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Stony Brook University

This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5 +2233 and multiple appearances of Supernova Refsdal with time-delay positions. Credit: Patrick Kelly / NASA / ESA

A new technique to measure the expansion rate of the Universe may serve as a tool to help scientists more accurately determine the Universes age and better understand the cosmos. An international team of researchers that includes two Stony Brook University professors, Simon Birrer, PhD, and Anja von der Linden, PhD, highlighted their data based on the technique in a paper published in Science.

The research team used images from the Hubble Space Telescope of Supernova Refsdal, discovered by University of Minnesota scientist Patrick Kelly in 2014. It is named after astronomer Sjur Refsdal, who created a theory in 1964 on how to measure the Hubble constant – also known as Hubbles law, which describes that galaxies are moving away from Earth at speeds proportional to their distance, so the further they are the faster the move away from Earth. Refsdal is the first supernova in which this measurement theory was put into practice.

Professor Kelly led the study, assembling an international team. Birrer was involved with the analysis and overall robustness of the measurement study, specifically working on constraining the small-scale dark matter distribution and the positional constraints on the images of the supernova, and their effect on the time-delay prediction. Von der Linden was part of the team that originally discovered SN Refsdal and prepared the follow-up Hubble observations.

There are two precise measurements of the expansion of the Universe, or Hubble constant: calculations from nearby observations of supernovae, and using cosmic microwave background (radiation) that began to steam freely shortly after the Big Bang. However, these two measurements differ by approximately 10 percent, which is the point of debate on current theories about the makeup and age of the Universe.

The team calculated the expansion rate of the Universe by using data from four different images of the Supernova Refsdal explosion event in 2014. Scientists worldwide had correctly predicted that the supernova would appear at a new position in 2015, and the telescope then captured a fifth image. These multiple images appeared because the supernova was gravitationally lensed by a galaxy cluster, a phenomenon in which mass from the cluster bends  light. By using the time delays between the appearances of the images the research team was able to measure the Hubble Constant.

The study provides a measurement of the expansion rate consistent with expectations from the cosmic microwave background. The measurement technique and findings may also contribute to settling the longstanding debate among scientists regarding their disagreements on measurements of the current expansion rate of the Universe.

“The measurement of the expansion rate of the universe is a rollercoaster,” says Birrer, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. While a few years ago most strong lensing measurements yielded higher values in tension with the cosmic microwave background estimates, more recent estimates and revised methodology has resulted in lower values. Our research corroborates a trend, yet does not provide the last word on the expansion rate.”

Knowing the Hubble Constant is knowing the age of the universe. Birrer explains that the findings described in the Science paper provide a new and completely independent measurement of the age of the Universe, and that by knowing the absolute scale and relative expansion, we can infer the age of the Universe.”

The age of the Universe is about 13.6 billion years, when the cosmic microwave background inferred value of the Hubble constant is correct, or about 12.6 billion years, if the Cepheid-based local distance ladder value is correct.

“The prediction and subsequent observation of the fifth image of Supernova Refsdal was a great success of our cosmological model based on General Relativity and the mysterious dark matter,” adds von der Linden, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Now, these data have allowed multiple teams to further refine their models of how dark matter is distributed in galaxy clusters, yielding a precise measurement of the Hubble constant from a lensed supernova.”

Central to the research and successful measurement of the Hubble constant is a measurement of the time delay between multiply arriving images of the supernova. The researchers address this point in an accompanying paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, also lead by Kelly. They explain that the time delay is directly proportional to the absolute scales in the observer-deflector-supernovae system. Knowing the time delay precisely and reconstruction the matter distribution of the lens enabled them to constrain a distance. This measurement is completely independent from other approaches in measuring the Hubble constant.

Professor Vivian Miranda from Stony Brook’s C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, who was not involved in the current work, but contributed to an earlier, less precise estimate of the Hubble constant from the same supernova, commented: This team has now established a new, exciting way of measuring the Hubble constant, which will add to our endeavor to understand the cause of the Hubble tension.  I congratulate them on their work.”

Birrer and von der Linden are now working on the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), to be conducted with the newly built Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The LSST will discover many more lensed quasars and supernovae. Birrer has a leading role in the efforts to measure the Hubble constant from the LSST-discovered systems.

The research was funded primarily by NASA through the Space Telescope Science Institute and the National Science Foundation.

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

For the 10th season in a row, the Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team (14-3, 7-0 CAA) is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Seawolves are set to go head-to-head with Penn State (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten) on Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m., in Baltimore, Md. on the campus of Loyola Maryland as announced during the May 9 selection show.

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook earned the CAA’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after it claimed its first-ever CAA Championship in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon. The Seawolves downed Towson, 19-4, en route to their ninth conference tournament title. Stony Brook’s 19 goals were a CAA Championship game record, and the 15-goal margin of victory was the largest ever in a title game.

The winner of Stony Brook vs. Penn State will take on the winner of Loyola Maryland and Fairfield on Sunday, May 14. It marks the third time in history that the Seawolves and Nittany Lions will meet and the first time that the teams square off in the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook is 2-0 all-time against Penn State and picked up a 16-11 win in their last meeting on April 23, 2019, in University Park, Pa.

Four Seawolves were tabbed to the CAA All-Tournament Team following Saturday’s historic win. Ellie Masera, Hailey Duchnowski, Kailyn Hart, and Clare Levy all earned All-Tournament Team honors and Masera was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament after she recorded 14 points (nine goals, five assists) and 19 draw controls.

Stony Brook made its mark on the CAA as it ran the table in league play, going 7-0, and the team had eight individuals earn CAA postseason honors. Masera was tabbed the CAA Midfielder of the Year and head coach Joe Spallina earned the CAA Coach of the Year honor. For Spallina, it was his seventh conference Coach of the Year award.

Masera was also tabbed to the All-CAA First Team and was joined by Hart and Levy. Morgan Mitchell, Jaden Hampel, Charlotte Verhulst, and Haley Dillon all earned All-CAA Second Team honors.

Stony Brook has advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals four times in its past five appearances. Last season, the Seawolves earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament and defeated Drexel and Rutgers before falling to eventual National Champion North Carolina in the quarterfinals. 

David Baszucki and Jan Ellison Baszucki. Photo from Baszucki Group

Stony Brook University has announced a philanthropic gift to develop Neuroblox, a software platform developed by biomedical engineer and neuroscientist Lilianne Mujica-Parodi that will model brain circuits to treat brain disorders. The gift was made possible by David Baszucki, founder and chief executive officer of Roblox, and his wife, bestselling author Jan Ellison Baszucki.

Mujica-Parodi took inspiration from Roblox in conceiving Neuroblox as a cutting-edge platform that will open up a world of modeling possibilities for neuroscientists without training in computational sciences. The platform will allow researchers to explore the complexities of brain-based disorders by providing a blueprint for individualized care.

Roblox is an interactive platform that allows users to create their own immersive experiences and release them with one click to smartphones, tablets, desktops, consoles and virtual reality devices. Anyone can use the platform, even those without programming experience.

“Right now, there is a disconnect between the aims of clinical research and the computational tools we have to exploit that research,” said Mujica-Parodi. “Neuroblox is doing something fundamentally different. It’s trying to bridge that gap.”

Brain disorders like bipolar disorder, dementia and schizophrenia impact millions of families who have long struggled to find answers, including the Baszucki family. Jan and David Baszucki reached out to Mujica-Parodi after learning about her first-of-its-kind study exploring the role of ketosis on brain functioning. This was an area of particular significance for the Baszuckis, as it was a ketogenic diet that put their own son’s bipolar disorder into remission.

Fueled by enthusiasm for the potential of this project, Mujica-Parodi quickly assembled a team of the brightest minds in computing, neuroscience, biomedical engineering and beyond to bring the Neuroblox vision to life.

“Here was a neuroscientist unveiling the mechanism by which ketones work to stabilize brain networks,” Jan Ellison Baszucki said. “This explained why a ketogenic diet gave our son his mind and his life back. We had to wonder if building on this knowledge by investing in metabolic neuroscience could be the first step toward helping others suffering from mental illnesses.”

The $6.2 million investment from the Baszucki family includes $3.2 million to help build and launch Neuroblox and $3 million to create the Baszucki Endowed Chair for Metabolic Neuroscience at Stony Brook University. Mujica-Parodi will be the inaugural holder of this chair, which recognizes an exceptional researcher in metabolic neuroscience.

“Lily is building a software platform where neuroscience researchers worldwide can refine, test and share models to help us understand how the brain regulates energy — a critical driver of mental health,” said David Baszucki. “Our family believes Neuroblox’s impact on understanding and treating brain-based disorders, including mental illness, will be transformative.”

The gifts will be enhanced by an additional $550,000 from Stony Brook’s Presidential Innovation and Excellence Fund. This fund is designed specifically to accelerate the university’s highest ambitions.

“Lily’s innovative approach to one of our most pressing societal issues — our mental health and well-being — is inspiring. It underscores our commitment as an institution to advance knowledge that will have a long-term, significant impact on the world,” said President Maurie McInnis. “We could not be prouder of these efforts, and we are thrilled that the Baszuckis have chosen to invest in Lily’s trailblazing work in a way that will undoubtedly change lives.”

Stony Brook University hosted Sakura Matsuri (which translates roughly to Cherry Blossom Tree Festival) at the Charles B. Wang Center Sunday, May 7.      

The event opened with a performance by Taiko Tides, an SBU Japanese musical group. They performed on the front steps to the Wang Center as attendees arrived.

Several dancers and dance groups performed in the Wang Center theater throughout the day. Junko Fisher performed an Okinawan dance and Ichifuji-kai Dance Association performed as well. The 10Tecomai Yosakoi dance team performed five different upbeat dance numbers, focusing on getting the crowd up on their feet and pumping their fists.

Several exhibitors set up booths throughout the Wang Center. The Long Island Bonsai Society displayed potted plants. There was also a Manga workshop and a brush painting demonstration. Later in the day, the Greater NY Naginata Federation produced a martial arts and weapons display.

The Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, headed by Masayo Ishigure, performed on a kotos (a plucked half-tube zither instrument and the national instrument of Japan) and a shamisens (a three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument).

Visit our website at www.tbrnewsmedia.com or our YouTube site to watch a montage of some of the event’s performances.

Harvard Economist Raj Chetty, above right and below, gives the Presidential Lecture at Stony Brook University about social mobility. Photos by Daniel Febrizo

Economist Raj Chetty gave the Presidential Lecture on the social mobility challenges that young people face at the Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University April 27. 

President Maurie McInnis introduced Chetty as a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship “genius grant” as well as the John Bates Clark Medal, which is given to outstanding economists under the age of 40. Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University. 

“Professor Chetty authored the now-famous research study on intergenerational mobility that ranked Stony Brook University as a leader among the highly selected public universities in the nation,” McInnis said. “He created a social mobility index, [which] measures how well a university is doing with regard to enrolling a high share of students from low-income communities and then equipping them with the knowledge and skills such that a high proportion of them move into the top 20% of their peer incomes by the time they’re in their 30s.”

After taking the stage, Chetty began by saying that he thinks Stony Brook is “playing a key role in providing pathways to the American Dream for many people.” He described the American Dream as a “multifaceted and complex concept that can mean different things to different people.” He quantified this as children rising above their parents’ income threshold into a higher standard of living.

Chetty said that for people born in the 1940s, it was nearly a guarantee that they would end up more successful financially than their parents. Today it’s basically “a coin flip.” 

“This trend is, of course, a great interest to economists like myself because it reflects a fundamental change in the U.S. economy that we’d like to understand,” he said. “But I would argue it’s also a fundamental political and social interest because I think it’s this very trend that underlies a lot of the frustration that people around the United States are expressing that this is no longer a country where it’s easy to get ahead even through hard work.”

“Motivated by this trend in our research group at Harvard Opportunity Insights, we’re focused on the big picture question of what is causing the fading of the American Dream and how can we restore the American Dream going forward,” he added.

Chetty explained that the goal is to discover what is the root cause and to figure out how to increase economic opportunity, as well as “eventually increase economic mobility in the nation as a whole.”

 The Harvard professor said that after conducting a variety of different studies in order to find what is “systematically different about the places that have high levels of economic mobility and low levels,” some characteristics of places with high upward mobility were found.

“You will find that these tend to be places with lower poverty rates or places where low-income people and high-income people are living in proximity to each other,” he said, adding that “stable family structures” are key. “It’s a very strong pattern in the data that places with more two-parent families tend to have higher rates of upward mobility.”  

Chetty noted that “places with better access to both K-12 elementary education and access to higher quality higher education tend to be places with higher levels of upward mobility.”

The lecturer observed that in some cases the potential for upward economic mobility sometimes changes from one neighborhood to another just a couple miles away. “Motivated by that, one approach you might think about to increase economic opportunity is simply to reduce segregation or help more low-income families move to high opportunity areas,” he said. “And that motivates a set of potential reforms in the context of affordable housing, housing vouchers, zoning laws — lots of things that we can discuss in greater length.” 

Chetty said that relocating everyone is not a feasible option, and it is important to discover ways to bring opportunity to low upward mobility areas. “How do you make place-based investments to change the school system or to change other kinds of resources, mentoring programs, other things that might change the trajectory of lives in a given neighborhood?” he said.

The speaker felt that institutions of higher education can play a big role in increasing economic mobility: “I think the problem is even deeper than that, because it’s not just whether you go to college or not — that varies with parental income — it’s which college you go to.”

Two types of U.S. colleges

Chetty discussed how “elite colleges” like Columbia or Harvard do an excellent job of giving their low-income students the opportunity to rise up into a higher sector of financial success, but they do not do a great a job of getting a lot of these students into their school in the first place, since the vast majority of students that attend these universities already come from high-income families.

“We basically seem to have two types of colleges in America,” Chetty said. “We have some colleges which are like Columbia or other peer Ivy League, highly selective private colleges. He noted that these colleges “offer terrific pathways in terms of upward mobility” but “basically cater to the rich.”

“People have thought about these issues for the past decade or two, expanded financial aid and thought about many efforts to address this issue,” he added. “Nevertheless, we’re in this situation where they have predominantly high-income student bodies.

“And then on the other side, you have a set of colleges that do cater to many low-income students, typically two-year colleges or community colleges,” he said. “But, unfortunately, if you look at the outcomes of those colleges, many students are not graduating. You don’t see great outcomes at a number of those colleges. And so those colleges are also not contributing a whole lot to economic mobility because the outcomes don’t look so great.”

He said the “core of the problem” is that there are essentially no universities that cater to low-income students who then go on to become high-income individuals. Chetty acknowledged that this is difficult “because they haven’t had access to the same schools, they haven’t had access to the same resources. If you’re trying to run a highly selective institution that’s taking the most qualified children, maybe there’s just a constraint on how many low-income kids you could get.”

“It’s not just that there’s no kid from a low-income family who’s scoring in the 1500 range on the SAT,” the professor noted. “For some reason, those kids are getting in or attending at much lower rates. Maybe they’re not applying. They’re not choosing to join because of financial aid issues or other things. It suggests that there’s something that’s in the domain of higher education that can potentially be changed.”

Chetty felt that a possible solution is how the University of Michigan conducts targeted outreach to low-income students who have done well in standardized testing to make sure that they are aware that they might be eligible for full scholarships.

 “Our sense is that’s going to significantly expand the opportunities those kids have in the years to come,” he said.

He thought another program that could improve this issue is the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, “a support program for kids once they’re on campus to connect them with mentors to provide additional advising, to provide a little bit of financial assistance if they face an income shock and are not able to pay their tuition or need some additional support.” This is a great way “to shepherd” students through the process instead of just letting them figure out things for themselves, he added.

In conclusion, the professor said, “I’m hopeful that we’re going to have more to say on what colleges can do to increase diversity and have greater impacts on economic mobility, what kinds of changes we can make in the elementary education system, in neighborhoods and so on. And I am hopeful that there will be a receptive audience and policymakers, leaders of institutions and so forth to take that information and make changes going forward.”

