暗网吃瓜

1. Putting a vaccine into the cancer fight.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide, causing genital warts and consisting of two strains that cause nearly all cases of more than 70 percent of cervical cancers. In the 1990s, 暗网吃瓜 faculty Richard Reichman, William Bonnez, and Robert Rose 鈥�94M (PhD) contributed to the development of a definitive HPV vaccine: the world鈥檚 first cancer-preventing inoculation, saving hundreds of thousands of women鈥檚 lives.

Collaborating at the School of Medicine & Dentistry, the trio discovered that harmless virus-like particles could safely trigger immune protection against HPV. Following FDA approval in 2006, the vaccine was adopted worldwide, leading to dramatic reductions in HPV infections, precancerous lesions, and genital warts. Beyond its direct health impact, the HPV vaccine has become a milestone in cancer prevention. MP

2. Detecting mental health problems before they start.

It seems standard now, but the notion of 鈥減revention鈥� barely existed in the vocabulary of the mental health field in 1957. Cue 暗网吃瓜 psychologist Emory Cowen, who started a program he dubbed the at Rochester鈥檚 School No. 33, a joint enterprise with the Rochester City School District.

Decades later, the continues to research and support the program鈥攏ow known as Primary Project鈥攊n 92 schools across New York state and more than 40 schools nationally. Using a play-based approach, Primary Project focuses on the power of relationships, builds trust, and develops positive pro-social skills to help students better engage in the classroom.

Nearly 70 years since the program was introduced, it remains an effective and relevant intervention in supporting young children鈥檚 adjustment to school. JL

4. Correcting RNA鈥檚 deadly mistakes.

It may seem like the lesser known of the nucleic acids, but RNA (ribonucleic acid) has been having a moment. Talk of RNA-based treatments and trials has become commonplace, thanks primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.

At 暗网吃瓜, Lynne Maquat, director of the Center for RNA Biology who has been studying RNA since 1972, discovered nonsense-mediated mRNA decay鈥攐ne of the major surveillance systems in the body that protects against innate mistakes in gene expression by targeting and eliminating deleterious mRNAs that could lead to the production of incomplete and potentially toxic proteins that can cause disease.

Key chapters are still being written by many 暗网吃瓜 researchers, and new clinical trials are showing the life-changing promise of this once-obscure research. The University鈥檚 expertise in mRNAs will continue to lead to new therapeutics for a wide range of diseases that cannot currently be treated with conventional drugs. JL

5. Supporting local children and families.

Established in 1979, is one of just three NIH-funded national centers specializing in treating children who have suffered trauma and maltreatment. Affiliated with the Department of Psychology, MHFC translates its researchers鈥� scientific findings into evidence-based therapies and programs鈥攑roviding intervention and prevention services to thousands of Rochester-area children and families. JL

6. Curing acne, pneumonia, and the Black Death.

While working at Pfizer in the early 1950s, 鈥�50 (PhD) invented the first antibiotic arising from chemical modification of a naturally occurring drug. More effective, broader in spectrum, and cheaper to produce, was also a godsend for those who were allergic to penicillin. Granted a patent in 1955, it soon became the most prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotic in the US, treating everything from acne to pneumonia to, yes, the bubonic plague. MP

9. Paving the way for the Pill.

Drug-delivery pioneer 鈥�49M (PhD), 鈥�51M (Pdc), 鈥�72M (Honorary) became known for making the impossible possible. Among myriad accomplishments and creations, Zaffaroni had a hand in developing the birth control pill, therapeutic corticosteroids, transdermal patches for nicotine, and controlled-release systems for various drugs.

He stayed at 暗网吃瓜 to complete an NIH Fellowship from 1949 to 1951, where his research led to the 鈥淶affaroni technique鈥� for isolating steroids, which gained international attention. An outright visionary, Zaffaroni received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame at the Smithsonian Institution. JL

10. Making chemo tolerable.

Until the 1980s, many cancer patients quit chemotherapy because of its harsh side effects. Longtime 暗网吃瓜 faculty member Gary Morrow 鈥�88M (MS) transformed this challenge into a new field鈥攌nown as 鈥攆ocused on making life better for patients and survivors. His research helped establish 暗网吃瓜 and the Wilmot Cancer Institute as global leaders, with the American Society of Clinical Oncology citing nausea prevention research as one of the top five advances of the past 50 years. LO

11. Smacking down diphtheria.

In 1893, a diphtheria epidemic hit the city of Rochester. Good thing had arrived at 暗网吃瓜 three years earlier鈥攖oting his own microscope, as the University didn鈥檛 have one. Dodge, who founded the Department of Biology, developed the country鈥檚 first diphtheria antitoxin, which took control over Rochester鈥檚 epidemic. He would go on to serve on the department鈥檚 faculty for 40 years. JL

15. Making tap water safe.

We have , Class of 1906, to thank for the safety of our public drinking water. While working at the Gerard Ozone Process Company in 1913, Tiernan and Charles Frederick Wallace introduced the world鈥檚 first chlorinator. JL

16. Detecting the hazards in transmission lines.

Edwin Carstensen, a professor of electrical engineering for nearly 50 years, made pioneering contributions to the understanding and development of ultrasound. Working with a committee established by the National Institutes of Health, he helped set the worldwide standards for ultrasound exposure. His landmark book, Biological Effects of Transmission Line Fields (1987), was widely influential in legal and government actions aimed at reducing exposure to electromagnetic fields. In 1986, he became the founding director of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound, with one of the largest groups of MD and PhD researchers active in medical ultrasound. LA

17. Battling eating disorders.

Suffering and recovering from an eating disorder can be a lonely journey but not for those fortunate to be treated at the School of Nursing鈥檚 , one of only three comprehensive care centers in the state. Longtime director and professor of clinical nursing Mary Tantillo 鈥�86N (MS) is widely hailed for her innovative multifamily therapy group approach for young adults with anorexia nervosa, known as Reconnecting for Recovery (R4R). TML

19. Tackling the problems of prenatal alcohol exposure.

Caused by exposure to alcohol during pregnancy, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) cause behavioral, learning, and physical problems in 1 to 5 percent of Americans. New treatments, developed by 暗网吃瓜 psychologists, focus on strength-based interventions and improving people鈥檚 quality of life. The, a partnership between the Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Golisano Children鈥檚 Hospital and Mt. Hope Family Center, is one of just two specialty clinics in the state that regularly diagnose FASD. Next up is a documentary that seeks to decrease stigma and increase awareness. SK

21. Improving cancer treatment for over-60s.

暗网吃瓜 is a trailblazer in geriatric oncology. Our research has improved cancer treatment in adults aged 60 and up鈥攚ith geriatric assessments of the whole person, functional ability, and other illnesses and health conditions. 暗网吃瓜 was among the first in the nation to open a dedicated , founded by Supriya Mohile, a professor of medicine and of surgery. JL

22. Eliminating bacterial meningitis in kids.

Pediatric researchers David Smith 鈥�58M (MD), 鈥�92 (Honorary), Porter Anderson, and Richard Insel transformed child health worldwide by developing the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine, virtually eliminating a leading cause of bacterial meningitis鈥攁 previously often fatal illness鈥攊n preschoolers. Since the vaccine became universally recommended for infants in 1990, cases among children under five have dropped by as much as 99 percent. The 暗网吃瓜 team鈥檚 breakthrough not only subdued Hib but also inspired new vaccines using the same template. One notable product of this approach is Prevnar, the vaccine that protects against pneumococcal infections. MP

24. Revealing the gene that launched Celebrex.

Warning: The ending to this story is bittersweet. In 1990, 暗网吃瓜 scientists led by Donald Young helped discover the gene responsible for the 鈥攑aving the way for new and more powerful anti-inflammatory drugs and sparking a global pharmaceutical race to identify drugs that would inhibit the action of the enzyme.

When 暗网吃瓜 received patents鈥攅ight years after the initial filing鈥攆or Young鈥檚 inventions, Pfizer had already begun marketing the COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex. A patent infringement lawsuit ensued, but, in 2003, declared 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 patents invalid and denied an appeal. US Supreme Court justices claimed we failed to offer details on specific compounds that would inhibit the enzyme. So, while we discovered the gene, we missed out on the drug. JL

25. Preventing RSV in seniors.

In May and June 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration approved . Medical Center experts were involved in testing two of the three vaccines and Professor of Medicine Edward Walsh served as the national lead investigator for the trials testing Pfizer鈥檚 vaccine, Abrysvo. Walsh and Professor of Medicine Ann Falsey have worked with Pfizer for nearly 20 years developing and testing RSV vaccines for adults. JL

26. Proving we need to get the lead out.

The dangers of lead exposure have been well documented: everything from developmental delays in children to reproductive issues in adults. But it was Deborah Cory-Slechta, a professor of environmental medicine, who demonstrated in 2003 that even very low levels of the metal damaged the brains of young children. She became cochair of a 2012 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel that . Her ongoing research has led to similar influential advisory roles for plastics, pesticides, air pollution, and various volatile chemicals. TML

27. Telling you what to expect from surgery.

Imagine going in for surgery with no idea of what to expect, during either the procedure or the recovery period afterward. Thanks to Jean Johnson, a professor at the nursing school and director for nursing oncology at the Wilmot Cancer Institute from 1979 to 1993, you don鈥檛 have to. Her groundbreaking research on revolutionized the way healthcare is provided, giving doctors and nurses the tools to help patients cope with illness and the impact of its treatment. When it comes to healing, knowledge truly is power. TML

29. Raising hope for Hodgkin鈥檚 lymphoma patients.

In a landmark study led by Wilmot Cancer Institute Director Jonathan Friedberg and published in 2024, a new treatment combining the immunotherapy drug nivolumab and chemotherapy , suggesting a new standard therapy for the disease. Friedberg predicts that within a few decades we鈥檒l see many fewer breast cancers in Hodgkin鈥檚 patients, as well as 鈥渓ess infertility, less heart disease.鈥� JL

30. Improving the lives of moms and babies.

Over more than four decades, research consistently has proven that the succeeds at its most important goals: keeping children healthy and safe and improving the lives of moms and babies. At the forefront of this research was Harriet Kitzman 鈥�61W (MS), 鈥�84N (PhD), whose development of a nurse home visitation program became the basis for the initiative. JL

31. Turning science into safety.

Racetracks may seem odd settings for an epiphany, but John States 鈥�46, a professor at the medical school from 1976 to 1990, noticed that race-car drivers in high-speed collisions fared better than his patients on ordinary roads, thanks to their safety harness. His research and advocacy , in 1984, and earned him the nickname 鈥淒r. Seatbelt.鈥� MP

32. Giving liver its due.

While most of us know to start scarfing down beef liver at the first sign of anemia, it took two 暗网吃瓜 researchers and 40 Dalmatian-English bulldogs to lead to this 1934 Nobel Prize鈥搘inning discovery. By showing that certain foods鈥攅specially liver鈥� in the anemia-induced dogs, the medical school鈥檚 founding dean, George Whipple, and his assistant, Frieda Robscheit-Robbins, laid the groundwork for the successful treatment of humans with pernicious anemia. TML

54. A better, brighter picture.

Thank Professor Emeritus Ching Tang for helping develop the thin-film, light-emitting technology now widely used in computers, smartphones, and televisions. While working at Eastman Kodak, Tang and his colleague, Steven Van Slyke, created the first practical OLEDs.

Unlike liquid-crystal displays that rely on a backlight, organic light-emitting diode screens use luminescent organic materials to make their own light. The result: more efficient use of power, longer battery life, and improved display quality. OLEDs are thinner and lighter, provide superior brightness and color, and offer ultrafast response time for refreshing and on-off switching.

Tang is also credited with several key innovations leading to the commercialization of the new technology. The first OLED product appeared in 1997, and the first television featuring an OLED display, produced by Sony, entered the market in 2008. By 2023, the global OLED market was valued at $50.8 billion.

Tang joined the University of Rochester faculty in 2006 and has since earned numerous honors, including the Kyoto Prize. LA

61. The old-school sound of that Barbie song.

Even before 鈥淲hat Was I Made For?鈥� won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2024 Academy Awards, fans and critics hailed the Barbie single for its wistful, melancholy sound. Billie Eilish鈥檚 brother and producer, Finneas O鈥機onnell, gives credit to a digital plug-in created by two former Hajim School students for their senior design project. Daniel Fine 鈥�19 and Ben Schmitz 鈥�19 developed SketchCassette to enable users to add lo-fi effects typical of four-track cassette tapes to their musical tracks. It鈥檚 now the signature product of their five-year-old company, Aberrant DSP. TML

63. A trophy case that鈥檚 running out of room.

Move over, Beyonc茅. Eastman boasts a total of 76 Grammy wins among its faculty and alumni鈥攖hat鈥檚 41 more than Queen Bey, if you鈥檙e counting鈥攏ot to mention dozens more nominations. And that doesn鈥檛 include the Hajim School鈥檚 鈥�23 (PhD), an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering who took home a gold-plated gramophone for his engineering work on Messiaen: Livre Du Saint-Sacrement in 2010. TML

65. A place for musicians of African descent to come together.

Founded by classical pianist Armenta (Adams) Hummings Dumisani in 1993 and now held in association with Eastman, is the only festival in the country dedicated to connecting and supporting professional classical musicians of African descent. 暗网吃瓜 started hosting the festival in 1995, a year after Dumisani joined the Eastman faculty. In 2022, the Gateways Orchestra became the first all-Black symphony orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall. TML

67. The original home movie.

Paving the way for America鈥檚 Funniest Home Videos, Marion Norris Gleason 鈥�62 (Honorary)鈥攚ho went on to become a research assistant in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology鈥攚as recruited by the Eastman Kodak Company in 1921 to film what is thought to be the first home (or amateur) movie. Titled , it features Gleason鈥檚 10-month-old son at a birthday party in which he and another boy eat marshmallows and throw mud. (As with many of the best films, cats and dogs also play a part.) JL

68. The big behind 鈥榖ig screen.鈥�

Robert Hopkins and Brian O鈥橞rien, who both served as director of the Institute of Optics, helped design and develop the widescreen film process first used for the 1955 movie Oklahoma! By delivering sharper images using a single camera with an oversize bug-eye lens, the Todd-AO not only dazzled moviegoers but also offered a cheaper, simpler alternative to the prevailing Cinerama system that required three cameras and projectors. JL

71. Our favorite movie and TV scores.

George Eastman not only made capturing moving images possible; his generosity also contributed to some of the most memorable music written for big and small screens alike. The unmistakable piano chords from All in the Family? Another masterpiece by Charles Strouse 鈥�47E. The brooding score behind House of Cards? That鈥檚 the work of Jeff Beal 鈥�85E, who with his wife Joan Beal 鈥�84E built on Eastman鈥檚 legacy with the 2016 founding of the school鈥檚 . Oh, and lest we forget the nostalgia-inducing My Little Pony and Winnie the Pooh movies? Beal Institute Director Mark Watters had a hand in those as well as dozens of projects with Disney and Pixar. TML

73. An ever better IMAX.

First came Todd-AO (see no. 68). Then came IMAX. Now the IMAX Prismless Laser Projector is pushing the limits of the big screen even further. Barry Silverstein 鈥�84, who will soon return to join the faculty at the Institute of Optics, helped spearhead the design and development of the 2024 Oscar-winning innovation that uses optical mirrors in place of prisms to enhance brightness, clarity, and contrast. TML

100. Print bacteria that eat plastic.

暗网吃瓜 biologist Anne S. Meyer and her team use 3D printers to print bacteria. By combining synthetic biology with materials science, they create with applications in medicine, clean energy, and advanced technologies. Her team鈥檚 innovations include microbial systems that break down ocean plastics and living optical devices for advanced imaging. Meyer also mentors 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 award-winning iGEM team, guiding undergraduates to produce a noninvasive test for endometriosis, biosensors that instantly detect sepsis, and a device that harnesses bacteria to generate clean energy. LV

101. Formed the lifeblood of Silicon Valley.

In 1957, Jay Last 鈥�51, 鈥�11 (Honorary) became one of the eight legendary鈥攐r, as some said, 鈥渢raitorous鈥濃�攆ounders of the . There, he directed the R&D group that invented the first commercial silicon planar transistors and the first integrated circuit chips鈥攖he lifeblood of the modern computer. More than any other company, Fairchild established Silicon Valley as the center of the computer industry. Last, meanwhile, will always be remembered as one of the hightech hub鈥檚 original fathers. LA

102. Will let your phone detect tooth decay.

Upwards of 70 million Americans lack dental coverage, threatening devastating harm to their oral health and overall well-being. Children are the most vulnerable to this lack of care. To support them, the Eastman Institute for Oral Health is in the final stages of developing a smartphone app that can detect tooth decay in its early reversible stage. The app is . It will also provide information on diet and oral hygiene to prevent further decay while connecting users with available dentists and insurance. TML

103. Put optical devices on a single chip.

While serving as a professor and later director of the Institute of Optics in the 1980s and 鈥�90s, Dennis Hall laid important foundations for , which incorporates miniaturized optical devices onto a single chip. Just as electronic integrated circuits use electricity, integrated photonics uses light signals to transmit information. Hall鈥檚 lab created an all-silicon-based platform for integrated photonics, leading to chips with greater speed and reduced power demand. LA

104. Support Parkinson鈥檚 patients wherever they are.

Over the past decade, 暗网吃瓜 computer scientists led by Professor Ehsan Hoque have developed an AI-powered screening tool for Parkinson鈥檚, the world鈥檚 fastest-growing neurological disability. Because the disease can present itself differently in patients, the researchers have developed short, simple online tests to analyze speech, motor skills, and facial expressions. 暗网吃瓜 researchers see the method as a fast, low-barrier, and accessible way to flag warning signs in people, particularly those in remote areas. The tool might encourage them to seek more thorough clinical evaluations. LA

105. Treat cancer, replace contact lenses, and revolutionize physics.

The tool: chirped-pulse amplification.

Chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) creates ultrashort, extremely high-intensity laser pulses without damaging the material used to amplify the pulses. Developed in the 1980s by then graduate student Donna Strickland 鈥�89 (PhD) and her advisor, senior scientist G茅rard Mourou at 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 Laboratory for Laser Energetics, CPA was a monumental achievement and earned Strickland and Mourou the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.

The technique stretches a laser pulse in time to lower its peak power, amplifying the pulse and then compressing it again. By packing vast energy into shorter bursts, the laser becomes considerably more intense, producing pulses that are both ultrafast and extremely powerful.

CPA revolutionized laser science and dramatically expanded what lasers can do across a variety of fields. It is the foundation behind many high-precision technologies: In medicine, CPA enables laser-based cancer treatments, such as proton therapies for deep-tissue tumors. In manufacturing, CPA powers the precise machining of a wide range of materials, including the cover glass used in smartphones.

In research, scientists use CPA to study fundamental physics principles: By generating intense bursts of charged particles and light, scientists can replicate extreme conditions found in space. In addition, biologists, chemists, and physicists use CPA to take ultrafast images of splitsecond molecular processes, allowing them to study atomic behavior and fusion, and to develop new materials.

CPA, however, is perhaps best known for its role in vision correction, enabling Lasik procedures that precisely reshape the cornea by cutting tissue without damaging surrounding areas, and helping millions of patients improve their vision. LV

106. Enable AI deep learning.

In the early 1980s, a team of researchers at the University rekindled excitement in the branch of artificial intelligence known as . This approach studied human mental processes and cognition using artificial neural networks. The interdisciplinary work of 暗网吃瓜 researchers, including computer science professors Christopher Brown and Dana Ballard and students like Rajesh Rao 鈥�98 (PhD), helped to fuel a revival in the connectionist approach that ultimately led to today鈥檚 deep learning dominance. LA

107. Save ships and blast kidney stones.

暗网吃瓜 electrical engineer Hugh Flynn鈥檚 research on paved the way for applications ranging from biomedical ultrasound to nuclear fusion. When struck by intense sound waves, air bubbles in liquids undergo a series of violent compressions and expansions. The force exerted by these bubbles can easily damage surfaces such as ships鈥� propellers. Flynn鈥檚 contributions included a 1972 Environmental Protection Agency report to Congress and the president on the effects of sonic booms on structures. And he increased our understanding of lithotripsy, which uses rapid ultrasonic pulses to destroy kidney stones. LA

110. Customize Lasik surgery.

For centuries, glasses and contacts corrected just three common flaws: nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Then in 1997, 暗网吃瓜 scientists helped change the game with 鈥攁 technology that detects dozens of subtle visual imperfections known as higher-order aberrations. Working with the Flaum Eye Institute鈥檚 Refractive Surgery Center, optics professor David Williams and his team used this data to pioneer customized Lasik surgery. Their innovations improved surgical outcomes and pushed laser vision correction to new levels of precision. LV

111. Enhance life after cataracts.

Each year more than 30 million people globally receive surgery to correct cataracts. While the vast majority opt to have a monofocal intraocular lens implanted, allowing for clear distance vision, more and more patients are choosing to toss their contacts and reading glasses in favor of a trifocal intraocular lens developed by Jim Schwiegerling 鈥�90, 鈥�91 (MS). The 暗网吃瓜 optics alumnus鈥檚 innovation, approved by the FDA in 2019, not only represents the cutting edge of lens replacement; it also better meets the needs of our modern, multitasking lives. TML

112. Level up macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Computer science professor Michael Scott and his research group have developed several algorithms in software running on billions of devices, including macOS, Linux, and Windows operating systems. The (or its variants), incorporated into the standard library of the Java programming language, is noted for its 鈥渓ock-free,鈥� scalable design. LA

115. Flag hidden heart attacks.

Chest pain sends more than six million Americans to the emergency room each year, but diagnosing its cause drains vital time and resources. At the School of Nursing, Salah Al-Zaiti is implementing an he designed to identify hidden heart attacks. Crunching data from a 10-second electrocardiogram, the algorithm helps providers make diagnoses more quickly and accurately. MP

117. Let computers work together.

Parallel computing breaks large, complex problems into smaller groups of calculations that run simultaneously across multiple processors with shared memory. The Department of Computer Science had long studied the field when, in 1984, it acquired a 128-node 鈥攖he world鈥檚 largest shared-memory multiprocessor. Faculty including Thomas LeBlanc, Michael Scott, and Christopher Brown used it to pioneer innovations in parallel algorithms, memory management, synchronization, and operating system design. LA

118. Detect roadblocks in supply chains.

Need a near real-time view of global trade activity? There鈥檚 a tool for that. A cross-university team of economists鈥攊ncluding Yukun Liu, an associate professor of finance at Simon Business School鈥攈as created the . It helps firms and policymakers identify breakdowns in the flow of essential goods with unprecedented speed and precision. JL

122. Foiled library catalog thieves.

, Class of 1861, brought order to chaos for librarians everywhere when he devised a system to keep patrons from being able to remove individual cards from the library card catalog. The solution: Punch holes at the bottom of each card and run a wire (and later a rod) through them to keep the cards in place. JL

128. Allowed soldiers to see in the dark.

During World War II, the Institute of Optics developed an array of night vision devices, glare-resistant sun goggles, and gun sights along with fluorescent reflectors to safely illuminate roads and runways in combat zones. By war鈥檚 end, about half of the country鈥檚 university-based military optics research projects were conducted at 暗网吃瓜. The ceramic kilns of the Memorial Art Gallery were even made to mold aspheric lenses for aerial cameras. Brian O鈥橞rien, then director of the institute, received the Medal for Merit, the nation鈥檚 highest civilian award, for his work. JL

129. Enabled the whole freaking internet.

Without this operating system, we wouldn鈥檛 have laptops, smartphones, or a workable World Wide Web.

The operating systems that now power modern laptops, smartwatches, phones, and other devices have roots in the early days of 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 Department of Computer Science.

In the late 1970s, founding department chair Jerry Feldman鈥攚ith Rick Rashid 鈥�80 (PhD), 鈥�15 (Honorary) and technical operations manager Liudy Bukys, among others鈥攃reated Rochester鈥檚 Intelligent Gateway (RIG), providing a convenient way to connect and access various minicomputers, larger campus machines, and the ARPANET, a precursor to the internet.

RIG was a landmark in network architecture, 鈥渙ne of the earliest and most comprehensive attempts at designing a distributed operating system and supporting a network architecture from the ground up,鈥� according to a 1982 paper published in the journal Computer.

While he launched the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University, Rashid began work on the operating system Accent. The next evolutionary step took place when Rashid and his PhD student, fellow 暗网吃瓜 alumnus Avie Tevanian 鈥�83, developed the Mach operating system with an ingenious 鈥渕icrokernel鈥� design that popularized concepts like virtual memory.

Steve Jobs鈥檚 NeXT Computer company then hired Tevanian and used Mach as the basis for its operating system. When Apple acquired NeXT, Jobs brought Tevanian with him to redesign the system as Mac OS. Meanwhile, Bill Gates recruited Rashid to launch Microsoft Research in 1991. Rashid鈥檚 teams collaborated with the world鈥檚 foremost researchers on initiatives that expanded the state of the art across the breadth of computing.

Rashid and Tevanian鈥檚 work remains at the heart of Apple iOS and macOS systems鈥攁nd its influence can also be traced to operating systems such as GNU Hurd and UNIX systems OSF/1, Digital Unix, and Tru64 Unix. LA

131. Because research and knowledge bring us wealth.

Before Paul Romer upended the study of economic growth, traditional models treated technological progress as an external, or exogenous, factor. The economist, who taught at 暗网吃瓜 from 1982 to 1988, challenged that notion. He argued that technological innovation was instead driven by homegrown factors like people, innovation, knowledge, and companies鈥� deliberate investments in research and human capital.

By modeling how incentives, market structures, and policy choices shaped innovation, he provided a framework for government to promote long-term prosperity through investments in education, research, and development along with intellectual property protections.

Romer鈥檚 insights influenced policies worldwide, inspiring investments in knowledge incubators and technological hubs. He shared the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2018, and his endogenous growth theory continues to shape strategies for fostering innovation-driven economies in both developed and developing nations. DA

132. Because well-being comes from letting people rule themselves.

What really motivates us? Money and power? Or fear and punishment? Ultimately neither, at least not in a truly lasting and fulfilling way, according to 暗网吃瓜 psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan.

Their self-determination theory (SDT) shifted motivation research from control to support based on the idea that all humans have the natural鈥攊ntrinsic鈥� tendency to behave in effective and healthful ways. Deci and Ryan argue that humans need three fundamental psychological supports鈥攁utonomy, competence, and relatedness鈥� to achieve growth, engagement, and well-being. Formalized in their landmark 1985 book Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior, SDT remains one of the most influential theories in motivation research, spawning thousands of clinical studies worldwide and garnering hundreds of thousands of citations for the duo鈥檚 body of work. SK

133. Because bringing great minds together creates high energy.

The world鈥檚 premier conference on high-energy physics began at 暗网吃瓜 in 1950, organized by physics chair Robert Marshak. Since 1960, the has been held every two years in a different city, but it is still affectionately referred to as the 鈥淩ochester Conference.鈥� TML

134. Because a STEM MBA opens doors.

While many top American business schools offer programs, Simon Business School was the first. Administrators recognized early on that business degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math open doors. They signal to employers that Simon graduates have skills highly sought in today鈥檚 job market鈥� particularly in data and technology. DA

136. Because visual arts cross disciplines.

Introduced in 1988, 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 was the first of its kind offered at a university in the US. Interdisciplinary coursework and individual research combine to elevate students in the program to analyze visual objects in a comprehensive and contextual way. Since its founding, the program has been copied at universities across the country. JL

139. Because understanding slavery needed economic know-how.

Stanley Engerman upended how scholars think about the economics of slavery. With coauthor Robert Fogel (a Nobel laureate and former fellow member of the University of Rochester economics faculty), he crunched the data on plantation records, productivity, and profitability. The findings, published in 1974鈥檚 Time on the Cross, startled many. Slavery, they argued, was not economically doomed before the Civil War. ST

140. Because coherence is king.

, which explores how light interacts with atomic particles, has its roots at 暗网吃瓜. Leonard Mandel, who joined the faculty in 1964, became known for his groundbreaking experiments on the nature of light and was the first to actually observe certain remarkable phenomena predicted by quantum theory. His work gave rise to the 鈥淢andel formula鈥� addressing the topic of photon detection. He, along with Emil Wolf, also helped launch the influential . LA

141. Because one woman鈥檚 activism can change the course of history.

Susan B. Anthony鈥檚 legacy lives on with us.

Rochester is synonymous with Susan B. Anthony鈥攆rom her home on Madison Street to her gravesite in Mt. Hope Cemetery (an Election Day pilgrimage) to the bridge named for her and Frederick Douglass that carries I-490 over the Genesee River.

When it came to 暗网吃瓜, Anthony made her mark early on. In 1900, she led a successful campaign to have women admitted to the then all-male institution by raising $50,000 in pledges; she threw in the cash value of her own life insurance policy.

It seems only fitting, then, that 暗网吃瓜 holds a special distinction for being a collector, curator, and steward of her legacy. The Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation houses important holdings, including several collections of letters, personal items, and suffrage memorabilia.

But the University鈥檚 care of her legacy extends beyond the library. The addresses curricular and scholarly issues throughout history and in contemporary society. The Susan B. Anthony Center works to foster social justice and equality by translating research into policy through community collaboration.

And a shout-out to the Susan B. Anthony Halls, which grace the River Campus. JL

143. Because something nuts can inspire a new field of human behavior.

The theory in a nutshell: Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don鈥檛. This thinking launched the groundbreaking work of economist Richard Thaler 鈥�74 (PhD), 鈥�10 (Honorary) who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2017 for 鈥渃ontributions to behavioral economics.鈥�

Thaler credits his career to a bowl of cashews at a dinner party he hosted in Rochester. He knew the main course was coming but recognized he was powerless to stop snacking on the cashews that had been put out for guests. The problem, he knew, was one of self-control and shortsightedness. So, he took the bowl and hid it in the kitchen.

鈥淚f the cashews aren鈥檛 in front of you, you鈥檙e less tempted to eat them,鈥� he told The New York Times upon receiving the Nobel. 鈥淚f you have to get up and walk all the way to the kitchen鈥攊n this gigantic house I was living in as a graduate student in Rochester鈥攜ou don鈥檛 end up eating so much.鈥�

The episode set him on unprecedented research into why people fail to act the way economic theories suggest they should. Challenging the long-held belief of economists that humans are rational problem solvers, Thaler proved that people are, sometimes, just nuts. DA

144. Because executives needed skin in the game.

Michael Jensen鈥檚 Theory of the Firm changed corporate management.

Michael Jensen not only reshaped how scholars and practitioners view the relationship between managers and corporate shareholders; he changed how companies are run. And so he became one of the most influential economists in corporate finance, organizational theory, and behavioral economics.

Jensen鈥檚 breakthrough came in 1976 when he coauthored a seminal paper with William Meckling, then-dean of the graduate management school, where Jensen taught from 1967 to 1988. Published in the Journal of Financial Economics, 鈥淭heory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure鈥� would become the single most-cited article in business academia.

Jensen and Meckling showed that conflicts naturally arise when company owners (鈥減rincipals鈥�) hire executives (鈥渁gents鈥�) to steer the firm on their behalf. Their solution: Give top executives an equity stake so their interests align with shareholders鈥�. (On the downside for employees, this also sometimes meant trimming the workforce.)

Jensen went on to develop his organizational theory, asserting that companies are not mere profit-maximizing black boxes but complex systems where governance, hierarchy, and incentives shape performance. His ideas revolutionized executive pay, making stock options and performance-based bonuses standard tools to align managers with shareholders.

Understandably, Jensen鈥檚 work has both fans and detractors. According to Bloomberg Opinion, critics deemed him 鈥渢he high priest of the greed-is-good era,鈥� while admirers saw 鈥渢he surgeon who gave Anglo-Saxon capitalism a new lease of life.鈥� SK

147. Because higher education can change lives鈥攁nywhere.

For nearly a decade, the Rochester Education Justice Initiative (REJI) has been breaking educational barriers. REJI delivers degree-granting college programs in three nearby state prisons鈥攁nd, at , 暗网吃瓜 is the first R1 university in New York state to offer a bachelor鈥檚 degree for incarcerated students. The goals: transform lives, support successful reentry, and strengthen the greater Rochester community through the power of learning. ST

148. Because poetry can have a sense of humor.

When Anthony Hecht died in 2004, the former US Poet Laureate was remembered as a 鈥渇ormalist鈥� poet best known for his searing chronicles of 20th-century terrors. Indeed, his second book, The Hard Hours, addressed his haunting memories as an infantryman during World War II. It earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1968.

But Hecht, who spent 18 years on the faculty at 暗网吃瓜, had a playful side. That was most evident in the light verse form called that he created with fellow poet Paul Pascal. Like a limerick, the double dactyl is rigid in its structure and usually humorous. It became popular on American college campuses in the 1960s for its irreverence and obligatory use of nonsense words. DA

149. Because organs are music鈥檚 royalty.

With its unparalleled collection of new and historic organs, the , established in 2002, has boosted Rochester鈥檚 reputation as a leading center for organ study and performance. Housed at the Eastman School of Music and across the city, the instruments include the only full-size Italian Baroque organ in the Western Hemisphere, now taking pride of place in the Memorial Art Gallery鈥檚 Fountain Court. Eastman students also have access to more than a dozen high-quality organs in the Rochester area, including the Opus 1416 Aeolian pipe organ that George Eastman installed in his East Avenue mansion so that he could enjoy live music with his breakfast. TML

151. Because books contain the deepest wisdom.

Several 暗网吃瓜 figures wrote the (actual) books that have become seminal texts in their respective fields.

(Elsevier, 1979)
Ruth Anderson Lawrence 鈥�49M (MD), 鈥�58M (Res), a professor emeritus of pediatrics, was an international expert in breastfeeding medicine, and her book continues to be the preeminent reference for clinicians worldwide.

(Prentice Hall, 1982)
暗网吃瓜 professors Christopher Brown and Dana Ballard, who developed the active vision paradigm, helped define the emerging field of computer science; their book is still referenced in academic settings.

(Benjamin/Cummings Publishing, 1987)
This influential text from James Allen, a professor emeritus of computer science, delivers a synthesis of the major modern techniques and research in natural language processing.

(Academic Press, 1989)
Optics professor Govind Agrawal has authored eight books, several of which are used at universities worldwide. Leading the list is this standard graduate textbook for training telecommunication engineers.

(Academic Press, 1992)
Professor Robert Boyd is world-renowned for his studies of 鈥渟low鈥� and 鈥渇ast鈥� light propagation and quantum imaging techniques. This textbook has become a standard reference work in the field.

(Mosby, 1972)
Florence Jacoby, a registered nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital, set the standard for burn nursing worldwide after treating survivors of a plane crash in 1963.

(Elsevier, 1958)
Longtime professor Emil Wolf was one of the most recognized optical scientists of his generation, and this work, cowritten with Nobel laureate Max Born, is the most cited textbook in physics.

(McGraw-Hill, 1969)
A nationally recognized 鈥淚con of Surgery鈥� and former chair of surgery at 暗网吃瓜, Seymour Schwartz edited and cowrote the 鈥淪urgeon鈥檚 Bible鈥� used to teach generations of young doctors. JL

152. Because nursing needs research and care to go hand in hand.

When Loretta Ford became the inaugural dean of the School of Nursing in 1972, most schools designed nursing like a patchwork quilt: education in one corner, research in another, practice set apart from both. Ford drew them together into the , an approach in which students learn from discovery, research grows from hands-on care, and patients benefit from the innovation that courses through classrooms, labs, and clinics. The Unification Model would become a guide for advanced practice nurses throughout the world. MP

155. Because a pivotal moment in history can still be unearthed.

The in Israel, the first Jewish city to fall in the First Jewish-Roman War, was buried in a rocky hilltop for nearly 2,000 years before it was unearthed in an excavation led by 暗网吃瓜 archaeologists in the 1990s. The dig uncovered dramatic evidence of the city鈥檚 siege in 67 CE, offering proof of the carnage and events chronicled by Josephus and deepening global insight into a pivotal moment in history. DA

157. Because scholars shouldn鈥檛 wander for medieval texts.

Scholars of medieval literature who wanted to compare copies of specific texts had long faced the challenge of having to travel the world to far-flung archives. After all, the printing press was not around when most of the texts were written and copies were made by hand, complete with errors and mistranslations. All that changed when Russell Peck, who taught English at 暗网吃瓜 for more than half a century, established the (METS) in 1989. The series, a publication of the Rossell Hope Robbins Library, offers free digital and affordable print editions of a wide range of medieval writings.

鈥淢ETS democratizes access,鈥� says Anna Siebach-Larsen, the executive director of the project, who oversees the Rossell Hope Robbins Library and Koller-Collins Center for English Studies. 鈥淚t puts the literature out there for everybody.鈥� She adds that it has helped 鈥渢ransform our understanding and study of medieval culture.鈥� METS resources, including a new website and digital reader that launched in November 2024, get used by scholars about 750,000 times annually, according to project administrators. It is one of the longest-running Open Access initiatives in the world. Until 2025, the project had primarily been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. DA

158. Because accountants should see the future.

At 暗网吃瓜, 鈥減ositive鈥� means progress. Just as political scientist William Riker launched positive political theory here鈥攗sing math and models to explain how people actually make choices鈥擲imon Business School professors Ross Watts and Jerold Zimmerman did the same for accounting. Their shifted the field from prescriptive rules to predictive science by showing why companies act the way they do. The result: Corporate finance policies worldwide, from taxes to executive pay, are now grounded in observations and evidence instead of bean-counting and guesswork. ST

161. Because it helps to be Thoreau.

Raymond Borst 鈥�33 never lived off the grid like the subject of his scholarship, naturalist Henry David Thoreau. But he scoured the country, amassing the largest privately held collection of Thoreau鈥檚 work outside the archives of the Thoreau Society. His collection, housed in Rush Rhees Library, anchors 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 impressive holdings of 19th-century American literature. DA

166. Because the best medicine requires people science.

In 1977, medical faculty George Engel and John Romano developed the of medical education to describe the intricate web of patient care, from mental health to family dynamics to cultural tradition. (Engel called it 鈥減eople science.鈥�) Touchpoints like patient histories have reshaped medicine to include the bigger picture. MP