Departmental News
Recent departmental news items will be posted here. For more news see our news archive or the news from the University of Rochester Newscenter.
Best Student Paper Award at the 2024 AES Convention
Congratulations to electrical engineering PhD students Benjamin Thompson and Jenna Rutowski for winning the Best Student Paper Award at the 157thAudio Engineering Society convention. They were recognized for their paper “A Survey of Methods for the Discretization of Phonograph Record Playback Filters,” which they authored along with recent alumnus Tre DiPassio ’23 and Associate Professor Michael Heilemann.
Congratulations to Paul Berggren’25 ECE- Receives Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society award
Paul received a Stabile Scholarship, named for Vincent A. Stabile, NY L ’40, whose gifts to the Association have permanently endowed scholarships.
Congratulations to our faculty members who recently secured funding for new sponsored research projects
Tong Geng, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science, received $50,000 from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for a project titled “Emerging-Architecture-Aware Quantization for Generative AI with Hybrid Data Precision.”
Yerzhan Mustafa Awarded the 2024 IEEE Council on Superconductivity Graduate Study Fellowship
The IEEE Council on Superconductivity and its Awards Committee awards this fellowship annually to a full-time graduate student pursuing a PhD (or equivalent) degree in the area of applied superconductivity, at an accredited college or university of recognized standing worldwide. The intention of the award is to encourage students to enter and contribute to the field of applied superconductivity.
Riley Laygo Represents UR on Softball All-America Team
Softball player Riley Laygo ’27 (audio and music engineering) was honored as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III All-American, as announced by the organization on Wednesday evening. A Second Team All-American, Riley becomes the eighth All-America honoree in program history and is just the second first-year to earn the distinction.
Streamlined microcomb design provides control with the flip of a switch
Rochester researchers led by Qiang Lin, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and at the Institute of Optics, created a chip-scale microcomb laser with an innovative design that allows users to control the optical frequency comb simply by switching on a power source.
The Class of 2024 Celebrate with an Ice Cream Social
On Friday, May 10, 2024, seniors and graduating master’s students celebrated with their fellow graduates and faculty at our Ice Cream Social. Lugia’s Ice Cream on Wheels provided the delicious treat.
Eby Friedman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Eby Friedman, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Hajim School’s top annual faculty award for his tireless efforts and groundbreaking scholarly achievements. The Hajim School presented Eby with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes faculty for outstanding achievements in research, teaching, and leadership over the course of their career.
First Generation Students Move on to Exciting Next Chapters
The David T. Kearns Center profiled Hajim School graduates who are off to exciting next steps.
Rocky Award - Eli and Mildred Sokol Prize
Congratulations to ECE student, Jacob Greenberg ’26!
Rocky Award - Award for Campus Contributions – Junior & Senior
Congratulations to ECE student, Madison King ’25! Madison received the Award for Campus Contributions – Junior & Senior.
Grace Stensland '23 AME, Interviewed for Rochester Review
The Rochester Review catches up with AME alumus, Grace Stensland '23. See the article below about what she is doing now in Los Angeles.
Mujdat Cetin and Mark Bocko – Seed Funding for New Transdisciplinary Centers and Institutes
A key pillar of the Boundless Possibility strategic plan is that the University aims to launch five new transdisciplinary centers or institutes aimed at supporting scholarship in areas that will bring the University even more distinction and reputation. The University launched a planning funding competition in which teams of scholars from multiple units across the institution proposed ideas for new centers and institutes.
Thomas Howard – UR Robotics Club Faculty Advisor
UR Lunabotics is a brand-new competitive team with the goal of competing and succeeding in the NASA Lunabotics competition. Lunabotics is an international, university-based competition being run and sponsored by NASA. Teams typically develop one large robot (1.0m x 0.75m x 0.75m). This robot will compete by performing various autonomous and controlled tasks to gather points on a simulated lunar surface. Our goal is to compete this year in-person at NASA Kennedy Space Center using a fully autonomous robot. Lunabotics is open to all members regardless of skill level.
Newly Funded Research for Qiang Lin
Congratulations to Professor Qiang Lin from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and for receiving $500,000 to collaborate with Winston-Salem State University and Clemson University on a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The project is titled, “Expanding Quantum Research and Education at Winston-Salem State University with Research on Hybrid Microwave-Optical Quantum Devices.”
Congratulations Christiano Tapparello who recently secured funding for new sponsored research projects.
Cristiano Tapparello, an associate professor of research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received $113,879 from the National Institutes of Health for a project led by his collaborators at Stanford University titled, “A facial expression-based personalization engine (FPE) for monitoring and modulating real-time effective engagement in cognitive training in older adults at risk for AD-ADRD.”
Congratulations to ECE PhD student, Frank Cwitkowitz, a Graduate Research Symposium Winner!
The Hajim School’s graduate students did a terrific job showcasing their scientific findings last week at the third annual Graduate Research Symposium. The event, hosted by the office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, featured a poster session with $300 awards for the best presentations in four disciplines.
ECE UG Velma Ayona - EDGE Scholar
Two Hajim School students recently visited Micron Technology’s state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication facility in Boise, Idaho, last week as part of the new EDGE Scholars program. On February 26, Velma Ayona ’24 (electrical and computer engineering) and Atlas Kiewel ’27 (optics) toured Micron’s manufacturing facility, the only one for DRAM semiconductor memory chips in North America.
Five from the Hive: Omar Zakaria Khalil
The University of Rochester Instagram account’s Five from the Hive series provides a behind-the-scenes peek into the lives and experiences of our students through five photos from their camera roll. They recently featured Hajim School student Omar Zakaria Khalil ’25 (electrical and computer engineering).
Marvin Doyley Receives the Advocacy and Action Award
Marvin Doyley, the Wilson Professor of Electronic Imaging and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Advocacy and Action Award during last week’s Presidential Stronger As One Diversity Awards ceremony.