P129, Dorothy Lane, FPPM

Setauket resident Dr. Dorothy Lane was recently awarded the 2023 Ronald Davis Special Recognition Award from the American College of Preventive Medicine for her “exceptional contributions” in the field of preventive medicine.

She is a SUNY distinguished service professor; vice chair of the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine; and associate dean for Continuing Medical Education in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. 

In a phone interview, Lane told how she became involved in preventive medicine: “I became interested in medicine because my dad was a family doctor, and he had his office in our home. So, I really grew up with medicine and then, once in medical school … I became interested in prevention and avoiding disease, trying to keep people healthy.”

Lane’s brother is also a doctor. “I guess my dad had a strong influence,” she said. Additionally, one of Lane’s children is a doctor, so medicine runs in the family.

The distinguished professor grew up in Brooklyn, but moved to Long Island after she was married. “I’m one of the founding faculty of the school,” she said. “I came here partly because my husband was also coming. So, that was in the beginning of the medical school at Stony Brook in 1971.”

Lane was the founding director of the Stony Brook residency program in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health. “I really get a lot of joy out of helping to train specialists in the field of preventive medicine,” she said. “That certainly has been a very rewarding activity, and they have gone on to hold important positions, leadership positions, in health departments and in many sectors practicing preventive medicine.”

Dr. Iris Granek is the founding chair of the Department of Family, Population & Preventive Medicine at Renaissance School of Medicine and is one of the many former residents that Lane greatly influenced. “She was my program director back in 1993 when I went back to do a preventive medicine residency program,” Granek said in a phone interview. “She was a great mentor … I really feel like my career is thanks to her.”

Dr. Yuri Jadotte graduated from SBU in 2018. In a phone interview, he said that based on Lane’s recommendation, the medical school asked him to remain as a faculty member and an associate program director for the residency program. “I’ve been working with her primarily in that capacity ever since,” he said.

Jadotte explained why Lane was more than worthy of the esteemed Ronald Davis award.

“She’s the only person in our specialty in preventive medicine to have been head of all the major agencies for the specialty,” he said. “She was the president of the American College of Preventive Medicine and was president of the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research — it’s sort of like the academic specialty society for teachers of prevention. And she was also the head of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, which is the group that oversees the continuing education for all preventive medicine physicians. And so having done that, she’s had a hand in all those different areas of the specialty.”

Granek, who compiled Lane’s nomination packet for the Davis award, spoke on the Women’s Health Initiative, a clinical study in which Lane served as the principal investigator. Granek praised Lane’s “ability to really write and get good grants.”

“With the Women’s Health Initiative, it was almost a long shot for us to get this because many of the other centers around the country had been doing these kinds of long-term prevention trials, and we didn’t have anything set up at Stony Brook,” Granek said.

Lane described WHI as “one of the studies that was very interesting and is still ongoing.” She said it is “directed at the major causes of death and disability among postmenopausal women.”

“The trial that we ran that’s the most well-known has to do with hormone therapy,” Lane said. “At the time the study started, the belief was that this was necessary … But it never had been proven, based on evidence. The interesting thing that the study revealed was that it actually increased the risk of developing breast cancer.”

Jadotte said WHI is the “largest study of women’s health ever conducted within the U.S.”

“A lot of things have been studied through [WHI], whether it’s cancer screenings, postmenopausal medication, all kinds of different approaches to improving women’s health, especially as they age,” he said.

“I’ve heard people describe [Lane] as the godmother of preventive medicine, and that tells you the impact she’s had on the specialty,” Jadotte added.

While Lane has made a large impact on large-scale projects, she also invests in the lives of her residents.

“So many of the residents have become really successful and gotten great positions,” Granek said. “And I think she’s responsible for all of that, really.”

“She has a very kind, calm demeanor about her that inspires trust,” Jadotte said. “Anybody who graduates from our program is always absolutely proud to have been here.”

She added, “Let’s just say she’s the kind of mentor that we all wish we had — and some of us are fortunate to have — in medicine and public health.”

Lane’s husband, Bernard, passed in 2017. He was a pathologist and founding faculty member of the medical school at Stony Brook University. The couple had been married for almost 55 years. “In my era where there weren’t that many female physicians, he was always very supportive,” his wife said.

Lane has three children and four grandchildren. “I am proud of all of them,” she said.

When younger, she had several hobbies but as her career advanced the more she wanted to spend the free time with her family.

The doctor does not have any plans to slow down yet. “I love my work and I don’t have any plans for retiring,” she said. “So, as long as I have the energy … I think it’s a great way to keep your brain working, actually. But I enjoy what I do, and I think my residents keep me young.”

James Rossie conducting field work at Lake Turkana. Photo by Susanne Cote

By Daniel Dunaief

Dead men might not tell tales but fossilized apes and the soil around them may change a narrative. That’s what happened recently when a large collaboration of researchers gathered clues from an ape fossil in Moroto, Uganda that lived 21 million years ago and from a detailed analysis of the soil.

James Rossie in his lab. Photo by Emily Goble

 

Scientists have long thought apes started climbing upright, which is an important evolutionary step, all those years ago to reach fruit in a habitat dense with trees. Recent evidence from two publications in the journal Science, however, suggest that the habitat included grassland and woodlands.

James Rossie, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, studied the teeth of the fossil, called Morotopithecus, to determine what this ancient ape ate.

“The important thing about the teeth of Morotopithecus is a shift towards folivory” or leaf eating, Rossie said. “The surface of the molars were elongated with well-developed crests” which indicate that this primate consumed leaves rather than fruit.

By contrast, molars of animals that eat fruit are more rounded. Additionally, carbon isotope dating of the enamel suggest that they fed on water-stressed plants. This discovery and analysis changes not only the narrative of this particular ape species, but also of the evolutionary progression and habitat of primates.

A rendering of ancient apes foraging in trees. Image courtesy of Corbin Rainbolt

This analysis indicated that apes lived in areas of open woodlands, where there were patches of trees separated by stretches of grassland about 10 million years earlier than scientists originally believed. During the miocene period, they would have had to evade predators such as Simbakubwa, an extinct carnivore that was larger than a lion.

“It was very unexpected that an ape with upright, versatile climbing abilities was living in a seasonal woodland with open, grassy patches, rather than in a closed tropical forest,” said Laura MacLatchy, a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and the leader on the study.

“The findings have transformed what we thought we knew about early apes, and the origins for where, when and why they navigate through the trees and on the ground in multiple different ways,” Robin Bernstein, Program Director for Biological Anthropology at the National Science Foundation, said in a statement. “The effort outlines a new framework for future studies regarding ape evolutionary origins.”

The fossils Rossie and his colleagues examined including the lower part of a face, the palate, upper teeth, a couple of vertebrae, the lower jaw, and a complete femur. It’s unclear if these fossils came from one individual or from a collection of apes. With considerable wear and tear on the teeth of the upper jaw, the owner of those bones was an adult, Rossie said.

The mandible of an ancient ape with the left molar enlargement inset. Photo by Laura MacLatchy

By studying the bones as puzzle pieces that fill in a narrative, researchers concluded that the smaller, thick femur, or thigh, bone helped the ape climb quickly and effectively up the trunks of trees.

The longer legs of a human push us away from trees, making it harder to climb, while the shorter, sturdy legs of an ape enable it to get closer to the trunk and reach lower branches quickly. 

Apes that fed on leaves would likely have had larger bodies to accommodate the need for a longer digestive tract. A heavier animal that navigated through trees would run the risk of falling to the ground if their weight caused a branch to break.

By climbing upright, apes could distribute their weight more evenly over several branches, enabling them to maneuver through the trees to the leaves while reducing the strain they put on any one branch.

In a second paper published together as a part of this analysis, soil researchers studied the environment at Moroto and at several other sites of similar age across eastern Africa.  These soil scientists determined that the early habitat included forests and grasslands.

Cooperative work

Rossie believes the work of numerous scientists over a long period of time not only represents a paradigm shift in thinking about ape evolution and the environment in Africa, but also in the way scientists across a wide range of expertise collaborate.

James Rossie conducting field work at Lake Turkana. Photo by Susanne Cote

The researchers who trained Rossie and his colleagues were more competitive and guarded, he said. They didn’t share information with each other about their findings and wanted other researchers to learn about their findings through journal publications.

“We decided to take a different strategy” about a dozen years ago, he said. “It occurred to us that these separate silo attempts to reconstruct these environments were incompatible, with different methods and strategies. We couldn’t put it together into a coherent picture.”

By working together with the same methods, the scientists had comparable data and developed a coherent picture. Such broad collaborations across a range of fields required a “bit of a leap of faith,” he added. The scientists knew and trusted each other.

Indeed, Rossie and MacLatchy have known each other since the early 2000s when MacLatchy first asked Rossie to study other fossils.

Bringing numerous researchers across a range of expertise was a “game theory experiment,” Rossie added. Researchers could have published smaller papers about each site more quickly, but chose to combine them into the more meaningful synthesis.

MacLatchy suggested that the work on this project that involved sharing data across multiple sites, as well as joining forces in a range of expertise, makes it possible to reconstruct habitats with much greater detail.

“We are also able to obtain a regional perspective, which is not possible if interpretations are based on individual fossil sites,” she said. “I’d like to think this kind of collaboration will become standard.”

A resident of Centerport, Rossie is a hockey fan and is pulling for the Islanders.

He enjoys studying teeth because a single tooth can provide considerable information about an animal’s place among other species and about its strategies for getting and processing food.

His professional studies have come full circle. As a college junior at St. Lawrence University, he attended a field school run by Harvard University and the National Museum of Kenya at Lake Turkana. Almost every moment of that experience made him more eager to pursue paleontology as a career.

“As fate would have it, my field project is now centered on an area on the west side of Lake Turkana that I first visited back in 1995,” he explained.

The Turkana Basin Institute serves as his home base during the field season and he is grateful for their ongoing logistical support.

As for future work, Rossie is studying the fossils of at least four different species of apes in Lake Turkana in Kenya.

Dr. Harold Paz. Photo by Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

Harold “Hal” Paz, MD, MS, has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Accelerating Treatments and Improving Quality of Life committee. As a member of the committee, Dr. Paz, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences at Stony Brook University and the Chief Executive Officer at Stony Brook University Medicine, will conduct a study to identify and recommend key actions for the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to undertake to make amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) a livable disease within a decade.

“I’m delighted to have an opportunity to serve on this committee,” said Dr. Paz. “It is an honor to be a part of a group working collaboratively to support ALS therapeutic development. Through this work, we hope to accelerate promising developments that will improve the quality of life of affected individuals and their families.”

ALS is a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease. There are currently no treatments to stop or reverse the disease, although various FDA-approved formulations may extend life by several months. Stony Brook Medicine is the home of the Stony Brook Neuromuscular Disease and Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence, an ALS Association Certified Center providing comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for patients of all ages with neuromuscular disorders. This distinction recognizes Stony Brook’s collaborative approach and its ability to provide the highest quality care for people with ALS and their families.

The National Academies study, which is congressionally mandated and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, will consider the landscape of ALS therapeutic development, care, services, and supports. Dr. Paz and the rest of the committee will develop a report with recommendations for key actions that federal agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, and nongovernmental organizations can take, including identifying opportunities for collaboration.

With over 25 years of leadership in health services and academic medicine, Dr. Paz has established himself as a nationally renowned healthcare leader with a unique combination of expertise in both academic medical centers and a Fortune 50 company. Dr. Paz is a recognized visionary who advocates a comprehensive model to address the health and wellness of individuals and communities in a rapidly evolving society. Throughout his career, Dr. Paz’s research has focused on quality management, clinical outcomes, healthcare effectiveness and employee health benefit design. He has authored over 100 publications on these topics.

Beyond his roles at Stony Brook University and Stony Brook University Medicine, Dr. Paz serves on the National Academy of Medicine Leadership Consortium, the board of directors of Research!America, the Curai Health advisory board and has served on the boards of Select Medical Corporation, United Surgical Partners International, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of Academic Health Centers and the National Health Council.

Photo Caption: Harold L. Paz, MD, MS, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences at Stony Brook University and the Chief Executive Officer, Stony Brook University Medicine, appointed to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ALS Committee.

Credit: Photo by Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

Harold Metcalf

Stony Brook University Professor Harold Metcalf has been selected as the Optica (formerly OSA), Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide 2023 recipient of the Esther Hoffman Beller Medal. Metcalf, a distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, is being honored for outstanding mentorship of undergraduate students in hands-on optics research and for organizing an annual symposium for students to present their work during the Frontier in Optics/Laser Science (FiO/LS) conference.

The Beller Medal is presented for outstanding contributions to education in optical science and engineering. Consideration is given to the recipient’s outstanding teaching and/or original work in optics education that enhances the understanding of optics. The scope of the award is international, and candidates at every career stage are considered. It is endowed by a bequest from the estate of Esther Hoffman Beller.

“My sincere congratulations to Hal on this momentous achievement,” said Nicole S. Sampson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and distinguished professor of chemistry. “His dedication to education – from mentorship of students from the high school to graduate level – in addition to his decades-long committment to advancements in optical science, are testament to the promience and recognition of our Physics and Astronomy program at Stony Brook. We are fortunate to have him among our faculty.”

Metcalf was recognized by Optica for being “a dedicated educator and mentor. He created the Laser Teaching Center (LTC) at Stony Brook University, which provides inquiry- and project-based active learning for students from high school to the graduate level. Another of his significant contributions to education is the annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research/LS [sponsored by the Division of Laser Science (DLS) of the American Physical Society] which takes place as part of Frontiers in Optics (FiO/LS).  During the Symposium, undergraduate students present their research in oral and poster sessions and network with leading professionals in the field.

Metcalf’s research is focused on optical control of atomic motion, and he was one of the leaders in the earliest experiments of Laser Cooling and Trapping. He has published three textbooks, including “Laser Cooling and Trapping.” Metcalf has also held several visiting appointments, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); École normale supérieure (ENS) Paris, France; Utrecht University, Netherlands; University of Bonn, Germany and Beijing Institute for Modern Physics, China.

“This is a richly deserved award, as Hal is such a generous contributor to the Department and the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics community, particularly to the younger generation,” said Chang Kee Jung, PhD, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.  “In addition, Hal made seminal contributions to the field of laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms. The members of our Department appreciate him greatly, and I am very proud of his accomplishments.”

Metcalf earned his Bachelor’s degree in physics from MIT and his PhD in physics from Brown University. He was a postdoc at Stony Brook University before joining their faculty. Metcalf is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and is a Fellow of Optica and the American Physical Society.

Stony Brook University has received a donation of the archive of Dan’sPapers, the East End of Long Island’s weekly lifestyle publication, which has been gifted by publication founder Dan Rattiner.

The archive will be part of Stony Brook’s Special Collections, the library division that stewards and curates the university’s collections of rare books and maps, archival collections, manuscripts and historical maps. The collection is also currently undergoing a preservation assessment with the intention to microfilm it, digitize it and make it freely available online.  Rattiner gifted more than a half century’s worth of his personal archives of the eponymous publication to Stony Brook University Libraries, which plans to make it available to the public.

“We are very excited to have Dan’s Papers as a part of Stony Brook University Libraries’ collections,” said Jamie Saragossi, Interim Associate Dean of Collection Strategy and Management at Stony Brook University.

Dan’s Papers is an important addition to the library’s distinctive collections because of its depth and coverage of the social, political, and environmental history of Long Island. It benefits the mission of the university’s libraries and the wider research community,” said Kristen J. Nyitray, Director of Special Collections and University Archives, and University Archivist.

Dan’s Papers was established by Rattiner in 1960 and is presently one of the only weekly publications covering the entire East End. The collection, spanning 1960 to 2023, comprises the most complete print run of Dan’s Papers held by a research library.

“I started by taking the first paper home once it was printed and kept doing it,” said Rattiner. “I hope that people will enjoy reading the publication.  I think people will learn why so many have come out here to enjoy this place because of its remarkable landscapes and beaches and woods. It’s just such a beautiful place.”

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