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Stony Brook University

An illustration of high-velocity clouds composed of molecular gas inflowing from outside the galaxy. Created with ChatGPT/DALL·E

Discovery of inflowing molecular gases from outside the galaxy that help to form stars detailed in The Astrophysical Journal

A new result from the molecular gas survey in the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy M83 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Telescope reveals a discovery of 10 high-velocity clouds composed of molecular gas, moving at velocities significantly different from M83’s overall rotation, an indication that the influx of these gases – which help to form stars – are from outside the galaxy.

This survey is led by Jin Koda, Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University, who collaborated with Maki Nagata and Fumi Egusa, of the University of Tokyo, as well as an international team of astrophysicists. Their findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Galaxies are primarily composed of stars and gas, with gas serving as the material for forming new stars. Through this process of star formation, galaxiesevolve by converting gas into stars. It is estimated that without a supply of gas from external sources, the existing gas in a galaxy would be consumed within about one billion years and star formation would cease. The team’s finding on the molecular composition of M83 provides new insight into how galaxies may evolve over millions and billions of years.

Professor Koda’s team is conducting a comprehensive study of molecular gas using new data from ALMA about M83.

“This galaxy resembles our own Milky Way, therefore findings there may also provide clues into star formation and galaxy evolution in the Milky Way,” says Koda.

“We analyzed high-sensitivity molecular gas emission line data obtained by ALMA. This led to the discovery of the 10 high-velocity clouds composed, unusually, of molecular gas,” explains Nagata, a graduate student at the University of Tokyo.

“Most of these clouds do not correspond to any known supernova remnants in M83,” adds Koda.

Egusa, Associate Professor in the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo, suggests two main scenarios for the existence of these molecular gas clouds present in M83. One is that they are gas clouds directly accreted from outside the galaxy, and the other is that they are gas ejected by supernova explosions within the galaxy that later fall back due to gravity.

“Even if they were accelerated by supernova explosions, their kinetic energies are too high to be explained by a single event,” Koda points out.

“These features strongly suggest that many of the observed high-velocity clouds must be flowing into M83 from external sources,” Nagata explains.

According to the authors, this study provides the first systematic investigation of high-velocity molecular clouds in nearby galaxies.

They will continue this research and investigate how the molecular gas forms outside the galaxy.

The research is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF grant numbers 2006600 and 2406608.

 

The festival opens with 'The Ties That Bind Us.'

Stony Brook University’s Staller Center  for the Arts turns into a movie lover’s mecca when new independent films screen at the Stony Brook Film Festival on evenings from Thursday, July 17 to Saturday, July 26. The popular festival, now in its 30th year, will become a hub for some of the best filmmakers working today, a meeting ground for favorite actors and rising stars, and a showcase of new masterpieces as it pairs memorable short films with an array of features you won’t see anywhere else.

This year’s festival will showcase 36 films from 19 countries and kicks off with the East Coast Premiere of The Ties That Bind Us, a beautiful, surprisingly realistic film in which a set-in-her-ways 50-something single woman finds herself in a slowly shifting relationship with two children who live in her apartment building. This intimate, poignant, and ultimately joyous film wrestles with the question of what defines family.

The examination of the strength and limits of family continues through many of the films at this year’s festival, including the action-drama Way Home, that features a father struggling to bring his radicalized son back home from war-torn Syria; the challenging and inspiring drama Nawi, in which a young Kenyan teenage girl’s dreams of attending High School are jeopardized by her father’s plans to marry her off; the hilarious Mazel Tov, where a quick-talking, neurotic man who has been estranged from his siblings, returns to Argentina to mend his broken relationships — if he could only keep his big mouth shut; and a thought-provoking and gorgeous reverie from India called The Umesh Chronicles, that follows a woman from a privileged background considering the very different life of the servant-boy that grew up with her.

Finn Wittrock gives a finely layered portrayal of a filmmaker plagued by his past in the offbeat and witty Long Island-based feature Westhampton, a beautifully shot tale of forgiveness and acceptance by Long Island native Christian Nilsson. 

Shot on location at his grandfather’s scenic ranch near the border of Mexico, JT Walker’s epic La Gloria stars David Morse as an aged rancher struggling to earn the trust of an immigrant woman he accidentally wounded.  

Director Joel Alfonso Vargas has created a work of art that harkens back to the 70’s heyday of independent cinema with Mad Bills to Pay: (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), a film that explores the struggles of a 19-year-old man-child navigating his new responsibilities after bringing his pregnant girlfriend to live with his family in the Bronx.

The pleasing aroma of new culinary discoveries permeates two of the festival’s independent features. In the beautiful period drama Mistura, a privileged French-Peruvian woman embarks on a daring culinary venture with the very people she had been raised to disregard. At the same time, in the uplifting documentary Ali Eats America, a teenage cancer patient plots a map with his mother of all the restaurants he wants to visit across the country.

Other can’t miss films include the wildly unique Animale featuring SBFF favorite Oulaya Amamra of Divertimento and Hard Shell, Soft Shell. In this western/horror/mystery from the South of France, a bull-racer notices disturbing changes occurring around her following an injury. Music fans will surely enjoy the surprisingly light-hearted biopic Midas Man about Beatles manager Brian Epstein. 

And everyone should put closing night on their calendar, as the SBFF  feature the American premiere from Spain with Gala Gracia’s first feature film, The Remnants of You. This masterfully subtle film follows a woman putting her career as a jazz pianist on hold following the sudden death of her father, which showcases an evocative solo piano score by Filipe Raposo.

The Festival is more than a cinematic event—it’s a cultural experience. Two feature films each evening,—each preceded by a short film—are shown on the Center’s 40-foot screen, often followed by intimate Q&As with the filmmakers, cast, and crew.

“We are very excited to have filmmakers from all over the world join us for their premiere screenings. Our audiences can gather in a huge theater with Long Island’s largest screen, to see movies the way they were meant to be seen,” says SBFF & Staller Center Director, Alan Inkles

The Stony Brook Film Festival is presented by Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University with support from Suffolk County, Campolo, Middleton, & McCormick, LLP, Strata Alliance, News 12, and WLIW. 

Film Festival line-up

OPENING NIGHT

Thursday, July 17 at 7 p.m.

Short: Hearts of Stone

Feature: The Ties that Bind Us

Friday, July 18 at 7 p.m.

Short: Resaca

Feature: Mistura

Friday, July 18 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: Quick Fix

Feature: Way Home

Saturday, July 19 at 7 p.m.

Short: A Guest in My Country

Feature: Westhampton

Saturday, July 19 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: We Do Our Best

Feature: Long Story Short

Sunday, July 20 at 7 p.m.

Short: Blackmoll

Feature: Never Alone

Sunday, July 20 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: We Buy Houses

Feature: La Gloria

Monday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

Short: Miracle

Feature: Nawi

Monday, July 21 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: The Traveler’s Prayer

Feature: Real Estate

Tuesday, July 22 at 7 p.m.

Short: My Name is Dania

Feature: Mazel Tov

Tuesday, July 22 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: Chatter

Feature: Midas Man

Wednesday, July 23 at 7 p.m.

Short: Ebb & Flow

Feature: Ali Eats America

Wednesday, July 23 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: Crab Claw

Feature: A World Apart

Thursday, July 24 at 7 p.m.

Short: 3 Minutos

Feature: The Umesh Chronicles

Thursday, July 24 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: Wait to Tell Mother

Feature: Animale

Friday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

Short: Baquine Friends Forever

Feature: Mad Bills to Pay

Friday, July 25 at 9:30 p.m.

Short: Sweet Cesspool

Feature: Uncle Vanya – Bubble Waltz

CLOSING NIGHT

Saturday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

Short: Place Under the Sun

Feature: The Remnants of You

CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS

9:30 p.m. Presented on stage.

Ticket information 

All screenings are held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook in the 1,000-seat Main Stage theater. 

Stony Brook Film Festival pass options include a VIP Gold Pass for $250 and a Regular Pass for $100, granting access to all ten days of the festival, and the Flex Pass for $75. Individual tickets — $15 adults, $13.50 seniors —  are also available after July 1. 

The Gold Pass includes VIP access to Opening and Closing Night parties, which include hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and a chance to mingle with filmmakers and festival goers alike. The Opening Night party will be hosted at Elaine’s Restaurant and Bar in East Setauket immediately following the Opening Night Feature film Q&A. This year’s Closing Night party will be at Curry Club at SaGhar in Port Jefferson Village. 

This, along with guaranteed seating in a VIP reserved area of the theatre with filmmakers and actors, first admittance to the theatre for all screenings, and an exclusive festival gift, makes the Gold Pass (which is the price of one premiere screening at Sundance) a fantastic value and the best way to enjoy the entire festival experience!

The Flex Pass is perfect for someone with a jam-packed summer, the Flex Pass grants access to any five days of the festival (excluding Closing Night). It is the perfect opportunity for film fest discovery with the added benefit of flexibility at an affordable price. 

All passholders receive guaranteed Priority Seating, Q&As with filmmakers, voting eligibility for the Audience Choice Awards, discounts at partner locations, and a festival gift. Each pass has added perks at different levels. Friends of Staller Members also get a reduced rate when using their Member discount at checkout.

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Tickets may be purchased at stonybrookfilmfestival.com/pass. For more information, call the box office at 631-632-2787 or visit www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com.

This article originally appeared in TBR News Media’s Summer Times Supplement on June 19.

Photo from Stony Brook University Hospital

For the estimated 1.6 million Americans diagnosed with symptomatic tricuspid valve regurgitation each year, a significant advancement in treatment is now available on Long Island. With the launch of the new Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement (TTVR) Program at the Stony Brook Heart Institute (SBHI), patients at Stony Brook Medicine have access to groundbreaking, minimally invasive therapies.

The heart has four valves — aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid — that control the direction of blood flow. In tricuspid regurgitation (TR), the tricuspid valve’s flaps do not close tightly, allowing blood to leak backward in the heart. Mild cases may cause no symptoms, but others suffer from fatigue, pulsing neck veins, fluid buildup in the abdomen and legs, and irregular, sometimes dangerous, heartbeats. If left untreated, individuals with severe TR can experience heart failure, blood clots, stroke and other organ damage.

In the hands of Stony Brook’s tricuspid valve specialists, the FDA-approved TriClip™ device offers a revolutionary treatment option. Performed under general anesthesia and guided by advanced imaging, the procedure involves placing a catheter through a vein to the heart, where the TriClip™ is precisely placed to bring valve flaps together, reducing backward blood flow. Because the procedure is minimally invasive and avoids open-heart surgery, most patients are up and walking within hours, discharged in one to two days, and back to their regular lives in about a week. Clinical trials published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that TriClip ™ placement resulted in 87% of patients experiencing a significant reduction in tricuspid regurgitation, compared to less than 5% with medication use alone.

Ahmad Alkhalil, MD, MSc, Director of the Mitral and Tricuspid Interventions at Stony Brook Heart Institute, who performed SBHI’s first TTVR procedure noted, “The tricuspid valve was formerly known as ‘the forgotten valve’ because surgical approaches were too risky and no other treatments were effective for the majority of patients. With our full range of minimally invasive therapies, including tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) and tricuspid transcatheter valve replacement (TTVR), we are proud to be a leader in providing new options for patients on Long Island.”

“We are proud to be at the forefront of bringing new treatment options for symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation,” says Allison McLarty, MD, Interim Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stony Brook Heart Institute and Professor of Surgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. “Our skilled and dedicated physicians are continuously exploring new and innovative approaches to improve outcomes and the patient experience of people with valve disease.”

“Effective treatment begins with a precise diagnosis. Patients at Stony Brook Heart Institute benefit from a full suite of advanced imaging technologies, including 3D transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (TTE and TEE), cardiac MRI, CT angiography, nuclear stress testing and carotid ultrasound. These tools allow SBHI’s specialists to map each patient’s unique valve anatomy and tailor treatment to their needs,” added Smadar Kort, MD, Co-Director of the Valve Program and the Director of Non-Invasive Imaging at Stony Brook Heart Institute. “With multiple advanced imaging and procedural locations across Suffolk County, including Stony Brook, Commack and Riverhead, the Heart Institute ensures patients receive top-tier care close to home.”

“At the core of Stony Brook Heart Institute’s TTVR program is a multidisciplinary team of interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, imaging specialists and advance practice practitioners who collaborate closely to ensure every patient receives seamless, compassionate care,” says Hal Skopicki, MD, PhD, Co-Director of Stony Brook Heart Institute and the Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Chair of Cardiology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. “As an academic medical center actively participating in national and international clinical trials, we provide patients with access to emerging valve devices and interventions not yet widely available — offering many the opportunity to avoid open-heart surgery and benefit from the most cutting-edge, patient-centered cardiovascular care available today.”

To contact the Stony Brook Heart Institute, call 631-44HEART or visit heart.stonybrookmedicine.edu

About Stony Brook Heart Institute:  

Stony Brook Heart Institute is located within Stony Brook University Hospital as part of Long Island’s premier university-based medical center. The Heart Institute offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The staff includes full-time and community-based, board-certified cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, as well as specially trained anesthesiologists, nurses, advanced practice practitioners, respiratory therapists, surgical technologists, perfusionists, and other support staff. Their combined expertise provides state-of-the-art interventional and surgical capabilities in 24-hour cardiac catheterization labs and surgical suites. And while the Heart Institute clinical staff offers the latest advances in medicine, its physician-scientists are also actively enhancing knowledge of the heart and blood vessels through basic biomedical studies and clinical research.

Dean Wrobel and graduating members of his Dean’s Student Leadership and Advisory Council at a recent celebration of CAS students, faculty and staff. Photo courtesy Conor Harrigan

By Daniel Dunaief

Stony Brook University’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences has his own summer homework.

In the next few months, David Wrobel plans to prepare for a meeting with Andrea Goldsmith, the incoming president of the university who will take over the reins on August 1st. 

“That’s my June and July job, to fully articulate everything we’re trying to accomplish in the college,” Wrobel said. That includes the college’s three core strategic goals.

These goals include fostering student success, supporting research and scholarly success and investing in infrastructure and facilities and expanding institutional resources.

Wrobel himself arrived at Stony Brook from the University of Oklahoma in August and has focused on several campus initiatives.

Within two weeks of his tenure, heavy August rains pummeled the Chemistry Building, causing extensive damage.

“Chemistry desperately needs a state of the art building to facilitate research and the massive number of introductory lab courses and lab instruction,” Wrobel said.

Wrobel has been working to pitch to SUNY the idea for a new building, which is a top priority for the university.

“There is good momentum for chemistry to get that support from the state,” he said.

The university could break ground on a new building that could be around 400,000 square feet within two to three years and the project could take another two to three years to construct.

The goal is to create a building that meets New York State building requirements in terms of energy efficiency.

“With a chemistry building of this kind, you have massive HVAC needs because of the nature of some of the labs,” Wrobel said. The building would have significant exhaust needs for fume hoods.

It could be challenging to make a chemistry building that is completely energy neutral, but the “goal is to get as close as possible,” he added.

Wrobel greatly appreciated the support of everyone involved in responding to the immediate needs of the department in the aftermath of the storm.

“The department, the faculty, the graduate students, the maintenance and facility staff have all been incredible” in reacting to the damage, Wrobel added. “We all know that that’s a massively important infrastructure need for the university on the science side.”

To be sure, Wrobel recognized that other disciplines, such as physics, math and life sciences could also use upgraded facilities as well.

Staller Center upgrades

On the arts and humanities side, the celebrated Staller Center, which is home to numerous well-attended campus performances, high profile lectures and annual events such as the Stony Brook Film Festival, is aging and needs a major overhaul.

The university is planning to redo the roof, windows, HVAC, lighting and ceilings.

These needs “have to be addressed for the building to work for the needs of our students, faculty, staff, and for the community members who visit the Staller Center for performances,” Wrobel explained in an email. “The current building is very much on the small side given the growth of the university since it was built.”

Wrobel wishes there were a new building project.

“If anyone would like to help Stony Brook finance an Arts Center to house its excellent departments and programs we would be thrilled,” he wrote in an email.

In the meantime, the university is looking to leverage state funding and donor support for the renovation and beautification of the building.The two major wings of the Staller Center would each empty out for a two year period.

That presents “massive logistical challenges,” he said.

The university will work on how to find places for the departments of music and art as well as with the theater itself, with a lineup of productions.

“This is a really important initiative that speaks to how much of the identity the arts have become at Stony Brook,” Wrobel said. “The institution’s reputation has been made in STEM areas. We have incredibly strong arts and music departments as well as our humanities.”

Part of the philanthropic solicitations could include offering the rights to name individual spaces or rooms after donors.

Fundraising

With Goldsmith starting her tenure as president in August, the campus community is well aware of the potential for a new fundraising campaign initiative aligned with the university’s ongoing needs and priorities.

Even before she arrives, however, donations have been increasing, including from current and former faculty and alumni who have joined other universities or entered the private sector.

In the last year, the university has received about 36 gifts that are for $100,000 or more.

“I think this will be one of the most successful years in fundraising,” Wrobel said.

Stepping up

Amid challenging times with federal funding for research, Stony Brook has lost some training grants that impacted post doctoral students and graduate students in chemistry and a few other core science departments.

A combined effort from Provost Carl Lejuez, Wrobel, VP for Research and Innovation Kevin Gardner and others helped ensure that those students who would have lost their positions can continue to work and contribute to the university.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure they are kept whole, with those training grants,” Wrobel said.

Amid concerns about future federal funding, the university remains committed to its varied departments.

He said he supports the arts and humanities, “just as I support sciences and social and behavioral sciences,” he said.

With 27 departments, a dozen centers, 13,000 students, and 600 faculty, the university has numerous levers it could pull to make a quick gain somewhere.

“You have got to be thinking about these things long term,” Wrobel said. “Our goal is to move up the rankings of the AAU. We’re already part of the most prestigious organization of American Universities. Our goal is not to stay a member. Our goal is to move up the rankings.”

In responding to requests from the Dean Student Leadership and Advisory Committee, Wrobel has worked to enhance the six floors of common spaces at the Social and Behavioral Sciences building.

Students wanted more spaces where they were comfortable working and where they could meet their social and studying needs.

Wrobel is hoping that the university can turn some “drab common spaces” into much more “user friendly and study friendly spaces” this summer. This is a $250,000 to $300,000 project that also involves some new flooring and electrical upgrades.

Additionally, Wrobel is eager to forge connections with students throughout the university. He has made personal calls to students who have won awards.

Despite the hardships that campuses across the nation have been facing amid fiunding pressure and a cavalcade of questions from political leaders, the university is in a “strong place,” said Wrobel. “It’s been a wonderful year for recruiting.”

As for his life on Long Island, Wrobel feels that the community has been incredibly friendly and welcoming, on campus and across local towns.

Lav Varshney and Nina Kshetry at their family's farm in Urbana, Illinois, which Varshney said has been inspirational for recent research on AI methods for predicting impacts of climate change on agriculture.

By Daniel Dunaief

Lav Varshney has made significant contributions to everything from public policy as a White House Fellow to generating  new recipes through the Chef Watson system he helped build at IBM to working at businesses he helped create.

Lav Varshney. Photo courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The inaugural director of the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Institute, or AI3, Varshney will arrive at Stony Brook University in August from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he has been a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Varshney “has an international profile” and is at the “center of what’s happening at a political and legislative level,” said SBU Provost Carl Lejuez in an interview.

Varshney’s mandate includes building research hubs, supporting mentorships and having an impact on the community as a part of Stony Brook’s downstate flagship status.

“There are a lot of ways where people at Stony Brook and in the community are going to be able to participate” in the use of artificial intelligence, said Lejuez. 

Among numerous other opportunities, Varshney, who will report to Lejuez, will work with Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Amy Cook to build on the ways the university is using AI in the curriculum.

“We’re supporting an infusion” of AI into classrooms, Lejuez continued.

At this point, AI3 is funded with $10 million over the first five years, with some additional financial support to build out his own research interests.

“Our funding is meant to be a seed over these five years,” said Lejuez. AI3 has a “real capacity to grow and bring in significant funding on its own.”

Stony Brook will also continue to benefit from its role in Empire AI, which is a combination of schools supported by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), with financial backing from the Simons Foundation. Empire AI involves a consortium of public and private institutions, including the University of Buffalo, Binghampton University and the University at Albany, among others. 

SBU appeal

Varshney believes Stony Brook’s growth and commitment to AI are on a “very upward trajectory,” he said. “There are a lot of interesting initiatives and the new institute will hopefully bring them together.”

He hopes to collaborate with members of the campus from medicine, the arts and sciences, engineering, business, and atmospheric sciences to develop AI-driven solutions that have a positive impact on society.

Lab Varshney with Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger in 2023.

Varshney explained that it’s clear AI is a general-purpose technology.

“We need to work to make sure it quickly diffuses to nearly all society/ industrial/ scholarly sectors to have appropriate impact,” he explained.

From his position on Long Island, where he will also continue to work with Brookhaven National Laboratory on projects including in quantum information science, Varshney plans to continue to work on AI policy and how to make it safe, secure, accessible and adaptable to people’s needs.

The new inaugural head of AI3 encourages members of the community to work with Stony Brook, engaging with the institute and faculty.

“One of the main goals of AI3 is to get AI out into the world where appropriate, so [I] would very much welcome the community and local industry to engage with AI3 so we can learn what could be helpful,” Varshney said.

He plans to listen to faculty, students and community members to learn what could be helpful.

Borrowing from ‘Ironman’

Varshney recognizes that most people struggle to wade through information overload.

“Rather than a scarcity of information, [people have] too much,” he said. “One of the things I’m hoping we can make progress on” is the use of an AI filter to find and share what’s relevant.

Generative AI, in which a computer system “learns” from patterns and combinations of information, can help. Borrowing from the computer helper in Marvel’s Ironman franchise, Varshney suggested a “Jarvis-like assistant that can give you the right information when you need it.”

Varshney recognizes that governments might use information filters to create surveillance or information manipulation.

Varied backgrounds

As an AI expert, Varshney has worked to support government efforts and initiatives, in a corporate setting and for academic institutions.

He contributed to the executive order on AI that President Joe Biden signed at the end of October 2023.

He also co-founded Kocree with former graduate student Haizi Yu. The company uses artificial intelligence to allow users to cut melodies, rhythms and arrangements from music to create novel pieces.

He used the platform to create music for his sister-in-law’s wedding that combined the backgrounds and interests of the two families.

Born in Syracuse, New York, Varshney traces his roots to India. His great, great grandfather on his mother’s side, Ishwar Varshnei left India in 1904 and studied for a year as a special student in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Varshnei took a boat from Japan, a train from San Francisco, traveled through St. Louis where he saw the World’s Fair, and ended up in Boston, where he was the second Indian to attend MIT. 

After Varshnei returned to India, he became involved in early efforts in glassmaking, applying the science he learned to society.

Also eager to contribute science to society, Varshney is moving from Illinois with his wife Nina Kshetry, whom he describes as “professionally more accomplished than I am.” Kshetry is the founder and president of Ensaras Inc., which specializes in advanced analytics and artificial intelligence solutions for optimizing wastewater plant operations. She is also the co-founder and VP of Circle H20, which is a company that builds waste-to-value and wastewater treatment plants.

Kshetry plans to engage with Stony Brook through the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem as well as with the Department of Civil Engineering/ School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Impressed with all the ways Varshney has deployed AI, Lejuez hopes to provide ongoing support for the new director’s many interests.

“When someone has proven that they can juggle a lot of things at once, I’m going to help continue to make sure they have what they need,” Lejuez said.

Barbara Palazzo taking the CatchU test.

By Daniel Dunaief

A significant concern for the elderly, falls create health problems that affect the quality of life and generate significant expense.

Stony Brook University’s Jeannette Mahoney, Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Division of Cognitive and Sensorimotor Aging in the Renaissance School of Medicine, has developed a smartphone app called CatchU that is designed to alert patients and their doctors to the potential likelihood of falls.

Jeannette Mahoney with her grandmother Jean Sisinni, who died from a fall and for whom she’s dedicated the work on CatchU.

The National Institute of Aging (NIA) recently named CatchU as one of 21 finalists out of 275 entrants around the country for its Start-Up Challenge. As a finalist, Mahoney received $10,000, recently participated in entrepreneurial training sessions, and is receiving one on one mentorship.

“Falls are a leading cause of injury and death for older adults, including persons living with Alzheimer’s Disease,” Joy Toliver, Program Analyst at the National Institute of Aging explained. CatchU is a “novel approach” that has the potential to “expand access to high-quality, comprehensive fall risk assessments and to improve the health and quality of life of older adults.”

If CatchU is chosen as one of seven winners in the next stage of the challenge, Mahoney, through her company JET Worldwide Enterprises, is also eligible to receive $65,000.

Previous participants in a challenge that is now in its third year have gone on to raise significant equity funding, secure multiple grants and form partnerships with health systems to expand the impact of their solutions, Toliver added.

An ‘honor’

“I’m super stoked — it’s really such an honor to be selected by members of the NIA that believe in you, your science and your product,” Mahoney said.

A photo of the CatchU app courtesy of JET Worldwide Enterprises Inc.

She plans to use the prize money she’s received so far to help with app enhancements, legal fees for review of new service agreements, and exclusive license obligations.

The app links impaired multisensory integration, in which people combine information from visual and other cues, with poor motor outcomes. Mahoney has been working in this field for about a decade. Through a 10-minute health app that monitors reaction time as a person is asked to respond as quickly as possible to targets they can see, feel or see and feel at the same time, CatchU provides a quantitative risk for falls.

Across the country, about three million older Americans require an Emergency Room visit each year as a result of fall-related injuries.

Closer to home, Suffolk County residents from 65 to 74 are hospitalized at the rate of 106 per 10,000, while those number increase with each decade. From 75 to 84, residents require hospitalization at a rate of 311 per 10,000. People in the county who are over 85 visit hospitals after falls at the rate of 821 per 10,000, according to the Suffolk County Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan.

For seniors over 75 years old in Suffolk County the hospitalization rate from falls exceeded that for the state exclusive of the city by more than 30 percent.

According to research Mahoney has done, older adults with poor multisensory integration are 24 percent more likely to fall than those with intact multisensory integration.

“We believe that results of the CatchU test will likely change over time for better or worse depending on levels of remediation,” she explained. “Our goal is to uncover what type of remediation (whether it is sensory, cognitive, or motor focused or some combination), and what duration/ frequency is most beneficial in subsequent clinical trials.”

Mahoney envisions using CatchU as a new standard of care for predicting fall propensity in adults 65 and over. Depending on performance, people could receive remote testing every six to 12 months.

Possible remediation

While people could download the app today, they wouldn’t be able to take the test without a provider code. Doctors would receive the results of their tests directly and could offer a range of recommended actions. This could include tai chi, physical therapy, core balance, strength training or other exercises.

Mahoney and her colleagues are running a clinical trial in Westchester County. The study attempts to determine whether integration measured on CatchU is comparable to integration measured on the lab apparatus. They submitted this research for publication.

The clinical trial also seeks to determine whether older adults with poor multisensory integration that receive feedback about their CatchU performance would go on to fall less often or have a longer time to fall compared to older adults with poor multisensory integration who did not receive any such specific feedback.

Alzheimer’s assessment

CatchU could provide beneficial information for people who might develop Alzheimer’s Disease.

From what Mahoney and her colleagues can tell, the same simple reaction time test taps into inter-related sensory, motor and cognitive neural circuits that are all affected by aging and/or disease.

Mahoney has shown that an ability to integrate sensory information is associated with higher amyloid burden, which is a known biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease.

“Our current R01 project work will help us uncover the exact structural and functional neural correlates of impaired multisensory integration, which may shed light on the specific outcome measures that are adversely affected by poor integration,” Mahoney explained.

A returning Seawolf

Mahoney rejoined Stony Brook University in October, over 22 years after she graduated from the downstate flagship SUNY school with a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology and Social Science. She described coming back to campus as a “surreal” experience and appreciates how her colleagues have been“super helpful and supportive.”

Mahoney lives in upstate Stony Point with her husband Timmy, their 14 year-old daughter Kayleigh and 10-year old son Peter.

Mahoney formed the company JET Worldwide Enterprises almost exactly five years ago. It is based in Stony Point and has two employees. The company name, JET, comes from a nickname for Mahoney’s first name. If she is able to secure future funding, she hopes to move JET to incubator space at Stony Brook.

The family enjoys playing board games, including Mahjong. Mahoney learned the tile game from her mother, who learned it from Mahoney’s grandmother Jean Sissini.

Mahoney has dedicated CatchU to her grandmother, who passed away in 2021 after suffering a fall. 

While Sissini is no longer with them, the family knows she is “always with us in spirit,” Mahoney said.

The Atlantic horseshoe crab. Public domain photo

By  Emily Mandracchia

In response to the alarming overharvesting and endangerment of horseshoe crabs on Long Island, conservationist John Turner of Seatuck is launching a groundbreaking fall project to create a lab-based, sustainable bait alternative — one he hopes will protect both marine life and local fishing livelihoods.

Horseshoe crabs are commonly used as bait for whelk, a carnivorous snail, and eel fishing; there are minimal measures currently in place to prevent over-harvesting. Long Island’s shore birds and migratory birds rely on horseshoe crab eggs for protein. Inhabiting as far north and south as Nova Scotia and Mexico, Horseshoe crab eggs are an essential food source for migrating shorebirds, fish and benthic (bottom-dwelling) species. Further, they are food sources for loggerhead sea turtles. Even sparrows feast upon their protein-rich eggs. 

Turner said these “very significant crabs”  linger on the sound’s floor, thereby increasing turbidity and stirring up a variety of food sources for other species. 

The consequences of horseshoe crab endangerment is not limited to our island’s coastal populations; they are most valuable to humans for their blood proteins which are extremely sensitive to bacteria, making them an effective reagent. 

The extracted compound, known as Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), acts as an indicator on screen-injected drugs and implanted biomedical devices for detecting gram-negative bacteria — Turner cites as a huge reason to thank these spider-legged creatures. Unfortunately, according to The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the mortality rate of these crabs, once released back into the wild, can surpass 30%. 

In terms of policy, Turner states that extremely small-scale measures may be decided by local jurisdiction. In the past, harvesting quotas have been instituted, reaching 150,000 crabs per year per location, as specified by the Department of Environmental Conservation.

But Turner says this is no solution, nor is it sustainable. 150,000 is a great number when considering how horseshoe crabs were exponentially more abundant in the past, especially because just one bird may rely upon hundreds out of a 4,000-egg nest to migrate — causing a ripple effect across the food chain. Humans are not exempt from the effects of wildlife endangerment.

Alongside the DEC, the Cornell Cooperative Extension and Stony Brook University, Turner’s project expected to launch this fall will craft lab-effective bait, which also must be cost and yield-dependent for fishers who participate in the trial.

Even still, stricter measures are necessary in keeping the horseshoe crab population abundant and thriving. Turner cited possible four five-day bans around new and full moons in May and June where harvesting is illegal so the crabs may spawn and disseminate uninterrupted, or total closings at certain locations. The DEC describes that sampling for taking population estimates would be conducted around these optimal moon phase and tide stage to indicate trends in horseshoe crab population.

Former closures have suggested that it takes between 8-10 years before changes in abundance of spawning-aged crabs are observed as a result of these management changes by the DEC, and an increase in adult horseshoe crab abundance is expected to begin in 2028.

State legislatures are still capable of vetoing these stricter conservation measures, as the  DEC’s overall goal is to improve the stock status of horseshoe crabs in the New York region over time while still maintaining use of the species, specifically “ecosystem services, commercial harvest and observation and appreciation.” 

Regardless, Turner remains cautiously optimistic as new, more serious regulatory policies for quotas or commercial banning still have a chance to be passed if conservation groups are persistent. 

Distinguished Professor Arie Kaufman demonstrating two applications in the FlexiCAVE. On the left is a protein volume (inner pivot ~10 degrees, outer pivot ~30 degrees), and on the right side is Submerse application – visualization for extreme weather flooding in urban environments (on a flat FlexiCAVE section). Photo from SBU

Technology Can Be Used in Multiple Areas Including Healthcare, Climate Change, Managing Natural Disasters, Architecture, Urban Planning and Drug Design

Stony Brook University’s Center for Visual Computing has completed construction of the FlexiCAVE—the world’s largest flexible, dynamically reconfigurable high-resolution stereo display facility. Housed on the first floor of the New Computer Science (NCS) building, the FlexiCAVE comprises 40 tiled, high-pixel-density monitors capable of rendering about 83 million pixels, all while physically transforming its shape to support a wide range of scientific and data-driven applications, improving  immersive visualization technology.

“We envisioned a display that would adapt to the data—not the other way around,” said Arie Kaufman, distinguished professor of Computer Science and the principal investigator behind the project. “With FlexiCAVE, we’re enabling researchers to literally shape their workspace to the needs of their analysis.”

Innovative Interaction and Applications

Unlike traditional static visualization walls or even curved displays, the FlexiCAVE is built on a modular architecture with rotatable display columns. The system can seamlessly transition between flat, L-shaped, U-shaped, or semi-circular configurations in real time. These transitions are not only cosmetic.  They directly influence the visualization, the user experience and the type of data interaction enabled.

A custom-built rendering engine powers the design that synchronizes stereo views and dynamically updates visualizations as users physically adjust the screen layout. The team calls this new interaction paradigm —PIVoT, which is an acronym for  Physical Interaction to Virtual Transformation.

“It’s more than a screen. It’s a physical and tangible interface for virtual exploration where users are immersed in the data, and the layout of the FlexiCAVE anchors their sense of whereness, helping them stay oriented as they navigate complex visual spaces,” noted Principal Research Scientist Dr. Saeed Boorboor, co-author of the recently submitted VIS 2025 paper which details the system.

Real-World Applications

Immersive virtual colonoscopy showing on the FlexiCAVE, where radiologists navigate inside the patient’s colon model to locate and analyze polyps (all pivot angles are ~40 degrees). Photo from SBU

The team has already demonstrated real-world applications in many areas including healthcare. For example, virtual colonoscopy shifts the layout from a flat 2D overview of the patient’s colon to a curved immersive 3D endoluminal view (see Figure 2). In medical imaging visualization, radiologists can tangibly move the FlexiCAVE displays to virtually “slice” through brain MRI or abdominal CT scans.

And in situations like in  urban flood simulations, emergency planners can  orient and navigate flooding scenarios spatially by reconfiguring the display (see Figure 1).

In addition, researchers are using FlexiCAVE to experiment with multivariate data visualization, dynamically switching between scatter plots and parallel coordinate plots by physically bending screen segments. This hands-on interaction transforms the way users explore complex datasets. In an early user study, participants preferred the flexibility of the system and reported improved spatial perception over traditional static layouts. Other areas that can be enhanced  include architecture, urban planning, geospatial data, biological systems, drug design, and many others.

Why Now?

As datasets continue to grow in both size and complexity—ranging from volumetric brain scans to climate models—there is a pressing need for immersive tools that allow researchers to explore data from multiple angles and scales. The FlexiCAVE, part of a  growing trend in large high-resolution tiled displays,takes a bold step forward by combining stereoscopy, dynamic curvature, and tangible interaction into one unified system.

With backing from the New York State and Federal agencies, the FlexiCAVE’s development represents years of engineering insight, including customized aluminum framing, inclinometer-equipped hinges, and powerful GPU clusters capable of real-time image updates in a noise-canceling cabinet.

Looking Ahead

While the current version requires manual adjustment of the display columns—a design challenge acknowledged by the team—future updates may introduce motorized column rotation for ease of use. The research group is also exploring new applications in collaborative analytics and adaptable visualization workflows.

“We hope FlexiCAVE becomes a blueprint for the next generation of immersive environments—not only here at Stony Brook, but also globally,” said Professor Kaufman.

 

Heather Banoub and Carl Mills. Photo by Sabrina Artusa

By Sabrina Artusa

Carl Mills, Stony Brook University associate vice president of government relations, and Heather Banoub, assistant vice president of community relations at the university, were joined by Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay (D, Port Jefferson) to speak on budget priorities, which include adding housing options to the campus. 

Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay. Photo by Sabrina Artusa

Besides pushing legislation to grow their advanced specialty care facilities throughout the county, Mills said Kassay is helping the university with legislation to allow the university to contract nearby fire districts for access to equipment. Currently, the university has its own fire services but still works closely with surrounding departments. 

“It will be a cross benefit not only for the university but the taxpayer if we can contract for surplus equipment that fire districts have,” said Mills.

The university is also planning a housing project that can provide up to 1,900 beds so Simon Scholars, medical residents and junior faculty can have on-campus housing options. The project is not meant to allow the university to admit more incoming students, but to “allow young professionals” a space on campus. 

Some residents were concerned that traffic will not be able to sustain growth and neighboring communities will suffer. “I know you guys want to grow, that is your job, but I live there and traffic still sits in front of my house,” one resident said. Mills said a traffic study is being conducted. 

Legislation is needed to execute this project, which Mills said is not unusual for this “long-term project.” The university will form a housing and development corporation, which would lease the property, submit a request for proposal and solicit bids. 

“We don’t have the funding as it stands to do this on our own,” Mills said. “We have financial challenges in that we don’t know what is happening on the federal level.” 

The project would require the relocation of the track behind LaValle Stadium and off Route 25A. 

In August 2024, many students were pushed off campus or into cramped accommodations after two dormitories were flooded. “As the flagship university, we just can’t be in that position,” Mills said.

Funding projects

In her first budget cycle as a state assemblymember, Kassay reported on several budgetary items, such as securing $1 million for SBU’s cancer research center, $1 million for clean water research and $330,000 for a nursing training program at the Long Island State Veterans Home.

She also helped eliminate the Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll mobility tax from municipalities. The tax impacts employers, so the elimination offers relief to the Town of Brookhaven and other suburban municipalities. Small businesses are still affected by the tax, but to a diminished degree. 

Kassay said she is excited to support a bigger, better bottle bill, which will extend the array of items that can get recycled and increase the deposit return to 10 cents. 

She also said she is working to diminish needless plastic waste by requiring restaurants to give the option of plastic utensils for a takeout order rather than instantly including them. 

The legislation would mean that “restaurants, when doing a takeout order cannot give you those items unless you consent to taking those items. So they can ask you, and you can say yes, or you can ask them… and that is absolutely legal,” Kassay said. “They just can’t force them.” 

“For us facing enormous waste problems here, this isn’t going to solve it entirely but it is sure going to help in as far as reducing waste.” The legislation has failed in Suffolk in the past, but Kassay is optimistic that the move would be a win-win for businesses and consumers alike. 

Ellen Pikitch as a delegate for Monaco at the United Nations in April.

By Daniel Dunaief

To borrow from the show Hamilton, Ellen Pikitch was in the room where it happens.

The Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, Pikitch traveled to the United Nations on the east side of Manhattan last month to serve as a delegate for Monaco during the Preparatory Commission for the High Seas Treaty, which is also known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.

The meeting, the first of several gatherings scheduled after the passage of the historic High Seas Treaty that is designed to protect 30 percent of the oceans by 2030, started to create a framework of rules and procedures.

Pikitch, who has advanced, developed and implemented Marine Protected Areas globally, was pleased with the early progress.

“I came away feeling optimistic that we are going to have a functional High Seas Treaty within a couple of years,” said Pikitch. “These details are being hashed out before the treaty comes into force.”

Indeed, 60 nations need to ratify the treaty for it to come into force.

At this point, 20 of the 194 countries that are member state of the United Nations have ratified the treaty. Each country has its own procedures for providing national support for an effort designed to protect biodiversity and natural resources.

Numerous representatives and members of environmental organizations are encouraging leaders of countries to ratify the treaty before the United Nations Oceans conference in Nice from June 9th to June 13th.

Award winning actress and activist Jane Fonda gave a speech at the meeting, urging countries to take the next steps.

“This isn’t just about protecting the oceans. It’s about protecting ourselves,” said Fonda. “Please, please, when you go back to your capitals in the next few days, remind your ministers of what we’re working toward. Remind them that we have a chance this year to change the future.”

Getting 60 ratifications this year is going to be “another monumental achievement,” Fonda continued. “We know it isn’t easy, but we also know that without the level of urgency… the target of protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans will slip out of our grasp.”

Pikitch expects that the first 60 countries will be the hardest and that, once those agree, others will likely want to join to make sure they are part of the decision making. The treaty will form a framework or benefit sharing from biodiversity discovered as well as the resource use and extraction at these high seas sites.

“New discoveries from the high seas are too important for countries to ignore,” Pikitch said.

The members who ratify the treaty will work on a framework for designating protected areas on the high seas.

Pikitch shared Fonda’s sense of urgency in advancing the treaty and protecting the oceans.

“There is no time to waste,” Pikitch said. In the Stony Brook Professor’s opinion, the hardest part of the work has already occurred, with the long-awaited signing of the treaty. Still, she said it “can’t take another 20 years for the High Seas Treaty to come into effect.”

Monaco connection

Pikitch has had a connection with the small nation of Monaco, which borders on the southeastern coast of France and borders on the Mediterranean Sea, for over a decade.

Isabelle Picco, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations for Monaco, asked Pikitch to serve as one of the two delegates at the preparatory commission last month.

Pikitch is “thrilled” to be working with Monaco and hopes to contribute in a meaningful way to the discussion and planning for the nuts and bolts of the treaty.

Other meetings are scheduled for August and for early next year.

Most provisions at the United Nations require unanimous agreement, which, in part, is why the treaty itself took over 20 years. Any country could have held up the process of agreeing to the treaty.

To approve of a marine protected area, the group would only need a 2/3 vote, not a complete consensus. That, Pikitch hopes, would make it more likely to create a greater number of these protected places.

Scientific committee

The meeting involved discussions over how the treaty would work. Once the treaty has come into force, a scientific committee will advise the secretariat. The group addressed numerous issues related to this committee, such as the number of its members, a general framework for how members would be selected, the composition of the committee in terms of geographic representation, how often the committee would meet and whether the committee could set up working groups for topics that might arise.

Representatives of many countries expressed support for the notion that the scientific committee would make decisions based on their expertise, rather than as representatives of their government. This approach could make science the driving force behind the recommendations, rather than politics, enabling participants to use their judgement rather than echo a political party line for the party in power from their country.

Several participants also endorsed the idea that at least one indigenous scientist should be on this committee.

Pikitch, who has also served at the UN as a representative for the country of Palau, was pleased that the meeting had considerable agreement.

“There was a spirit of cooperation and a willingness to move forward with something important,” she said. By participating in a timely and meaningful way in this process, [the countries involved] are behaving as though they are convinced a high seas treaty will come into force” before too long.

Ultimately, Pikitch expects that the agreement will be a living, breathing treaty, which will give it the flexibility to respond to fluid situations.

As Fonda suggested, the treaty is about “recognizing that the fate of humanity is inextricably linked to the health of the natural world.” She thanked the group for “giving me hope.”