How do you best tell the story of a research university, from campus lab to Genesee River and everything in between? For senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster, it’s about access—and looking out for what might be just beyond the lens.

2025 at the Ģ����ý was ripe with progress, passion, and possibility. And as the year draws to a close, we talk with Fenster about his favorite photos from the last 12 months, and what might be on the horizon for the future. Here’s to what’s next—Ever Wonder. Ever Better.

Tour de force

Lauren Tagliaferro, a curatorial assistant at the , speaks to visitors in the painting storage room during a tour of the museum’s art storage areas. The museum’s gives visitors a chance to go behind the scenes and uncover a new perspective.

“I think I read about the tour in @Rochester,” says Fenster. “Having been here for a while now, I’m always looking for a new angle on an old thing. At the museum, for every piece of art you see, there are probably 10 you don’t. And here we finally get to see where and how all the other stuff is stored. Equipment-wise, using the fish-eye lens helps to capture all the visual layers—people, art, storage area—contained in the scene.”

Clean machine

David Canning, facility manager for the , inside the grating compressor chamber (GCC) of the Omega EP Laser at the .

There’s a safety talk and protocols to keep a dustless space dustless—including wiping down gear and wearing specific clothing—but, shares Fenster, “Any time you go inside the laser bays, it’s a big deal, especially the GCC. Dave was very accommodating in letting me in there—our visit was the only time the entire year that the chamber was open for maintenance.”

In a stainless steel chamber, it’s hard to control the light. “It’s one giant reflector”, he says, but bringing in a powerful light can lead to some surprising results. “I like the iridescent colors of the grating glass contrasted with the metallic sheen everywhere. And then you have Dave reflected in the panel on the right.”

Mentorship in action

Zoë Miles ’25 (T5), Sree Chatterjee ’26, Jenna Savino ’26, and Maddie Bellamy ’27 are pictured with Rochester Prep student Marquez Smith (center). These Ģ����ý students volunteer with Eye to Eye, a national nonprofit organization that pairs neurodivergent middle school students with learning and attention differences with college and high school students who share a similar label to help mentor the next generation.

“It’s good to show these outreach efforts. I feel like I don’t get a lot of opportunities for this kind of work, so when they do come up, it’s good to get in there. And it probably wasn’t too long ago that our students were the age of the students behind the desks.”

A material world

Viewed with polarized light, photoelastic materials display distinct patterns of birefringence and force chain propagation after a collision. This experiment was conducted by Sarah Williams, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the DRIP (Dirt, Rivers, Ice, Particles) Lab, an interdisciplinary group of scientists in the department.

“For someone who doesn’t quite understand all the science behind it, I don’t want to say it doesn’t matter what this is, but I’m attracted to the colors and the patterns in this image,” laughs Fenster. “I see an abstract story that I haven’t seen anywhere before. And so that makes me want to look closer. And then you learn about birefringence and other earth science terms. It’s a cool photo that introduces you to the science.”

Spark of interest

A composite of multiple images, here a laser etches nanostructures into a highly absorbent black metal surface in the lab of Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and of physics, and a senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. This technique, developed by Guo, enhances solar absorption but minimizes infrared emissions to create highly efficient solar thermoelectric generators.

Notes Fenster, “I’ve been documenting Chunlei’s research almost as long as I’ve been at the University. But I had never photographed the process that he uses to create this material. And I’ve always wanted to do that. This surface is moving and creating these sparks that are flying everywhere. It would be cool enough to have one exposure, but I thought, ‘Why don’t I combine several of them and get even more stuff flying?’ It’s kind of like photographing fireworks, but on a much smaller scale.”

Flex messages

Workers gather for a morning stretch and flex session at the Strong Emergency Department expansion project construction site. Through this project, the Emergency Department will nearly quadruple in size and include space for psychiatric emergency care.

In the course of documenting this milestone construction, Fenster heard about the stretch and flex session that precedes work every morning and thought it might make for an interesting, offbeat image. “Just not something you typically see at a construction site. They bring out a little PA system, they blast upbeat rock tunes, and they go through their stretches. This photo also helps show just how many people are involved in a project of this size.”

Among several rocks and a hard place

Anshul Yadav, a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Rachel Glade, an assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences and of mechanical engineering, uses a self-made device to track the movement of RFID-tagged rocks in a stream in nearby Webster, New York.

“Here was an opportunity to show field research taking place at URochester,” says Fenster. “And,” he added, “an opportunity to explain why that research is important. That ‘why’ is essential in answering the bigger question: Why do universities exist?”

