January 26, 2026

A colorful illustration of the evolution of carburization (depicted by the spheres) under kinetic control (illustrated by the surface contours).

Illustration by Sinhara M. H. D. Perera

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

We’re several steps closer to producing sustainable petrochemicals thanks to recent advancements by researchers from the Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering. Important everyday products—from plastics to detergents—are made through chemical reactions that mostly use precious metals such as platinum as catalysts. Scientists have long sought more sustainable, low-cost substitutes for platinum.

Associate Professor Marc Porosoff and several of his collaborators—including Assistant Professor Siddharth Deshpande, Visiting Professor Andrea Pickel, chemical engineering PhD student Sinhara Perera, and Barbara J. Burger Chemical Sustainability Scholar Eva Ciuffetelli ’27—published several recent papers that harness the properties of tungsten carbide as an Earth-abundant potential substitute for platinum in chemical reactions.

Read about their research at the News Center.

MEMORIAL AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR KEVIN J. PARKER

A photo of Kevin Parker wearing a medal while surrounded by his wife and three children.

University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

Please join us for a memorial and celebration of life honoring Kevin J. Parker, William F. May Professor and Dean Emeritus, from 9-11 a.m. on Friday, April 10, 2026. As we gather to remember Kevin, we will share stories, memories, and moments of gratitude for a life that touched so many and a legacy that will live on. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

Kevin was an ardent proponent of the importance of high-quality PhD education. In his own words: “One of the most important things we can do as faculty members is to spend time recruiting excellent, top candidates for our Ph.D. students, then mentoring them through their startup years and keeping them involved in the University to the extent that makes sense. In the long run, it is these really exceptional people who add greatly to our reputation, while opening new opportunities for our current students.”

Kevin worked tirelessly to support his own PhD students and to advocate for all URochester PhD students. In recognition of Kevin’s commitment to and engagement with PhD education, we have set up the Dr. Kevin J. Parker Graduate Fellowship Fund to provide top-off stipends for future PhD students. The fund will ensure that Kevin’s legacy, and his commitment to outstanding PhD education, will live on for generations. Please contact Jenna Dell with any questions and visit the Rochester Giving website to contribute. Thank you for your support.

A STRONG UROCHESTER PRESENCE AT PHOTONICS WEST

A crowd gathers onstage while three people hold giant checks.

Last week, URochester sent a large contingent to SPIE Photonics West, the premier event for lasers, biomedical optics, optoelectronics, and technologies supporting biophotonic, quantum, and vision applications. Students, postdocs, and faculty of the Institute of Optics, Center for Visual Science, Center for Freeform Optics, and Center for Extended Reality attended the event, which also featured strong participation from our New York and global optics industry partners. We welcomed about 150 alumni, industrial associate partners, leaders from SPIE, and friends of the Institute to our annual alumni reception, which featured CXR Director Barry Silverstein as keynote speaker.

The University joined the AR Alliance, and Barry formed various working groups on all aspects of Laser Displays for XR. Greater Rochester Enterprise and New York Photonics announced a partnership to further leverage the region’s success in optics, photonics and laser technologies to attract business and investment, and encourage expansion in the region.

Our students performed especially well in the SPIE XR Student Optical Design Challenge, where three of Professor Jannick Rolland’s PhD students—Chi Zhang, Renuka Manjula Narajanan, and Yiwen Fan—were selected finalists. Renuka won second place for her pitch on “Binocular Visual Simulator for Human-Centric Virtual Reality Experience,” a collaborative project with Professor Susana Marcos, and Yiwen Fan won third place for her project on “An Optimization Tool for Designing Large-Scale Metasurfaces with Strong Near-field Coupling for AR/VR,” a collaborative project with professors Daniel Nikolov and Nick Vamivakas.

IN THE NEWS: ABDELRAHMAN ABDELKADER DISCUSSES AI PARKINSON’S TEST

A screen capture of a Spectrum News TV interview with Abdelrahman Abdelkader.

Abdelrahman Abdelkader, a computer science master’s degree student in the lab of Professor Ehsan Hoque, recently spoke with Spectrum News Rochester about an AI-powered test to detect symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease the lab has developed. More than 1.1 million Americans are living with Parkinson’s disease, and early detection can be critical to reducing the disease’s severity and symptoms.

Watch the interview on the Spectrum News website.

UROCHESTER RENEWED WITH CARNEGIE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CLASSIFICATION

The logo for the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classification for Community Engagement.

I’m proud to share that the University of Rochester has again earned the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement from the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizing the University’s institutional commitment and excellence in community engagement. URochester first received this national distinction in 2020.

The Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement is the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in US higher education. To receive the 2026 classification, URochester demonstrated excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement and community-engaged learning.

Learn more about this recognition’s significance at the News Center.

NYC AND CALIFORNIA EVENTS TO LAUNCH THE FOR EVER BETTER CAMPAIGN

A graphic with an illustration of Rush Rhees Library next to text that says "Join us as we launch for Ever Better."

The University publicly launched For Ever Better: The Campaign for the University of Rochester—its largest and most ambitious fundraising and engagement initiative ever—last fall and now URochester leadership is taking the campaign on the road.

In the weeks ahead, the University will host campaign regional launch events in New York City and California. Registration is now available for events in New York City on Thursday, February 26, San Diego on Wednesday, March 4, and Los Angeles on Thursday, March 5. President Mangelsdorf and I will be at these events, and I hope to see a strong turnout of Hajim School alumni, parents, and friends.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman