RIT Center for Imaging Science

Imaging Science's Dr. Anthony Vodacek returns to Africa as Fulbright Scholar!

Dr. Vodacek returns to focus on the African Great Lakes, with the goal of providing the region with a plan for a monitoring system, including costs and hardware options, so the governmental bodies have a sound basis for investing in an effective system.

Vodacek returning to Africa as Fulbright Scholar Imaging science professor Anthony Vodacek will be researching the African Great Lakes as a Fulbright Scholar this fall.

When we say Imaging Science is collaborative, we mean it.

Imaging Science and Museum Studies come together to make The Cultural Heritage Imaging Lab. This week they hosted a team of researchers from the National Gallery of Art to image medieval choir book leaves.

"Using advanced imaging and scientific-art historical research, the project helps scholars compare dispersed manuscript fragments across collections to better understand pigments, materials, workshop practices, attribution, and relationships among individual leaves."

The 2026 Stratus Conference, co-organized by the Center for Imaging Science and SUNY ESF, concluded yesterday. Dr. Emmett Ientilucci was the General Chair and Dr. Bahram Salehi served as the Technical Chair. 24 talks were presented on all aspects of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UASs), including their use in construction, forestry, agriculture, and risk assessment. Imaging Science student Sagar Lekhak received a Best Student Presentation recognition, along with Samin Mirzaghanbarpour from University of New Haven.

❓ Curious to see what's been going on at RIT's Center for Imaging Science? Check out our spring 2026 newsletter to catch up!

We're trying to keep it short and sweet for you, but man, these overachievers do NOT make that easy.

🍎 So many accomplishments, and such a small wordcount!

CIS Newsletter Spring 2026: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/670q3h/7aadcb63bc568c9d0ac1da47b0aa6f00

🍾🍾Today we celebrate all our 2026 Imaging Science grads!!! We say this all the time, but honestly, we have the best students. It’s been a pleasure to watch everyone succeed, stumble, succeed, learn, succeed, fail, succeed again, and grow.

We can’t wait to see what you do. Good luck out there!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Congratulations to the 2026 RIT Imaging Science Ph.D. graduates!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Today you get the chance to celebrate all your hard work and accomplishments! We couldn’t be prouder.

🎂The icing on top of this academic cake is our Associate Director and RIT’s first female PhD recipient (‘96), Dr. Karen Braun, serving as the Mace Bearer during the hooding ceremony. 👩‍🎓👩‍🎓👩‍🎓

Now time to party!!!

The Center for Imaging Science has a new Assistant Research Professor!!
🎉🎉🍾Congratulations to Dr. Amir Hassanzadeh

🧠Amir is interested in research that integrates machine learning and artificial intelligence with remote sensing.

🍎🍏”I see this as an opportunity to push the boundaries of this field from a fresh perspective. As a teacher, I find joy in building meaningful friendships with my students and getting to know them personally. When our interests align, it becomes a rewarding experience to collaborate on solving a research problem as an advisor and student. Some of the most impactful mentors I have had were those I also cherished as friends. I firmly believe this approach not only enhances students’ enthusiasm for the subject matter but also enriches their educational journey.”

⚾️ Great time at the Rochester Red Wings last night celebrating our graduating seniors! We’ll miss you!

We're so proud to have Imaging Science MS scholar, Sagar Lekhak, selected to be the graduate delegate at the College of Science commencement ceremony next week! Sagar is researching landmine detection using drone-based multisensor imaging and AI.

Meet our 2026 College of Science Delegates:

🔬 Undergraduate: Ellen Shepard, a biochemistry major researching sepsis, antibiotic targets, and protein interactions. National presenter, student leader, and RIT Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar.

🛰️ Graduate: Sagar Lekhak, an MS in imaging science graduate researching drone-based multisensor imaging and AI-driven landmine detection. 3MT winner, student leader, and teaching assistant.

💭💭Imagine RIT 2026 couldn’t be deterred by nonstop rain!! Despite the rainy weather, the Center for Imaging Science was full of exhibits including Drones, Cultural Heritage Imaging, Wild Lighting, and Mapping the Wild: LiDAR.

🌟It was amazing to see all our visitors learn more about Imaging Science, and equally amazing to hear our students talk and teach in their element.

🎉🍾Thank you to everyone who visited, and an even bigger thank you to all our volunteers and exhibitors!!! We did it!!!!….again!