When asked how he captured this shot, Fenster gave a surprising answer: it’s a drone photo. “It’s a lot trickier flying in a space like this, over a stream bed deep in the woods, than up over the Genesee River, which I’ve also done. This is basically flying in a tunnel, with lots of overhanging branches and stuff sticking out. But it’s worth it for the unique angle it provides.”

Let’s focus

An intraocular lens is photographed on a fingertip to show its scale. Earlier this year, Susana Marcos, the Nicholas George Endowed Professor in Optics and the David R. Williams Director of the Center for Visual Science, served as the lead guest editor of a special issue of the journals of Biomedical Optics Express and Optics Express exploring the state of the technology.

Before you ask: Yes, that is Fenster’s finger supporting the lens. And while he did also photograph an intraocular lens insertion surgery, “I thought it would be helpful for the story to make photos of the lens itself, showing its odd galaxy-esque shape and including a finger for scale. And while it was challenging to photograph, it makes you appreciate just how much more challenging it must be for the surgeons to insert these precisely.”

It was the fest of times

Jeff Campbell (bass) and Clay Jenkins (trumpet), both professors of jazz studies and contemporary media at the Eastman School of Music, perform with Eastman’s Jazz Honors Unit 2 during the . Eastman’s faculty, alumni, and students performed throughout the week at various locations.

“This is a good example of a locator photo,” notes Fenster. “You don’t need to read the caption to know where this is. It’s peak musical action.”

Bloom where you’re transplanted

Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro, center, chief of the Transplant Institute at the Medical Center, and fellow surgeon Koji Tomiyama, left, perform a living donor liver transplant surgery in July 2025. ����dz������ٱ��’s pioneering living donor liver transplant program was profiled in the most recent issue of Rochester Review.

“This photo took a lot of planning and was made possible by the great access I was provided by Medical Center staff, the donor and recipients who gave their permission, and the time I was permitted to work inside the OR. With a narrower window, I would not have been able to capture this brief moment when all the room lights were turned off, which creates a nice contrasting scene that highlights the team and the action at the center.”

Do we want to know one more thing, asks Fenster. “You hear about doctors playing music in their ORs. Dr. Hernandez-Alejandro is a big fan of 80s pop music. So while this very serious operation is taking place, he’s blasting A-ha and Duran Duran. There was something kind of surreal about that.”

(Gene)see you out on the water

Earth and environmental sciences professor John Kessler and PhD candidate Katherine “Katie” Gregory ride specially equipped kayaks down the Genesee River to gather continuous measurements of methane, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. These “floating laboratories” are collecting real-time data.

“I love the concept of using tricked-out kayaks to study greenhouse gases—they are basically miniaturized versions of the much larger boats he and the Atlantic to make similar measurements. They let me join them for the day in my canoe, which I was standing in for this photo—never a good idea. But I needed to get that angle.”

Preventative measures

Ģ����ý football players Daniel Santos ’26 and Lucas Villanueva ’26 undergo an EEG (electroencephalogram) in the Goergen Athletic Center. They’re part of a study looking at repetitive head hits led by Jeff Bazarian, a professor of emergency medicine and of neurology.

“Anytime you’ve got electrodes attached to people’s heads, you’ve got to get photos. And I’ve been wanting to photograph Bazarian’s work for years. While not every concussion is sports-related, the research they get from this will help anyone with a concussion. Again, it comes back to: Why do research universities matter? Why do they need funding? This is why.”

Pier to pier research

Toxicology PhD candidate Alma Avila Oropeza retrieves a sample jar from Lake Ontario from Charlotte Pier. The research is part of the efforts of the , jointly hosted by Ģ����ý and the Rochester Institute of Technology. The center is a hub for research, translation, and community engagement around how different types of plastics enter and move through the Great Lakes ecosystems and how microplastics may affect human health under different environmental conditions.

“This one took a lot of planning, but it was a great opportunity to learn just how they get their data. The sampling itself is one thing, and then they have to go back to the lab and analyze it. It’s important to show just how much work goes into the process.”

And the dog? “It adds a bit of comic relief, and helps situate the viewer: You can tell where this is taking place.”

Scoping it all out

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Marisol Herrera-Perez and PhD student Maria Camila Ferrucho are using a fluorescent microscope to activate an optogenetic tool to observe how manipulating proteins affects the condensation of the ventral nerve cord of flies. Herrera-Perez received a National Institutes of Health MIRA grant to investigate the mechanical signals that guide how a single cell becomes a complex organism.

“This is sort of a standard lab photo, but the key is proper lighting,” shares Fenster. “This is not how the lighting looked when I went in there. And as a photographer, you want to highlight the essence of what’s going on, what they’re doing. And that’s the microscopes and what the microscopes are pulling up on the computer screens.”

Catching the good light en garde

Jacqueline Hsiao ’27, UR fencing club president and 2024 Fencing Junior Olympics competitor, is photographed outside during a practice.

“It was all about timing,” Fenster says. “I got nervous watching the nice golden hour light melt away while making action photos inside the gym, knowing I wanted to leave enough time for an outdoor portrait with what promised to be a beautiful sunset. By the time I dragged all my gear out there, the sun had already set. Fortunately, there was enough glow left in the sky for a dramatic portrait using a single light off to the side.”

A closer look

Staff scientist Preeti Maurya spins down and vacuums cells in the tissue culture room in the lab of Craig Morrell, Dean’s professor of medicine and codirector of the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Medical Center.

Here comes the blue science gel. “If this photo looks staged, that’s because it is! Do you think the lab is always blue? No,” jokes Fenster. “Do you think there’s a tiny spotlight on Maurya’s face all the time when she’s at that microscope? No. Everything is lit and staged by me. What’s not staged is the research that a photo like this helps to illustrate. It’s worth putting in the time when possible to make a space look extra special if it leads people to take a closer look.”

Homeward bound

Dora Biro, the Beverly Petterson Bishop and Charles W. Bishop Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, works with homing pigeons at their coop near the Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center. Biro and fellow Brain and Cognitive Sciences Associate Professor Takao Sasaki’s Collective Cognition Lab explores how the perceptual and cognitive capacities of different species—as adapted to their varying ecological needs—shape the challenges and opportunities that come with living in groups, including conflict resolution, behavioral coordination, knowledge accumulation, and collective decision-making.

Like Bazarian, Biro is someone that Fenster has wanted to photograph for a while. It took a bit of direction and more than a few takes, but the result was worth it. “This is one of hundreds of photos that I made that day, both inside and outside of the coop. We probably made five or so attempts at this. The overcast sky was actually advantageous because I had nice uniform light everywhere.��

“I also like that you can see the coop in the background, which is on the Advancement campus,” reflects Fenster. “It’s offbeat, it’s eclectic, and it again demonstrates the range of research we do here. And thanks to Biro for recognizing the value of capturing an image like this.”

Stellar performance

Roger Sayer, the original organist for the film Interstellar, plays his arrangement of the music from the original soundtrack by composer Hans Zimmer at Third Presbyterian Church during . The festival, which took place in the fall, was the first of its kind in North America.

How can you really illustrate sound? “We’ve got the guy who performed on the original score for Interstellar? And he’s going to come here, and play it live on a gigantic organ, in this cool old church? That’s it. That’s the photo.” Again, access was everything. “I’m up in the balcony, trying not to make any noise, trying to be discreet because all around you, people are trying to enjoy the show.”

On the cutting edge

Biology and psychology major Amanda Lee ’27 uses a plasma cutter to fabricate an archive-themed sculpture project for “What We Chronicle” in a hybrid drawing sculpture class led by Allen Topolski, chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

“Much like in the photo from Chunlei Guo’s lab, we have sparks flying. Only this time, they’re much larger. And you have the cool reflections in the visor, with a lot of colors.

“I only got hit a couple of times with those hot shards,” he adds. “They did have me wear safety glasses.”

Weight for it, weight for it

As part of the curriculum in Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chris Muir’s ME 204 class, students test the efficiency of balsa wood structures. The structure with the highest strength-to-weight ratio receives an A for the class. Here, senior Amel Rouabhia reacts as her team’s structure comes apart. Beloved by students for years, Muir’s class might make you want to head back to school.

“This photo—this experience—is all about faces and reactions. I’ve been photographing this event with Muir for years. And while there is real science behind it, he makes it visual, approachable, and exciting for all his students. This always seems to be the best angle, too, compressing the structure, the team, and the onlookers all into one tight frame. They know what’s going to happen to the structure, but they don’t know when, so they’re still surprised. They’re never really ready for it, and that’s what gives you these great reactions.”

“AJ [Pow, senior video producer] had the genius idea to light it this year by strapping video lights to the railings overhead, which helped immensely with having more light on the subjects, and the blue evening sky filtering in from outside helps it feel more dramatic.”

Photos by senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster unless otherwise noted.

SWATCH ME NOW: As seen under a microscope, a cross-section of paint layers taken from the main tunnel under Eastman Quad, measuring approximately 8 mm.

UP TO SOMETHING: A student sits in an oak tree on Eastman Quad during a mild fall day in Rochester.

DON’T LET YOUR (EN) GARDE DOWN: Patrick Knecht Prange (left) and Alexander Bae, both of the Class of 2027, spar during a practice.

GETTING INTO GEAR: Members of the student-run affix protective gear to one another before a practice.

BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL: Preeti Maurya, a staff scientist, spins down and vacuums cells in the tissue culture room within the lab of Craig Morrell, a dean’s professor in the department of medicine and associate director of the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute.

BUILDING ON A LEGACY: (NROTC) students engage in morning battalion physical training in Fauver Stadium as the Ģ����ý unit commemorates its 80th anniversary.

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING: ����dz������ٱ��’s River Campus and Rush Rhees Library as seen via aerial drone at sunrise.

EVERY DAY YOU GET OUR (EVER) BEST: Jillian Geib ’25 selects items from a Wegmans Meals Market display in Hillside Market inside Susan B. Anthony Halls. Under a new partnership, University dining locations are now stocking many of the grocery chain’s most popular prepared foods.

TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE: A bike rider travels along Wilson Boulevard during an autumn afternoon. (Ģ����ý photo / Gary Kong)

NOT JUST FOR THE BIRDS: Dora Biro, the Beverly Petterson Bishop and Charles W. Bishop Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, works with homing pigeons at a coop near the Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center. Together with Takao Sasaki, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences, research from the Collective Cognition Lab explores how the perceptual and cognitive capacities of different species shape the challenges and opportunities that come with living in groups.

A STELLAR PROGRAM: Organist Roger Sayer performs at Third Presbyterian Church in downtown Rochester during Eastman School of Music’s . The program featured Sayer’s arrangement of the music from the original score to Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.

WILL BRAKE FOR SMILES: Shuttle driver Joe Hill poses for a quick photo during a stop on the River Campus. Shuttle rides are free with a University ID. Check the schedule here.

I SAW SPARKS: Amanda Lee ’27 uses a plasma cutter and rod cutter to fabricate an archive-themed sculpture project, What We Chronicle. The work is part of a hybrid drawing sculpture class in Sage Art Center taught by Allen Topolski, a professor of art.

EVER VIGILANT: A red-tailed hawk takes in the sights of Eastman Quad as trees change to fall colors.

IN THE AIR TONIGHT: A student walks past a steam outlet near Susan B. Anthony Bowl on the River Campus.

DON’T YOU JUST LOVE NEW YORK IN THE FALL?: The University’s River Campus—and the Genesee River—in all its fall glory seen via aerial drone. (Ģ����ý photo / AJ Pow)

STUDY GROUP IN SESSION: A student, accompanied by a four-legged friend, studies on the Hajim Engineering Quad. (Ģ����ý photo / Gary Kong)

CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE: Wilson Commons, on the University’s River Campus, seen via aerial drone.

REALITY SIGHTS: A student tests out VR equipment in the Mary Ann Mavrinac Studio X in Carlson Library.

LIQUID COURAGE: Chemistry PhD student Alejandro Alvarez uses liquid nitrogen in the lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry Michael Ruggiero.

MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY: Members of ����dz������ٱ��’s women’s rowing team practice on the Genesee River.

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: University President Sarah Mangelsdorf adds her signature to the final beam that will be placed in the structure of Strong Memorial Hospital’s emergency department expansion during a ceremony at the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the project will add more than 650,000 square feet of hospital space, tripling the size of the current emergency department—including a nine-story inpatient bed tower and more than 100 private inpatient rooms.

TO THINE OWN SELFIE BE TRUE: Class of 2027’s Aminah Muhumed and Nima Mohamud pose for selfies in front of Rush Rhees Library, lit blue for Meliora Weekend. Check out more moments from Meliora Weekend 2025.��

RUNNING MAN: Yellowjackets football running back Cole Raux scores a touchdown in the second quarter of a game against St. John Fisher University during Meliora Weekend. Rochester took home the win, 28–21.

A SIGN FROM ABOVE: The Meliora letters on Eastman Quadrangle in front of Rush Rhees Library, seen via aerial drone.

TIME FLIES: Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Marisol Herrera Perez and PhD student Maria Camila Ferrucho use a fluorescent microscope to activate an optogenetic tool to observe how manipulating proteins affects the condensation of the ventral nerve cord of flies.

TRUSS EXERCISE: Construction continues on the Joseph P. Mack Catholic Center next to the Goergen Athletic Center on the University’s River Campus, as workers use a crane to lower the last timber frame truss.

TEAM UP: Daniel Oh, a biochemistry major and member of the Class of 2026, prepares an experiment known as a Bradford Assay—used to determine the protein concentration in a sample—in the lab of Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor of biology. Oh is a member of Rochester’s team for the competition, a worldwide synthetic biology competition intended to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world.

F-STOP RIGHT THERE: Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge, a professor of art who specializes in lens-based media, leads a workshop with SLR 35mm film cameras at .

BRUSH HOUR: Students take an advanced painting class at Sage Art Center, led by Emily Tyman, a lecturer of art.

BUMP, SET, SPIKE: Members of the community play recreational volleyball behind Susan B. Anthony Hall during a July sunset.

GOTTA JET: A US Navy EA-18G Growler jet belonging to VAQ-135 (Electronic Attack Squadron 135) makes a low wheels-down pass over the Eastman Quadrangle.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE: Earth and Environmental Sciences professor John Kessler and PhD candidate Katherine Gregory ride specially equipped kayaks down the Genesee River and Erie Canal to gather continuous measurements of dissolved methane, carbon dioxide, and oxygen.

THE YEAST WE COULD DO: Department of Biology professor Justin Fay samples bark and soil around a tree for the presence of yeast in the Tionesta Scenic Area of Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest. By probing proteins from the yeast, Fay’s research shows how organisms may adapt to rising global temperatures.

TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE: A bumblebee visits a plant in a River Campus pollinator garden. The Suboptimal Sanctuary, an environmentally themed bee domicile, highlights the vital role of native bees in local ecosystems and the suboptimal conditions they face due to human activities causing habitat destruction, deforestation, and pollution.

THE EYES HAVE IT: Derek Power, lab manager, is photographed in the lab of Jesse Schallek, an assistant professor of ophthalmology, at the Flaum Eye Institute. Together, .

SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT: From left, Yellowjacket football players AJ Bicksler ’28, Daniel Santos ’26, Lucas Villanueva ’26, and Jake Adelmann ’26 share a laugh as they prepare to undergo a blood draw in the Goergen Athletic Center. The lab of Jeff Bazarian, a professor of emergency medicine and of neurology, along with four other institutions, is recruiting football players for baseline data for a study on repetitive head hits.

A FRESH COAT: Melody Gebremedhin receives a white coat from Erik Rueckmann, an assistant professor of emergency medicine, at the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s.

TAKE A HIKE: Students in the University’s First-Year Orientation Outing Treks (UR FOOT) program hike through Letchworth State Park. (Ģ����ý photo / Lauren Petracca)

HAVE CART, WILL TRAVEL: Residence assistant Joey Stempien helps first-year students in the Class of 2029 move in. Relive Welcome Week here. (Ģ����ý photo / Lauren Petracca)

CLOSE QUARTERS: Ella Zack throws a stuffed animal over to her new roommate, Mia Sakonju, in their dorm room at the Eastman School of Music Student Living Center. (Ģ����ý photo / Lauren Petracca)

PRESIDENTIAL AID: University President Sarah Mangelsdorf talks with students during move-in at Susan B. Anthony Hall. (Ģ����ý photo / Lauren Petracca)

NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Members of the Class of 2029 enjoy the Candlelight Ceremony, which gathers new students for a moment of tradition, history, and celebration. (Ģ����ý photo / Adrian Kraus)

WE’LL KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: It’s a sight that never gets old: Rush Rhees Library pictured via aerial drone at twilight.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: Students gather on Wilson Quadrangle to watch A Minecraft Movie during Welcome Week’s Outdoor Movie Night.

PIER EVALUATION: Toxicology PhD candidate Alma Avila Oropeza retrieves a sample jar from Lake Ontario, off of Charlotte Pier, as part of research through the . Hosted jointly by the University and Rochester Institute of Technology, the center is a hub for research, translation, and community engagement on how different types of plastics enter and move through the Great Lakes ecosystems, and how microplastics may affect human health under different environmental conditions.

MULCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: Melissa Dong ’29 shovels mulch at the during Wilson Day, an annual tradition that increases incoming students’ awareness and knowledge of the local community and introduces community engagement as part of their undergraduate experience.

WE’VE GOT CLASS: Eastman School of Music students walk to class on the first day of the fall semester.

BRANCHING OUT: Justin Lipschutz ’27 studies in a hammock on the Eastman Quadrangle on the first day of classes. Hot tip for students: Relaxing in a hammock on River Campus is one of our top essential experiences during your time at Rochester. Start your to-do list now.

June was bustin’ out all over—with Jazz Fest, sunny days, outdoor happenings, and intrepid research. Explore how we spent the busiest of months at the Ģ����ý. Photos by senior University photographer J. Adam Fenster unless otherwise noted.

LASER POWER: In this composite image, a laser etches nanostructures into a highly absorbent black metal surface in the lab of Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and of physics and a senior scientist in the . This technique enhances solar absorption while minimizing infrared emissions to create highly efficient solar thermoelectric generators.

TAKING THE FIELD: The University’s “Spirit R” photographed in Fauver Stadium via aerial drone.

HEADS IN THE CLOUDS: Storm clouds roll past Rush Rhees Library, as seen from the top of Hylan Hall.

PROJECT RUNWAY: Seniors and master’s students in the display their projects during the school’s annual Design Day. The students completed 79 capstone projects this academic year, providing businesses and nonprofits with solutions to real-world problems.

HOVER UP: Design Day attendees react as senior mechanical engineering student Ian Yao from Team Alligator competes against Team Crocodile in hovercraft racing.

LEARNING FACES ACTIVATED: Participants engage in a marketing photo shoot for the University’s Learning Center, which offers study skill support, workshops, tutoring, and other resources to help Rochester students in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences succeed.

THE GOODEST BOY (OR IS HE?!): Sprite, a Belgian Malinois, wears a tinfoil hat to illustrate the conspiracy theory research of Scott Tyson, an associate professor of political science. Read more about Tyson’s research and in the “Ever Wonder” series.

M IS FOR MELIORA: MSM Inc. staffer Eric Belanger sets up the traditional “Meliora” letters on the University’s Eastman Quadrangle, in advance of Commencement.

ALL YOU NEED IS A LIGHT JACKET: Dakota Gruber of University Facilities and Services applies a biannual coat of paint to the dandelion roundel below the clock tower on Wilson Quad.

CAN I GET A LIFT?: Members of the Class of 2025 John Alex (left) and Sung Jae pose for photos on Eastman Quad in front of Rush Rhees Library.

SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS: Rochester graduates tour the Rush Rhees Library Tower ahead of Commencement. are typically offered only twice a year: during Senior Week in May and for the River Campus Libraries’ annual Scare Fair in October.

HATS OFF: A mortarboard flies through the air as members of the Class of 2025 celebrate. Revisit moments from this year’s 175th Commencement.

PRETTY IN PINK: The Meliora letters amid flowering crab tree blossoms on Eastman Quad.

COME ON AND RAISE YOUR GLASS: Devin Murphy-Stanley (left) and Haley Trehern share a post-rehearsal toast outside Strong Auditorium the day before Commencement, part of Rochester’s annual .

STRIKE A POSE: A photographer’s light flashes as graduates pose for photos on Eastman Quad.

REGALIA US: Hunter LaChance of the Class of 2025 wears four mortarboards while posing for a photo.

THIS IS THE MOMENT: The University conferred academic degrees to more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students during this year’s Commencement. (Ģ����ý photo / Lauren Petracca)

ODE TO JOY: Graduates from the Eastman School of Music celebrate. (Ģ����ý photo / Keith Walters)

MEDITATION EDUCATION: Mindful Leadership Consultant Lisa Critchley leads a meditation session for faculty as part of the Mindful Professor Training program.

FLIGHT SAFETY: As part of Smash the Crash, students in Assistant Professor of Art Mizin Shin’s SART 282 class design decals to be affixed to large windows on campus. The goal? To reduce the number of birds crashing into them. Above, Vanessa Bernie Otaño ’25 uses a power washer to clean a screen as Ella Smith looks on.

PREP IN OUR STEP: Eye to Eye is a national nonprofit organization that pairs neurodivergent middle school students with learning and attention differences with college and high school students who share similar labels. Here, Rochester student volunteers work with students at Rochester Prep.

GOOD TO BEE HOME: Students and faculty meet to plant flowering trees and dedicate Suboptimal, a new art installation on the University’s River Campus that provides solitary bees a place to nest. Students in Advanced Sculpture, taught by Allen Topolski, an associate professor of art and art history, constructed the bee domicile.

SOUND OF SILENCE: Class of 2025 audio music and engineering students Haochen (Glenn) Xiong, Zian (Alan) Wang, and Yunji Kim work on their senior design project. Sponsored by the Sri Vidya Temple Society, the students took acoustical measurements at the temple, tested different treatments using simulations, and are fabricating prototypes of soundproof panels to cut down on the intense reverberation in the temple’s gathering space.

COUNTDOWN TO COMMENCEMENT: Class of 2025 members Navya Soogoor, Chrysolite Dhinakaran, and Rafael de Farias pose for photos before picking up their regalia for this year’s Commencement Weekend.

LIGHT MY WAY: Viewed with polarized light, photoelastic materials display distinct patterns of birefringence and force chain propagation after a collision. The experiment was conducted by Sarah Williams, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the DRIP (Dirt, Rivers, Ice, Particles) Lab, an interdisciplinary group of scientists in the department.

QUITE A STRETCH: Workers gather for a morning stretch and flex session at the construction site for the new Strong Emergency Department expansion project.

SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN: Green Reps members and the University’s Bee Campus Committee, along with Horticulture and Grounds, host a planting event in front of the Hylan Building on the Hajim Engineering Quadrangle in celebration of Earth Day.

LAY OFF THE HIGH ONES: Softball player Sara Mazur throws to the infield after making a diving catch in the fifth inning for an out as teammate Jensen Sminchak reacts.

STRINGS ATTACHED: Killian Simonson ’28 and Grace Widjaja ’26 play violin and viola, respectively, on Wilson Quad as Rochester students enjoy the warm weather.

ABOVE AND BEYOND: Students, seen from above via aerial drone, enjoy a warm afternoon on Eastman Quad. (Ģ����ý photo / AJ Pow)

SPRING SING: Charlotte Bowder ’25 performs on during Springfest, a and the last Community Weekend of the year.

THAT’S A BINGO: Students in ASL 101 and 102 play bingo to practice their proficiency with signing numbers on Eyeth Day, the American Sign Language program’s largest event of the year. (UR Photography Club photo / Odin Choy)

QUANTUM MANIA: Optics PhD student Arnab Barnam Ray adjusts a confocal microscope to examine new optical materials. The research led by Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, has .

LOOKING FORWARD (BUT NOT DOWN): Construction crews continue their work on the Strong Expansion Project, which will triple the size of Strong Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department.

PUT ME IN, COACH: Pitcher Thomas Blaydes, a graduate student at Simon Business School, warms up as the Rochester varsity baseball team prepares to play Alfred State.

SPRING IN THEIR STEPS: Omar Khalil, Nicholas Gill, Yash Fadte, and Leyla Aydag—all from the Class of 2025—play Spikeball on the University’s Eastman Quadrangle, River Campus.

I’VE GOT YOUR BACK: Rochester students enjoy a warm afternoon in March on the River Campus.

WITH DISTINCTION: Wilmot Cancer Institute Director Jonathan Friedberg speaks during a news conference announcing Wilmot as a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.

MOST EXCELLENT: University President Sarah Mangelsdorf with the recipients of this year’s Presidential Awards for Inclusive Excellence. (Ģ����ý photo / Matt Wittmeyer)

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING: Prior to the official unveiling, chief engineer Kaan Aytekin ’26 wheels in this year’s car for the . The group is a student-run, nonprofit organization that designs, fabricates, tests, and competes with a single-seater off-road vehicle.

MAKE ME A MATCH: Fourth-year medical students at the School of Medicine and Dentistry .

CHAMBER OF SECRETS: David Canning, manager of the Omega EP Laser Facility, is pictured inside the Grating Compressor Chamber of the at the University’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?: The Art of Observation program, a partnership between the School of Medicine and Dentistry, the School of Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery, helps medical students and clinicians cultivate essential clinical skills. (Ģ����ý photo / Matt Wittmeyer)

ALL THAT AND A STACK OF CHIPS: A modular µSiM (m-µSiM) tissue chip platform, used to model vascular barrier tissues containing an easy-access open well for cell culture, in the lab of James McGrath, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Biomedical Engineering. The components are mass-produced and primarily acrylic, which allows for the assembly of highly reproducible devices.

S’MORES THE MERRIER: Rochester students enjoy fire pits and s’mores during Winterfest Weekend, an annual .

CLEAN OF ARTS: Kasia Maroney ’92, objects conservator, accompanied by Lauren Tagliaferro, curatorial assistant, cleans a spot on Wendell Castle’s Last Judgment during a visit to the Memorial Art Gallery.

CONVERSATION LESSONS: Yefim Ravin, a Russian-Jewish émigré, speaks with Aaron Do ’26, a Russian and music major, as part of a partnership between Jewish Family Services and the University’s Department of Modern Languages and Cultures’ Russian Language Community-Engaged Practicum. Created in fall 2023 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine—which limited students’ ability to study in Russia—the program pairs students interested in practicing their language skills with Russian-speaking immigrants from countries of the former Soviet Union.

A SURE FRING: Actor Giancarlo Esposito (right) speaks with Assistant Professor of Black Studies Jordan Ealey .

PAGES FOR THE AGES: The fore edge of the Ghent-Bruges Book of Hours, recently acquired by Rossell Hope Robbins Library and the Memorial Art Gallery. This example of a prayer book is illuminated with flowers, birds, fruits, and figures rendered in the Ghent-Bruges manner. The paintings are attributed to the Master of the Prayer Books of 1500.

ACCESS FOR ALL: Biomedical engineering PhD student Naomi Guevara demonstrates an ultrasound scanning protocol for breast cancer screening to biomedical engineering major Paula Lopez Fagundez. The ultrasound system and protocol were developed by Professor of Biomedical Engineering Benjamin Castañeda’s lab to provide medical imaging support to rural areas with limited access to technology.

LEADING EVER BETTER: University president Sarah Mangelsdorf, accompanied by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-D, left) and Medical Center CEO David Linehan, answers questions about the impact of federal cuts to National Institutes of Health funding during a news conference.

INVOLUTION INSTALLATION: Renee Jin, a doctoral student in the Graduate Program of Visual and Cultural Studies, with her works, Mandarin Blossom of the South I and II. Jin’s sculptures examine the concept of involution, which, among contemporary Chinese youth, refers to a rolling or curling up of the insides—a reaction to the pervasive cutthroat competition that is understood as largely pointless yet seemingly inescapable.

PASTRIES ON PARADE: A sampling of croissants (matcha cream, strawberry and cream, and chocolate Oreo and coconut cream) offered at JoyMart Grocery Store and Café in College Town. The specialty Asian market is owned by Yaofang (Vicki) Liang ’23W (PhD).

GROUNDBREAKING NEWS: Director of Planning Charles Gantt; Reverend Brian Cool; Chrissy and William Carpenter, University Trustee Emeritus; President Sarah Mangelsdorf; Bishop Salvatore Matano; Joseph Mack ’55, University Trustee Emeritus; and Amelia Swan ’25, Catholic Newman Student Executive Board President, participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Joseph P. Mack Catholic Center on the University’s River Campus.

DIBS ON THE TOP HAT: A new Rochester edition of Monopoly features spaces for the URochester, Medical Center, Memorial Art Gallery, and Eastman School of Music. You can also draw a Community Chest card with a nod to the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Pass “GO” and collect $200.

FULL OF IT: A nearly full moon makes an appearance alongside the owls adorning Rush Rhees Library tower at dusk.

WINTER REFLECTIONS: Argentum: Double-Positive, a light sculpture by Jim Sanborn, is seen in the evening during a snowfall at the .

DOUBLE VAULT: Lauren Tagliaferro, curatorial assistant at the Memorial Art Gallery, speaks to visitors in the painting storage room during a tour of the museum’s art storage areas.

LADIES IN WAITING: A recently acquired work by sculptor John Rhoden awaits preparation and display at the Memorial Art Gallery.

ROCK AND A HARD PLACE: Numbered, fist-sized rocks embedded with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in the lab of , an assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences and of mechanical engineering. Anshul Yadav, a postdoctoral associate in the lab, is investigating how grain shape affects dispersive characteristics, while also learning the numerical modeling of surface processes.

FASTER THAN TAKING THE BUS: Lucas Qiu ’25 snowboards behind Susan B. Anthony Hall on the first day of spring semester classes.

MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING: The first day of the spring semester brought snow and temperatures in the mid-teens.

PAW PATROL (AND PROTECTION): Students (and an intrepid pup) are dressed appropriately for the weather as they head out on the first day of spring semester classes.

REPLAY TIME: Canisters of 16-millimeter film containing game footage spanning decades, amassed by Terry Gurnett, former women’s soccer coach and current associate director of athletics advancement.

WORDS OF WISDOM: Jamal Holtz ’20 leads a breakout session during the University’s inaugural Career Exploration Summit, sponsored by the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections. More than 160 current Rochester students attended the event, which featured notable alumni sharing stories, skills, and valuable insight about their time at Rochester. (Ģ����ý photo / John Schlia)