Adam Fenster
J. Adam Fenster is the University photographer.
Adam Fenster's Latest Posts

Winter campusland
Welcome back, Yellowjackets! The new semester brought with it fresh snowfall blanketing the River Campus.

University veterans recognized
The annual Veterans Day pinning ceremony recognizes members of the University community and their families from all branches of the US Armed Forces, with “Veteran Rocky” pins handed out in honor of their service.

Such great heights—and sights
Twice a year, during Scare Fair in October and in the weeks leading up to Commencement, University of Rochester students can ascend the iconic tower of Rush Rhees Library to enjoy 360-degree views of campus and the city skyline. Missed the most recent tower tour? Enjoy this drone shot and mark your calendars for your next opportunity to participate in a Rochester tradition.

Paper wasp parasites turn hosts into long-lived ‘zombies’
University of Rochester undergraduate students and their biology professor study what paper wasps—and the parasites that manipulate them—can tell us about evolution, aging, and group living.

We remember
Midshipmen Charlie Shanks ’24, Nicholas Perry (St. John Fisher ’24), and Miriana Kelly ’26 stand as Rochester’s NROTC unit held its annual vigil at the Meridian on Eastman Quadrangle honoring members of the University community who were killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Among the nearly 3,000 people who died during the attacks were six University of Rochester alumni: Jeremy Glick ’93; Jean Hoadley Peterson ’69N; Jeffrey Smith ’87, ’88S (MBA); Zhe (Zack) Zeng ’95, ’98S (MBA); Aram Iskenderian ’82; and Brendan Dolan ’86. (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Movers and shakers: Welcoming the Class of 2026 to campus
In a return to move-in-day tradition, more than 1,600 students at the College and the Eastman School of Music embarked on their Rochester experience this week.

Sensory processing—in a virtual Kodak Hall
A multidisciplinary team from Arts, Sciences & Engineering and River Campus Libraries builds a virtual reality replica of Kodak Hall to be used in studies of how the brain processes light and sound.

It’s a winterful life
Linnea Wegge (left), Maya Hewitt, and Ian Gillis (right) from the Class of 2023 participate in a curling demonstration during this year’s Winterfest Weekend on the River Campus. The weekend—an annual wintertime tradition for undergraduate students—featured gear giveaways, ice-carving demonstrations, sledding down Danforth Hill, plus plenty of s’mores and hot chocolate. Check out more photos from the weekend on the University’s Instagram account.

Eastman School of Music alumnus William Warfield honored with sculpture
A bust of singer, actor, and activist William Warfield ’43E, ’46E (MM), ’88 (Honorary) has been installed at the Miller Center Courtyard across from the Eastman School of Music in downtown Rochester, New York. “We are proud to partner with the William Warfield Scholarship Fund and to display this remarkable sculpture by artist Shawn Dunwoody, honoring Mr. Warfield’s legacy to our Eastman community, as well as to Rochester and the world,” says Jamal Rossi, Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School. Learn more about the sculpture and commemorative plaque. (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

20 years later, remembering September 11
Naval, Air Force, and Army ROTC units stood vigil at the Meridian on the University of Rochester’s Eastman Quad to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Among the nearly 3,000 people who died during the attacks were six University of Rochester alumni: Jeremy Glick ’93; Jean Hoadley Peterson ’69N; Jeffrey Smith ’87, ’88S (MBA); Zhe (Zack) Zeng ’95, ’98S (MBA); Aram Iskenderian ’82; and Brendan Dolan ’86.
In 2019, Ellen Bakalian, the widow of Jeffrey Smith, wrote “Everything My Husband Wasn’t There For,” an essay for The Atlantic, which was reprinted with permission in the summer 2021 issue of Rochester Review.