CLOSE
Tags Posts tagged with "Stony Brook University"

Stony Brook University

by -
0 318
#33 Josh O'Neill prepares to pitch. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook Baseball team (13-19, 5-9 CAA) got off to a fast start against Northeastern University (27-7, 9-5 CAA) on April 16 by dropping four runs on the team from Boston in the first inning and never looked back to ultimately take the 11-3 victory at Joe Nathan Field. 

The offense was paced by four different student-athletes recording three-hit performances as graduate Evan Giordano, senior Brett Paulsen, the junior tandem of Evan Fox and junior Matt Brown-Eiring all tallied three knocks and at-least one RBI. 

Fox got the bottom half of the first inning started with a knock, which extended his on-base streak to 30 games to start the season. After stealing second, junior Ryan Micheli knocked in Fox on a screamer to center field. 

Graduate Evan Giordano singled in the next at-bat and both Giordano and Micheli stole a bag to get themselves in scoring position. Then, senior Shane Paradine did his job by driving home Micheli on a sac-fly to give Stony Brook a 2-0 advantage. Junior Matt Brown-Eiring tallied his first of three hits to bring home Giordano and a few batters later, Paulsen capped the rally by bringing in Brown-Eiring on a hit to right field, giving Stony Brook a 4-0 lead after the first inning. 

Stony Brook carried their momentum at the plate over the next three innings by tallying three runs in the second, two runs in the third, and a run in the fourth. 

It was the top of the Stony Brook order that did the damage in the second inning. Micheli started the rally by reaching on a hit-by-pitch, followed by Giordano advancing him to third on a double and Paradine loading the bases after he was hit by a pitch. Brown-Eiring and Paulsen both recorded RBI knocks, and junior Derek Yalon brought in a run on a double-play, giving Stony Brook the 7-0 advantage. Fox  also tallied an RBI single in the next inning.

The team sent out senior Josh O’Neill to make his second conference start of the season and make his 11th start of his career. For the second week in a row, O’Neill reocrded the victory as he tossed 6.0 innings, allowing three hits, one run (earned) and struck out eight batters. 

Again in the third inning it was the top-of-the-order for Stony Brook that was doing the damage. Fox led the frame off by doubling and scored after Giordano knocked him in on a single. Following a Paradine double, Brown-Eiring knocked in Giordano on a sac-fly giving the squad a 9-0 lead in the third. 

After O’Neill left the game in the seventh, the Huskies tallied a run in the frame but Brown-Eiring responded in the next half inning with his fifth homer of the season to give Stony Brook the 11-2 advantage. 

Sophomore JT Raab finished off the final three innings out of the pen for Stony Brook to seal the victory and earn the second save of his career.

by -
0 130
Fanny M. Cornejo. Photo from SBU

Stony Brook University graduate student Fanny M. Cornejo has been named the winner of the newly-created “Emerging Conservationist Award” presented by the Indianapolis Prize. This award recognizes professional wildlife conservationists, biologists and scientists under 40-years of age who are working to make strides in saving animal species from extinction.

Cornejo, a Peruvian primatologist, anthropologist and the executive director of Yunkawasi, an organization that works with Amazonian and Andean communities for the conservation of threatened species through sustainable economic development and protected area management approach, was selected from among 10 finalists. She will receive $50,000 provided by the Kobe Foundation to continue the conservation work of Yunkawasi.

Cornejo is being recognized for her more than 15 years dedicated to the conservation and research of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, a primate species that only inhabits the montane forests of Peru and is critically endangered due to human unsustainable activities that have generated the loss of over 80% of its population.

Cornejo is a member of the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences (IDPAS) at Stony Brook University and works in the Pat Wright Lab, where she focuses on the study of primates and big mammals, focusing on diversity, ecological studies as well as conservation activities to protect forests and improve the livelihoods of local and indigenous communities. Cornejo has also conducted research on the black and white ruffed lemurs in Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar. Her graduate mentors are Professors Patricia C. Wright and Liliana Dávalos.

“Fanny lives and breathes conservation. Her energy, her motivation and her success are part of her very being. What a joy to hear that her talents and hard work have been recognized with this inaugural Emerging Conservationist Prize. What an honor for Stony Brook and an honor for Peru!” said Professor Patricia Wright, Distinguished Service Professor and Herrnstein Professor of Conservation Biology.

“Fanny was always a stand-out and it’s fantastic, but not surprising, that her talents and contributions continue to go above and beyond and to be recognized,” said Professor Carl Safina, Holder of the Endowed Chair for Nature and Humanity.

“Fanny is leading the next generation of conservationists to protect nature and inspire people to care for our world. The depth of accomplishments set her apart from the other nominees. I can’t wait to see the impact of her career in conservation,” added Indianapolis Zoological Society President and CEO Dr. Rob Shumaker.

Cornejo will be formally recognized as the 2023 Emerging Conservationist at the Indianapolis Prize Gala presented by Cummins Inc. in downtown Indianapolis on Sept. 30, 2023.

“I am very honored and grateful for this recognition that is not only for me, but also for my entire team, the people we work with, our partners in local communities, governments and our donors. Undoubtedly, being the first winner of the Emerging Conservationist Award and from an organization as important as the Indianapolis Prize is a great recognition for our work in Peru,” said Cornejo.

The Emerging Conservationist finalists were selected through a two-stage selection process, where a review committee evaluated and narrowed the application pool to 10 finalists. Those finalists were then evaluated by a selection committee who chose Cornejo the winner.

The Indianapolis Prize recognizes the world’s leading conservationists whose work provides future generations with replicable and actionable conservation practices. The finalists of the Emerging Conservationists represent the people we can rely on to save species worldwide. Stony Brook University Professors Patricia Wright (2014) and Russ Mittermeier (2018) have both been awarded the Indianapolis Prize.

# # #

About the Indianapolis Prize

The Indianapolis Prize recognizes and rewards conservationists who have achieved major victories in advancing the sustainability of an animal species or group of species. Since 2006, the Indianapolis Prize has given more than $5.6 million in unrestricted cash awards. The Indianapolis Prize is administered by the Indianapolis Zoological Society, Inc.

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University — New York’s flagship university and No. 1 public university — is going far beyond the expectations of today’s public universities. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With more than 24,000 students, more than 2,800 faculty members, more than 200,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked among the top 35 public universities by Forbes and one of the top 80 universities in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 65 research institutions in North America. The university’s distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy — one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $7.23 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/) and Twitter(@stonybrooku).

About Yunkawasi

Yunkawasi is a Peruvian non-profit, dedicated to the sustainable development of the territory and the conservation of its biodiversity to achieve the well-being of different human groups. They have more than 16 years of experience working hand in hand with state, civil and private partners for the design and implementation of conservation projects in key ecosystems. Yunkawasi works in various ecosystems, from coastal to Amazonian landscapes, with a focus on conservation and management of protected natural areas, sustainable socioeconomic development, participatory research, and communication and environmental education. They promote an inclusive society that sustainably manages its natural resources, values the benefits they provide, and defend their natural and cultural heritage.

by -
0 254
The Middle Country Public Library in Centereach is hosting its Youth Abilities Day: A Special Needs Resource Fair. Pictured above, children participating in one of the library’s family events. Photo courtesy MCPL

The Middle Country Public Library in Centereach is hosting its Youth Abilities Day: A Special Needs Resource Fair on Friday, April 28, from 4-7 p.m., at 101 Eastwood Blvd., Centereach. This event is provided in partnership with Stony Brook University’s Occupational Therapy students and Middle Country Special Education PTA.

Youth Abilities Day is free and open to all. The fair features approximately 20 organizations representing a wide array of specialties, including sports, music, baking, healthcare, therapies and more. 

The Super Mario Bros. characters will be available for photos during the event, along with a space to unwind in a sensory room. The library’s Flashing Fingers Sign Language Club will perform at 6 p.m. 

Youth Abilities Day is about helping individuals with disabilities and their families find the right resources to enrich lives. MCPL strives to provide a diverse array of educational and recreational resources for patrons of different backgrounds, abilities, ages and interests to ensure that the library has something for everyone. 

For more information about the fair, contact the youth services department at Middle Country Public Library at 631-585-9393 ext. 559. Pre-registration is encouraged over the phone or on the library’s website, www.mcplibrary.org.

by -
0 320
Johanna Mitra was part of the rescue team to save the endangered greater bamboo lemur.

By Daniel Dunaief

Johanna Mitra traveled a long way from her childhood home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to join an effort to save the critically endangered greater bamboo lemur.

A graduate of Stony Brook University, Mitra took a class led by Distinguished Professor Patricia Wright that set her on a memorable and extraordinary course.

Mitra “came up to me after class and asked if she could help” with her research and with conservation, Wright recalled.

Johanna Mitra was part of the rescue team to save the endangered greater bamboo lemur.

Mitra started by cataloging photos for about three months twice a week. Wright saw that Mitra had been writing blogs for an environmental nonprofit and had asked Mitra if she’d like to apply for the opening as the Communications Officer at Centre ValBio, a research station Wright created in Madagascar.

“The next thing I knew, a couple of months [and an undergraduate degree in Ecosystems and Human Impact] later, I was packing a bag to go to Madagascar!” Mitra explained in an email.

Mitra sent her parents, Nilo and Ursula Mitra, a group photo where it was “fairly evident that she was the youngest person and only woman,” Nilo Mitra said in an interview.

The Mitra parents felt reassured that the research station had been around for decades and that a large number of foreign researchers use the site, which gave her parents confidence that the team would be able to deal with any safety or health issues that arose during the translocation.

Still, that didn’t completely allay Nilo Mitra’s concerns when he learned about the crocodiles that lived in some of the rivers his daughter would cross.

After watching nature shows, Mitra’s father cautioned her not to stand too close to the shore. While she was away, he also wished he had told her not to go too close to the reeds, as crocodiles hide there before attacking.

Mitra’s trip didn’t involve any hair raising interactions with crocodiles. In fact, she felt disappointed because she “would have liked to see one – from a safe distance,” she said.

Mitra and the translocation team encountered individual zebus, which are a type of cow with a lump behind its head that makes it look like it’s wearing shoulder pads.

Mitra “could sense hesitation and tentativeness in the group when we were hiking” as the group gave the animal, which can be aggressive in defending its turf, a wide berth.

During the two-day trip to translocate the lemurs, Mitra rode in a car, truck, and canoe. When the roads, which were severely damaged by the raging waters and 80 mile per hour winds of Cyclone Freddy, were impossible to navigate, she and the team traversed difficult terrain on foot.

She hiked along rolling hills that “looked very beautiful but were degraded,” Mitra said. She walked up and down hills that had deep patches of mud.

The team also crossed streams, walked through rice paddies and fields and climbed steep, rocky slopes.

Johanna Mitra on a trip to NYC. Photo by Nilo Mitra

Fortunately for Mitra, the group hired porters to carry the equipment and her backpack. She only had responsibility for maneuvering herself and a camera bag. 

During the hike, she was concerned about getting a camera she had borrowed to document the journey wet, particularly when she was traveling in a canoe that sat low in the water.

When she waded through streams, she hoisted the camera on her shoulder or near her head.

Back home in Manhattan, her parents watched three videos about Madagascar, studied local roads and tried to track their daughter’s whereabouts.

When her journey started, they were able to track her phone for about 90 minutes, until the signal “vanished off the face of the Earth,” her father said.

After several days, her mother called Wright to ask if she’d heard anything. Wright assured her that the crew was fine and they had completed their mission of trying to bring back enough greater bamboo lemurs to increase the population from the current number of about 1,000.

“We are extraordinarily proud” of the work she did to get the job and to help in this conservation effort, her father said.

As for the experience, Mitra expressed awe at the opportunity.

“The whole thing felt unreal,” Mitra said. “I felt like I was a part of something incredibly meaningful.” The expedition “made it clear that a lot goes into saving species, but it’s worth it,” she concluded, despite the few rapid heart beats from her proud, concerned and supportive parents.

by -
0 183

 

1 of 5
Greater bamboo lemurs wait in cages at Centre ValBio before being released into a large quarantine enclosure inside the Ranomafana National Park. Photo by Johanna Mitra
Members of Centre ValBio transfer 10 greater bamboo lemurs.
Members of Centre ValBio transfer 10 greater bamboo lemurs.
Members of Centre ValBio transfer 10 greater bamboo lemurs.
A greater bamboo lemur feeds on bamboo. Photo by Johanna Mitra

By Daniel Dunaief

Patricia Wright
Photo by Sam Levitan, Sam Levitan Photography

Patricia Wright isn’t getting much sleep these days.

Distinguished Professor in Anthropology at Stony Brook University, Wright recently orchestrated the translocation of 10 critically endangered greater bamboo lemurs to Ranomafana National Park, a park in Madagascar that she helped create and which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The conservation effort, which Wright had been working on since 2014, is designed to lower the risk that this particular lemur, which weighs about six pounds and has grey brown fur and white ear tufts, will go extinct.

Short on bamboo, which, as their name suggests, is their primary food source, greater bamboo lemurs, which are down to as few as 1,000 individuals, have been eating manioc and raiding farmer’s rice paddies. The people who farm these crops have hunted the greater bamboo lemur and used slingshots to hurl stones at them. 

The lemurs “think the rice is perfectly great,” said Wright. Some of the Malagasy people have injured or killed these lemurs. Two of the translocated lemurs have eye injuries.

Wright, who is teaching at Stony Brook this spring, applied for permits from a number of government officials to get the effort approved. 

From Stony Brook, she has been managing the care of these lemurs, often long after she might otherwise be asleep. During an acclimation period, the lemurs live, eat and interact in a large cage near the research station Centre ValBio and will be released into the wild within the next few weeks.

“I’m up every night texting,” Wright said. “When anything comes up, I give my advice.”

She said the process of watching these lemurs from afar is akin to those early days of parenting.

“You drift off, sleep for a couple of hours then you have to wake up and answer this or that problem,” said Wright, whose work with lemurs has won her numerous awards, including the Indianapolis Zoo Prize. 

Bamboo chefs

Wright has considerable help in working with and protecting the greater bamboo lemurs. While the rare lemurs are guests at Centre ValBio (CVB), about a dozen people are working with them each day, with five people going out daily to collect bamboo to feed them.

When the lemurs first arrived, they fought at night. The caretakers discovered that these primates were searching for food. By providing more bamboo, the staff at CVB ended the evening conflicts.

Johanna Mitra, a recent Stony Brook University graduate and the Communications Officer at CVB, attended the capture of these lemurs and has had the opportunity to observe them interacting in the cage.

She watched as an adult lemur sat facing two juveniles. The adult pulled up the bamboo shoot and the three of them took turns gnawing on it. After eating for about half an hour, the juveniles cuddled with the adult females.

Collaboration efforts

In addition to relying on her past experience working with primates at Duke University in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Wright collaborated with Dr. Mónica Ramírez, IUCN Species Survival Commission-Specialist, who is an expert in the relocation of woolly monkeys in Colombia.

Ramírez urged Wright to transport the monkeys in separate cages to reduce stress and overcrowding during the journey. Ramírez also wanted to ensure that the monkeys could see and hear each other. She recommended constant monitoring during transport. Stress could reduce how much food they ate.

Despite the lengthy journey, the lemurs traveled comfortably and ate along the way. Ramírez said that translocations can and often are emotionally taxing for conservationists.

“When I started working with translocations, it was so difficult for me to maintain calm because there are many factors that one cannot control, mainly after the release,” she explained.  “We do our best to guarantee the welfare of the individuals and the people involved.”

Bigger picture

In addition to the satisfaction of preventing a species on the brink of elimination from disappearing, Wright suggested that saving these lemurs could have numerous benefits. For one thing, these lemurs eat large quantities of bamboo, which contains cyanide. Such bamboo would be toxic to human systems. Learning how these animals tolerate and remove such a dangerous element could prove helpful.

Guides in Madagascar involved with the bio-tourism effort also appealed to Wright to save this species, which has unusual vocalizations that vary according to their circumstance. “It’s an important tourist attraction,” Wright said.

Questions on release

When Wright and her team release these translocated lemurs back into the wild, they recognize the enormous number of unknowns.

Predators such as fossa (pronounced “foo sah), hawks and eagles hunt lemurs. Fossa, which is a relative of the mongoose, hunt cooperatively.

Wright hopes the translocated lemurs “understand what a predator is” and take steps to stay alive.

Even before the release of these lemurs, Ranomafana National Park is home to one adult female greater bamboo lemur named Simone, who joined a social group with the golden bamboo lemur, which is half her size.

Wright doesn’t know how Simone, who grooms golden bamboo lemurs but doesn’t receive grooming from them in return, will react to her own species. “What happens when she finds out her own species are in the neighborhood?” Wright asked. “It’s going to be very exciting.”

She might encourage her new lemur family to attack or might ditch her adopted social group for the well-traveled members of her own species.

Ramirez suggested that recruiting and educating the public in conservation would increase the likelihood of its success.

“Involving the community in the project is essential to guarantee the security of both the people and the animals,” she said.

by -
0 283
Wolfie the Seawolf mascot. Photo courtesy of SBU

The Stony Brook University community stepped up in a big way this week, as Seawolves near and far cast their ballots and voted their favorite mascot, Wolfie, as the SUNY Mascot Madness champion for the second consecutive year.

In a race where every single vote counted, Wolfie edged out Oakie the Acorn of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry by just 33 votes, with 50.04 percent of the vote to Oakie’s 49.96 percent — a margin of just four-hundredths of a point.

Here’s how the voting broke down:

Poll votes:
Wolfie = 23,200
Oakie = 23,167

Bonus votes (Twitter and Instagram):
Oakie = 989
Wolfie = 2,260

Total votes:
Wolfie = 25,460
Oakie = 24,156

Mascot Madness is the annual competition that brings SUNY mascots together in a competition to find out who the fans feel is the best in all of New York.

Now in its 10th year, the tournament continues to grow in its size and reach. As is customary, and similar to the annual NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, Mascot Madness is broken down into five rounds.

Follow all the action and show your support for Wolfie using #wolfie and #MascotMadness on social media.

by -
0 409
Loreto Villalba-Rubio at last Saturday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook tennis team earned their third victory at University Courts this season and eighth win overall as the squad defeated Sacred Heart University 4-3 at University Courts on April 8.

After being edged in doubles play, the squad overcame the deficit to take four out of the six matches in singles to ultimately take the victory. 

Pacing the squad was Chandrika Joshi and Debby Mastrodima picking up dominant wins in singles play. Joshi, a sophomore from India, earned her victory by a final of 6-2 and 6-2. Mastrodima, a first-year student from Greece, earned her win with a 6-3 and 6-0 performance. 

Also, senior Mathilde Sreeves earned a victory in singles, defeating her opponent in thrilling-fashion at 7-6 (6) and 6-1. Giving the Seawolves the team victory was first-year student Kristi Boro earning a 6-4 and 6-2 win, clinching the eighth victory of the season for Stony Brook.

FINAL RESULTS:

Singles:

— Starastsenka (SHU), def. L. Villalba-Rubio (SBU), 6-4, 6-1

— Golod (SHU), def. Theys (SBU), 6-2, 6-3

— Joshi (SBU), def. Kharkover (SHU), 6-2, 6-2

— Boro (SBU), def. Garriga (SHU), 6-4, 6-2

— Sreeves (SBU), def. O’Toole (SHU) 7-6 (6). 6-1

— Mastrodima (SBU) def. Sanchez (SHU), 6-3, 6-0

Doubles:

— Fenton/Golod (SHU), def. L. Villalba-Rubio/Boro (SBU), 6-4

— Starastsenka/Kharkover (SHU) def. Mastrodima/Theys (SBU), 6-4

— O’Toole/Garriga (SHU) DNF. Joshi/Sreeves (SBU), 6-5 

“The ladies did a great job of keeping their focus after dropping such a tough doubles point,” said head coach Gary Glassman after the game. “Because of the conditions, today was more about mental toughness than it was about tennis. Big credit to the Seawolves for batting this afternoon.”

by -
0 370
The team celebrates after last Friday's victory against the Hawks. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The No. 6 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team (9-2, 4-0 CAA) dominated all aspects of the game to secure a 20-5 victory over the Monmouth Hawks (8-6, 2-2 CAA) on April 7 at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch, N.J.

The Seawolves’ offense saw nine different goal scores and three different hat tricks en route to the 20 goals scored. Junior midfielder Jaden Hampel led the way with a career-high tying five goals while junior midfielder Ellie Masera follow behind with four. Senior attacker Kailyn Hart add three goals while Morgan Mitchell and Courtney Maclay tallied a pair each.

Stony Brook wasted no time as its hot scoring began 15 seconds after the first draw courtesy of Hart. Less than one minute later, Hampel found the back of the cage to give the squad an early 2-0 lead. The Seawolves’ defense held Monmouth without a shot attempt for the first 8:30 and without a goal for the first 11 minutes of the contest.

After the Hawks got on the board, Stony Brook answered back with back-to-back goals of their own from Mitchell and Masera to enter the quarter break with a 7-1 lead. The squad came out of the break right where they left off, finishing within the first 20 seconds.

With 11:41 left to play in the second quarter, Monmouth managed to find the back of the cage for the second time thanks to Caroline Brennan. 10 seconds after the Hawks’ goal, senior midfielder Charlotte Verhulst scored one of her own off an assist from Masera to take a 9-2 lead.

The Seawolves added three more goals in the second quarter and enter halftime holding a 12-2 lead over Monmouth. The squad went on to outscore the Hawks 8-3 in the second half to ultimately run away with the 20-5 win and their fourth consecutive win and conference win.

“I’m proud of our team. We took a business like approach and took care of business early on. We checked the boxes of things we needed to accomplish, starting with the draw controls. We played unselfish offense and disciplined defense, all good signs as we head into another important week,” said head coach Joe Spallina.

The team returns home to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium to take on William & Mary on Saturday, April 15 for Senior Day. Face-off is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be broadcast live on LacrosseTV.

by -
0 325
JoAnne Hewett has been named the new BNL director. Photo from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

For the first time in its over 75-year history, Brookhaven National Laboratory named its first female lab director.

JoAnne Hewett, associate lab director for fundamental physics and chief research officer at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, will take over the top job at BNL this summer.

Hewett will also join Stony Brook University as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Hewett “is not only incredibly qualified and talented, but will also make history as the first woman to serve in this critical role,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who is the first woman elected governor of the Empire State, said in a statement. “The lab has developed innovative ways to deliver on New York’s top priorities, from battling disease to acting on climate change, that are making a difference today and for the future of New York.”

Hewett, who was the first woman member at SLAC in 1994, conducts research as a theoretical physicist, exploring the fundamental nature of space, matter and energy. Her work in physics focuses on efforts beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.

Stony Brook University Distinguished Professor and Director of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics George Sterman described her hire as a “wonderful turn of events.”

In an email, Sterman wrote that her work “as a theoretical physicist has earned wide admiration, and her leadership has helped shape the national program in fundamental particles.”

Sterman suggested Hewett’s research “continues to influence experiments worldwide, and her perspectives will be greatly valued by her new colleagues at Stony Brook.”

With over 2,800 scientists, engineers, technicians and professionals and an annual budget of about $700 million, the researchers at BNL tap into the site’s state-of-the-art technology, including the National Synchrotron Lightsource II. These researchers, and the many scientists from around the country and the world, work in fields including nuclear and high energy physics, clean energy and climate science, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, photon sciences, isotope production, accelerator science and technology and national security.

Hewett is coming to BNL as it prepares to begin construction on the Electron-Ion Collider, or EIC. Estimated to cost between $1.7 billion and $2.8 billion, the EIC will allow researchers to look inside the nucleus at the protons and neutrons. The research will reveal the arrangement of quarks and gluons that make up the protons and neutrons of nuclei.

Discoveries from the EIC could lead to future technologies.

“I am head-over-heels excited to build the EIC in partnership with Jefferson Lab to unlock the mysteries of the force that binds Nature’s building blocks, to strengthen connections to industry and the community with Discovery Park, and to advance the multi-program missions of the lab,” Hewett said in a statement. “And I’m very much looking forward to working with everyone at Brookhaven, Stony Brook and the DOE to usher the lab into its next successful chapter.”

The lab is also building a new welcome center, the Science and User Support Group, which is the first building planned for Discovery Park.

Maurie McInnis, president of SBU and co-chair of the BSA Board of Directors, which is a partnership between SBU and Battelle, welcomed Hewett, who will start this summer, to BNL.

Hewett’s “capable leadership, experience and future-forward vision complements Brookhaven National Laboratory’s continued focus on scientific innovation and discovery,” McInnis said in a statement. “The University is pleased to bring her expertise to the Physics and Astronomy Department and to the C.N. Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics, both of which have had “long-standing and critical connections to many major physics achievements at BNL.”

The next few months

Hewett takes over the top job at the lab from Doon Gibbs, who had been in that position from 2013. Gibbs is retiring on April 17.

“I am grateful to [Gibbs] for his outstanding leadership of Brookhaven and his long legacy of building and strengthening the lab for advancing scientific discovery,” Hewett said in a statement.

Jack Anderson, BNL’s deputy director for operations, will serve as the interim lab director until Hewett joins the lab.

Tom Daniels, the current ALD for Facilities and Operations will serve as interim deputy director.

by -
0 273
JoAnne Hewett. Twitter photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Finally!

Brookhaven National Laboratory has had nine lab directors since it was founded in 1946. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy facility, which has produced seven Nobel Prizes, has state-of-the-art facilities, and employs over 2,800 scientists and technicians from around the world announced that it hired JoAnne Hewett as its first female lab director.

Successful, determined, dedicated and award-winning local female scientists lauded the hire of Hewett, who comes to BNL from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory where she was associate lab director for fundamental physics and chief research officer. SLAC is operated by Stanford University in Menlo Park, California. In email responses, local female scientists suggested that Hewett’s hiring can and would inspire women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

“I am so delighted by the news that Dr. JoAnne Hewett has been named to be the next director of Brookhaven National Laboratory,” wrote Esther Takeuchi, William and Jane Knapp chair in Energy and the Environment and SUNY distinguished professor at Stony Brook University and chair of the Interdisciplinary Science Department at BNL. As the first female director for the lab, Hewett “is an inspiration not only for the women who are in the field, but for future female scientists who will witness first hand that success at the highest level.”

Stella Tsirka, SUNY distinguished professor in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, suggested this hire was a part of an increasing number of women in prominent positions in science at local institutions.

Stony Brook and BNL are “becoming a hub of strong female role models for younger females, in STEM, in medicine, in leadership!” Tsirka wrote. “Between [SB President] Maurie McInnis, Hewett, Ivet Bahar (the director of the Laufer Center), Anissa Abi-Dargham [principal investigator for the Long Island Network for Clinical and Translational Science] and many other successful female faculty in leadership positions, hopefully, the message comes out loud and clear to our young women who are in science already, or aspire to be in science.”

For her part, Abi-Dargham, who is chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, described Hewett’s hire as “amazing” and suggested it was “really exciting to see an accomplished female scientist selected to head our collaborating institution at BNL!”

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor and Cancer Center Program co-leader Mikala Egeblad added that the significance of Hewett’s hire goes “well beyond inspiring young girls. It is important to have women leaders for all sciences, also for someone at my career stage. I hope that one day, we will get to a point when we don’t think about whether a leader is a woman or a man.”

Women remain underrepresented at top leadership positions, so Egeblad finds it “very inspiring to see a woman recognized for her leadership skills and selected” to head BNL.

Leemor Joshua-Tor, professor and HHMI investigator at CSHL, called the hire “really great news” and indicated this was “especially true for the physical sciences, where there are even fewer women in senior positions than in biology.” Joshua-Tor added that the more women in senior, visible positions, “the more young women and girls see this as a normal career to have.”

Alea Mills, professor and Cancer Center member at CSHL, wrote that it is “fantastic that BNL has found the very best scientist to lead them into their next new mission of success. And it’s an extra bonus that this top scientist happens to be a woman!”

Mills added that efforts to enhance diversity are fashionable currently, but all too often fall short. Hiring Hewett makes “real traction that will undoubtedly inspire future generations of young women in STEM.”

Patricia Wright, distinguished service professor at Stony Brook in the Department of Anthropology, wrote that it was “inspiring” to see a female director of BNL and that “young female scientists can aspire to being in that role some day.”

Prev1...171819...88Next Page 18 of 88
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©