Stony Brook University has received a donation of the archive of Dan’sPapers, the East End of Long Island’s weekly lifestyle publication, which has been gifted by publication founder Dan Rattiner.
The archive will be part of Stony Brook’s Special Collections, the library division that stewards and curates the university’s collections of rare books and maps, archival collections, manuscripts and historical maps. The collection is also currently undergoing a preservation assessment with the intention to microfilm it, digitize it and make it freely available online. Rattiner gifted more than a half century’s worth of his personal archives of the eponymous publication to Stony Brook University Libraries, which plans to make it available to the public.
“We are very excited to have Dan’s Papers as a part of Stony Brook University Libraries’ collections,” said Jamie Saragossi, Interim Associate Dean of Collection Strategy and Management at Stony Brook University.
“Dan’s Papers is an important addition to the library’s distinctive collections because of its depth and coverage of the social, political, and environmental history of Long Island. It benefits the mission of the university’s libraries and the wider research community,” said Kristen J. Nyitray, Director of Special Collections and University Archives, and University Archivist.
Dan’s Papers was established by Rattiner in 1960 and is presently one of the only weekly publications covering the entire East End. The collection, spanning 1960 to 2023, comprises the most complete print run of Dan’s Papers held by a research library.
“I started by taking the first paper home once it was printed and kept doing it,” said Rattiner. “I hope that people will enjoy reading the publication. I think people will learn why so many have come out here to enjoy this place because of its remarkable landscapes and beaches and woods. It’s just such a beautiful place.”
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About Stony Brook University Libraries
The University Libraries are an essential partner in Stony Brook University’s mission of global leadership in research, discovery, and learning, and positions itself as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation, open scholarship, and creativity. A member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL), the Libraries provide access to a wide-range of research content including world-renowned special collections that contribute significantly to student success and faculty productivity.
Ruth Signorelli (center), with her 500 hour Gold Volunteer Award, with members of the RMHC NYM team. Photo from RMHC NYM
Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro honored more than 100 loyal RMHC New York Metro volunteers recently at its Volunteer Recognition Dinner, with awards for their selfless work on behalf of families with a sick child in the hospital. The event coincided with the close of National Volunteer Month in April.
Awards were given for individuals who had given various levels of their time and energy, divided into Gold, Silver and Bronze levels, representing thousands of hours of effort and energy.
Matt Campo, CEO, RMHC NYM, takes a selfie with volunteers and members of the RMHC NYM staff. . Photo from RMHC NYM
Ruth Signorelli, of Bayport, was the lone Gold Award recipient, having volunteered more than 500 hours of her time at the Ronald McDonald House Family Room at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Ruth worked multiple hours every week, delivering free snacks, beverages, and smiles from the RMHC NYM Hospitality Cart. The Family Room Recently reopened, having been forced to close to observe State Health Department guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is all about the families, that need our help and support so much,” said Ruth. “We’re just there to lend a hand or be a shoulder to cry on if they need.”
The Silver Award, given to volunteers who have donated between 250 and 499 hours of their time, was given to 10 people. Twenty-nine people received the Bronze Award, given to volunteers who have donated between 100 and 249 hours of their time to Ronald McDonald House.
“The power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, can never be underestimated. Each has the potential to turn a life around,” said Matt Campo, CEO of RMHC NYM. “The kindness, generosity, and compassion displayed by our volunteers has touched the hearts of many and have made a lasting impact.”
About Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) New York Metro provides free lodging, meals and emotional support to keep families seeking medical treatment for their sick children near the care they need and the families they love.
#13 Mia Haynes at last Sunday's game Photo from Stony Brook Athletics
In a game that lasted five hours and 44 minutes, saw two rain delays and 11 innings, it would be the Stony Brook softball team that would come out on top. The Seawolves defeated Towson, 7-6, at Tiger Softball Field on April 30 to take the series.
Senior catcher Corinne Badger got the squad off to a hot start with a solo home run to left field in the second inning. Senior infielder Brooke Dye added another run in the second with a single to left field which plated junior outfielder Julianna Sanzone.
