KEY Project Descriptions

Sculpting the Performing Arts at the University of Rochester: A Plan for Annual Musical Theater Productions

Daniel Israel MUS 2006

With the goal of creating greater appreciation and increased audiences for art music in live performance, Dan will develop a plan for educational programs and performing arts at the University of Rochester. These events will reach out beyond the walls of conservatories and music schools to target non-music students, particularly students who do not normally attend concerts.

The Seeds of Organic Leadership

Patrick Brennan PHL 2006

Originally, Patrick was going to start an organic produce market within the University’s dining system. The current focus of his project has extended to include sustainability reforms to the entire dining system, including that of Aramark, the company that manages our dining system. The organic produce market has become just a piece of an overall plan to integrate local and organic foods into the whole dining program.

Women and Entrepreneurship

Darcey Jacobs ME 2006

Why are there fewer female entrepreneurs? What is it about entrepreneurship that attracts men to the challenge, but discourages women from taking part? Is the reasoning embedded in our culture, or are men simply more inclined to pursue self-management? Darcey spent a year studying human behavior and the inner workings of entrepreneurship to find answers to some of these questions. While her proposed program will never transform into a fiscal enterprise, she believes that developing an understanding for the reasoning behind the lack of female entrepreneurs is valuable information. With the experience gained from spending the Summer of 2005 studying data on female entrepreneurs at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, her work will open doors to the possibility of creating courses to motivate and inspire future University of Rochester students, especially women, to successfully pursue self-management and entrepreneurship.

Investigating Integrated Health Care Systems

Jung Kim NCS/PSY 2007

Entrepreneurship and medicine both struggle to satisfy the customer whether he or she is buying a product or seeking health care. As with a business, people in the health field can utilize entrepreneurial processes to find new solutions to social issues, for example, the issues of health care accessibility and insurance. The United States utilizes both socialized health care and private health insurance, and she believes that the benefits of each system can be integrated to provide a better system. Therefore, Jung has proposed to dive into a full year of research investigating newly developing health care systems. This research will culminate with a focus on Rochester’s health care system to study how the theories she investigated can be applied locally.

CampusCurrent: Solving the Campus Organizational Crisis

David Ganzhorn CSC 2007
Allison Rosenberg LIN 2007
Michael Rotondo CSC 2007
Dan Nice NSC 2007

CampusCurrent is a web service which connects college students to opportunities on and around campus. The opportunities will be created by the users of the service. Students can then log in to the service to find everything they can do on campus, with recommendations to help them find what they need. A team of four KEY students is working together to program and develop the service; market the product; and develop relationships with business and University contacts. After establishing a connected campus at the University of Rochester, the team plans to network with other local colleges to supply this service to them.

An Alternative Approach to Innovation and Public Policy

Mlen-Too Wesley PSC 2008

The Republic of Ghana may be on the verge of positioning itself within the middle to upper range of developing nations during the next half-century. Through his hands-on study of entrepreneurship and its contribution to the growth and development of Ghana’s economy since 1990 as well as the future of entrepreneurship in Ghana, M-T plans to research the answers to these questions:

•If that happens, what must be done?

•What political moves have been or need to be made?

•What economic conditions need to exist?

•What role does entrepreneurship play in the growth and development of nations?

Upon his return from Ghana, M-T is committed to creating opportunities for other UR students to experience entrepreneurship within a realistic international setting such as Ghana, and to working with his adviser to create a new course studying the politics surrounding entrepreneurship.

Designing for Web 2.0: The Creation of a User-Driven Online Business

Christopher Tice CSC/MTH 2008

This proposal aims to create a start-up online company whose goal is to provide a medium for exchanging computer deals through user-submitted content in addition to generating revenue through advertising. The company will act as a facilitator for other users to spread the news about any type of deal that they find online. Deals will also be monitored by the users through a voting scheme so that better deals will be most visible on the site.

From Worship to Performance: Transforming SS. Peter and Paul's

Andrew Slominiski ECO/PSC 2008

The future of an important Rochester landmark, SS. Peter and Paul’s Parish, is in danger of being lost, and Andrew has devised an idea that will ensure it remains a positive influence within the surrounding neighborhood. This beautiful Romanesque church, which is slated to be closed by the Catholic diocese and sold, would make an excellent performance hall and arts center. Andrew’s interests in Italian art and culture and contemporary American urban problems form the nexus that drives his desire to study the problems of preservation and urban revitalization. Along the way, he hopes to learn about politics, community activism, social problems, art and architecture, and historic preservation.

Connecting the Notes: The Development of Music Therapy in the Rochester Community

Aedan Coffey SP/PSC 2008
Glenn Goldman PSY 2008

In the presence of the sick, can music decrease anxiety caused by surgery and later, shorten the recovery time? Is there a chemical change that occurs among subjects who feel more “relaxed” when listening to a certain type of music? Aedan Coffey and Glenn Goldman are interested in understanding music’s impact on psychological health and development, and as such, plan to work to increase the awareness of opportunities in the study, research and practical application of music therapy at the University of Rochester. Their goal is to build the lasting foundations for a Music and Medicine Program at Strong Hostpital.

Marketing Manual for Campus Events

Nicole Schaeffer BCS/PSY 2008

Through classes and internship in marketing, entrepreneurship and media analysis, Nicole plans to develop a manual and training module that outlines effective procedures for publicizing events that come to the University of Rochester campus. The manual and training sessions will outline different marketing strategies classified according to size and type of event, available funds, resources and manpower. Through the KEY Program, Nicole hopes to transform the need for expanded promotion on campus to an effective model for groups to consult when planning publicity for their events.

For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Revival of the Hopeman Memorial Carillon

Jeffrey Le MUS 2008

In 1930, the University installed a set of 17 bells in the Rush Rhees Library Tower, which were replaced by a set of 50 bells in 1973. Throughout the years, the Hopeman Memorial Carillon has continuously added to the ambiance of University life: we used to have a resident university carilloneur who played for all university occasions, gave several non-time concerts each week, taught carillon lessons, and advised a student carillon society. Recently, due to our cold, unforgiving winters, several bells could not stand the pressure and snapped, causing the music to cease.

Jeff proposes to research the history and use of the carillon at the University of Rochester, the function and functioning of carillons at other institutions of higher education in the US, the financial support for the carillon, past student and alumni involvement and support, possible areas of cooperation between the College Music Department and the Eastman School of Music’s organ department with respect to the carillon, and the national organizations and musical repertory dedicated to the instrument.

The University of Rochester Virtual Institute for Energy (URVIE)

Mario Dal Col PHY/MTH 2008
Kenneth Lotito CHM 2008
Patrick McLaughlin PHY 2008

The supply of secure, clean sustainable energy is arguably the most important scientific, political, and social challenge facing humanity in the 21st century. This team of students would like to see the University of Rochester join the small number of universities that have dedicated themselves to formulating a comprehensive solution to this problem. As such, URVIE will lay the groundwork for a subsequent, larger initiative by centralizing and cultivating existing faculty research interests in energy in order to offer faculty members a convenient way of reviewing the energy-specific research interests of their colleagues students a list of energy-related, faculty-sponsored projects.

To create URVIE, these students will create a searchable website to present information compiled from a faculty survey, obtain a source of funding for faculty and student research projects, and create an annual colloquium, speaker series and other events. At year’s end, a report of the group’s accomplishments and recommendations will be submitted to the appropriate University office(s).

Planning the Restoration of the Pipe Organ in Strong Auditorium

Jonathan Ortloff APM/ES 2009

Jonathan will spend the next three years working as the project director and developer of a plan to restore the pipe organ in Strong Auditorium. This organ is one of the most historically important instruments in the United States and, as such, should unquestionably be restored as a living historical document and prized possession of the University. Jonathan will be responsible for the publicity, research, fundraising, and grant writing, as well as for contacting experts in the fields of organ restoration and room acoustics to solicit expertise in crafting a plan for the restoration of the instrument. If time, funds, and conditions surrounding the renovation of the auditorium permit, the plan would then be executed.

Taking a Deeper Look: Rochester's Museums and College Students

Caitlin Powalski HIS 2009

Caitlin will study the place of the Rochester Museum and Science Center and the University of
Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery in the Rochester community by examining the relationship between the museums and a college aged audience. By documenting the institutional and public perceptions of the museum, and by conducting background analyses of the museums’ mission statements and growth over time, Caitlin hopes to identify why these museums fail to sustain a large college audience. Her work with these Rochester museums will be further enhanced by participating in a museum internship on London, England for a full semester. This should enable her to provide a basis for comparisons between European and American museums, as well as museums in a moderate sized city and a large metropolis.

Bridging the Gap: Connecting UR Students with their Surrounding Community

Zachary Kozick PHY 2009
Jordan Parker PHY 2009
Jordan Webster MTH/PHY 2009

This group of three students has proposed a KEY project that addresses the issue of the isolation of the UR student body from the greater-Rochester community. Such a feat will inspire a mixing of cultures and ideas that will ultimately benefit both the students and Rochester locals. They plan to achieve this goal by organizing and hosting a lasting series of visual and performing arts events at unique locations within the city, with the intent of attracting broad audiences from both campus and the city. Artistic input will be sought from the UR, RIT, Eastman School of Music, and local Rochester organizations such as RoCo and ARTWalk.

Connecting Communities: Creating a Bridge Between UR and the Businesses in Sector 4

Christelle Domercant ANT 2009

This project involves connecting and fostering a growing relationship between the University of Rochester community and the businesses on Genesee Street. More specifically, the two students organizing this project are hoping to make the neighborhoods surrounding the University more college- friendly by offering more options in terms of off-campus dining services to incoming freshmen and students living in Sector 4. They intend to reach this goal by incorporating interested businesses in Sector 4 into the UROS Program and marketing them along with current participating businesses to UR students

Sports, Service, Ethics and Academics: A Multifaceted Approach to Youth Empowerment

Mollie Foust HIS/ANT 2009

Sports have the power to provide kids with innumerable skills including teamwork, personal
achievement communication, focus, behavior management, and empowerment. The Rochester Alliance of Youth Sports (RAYS) will become a youth development program created by this KEY student that integrates education, athletics, community service and ethics to empower Rochester City School District youth (grades 1-3) and support them through many different aspects of their lives. RAYS will use sports as the mobilizing force to bring youth together, however athletics will not be the primary focus of the program.

The Crossover Project: A Plan for Popular Music Performance in Collegiate Music Education

Joshua Reed IPA 2009
David LeBlanc PSC/MUS 2009

The goal of this KEY project is to research and develop a guide for introducing a popular music
performance program into collegiate music curricula. Through a combination of coursework, workshops, ensemble performances, and interviews with representatives from music schools and professional organizations, these two students will investigate methods of integrating musicians ranging in style and instrument into a pop music ensemble. During their KEY year, they will gather inforation on the growth of pop music in American culture and its stylistic developments. They will determine the general conditions necessary for this type of program to be successful, and explore the application of their ideas at Rochester while observing any issues that arise which could lead to failure of the program. From there, they will attempt to create a model for a lasting pop music performance program that could be established at a variety of music schools ad organizations.

Pragmatic Education for the Modern Musician

Joshua Hatcher PSY 2009

Modern music is a quickly-changing business, one in which accessible, user-friendly technology provides all musicians with the ability to record their own professional-sounding music. Unfortunately, very few colleges and universities offer much training in audio production or music technology. This KEY student will write a proposal that will outline the most efficient way of implementing one or more courses in music technology at the University of Rochester. He will also work with a local recording studio to crate an internship for a current Rochester student to learn about audio technology from a practical perspective. He also founded the UR Audio Group, a new student organization.

University of Rochester Student Investment Fund

Paramveer Singh ECO/APM 2009

This student hoped to create the University of Rochester Student Investment Fund, a chance for students to learn bout investment strategies and valuation using hypothetical money. This Student Investment Fund will help students interested in learning about finance gain firsthand experience in investing, helping them associate practical application with theoretical understanding. As the students practice making investments without financial risk, they will learn more about how to analyze stocks, bonds, real estate, and financial derivatives. Param now trains students in practical financial modelling techniques that are used in Investment Banking, Investment Management and Equity Research; and gives students an opportunity to perform real world analysis. They will now be able to look at companies and perform valuation on them.

Creating the Brooks and Genesee Community Learning Center

Derek Crowe BME 2010
Andrew Flack BME 2010
Alicia Oddo ENG 2010
Amanda Ziegler BBC 2010

As the University of Rochester grows its undergraduate population over the next ten years, we have a social responsibility to reach out to the members of the adjacent 19th Ward to ensure that our growth will be positively perceived. These four KEY students have taken it upon themselves to establish a community tutoring and learning center targeting middle and high school students that will be housed on the first floor of a new, University-leased office building in Brooks Landing. By sharing this space with the University's Entrepreneurs' Club, who will use the revenue generated from their not-for-profit green grocery to fund the proposed tutoring center, social value will be achieved by providing residents of the 19th Ward with additional educational opportunities while promoting healthy living styles. (www.brooksandgenesee.blogspot.com)

Creating the Foundations of a Sustainability Consulting Firm

Howard Kander CHE 2010
Jordan Parker CHE 2010
Samantha Ruiz CHE 2010

These students will build the foundations for Sustainability Systems Engineering, Inc., a sustainability consulting firm that will work with Rochester companies in order to use their resources wisely, with low environmental impact and efficient use of technology. Working to create a business plan, model and strategy, these students will conclude their project by conducting a sustainability assessment on both University offices and a company in the city of Rochester.

