March 17, 2025

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Class is back in session and what better way to resume the semester than by celebrating the accomplishments of some of the Hajim School’s brightest students?

Congratulations to six of our students who were recently awarded scholarships by the Rochester Engineering Society:

• Darren Chen ’26 (mechanical engineering)—Donald Ferguson Memorial Scholarship
• Isabella Doty ’26 (mechanical engineering)—Adam W. Lawas Scholarship
• Hailey Epstein ’26 (mechanical engineering)—Keith W. Amish Memorial Scholarship
• Nyasha Gwaza ’26 (electrical and computer engineering)—Susan L. Costa Memorial Scholarship
• William Knoff ’26 (electrical and computer engineering)—IEEE Scholarship
• Kyle (Newt) Perlman ’26 (electrical and computer engineering)—IEEE Scholarship

In addition to his RES scholarship, William received an American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) New York scholarship. Please join me in applauding this year’s scholarship winners.

EMMY-WINNING ALUMNA

A few weeks ago, we noted that Grace Stensland ’23 helped earn an Emmy nomination for her work as sound editor on “Orion and the Dark,” a Dreamworks feature streaming on Netflix. I’m delighted to share that Grace can now officially add “Grammy winner” to her résumé!

Grace has been honored with the Children & Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program alongside the team at Sound Rebels, LLC. The award was presented by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on March 15 in Los Angeles. Grace majored in film and media studies and minored in audio music engineering. This is her first Emmy nomination and win.

Congratulations on this terrific accomplishment!

STU ELBY ’82 WINS THEA AWARD

The awards continued to roll in this weekend when alumnus Stu Elby ’82 (optics) and his colleagues at the Sphere won recognition from the Themed Arts Association. Sphere, the 366-foot-tall live entertainment venue in Las Vegas, won a Thea Award for Immersive Technology and Production.

Stu is the senior vice president of advanced engineering at MSG Ventures, a division of Sphere Entertainment focused on developing advanced technologies for live entertainment. Stu is also an ardent supporter of the Hajim School and member of our Hajim School National Council.  Read about Stu’s work to make Sphere a reality.

BHASKAR PANT’S GLOBAL JOURNEY

In the fall, I was delighted to bring alumnus Bhaskar Pant ’72 back to campus to provide Hajim School faculty and staff a cultural communication workshop. He shared his fascinating journey from Zambia to Rochester to MIT and provided advice to better understand and deal with culturally driven behavioral differences.

Today, Pant manages professional education and teaches cultural awareness at MIT. But like so many engineering students here, he pursued passions beyond the engineering curriculum, serving as general manager of WRUR, the university’s radio station, and videotaping of campus events, including the Eastman School of Music’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

That spirit of openness and adaptability he adopted at Rochester has served him well throughout his career. “That’s something I always encourage students to embrace—keeping an open mind about their future paths,” he says.

Read more about Bhaskar.

BOUNDLESS POSSIBILITY STRAT CHATS

I hope all of our Hajim School community will consider attending upcoming strategic plan chats, or “strat chats,” about the Boundless Possibility: 2030 Strategic Plan. Strat chats are Zoom sessions hosted by Joe Testani, the deputy to President Mangelsdorf, featuring guests in various university leadership positions, that aim to provide greater clarity and transparency around the plan.

• Page Hetzel, vice president for marketing and communications
  • Noon to 1 p.m. on Friday March 21
• Nicole Sampson, provost and chief academic officer
  • Noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 11
• Ravi Shankar, interim vice provost for global engagement
  • Noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 24

Register for strat chats on the Boundless Possibility website.

RESEARCH SECURITY TRAINING

The Office of Vice President for Research recently introduced a new research security training program in MyPath. Certain investigators who participate in Department of Energy (DOE) funded projects are required to complete this training.

• Beginning May 1, 2025, all “Covered Individuals” (e.g., PIs, Co-PIs, project directors, senior/key personnel, and others identified as Covered Individuals by a federal funding agency) listed on Department of Energy (DOE) award applications must certify to DOE that they have completed research security training.
• It is also possible that this requirement will appear in DOE award applications prior to May 1, 2025.

To facilitate compliance, all PIs and faculty planning to submit applications to DOE must complete this training prior to submitting an application to DOE.

Other federal funding agencies (including the National Science Foundation) are in the process of implementing similar Research Security training requirements that apply to “Covered Individuals”. The NSF will likely adopt research security training requirements as of October 2025, and other funding agencies will follow thereafter. The Office of the Vice President for Research will update the research community as other agencies announce their requirements.

For instructions on how to complete the training and answers to other frequently asked questions, please visit the Office of Vice President for Research website.

EYEWEAR RECYCLING

The Department of Computer Science is participating in the University’s annual eyewear recycling program.

Throughout the month of March, they will collect used eyewear of all kinds (including frames, prescription and non-prescription glasses, sunglasses, cases etc.) for distribution to those in need around the world.

You can donate your used eyewear at the collection box in Shelley Zoeke’s office; Wegmans Hall 3507.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman