STEM — ��ϲ��

WiSE Hosts the 2025 Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony

News Staff — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 18:08:58 +0000

This spring, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) held its annual Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Award Ceremony. WiSE was honored to host distinguished guest speaker Joan-Emma Shea, who presented “Self-Assembly of the Tau Protein: Computational Insights Into Neurodegeneration.” Shea is professor of chemistry, biochemistry and physics at UC Santa Barbara. She is a fellow of the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society and the American Academy for Arts and Sciences. She serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Physical Chemistry A/B/C, and is the first woman in this position in the 124-year history of the journal. Shea highlighted how her team, which includes undergraduate researchers, has used computer simulations to uncover key molecular mechanisms behind Tau aggregation.

The event also celebrated student achievement with the presentation of the , recognizing exceptional contributions to research.

Tessa DiCicco ’25 was this year’s recipient of the Norma Slepecky Undergraduate Research Prize.

Tessa DeCicco ’25, a biomedical engineering student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, is this year’s recipient. Her paper, titled “Defining Anatomical Relationships of the Tibial Tubercle to Inform Execution of Tibial Tubercle Osteotomy in Revision of Total Knees,” received unanimous approval from the review committee.

DeCicco was co-nominated by Era Jain, assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering, and Dr. Timothy Damron, an orthopedic physician and the David G. Murray Endowed Professor with Upstate Medical Center.

DiCicco has worked for the past three years with Damron. Her winning paper, accepted to the 2025 annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society, aims to define pertinent anatomical relationships in the proximal tibia to inform fixation device design and provide data that may be considered when performing and securing a tibial tubercle osteotomy. The project involved collecting precise anatomical measurements to inform the development of a novel orthopedic fixation device. She played a central role in pinpointing critical anatomical and radiographic reference points. These foundational metrics directly shaped the planning and implementation of the project from start to finish. DeCicco submitted this paper as her primary research project.

Jain has also worked closely with DeCicco in her lab. “What sets Tessa apart is her enthusiasm for research, her ability to grasp complex scientific concepts quickly and her persistence in pursuing new challenges,” she says.

The Norma Slepecky Undergraduate Research Prize and Memorial Lecture honors the memory of ��ϲ�� Professor Norma Slepecky, a distinguished auditory neuroanatomist and member of the Institute for Sensory Research. A founding member of WiSE, this award was endowed in hopes that her legacy for undergraduate research mentorship would continue. The annual prize is awarded to undergraduate researchers in their junior or senior year who demonstrate excellence in research based in the full range of applied biological and engineering sciences.

Since 1999, ��ϲ��’s Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) has championed the success and advancement of women in STEM and their allies of any gender, sex or other identity through inclusive, research-based programming and mentorship. Serving 18 departments across six schools and colleges, WiSE fosters a supportive community that empowers undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs and faculty alike to persist and excel in their academic and professional journeys. Led by experienced faculty and staff, WiSE promotes equity, builds networks and equips participants with tools for leadership, resilience and success in STEM fields.

To learn more about WiSE and Norma Slepecky, . Stay up to date with our social media @TheSUwise on and .

Endowed Professorship Recognizes Impact of a Professor, Mentor and Advisor

Eileen Korey — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 13:00:38 +0000

Bao-Ding “Bob” Cheng

Bao-Ding “Bob” Cheng’s journey to ��ϲ�� in pursuit of graduate education in the 1960s was long and arduous. He didn’t have the means for air travel, so he voyaged more than 5,000 nautical miles by boat from his home in Taiwan to the Port of Seattle, Washington, where he boarded a bus to ��ϲ��, New York, travelling another nearly 5,000 miles. That trip would set the stage for an extraordinary future and the ability to help countless others achieve the American dream.

Cheng G’67, G’69 passed away in 2020. Through the Jatain Charitable Foundation he had established in 2002, his family expressed their gratitude to the University with a $1.3 million gift to fund the Bao Ding Cheng Endowed Professorship of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“When he arrived in Central New York, it was the first time my father had traveled outside of Taiwan. He had never even seen snow before. But he felt truly welcomed by ��ϲ��,” says his son George. It was 1965, two years after Cheng had graduated from National Taiwan University with a degree in chemical engineering. He was the first in his family to go to college, the oldest son and one of nine children in a family with little means.

��ϲ�� offered Cheng a scholarship to study in America. He earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in chemistry in just four years. Besides the scholarship support, there were people who helped him thrive. “One advisor, Dr. Harry Brumberger, was a mentor to him, treating him like family, inviting him over for Thanksgiving. They kept in touch over the years,” recalls George.

While Cheng was studying, he was also developing a relationship by mail with a young woman in Taiwan who would become his wife. Jean Cheng says they were introduced to each other by her grandmother’s friend. She recalls Bob writing to her about his enthusiasm for football and the support he was receiving from professors. After they married in Taiwan in 1970, Jean had to wait nearly six months before being able to join her new husband and meet his mentor at the University. “He and his wife were so kind to both of us,” she says.

Unwavering Support

The kindness the Chengs received is reflected in their giving back to the University. Their gift is part of the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program in which the University matched a portion of the gift to fully endow the professorship. “It’s our way of recognizing the impact of a professor on students,” says George. “The program elevates the impact of philanthropy—my father would have appreciated that.”

“We are very thankful for the Cheng family’s unwavering support,” says Mathew Maye, professor of chemistry and department chair. “We are thrilled to have this endowed position in the memory of one of our most distinguished Ph.D. alumni. Future faculty with this title will no doubt train generations of students who will go on to publish many papers and patents and become leaders in industry, just like Dr. Cheng did.”

Entrepreneurial and Philanthropic

George and Jean both noted that Bob was both entrepreneurial and philanthropic. He was especially impressed with investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet’s commitment to use his vast wealth for good. Over time, Cheng accumulated enough resources to give back in substantial ways, to community organizations doing good work and especially to organizations dedicated to Taiwanese American culture and recognizing the contributions of Taiwanese Americans.

“My husband was always working hard and helping others,” says Jean. He took on private tutoring jobs and was a teaching assistant, earning income for himself and helping others understand the power of education. After graduating from the University, Cheng went to work for Colgate Palmolive as a researcher, focused on removing dangerous phosphates from detergents. After a decade, he and some friends started a company to produce high-quality display products (LCD displays). His friends ultimately dropped out of the venture, and Cheng was left on his own to develop the company that would eventually become FEMA Electronics.

“My father had the grit to stick it out and build the business,” says George, who is currently CEO of FEMA Electronics. Meanwhile, the family opened a small grocery store in New Brunswick, New Jersey, near their home, and Jean worked 12 hours a day with help from her sons to pay the bills and support the family’s dream. Eventually, they relocated the business headquarters to Irvine, California, where FEMA Electronics grew rapidly. Still, they never forgot their East Coast roots.

“My husband remained a humble man throughout his lifetime,” says Jean. His philanthropy was never about promoting himself, but always about promoting the Taiwanese American community and providing opportunities for others to succeed.

“By ensuring that we can continue to attract and retain gifted researchers and teachers through this endowment, we are impacting generations of students and graduates,” says College of Arts and Sciences Dean Behzad Mortazavi. “Dr. Cheng appreciated the value of his ��ϲ�� education and experience, and with this gift from the family foundation, he is smoothing the path for others who are pursuing the American dream.”

Forecasting the Future With Fossils

Caroline K. Reff — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 01:38:25 +0000

One of the most critical issues facing the scientific world, no less the future of humanity, is climate change. Unlocking information to help understand and mitigate the impact of a warming planet is a complex puzzle that requires interdisciplinary input from some of the world’s greatest minds.

Ashley Prow-Fleischer

In the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), Ashley Prow-Fleischer G’25 (Ph.D.) is taking the lead in a brand new area of paleontology that could unlock vital information toward this global effort by using the past to predict the future.

The Devonian Period took place around 400 million years ago and was a critical time in evolution when plants began to appear and four-legged creatures like amphibians emerged from the sea. Even before the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, present day New York is believed to have been located 20 degrees south of the equator with a tropical environment covered in inland seas.

Scientists believe that the late Devonian Period brought on extinction events marking a significant time of environmental change, which might offer information about climate changes happening today.

Approximately 40% of the rocks found in New York today were formed during the Devonian Period, and hidden in these rocks are clues to understanding the relationship between the terrestrial and marine biospheres that created this transition, hopefully extrapolating the timing and the rate to modern environmental changes.

“Paleontology is a multidisciplinary field that combines different aspects of biology, chemistry, geology and math. However, geochemistry, which is a subdiscipline of paleontology, is my specialty,” says Prow-Fleischer.

Microfossils May Help Predict Future Changes

One aspect of Prow-Fleischer’s research concentrates on extinct marine plankton abundant in many rocks in this region. As the base of the food web, variations in the body sizes or distribution of plankton can be used to reconstruct past environmental changes on ecosystem structure and predict ecosystem response under modern day climate change.

Too small to be seen by the human eye, the plankton must go through a special process to be separated from the rock, while still maintaining its shell integrity. Unfortunately, standard techniques use corrosive and carcinogenic chemicals, but Prow-Fleischer has developed a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative.

Using a method that includes soaking the rock to allow water to seep into cracks and then repeatedly freezing to create pressure in the rock and then thawing, the process weakens the rock matrix, causing it to split the cracks around the microscopic fossils.

Prow-Fleischer has also been experimenting with various surfactants (soaps) that can gently and safely remove dirt from the uncovered fossils. Interestingly, she discovered that the most effective surfactants are actually Calgon and sodium carbonate found on grocery store shelves. This method increases the rate of extraction in a way that is safer for humans, giving greater access to the information these fossils may hold.

A microscope view of Devonian-era dacryoconarid microfossils reveals a wide range of sizes. These size differences offer valuable insights for reconstructing ancient environmental conditions and forecasting how ecosystems might respond to modern climate change.

This technique has allowed Prow-Fleischer to extract enough fossils to survey their body sizes across a warming interval in the late Devonian Period, which showed they became smaller over time. This is significant in that it demonstrates the implication for energy transfer in food webs today. If oceans warm, then plankton get smaller, negatively impacting fish stocks .

Coral Used as History Book of the Environment

Another area of her research focuses on coral, which Prow-Fleischer calls “the history book of the environment” because some can live for thousands of years. Coral grows by accretion of layers, like the rings of a tree, which tell a story of the conditions of the ambient sea water that existed around the time each was formed.

This research has moved forward thanks, in part, to facility access she had at A&S to a novel iodine-to-calcium proxy developed for geochemistry by her advisor, Professor , in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES).

“The goal is to be able to apply this proxy specifically to fossilized or subfossilized corals, so we can target areas of the world that might be susceptible to oxygen depletion via climate warming, or even be able to extend reconstruction as far back as the last Ice Age, which is something I’m exploring,” she says.

She has also been able to perform her work using a laser available at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry labs, which is a unique tool in her coral research.

A Passion for the Mystery of Paleontology

While Prow-Fleischer came to A&S to complete a Ph.D. in geochemistry, she quickly pivoted to paleontology, something she was always interested in but didn’t pursue until she realized the opportunities ��ϲ�� could give her for a viable career in this field.

Prow-Fleischer has been so devoted to her work that she published four papers before defending her dissertation, something that generally doesn’t happen. She has collaborated with others with similar interests, including Lucy Weisbeck ’24 (SUNY ESF) and Caroline Underwood ’23, both co-authors on “Extraction of calcareous dacryocaonarid microfossils from limestones and mudrocks by surfactants paired with freeze-thaw processing,” in Marine Microplantology, as well as her primary EES mentors, Thonis Family Associate Professor and Professor .

“Ashley is fearless in the face of a challenge, diving into the deep end even when in unfamiliar territory,” says Ivany. “She has mastered some fairly beefy coding and statistics in her time here and done the same with a powerful Earth system model that has quite a steep learning curve, all of which have been brought to bear in her research.”

After receiving a Ph.D. in May, Prow-Fleischer accepted a position as a post-doctoral researcher at the Payne Paleogeology Lab at Stanford University. Joining as a geochemist, she will work with other experts in the hopes of further exploring options to help mitigate climate warming.

“I love the mystery of paleontology and what you might discover. The work I’ve been able to achieve at the College of Arts and Sciences has been rewarding,” says Prow-Fleischer. “Overall, I plan on a career in academics where I can continue to explore the biological effects on climate change and use my curiosity and skills to contribute further to the collective betterment of society.”

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Kwami Maranga — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:27:27 +0000

Pankaj K. Jha in the Quantum Technology Laboratory (Photo by Alex Dunbar)

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count many photons rapidly, have few false counts, and provide precise timing. However, most of these detectors operate only at very low temperatures.

Pankaj K. Jha, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the , has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop single-photon detectors using iron-based superconductors that can operate at higher temperatures. The single-photon detectors he is developing will make these devices smaller, easier to access and more scalable.

“The generation, manipulation and detection of single photons lies at the heart of optical quantum technologies. Losing a photon means a loss of information, whether that information is encoded in a photonic qubit or represents an image of a distant satellite,” Jha says.

These high-temperature SNSPDs will also advance the field of quantum technology, enabling photon-starved deep-space imaging, on-chip quantum photonics and optical quantum computing, as well as applications in biomedical research. The development of these single-photon detectors supports the goals of the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018 and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, both of which aim to promote the advancement of quantum technologies.

The project will also focus on enhancing science education and training for the future workforce, offering hands-on research opportunities in quantum technology to students from K-12 through undergraduate levels.

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Dan Bernardi — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 18:15:02 +0000

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question, “Where are we going?,” offering scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and chemical changes in their environment. Among them is an extended evolutionary occurrence over 2 billion years ago, known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). This marked the first time that oxygen produced by photosynthesis—essential for the survival of humans and many other life forms—began to accumulate in significant amounts in the atmosphere.

If you traveled back in time to before the GOE (more than 2.4 billion years ago), you would encounter a largely anoxic (oxygen-free) environment. The organisms that thrived then were anaerobic, meaning they didn’t require oxygen and relied on processes like fermentation to generate energy. Some of these organisms still exist today in extreme environments such as acidic hot springs and hydrothermal vents.

The GOE triggered one of the most profound chemical transformations in Earth’s surface history. It marked the transition from a planet effectively devoid of atmospheric oxygen—and inhospitable to complex life—to one with an oxygenated atmosphere that supports the biosphere we know today.

Sedimentary rocks from South Africa, which the team sampled for this study. (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Uveges)

Scientists have long been interested in pinpointing the timing and causes of major shifts in atmospheric oxygen because they are fundamental to understanding how complex life, including humans, came to be. While our understanding of this critical period is still taking shape, a team of researchers from ��ϲ�� and Massachusetts Institute of Technology is digging deep—literally—into ancient rock cores from beneath South Africa to unearth clues about the timing of the GOE. Their work provides new insight into the pace of biological evolution in response to rising oxygen levels—and the long, complex journey toward the emergence of eukaryotes (organisms whose cells contain a nucleus enclosed within a membrane).

The study, published in the journal, , was led by ’18, Ph.D., who completed the project as a postdoctoral associate at MIT and collaborated with ��ϲ�� Earth Sciences Professor on the chemical analyses.

Answers Embedded in Rock

To step back in time, the research team analyzed sedimentary rock cores collected from several sites across South Africa. These locations were carefully selected because their rocks, dating back 2.2 to 2.5 billion years, fall within the ideal age range for preserving evidence of the GOE. By analyzing stable isotopic ratios embedded in these rocks, the team uncovered evidence of oceanic processes that required the presence of nitrate—an indicator of more oxygen-rich conditions.

To analyze the ancient sediment, Uveges worked with Junium, an associate professor of Earth and environmental sciences at ��ϲ��. Junium specializes in studying how past environments evolved to better understand future global change. His state-of-the-art instruments were essential for obtaining accurate readings of trace nitrogen levels.

“The rocks that we analyzed for this study had very low nitrogen concentrations in them, too low to measure with the traditional instrumentation used for this work,” says Uveges. “Chris has built one of only a handful of instruments in the world that can measure nitrogen isotope ratios in samples with 100 to 1,000 times less nitrogen in them than the typical minimum.”

An essential component of the Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer is called the cryotrapping/capillary-focusing module. This equipment, which played a critical role in enabling the nitrogen isotope analyses presented in the paper, is housed in Junium’s lab at ��ϲ��. (Photo by Christopher Junium)

In Junium’s lab, the team analyzed nitrogen isotope ratios from South African rock samples using an instrument called an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS). The samples were first crushed into powder, chemically treated to extract specific components, then converted into gas. This gas was ionized (turned into charged particles) and accelerated through a magnetic field, which separated the isotopes based on their mass. The IRMS then measured the ratio of ¹⁵N to ¹⁴N, which can reveal how nitrogen was processed in the past.

So how does this process reveal past oxygen levels? Microbes (short for microorganisms) influence the chemical makeup of sediments before they become rock, leaving behind isotopic signatures of how nitrogen was being processed and used. Tracking changes in ¹⁵N to ¹⁴N over time helps scientists understand how Earth’s environment—particularly oxygen levels—evolved.

Rewriting the Oxygen Timeline

According to Uveges, the most surprising finding is a shift in the timing of the ocean’s aerobic nitrogen cycle. Evidence suggests that nitrogen cycling became sensitive to dissolved oxygen roughly 100 million years earlier than previously thought—indicating a significant delay between oxygen buildup in the ocean and its accumulation in the atmosphere.

Junium notes that these results mark a critical tipping point in the nitrogen cycle, when organisms had to update their biochemical machinery to process nitrogen in a more oxidized form that was harder for them to absorb and use.

“All of this fits with the emerging idea that the GOE was a protracted ordeal where organisms had to find the balance between taking advantage of the energy gains of oxygenic photosynthesis, and the gradual adaptations to dealing with its byproduct, oxygen,” says Junium.

As oxygen produced through photosynthesis began to accumulate in the atmosphere, this rise in oxygen led to the extinction of many anaerobic organisms and set the stage for the evolution of aerobic respiration—a process that uses oxygen to break down glucose and provides the energy needed for functions like muscle movement, brain activity and cellular maintenance in humans and other animals.

“For the first 2-plus billion years of Earth’s history there was exceedingly little free oxygen in the oceans or atmosphere,” says Uveges. “In contrast, today oxygen makes up one fifth of our atmosphere and essentially all complex multicellular life as we know it relies on it for respiration. So, in a way, studying the rise of oxygen and its chemical, geological and biological impacts is really studying how the planet and life co-evolved to arrive at the current situation.”

Their findings reshape our understanding of when Earth’s surface environments became oxygen-rich after the evolution of oxygen-producing photosynthesis. The research also identifies a key biogeochemical milestone that can help scientists model how different forms of life evolved before and after the GOE.

“I hope our findings will inspire more research into this fascinating time period,” says Uveges. “By applying new geochemical techniques to the rock cores we studied, we can build an even more detailed picture of the GOE and its impact on life on Earth.”

This work was funded by grants including: A National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award (��ϲ��: Christopher Junium) and a Simons Foundation Origins of Life Collaboration award (MIT: Benjamin Uveges, Gareth Izon and Roger Summons).

What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?

News Staff — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 18:14:35 +0000

Researchers from ��ϲ�� and the United Kingdom found chemical clues in ancient South African sediments linking past atmospheric shifts to droughts that mirror Cape Town’s Day Zero crisis. Recent droughts have brought water sources like the Theewaterskloof Dam (pictured above) in South Africa dangerously close to drying up. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Climate change is reshaping the global water cycle, disrupting rainfall patterns and putting growing pressure on cities and ecosystems. Some regions are grappling with heavier rainfall and flooding, while others face prolonged droughts that threaten public health, disrupt economies and increase the risk of political instability. In one recent example, a years-long drought between 2015 and 2020 brought Cape Town, South Africa, to the brink of running out of water—a moment officials dubbed “Day Zero.”

Scientists have long debated whether extreme events like the Cape Town water crisis are driven by human-caused climate change or are part of natural climate variability, with some models suggesting that global warming may indeed play a role.

“But a model is not the real world,” says , Thonis Family Associate Professor in ��ϲ��’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES). “So we looked back in time.”

The team extracted organic compounds from sediment samples using a cocktail of solvents. As those solvents evaporate, the organic material remains in the vial as an orange residue.

In a paper recently published in , Bhattacharya and a team of researchers—led by EES graduate Claire Rubbelke ’25, Ph.D., (and supported by undergraduates Lucy Weisbeck from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry as well as, in earlier work, Ellen Jorgensen ’23)—analyzed ancient plant matter preserved in a column of sediment drilled off the coast of South Africa. These molecules contain hydrogen isotopes from the rainfall that nourished the plants, providing a chemical fingerprint of past climate conditions.

The study focuses on the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, a 550,000-year period between 1.25 and 0.7 million years ago when Earth’s glacial cycles and atmospheric composition underwent major shifts. The researchers found evidence that, during this time, dramatic changes in global atmospheric circulation—including contractions and expansions of the massive Hadley cell, which rises near the equator and sinks around 30 degrees latitude—produced wetting and drying conditions in Southern Africa. The latter correspond to the conditions experienced during Cape Town’s Day Zero crisis.

“We found that when the climate has changed dramatically in the past, it produced shifts analogous to the Day Zero drought,” Bhattacharya says. “This suggests that those types of events are really driven by global climate change.”

Rubbelke says the findings raise new questions about the future. “One big question I’m left with is whether these short droughts—and the Day Zero drought was relatively short-lived—will become more prolonged and eventually a permanent feature of the regional climate,” she says. “The fact that past droughts appear in the sediment record suggests they persisted for many years.”

In future work as a postdoctoral researcher, Rubbelke plans to conduct comparative studies on the opposite, eastern coast of Africa to better understand variations in rainfall across the continent. She also hopes to explore how shifting rainfall patterns may have shaped early human evolution in Southern Africa, home to key fossil sites like the Cradle of Humankind. Changes in vegetation and water availability could have influenced where hominin species lived and which ones survived.

Beyond its scientific insights, the research offers practical value for the present. Regions such as California, which share South Africa’s Mediterranean climate—marked by mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers—could benefit from a deeper understanding of past drought dynamics. “Climate models are the only tool we have for planning,” says Bhattacharya. “By testing how well they simulate past events, we can identify where they fall short—and ultimately improve our modeling capacity to better prepare for the future.”

Story by Olivia Hall

University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy

News Staff — Wed, 21 May 2025 14:28:17 +0000

This month at the All Island Bioeconomy Summit held in Co. Meath, Ireland, it was announced that , Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy, comprising 12 leading Irish research universities in Ireland, signed a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the housed at ��ϲ��.

BiOrbic and the Dynamic Sustainability Lab are both committed to interdisciplinary approaches to discovery and innovation that tackle the opportunities to develop cost-effective biobased innovations including circular approaches.

One of the near-term actions arising from the memorandum of understanding will be the development of joint approaches to leverage the rapidly emerging utility of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data.

“This MOU formalizes and greatly expands our initial collaboration to leverage our shared dedication to advancing biobased markets in the United States and European Union through joint research, outreach and workforce development,” says Jay Golden, director of the Dynamic Sustainability Lab and the Pontarelli Professor in the .

Derek O’Brien, BiOrbic executive director, says, “We are delighted to deepen our collaboration with the Dynamic Sustainability Lab and ��ϲ��. The challenges we face as a society today are not confined within borders and it is only through collaboration and partnership that we can build a better and sustainable future. The circular bioeconomy presents a significant opportunity for economic growth in Ireland and the United States. The bioeconomy is the part of the economy which uses renewable resources from agriculture, forestry and the marine industry to produce food, feed, materials and energy, while reducing waste, in support of achieving a sustainable and climate neutral society.”

