It may technically be fall, but September kept us in sunny skies, celebratory weekends, and classroom deep-dives. Relive how we spent the month at the University of Rochester. Photos by senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster.
CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE: Wilson Commons, on the University’s River Campus, seen via aerial drone.
REALITY SIGHTS: A student tests out VR equipment in the Mary Ann Mavrinac Studio X in Carlson Library.
LIQUID COURAGE: Chemistry PhD student Alejandro Alvarez uses liquid nitrogen in the lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry Michael Ruggiero.
MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY: Members of URochester’s women’s rowing team practice on the Genesee River.
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: University President Sarah Mangelsdorf adds her signature to the final beam that will be placed in the structure of Strong Memorial Hospital’s emergency department expansion during a ceremony at the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the project will add more than 650,000 square feet of hospital space, tripling the size of the current emergency department—including a nine-story inpatient bed tower and more than 100 private inpatient rooms.
TO THINE OWN SELFIE BE TRUE: Class of 2027’s Aminah Muhumed and Nima Mohamud pose for selfies in front of Rush Rhees Library, lit blue for Meliora Weekend. Check out more moments from Meliora Weekend 2025.
RUNNING MAN: Yellowjackets football running back Cole Raux scores a touchdown in the second quarter of a game against St. John Fisher University during Meliora Weekend. Rochester took home the win, 28–21.
A SIGN FROM ABOVE: The Meliora letters on Eastman Quadrangle in front of Rush Rhees Library, seen via aerial drone.
TIME FLIES: Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Marisol Herrera Perez and PhD student Maria Camila Ferrucho use a fluorescent microscope to activate an optogenetic tool to observe how manipulating proteins affects the condensation of the ventral nerve cord of flies.
TRUSS EXERCISE: Construction continues on the Joseph P. Mack Catholic Center next to the Goergen Athletic Center on the University’s River Campus, as workers use a crane to lower the last timber frame truss.
TEAM UP: Daniel Oh, a biochemistry major and member of the Class of 2026, prepares an experiment known as a Bradford Assay—used to determine the protein concentration in a sample—in the lab of Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor of biology. Oh is a member of Rochester’s team for the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, a worldwide synthetic biology competition intended to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world.
F-STOP RIGHT THERE: Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge, a professor of art who specializes in lens-based media, leads a workshop with SLR 35mm film cameras at Sage Art Center.
BRUSH HOUR: Students take an advanced painting class at Sage Art Center, led by Emily Tyman, a lecturer of art.
