborations
“I’m funding this all on my own, so I feel with prestigious universities which include
the investment of every cent and want to MIT, Berkeley, Harvard and more.”
absorb as much knowledge as I can,” said
Parana, who completed the MicroMasters Mastering your skills
program in 2018. “It’s been a great, flexible Since becoming an instructor on edX, RIT
transition back into being a student.” computing security senior lecturer Jona-
MicroMasters programs are designed for than S. Weissman has gone from teaching
learners with an undergraduate degree who 100 students a year to more than 100,000.
16 | SPRING 2019Photo by Glenn Melvin SPRING 2019 | 17
Online education
RIT is increasing its
visibility by getting
access to more than
18 million global
learners on edX.
Photo by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito
Jonathan S. Weissman, senior lecturer in computing security, teaches more than
100,000 students each year in his online classes. He was nominated as a finalist for
the edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning for his
offerings in the Cybersecurity MicroMasters program.
His eight-week Cybersecurity Funda- Weissman and has even taken classes with
mentals, Network Security and capstone him again, as part of the RIT computing se-
offerings in the Cybersecurity MicroMasters curity master’s degree that she’ll complete
program feature lecture videos, discussion this summer.
forums, quizzes, labs, assignments and
readings. He sees this as an opportunity to Pathway to credit
be accessible to even more learners, espe- Kathrine Ehrlich-Scheffer always wanted to
cially since he’s now connected on LinkedIn go back to school to earn her master’s de-
with more than 5,000 of them. gree, but she was never exactly sure where
To date, more than
“Every day I read, post and discuss doz- to start.
half a million people ens of cybersecurity articles, since it’s one As director of the Women in Engineering
from around the world of the many ways to stay current with the program at RIT and a mother, she knew that
have enrolled in RIT’s cybersecurity industry,” said Weissman. “As she wanted to try online classes. However,
three MicroMasters I say in all of my classes ‘Once a student of the idea was a little unnerving, since the
programs on edX. mine, always a student of mine.’” modern internet wasn’t even a thing the
Parana said that she can tell how much last time she took college courses. Then she
time Weissman puts into his teaching. learned about RITx and the MicroMasters
She took MicroMasters offerings with program.
18 | SPRING 2019Online education
Q&A
How does a MicroMasters
program work?
There are typically four or
five online offerings in the
program, culminating with a
final capstone experience.
When starting an offering,
there is an option to pay a fee
to earn a verified certificate
of completion. Learners may
audit content for free, just to
learn something new. When a
learner successfully completes
a verified certificate for all
parts of a program, they have
earned an RITx MicroMasters
certificate.
How long does it take to
earn?
Photo by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito
Learners may complete a
MicroMasters program in as
little as six months or decide to
spread it out over a few years.
While some MicroMasters
programs are delivered in a
self-paced format (where all
course content is available
upon enrollment), others are in-
Kathrine Ehrlich-Scheffer is following Mike Barcomb, a program director structor-paced (where content
a new pathway to get an RIT master’s at IBM, has been able to work on his is released on a weekly basis).
On average, offerings require
degree through the RITx MicroMasters MicroMasters program offerings 6–12 hours of work per week.
program on edX. The program allows on the go—whether he’s at home
her to do the schoolwork from her in Massachusetts or on a work How much does it cost?
Between $150 to $240 per
kitchen table at home in Hilton, N.Y. project in Europe. offering.
How does the pathway to
credit work?
Learners who successfully
earn an RITx MicroMasters
“I knew this was a low-risk way to dip my Mike Barcomb, program director of certificate may apply for
toe in, try online graduate classes and learn X-Force Incident Command at IBM, has also admission to the RIT graduate
something new,” said Ehrlich-Scheffer, who found the MicroMasters program flexible, program that offers a pathway
is now working on a professional studies yet technically demanding. to credit aligned with their
master’s degree at RIT. “And at $150 per Barcomb discovered the certificate from certificate. If accepted,
students may be awarded nine
class, the edX courses were so affordable I a co-worker’s LinkedIn page and began to
credits toward their graduate
thought it was almost criminal not to do it.” research it. He has since completed two degree requirements—which
Ehrlich-Scheffer navigated her way offerings and found that the self-paced typically take about 30 credits
through the online learning environment learning is a good fit for his busy life. to complete. A program adviser
and now has a MicroMasters certificate “It’s also been a great way to sharpen will work closely with students
hanging on her office wall. Using that certif- my skills and find new ways to be more to select a plan of coursework.
