Rochester Review Alumni Magazine | University of Rochester

Earth viewed from space at night, illuminated by city lights and natural features across the surface.

175 ways URochester makes the world ever better

What good is the research university? At the University of Rochester, the answers get ever better.

Dr. Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro and team perform a living donor liver transplant in an operating room.

Inside URochester’s pioneering living donor liver transplant program

What happens when you combine a determined doctor, a groundbreaking procedure, and an institution built to support the research behind complex medicine.

Aerial view of the University of Rochester campus with the Meliora flag and Rush Rhees Library tower at sunrise.

How URochester is redefining collaboration through transdisciplinary research

A quartet of groundbreaking new centers receives $8.5 million in institutional funding.

Portrait of Curtis Stewart holding a violin, lit dramatically against a reddish background with soft shadowed text.

The class that changed me: Curtis Stewart ’08, ’08E

The Grammy nominee recalls the violin lessons at Eastman that at once terrified and inspired him.

Political science professor Gretchen Helmke stands in her office with whiteboards and notes behind her.

Office hours with Gretchen Helmke

The 2025 Guggenheim Fellow on turning a passion for reading and writing into a career solving our most vexing political puzzles.

A pipette releases a drop of water onto a piece of water-attracting carbon paper with a water droplet already adhered to it.

Chemical reactions: What you need to know about PFAS

URochester researchers shed light on the synthetic compounds lurking in everyday life.

Three men in suits stand beside a stone monument engraved with the University of Rochester alma mater “The Genesee.”

Ask the archivist: What’s one question that’s stumped you?

Melissa Mead delves into the puzzling history of URochester’s alma mater, “The Genesee.”

Stack of six books by University of Rochester authors, including Steering the Senate and The Sewards of New York, beside a pencil.

Faculty works: New books and recordings by URochester professors

A selection of recently released works by our esteemed educators.

University of Rochester baseball coach Joe Reina in team gear points toward the sky during a game.

Grand slam: Joe Reina wins 500th game as URochester’s varsity baseball coach

The winningest coach in program history reflects on his success on and off the field.

Fencer Jackie Hsiao poses confidently at sunset, holding her foil across her shoulders and wearing full fencing gear.

Good sport: Fencing club president Jackie Hsiao ’27

The third-year anthropology major fences her way to the Junior Olympics.

Close up image of a baby with oxygen support and mother nearby to illustrate respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, in babies and infants.

This pediatrician’s wish: For RSV to be a thing of the past. We’re almost there.

An essay by Brenda Tesini, an associate professor of pediatrics who treats patients at URochester’s Golisano Children’s Hospital.

A close-up of a crossword puzzle titled “Life of a Demisemiseptcentennial,” showing clues and a partially blank grid on a pale blue page.

Wordplay | Solution: Life of a demisemiseptcentennial

View the answer grid for the crossword puzzle that appears in the fall 2025 print edition of Rochester Review magazine.

Spring 2025

Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7, looks at the camera with his arms folded. Behind him is an extensive bookshelf and a framed movie poster for "Mickey 17."

The magnificent Mickey7

Alumnus Edward Ashton’s sci-fi novel Mickey7 gets a Hollywood glow up with Bong Joon-ho’s film Mickey 17.

Illustration of three couples facing each other and joining hands with speech bubbles above them.

Take a vow: On keeping your word in the modern world

Bestselling author Cheryl Mendelson ’73 (PhD) discusses marital vows, including their history and role, and why ditching the classic ones may be a bad idea.

The Ghent-Bruges Book of Hours sits open to colorfully painted spread with a portrait of a saint opposite calligraphic text, both surrounded by flowers and plants.

Turning time’s pages

A collaborative acquisition of the medieval Ghent-Bruges Book of Hours offers unique opportunities for research, teaching, and community outreach.

Jonathan Friedberg addresses a large crowd at Wilmot Cancer Institute, with a banner reading 'An NCI Designated Cancer Center' in the background.

Rochester’s cancer center earns national designation

“It’s an extraordinary moment in the history of the cancer center,” says Wilmot Cancer Institute director Jonathan Friedberg.

Benjamin Castaneda next to an illustration that says "my rochester story with Benjamin Castaneda '09 *PhD), professor, biomedical engineering."

Breathing life-saving services into rural communities

Professor Benjamín Castañeda ’09 (PhD) leads a global effort to meet critical needs for medical technology.

Melissa Mead smiling and leaning against shelf of gray archival boxes in archive.

Ask the archivist: Was the Rochester Plan greater than the sum of its parts?

A question for the University of Rochester’s archivist about the history of the Rochester Plan.

Jane Possee stands with her arms crossed in a locker room.

50 years of helping grow women’s athletics

Jane Possee has seen the rise of women’s sports at Rochester while having a significant hand in shaping them.

Material world

University of Rochester graduate Kasia Maroney ’92 talks about her career as an art conservator restoring priceless objects to their full glory.

Yaofang (Vicki) Liang smiles and looks out the window of JoyMart, the Asian grocery store and cafe she founded and runs.

Yaofang (Vicki) Liang ’23W (PhD): Pride and JoyMart

Gratitude led a Warner School graduate to open an Asian grocery store and cafe at Rochester’s College Town.

Aaron Do holds a poetry book and smiles while looking up at Yefim Ravin, who is seen from behind.

Coursework: Learning Russian in the heart of Rochester

Undergraduates learn language, culture, politics, and customs from Russian-speaking Jewish émigrés.

Illustration featuring classic film footage reels embedded with historic footage from University of Rochester Yellowjacket athletics games.

Historical Yellowjacket game footage is a fountain of youth

A storage room contains film canisters and VHS tapes of more than 1,000 athletic contests—the oldest dating to a 1927 football game.

Downward angled shot of multimedia artist Renee Jin next to a sculpture exploring the concept of involution.

Defining involution through sculpture

A Rochester graduate student and acclaimed sculptor examines a topic that is increasingly relevant to Chinese society.

A woman named Loretta Ford, in a red jacket and black top, a long standing partner of the University of Rochester School of Nursing.

Loretta Ford, former School of Nursing dean who transformed the profession, dies at 104

Ford cofounded the nurse practitioner model and developed a holistic approach to nursing education, research and clinical practice.

Fall 2024

Al Uy looks at a small red bird that is perched on his hand during a research trip to the Solomon Islands.

Evolution’s moment of truth

Every year biologist Al Uy travels by plane, boat, and foot to remote corners of the South Pacific to answer one of evolution’s biggest mysteries: How do species originate?

Jeffrey Kishner in blue button-down standing in the Distillery District of Toronto.

Show us your town: Toronto

Toronto native Jeffrey Kishner ’01S (MBA) shares plenty of picks for the perfect long weekend.

Detail of Luther Henderson's original score of his arrangement of a Duke Ellington classic.

Eastman scores

Luther Henderson III ’71E, ’73E (MM) chooses Eastman’s Ensemble Library as home for his father’s Duke Ellington arrangements.

Melissa Mead smiling and leaning against shelf of gray archival boxes in archive.

Ask the archivist: When did the University power up its first computers?

A question for the University of Rochester’s archivist about the beginnings of administrative computing on campus.

Colorful, stylized illustration of Karen Durkin, who reflects on the role of women's sports in her life, career, and society at large.

A ‘boom’ in women’s sports

Karen Durkin ’87 reflects on how women’s sports became big business.

Illustration of row of people from behind, holding hands, looking on at new Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute building.

A catalyst for change

The new Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute will drive transformations in research, training, care, and advocacy.

Summer 2024

Doctors, patients, algorithms, and avatars

Clinicians, computer scientists, and ethicists are working across the University to incorporate reliable and ethical AI into medical diagnosis and treatment.

Druckman standing outdoors leaning against concrete wall with trees in background.

James Druckman: When politics gets personal

As the 2024 election season heats up, Jamie Druckman, a renowned expert on political polarization, is as busy as he’s ever been.

Wegmans Hall, a modern four-story brick building with large glass windows, lit from inside, at dusk. A well-maintained lawn with a walkway is in the foreground, and the University of Rochester Library is visible in the background.

Bit by megabit: 50 years of computer science at URochester

The Department of Computer Science at Rochester marks 50 years of revolutionary progress.

The Whites, a family of four, stand on the balcony of the Rush Rhees Library tower with the city of Rochester skyline in the background.

A sort of homecoming

An alumnus and his family chose the Medical Center for gene therapy after their son’s diagnosis with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Melissa Mead smiling and leaning against shelf of gray archival boxes in archive.

Ask the archivist: Can we come up and see the book sometime?

A question for Melissa Mead, the John M. and Barbara Keil University Archivist and Rochester Collections Librarian.

Night-time view of large multicolored sphere in center of Las Vegas downtown with fireworks in background.

Reengineering the concert experience

Stu Elby ’82 helps make Sphere a revolutionary entertainment venue.

Alumni in the news

A Rochester Review roundup of select University of Rochester alumni who have made headlines for their accomplishments.

Basic haircare is not always cut and dried

Barbers and stylists connect with us as humans, care for communities, and make us feel whole, says ClipDart founder Kyle Parker ’18.

Spring 2024

Patchwork resembling a map of a continent stitched together with graduation hat tassels.

Going global

In the past decade, Rochester's Office of Global Engagement has launched the University into a new chapter in research and teaching.

Bykov smiling while seated at seminar table with students seated around him.

Dmitry Bykov: Satirizing Putin

The Russian poet, journalist, and literary critic is teaching and lecturing at Rochester as part of the Humanities Center's Scholar in Exile program.

Hameedi standing with arms folded in front of statue in Rush Rhees Library.

Baitullah Hameedi: Escaping the Taliban

An Afghan scholar and refugee conducts research at the University of Rochester.

Close-up of face of Yushchenko as she sits in class in lecture hall.

Anastasiya Yushchenko: From the epicenter of war

A Ukrainian political science student finds respite from war studying at the University of Rochester.

A large crowd of people gathers in an outdoor courtyard at dusk, holding up lit candles or lights. Trees surround the area and buildings with lit windows line both sides. The sky is darkening, and the scene appears peaceful and solemn.

Shining a light in the darkness

Explore photos taken during the total solar eclipse.

Peter Christensen and Lainie Ross standing next to each other against lit wall.

Healing arts and letters

A new Medical Center department teams up with the Humanities Center to foster collaboration on both sides of Elmwood Avenue.

Melissa Mead smiling and leaning against shelf of gray archival boxes in archive.

Ask the archivist: What role did my brother have  in the 1964 honor code?

A question for Melissa Mead, the John M. and Barbara Keil University Archivist and Rochester Collections Librarian.

Yohay Wakabayashi in khakis and suit jacket standing in busy Tokyo plaza.

Show us your town: Tokyo

Entrepreneur Yohay Wakabayashi ’10, ’11S (MS) shares some of his favorite things to do in one of the world's top destinations for culture and cuisine.

Beth Greenwood, wearing a Philadelphia Phillies hat and T-shirt stands beside a team training center.

Great catch

Beth Greenwood ’22—the first American woman catcher in NCAA baseball history—has joined Phillies' minor league affiliate as a development coach.

Flump! Splatter! Pop!

Grace Stensland ’23, a sound designer and sound effects editor for animated films and TV, delights in odd noises.

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