April 27, 2026
NASA/Chris Gunn
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
The Hajim School proudly boasts a network of distinguished alumni who are responsible for some incredible advances in technology, and one of them was recently recognized by SPIE for his out of this world contributions to science. Lee Feinberg ’87 (optics) was awarded the 2026 SPIE George W. Goddard Award in Space and Airborne Optics for his outstanding leadership through the design, integration, and delivery of optical systems that brought the objectives of the Webb and Hubble space telescopes into clear focus.
As the Optical Telescope Element Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lee was critical to the success of the world’s largest, most powerful space telescope. He formed a panel of the world’s leading experts in telescope testing and design to provide independent assessments throughout the development process. The team he established was chaired by Professor Emeritus and the late Jim Wyant ’67 (MS), ’69 (PhD), ’21 (Honorary), whose legacy continues at the through the .
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EHSAN HOQUE INDUCTED INTO AIMBE COLLEGE OF FELLOWS
Congratulations to Professor from the Department of Computer Science, who was .
Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biological engineers, comprised of the top two percent of engineers in these fields. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”
Ehsan was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for pioneering scalable, ethical AI technologies that improve neurological care, social communication, and health equity across clinical and global contexts.” He was inducted along with 175 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2026 at a ceremony held during the AIMBE Annual Event in Arlington, Virginia on April 13, 2026.
Read about Ehsan’s work to use AI to detect Parkinson’s disease at the News Center.
HAJIM STUDENTS EARN RECOGNITION AT THE RICE BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
The Hajim School and the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation were proud to support a team of outstanding biomedical engineers to travel to Houston to compete against more than 40 teams in the . I’m proud to report that the VivoFlux team of Chloe (Kaihua) Chen ’25 PhD (biomedical engineering), PhD student Isabelle Linares, and PhD student Kevin Ling stood out in a highly competitive field for their work, preparation, and ability to communicate their vision. They earned the third place $1,100 Edward H. Molter Memorial Prize for the Wildcard Round for their Flow Insert platform, which transforms any static culture on glass slides, well plates, or microphysiological systems (MPS) into a dynamic, perfused model that mimics real tissue environments. Well done!
HAJIM STUDENTS PLACE WELL IN NEW YORK BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
Our entrepreneurially minded Hajim School students also performed well in the . Four startups led by Hajim School students brought home prizes at the competition:
- Mechanical engineering PhD student Karthik Ramakrishnan earned 2nd place in the health and wellbeing category for Scyntek, Inc.
- Guruansh Kohli ’26 (computer science) and SAS student Nate Bogdan ’26 earned 2nd place in the safe, power, and mobility category.
- Walter McDonald ’27 (data science and mathematics) and Stephen Lim ’27 (majoring in computer science and finance) earned 2nd place in the software and service category for OrbitPhone.
- Timothy Guida (MS in biomedical engineering CMTI) earned 3rd place in the health and wellbeing category for Guidus Medical.
Thanks for embodying the Meliora spirit!
CELEBRATING RESEARCH WEEK WINNERS
Earlier this month, the Office of Undergraduate Research presented Celebrating Research Week (CRW), a series of University-wide events for Ģý students to present their investigative and creative work. Congratulations to the following Hajim School students who won awards in the engineering and math category:
- Symposium President’s Award: Euan Seow ’26 (computer science), pictured above.
- Symposium Dean’s Award: Ulizes Atlixqueno ’27 (mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering)
- Poster Expo 1st place: Hayden Groeschel ’26 (mechanical engineering)
- Poster Expo 2nd place: Zihan Zheng ’27 (optical engineering)
- Lightning Talks 1st place: Julia Sides ’27 (biomedical engineering)
- Lightning Talks 2nd place: Euan Seow ’26 (computer science)
- Lightning talks 3rd place: Sree Chatterjee ’26 (computational biology and data science)
- Lightning talks People’s Choice: Nyaradzo (Valery) Maraaranje ’26 (computer science)
During CRW, the Ģý Students’ Association also presented Professor the Professor of the Year Award. Well-deserved! and see more from this year’s CRW events at the Office of Undergraduate Research website.
UPCOMING EVENTS IN EXTENDED REALITY
Ģý photo / J. Adam Fenster
The latest research in extended reality will be on display throughout a series of events this week taking place at the .
Student demos and final presentations from the Intro to XR: Theory & Practice course will be on display from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29. Students have spent the semester designing, modeling, and building fully playable VR experiences from the ground up using Blender and Unity, and now you can see them in action.
Student demos and final presentations from the AR/VR Interaction course will be on display from 3:25-4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30. The undergraduate and graduate students spent the semester designing and building augmented and virtual reality applications that tackle real-world challenges in education, collaboration, and quality of life.
The week culminates with the , presented by the Center for eXtended Reality in partnership with , University Libraries. The symposium highlights XR research and innovation across disciplines at URochester, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and across the broader Rochester research community. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from colleagues, identify potential collaborations, and connect with researchers working across fields. For students, the event offers valuable exposure to active research groups and insight into future research and career pathways. The symposium will also feature hands-on access to the latest XR technologies in Studio X.
The symposium takes place in person and on Zoom from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 1. .
ED AND BARBARA HAJIM ART OF SCIENCE COMPETITION AWARDS AND RECEPTION
We are excited to unveil the winning entries of the annual this week! We received more than 50 pieces of original artwork from Ģý students, faculty, and staff this year. The awards ceremony and reception will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 30 on the second floor of the Carlson Library. Light refreshments will be provided.
UROCHESTER COHOSTS AICHE REGIONAL CONFERENCE
The recently cohosted an American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Regional Conference, welcoming more than 200 students from 17 universities across the Northeastern United States and Canada. Several students stood out for their research presentations:
- Jiatong Gui ’27 earned third place in the Student Technical Presentation Competition
- Katherine Hegblom ’27 earned second place in the Student Poster Competition.
The conference featured inspiring keynote presentations, including one Saturday night by alumnus Anando Chowdhury ’95, ’02 MS (Vice President in Merck’s Enterprise Strategy Office), who spoke on “The Power of the ChE Mindset, Methodologies and Tools to Improve Access to Medicines and Vaccines.” His talk highlighted the global impact of chemical engineering in advancing healthcare and accessibility. Professor Emeritus Ching Tang, who pioneered OLED technology for displays, gave the keynote on Friday. The event also featured an alumni career panel with:
- Hailey Baker ’22, Project Engineer, Javlyn Process Systems
- John Ofori ’96 (PhD), Vice President, New Ventures, US Pharmacopeia
- Chris Wolfe ’07 (MS), Toner Cost Manager, Xerox
- Abigail Zabrodsky ’14, ’19 MBA, Director of Business Development, Advanced Manufacturing Technology
CLASS OF 2026: COMPLETE THE FIRST-DESTINATION SURVEY
I strongly encourage all graduating students to complete the Class of 2026 First-Destination Survey conducted by the . If you’re still looking for you next opportunity, waiting on grad school admissions, or anything else, you can enter “Still Looking” and they will connect you to a career advisor for as long as you need. They will also sign you up for our summer Class of 2026 newsletter with advice and selected job postings. .
NEWLY FUNDED RESEARCH
Congratulations to Professor from the , who is receiving $146,037 from Rice University’s Center for Innovation and Translation of POC Technologies for Expanded Cancer Care Access (CITEC) titled “BREVIUS: Breast Cancer Volume Imaging Ultrasound.” CITEC is an NIH-funded center managed by for creating affordable, rapid point-of-care (POC) cancer diagnostics for low-resource settings, including sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and underserved U.S. areas.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