icate, she is also well on her way to earning productive at my job,” said Barcomb, who
How can I learn more?
new academic regalia and a master’s degree. is also a retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel. Go to rit.edu/ritonline/ritx or
“It’s a learning process and I think that “My goal is to someday call myself an RIT contact RIT Online at
anyone who has the desire to work to- alumnus, so I’m going to continue taking ritonline@rit.edu or
ward a master’s degree should try at least this path one step at a time.” 585-475-2400.
one whole online course to figure out the
rhythm,” said Ehrlich-Scheffer. Scott Bureau ’11, ’16 MBA
SPRING 2019 | 19Write to us
Do you know someone with an RIT
connection who is doing good around
the world? Email us at umag@rit.edu.
RIT doing good
around the world
Kristen Denninger
Snyder ’10
(environmental
science) will open
the Research
A post-doctoral fellow is looking for ways to reduce
anemia in mothers and their children in Ghana.
An alumnus is helping residents of Puerto Rico
who live in the aftermath of destructive hurricanes.
An alumna is improving educational opportunities
and Innovation
for the Serengeti for kids with special education needs in Kazakhstan.
Ecosystem (RISE) A multidisciplinary contingent of faculty, students
center with the
Grumeti Fund in and alumni is improving the quality of medical care
Tanzania later this for some of the most vulnerable in Central America.
year to promote
environmental
An associate professor and engineering students are
conservation. empowering citizens of Cali, Colombia.
RIT alumni, students, faculty and staff are using their
education and skills to make the world a better place.
Here are eight of their stories.Photo by Kate Tiedeman SPRING 2019 | 21
Tanzania
Photo by Kristen Denninger Snyder
Kristen Denninger Snyder ’10 (environmental science) has helped start a research center in the Western Serengeti to help wildlife.
Tackling conservation challenges head on
S ome people
see massive
environmental
issues as unsalvage-
able, but Kristen
contributions to the protection of threat-
ened species and their habitat across their
range in the wild,” said Denninger Snyder.
After graduating from RIT, she did ex-
tensive research on African wildlife at the
in Tanzania, develop local talent and make
space for women and youth in conservation
and develop collaborative projects with oth-
er academic institutions and organizations.
Current projects the center is conducting
Denninger Snyder University of California, Davis, and is now are the monitoring and spatial modeling of
’10 (environmental living in Denver and working as a post-doc- wildlife damage and illegal activity, camera
science) sees them toral scholar at Colorado State University trapping to evaluate human-wildlife inter-
as motivation to and the Grumeti Fund. actions, and the study of elephant move-
keep working toward In 2015, while a graduate student in ments and crop raiding behavior.
Kristen Denninger environmental Davis, Calif., Denninger Snyder connected Although this region faces a number of
Snyder ’10
conservation. with the Grumeti Fund, a nonprofit orga- challenges, previous conservation efforts
“As dire as the environmental outlook nization tasked with wildlife conservation have made an impact on the local environ-
currently is, demonstrable successes show and community development in the West- ment and communities.
positive outcomes are possible,” said Den- ern Serengeti. Her skills aligned well with “Since 2003, elephant populations have
ninger Snyder. the fund’s objectives, and they have worked increased four-fold and buffalo 10-fold.
The issue Denninger Snyder is tackling together on establishing the research center Community-initiated task forces aim to
is wildlife conservation in the Western and other projects. prevent crop losses to elephants using
Serengeti. “The center will develop and support non-lethal approaches,” she said.
Later this year, with the Grumeti Fund, research initiatives that provide tangible Denninger Snyder encourages people to
she will open the Research and Innovation solutions to benefit the people and wildlife consider how individuals can contribute to
for the Serengeti Ecosystem (RISE) in Tanza- of the Serengeti ecosystem and beyond,” environmental solutions.
nia and serve as the center’s head scientist. she said. “Inclusive conservation that cre- “When people are invested in and sup-
“After participating in a number of ates opportunities for women and youth is port conservation efforts, we have the best
internship and volunteer experiences work- fundamental to our objectives.” chance at success,” she said.
ing with animals in the wild and captivity, The research center will help fund
it became clear to me that I wanted to make graduate student education for scientists Felicia Swartzenberg ’19
22 | SPRING 2019Ghana
Photo by Brenda Abu
Olivia Garror, a biomedical sciences major from
Bainbridge, N.Y., assesses a child for malnutri-
tion in a refugee camp in Ghana.
Photo by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito
that contribute to anemia and find ways to
make them less of a factor and reduce the
likelihood of the condition.
Using a grant from RIT’s Paul and France-
na Miller Chair in support of International
Experiential Learning, Abu and her student
Brenda Abu, a post-doctoral fellow at RIT, is trying to reduce anemia in Ghana. She and three under- team crisscrossed the country, interviewing
graduate students visited Ghana last summer to begin researching solutions. agency and program staff who work with
the Ghanaian community to resolve anemia,
as well as leaders of governmental and
non-governmental programs. They spent
Battling ‘hidden hunger’ time with a mother whose child suffers
from anemia and met with a midwife who
in mothers and children is respected and influential in her commu-
nity. Abu took her team to open-air markets
to see what food is sold and how it is han-
dled and stored in the heat. They traveled
A s a graduate student in Ghana, Brenda
Abu witnessed the toll of anemia, a
condition that afflicts as many as 70
percent of the children and 45 percent of
the women in that West African nation.
Ghana and elsewhere in the world, includ-
ing Rochester.
Anemia is sometimes called the “hidden
hunger.” It creeps up slowly, causing severe
fatigue. But it can also affect the heart,
to a remote village built on stilts over a lake
and to three refugee camps.
Abu envisions a holistic approach that
includes public health programs and other
sectors that aim to prevent the problem
Her experiences convinced Abu to cause pregnancy complications and stunt through different means—fortified foods,
pursue a career researching nutrition, children’s physical and mental develop- agricultural projects, financial programs to
specifically looking for ways to reduce ment. Unchecked, it causes chronic help families improve their income and
anemia in mothers and their children. illness, even death. access to clean water and sanitation services.
Now as a post-doctoral fellow at RIT, she The causes vary: poor diet, genetics, Each contributes to building resilience
has developed a program that capitalizes malaria and diarrheal infections contracted against undernourishment and disease.
on the university’s goal of offering from pathogens in dirty water—all factors She says sharing nutrition research with
more global and experiential learning that deplete the body of necessary nutrients, the people who need it is her calling.
experience for its undergraduates. especially iron, and weaken the immune “It’s not enough to publish a paper,” Abu
It’s the first global research experience system. said. “I think researchers have so much
to be offered by RIT’s Wegmans School of What Abu is trying to do is better under- more to do.”
Health and Nutrition, and there are plans stand all the factors—such as food choices,
to apply what the students learned back in social programs, health and sanitation— Susan Gawlowicz ’95
SPRING 2019 | 23Photo by A. Sue Weisler
Honduras
Mary Golden, program chair of interior design, Victoria Tripp ’18 (mechanical engineering), left, talks with a Honduran medical resident during a
launched Hope for Honduras. research trip to identify ways to improve the quality of medical care in Central America.
Designing better care for sick newborns
A multidisciplinary contingent of
RIT faculty, students and alumni is
creating awareness and innovative
design solutions to improve the quality of
medical care and education for some of the
tion, equipment and “skin-to-skin” care
practices. Skin-to-skin incubation—also
called kangaroo mother care—has dramatic
positive effects on preemies and full-term
babies.
approach to addressing infant mortality,”
Golden recalled.
LAH is currently working with a team of
volunteer architects, engineers, RIT interior
designers and alumni on the construction
most vulnerable in Central America. RIT faculty and students from interior, drawings for the now-14,000-square-foot
At the heart of the university’s Hope for industrial and graphic design as well as addition and renovation.
