Rochester knows what April showers bring: the near-end of a spring semester and activities galore. Take a look at how we spent our time at the University of Rochester. Photos by senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster unless otherwise noted.
MEDITATION EDUCATION: Mindful Leadership Consultant Lisa Critchley leads a meditation session for faculty as part of the Mindful Professor Training program.
FLIGHT SAFETY: As part of Smash the Crash, students in Assistant Professor of Art Mizin Shin’s SART 282 class design decals to be affixed to large windows on campus. The goal? To reduce the number of birds crashing into them. Above, Vanessa Bernie Otaño ’25 uses a power washer to clean a screen as Ella Smith looks on.
PREP IN OUR STEP: Eye to Eye is a national nonprofit organization that pairs neurodivergent middle school students with learning and attention differences with college and high school students who share similar labels. Here, Rochester student volunteers work with students at Rochester Prep.
GOOD TO BEE HOME: Students and faculty meet to plant flowering trees and dedicate Suboptimal, a new art installation on the University’s River Campus that provides solitary bees a place to nest. Students in Advanced Sculpture, taught by Allen Topolski, an associate professor of art and art history, constructed the bee domicile.
SOUND OF SILENCE: Class of 2025 audio music and engineering students Haochen (Glenn) Xiong, Zian (Alan) Wang, and Yunji Kim work on their senior design project. Sponsored by the Sri Vidya Temple Society, the students took acoustical measurements at the temple, tested different treatments using simulations, and are fabricating prototypes of soundproof panels to cut down on the intense reverberation in the temple’s gathering space.
COUNTDOWN TO COMMENCEMENT: Class of 2025 members Navya Soogoor, Chrysolite Dhinakaran, and Rafael de Farias pose for photos before picking up their regalia for this year’s Commencement Weekend.
LIGHT MY WAY: Viewed with polarized light, photoelastic materials display distinct patterns of birefringence and force chain propagation after a collision. The experiment was conducted by Sarah Williams, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the DRIP (Dirt, Rivers, Ice, Particles) Lab, an interdisciplinary group of scientists in the department.
QUITE A STRETCH: Workers gather for a morning stretch and flex session at the construction site for the new Strong Emergency Department expansion project.
SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN: Green Reps members and the University’s Bee Campus Committee, along with Horticulture and Grounds, host a planting event in front of the Hylan Building on the Hajim Engineering Quadrangle in celebration of Earth Day.
LAY OFF THE HIGH ONES: Softball player Sara Mazur throws to the infield after making a diving catch in the fifth inning for an out as teammate Jensen Sminchak reacts.
STRINGS ATTACHED: Killian Simonson ’28 and Grace Widjaja ’26 play violin and viola, respectively, on Wilson Quad as Rochester students enjoy the warm weather.
ABOVE AND BEYOND: Students, seen from above via aerial drone, enjoy a warm afternoon on Eastman Quad. (University of Rochester photo / AJ Pow)
SPRING SING: Charlotte Bowder ’25 performs on Dandelion Day during Springfest, a Rochester Tradition and the last Community Weekend of the year.
THAT’S A BINGO: Students in ASL 101 and 102 play bingo to practice their proficiency with signing numbers on Eyeth Day, the American Sign Language program’s largest event of the year. (UR Photography Club photo / Odin Choy)