Evaluating Sustainability Initiatives

Laney Widener BIO/RLS 2010

A variety of sustainability initiatives currently exist on campus. Laney proposes to evaluate the entrepreneurial activity of these campus groups and projects with an eye toward building on their strengths. She plans to create a database of information about these efforts with data compiled through research and interviews, and to offer a series of recommendations to the university of ways in which to improve sustainability efforts.

Instruments of Entrepreneurship

Michael Hanley MEV 2011

Initiatives such as Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership and its Arts Leadership Program have sought to make Eastman students increasingly savvy about the entrepreneurship that musicians must practice in order to become leaders in the world of music. By studying how student musicians are taught business and entrepreneurship at both the University of Rochester and other colleges and conservatories, Michael will evaluate the integration of music and business curricula in order to understand how best to prepare young musicians for their professional lives.

Introduction to Technology Oriented Venture

Leanne Kinney FEC 2011

This project is an investigation into how an entrepreneurial (or intrapreneurial) venture can be created within an existing company. By working with ExactData LLC, a software business, this student seeks to examine what happens to the ideas that float around within the company, but which the company has decided not to pursue. Might these orphan ideas be profitably brought to the marketplace? This student seeks to develop a business model around the concept of bringing technological ideas to the market, and to assist the company in implementing this idea, should it prove feasible to do so.

Language Processing in Investment Activities

Michael Garber BCS 2011
Andrew Richardson CSC 2011

How can an investor appraise the potential market performance of an investment? Typically, the process involves a great deal of time-consuming research. These students propose a method to analyze the content of articles and reports, and to use statistics to determine the importance of each extracted item. This project will focus on creating a system to process and quantify semantic information and use statistical methods to make predictions about stocks, with the long-range goal of offering this service to large companies and small investors.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Resource Center

Mariam Mull WS 2010
Anne Pitlyk HIS 2010

At the present moment, the support for the University of Rochester’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community comes primarily through student organizations. These students seek to change this by helping to establish a resource center to meet the needs of the University’s LGBT community. In addition to conducting benchmarking research to determine how the university measures in comparison with other institutions, these students will also determine what other Rochester-area resources are available to meet the needs of supporting the LGBT community.

Opening Doors to Higher Education for Refugee Youth

Monica Patel BEB 2010
Aleida Sainz SP 2010

Every year, Rochester becomes home to approximately 600 refugees coming from countries all over the world. These KEY students will develop a yearly conference for refugee students in local high schools in order to inform students of the college application process, financial aid, and career opportunities.

Psychiatric Biomarker: A Plan to Commercialize and Revolutionize

Eric Wisch PSC 2010

In the United States today, nearly 5.7 million adults suffer from bipolar disorder, yet until recently the disease mechanism has remained unknown. Newly published research from McLean Hospital has begun to shed light on the little known about the disorder’s biological underpinnings, and has developed a possible method for detecting the disorder; to date, this revolutionary method of diagnosis has not been used, and is available for license. This student seeks to develop a business plan for commercializing the biomarker, and for assessing the commercial feasibility of this new detection method.

Real World Gallery: Linking the University with the Community

Olivia Davis AH/RUS 2010
Emma Vann AH/SA 2010

As the University of Rochester expands its connections with the off-campus community, there is increasing student interest in reaching out to the communities surrounding the university. These students seek to create an off-campus art gallery which will enable University of Rochester student artists to sell their art and work with community members. By working with community members as their mentors, students will gain knowledge about what it takes to run a business, curate an exhibit, install a show, and coordinate and host events.

Rochester Retrofit Fund: Capitalizing on Incentives for Increased Energy Efficiency

Katherine May ESP 2010

In an era in which there is substantial pressure on universities to “go green” and encourage sustainable energy usage, there are many state and federal public policies that use grants and assistance to promote private institutions to invest in energy efficiency improvements. By examining how the University of Rochester can capitalize on these existing incentives in order to enhance its facilities, this student hopes to encourage the university to lower its energy demand, decrease utility costs, and reduce its eco-footprint.

UR Consulting: Bridging Communities, Disciplines, and Futures

Gemma Sole ENG/ANT 2010

This project will create UR Consulting, a group of students interested in business who would use their intellectual talents and curiosity to consult with Rochester-area businesses. The group will provide a student-driven service engaging with campus resources to create solutions for clients, while providing students with the hands on, real world experience they need in order to navigate a competitive job market. UR Consulting will give students a competitive edge as well as honing their business skills and fostering connections with alumni and the surrounding community.