The world record for juggling balls is 9

Today was one of those days that represented practically every aspect of my job as an Outreach Specialist here at CIS:

1. Got to work planning some alumni receptions for 2011 (Watch out, Boston!)
2. Fielded questions and followed up with several alumni on subjects ranging from gift matching to professional recruitment
3. Edited images for what will soon be a new website layout for CIS
4. Finished the cover for the 2010 CIS Annual Report (below)
5. Followed up with several prospective students
6. Created new job postings and added them to our job opportunities website
7. Created new abstracts/bios and added them to the seminars website
8. Prepared mailings for 2 additional people who have inquired about Imaging Science @ RIT
9. Signed up for Gates-Chili HS "An Evening of Career Exploration" on March 10 (which will be a loooong day, since that is also Greece Apollo Non-Traditional Occupations Day)

What a day - I'm getting out of here!

2010 Annual Report Cover

Random Side Note: One thing I don't mind about working late is that I become very popular after 5:15 when the mail room is locked and folks need access. :-)

NEW Imaging in the Physical Sciences REU

CIS recently won a grant to become an NSF REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) site! REU programs provide internship opportunities for undergrads, and typically also include social events, field trips, housing, conference exposure, and guidance with public speaking and scientific writing. Although the fine details are still being worked out with CIS's REU program, I put together a postcard this week to promote the program and hopefully recruit some quality undergrads to perform summer research and (fingers crossed) become interested in coming back for one of our grad programs. Check it out!

I had some fun with the freshmen class on Tuesday arranging and capturing the image used on the front of the postcard. Many thanks to Dash, Ashley, Scarlett, Jarrett, Dan, and Phoenix. (Nice popped collar, Dan!)

See Your Future in a New Light

One of my projects this week was to create a new postcard highlighting the various graduate school programs available at the Center for Imaging Science. The digital version is below, and hard copies will soon be available. Check it out!

Platypus Approved

Today we received a bunch of stickers with a new CIS graphic on them - The Platypus Seal of Approval. Yeah!

The stickers are actually orange instead of red, in true RIT fashion. We got 2 different sizes - 1.5" and 4" diameters. One may ask, why? Well, one of the uses of these will be to send to our accepted undergraduate applicants as a part of a little "congratulations to being accepted into the Imaging Science programs" welcome package. Also, any time anyone does something worth a little recognition, these will come in handy. Plus they'll just be fun to have around (and who can argue with that?).

If you stop by my office and ask for one, I'll share! Word of advice, though - don't stick them to yourself. I put one on the back of my hand and it was NOT pretty to remove...

Imaging Science is in my blood

I've had some fun the past few days setting up this blog, most notably with respect to the background. The background image is a photo I captured of one of my father's "Spectragon" light boxes, for the purpose of being an eye catching image to represent optics in some promotional posters I was putting together. The Spectragon uses linear polarizers and birefringent flakes to create chromatic effects; and plastic sheets embossed with tiny lenses to create an expanding and contracting hexagonal bubble pattern. It is a truly stunning and mesmerizing visual masterpiece. My dad was making and selling his light boxes a little over 20 years ago, but eventually ceased production (I'm not totally sure why; I was too young at the time). I have the last one made in my office at CIS. It is one of my most treasured possessions; not just because of its sentimental value, but also because of the amazing visual effects it produces and how much those relate to my passions in Imaging Science.

Since I used the image for my background, I felt inspired to turn on my Spectragon today. I also had the urge to pull out the original color advertisement insert and the accompanying manual. These were both done entirely by my dad, too. I love these because you can really see the care and effort he put into the whole venture. Half of the manual is even devoted to an explanation of how the Spectragon works, including the light source, the motor, the liquid cell, and even a scientific explanation of how the background and chromatic effects are created. A little envelope is attached that includes samples of the materials used so one can play with polarization without taking apart the cell. On the back of the color insert is a biography of my dad, who is a truly remarkable, talented, and accomplished human being in many aspects of life. One part describes his role as creator of the world's most advanced computer vision inspection system in 1986, "from revolutionary optical designs to mechanical and electronic design to software and computational techniques, and it was his ability to personally advance and integrate all aspects into a comprehensive whole that marks genius." - Sound anything like Imaging Science to you? It just goes to show that Imaging Science is in my blood. I see myself taking after my dad in many respects (particularly the art-science fusion; gee, where could I have gotten that from?), but I hope I can amount to even half of the incredible person he is. I am truly inspired by my daddy. (You should be, too - just check out his bio below.)

(click the images to view full size)

The front of the color insert, featuring the peak of my modeling career around age 4. But it also effectively illustrates the birth of my Imaging Science career, yay!

The back of the color insert, all about my daddy.

1/11/11 !!1!!111!!!!11!!!

So a couple of days ago we witnessed 1/11/11 - sweet. However as 1:11 PM passed me by I was just beginning to wrap up a day long marathon session of outreach presentations at Midlakes Middle School. My hectic schedule for the day went a little like this:

Period 1- (7:33- 8:20)  2 classes

          2- (8:23- 9:06)  1

          3- (9:09- 9:52)  2

          4- (9:55- 10:38) 1

          6-7 (11:14- 11:57) 1

          7-8 (11:27- 12:10) 1

          8-9 (12:00-12:43) 1

          10  (12:46-1:29) 2 classes

Pretty intense, right? By the time attendance was taken and the classes were assembled, I had about half an hour to present, which is not very much time when you're trying to: A. Describe what imaging science is; B. Include a lesson on the EM spectrum; C. Perform a technical demonstration; D. Describe what it's like to be an Imaging Science student; and E. Explain career options in the imaging science field. Although that may seem like too much to talk about, it can really hurt the overall presentation to lose any one of those components. Luckily, I can talk fast ;-)

The presentations overall went very well, with many willing student participants throughout the presentations and demonstrations with the FLIR thermal camera. Most students even chose to take postcards with them. The feedback I have received from teachers and Midlakes' college & career counselor has been extremely positive:

"Wow what a great job..... Thanks so much for sharing your enthusiasm and interest with us....over and over again.. Wonderful job..... thank you!"

"The presentation was fabulous. We are just about start electromagnetic waves and energy and your presentation was the best introduction.  It is so good for kids to see real folks, in real jobs, talking about science.  Thank you again."

Presenting to middle school students can be a lot of fun, although their education levels and participation levels can really run the gamut at those ages. But I really appreciate the flexibility that middle school curriculums allow, since teachers do not have to be so strict in their scheduling or use every spare minute to "teach to the test", as they say. It's also good to get in to middle school classrooms so that young students can really see how incredibly important it is to take math and science classes in high school, even when it is no longer required to graduate.

One immediate positive outcome from this visit was that even more awareness was spread of our high school intern program, and there are already some high school juniors planning on applying. Another takeaway from this experience is that we are again planning to host a group of Midlakes High School students in the spring like last year.

Below, check out some pictures taken during the presentations.

Thursday Rituals

My work the past few days has been consumed with creating this blog and its subpages, as well as organizing upcoming speakers for the CIS Seminar Series. One might be surprised how much it takes to organize speakers, format their abstracts and bios to our template, find a corresponding image (even though this is Imaging Science, we often are not supplied images!), add these all to the website, create a corresponding event on the CIS page, print and hang the abstracts on our bulletin boards scattered across campus, and do it all again week after week. Phew! These have become my Thursday rituals :-)

Hello, world!

Let's get right down to business. From here on forward, I will periodically publish brief updates on my life as an Outreach Specialist for the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at RIT. And maybe if I'm ever having a slow day (fat chance), I can go back and fill in the last 1.33 years worth of efforts before today... So, here goes nothing: Hello, world!