After the two-hour rain delay which paused the game in the middle of the fourth, junior utility Catherine Anne Kupinski stepped up to the plate in the fifth and smoked a three-run bomb to left center which brought home Alyssa Costello and Alicia Orosco which increased the Seawolves’ lead to 5-0.
The Tigers answered back with six runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Towson’s Cori Jones got the momentum started with a two-RBI double to left field. From there, the Tigers added a two RBI single, a RBI triple, and a RBI single to grab hold of a 6-5 lead.
With the game on the line in the top of the seventh, Kupinski stepped up to the dish and, once again, delivered for the squad. Kupinski singled to center to bring home Shauna Nuss to tie the contest 6-6 and head into extra innings.
In the top of the 11th inning, freshman infielder Naiah Ackerman singled up the middle which brought Emily Reinstein home and gave the Seawolves a 7-6 lead. The Stony Brook defense took care of business in the bottom of the 11th to secure the 7-6 victory and the series.
#16 Noah Armitage celebrates the team's victory last Saturday night.
Photo from Stony Brook Athletics
The Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team defeated Hofstra, 11-10, on April 29 at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead to secure the programs first-ever berth into the CAA Tournament.
Graduate midfielder Matt Anderson led the offensive effort for the Seawolves, tallying a career-high tying four goals. Graduate attacker Jonathan Huber and senior attacker Dylan Pallonetti each recorded a pair of goals while Will Button, Noah Armitage, and Robbie Smith all added a goal.
Stony Brook struck first within the first three minutes of the contest courtesy of Anderson who found the back of the cage off an assist from Button. However, the Pride did not stay silent for long as they responded with a goal of their own with 9:32 remaining in the first quarter. Pallonetti answered back for the squad, recording his 46th goal of the season with 5:33 left to play in the first quarter. Less than 10 seconds later, Hofstra’s Chase Patterson slid a shot past sophomore goalie Jamison MacLachlan to tie the contest at 2-2 before heading into the quarter break.
The Pride came out of the break hot, taking a 3-2 lead within the first minute of the second quarter. This time it was Huber who tied the game at 3-3 for the Seawolves off an assist from senior attacker Blake Behlen. Stony Brook and Hofstra would continue to exchange blows for the remainder of the quarter to, once again, enter the break tied, this time at 4-4.
Coming out of halftime, it was the Seawolves on top, 5-4, as Anderson converted an assist from Behlen within the first 20 seconds of the third quarter. The squad added five more goals to take control of a 10-5 lead, their largest margin of the contest.
The Pride fought back, adding six goals of their own. However, it would not be enough as Anderson sealed the victory for Stony Brook, registering the squad’s 11th goal of the night with 12:50 remaining in the contest to secure the 11-10 win and the program’s first-ever berth into the CAA Tournament.
Up next, the team head to Newark, Del. to compete in the CAA Tournament. The squad enters as the No. 3 seed and will play No. 2 seeded Drexel in the semifinals on May 4 at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on LacrosseTV.
An international scientific project that compares the genomes of 240 living species of mammals has identified transposable elements (TEs) – genes that can change their position within a genome, creating or reversing mutations and thus altering a cell’s genetic identity – as a crucial area of study to help uncover the evolutionary process of mammals and to better understand biodiversity. Stony Brook University’s Liliana M. Dávalos is a collaborator in the analyses of TEs for the project. Two new papers, one published in the current issue of Science, and the other in Molecular Biology and Evolution, highlight the findings.
This graphic depicts the range of recently accumulated transposable elements (TEs) among sample mammals by proportion of their genome. Image credit: Osmanski et al. 2023 Science
The past 100 million years has caused mammals to adapt to virtually every environment on the planet. The Zoonomia Project, of which Dávalos is a scientific contributor, has cataloged the diversity in mammalian genomes by completing comparative genomic DNA sequences from the 240 species. The team, which consists of more than 150 scientists worldwide, published their multi-year comparative genome analysis in the Science paper.
Dávalos studies how biodiversity changes through time and what biological processes fuel biodiversity. She teamed up with David Ray and his lab at Texas Tech University to qualitatively analyze the dynamics of TEs.
The paper describes the TE repertoires of 248 placental mammals. TEs make up a sizeable proportion of all mammalian genomes, yet there is much variation from one species to the next. The scientific team points out that that relating TEs to biodiversity is far from simple. Additionally, with the ability to move throughout the genome, TEs can contribute to biodiversity or also stymie it.
“Determining how many transposable elements of each kind are in each species is key to figuring out how transposons contribute to biodiversity. It seems simple to relate these counts to the number of species or their ecology, however that is misleading,” explains Dávalos, Professor of Conservation Biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, and a co-author of the paper. “Some species , like bats and whales, believe it or not are more closely related to each other than to others, such as bats and primates, so we must factor this related into our statistics within the comparative genomic mammalian analyses.”
The researchers identified more than 25,000 TE sequences in the mammalian set, with some mammals having large portions of TEs in their genome, calculated over time for each species. The average was approximately 45 percent
Overall, they concluded that “considering the wide-ranging effects that TEs impose on genomic architecture, these data are an important resource for future inquiries into mammalian genomics and evolution and suggest avenues for continued study of these important yet understudied genomic denizens.”
In the Molecular Biology and Evolution paper, novel statistical approaches to determining genome sequences in bats developed by Dávalos were used by the authors to describe the place bats hold with regard to TEs in mammals.
According to the lead author, Nicole Paulat, a graduate student in the Ray Lab, the research team found bats uniquely have more events involving TE transfers from one species to another. One mechanism that may explain such excess transfers is through viruses, an important finding on how several bat species have been found to host diverse and sometimes dangerous viruses.
Both papers based on the work from the Zoonomia Project illustrate that TEs are highly active across the genome of most mammal species, and because of this, future studies centering on TEs may help provide answers to mammalian biodiversity worldwide. Such research may also provide further hints as to how and why TEs disrupt mammalian genomes, therefore changing DNA and contributing to evolutionary processes and/or the development of disease.
Left to right: Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Simons Foundation president David Spergel, SBU President Maurie McInnis, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Harbor School student Leanna Martin Peterson and Trust for Governors Island President Clare Newman. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University
Climate change often conjures images of violent storms, rising sea levels and endangered animals.
Scientists around the world warn so often about the dangers to our one and only planet that some couples have decided to hold off — or even not — have children among all the future anxiety.
Amid all that worry, however, New York City, the Trust for Governors Island, Stony Brook University and a team of other universities, nonprofits and businesses are working on the kind of solutions that could lead to a better future.
On a sun-splashed Monday morning at Governors Island just off the southern tip of Manhattan, Mayor Eric Adams (D), SBU President Maurie McInnis, Simons Foundation President David Spergel and a host of other luminaries discussed a new $710 million center for climate solutions, which Stony Brook as the anchor institution has called the New York Climate Exchange.
With $100 million in backing from the Simons Foundation, $50 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies and $150 million from New York City, the center will serve a host of important functions, including retraining 6,000 workers a year for jobs in the green energy sector, providing incubator space for businesses that are working on climate solutions and educating children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
In addition to the huge win for Stony Brook, which competed against other high-powered public and private universities for this coveted lead role, the effort could be a victory for New York, the surrounding mid-Atlantic states, the country and the planet.
Near the Statue of Liberty, which is a beacon of hope for democracy and an iconic symbol of the country, the Governors Island effort can come up with solutions and alternatives to a doom-and-gloom scenario while also sparking a commitment from students eager to find an outlet for their energy and creativity.
Will the center on its own help the world avoid the 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in temperature from the pre-Industrial Revolution days that scientists often point to as a tipping point for the planet?
Absolutely not. That’s up to everyone from government and state leaders to huge companies and even individuals in the U.S. and throughout the world.
What the climate center, which will be completed in 2028 and will generate its own electric power without adding greenhouse gasses, will do is encourage dialogue with everyone, offer hope and provide a place for the best and brightest minds to develop answers to some of the world’s most troubling questions.
Coming just a few days after Earth Day, that is worth celebrating.
Michael French in front of a mobile radar antenna.
By Daniel Dunaief
Michael French
When he was in elementary school in Hamden, Connecticut, Michael French was several miles away from an event that would shape his life. A tornado touched down, causing extensive damage, knocking out power lines and injuring 40 people. The violent storm was traumatizing, causing him to hide in the closet during routine summer storms.
By the time French attended college at Cornell University, these powerful and potentially devastating storms had become an “interest and fascination,” he said, leading him to major in atmospheric sciences.
After graduating from college, he received an offer from Professor Howard Bluestein at the University of Oklahoma (OU) for a master’s program. A consultant for the movie Twister starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, Bluestein was one of the first to put a weather radar on the back of a truck to collect data in severe storms and tornadoes. French also earned his PhD at OU.
These days, French, who is an Associate Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, spends parts of his time traveling to places in the southeast in trucks with unique and emerging instrumentation, typically Doppler weather radar, gathering data about severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
French has seen about 25 tornadoes. The closest he’s come to these violent storms is about a kilometer away, which occurred in 2004. When he’s conducting research, he is more concerned about lightning, which frequently occurs around thunderstorms that produce tornadoes.
When he’s collecting data, French has to get out of the truck to stow the antenna among other tasks. “Automatically, that means you’re in danger,” French said. “There’s nothing you can do about it, except try to minimize your time” outside. Two or three times when he was earning his PhD, lightning struck within a quarter of a mile of his location.
Better sampling
In his research, French described himself as a “pure observationalist.”
A main theme of his research is whether the nationwide network of fixed-site radar can be used by forecasters to predict whether a thunderstorm will produce a tornado and, if it does, how likely it is to be a significant or violent storm.
French is also interested in exploring what leads to tornado dissipation and whether forecasters can use radar analysis to make dissipation predictions.
Looking at time scales of 30 seconds or fewer, he studies how tornadoes evolve, including how they tilt, how their intensity changes with height, and their motion. He can estimate these characteristics with phased-array radar technology, in which the beam of the radar is steered electronically.
Scientists like French can tap into archived data from a network of 160 radars stationed throughout the country. He would like to use information from the past 10 to 15 years to analyze hundreds of supercell thunderstorms to find commonalities among those that produce tornadoes and those that don’t.
“Ideally, in the future, such information, to the extent it exists, can be leveraged by forecasters to better assess the likelihood of a storm producing a tornado,” French explained.
Many of his ideas for research projects come from reading the results of papers from colleagues who use computer models to simulate storms and tornadoes. In a model, the scientists can control conditions like temperature and humidity. French thinks about ways to verify the findings using observational data.
Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, French participates in the Propagation, Evolution and Rotation in Linear Storms field experiment (called PERiLS).
Running from February through May in the southeast, the experiment studies tornadoes within a different type of storm, referred to as squall lines. The tornadoes that form in these storms persist or form overnight, often hitting while people are sleeping and are unprepared to protect themselves.
He is working with Stony Brook Professor Pavlos Kollias in using mobile phased array radar to collect data over short time scales of these squall lines when they’re producing tornadoes.
In areas where people live in mobile homes, these squall line tornadoes can lift the home, damaging homes and threatening the lives of people as they sleep.
Exciting findings
French uses a radar called dual polarization, which provides information about the size, shape, orientation and type of precipitation. He is interested in whether this technology can identify differences in storms to predict the formation of tornadoes.
In dual polarization, there are a few signatures of storms that hold some promise of differentiating between those that produce tornadoes and those that don’t.
Working with an algorithm to identify the ZDR column, which is a proxy for the size of the updraft, developed by Darrel Kingfield at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, French analyzed 200 supercell storms and found that the ZDR column was larger in storms that produce stronger tornadoes and was smaller or nonexistent in storms that did not.
Forecasters don’t have a way yet to automate the size of the ZDR column in real time.
In an email, Bluestein suggested that French’s studies, including on how tornadoes dissipate, can “contribute to improved short term forecasting.”
Bluestein, who has seen over 100 tornadoes, also suggested that two papers from French that related drop size distributions estimated from polarimetric radar data in supercells were “original and rather novel. This work has implications for estimating the intensity of pools of cool air in storms, which can be related to tornado formation.”
Dinner table conversations
A resident of Stony Brook, French lives with his wife Jennifer, who is a hydrometeorologist at Vieux & Co. The couple met when they were at the University of Oklahoma.
French said his wife, who storm chased when she was in Oklahoma, knows the safety measures he uses to mitigate the risks.
While French studies these storms because of their destructive power and the need to understand more about how and where they will form, he also has an appreciation for them.
At a distance, when these storms aren’t impacting people and when he can’t hear the roar of the wind, French describes tornadoes as a “wonder of nature” that have an “aesthetic element to them that is really astounding.”
As for his childhood concern about these storms, French feels that he “ultimately channeled [his fear] in a positive way.”
Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis, center, was among the panelists at the Charles B. Wang Center discussing the creation of the New York Climate Exchange. Photo by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University students and faculty gathered Tuesday, April 25, at the Charles B. Wang Center for a special town hall meeting that marked the creation of the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. The event was free and open to the public.
The panelists included Maurie McInnis, SBU president; Jed Shivers, senior vice president for finance and administration; Kevin Reed, associate dean for Research in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; and Keith O’Connor, principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which has been developing this project.
The event was moderated by Craig Allen, chief meteorologist for WCBS-880 and a former Stony Brook University graduate.
McInnis spoke on her excitement regarding this opportunity for Stony Brook to be the anchor institution for the climate exchange.
“Setting ambitious goals, responding to society’s greatest needs and propelling our university to even higher levels of excellence … this is the Stony Brook way, and it’s why we’re here today,” McInnis said. She added that SBU is going to “bring together the world’s most innovative organizations across sectors to problem solve and turn solutions into action.”
Shivers explained that “the climate exchange is a separate and distinct charitable organization” from the university and that “no Stony Brook University funds shall be utilized as part of the capital that needs to be raised to do the design or the construction work or support the initial operating expenses.”
Reed followed by noting that while SBU will not be making financial investments, “what Stony Brook is going to get to invest is our ideas and, as the president already mentioned, our problem-solving skills.”
O’Connor spoke on how “all of the energy will be generated on-site” because it is going to be a “100% electric campus.” He added that “one of the objectives is the buildings, the landscape and the systems all coming together to demonstrate how you build a sustainable long-term campus.”
After the conclusion of the town hall, which included a brief Q&A that allowed some members of the audience to speak, TBR spoke to some attendees to get their reactions to this announcement.
Sergio Perez, a professor from the Marine Engineering Department of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, expressed excitement at the promise and potential of this project since hundreds of millions of dollars will go into it. “We can do a vast improvement to Governors Island,” Perez said. “At the very worst it’s going to create lots of jobs. But at the very best it will have an effect on climate change.”
Sky Freeman, a student studying journalism and political science, said he believes “it’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for Stony Brook to combat climate change.”
“I think if I had the opportunity to get involved, it would definitely be something I would seriously consider,” Freeman said. “I think the design of the building is very unique, very cool — it’ll create a great atmosphere on the island.”
He added that he does not think that most students are aware of the plans for the climate exchange, but that he knows there is a lot of excitement from the administration and from faculty.
Paul Shepson, dean of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at SBU, said that he anticipates his school being a “contributor to the success of the exchange.”
“Our faculty will be involved in many ways in developing programs and engaging in some of the research that goes on there,” Shepson said. “I love that Stony Brook is leading in the creation of this exchange where we’re going to be a convener of the best minds in the world in identifying and implementing solutions to the climate crisis.”
While there is still more planning and development to be done, McInnis said it is anticipated that ground will be broken on the project in 2025 for completion by 2028.
Never-before-told revelations regarding The Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant accident on March 28, 1979 are the subjects of Stony Brook University Professor Heidi Hutner’s new feature-length documentary “Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island.” The documentary will be shown at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Avenue in Huntington on Saturday, April 29 at 7 p.m. and will also include a Q & A moderated by Kelly McMasters with stars Beth Drazba, Paula Kinney, Linda Braasch, Joyce Corradi, Joanne Doroshow, and editor and producer Simeon Hutner followed by a reception.
In addition to actress Jane Fonda, whose fictional film about a nuclear reactor meltdown, “The China Syndrome,” opened twelve days before the meltdown at Three Mile Island, “Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island”features:
four concerned mothers who worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of their families;
a two-woman legal team who took their battle for the rights of area residents to the Supreme Court
a local doctor who maintains many of her patients may be sick because of the accident;
a scientist who has initiated a new study regarding the impact of the meltdown on the health of the community;
a reporter who recounts the confusing information reporters received
The film re-examines the official claim by government and company officials that the accident — the worst commercial nuclear reactor meltdown in U.S. history — caused no injuries or deaths. The documentary examines the implications that continue to this day for the community, its residents, and their descendants.
Hutner, an associate professor of ecofeminism and environmental justice in the Department of English, produced, wrote and directed the documentary, which focuses on people directly affected by the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant meltdown-the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history.
“Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island features: Linda Braasch, Beth Drazba, Joyce Corradi, Paula Kinney, Jane Fonda, Heidi Hutner, Joanne Doroshow, Michelle LeFever Quinn, Lynne Bernabei, Aaron Datesman, Mary Olson, Dan Steele Braasch, Lake Barrett, Dr. Renu Joshi, Aileen Mioko Smith. Martijn Hart serves as director of photography and co-director, Simeon Hutner serves as producer, and executive producers include Richard Saperstein, Christopher Hormel and Heidi Hutner.
Tickets are $19, $14 members at www.cinemaartscentre.org. For more information, call 631-423-7610.
The Stony Brook softball team run-ruled Hampton, 9-0, in five innings to win game three and ultimately take the series on April 23 at University Field.
It was all Seawolves in the series finale as the squad got off to a hot start with a solo home run in the first inning by sophomore outfielder Alyssa Costello. Junior infielder Sofia Chambers fed off of Costello’s momentum, plating senior infielder Brooke Dye in the second inning after she singled up the middle.
Costello added to her standout day with a two RBI double up the middle in the second to bring home junior outfielder Alicia Orosco and Chambers which increased Stony Brook’s lead to 4-0. Junior infielder Ashley Jacobson added a solo home run of her own in the third and sophomore catcher Emily Reinstein was able to score off a wild throw by Hampton’s catcher.
Senior catcher Corinne Badger sealed the victory for the Seawolves with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to secure the 9-0 win.
“Just going up there and thinking about getting my barrel to the ball and just trying to hit it hard to help out my teammates anyway that I can,” said junior infielder Ashley Jacobson on her successful hitting.
“Throughout the season my confidence has definitely gone up since the beginning of the season. I felt like I wasn’t really stringing good at bats together, but now that confidence is there and it fuels off of my teammates 100 percent,” said sophomore outfielder Alyssa Costello.
“We just need to keep playing good softball. We have put all three parts together in the last two games of the series, pitching, offense and defense. We are swinging at better pitches and we really want to be able to be productive through the lineup and not just rely on one person and I think it is tough when a team has to come out and really work on batters one through nine,” said head coach Megan T. Bryant.
The archive will be part of Stony Brook’s Special Collections, the library division that stewards and curates the university’s collections of rare books and maps, archival collections, manuscripts and historical maps. The collection is also currently undergoing a preservation assessment with the intention to microfilm it, digitize it and make it freely available online. Rattiner gifted more than a half century’s worth of his personal archives of the eponymous publication to Stony Brook University Libraries, which plans to make it available to the public.
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