Ph.D. programs point the way forward

What if a sensor embedded onto the grip of a firearm was sensitive enough to detect an individual’s level of intoxication? And once detected, could it disable the firing pin mechanism? Research underway at Rochester Institute of Technology could answer those questions. Faculty-researcher Gill Tsouri is developing a novel skin-sensing system that can be embedded onto the grip of a firearm to detect blood alcohol content levels, and once detected, the system could deter the trigger mechanism. The technology could be a step toward preventing firearm accidents, homicides, and suicides where there is a near 90 percent death rate. “We are exploring an innovative use of state-of-the-art skin alcohol sensors in a way that has not been done before,” said Tsouri, a professor of electrical engineering in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. “This is a firearm safety measure. Our purpose is not to prevent people from accessing their firearm, but rather to empower them to use their firearms safely and to potentially keep their firearms when seeking help.” Tsouri received a Discovery Award, a grant of over $402,000 from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program, one of the most competitive funding awards given by the organization. He will be the principal investigator on the award and will partner with Jill Lavigne, a suicide prevention researcher with experience working with the DOD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Taking advantage of 3D printing, Tsouri will produce a prototype and assess the sensitivity and accuracy of data received from the sensor as well as the actuation of the trigger lock. “You cannot reasonably ask a person to become intoxicated just to test a tech system,” he said.  “Instead, we can control the alcohol content in the artificial sweat to test the system.” Biosensor devices have become popular with applications to monitoring motion, cardiac conditions and other aspects of wellbeing. Tsouri will use elements of current biosensing technology for his new design. With such a sensitive application—stopping the powerful firing mechanism of a gun—the researchers want to expand applications but must test for even more accurate and reliable sensing. “We may find out that these current sensors need some improvements, and at that point we might find ourselves designing newer sensing modalities,” said Tsouri, who has an extensive background in implementing electronic systems for body area networks and wearable technologies. “The question we are being asked is can we make these sensors sensitive enough, and can the responses be fast enough through the grip?” The team will integrate human factors design principles—guidelines for user-friendly and effective products—into the work with stakeholders to conduct pre-implementation research to support use and testing of the prototype. All efforts are intended to support development of a prototype that meets the needs of firearms users, health care providers tasked with safe use interventions in at-risk patients, and organizations that distribute firearms for their missions, said Lavigne. “Dr. Tsouri has taken on an important challenge for the prevention of firearms deaths in the U.S., a large proportion of which involve firearms users when under the influence of alcohol,” she said. “An intoxication-sensing trigger lock integrated into firearms is a solution we can all get behind.” This information does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

After taking a class with Professor Erika Mesh, second-year student Sejjemba Magoye wanted to further explore research into making poetry more accessible. A new program launched at RIT in fall 2024 is helping her do that by connecting her with a multidisciplinary student team, mentored by Mesh, focused on making games inspired by the work of members of the community. Magoye, a game design and development major, is among the first cohort of students participating in the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) initiative. Spearheaded by RIT’s Division of Academic Affairs and Professor Joe Geigel, the rigorous program engages undergraduate and graduate students in long-term, large-scale, multidisciplinary projects led by faculty researchers. One of the goals is to further RIT’s mission of involving students in complex research early in their academic careers. Unlike other courses, students considering the VIP program apply to a project and, upon acceptance, are enrolled in the appropriate course and section. Students’ work aligns with faculty scholarship and exploration and is assessed to earn academic credit. Five projects are currently underway in the College of Liberal Arts and Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. Opportunities involving other colleges will soon be available. Mesh, a senior lecturer in the School of Interactive Games and Media, had been looking for a way to create an opportunity for students to make games that convey feelings in the same way a poet influences readers and listeners. After learning more about the VIP program, she signed on to be a faculty mentor. After a few weeks, more than a dozen students from various grade levels were interviewed and accepted by Mesh for a team project called Echoes. A spring cohort of 27 students will finish four poetry games in the Echoes series. “This big project involves game designers, web developers, and producers,” said Magoye, who is from Golden, Colo. “This process is special and I’m happy that I was given the opportunity to do this. For me, games are art in motion and this has turned out to be a perfect way to satisfy my own exploration in a working and learning environment that Professor Mesh has created.” Fourth-year computer science student Benson Haley is helping to develop an open-source framework for live extended reality theater, specifically capturing body motion mirrored on avatars. He’s paired up with Geigel and a multidisciplinary team. “I studied under Professor Geigel prior to the VIP program, but being able to work with him on his research with virtual reality in theater is helpful,” said Haley, a theater arts minor from East Greenbush, N.Y. “As a BS/MS student, I need to find a professor to advise my thesis. Being exposed to working alongside professors who can fill this role is definitely beneficial.” In 2023, RIT joined the VIP Consortium, a global, nonprofit alliance of colleges and universities that operate Vertically Integrated Projects programs. Based on the preliminary success of the VIP program, Professor Geigel sees the potential to have several research projects in the pipeline. “This program is another avenue for our undergraduate students to publish papers, present at conferences, and focus on their capstones,” he said. “And not only are the students committed, but our faculty are passionate about this, too. This is a win-win for both and further positions RIT as a leader in actively engaging our students in collaborative research practices that will serve them well beyond their time here.” So far, the students have exceeded Mesh’s expectations. “This project is far bigger than I had planned, but the students are making it their own and are committed to finishing it,” she said. “I’m already looking forward to next fall where I have the ability to work with a new set of students who will find a new theme and continue building on this great body of work.” Vertically Integrated Projects for 2024-2025 Vertically Integrated Projects underway include CHANGELING VR: Narrative VR Game, led by Elouise Oyzon, associate professor, School of Interactive Games and Media; Cultural Heritage Imaging, Preservation, and Research, led by Juilee Decker, professor, Department of History, and David Messinger, professor and Xerox Chair in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science; echoes: Exploring games as reflections of our community, led by Erika Mesh, senior lecturer, School of Interactive Games and Media, and Benjamin Snyder,visiting lecturer, School of Interactive Games and Media; Peaceland: Choose Your Memory, led by Marcia Hartwell, adjunct faculty; and XRLive: Computational Tools for Live Performance, led by Joe Geigel, professor, Department of Computer Science.

The Ring Nebula is perhaps one of the most photographed objects in the night sky, dating back to its first image in 1886. Its intrinsic structure has been debated for as long as it has been observed. Scientists now have obtained the clearest three-dimensional view of the nebula, thanks to a research team led by Rochester Institute of Technology Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and School of Physics and Astronomy Professor Joel Kastner. The team determined the nebula to have an ellipsoidal shape using Submillimeter Array (SMA) radio-wavelength mapping of emission from carbon monoxide (CO) gas. The CO emission reveals cold, molecular gas that envelopes the hot gas and dust seen in images of the nebula obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and, more recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). "We looked at the data and the ellipsoidal structure was obvious, so we could put together a simple geometrical model. Now, we understand the structure of this nebula," said Kastner. "The James Webb Space Telescope gives us a collapsed image of what the object looks like in the sky. The SMA allows us to accurately measure the velocities of the molecular gas in the nebula, so we can see what's moving toward or away from us." Astronomers have theorized that the nebula is ring-shaped or has a soap bubble structure, but the model created from the SMA data revealed it is an ellipsoid. The SMA data pinpoint the velocities and locations of the carbon dioxide molecules ejected by the dying star that generated the Ring Nebula and reveal its 3D shape, which can't be inferred from telescopic images, even using powerful NASA space observatories like HST and JWST. The modeling allowed the astronomers to estimate that roughly 6,000 years have elapsed since the dying star, then a red giant, ejected the molecular gas that envelopes the nebula. The SMA data also reveal telltale signatures of the influence of a companion star to the former red giant at the center of the nebula, in the form of high-velocity blobs of gas that appear to have popped out of each end of the ellipsoidal shell. These findings follow similar research done on the Southern Ring Nebula, one of the first objects observed by the JWST. Kastner and his team authored a paper reporting a deeper understanding of the Southern Ring's structure in the spring of 2024. This new approach of using the combination of SMA mapping and JWST imaging to tease out the 3D structures of these objects gives scientists a fresh way to understand the final, dying stages of sun-like stars. “The stars that generate planetary nebulae like the Ring and Southern Ring may have produced much of the carbon in the universe,” said Kastner. “We can watch that carbon on its way to being recycled into the next generation of stars and planets when we observe these amazing objects.” Kastner is the lead author of a paper on this new 3D view of the Ring Nebula that is about to be submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. The research team included RIT astrophysical sciences and technology graduate students Diana Ryder and Paula Moraga Baez, who just received her Ph.D. in fall 2024). Other co-authors are David Wilner (Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian); Orsola De Marco (Macquarie University, Australia); Raghvendra Sahai (Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Al Wootten (National Radio Astronomy Observatory); and Albert Zijlstra (University of Manchester, UK). Kastner's research on molecular gas in planetary nebulae is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Ryan Jennings, owner of Rochester-based company Sweet Pea, recently made some tough calls to transform his business into a profitable enterprise. The whole food, plant-based meals enterprise is working in tandem with RIT’s Venture Creations business incubator to refine its mission and create long-term strategies for success. As a result, the pivot has resulted in a significant transition from losses earlier this year to profitability in just a few short months. ‌ Provided   Sweet Pea Plant-Based Kitchen provides plant-based meals made with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients. Its mission, which includes a commitment to sourcing over 60 percent of its ingredients from New York state, is to promote healthier lifestyles, improve overall wellbeing, and make plant-based eating more accessible. However, Jennings is the first to admit that high operational costs and nutrition coaching and weight-loss offerings were negatively impacting the bottom line. “At the beginning of 2024, we took a close look at the sustainability of our business,” he said. “Over the course of that process, the economics changed quite a bit, as it has for many companies in all sorts of sectors. The cost of food went up, the cost of people went up, even the cost of corrugated boxes went up. We were in a position where we had to make some tough decisions.” With advice from Venture Creations, Jennings is now focusing on food production and the preparation of meals with the best ingredients to help people on their plant-based journeys. As part of its new strategy, the company has optimized its operations at its Culver Road location, allowing for the extension of its fresh meal shelf life to 14 days without compromising quality. It is also expanding its local services in Rochester, with plans to offer more on-demand meal options through DoorDash and increased pickup days. Sweet Pea is also focused on expanding its footprint across New York state with new “Delicious Nutrition Hubs” opening in Syracuse, Buffalo, and Ithaca. These hubs will offer healthy meal options for all dietary preferences, featuring Homechow’s hot food vending kiosks with plant-based and omnivorous selections, as well as a retail section offering take-home meals and beverages from partners like Joe Bean Coffee and Katboocha, and high-quality dry goods. Sweet Pea also works alongside nutrition bar company Junabar and calcium-chew manufacturer Seen Nutrition with product development, preparation, and packaging services. Sweet Pea’s reach includes a daily cooking show, Plant Powered with Chef Ryan, on the Eat This TV network, and its new podcast, “Shelling Peas,” available on all major platforms. In 2025, Sweet Pea will launch a line of plant-based sauces in partnership with fellow Grow-NY winner Craft Cannery. Brad VanAuken is a venture coach with RIT’s business incubator. “Sweet Pea's journey reflects the resilience and adaptability of a young company dedicated to improving the health of individuals and the environment through plant-based nutrition,” said VanAuken. “Along with a successful business plan, a company’s success often lies with its leadership and staff. Ryan’s culinary philosophy centers around meeting people where they are, helping them embrace plant-based eating at their own pace. A clear and thoughtful mission, as well as open-mindedness and the bravery to change course, can often be catalysts for success.” Added Jennings: “Business is not supposed to be personal, but it’s very hard when you are an entrepreneur who values the people that they work with. It’s critical for entrepreneurs to constantly question themselves and make changes to their model when it’s clear something isn’t working. With strong backing from Venture Creations, Sweet Pea has redefined its brand, expanded its community connections, and positioned itself for long-term growth.”

Research awards as well as national funding sources for economic development have increased to record levels at RIT, prompting the need for more research laboratory space on campus. RIT’s newest research facility, a modern 39,000-square-foot multifunctional building, is opening this year. The space is being readied for 18 labs, with eight on the first floor and 10 on the second. All have the capacity to be either wet or dry labs—including special fume hoods, water, or electrical utilities, and bio-level safety measures. Labs in the new building have been allotted to RIT’s College of Science, Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, and Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Other labs will be assigned as new faculty-researchers are recruited. “We’re seeing an increasing trend of collaboration across disciplines, and this space amplifies that spirit,” said André Hudson, dean of the College of Science. “By bringing together faculty, staff, and scholars from varied backgrounds under one roof, we’re not just creating opportunities for collaboration, we’re fostering a culture where interdisciplinary innovation thrives.”

Getting hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art lab is something most students think will happen during graduate school. But for third-year biotechnology and molecular bioscience major Halley Deme and other RIT students, it’s an opportunity that arises early on in their academic journeys. Deme, who is from Ethiopia, is a project leader in Professor Lea Michel’s lab, elucidating the intermolecular interactions of beta and gamma crystallins. Through this research, the goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the formation of congenital cataracts, which occur in children and currently can be treated only with invasive surgery. Record funding RIT achieved a significant milestone by receiving nearly $103 million in sponsored research awards during the past fiscal year, surpassing a key goal in the strategic plan a year ahead of schedule. This research combines Deme’s interest in both chemistry and biology and gives her early experience in a lab environment. Deme is part of RIT’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), a New York state grant-funded initiative for African American, Latino American, Native American, or low-income students. CSTEP offers services and funding that help students in science, technology, engineering, math, and some business majors to achieve academic and professional goals. “When I tell my friends outside of RIT what research I am doing, they tell me it’s a big deal,” said Deme. “It’s very research intensive here, so you sometimes forget it is a really cool opportunity to get to do research at the graduate level as an undergraduate. I’m very grateful for that.” Becoming a student-centered research university is something RIT continually works toward, and it was one of the cornerstones of the 2025 Strategic Plan. Growth in this area is evident by increases in students presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the number of students receiving the Undergraduate Research Scholars Award, and annual increases in research funding and grants across campus. “Research adds value to an under- graduate education by providing experiential hands-on opportunities that enable students to develop cutting-edge skills that make them sought after in the workplace. In addition, sponsored research funding provides opportunities for students to train using the latest real-world applications and equipment,” said Ryne Raffaelle, vice president for Research and associate provost. “RIT has grown steadily in undergraduate research, which denotes a healthy university.” Michel enjoys working with under- graduate students in her lab and recognizes the importance of gaining research experience early on. It helps students when they move forward in their careers. “It engages them right away,” said Michel. “The thing that sets students apart when they’ve done undergraduate research is that they’re not afraid to make mistakes. In the lab, we’re not focused on getting the right answer, because often we don’t know what the right answer is. They understand failing is part of the process and it’s a good thing because we learn from it.”