November 24, 2025
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
I’m thrilled to share that an alumnus with a distinguished career in optics will return as a faculty member in January to help the Ģý lead the future of augmented and virtual reality. Barry Silverstein ’84 announced last week that he stepped down as the senior director of optics and display research at Meta Reality Labs Research and will come to Rochester serve as director of Ģý’s Center for Extended Reality (CXR), a transdisciplinary center focused on artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, and everything in between.
Established over the summer as part of , the University’s 2030 strategic plan, CXR will serve as a hub to connect the University’s experts in optics, computing, data science, neuroscience, education, the humanities, and other related fields to focus on advancing augmented and virtual reality. Barry’s industry experience at Meta, IMAX, and Kodak make him the perfect person to lead this exciting new initiative.
Read more about Barry and his plans for CXR at the News Center.
SAVANNAH SCHISLER ’22 AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS NDSEG FELLOWSHIP
Boston University photo
Congratulations to and alumna Savannah Schisler ’22, who ! Savannah is now a mechanical engineering PhD candidate at Boston University.
The three-year fellowship aims to Increase the number of U.S. citizens or nationals trained in disciplines of science and engineering of military importance and attract science and engineering baccalaureate graduates to pursue doctorates in DoD mission related research areas from U.S. institutions. Savannah’s fellowship is sponsored by the Army Research Office.
GRACE STENSLAND ’23 NOMINATED FOR CHILDREN’S & FAMILY EMMY AWARD
Congratulations to Grace Stensland ’23, who received her second nomination for a Children’s & Family Emmy Award! Grace and her team at Sound Rebels, LLC were nominated for for their work on the Jurassic World: Chaos Theory episode “Fire in the Piazza.” Grace served as sound effects editor on the series.
Earlier this year, she and her team at Sound Rebels received the Children & Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program for their work on Orion and the Dark.
The award ceremony takes place March 15. Good luck!
ALUMNA DRAFTED BY WOMEN’S PRO BASEBALL LEAGUE
The (WPBL) held their inaugural draft on November 20 and a Hajim School alumna was among the first class of women to hear their names called by the league. Elizabeth Greenwood ’22 (mechanical engineering) was and was one of more than 100 draft eligible players representing 10 countries. The League will launch four teams in the summer of 2026.
Beth was a pioneering member of Ģý’s varsity baseball team, becoming the first American female catcher to play in an NCAA baseball game in 2021. Currently, she is the assistant baseball coach at Vassar College and a catcher on the USA Women’s National Baseball Team that competes in the Women’s Baseball World Cup.
Read more about Beth in this 2021 profile.
NEW CHAPTER OF IEEE ETA KAPPA NU HONOR SOCIETY LAUNCHES
This fall, the University launched a chapter of the IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) honor society to offer students new opportunities to volunteer and get engaged. The chapter was founded by Newt Perlman ’26 and is advised by Professor . where he describes what the future holds for the student organization.
MICRON NORTHEAST UNIVERSITY NETWORK SUMMIT
RIT photo
Last week, the University co-hosted the along with Micron, RIT, Syracuse University, and the SEMI Foundation. The event was a wonderful opportunity to connect leaders from academia, industry, and government to accelerate high-impact strategies for semiconductor education and workforce development. I’m excited to work with tremendous partners to help develop our region’s semiconductor ecosystem and shape the future of advanced manufacturing in the United States!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
The University will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
