Dear members of the Hajim School community,
One of URochester’s most exciting new initiatives will be helmed by a proven leader with deep experience in commercial technology scaling and venture development. Sujatha Ramanujan has been named chief executive officer of the newly awarded United States National Science Foundation (NSF) STELLAR Engine of the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region of New York.
Sujatha transitions to the University after serving as NextCorps’ managing director and chief investment officer of Luminate NY. Under her leadership, Luminate has become the world’s largest accelerator for deep-tech companies enabled by optics, photonics, and imaging technologies.
Sujatha will lead a coalition of key partners of STELLAR (Science, Technology and Engineering of Laser and Laser Applications Research), including the Institute of Optics and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at URochester, along with Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College, NextCorps, Greater Rochester Enterprise, and New York State. Launched with a two-year, $15 million grant from the NSF alongside $16 million in New York State support over six years, the initiative positions Rochester as the nation’s leader in lasers.
I want to thank Tom Brown, who is the principal investigator of the grant that established NSF STELLAR Engine, served as interim CEO, and will continue to be deeply involved in STELLAR as its chief technology officer.
Learn more about Sujatha and her new role at the News Center.
USING PODCASTS TO HIGHLIGHT ADVANCES AND CAREERS IN CATALYSIS
When Associate Professor Marc Porosoff from the Department of Chemical and Sustainability Engineering and his colleagues met at an academic conference in 2022, they hatched an idea to launch PodCAT, a podcast devoted to the science of catalysis, academic careers and the surprisingly personal stories of the researchers themselves.
But over the course of more than 60 episodes, the podcast has grown into much more—an increasingly popular resource for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, young faculty members and others trying to navigate a profession in which some of the most valuable advice is rarely written down.
Read about how Marc and his colleagues have grown the podcast into a must-listen for chemical engineers.
IN THE NEWS: XINYU SI FEATURED IN QUANTA MAGAZINE
Adam Fenster/University of Rochester photo
A Hajim School postdoctoral researcher recently helped rewrite a rule of turbulence by studying an unlikely subject—sea monkeys. Xinyu Si, now a member of Professor Doug Kelley’s lab, began investigating brine shrimp as a student at the University of Pittsburgh.
Xinyu was part of a team of scientists who discovered that they could direct the cascade of energy in a two-dimensional system by disrupting the system’s flow with a small obstacle, as long as it was angled just right.
Read about this cool discovery and Xinyu’s role in it at the Quanta Magazine website.
BAJA SAE TEAM THRIVES AT FRIENDLY OKTOBAJA COMPETITION
Our Baja SAE team recently had a strong showing at the annual OktoBAJAfest hosted by Clarkson University. More than 40 people representing URochester attended, including 25 active student team members, joined by alumni, student supporters, and family and friends.
The team’s advisor, Professor Chris Muir, says “the competition is a ‘friendly,’ where the goal is to involve as many folks as possible in the different phases of the competition. Everyone was able to get their hands on the car during the four events, with 6 different drivers. Many things were broken and fixed, and the car finished the endurance race running.”
Good luck to the team as they prepare for their upcoming build in the spring and competition in Williamsport May 20-23!
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
