Also inside: Tour the new Senior design cybersecurity results in more complex than prototypes University Magazine Spring 2021 Rochester Rising RIT is helping make Rochester a next-generation technology hub FROM THE PRESIDENT Welcome to Rochester: A renaissance with RIT our regional economy and quality of life, where the sector is a source of new knowl- edge, technology transfer, workforce RIT University Magazine development, and service to the commu- Executive Editors nity. We have an impressive cluster of 19 Phil Castleberry, University Advancement public and private colleges throughout the Bob Finnerty ’07 MS, Marketing and Communications greater Rochester region. Collectively, we Vanessa J. Herman, Government and Community Relations enroll 83,000 students and award 19,000 John Trierweiler, Marketing and Communications degrees each year. We are one of the most Editor Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito academically productive regions in the Mindy Mozer, Marketing and Communications country, ranking third in college degrees Art Director f Chester Carlson, George Eastman, per capita and No. 1 for degrees in STEM Jeff Arbegast ’93 MS, Marketing and Communications Kate Gleason, and Henry Lomb could fields, according to the U.S. Department of see Rochester today, these inventors Education. Photography Editor I Gabrielle Plucknette-DeVito ’07, and pioneers would want to invest in our Did the COVID-19 pandemic slow Roch- Marketing and Communications resurging region. ester down? Quite the opposite. Greater Assistant Editor More than 70 percent of our 136,000 Rochester Enterprise, the organization Scott Bureau ’11, ’16 MBA, alumni live away from greater Rochester. responsible for recruiting companies to Marketing and Communications Yet they often ask about the economic the area, had a banner year benefitting Contributing Editors health of the region. Whether our alumni from record capital investments and add- Jon Rodibaugh ’12 MBA, live in tech hubs like Silicon Valley or ing thousands of new jobs across various Advancement and Alumni Relations Cindy Sobieraj, Advancement and Alumni Relations Boston, or overseas in Croatia or India, business sectors. This includes optics, they still have a fondness for the Finger photonics and imaging, food and bever- Photographers Elizabeth Lamark ’00, Marketing and Communications Lakes region. age, advanced manufacturing, energy A. Sue Weisler ’93 MS, Marketing and Communications My elevator speech is that Rochester innovation, and e-commerce. Writers: Marketing and Communications has a new economy and RIT is helping to We also are harnessing this vibrancy Luke Auburn ’09, ’15 MS Rich Kiley drive it to new heights. Today, there are for our students. There is a new vision Scott Bureau ’11, ’16 MBA Greg Livadas more people employed here than were for Rochester’s 30-story former Xerox Michelle Cometa ’00 Vienna McGrain ’12 MS Susan Gawlowicz ’95 Shelly Meyer employed by the “Big Three”—Kodak, Tower that will transform the office Xerox, Bausch & Lomb—combined in complex into student housing and a busi- Copy Editor Marie Lang, Marketing and Communications their heyday, up 30,000 to a workforce ness innovation hub. Innovation Square, Print Production of 537,000. And the local economy is a project recently announced by Gallina Brenda Monahan, Marketing and Communications more diversified, with 97 percent of the Development, will draw upper-level and Marketing and Communications Rochester region workforce employed in graduate students from area colleges and 22 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY 14623-5608 companies of 100 employees or less. universities. Several renovated floors are Voice: 585-475-5064, Fax: 585-475-5097 When we look back at the past, it expected to open this summer. Email: [email protected] should be with excitement rather than RIT’s talent is a key ingredient in this Office of Alumni Relations wistfulness, for we have been given an resurgence. Rochester has the capacity Crossroads 41 Lomb Memorial Drive amazing legacy that includes everything and resources to surpass its former glory, Rochester, NY 14623-5603 Voice: 585-475-ALUM, Toll Free: 866-RIT-ALUM necessary for major success in a new era just in a different way. Watch us grow! TTY: 585-475-2764, Fax: 585-475-5308 that now is in full swing. Email: [email protected] The region has an extraordinary Yours in Tiger and Rochester pride, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, abundance of assets that position us to New York, publishes RIT University Magazine. be an entrepreneurial powerhouse. We RIT does not discriminate. RIT promotes and not only have the intellectual talent and values diversity within its workforce and provides equal opportunity to all qualified individuals major university partners that forward- David C. Munson Jr., President regardless of race, color, creed, age, marital status, looking companies require, but we also [email protected] sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender Twitter: @RITPresident identity, gender expression, national origin, veteran have inherited an exceptional quality of status, or disability. life thanks to an impressive cluster of cul- tural organizations, unparalleled natural P.S.: The Imagine RIT: Creativity and Vol. 23, No. 1, 130.6M-P2363-4/2021-LANE-JSA resources, and a resilient and welcoming Innovation Festival is being held virtually Printer: The Lane Press; Burlington, Vermont © 2021 Rochester Institute of Technology spirit of community. on Saturday, May 1. View the exhibits the All rights reserved. Higher education is a major driver in day of or any time after at rit.edu/imagine. Cover Move over, SiIicon Valley. Rochester can be the next American technology hub, and RIT is helping Jim Montanus drive the innovation. University Magazine Spring 2021 18 Elizabeth Lamark Elizabeth Protecting the Future See what's inside the new global cybersecurity complex on campus. Departments Features 2 On Campus 12 14 26 34 6 About Students Research Senior Design Rochester Faculty Profile 10 Research Students discover RIT’s multidis- Rising Meet Joshua 34 Faculty Profile hidden 15th- ciplinary senior RIT is helping Rashaad Alumni Awards 36 century text design program make Rochester McFadden, 40 Alumni Updates on medieval results in more a next-generation assistant 46 Class Notes manuscripts. than prototypes. technology hub. professor of 54 In Memoriam photography. On Campus Dean Yong “Tai” Wang looks to grow the College of Health Sciences and Technology in all directions. A. Sue Weisler Meet the new health sciences dean IT’s College of Health Sciences Physical Therapy program and Rochester American Journal of Chinese Medicine. It is and Technology began the year Regional Health would like to provide the one of the most cited Tai Chi studies. Runder new leadership with Dean clinical site. It is one of the hot programs in Then I started to develop wheelchair Tai Yong “Tai” Wang. health professions. The American Associa- Chi with funding from Paralyzed Veterans Wang joined RIT in January from the Uni- tion of Physical Therapy required every of America and from the National Institute versity of Texas at Tyler, where he was dean Master of Physical Therapy program to con- of Disability and Rehabilitative Research. and endowed chair professor of the Drs. Lee vert to Doctor of Physical Therapy by 2020. I think I am one of the leading persons Roy and Lucy Mathis College of Nursing and I was a professor of physical therapy doing wheelchair Tai Chi in the United Health Sciences. for 16 years. I have experience through the States. Then I started to look at Tai Chi His research focuses on rehabilita- whole process of converting the program for cognitive issues, such as cognitive tive biomechanics related to wheelchair from BS to Master of Physical Therapy, impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. locomotion and Tai Chi exercise. Now at then to Doctor of Physical Therapy. I hope RIT, Wang looks forward to connecting the to develop a similar program at RIT in the What would you like students and health sciences and technology to create future. The Doctor of Physical Therapy will alumni to know about you? new health care solutions, and new degree be my first project. I am a dean and also a professor. When I programs. Here, Wang shares his ideas. was dean at the University of Texas at Tyler, I understand you are a Tai Chi master. I met with students several times a semester What excites you about RIT? How does Tai Chi inform your research? to hear what they needed to be supported. The reputation of RIT and the uniqueness Tai Chi is my passion. It is a mind-body The ultimate goal is student success. of the college. There are not many colleges exercise and a combination of breathing We talk about student success in terms of like this in the United States that combine and graceful movement. In Tai Chi, both recruitment, retention, and graduation. health sciences and technology. I think the hands are moving in opposite directions. I think we should add another one, as we college has great potential to grow. It’s called the yin and yang balance. did at UT Tyler, called job placement. Tai Chi is one area of my research in the We had a person in the college called a The College of Health Sciences and past 20 years. I taught Tai Chi as a therapeu- career success coach to help students pre- Technology grew from the RIT and tic exercise for Doctor of Physical Therapy pare their résumés, prepare for interviews, Rochester Regional Health Alliance. students at Georgia State University. and find jobs. I would like to do some simi- What opportunities do you see through I measured students’ physical and lar things to help students. this strategic partnership? mental health at the beginning and end of RIT is interested in developing a Doctor of the semester and published a paper in the Susan Gawlowicz ’95 2 | SPRING 2021 Retired VP leaves indelible mark on university, Greater Rochester region after 41 years ebbie Stendardi, who retired as “She has established and led countless vice president of Government and campus activities that are now signature DCommunity Relations at the end of functions of the university, including 2020, leaves an indelible mark on RIT and creation of the RIT University Magazine and the Greater Rochester region.