The award is named after Robert W. Wells \u201939, a mechanical engineering alumnus who became a top executive at Westinghouse\u2014and felt strongly that engineers \u201cneed the balance of the humanities\u201d to be competent in their field.<\/p>\n
Open curriculum gives Battista room to explore software engineering and music<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"valerie](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/valerie-battista.jpeg\")
Valerie Battista<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen Valerie Battista found out that University of Rochester<\/a> students could learn to play the carillon<\/a> atop Rush Rhees Library, she couldn\u2019t resist. \u201cI\u2019ve loved music for as long as I can remember,\u201d she says.<\/p>\nEarly on in her studies at Rochester, Battista was selected as a recipient of the Suzanne J. O\u2019Brien Book Award<\/a>, which recognizes students who excel academically and in leadership roles in their first year at the College. It is often a good predictor of students who will make the most of their opportunities at the University.<\/p>\nBattista learned how to code in 8th grade; an introductory course in Java, soon after she arrived on the Rochester campus, \u201cwas the springboard to go on to more classes,\u201d she says. Next summer she will begin working as a full-time software engineer for T. Rowe Price in Maryland, working with the same manager she had during an internship last summer.<\/p>\n
In addition to her major in computer science, Battista has also been able to pursue her passion for music to the fullest. She has been a member of the University Chamber Singers since the fall of her first year, and she has also sung with the Treble Chorus and the Schola Cantorum, two ensembles that include River Campus and Eastman students as well as musicians from the Rochester community. She started taking carillon lessons the spring semester of her first year, and despite interruptions due to COVID, she’s been playing the carillon ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came in hoping to minor in music,\u201d Battista says. However, thanks to the University\u2019s unique open curriculum<\/a>, \u201cI am going to be able to double major in it, because the flexibility of the program here has allowed me to take enough classes.\u201d Read more about Battista.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nGetz, a Grand Challenges Scholar, gains added perspective from humanities classes<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"portrait](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/danielle-getz.jpeg\")
Danielle Getz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDanielle Getz is \u201creally motivated when I have awesome people I am working with, who are passionate and excited,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I love about the University of Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getz decided in high school that she wanted to dedicate herself to mitigating climate change. This summer she worked in the research group<\/a> of Marc Porosoff<\/a> on cutting edge research addressing the problem. Some of her favorite courses in the humanities, she says, have \u201cmade me a more intentional and considerate engineer.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring a first-year class she learned about the Grand Challenges Scholars program, which encourages undergraduates to choose one of 14 global challenge<\/a>s and tailor their academic program to address the problem by demonstrating competencies<\/a> in research, interdisciplinary study, entrepreneurship and innovation, global perspectives, and service.<\/p>\nGetz signed up, and in addition to her chemical engineering<\/a> major, she is completing a minor in environmental humanities<\/a>. The humanities courses she\u2019s taken complement her research in the Porosoff lab by helping her look at environmental problems from different angles, and \u201cconsider the people affected, and not just the science,\u201d she says.<\/p>\nAfter graduation she plans to pursue a PhD, apply for a professorship, \u201chave my own lab, study what I\u2019m curious about, and lead a good team of students.\u201d But she\u2019s not ruling out \u201cwhatever opportunities come my way,\u201d Getz says.<\/p>\n
Whatever the pathway, she\u2019s eager to join the ranks of the people she learned about in high school who are trying to mitigate the effects of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to have a meaningful impact.\u201d Read more about Getz.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nMusic history and theory enable Morris \u2018<\/strong>to communicate with musicians from many genres\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/max-morris.jpeg\")
Jameson (Max) Morris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJameson \u201cMax\u201d Morris knows what it is like to be on both sides of the microphone. He has recorded and mixed tracks of performances by some of the same student ensembles he performs with, including the University\u2019s rock repertory ensemble, chamber orchestra, and wind symphony, which counts towards his minor in music.<\/p>\n
When the COVID pandemic forced the cancellation of in-person concerts, student music ensembles at the University of Rochester had to find novel ways\u2014other than live performances\u2014to reach their audiences. Individual video and audio soundtracks of each performer had to be pre-recorded, then stitched together into seamless, virtual presentations.<\/p>\n
For Morris, an audio and music engineering major and GEAR<\/a> student, the opportunity to work on this technique with senior lecturer Stephen Roessner<\/a>, a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, was an invaluable learning experience.<\/p>\nSo was the opportunity to explore music more broadly through the music theory and history classes he has taken as part of his minor. He especially enjoyed a class that analyzed the major orchestral pieces that have defined different periods in music history, for example, the Also Sprach Zarathustra<\/em> tone poem by Richard Strauss.<\/p>\n\u201cI am much more confident now analyzing music performed on a large scale,\u201d Morris says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re recording in a studio, obviously you need a lot of technical knowledge, but it also important to really know music, to be able to communicate with musicians from many genres.\u201d<\/p>\n
After completing his major this year, he will stay at Rochester to complete a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering designed specifically for audio and music engineers. He will then head to Nashville, where an internship with the famous Blackbird recording studio this summer cemented his desire to become an audio engineer. Read more about Morris.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
\nRead more<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n![\"professor](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fea-audio-music-engineering-program.jpg\")
The art and science of sound<\/strong><\/a>
\nUniversity\u2019s $3 million investment in a new state-or-the-art recording studio is a major milestone for Rochester\u2019s audio and music engineering program.<\/span><\/div>\n
When Valerie Battista found out that University of Rochester<\/a> students could learn to play the carillon<\/a> atop Rush Rhees Library, she couldn\u2019t resist. \u201cI\u2019ve loved music for as long as I can remember,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Early on in her studies at Rochester, Battista was selected as a recipient of the Suzanne J. O\u2019Brien Book Award<\/a>, which recognizes students who excel academically and in leadership roles in their first year at the College. It is often a good predictor of students who will make the most of their opportunities at the University.<\/p>\n Battista learned how to code in 8th grade; an introductory course in Java, soon after she arrived on the Rochester campus, \u201cwas the springboard to go on to more classes,\u201d she says. Next summer she will begin working as a full-time software engineer for T. Rowe Price in Maryland, working with the same manager she had during an internship last summer.<\/p>\n In addition to her major in computer science, Battista has also been able to pursue her passion for music to the fullest. She has been a member of the University Chamber Singers since the fall of her first year, and she has also sung with the Treble Chorus and the Schola Cantorum, two ensembles that include River Campus and Eastman students as well as musicians from the Rochester community. She started taking carillon lessons the spring semester of her first year, and despite interruptions due to COVID, she’s been playing the carillon ever since.<\/p>\n \u201cI came in hoping to minor in music,\u201d Battista says. However, thanks to the University\u2019s unique open curriculum<\/a>, \u201cI am going to be able to double major in it, because the flexibility of the program here has allowed me to take enough classes.\u201d Read more about Battista.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Danielle Getz is \u201creally motivated when I have awesome people I am working with, who are passionate and excited,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I love about the University of Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n Getz decided in high school that she wanted to dedicate herself to mitigating climate change. This summer she worked in the research group<\/a> of Marc Porosoff<\/a> on cutting edge research addressing the problem. Some of her favorite courses in the humanities, she says, have \u201cmade me a more intentional and considerate engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n During a first-year class she learned about the Grand Challenges Scholars program, which encourages undergraduates to choose one of 14 global challenge<\/a>s and tailor their academic program to address the problem by demonstrating competencies<\/a> in research, interdisciplinary study, entrepreneurship and innovation, global perspectives, and service.<\/p>\n Getz signed up, and in addition to her chemical engineering<\/a> major, she is completing a minor in environmental humanities<\/a>. The humanities courses she\u2019s taken complement her research in the Porosoff lab by helping her look at environmental problems from different angles, and \u201cconsider the people affected, and not just the science,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n After graduation she plans to pursue a PhD, apply for a professorship, \u201chave my own lab, study what I\u2019m curious about, and lead a good team of students.\u201d But she\u2019s not ruling out \u201cwhatever opportunities come my way,\u201d Getz says.<\/p>\n Whatever the pathway, she\u2019s eager to join the ranks of the people she learned about in high school who are trying to mitigate the effects of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to have a meaningful impact.\u201d Read more about Getz.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Jameson \u201cMax\u201d Morris knows what it is like to be on both sides of the microphone. He has recorded and mixed tracks of performances by some of the same student ensembles he performs with, including the University\u2019s rock repertory ensemble, chamber orchestra, and wind symphony, which counts towards his minor in music.<\/p>\n When the COVID pandemic forced the cancellation of in-person concerts, student music ensembles at the University of Rochester had to find novel ways\u2014other than live performances\u2014to reach their audiences. Individual video and audio soundtracks of each performer had to be pre-recorded, then stitched together into seamless, virtual presentations.<\/p>\n For Morris, an audio and music engineering major and GEAR<\/a> student, the opportunity to work on this technique with senior lecturer Stephen Roessner<\/a>, a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, was an invaluable learning experience.<\/p>\n So was the opportunity to explore music more broadly through the music theory and history classes he has taken as part of his minor. He especially enjoyed a class that analyzed the major orchestral pieces that have defined different periods in music history, for example, the Also Sprach Zarathustra<\/em> tone poem by Richard Strauss.<\/p>\n \u201cI am much more confident now analyzing music performed on a large scale,\u201d Morris says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re recording in a studio, obviously you need a lot of technical knowledge, but it also important to really know music, to be able to communicate with musicians from many genres.\u201d<\/p>\n After completing his major this year, he will stay at Rochester to complete a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering designed specifically for audio and music engineers. He will then head to Nashville, where an internship with the famous Blackbird recording studio this summer cemented his desire to become an audio engineer. Read more about Morris.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nGetz, a Grand Challenges Scholar, gains added perspective from humanities classes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Music history and theory enable Morris \u2018<\/strong>to communicate with musicians from many genres\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The art and science of sound<\/strong><\/a>
\nUniversity\u2019s $3 million investment in a new state-or-the-art recording studio is a major milestone for Rochester\u2019s audio and music engineering program.<\/span><\/div>\n
![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fea-Heinzelman-Rubin.jpg\")
What engineers and humanists can learn from one another<\/strong><\/a>![\"student](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/fea-grand-challenge-scholars.jpg\")
Rochester\u2019s Grand Challenges Scholars frame their research in a broad context<\/strong><\/a>