Arts & Entertainment

METRO photo

This Memorial Day the staff at TBR News Media remembers and pays tribute to our brave fallen heroes. The office is closed today but will reopen tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Interesting facts related to Memorial Day:

Memorial Day is celebrated annually on the last Monday of May across the United States. The proximity of Memorial Day to the summer solstice has led many to view the weekend preceding the holiday as the unofficial kickoff to summer. However, Memorial Day is about more than backyard barbecues and weekend getaways. Memorial Day honors service members who died while serving in the United States military.

Though Memorial Day traces its origins to the years following the American Civil War in the mid-nineteenth century, it did not become an official federal holiday until 1971. That’s one of just many interesting facts about Memorial Day that are worth noting as the United States prepares to commemorate the sacrifices of military personnel who died in service of the country.

• Memorial Day began as something of a grass roots movement. According to History.com, by the late 1860s individuals in towns across the war-ravaged United States began holding springtime tributes to soldiers who lost their lives during the American Civil War.

• Among the more notable postwar commemorations was one organized by former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina. That commemoration occurred less than a month after the Confederate forces surrendered in 1865. Despite that, History.com notes that in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of Memorial Day.

• Postwar commemorations also were organized by northern veterans of the Civil War. General John A. Logan, who led an organization of Union veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance in May 1868. General Logan referred to the holiday as Declaration Day and chose May 30 because it was not the anniversary of any specific battle and therefore unlikely to be viewed by some as controversial.

• Early commemorations of Decoration Day, which gradually came to be known as Memorial Day, initially honored only those soldiers who died during the American Civil War. However, that changed over time as American servicemen fought in various wars, including both World Wars, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and other conflicts.

• The red poppy has become a symbol of Memorial Day. That red poppy can be traced to a poem by Canadian John McCrae, who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in World War I. “In Flanders Field” notes the red poppies that grew in fields where countless soldiers had been buried in modern-day Belgium. The poem was published in 1915, three years before the war ended. Sadly, McCrae himself was a casualty of the war, succumbing to pneumonia in France in 1918 while still in the service.

Memorial Day honors service personnel who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military. The holiday’s inspiration and lengthy history merits consideration as the nation prepares to commemorate countless soldiers’ sacrifices once more.

 

It was recently announced that Billy Joel has canceled his concert tour due to health issues. In his honor, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) has announced it will be offering Billy Joel fans a special discount on tickets purchased online and at the counter for its exclusive Billy Joel My Life: A Piano Man’s Journey at its Stony Brook Village museum, located at 97 Main Street in Stony Brook, New York.

“We are saddened to hear about Billy Joel’s illness and would like to support his disappointed fans with a special offer to enjoy the exclusive ‘Billy Joel My Life: A Piano Man’s Journey’ exhibit at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame,” said LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Billy and his family, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.”

Visitors can use promotion code “welovebilly” on LIMEHOF’s ticket page when entering payment information or in person at the counter to receive $5 off on tickets purchased by June 6th. Tickets will be valid through August 31st, 2025.

During this time a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Annual Student Scholarship Fund for graduating high school students majoring in music and performing arts.

For more information, please visit LIMEHOF’s website: https://www.limusichalloffame.org/

About LIMEHOF

Founded in 2004, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the idea that Long Island’s musical and entertainment heritage is an important resource to be celebrated and preserved for future generations. The organization, which encompasses New York State’s Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties, was created as a place of community that inspires and explores Long Island music and entertainment in all its forms.

In 2022, LIMEHOF opened its first Hall of Fame building location in Stony Brook, New York. To date, the organization has inducted more than 130 musicians and music industry executives, and offers education programs, scholarships, and awards to Long Island students and educators.

A Fish Crow. Photo from Wikimedia

By John L. Turner

John Turner

Walking out of the returnable bottle vestibule at the local supermarket, I looked up to see a swirl of black forms, circling and swooping over the parking lot. I quickly counted eighteen crows and wondered what they were doing and what species was involved? A dozen landed on the building parapet, sitting in even spaced intervals about three feet apart and began vocalizing — I got the answer to the second question as their deeply nasal caw gave them away — I was watching a flock of Fish Crows, or as a flock of crows is also called “A Murder of Crows,” right here in a suburban parking lot.    

Fish Crows, which breed here, are a member of the Corvid family (or Corvidae) which has three other representatives of this fascinating bird family on Long Island — Blue Jay, American Crow and the Common Raven, a relative newcomer to the island’s avifauna. (The Raven is also the largest songbird in the world, an interesting factoid you can impress people with at cocktail parties). There are twenty-three corvid species in North America  with other representatives of the family including magpies,  nutcrackers, and scrub jays.   

A blue jay. Pixabay photo

As for the answer to the first question about their collective behavior, each and every bird was doing something important since such rapid communication was taking place between crows. The perched birds called repeatedly, almost incessantly, projecting their head forward to emphasize the call, so much so I thought they might tumble from the building edge! A few more joined the scene flying north from the nearby home improvement store and they proceeded to land on the parking light poles of the supermarket, cawing as they flew in.       

I watched for at least ten minutes as they called back and forth and I felt simultaneously amused and frustrated in not being able to enter their world and understand what the fuss was all about.  The spring mating season would soon be here with the birds pairing up to raise the next generation of fish crows. Was this the crow equivalent of a farewell party? Whatever the reason, it was a pleasure to watch a group of animals socializing in such an animated way. It brought a smile to my face. 

Another supermarket customer came out and once he passed the entrance overhang looked up, presumably drawn by my upward gaze and the raucous calling. He formed his arms as if he were firing a rifle and raised them in the direction of the birds. My smile immediately disappeared as his attitude and intent was clear. I said something to him that I cannot repeat in this family newspaper and his reaction, so immediate and spontaneous as to reveal his true attitude, darkened my mood for much of the day.  

In fact, his attitude of hostility toward crows is an all too common one. Based on New York State hunting regulations, promulgated by the Department of Environmental Conservation, you can kill as many crows as you want, each and every day, during a six month hunting season running from September 1st to March 31st. All this despite the fact that virtually no one hunts crows to eat them — they are shot for “sport.” The state agency, created to “conserve the environment,” one that you support with hard earned tax dollars, is in support of suffering and a wanton waste of life.  

While some have a negative view of crows,  a more positive view is developing, fostered by a recognition they are remarkably smart birds, a fact borne out by experiment and observation. 

The results of a recently published trial relating to “geometric regularity” bears this out. In this study, researchers rewarded crows if they correctly identified a shape which is different from a group of other displayed shapes — like four stars and a crescent. If a crow pecked at the crescent it would be given a treat, a delicious mealworm! The crows’ abilities were tested when it came to shapes that were different but in more subtle ways such as a square and another quadrilateral figure with which the angles and lines varied little. The subtlety  didn’t matter as the birds pecked the correct symbol and got the mealworm. 

We know from ample experiments and observations that crows are one of the few bird groups that use tools. In one famous set of experiments, crows had to know to drop rocks into a tube of water to raise the water level enough to reach a floating treat. They did this well and when confronted with two tubes, one containing water and the other sand, knew not to bother with the sand filled tube.  

In another experiment crows knew to insert one tube into another to gain enough length to reach food. The use of compound tools, as displayed by crows, has only been seen in Great Apes. 

To round out the intelligent capabilities of crows, they are known to recognize and distinguish human faces, being able to remember them for many years. What’s the reason for such intellectual prowess? Well, part of it has to do with the fact that corvids have large brains in comparison to their bodies. But the main reason has to do with the high density of neurons corvid brains possess and the overall complicated structure of the corvid brain. 

This time of year crows and other corvids have paired up to breed and raise a new generation. They will stay paired for the next couple of months but as summer wanes and the cooler weather arrives you’ll notice a change in their behavior. The pair bonds dissolve and the crows, ever gregarious and social, will spend the winter in flocks which can number in the hundreds, during which time individual crows observe the behavior of other crows learning:  What do they eat? In what direction and how far do they fly from their overnight winter roost to find feed? How do they detect and avoid predators?  This social aspect of crows also helps to explain their overall adaptability and intelligence, traits that if my fellow shopper knew, might result in him replacing his knee jerk aggressive gesture with a sense of admiration. 

A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is a naturalist, conservation co-chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, and Conservation Policy Advocate for the Seatuck Environmental Association.

Legislator Trotta donating blood at one of his sponsored drives at Travis Hall, Church of St. Joseph in Kings Park.

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta, in conjunction with St. Joseph Church in Kings Park, will host a blood drive in St. Joseph Church’s Travis Hall, 59 Church Street, Kings Park on Thursday, June 5, from 1:45 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.

Free parking is available in the lot off Old Dock Road. The drive is to benefit the blood banks maintained by Long Island Blood Services, which provides blood to hospitals throughout Long Island.

To be eligible to donate blood, a person must be between the ages of 16 (16 with parental consent) and 76, (if older than 76, you need written permission from your doctor), weigh over 110 pounds and not have had a tattoo in the last three months. Please bring a valid photo ID with you. LI Blood Services recommends that you eat and drink plenty of fluids before donating. Previous donors should bring their blood donor card with them.

“Hospitals are always in need of blood supplies so it is important that if you can donate blood to do so because one pint of blood can help save three lives,” said Legislator Trotta. For more information, call  631-854-3900.

Photo courtesy StatePoint
Dr. Clay Johnston/Harbor Health

Stroke continues to remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. With over 12.2 million new strokes occurring each year, experts at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke say that every minute counts, as fast treatment may lessen the brain damage that a stroke can cause.

Stroke can affect anyone at any age, at any time, making it critical that everyone, especially those with known risk factors, understand and recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke, as well as their options as patients.

The signs of stroke can be subtle and hard to recognize, so educating yourself and others is key to noticing and responding quickly. One easy way to remember the signs of stroke is with the acronym FAST from the American Stroke Association. This stands for:

• F – Face Drooping

• A – Arm Weakness

• S – Speech Difficulty

• T – Time to call 911

The sudden onset of any of these signs, as well as confusion, severe headaches and vision problems, could mean that someone is having a stroke, which is why it’s important to call 911 immediately when a stroke is suspected.

Disability is common post-stroke, and recovery periods can be lengthy. This highlights the importance of speedy emergency care, which can help prevent disability and death, and may lead to a better quality of life post-stroke. It’s also important to understand that 25% (1 in 4) of stroke patients will experience a second stroke within the first five years. However, with lifestyle changes and proper care, patients can reduce their risk

“Everyone should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of stroke to ensure that they or a loved one receive appropriate and timely care. Going to the emergency room at the onset of symptoms can impact the care a patient receives, including their eligibility to enroll in a clinical trial, so it’s vital to seek immediate medical attention at the first sign of stroke,” says Clay Johnston, PhD, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Harbor Health.

One particular clinical trial, Librexia STROKE, is currently recruiting patients to evaluate an investigational medication for recurrent stroke prevention, but eligibility is time-sensitive and participants must enroll within 48 hours after the onset of their stroke symptoms. Delays in seeking care following the initial symptoms of a stroke can limit access to these types of innovative treatment options.

Learn life-saving facts about stroke prevention and treatment by visiting https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke/stroke-symptoms.

“The opportunity to receive the best possible treatment and care begins with widespread awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke and the urgency of seeking immediate emergency medical attention when a stroke is suspected,” says Dr. Johnston. (StatePoint)

Approximately 50 girls from The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County (GSSC) honored Long Island military veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice by planting American Flags at their graves at Calverton National Cemetery on May 24.

The annual event sees Girl Scouts install more than 500 flags in just one section of the more than 1,000-acre military cemetery, which is the final resting place for more than 275,000 Veterans from every American conflict. The flag installation is part of the GSSC county-wide Service Unit activities and included girls ages 5 to 16 from Mastic Beach, Shirley, and Moriches.

“We place the flag, we say the names out loud, and we salute the grave,” said Olivia Phillips, 17, of Mastic. “We do it to show that we understand that sacrifice and we wouldn’t be here without them.”

The girls also earned a special “Calverton National Cemetery” patch to wear on their sashes and vests to salute their service.

“It shows how we are honoring the people who are buried here,” said Gabreilla Greco, 11, of Shirley. “If we didn’t do this, I feel like no one would, and it’s important to honor them.”

About Girl Scouts of Suffolk County

Since 1968, Girl Scouts of Suffolk County has been committed to building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. With over 15,000 members, they are one of the largest youth-serving agencies in Suffolk County.  For more information about the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, please call (631) 543-6622 or visit www.gssc.us. Follow Girl Scouts of Suffolk County onFacebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Rendering courtesy of Simon Property Group

By Heidi Sutton

Exciting news for home chefs! Sur La Table, a culinary destination offering cooking classes, high-quality kitchen products, and premium in-store experiences, has announced their return to the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove with a grand opening set for Thursday, June 5 at 10 a.m. The new store will be situated in Lifestyle Village in the same location as before.

Created by chefs for chefs, this new store will provide an inviting space for culinary enthusiasts of all levels to explore the world of cooking — from hands on classes to top-of-the-line kitchen gear, Sur La Table “inspires chefs of all levels to make more and gather often,” according to a press release.  

The opening is part of Simon Property Group’s multi-million dollar transformation project at the mall, which, when completed in 2026, will include a number of retailers including Zara, Mango and Primark; restaurants; new landscaping; interior and exterior improvements including new flooring, lighting and paint; along with an extensive revitalization of the mall’s Center Court and Food Court. 

“Sur La Table’s arrival at Smith Haven Mall is one of many exciting changes we’re making to our center,” said Jillian Friello, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Smith Haven Mall. “This new addition aligns perfectly with our vision to offer shoppers a more dynamic, elevated, and diverse experience. We’re proud to welcome Sur La Table to our growing list of brands joining the center and are confident it will be a great addition to the mall.”  

“We are thrilled to bring Sur La Table’s engaging experiences around cooking to the Smith Haven Mall,” said Sur La Table CEO, Jordan Voloshin. “Our mission has always been to inspire people to cook with joy, and this new location allows us to connect with an even larger community of food lovers. With the revitalization of Smith Haven Mall, we’re excited to be part of this exciting new chapter and offer a fresh, innovative shopping experience to the region.”  

Store hours will be Mondays to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.,  Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

To learn more about upcoming events, cooking classes, and exclusive products, visit www.surlatable.com. 

Pixabay photo
A Column Promoting a More Earth-Friendly Lifestyle

By John L. Turner

John Turner

Over the past several weeks and continuing now in a diminished fashion, hundreds of millions of birds have been migrating north to their breeding grounds to raise the next generation. Colorful songbirds like warblers, tanagers, thrushes, grosbeaks, vireos, and many other groups are winging their way through the night to reach their desired destinations, using, remarkably, the celestial constellations and the Earth’s magnetic fields to orient themselves and stay on course until they arrive at their breeding grounds.    

On their travels these birds face a gauntlet of challenges so the question is: would you like to take a simple step to help ensure they successfully complete their remarkable journeys? Shut off unneeded interior lights or pull down blinds to prevent the light from bleeding outward. Also, and more importantly, turn off exterior lights. A number of studies have documented that lighting confuses and disorients birds just as it does to moths, drawing them into unfriendly environments like developed areas where feral and free roaming pet cats and glass windows are abundant. By reducing the amount of ambient light we can help migrating birds safely reach their nesting sites. Plus, you’ll save a little in energy costs.

A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is a naturalist, conservation co-chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, and Conservation Policy Advocate for the Seatuck Environmental Association.

 

Legislator Steve Englebright, right, presents a check to Port Jefferson Historical Society Board members, from left to right, Joan Townley, Laura Warren and Nick Acampora. Photo from Legislator Englebright’s office

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) recently presented checks to representatives from various cultural organizations in his district to help them fund future projects.

“A genuine love for community has always been a driving factor in my work,” Englebright said. “Recently, I showcased my appreciation and support for several of our district’s most beloved cultural and arts organizations through Suffolk County Omnibus Grants.”

Legislator Englebright, center, presents a check to Three Village Community Trust board members, from left to right, Robert Reuter, Greg de Bruin, Peter Legakis and Herb Mones. Photo from Legislator Englebright’s office

During Legislator Englebright’s tenure as a New York State Assemblyman, he was the Prime Sponsor of legislation that led to what is commonly referred to as the hotel-motel room fee. The intention behind this initiative that is essentially a tax on people who live outside of our county, including many from other countries was to help generate funds that would enable Suffolk County Legislators to support the Long Island tourism industry through grants for programs for the arts, music, and history. The Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning administers the awards.

“This year, I experienced numerous full-circle moments as I was pleased to be able to award numerous community cultural organizations with funding that will help support important programs that our part of the county has become known for, such as the Gallery North Wet Paint Festival, the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce’s and Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s summer concert series, and the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council’s annual Dickens Festival,” the legislator said.

Several local galleries, music venues and museums were also granted awards, such as The Reboli Center for Art and History, The Jazz Loft, and the Long Island Museum.

“In total, I was able to provide room fee-derived funds amounting to more than $150,000 to 15 local organizations which, in turn, will help nurture a vibrant scene for lovers of art, music, and history while stimulating our local economy through tourism and leisure travel,” Englebright said.

The Fifth Legislative District’s grant recipients are The Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council, Gallery North, Theatre Three, The Reboli Center, The Jazz Loft, The Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce, The Frank Melville Memorial Foundation, The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, The Three Village Historical Society, The Long Island Museum, The Port Jefferson Historical Society, The Children’s Maritime Museum (Long Island Explorium), The Three Village Community Trust, The Ward Melville Heritage Organization and The Village of Port Jefferson.

Angelika Drees at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Drees is pointing to the pipe that runs clockwise, while, on the other side of that pipe, is another one (marked in yellow tape) that runs counterclockwise. Photo by Daniel Dunaief

By Daniel Dunaief

Finely tuned accelerators, constructed underground in rings that are over 1.5 miles long, can reveal secrets about the smallest parts of matter. At the same time, the work researchers do, which involves accelerating electrons, ions and other sub atomic particles, operates at a level considerably smaller than a human hair, using sensitive equipment under tightly controlled, high energy conditions.

Indeed, at this scale, researchers need to account for energies and changes that wouldn’t affect most human activities, but that can have significant impacts on the work they are doing and the conclusions they draw.

Over the years, accelerator physicists have encountered a wide range of challenges and, for a time, unexplained phenomena.

Accelerator physicist Angelika Drees has worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory since 1997 and has experience and expertise with several accelerators. She is currently working on the Electron Ion Collider (EIC), a unique instrument that will explore quarks and gluons — particles inside the atomic nucleus — that will have applications in medicine, materials science, and energy.

Drees does luminosity calculations. She tries to ensure more collisions. At the same time, she seeks to protect the equipment while keeping the backgrounds as low as achievable.

Drees works with a loss monitor and is responsible for that system, which includes over 400 monitors. The majority of these are installed between two beam pipes.

Lost signal

Drees has worked since 1997 at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), which is in its last experimental runs before it provides some of the materials for the new EIC.

As an accelerator, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has beam position monitors that are comprised of two opposing striplines inside the beam pipe that measure the position of the beam. These striplines, which are on either side of the beam, look at the difference in induced signal amplitude. Equal amplitude, with a difference of zero, implies that the beam is in the center.

While the engineers knew that the material for the cables, which transmit signals from the beam position monitor to the system that sees its location, would shrink when exposed to temperatures of 4 degrees Kelvin, they hadn’t adjusted the design to prepare for the change.

When the electronics shrunk after being exposed to temperatures close to absolute zero, which help make the magnets superconducting, they pulled themselves out of their power source.

“We could not see the position of the beam,” Drees explained. “This was during the so-called sextant test, and the beam was not (yet) circling.”

The magnets operated independent of the beam position monitors.

For about a year they could see the beamline 20 meters downstream. Before Drees arrived, the team updated the cables, putting kinks that allowed them to shrink without interfering with their operation of pulling themselves out of the power source.

“It was repaired and, ever since, there has been no further issue,” she said.

‘Weird variation’

Before she arrived at BNL, Drees conducted her PhD work at the Large Electron-Positron Collider, or LEP, which has now become the site of the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland.

The LEP was 27 kilometers long and was between 30 meters and 160 meters underground. It stretched below France and Switzerland. Some part of it was in soil that is affected by Lake Geneva. Half of the LEP was embedded below the Jura bedrock and the other half was embedded in softer sedimentary deposits close to the lake.

Scientists saw regular variation in their results, with a peak to peak beam energy of about 250 parts per million. By studying the timing of these peaks to a regular 28-day and daily cycle, they connected it to the moon.

“The moon not only affects Earth’s oceans, but the actual crust and thus the LEP ring inside it,” Drees explained.

The moon wasn’t the only outside influence on the LEP. Rainwater penetrated the tunnel.

The magnet yokes had concrete between metal laminations. The concrete absorbed the humidity and expanded, increasing pressure on the metal laminations.

That changed the magnetic permeability and the transfer function, which indicates how much bending magnetic field researchers get out of a magnet with a specific electric current.

Rain took about two weeks to show up in the data, as the water took that long to reach and alter the concrete.

During her PhD on the LEP beam energy measurement and calibration, Drees searched for environment effects as a part of her thesis.

While others discovered the moon tides before she arrived, she and other researchers couldn’t account for a ground current that was penetrating into the equipment.

Acting like an extra and inexplicable power source, this current changed the magnetic field.

The extra energy invalidated earlier results. The error bar was four times larger than they originally thought, causing the LEP working group to withdraw a paper and commit to redoing the analysis.

The energy disappeared from midnight to 4 am. Back then, researchers at the LEP were so eager for an explanation that they posted a message on a TV screen, offering an award, like a bottle of champagne, to anyone who could explain what was happening.

Suspecting planes might be contributing, Drees sent a student to the airport to monitor flights. The police, however, weren’t too pleased with this data gathering, initially questioning, then sending the student away.

Drees met with the power authority, who had measured ground currents in the area for years that stopped during those same post midnight hours.

That provided the necessary clue, as the trains — and, in particular the French ones — had contributed this unexplained energy.

Unlike the Swiss trains, which operate with alternating current, the French trains use direct current, which had affected their experiments.

Looking forward

Angelika Drees on her horse Pino.

Originally from Wuppertal, Germany, Drees balances the mentally demanding and inspirational challenges of working at these colliders with manual labor.

She earned money during her undergraduate and graduate school days by shoeing horses.

Drees currently owns a horse and works regularly on a horse farm, throwing hay bales and repairing fences.

“I like physical labor,” she said.

Several years ago, she traveled to Portugal, where she stopped at a farm with a Lusitano stallion. The horse had a loose shoe. While she couldn’t speak Portuguese with the person leading the stallion, who, as it turned out, was the national riding coach, she let him know that she could help.

After she repaired the shoe, he asked if she wanted to ride. She found riding this stallion in the back woods of Portugal “amazing.”

“Very brainy work and very physical work balances each other well,’ she said.

As for the colliders, Drees is looking forward to the construction of the EIC, even as she has bittersweet sentiments about RHIC closing down.

Ultimately, building the EIC presents challenges that she is eager to face.