Honduras initiative is the collaboration electrical, mechanical and biomedical engi- To address the need for safe transpor-
with in-country partner Hospital Escuela— neering programs began working together tation of critically ill newborns from local
Honduras’ largest public hospital— to identify solutions that offer better access and rural hospitals to Hospital Escuela, a
and the not-for-profit organization Little to medical care. multidisciplinary team of senior capstone
Angels of Honduras (LAH). A growing list of corporate collaborators, students “designed and created a full-scale
“The overarching objective of this effort including Herman Miller, Autodesk and prototype for an inter-hospital transport
is to establish a viable, equitable model American Medical Response (AMR)—led by ambulance staged on a Toyota Landcruiser
of accessible and quality medical care to Ted Van Horne ’99 (applied arts and scienc- 78 chassis,” Golden added.
reduce infant mortality and improve the ex- es), CEO at AMR in Dallas—are providing The compact design addresses the coun-
perience of patients, families and caregivers support and are stakeholders in the realiza- try’s transport practices and road condi-
through innovative design and engineering tion of project prototypes. tions in a cost-effective vehicle that is easily
solutions,” said Mary Golden, director of Golden was originally approached with a maintainable, repairable and properly out-
Hope for Honduras and program chair of request to prepare interior design packages fitted with resuscitation and stabilization
interior design. for a proposed 4,200-square-foot addition equipment, including incubators, ventila-
Golden helped identify the challenges of to Hospital Escuela by LAH. tors, patient monitors and medical gases.
caregiving for premature and critically ill Twenty seniors in healthcare studio, led In partnership with AMR, RIT is working
newborns in Honduras during a 2017 trip to by Shannon Buchholtz ’96 (interior design), on constructing a prototype of the vehicle.
Honduras with LAH founders. adjunct professor, created concepts in col- “We’re making huge steps forward in
In addition to the spatial constraints laboration with Herman Miller. promoting better access to medical care for
of Hospital Escuela, the group identified “While developing the initial propos- women and neonates in Honduras,” she said.
additional key areas impacting accessi- al, however, it became clear that holis-
ble medical care, including transporta- tic changes would be a more expansive Rich Kiley
24 | SPRING 2019New York
Photos by Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito
Computing engineering technology student Andre Lebron helps the Shore Foundation give away refurbished computers to Rochester residents.
Fixing up computers to help people in need
W hen he was in high school, Josh
Geise, a fifth-year computing
security student, was involved
in the Virginia Student Training and Refur-
bishment Program. Through the program,
foundation pre-installed essential oper-
ating systems, like Windows 10, to ensure
that each computer is ready to use once it
finds a new home.
Families who attended the event repeat-
Geise became a program manager and edly expressed gratitude for the philan-
helped run events where the group donated thropic gesture.
refurbished computers to local families. “I’m a single parent of five children; I
“It’s something I really like doing couldn’t get them all computers on my
because it makes a huge difference in own,” said Rochester resident Tashawada
people’s lives,” said Geise. “But when I Josh Geise, computing security student Heard. “I didn’t have anything like this
came to college, I couldn’t participate in when I was younger; it’s great that they
that program anymore.” Chance Wright ’18 (advertising and public have programs like this now.”
To continue his work in computer relations); and Nathan Bracalente, a Heard’s daughter, Jaemahni Hall, is a
refurbishment and help increase computer fifth-year mechanical engineering student, junior in high school. This new computer
accessibility in the Rochester area, Geise and their friends from the Phi Kappa Psi will help open doors and prepare her for
and his high school friend Brian Martens ’18 fraternity helped. her future.
