November 12, 2018

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

The Inaugural RCBU Biomedical Ultrasound Symposium Day, hosted last Tuesday by the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU), struck all the right notes, starting with a tribute to Edwin Carstensen, the center’s founding director.

One of Prof. Carstensen’s students, Frederick Kremkau  ’69 MS, ’72 PhD, a professor of radiologic sciences and director of the program for medical ultrasound at Wake Forest School of Medicine, gave the Distinguished Edwin and Pam Carstensen Family Endowment Lecture. He provided an overview of the evolution of ultrasound’s clinical applications and the “new paradigm” that is transforming how we understand and apply sonography, brought about by the computational processing of ultrasound images.

Theresa Tuthill, an electrical engineering alum (’84 BS, ’87 MS, ’91 PhD), delivered the inaugural Distinguished RCBU Alumni Lecture, and discussed current and potential uses of ultrasound in drug development. Theresa is now senior director of clinical and translational imaging at Pfizer Inc. Ajay Anand, deputy director of the Goergen Institute for Data Science, described opportunities for using artificial intelligence to further the capabilities of ultrasound. Deborah Rubens (Imaging Sciences) and Stefanie Hollenbach (OB/GYN) provided insights on clinical challenges to motivate new innovations in applications of ultrasound in medicine.

Graduate student presentations and a poster session highlighted the wide range of research being pursued by students at the center. Congratulations to Diane Dalecki, director of the RCBU and chair of biomedical engineering, and her staff for a successful start to this annual event.

Good news from Clerio Inc., the startup that is using femtosecond laser technology developed in Prof. Wayne Knox’s lab to noninvasively “write” vision corrections into contact lenses, intraocular lenses, and even directly into the human cornea. Clerio reports it has now treated the first five partially-sighted subjects in a first-in-human study.

You can read more about Clerio in the fall issue of our Hajim School newsletter. We’ve given the newsletter a new look, added tech transfer to the mix of stories, and included a series of photos showing how the University’s mission to “learn, discover, heal, and create” is manifested in the work done by our students and faculty. You can also read about the Center for Emerging and Innovative Science, our Hajim Women Alumni Network, our new faculty members, and Jeanine Hayes, our Distinguished Alumnae Award recipient.

Here’s a fascinating video from the New York Times in which researchers unravel the secret of how jumping spiders use multiple pairs of eyes to do some incredibly acrobatic thingsJannick Rolland, our Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering, and Cristina Canavesi ’14 PhD optics, ’15 MBA, president and cofounder (with Jannick) of LighTopTech, played an important role in this project. They contributed to the design of the optical system that presented the images to the spiders and also imaged the retina at the same time. You can read more in the paper they coauthored in Current Biology.

Hajim School students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to drop by the Rettner Hall Fabrication Studio, Room 104, this Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to see live demonstrations of the latest technology-based “maker tools.” This includes 3D printers, 3D scanners, laser cutters/engravers, CNC machines, digital printers and cutters, and more. The “Digital Fabrication Showcase” is presented by the Rettner fabrication shop and Allegheny Educational Systems. “No RSVP’s or reservations are required,” says Jim Alkins, the manager of the fabrication shop.  “Just stop by when you can and see what is new.” Refreshments will be served.

A retirement party for Gina Kern, this year’s Hajim School Outstanding Staff award recipient, will be held from 3 to 5 p.m., next Tuesday, November 20 at the Eisenberg Rotunda in Schlegel Hall. The best way to wish her a happy retirement is to do so in person. RSVP by tomorrow to lynn.reiner@rochester.edu or by calling (585) 275-8828.

As part of the Ain Center’s Global Entrepeneurship Week activities, Doug Chambers ’98, a geomechanics alumnus, will talk about his experiences founding, scaling and selling his venture-backed company, Fieldlens, which features an innovative app that connects construction team members in real-time, allowing issues to be addressed before they become problems. Register online in advance for the talk, which will begin at 4:45 p.m. Thursday in Schlegel 103. And Emma Derisi, our coordinator for undergraduate global initiatives, will help mentor an inaugural day-long Creative Collision Challenge on Friday in Rettner 307. You can drop by from 2 to 4 p.m. to hear students pitch their ideas to solve a pressing social issue.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman

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