Professor Bing Dong Named as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Alex Dunbar — Sun, 18 May 2025 21:25:08 +0000

Bing Dong

The College of Engineering and Computer Science has named as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This endowed professorship is made possible by a 1998 gift from the late Fritz Traugott H’98 and his wife, Frances.

A prolific researcher with a strong track record of securing external funding, Professor Dong is the associate director of Grid-Interactive Buildings at the , oversees the , and teaches courses on HVAC system design, machine learning for mechanical engineering, and control systems.

Dong holds a dozen patents and has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers with approximately 11,500 citations. Since joining the University in 2019, he has served as the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on over 20 projects, totaling more than $15 million in funding.

Dong’s research sits at the intersection of building performance, human behavior and urban infrastructure. Using physics-informed machine learning, optimization and AI-enabled controls, Dong is looking to improve energy efficiency while ensuring the productivity and comfort of building occupants.

Since earning a Ph.D. in building performance and diagnostics from Carnegie Mellon University, Dong has been a leader in the field of building science. He received a 2023 World Fellowship from the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), ��ϲ��’s first such fellow and one of only two U.S. members in the biennial cohort.

Dong also received a 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), in which he was the only New York state honoree. He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award and several best paper awards from international journals.

“Bing’s innovative research and commitment to improving energy systems is exactly what Fritz and Frances Traugott had intended when they established the endowed professorship,” says Engineering and Computer Science Dean J. Cole Smith. “Their vision and commitment to this important work is supporting breakthroughs from Bing and his research team.”

“Bing has been integral to our work at the ��ϲ�� Center of Excellence,” says Professor Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, CoE’s executive director. “In collaboration with our academic and industry partners, he is advancing research across multi-scales of the built environment and developing cutting edge technologies for improving energy efficiency, environmental quality and human health.”

Fritz Traugott came to ��ϲ�� through a Marshall Plan work-study initiative for young engineers. He retired in 1990 after a long career with Robson & Woese Inc., a ��ϲ��-based consulting engineering firm. In establishing the Traugott Professorship, Fritz and Frances Traugott specifically wished to support energy systems engineering research in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, making Dong’s work an ideal match.

“It is truly a great honor to be the Traugott endowed professor,” says Dong. “I will continue Mr. Traugott’s vision of conducting research and education in energy system engineering.”

Physics Professor Honored for Efforts to Improve Learning, Retention

Sean Grogan — Fri, 16 May 2025 18:08:52 +0000

Jenny Ross

�ճ�� in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) has made some big changes lately.

The department just added an astronomy major approved by New York State and recently overhauled the undergraduate curriculum to replace traditional labs with innovative “Experiencing Physics” labs—inquiry-based Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) targeted at improving both teaching outcomes and student retention in the physics major.

Current A&S Associate Dean for Creativity, Scholarship and Research served as department chair when these initiatives were started.

For these notable initiatives, as well as her groundbreaking explorations in biophysics and active matter, Ross was awarded the prestigious ��ڰ��ǳ��. The STAR () Award recognizes outstanding achievements in both research and education.

��, Ross’s research explores how cells organize themselves using fundamental physics principles, with the goal of designing next-generation materials inspired by biology.

The award includes a $5,000 prize and will be presented at the 2025 Cottrell Scholar Conference in Tucson, Arizona, this July. As a recipient, Ross will provide mentoring to early career Cottrell Scholar colleagues throughout the coming year.

ECS Team Takes First Place in American Society of Civil Engineers Competition

Kwami Maranga — Tue, 13 May 2025 14:10:34 +0000

Civil and environmental engineering student teams participated in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Sustainable Solutions and Steel Bridge competitions during the 2025 Upstate New York-Canada Student Symposium, winning first place in the Sustainable Solutions competition. The symposium was held at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Students who participated in the 2025 ASCE competition

The ASCE Student Symposium challenges students to explore and implement sustainable solutions, allowing them to apply their skills and knowledge to real-world challenges. Competitions such as Sustainable Solutions encourage students to deepen their understanding of sustainability and learn how to integrate sustainable solutions into everyday engineering problems.

“We presented a redevelopment proposal focused on transforming a vacant office complex into a vibrant, sustainable and affordable housing community. The design incorporated green roofs, passive solar design, greywater recycling and community-oriented amenities such as a public garden, amphitheater and small local businesses,” says environmental engineering student Brooklyn Toller ’27.

The Steel Bridge competition challenges students to design and build a scale-model steel bridge. During the fall semester, students create a design based on specifications provided by the ASCE and draft plans for the construction of a 20-foot scale model. The goal is to minimize the bridge’s weight while ensuring it can support a load of 2,500 pounds.

Students participate in the Steel Bridge competition

The student team took first place for cost estimation, a category in the Steel Bridge competition, and came in 6th place overall.

“It was intriguing to look at the other teams’ designs and construction processes. Seeing new and different intricacies from the other schools really allowed me to start thinking about ways that our bridge could be improved, which will help us improve our bridge design and construction process for years to come,” says civil engineering student Evan Garcia ’28.

The ASCE ��ϲ�� student chapter also participated in the Mead Paper competition, where students tackle complex issues about engineering ethics, allowing them to examine and communicate the purpose and responsibilities of a civil engineer.

“I was elected by my chapter to enter the Daniel W. Mead Student Prize Paper Competition. This opportunity allowed me to practice both my written and oral communication skills. I am very proud of the work that I put forth and am a better public speaker because of it,” says civil engineering student Shannon O’Kane ’28.

The Sustainable Solutions team will participate in the ASCE’s national championships. The competition will be held June 27-29 at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Chloe Britton Naime Committed to Advocating for Improved Outcomes for Neurodivergent Individuals

John Boccacino — Tue, 06 May 2025 19:32:18 +0000

Chloe Britton Naime plans on studying neurodevelopmental and learning differences among individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder to better understand how the neurodivergent brain operates. (Photo by Amy Manley)

Chloe Britton Naime ’25 is about to complete a challenging and rare dual major program in both mechanical engineering from the and neuroscience from the .

Even more impressive? Britton Naime will conclude the rigorous dual major in four years instead of the customary five years, which is “one of the biggest reasons I wanted to attend ��ϲ��,” says Britton Naime, who will begin their Ph.D. program in neuroscience at Florida State University in the fall.

Chloe Britton Naime

It’s the latest chapter in Britton Naime’s lifelong love affair with learning. Specifically, studying why their brain functions differently as a neurodivergent individual who struggled to read—Britton Naime was diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of 8. They have also finally been diagnosed with autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“I remember thinking, ‘why does my brain work differently than everyone else? Why is this task much more challenging for me?’” says Britton Naime, who is graduating summa cum laude and is a member of the .

“I’m interested in how we can improve our diagnostics, but I’m also interested in what treatments or interventions can be done,” Britton Naime says. “Figuring out what can help support meeting this individual’s needs. Figuring out the possibilities and how we can continue to improve the outcomes for neurodivergent people.”

Changing the Narrative

Britton Naime considers themselves honored to have a strong support system, including their mother, Katrina Britton, who encouraged self-advocacy at an early age. But knowing not everyone who is neurodivergent has these advocates has fueled Britton Naime’s career aspirations.

Chloe Britton Naime is an undergraduate research assistant in the Center for Autism Research and Electrophysiology (C.A.R.E.) Lab—which studies how typically developing children, children with developmental disabilities and children with autism perceive, process and integrate sensory information.

As a peer coach in the physics department, Britton Naime engages with students with an accommodation from the Center for Disability Resources to ensure the student’s needs are being met. If a student needs accommodations but doesn’t have them, Britton Naime will make sure the student understands the resources available to them on campus.

“When I have a place where I can advocate for someone, I take that opportunity. Thankfully, ��ϲ�� provides a great infrastructure for supporting students with disabilities,” Britton Naime says.

Britton Naime is also an undergraduate research assistant in the —which conducts behavioral and neurophysiological research to understand how typically developing children, children with developmental disabilities and children with autism perceive, process and integrate sensory information.

Through lab studies focused on measuring and recording the brain’s electrical activity, Britton Naime says the CARE Lab’s work represents progress in reducing the historically negative stigma around autistic individuals.

“The CARE Lab focuses on the strengths and capabilities of our autistic population and identifies the reasons why they’re succeeding at something. It’s really rewarding work,” says Britton Naime, who also did a Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Globalink Research Internship at the University of British Columbia in the Baby Learning Lab with Lauren Emberson, Ph.D.

How ��ϲ�� Laid the Foundation for What’s Next

The technical skills Britton Naime learned through the mechanical engineering program, including as a data processor, helped accentuate their work as a neuroscientist, specifically when it comes to processing and interpreting the neuroimaging data to comprehend how brain activity relates to our behavior, cognition and mental processes.

The foundational nature of the mechanical engineering program also allowed Britton Naime to seek out the aspects they wanted to learn more about as they honed and built up their skills as a researcher.

At Florida State, Britton Naime plans on studying neurodevelopmental and learning differences among individuals with ADHD to better understand how the neurodivergent brain operates.

By gaining a deeper understanding of how neurodivergent brains function—particularly through the use of neuroimaging technology—Britton Naime aims not only to improve quality of life through enhanced diagnosis and tailored interventions, but also to help unlock the full potential of individuals whose strengths may be overlooked in systems built for neurotypical learners. Their research challenges deficit-based narratives and seeks to reframe how success and capability are understood in academic and developmental contexts.

“I hope to be a professor and have my own lab where I can produce quality research related to this topic. But I also want to continue serving as a vocal advocate for my community,” Britton Naime says. “��ϲ�� prepared me to go to grad school and to go into this industry, which is important because I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I had all these avenues available and received the support I needed to go down this path.”

Graduating Research Quartet Synthesizes Long-Lasting Friendships Through Chemistry

John Boccacino — Tue, 06 May 2025 13:38:18 +0000

Senior researchers (pictured from left to right) Morgan Opp, Lucy Olcott, Jesse Buck and Isabella Chavez Miranda helped advance Professor Robert Doyle’s cutting-edge obesity and diabetes treatments.

When Jesse Buck ’25, Isabella Chavez Miranda ’25, Lucy Olcott ’25 and Morgan Opp ’25 started as student researchers in medicinal chemist Robert Doyle’s lab, they hoped to hone their research skills.

It quickly became evident this would be unlike any other lab experience. The collaborative environment in the Doyle Group cultivated confidence in their abilities and led to constructive conversations about how to achieve the goals of their projects.

As they were producing, purifying, synthesizing and redesigning the peptides that eventually helped lead to Doyle’s breakthrough weight loss and diabetes treatments, they discovered their meaningful interactions transformed them into a family, as well as putting them on a path to becoming scientists.

“They are future stars, an incredible quartet that matches great intelligence with as hardworking of a student group I’ve ever had the privilege to work with,” says Doyle, the Jack and Laura H. Milton Professor and Dean’s in the .

The quartet will now take the lessons learned and apply them to their master’s and Ph.D. programs at prestigious graduate schools:

Buck, a medicinal chemistry major (Arts and Sciences) will pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley;
Chavez Miranda, a double major in medicinal chemistry (Arts and Sciences) and business management (), will pursue a master’s in health administration at the University of Southern California;
Olcott, a chemistry major (Arts and Sciences), will pursue a Ph.D. in pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania; and
Opp, a double major in medicinal chemistry and biology (Arts and Sciences), will pursue a Ph.D. at Yale University.

After spending hundreds of lab hours together, Buck, Chavez Miranda, Olcott and Opp sat down with SU News to reflect on a bond that will continue beyond graduation.

How did you become passionate about this research?

Lucy Olcott

Lucy Olcott: My interest in health science was sparked at 15 when my grandmother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Watching her struggle to adapt to a new lifestyle while managing new treatments opened my eyes to the importance of health care.

After I took Honors General Chemistry with Professor Robert Doyle, the path became clear. The Doyle lab has given me the opportunity to explore translational medicinal chemistry focused on unmet clinical needs of various metabolic diseases.

Morgan ��:��I’ve always had a passion for research that’s translatable, where I can directly see the work I’m doing on a day-to-day basis and how that work has the potential for real-world impact on people who need it. I was in Dr. Doyle’s class freshman year. I knew I liked metabolism and technology, and he took a chance on me and allowed me to begin my research.

Isabella Chavez Miranda: I’ve always had a deep love and passion for chemistry. Both my parents are chemical engineers. Since I was young, I’ve watched them do research. It was a no-brainer that I wanted to be involved when I came to ��ϲ��.

I was lucky to be in Dr. Doyle’s class my freshman year. He saw the potential in me and allowed me to grow in his lab for the past four years.

Jesse Buck

Jesse ��ܳ��:��I came in as a chemistry major but transitioned to medicinal chemistry and joined this lab as a junior. Dr. Doyle took a chance on me, and I appreciate that because I learned so much about what it means to be in a lab. I love doing chemistry research with implications in biology that you can use to make an impact and create something helpful for patients.

What is your proudest moment/biggest lesson learned from the lab?

��ܳ��:��Being accepted into our respective graduate programs. That is concrete evidence that our hard work has paid off. We have an opportunity to grow and become impactful scientists.

��:��Going to the Mid-Atlantic Pharmacology Society meeting [in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] with Isa—it’s a big deal for undergraduates to present their research at a national conference like this.

��ǳٳ�:��Patience in research. It’s easy to get frustrated when experiments don’t go as planned. Being able to identify where things might have gone wrong and go back to the drawing board is just as important as producing and collecting novel data.

Isabella Chavez Miranda

Chavez Miranda: The first time I was able to synthesize a peptide that had the exact correct mass and was usable was an amazing feeling. That showed that I’m learning and growing as a scientist.

How will your graduate work advance your career ambitions?

Chavez Miranda: I’ve loved making these potential drugs that could have a big impact on patients but if the people who need the drugs the most can’t get them, what real value do they bring? I want to bridge that gap between the patients and the drugs they need.

Morgan Opp

��ǳٳ�:��I’m interested in pursuing research in drug discovery and development for centrally mediated diseased states and hope to pursue a career in academia as a principal investigator, conducting high-impact research while mentoring the next generation of scientists.

��ܳ��:��This is the perfect opportunity to discover what niche I want to work in. I’m hoping to find the perfect lab to mesh my love of chemistry and biology.

��:��To continue exploring my passion for endocrinology and metabolism. I’m looking at labs that bridge both analytical chemistry, cell biology and medicinal chemistry. I’m leaning toward a future in biotechnology and want to remain on the cutting edge of research.

In case you missed it: Check out episode #175 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast, “Striving to Improve the Efficacy of Obesity, Diabetes Treatments.” In the , medicinal chemist Robert Doyle discusses his breakthrough weight loss research, the important role students play in advancing his research, and how, through philanthropy, his work has come to life.

Biologist Reveals New Insights Into Fish’s Unique Attachment Mechanism

Dan Bernardi — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 17:10:49 +0000

The bottom portion of the sculpins’ pectoral fin helps them grip onto surfaces and even walk. (Photo by Emily Kane)

On a wave-battered rock in the Northern Pacific Ocean, a fish called the sculpin grips the surface firmly to maintain stability in its harsh environment. Unlike sea urchins, which use their glue-secreting tube feet to adhere to their surroundings, sculpins manage to grip without a specialized adhesive organ like tube feet or the suction cups of octopuses.

So, why is this significant and why are scientists so keen to understand it? Marine organisms thriving in high-energy environments serve as excellent natural models for designing more efficient and effective human-engineered devices, such as robots, grippers and adhesives. Improved adhesives could have wide-ranging impacts, from enhancing medical devices to creating tires with better road grip.

New research has uncovered a surprising microscopic feature on the fins of sculpins, potentially aiding their ability to grip their surroundings. (Photo by Emily Kane)

A team of researchers from ��ϲ�� and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette who specialize in functional morphology—how the shape and structure of an organism helps it function—recently uncovered a new and surprising traction trait in sculpins. They found microscopic features on their fins, potentially allowing them to adhere strongly to surfaces underwater to fight currents and waves. Their results were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

“In order to prevent being swept away, these sculpins need another way to keep themselves in position,” says Emily Kane, professor of biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette who co-authored the study with Austin Garner, a biology professor in the at ��ϲ��. “One feature that sets this group apart is the modification of their pectoral fins such that the bottom portion has reduced webbing that allows the fin rays to poke out further than the fin. They can use these for holding onto rocks or other substrates, but some species have further modifications that allow for walking and sensory functions.”

Previous research has shown that sculpins use hydrodynamic mechanisms—like having a small, streamlined body and using their fins to create negative lift—to maintain balance and grip. Additionally, physical mechanisms, such as gripping the substrate with flexible fin rays on the bottom part of the fin (similar to having fingers), have been described. This study documents a new surface texture, suggesting that these bottom fin rays might also create friction or adhesion at a microscopic level, enhancing their grip even further.

Kane and her team first discovered these features during fieldwork in summer 2022 in Friday Harbor, Washington. While observing fins at a microscopic level using a scanning electron microscope, she immediately recognized the similarity between the sculpins’ features and the fine hairs on gecko feet. She then reached out to Garner, who is an expert in animal adhesion and attachment.

“My lab is interested in how animals interface with surfaces in their environment during both stationary and locomotory behaviors, particularly in those organisms that take advantage of adhesive or frictional interactions using specialized attachment organs,” says Garner, who is also a member of the at ��ϲ��, where researchers collaborate to develop and design smart materials to address global challenges. “Using a very similar framework to studies I have conducted in lizards and sea urchins, we worked together to design and execute this study.”

The team focused on traits such as density, area and length to outline the texture of the skin on the fin rays.

“We compared these measures to values in other animals with similar features that are known to produce a friction gripping force, like having sandpaper on the fins,” says Kane. “There are some similarities in sculpins that make us think they could be doing something similar.”

Garner notes that their work is the first description of these microstructures on the fin rays of sculpins. “We not only described the form and configuration of these structures in this work but also generated testable hypotheses that serve as strong intellectual foundations for us to continue probing in our future work on this topic,” he says.

So, what will this forthcoming research involve, and could studying these structures lead to the development of new bio-inspired adhesives for societal use?

Garner suggests that the form and function of sculpin fins could be effectively integrated into bio-inspired robots or grippers for underwater navigation and exploration. As the research progresses, their team anticipates that understanding the microstructures on sculpin fins will offer new possibilities for designing synthetic attachment devices that can attach securely yet detach easily, even underwater.

Who knows, maybe one day an underwater robot with sculpin-inspired grippers will be exploring the ocean depths and making waves in the world of bio-inspired technology.

Distinguished ECS Professor Pramod K. Varshney Establishes Endowed Faculty Fellowship

Kwami Maranga — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:49:29 +0000

Distinguished Professor has exemplified Orange excellence since joining the University as a 23-year-old faculty member.

A world-renowned researcher and educator, he’s been recognized for his seminal contributions to information fusion and related fields, introducing new, innovative courses to the University. He’s also been an invaluable mentor to countless students on their academic and professional journeys. Supervising 68 Ph.D. dissertations thus far, he’s bolstered the career paths of many students.

Pramod Varshney

Now, Pramod and his late wife, Anju G’86, G’90, will continue their support for the University by creating a legacy that will impact generations to come. “Anju and I bled Orange,” says Pramod. “What we wanted to do was leave a legacy which would keep and grow the excellence that we have at ��ϲ�� in the mission of education.”

The Varshneys have established the Pramod and Anju Varshney Endowed Faculty Fellowship to recognize and support a promising research-focused scholar dedicated to mentoring doctoral students, just as Pramod has. This esteemed professor will hold a full-time faculty position in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) within the (ECS).

“The person [for this position] should be an agent of change,” says Pramod. “They should be transformational in research but have something else—a discovery that will serve humanity, working with groups that are outside of the University or helping underprivileged students to realize their dream of going to college. Do something in our society that makes a difference.”

This fellowship is yet another example of Pramod and Anju’s commitment to promoting excellence at ��ϲ��. In 2018, they established an endowed fund that provides annual scholarships and financial assistance to EECS graduate students pursuing their doctorates.

“The first ECS news story I ever read was about Pramod and Anju’s dedication to EECS Ph.D. students,” says ECS Dean J. Cole Smith. “In reading that article, I was instantly struck by how much they mean to ��ϲ�� and what a lasting impact they have had on countless generations of ECS students. Now, the Varshney Endowed Faculty Fellowship will support and honor EECS faculty members as they set out to make their own research and societal impacts.”

This continued support reflects the Varshney’s dedication to empowering students to become leading figures in their fields—a sentiment shared by many of Pramod’s former students.

“I consider myself fortunate that Professor Varshney was my Ph.D. advisor at ��ϲ��,” says Kotikalapudi Sriram G’83, a former doctoral student. “He remains a true source of inspiration and professional support for me and many former SU students I know.”

“His guidance has meant everything to me—shaping not only my academic and professional growth but also my approach to problem-solving and collaboration,” says former doctoral student Engin Masazade G’10. “His unwavering support, insightful advice and dedication to his students have had a profound impact on my journey, and I am incredibly grateful to have learned from him.”

Pramod hopes this fellowship will set a precedent of appreciation for the college, inspiring others to give back to the University. “I’ve loved being able to interact with a large number of graduate students from all over the world who have gone on to do great things,” says Pramod. “My hope is that this fellowship will help keep the University and EECS growing, becoming further well-known around the world as a great place for education and scholarship.”

Earth Day Spotlight: The Science Behind Heat Pumps (Video)

Daryl Lovell — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 21:06:47 +0000

Peter Wirth has a two-fold strategy when it comes to renovating his home.

The Brooklyn, New York, native has called Central New York home for more than 40 years. Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in Fayetteville, New York, the 1960s-era Craftsman house he shares with his wife, daughter and their cat “Spice” not only features many attractive upgrades in aesthetics and design, but most importantly cuts back on their climate footprint with every improvement plan and project.

“I think what probably got me on the path was I believe in science,” says Wirth, co-founder of the group. “I’m trying to remove or reduce our consumption of fossil fuels in the house.”

Wirth keeps energy efficiency at the center of his home upgrades, generating his own renewable energy with rooftop solar panels, and getting his hot water on demand through an updated tankless water heater. His sustainability goals led him to make one of his biggest home upgrades yet—adding an air-sourced heat pump to his natural gas furnace, creating a hybrid heating and cooling system that runs much more efficiently.

“I think once you go to an electric heat pump, you’d never think about doing a gas furnace again,” says Wirth.

Professor Ian Shapiro demonstrates the functionality of a heat pump system.

Getting more people to consider heat pumps for their homes and businesses has been a mission point for , professor of practice in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the associate director of Building Science and Community Programs at the ��ϲ�� Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems. He launched his mechanical engineering career more than three decades ago with designing heat pumps.

Systems That Heat and Cool

While the word heat can lead people to limit the technology to only its warming effect, these systems work to both heat and cool structures.

Shapiro says heat pumps work by moving heat from the outdoor air to the indoor space, similar to how a refrigerator moves heat from the inside to the outside. The heating and cooling system uses electricity to move heat rather than generating it directly. Even on a cold Central New York day with an outdoor temperature below freezing, the pump can effectively pull warm air from the outdoors to heat the inside of a home or building.

“That free outdoor heat is renewable,” Shapiro says. “And much of the electricity is carbon free from sources such as hydroelectricity and solar. If New York state meets its goals by 2040, it will all be clean electricity.”

Residence as a Living Lab

Wirth opened his home to Shapiro’s graduate mechanical engineering students as a “living lab” to execute research questions and learn directly from homeowners about the real-world implications of heat pump technology. The collaboration has proven fruitful for researchers and Wirth. ��ϲ�� researchers were able to identify ways to make his heat pump and home more efficient, and the hands-on work will help students in their professional fields.

“��ϲ�� has been an ideal place to study heat pump performance in cold climates and older homes,” says mechanical and aerospace engineering Ph.D. student, Sameeraa Soltanian-Zadeh ’26. “These field studies help bridge the gap between lab-tested efficiency and real-world performance.”

“As more buildings transition from traditional fossil fuel heating systems to heat pumps, improving their operational efficiency will be crucial,” says Ji Zhou ’28, another Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who plans to work in a heat pump research lab post-graduation.

, with requirements for all new buildings to use electric heat and appliances by 2026 and all existing buildings by 2030. Shapiro estimates there are more than 100,000 heat pumps currently in use in New York state. He anticipates more growth in the years to come as fossil-fuel powered energy becomes more expensive.

For homeowners like Wirth, finding ways to cut down on carbon consumption and reduce greenhouse gases is a personal mission now powering his home and his life.

“For me to recommend to other people to do things without doing them myself, I just can’t do it,” says Wirth. “It would feel hollow. I need to walk the talk.”

Video captured, edited and produced by Amy Manley, senior multimedia producer

At the Intersection of Research and Innovation: Biomedical Engineer Luiza Owuor ’26 Prepares for Career as a Medical Scientist

John Boccacino — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 18:51:15 +0000

While many of her peers were enjoying the time off between high school graduation and starting college, Luiza Owuor ’26 was participating in the University’s (CAREER) program, which introduces students to the research opportunities available to them on campus.

Luiza Owuor

The program helps students like Owuor become involved with research efforts early on in their academic careers, and for Owuor, the experience, especially a presentation from and Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering , ignited her passion for biochemical engineering.

Once Owuor officially embarked on her journey in the , she wanted to contribute to the , which strives to improve treatments for individuals living with an injury or disease. Through experimental and computational approaches, lab researchers study and apply mechanobiology in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

“I remember being especially drawn to Dr. Henderson’s presentation, and his work really sparked my interest in this field,” says Owuor, president of the Society of Women Engineers and a mentor with Catalyst Scholars, a new program for first-generation students.

“Being involved in his lab has been one of the most defining parts of my academic journey. I’ve co-authored two published papers through BioInspired [which examines complex biological systems], and it’s been incredibly rewarding to see our research make a real contribution to the field,” Owuor says. “I’ve built a strong, family-like bond with my lab members and that sense of support and collaboration has made the experience truly special.”

Owuor, a native of Kisumu, Kenya, was recently named as a 2025-26 ��ϲ�� Remembrance Scholar. She sat down with SU News to discuss her passion for biomedical engineering, her career goals, the important role of mentoring and how her time on campus has fueled her holistic development.

What sparked your interest in biomedical engineering and the STEM field?

I’ve always wanted to be part of the health care space, but not necessarily on the front lines. Biomedical engineering drew me in because it offers a way to make a real impact from behind the scenes, whether that’s through designing medical devices, developing therapeutic technologies or conducting research that leads to breakthroughs.

Once I got involved in research at ��ϲ��, I saw how engineering could be used to solve complex biological problems, and that solidified my passion for this field. I love that I get to blend innovation with purpose every day.

What are your career goals and ambitions?

To become a medical scientist and contribute to the development of innovative therapies that improve patient outcomes. I’m especially interested in translational research, taking discoveries from the lab and turning them into real solutions for people. Pursuing a Ph.D. is part of that path, and I hope to work at the intersection of research and innovation to help address some of the biggest challenges in health care.

What role has mentoring played in your development?

Mentorship has shaped so much of my growth. From research mentors in the to peer leaders in student organizations like the Society of Women Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), I’ve been guided and supported by people who believed in my potential. Mentoring others—whether through Academic Excellence Workshops or Catalyst Scholar mentoring—feels like a full-circle moment. It’s my way of paying it forward.

How has your time at ��ϲ�� helped fuel your development?

��ϲ�� has been instrumental in my growth—academically, professionally and personally. Through leadership roles like serving as president of the Society of Women Engineers and alumni relations chair for NSBE, I’ve developed strong communication, organizational and interpersonal skills.

The (SOURCE) program has been a major support system, funding my research projects and giving me the platform to present my work. ��ϲ�� has also connected me with the resources and guidance I needed to secure meaningful internships, including one for this upcoming summer. On top of that, my classes have equipped me with technical lab skills and data analysis that will directly apply to my field and my future career goals.

Exploring Artificial Intelligence Through Immersive Internships

Kwami Maranga — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 13:32:26 +0000

Emma Bellai

After completing an “Intro to Artificial Intelligence (AI)” course in the (ECS), Emma Bellai ’25 was eager to apply everything she learned in class to her internship with Verizon. Joining the Global Network and Technology team as an AI intern, the timing was perfect, as the AI boom in recent years opened exciting opportunities for exploration in this field.

“One class is all it takes to make the difference and that’s what happened to me,” says Bellai, a computer science student.

In just 10 weeks, Bellai explored how prompt engineering and personas are used in AI chatbots and her background in AI research was a huge help. Prompt engineering involves writing instructions that guide AI chatbots to respond to questions or complete tasks. Personas guide the chatbot’s tone of voice or the way the chatbot speaks. Using specific personas are a great way to make AI chatbots sound more human, which helps personalize their responses.

“The chatbot would talk differently to a CEO than it would to a software engineer,” says Bellai. “The main focus of my work was seeing how to optimize personas for different people. To see the results of my work and having an application on the website that I worked on was very rewarding.”

A typical day at the office involved researching the latest developments in AI, preparing presentations on new concepts she was learning and communicating with her team and personal mentor. Interns were encouraged to engage with others in the company through coffee chats, and Bellai had the opportunity to speak with many employees, including senior leadership and the CEO.

“They wanted to hear from young voices and AI applications from my perspective,” says Bellai. “I got to speak with the CEO at least two or three times, which is great because I feel like at other companies, you don’t get that opportunity.”

Interning with Verizon connected Bellai with the company’s extensive network of professionals, including ��ϲ�� alumni. She also had an opportunity to share her experiences and insights during a live stream to the entire company. Bellai’s hard work and enthusiasm for her role paid off, as she was offered a full-time position and will return to Verizon after graduation.

“If you have a really great professor that makes you genuinely care about the topic you’re learning about, it can make such a big difference down the line,” says Bellai. “ECS gave me the confidence to go into the internship and I felt like I was put in a good position to thrive.”

ECS Professor and Students Win Best Electromagnetics Paper Award at Prestigious Conference

Alex Dunbar — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 13:12:39 +0000

Pictured from left to right are Morteza Moradi, Younes Ra’di and Pardha Sourya Nayani.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Younes Ra’di and doctoral students Morteza Moradi and Pardha Sourya Nayani received the Best Electromagnetics Paper Award at the 19th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP) for their paper titled “Approaching Fundamental Limits on Bandwidth-To-Thickness Ratio for Electrically Thin Absorbers Through Dispersion Engineering.” The conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 30th through April 3rd.

“It is a great honor to receive the Best Electromagnetic Paper Award among more than 1,300 papers submitted from around the world at such a prestigious conference,” says Ra’di. “Huge congratulations to my brilliant students, Pardha Sourya Nayani and Morteza Moradi, for their exceptional work and dedication that made this achievement possible.”

EuCAP is one of the largest and most significant antennas and propagation conferences, attracting more than 1,700 participants from academia and industry and more than 50 industrial exhibitors from across the world. The conference is sponsored by the European Association on Antennas and Propagation.

Magnetic Salad Dressing: Physicists Shake Up Emulsion Science

Dan Bernardi — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:57:08 +0000

From shaking a bottle of salad dressing to mixing a can of paint, we interact with emulsions—defined as a blend of two liquids that typically don’t mix, such as oil and water—daily.

For a vast range of foods and other technologies, scientists have devised emulsifying agents which help stabilize mixtures. By incorporating small granular particles to certain foods, it can help prevent spoilage and extend shelf life, important for safeguarding our food supply. When added to chemical mixtures, emulsifying agents can reduce viscosity, making liquids such as petroleum easier to pump and transport through pipelines, potentially leading to energy savings.

Joseph Paulsen

Researchers are continually investigating new emulsifiers to improve the control of liquid-liquid mixtures. Recently, , a physics professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, collaborated with scientists from the and to make a surprising discovery.

They found that when magnetized particles are added to a simple oil-and-water “salad dressing,” the mixture consistently separates into patterns resembling the elegant curves of a Grecian urn immediately after being shaken. The team’s results, published in , uncover a novel method of using magnetic particles to control liquid-liquid mixtures.

The study, led by UMass Amherst, began when UMass graduate student Anthony Raykh was experimenting in the lab. He added magnetized nickel particles to a batch of “salad dressing” instead of spices, which are normally what allow the oil and water in dressing to remain mixed. He chose magnetized particles because fluids containing them can be engineered to exhibit unique and useful properties. After shaking his mixture, Raykh was astonished to see it consistently form a pristine urn shape. Regardless of how many times or how vigorously he shook the mixture, the urn shape always reappeared.

The spices in salad dressing enable water and oil, which typically don’t mix, to combine through emulsification. Researchers have now discovered that adding magnetized nanoparticles to an oil-water mixture produces a completely different effect.

To help explain this shocking phenomenon, the UMass team invited in Paulsen from ��ϲ��, along with colleagues from Tufts, to conduct theoretical analysis and simulations. Paulsen, whose research focuses on soft condensed matter, explores the ways in which materials like liquids and soft solids bend, deform and mix—research which lent itself well to this study.

Typically, particles added to an oil-and-water mixture, such as spices, decrease the tension at the interface between the two liquids, allowing them to mix. But in a twist, the team found that particles that are magnetized strongly enough actually increase the interfacial tension, bending the boundary between oil and water into a graceful curve.

“We turned the nature of particle-decorated interfaces on its head,” says Paulsen. “Now, you can have an emulsion droplet that you can imagine controlling in a variety of ways with a magnetic field, but the droplet will nevertheless coalesce with other droplets — something that particle-coated droplets typically resist.”

Figure A graphically depicts individual nanoparticles of magnetized nickel that form a boundary between the water and oil. Figure B shows how the magnetized particles cause the oil and water to separate into a pattern resembling a Grecian urn immediately after being shaken. (Graphic courtesy of Anthony Raykh/UMass Amherst)

Their research on magnetic particles uncovered two surprising effects. First, the particles, being small magnets, form large networks with many holes due to magnetic interactions. These holes help droplets coated with the particles merge quickly into single oil and water portions. Second, the strong attraction between the magnetic particles increases the surface tension at the interface, further promoting droplet merging.

While there’s no application for this novel discovery yet, the team is excited to see how this never-before-seen state can influence the field of soft-matter physics.

“Liquid-liquid mixtures are ubiquitous in consumer products and industrial processes,” says Paulsen. “This discovery, which offers a new approach to managing these mixtures, could one day help produce better products with longer shelf lives or save energy in chemical transport and processing. I’m eager to see the future implications of this breakthrough.”

This research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Editor’s note: Portions of this article have been adapted from a .

A Winning Edge in Health and Wellness

Dan Bernardi — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:37:16 +0000

Isaac Arnold is exploring every side of the ��ϲ�� experience, engaging in cutting-edge plant biology research, developing entrepreneurial ventures and excelling on the ice rink in his free time.

With climate change and severe weather expected to intensify in the coming years, developing strategies for a resilient food supply is crucial.

This involves understanding and developing crops that can withstand pathogens that cause diseases, one of the key areas of at the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). Combining biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, economics, business and engineering, the biotechnology program is helping find practical solutions to solving the challenges facing our food supply, global health and the environment.

A&S students like Isaac Arnold ’26 are already finding numerous opportunities to address these important questions.

Making an Early Contribution

Arnold, originally from Halifax, a small city in Nova Scotia, Canada, had never heard of biotechnology before coming to ��ϲ��. Initially declaring as a biochemistry major, Arnold was intrigued by the cutting-edge aspect of biotech and its broad, practical applications after learning about the field of biotechnology from his biology professor and now mentor, .

Arnold (left) with Professor Ramesh Raina (third from right) and members of the lab group.

Since joining Professor Raina’s lab, Arnold recently co-authored a study in the journal , which explored how a set of genes (GATA21 and GATA22) are involved in regulating pathogen defense response in a plant called Arabidopsis.

“Humans share much of their genome with plants, which is why a lot of research done in the plant biology sphere is also relevant medically,” says Arnold. “We study the effects of epigenetic modifications, which are essentially reversible changes to regulate gene expression. Our research focuses on disease resistance—specifically, identifying which genes in plants regulate resistance to disease, and understanding the trade-offs involved.”

In their recent publication, the team found that GATA21 and GATA22 proteins positively regulate defense against fungal pathogens while acting antagonistically against bacterial pathogens. By understanding the mechanisms regulating these processes, researchers can develop strategies for producing crop plants with enhanced resistance against pathogens.

A key contribution by Arnold to this study stems from his long-standing interest in computer coding. In addition to assisting with the scientific research and publication writing, he developed image analysis software used during the study.

“It was inspiring to work closely with such a smart and driven team. They taught me everything I needed to know, helping me understand exactly how to utilize my skill set,” he says. “I gained a lot of great mentors through this, made tons of connections and it was just an overall amazing experience.”

Raina, professor and executive director of the biotechnology program and co-author on the study, says that Arnold’s efforts have significantly enhanced the research output of his lab.

“In addition to making some very interesting scientific observations, Isaac’s coding enabled us to rapidly analyze large datasets,” says Raina. “His work not only contributed to our most recent publication but will also be instrumental in analyzing data for several upcoming manuscripts. Isaac is an incredibly intelligent, creative and resourceful student who consistently thinks outside the box.”

Finding Purpose at Pfizer

Beyond his research contributions at ��ϲ��, Arnold has enhanced his career readiness through internship and entrepreneurial opportunities tailored for biotechnology students. In the summer of 2024, he applied for and secured a position at Pfizer’s New York City office, working in the medical affairs department within the emerging markets sector—regions where Pfizer aims to expand its market presence.

“Being from a small city like Halifax, it was a great experience spending my summer living in Manhattan,” he says.

One of the aspects of the biotechnology major that excited Arnold was the opportunity to make a tangible difference to world health. To that end, his favorite project at Pfizer involved working with the Accord team to deliver much-needed vaccines to people in developing countries at cost (meaning without profit to Pfizer).

Leveraging his computer science expertise, he developed a database that integrates epidemiological publications (having to do with how diseases spread) from major sites into Pfizer’s internal system. This database can sort information by country or disease based on prompts and provide relevant details about the side effects of certain diseases, including considerations for patients with conditions like hemophilia or immunocompromised states.

“For a lot of the countries where there’s not a lot of publications, it’ll give you information from countries with similar demographics. I used a language model to summarize all the main facts into slide decks on command, so if you want South Sudan publications, you type in South Sudan COVID-19 immunocompromised and it would list the most recent and relevant epidemiological data through this database,” says Arnold.

Building on the success of that project, he also created an intern slide deck for Pfizer to provide new interns with essential tools and resources during their onboarding process.

“Being able to create those connections at a major company is unreal,” says Arnold. “Once they see that you care about what you’re doing and that you work hard, people really start to respect you.”

Leveraging his connections at Pfizer, Arnold arranged for a company representative to attend the biotechnology conference at ��ϲ�� on April 5. At the conference, industry leaders networked with students and shared insights into the latest advancements in biotechnology, innovative therapies and industry trends.

Arnold (left) with Graciela Morales, vice president, Pfizer Vaccines Lead, Emerging Markets at Pfizer’s headquarters in Manhattan

Swimming With the Funding ‘Sharks’

Pushing the boundaries of science and technology to lead to better health outcomes is a hallmark of the biotechnology field. Arnold and a group of his friends at ��ϲ�� have created a platform for students to promote their biotechnology innovations on the world stage.

The group recently founded , a startup incubator at the University aiming to bring together students from diverse fields to launch a new biotech startup each year and compete at the in Paris, which is attended by over 200 venture capital firms.

“Every single year we’ll pick a different project and work with students through all aspects from initial development, brainstorming, idea creation, to the actual wet bench science, which is pretty cutting-edge,” says Arnold.

While he can’t talk specifics about the products currently in development, due to confidentiality, he says they have some interesting projects in the medical device and genetics spheres. The goal of this initiative is to create a marketable biotechnology product that could be sold or introduced to the market. This prototype would be showcased at the iGem competition, where biotechnology projects are presented, primarily serving as a platform for investors. If a venture capital firm sees potential in the prototype, they might purchase the idea and scale it up to a market level.

“This initiative could create jobs for students and potentially lead to the formation of a new company,” says Arnold. “It offers significant opportunities both for career advancement and gaining real-life work experience.”

A Busy Schedule Paves the Way for Medical School

Arnold’s schedule, filled with internships, 22-credit semesters, research, startups and some hockey during his free time, sets the stage for his next ambition: tackling the challenges of medical school. What drives him? Passion.

“I truly love the work,” he says. “I love helping people. I love developing cutting edge technology and working on things that are super interesting and have real-life implications that can make the world a better place.”

By getting used to a busy schedule now, he anticipates managing the demands of medical school while continuing biotechnology entrepreneurial ventures.

“This is my way of unwinding. It’s how I take my mind off school,” he says. “I’ll always be deeply involved in the biotech industry, no matter where I end up. I love the research and the opportunities it can create for people.”

How ECS Alumna Carey Smith G’91 Became a Transformative Leader

Alex Dunbar — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 16:45:27 +0000

Even when she was just starting out, Carey Smith G’91 knew management was the direction she wanted to take her career. Like many promising young engineers, she wanted to work at IBM and took a position as a systems engineer at their Owego, New York site right after she graduated from Ohio Northern University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

IBM’s Owego site supported special operations, and she worked on avionics system engineering and software development. She would be involved with a system throughout its entire life cycle from design and development to integration and testing. That broad view of problem solving and mission effectiveness helped inspire a desire in her to lead.

Carey Smith

“Engineering gives you a background,” says Smith. “The ability to ask questions. You have the technical background to ask the right questions.”

Smith decided to take advantage of a unique partnership between IBM and ��ϲ��. Engineering and Computer Science faculty would travel to IBM’s campus twice a week and teach classes onsite for IBM employees who wanted to earn a master’s degree while they were working.

“It was a very good program and allowed me to move forward with my education while still working at IBM,” says Smith. “��ϲ�� is such a well-regarded university and the faculty were outstanding.”

Her first move into management was as a flight simulation engineering department manager at IBM. That led to managerial promotions at IBM and then leadership roles with Loral Corporation (acquired IBM Federal), Lockheed Martin (acquired Loral) and Honeywell. In 2016, she joined Parsons as president of the company’s Federal Business Unit. She was promoted to chief operating officer (COO) in 2018, president and COO in 2019, assumed the role of chief executive officer in 2021, and now serves as Parsons Corporation’s Chair, President and CEO.

Her first three years as CEO of Parsons Corporation marked a significant chapter in the company’s evolution from a traditional engineering firm to an advanced technology leader in national security and critical infrastructure. Since assuming the role of CEO in 2021, Smith has steered the organization through substantial growth and transformation.

Under Smith’s leadership, Parsons embraced digital solutions and technology innovation. She has strategically focused the company on high-growth markets, high profit and enduring markets including space and missile defense, cyber and intelligence, critical infrastructure protection, transportation, environmental remediation and urban development. She also initiated internal research and development and acquired 14 technology-differentiated companies since 2017 to be an industry leader in applying innovation and technology across Parsons’ global infrastructure and national security portfolios. This forward-thinking approach has helped Parsons secure significant contracts and expand its market presence.

“I have tried to look at our customer’s emerging challenges and define solutions to meet their needs,” says Smith. “Not things that have been done before. We’re about starting with a clean piece of paper.”

Parsons unique position as a global leader in both national security and global infrastructure allows them to offer coordinated services that are in high demand.

“Utilities, water companies, transportation and health care have to be protected against cyber threats. We are a unique company that has the domain understanding for example of how a rail and transit system works coupled with the cyber capabilities to protect the domain,” says Smith.

Parsons has achieved remarkable business growth and financial performance in the past three years. The company’s strategic acquisitions have expanded its capabilities and market reach. This growth strategy has been balanced with organic expansion and internal innovation initiatives. Smith credits the company’s outstanding performance to the hard work and dedication of Parsons’ nearly 20,000 employees in 50 states and 20+ countries around the globe. Her leadership style combines strategic business acumen with a deep understanding of the importance of human capital in driving organizational success.

“I wanted to create a person first culture,” says Smith. “Our leadership supports employees.”

While Parsons is well positioned for the future, Smith is still prioritizing growth, innovation and emerging technologies. She believes her engineering background has been key to her success in navigating change while leading a global corporation. She encourages young engineers and computer scientists who are considering management roles to gain as much experience as they can on a company’s business side.

“You have to have strong technical acumen along with strong business acumen,” says Smith. “That’s the way I operate–with a focus on delivering results.”

While she took all her classes remotely, Smith is still proud of her connection to ��ϲ�� and the important role it played in her career journey.

“I’m always proud to be a ��ϲ�� alum. It is a wonderful university.”

Improving Quality of Life for Post-Stroke Patients

News Staff — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 13:41:30 +0000

A painless and non-invasive pulse of electrical stimulation to specific brain areas can ease some symptoms of post-stroke patients, though how it works remains a physiological mystery.

A pilot study of a post-stroke population by researchers from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders revealed some potential benefits of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on attention and fatigue. Study findings were published in .

Researchers worked with 10 stroke survivors (average age: 62.8) participating in two sessions spaced at least three days apart. They were all diagnosed with post-stroke aphasia, a language disorder that results from a stroke injury.

Each session began with an attention test as researchers recorded brain activity through electroencephalography and tracked pupil size. Participants received an attention-training exercise with either real tDCS or a placebo version. Afterward, they repeated the initial attention test.

Hannah Rembrandt

“If you can find a way to improve their attention, it can help other areas of their life,” says Hannah Rembrandt, first co-author and Ph.D. student in the , directed by , associate professor and principal investigator of the study.

Understanding post-stroke attention is crucial because it is a foundation of executive functioning, which includes memory, language and planning.

The ��ϲ�� study, however, yielded mixed results. The participants who received real tDCS showed significantly larger pupil dilation, which could be expected to correlate with improved attention. Pupil dilation reveals the activation of the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine pathway, a brain system involved in attention. Researchers wanted to learn if pupil dilation measurements could be a physiological marker for assessing its effectiveness.

Yet the actual treatment did not benefit patients in measurable attention tests.

“We hypothesize that attention did not improve because there were too few sessions of the treatment,” says Rembrandt. “Other research has suggested that it is more effective when you use it for multiple sessions.”

A Transcranial direct current stimulation device.

An intriguing finding is when participants received the real stimulation, they felt less fatigued after the attention test than when they received the placebo. The study suggests that tDCS might help reduce fatigue by affecting specific brain pathways. The participants rated their general level of fatigue on a scale of zero to 100 at the beginning and the end of the session.

“If you do a lot of mental activity, we’d expect fatigue to increase,” says Rembrandt. “That tDCS mediated an increase shows a lot of promise to help combat fatigue.”

Rembrandt says more studies are needed to determine whether the treatment could serve as a reliable tool for post-stroke cognitive rehabilitation.

“This is a step forward into understanding exactly how this treatment has been able to help people, and we are looking forward to continuing this work and learning more,” says Rembrandt.

Story by John H. Tibbetts

A&S Chemist Develops Ultrasensitive Molecular Force Sensors

News Staff — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 13:47:56 +0000

Professor in the has developed molecules that undergo mechanochemical transformations, which could be used to report nanoscale stress in plastics and help scientists study mechanobiology processes.

Plastic components are commonly used in infrastructure and transportation that we depend on—from water and sewer pipes to planes, trains and automobiles. But plastic materials experience stresses that degrade them over time. That’s why plastics in many critical applications are replaced on pre-set schedules, which is expensive but crucial for maintenance and public safety.

Xiaoran Hu

“When mechanical forces cause stress and deformation that go unnoticed in the plastic engineered parts of an airplane, for instance, it can cause significant consequences that we want to avoid,” says Xiaoran Hu, assistant professor of chemistry and member of the .

Supported by the University and the American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund, Hu and his team have created new molecules that someday could cut down on these risks and expenses. Mechanophores are molecules that respond to mechanical stress by changing characteristics such as their colors, and their incorporation into plastic components could enable visualization of mechanical stress. Hu’s team developed exceptionally sensitive mechanophore molecules—called “configurational mechanophores,”—that undergo mechanochemical isomerization reactions. The activated material can exhibit a color to indicate that a mechanical event has happened in a component. This visible signal would be useful in applications such as autonomous damage monitoring of materials.

“These new molecules could enable research into previously unobservable mechanical events in different materials, including synthetic plastics and biomaterials,” Hu says.

Ultrasensitive molecular force sensors facilitate structural health monitoring in plastic components and could enable scientists to investigate previously unobservable mechanical events in biological systems.

The ��ϲ�� team’s mechanophores are unique. According to a new study in the Journal of the ACS, their chemical transformation is triggered by minus mechanical forces as low as 131 piconewtons, which is below what is required to trigger any other mechanochemical reactions known up to date. For comparison, mechanochemical reactions involving carbon-carbon bond scission typically require nanonewton scale of forces (1 nanonewton = 1000 piconewton). Hu’s mechanophores, on the other hand, are more sensitive than the tiny forces relevant in many biological molecules, such as the unzipping of DNA strands (~300 pN), the unfolding of protein domains, and the breaking of antibody-antigen bonds (~150-300 pN). The new mechanophores could be effective tools in biology, allowing scientists to study stress changes at the nanoscale that were previously unobservable or difficult to measure. This could lead to a better understanding of how mechanical forces influence and regulate various processes in biology.

Additionally, unlike most traditional mechanophores, which are prone to damage by heat or light, the new molecules are stable upon thermal and light exposure, and therefore are well suited for applications in different complex environments.

Hu’s research on configurational mechanophores paves the way for the development of mechano-responsive materials with unprecedented mechanosensitivity. These materials could enable the study of previously unobservable nanoscale mechanical behaviors, playing a crucial role in advancing our understanding across scientific disciplines ranging from polymer physics, materials science, to mechanobiology.

“Our lab is developing the next-generation molecular force sensors with further enhanced mechanosensitivity and capable of exhibiting fluorescence signals or other functional responses,” Hu says. “We also aim to apply our mechanophores to different materials platforms such as mechanosensitive elastomers and paints to develop safer and smarter plastics that autonomously monitor and report mechanical damage. Additionally, we will explore the potential of these molecular force sensors to investigate cellular processes in the future.”

Story by John H. Tibbetts

Aerospace Engineering Student Tatiyyanah Nelums ’25 Joins Patti Grace Smith Fellowship

Kwami Maranga — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 01:14:50 +0000

Tatiyyanah Nelums

Aerospace engineering student Tatiyyanah Nelums ’25 was selected by the national nonprofit Patti Grace Smith Fellowship as a member of its latest cohort. The program is designed to support the careers of Black aerospace leaders. As part of the fellowship, Nelums will participate in a challenging summer aerospace internship at one of America’s leading aerospace companies. They will also receive a scholarship, personalized mentorship and access to a community of young Black professionals pursuing careers in aerospace.

Nelums conducts research in computational fluid dynamics and aims to work in the commercial space sector. They are the co-president of the ��ϲ�� branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and serve as the aerodynamics and propulsion lead for ��ϲ��’s AIAA Design/Build/Fly team. As part of the fellowship, Nelums will be working at the research and development company Draper during the summer.

“Tatiyyanah’s fellowship is a recognition of their academic achievement and leadership skills as demonstrated during their studies in ��ϲ��. As their instructor in airbreathing and rocket propulsion, I can attest that they are well-equipped to succeed in the aerospace field. This award further sets them on that path to success,” says Ben Akih Kumgeh, associate professor and aerospace engineering undergraduate program director.

“Being a part of this fellowship is an amazing opportunity, and I am proud to be included in such an amazing program,” says Nelums. “It is not often that I get to interact with people in my field who look like me, so this representation matters a lot to me.”

How Robotic Rehabilitation Devices Transform People’s Lives

Kwami Maranga — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 17:47:21 +0000

Evan Tulsky in the Bionics, Systems and Controls Lab (Photo by Alex Dunbar)

Observing his father’s work in physical therapy research and cognition tests, Evan Tulsky’s ’24 interest in robotics and rehabilitation took shape at a young age. He recognized the crucial role that rehabilitation devices play in transforming people’s lives, motivating him to pursue research in this field while attending the College of . This path would lead him to the Bionics, Systems and Controls (BSC) Lab, an interdisciplinary research space centered around robotics and rehabilitation.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of control systems, dynamics and rehabilitative devices,” says Tulsky, a mechanical engineering graduate student. “I was raised around research, and this was the best place for it. This is a really cool lab.”

Led by Victor Duenas, assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering, the BSC Lab focuses on individuals who have had strokes or other neurological conditions that affect the brain, spinal cord or nerves. Tulsky joined the lab as an undergraduate research assistant and is now pursuing his Ph.D., where he’s been building devices that support hip, foot and ankle movements.

Because the muscles and joints in the lower body work together, problems in one area can impact the others during movement. A robotic ankle-foot device and hip exoskeleton could help individuals with hip and knee issues since ankle pain can put stress on the hip and knee.

“If you’re working on an ankle and hip device, you’re working on the entire leg—they’re interconnected,” says Tulsky. “The goal is to develop devices that support all three joints and different movements.”

The lower limb exoskeleton—a wearable device that helps with walking, standing and other lower limb bodily functions—is the latest project in development in the BSC Lab, which Tulsky has been assisting with. This exoskeleton will give individuals with spinal cord injuries or strokes balance and flexibility, allowing them to rotate their legs naturally around their pelvis and hip area.

“Most exoskeletons don’t focus on foot placement and balance,” Tulsky explains. “People with spinal cord injuries can’t land on their foot well. With this device, we’re trying to make motions as natural as possible and help people regain their confidence.”

Tulsky’s graduate studies build upon his research in muscle activity, particularly electromyography (EMG). EMG measures the electrical activity of muscles and nerves and is a great way to assess the health of nerves and muscles that allow movement and other bodily functions. He would present a research paper on EMG and muscle activity in the ankle and foot at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Conference on Controls, Technology and Applications. The conference took place in England in 2024.

The BSC Lab conducts research in collaboration with the ��ϲ�� Veterans Affairs Medical Center since the University has a well-established history with the veteran population. Tulsky has been honored as the Richard A. Bernard Scholar for his efforts in assisting the disabled population and received recognition for the best thesis in engineering.

“My journey is driven by a deep-seated passion to leverage technology for enhancing human health and quality of life,” Tulsky says. “I aspire to continue contributing to innovations that advance the field of rehabilitative robotics and empower individuals facing physical limitations.”

Philanthropy That Brings Outside the Box Thinking to the Student Experience

Eileen Korey — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 21:24:54 +0000

Kim and Mike Venutolo

Michael “Mike” Venutolo ’77 and his wife, Kim, vividly remember sharing an eight-hour bus ride through the 110-degree desert in the United Arab Emirates with a half dozen engineering students from ��ϲ��. Mike had helped design a novel two-week internship experience to expose the students to issues involved in producing and transporting potable water hundreds of miles across the desert. It was the kind of experiential learning that the Venutolos have supported through their philanthropy. The kind that directly and rapidly transforms the student experience.

“In the many hours we spent together, we learned so much about their lives and hopes and dreams,” says Kim. “These students come from all walks of life and many of them don’t have the funding they need to help them get where they want to go.” The desire to directly help students “get where they want to go” is the motivation behind their recent gifts to the Forever Orange Campaign for ��ϲ�� and what has become a nearly $2 million legacy in philanthropy that can only be described as “outside the box” thinking by a dedicated alumnus who describes himself as “atypical.”

Venutolo, who was appointed to the University Board of Trustees in 2022, came from modest means—his father was a plumber, and he grew up in a New Jersey town where many teens went to vocational and technical high schools to learn trade skills. “I grew up in a household filled with experiences,” says Venutolo. “There was a lot less learning from textbooks and a lot more learning from doing what my parents and grandparents did.”

His parents insisted that he go to college, but he says he didn’t do very well—until he met a counselor who helped him identify a field where he could excel (civil engineering) and a few professors who spent the time to support his success.

The atypical student became an atypical graduate, taking his engineering degree overseas to work in Saudi Arabia. “I was a junior engineer, working on a multibillion-dollar project building the world’s first major desalination plant,” Venutolo says. “We had no Google. If we had a critical question, we had to drive two hours to the closest telegraph office. It was hands-on problem solving.”

Venutolo would spend more than four decades living overseas, building a successful career and creating a company that became a worldwide leader in engineering and construction services. Living in the Gulf region and England, he was disconnected from the Orange community, but decided to attend his 30th class reunion and forge a new bond to bring his international experience to benefit his alma mater. He helped originate the Middle East Regional Council and engaged his company, Raymond International Pipeline Services Group, in the design and implementation of summer internships for civil and environmental engineering students.

The Venutolos designed and supported engineering internship experiences, which included this group of six students who went to a site in Kuwait in 2014.

In a 2012 article published in the American Society for Engineering Education, ��ϲ�� professors credited Venutolo with “helping to create and support another model for successful development of future global engineers.” The article, titled “Stepping Outside the Box: Education of Global Engineers,” detailed the significance of this kind of experiential programming. “These programs have provided an essential service to the engineering profession by providing students with a solid foundation of genuine openness, cultural curiosity and cultural understanding, as well as a greater appreciation for the power of communication, interpersonal relationship skills, organization and team membership,” the professors wrote.

Venutolo also supported the creation of a new construction engineering lab in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) in 2016, providing students on campus with a dedicated space for hands-on educational and research initiatives. His appreciation for international experiences and experiential learning is reflected in Venutolo’s most recent philanthropy, pledging nearly $1 million to create or support:

Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Experiential Learning to support students studying abroad and the London Center program with particular focus on community and cultural engagement through program-sponsored travel,
Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Professional Development to augment the activities of ECS clubs and societies specifically oriented to building professional skills, networking and education through their activities, including student travel to conferences,
Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Undergraduate Endowment Scholarship to provide scholarship and financial assistance to deserving ECS undergraduates,
Kim and Michael Venutolo ’77 Fund for Remembrance and Lockerbie Exchange to support trips to Lockerbie, the Lockerbie Academy and other remembrance related activities and
Invention Accelerator Fund, which supports undergraduates as they design, prototype and pitch their inventions.

“We want to make a difference in individual students’ lives, to make it possible to attend a conference or get a passport or get on a plane to the Middle East,” says Venutolo. For his wife, Kim, who never had a chance to get a college degree, helping college students achieve their dreams is particularly satisfying. “I feel like these students try their hardest and we like to help.”

“Mike and Kim have a deep understanding of the importance of experiential learning opportunities to student academic, professional and personal growth, and a passion for supporting these opportunities abroad,” says Erika Wilkens, Ph.D., assistant provost and executive director of ��ϲ�� Abroad. “Their generous gift will provide students with invaluable immersive learning experiences in London, Lockerbie and beyond, and enable them to develop global skills that will benefit them for years to come.”

Both Venutolos have been judges for , which encourages the kind of innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that guided Michael in his career development. “Michael has told me that he credits ��ϲ�� with his ability to succeed,” says Kim, who went to work after high school in order to help her family financially. Now married nearly 20 years, Michael credits Kim with being “a champion for the underdog” and identifying opportunities for philanthropy that directly help students. “It doesn’t have to be huge dollars,” says Kim. “It’s just got to be from your heart. I love the University that has adopted me. I’ve become Orange.”

“Through these extraordinary gifts, Mike and Kim have given current and future Orange students the chance to pursue a life-changing education: an education that is distinctive in the way it fosters innovation and professional growth,” says ECS Dean J. Cole Smith. “Thanks to them, ECS will now be able to provide new life-changing scholarships, support experiential learning initiatives through our engineering and computing clubs and organizations, and devise groundbreaking inventions through our invention accelerator program, Invent@SU.”

“When we can talk to the students, see what they are inventing or touch what they are building, that’s what gets us excited,” says Venutolo. Now that he is based in the states (he and Kim live in New Jersey), he has more access to the students and more reasons to visit campus as a University Trustee. “I’m really honored and proud to be part of the group. I’m enjoying bringing an international perspective and more outside the box thinking.”

The Venutolos’ philanthropy helps support such initiatives as Invent@SU.

In Memory of Renowned Chemical Engineering Alum Andreas Acrivos ’50

Kwami Maranga — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 19:56:15 +0000

Andreas Acrivos

The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) noted the passing of chemical engineering alumnus Andreas Acrivos ’50, on Feb. 17, 2025. Acrivos was recognized by the American Institute of Physics as one of the greatest fluid dynamicists of the 20th century and was a leading figure in the chemical engineering field.

Born in Greece, he came to the U.S. to study at the University on a fellowship and received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1950. He earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1954 and began his academic career as a faculty member in chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, shortly after.

In 1962, he moved to the newly formed chemical engineering department at Stanford University and played a major role in bringing the chemical engineering program to national prominence. In 1986, Acrivos became the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Engineering and the director of the Benjamin Levich Institute for Physico-Chemical Hydrodynamics at the City College of New York, where he worked until his retirement in 2001.

Acrivos won numerous awards and recognitions for his research. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Physics of Fluids from 1982 to 1997. He received the National Medal of Science from President George Bush in 2002 and was awarded honorary doctor of science degrees from several universities. During his long academic career, he also mentored numerous students, many of whom distinguished themselves in academia and the industry.

“The two-quarter course that Professor Acrivos taught at Stanford was the most memorable course I ever took in my entire education,” says biomedical and chemical engineering professor Ashok Sangani, who was one of Acrivos’ graduate advisees. “The course was so good that I have been teaching the same material at ��ϲ�� over the past 40 years even though there is a lot of temptation to add more. It was simply a classic!”

As a fitting tribute to his monumental mentorship, the American Physical Society named its annual award for the outstanding doctoral dissertation in fluid dynamics after Acrivos. Since 2014, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has also given the Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress in Chemical Engineering to individuals who have made significant contributions to chemical engineering.

Acrivos’s enduring legacy is reflected in his stellar academic family, which spans approximately four generations of scholars teaching at various universities across the United States and the world. Additionally, he was a great support of ECS and its commitment to providing its students with transformative learning experiences. His impact will be felt for generations to come.

In the Return Phase of Life: Giving Back to the University That Launched His Career

Eileen Korey — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 22:11:29 +0000

John Chawner ’84 holds a disk of aluminum that was part of a testing device for supersonic airflow he created during his time at the University. Chawner recently provided a gift to establish a new endowed professorship.

In his home office, John Chawner ’84 proudly displays a disk of aluminum dated “4-8-84.” It is a treasured memento from his days at ��ϲ�� and, in many ways, it is symbolic of his approach to service and philanthropy to his alma mater, which includes a recent gift establishing a new endowed professorship. Chawner vividly recalls assembling a 100-foot-long shock tube, a testing device for supersonic airflow, in the basement of Link Hall, assembling it from parts, bolts and instrumentation that was scattered in offices throughout the engineering building. It was part of an independent study project under John LaGraff, then professor of mechanical, aerospace and manufacturing engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“Creating such a device required open-ended thinking that is critical to learning,” says Chawner, who credits ��ϲ�� for laying the foundation for a highly successful career that made possible the generous gift for the professorship. “I feel that I was transformed by my time at the University, from a raw 18-year-old to someone ready to enter the professional world. I want to ensure that today’s students and professors are able to maximize their time at ��ϲ�� and enjoy the benefits of higher education.”

Chawner has supported scholarships for deserving students for years, but his latest gift funds an endowed professorship within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Through the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program, the University will match one-third of the gift to ensure that the John R. Chawner Endowed Professorship has the resources to support world-class scholars and the research needed to propel their work forward.

Chawner earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering in 1984 and, later, a master’s degree from The University of Texas at Arlington. Immediately after graduation from ��ϲ��, he got a job with General Dynamics in Texas. “I came out of ��ϲ�� with a great body of knowledge and raw skills that allowed me to get into the aerospace and defense field at a great time,” says Chawner. “I’m an engineer by degree but I’m a programmer by practice because I got involved in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which was a brand new software technology back then. A bunch of us 22- to 25-year-olds were given the opportunity to develop this capability from scratch and that launched the rest of my career.”

Cultivating Talent

Chawner would go on to launch Pointwise Inc., which became internationally renowned for developing mesh generation software for CFD in aerospace applications. The technology has been applied to virtually every major military aircraft and spacecraft, including the F-16, F-22, F-35, B-2, and Space Shuttle. After more than 26 years at the helm, Chawner sold Pointwise to Cadence Design Systems where he continued to work until retiring in 2023 and forming his own consulting firm.

“Owning a small business is like agreeing to be punched in the face for a living,” Chawner told an interviewer in a blog on how to become a CFD engineer. In all seriousness, he loved the process of cultivating talent, inspiring creativity in teams, and the continuous learning required to develop and successfully market new technologies. “Everyone wants to pigeonhole engineers,” he says, but he personally defied being defined and found great value in following more than 300 blogs in engineering, business and marketing. He calls himself “an early adopter” of social media and eventually created a very popular blog called Another Fine Mesh to educate and share information.

Chawner is still educating, sharing and inspiring through a company called (he’s the chief gibberish officer), where he attempts to redefine the stereotype of consultants. “What you need is someone with direct experience to guide you through the gibberish with simple, direct and actionable advice. That’s my role,” he says, adding the consulting work allows him to remain relevant, to pass along earned wisdom.

Building Future Engineers

Chawner brings that same wisdom and experience to his role as a member of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Advisory Board at the College of Engineering and Computer Science and as a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council. “John’s service to the college is invaluable,” says Dean J. Cole Smith. “He has acquired wisdom over the years that has impacted our approach to educating and preparing engineering students for successful careers. His generosity has opened doors, helped build futures and, with this new gift, creates a legacy that will continue to support innovation and creativity for generations to come.”

“I’m a big believer that an engineering education should not be like going to a trade school. It’s about developing the aptitude and ability to learn,” says Chawner, who describes himself as a continuous learner. “An engineering education allows one to be very impactful and I want to enable students and professors to enjoy that. The investment Micron has made in the ��ϲ�� region amplifies that impact and essentially multiplies the effect of the gift.”

Chawner says he views philanthropy as a way to give back “to a place that gave me so much in terms of education and other life experiences.” Those “experiences” include his wife, Cathy, of nearly 40 years, whom he met “at a mixer” during freshman year. They lived in the same dorm and share many memories, including the first football games in the then-Carrier Dome.

Those were the years in the first phase of life, says Chawner—the learning phase, which is followed by the earning phase, and finally, the returning phase. Learn, earn, return. “I’m in the return phase where I give back what I’ve learned and earned,” he says.

Smart Cities Research @ SU Holds First Workshop

Emma Ertinger — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 12:45:02 +0000

On Feb. 14, ��ϲ�� Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (��ϲ��CoE) hosted the first Smart Cities Research @ SU workshop, led by , associate professor at the School of Information Studies (iSchool). Professor Erdogan is one of the recipients of a 2024 ��ϲ��CoE Faculty Fellow award. This past year, ��ϲ��CoE to support 11 research and innovation projects led by faculty members from ��ϲ�� and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Erdogan is the director of the , an interdisciplinary research hub focused on the interaction of human, physical and natural systems and on connecting the interdependencies between them. The center seeks to leverage information science and digital technologies to inform public policy, advancing sustainability and resiliency.

Professor Erdogan’s Faculty Fellow project, “Smart Cities Research Network Development for Sustainable and Resilient Communities,” aims to bring together faculty members, government agencies, and community partners to develop an institutional framework for smart cities research. A smart city is one that utilizes sensor networks, advanced Information Communication Technologies (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, big data analytics and cloud computing to deliver services more efficiently and improve quality of life for residents. The applications can span almost all aspects of city governance including but not limited to mobility, resilience and disaster response, environmental monitoring, energy efficiency, engagement and community, economic development, housing, waste management and more.

The Feb. 14 event was the first of two workshops supported by this Faculty Fellow award. With a strong interdisciplinary approach, the workshop engaged faculty from the School of Information Studies (the iSchool), the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, the School of Architecture and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Government stakeholders also attended, including representatives from the City of ��ϲ��’s Office of the Mayor and from the ��ϲ�� Metropolitan Transportation Council (SMTC).

To kick off the workshop, Professor Erdogan, along with iSchool Associate Dean for Research and ��ϲ��CoE Executive Director , gave opening remarks. Jennifer Tifft, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the City of ��ϲ��, and Vincent Scipione, Director of Digital Services for the City of ��ϲ��, shared relevant initiatives and research needs at the municipal level. Faculty from across SU then gave lightning talks to highlight ongoing scholarship. also facilitated a working session to identify research themes and areas for potential collaboration.

“This workshop was a crucial step in establishing a collaborative foundation for smart city research at SU and positioning the university as a leader in smart city innovations,” says Erdogan. “At its core, this initiative is about using technology and data for social good, about creating sustainable and resilient communities. Meaningful smart city research begins with collaboration, which is why bringing together key community members was essential.”

“In this first workshop, we focused on engaging faculty and government partners, leveraging our collaboration with the City of ��ϲ�� to identify critical problems, develop potential real-world applications, and explore how ��ϲ�� can help lead in smart city innovation. Looking ahead, our next workshop will expand this effort by engaging community organizations and industry partners. We want to build a research network that actively listens to and serves the community, ensuring technology is used to meet real needs.”

“��ϲ��CoE is pleased to host and support this and future workshops on smart cities research and collaborations,” says Zhang. “In collaboration with our academic, industrial and community partners, ��ϲ��CoE is establishing a multiscale air quality, stormwater, and energy flow monitoring system testbed across ��ϲ��. The multiscale testbed and its near-real-time data will open ample opportunities for both academic research and industrial innovations in the development of smart city technologies and systems, including preliminary results that support applications for externally sponsored collaborative research projects.”

Faculty who are interested in joining the second Smart Cities Research @ SU workshop should contact Professor Sevgi Erdogan at serdogan@syr.edu.

MakerSpace Helps Turn Creative Dreams Into Reality

John Boccacino — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:09:08 +0000

At the intersection of curiosity and technology sits the , a thought-provoking environment where members of the University community can come together to work on creative artistic projects while sharing interests, ideas and technological knowledge.

Mike d’Amore

It’s a space with state-of-the-art equipment where creativity thrives and where ideas become reality, and since January, the first floor of the Marshall Square Mall has become the MakerSpace’s new home on campus.

“There’s definitely this misconception about MakerSpace that it is just 3D printing, but this place is so much more than that,” says Mike d’Amore, a MakerSpace student supervisor and second-year graduate student in data science in the School of Information Studies. “It’s a free-flowing, creative spot and there are always cool projects being made. One of my favorites was this cool, see-through, futuristic body of a guitar we made that played nicely on one of our amps.”

From embroidering and laser engraving to soldering electronics and recording music using the space’s myriad instruments, the experienced, the occasional dabbler and the amateur can try their hand at the tools and equipment to bring their ideas to life.

“If you can visualize it, you can build it here at MakerSpace. There is no limit to what we can create,” says John Mangicaro, MakerSpace’s technical lab manager and a 45-year member of the University community. “We encourage students to come in, share their vision and we’ll find a way to make it work. Within half an hour of being here, you can learn how do to everything we do.”

Among the resources available at MakerSpace are the following:

Several types of the latest 3D printers
A 3D printing area
Full color printers
Embroidery and sewing equipment
A laser engraving area
Vinyl cutting and printing
Dye sublimation and direct-to-garment machines that can produce stickers or T-shirts
Soldering, electronics and other tools
Creative software (Adobe Suite, Blender, Bambu Labs, Fusion 360, Inventor, Pro Tools, Simplify3D and Solidworks)
A dedicated classroom area for faculty members
A music studio, complete with an acoustic, bass and electric guitar, electronic drum set, keyboard, microphones and other musical instruments for live performances, and a recording room with ProTools Mixing Software to capture those performances.

John Mangicaro

MakerSpace is entirely student-driven, and the new location is an evolved version of the former space, says Mangicaro.

Matt Lustrino

Student workers like d’Amore, Matt Lustrino ’25 and Zoe Power ’28 make sure the facility runs smoothly. They strive to provide a seamless experience for the campus community, tracking every project, organizing and cleaning up the different creative spaces and following up with progress reports at the end of each shift.

“I’ve been a maker for some time as a hobby, doing soldering, 3D printing and music projects, so to find an environment on campus like MakerSpace that had all of those elements, it was the perfect fit for a job,” says Lustrino, who is studying information management and technology in the iSchool with a concentration in cybersecurity.

“MakerSpace is such a cool place. The potential for what we can create here is limitless. It’s also a great environment for meeting other creative people,” says Power, who is studying geology in the .

MakerSpace has evolved into an essential campus resource, one that impacts students, faculty and staff members. Leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, MakerSpace tracked roughly 1,900 jobs per calendar year. Last year, that figure rose to 3,400 work orders. So far this year, MakerSpace has finished more than 550 projects and is on-pace for a record-setting year.

Zoe Power

The move to the new location has also helped with visibility and awareness. In just their first two weeks in the new space, Mangicaro says the number of projects being handled was up 60% compared to the same time frame last year.

“I’m a terminal tinkerer. I love fixing and building things, I love people and I love working with the creative students here. This place is truly special,” says Mangicaro, who built the first iteration of MakerSpace 12 years ago in the Kimmel Hall Computer Lab.

The campus community is invited to an , from 3 to 5 p.m. MakerSpace’s resources are available to members of the campus community with a valid SU I.D. The academic year hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Micron Day Offers Opportunity to Explore, Learn About Micron Technology and ��ϲ�� Collaboration

Kelly Homan Rodoski — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 22:54:45 +0000

The first Micron Day, held at ��ϲ�� Feb. 25, showcased the innovation and growing momentum of the technology company’s transformative investment in the community and the deep connections being made with the University and Central New York.

“Today is more than just the event. It’s about building a future, a future where innovation thrives, where opportunities abound and where our community prospers,” said Jeff Rubin, senior vice president for digital transformation and chief digital officer, during his welcoming remarks. “And at the heart of the future is the powerful synergy between ��ϲ�� and Micron.”

A Micron Day participant tries on a virtual reality headset. (Photo by ana gil studios)

As part of Micron’s $100 billion plan to transform the Central New York (CNY) community into the nation’s leading producer of semiconductor fabrications, the University is a key collaborator in building and training the workforce for Micron’s leading-edge memory megafab in Clay, New York.

Micron Day brought together hundreds of University faculty, staff and students; community members; local high school students and Micron employees to explore the collaboration between the University and Micron Technology and learn about the opportunities Micron is bringing to Central New York.

The day included a number of panel presentations and exhibitions featuring University programs and degrees and community organizations. One of the day’s highlights was the announcement by Micron and the University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) that 90 transitioning servicemembers, veterans and military spouses have achieved a certificate of completion in semiconductors through IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity program.

Alumni Contribute to Micron’s Mission

An alumni panel, moderated by Sarah Newton-Klitz, Micron’s director of strategic workforce programs, was composed of three University alumni: Kim Burnett ’91 (Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics), Micron’s lead for K-12 STEM education outreach; Joe Nehme ’11 (Whitman School of Management), senior manager of external affairs; and Savion Pollard ’25 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), equipment engineer. Pollard, a U.S. Navy veteran, was Micron’s first Central New York hire.

Micron Day alumni panelists Kim Burnett ’91, Savion Pollard ’25 and Joe Nehme ’11

Burnett’s education includes child development, industrial and labor relations, business and science education, including a long career as a teacher. Nehme works with stakeholders to advocate for the company as federal, state and local governments begin to take a more active role in reshoring semiconductor manufacturing. Pollard is a current senior in ECS, majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. That, combined with his experience in the U.S. Navy, has helped him build skills that prepared him well for the semiconductor industry.

“You can see here that this is just a sampling of the different job opportunities that Micron has available,” said Newton-Klitz. “And when I think about even the experience at Micron, it really is a little city that has a variety of jobs that we need.”

Burnett has experienced the power of a good job has on the experience of a family. “I want to be sure that folks, particularly children, have an opportunity for a good paying job,” she says.

Nehme is an Upstate New York native and has seen the manufacturing that has been lost in the region over the years. “To work for a company that is committed to reshoring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States, in my hometown, I saw no better opportunity,” he said.

All of the panelists said their time at ��ϲ�� prepared them well for their roles at Micron. “So much of my time in Whitman was built around working in teams, collaborating with others; to troubleshoot and solve problems,” Nehme said. “And those are all things that I deal with and that we look at every day in my role here at Micron.”

Their advice for students? Focus on your passion and the things that you like out of the activities that you do. Continue to invest in yourself, be open, curious and coachable.

Fireside Chat on What’s Ahead

J. Michael Haynie (center), the University’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive dean of the Whitman School of Management, moderated a discussion with Scott Gatzemeier, Micron’s corporate vice president for front-end U.S. expansion, and April Arnzen, Micron’s executive vice president and chief people officer and president of the Micron Foundation. (Photo by ana gil studios)

To close out the day, J. Michael Haynie, the University’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive dean of the Whitman School of Management, moderated a discussion with April Arnzen, Micron’s executive vice president and chief people officer and president of the Micron Foundation, and Scott Gatzemeier, Micron’s corporate vice president for front-end U.S. expansion, to talk about what’s ahead.

The future for the semiconductor industry, Gatzemeier said, is in artificial intelligence. “That’s what’s driving huge amounts of demand for our product and also customization and collaboration with a number of partners in our space that we’re very, very excited about watching this growth continue,” he said.

That growth requires a workforce of epic proportions throughout the industry. “We started partnering early,” said Arnzen. “We know it is going to be a challenge, and so scaling up existing pathways—engineering, science and math programs—is going to be very important. Creating new pathways and opportunities for people to access these careers is part of our strategy as well.”

The University is one of four nationwide university networks that Micron works with to modernize the curriculum and create hands-on learning opportunities to build a talent pipeline.

Arnzen said one of the differentiating factors for Central New York region and the University was the commitment to veterans and those transitioning from military service. “We knew that this ecosystem existed and the know-how existed as well,” she said.

Haynie talked about the role of community, alluding to a previous reference as the Micron project as Central New York’s “Erie Canal moment.”

“We know that a healthy and thriving community is important for a healthy and thriving business,” Arnzen said. “This is definitely an Erie Canal moment, both for this community and frankly, for Micron too. We have the opportunity to do this well, to do it right and make sure that this lasts for decades to come.”

University and ANDRO Awarded Navy Contract for AI Spectrum Research

Kwami Maranga — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 16:33:28 +0000

��ϲ��, in collaboration with ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC, Marconi-Rosenblatt AI Innovation Lab of Rome, has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research contract by the Office of Naval Research valued at approximately $2 million. This project focuses on pioneering research to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning technologies to enhance radio spectrum utilization in challenging conditions.

Pramod Varshney and Biao Chen

The project is led by Anu Jagannath, ANDRO chief scientist and chief research officer, and Jithin Jagannath, ANDRO chief scientist and chief technology officer. The lead project team at ANDRO also includes Senior Scientist Sabarish Krishna Moorthy, with support from ��ϲ�� professors Biao Chen and Pramod Varshney from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Their expertise contributes valuable insights into advanced signal processing and distributed systems modeling for the project.

The collaboration between ANDRO and ��ϲ�� showcases the power of academic-industry partnerships in tackling complex challenges. This collaboration has persisted for over 30 years and has benefited over the years from support from the Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering, a NYSTAR-designated Center for Advanced Technology. Under the STTR contract, the team is well-prepared to provide innovative solutions for both military and commercial applications. This venture aims to transform the landscape of intelligent spectrum technologies for various spectrum intelligence use cases.

Student-Athlete Stays Ahead of the Game

Kwami Maranga — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 01:24:10 +0000

Liesel Odden (Photo by Alex Dunbar)

Liesel Odden ’24, G’25 knows all too well the challenges of being a student-athlete. One minute she’s in the research labs of Link Hall; the next minute, she’s boarding a bus for an away game in a different state. As the co-captain of the University’s women’s soccer team and a student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), Odden juggles these responsibilities much like she juggles soccer balls on the field.

“One of the hardest parts about being a student-athlete is traveling. In the fall semester, over the course of nine days, I was in Texas, Virginia and Florida,” says Odden. “But I’ve learned a lot more about time management since being in college.”

Playing soccer for as long as she can remember, Odden was thrilled to learn that ��ϲ��’s team was in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), widely recognized as the top conference for women’s soccer. And the chance to play her favorite sport while pursuing her research interests was appealing.

“My coaches made this place feel like home, and treated me like family,” she says. “I also saw ��ϲ�� had environmental engineering and that, along with research opportunities, was exciting.”

Odden is enrolled in the 4+1 accelerated program for environmental engineering, a combined degree where students complete both a bachelor’s and master’s at the same time in five years, though she will complete both degrees early.

She credits Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Cliff Davidson with helping her discover this accelerated program and though the courseload is rigorous, it’s also been helpful. Online lectures make catching up on work much easier, especially when she’s on the road.

As a research assistant, Odden collaborates with Davidson to analyze survey data on how different organizations respond to extreme weather events caused by climate change. Using information gathered from survey data, they’re attempting to find patterns between locations, organizations and strategies to respond to extreme weather events.

“With climate change, we’re going to be seeing a lot more flooding, droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather events so we need to have better ability to respond,” Odden says. “I think that we can be prepared and respond better if we know how different people and organizations strategize.”

Displaying leadership qualities both on and off the field, Odden has traveled to Mixco, Guatemala, for several summers, leading volunteer teams for Hogars Helping Hands, a nonprofit organization founded by her parents. The nonprofit focuses on supporting orphaned children and the local community, with volunteer groups building stoves, installing concrete floors and painting village homes among other tasks.

With the help of professors Elizabeth Carter and John Trimmer, Odden also aims to establish a student chapter of Engineers Without Borders at the University.

As Odden continues balancing her life as a student-athlete, she relies on her strong support system to achieve her goals and stay ahead of the game.

“I’ve always felt very encouraged by Dr. Davidson. He’s been an incredible mentor to me and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from him. Dr Trimmer and Dr. Carter have also both been super supportive of me as a student-athlete,” says Odden. “In ECS, I have felt very supported and love how much I’ve grown as a student and my passions have been fueled and cared for. After I’m done playing soccer, I’ll have a great environmental engineering background that I can have a career in.”

University to Host Micron Day Feb. 25, Showcasing Innovation, Ongoing Partnerships and Career Paths for Students, Community

News Staff — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:51:45 +0000

In further preparation of building the educational infrastructure and advancing innovation to support Micron’s transformational presence in Central New York, ��ϲ�� will hold its first on Tuesday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Schine Student Center’s Panasci Lounge and Room 304A, B and C. The University is playing a key role in building and training the workforce of the future—through investments in a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility, attracting top semiconductor manufacturing researchers and faculty, and developing experiential student opportunities—to help power Micron’s leading-edge $100 billion memory megafab in Clay, New York.

The event, open to all University community members and the Central New York community, will focus on how the collaboration between Micron and the University is driving innovation in the semiconductor industry and creating exciting career pathways for students and community members. Attendees will get insights into the future of the semiconductor industry, information on educational and training pathways, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and educators. Those planning to attend are asked to or contact sumicron@syr.edu.

“I encourage any student, faculty or staff member—and members of our greater community—interested in learning more about how the University is engaging with Micron and community partners to come to Micron Day. There will be dynamic speakers, panels and exhibitions that should be both informative and entertaining, as well as networking,” says J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation. “I hope that all participants walk away from Micron Day with a better understanding of the opportunities headed for our university and entire community—as well as a sense of how they can personally be a part of it.”

Highlights of the Day

Alumni Perspectives: Valuable insights will be shared through a panel discussion featuring successful Micron employees who are ��ϲ�� alumni (9:10 to 9:40 a.m.).
Industry Insights: Micron leaders will speak on supply chain innovations (10:05 to 10:40 a.m.), the transformative role of artificial intelligence in gaming (11:05 to 11:40 a.m.) and career opportunities at Micron (12:05 to 12:40 p.m.).
Career Pathways: Exhibitors from University schools and colleges, workforce development partners, and community institutions will engage with attendees and inform them about local programs and training opportunities that align with Micron’s workforce needs (all day).
Fireside Chat: Haynie will engage in a candid conversation with April Arnzen, Micron’s chief people officer, and Scott Gatzemeier, Micron’s corporate vice president of front-end U.S. expansion, on the company’s commitment to employee growth and development as well as Micron’s investments in the Central New York community to help prepare for the addition of the nearly 50,000 jobs forecasted once their plant is fully constructed (1:05 to 1:40 p.m.).

The event is part of the continuing collaboration between Micron and regional partners, including the University, and will highlight the work being done in advance of the establishment of the company’s state-of-the-art facility. Below, Haynie discusses the work underway and opportunities that will be realized for Central New York.

What does Micron mean for Central New York and ��ϲ��?

One of our elected officials described it as “this generation’s Erie Canal moment,” and I think that is spot on. Micron coming to the region, along with the many supply chain companies that will follow, are an absolute game changer for everyone in Central New York.

This is an $100 billion investment and the impact on our economy will be tremendous—along the lines of 50,000 new jobs. It will lead to growth in population, new business creation and more. This growth will also pose challenges with respect to workforce, housing, child care and other issues, but ��ϲ�� stands ready to be part of the solution to make our Erie Canal moment a success for everyone involved.

Describe the collaboration taking place between Micron and ��ϲ��.

��ϲ�� has committed to work as a partner with Micron in support of its New York expansion. The University’s collaboration with Micron is broad and deep, and is supported by many schools, colleges and units. For example, the College of Engineering and Computer Science is expanding aggressively and bringing on more faculty and staff to support more students studying fields that will prepare them for careers in the semiconductor industry.

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management has brought in Micron’s chief people officer to discuss career options for students with a business education background. The D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families is operating semiconductor industry career preparation pipeline programs for veterans and transitioning service members. And the Future Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium is a whole-of-the-university ecosystem of academic, skills training and partnership programs supporting a multi-faceted approach to investing in and providing talent and workforce development in New York state. There are many more examples I could cite, and that goes to highlight we are so fortunate to have great partners in Micron, Onondaga County and several other community organizations.

Forward-Looking Philanthropy Boosts Investment in the College of Engineering and Computer Science

Eileen Korey — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 15:51:30 +0000

For many years, William T. “Ted” Frantz ’80, P’13 has been a faithful contributor to his alma mater, donating annually to the (ECS) where he earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. But this year, Frantz made a philanthropic decision and a substantial investment in ECS that is designed to be transformative for the college and the region.

A gift from William T. “Ted” Frantz ’80, P’13 will establish a new endowed chair in engineering and computer science. (Photo by Joey Heslin)

His new gift, which will be partially matched by the University through the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program, will establish the William T. Frantz Endowed Chair in Engineering and Computer Science. “The idea for this gift has been simmering for nearly 20 years,” says Frantz. The engineer turned investor, who has studied and invested in many promising concepts and companies, says his newest investment in ECS as part of the was a matter of just-the-right timing.

“The timing is ideal, coming on the heels of Micron Technology’s $100 billion commitment to the region,” says Frantz. He says the partnership opportunities between the technology company and the University are a boon for students, faculty and the wider community. “It’s a great time to invest in the University, the expansion of the engineering program and in the region. These things tend to build on each other.”

Frantz draws similarities to the success of Silicon Valley, where he once worked for Hewlett-Packard. “I witnessed the growth of Silicon Valley and how nearby universities like Stanford, Berkeley and Santa Clara provided the intellectual expertise, engineering and research,” he says. Forward-looking investors seized opportunities brought about by the region’s dynamic partnerships and ingenuity.

New Ideas

Investing in new ideas has always held appeal for Frantz, who has provided capital for companies exploring new computer technologies and biotech firms developing new therapeutics for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and other diseases. “It’s the challenge of seeing something grow and make a go of it, get off the ground and get bigger,” says Frantz.

The man who loves to see new ideas get off the ground and soar was perhaps inspired at a young age by his neighbors. They were airline pilots who built an aerobatic plane in the garage. A curious young Frantz helped out after school. One of those neighbors was Leo Loudenslager, who was a mechanic in the Air Force and a pilot for American Airlines, but who is best known for winning multiple U.S. Aerobatic Championships. “Leo was innovative,” says Frantz. “The design changes he made shook up the aerobatic community. And he not only built it, he flew it.”

Frantz, who has his own pilot’s license, has combined his passion for flight with his desire to fuel innovation through investment in a significant gift he made to ��ϲ�� students and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2008. Frantz funded the purchase and upkeep of an advanced flight simulator that would allow students to get hands-on experience with flight vehicles that they designed and to experiment “with the ‘edge of the envelope’ without endangering any persons or property.”

Edge of Innovation

Similarly, Frantz hopes his latest gift will help keep ECS on the edge of innovation, build on past successes and bring greater prestige. He notes that the gift is structured to allow for flexibility in that it is not restricted to a particular aspect or field of engineering. The recipient of the endowed chair will be selected by the dean of the college and hold a term of five years that is renewable. Frantz says flexibility allows the dean to look into the future and identify new fields where investing in faculty expertise would be most promising.

“Ted is a visionary in his approach to philanthropy,” says ECS Dean J. Cole Smith. “His background as both an engineer and investor allows him to look far into the future, to see where technology and creativity can take the next generation of engineers and computer scientists. His generosity is literally helping us shape the future of our program as we address the challenges facing our globe.”

“I’ve been studying the history of ��ϲ��,” says Frantz. “At one point, it was the center of commerce with proximity to the Erie Canal that allowed steel and manufacturing to thrive. But the city did not adjust to change, and new growth industries did not take root and adapt. Now, with Micron’s investment, the city has new opportunities, and ��ϲ�� is perfectly situated to take advantage of those opportunities.”

About ��ϲ��

��ϲ�� is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals and impact beyond what’s possible.

About Forever Orange: The Campaign for ��ϲ��

Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for ��ϲ�� is poised to do just that. Fueled by more than 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit to learn more.

Automotive Engineering Course Focuses on Vehicle Design and Development

Kwami Maranga — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 16:38:04 +0000

A class in the , automotive engineering (MAE 457), is designed to equip students for careers in the automotive industry and a variety of other fields. This course will ignite students’ curiosity to explore the design and development of different vehicle engines and will be taught by mechanical and aerospace engineering professor . The course will also cover new topics in automotive engineering, including hybrid and electric vehicles.

Mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Andrea Shen is teaching automotive engineering, a course designed to equip students for careers in the automotive industry and a variety of other fields.

Students in MAE 457 will learn about how internal combustion engines work, along with the significance of biofuels, vehicle dynamics and how different factors impact engine performance. They will also have hands-on learning experiences with engines, observing the functions of diesel engines and gasoline engines located in Link Hall. Each student will also complete a project where they conduct research on a vehicle of their choice.

The course will also feature guest speakers from companies such as Space X, Ford, Harley Davidson, Sierra Space, Roush Yates, Cummins and Caterpillar, with students receiving an opportunity to interact with these industry professionals.

“I’m hoping students will gain an appreciation for cars,” says Shen. “They will gain an understanding of all the things that go on in the car and how they interact with each other. I also want to bring awareness on biofuels and the importance of research on combustion engines and automotives in the face of electric vehicles.”

Shen earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Engine Research Center. She will incorporate her research focuses on gasoline engines, biofuels, and engine performance as well as creating representative models of different base fuels into the course.

Biology Ph.D. Student Awarded Two Prestigious National Scholarships to Study Fungi’s Role in Forest Health

Dan Bernardi — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 14:44:59 +0000

Eva Legge, a first-year Ph.D. student majoring in biology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), is one of two researchers nationally to be named a Mollie Beattie Visiting Scholar by the (SAF). The award honors Beattie, who was the first woman to head the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and its aim is to foster diversity in the natural resource professions.

Eva Legge has been named a Mollie Beattie Visiting Scholar by the Society of American Foresters and was also awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. (Photo courtesy of Eva Legge)

Legge will receive a $10,000 scholarship to pursue her research on the role mycorrhizae play in boosting forest resilience. Mycorrhizae are fungi that grow on the roots of trees and plants and provide mutual benefits. As a Mollie Beattie Visiting Scholar, she will gain valuable professional development and networking opportunities. In addition to connecting with SAF members across the country, she can also submit her research to an SAF journal and collaborate with staff and partners at the SAF headquarters in Washington, D.C.

This latest award comes on the heels of Legge winning a from the National Science Foundation over the summer. Like the Mollie Beattie award, the NSF fellowship includes a stipend and access to professional development opportunities. According to the NSF program, its mission is to “help ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.”

Legge is part of A&S biology professor Mycorrhizal Ecology Lab and SUNY ESF �ʰ��Ǵڱ��ǰ�� Applied Forest and Fire Ecology Lab. As a member of these teams, she studies how climate-adaptive forest management, such as timber harvest, assisted tree migration and prescribed fire, affects the symbiotic relationship between fungi and forests. Their goal is to devise strategies to safeguard these crucial yet delicate symbioses, ultimately aiding in the development of effective forest management practices.

“Climate change will likely add to the many stressors facing eastern U.S. forests. However, the positive benefits of fungal partnerships with tree roots can, in certain contexts, increase a forest’s stress tolerance,” Legge said in an .

With this funding, she will continue her research exploring the connection between forest management, mycorrhizal symbioses and seedling success. She hopes to improve management practices and maximize the advantages mycorrhizae offer to “future-adapted” seedlings, thereby enhancing the resilience of America’s forests.

Eva Legge (second from left) and her team have been conducting their latest field research in Huntington Forest, located in the Adirondacks. (Photo courtesy of Eva Legge)

“Eva is an exceptionally driven graduate student motivated by addressing critical knowledge gaps in forest ecosystem resilience to global change,” says Fernandez. “Her research focuses on the crucial role of belowground dynamics in forest resilience, bridging fundamental ecological research with applied forest management. Her multidisciplinary approach promises to advance both basic scientific understanding and sustainable land management practices in a changing world. I am thrilled to see her outstanding work recognized with these prestigious awards.”

Learn more about the ��Ի��.

Diving Into an Immersive Experience With Gravitational Waves

Dan Bernardi — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:01:30 +0000

Science festivals offer a platform for researchers to demystify complex scientific phenomena and help the public better understand the relevance and importance of their work. By making science accessible to broader audiences, it can also inspire future scientists to pursue careers in STEM.

��ϲ�� postdoctoral researcher Graeme Eddolls (left) and his collaborator Andrew Spencer (right) presenting their research on gravitational waves during the Orkney International Science Festival.

Graeme Eddolls, a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) who works with the (CGWAA), recently attended the in Scotland. The festival regularly draws prominent scientists, historians and experts who share their research with the public in approachable ways. Notably, when it was founded in 1991, it was the world’s second ever science festival, following the renowned Edinburgh Science Festival, which was established in 1989. Eddolls and his collaborators, Andrew Spencer, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, and Leon Trimble, an audiovisual artist and honorary research associate at the University of Birmingham, presented their “Swimming with Gravitational Waves” project, which includes creative and interactive experiences that connect water, sound and gravitational waves. During the week, they also showcased their “Music of Deep Time” project and hosted booths at an Orkney Festival family event as well as a workshop at Kirkwall Grammar School.

About the Project

Leon Trimble performing at the Swimming with Gravitational Waves event.

To a general audience, the concept of gravitational waves may seem complex and challenging to understand. However, as Eddolls explains, gravitational waves follow similar physics principles as those we observe in everyday phenomena like light, water and sound waves.

Gravitational waves are produced in the aftermath of some of the most energetic processes in the universe, like when black holes or neutron stars collide. These events produce ‘ripples’ in spacetime, a concept which was first predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity. By the time these signals reach Earth, they are extremely faint. To detect them, researchers measure laser interference using detectors known as laser interferometers.

When a gravitational wave passes through a detector, it alters the distance that laser light travels along the detector’s two arms, changing their interference pattern. This technology, used by some of the most advanced detectors like the (LIGO) in the U.S., helped scientists make the first direct observation of gravitational waves in 2015, a monumental discovery made by an international team of physicists, including several researchers from ��ϲ��.

Eddolls points out that a fascinating aspect of gravitational waves is that their vibration frequencies fall within the range of human hearing.

The team brought their rubber spacetime demonstrator to the cliffs of Orkney to capture a scenic photo during the festival.

“While we can’t directly hear gravitational waves with our ears, we can take the signal from our detectors and turn it into sound,” he says. “You can actually to the converted signal of the first ever gravitational wave detection.”

Participants enter a swimming pool, where they can hear sound waves through speakers positioned above and below the water. This setup creates a unique auditory experience, mimicking how gravitational waves are produced everywhere in the universe. Furthermore, by swimming in the pool, participants can experience water waves through sight which gives the audience a good physical intuition of what waves are, how waves move and how waves interfere when they pass through each other.

A Scotland-��ϲ�� Connection

Presenting at the prestigious Orkney International Science Festival was a homecoming for Eddolls, who is a native of Scotland. Before coming to ��ϲ�� in January, he was a postdoc at the University of Glasgow. He also received a bachelor’s degree in physics (2014) and a Ph.D. in experimental gravitational wave astrophysics (2022) from there as well.

“It was particularly meaningful for me to be able to return home and give something back in sharing the exciting, cutting-edge research that I get to conduct here at ��ϲ��,” says Eddolls. “Not only does humanizing scientists help better shape the public’s perception of science, but it allows people to see themselves as potential future members of the scientific community, which I hope encourages people of all backgrounds to consider a career in STEM.”

At ��ϲ��, Eddolls is currently working on Advanced LIGO, an upgraded version of the initial LIGO detector that made the 2015 gravitational wave discovery. Eddolls and other members of CGWAA are designing hardware aimed at minimizing sources of noise in Advanced LIGO’s detectors, helping to optimize sensitivity. He is also working on a non-gravitational wave project centered around nuclear fusion, where he and other ��ϲ�� physicists are working on controlling and generating very powerful lasers and applying this to nuclear fusion to help provide a step-change towards the goal of achieving sustained nuclear fusion, potentially supplying the world with limitless energy.

Future Therapeutic Strategies May Depend on Creative Scientific Approaches Today

News Staff — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 15:16:25 +0000

Before any scientific question can be answered, it must be dreamed up. What happens to cause a healthy cell or tissue to change, for instance, isn’t fully understood. While much is known about chemical exposures that can lead to genetic mutation, damaged DNA, inflammation and even cancer, what has rarely been asked is how physical stressors in the environment can cause a cell or tissue to respond and adapt. It’s a piece of the puzzle upon which future medical breakthroughs might depend.

Homeostasis refers to a state of equilibrium; at the cellular and tissue level, any changes in environment will spur a response that balances or accommodates it. “Mostly people think of chemical changes, exposure to drugs, for instance,” says Schwarz, principal investigator on the project. “Here we ask, what if you squeeze a cell—or a group of cells or tissue—mechanically? Can it still carry out its functions? Maybe not. Maybe it needs to adapt.”

��Ի� , both professors in the ��Ի� members of the , have been awarded a four-year National Science Foundation grant from Physics of Living Systems, for a project titled “.”

From left, Alison Patteson and Jennifer Schwarz

As co-principal investigator Patteson notes, describing the idea this way is a new use of scientific language. “As physicists, we are proposing this idea that there is a mechanical version of homeostasis,” she says. “We have proposed a framework for that.”

Drawing upon previous collaborations that have examined specific scales (such as chromatin molecules, individual cell motion, and collective cell migration through collagen networks), the investigators will work to build a multiscale model to capture how chromatin remodels from physical stressors at the cell- and tissue-level. They will conduct experiments involving mechanical compression, and working with the , observe detailed microscopic images of the cells in action.

3D reconstruction of a collection of cells, called a cell spheroid, with individual nuclei in yellow. This is an example of a detailed microscopic image used to study cell motility. (Photo credit: Minh Thanh of the Patteson Lab and Blatt BioImaging Center)

Understanding these mechanisms may have broad implications in health research, shedding light on the causes of and therapeutic treatments for inflammation and potentially, cancer.

“We know that most cancerous tissues get stiffer,” says Patteson. “That’s how you identify it. There’s clearly a change in mechanics associated with the development of the disease.”

But much remains to be discovered about the interactions and processes at different scales. “We’re not at therapeutic levels yet,” says Schwarz.

The professors note that creativity is essential to this stage of research—in imagining what might be possible and what new questions to ask, and in pushing the boundaries of existing scientific language. To that end, they have incorporated broader outreach between the physics and creative writing departments in their project.

In a collaboration with creative writing professors ��Ի��, along with M.F.A. candidate , students from both departments will cross over and embed in their respective classes. “[They’ll see] how a piece of poetry is creative, for example. Then, how a certain experiment is creative,” says Schwarz. “We want to get physicists thinking like creative writers, and vice versa.”

The colleagues like to think that students and their work will benefit from the exercise, not only in expanding their ideas of what is possible but also in taking a more thoughtful approach to the language they use. Instead of talking about hierarchy of scales,” says Patteson, “maybe we should be talking about coupled things, or partnerships.” A simple shift in perspective, after all, can sometimes put things in a whole new light.

Story by Laura Wallis

Research Distinction Awards Presented at BioInspired Symposium

Diane Stirling — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 12:50:23 +0000

The ’s third annual was held Oct. 24-25, bringing together undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty from ��ϲ��, SUNY Upstate Medical University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, along with other regional research and industry partners.

Doctoral student Cijun Zhang explains his research to BioInspired Symposium attendees. Zhang studies in the Xiaoran Hu functional organic materials lab.

The event featured poster presentations by 79 undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Several researchers presented “lightning talks” on topics such as how and how the human body reacts; fabricating and creating and new technologies to address problems from clean energy to robotics to medicine. Guest speakers from several universities made special presentations. Awards were presented to recognize researchers in multiple ways.

Three recipients were chosen in the Best Overall Poster category:

’25, a dual mathematics and physics major in the (A&S), for “.” (Principal investigators are , physics professor, and Antun Skanata, research assistant professor of physics.)
, a doctoral student in physics in A&S, for “.” (Principal investigator is , William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics.)
, an M.D./Ph.D. student in cell and developmental biology at SUNY Upstate Medical University, for “.” (Principal investigator is , associate research professor of biology.)

Two presenters were recognized as Stevenson Biomaterials Poster Award winners:

, a biomedical and chemical engineering doctoral student in the (ECS), for her work on “.” (Principal investigator is , associate professor of .)
G’21, a mechanical and aerospace engineering doctoral student in ECS, for “.” (Principal investigator is , associate professor of .)

Two researchers received awards recognizing Best Lightning Talks:

, a doctoral student in chemistry in A&S, whose topic was “.” Her work involves testing to find an improved diagnostic biomarker for prostate and other cancers. (Principal investigator is , professor and director of biochemistry.)
, a doctoral student in biomedical and chemical engineering in ECS, for her research on bone tissue, described in “.”(Principal investigator is , professor of biomedical and chemical engineering.)

A project by , “,” was recognized as having the best commercialization potential. Can is a biomedical and chemical engineering doctoral student in ECS. (Principal investigator is Mary Beth Monroe.)

Receiving honors for her “social impact” initiative was , G ‘22, an assistant teaching professor in the , for her work, “ The project explored an interdisciplinary collaboration between the University’s Departments of Chemistry and Architecture that aimed to foster societal impact through sustainable innovation in architectural materials. (Her collaborator was , associate professor of chemistry in A&S.)

Winston Oluwole Soboyejo, SUNY Polytechnic Institute President, asks Alexia Chatzitheodorou, a graduate research assistant, about her work on “Shape Morphing of Twisted Nematic Elastomer Shells.” Soboyejo was one of several university representatives to speak at the symposium.

Winner of the People’s Choice Award was , a biomedical and chemical engineering doctoral student in ECS. His project, “”

His research examines how hemostatic materials with antibacterial and antibiofilm properties can reduce infection rates and enhance the healing of traumatic wounds. (Principal investigator is Mary Beth Monroe.)

Best Publication Awards went to:

G’22, a graduate of the applied data science program who is now a doctoral student in bioengineering and biomedical engineering in ECS. He is exploring the use of hiPSC-CMs to study and understand cardiomyocyte biology through biology with artificial intelligence. His paper, “,” published in Cell Reports Methods in June, presented new methods for investigating the physiological functioning of cardiac organoids using machine learning algorithms.

, a doctoral student in bioengineering at ECS, studies wound healing and tissue regeneration. His paper, “,” was published in the journal ACS Applied Biomaterials in February.
, a doctoral student in bioengineering at ECS, received an honorable mention. His paper, “” was published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering in June.

NSF Grant in Biology Aims to Boost STEM Student Retention Through Hands-On Research

Dan Bernardi — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 20:40:56 +0000

As technology advances, companies face a growing need to hire graduates skilled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, finding the ideal candidate can be difficult at times due to a limited pool of applicants. Part of the reason for this is that 1 in 3 students who originally declare as a STEM major change their field of study before they graduate, according to research from the .

Professors (from left) Abrar Aljiboury, Heather Coleman and Carlos A. Castañeda have been awarded an NSF grant to welcome undergraduate students from around the country to ��ϲ�� to conduct research over the summer. (Photo by Elise Krespan)

One way to keep STEM students engaged in their major is through hands-on research, where they can apply their theoretical knowledge to address real-world challenges. In 1987, the National Science Foundation launched the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program to help attract and retain STEM students by funding experiential learning opportunities during the summer.

Three biology faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) have been awarded that department’s first three-year , “.” , associate professor of biology, serves as the grant’s principal investigator (PI), with , associate professor of biology and chemistry, and , biology professor of practice, collaborating as co-PIs. The award will fund 10 undergraduate students per year (30 in total) from other institutions to conduct summer research at ��ϲ�� in biology and biology-affiliated labs alongside faculty.

While this is the first REU site grant in biology at ��ϲ��, faculty from the department have collaborated on similar programs through the site in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the site in A&S. Other active REU site grants at the University include the and the programs.

According to Coleman, a primary objective of the team’s project is to promote diversity within the STEM field and offer meaningful hands-on research experiences to students who may not have access to such opportunities at their home universities. They will focus on recruiting domestic students from minority-serving institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions and community colleges.

“Students who participate in research are more likely to see themselves as scientists and remain in STEM,” says Coleman. “Through this 10-week summer program, students from diverse backgrounds will have the opportunity to conduct research, join a cohort of summer undergraduate researchers across the university, participate in professional development and present their research.”

Beginning in 2025, REU students will conduct 10 weeks of summer research with one of 14 biology and physics faculty mentors. Research will focus on using microscopy to understand form and function across biological scales. This entails developing insight into the relationship between the shape, size and structure of an organism and exploring how these characteristics enable functions that support the organism’s survival.

“Each student’s project will incorporate microscopy into innovative biological research,” says Coleman. “All REU participants will gain exposure to microscopy methods, including fluorescence and super-resolution, using state-of-the-art instrumentation to address questions that cross multiple scales of biological research.”

The team notes that this REU will take advantage of the University’s strengths in microscopy, and the core facilities and resources, including the (directed by biology professor and managed by co-PI Aljiboury) and the BioInspired Institute’s (directed by Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D.).

Potential student projects include investigating molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning neurodevelopment; identifying the connections between form, function and environment in animals that interface with and attach to surfaces; examining mechanisms driving plant responses to climate change; elucidating mechanisms of protein quality control to understand the assembly and disassembly of biomolecular condensates; and understanding how cells self-organize and develop.

The will host its first cohort of undergraduates in the summer of 2025. The program will begin accepting applications in November 2024 through the .

Tool to Enhance the Taste and Texture of Sourdough

Dan Bernardi — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 20:33:57 +0000

A team of ��ϲ�� researchers have published a study exploring how genomic diversity of acetic acid bacteria can alter properties of sourdough. Pictured are sourdough starters grown up from experimental communities (from the left: control [no microbes added], yeast only, yeast plus lactic acid bacteria, yeast plus lactic acid bacteria plus acetic acid bacteria).

When millions of people went into lockdown during the pandemic, they went in search of new at-home hobbies to help cure their boredom. Among them was making sourdough bread. In addition to being sustainable for its use of natural ingredients and traditional methods which date back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, it also is valued for its nutritional benefits. For example, studies have shown that sourdough contains more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants compared to many other types of bread. For people with mild sensitivities to gluten, sourdough bread can be easier to digest since much of the gluten is broken down during the fermentation process. What’s more, many lactic acid bacteria species, which are foundational to sourdough, are considered probiotics, associated with improved gastrointestinal health.

A Flavor Profile Years in the Making

The process of making sourdough bread begins with a sourdough starter. These starters are created when microbes–communities of bacteria and yeast–stabilize in a flour and water mixture. Known as a microbiome, this community of wild yeast and bacteria is what makes sourdough bread rise and contributes to its taste and texture. Sourdough notably differs from most bread because it relies on this starter of wild microbes to help it rise instead of baker’s yeast packets.

Many sourdough starters are preserved over generations, with some samples dating back thousands of years. To maintain a sourdough starter, you extract a sample from a previous dough and mix it into new flour and water. With enough transfers of the sourdough starter, the microbial community will be composed of the yeast, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) that are best adapted to the sourdough environment. What makes different sourdough starters unique are the varying strains of yeast and bacteria that produce the distinctive sour flavor.

Testing Genetic Diversity

Advances in sequencing technology have enabled researchers to rapidly profile microbial communities, such as the sourdough microbiome. In the College of Arts and Sciences, members of biology professor lab have been studying acetic acid bacteria to determine how genetic diversity of AAB impacts sourdough communities.

Professor Angela Oliverio (left), Nimshika Senewiratne (middle), a Ph.D. candidate in Oliverio’s lab, and Beryl Rappaport (right), a Ph.D. student in Oliverio’s lab, co-authored a study which characterized acetic acid bacteria (AAB) from 500 sourdough starters to better understand how genetic diversity of AAB influences characteristics of sourdough.

While previous research has focused more on lactic acid bacteria and yeast, the ecology, genomic diversity and functional contributions of AAB in sourdough remain largely unknown. Beryl Rappaport, a Ph.D. student in Oliverio’s group, recently led a paper published in , a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, where she and other sourdough scientists, including Oliverio, Nimshika Senewiratne from the Oliverio lab, SU biology professor , and professor Ben Wolfe from Tufts University, sequenced 29 AAB genomes from a collection of over 500 sourdough starters and constructed synthetic starter communities in the lab to define the ways in which AAB shape emergent properties of sourdough. The team’s work was supported by a awarded to Oliverio earlier this year.

“While not as common in sourdough as lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria are better known for their dominant roles in other fermented foods like vinegar and kombucha,” says Rappaport. “For this study, we were interested in following up on previous findings which stated that when present in sourdough, AAB seems to have a strong impact on key properties including scent profile and metabolite production, which shape overall flavor formation.”

Plates testing for presence or absence of microbes grown in synthetic sourdough communities.

To assess the consequences of AAB on the emergent function of sourdough starter microbiomes, their team tested 10 strains of AAB, some distantly related and some very closely related. They set up manipulative experiments with these 10 strains, adding each one to a community of yeast and LAB. They kept a separate community of just yeast and LAB to serve as the control.

“Since we can manipulate what microbes and what concentrations of microbes go into these synthetic sourdough communities, we could see the direct effects of adding each strain of AAB to sourdough,” says Rappaport. “As we expected, every strain of AAB lowered the pH of the synthetic sourdough (associated with increasing sourness) since they release acetic acid and other acids as byproducts of their metabolic processes. Unexpectedly, however, AAB that were more closely related did not release more similar compounds. In fact, there was high variation in metabolites, many related to flavor formation, even between strains of the same species.”

According to Rappaport, strain diversity is often overlooked in microbial communities, in part because it is difficult to identify and manipulate levels of diversity due to the vastness of microorganisms within a given community. The human gut biome alone can have roughly 100 trillion bacteria living in it! By zooming into the diversity among closer relatives in the lab, researchers can start to understand key interactions in microbiomes.

To read the full story, .

University Receives Department of Energy Funding for New Building Training and Assessment Center

Kwami Maranga — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 18:35:32 +0000

From left: Professors Bing Dong, Jackie Anderson, Ian Shapiro and Jensen Zhang (Photo by Alex Dunbar)

The University has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create new Building Training and Assessment Center (BTAC) to train undergraduate and graduate engineering students and build a clean energy workforce. The SU-BTAC, aligned with the vision of the DOE BTAC program, will educate and provide hands-on training for engineering students to perform assessments focused on reducing the energy burden for commercial and institutional buildings with a focus on disadvantaged communities.

The SU-BTAC will be housed at the (��ϲ��CoE), New York State’s Center of Excellence in Environmental Energy Systems which engages more than 200 private companies, organizations and academic institutions to create new products and services in indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy, and water resource management.

With ��ϲ��CoE, the SU-BTAC will create relationships and company screening opportunities to connect commercial and institutional buildings with existing programs in the region relating to unions, apprenticeships, trade organizations, community programs and others.

“I see the SU-BTAC as an expansion of the ��ϲ�� Industrial Assessment Center (SU-IAC), now SU-ITAC, and as a great experiential learning opportunity for our students. Not only are we able to help commercial and institutional buildings with reducing their energy burden, but we are also able to teach and mentor the next generation of energy engineers,” says , director of IAC and associate teaching professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

SU-BTAC will be led by faculty from ��ϲ�� and supported by faculty from the City University of New York. The center will be co-directed by Professor , with involvement from professors and .

‘Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future’ Exhibition Comes to ��ϲ��

Emma Ertinger — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:24:52 +0000

When it comes to sustainable construction materials, there’s no contest: mass timber buildings require less heavy equipment, save on labor costs and take less time to install than concrete and steel. By utilizing mass timber, the construction industry can utilize green building practices without compromising efficiency.

That was the message of “Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future,” a lecture delivered by , and of Kent State University. Presented on Sept. 30 at the , the lecture was part of a national tour showcasing Mirando and Onsarigo’s research at Kent State’s .

Mass timber refers to a class of engineered wood products (EWPs) that are often used for wall, roof and floor construction. Because commercial-scale mass timber construction projects are on the rise across the United States, Professors Mirando and Onsarigo highlighted the importance of educating the next generation of professionals about these green building materials.

The lecture featured data from one of the tallest mass timber buildings in the United States: in Cleveland, Ohio. A mixed-use structure with 300 apartment units and ground-floor commercial space, the project was uniquely efficient because of the use of mass timber materials such as Glued-Laminated Timber (GLT) beams and columns, as well as Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) slabs. The real estate developer reported that construction time was about 25% faster than typical concrete or steel construction.

“Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future” also included a weeklong exhibit in Link Hall where students could examine real-life examples of mass timber building materials, including dowel laminated timber, nail laminated timber, and connections and assemblies used in mid- and high-rise construction projects. The “Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future” national exhibition tour is funded by the (SLB) headquartered in Portland, Oregon. , department chair of civil and environmental engineering, and Reed Kelterborn, director of education for SLB, delivered welcoming and opening remarks.

The visit from Kent State University faculty was organized by , associate teaching professor and undergraduate civil engineering program director, and , civil and environmental engineering professor emeritus. “We were thrilled to host Drs. Mirando and Onsarigo’s national touring exhibition on the construction management aspects of the mass timber building industry, and to highlight the benefits of mass timber as a sustainable construction material to the Engineering, Architecture and Construction (EAC) community here in Central New York,” says Professor Shi. “Interest in mass timber buildings is rising rapidly throughout the country. Skilled labor and seasoned professionals are in great demand. This state-of-the-art exhibition and lecture can help bring our students up to speed and get them ready for the next generation’s EAC industry.”

“In addition, we are training students to design and build more sustainable and resilient infrastructure to approach the immense challenges of climate change and natural disasters,” Professor Davidson adds. “Mass timber can be one of the most effective construction materials to meet these challenges.”

Students in engineering, architecture and other disciplines who are interested in the topic of sustainable building materials may also want to register for the , which will be held in ��ϲ�� this coming March.

Secrets Behind Our Universe’s Existence Revealed

Dan Bernardi — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 18:23:37 +0000

Graduate students from the Experimental Neutrino Physics group with ��ϲ��-area high school students who took part in the ��ϲ�� Physics Emerging Research Technologies Summer High School Internship Program in summer 2024.

It takes sophisticated technology to study the behavior of invisible particles like neutrinos and cosmic rays, which pass through our bodies every second before zooming back off into the universe without us even knowing. While they might be tiny, these particles have massive importance, as understanding their interactions could help scientists determine why our universe exists and why all of the “stuff” in the universe, including stars, planets and people, are made out of matter and not antimatter. Faculty and students in the group in ��ϲ��’s College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) are part of an international effort to explore the secrets of neutrinos.

So, what’s the buzz about neutrinos? Neutrinos and other invisible particles such as cosmic rays are produced by some of the most extreme events in the cosmos, like the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago or when massive stars end their life cycles in a blaze of glory known as supernovae explosions. Neutrinos come in three flavors (electron, muon and tau) and have some mysterious characteristics, such as puzzlingly low masses and the ability to oscillate, or change from one type of neutrino to another. Scientists use cutting-edge particle detectors to study the information embedded in neutrinos and make definitive determinations of neutrino properties.

Physics Professors ��Ի�� are working with undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers on everything from detector construction to operation and analysis, both at ��ϲ�� and at larger detection sites like . Fermilab is one of the few places on Earth where a focused beam of neutrinos can be created and aimed at a detector.

Through Fermilab’s (DUNE), particle detectors are being constructed one mile underground in a former gold mine in South Dakota right in the path of a neutrino beam originating from Fermilab in Illinois. Once operational, DUNE scientists will be able to study a phenomenon called “neutrino oscillation,” which looks at how the three different flavors of neutrinos that make up the Standard Model (electron, muon and tau) change between types as they travel. These insights could reveal why the universe is dominated by matter and whether a fourth type of neutrino (sterile neutrino) exists, which would go beyond the Standard Model, indicating that there is more to the universe’s fundamental particle makeup than we currently understand.

Prototype Paves the Way

Physics graduate student Tom Murphy (right, in orange hard hat) working on a DUNE prototype. (Photo by Dan Svoboda)

DUNE, currently under construction, will be the most comprehensive neutrino experiment in the world. But before it comes online, scientists have been testing prototype equipment and components in preparation for the final detector installation. Members of ��ϲ��’s Experimental Neutrino Physics group have been part of the , which recorded its first . While the final version of the DUNE near detector will feature 35 liquid argon modules, the prototype has four modules arranged in a square and allows scientists to validate the design.

“Our group members who are resident at Fermilab, including postdoctoral researcher Luis Zazueta and graduate student Tom Murphy, have helped with final detector construction, installation and operations,” says Soderberg. “Zazueta was the inaugural “deputy run coordinator” for the 2×2 effort, which is a leadership role important to the operation of the detector. We are anticipating more involvement in the full-size DUNE detector that the 2×2 is a prototype for.”

Exploring the Cosmos on Campus

Physics Ph.D. student Sierra Thomas is another one of the A&S scientists who has been involved in the DUNE collaboration. She is currently setting up the equipment to make observations of cosmic events at ��ϲ�� using the new prototype “pixel” Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detector. Located on the third floor of the physics building, this hi-tech device allows researchers to make observations about the universe from the comforts of campus. What’s more, the experiments conducted with this equipment are contributing to the enhancement of larger detectors at Fermilab.

Watch the video below for Sierra’s take on the detector.

A Search for Oscillation

In addition to the DUNE project, Fermilab also hosts the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program, which is a chain of three particle detectors—ICARUS, MicroBooNE and the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND). SBND is the near detector for the Short Baseline Neutrino Program and the newest of the three. ICARUS, which started collecting data in 2021, is the far detector. SBND will measure the neutrinos as they were produced in the Fermilab beam and ICARUS will measure the neutrinos after they’ve potentially oscillated. The neutrino interactions collected from these detectors play a critical role in performing searches for neutrino oscillations, which could provide proof of the elusive fourth kind of neutrino.

The Short-Baseline Near Detector and ICARUS are the near and far detectors, respectively, in the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program. (Photo courtesy of Fermilab)

Rohan Rajagopalan standing in the SBND building near the detector.

SBND, the final element that completed Fermilab’s Short-Baseline Neutrino Program, recently reached a key milestone as scientists identified the detector’s earlier this year. Members of ��ϲ��’s Experimental Neutrino Physics group played integral roles in constructing and commissioning the detector, whose planning, prototyping and construction took nearly a decade. Current group members Amy Filkins, a postdoctoral researcher, and Rohan Rajagopalan, a graduate student, are currently based at Fermilab and working on SBND, having made major contributions to SBND’s first operations.

Amy Filkins (in yellow hard hat) working on the Short-Baseline Near Detector’s data acquisition rack.

The collaboration will continue operating the detector and analyzing the many millions of neutrino interactions collected for the next several years.

“I’m proud of the work that our team has been undertaking,” says Whittington. “I find the process of building, understanding and operating these experiments very engaging, and I’m excited to see them come to fruition over the next few years.”

Students interested in hands-on, international research and exploring the secrets of neutrinos can learn more by visiting the group website.

Funding Research That Improves Health and Shortens ‘Bench to Bedside’ Time

Eileen Korey — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 19:29:24 +0000

Doctoral students in clinical psychology Alexa Deyo ’21 and Alison Vrabec G’23 spent their summer testing a theory that a certain kind of therapeutic technique called motivational interviewing could improve sleep and overall health among adolescents. According to the , sleep problems can impact how people learn, think and get along with others. “If teens are sleeping better, their mental health is improved; they are more emotionally regulated and less impulsive,” says , Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, who is supervising the clinical research.

Kathy Walters

Their research is exactly the kind of promising work that philanthropic alumni Kathy Walters ’73, H’23 and her husband, Stan ’72, had in mind when they set up the Walters Endowed Fund for Science Research in 2016. According to Kathy Walters, they were hoping to create new opportunities for research that would benefit humanity—and they left the door open for the dean and faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) to define what those benefits might be.

“Researchers tend to see things that those of us not immersed in science would never see,” says Walters, a ��ϲ�� Trustee. “I’m not a big believer in telling capable people what they should be researching.” In fact, the funding is to be used to support a vast array of academic inquiry, including “undergraduate, graduate or faculty-led research in the sciences, including departments of biology, chemistry, communication sciences and disorders, Earth science, mathematics, psychology and physics.”

The funding is awarded at the discretion of the A&S dean and associate dean for research to recognize outstanding research faculty. “Research funding is critical to supporting our academic mission,” says A&S Dean Behzad Mortazavi. “With Kathy and Stan’s gift, we can invest in more of our stellar faculty and students, so they can contribute their enormous expertise to solving challenges in the areas of the environment and climate, health and wellness, social justice and human thriving.”

Favour Chukwudumebi Ononiwu

Since the fund was established, it has supported research by graduate students in physics, chemistry, biology and psychology. “Thanks to the Walters, I was able to spend the summer of 2023 in the lab full-time,” says Favour Chukwudumebi Ononiwu, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in cell biology and is dedicated to figuring out the cellular behavior that governs early development of human tissue. “This particular tissue helps the body organize itself. Understanding how that happens is key to understanding developmental defects.”

“Bench to bedside research” like this takes years of toil at the “bench” in the lab to reach the “bedside” where people can benefit. Ononiwu says the funding from the Walters allowed her to spend a lot more time at that bench, reduce some of the costs associated with conducting the research, and speed up the process of discovery. “It was also empowering to be in a space where I didn’t have to worry about my finances and could come into the lab and focus on the experiment. It also helped get my research to the point where I could apply for more grants and fellowships to accelerate the research.”

Ononiwu, who hopes to pursue a job in a biotechnology, pharmaceutical or biomedical company, says the Walters funding was a “catalyst for my development as a researcher and a professional.”

Kidwell says her graduate students are deepening their own clinical training through the funded research and positioning themselves to be more competitive for National Institutes of Health grants.

“Oftentimes, teaching assistantships take precedence over research assistantships because of financial need,” says Deyo, a first-year doctoral student in clinical psychology.

Professor Katie Kidwell (second from left) with members of the Child Health Lab, including graduate students (from left) Toni Hamilton, Alison Vrabec, Lyric Tully, Alexa Deyo and Megan Milligan.

The doctoral students were able to accelerate the launch of their study this past summer, recruit a significant number of teens aged 13 to 17 as study subjects, expose them to the intervention called motivational interviewing and measure the impact on their sleep using a smart watch-type of device called an actigraph.

The intent of their research, of course, is to help teens and college students problem-solve and deal with stressors that impact their well-being. The research aligns with Kathy Walters’ sensitivity to the impact of stress on health. “The world is moving at such a rapid pace that it’s difficult for people to prioritize and focus amidst the change and anxiety,” says Walters. “Helping faculty and students make the most of opportunities to improve health and humanity remains our priority.”

“We are so grateful to Kathy and Stan for their generosity and vision in establishing this fund,” says John Quigley, A&S assistant dean for advancement. “We hope others who are similarly passionate about academic and research excellence at the University will follow suit. An endowment of $100,000 or more provides the kind of annual supplemental support needed by our talented faculty to accelerate the impact of their teaching and research.”

Walters says it’s important to provide gifts that are not too restricted. “Students are developing the critical thinking skills required to pursue knowledge that answers the big questions facing our world. By supporting research, we are helping them find the answers.”

NSF Grant to Engage Refugee and Immigrant Youth in Immersive STEM Storytelling

News Staff — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 16:16:52 +0000

Professor Xiaoxia “Silvie” Huang has been awarded a nearly $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for an (ITEST) project.

Xiaoxia “Silvie” Huang

With “Engaging Refugee and Immigrant Youth in STEM Through Culturally Relevant and Place-Based Digital Storytelling,” — an associate professor in the program—aims to engage culturally and linguistically diverse refugee and immigrant middle school students in co-designing culturally relevant and place-based STEM learning experiences through immersive, virtual reality (VR) storytelling. The goal? To support their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and career aspirations.

During this two-year project, Huang, a project investigator, will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team, including co-PIs Professor (School of Education) and Professor (). Also joining the research team are professors and () and professors and ().

“During the VR storytelling co-design process, local middle schoolers will expand their STEM disciplinary knowledge and skills in agriculture, environmental science, and entry-level computer coding,” says Huang. “This learning will be deeply rooted in their lived experience, with immersive stories that interweave their identities, cultures, and interaction with local environments. The goal of this project is to increase participants’ STEM learning, identity and self-efficacy, and to broaden their interests in STEM career pathways.”

The project team will collaborate with various community partners and organizations during its implementation, including , the , ��Ի� interconnected projects and programs organized through the (including Natural Science Explorers and Write Out). Huang’s project also will engage 10 ��ϲ�� undergraduate and three graduate students as mentors for the middle school participants.

“This exciting and interdisciplinary research project brings together collaborators from four different schools and colleges and a host of community partners to advance culturally sustaining STEM opportunities for refugee and immigrant students in the local ��ϲ�� community,” says Professor Beth Ferri, Associate Dean for Research, School of Education. “Drawing on cultural and community assets and engaged interdisciplinary learning, the project is as ambitious as it is innovative.”

Huang expects the project will produce not only the young participants’ digitally immersive stories but also curriculum modules for facilitators and participants, supporting the co-design process, as well as a practical guide for using community-based research to involve refugee and immigrant youth in STEM.

iSchool Professor Awarded NSF Grant to Study Wireless Communications

Anya Woods — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:28:43 +0000

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded nearly $250,000 out of a total of $800,000 under a to a faculty member in the School of Information Studies (iSchool) to study Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum management for the next era of wireless communication services.

Carlos Caicedo

is an associate professor at the iSchool and director of the Center for Emerging Network Technologies (CENT). He is serving as the principal investigator on the research grant, “.”

Caicedo Bastidas is collaborating with colleagues at Rutgers University to research new RF spectrum management methods that can impact or enable spectrum sharing between cellular operators, coexistence of different wireless devices, and interference management for passive wireless devices, such as those used for weather forecasting and radio astronomy.

“I’m very happy to have received this grant,” says Caicedo Bastidas. “For several years, my collaborators from Rutgers and I have been discussing and maturing ideas for how distributed spectrum management should be implemented.”

As part of their research, the team will complete a multi-stage evaluation methodology that starts with architectural design of D3SM (distributed data-driven spectrum management). Their studies are expected to lead to an experimentally validated set of protocols and algorithms for distributed and partially centralized RF spectrum management methods.

Wireless communication services and associated applications rely on the use of radio frequency spectrum resources for their operation. Due to the rapid growth in the use of these services, spectrum management agencies and wireless service providers need to migrate from current spectrum use practices to more dynamic spectrum assignment and sharing mechanisms.

“This grant gives us the opportunity to finally develop the protocols and algorithms that realize our vision under a data and information-centric approach for distributed and hierarchical spectrum management,” says Caicedo Bastidas. “It’s applicable in a wide range of scenarios where devices with heterogeneous radio frequency operation characteristics need to co-exist and/or share RF spectrum resources. Such scenarios will become more common as 5G evolves into 6G and beyond.”

The Building Blocks of Future Smart Materials

News Staff — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:04:27 +0000

How do cells take the shape they do and perform their functions? The enzymes and molecules that make them up are not themselves living—and yet they are able to adapt to their environment and circumstances, come together and interact, and ultimately, create life. How exactly all of that happens involves some very big questions, the answers to which will be crucial in paving the way for new biotechnologies and other advancements.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a private, nonprofit grantmaking organization, started its to begin to answer some of them. The program’s stated goal is “To sharpen our scientific understanding of the physical principles and mechanisms that distinguish living systems from inanimate matter, and to explore the conditions under which physical principles and mechanisms guide the complexification of matter towards life.”

To that end, the program awarded (left) and (right), professors in the in the and members of the BioInspired Institute, a three-year grant to explore what they’ve described as a fundamental unanswered question about the functionality of cells and the energy and entropy landscape of cell interiors.

Jennifer Ross (left) and Jennifer Schwarz, professors in the Department of Physics, received a three-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Matter to Life program.

“There is a lack of quantitative understanding of the principles governing the non-equilibrium control knobs inside the cell,” Ross and Schwarz explained in their proposal. “Without this knowledge, we will never understand how cells work, or how we can replicate them in synthetic materials systems.”

They’ve chosen to focus their work on one very particular aspect of the biology of cells, the concentrations of protein molecules within them known as protein condensates, and specifically their liquid-liquid phase separation, which they describe as the “killer app” for the sculpting of energy and entropy in the cell.

“Liquid-liquid phase separation is when two liquids separate, like oil and water,” Ross says. “The proteins separate out [into droplets] and make what we think of as membrane-less organelles. We’re interested in how both energy-using systems and entropy-controlling systems can help to shape those organelles.”

They’re hoping to gain an understanding of how cells self-organize without a “manager”—in this case, a membrane to act as a physical containment system—as well as how they react and adapt to their environment.

“This droplet formation is so sensitive to temperature and its surroundings,” says Schwarz. “The cell knows, ‘A ha!’ The temperature is increasing, so the environment is slightly different. So…I’m going to adapt.”

Ross is serving as principal investigator, and with graduate student assistance, will be performing reconstitution experiments to explore these processes, while co-principal investigator Schwarz and her team will be delving into the theoretical side of the science using predictive simulations. The three-year grant will also fund a paid undergraduate and two local high school students through summer programs.

The hope is that a better understanding of cell behavior at this level could ultimately lead to breakthroughs in the development of smart synthetic materials. “Imagine a road-paving material that could identify when a pothole develops and heal itself,” Ross says.

It’s just one example of countless possibilities for learning from biological systems.

Story by Laura Wallis

ECS Professor Elizabeth Carter Studies, Forecasts Floods

Kwami Maranga — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 12:37:00 +0000

Elizabeth Carter (left), assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering, received a water resource grant from the United States Geological Survey to develop a sensor network that measures flooding.

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the southern coastline of the United States in 2005, found herself on the Gulf Coast following the tropical storm’s aftermath. Witnessing the devastating impact of the hurricane on infrastructure and communities, she decided to place her undergraduate education on hold and join the efforts to rebuild—an experience that would be the catalyst for her future research.

“It was pivotal a time in U.S. history. It exposed a lot of the ways that structurally our publicly funded infrastructure is shunting risk down socioeconomic gradients,” Carter says. “As a young person figuring out what I wanted to do in the world, I didn’t think I could walk away from something like that and retain my humanity.”

Ignited with a passion for the environment, Carter returned to school and received her bachelor’s degree in soil science, a master’s in environmental information science and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering with a concentration in water resources. Now working as an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering in the with a joint appointment as an assistant professor in Earth and environmental sciences in the , Carter is a computational hydrologist who studies the movement of water from space. Using data from satellites, these observations of water movement allow her to develop ways to respond to natural disasters and manage water resources.

She and her research team at ��ϲ�� have received a water resource grant from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to develop a sensor network that measures flooding. This sensor network will help predict different types of flooding caused by natural disasters, particularly flooding in areas where people live, which is referred to as urban flooding. This project is known as the Urban Flood Observing Network.

Elizabeth Carter (far left) is working on a sensor network that will help predict different types of flooding caused by natural disasters, particularly flooding in areas where people live, referred to as urban flooding.

“We’re hoping to build a sensor network for better urban flood response and labels for satellite images so they can map urban flooding everywhere,” says Carter.

Fatemeh Rezaei G‘25 (environmental engineering), Huantao Ren G’21, Ph.D. ‘27 (computer science), Manu Shergill ‘24 (computer science) Nhy’ere Scanes, Ike Unobhaga, Kaitlyn Gilmore and Sharif Jafari are students from ��ϲ�� and Onondaga Community College (OCC) who have helped with the development of the Urban Flood Observing Network. Collaborators on the project include electrical engineering and computer science professor and , associate professor in the .

“It’s been a great way to engage a lot of different students from different backgrounds and stages in their careers in hardware design, 3d printing, algorithm design, and photogrammetry,” Carter says.

Shergill is the primary developer leading the project and has been working on the sensor network since 2021. During a summer internship in his freshman year at OCC, he assembled the initial version of the water sensor camera. He’s also been working on adding higher-quality sensors, wireless communications, machine vision, and other features to the water sensor camera. He hopes to install it on the roof of ��ϲ��’s Center of Excellence for testing.

“The next thing I’m tackling is a remote start function, so we can trigger continuous data collection when a storm is moving into the area the sensor is monitoring,” Shergill says.

Carter has hopes the USGS will install these sensor networks in different locations where quick responses to flood events are needed which can help manage future flood events.

“It’s been great to collaborate with different students on this project and make an impact on tackling natural disasters that are a result of climate change,” Carter says.

Creating STEM Career Pathways for Local High Schoolers

Dan Bernardi — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 19:48:22 +0000

The 2024 cohort of ��ϲ��-area high school students who took part in the ��ϲ�� Physics Emerging Research Technologies Summer High School Internship Program.

Thanks to a new National Science Foundation grant, ��ϲ��’s physics department doubles the number of ��ϲ��-area high school participants in their paid summer internship program.

STEM jobs are quickly becoming the backbone of America. By 2031, STEM occupations are , while non-STEM occupations will grow at about half that rate at 4.9%. Therefore, it’s essential for today’s students to gain a solid foundation in math, science and engineering subjects. ��ϲ�� is about to see its own boom in STEM jobs, as the arrival of the Micron chip manufacturing facility will include 9,000 high-paying positions at the Central New York campus.

Federal funding organizations like the National Science Foundation (NSF) have acknowledged this workforce shift and are seeding and supporting initiatives aimed at growing a diverse STEM workforce. Since 2022, the Department of Physics has hosted one such program, bringing in ��ϲ��-area high school students to participate in a paid research internship. In support of that program, the NSF recently pledged nearly $1 million to ��ϲ�� through their Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) campaign, which will fund the physics internship over three years.

Ruell Branch

Originally known as ��ϲ�� Research in Physics (SURPh) during its first two summers in 2022 and 2023, the program seeks to create STEM career pathways for historically excluded groups by involving them in authentic research experiences and providing mentoring and peer networks. SURPh was the brainchild of former physics student Ruell Branch ’24, who pitched the idea to his professors as a way to strengthen the University’s connection with the local community and inspire local students to pursue STEM.

“I wanted ��ϲ�� high school students who have interests in physics to see what it’s like to work as a paid scientist,” says Branch, who graduated from the ��ϲ�� City School District. “I think it’s extremely important for students to get experience conducting research in an actual science lab.”

Expanding the Program

With the help of physics professor , Henninger High School science teacher Melanie Pelcher, and fellow ��ϲ�� alum and Henninger High School graduate Devon Lamanna ’23, G’24, SURPh was born. Now, thanks to the NSF funding awarded to Ross and fellow physics professor and department chair , the summer program will be funded through the summer of 2026.

“The new NSF support is a game-changer,” says Soderberg. “It signifies to the students who participate that not only those of us in the SU physics department and ��ϲ�� city schools, but also policymakers in the federal government, see value in helping them get excited about STEM disciplines and see the potential for them as future professionals who will someday help drive innovation and discovery.”

The three-year grant, totaling nearly $1 million, allowed the program to grow from 12 students in 2023 to 24 in 2024 and brought in additional faculty mentors. SURPh was made possible in past years thanks to funding from the John Ben Snow Foundation and internal support from the Engaged Humanities Network and the physics department.

“This program could not have achieved NSF funding without these other sources to prop us up,” says Ross.

Now called the ��ϲ�� Physics Emerging Research Technologies Summer High School Internship Program (SUPER-Tech SHIP), the program just wrapped its summer session with a closing ceremony and poster session. Through SUPER-Tech SHIP, students were exposed to skills and concepts related to computational physics, biophysics and particle physics during the six-week program.

Read the full story on the .

New Sign In Screen Launching Sept. 17

Eric Ferguson — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 13:24:11 +0000

Effective Sept. 17, the Microsoft Sign in experience for students, faculty and staff will feature a new look that reflects University branding guidelines.

The new Sign in screen will help users distinguish between the University-sanctioned portal and other Sign in screens that might be for personal accounts or malicious sites designed to trick users into revealing their account information.

The new look will be consistent across desktop, phones and tablet devices. Other features of the updated Sign in screen include a link to to get help with account access and the ability to add news alerts or other information.

Current Microsoft Sign in screen

New Sign in screen for desktops

New Sign in screen for smartphones

New Sign in screen for tablets

Innovator From the Mathematics Department Receives the Abraham Wald Prize

Kerrie Marshall — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 16:52:55 +0000

Pinyuen Chen

�ʰ��Ǵڱ��ǰ�� from the Department of Mathematics has received an award that honors the best publication each year from the Journal of Sequential Analysis. The Abraham Wald Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of sequential analysis, which is a technique in mathematical statistics that, unlike classical techniques, analyzes data in real-time, allowing researchers to make decisions on whether to stop or continue an experiment as new data comes in, often leading to faster and more efficient results. It was developed during World War II as a tool to improve industrial quality control for the war effort.

Chen’s paper “” was co-authored by Elena Buzaianu, who received a Ph.D. from ��ϲ�� in 2006, with Chen as her advisor, and Lifang Hsu, professor of mathematics at Le Moyne College. There is a connection from Chen to the namesake for the award, Abraham Wald. Wald, a mathematician who founded the field of sequential analysis, was the advisor for Milton Sobel, subsequently Chen’s advisor for his dissertation in 1982 at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Teaching at ��ϲ�� since 1982, he is both a serial collaborator and an innovator, “I thank the department and my colleagues for giving me the time to work on my favorite research in the last 42 years,” says Chen.

Elena Buzaianu accepted the prize on behalf of herself, Chen and Hsu at Utah Valley University.

Chen conducts interdisciplinary research with scholars from other disciplines at ��ϲ�� and around the world. He is a senior member of the ��Ի� affiliated with the at ��ϲ��, both interdisciplinary programs within the College of Arts and Sciences that also include faculty from computer and information sciences, management, psychology and the social sciences. Chen has worked on military projects with electrical engineers at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, on data used for radar signal processing that may improve the detection and specific location and speed of a target.

“It’s always a thrill when our faculty are recognized for their outstanding scholarship,” says Graham Leuschke, professor and chair of mathematics. “The entire department is proud of Professor Chen’s accomplishment, and it’s especially sweet that our former Ph.D. student, Elena Buzaianu, was recognized as well.”

This is the 20th anniversary of the Abraham Wald Prize, established in 2004 and first awarded at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Minneapolis in August 2005. Elena Buzaianu accepted the award for Chen and the team in a special 2-hour ceremony at the 8th International Workshop in Sequential Methodologies, held at Utah Valley University.

BioInspired Wins NSF Grant to Develop Graduate Training Program in Emergent Intelligence

Wendy S. Loughlin — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 13:55:27 +0000

��ϲ��’s has been awarded a $3 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for the creation of an interdisciplinary training program for doctoral students in emergent intelligence.

The program, NRT-URoL: Emergent Intelligence Research for Graduate Excellence in Biological and Bio-Inspired Systems (EmIRGE-Bio), will support the integration of research and education on emergent intelligence in both biological and bio-inspired systems and allow doctoral students to work and experience team-building across disciplinary and departmental boundaries.

Lisa Manning speaks at a previous BioInspired Symposium. (Photo by Angela Ryan)

“Many of society’s most pressing challenges—including food security, sustainability and supporting aging populations—will require breakthroughs in biotechnology and bio-inspired science,” says , William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), who is principal investigator (PI). “This program will train a new generation of scientists and engineers who can evaluate and harness complex systems, such as biological tissues or next-generation materials, to drive intelligent responses such as sensing, actuating and learning, leading to breakthrough technologies.”

Co-PIs are , associate professor of biology and chemistry in A&S; , associate director of BioInspired and Renée Crown Professor in the Sciences and Mathematics and associate professor of biology in A&S; , Samuel and Carol Nappi Research Scholar and associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS); and , associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in ECS.

BioInspired director , professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in ECS, says, “the Research Traineeship Program is currently one of—if not the most—competitive funding programs at the National Science Foundation. Receipt of the award speaks to the existing strength of graduate education in BioInspired fields at ��ϲ�� and to the exciting new opportunities and programming that Lisa and the team designed and proposed and now stand poised to deliver.”

The EmIRGE-Bio program will feature advanced core disciplinary courses in areas foundational to biotechnology and bio-inspired design; the development of two new courses utilizing team-based learning paradigms; and a longitudinal professional development program. It will also include a STEM entrepreneurship course offered by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, an internship program and a co-curricular workshop series on project management and technology transfer.

Some 115 Ph.D. students from fields that span the life and physical sciences and engineering are expected to take part in the training, which the research team says will address a STEM workforce gap identified by local and national partners in industry and academe.

“Emergence in biology and bio-inspired design is one of the University’s signature areas of strength, and we have seen that borne out by the success of BioInspired since its founding in 2019,” says Interim Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer . “This initiative draws on that strength and supports our long-term strategic goal to transform STEM at ��ϲ�� and enhance graduates’ potential for success in a swiftly evolving marketplace.”

Adds , vice president for research: “The NRT award will advance BioInspired in ways that are core to ��ϲ��’s identity: recruiting and retaining a diverse student population, advancing cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and education and providing our students with the entrepreneurial skills needed in the 21st century workforce.”

��ϲ��CoE Awards Nearly $200K for 11 New Faculty Fellow Projects Supporting Research and Innovation

News Staff — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 12:13:44 +0000

The has awarded $198,851 in 2024 ��ϲ��CoE Faculty Fellow awards to support 11 research and innovation projects led by faculty members from ��ϲ�� and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

The ��ϲ��CoE Faculty Fellows program supports and honors faculty members who demonstrate a strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the areas of energy, environmental quality and sustainable design, with additional support available for projects engaging New York state-based companies. These projects were selected from a pool of faculty proposals submitted during a funding solicitation issued by ��ϲ��CoE earlier this spring. Since 2015, over $1 million has been awarded to advance research and development projects led by ��ϲ��CoE Faculty Fellows.

“We are excited to include these exceptional faculty members in ��ϲ��CoE’s growing network,” says ��ϲ��CoE Executive Director , professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering amd Computer Science. “Their diverse expertise across disciplines and, in many instances, collaboration with local entrepreneurs will be critical in supporting our mission of promoting innovative solutions for human health, global energy and environmental challenges.”

“This is an excellent program for energy and environmental research and development,” says , associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “The support from ��ϲ��CoE addresses a critical gap in aligning the technical needs of regional and national companies with the expertise of faculty and students at ��ϲ��.”

Lindi Quackenbush, interim vice president for research at SUNY ESF, says, “SUNY ESF is a longstanding partner institution of ��ϲ��CoE, and the ��ϲ��CoE Faculty Fellows program provides important support for SUNY ESF faculty, often working in collaboration with regional companies and communities, to develop and expand their research capabilities and expertise while addressing global challenges.”

2024 Faculty Fellow awards include:

Bing Dong, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, ��ϲ��, “Smart Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERVs) for Schools”
Scott Erdman, associate professor of biology, College of Arts and Sciences, ��ϲ��, “Metal Doped Fungal Biomass as Material for Energy Storage Devices”
Sevgi Erdogan, associate professor, School of Information Studies, ��ϲ��, “Smart Cities Research Network Development for Sustainable and Resilient Communities”
Jennifer Goff, assistant professor of chemistry, SUNY ESF, “Characterization of Bimetallic Nanoparticles for Usage as Air Filter Antibacterials”
Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, assistant professor of sustainable resources management, SUNY ESF, “Revitalizing Local Waste Material in Low Carbon Construction Materials Through Materials Circularity for Decarbonizing the Built Environments”
Tong Lin, postdoctoral research associate, Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory, ��ϲ��, “Enhanced Cooling Fan Design Coupled with Advanced Mixed-Flow Fan Rotor for Improved Efficiency and Compactness”
Ericka Redmond, assistant professor of chemical engineering, SUNY ESF, “Innovative Nano-Sawdust Composites for Sustainable Thermal Insulation”
Yilei Shi, associate teaching professor of civil and environmental engineering and undergraduate civil engineering program director, College of Engineering and Computer Science, ��ϲ��, “A Pilot Study on Simulated Hygrothermal Behavior of a Novel Sustainable Roof System for Green Buildings”
Endong Wang, associate professor of sustainable construction, SUNY ESF, “Facilitating Market Penetration of Sustainable Building Retrofitting Through Persuasive Technology”
Yeqing Wang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, College of Engineering amd Computer Science, ��ϲ��, “Renewable and MOF-Coated Highly Porous Delignified Wood Composite for Gas Separation”
Weiwei Zheng, associate professor of chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, ��ϲ��, “Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Emission Control Application”

The awards were made possible by funding to support ��ϲ��CoE activities, awarded by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).

One of 13 New York State Centers of Excellence, ��ϲ��CoE strategically brings industry partners together with researchers and students in a thriving culture of collaboration and innovation, ultimately creating new businesses and jobs, strengthening regional and state economies. ��ϲ��CoE supports growth and innovation through companies and researchers. Since 2002, more than 200 firms and institutions have been engaged in ��ϲ��CoE collaborative projects, in addition to more than 75 faculty in Central New York. For more information, .

Story by Kai Volcy

Chemistry Professor Collaborates With Brookhaven National Laboratory

News Staff — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 15:54:48 +0000

With grant funding from the Department of Energy, Professor Mathew Maye and his collaborators will manufacture and test a new generation of Quantum dots.

Tiny but mighty semiconductors named Quantum dots (Qdots) could someday drive hyper-powerful computers.

Qdots are crystals squeezed in a space just a few nanometers in diameter. They are used today in products such as solar cells or LEDs and work by either absorbing or emitting light with high efficiency. The amount or color of the light is fine-tuned by Qdot dimension, chemical composition and crystal structure, which is designed by chemists in the lab or at the factory.

These applications rely on the excitation or relaxation of an electron in what is called “quantized” energy levels, but “the future of Qdots is not about bright colors or how much electricity they produce,” says , professor and department chair of chemistry at ��ϲ��.

Instead, the future is about what happens to the electron’s spin while in those energy levels—measuring or manipulating it in new ways.

For example, each electron in an atom has one of two spin states, “up” or “down,” which describes its orbit. Spins can then be “paired,” a situation where a spin-up electron is combined with a spin-down one or un-paired when a single electron is left, which is either spin-up or down. The amount of un-paired electrons affects a material’s magnetic property. When a single electron is excited in a Qdot, it should maintain the same spin, but there may be ways to engineer or flip its spin in the future.

Such ability will provide new pathways in communications and information storage, leading to powerful quantum computers and important cryptographies that use spin states to store information instead of the “1” and “0” bits of traditional computers.

Images of Quantum dots – or “Qdots.” Cell “a” shows photographs of Qdots of different compositions emitting light at tailored energies (i.e., colors). Cells “b-e” show transmission electron microscopy images of three different Qdot morphologies.

To do this, Maye is partnering with Brookhaven National Laboratory and its Center for Functional Nanomaterials, on a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to manufacture and test this new generation of Qdots.

“We proposed to design new alloy and magnetic Qdots whose composition or dimension allow the electron to be more easily measured or manipulated by external stimuli,” says Maye. “This requires thinking about how to induce polarization or which energy levels to add in order to trap, manipulate or transfer the electron during excitation.”

But synthesizing such Qdots is just one challenge because electron excitation and transfer is a very fast process—fractions of a fraction of a nanosecond, or, to put it precisely, on the order of pico- (10-12) to nano-seconds (10-9)—and spin is even harder to measure, requiring low temperatures, magnetic fields and higher precision instruments.

That is where scientists at Brookhaven have a very important role. They design, build and acquire such “ultrafast” instruments that allow researchers to measure these processes. “We will be collaborating closely with experts there,” says Maye.

This project will provide research opportunities for ��ϲ�� students in materials chemistry, lithography and quantum computing.

“I’m excited to train our undergraduate students and graduate trainees to not only use our chemistry to design and make these new Qdots, but also travel with them to Brookhaven to do their own state of the art measurements.” says Maye.

Story by John H. Tibbetts

Physics Professor Craig Cahillane Wins 2024 ARPA-E IGNIITE Award

Dan Bernardi — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 17:28:55 +0000

, assistant professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named an (IGNIITE 2024) award recipient. As one of only 23 winners across the country, Cahillane receives $500,000 in funding to support his work with fusion energy optimization. In total, approximately $11.5 million was distributed to early-career scientists and engineers through the IGNIITE 2024 program.

IGNIITE is led by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which promotes and funds research and development of advanced energy technologies to ensure that the U.S. maintains its technological leadership in those areas. The prize will support Cahillane’s project, “Ultra-High Power Photoneutralization Cavity for Neutral Beam Injection in Fusion Reactors,” which has the potential to make fusion reactors nearly twice as efficient as current technology.

Physics professor Craig Cahillane accepting his IGNIITE award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. (photo courtesy of Mitch Soderberg)

Perhaps the most common example of nuclear fusion happens on Earth’s Sun. The Sun generates its energy when its hydrogen atoms are heated so much that they speed up and collide violently. As a result, they fuse together to create helium atoms with the byproduct being the emission of massive amounts of energy. If scientists could develop a steady and reliable way to produce similar fusion power on Earth, it could present a commercially viable energy source.

Researchers are currently working to harness prolonged nuclear fusion in the lab. To do this, it is necessary to generate and sustain plasmas, which are produced when gases are heated such that their electrons become freed from their atomic nuclei. In this state, scientists can stimulate ions so they smash into one another, fuse and release energy. But because plasmas are so unstable, researchers must develop methods to contain them.

The Sun’s plasma is held together by gravity and pressure. On Earth, scientists use processes such as magnetic confinement to control and manipulate plasmas in the lab. Any fusion device must generate more heat than it loses to become self-sustaining. Energy is readily lost via plasma loss and X-rays expelled by the super-heated plasma. One popular way of reheating and refueling the reactor is photoneutralization.

With the IGNIITE grant, Cahillane and his team will be working to demonstrate how ultra-high power laser technology can enable a large-scale commercial fusion reactor. They will work to develop a photoneutralization cavity prototype that has the capacity to improve the efficiency of magnetic-confinement fusion reactors.

Craig Cahillane

“Neutralization is important for fusion reactors because you need to somehow reheat and refuel your reactor,” says Cahillane. “One popular method is neutral beam injection, which is useful because the neutral beam can be made of reactor fuel. This recombines with the fusion plasma inside the reactor, dumping a lot of energy into the reactor to keep the fusion plasma hot.”

This project could mark an important first as no one to their knowledge has pushed a small cavity to such extreme power levels before.

“The photoneutralization cavity, if successful, could replace gas-cell based neutralization, making the entire reactor much more efficient overall, eliminating a huge drain on the energetics of a commercial fusion reactor,” Cahillane says.

Learn more about the award and Cahillane’s research on the and discover more about .

Registration Open for Fall 2024 NSF I-Corps Innovation Course

Cristina Hatem — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 15:10:14 +0000

The University will host a free, virtual U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) regional course this fall 2024, from Aug. 30 to Oct. 2. .

The program is for university-based science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) researchers and early-stage startup founders who are interested in exploring the market potential of their work and learning entrepreneurial skills. Participants will learn to apply discovery methodology to help translate technology innovation from the lab into a successful product and/or service through a better understanding of how to achieve product-market fit.

The monthlong virtual course is offered through the University as a partner in the , funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), led by Cornell University, with other collaborators, including Dartmouth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of Vermont and West Virginia University. The hub is part of the , connecting researchers, entrepreneurial communities and federal agencies to help commercialize research.

Course Overview

This virtual course combines self-directed online learning activities, with six Zoom-based class meetings (one to two hours long) and one-on-one instructor check-ins. The course is technology-agnostic, and any sufficiently developed (i.e., beyond ideation) tech innovation team is welcome to apply.

In the first half of the course, teams learn how to identify target customer segments, develop hypotheses about the value proposition offered to each customer segment and effectively interview potential customers about their problems/needs. In the second half of the course, teams will conduct customer discovery and join personalized calls with instructors to share progress and receive coaching. In the final class, teams present their findings, receive additional coaching, learn about other local entrepreneurship programs and receive information about applying for the national I-Corps Teams program and Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants.

Applicant Information

Successful applicants should have an early-state technology innovation, with either a prototype or some form of scientific validation. Teams of one to three people may apply. All team members are required to attend and participate fully in every course session and complete all coursework to be considered for NSF lineage and a nomination for the national I-Corps Team.

While all applicants are welcome, preference is given to those with University-affiliated technology (i.e., faculty working with the Office of Technology Transfer), as well as post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students who are commercializing research. Applications are also encouraged from researchers and early-stage founders engaged with other campuses as well as community incubators and accelerator programs.

Course Schedule

The program opens for precourse work on Friday, Aug. 30.
Session 1: Monday, Sept. 9, 1-3 p.m.
Session 2a: Wednesday, Sept. 11, individualized coaching
Session 2b: Friday, Sept. 13, 1-3 p.m.
Session 3: Monday, Sept. 16, 1-3 p.m.M
Session 4: Wednesday, September 18, individualized coaching
Session 5a: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 1-2 p.m.
Session 5b: Monday, Sept. 30, 1-3 p.m.
Session 6: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 1-3 p.m.

The programming is being co-led by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, strategic initiatives advisor, ��ϲ�� Libraries, who was founding director of the Blackstone LaunchPad; Jeff Fuchsberg, director, ��ϲ�� Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering (CASE); and Cristiano Bellavitis, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Both Hartsock and Fuchsberg led the ��ϲ�� Tech Garden before joining the University. NSF certified instructors will be teaching the course modules.

More information

Read more about ��ϲ��’s participation in the new NSF I-Corps Interior Northeast Region Hub (IN I-Corps) Consortium and its $15 million STEM innovation program. The new initiative aims to create a cohesive innovation ecosystem through inclusive models of education and workforce training designed to catalyze innovation in economically underserved areas.

Partners in the University’s NSF I-Corps programming are resource providers across campus, including the Office of Research, Office of Technology Transfer, ��ϲ�� Libraries, the College of Law’s Innovation Law Center, the College of Engineering and Computer Science and its Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering, and the Whitman School of Management.

For more information about the upcoming NSF I-Corps course, contact Linda Dickerson Hartsock, Ldhart01@syr.edu; Jeff Fuchsberg, Jrfuchsb@syr.edu; or Cristiano Bellavitis, crbellav@syr.edu.

Graduate Student Pardha Sourya Nayani Receives IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Fellowship Award

Kwami Maranga — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:12:32 +0000

Pardha Sourya Nayani

Pardha Sourya Nayani G’28, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), has received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Fellowship Award. The award is for his research on “Unleashing Bandwidth: Passive Highly Dispersive Matching Network Enabling Broadband Absorbers with Record-High Bandwidth-to-Thickness Ratio.”

The AP-S Fellowship Program aims to support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows worldwide interested in antenna analysis, design, development and other research areas related to AP-S.

Nayani joined EECS Professor Younes Radi’s research group in the Radiation Laboratory in the summer of 2023. “I am deeply honored to receive this award and look forward to making significant contributions in the field of electromagnetics and microwave engineering,” Nayani says.

“As a faculty member at ��ϲ�� and the prior institutions I have been involved with, I have had the opportunity to see and work with many talented students and researchers,” says Radi. “Rarely have I had the opportunity to work with a student as passionate, talente, and hardworking as Pardha. I am happy and proud that IEEE awarded him this prestigious fellowship.”

Scientists Untangle Interactions Between Earth’s Early Life Forms, Environment Over 500M Years

News Staff — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 21:53:46 +0000

The atmosphere, the ocean and life on Earth interacted over the past 500-plus million years in ways that improved conditions for early organisms to thrive. Now, an interdisciplinary team of scientists has produced a perspective article of this co-evolutionary history published in multidisciplinary open-access journal (Oxford University Press, Impact Factor 20.7).

“One of our tasks was to summarize the most important discoveries about carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere and ocean over the past 500 million years,” says , Thonis Family Professor: Low-Temperature Geochemistry and Earth System Evolution in the College of Arts and Sciences and lead author on the paper. “We reviewed how those physical changes affected the evolution of life in the ocean. But it’s a two-way street. The evolution of life also impacted the chemical environment. It is not a trivial task to understand how to build a habitable Earth over long time scales”

AI-generated image of ancient phytoplankton in oxygen-rich seawater

The team from ��ϲ��, Oxford University and Stanford University explored the intricate feedbacks among ancient life forms, including plants and animals, and the chemical environment in the current Phanerozoic Eon, which began approximately 540 million years ago.

At the start of the Phanerozoic, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were high, and oxygen levels were low. Such a condition would be difficult for many modern organisms to thrive. But ocean algae changed that. They absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, locked it into organic matter and produced oxygen through photosynthesis.

The ability of animals to live in an ocean environment was affected by oxygen levels. Lu is studying where and when ocean oxygen levels may have risen or fallen during the Phanerozoic using geochemical proxies and model simulations. Co-author , professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Stanford University, compares an ancient animal’s estimated metabolic requirements to places where it survived or disappeared in the fossil record.

As photosynthetic algae removed atmospheric carbon into sedimentary rocks to lower carbon dioxide and raise oxygen levels, the algae’s enzymes became less efficient in fixing carbon. Therefore, algae had to figure out more complicated ways of doing photosynthesis at lower carbon dioxide and higher oxygen levels. It accomplished this by creating internal compartments for photosynthesis with control over the chemistry.

“For algae, it is changes in the environmental ratio of O2/CO2 that seems to be key to driving improved photosynthetic efficiency,” says co-author , professor of geology at Oxford. “What is really intriguing is that these improvements in photosynthetic efficiency may have expanded the chemical envelope of habitability for many forms of life.”

Ancient photosynthesizers had to adapt to changes in the physical environment that they themselves had created, notes Lu. “The first part of the history of the Phanerozoic is increasing habitability for life, and then the second part is adaptation.”

If scientists want to further understand this interplay between life and the physical environment, as well as the drivers and limits on habitability, the authors suggest that mapping out the spatial patterns of ocean oxygen, biomarkers for photosynthesis and metabolic tolerance of animals shown in fossil records will be a key future research direction.

Story by John H. Tibbetts

STEM — ���ϲ�����

WiSE Hosts the 2025 Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony

Endowed Professorship Recognizes Impact of a Professor, Mentor and Advisor

Unwavering Support

Entrepreneurial and Philanthropic

Forecasting the Future With Fossils

Microfossils May Help Predict Future Changes

Coral Used as History Book of the Environment

A Passion for the Mystery of Paleontology

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Answers Embedded in Rock

Rewriting the Oxygen Timeline

What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?

University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy

Professor Bing Dong Named as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Physics Professor Honored for Efforts to Improve Learning, Retention

ECS Team Takes First Place in American Society of Civil Engineers Competition

Chloe Britton Naime Committed to Advocating for Improved Outcomes for Neurodivergent Individuals

Changing the Narrative

How ���ϲ����� Laid the Foundation for What’s Next

Graduating Research Quartet Synthesizes Long-Lasting Friendships Through Chemistry

How did you become passionate about this research?

What is your proudest moment/biggest lesson learned from the lab?

How will your graduate work advance your career ambitions?

Biologist Reveals New Insights Into Fish’s Unique Attachment Mechanism

Distinguished ECS Professor Pramod K. Varshney Establishes Endowed Faculty Fellowship

Earth Day Spotlight: The Science Behind Heat Pumps (Video)

Systems That Heat and Cool

Residence as a Living Lab

At the Intersection of Research and Innovation: Biomedical Engineer Luiza Owuor ’26 Prepares for Career as a Medical Scientist

What sparked your interest in biomedical engineering and the STEM field?

What are your career goals and ambitions?

What role has mentoring played in your development?

How has your time at ���ϲ����� helped fuel your development?

Exploring Artificial Intelligence Through Immersive Internships

ECS Professor and Students Win Best Electromagnetics Paper Award at Prestigious Conference

Magnetic Salad Dressing: Physicists Shake Up Emulsion Science

A Winning Edge in Health and Wellness

Making an Early Contribution

Finding Purpose at Pfizer

Swimming With the Funding ‘Sharks’

A Busy Schedule Paves the Way for Medical School

How ECS Alumna Carey Smith G’91 Became a Transformative Leader

Improving Quality of Life for Post-Stroke Patients

A&S Chemist Develops Ultrasensitive Molecular Force Sensors

Aerospace Engineering Student Tatiyyanah Nelums ’25 Joins Patti Grace Smith Fellowship

How Robotic Rehabilitation Devices Transform People’s Lives

Philanthropy That Brings Outside the Box Thinking to the Student Experience

In Memory of Renowned Chemical Engineering Alum Andreas Acrivos ’50

In the Return Phase of Life: Giving Back to the University That Launched His Career

Cultivating Talent

Building Future Engineers

Smart Cities Research @ SU Holds First Workshop

MakerSpace Helps Turn Creative Dreams Into Reality

Micron Day Offers Opportunity to Explore, Learn About Micron Technology and ���ϲ����� Collaboration

Alumni Contribute to Micron’s Mission

Fireside Chat on What’s Ahead

University and ANDRO Awarded Navy Contract for AI Spectrum Research

Student-Athlete Stays Ahead of the Game

University to Host Micron Day Feb. 25, Showcasing Innovation, Ongoing Partnerships and Career Paths for Students, Community

Highlights of the Day

What does Micron mean for Central New York and ���ϲ�����?

Describe the collaboration taking place between Micron and ���ϲ�����.

Forward-Looking Philanthropy Boosts Investment in the College of Engineering and Computer Science

New Ideas

Edge of Innovation

Automotive Engineering Course Focuses on Vehicle Design and Development

Biology Ph.D. Student Awarded Two Prestigious National Scholarships to Study Fungi’s Role in Forest Health

Diving Into an Immersive Experience With Gravitational Waves

About the Project

A Scotland-���ϲ����� Connection

Future Therapeutic Strategies May Depend on Creative Scientific Approaches Today

Research Distinction Awards Presented at BioInspired Symposium

NSF Grant in Biology Aims to Boost STEM Student Retention Through Hands-On Research

Tool to Enhance the Taste and Texture of Sourdough

A Flavor Profile Years in the Making

Testing Genetic Diversity

University Receives Department of Energy Funding for New Building Training and Assessment Center

‘Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future’ Exhibition Comes to ���ϲ�����

STEM — ��ϲ��

How ��ϲ�� Laid the Foundation for What’s Next

How has your time at ��ϲ�� helped fuel your development?

Micron Day Offers Opportunity to Explore, Learn About Micron Technology and ��ϲ�� Collaboration

What does Micron mean for Central New York and ��ϲ��?

Describe the collaboration taking place between Micron and ��ϲ��.

A Scotland-��ϲ�� Connection

‘Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future’ Exhibition Comes to ��ϲ��

��ϲ��CoE Awards Nearly $200K for 11 New Faculty Fellow Projects Supporting Research and Innovation