Dear members of the Hajim School community,
A gift by two longtime supporters of the Hajim School and the Institute of Optics will provide emerging faculty leaders with resources and recognition and strengthen the future of the Institute of Optics. Steve Fantone ’79 (PhD), an optics leader, entrepreneur, and inventor, and Betsy Fantone, a not-for-profit leader, have established an endowed early career professorship as part of the Wyant Optics Challenge.
The couple’s $600,000 gift creates the Stephen & Elizabeth Fantone Professorship in Optical Engineering, which will be amplified by an additional $900,000 from the Wyant Optics Challenge. Together, the funds will establish a $1.5 million endowed professorship, providing permanent support for emerging faculty and their research and teaching at the Institute of Optics.
As an alumnus, a strategic advisor to the Hajim school, and an optics visionary himself, Steve has the experience and desire to make the institute and the experience here for faculty and students the best it can be. He and Betsy share a commitment to our mission and to our success, and for that we are truly grateful.
Read about their transformative gift at the For Ever Better website.
FIVE OPTICS FACULTY INSTALLED TO DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIPS
University of Rochester photo / Deron Berkhof
Speaking of the Wyant Challenge, last week the University held a special event to celebrate five Institute of Optics faculty who were appointed to distinguished professorships, including three made possible through the Wyant Challenge. The following faculty were appointed:
It was a special evening that paid tribute to these exceptional faculty, the legacy of the late Jim Wyant ’69 (PhD), ’21 (honorary) and his wife Tammy, and the donors who continue to support our mission.
NSF ADVANCES NSF OPAL TOWARD CONSTRUCTION-READY DESIGN
Rendering courtesy of the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics
URochester has been awarded the first round of funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance the NSF OPAL project into its final design phase, with funding potentially totaling up to $13.7 million. The funding advances the proposed scientific research facility with another major step toward construction. The proposed two-beam, high-peak-power facility, to be constructed at the University of Rochester, will be the world’s most powerful laser system and serve as a shared resource to the global scientific community.
NSF OPAL is designed to give researchers unprecedented capabilities to investigate open questions in quantum electrodynamics, recreate conditions in the early universe, and produce the most powerful electron accelerator on Earth. Read about this exciting development at the News Center.
ZHIYAO DUAN APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF COE IN DATA SCIENCE AND AI
Congratulations to Professor Zhiyao Duan from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has been appointed as the new director of the Center of Excellence in Data Science and AI (CoE). Zhiyao has already been working closely with the CoE as a principal investigator, and he brings significant industry partnership experience.
The CoE is dedicated to supporting businesses in New York through the application of data science methods and tools that solve challenges and deliver critical insights. Zhiyao succeeds Mujdat Cetin, who was recently named URochester’s inaugural associate vice president and vice provost for artificial intelligence.
BEST PAPER AWARD AT OPTICS DESIGN AND FABRICATION CONGRESS
Congratulations to optics PhD student Renuka Manjula Narayanan, who received a student award and best paper award at the 2026 Vehicle Displays and Interfaces Symposium for her paper “Reconfigurable freeform optics for heads-up displays.” Advised by Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering, Renuka has been working on the project with General Motors as part of the Center for Freeform Optics.
BRANDON WILSON WINS THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND SUSTAINABILITY ENGINEERING’S YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD
Congratulations to Brandon Wilson ’14 (chemical engineering), who will receive the Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering’s 2026 Young Alumni Award. Brandon will accept the award during Meliora Weekend at the Eisenberg Symposium from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Friday, October 2, in Wegmans Hall.
Brandon is the co-founder of Range Biotechnologies, a company developing new analytical tools to improve human health. Under his leadership, Range Bio has secured $6.1 million in venture funding to translate its technology into practical tools that improve human health.
Read more about Brandon at the Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering website.
REGISTER FOR MELIORA WEEKEND
If you haven’t done so already, there is still time to register for Meliora Weekend, which takes place October 1-4. In addition to the weekend’s exciting headliners and class reunions, Hajim School departments will host a variety of open houses, luncheons, career panel discussions, and other special events. See a full list of events and register on the Meliora Weekend website.
THE IMPACT OF AI IN ENGINEERING ALUMNI PANEL DISCUSSION
Join the Greene Center virtually from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22 to hear from URochester alumni in engineering about how AI shapes their work, what skills matter now, and how you can build your AI skills and experience while you’re at URochester to prepare for internships and what comes next. Register in Handshake to receive the Zoom link.
APPLY FOR ROCHESTER ENGINEERING SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIPS
Hajim School students are encouraged to apply for scholarships from the Rochester Engineering Society, which is now accepting applications. The interview period runs through December 11, and all application materials are due December 18.
Learn more and apply at the RES website.
NEW FACULTY AND STAFF CAREER TOOLKITS
The Greene Center has launched new Faculty and Staff Toolkits to help respond to students’ career-related questions. Each toolkit provides quick, easy to reference information about common student questions, helpful resources, and where to direct students for additional support. Whether a student asks about finding an internship, exploring career options, preparing for an interview, or applying to graduate school, the toolkit can help you point them in the right direction. Explore the Faculty and Staff Toolkits to learn more and keep these resources handy for your next student career question.
ALUMNI EVENT IN NYC: A FOUNDER PANEL—FROM IDEA TO IMPACT
Alumni and friends of the University in the New York City area are encouraged to attend an evening with successful URochester entrepreneurs, sharing the real, unfiltered story of building a venture — the pivots, the setbacks, and the decisions that moved the needle. The event takes place from 6-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23 at Brown Rudnick LLP, Times Square Tower, 7 Times Square, on the 46th Floor. Panelists include:
The event will be moderated by David Chen ’88, Founder and Director of AngelVest Fund. Register online.
NEWLY FUNDED RESEARCH
Congratulations to the following faculty who received new sponsored research awards:
- Darren Lipomi, the Arthur G. Yates Professor of Engineering and chair of the Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering, received $399,475 from the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences for a project titled “Contactless activation of mechanosensory neurons by photoacoustic stimulation.”
- Jim McGrath, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Biomedical Engineering, received $416,000 from the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for a project titled “A Drug Development Tool for Assessing CRS and Neurotoxicity in Immunotherapy.”
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
