Stony Brook University

Jesús Pérez Ríos at the New York Public Library in 2023. Photo by Anne Martinez Hoth

By Daniel Dunaief

When he’s looking to relax, he builds and rebuilds some of the LEGO sets in his house in East Setauket. One of the things he likes best about being on Long Island, where he’s lived for the last two years, is that he can be alone to think and develop new ideas.

To hear Jesús Pérez Ríos describe himself, he is “just a kid having fun.” An Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, Pérez Ríos enjoys bridging scientific knowledge, applying his physics background to questions, problems and puzzles in other fields.

Recently, the Stony Brook physicist, who is also an affiliated faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences, collaborated with Stefan Willitsch, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Basel in Switzerland, to explore the forces that might be inhibiting the reaction between hydroquinone and neon.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, Pérez Ríos, Willitsch and members of their teams described in detail several potentially opposing forces that affect the reactivity in the experiment.

Jesús Pérez Ríos at the Barnes and Noble in New York City in 2022 with Lego batman. Photo by Anne Martinez Hoth

“I started collaborating with [Willitsch] because he had accurate results, and it was hard to explain the observations,” said Pérez Ríos. “We had a hypothesis but needed to develop models to test it.”

Pérez Ríos described two interactions in detail. One is due to the long range atom-molecule interactions and the other comes from internal rotational dynamics.

With the experiments in Willitsch’s lab and the theory developed by Pérez Ríos and his colleagues, they highlighted the role of rotational quantum states in a hydroquinone-neon chemi-ionization reaction. A similar mechanism and approach may be suitable for other reactions as well, such as molecular ion-atom reactions.

These molecules are akin to puzzle pieces coming together. Instead of a two-dimensional alignment where pieces find each other and lock together in their complementary parts, these pieces also have rotational effects that can cause a misalignment.

“That is one of our key findings,” Pérez Ríos explained. “It is like the shape of the puzzle piece evolves depending on the molecule’s collision energy and internal state.”

The results presented in the scientific paper are in the realm of fundamental research, with no “immediate practical application in synthesis or catalysis,” explained Willitsch.

Nonetheless, the insights gained through this collaboration “leads to a better understanding of the relevant reaction mechanisms and thus enables a more efficient design of future chemical reactions.”

At this point, Willitsch has presented the work at several conferences, where he has found a receptive audience and expects it will “foreseeably stimulate further work in the field.”

A search for answers

Pérez Ríos explained that Willitsch had some possible explanations for his data, but he did not have a mathematical model to test his hypothesis.

Jesus Pérez Ríos in Port Jefferson in 2022. Photo by Anne Martinez Hoth

“He mentioned the experimental details to me and we discussed the data,” said Pérez Ríos, who has known Willitsch for about 12 years. “Then, we started to do calculations from our side.”

Pérez Ríos has a team of 7 PhD students, one postdoctoral researcher, one Master’s candidate and three undergraduates.

Members of his lab work on simulations of physical phenomena regarding atomic and molecular processes. Additionally, they work on machine learning applications to atomic and molecular physics, exploring ways to teach a machine classical mechanics or quantum mechanics through chemical reactions.

In the reaction he was studying, Willitsch was working with hydroquinone, which has two conformers. These are two molecules with the same chemical formula that have two different structures.

Willitsch was able to select for a particular type of conformer in its reaction with neon.

Pérez Ríos considered many possibilities and models, none of which was fully satisfactory. 

An insight at a conference

When he was at an Air Force Office of Scientific Research review program in Washington DC, Pérez Ríos was considering the problem from numerous perspectives.

He had tried many possibilities, but none were convincing. He needed something new.

“I had the physical picture of the model during a conference: in a break, I started to work on the code, and, in a few hours, I had something ready to get some very preliminary results,” Pérez Ríos recalled.

Willitsch enthusiastically embraced the preliminary results and the group decided to make it more realistic, developing the version of the code to explain Willitsch’s data.

The dynamics simulations were ready in a month, with extra checks conducted for another month to ensure everything was correct. The joint effort took over a year and a half to produce a fulfilling explanation.

Many of Pérez Ríos’s collaborators come from different disciplines, which gives the Stony Brook Assistant Professor an opportunity to learn about a variety of topics. He has worked with particle, atmospheric, atomic and plasma physicists and spectroscopists and chemists.

Pérez Ríos suggested that a physics perspective can help in a variety of settings, even including household problems and daily challenges.

Echoing a theme from the main character Jason Nesmith (played by Tim Allen) in the movie Galaxy Quest, Pérez Ríos said, “you can never surrender.”

 Pérez Ríos added that you “are the only one putting limits on yourself. However, you need to pick the battles worth fighting, which is a very difficult matter.”

More American than Americans

A resident of East Setauket where he lives with his wife Anne Martinez Hoth, Pérez Ríos grew up in Guardamar del Segura, a small town in Alicante, Spain.

The son of restaurant owners,  Pérez Ríos said he didn’t travel during summers to the beach, the way many of his friends did.

When he wasn’t helping in the restaurant, he used his free time to learn about math, zoology, genetics, chemistry and physics.

He enjoys living on Long Island and in the United States. His wife suggests he is “more American than the Americans” because he likes the American job philosophy and the freedom.

At Stony Brook, Pérez Ríos teaches quantum mechanics to undergrads, some of whom say he is strict.

“I have a very particular approach focusing on learning to think rather than knowing how to solve a problem,” he said.

As a research partner, Pérez Ríos is an unusual find, bringing constructive and valuable insights to discussions.

“I have rarely collaborated with someone so energetic and broadly interested” as Pérez Ríos, Willitsch said. “I particularly value his pragmatic approach and that he is not afraid to leave his comfort zone to delve into totally new classes of problems, which have not been tackled before either by himself or others.”

Willitsch added that few scientists have the same broad knowledge of physics and chemistry, which is “vital to push this interdisciplinary frontier.”

Stony Brook Medicine recently hosted its annual Stony Brook Heights Rooftop Farm Nutrition and Cooking Workshop for Kids, a three-day farm-to-table nutrition education program based out of Stony Brook University Hospital’s organic rooftop farm. 

Twelve children ages 7 to 10 took part in the workshop from July 23 to 25. Participants picked fresh vegetables from the 2,242-square-foot garden and then prepared their own meals which included hummus and veggie wraps, tabbouleh and fruit smoothies. 

By day 3, they had learned about how food and ingredients are grown; harvesting and choosing ingredients to prepare healthier food options; trying a variety of fruit and vegetables with the health benefits behind them; and proper use of kitchen equipment. They also learned about composting and water conservation. Each young chef went home with easy recipes they can duplicate for their families. 

West Meadow Beach. Photo by Beth Squire

Stony Brook University researchers are conducting a pilot program aimed at facilitating equitable public access to the Long Island Sound waterfront. Professor Anil Yazici, Undergraduate Director, Department of Civil Engineering; and Professor Elizabeth Hewitt, Department of Technology and Society, received a grant from the nonprofit New York Sea Grant (NYSG) program, which is being used to provide participants no-cost, round trip shuttle service between their selected pick-up location and West Meadow Beach.

The free shuttles run every weekend of summer 2024 and can be requested by downloading a free app, which is available in both English and Spanish. As part of the  project, rideshare participants will be asked to complete a survey to identify changes in attitudes toward the Long Island Sound environment.

The objectives of the project being conducted are:

  • To provide beach access to disadvantaged communities with limited mobility options
  • To determine if participants have an increased appreciation toward the Long Island Sound waterfront
  • To gauge if improved public beach access increases awareness of the environmental issues and climate change concerns for Long Island Sound and how the public sees its role within the overall ecosystem
  • To use ridership trends to assess long-term feasibility of the shuttle, such as future shuttle schedules, travel routes, the popularity of different beaches, and how much users are willing to pay for a transportation service

“Long Island is car-dependent, which can be a real barrier to accessing local amenities for some community members. We’re excited to provide a free shuttle to expand mobility options and Long Island Sound beach access to underserved populations this summer,” said Professor Elizabeth Hewitt, Department of Technology and Society.

“Having access to natural resources has been shown to improve health and quality of life, yet especially disadvantaged populations face transportation related barriers to utilize the natural resources. Our project addresses both transportation and environmental equity concerns by providing a transportation service for people who do not own a car or means to access Long Island Sound beaches. We welcome all Long Island communities to utilize our shuttle with their families,” said Professor Anil Yazici, Undergraduate Director, Department of Civil Engineering.

###

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University — New York’s flagship university and No. 1 public university — is going far beyond the expectations of today’s public universities. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With nearly 26,000 students, more than 2,900 faculty members, more than 200,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #58 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America.

Satellite image of the phytoplankton bloom. Photo courtesy NOAA

By Aidan Johnson

From a young age, children are taught that the ocean isn’t actually blue but is simply reflecting the color of the sky. However, the ocean recently took on a turquoise color not caused by the sky but by organisms called phytoplankton in the water.

Phytoplankton are tiny, commonly single-celled photosynthetic organisms in bodies of water that are carried by tides and currents and are too weak to swim against them.

Along the South Shore, all the way from Montauk to Brooklyn and spanning about 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, there is an algal bloom full of a specific type of phytoplankton called coccolithophores, explained Christopher Gobler, a professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

According to Gobler, this particular type of phytoplankton has a shell that’s made of calcium carbonate, which is the same substance that clam shells are made of, albeit to a much larger degree.

“What can happen is that after [the coccolithophores have] grown for a while, the shell begins to dissolve and then they might start dying off,” he said in an interview. “And so the coloration seems to be from the dissolution of that shell. It looks green, but it’s really just the interaction of the calcium carbonate with the seawater and the sunlight that collectively leads to that color.”

Gobler also clarified that the coccolithophores do not pose a direct health risk to sea life, but instead “fuel the food chain.”

“And so for the present time at least … we can call it a neutral deposit,” he said.

The bloom already seems to be dissipating, according to Gobler, which means that the sky will once again take credit for the water’s blue appearance.

TAKE A BOW: Above, the winners of this year's Stony Brook Film Festival, from left, Daniel Rashid and Reilly Anspaugh (Chauncey), Tathagata Ghosh (If), Zach Finger (Mimesis), Axel Dahan (On the Paths Awakened), Ryan Ward and Mackenzie Leigh (Daughter of the Sun), Bradley Gallo (Audrey’s Children), Mediha Alhamad (Mediha), and Barnabas Toth (Mastergame). Photo from Staller Center

The 29th annual Stony Brook Film Festival, presented by Island Federal Credit Union, wrapped up with its closing night awards ceremony on July 27.  The evening recognized the outstanding new independent films screened at the festival, which was held at Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University from July 18 to 27.

This year’s festival brought together hundreds of directors and filmmakers and featured 36 films from 19 countries of which 13 standouts received awards. 

GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Mediha Alhamad, the subject and co-writer of the Grand Prize Award-winning ‘Mediha,’ with festival director Alan Inkles. Photo from Staller Center

Mediha took home the Grand Prize Award. Directed by Hasan Oswald, this masterful documentary chronicles the journey of a young Yazidi girl returning from ISIS captivity. Using her camera to process her trauma, she documents her experience while rescuers continue to search for her missing family members. The Grand Prize is given to films that have ‘wowed’ both the audience and the jury beyond what could be contained in the simple phrase ‘best film’ in this or that category. Mediha is the 11th film in the festival’s 29-year history that has received a Grand Prize and only the second time awarded to a Documentary Film. 

Two short films won the audience’s hearts, resulting in a tie for this year’s Audience Choice Award for Best Short. The winners for this category included two of the youngest filmmakers to win an award in the 29-year festival history. Mimesis, a drama about a struggling alcoholic actor who finds solace in an audition for the role of therapist, and On the Paths Awakened, a WWII-era story of two French teens facing intimate conflicts as the resistance recruits them. The festival’s youngest filmmakers directed the two winning short films: 20-year-old Zach Finger from Long Island and 19-year-old Axel Dahan from France.

One feature that truly captivated the audience was Running on Sand, which took home the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature. Adar Shafran directed this heartfelt crowd-pleaser about a refugee from Israel who, facing imminent deportation, is mistakenly identified as a Nigerian soccer star at the airport. The film highlights the precariousness of refugees’ lives, the power of second chances, and the complex intersections of identity and survival. 

The Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award is for filmmakers who use a distinct indie perspective to bring their stories to life vividly. It is reserved for filmmakers who have created a standout film with very few resources, financial or otherwise. “When it looks and sounds great, plays great, creates its own world, and you would never suspect how hard the filmmakers worked to bring it to life on screen, then you’re watching the kind of film we give these awards to,” said Festival Programmer, Kent Marks. 

Daughter of the Sun secured the honor of this year’s award. This vintage-feeling, breathtaking fantasy tells the story of a man with Tourette’s Syndrome and supernatural powers and his 12-year-old daughter navigating life on the run.

The festival also announced that one of the films received an especially rare award in the 2024 Dr. Gabriel Sara Humanitarian Award. In 2022, the Stony Brook Film Festival created an inaugural prize in honor of Dr. Gabriel Sara, who worked wonders in cancer at Mount Sinai in New York by treating patients with dignity through song, dance, and teaming up with some of the most caring individuals in healthcare. He went on to play a role not unlike himself in the film opposite Catherine Deneuve. 

This year, the festival hosted a non-competing sneak preview of the film. Titled Audrey’s Children, it tells the story of Dr. Audrey Evans, who brought new treatments to pediatric cancer patients in the U.S. and went on to co-found The Ronald McDonald House. 

The Jury Award for Best Short went to Where We Belong, the Jury Award for Directing given to Mastergame, and the Jury Award for Best Feature went to The Strangers’ Case. (To listen to a podcast interview with The Strangers’ Case writer and director Brandt Andersen with TBR News Media reporter Daniel Dunaief, visit www.tbrnewsmedia.com.)

Mastergame director Barnabás Toth, who attended the awards ceremony, said, “Being here as a filmmaker is special. Coming here is like a therapy, a cure for any kind of artist because people who create are appreciated here. So please continue to keep it that way.”

The Festival’s Opening and Closing Night Feature and Short films were also recognized, including Director Aexandre Arcady of The Blond Boy From the Casbah (Opening Night Feature), Christopher Doll, Director/Producer and Karoline Herfurth, actress of One Million Minutes (Closing Night Feature), Daniel Rashid, Director of Chauncey (Opening Night Short), and Tathagata Gosh, Director of If (Closing Night Short). 

In addition to Island Federal’s generous support as presenting sponsor, additional sponsors for the Stony Brook Film Festival included News 12 Long Island; Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP; Suffolk Arts and Film; Strata Alliance; and WLIW/PBS.

UPDATE: “The Strangers’ Case” won the Jury Award for Best Feature at the Stony Brook Film Festival.

TBR News Media reporter Daniel Dunaief recently spoke with Brandt Andersen, writer and director of the film “The Strangers’ Case,” about five families in four countries who are confronting the refugee crisis. Andersen will attend a screening of his feature film directorial debut at the Stony Brook Film Festival on July 20th at the Staller Center.

Listen to the episode now.

Mario Shields Photo by David Cardona-Jimenez

By Daniel Dunaief

Friend or foe? The question isn’t as easy in the world of molecular biology as it might be after captains pick players for a team.

An important biomolecule in one context could trigger the growth or spread of cancer, while in another system or organ, that same signal might suppress or stop the development or growth of a disease that can threaten people’s health.

So it is for G-proteins, which, in some tumors, serve as tumorigenic signaling hubs that participate in invasion and metastasis and promote inflammation and immune evasion.

In tumors “there was this notion that it works in a certain way, driving tumor development and progression,” said Mario Shields, Associate Professor of Research Pathology at Stony Brook University. “We had that original hypothesis when we investigated it in pancreatic cancer. We found that it’s the opposite.”

Indeed, when the specific proteins he studies, called G alpha 13, are absent, mouse models develop well-differentiated tumors that reduce their survival.

“My research now is to understand why it’s playing the opposite role that we initially expected,” Shields, who joined Stony Brook in July after six years at Northwestern University.

Having worked at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the lab of Mikala Egeblad from 2012 to 2018, Shields is returning to the Long Island area with a focus on defeating a problematic type of cancer that steals precious time from people and robs families of important members.

“I have come to appreciate the dire situation of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” Shields said. “We need to figure out how to lower the curve.”

A recipient of the National Cancer Institute’s Moonshot Award, Shields is one of the first 11 Cancer Moonshot Scholars who received a total of $5.4 million.

The program, which was launched by the Biden administration in the summer of 2023, seeks to advance cancer science while diversifying the pool of early-stage researchers and approaches to research that NCI funds.

The goal of the program is to inspire and support scientists from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups in the biomedical sciences.

The NCI award, which Shields brings with him to Stony Brook, will support his efforts.

Egeblad, who is now Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Tumor Microenvironment, has stayed in contact with Shields since he left her group. The work he’s doing is “very important” in understanding the “basic mechanism of pancreatic cancer progression” as he has been “very successful in making discoveries and raising funds for his research.”

Egeblad appreciates his contribution to her lab. Shields “was responsible for establishing our research program in pancreatic cancer,” she explained. “Before he joined my lab, I had only worked on breast cancer and [Shields] established the various models to also study pancreatic cancer — models that we are still using.”

Building on CSHL work

At CSHL, Shields worked in Egeblad’s lab and received advice and oversight from David Tuveson, Cancer Center Director at CSHL, who developed the mouse model Shields uses.

Shields has been using human and mouse cell lines to interrogate the mechanism of action of these G proteins in suppressing cancer. 

At Stony Brook, he plans to use patient samples to develop patient-derived tumor specimens.

The major hub of what Shields is studying is the mTOR pathway, which stands for mammalian/ mechanistic target of rapamycin. First isolated in a bacteria on Easter Island in the middle of the 20th century, rapamycin is an immunosuppressant drug.

Any defects that activate the mTOR pathway can lead to the growth and development of cancer.

A developing field

Shields explained that the G protein he is studying, G alpha 13, is a “niche” area right now, with few other labs pursuing the same mechanistic pathway. The G proteins are of more interest to molecular pharmacology and drug design.

In his studies, Shields hopes to use the information on the response to changes in the protein to predict how patients respond to therapy that inhibits the mTOR pathway.

Specifically, he is exploring how alterations in the microenvironment can cause the tumor to progress in pancreatic cancer.

Shields has found some “interesting dependencies” in the mechanism he’s studying. In the first year of work at Stony Brook, he would like to figure out how Ga13 regulates mTOR signaling, as the current context dependency is vague.

The gene that codes for this protein is not heavily mutated. Shields anticipates that a threshold level of the protein may be responsible for conveying its benefit in suppressing cancer, rather than a specific mutational change.

He is eager to explore whether nutrient availability plays a role in cancer progression through the reduction in this G protein. He has exploring that in vitro and is curious how that will translate at the organismal level.

Returning to Long Island

Shields had recently been Research Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Having worked at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Shields felt comfortable moving back to the Long Island area.

“Stony Brook is a good place to do research,” said Shields.

Additionally, Shields was impressed with the number of people who had presented their research from Pathology Chair Kenneth Shroyer’s lab at a conference.

“Further discussions [with Shroyer] indicated we have areas of common interest in terms of pancreatic cancer,” Shields added.

Shields appreciates the greenness of Long Island. When he worked at CSHL, he enjoyed walking on trails and enjoyed the variety of fall colors.

Shields brought one person with him from Northwestern and plans to have a lab of about six people.

As for running his lab, Shields plans to “be patient” and to “see where people are coming from and what they are capable of” as he takes on the role of mentor for members of his lab at Stony Brook.

Shields hopes to inspire and encourage under represented groups to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Egeblad suggested that Shields is warm and calm, which “helps those entering the field really take to his instruction.” She added she believes he is an inspiration to many young scientists.

Brenda Anderson. Photo by John Griffin/SBU

Stony Brook University Professor Brenda Anderson, PhD has been elected as the new University Senate President effective on July 1, 2024. The University Senate is the primary campus-wide academic governance body at Stony Brook and is made up of a senate, and  standing committees that collaborate with administration to discuss issues that impact the university as a whole. The University Senate meets regularly and is a major force for institutional-policy making at the university. Professor Anderson will succeed previous University Senate President Richard Larson.

The  Executive Committee of the University Senate is composed of the University Senate President, three Vice-Presidents, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Senate, the Co-Chairs of the Professional Employees Governing  Board, the President of the Undergraduate Student Government or designee and the President of the Graduate Student Organization or designee. In addition, the Stony Brook representatives on the SUNY Faculty Senate choose one of their members to represent them as a voting member of the University Senate Executive Committee.

The Committee acts for and to further the activities of the University Senate. The University Senate also has a Coordinating Council which facilitates the sharing of information and the coordination of activities among the Standing Committees of the University Senate. The Standing Committees provide a major part of the Senate’s work, which consists of elected representatives of faculty, staff and students. The Executive Committee meets with the  University President, Provost, and other senior administrators each month. The University Senate President is also a member of the University Council.

Anderson is a Professor of Integrative Neuroscience, in the Department of Psychology, where she studied how experience influences behavior and brain function. Her expertise lies in behavior analysis, learning and memory, and quantitative neuroanatomy. Using these approaches, and animal models she developed for motor skill learning and psychological stress, she has investigated how experience modifies behavior, neural metabolic capacity and the number of synaptic connections. Her work has received support from the National Institute of Mental Health.

“I am looking forward to working with the exceptional members of the senate, and the leaders on its Executive Committee and standing committees,” said Anderson. “My goal is to build the relationships within the senate. I hope to continue the senate’s collaborative relationship with the President, Provost, and Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine so that Stony Brook University may fully capitalize on our well-deserved recognition as a flagship institution in New York.

 

 

Dino Martins

Stony Brook University  announces that noted Kenyan entomologist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino J. Martins will begin serving as the director of the world-renowned Turkana Basin Institute beginning on September 1, 2024.

Martins has served as the CEO of TBI (Kenya) Ltd. since August 1, 2022, and has been affiliated with TBI since 2011. In this transition from CEO for TBI’s Kenya operations to serving as director across the entire TBI operation, Martins will lead vision and strategy to build upon the institute’s legacy as a critical site of research and discovery around some of the biggest questions of our time concerning our origins, our current role and responsibilities and, most critically, our future on a changing planet.  Martins will oversee all Institute activities including recruitment, hiring and evaluation of faculty and postdoctoral researchers; development of facilities and fundraising.

Martins will succeed Dr. Lawrence Martin, who has served as the director of TBI since 2007 and will be named TBI director emeritus, taking on a new role to support TBI’s fundraising efforts by organizing and leading donor visits to Kenya as well as working on several other projects for the university.

“As Lawrence and Dino have worked hand-in-hand over the last several years, this will be a seamless transition in the leadership of TBI. I am grateful to Lawrence for his outstanding leadership of TBI, and I look forward to working with Dino to build upon the incredible foundation that has been established and to elevate TBI to even greater heights,” said Carl Lejuez, Provost of Stony Brook University.

Martins earned his PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University in 2011 before joining TBI as a postdoctoral fellow at Stony Brook University. Martins had previously graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from Indiana University and with a M.SC. in Botany from the University of KwaZulu Natal. Martins taught in the TBI Origins field school every semester it has been offered since spring of 2011, when the field school began.

Upon completion of his postdoc, Martins took on the position of resident academic director of the TBI Origins Field School and served for three years before accepting the position of executive director of the Mpala Research Center in Laikipia, Kenya, which is overseen by Princeton University, the Smithsonian Institution, the Kenyan Wildlife Service, and the National Museums of Kenya. During his seven years as director, Dino worked to improve the operations and finances of Mpala and expanded the number of institutions conducting research there.

Martins’ research in the Turkana Basin has included the description of new species of bees, including some of the most ancient lineages of bees known and the discovery of genera previously not recorded from Africa. Martins is also a Co-PI of the Turkana Genome Project, which is bringing together dozens of international scientists to look at the complex interactions among human genes, the environment and adaptation. Dino is actively building links and collaborations globally to expand the scientific frontiers of research at TBI. This includes building on the excellent fundamental research around human origins and evolution, to other disciplines that intersect with the fields of evolution and ecology, climate change and the future of sustainable human existence and development.

About TBI

The Turkana Basin Institute (TBI), a Stony Brook University Institute was established by the late celebrated paleoanthropologist, conservationist and Stony Brook University faculty member Richard Leakey. TBI’s mission is to facilitate the logistics of field research in the Turkana Basin, a remote region of sub-Saharan Africa, by providing permanent research support infrastructure. Fundraising to implement the project began in 2005 and funds have been raised every year since for the construction and running costs of two field campuses.

TBI today houses a sophisticated environment to support the research of scientists and students at its two field campuses, TBI-Turkwel and TBI-Ileret, as well as through an administrative support center in Nairobi. Each of the field campuses comprises 15 to 20 major buildings providing accommodation and dining facilities for up to 60 scientists and students as well as the permanent staff of about 40. In addition, there are multiple laboratories, classrooms for field schools, and conference facilities. TBI has purchased and maintains a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan airplane, which operates as Air Turkana, providing reduced cost flying for education and research that is subsidized by revenue from commercial charters.

 

 

Stony Brook University: Entrance sign

Stony Brook University and the Simons Foundation were recently named recipients of the Insight Into Diversity magazine 2024 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.

Insight Into Diversity is the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award honors colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Stony Brook University and the Simons Foundation will be featured, along with 82 other recipients, in the September 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

“I am so proud of the cutting-edge research, outstanding teaching, and engaged scholarship and service gained from the collaboration of Stony Brook and the Simons Foundation around excellence in STEM,” said SBU Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer Judith Brown Clarke. “We look forward to continued partnership in our quest for deep transformational impacts that are powerful and create long-lasting changes that have a positive effect on individuals, communities, and entire societies.”

Inspiring Programs in STEM Award winners were selected by Insight Into Diversity based on efforts to inspire and encourage a new generation of young people to consider careers in STEM through mentoring, teaching, research, and successful programs and initiatives.

“I take great pride in the dedication and enthusiasm shown by our scholars and staff in initiating this program with such vigor and excellence. We are grateful for this recognition and remain dedicated to advancing the legacy we have started,” said Erwin Cabrera, executive director of the Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program. “The core values of Insight Into Diversity Inspiring Programs closely resonate with the objectives of the SBU Simons STEM Scholars program, and we appreciate the opportunity to be recognized alongside other distinguished recipients.