Stony Brook University

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook football got a pair of 100-yard receiving performances, but dropped a 45-14 decision to New Hampshire in its annual homecoming game at LaValle Stadium on Oct. 21.

Graduate student Casey Case finished 18-for-29 in the passing game for 255 yards and a touchdown, doing so without an interception. Redshirt freshman Jayce Freeman grabbed two catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, while classmate Anthony Johnson added nine grabs for 101 yards to lead the way in the pass-catching department for Stony Brook.

Redshirt junior Jadon Turner paced the Seawolves rushing attack with 32 yards on five carries, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Redshirt junior Roland Dempster added 24 yards and one touchdown on the afternoon.

On defense, redshirt senior De’Aundre Cruz led Stony Brook with 10 tackles, including nine solo stops. Redshirt freshman Willensky Nicolas added eight tackles, including seven solo stops, while graduate student Aidan Kaler also totaled eight tackles. Redshirt sophomore Rodney Faulk picked up 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack, totaling three tackles.

For New Hampshire, Max Brosmer completed 28-of-40 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns, each to different receivers. Dylan Laube led UNH with 42 rushing yards, and totaled 149 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on the game. Laube, Caleb Burke, Joey Corcoran, and Colby Ramshaw all caught a touchdown pass, with Corcoran leading the way with 76 receiving yards.

All told, New Hampshire held the total offense advantage, 470-363.

The team will head on the road to face Villanova on Oct. 28, with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. on FloSports. 

Goalie Edmund Kaiser makes a save during last Friday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook men’s soccer fell, 2-0, to Monmouth University on a rain-soaked Friday afternoon, Oct. 20, at LaValle Stadium. The loss moved the Seawolves into a tie for first place in the CAA with the Hawks entering the final week of the regular season.

Stony Brook kept Monmouth off the scoreboard in the first half before giving up two second-half goals. The Hawks enjoyed the majority of scoring chances in the first 45 minutes, finishing the first half with a 10-4 edge in shots and forcing Edmond Kaiser to turn away four potential scoring chances. The Hawks also saw a shot in the final minute of the half ring off the crossbar.

Monmouth broke through early on in the second half, converting on a set piece. Olle Brorsson headed home the first goal of the match after two of his teammates connected to head passes his way at the near post.

After Kaiser made a spectacular save on a would-be goal by Zakowski, it was again Brorsson who got the best of Kaiser. This time it was on a corner fed in by Erik Reis that found Brorsson’s head and eventually the back of the net to double the Hawks’ lead in the 55th minute.

The Seawolves totaled 12 shots in the loss, with three of them on goal. Despite ending the second half with an 8-5 edge in shots, Stony Brook was ultimately outshot 15-12 and 7-3 in shots on goal. 

“I thought it was a competitive game; these games at the end of the season, there’s a lot on the line. Ultimately, it came down to set pieces,” head coach Ryan Anatol noted postgame. “I don’t think we did a good enough job of defending them. We’ve got to do a little bit better to get the result.”

The team closed out its non-conference slate with its home finale on October 24 against the Lafayette Leopords. It was also the Seawolves’ senior night where graduating seniors Olsen Aluc, Iker Alvarado, Bas Beckhoven, Wilber Gomez, Trevor Harrison, Selcuk Kahveci, Sean Towey, Johan Velez and Carlos Zabarburu were honored. Results of the game were not available as of press time.

The Emerson String Quartet performed its final concert at the Staller Center for the Arts to a packed house on October 14, signaling the end of the quartet’s nearly 25-year-long history as Artists in Residence at Stony Brook University. They were rewarded with four standing ovations from the sold-out 1,000-member audience.

The program featured Beethoven String Quartet in Bb Major and Schubert String Quintet in C Major. Special guest and former Emerson cellist David Finckel joined the ensemble — including cellist Paul Watkins, Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer on violin, and Larry Dutton on viola — for the Schubert piece.

Following the concert, a reception for the group and honored guests was held in the Zuccaire Gallery, with remarks from Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis; Alan Inkles, director of the Staller Center for the Arts; former Provost Robert McGrath; Gilbert Kalish, professor in the Department of Music; Judith Lochhead, professor and former chair of the Department of Music; and Christina Dahl, chair of the Department of Music.

McGrath, Kalish and Lochhead, along with former Stony Brook President Shirley Strum Kenny, were instrumental in bringing the group to campus as Artists in Residence.

Following the remarks, Inkles awarded the group members with trophies in recognition of their years performing as a group in the Staller Center. Despite a busy touring schedule over the past two decades, the group members have always made time to serve on faculty committees and to be available for music students.

Dahl described to the group a recent faculty meeting in which Setzer participated in a faculty meeting on a Sunday evening while he was on tour in Milan, where the time was 12:30 am.

 “T​​hey come to faculty meetings, serve as lecturers and advisors and sit on dissertation committees,” Dahl said. “The rest of the world sits in on their concerts, but one of the most remarkable things about their long association with the department is that they never stood on ceremony, or acted as if they deserve special consideration.”

President McInnis looked toward the future with the group members as they continue to serve as faculty within the Department of Music. 

“Through the Emerson String Quartet Institute in the Department of Music, group members Eugene Drucker, Lawrence Dutton, Philip Setzer and Paul Watkins, along with the quartet’s ex-cellist, David Finckel, will remain at Stony Brook to coach and mentor student string quartets,” she said.

President McInnis continued, “It was such an honor to be in the audience to celebrate the Emerson String Quartet’s nearly 22-year-long history as Artists in Residence at Stony Brook University and the Grand Finale Concert of what has been nearly 100 sold-out concerts held in the Staller Center on our campus. While it is bittersweet to join together for the final farewell Staller Center concert for the Quartet, we are grateful they will remain as colleagues in Stony Brook’s Department of Music where they will uphold their legacy, sharing their gifts with our students in the Emerson String Quartet Institute.”

The free event will be held on Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, Theater Two, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook.

By Daniel Dunaief

Want to hear characters from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein discussing artificial intelligence? Or, perhaps, get an inside look at an interaction between a scientist studying penguins and a potential donor? Maybe you’d like something more abstract, like a thought piece on aspects of memory?

You can get all three at an upcoming Science on Stage performance of three one-act plays written by award-winning playwrights that feature the themes of cutting edge research from Stony Brook University.

Ken Weitzman Photo courtesy of SBU

On October 30th at 4 p.m. at Staller Center for the Arts’ Theater Two, which holds up to 130 people, professional actors will read three 10-minute scripts. Directed by Jackson Gay, topics will include research about artificial intelligence, climate change in Antarctica and collective memory. Audience members can then listen to a discussion hosted by Program Founder and Associate Professor of Theater Ken Weitzman that includes the scientists and the playwrights. The event is free and open to the public.

Funded by a grant from the Office of the Provost at Stony Brook University and supported by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, the performances are an “amuse-bouche,” or an appetizer, about some of the diverse and compelling science that occurs at Stony Brook University, said Weitzman. 

“The hope is that [the plays] generate interest and get people to want to ask the next question or that [the plays] stick with audience members emotionally or intellectually and makes them want to discover more.”

The upcoming performance features the writing of two-time Tony Award winning playwright Greg Kotis, who wrote Urinetown; Michele Lowe, whose first play made it to Broadway and around the world; and Rogelio Martinez, whose plays have been produced around the U.S. and internationally.

The short plays will feature the scientific work of Nilanjan Chakraborty, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Heather Lynch, Professor of Ecology and Evolution, and Suparna Rajaram, Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science in the Psychology Department.

“It’s a good example of what we are doing and the opportunities for us as we continue to put funding in the arts and the humanities and also in the intersection of that from an interdisciplinary perspective,” said Carl Lejuez, Stony Brook Provost, in an interview. This kind of collaborative effort works best “when it’s truly bi-directional. Both sides benefit.”

Lejuez credits President Maurie McInnis with setting the tone about the importance of learning the humanities and the sciences. Lejuez said McInnis talks during her convocation speech about how she had intended to become a physician when she attended college, but took an art history course that was part of a general education curriculum that changed her life. The sixth president of Stony Brook, McInnis earned her PhD in the History of Art from Yale University.

Lejuez highlighted a number of interdisciplinary efforts at Stony Brook University. Stephanie Dinkins, Professor in the Department of Art, bridges visual art and Artificial Intelligence. She has focused her work on addressing the shortcomings of AI in understanding and depicting black women.

The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics has an arts and culture program, while the Collaborative for the Earth has faculty from numerous disciplines. They are starting a new Tiger Teams to develop key areas of study and will offer seed funding for interdisciplinary work to tackle climate change.

Lejuez plans to attend Science on Stage on October 30th.

“I feel an almost desperation to learn as much as I can about all the aspects of the university,” he said. Not only is he there to “show respect for the work and give it gravitas, but it’s the only way [he and others] can do [their job] of representing and supporting faculty and staff” in science and the humanities.

An enjoyable experience

The participants in Science on Stage appreciate the opportunity to collaborate outside their typical working world.

Heather Lynch, who conducts research on penguins in Antarctica and worked with Lowe, described the experience as “immensely enjoyable” and suggested that the “arts can help scientists step out of their own comfort zone to think about where their own work fits into society at large.”

Lynch explained that while the specific conversation in the play is fictionalized, the story reflects “my aggregate angst about our Antarctic field work and, in that sense, is probably more literally true than any conversation or interaction with any real life traveling guest.”

Lynch believes the play on her work is thought provoking. “Science is a tool, what matters is what you do” with that science, she said.

Lynch was thrilled to work with someone new and believes Lowe probably learned about Antarctica and the challenges it faces.

Bringing talent together

The first iteration of Science on Stage occurred in 2020 and was available remotely in the midst of the pandemic. Weitzman had reached out to scientists at Stony Brook to see who might be willing to partner up with playwrights.

He  is eager to share the diverse combination of topics in a live setting from this year’s trio of scientists. “I did some nudging to make sure there were a variety” of grand challenge topics, he said.

Weitzman explained that bringing the humanities and arts together in such an effort generated considerable enthusiasm. “There’s such incredible research being done here,” he said. “I want to engage for this community.”

He hopes such a performance can intrigue people at Stony Brook or in the broader community about science, theater writing or science communication.

While the plays are each 10 minutes long and include actors reading scripts, Weitzman said the experience would feel like it’s being performed and not read, particularly because professional actors are participating. 

He also hopes one or more of the playwrights sees this interaction as an opportunity to create a longer piece.

“I would love it if [this experience] encourages a playwright to think it justifies a full length” script, Weitzman said.

Lynch wrote a pilot screenplay herself called “Forecast Horizon” that she describes as an intellectual exercise. If Netflix calls, however, she’s “definitely interested in having it live on,” she said. Writing the screenplay gave her a “better appreciation for how much more similar science is to the arts than I would have thought. Both involve solving puzzles.”

As for future funding, Lejuez suggested that the University was still figuring out how to allocate available funds for next year and in future years.

He would like to see how this first time in person goes. Depending on the interest and enthusiasm, he could envision a regular source of funds to support such future similar collaborations.

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Some of the ways SBU combines arts and humanities with science

By Daniel Dunaief

The southern flagship State University of New York facility, Stony Brook University seeks ways to bring the best from the arts and humanities together with science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Provost Carl Lejuez. Photo from SBU

Indeed, the school provides a home for the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, where researchers tap into famed actor Alda’s improvisational acting skills, among other techniques, to connect with their audiences and share their cutting-edge work and discoveries.

In addition to the October 30th Science on Stage production at Staller Theater 2, Provost Carl Lejuez recently highlighted numerous additional interdisciplinary efforts.

This past spring, the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics presented artwork by Professor of Mathematics Moira Chas. Chas created artwork that combines yarn and wire, clot and zippers to illustrate mathematical objects, questions or theorems.

The Office of the Provost has also provided several grants to support interdisciplinary work. This includes two $25,000 grants that promote the development of new research teams to explore interdisciplinary areas of scholarly work and address challenges such as Digital Futures/ Ethical Artificial Intelligence, Sustainability, Critical health Studies/ Health Disparities, Global Migration, and other areas.

Additionally, the Collaborative for the Earth brings together faculty from the arts, humanities and social sciences with behavioral science and STEM faculty. The university is starting a new Tiger Teams that will develop key areas of study and offer seed funding to tackle climate change. The funding will explore ways to create solutions that policy makers and the public can adopt, as well as ways to address disparities in the impact of climate change and ways to support people who are disproportionately affected by this threat.

SBU added interdisciplinary faculty. Susannah Glickman, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, has interests such as computing, political economy, 20th century US and world history and the history of science.

Matthew Salzano, IDEA Fellow in Ethical AI, Information Systems and Data Science and Literacy, meanwhile, has a joint appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Communication. He studies rhetoric and digital culture, emphasizing how digital technology, including artificial intelligence, impacts and interacts with social justice.

Through course work, members of the university community can also address interdisciplinary questions. Associate Professor in the Department of Art Karen Lloyd teaches an Art and Medicine course, while  Adjunct Lecturer Patricia Maudies, also in the Art Department, teaches Art + The Brain. Both of these courses bring in guest lecturers from STEM and medicine.

Stony Brook also hosts centers aimed at interdisciplinary research, such as the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS).

One of the current goals and objectives of the IACS strategic plan is to advance the intellectual foundations of computation and data, with high-impact applications in engineering, in the physical, environmental, life, health and social sciences, and in the arts and humanities.

Derek Teaney. Photo by Sebastian Grieninger/SBU

The American Physical Society (APS) has announced that Derek Teaney, Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, is among the organization’s 2023 Fellows. This distinction recognizes Professor Teaney as a leading physicist whose research and service as an educator have helped advance the frontiers of science and technology.

Professor Teaney’s research involves Quantum Chromodynamics, which describes the nearly massless particles called quarks and gluons that exist within the nucleus of every atom. When nuclei are crashed into each other at high speeds, these particles form an extremely hot and dense state of matter known as quark-gluon plasma, which existed a microsecond after the big bang. ProfessorTeaney’s work has helped elucidate these collisions, painting a more complete picture of the quark-gluon plasma in the very early universe.

“I am exceptionally delighted that Professor Teaney has been recognized with this distinct honor by the American Physical Society, which is made to no more than one-half of one percent of the Society’s membership each year,” said Chang Kee Jung, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Besides his outstanding contributions to nuclear physics, Professor Teaney is a dedicated and caring educator. He is also a reliable member of the department who is always willing to serve the university. We are fortunate to have him.”

With a BS from Yale University and a PhD from Stony Brook, Professor Teaney joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 2007 as a RIKEN Fellow. Since then, he has received multiple accolades including an Outstanding Junior Investigator award and a Sloan Fellowship.

The APS has named an annual cohort of fellows since 1921, and Professor Teaney joins a long list of Stony Brook professors who have earned the title. He also joins his father, Dale Teaney, who became an APS Fellow in 1964. To see the full list of past and present honorees, visit the APS Fellows archive page.

Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis, right, enjoys a string performance during the CommUniversity Day event held Saturday, Oct. 14. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University
By Samantha Rutt

Stony Brook University showcased the many facets of its campus community during the CommUniversity Day event Saturday, Oct. 14.

Starting at noon, the event highlighted the campus through hands-on interactive activities, entertainment and thought-provoking mini-talks, as stated in the campus newsletter. The free event welcomed all members of the community, faculty and staff, friends and families.

Although rescheduled from its original date, the community response to the event was extolled by CommUniversity Day executive director Joan Dickinson.

“Despite weather delays and changing plans, CommUniversity Day 2023 was a wonderful event for visitors of all ages,” Dickinson said. “The response was amazing.”

Held in the uniquely designed university staple, the Charles B. Wang Center, CommUniversity Day featured “neighborhoods,” or stations, for community visitors to explore. Some attractions included Tech & Discovery Zone, The Arts and Kazoo-university, Find Out in 15, Rubber Duck Race, Health, Safety and Traditions.

“We had a couple of past favorites, such as the Teddy Bear Clinic and the Instrument Petting Zoo, as well as some new activities, such as the Tooth Fairy Story Time and the Appliance Autopsy,” Dickinson added. “CommUniversity Day is a great way to give the community an inside look into Stony Brook through hands-on learning.”

Several students displayed research projects on topics ranging from the arts to health care and medicine. Karen Kernan, director of programs for research and creative activity at SBU, expressed her excitement for the event.

“I have always enjoyed CommUniversity — it’s great to see families connecting with all the wonderful activities showcased, from the arts to the environment to health care and medicine,” she said. “The picture would not be complete without our wonderful student researchers. We’re so proud of the work they are doing.”

Also present at the event was Stony Brook’s Island Harvest Food Drive, encouraging all eventgoers to bring nonperishable food items to contribute to the cause and for a free cooler bag.

CommUniversity Day was introduced to the Stony Brook community in 2017, created to connect the campus cultures and the surrounding area, cultivating stronger ties. SBU plans to continue holding this event for years to come.

“It was an incredible day,” Dickinson said.

By Aidan Johnson

Over 150 people participated in the Stony Brook Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest 5K Run Sunday, Oct. 15.

The event, which saw clear skies and mild temperatures, raised money for the Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Mobile Mammography Van, which goes around to different communities to offer free breast cancer screenings.

“This year, we started our new pledge to Stony Brook Cancer Center, who sponsored the mammogram bus,” explained Debbie Van Doorne, president of Stony Brook Rotary. 

The fundraiser was timed well since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, followed by “Movember,” which raises awareness of breast cancer in men, Van Doorne added.

The Bench Bar & Grill on Route 25A in Stony Brook was the starting and finishing point. As runners returned, they were greeted with refreshments and live music by the band Alternate FRED.

 

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook University men’s cross country team took first place at the IC4A Championships on Oct. 13  at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Evan Brennan was the top performer for the Seawolves, finishing fourth individually to help lead Stony Brook to a team victory at the IC4A Championship.
 
Following Brennan, who paced the Seawolves individually with a 24:02.0 clocking, was Shane Henderson in ninth place. Henderson was Stony Brook’s only other runner inside the top ten, covering the 8K course in 24:09.4. Collin Gilstrap, fresh off an individual victory in the open portion of the Paul Short Run, raced to a 17th place finish with a time of 24:26.8.

Four more Seawolves finished in the top-50 of the field, led by Steven Struk in 25th place. Michael Fama came in at 28th, followed by Carlos Santos (41st) and Eben Bragg (48th). Michael Hawkes checked in at 73rd, rounding out Stony Brook’s top-100 finishers at Van Cortlandt Park.

“Real nice team effort by the guys today, it is always to nice to get a win,” head coach Andy Ronan said. “The real focus today was to race better than our last time out and I felt we did that. Now we need to recover well and get focused on the most important part of the season, the championship phase.”

NEXT UP
Following the cancelation of the CCSU Mini Meet, Stony Brook will shift its focus towards preparing to defend its title at the 2023 CAA Championships on Friday, Oct. 27..

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook football took a 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime, but Fordham scored 20 unanswered in the second half to take a 26-7 decision at LaValle Stadium on Oct. 14.

For the Seawolves, Casey Case finished with 243 yards through the air, tossing one touchdown and one interception. He completed 21-of-34 passes (61.8%) on the day. He tossed his touchdown to redshirt freshman Anthony Johnson, who led SBU with six catches for 87 yards. Redshirt junior Jayden Cook added 51 yards on three catches.

On the ground, redshirt junior Roland Dempster totaled 36 yards on 12 carries to lead Stony Brook.

Defensively, Stony Brook earned three sacks in total, with 1.5 coming from redshirt junior Davon Bomar. Bomar totaled 2.0 tackles and four for the game. Graduate student Aidan Kaler came up with 12 tackles, with seven of them solo in the contest. Three other Seawolves – graduate student Chayce Chalmers, redshirt junior Nick Chimienti and redshirt freshman Anthony Ferrelli each recorded eight.

For Fordham, C.J. Montes finished 20-of-33 passing for 171 yards, completing passes to seven different receivers, led by Garrett Cody with 55 yards. Julius Loughridge ran for 154 yards on 24 carries, including a 49-yard run in the first quarter.

Stony Brook held a 243-171 advantage in passing yards, but Fordham out-gained the Seawolves on the ground, 215-27.

The team will play its annual Homecoming game on Oct. 21 against New Hampshire at LaValle Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. 

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook tennis finished up its fall season at the Hofstra Invite from Oct. 13 to 15, highlighting its weekend by winning 6-of-8 singles matches on the final day to complete its weekend at the Hofstra University Tennis Courts.

The Seawolves finished 10-5 overall in singles play while also winning three doubles matches during the weekend. Freshman Mia Palladino and sophomore Debby Mastrodima each won both of their singles matches, while the duo of Chandrika Joshi and Darian Perfiliev combined to win both of its doubles matches for the weekend. 

All nine players that competed this past weekend picked up at least one win, with seven doing so in singles. Palladino finished with seven singles wins for the fall season for SBU, winning at least one in each competition. 

“We fought hard, but missed some opportunities in both doubles and singles on day one. However, on the second day of the event, we stepped up and were able to collect some good wins in doubles and carry on the momentum into singles,” said head coach Thiago Dualiby.