June 15, 2026
°µÍø³Ô¹Ï photo / J. Adam Fenster
Dear members of the Hajim School community,
The °µÍø³Ô¹Ï is a remarkable place where engineers can work alongside musicians and medical professionals to make a better world. That spirit of collaboration was fully on display when an Eastman School of Music PhD student enlisted the help of Hajim School engineers and an otolaryngologist at °µÍø³Ô¹Ï Medicine to devise an assistive brace to help overcome a rare throat condition.
Jacob Factor has had pharyngoceles since birth, which cause the walls of his throat to bulge with pockets of air, resulting in extreme discomfort, particularly when he needs higher internal pressure to hit high notes or play at louder volumes. Dr. connected Jacob with Professor from the , who drew from her experience designing space suits for NASA’s Space Shuttle program to create a collar that prevents Jacob’s neck from bulging when he plays.
Musicians and non-musicians alike noticed how Jacob’s playing improved, so Professor from the Department of and his PhD student Baotong Tian devised experiments to quantitatively analyze how the brace changes the audio characteristics when Jacob plays the French horn. Jacob hopes to apply the lessons learned from the experience in his career as a music educator and help students at all levels.
Read about this wonderful collaboration at the News Center and .
UROCHESTER TO LEAD OPEN METAVERSE ACADEMIC ALLIANCE
°µÍø³Ô¹Ï photo / J. Adam Fenster
±«¸é´Ç³¦³ó±ð²õ³Ù±ð°ù’s Center for Extended Reality (CXR) has launched the Open Metaverse Academic Alliance (OMAA), a university-driven initiative dedicated to shaping open standards for spatial computing — the infrastructure that will underpin augmented reality, mixed reality, and the next evolution of the internet.
Just as HTML, CSS, and HTTP enabled anyone to build and access the web without permission from a single gatekeeper, spatial computing needs open, interoperable standards to ensure the next computing era remains accessible, competitive, and built for everyone. Without them, the emerging spatial internet risks fragmenting into proprietary silos — locked to specific hardware, platforms, and vendors.
OMAA brings together universities, researchers, educators, and professionals to participate in this standards-formation process: contributing use cases, conducting research, evaluating emerging proposals, and building the academic voice that standards bodies need to hear.
Learn more about the initiative at the CXR website.
REMINDER: TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND CALL FOR PRE-PROPOSAL APPLICATIONS
±«¸é´Ç³¦³ó±ð²õ³Ù±ð°ù’s Technology Development Fund (TDF) will begin accepting pre-proposal applications for its 24th round of funding starting June 1. The fund supports University researchers who wish to further the process of translating their research into commercial opportunities. Awards can range from $40,000 to $100,000 to support projects of approximately one year in duration. Faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, students, and employees of the University who have submitted (or who will submit by June 30, 2026) an invention disclosure to the UR Ventures Office are encouraged to apply.
The deadline for submitting pre-proposal applications for consideration of funding this cycle is June 30, 2026. The pre-proposal application form and frequently asked questions can be found on the UR Ventures website.
Have a great week!
Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman
