Luke Auburn

Director of Communications, Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

luke.auburn@rochester.edu

RECENT POSTS

Close up of a hand holding an instrument near an apparatus emitting a red laser representing the kind of work and manufacturing supported by the NSF STELLAR Engine.

Science & Technology

NSF selects Rochester, New York, and Finger Lakes region as national laser innovation hub

The URochester-led NSF STELLAR Engine launches with $15 million in federal funding.

Two URochester students get situated within an off-road vehicle.

Campus & Community

Driven to be ever better through off-roading

URochester students gain hands-on engineering experience through designing, building, and racing off-road vehicles together.

GIF of a soccer ball rotating while computer vision technology analyzes it from multiple angles.

Science & Technology

How AI helps World Cup referees make the call

Computer vision won’t replace referees at the World Cup. But it can help them make better calls when every inch matters.

Jacob Factor plays the French horn across from Amy Lerner while wearing a custom neck brace to treat pharyngoceles.

Campus & Community

An out-of-this-world design hits the high notes

Medicine, engineering, and pedagogy experts harmonize to help a French horn student overcome a rare throat condition.

The shape of a brain but composed entirely of water that is sloshing around, all set against a black background.

Science & Technology

AI reveals how the brain clears harmful waste

The new approach combines MRI scans and AI tools to measure fluid flow linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Five different colored vials holding seawater, Great Salt Lake water, nickel sulfate, copper chloride wastewater, and desalinated water standing next to a pile of salt.

Science & Technology

New method turns ocean water into drinking water, without waste

The energy-efficient desalination system produces fresh water without chemical additives and transforms leftover salts into useful materials.

Meg Farinsky, Matthew Ahn, and Majd Tabsi hold up their award-winning pieces of art.

Campus & Community

From mushrooms to molecules, science becomes art

The annual Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science Competition showcases how scientific discovery takes visual form across disciplines.

Robot hand preparing to lift a flask of blue liquid with beakers and tubes of other liquids in the background.

Science & Technology

Researchers use large language models to discover recipes for novel materials

The LLMs can discover optimal, step-by-step instructions to accelerate the discovery of new materials.

Close-up of a nanoparticle in a phonon laser beam.

Science & Technology

Quantum researchers engineer extremely precise phonon lasers

Novel lasers utilize individual particles of vibration or sound to measure quantum mechanics and gravity.

Group photo of the 17 or so people who comprise the NSF STELLAR team at URochester, including government and industry partners.

University News

NSF explores Rochester as a potential national hub for laser research and development

The URochester-led STELLAR project is a finalist in the NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines competition.

Close up of a rainbow-hued photonic chip coupled to a clear and metallic nonlinear crystal and fiber array unit.

University News

URochester, RIT receive federal funding to expand experimental ways to communicate using individual particles of light

February 12, 2026

The funding for the experimental quantum network RoQNET was secured by Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Representative Morelle.

Young woman deeply engaged with her smartphone, seen through a distorted, swirling blur effect to illustrate the concept of social media echo chambers.

Society & Culture

Your social media feed is built to agree with you. What if it didn’t?

February 10, 2026

A new study points to algorithm design as a potential way to reduce echo chambers—and polarization—online.