(management information systems) started “I’ve planned a few different events in “It will help me with assignments in
the Shore Foundation, their own nonprofit the past, but there is nothing that even school and it will help me look up colleges,
organization that donates refurbished com- came close to how I felt during this event,” fill out applications for college and help me
puters to people in need. said Geise, president of the Shore Founda- research essays on how to get into college,”
In December, the Shore Foundation tion. “The months of hard work our team said Hall. “I really appreciate this. You only
donated 548 computers to families and put into this event was instantly rewarding get something like this once in a lifetime.”
organizations in downtown Rochester. as we were able to tangibly see the differ-
Fellow board members Charlie Henle, a ence we were making in people’s lives.” Felicia Swartzenberg ’19
fifth-year mechanical engineering student; In addition to the physical device, the
SPRING 2019 | 25Puerto Rico
Providing safe
power after
a hurricane
E ntrepreneur David Rodriguez ’92
(MBA) is doing his part to provide
new clean energy solutions to the
nearly 3.4 million residents of Puerto Rico
who live in the constant presence of de-
structive tropical storms and hurricanes.
With his company, inverSOL, he and
his team have developed a lower-cost,
no maintenance solar generator designed
to power basic home appliances. The
company was formed in March 2018
and, six months later, inverSOL opened a
manufacturing and retail
David Rodriquez facility on the island.
’92 (MBA) has “After Hurricane
developed a solar
Maria hit in 2017, most
generator to help
Hurricane victims
people were using gas
without power in generators to power their
Puerto Rico. homes. This is not only
expensive, but can also
be dangerous,” said Rodriguez, who has
a home, an office and several family
members on the island.
InverSOL units are focused on providing
power to refrigerators, LED lights, charging
stations, laptops, fans, televisions and
radios via solar energy.
“We’ve put a lot of thought into the
design of the product, and the No. 1 priority
is safety,” he said. “My direction to the
inverSOL team is that no matter what, we
must think about our kids or grandparents
using the generators.”
InverSOL’s solar generator relies on
technology that enables the unit to run
silently, without gas or oil, and be weather-
proof and portable.
The inverSOL team is in the final stages
of prototype design for a whole-house solu-
tion using lithium batteries. Several new
initiatives are also underway, including a
mobile app that will remotely operate the
units and wind turbine add-ons so the units
can run optimally at night.
Vienna McGrain ’12 MS
Photo by A. Sue Weisler
26 | SPRING 2019South Africa
Photo by A. Sue Weisler
Elizabeth Bondi ’16 (imaging science) and her team have created a deep learning system to detect elephant poachers.
Cracking down on poachers with imaging
E lephant and rhino poachers in South
Africa can run, but they can’t hide
from drones.
An imaging system created by a team led
All night, staff at the base station mon-
itors videos streaming from the drones.
Once the imagery hits the computers,
Bondi’s system takes over to check for hu-
Image by Air Shepherd
by Elizabeth Bondi ’16 (imaging science) man activity in the park. Her team labeled
automatically detects illegal hunters and fed the learning system thousands of
infiltrating national parks at night. sample images provided by Air Shepherd to
The conservation group Air Shepherd build a memory bank and the basis for mak-
flies drones carrying thermal infrared ing predictions when scanning new videos. AI software developed by Bondi scans infrared
cameras to find the body heat of humans “We’ve been able to do .3 seconds per videos for wildlife and trespassing humans.
and animals at night. Bondi’s research is image,” Bondi said. “After we process the
helping Air Shepherd save time by rapidly image, either locally or by using cloud “Elephants are one of my favorite ani-
analyzing imagery and predicting the pres- computing, then we’re able to display the mals, so poaching and conservation is a
ence of potential poachers. detections we predicted.” cause I care about,” Bondi said. “If SPOT can
The process of monitoring videos at Bondi is leading the project at the Uni- be used to help people save animals and in-
night is slow and tedious, and poachers versity of Southern California’s Center for vestigate further, then that would be really
don’t wait around to get caught. Artificial Intelligence and Society, where exciting for me. It’s one of the main reasons
Bondi’s deep learning system, called she is a Ph.D. candidate in computer science. that I wanted to work on this project, to
“SPOT” (for Systematic Poacher detector), Her goal is to make drones into agents make sure all the work I am doing for my
alerts the monitoring team who notifies that can detect activity in the field and de- Ph.D. is useful in the real world and protect-
park rangers or law enforcement of a cide whether detections are certain enough ing animals, hopefully.”
potential threat to the animals under to alert park rangers or people monitoring
their protection. the videos, she said. Susan Gawlowicz ’95
SPRING 2019 | 27You can also read
