August 11, 2025

Juniyali Nauriyal adjusts optical experiments on an optical bench in the lab of Associate Professor Jaime Cardenas.

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

The greater Rochester area is home to more than 120 optics, photonics, and imaging companies, many of which were started by alumni from the Institute of Optics. One of the most recent startups is Photonect Interconnect Solutions, co-founded by CEO Juniyali Nauriyal ’22 (PhD) and her former advisor, Associate Professor Jaime Cardenas.

In a recent video, Jaime and Juniyali discussed why they launched the company, how they’re attempting to redefine how data flows through photonic chips, and what lies ahead now that the company was awarded a $1.25 million NSF SBIR Phase II grant to support their work. Watch the video on LinkedIn or Facebook.

INCOMING STUDENTS GET A JUMP ON ACADEMICS

Wendi Heinzelman speaks to a class of about a dozen students in a computer lab in Rettner Hall.

Megan Petty / University of Rochester photo

While the fall semester hasn’t quite arrived, 13 incoming Hajim students recently got an early start to their education through the Early Connection Opportunity program. This four-week residential program helps prepare students for classes, informs them about services they can use when they need help, and introduces them to social life on campus.

Through their four-credit engineering essentials ECO summer course, they learned the fundamentals of machine shop safety from Fabrication Shop Manager Jim Alkins, listened to presentations from each department to better understand the disciplines we offer before they declare a major, and got to meet with student organization leaders to learn about opportunities outside the classroom.

I enjoyed getting to meet with these students and welcoming them as they kickstart their careers at the University. Special thanks to Academic Advisor Richard Colón for leading the students through this important experience.

PROFESSOR DAN GILDEA RECEIVES TEST OF TIME PAPER AWARD

A graphic with dark blue hexagonal shapes, a headshot of Daniel Gildea, and text that says "Daniel Gildea, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Association for Computational Linguistics 25-year Test of Time Award."

I’m happy to share that Professor Dan Gildea from the Department of Computer Science was presented a 25-year Test of Time Paper Award by the Association for Computational Linguistics. Dan’s 2000 paper, “Automatic Labeling of Semantic Roles” was published in Proceedings of the 38th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics. The ACL called it “a foundational paper that paved the way for semantic role labeling and beyond.”

Each year, ACL selects up to two papers published 25 years earlier, and up to two papers published 10 years earlier, for contributions that have had a “long-lasting impact on the field of natural language processing (NLP) and computational linguistics.” Please join me in congratulating Dan on this great achievement.

A CONVERSATION ON CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING AT A NATIONAL LAB

Darren Lipomi, the chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, recently recorded an insightful podcast episode with alumnus Brian Davison ’79 (chemical engineering) about the state of their field. Brian is a Corporate Fellow and Chief Scientist for Biotechnology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

They discussed Brian’s career trajectory from bench scientist to chief scientist, science communication, skills needed for effective leadership, as well as discovery and commercialization. Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify.

DIGITAL HEALTH RETREAT

A blue and green graphic with interconnected hexagons and healthcare-related icons to represent digital health.

The Clinical & Translational Science Institute is hosting an engaging and interactive event focused on the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities on digital health. The 2025 Digital Health Retreat, co-sponsored by the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Center of Excellence in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, September 5 at the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s large auditorium.

The retreat is designed to bring together academic researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders to advance the use of digital health tools in clinical trials and at-home health data collection. Its organizers aim to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, stimulate innovation in the digital health ecosystem, and identify regulatory and technical gaps that must be addressed to accelerate digital health adoption. See a preliminary agenda and register to attend on the URMC website.

FACULTY RESOURCES FOR BLACKBOARD ULTRA

Throughout the summer, the Teaching and Learning Support Services team has continually added to a series of newsletters with tips, tricks, and other helpful reminders about Blackboard to help faculty brush up on their skills and prep for fall courses. Here are highlights from the most recent issues:

Issue 5 provides three quick action items you can take to improve your Blackboard course discussions.
Issue 6 offers grading advice to help you to save time, energy, and cut down on student emails about grades.
Issue 7 has a toolkit explaining what you need to get ready for the fall semester.

NEW HR BUSINESS PARTNER TO SUPPORT THE HAJIM SCHOOL

A headshot of Cindy Emling.

I’m happy to introduce Cynthia (Cindy) Emling, who has joined the University of Rochester as a senior human resources business partner. Cindy will support the Hajim School, replacing Thuy Tran, who left the University for another opportunity.

Cindy joins the University with more than 20 years of experience in human resources, across a variety of industries including recent roles at Lewis Services, Five Star Bank and Wegmans Food Markets. She has partnered closely with operational and corporate leaders to align HR strategy with business objectives and foster thriving cultures.

Her expertise is in employee development, performance management, talent management, and organizational strategy. Cindy holds a bachelor of arts in sociology with honors from St. John Fisher University along with a minor in management and a concentration in human resources management. She looks forward to partnering with you and supporting our shared mission of helping our people thrive, grow, and deliver their best.

HAJIM STAFF AND PARTNERS RECOGNIZED AS UR STARS

A blue, yellow, and white graphic that says "We See How You Shine."

Congratulations to the Hajim School staff members and partners who were recently recognized by others at the University as UR Stars who embody Meliora values. UR Stars is a University-wide employee recognition platform designed to reinforce a culture of appreciation and collectively celebrate achievements together across the University, strengthening our shared values as “One University.”

The Hajim School staff members recognized in June and July include Lisa Altman (GIDS-AI), Meir Brea (Institute of Optics), Sylvia Francisco (GIDS-AI), Dustin Newman (Institute of Optics), and Adrienne Snopkowski (Institute of Optics). Recognize a colleague today.

NEWLY FUNDED RESEARCH

A composite of headshots of Jiaming Liang and Jannick Rolland.

Congratulations to two faculty members who recently secured funding for new sponsored research projects:

Assistant Professor Jiaming Liang from the Department of Computer Science and GIDS-AI received $302,934 from the Air Force Research Laboratory for a project titled, “Modern Developments of Optimization Methods via Inexact Proximal Point Framework.”
Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering, received $76,893 through a subaward with MorphOptic Inc sponsored by the Department of Defense for a project titled “Rapid Additive Mirror Processes (RAMP) phase 2.”

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman