contest

A participant at last year's tournament. Photo by Carol Tokosh

The Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve will hold its annual Catch and Release Junior Angler Fishing Tournament at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve, 581 W. Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, on Saturday,  June 14. The event is rain or shine.

The tournament will be divided into two groups: ages 5 through 8 from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. and ages 9 to 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. Sign-in begins 30 minutes before each start time. Trophies will be awarded in three categories at each session.

Those interested in participating in the tournament must register by Thursday, June 12, and adults must accompany anglers under the age of 10. The entry fee is $20 and includes bait, hooks and bobbers, junior angler tee shirts, refreshments, and goody bags for all participants. A limited number of fishing rods are available if required. An $8 NYS Parks parking fee will be in effect. 

For more information or to register, call the Caleb Smith State Preserve office at 631-265-1054, Tuesday through Sunday.

Joseph Lloyd Manor garden. Courtesy of Preservation Long Island.

The Caribbean American Poetry Association (CAPA) and Preservation Long Island (PLI) invite students in Grades 6-12 across Long Island to share original poems as part of the 2025 Caribbean American Heritage Month/ Juneteenth Poetry Celebration on Thursday, June 19 in Lloyd Harbor. This event will pay homage to Jupiter Hammon (1711–c. 1806), recognized as the first published Black American poet. The event will take place at Joseph Lloyd Manor where Hammon authored his most significant works about the moral conflicts of slavery and freedom in the early United States while enslaved on Long Island.

In honor of Hammon’s legacy, CAPA and PLI invite students to submit their original poetry for the open-mic segment of the Juneteenth event. Students are encouraged to share verses on themes of liberty, resistance, and the power of writing, all of which resonate deeply with Hammon’s work. Entries will be accepted from students in Grades 6 through 12. Those who wish to participate must submit their original poetry on or before June 1, 2025. Poems should be no more than 40 lines long. Click HERE for details and guidelines for teachers and students. Poetry submissions are due by June 1, 2025.

The student open-mic will follow performances by featured poets, Dr. Lindamichelle Baron, Keisha-Gay Anderson, and Yasmin Morais. The program will begin with tours of Joseph Lloyd Manor and live Caribbean music. It will also include a dramatic historical hip-hopera by award-winning playwright, author, and poet Marsha M. Nelson, and a Taste of the Caribbean Table featuring signature dishes donated by local Caribbean eateries. The event is free; however, guests are encouraged to RSVP.

Support

The Juneteenth Poetic Tribute to Jupiter Hammon is funded in part by Poets & Writers with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information about sponsorship opportunities or to participate in The Taste of the Caribbean Table, please contact CAPA at: [email protected].

About CAPA

The Caribbean American Poetry Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Caribbean poetry in the United States, promoting the work of Caribbean American poets, and bringing Caribbean American poetry to the widest possible audiences.

About Preservation Long Island

Preservation Long Island is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate and preserve Long Island’s diverse cultural and architectural heritage through advocacy, education, and the stewardship of historic sites and collections. http://preservationlongisland.org

About Joseph Lloyd Manor

Located in the Town of Huntington, Joseph Lloyd Manor (c.1767) is one of Preservation Long Island’s historic houses and a site that enslaved generations of people of African descent. The house was designated as a National Literary Landmark™ in 2020 by the United for Libraries and Empire State Center for the Book in honor of writer Jupiter Hammon’s literary achievements. https://preservationlongisland.org/joseph-lloyd-manor/

Ward Melville’s Claudine Weiner was named a recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from Stony Brook University. Photo courtesy of The Three Village Central School District

The Three Village Central School District recently congratulated Claudine Weiner of Ward Melville High School on being named a recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from Stony Brook University.

Mrs. Weiner has long been a valued member of the Three Village school community, serving with distinction as both a science teacher and athletic trainer. Her unwavering commitment to students and athletes has earned her the admiration and respect of colleagues, families and the broader school community, according to a press release.

From the classroom to the athletic fields, Mrs. Weiner’s dedication, compassion and expertise have left a meaningful and lasting impact. Her recognition by Stony Brook University is a testament to the remarkable contributions she has made in education and athletic training.

“The district proudly celebrates this honor and extends sincere thanks to Mrs. Weiner for her continued service and excellence,” read the release.

 

Anissa Abi-Dargham, MD. Photo by Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine

Anissa Abi-Dargham, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology, and the Lourie Endowed Chair of the Department Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, will receive the 2025 Award for Research in Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

According to the APA, the Award for Research in Psychiatry recognizes a single distinguished contribution, a body of work, or a lifetime contribution that has had a major impact on the field and/or altered the practice of psychiatry.

Dr. Abi-Dargham is being recognized by the APA with the Award for Research in Psychiatry for her distinguished contributions over her career to schizophrenia research, which has had a major impact on the field. She will receive the award at the APA’s annual meeting on May 19 in Los Angeles.

“I am very honored and grateful to receive this award and be able to present the work of many trainees and collaborators I have had the privilege to work with over the course of my career,” says Dr. Abi-Dargham, also Associate Dean and Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Science at the RSOM.

“It is a pleasure to work with such talented and dedicated scientists and to contribute to the discovery process,” she adds. “This award is very meaningful, particularly at a time when research is facing many challenges.”

At Stony Brook since 2016, Dr. Abi-Dargham’s clinical and research expertise is in molecular imaging, pharmacology, schizophrenia, and addiction. The broad focus of her research within the RSOM is to advance the understanding of the neurobiology of severe mental illness, with one approach being investigation of molecular markers and their functional significance as measured with multi-modal imaging approaches.

The Setauket resident also oversees a multidisciplinary team with expertise in several types of neuroimaging techniques used in tandem to address important questions about brain mechanisms and schizophrenia.

During the APA annual meeting, Dr. Abi-Dargham will deliver a lecture to the nation’s APA members titled “Misfiring signals: Dopamine Dysfunction in Schizophrenia – From Neural Pathways to Behavioral Manifestations.”

 

 

 

Professor Jennifer Cano. John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy Jennifer Cano was named a Chancellor’s Horizon Award for Faculty Research and Scholarship. This inaugural award from the State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor John B. King, honors early career tenured and tenure track faculty whose scholarly or creative activities have already achieved significant recognition and crucially, hold strong promise for field-defining impact in the future. This award was given to 10 professors throughout the SUNY system.

Professor Cano is a theoretical physicist whose research focuses on the emergent properties of quantum materials; specifically, topological phases of matter. This includes study of the fundamental principles such as classification, as well as predicting new material platforms to realize exotic quantum phases. Professor Cano developed the theory of topological quantum chemistry, which combines group theory, topology and chemistry, to predict new topological materials.

“I am so pleased to see Professor Cano and her work recognized as one of the top early-career researchers in the SUNY system,” said Carl W. Lejuez, executive vice president and provost. “Professor Cano’s ongoing research is a critical part to building a quantum future, and I am proud to say that many of our Stony Brook faculty, across disciplines, are part of this significant ongoing effort to uncover the secrets and possibilities of quantum technologies.”

“While I am exceptionally delighted that Jen is recognized by the SUNY Chancellor’s Horizon Award for her outstanding work in condensed matter physics, I am not surprised by the recognition,” said Chang Kee Jung, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Jen’s brilliance is so evident that I fully expected she would receive this award. Her work is already shaping and leading her research field and I have no doubt that it will continue doing so. Jen also excels in teaching, mentoring and her presentation at the Stony Brook  Discovery Prize competition was one of the best academic presentations I have ever seen. It is truly a pleasure to have Jen as a colleague and she is an inspiration for all.”

Candidates’ portfolios were reviewed by Distinguished Academy faculty who made recommendations to the SUNY Provost. Going forward, up to 10 awards will be conferred each year.

Professor Cano was also the winner of the Stony Brook University’s Discovery Prize 2025 for her research proposal, “Theoretical Framework for the Discovery of Topological Moiré Materials.” The Discovery Prize is an early-career faculty prize given to those at Stony Brook pursuing innovative and potentially groundbreaking scientific research. It was established and is funded by the Stony Brook Foundation.

The East Setauket resident earned her PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2015. She subsequently was a postdoctoral fellow at the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science. She came to Stony Brook in 2018 as an assistant professor and holds a visiting scholar appointment at the Flatiron Institute.

 

Emma Samghabadi at the New York Marine Rescue Center. Photo courtesy Jennifer Samghabadi

By Daniel Dunaief

The odds haven’t always been in favor of Emma Samghabadi.

The Comsewogue High School senior and Port Jefferson station resident was born under two pounds and spent over a month in the neonatal intensive care unit at Stony Brook Hospital.

After maneuvering through a period her parents Jennifer and Pedram Samghabadi described as “touch and go” for a while, she flourished and is poised to graduate from high school in June and enter college this fall.

Emma Samghabadi after singing with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in 2022. Photo courtesy Brian Kacharaba

A gifted singer and performer, Samghabadi, who recently played Velma Kelly in a teen edition of “Chicago,” applied for the Live Más scholarship through Taco Bell, where she has been working since last summer.

Samghabadi spent close to three months putting together a two minute video describing her passions, which include performing, singing, and serving as a conservationist.

On April 25th, Samghabadi, 18, was working at the drive through window at Taco Bell and learned that she had won a $10,000 scholarship, which she will use at the University of Rhode Island.

“It was a complete surprise to me,” said Samghabadi, who was thrilled when her managers and coworkers celebrated her scholarship with balloons and congratulatory posters in the dining room of the restaurant. “All my managers were there and my regional managers were there as well.”

Indeed, Samghabadi called her mother, who works as a registered nurse and her father, who is a social worker, to celebrate.

Jennifer Samghabadi was “overjoyed, proud, grateful and also humbled” with the scholarship.

“The odds [of winning] are very, very low,” her father said. “This was her exhibiting her unique mix” of passions.

Out of 500 scholarship applications from New York, Taco Bell awarded 13 at this level, which is just over two a half percent of the state’s entries.

The Taco Bell Foundation has been awarding these scholarships for 10 years, with some notable past winners including Mato Standing Soldier, a film and TV composer who was named to Forbes 30 under 30 List for 2023 and Brooke Taylor, who is dancing on Broadway in Moulin Rouge.

Samghabadi gave her scholarship entry considerable thought. The scholarship is based on a student’s passions, social impact, personal presentation and educational goals and does not include any reference to a grade point average or standardized test scores.

“As soon as I started finding pictures, I was already thinking about what I wanted to talk about,” Samghabadi said.

Editing the presentation to under two minutes was a “struggle,” she added.

The work paid off, as a Taco Bell Foundation spokeswoman suggested that Samghabadi’s video embodied the key traits they seek in an applicant: strong passion, a focus on social impact, clear educational goals and compelling storytelling.

Samghabadi, who has a weighted grade point average above 100, has impressed her high school teachers.

Rosa Antelo, who teaches Samghabadi’s Advanced Placement Class and was also her instructor for Advanced Spanish in 10th grade, described her student’s potential as “unmeasurable.”

Antelo suggested that Samghabadi is “not just a great student, but she’s truly an amazing person.”

Antelo, who wrote a college recommendation for Samghabadi, recalled a time when her student helped her manage through the strain of a stressful situation.

“She’s so positive and is looking for the best of everything,” said Antelo, who has been teaching for 26 years and believes Samghabadi stands out among her many students.

An early curiosity

When she was five, Samghabadi found a large green caterpillar in a hibiscus bush, which she brought home.

She and her parents looked up how to care for it. The caterpillar formed a cocoon and emerged as a moth.

After that, Samghabadi was hooked, establishing a monarch butterfly way station where she has released over a hundred of the orange and black insects that, while not endangered are threatened by a loss of habitat, pesticide use and climate change.

Dedicated to conservation and marine biology, Samghabadi has worked as a volunteer at the New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead.

She tells visitors about the only effort in the state to rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles and seals. She has also helped with beach clean ups and, in 2023, became scuba certified.

Samghabadi’s favorite animal is the manta ray, which she hopes to study in college.

From ‘The Lion King’ to community theater

Around the same time that she found the green caterpillar, Samghabi, saw her first broadway show.

Watching “The Lion King” sparked an interest in performance and theater.

Samghabadi has been an extra in short films and commercials as well as in the movie “Uncut Gems.”

As a 10-year old, she spent a day on set as an extra, sitting behind Adam Sandler in a movie theater.

She has performed in several shows and goes through cycles of singing different Broadway songs in the house.

These days, she’s using her soprano voice to belt out “Sweeney Todd” in the house. 

Samghabadi is open to combining her interests in conservation and music. At some point, she would like to conduct research on bioacoustics. She could also envision using music as a part of public outreach for conservation.

Despite all her commitments, including working with second graders to help teach them Spanish, Samghabadi is able to enjoy leisure activities with her friends by organizing herself.

“I have a set plan for what I need to do each day,” she said.

Multiple scholarships

Samghabadi’s talents and dedication have earned her other competitive scholarships.

She will receive $84,000 over four years as a part of the inaugural Schilling Scholars Program at the University of Rhode Island. She will also receive $68,000 from the presidential scholarship at the university.

The New York Elks Association recently awarded her a $1,000 scholarship.

Samghabadi is the second generation in her family to work at Taco Bell, where her favorite meal is the Cantina Chicken Bowl.

When he was earning money for college, Samghabadi’s father Pedram worked at the restaurant chain.

Samghabadi’s parents are grateful for the life their daughter has lived and the energy and passion she brings to her interests.

“You can’t be thankful enough,” said Pedram Samghabadi. “We still cannot believe what we went through” in the first year of her remarkable life.

Their daughter. whose singing they will miss when she attends college, gave them a preview of what was to come early in life.

Legislator Sanin presents a proclamation to contest winner, Andreas Psarris. Photo courtesy of Leg. Sanin's office

A Suffolk County teen’s creative vision took center stage at the Suffolk County Legislature, where his inspiring bike safety video captivated a room full of lawmakers and community leaders. In front of all 18 legislators, Walt Whitman High School senior Andreas Psarris was proudly honored by Legislator Rebecca Sanin as the countywide winner of the Legislature’s Annual Bike Safety Video Contest.

Each year, the Legislature encourages students across Suffolk County to create informative and engaging content promoting bicycle safety. The initiative empowers young people to raise awareness about vital public safety issues through creativity, education, and media.

This year, Andreas Psarris distinguished himself through his deep understanding of bike safety and his impressive videomaking skills. His fast-paced, creative video delivers life-saving safety tips in just 60 seconds—with detail, heart, and clarity. Psarris’s work rose above entries from all 18 legislative districts and his video will be used by the Suffolk County Police Department to promote bike safety across the county.

“Andreas is a remarkable example of the talent and leadership we have right here in the 16th Legislative District,” said Legislator Rebecca Sanin. “His video not only educates, it inspires—and it will help keep residents safe. We are so proud of his achievement and know this is only the beginning of the incredible contributions he will make to our community and beyond.”

Andreas reminds us what young people can accomplish when we give them a platform. Legislator Sanin presented Andreas with an official proclamation recognizing his accomplishment and commending his efforts to make Suffolk County a safer place for all.

Caption: Professor John Pardon. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University Professor John Pardon is a co-recipient of the New Horizon in Mathematics prize which is part of the Mathematics Breakthrough prizes that are awarded annually. This award is given to early-career researchers who have already produced important work in their fields. The prize will amount to $100,000.

Professor Pardon was recognized for his research that has produced a number of important results in geometry and topology, particularly in the field of symplectic geometry and pseudo-holomorphic curves, which are certain types of smooth surfaces in manifolds.

The Breakthrough Prize honors an esteemed group of the world’s most brilliant minds for impactful scientific discoveries, including a subset responsible for substantial progress in the understanding and treatment of major diseases. The Prize – popularly known as the “Oscars® of Science” – was created to celebrate the wonders of the scientific age by founding sponsors Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki.

“That John has received this honor so early in his career is a testament of course to his own commitment to unraveling some of the mysteries of geometry and to the incredible research that is going on at the Simons Center and in the math department in the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Carl W. Lejuez, executive vice president and provost. “John is an exemplary of what makes Stony Brook the state’s top public university and a flagship. I sincerely congratulate him on his Breakthrough Prize.”

“John Pardon has produced a broad spectrum of outstanding results in various areas of geometry and topology including as an undergraduate and PhD student. He co-created effective algebraic machinery for computation of symplectic invariants, which brought many new applications. Most recently, John proved a conjecture of Maulik, Nekrasov, Okounkov, and Pandharipande for a large class of complex three-dimensional manifolds, including all Calabi–Yau threefolds.” said  Luis Alvarez-Gaume, director of the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics.

This is the fifth Breakthrough Prize for Stony Brook University’s faculty. Previous to Professor Pardon, winners include C.N. Yang/Wei Deng Endowed Chair and Professor Alexander (Sasha) Zamolodchikov in 2024, Distinguished Professor Emeritus Peter van Nieuwenhuizen 2019, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy Chang Kee Jung and his group in 2016 and Professor Sir Simon K. Donaldson in 2014.

 

On April 7, board members and staff of Emma Clark Library in Setauket, along with the family of the late Helen Stein Shack, local elected officials, and representatives from the Three Village Central School district, honored teens at the 11th annual Helen Stein Shack Picture Book Award.

The Helen Stein Shack Book Contest calls for teens in grades 7 through 12 who live in the Three Village Central School District to create a children’s picture book.  Each entry could be the work of a single author/illustrator or a collaborative effort between an author and an illustrator.  The contest was divided into two grade categories, grades 7 through 9 and grades 10 through 12, with one First Prize Winner and one Second Prize Winner selected from each group. 

Yen Lo, an 8th grader at Murphy Junior High School, won first prize in the Grades 7-9 category for her children’s book “Benny and the Lost Balloon” while  Joyce Lee, a 10th grader at Ward Melville High School, won first prize in the Grades 10-12 category for “What’s a Friend?”

Second Prize in the Grades 7–9 category  went to Athie Kim, an 8th grader at Murphy Junior High School, for “Dinky” while Elizabeth Wright, a 10th grader at Ward Melville High School, captured second prize for her book, “Kitty and Fish” in the Grades 10-12 category.

Library Director Ted Gutmann, along with the family of the late Helen Stein Shack, presented the winners’ books — bound and added to the Library’s Local Focus Collection — along with $400 checks to first prize winners Yen Lo and Joyce Lee and $100 checks for second prize winners Athie Kim and Elizabeth Wright. “The artwork in all of them and the stories are just great,” he remarked.

Suffolk County Legislator Steven Englebright, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico, and a staff member from Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay’s office were in attendance to present certificates to the winners. The winners also received certificates from New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo and Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich.

The award is named in honor of Helen Stein Shack, whose family approached the Library with the idea of establishing an endowment as a tribute to their mother, a teacher and lover of libraries, especially Emma Clark Library. Their gift covers the cost of the awards and passes along Ms. Shack’s joy of reading and lifelong learning to future generations.

Ed Taylor, Ms. Stein Shack’s son, told the guests that when he reflected on the contest, he thought of what he called the 3 C’s:

The first being creativity, of course. If you go look at the books, the first thing that strikes you is the artistic talent of these kids…they’re also very creative at storytelling. It’s not easy to invent your own story and even more difficult to invent a story and tell it in language of kids that are 10 to 12 years younger than you are…The second “C” is courage. Even though you have all that talent, it’s still not easy to put your stuff out there and have it judged by others…I didn’t have a third “C” so I thought and I thought, and then it hit me – cash!

Mr. Taylor’s gesture to the large checks beside him, which were given out to the winners later in the ceremony, received a chuckle from the audience.

Three Village Central School District Board President Susan Megroz Rosenzweig proudly addressed the winners, “You came up with a wonderful story, you created beautiful art, and then you gave us the gift of joyful reading.”

Library Board President David Douglas, Treasurer Suzanne Shane, Secretary Angeline Yeo-Judex, and Trustee Linda Josephs were also on hand to congratulate the winners. In addition to Susan Megroz Rosenzweig, Superintendent Kevin Scanlon, Assistant Superintendent Brian Biscari, Ward Melville High School Principal John Holownia, Murphy Junior High School Principal Michael Jantzen, Ward Melville High School English Department Chairperson Joanna Cadolino, and Murphy English Teachers Tina Costanza and Deidre Murphy were all in attendance.

Guests enjoyed sweets by The Bite Size Bake Shop, a local Three Village-owned business that has been donating desserts to the ceremony since the contest began.

When Supervisor Dan Panico spoke, he emphasized the importance of libraries and reading and commented, “To think that these books may be read by children themselves or perhaps by parents to their children and may end up being the books that children who go into adolescence and adulthood will remember, to me is something that is remarkable.”

To sum up the value of libraries and seeing our extraordinary youth through this annual contest, Legislator Steve Englebright stated, “You gave us a chance to preview the future.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and on the web at www.emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District.

 

2024 Grand Prize Winner, Children Category: Twins Sharing Ice Cream by Avihai Vaday

Calling all photographers! Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, 50 Hauppauge Road in Commack is accepting applications for its 2025 Photo Contest. Entries will be accepted through April 21.

Amateur photographers and students are invited to submit their best photos for a chance to win a recognition award and cash prizes and the opportunity to have their work permanently displayed in the Center’s renowned Tiffen Gallery for the enjoyment of residents, staff and visitors.

2024 Winner, Resident – Staff Selection:
Basket Full of Love
by Jennifer Carpentieri

The Contest garners nearly 1000 submissions each year from across the globe which are judged by a panel of professional photographers for clarity, composition, subject matter and suitability for display at the nursing and rehabilitation center.

Grand Prize, Honorable Mentions, as well as a Best-in-Show winner will be awarded in 12 categories: Landscapes, Travel, People, Pets, Children, Wildlife, Nature, Still Life, Student, Altered/Enhanced, Long Island/ New York and Action/ Sports. Gurwin residents and staff also weigh-in on their favorites for a “Resident/ Staff Selection” winner.

Photos chosen by the judges are enlarged to 20×28 prints, beautifully framed and displayed in Gurwin’s 460-bed nursing and rehabilitation center.

“Each year we are so very impressed by the incredible work submitted and grateful for the support shown to our Center, and in turn, the residents in our care,” said Stuart B. Almer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gurwin Healthcare System.

Entry forms are available for download here or via email at [email protected]. Up to seven 8×10 printed photos per photographer at a $5 donation per entry will be accepted. Deadline for submissions is April 15. Winners are revealed at an awards presentation ceremony at Gurwin.

For more information, call the Gurwin Corporate Communications office at 631- 715-2562 or 631-715-2569.