Tags Posts tagged with "Brookhaven National Lab"

Brookhaven National Lab

Maggie Sullivan (Kevin Coughlin/Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Maggie Sullivan, an experienced leader and manager of the Talent Management group at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, was recently named Chief Human Resources Officer and Assistant Laboratory Director for Human Resources. Sullivan took over the position from Bob Lincoln, who transitioned to an advisory role after serving more than 12 years in the position.

Since joining the Lab in 2011, Sullivan has progressively assumed more responsibility, most recently leading a multidisciplinary team of HR professionals and administrators in training, recruitment, leadership development, and HR systems.

“Throughout her 12 years at Brookhaven, Maggie has demonstrated a strong ability to work with constituents across the Laboratory and to appreciate the role that each member of the Lab community plays in achieving our mission,” said Laboratory Director JoAnne Hewett. “She has also worked closely with senior leadership on major Lab initiatives and institutional-level processes, giving her insight into how the Lab and its senior leadership team operate.”

Sullivan has implemented best-in-class leadership development programs, including mentoring, the Lab’s Science and Engineering Development Program, and LEADER program for supervisory development. Most recently, she co-led the multi-year effort to modernize the Lab’s human capital management system. Sullivan has also served as the co-leader of the Lab’s recent engagement survey and continues to support that effort. Sullivan has also played a lead role in the design and delivery of supervisory and leadership training programs across the Battelle laboratory complex.

Sullivan partners closely with Brookhaven’s Chief Diversity Officer to promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture and is a key contributor to the Lab’s annual diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plan. She is also a member of the Lab’s Executive DEI Council and the DEI Management Council, and she serves on the Human Resources Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.

“I’m excited and looking forward to working closely with Lab leadership and staff as we continue to build our future workforce, advance DEI efforts, and review and modernize our HR processes and functions to best serve the Laboratory and our current and future staff,” said Sullivan. “We have a very talented HR team in place, and together we will create positive change for the Lab.”

Prior to her current role, the Hampton Bays resident was the Lab’s learning and development manager from 2011 to 2017. From 1989 to 2011, she worked for the Applied Research Corporation in Metuchen, NJ, first as a consultant, then senior consultant, then executive vice president.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.

Enyuan Hu (front) and Peter Khalifah, two of the principal investigators for battery research projects that just received funding from the Department of Energy, at NSLS-II's X-ray Powder Diffraction beamline.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $209 million in funding for 26 new laboratory projects focusing on electric vehicles (EV), advanced batteries, and connected vehicles. Scientists from DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory will play key roles in two EV battery projects—one aimed at understanding and improving materials for battery anodes and cathodes and another to guide the design of safer electrolytes. The funding comes from the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

“President Biden’s Administration wants to make it easier for millions of American families and businesses to make the switch to electric vehicles,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in a DOE statement announcing the funding. “By developing smarter vehicle batteries, we can make these technologies cheaper and more accessible, while positioning America to be become a global leader of EV infrastructure production and clean energy jobs.”

Brookhaven Lab will be involved in projects aimed at understanding and refining the materials that make up all major components of batteries [https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsbatteries]—the anode (negative electrode), cathode (positive electrode), and the electrolyte that shuttles charged ions from one electrode to the other as electrons move in the opposite direction through an outside circuit to provide power. (For rechargeable batteries, like the ones in electric vehicles, the whole system runs in a reversible manner, allowing for repeated charge and discharge cycles.)

Both Brookhaven projects will make use of research capabilities at two Brookhaven Lab user facilities, which operate with funding from the DOE Office of Science: the National Synchrotron Light Source II [https://www.bnl.gov/nsls2/about-NSLS-II.php] (NSLS-II), which produces extremely bright x-rays for studying a wide range of materials, and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials [https://www.bnl.gov/cfn/] (CFN), home to a suite of electron microscopes [https://www.bnl.gov/cfn/facilities/microscopy.php] and nanoscale fabrication tools [https://www.bnl.gov/cfn/facilities/nanofabrication.php]. These facilities give scientists access to information about the atomic-level structure and chemical properties of battery materials, including under operating conditions. Scientists can use what they learn from these characterization studies to fine-tune and test new material designs with the goal of improving and optimizing performance. These two projects will be carried out by scientists in Brookhaven Lab’s Chemistry Division.

Battery500 Phase 2

As partners in “Battery500 Phase 2,” which is led by DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a team of Brookhaven scientists will conduct studies to identify battery electrode materials with increased energy density. Such materials could reduce the size and weight of batteries used in electric vehicles and/or extend the vehicle’s driving distance for a given battery weight with better safety characteristics. Identifying lower-cost materials is another primary goal.

The total budget of Battery500 Phase 2 is $75M for the next 5 years. It is a renewal of funding for the original Battery500 Consortium, which was established in 2016 [https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=111858].

Under the new funding arrangement, Brookhaven Lab will receive $1.3 million per year for the next five years. Brookhaven chemist Xiao-Qing Yang will serve as the general coordinator for the Battery500 Phase 2 consortium and as Brookhaven Lab’s point of contact. Brookhaven associate chemist Enyuan Hu is another principal investigator (PI) for this project. And Peter Khalifah, another Brookhaven PI, who holds a joint appointment at Stony Brook University, will serve as one of the two leaders of a cross-cutting thrust on materials characterization within the Consortium.

“Our team has made important discoveries over the past five years during Battery500 phase 1, which resulted in increased funding for Brookhaven and an increased project-leadership role for Battery500 Phase 2,” said Yang. “We are quite excited to be a member of this great consortium and confident in the success of this Phase 2 project.”

As an example of the success of the original Battery500 funding initiative, the Brookhaven team, working in collaboration with colleagues at PNNL and elsewhere, provided important insight into the electrochemical surface reactions of lithium metal anodes [https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=117633]—one of the key components being explored to fulfill the energy density sought by Battery500. They also identified the failure mechanisms of these lithium metal anodes [https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=118736] after long-term cycling. In addition, the team uncovered evidence that high voltage charging can induce strain and crack [https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=114414]ing in nickel-rich cathode materials, and developed exceptionally sensitive methods for quantifying defects [https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=116984] associated with disorder across atomic sites. Results from these last two studies are guiding the design of improved cathodes.

In the next five years, the Brookhaven team will continue their efforts to develop and deploy sensitive characterization techniques that can illuminate the changes that occur in lithium metal anodes, metal oxide and sulfur cathodes, and new electrolytes during their use in rechargeable batteries. These efforts will help understand and overcome the factors limiting the performance of this exceptionally high energy density class of batteries and will accelerate the rate at which this technology can become commercially viable.

Solid state electrolytes

Another Brookhaven team, led by Enyuan Hu, will spearhead a new project to study solid state battery electrolytes. Electrolytes allow negatively and positively charged ions to flow between a battery’s anode and cathode. Most of today’s EV batteries use organic liquid electrolytes, which are highly volatile and flammable.

“Solid state batteries are intrinsically safer and have potentially higher energy density than conventional liquid-electrolyte-based batteries,” Hu said.

The Brookhaven team (one of 17 projects just awarded funding for studying solid state electrolytes under the new announcement) will conduct research on ceramic-polymer composite solid-state electrolytes. The total funding for this 5-year project is $2.5 million, including $300K per year for Brookhaven Lab and $200K per year for collaborators from Harvard and the University of California, Irvine.

This project leverages the electrolyte expertise within the Chemistry Division of Brookhaven Lab, the advanced characterization tools available at NSLS II and CFN, the ceramic and polymer expertise at Harvard and UC Irvine, and the established long-term collaboration among the three institutions.

“These important projects will help advance the development of electric vehicle batteries,” said Alex Harris, director of Brookhaven Lab’s Energy Sciences Directorate and acting chair of the Lab’s Chemistry Division. “We are grateful for the sustained funding for both the specific battery research projects and for the user facilities that enable the fundamental scientific studies that will push these technologies forward.”

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), in the DOE statement, said, “I am proud to have fought for this vital DOE funding to bring innovation home to New York State and our world-class Brookhaven National Laboratory. This investment is a down payment on a greener, more prosperous future for all of us, and I look forward to supporting more of these projects in the future.”

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov. [https://www.energy.gov/science/]

Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter [http://twitter.com/BrookhavenLab] or find us on Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/BrookhavenLab/].

Image from BNL

Every year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory opens its gates to thousands of community members for open house events called Summer Sundays. Visitors get to meet the Lab’s scientists and tour a different world-class science facility each week, including the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—all DOE Office of Science User Facilities.

Following the success of Brookhaven’s virtual Summer Sundays program in 2020 and to continue limiting the spread of COVID-19, the Lab is bringing back its online Summer Sunday program for 2021. Over three Sundays this summer, Brookhaven will host a series of live, virtual events for people of all ages. Each event will feature a guided tour of a Brookhaven Lab facility and live Q&A sessions with a panel of scientists.

Brookhaven Lab plans to return to an in-person public tour format for Summer Sundays 2022, as conditions permit.

 

 

Schedule of events

NSLS-II: Sunday, July 25 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Tune in to get an up-close look at some of the “beamlines” where scientists use ultrabright x-ray light to see the atomic structure of batteries, proteins, and more. Viewers will have the opportunity to pose questions to NSLS-II scientists about each beamline on the tour and all of the research conducted at NSLS-II. Watch on TwitterFacebook, or YouTube.

RHIC: Sunday, August 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Join Brookhaven scientists as they explore the physics of particle colliders, including RHIC and the upcoming Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Get a behind-the-scenes look at RHIC’s operations, then scientists for a Q&A session where they’ll take viewers’ questions about RHIC and the EIC. Watch on TwitterFacebook, or YouTube.

CFN: Sunday, August 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Investigate our world at the nanoscale with CFN, where scientists will show viewers the sophisticated microscopes and research tools they use to observe ultrasmall science. Viewers will have the opportunity to pose questions to CFN scientists about each scientific instrument on the tour and all of the research conducted at CFN. Watch on TwitterFacebook, or YouTube.

More details about these events will be announced soon. For the most up-to-date information, follow Brookhaven Lab on Facebook or visit the Summer Sundays website.

How to watch and ask questions

Each of the Lab’s live Summer Sundays events will be streamed to TwitterFacebook, and YouTube. At the time of the event, the live stream will be pinned to the top of Brookhaven’s profile on each platform. You do not need to have a Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to watch the stream.

Viewers are encouraged to submit their questions for the Q&A segment in advance through the Lab’s social media accounts or by sending an email to [email protected]. Live questions will also be accepted during the Q&A through the chat functions on all streaming platforms mentioned above.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.

Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

Lijun Wu is the 17th recipient of this esteemed award. Photo courtesy of BNL

By Daniel Dunaief

Despite the pause New York and so many other states are taking to combat the coronavirus, the awards can, and will, go on.

The Microscopy Society of America gave Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Lijun Wu the 2020 Chuck Fiori Award. The Award, which started in 1993, recognizes the achievements of a technologist in the physical sciences who has made long-standing contributions in microscopy or microanalysis.

Wu is the second consecutive BNL staff member to win the Chuck Fiori award. Dmitri Zakharov took home the honors last year.

Lijun Wu during a trip to Alaska last summer. Photo from Jiangyan Fang

Wu is an engineer in the Electron Microscopy and Nanostructure Group in the Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division. He works with transmission electron microscopy in quantum materials, batteries, catalysts, and other energy materials. Wu learned how to write software programs on his own. His first effort in this area involved a program that indexed electron diffraction patterns. He has also created programs for simulating microscopy images and diffraction patterns.

Wu, who is hoping to pick up the award at the Microscopy Society of America meeting in August if the meeting still takes place, said he was “excited” to receive this distinction and was pleased for the support throughout his career at BNL.

Wu “has made significant contributions to the field of electron microscopy, especially quantitative electron diffraction,” group leader and senior scientist Yimei Zhu, said in a statement. “Applying his expertise in the field and talents in computer programming, [he] has advanced electron microscopy for material characterization. He well deserves the award.”

One of the most important contributions Wu, who has been at BNL since 1996, has made was in developing an electron diffraction method for measuring valence electron distribution. The valence electrons are the ones in the outermost shell of any substance or material.

Wu worked with Zhu and Johan Taftø, a visiting scientist from the University of Oslo, to develop an electron diffraction–based method for measuring valence electron distribution.

He appreciates the support and encouragement he has received from Zhu since he arrived at BNL.

Transmission electron microscopes can provide atomic-resolution images and electron-energy loss spectroscopy, Wu suggested. Through this work, scientists can determine where atoms are and what kind of atoms are present.

He would like to measure the distribution of these valence electrons through a process called quantitative electron diffraction.

By understanding how atoms share or transfer electrons, researchers can determine the physical properties of materials. Electron diffraction measurements can describe valence electron distribution from the bonds among atoms.

Wu and his colleagues developed a method called parallel recording of dark-field images. Through this technique, the scientists focus a beam above the sample they are studying and record numerous reflections from the same area. This is like studying the partial reflection of objects visible in windows on a city street and putting together a composite, three-dimensional view. Instead of cars, people, traffic lights and dog walkers, though, Wu and his colleagues are studying the distribution of electrons.

The information the scientists collect allows them to measure the charge transfer and aspherical valence electron distribution, which they need to describe electron orbitals for objects like high-temperature superconductors.

Using an electron probe, the team developed the technique to measure the displacement of atoms in crystal lattices with one-thousandth-of-a-nanometer accuracy.

To learn how to write software, Wu used several resources.

“I used literature and read books for computer programming,” he said. “I spent many, many years” learning how to write programs that would be useful in his research. He also consulted with colleagues, who have written similar programs.

Wu explained that the calculations necessary for his work far exceeded the functionality of a calculator. He also needed a super computer to handle the amount of data he was generating and the types of calculations necessary.

“If we used the older computer technique, it would take days or weeks to get one result,” he said.

A native of Pingjing in Hunan Province in China, Wu said learning English was considerably more challenging than understanding computer programming.

The youngest of nine siblings, Wu is the only one in the family who attended college. When he began his studies at the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University, he said he was interested in physics and computers.

The college, however, decided his major, which was materials science.“They assigned it to me,” Wu said. “I liked it.”

He and his wife Jiangyan Fang, who is an accountant, have a 25-year-old son David, who lives in Boston and works with computers.

Wu, who started out at BNL as a Visiting Scientist, said he is comfortable living on Long Island. He said Long Island is cooler than his home town in the middle of China, where it’s generally hotter and more humid. For a week or two each year, the temperature can climb above 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for his work, Wu said he looks at the atomic level of substances. His techniques can explore how a defect in something like a battery affects how ions, like lithium, get in and through that.

“When you charge or discharge a battery, [I consider] how an electron gets through a defect. I always think about it this way.”

Wu has been working with Zhu and visiting scientist Qingping Meng from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where Wu earned his Bachelor’s of Science and his Master’s in Science, on an initiative that advances the ability to determine valence electron distribution.

Wu is preparing a new publication. “I’m writing the manuscript and will introduce the method we are developing,” he said.

 

the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a 10-year multi-billion project to build a new electron-ion collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton. Provide photo from Brookhaven National Lab

By Daniel Dunaief

Through answers to basic questions, scientists develop new technology that changes the world, leading to medical breakthroughs, energy applications and national security devices.

That’s the theory behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision last week to award a 10-year project that will cost between $1.6 billion and $2.6 billion to build a new electron-ion collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton. 

For the scientists, the discoveries will flow from answers to questions about the nature of visible matter.

“The big science we’re excited about, the hundred-year-old questions, are things like where does the mass of a proton come from,” said Robert Tribble, the deputy director for science and technology at Brookhaven National Laboratory and a nuclear physicist. The EIC is like a microscope to look at quarks and gluons, he explained.

With support from numerous New York State and Long Island leaders, BNL recently won a competition against Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator in Virginia to build an electron-ion collider. Members of the Jefferson Accelerator, as well as over 1,000 scientists from 30 nations, will partner with BNL staff to conceptualize and build the new collider, which will be the most advanced ever constructed.

In addition to understanding atomic nuclei, we will be able to generate a better view of the universe writ large [with discoveries from the EIC].”

Robert Tribble

“We do not understand very dense matter that exists in the universe in objects like neutron stars and black holes,” Tribble explained in an email. “In addition to understanding atomic nuclei, we will be able to generate a better view of the universe writ large [with discoveries from the EIC].”

Over the next decade, the construction of the new EIC will employ 4,000 people, said Doon Gibbs, the laboratory director at BNL. That number represents the workforce that will, at one time or another, contribute to the construction of this new facility. 

The new EIC will expand on the technology of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, which has been operating since 2000 and will stop running experiments in 2024. Indeed, part of the appeal of BNL as a site for this new facility arose out of the ability to extend the resources by building a new electron storage ring and electron accelerator elements.

Researchers will collide electrons and protons and numerous atomic nuclei to study the strong nuclear force. These collisions will reveal how the subunits of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, namely the quarks and gluons, come together to help generate mass in visible matter.

The staff at BNL is “delighted and excited” that the site for the EIC will be on Long Island, said Gibbs. “Our design has the capability of using many existing technologies and extending them farther than they’ve been before.”

Indeed, even the conception of the EIC has led to some new scientific breakthroughs, some of which the lab and its partners will share with the public in the next few weeks.

While the application of research at the EIC will likely lead to breakthroughs in fields including materials science, researchers at BNL are excited about basic questions about the nature of nuclear matter.

A typical experiment at the EIC will likely follow the same pattern as it has with RHIC, in which hundreds of researchers from around the world collaborate to understand physics properties. In the next few years, researchers will develop a detailed design before they start construction.

“We love challenges at BNL, we like building big machines. We’re good at it. We have a whole class of staff who, in particular, are experts at this kind of activity and they are pretty excited.”

Doon Gibbs

Gibbs said the facility has a strong handle on the safety features of the new collider, which will build on the protocols and designs developed at the RHIC as well as with the National Synchrotron Light Source II, also at the lab in Upton.

“We love challenges at BNL,” Gibbs said. “We like building big machines. We’re good at it. We have a whole class of staff who, in particular, are experts at this kind of activity and they are pretty excited.”

Area politicians are also excited about discoveries in basic science, translational benefits in areas like medicine and the expected boost to the local economy.

“Establishing the electron-ion collider on Long Island might be focused on particles, but it will add some serious mass — nearly $1 billion worth — to the local economy,” U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) said in a statement. BNL has the “talent, the technology and the track record to make the most of this national project.”

Schumer believes this project will guarantee that BNL continues to be a “world class research facility for the next generation.”

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) praised the leadership at BNL.

“I congratulate BNL Director Doon Gibbs for leading this exceptional organization and all of its scientists who have worked incredibly hard every step of the way to make this possible, and can’t wait to see what they do next,” Zeldin said in a statement.

 

Steve Kramer raising money to bring Berlinda to U.S. to undergo surgery on her two clubbed feet

By Desirée Keegan

Through the efforts of a retired physicist, an orthopedic surgeon from Stony Brook University and a dedicated Haitian who has since moved to Long Island, a 16-year-old from Haiti is on a path with more open doors than ever.

Berlinda was born with two clubbed feet, though she is motivated to better herself, with the dream of one day walking on her own two feet. Steve Kramer, a retired Brookhaven National Lab accelerator physicist met the student in Haiti through Life & Hope Haiti, a nonprofit founded by Haitian-American Lucia Anglade, who built the Eben Ezer School in her hometown of Milot, Haiti.

Berlinda practices arithmetic. Photo from Steve Kramer

“She had only been at the school for a few months and she was already learning basic arithmetic,” Kramer said of seeing Berlinda back in March, after meeting her during her introduction to the school in December. “I gave her two columns of work and she handed it back to me with a big smile and said, ‘more.’”

Berlinda has spirit, according to many who have met her, and Kramer was so moved by the story that he reached out to Dr. Wesley Carrion at Stony Brook University School of Medicine’s orthopedics department about performing surgery to fix the girl’s feet. He agreed to do it free of charge.

When he contacted Carrion, Kramer said his secretary Joan mentioned he was deployed in Afghanistan and she didn’t know when he would return. Within a day or two she called to tell him she’d heard from the doctor, who said he’d return by April. In May, the two met.

“I sent him copies of Berlinda’s X-rays and the video and he said he felt he could treat her and rotate the feet, and he would donate his time and get the equipment donated,” Kramer said. “That was a big relief. I felt it might become a reality.”

Carrion had informed Kramer that he would need to get the hospital to donate some of the costs, so Kramer reached out to the Department of Medicine’s Dr. L. Reuven Pasternak, who serves as vice president for health systems and chief executive officer of Stony Brook University Hospital.

What the external cages look like that will be used to repair Berlinda’s clubbed feet. Photo from Steve Kramer

“He said they would cover her hospital costs,” Kramer said after his meeting with Pasternak in July. “This was a bigger relief since beside rotating the club feet we need to check out the status of the hole her spinal column might still have from the spinal bifida she was diagnosed as having. Everyone told me the hole doesn’t close up on its own, but she is doing so well that it may have, but it needs to be checked and closed if it is still open.”

To help bring Berlinda to the United States, Kramer set up a GoFundMe to raise money for her flight cost and other post-operation expenses.

“The fundraising has been going slower than I had hoped, even though everyone I contact is verbally supportive,” he said. “As a physicist my human appeal needs a lot of improvement to really move people to give. But then I look at the video and see the determination she has and feel she will deal with it as she has the tragic events she has already endured and I know she will persevere and will learn to walk.”

Following the surgery, Berlinda will be in the hospital for four months, getting her feet rotated to stretch the tendons as part of the healing process. Her legs will be in cages called external frames that will be attached by pins drilled into her leg bones. Because these create open wounds, it’s best for her to stay the hospital instead of returning to Haiti, to keep the wounds sterile. While recovering, she will continue to go through schooling, which will be one-on-one instead of in a larger classroom back in Haiti.

Without the construction of The Eben Ezer School, Berlinda’s struggles might never have come to light for Kramer. What began as a 10-child school back in 2001 has grown to population over 400, according to Anglade.

“I took the $7,000 I received from my tax return and decided I wanted to build a school in my home country — that had been my motivation,” said Anglade, who now lives in West Babylon. “I’m so blessed. I thank God for that, say thank you all the time. It’s a big school now, and we’re still helping.”

Berlinda crawls on her hands and knees because she cannot walk with her two clubbed feet. Photo from Steve Kramer

Anglade first visited Berlinda at her house, and heard from the 16-year-old how her brothers and sisters attended school, and she wished she could join them. Because the school is far from her house, she couldn’t walk there.

“I went to her house and she was quiet, said she can’t go to school,” Anglade said. “I told her I was going to help her, and I took her to the school. I pay someone to stay with her at the school. Her dream is to walk, to learn, to be someone. She wants to be happy.”

Kramer and Stony Brook University Hospital are making her dream a reality.

“Thank God for Steve — he has a good heart and I can’t do it by myself,” Anglade said. “With all my heart, I am so happy. Steve has put in a lot of effort to helping Berlinda make her dream come true.”

Kramer first visited the Eben Ezer School through Wading River’s North Shore United Methodist Church in 2015. He joined a group visiting Haiti in February, and has since visited three more times by himself and with Anglade. They are working toward improving the facilities at the school through solar power and updating the water system.

Kramer also provided economic opportunities for students and natives of the town. He cultivated a group of farmers that grow ancient Egyptian wheat, kumat, which is exported to the U.S.

Now, he’s trying to help provide a future for Berlinda.

“She’s very positive, she’s a sponge for learning,” he said. “I just want to help this Haitian girl who has had a tragic life story so far, but has kept her joy of life and has determination to improve herself.”

Sixteen-year-old Berlinda from Haiti will be receiving surgery on her two clubbed feet at Stony Brook University Hospital. Photo from Steve Kramer

Amy Miller, of Maine, who has helped Anglade since 2007, said she finds what Kramer is doing admirable.

“I met Berlinda and I really respect his desire to help her move forward,” she said. “You meet someone and they kind of capture your heart, and I think you have to follow your heart. That’s what he’s doing.”

Both said they are also moved by Anglade’s motivation.

“I am tremendously inspired by Lucia,” Miller said. “She’s a force. Lucia is a person that astounds most people that meet her — her energy and her commitment. She loves the kids and it’s wonderful to watch. The community once said she should be their mayor after she brought water to the school she also to the community. She’s quite something.”

Anglade said she’s just doing what she thinks is right, in giving back to her hometown.

“My four kids here go to school, they’re in college, they eat every day, but in Haiti, we don’t have enough to feed over 400 kids, so sometimes when we’re down there for a week or two, we can only feed them for one week,” Anglade said. “I can’t go every week, but if I could go every week, every month, I’d go, just to help them. For me to be able to go down there to help those students, my community, I’m so happy to do it. I really feel good about it.”

To donate to help get Berlinda to the United States and to receive the care and post-treatment she will need, visit www.gofundme.com/BerlindasMiracle. To find out more about Life and Hope Haiti, or to get involved, visit www.lifeandhopehaiti.org.

Sen. Kenneth LaValle, wearing hat, sits with Brookhaven National Laboratory beamline scientist Dieter Schneider. Looking on from left, BNL Director Doon Gibbs; vice president for development at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Charles Prizzi; NSLS-II director John Hill; and Stony Brook University associate vice president for Brookhaven affairs, Richard Reeder. Photo from Brookhaven National Laboratory

Thanks to the persistent support of state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), Brookhaven National Laboratory secured $15 million from New York State to add a state-of-the-art microscope that could contribute to advances in basic science and medicine.

The national laboratory will purchase a new cryo-electron microscope and will use the funds to create a building attached to its National Synchrotron Light Source II.

“Cryo-electron microscopy is an advanced imaging technology that will significantly accelerate scientists’ understanding of molecular structures and processes generally, including many impacts in understanding disease and in aiding drug discovery,” Doon Gibbs, the laboratory director of BNL, said in an email.

BNL will use the funds to purchase the first of what they hope will be four such new microscopes. The lab is finalizing a bid, which is due by June 30 for funds from the National Institutes of Health for three additional microscopes.

“There is an exponentially increasing demand for the type of bio-structural information that such machines provide, and so we are competing to become an East Coast based national facility to serve this rapidly growing community,” James Misewich, the associate director for energy and photon sciences at BNL said in an email.

Having a suite of microscopes would enable BNL to have a spectrum of capabilities to serve the needs of its scientists and of researchers from around the world who flock to the Upton-based lab to conduct their research.

The new facility will create jobs associated with running the cryo-EM, Misewich said. If BNL wins the NIH proposal to become a national cryo-EM facility, it would also employ additional scientists, engineers, technicians and administrators to run the user program.

Misewich said he hopes scientists at nearby Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory will benefit from the opportunity to use a combination of its X-ray and electron microscope probes.

Senior members of the BNL team credit LaValle for helping to secure the funds.

“The $15 million in New York State funding is the culmination of a two-year effort led by the senator to bring a cryo-EM to Brookhaven and jump-start this important effort,” Gibbs said.

LaValle suggested that the funds were well worth the investment.

“It is critically important for government to embrace and support the work of the organizations that make life-altering discoveries and better our lives, health and environment,” LaValle said in an email. “This investment will further establish world-leading prominence in the field of medical research, and position the region for additional major investments by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy.”

Misewich envisions configuring one of the microscopes to allow for electron tomography, which will generate three-dimensional images of cells.

“The approach will be complementary to the X-ray imaging work we can undertake with the NSLS-II beamlines,” Misewich said.

Gibbs explained that the cryo-EM is complementary to X-ray crystallography, which is the traditional method for determining structures, which scientists already do at BNL.

“Few prescription drugs have been approved by the [Food and Drug Administration] for use in the U.S. in the last 20 years without a crystallographic study of their structure by X-rays,” Gibbs continued.

Misewich expects the new microscope could lead to new methods of detection, diagnosis and treatment for diseases like cancer or for medical challenges like antibiotic resistance.

Combining the technological tools of the new cryo-EM with the insights from the NSLS II and the nine-year-old Center for Functional Nanomaterials will enable researchers to “provide much more rapid bio-structure determination in response to needs like the ability to rapidly characterize a virus,” Misewich said.

LaValle sited this effort as a part of his ongoing commitment to build Long Island’s new high-tech economy.

The combination of BNL, SBU and CSHL “will provide a significant boost to the competitiveness of the biosciences and biotechnology communities across Long Island,” LaValle said.

Sen. Schumer was among the most forceful opponents of Trump’s decision. File photo by Kevin Redding

By Victoria Espinoza

President Donald Trump (R) presented his blueprint for the 2017-18 federal budget and if passed by Congress as it stands, it spells out cuts to programs on which North Shore residents depend.

The draft includes more than $54 billion in cuts to federal programs and departments, with the biggest cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. State, Labor and Agriculture departments.

State officials on both sides of the aisle were quick to condemn cuts to the U.S. Department of Energy, to the tune of $1.7 billion or 5.6 percent less than last year’s funding, that could impact Brookhaven National Laboratory. BNL was established by the DOE in 1947 and has housed the work of seven Nobel Prize winners. The lab hosts public tours and special programs, as well as school science fairs and robotic competitions, also scientific lectures for community residents.

Trump’s budget blueprint intends to cut $900 million in funding to the DOE’s Office of Science, under which BNL receives its funding among other national labs.

U.S. Sen. and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) held a press conference on the front steps of the Brookhaven lab in Upton March 17, calling the proposed cuts a blow to the community since the lab supplies jobs for as many as 3,000 Long Islanders.

Schumer said in recent years BNL has received an annual $537.3 million in federal funds from the Office of Science budget, about $5 million in federal funds from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and about $3 million from the Nuclear Energy Office.

A volunteer delivers a meal to a senior in the Meals on Wheels program. File photo

“This major Department of Energy budget cut is a cut to our future, a cut to our knowledge, a cut to our research and a cut to good-paying Long Island jobs,” he said. “Brookhaven National Lab is home to some of the world’s brightest minds and most cutting-edge innovations, which both advance human knowledge and spur our economy. … These kinds of cuts not only hurt us today but they hurt the future jobs and the companies of tomorrow who would otherwise plant their roots on Long Island.”

Schumer was not the only member of Congress from the area to speak out about the president’s cuts. U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) has voiced his concerns while also assuring constituents there are many parts of Trump’s budget that are beneficial to the United States.

“I strongly oppose the proposed cuts to Brookhaven National Lab, SUNY Stony Brook and other sources of scientific research in the 1st Congressional District,” he said in a statement. “Throughout the years, we have seen some of the world’s greatest science research conducted at these facilities.”

Zeldin made sure to reiterate Trump’s blueprint is a draft with nothing set in stone.

“Regardless of who is in the White House, the Constitution puts government funding strictly under Congress to initiate through the appropriations process,” he said. “The president’s budget request is just that — a request. It has no force of law or legislation.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s budget could also see a $6.2 billion or 13.2 percent reduction, which means grants for certain local programs could be ended including the popular Meals on Wheels program that has branches in Three Village and Smithtown. Meals on Wheels is a national program providing meals to senior citizens who cannot leave their homes to shop on their own. Chapters in different states rely on funding from the Community Development Block Grant program through the H.U.D. In Trump’s budget blueprint he proposes eliminating the program, cutting $3 billion to community service organizations such as Meals on Wheels, among others.

Although the Three Village Meals on Wheels is not in jeopardy, as all of its funding comes from community donations, Susan Hovani, president of the Three Village branch, said it would be a shame for other communities to lose funding — like Smithtown Meals on Wheels, which relies on federal funding to operate.

“This major … budget cut is a cut to our future, a cut to our knowledge, a cut to our research and a cut to good-paying Long Island jobs.” — Chuck Schumer

“These programs are very necessary,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s sad to see [federal funding] could be cut, and I think it would be much better to cut from other places.”

Another heap of programs on the chopping block are those funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s budget. Compared to last year’s budget, the department’s funding would decrease by $9 billion, or 13 percent.

Trump’s blueprint proposes completely eliminating the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which supports before and after-school programs as well as summer programs.

“The Trump administration’s call for zero funding for the 21st CCLC after-school initiative is a betrayal of the millions of students and parents who depend on after-school and summer-learning programs,” Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant said in a statement.

Afterschool Alliance is one of the after-school initiatives from the 21st CCLC that is responsible for many New York students after-school hours.

“It is painfully shortsighted and makes a mockery of the president’s promise to make our country safer and to support inner cities and rural communities alike,” she added.

Grant said after-school programs enable many parents to work and cutting these programs could jeopardize their ability to hold a job, as well as create a safe space for kids when they have nowhere else to go or no other positive activities to turn to.

The president said the budget proposal is meant to advance the safety and security of the American people.

“Our aim is to meet the simple, but crucial demands of our citizens — a government that puts the needs of its own people first,” he said in the blueprint. “When we do that, we will set free the dreams of every American, and we will begin a new chapter of American greatness.”

Trump said the proposed cuts are crucial to streamlining government spending and operations.

“These cuts are sensible and rational,” he said. “Every agency and department will be driven to achieve greater efficiency and to eliminate wasteful spending in carrying out their honorable service to the American people.”

Colleagues pay tribute to Peter Paul

Paul, second from right, in 2002 with colleagues David Fossan, Linwood Lee, Robert McGrath and Gene Sprouse; and Paul in a family photo. Photo from Gene Sprouse

For nearly 50 years, Setauket’s Peter Paul was a prominent member of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University. With his death March 11 at the age of 84, the physicist left behind a legacy that will be remembered for years to come, especially by his former colleagues.

A native of Dresden, Germany, Paul received a Ph.D. from the University of Freiburg, and immigrated to the United States when he accepted a postdoctoral position at Stanford University. 

Linwood Lee, emeritus professor, recalled when he recruited Paul in the late 1960s. A former co-worker of Lee’s worked with Paul at Stanford University and told him how impressive the physicist was. Lee knew he had to hire him during a time when he called coming to Stony Brook University “an adventure” because the school was in its infancy.

Peter Paul. Photo from Stony Brook University

Lee said Paul was marvelous, and he’s grateful he recruited the professor.

“We established a laboratory here, and from the moment he got here, he was the driving force to make us all do better,” Lee said.

Paul was a professor at the university from 1967 to 2015 and later a distinguished service professor in the department and served as chairman twice during his tenure. One of Paul’s greatest achievements was building a first-class nuclear physics group along with his colleagues at Stony Brook.

In 1973, when the physicist spearheaded a small group to develop, design and construct Stony Brook’s superconducting linear for heavy ions, an improvement of the university’s existing Van de Graaff accelerator, it became the first such machine at a university lab.

Gene Sprouse, now a distinguished John S. Toll professor at SBU, was a graduate student at Stanford University when he met Paul. He later came to Stony Brook and worked on the accelerator project with him.

“That machine was really unique. It was a very powerful accelerator at a university,” Sprouse said.

Paul Grannis, another of Paul’s colleagues at SBU, said Paul was very proud of the accelerator project.

“It enabled research that had previously not been possible to be done, and it was quite a unique facility in the country,” Grannis said. “I know Peter was very proud of that and considered it one of his major achievements.”

Paul became a member of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee in 1980, and as chair, led the development of the 1998 Nuclear Science Long Range Plan, which in turn led to the construction of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Paul was appointed deputy director for science and technology in 1998 at BNL, and when John Marburger was appointed as President George W. Bush’s scientific advisor in 2001, Paul stepped in as interim director at the laboratory until 2003. Under Paul’s direction, BNL made many advances, including starting the construction of Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials, and conceptualizing the electron-ion collider as a successor to RHIC.

Peter Paul with Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley, M.D. Photo from Stony Brook University

Paul returned to SBU after serving as interim director at BNL, and his ongoing success was never a surprise to those who knew him.

“Peter was very energetic and driven,” Sprouse said. “He was always pushing for excellence.”

Sprouse described Paul as a visionary who helped to create the Stony Brook University people know today, especially the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

“Throughout his career he helped to build the nuclear physics groups at Stony Brook, he helped to build the department, and then he helped to build things at Brookhaven,” Sprouse said. “He always kept an eye out for putting in place instruments and institutes that could strengthen Stony Brook in particular and Brookhaven, too.”

Grannis echoed Sprouse’s praise of Paul.

“He was very motivated to do the best that he could in all of his scientific endeavors and to insist that all those who worked with him do so,” Grannis said.

Chang Kee Jung, a SUNY distinguished professor, said when Paul returned to Stony Brook after his time at BNL, he looked for a research program to be involved in. He said he was surprised when Paul knocked on his office door one day and told him he was interested in the projects he was working on at the time.

Jung said he was hesitant at first due to Paul’s extensive experience. However, Paul assured him he would never do anything to interfere. Jung said Paul was always curious to learn more in his field, and didn’t have an ego despite all of his successes. The professor said Paul was the perfect person to have on his team, and he became an advisor to Jung. The two worked together until Paul became the university’s associate vice president for Brookhaven affairs — a position he held until his retirement in 2015.

He also remembers Paul fondly on a personal level and said he was grateful for the opportunity to visit the professor at home a couple of weeks before his death.

“Among all the people I met at Stony Brook, he was the strongest supporter of me, personally,” Jung said. “For whatever reason he liked me and the projects I was doing.”

Lee added that like many professors, Paul was always proud of his students. Many left SBU for prestigious careers, including Michael Thoennessen, chair, APS division of nuclear physics at Michigan University. Thoennessen wrote in an email Paul was his Ph.D. adviser when he attended SBU in the late 1980s.

Peter Paul. Photo from Bryant Funeral Home

“In Germany the Ph.D. adviser is called the ‘Doktor Vater’ (Ph.D. Father) and that is exactly what Peter was to his students,” Thoennessen wrote. “In addition to being a brilliant scientist and a great administrator, Peter was an amazing mentor. I would not be where I am right now without Peter’s advice and guidance.”

Grannis added that despite a demanding career, Paul led a well-rounded life.

“He had a very broad range of interests not only in science but in music, in travel, in reading,” Grannis said. “He was very well-informed on many things.”

Paul was an ardent opera-goer and hiker, and Jung remembers the professor being in his 70s and still traveling upstate to go skiing. His career provided him the opportunity to travel extensively, too. Among his trips were vacations to his homeland of Germany.

In his lifetime, Paul received numerous awards including the American Physical Society Fellow, Institute of Physics Fellow, Sloane Research Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award and the Order of Merit First Class from the German government. Paul is also an inductee in the Long Island Technology Hall of Fame. However, his greatest honor may be the legacy he leaves behind at Stony Brook University.

“Peter was one of the people that made us a better university,” Lee said. “He was active in associating us with Brookhaven, and he was always a booster of the university, and we always boosted Peter. It was hard to keep him because he was recognized as a top scientist. He turned down some very good offers to stay here.”

Sprouse said Paul inspired many to come to SBU and helped them, with his encouragement and leadership, to develop their careers.

“I just think that he was somebody that was really dedicated to the university and wanted to build it,” he said. “For those of us who were at Stony Brook, 40, 50 years ago, Stony Brook was kind of a dream, and Peter really made it a reality.”

File photo by Erika Karp

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) briefed residents last week with his plans and proposals for the coming year in his State of the State address.

One of the more than 30 proposals focused entirely on the needs of Long Island’s infrastructure, with an investment of $160 million slated for transformative projects, including $120 million for the Long Island Rail Road, and $40 million to build sewers.

“These major, transformative investments in Long Island’s core infrastructure invest in the future resiliency and strength of the region,” Cuomo said. “Enhanced LIRR stations will connect further than they ever have before, and these vital water infrastructure projects will support environmental sustainability and bolster economic growth. With these projects, we equip Long Island with the tools and resources to drive commercial activity, create jobs and build a stronger Long Island for generations to come.”

Funds for the LIRR would go toward “state-of-the-art” enhancements at certain stations, improving system connectivity and establishing a new stop at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton. According to the governor’s office, the MTA will cover $35 million of the investment. Stops on the North Shore that would receive upgrades include Northport, Stony Brook, Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma.

A sum of $80 million will be invested in major enhancements at 16 stations to improve the customer experience — coming in at $5 million each, including new facilities, Wi-Fi, charging stations for electronics, public art, new platform waiting areas, general station renovations and improved signage. The enhancements will be customized to the needs of each station and constructed with minimal disruption. Creating a stop on the LIRR Ronkonkoma Branch to Brookhaven National Laboratory would cost $20 million.

David Manning, director of stakeholder relations for BNL, said the station would be a great asset to both the lab and the community.

“It’s really important for the future of young scientists and attracting new talent,” he said in a phone interview. “It allows us to expand our programs and would help with easier access to the lab from New York City. We are a user facility with a large employee base, so greater public transportation access to the lab would be very helpful.”

Cuomo also pledged $40 million to build sewers to support economic growth and environmental sustainability in Smithtown and Kings Park. Both areas are in the process of improving their downtown districts.

“These major, transformative investments in Long Island’s core infrastructure invest in the future resiliency and strength of the region.”
— Andrew Cuomo

Smithtown Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) said the money is greatly needed to help bring positive change.

“It’s a great thing,” he said in a phone interview. “I’ve been asking the county for the last three years for sewers in Kings Park and Smithtown.”

The $20 million Smithtown Business District Sewer Improvement Area project would install sanitary infrastructure and a $20 million Kings Park wastewater treatment facility would be installed in the 100-acre, 140-lot central business district adjacent to the Kings Park railroad station.

Another proposal has been on the national radar for more than a year, thanks to the 2016 presidential campaign.

Cuomo said he intends to bring free college tuition to New Yorkers with the Excelsior Scholarship, a program that would make college tuition-free for New York’s middle-class families at all SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year colleges.

“A college education is not a luxury — it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility, and with these first-in-the-nation Excelsior Scholarships, we’re providing the opportunity for New Yorkers to succeed, no matter what zip code they come from and without the anchor of student debt weighing them down,” Cuomo said.

It’s no secret New Yorkers are struggling with college debt. According to the state comptrollers office, student loan debt more than doubled during the last decade, growing to $82 billion, an increase of 112 percent. The number of student loan borrowers also rose sharply in New York in the last 10 years with an increase of more than 41 percent, to 2.8 million.

The program would be available for more than 940,000 middle-class families or individuals that make up to $125,000 annually and who are enrolled in a SUNY or CUNY university. According to the governor’s office, 80 percent of households in the state make $125,000 or less. Based on enrollment projections, the plan will cost approximately $163 million per year once fully phased in. The new initiative would take about three years to kick in, beginning for New Yorkers making no more than $100,000 annually in the fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018 and reaching $125,000 in 2019.

Funding for the initiative would come from various aid programs. Eligible students would receive federal grants and additional state funds would cover the remaining tuition costs for incoming or existing students who qualify.

Cuomo announced the initiative at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who has been a longtime supporter and advocate for free public college tuition.

“If the United States is to succeed in a highly competitive global economy, we need the best educated workforce in the world,” he said. “With exploding technology, and with most of the good paying jobs requiring more and more education, we need to make certain that every New Yorker, every Vermonter and every American gets all the education they need regardless of family income.”

“With exploding technology, and with most of the good paying jobs requiring more and more education, we need to make certain that every New Yorker gets all the education they need regardless of family income.”
—Bernie Sanders

A third proposal would attempt to tackle heroin and opioid addiction —a growing issue throughout Suffolk County, New York and the country.

The proposal aims to eliminate insurance barriers and further expand access to effective treatment, curb overprescribing, and get fentanyl and other synthetic opioids off the streets.

“This multipronged plan addresses each component of heroin and opioid addiction — prevention, treatment and recovery — in order to help break this cycle of misery and save lives,” Cuomo said.

The governor created a six-point plan, which focuses on eliminating prior authorization requirements to make substance use disorder treatment available to all; adding fentanyl analogs to the controlled substances schedule to subject emerging synthetic drugs to criminal drug penalties; increasing access to lifesaving buprenorphine treatment by recruiting health care providers to become prescribers; establishing 24/7 crisis treatment centers to ensure access to critical support services; requiring emergency department prescribers to consult the Prescription Monitoring Program registry to combat doctor shopping; and creating New York’s first recovery high schools to help young people in recovery finish school.

A synthetic opioid more potent than heroin and resistant to the effects of Narcan, fentanyl encounters more than doubled in the U.S. from 5,343 in 2014 to 13,882 in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The governor’s office said overdose deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl have increased by 135 percent from 2014 to 2015.

Cuomo said he intends to subject criminal drug penalties for possession of fentanyl, as well as add it to the state’s controlled substance schedule to help law enforcement curb the growing trend. He also wants to improve resources for kids and young adults struggling with drug abuse and addiction with recovery schools, where students in recovery learn in a substance-free environment to help them stay healthy and on track to graduate. Cuomo said he intends to propose legislation to create recovery high schools in regions of New York where abuse is at critical levels.

Boards of Cooperative Educational Services will submit proposals to establish the first schools, one upstate and one downstate, in partnership with local social service agencies. The board will operate the new schools, which are funded by sponsoring school districts. Enrollment will be open to all high school students with a diagnosis of a substance abuse disorder and a commitment to recovery.

Some of the governor’s other proposals included various improvements to John F. Kennedy Airport, an enhanced middle-class child care tax credit to make child care more affordable for the middle class, and promoting the use of electric vehicles with more charging stations statewide.