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#24 Jared Frey Jared Frey connected on five three-pointers, a new career-best for the sophomore, during last Saturday's game. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook University men’s basketball team came from behind to defeat Bryant, 86-75, on Dec. 9 at Island Federal Arena. The Seawolves knocked down 16 three-pointers and shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to beat the Bulldogs.

Stony Brook found itself down 17-5 out of the gate after Connor Withers made his first five shots, including four from beyond the arc. Bryant maintained a double-digit lead for a majority of the opening 13 minutes of the contest, thanks to hot shooting from three-point range. The Seawolves made it a one-possession game on two occasions down the stretch in the first half, but would go into the locker room facing a 36-31 deficit.

The second half told a much different story, seeing the Seawolves flip the script on the Bulldogs. Stony Brook shot better than 65 percent from the floor and 73.3 percent from downtown in the second half to overcome a 12-point, first-half deficit and overcome Bryant.

Momentum began swinging in the Seawolves’ favor early on in the second half, and by the 12-minute mark the game was tied for the first time since the opening tip. Dean Noll’s trifecta made it 47-47, capping off a 9-0 run by Stony Brook.

Stony Brook then grabbed its first lead of the evening, 51-49, on a Tyler Stephenson-Moore trifecta. Chippiness between the two sides followed, seeing a pair of double-technicals assessed to players from either side.

 With the contest tied once more at 55-55, Withers struck again from downtown, but an extended celebration directed towards Stony Brook’s bench earned him a technical foul. Bryant’s three-point lead then turned into a seven-point deficit after the Seawolves went on a 10-0 run after the tech, punctuated by another Stepheson-Moore triple.

The Seawolves never trailed again, though the Bulldogs came within a possession of the lead with just under five minutes to play. The Seawolves buckled down however, expanding its lead to double figures with under two minutes to play and closing things out at the charity stripe to earn its biggest victory of the season to date.

“Tonight … we needed everybody to play well … and the eight guys that went in there made key contributions. It was a great win for us,” said Coach Geno Ford after the game. “At the end of the day, we showed a level of toughness and resolve that we need to show to win a game against a really good team.”

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From Angels to Werewolves: Animal-Human Hybrids in Myth and Art

By Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan

St. James resident Philip F. Palmedo has produced a beautifully written and generously illustrated book on a subject that has intrigued, delighted, and frightened children and adults from ancient days to the present: therianthropy, the mythological ability of humans to metamorphose into animals or animal-human hybrids.  

“The concept of the therianthrope can catalyze the creative imagination,” writes Palmedo. 

The first that we know of is the Upper Paleolithic Lion-Man carved out of woolly mammoth ivory some 40,000 years ago. While we can only conjecture why it was created, we know that more recent animal-headed deities like the jackal-headed Egyptian god Anubis played important roles some 5000 years ago in weighing the worth of a person after death.

In the Hindu pantheon, elephant-headed, four-armed Ganesha is widely revered as a bringer of good luck; in Christian art winged angels abound, by turns avenging and comforting. In the 20th century, the ancient Greek legend of the fearsome Minotaur, a man with the head and tail of a bull, served as Pablo Picasso’s “allegorical alter-ego . . . with many of his etchings, paintings, and sculptures featuring this mythical bull-man.” 

Imaginative minds past and present have created talking animals, from the wicked snake in Genesis that tempted Eve in the Garden to the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and lovable Big Bird of Sesame Street. 

Shape-shifting, the ability to change from human to animal or to an inanimate object, abounds in Greek mythology. One rather improbable example is that of the god Zeus changing into a swan to seduce Leda. In another example, as retold by the ancient Roman poet Ovid, the beautiful river nymph Daphne was “shapeshifted” by her father, morphing into a laurel tree to defeat the unwelcome advances of Apollo, the Greek god of the arts. The sadder but wiser Apollo paid tribute to her by adopting the laurel wreath as his crown. 

In America, therianthropy is on display in The Wolf Man horror films, from Lon Chaney’s 1941 portrayal to Benicio del Toro’s in 2010. More recently, the widely consumed Harry Potter tales spun by prolific British writer J. K. Rowling charmed children and adults with a talking bird, Hedwig, and with Firenze, the centaur who rescued Harry from the villain Voldemort. 

Centaurs, mythic creatures with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse, are the land complement to creatures with human upper torsos ending in huge fish tails — mermen and the alluring mermaids sighted by lonely mariners whose names derive from the French word for the sea, La mer. Palmedo’s chapter, Merpeople, is richly illustrated with examples in art from 6000 BC Serbia and 4th century BC Greece to 19th and 20th century India, Japan, Great Britain, and Denmark, including the bronze sculpture The Little Mermaid that overlooks the harbor in Copenhagen. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale published in 1837, that fable might bring tears to one’s eyes. 

On the other hand, Norman Rockwell’s 1955 Saturday Evening Post cover, The Mermaid, can only make us chuckle with its depiction of an elderly fisherman hauling a beautiful mermaid home, her long elegant tail protruding from the large wooden fish trap on his back. 

This elegant, art-illustrated book written with clarity, printed on glossy paper, will entertain and enlighten. It can be purchased from Amazon. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Ph. D. in Nuclear Engineering from M.I.T., Philip F. Palmedo, former head of the Energy Policy Analysis Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory, was for many years Chairman of the Washington-based International Resources Group, which he founded. A former Trustee of Williams College in Massachusetts, where he majored in Physics and Art History as an undergraduate, Palmedo formed and was President of the Long Island Research Institute. He also serves on the MIT Council for the Arts, and is a fellow of the Williams College Museum of Art. Palmedo’s previous book was Deep Affinities: Art and Science.

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Caroline Parker Mountpleasant, a Haudenosaunee woman from the Seneca people, in traditional dress circa 1850. Courtesy of the Rochester Museum & Science Center

By Lisa Scott

November for most of us is a time to celebrate our democracy by voting. And later that month we conjure Pilgrims and Indians celebrating harvest plentitude in peace, as we similarly gather with friends and family to feast and give thanks. But today when vocal individuals and groups are arguing that history and culture are controversial subjects, it’s important to remind us all that there is much more about Native Americans that we can learn from and that should be shared. 

American Indian Day was first celebrated in New York 107 years ago — after Red Fox James (a member of the Blackfoot Nation) rode across our country seeking approval from 24 state governments to have a day to honor  American Indians. But it wasn’t until 1990 that Pres. George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November “National American Indian Heritage Month.”

The U.S. Census Bureau conducted population surveys which were released as part of their 2020 census:  the U.S. American Indian and Alaska Native population (9.7 million in 2020) is one of the six major race categories defined by the US Office of Management and Budget. There were 1.5 million people who identified as Cherokee. That group has a tragic history, since they and the other “Five Civilized Tribes” of what’s referred to now as the American Deep South were subject to Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830 leading to the “Trail of Tears.”

This was an effort to forcibly relocate tribes/sovereign nations to Oklahoma and for the federal and state governments to dissolve their tribal boundaries and annex their lands. In today’s world, it can be termed “ethnic cleansing” and it anticipated the U.S. Indian reservation system. And the fighting over Indian lands was not only a 19th century blot on our history. 

Killers of the Flower Moon (book by David Grann, as well as the recent film) recounts the true story of how a white businessman and self-proclaimed “true friend” of the Osage Nation orchestrated the brutal murders of numerous members of the tribe in early 1920s Oklahoma after big oil deposits were discovered beneath their land. 

The ”Trail of Tears” tragedy and the legacy of government disregard (in spite of court decisions supporting tribal land sovereignty and finding against federal and state land seizures) continues to the current day. For example, the Shinnecock Nation continue their efforts to regain control over their ancestral land. The Shinnecock Indian Nation is one of the oldest self-governing tribes in the State of New York and was formally recognized by the United States federal government as the 565th federally recognized tribe on October 1, 2010. 

But Governor Hochul recently vetoed the Montaukett tribe’s state-recognition bill, which had passed the NYS legislature unanimously early in 2023, citing a 1910 judicial decision which claimed that the Montaukett community no longer functioned as a governmental unit in the state. Historian John Strong called those 1910 rulings “racist.” In 1998, a Newsday investigation unearthed documents that appear to be “deceit, likes and possible forgery” in deals that wrested tribal lands from the Montauketts and the Shinnecock Indian Nation. 

Women’s Suffrage leaders in upstate New York in the mid-19th century were strongly influenced by the Native Americans — specifically the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) whose tribal government  was organized to maintain a balance of equality between men and women. There was a wide range of information in local newspapers like the Syracuse Standard, creating a sophisticated understanding of Haudenosaunee culture and tribal government. Also there was a great deal of personal interaction; friendship and visiting were commonplace activities. 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage, as major theoreticians of the woman’s rights movement, claimed that the society in which they lived was based on the oppression of women. However, their neighbors, Haudenosaunee society, was organized to maintain a balance of equality between women and men; women had decisive political power, control of their bodies, control of their own property. custody of the children they bore, the power to initiate divorce, satisfying work, and a society generally free of rape and domestic violence. Women chose their chief, held key political offices, and decision making was by consensus. Thus those early feminists believed women’s liberation was possible because they knew liberated women who possessed rights beyond their wildest imagination — Haudenosaunee women.

Lisa Scott is president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit https//my.lwv.org/new-york/suffolk-county.

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Most thyroid nodules are found incidentally. METRO photo

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

Thyroid nodules are often diagnosed incidentally on radiologic exams, such as CT scans of the chest, MRI scans, PET scans and ultrasounds of the carotid arteries in the neck. It’s rarely because of symptoms. More than 50 percent of people have thyroid nodules detectable by high-resolution ultrasound. Fortunately, most are benign. Depending on the study, the percent that are malignant can range from 1.1 to 6.5 percent of nodules. 

This leaves us with the question of what to do with a thyroid nodule. What’s the short answer? It depends on the size. If it is over one centimeter, usually it is biopsied by fine needle aspiration (FNA). While most are asymptomatic, if there are symptoms, these might include difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, hoarseness, pain in the lower portion of the neck and a goiter.

FNA biopsy is becoming more common. In a study evaluating several databases, there was a greater than 100 percent increase in thyroid FNAs performed over a five-year period from 2006 to 2011. This resulted in a 31 percent increase in thyroidectomies, surgeries to remove the thyroid partially or completely.

However, the number of thyroid cancers diagnosed with surgery did not rise in this same period. Thyroid nodules in this study were least likely to be cancerous when the initial diagnosis was by incidental radiologic exam.

Addressing indeterminate FNA results

As much as 25 percent of FNA biopsies are indeterminate. We are going to look at two techniques to differentiate between benign and malignant thyroid nodules when FNA results are equivocal: a PET scan and a molecular genetics test.

A meta-analysis of six studies of PET scan results showed that it was least effective in resolving an unclear FNA biopsy. The PET scan was able to rule out patients who did not have malignancies, but it did not do a good job of identifying those who did have cancer.

On the other hand, a molecular-based test was able to potentially determine whether an indeterminate thyroid nodule by FNA was malignant or benign.

Unlike in the PET scan study above, the researchers were able to not only rule out the majority of malignancies but also to rule them in. It was not perfect, but the percent of negative predictive value (ruled out) was 94 percent, and the positive predictive value (ruled in) was 74 percent. The combination test improved the predictive results of previous molecular tests by 65 to 69 percent. This is important to help decide whether or not the patient needs surgery to remove at least part of the thyroid.

What is the significance of calcification?

Microcalcifications in the nodule can be detected with an ultrasound. The significance of this may be that patients with microcalcifications are more likely to have malignant thyroid nodules than those without them, according to a small prospective study involving 170 patients. This does not mean that a patient has malignancy with calcifications, but that there is a higher risk.

The ‘wait and follow-up’ approach

As I mentioned above, most thyroid nodules are benign. The results of one study go even further, showing that most asymptomatic benign nodules do not progress in size significantly after five years. The factors that did contribute to growth of about 11 percent of the nodules were age (<45 years old had more growth than >60 years old), the existence of multiple nodules, greater nodule volume at baseline, and being male.

The study authors’ suggestion is that, after the follow-up scan, the next ultrasound scan might be five years later instead of three. However, they did discover thyroid cancer in 0.3 percent after five years.

How does thyroid function affect outcomes?

In considering risk factors, it’s important to note that those who had normal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were less likely to have a malignant thyroid nodule than those who had high TSH, implying hypothyroidism. There was an almost 30 percent prevalence of cancer in the nodule if the TSH was greater than >5.5 mU/L (13).

Fortunately, most nodules are benign and asymptomatic, but the number of cancerous nodules found is growing. Why the mortality rate remains the same, year over year for decades, may have to do with the slow rate at which most thyroid cancers progress, especially of the two most common forms, follicular and papillary.

References:

(1) uptodate.com. (2) AACE 2013 Abstract 1048. (3) Thyroid. 2005;15(7):708. (4) European Thyroid Journal. 2022 Jun 29;11(4) online. (5) AACE 2013 Abstract 1048. (6) thyroid.org. (7) AAES 2013 Annual Meeting. Abstract 36. (8) AACE 2013 Abstract 1048. (9) Cancer. 2011;117(20):4582-4594. (10) J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Online May 12, 2015. (11) Head Neck. 2008 Sep;30(9):1206-1210. (12) JAMA. 2015;313(9):926-935. (13) J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(11):4295.

Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation.Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
'All Aboard Home — For The Holidays' art installation. Photo by Rob Pellegrino

The Three Village Community Trust, the Three Village Civic Association, the North Suffolk Garden Club, the Three Village Chamber of Commerce and students and faculty at the Stony Brook School, and the Three Village Historical Society are partners in a Beautification Project at the Stony Brook Train Station.  Over the past year, significant progress has been made removing debris, weeds, and invasive plants from the landscaped beds. And a wide variety of Long Island native plants have been added to the landscaped beds.

As part of their ongoing efforts, the Stony Brook Train Station Beautification Committee invited local artist Michael Rosengard to create a unique art installation at the Station titled ‘All Aboard – Home For The Holiday.’ This outdoor work of art, located outside the front entrance of the historic Stony Brook Station House, creates a sense of wonder and whimsy to those walking or driving past the Station, highlights the history and importance of the Long Island Rail Road, celebrates the accomplishments of the Beautification Project, and helps kicks of the Holiday Season.

The community celebrated the opening of the exhibit on Monday, December 4th!

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Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Photo courtesy of Preserve KPPC

Properties in Brentwood, Huntington, Kings Park, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Riverhead, and Smithtown are included in Preservation Long Island’s biennial list of Endangered Historic Places.

Preservation Long Island’s 2023 Endangered Historic Places List features seven nominated sites that span Long Island from a lighthouse on the Sound off Kings Point, to an early power plant in Riverhead. From historic homesteads to an expansive former mental health campus, the latest list highlights the historical richness of the region.

The Preservation Long Island (PLI) Endangered Historic Places Program (EHPP) is designed to identify, highlight, and address the imminent threats faced by significant historical sites and structures across Long Island. Properties are nominated to the list by concerned citizens and groups on Long Island. The program aims to raise public awareness about the endangered status of these historical places. PLI engages in advocacy efforts to garner support from the local community and beyond, emphasizing the importance of preserving these sites for future generations.

“The program offers Long Islanders an opportunity to advocate for preservation in their communities while learning how to use tools like landmark designation, tax incentives, and public outreach,” said Alexandra Wolfe, Preservation Long Island’s Executive Director. “Our program partners receive priority technical assistance from our professional staff and their listings are featured on our website and social media.”

“Operating on two levels, the program seeks to educate and mobilize new preservation advocates while identifying endangered historic places,” said Tara Cubie, Preservation Long Island’s Director of Preservation and Advocacy. “The relationships fostered by becoming an EHPP listing site are long term. The goal is for communities to develop sustainable comprehensive strategies for the protection and preservation of their historic resources.”

A panel of Preservation Long Island staff and trustees, as well as experts in architecture, historic preservation, and other related fields selected the properties based on three key criteria: overall historic significance, severity of the threat and impact the EHPP listing will have on efforts to protect the nominated site.

In-person events are planned for the Spring of 2024 that include site tours, and panel discussions open to the public. Visit the EHPP page on our website to learn more about each of the selected sites and browse the schedule of upcoming events.

Preservation Long Island invites all Long Islanders to join us in celebrating and supporting the important sites on Long Island’s List of Endangered Historic Places for 2023:

Eliphalet Whitman House (c. 1736), Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown (part of Caleb Smith State Park). Listed on the National Register as a contributing structure to the Wyandanch Club Historic District, the house does not appear to be maintained and is showing significant signs of neglect and deterioration.

Perkins Electric Generating Plant (Riverhead Electric Co), West Main Street, Riverhead. Constructed in 1897, it was one of the earliest electric plants on Long Island. The building is vacant and deteriorating.

Steppingstone Lighthouse, Long Island Sound, off Kings Point and South of City Island (owned by Town of North Hempstead). Completed in 1877, it is one of the last offshore lighthouses in the Upper Mid-Atlantic to be built of brick and stone.  The site is threatened by deterioration and neglect.

King’s Park Psychiatric Center, Nissequogue River State Park, Kings Park. A former mental health facility established in 1884, with the oldest extant buildings dating from 1890, the complex is significant for its architecture and as a cultural historic landscape. The Master Plan for the park finalized in August 2023, proposes demolition of Kings Park Boulevard.

Coindre Hall Boathouse, Town of Huntington. Located directly behind Coindre Hall (c.1912), the boat house is a miniature replica of the mansion. No longer safe for use, the structure has been fenced in for safety purposes, and is in bad condition. Although there has been stabilization work completed, there is debate regarding whether the building should be restored or the waterfront should be turned into a nature reserve.

Shutt House, Town of Islip. The house is one of the original homes in Modern Times (1851-1864), Long Island’s utopian community (which evolved into today’s Brentwood). The structure is threatened by proposed demolition and development by the current owner.

Mill Pond House, Town of Oyster Bay. Built before 1720, the Mill Pond House is one of the oldest surviving dwellings in Oyster Bay. The building has been vacant since 2008 and continues to deteriorate.

Preservation Long Island’s Endangered Historic Places Program is made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

About Preservation Long Island

Preservation Long Island is a not-for-profit organization that works with Long Islanders to raise awareness, appreciation, and support for the protection of our shared past through advocacy, education, and the stewardship of historic sites and collections.

Preservation Long Island’s preservation advocacy services support the work of our local partners in communities across the region. We offer consultation and strategic guidance for Long Islanders seeking help with local preservation projects, including historic resource surveys, local landmark designation, National Register listing, and restoration or adaptive reuse of historic buildings.

Preservation Long Island also maintains and interprets historic sites and collections that embody various aspects of Long Island’s history including:

Joseph Lloyd Manor, Lloyd Harbor

Custom House, Sag Harbor

Sherwood-Jayne Farm, Setauket

Old Methodist Church and Exhibition Gallery

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Reconstruction work has begun at the Art League of Long Island.
Reconstruction work has begun at the Art League of Long Island.
Reconstruction work has begun at the Art League of Long Island.
Reconstruction work has begun at the Art League of Long Island.
Reconstruction, reopening, and calls for donations to ensure future sustainability

The Art League of Long Island (ALLI) in Dix Hills has announced the successful beginning of the reconstruction efforts following the devastating damage caused by heavy rainfall on September 29, 2023. The catastrophe led to substantial damage to all nine studios, the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, office space, and the library. 

Despite the challenges faced, the Art League community remained resilient. Temporary accommodations were arranged for classes and exhibitions, hosted by supportive partners such as Spirit of Huntington, Nassau Community College’s Art Department, Nassau County Museum of Art, and the Half Hollow Hills and Northport School Districts. Exhibitions, including one hosted by Empire Mazda of Huntington, continued to thrive. The Art League of Long Island stood firm, ensuring the continuity of its programs and events.

Reconstruction efforts, managed by Anthony Lauto of Camber Strategies, are comprehensive, including renovations to the building and grounds. Critical infrastructure enhancements, such as the installation of six catch basins, a new concrete walkway, updated curbing to the foundation, a water dam, and additional drywells. Essential repairs to the parking lot and internal spaces are also being executed, including patching of sheetrock and drywall, improved insulation, repainting of the Strolling & Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, installation of new flooring, and enhancements to studios for better lighting and storage.

The total cost of these efforts amounts to approximately $500,000, entirely funded through internal resources. However, the Art League of Long Island continues to seek support from the community through donations to match its programs with the renewed space and to establish an endowment for future sustainability.

Executive Director, Marianne Della Croce highlighted, “Our mission, dating back to 1955, has been to provide broad-based visual arts education and serve as a platform for artists of all ages and abilities. Our vision remains steadfast in creating an art-centric community that fosters creativity and support. We are seeking continued backing from our community to ensure the Art League continues its impactful journey.”

The Art League of Long Island invites individuals and businesses to contribute through memberships, donations, and employer matching programs. Every contribution will help sustain the Art League’s mission, supporting artists’ development, outreach programs to underserved communities, and maintaining high-quality fine arts exhibitions.

For more information on how to donate and support the Art League of Long Island, please visit www.artleagueli.org.

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Photo courtesy of SBU

By Daniel Dunaief

Predicting extreme heat events is at least as important as tracking the strength and duration of approaching hurricanes.

Ping Liu

Extreme heat waves, which have become increasingly common and prevalent in the western continental United States and in Europe, can have devastating impacts through wildfires, crop failures and human casualties.

Indeed, in 2003, extreme heat in Europe caused over 70,000 deaths, which was the largest number of deaths from heat in recent years.

Recently, a trio of scientists at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) received $500,000 from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to study heat events by using and analyzing NOAA’s Seamless System for Prediction and EArth System Research, or SPEAR, to understand heat waves and predict future such events.

The first objective is to evaluate simulations in the SPEAR model, by looking at how effectively this program predicts the frequency and duration of heat events from previous decades, said Ping Liu, who is the Principal Investigator on the project and is an Associate Professor at SoMAS.

Liu was particularly pleased to receive this funding because of the “urgent need” for this research, he explained in an email.

The team will explore the impact of three scenarios for increases in overall average temperature from pre-Industrial Revolution levels, including increases of 1.5 degrees Celsius, 2 degrees Celsius and four degrees Celsius, which are the increases the IPCC Assessment Reports has adopted.

Answering questions related to predicting future heat waves requires high-resolution modeling products, preferably in a large ensemble of simulations from multiple models, for robustness and the estimation of uncertainties, the researchers explained in their proposal.

“Our evaluations and research will provide recommendations for improving the SPEAR to simulate the Earth system, supporting NOAA’s mission of ‘Science, Service and Stewardship,’” they explained.

Kevin Reed, Professor, and Levi Silvers, research scientist, are joining Liu in this effort.

Liu and Reed recently published a paper in the Journal of Climate and have conducted unfunded research on two other projects. Liu brought Silvers into the group after Reed recommended Silvers for his background in climate modeling and dynamics.

Reed, who is Interim Director of Academic, Research and Commercialization Programs for The New York Climate Exchange, suggested that the research the heat wave team does will help understand the limitations of the SPEAR system “so that we can better interpret how the modeling system will project [how] blocking events and heat will be impacted by climate change.”

An expert in hurricanes, Reed added that blocking events, which can cause high pressure systems to stall and lead to prolonged heat waves, can also lead to unique hurricane tracks, such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

“A longer term goal of many of my colleagues at Stony Brook University is to better understand these connections,” said Reed, who is Associate Provost for Climate and Sustainability Programming and was also recently appointed to the National Academies’ Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate.

Liu will use some of the NOAA funds to recruit and train a graduate student, who will work in his lab and will collaborate with Reed and Silvers.In the bigger picture, the Stony Brook researchers secured the NOAA backing in the same year that the university won the bidding to develop a climate solutions center on Governors Island.

Reed suggested that the “results of the work can be shared with our partners and can help to inform future societally relevant climate research projects.”

Focus on two regions

The systems that have caused an increase in heat waves in the United States and Europe are part of a trend that will continue amid an uneven distribution of extreme weather, Liu added.

Heat waves are becoming more frequent and severe, though the magnitude and impact area vary by year, Liu explained.

The high pressure systems look like ridges on weather maps, which travel from west to east.

Any slowing of the system, which can also occur over Long Island, can cause sustained and uncomfortable conditions.

Over the past several years, Liu developed computer algorithms to detect high pressure systems when they become stationary. He published those algorithms in two journal papers, which he will use in this project.

Personal history

Born and raised in Sichuan, China, Liu moved to Stony Brook from Hawaii, where he was a scientific computer programmer, in November of 2009.

He and his wife Suqiong Li live in East Setauket with their 16-year old daughter Mia, who is a student at Ward Melville High School and  a pianist who has received classical training at the Manhattan School of Music. Mia has been trained by award-winning teacher Miyoko Lotto.

Outside of the lab, Liu, who is five-feet, seven-inches tall, enjoys playing basketball on Thursday nights with a senior basketball team.

Growing up in China, Liu was always interested in weather phenomenon. When he was earning his PhD in China at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, he had limited computer resources, working in groups with IBM and, at times, Dell computer. He built several servers out of PC parts.

With air trapped inside the basin surrounded by tall mountains, Sichuan is particularly hot in the summer, which motivated him to pursue the study of heat waves.

Liu appreciated how Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory had created BlueGene, which he used when he arrived.

As for the future of his work, Liu believes predicting extreme heat waves is increasingly important “to help planners from local to federal levels cope with a climate that is changing rapidly and fostering more frequent and more severe heat events,” he explained.

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Pictured from left, Ray Anderson, Kara Hahn and Tom Manuel. Photo courtesy of The Jazz Loft

The Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook, presented two local notables with the Jazz Loft Legends in Jazz award on Dec. 2. World-renowned trombonist Ray Anderson and former Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn were both honored by Jazz Loft founder and president Tom Manuel.

The annual Legend in Jazz Award seeks to recognize individuals who have contributed to the art form of Jazz in a deep and meaningful way. The recipients have invested profoundly into the soundtrack of our society and culture and have used the power of music to speak to people’s heart and souls. 

Ray Anderson, who is Distinguished Toll Professor at Stony Brook University, has distinguished himself as a preeminent jazz trombone player who has received international acclaim. Formerly the Director of Jazz Studies at Stony Brook University, Anderson maintains a thriving performance and recording career that has spanned more than three decades. He is a co-founder board of The Jazz Loft and currently serves as vice president.

“I am so grateful to have received this wonderful award from the Jazz Loft,” Anderson said. “And my gratitude extends to all the many people on Long Island and elsewhere, who have supported the abundant performance, education, and preservation that this amazing non-profit institution provides.”

“Ray Anderson has graced the latter 20th century as one of the most innovative and creative voices in Jazz, has gifted us with an incredible body of creative and ingenious musical compositions, and has left a lasting mark as an educator of note,” said Manuel. “We’re beyond honored to have him serve as the Vice President of The Jazz Loft and to have him involved in so many music projects and education workshops and clinics throughout each season at TJL.  The world is absolutely a happier and more spirited place because of Ray!”

Kara Hahn, a former Suffolk County Legislator, is currently New York State Parks deputy regional director for the Long Island region. Hahn entered the county Legislature in 2012 and could not pursue reelection because of 12-year term limits for legislators. During her time as legislator for the 5th District, Hahn was incredibly supportive of The Jazz Loft and its mission to bring live music to the community. 

“Everything is better with great live music!” Hahn said. “Live music brings people together. Music heals people, it hears you, it sees you, it expresses for you what you wish you were articulate enough to say! Music, especially jazz music, soothes our souls and inspires us and energizes us. Houses of music like the wonderful Jazz Loft do the same for communities, and that is why we are so lucky to have Tom Manuel and the Jazz Loft here in our hometown, and I am incredibly honored to be recognized in this way.”

Manuel said “Kara Hahn is akin to our Jazz legends like Norman Granz, Leonard Feather and Nat Hentoff. These folks were stalwart advocates for the American born art form of Jazz and they championed both artists and organizations that today are household names. Jazz has always been a music of what’s ‘new’ and ‘new’ needs friends. Kara has supported the Jazz Loft from day one and through her support TJL now has an annual Swing Into Spring Festival that brings Jazz all throughout our community– to restaurants, businesses and more. She also helped create our outdoor series called Summer SWAP (Stage With A Purpose) that helps bring free concerts to our community and has continued on thanks to sponsorship from Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine. We are so grateful for Kara’s commitment, drive, and dedication to her community. She is without question a gift to us all.”

Past recipients of the Legends in Jazz Award have been bass player Bill Crow and guitarist Gene Bertoncini.

For more information about The Jazz Loft visit https://www.thejazzloft.org

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