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August 25, 2025

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Today marks the first day of classes and nearly 300 first year and transfer students begin their academic careers at the Hajim School, while hundreds more return to class after enriching internships, global experiences, and research opportunities over the summer.

We have much to be excited about this fall. The Hajim School is deeply involved in three new transdisciplinary centers launched by the University over the summer, we welcome the first cohorts of innovative new master’s programs in and , and we welcome a terrific new group of faculty that you’ll learn more about later in the newsletter.

It has been a turbulent year in higher education, but I look forward to turning the page and beginning this academic year with renewed energy and commitment to our mission to promote and support the highest quality research that advances solutions to pressing societal problems and to advance education in engineering and applied science through engaging experiences and environments that promote critical thinking, creativity, equity, ethics, and leadership, creating lifelong learners.

Meliora!

WELCOME TO THE NEW HAJIM SCHOOL FACULTY

Mary Cooke/Matt Wittmeyer Photography

We are fortunate to welcome a cohort of brilliant new faculty members this year to add fresh perspectives and deep expertise from academia and industry. The following faculty join the Hajim School this year to educate our students and push the frontiers of research:

• joins the as an assistant professor after having served as an assistant professor of research here last year. Her research lies at the intersection of molecular, particulate physics, and systems engineering to devise resource-efficient and sustainable processes.
• joins the as an assistant professor after having earned her PhD in electrical engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her research expertise is in optimization, machine learning theory, and statistical signal processing.
• Nam Cho joins the as an assistant professor of research after having served as a senior scientist II at Topcon Medical systems and postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School. His research specializes in optical measurement systems including optical coherence tomography.
• joins the as an assistant professor after having served as a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University. Her research explores how cells and tissues in the human body sense their physical environment and the loads they experience during daily activities like walking and running.
• will join the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor of instruction in January after earning her PhD in physics at the URochester. Her research seeks to improve the integrated hydrodynamic simulations the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) uses to model complex experiments.
• joined the as a professor of instruction in May after serving as a research associate professor at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at the University of Colorado. Barney oversees our brand-new .
• Barry Silverstein ’84 (optical engineering) will join the as a professor of practice in November after having served as the senior director and chief technology officer of optics and display in Meta’s Reality Labs. Barry is a seasoned expert, having researched and developed optical systems, laser projection, sensing, imaging/printing, space imaging, and optical recording.
• joins the as an assistant professor after having served as a postdoctoral associate at MIT. His research focuses on the fundamental properties of information processing, an intersection of information theory and artificial intelligence, covering topics in statistical learning, machine learning theory, and representation learning.

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BENJAMIN CASTANEDA RECEIVES PERUVIAN AWARD FOR SCIENTISTS AND INVENTORS

Ģą˝´«Ă˝ photo / J. Adam Fenster

Congratulations to Professor BenjamĂ­n Castañeda from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, who was recognized in July with an award by the Peruvian government for technological innovation. On the nation’s first ever Day of the Peruvian Inventor and Scientist, Ben and several other previous winners of the National Invention Competition were honored by el Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la ProtecciĂłn de la Propiedad Intelectual (Indecopi), Peru’s governmental office that oversees intellectual property and consumer defense.

Specifically, Ben was praised for his leadership designing and manufacturing hundreds of mechanical ventilators to support critically ill patients in Peru during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read about Ben’s incredible work in this Rochester Review profile.

OPTICS STUDENTS SHINE IN ROBERT S. HILBERT MEMORIAL OPTICAL DESIGN COMPETITION

I’m happy to share that five of the 11 winners of the 2025 Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition are from the Institute of Optics, besting all other universities. This  recognizes the innovative work of students in the field of optical design, showcasing their skills and creativity using Synopsys Optical Solutions software.

Our winners included:

• Jonathan Friedman (graduate student)
• Brendan Habert ’26
• Brian Hassard (graduate student)
• Chen-Lin (Eva) Liu ’26
• Ryan Szymczyk (graduate student)

The students’ projects ranged from macro lenses for brain surgery to search and rescue cameras. To read more about the students and their projects, . Special thanks to Professor for encouraging her students to participate in the competition.

TELESCOPE KIT THAT BEGAN AS A SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT HITS THE MARKET

For several years, teams of optics students advised by Professor have developed components of a telescope kit for their senior design projects. The do-it-yourself kit was designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and provide kids their first opportunity to work hands-on with optics.

That hard work has paid off and the kit has now become a commercially available product. The senior design project’s clients have made the , a testament to the high quality work our students produce through their capstone experiences.

Read more about the telescope in this story about senior design projects on the News Center.

HANDSHAKE’S AI MOVE FELLOWSHIP FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

The identified an exciting opportunity for Hajim School PhD and master’s candidates to join a community of scholars challenging and improving AI models, while receiving a competitive wage and completing their degree. The Handshake Model Validation Expert (MOVE) program bridges domain experts with leading AI labs to make AI better and more accessible for all.

A comprehensive review of the program along with currently available positions are on the .

LABOR DAY

The University will be closed next Monday, September 1, in celebration of Labor Day. The next edition of Hajim Highlights will appear on Tuesday, September 2.

Have a great start to the academic year!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman