MAGAZINE UCONNSUMMER 2018

By a Thread How three professors are saving Cambodian refugees, 40 years after the genocide

24 32 42 HOW MUCH DO YOU DON’T FLUSH THOSE TICKS! IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND REALLY KNOW ABOUT BRING THEM TO THIS UCONN PIZZA AND POKER, YOU UCONN? A QUIZ LAB INSTEAD CAN UNDERSTANDSUMMER BITCOIN 2018 SNAP!

Gold Stars

How would we navigate campus without Wilbur Cross’s iconic gold dome? These days students come here for cafe-style food and drink, student ID photos, financial aid info, and the like. But from its opening in 1939 until 1978, this was UConn’s main library. The teacher, author, and four- term governor for whom it’s named shared a literary passion with the current library’s namesake, Homer D. Babbidge, who grew the book collection at Wilbur Cross from 400,000 to more than one million. UConn videographer Angelina Reyes braved freezing temps to get this star-trails photo on a clear, starry March night.

For the time-lapse video, go to s.uconn.edu/stars.

UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 SNAP!

Serenade

Jamie Spillane ’87 MM, associate professor of music and director of choral studies, directs UConn’s Concert Choir singing “Unclouded Day” in front of the Florence Cathedral. The 67 choir members spent spring break participating in the American Celebration of Music in Austria and Italy, which included memorable performances in Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, and under Michelangelo’s most famous painting, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. “We sang in beautiful churches filled with rich history and magnificent architecture . . . we sang on the streets of Venice, Florence, and Rome. In each place, I witnessed the joy brought to the strangers who happened to stumble upon us,” says Erin Brochu ’21 (CLAS).

To hear from more students and to hear them singing in the streets and the chapels, visit s.uconn.edu/sing.

UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 CONTENTS | SUMMER 2018 VOL. 19 NO. 2 SUMMER 2018 | CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR

WEB EXTRAS magazine.uconn.edu

TICK TESTING Ticks were harmed in the making of this video. s.uconn.edu/ticks

NIGHTIME LAPSE The night sky over Wilbur Cross. s.uconn.edu/stars

SERENADE Hear the Concert Choir sing its way across Europe. s.uconn.edu/sing 1818 24 32 38 DEAR FRESHMEN: Outgoing seniors share secrets, FEATURES SECTIONS advice, and parting sorrows with incoming freshmen. Lila Plawecki with then-graduate students REFUGE Celeste Cheung and Connor Walker (both 18 BY A THREAD 1 s.uconn.edu/dearfreshmen Cambodian refugees, tortured 40 years ago, remain UCONN NOW While talking with the writer of “By a ’18 Pharm.D.) along the Farmington River bike trail in Collinsville, Connecticut. traumatized, suffering unexpected diseases today. A team Recent grads give advice CAMBODIA Thread,” which begins on page 18, I had of UConn professors is helping them here and in their to incoming freshmen; the Pharmacy professor Thomas so many moments of amazement and homeland. By Julie (Stagis) Bartucca ’10 (BUS, CLAS) Concert Choir sings in the Buckley’s snaps from a semester horror as she relayed the story of Cambodian refugee Lila Plawecki. But it was some- Sistine Chapel; an alum in the Cambodian countryside. thing uplifting I found myself thinking about afterward —­ Plawecki’s relationship with 24 THE HIDDEN UCONN QUIZ who competes in both the s.uconn.edu/cambodia two UConn pharmacy graduate students. They had become so close, the writer said, that Can you guess not just what, but where, each of these summer and winter Olym- the students had invited Plawecki to their May graduation. treasures and oddities is? By Tom Breen ’00 (CLAS), pics; a Mystic Aquarium TOM’S TRIVIA Connor Walker ’18 Pharm.D. and Celeste Cheung ’18 Pharm.D. each worked with photos by Peter Morenus classroom; engineering a Online only this issue — the Plawecki during separate one-month clinic rotations at Khmer Health Advocates concrete canoe; tracking a questions and the answers. (KHA), which is devoted to the health care of Cambodian refugees in Connecticut and WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER FLUSH A TICK 32 zombie fungus; and more. Massachusetts. In that short time they formed what all three say is a lasting bond. No, it won’t grow to gator size and come back to bite you. A couple days after graduation Cheung shared photos, like the one above, of the three

But taking it to this UConn testing facility could reap on a 20-mile bike ride they took last year. When I asked what prompted the adventure, some significant rewards. By Elaina Hancock ’09 MS 47 Walker said simply, “We’re friends!” Cheung said, “We knew it would make her happy.” UCONN NATION They had hardly set out to ride that many miles, says Walker, “but Lila kept asking if we MICHAEL BRADFORD’S BRAINPOWER JOB Cover illustration by: Michelle Kondrich 38 Giving Day success; an could keep going.” And “she kept telling us to go faster,” adds Cheung. When they got If it weren’t for the Navy, Michael Bradford ’98 (BGS) Snap! photography by: Angie Reyes alum who swam nonstop for home they did the math and were surprised to see it added up to 20 miles. would never have made it to his latest job as head of the (stars) and Emily Lattanzi (chorus). Dramatic Arts Department. By Kenneth Best 67 hours; the new com- Just two years ago, such a thing would have been unthinkable for Plawecki. She was mander of the Coast Guard; Table of contents: Illustration by deeply depressed and credits all the people at KHA, especially Cheung and Walker, for Andrew Colin Beck; illustration by CSI: UConn in Boston; a sad helping her to completely turn that around. 42 BITCOIN BELIEVERS Michelle Kondrich; photos by Peter If you can understand pizza and poker, you can farewell to benefactor Ray Morenus. “But it’s a two-way street,” says Walker. “Lila helps us just as much as we help her. understand bitcoin — and business professor David Noble Neag ’56 (CLAS) ’01 H; class She’s an incredibly wise woman who has taught us a great deal about life and I consider believes you should. By Peter Nelson notes; and more. myself very lucky to have met her.” He and Cheung both say their “Cambodian mom” has had a real impact on their thinking as the new grads consider what they’d like to do with The University of Connecticut complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding non-discrimination, equal the rest of their lives. opportunity and affirmative action and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, For starters, Cheung has a general residency at Waterbury Hospital, but says she Vice President for Communications Tysen Kendig Assistant Vice President for Brand Strategy Patricia Fazio ’90 (CLAS), ’92 MA Editor Lisa Stiepock age or other legally protected characteristics in all programs and activities and supports all state and federal laws that wants to continue working with refugee populations in the future. Walker is joining the Art Director Christa (Tubach) Yung Photographer Peter Morenus Production Coordinator Steve Criss Student Worker Emma Casagrande ’18 (CLAS) Contributing promote equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination, including the provision of reasonable accommodations for Peace Corps in Southeast Asia and is hoping to make it to Cambodia to see Plawecki Writers Julie (Stagis) Bartucca ’10 (BUS, CLAS), Kenneth Best, Tom Breen ’00 (CLAS), Kristen Cole, Mike Enright ’88 (CLAS), Claire Hall, Elaina Hancock ’09 MS, persons with disabilities. To request an accommodation or for questions related to the University’s non-discrimi- when she is there visiting her son. Elaine K. Howley, Kim Krieger, Grace Merritt, Peter Nelson, Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu, Colin Poitras ’85 (CLAS), Stephanie Reitz, Jesse Rifkin ’14 (CLAS), Amy nation policies, please contact: Title IX Coordinator, Office of Institutional Equity; 241 Glenbrook Rd., Unit 4175; Sutherland, Tiffany Ventura Thiele, Susan Twiss Contributing Designer John Bailey ’84 (SFA) Contributing Photographer Sean Flynn Copy Editors Sheila Foran ’83 Storrs, CT 06269; Phone: (860) 486-2943; equity@uconn. edu (non-discrimination policies); ADA Case Manager, (BGS), ’96 Ph.D.; Gregory Lauzon Web Designers Christine Ballestrini ’03 (SFA); Yesenia Carrero. Department of Human Resources; 9 Walters Ave., Unit 5075; Storrs, CT 06269; Phone: (860) 486-3034; [email protected] UConn Magazine is produced three times a year (Spring, Summer, and Fall) by University Communications, University of Connecticut. Email: uconnmagazine@ (accommodation requests). uconn.edu. Letters to the editor and other comments are welcome. Send address changes to The University of Connecticut Foundation, Records Department, Unit 3206, 2390 Alumni Drive, Storrs, CT 06269.

4 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU Photo Credit SUMMER 2018 5 UCONN NOW

LETTERS Jonathan Statue ➼ Reading the article “Good Luck and ➼ A lot of you remember the old skating rink and appreciated Many wonderful hours spent skating Good Grades” on the inside front cover seeing a photo of it (“Traditions”). A few inquired as to and having hot chocolate. We went every of UConn Magazine’s spring 2018 edition where it was — the current rink was built in that exact spot. New Year’s Eve for a long time. Fond brought back many happy memories. Readers also appreciated the creative work UConn is doing memories! It should be noted that while the statue in the mental health field (“A Little Push”). Here is some of Susan (Brown) Pellerin ’87 (ED) of the UConn Husky was conceived by the feedback we received on the Spring 2018 issue. Please Milford, Connecticut, via Facebook President Harry Hartley, the expense to see the our website for more. construct it was covered by donations ➼ Coldest place on Earth! from UConn alumni, whose names are Get in touch! Email me at [email protected] or Eric Ferreri ’95 (CLAS) listed on a plaque near the statue. post something on our website at magazine.uconn.edu. Durham, North Carolina, Daniel C. Leone ’53 (PHARM) and via Facebook Maryanne V. Leone ’59 (ED)

Norwich, Connecticut, via email A Little Push Skating Rink Band Camp ➼ ➼ This is similar to the “mailboxes” ➼ Thank you for publishing the photo of TUP! along the Appalachian Trail from Maine the skating rink in 1976. I spent quite a bit David Duarte ’93 (CLAS) Tom’s Trivia to Georgia. There were no swings or trees of time there as an employee, a student, South Windsor, Connecticut, ➼ Miss French also forbade women from along Mirror Lake back in the ’40s. and in the women’s ice hockey club. From via our website wearing “trousers” on campus unless Donald Wright, Jr. ’50 (CLAS) 1973 on this club played colleges, includ- they were going to gym classes. Smoking Madison, Wisconsin, via our website ing Princeton and URI. We had so much Saving the Monarch was only permitted in certain rooms in fun. So now you know it wasn’t just the ➼ Just bought our milkweed seeds last the dorms. Ever wondered how many are ➼ This is a sweet and important oppor- men’s hockey team and the local youth weekend to plant in the spring! left from the class of 1948? I’m one of the tunity. This would be a wonderful gift to that used that beautiful old rink. Lynne Liston-Smith younger ones at 91. Returning vets were the students of Parkland. I hope you will Debra (Sadlon) O’Connor ’75, ’82 Tolland, Connecticut, via Facebook much older. Golden Tyler share this. They need ideas! Brentwood, New Hampshire, Jane (Hoxie) Maxson ’48 (ED) KUDOS Mariann Chinsky, UConn mom via postal mail Jackie Burns as Elphaba Wakefield, Rhode Island, Union, New Jersey, via our website ➼ Saw the show yesterday. Jackie, you via our website ➼ The old rink was the best! were terrific! Making UConn proud. DREW COLE ’14 (CLAS) ROCKS “THE VOICE” The I.Q. of A.I. Jane Gebert ’90 (CLAS) Marielle (Zuk) Nyser ’92 (PHARM) “Surreal.” ➼ How much power will be required for Greenwich, Connecticut, Ellington, Connecticut, via Facebook That’s how UConn alum and “The Voice” contestant Drew Cole ’14 (CLAS) sums up a future humanlike robot? How much via Facebook his experience on the Emmy Award–winning reality-competition program. power does the Honda robot consume ➼ Jackie is one of the hardest-working TWEETS “For the blind auditions, we’re sequestered in a hotel for a month perfecting a song. at rest, but alert or just walking? It looks ➼ I used to come home from college for people in the entertainment industry. You know that you’re going to get in front of these celebrity coaches,” says Cole. “It’s @UConn Hey #UConn18! pretty hefty. Christmas and skated there a lot. Joe Pelehach ’86 (CLAS) especially important to put everything you have into that.” Now that you’re a proud Jeffrey Nemit ’63 (ENG) Susan Bethune Canton, Connecticut, That’s what Cole did, walking onstage with his signature guitar and hat and singing @UConnAlumni, don’t forget Camarillo, California, via our website via Facebook via Instagram “Sex and Candy” by Marcy Playground for coaches Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Alicia to keep in touch with us! Keys, and Kelly Clarkson. ( ) @UConnSenior “What was fun about that song [was its] on-the-nose message,” recalls Cole. Coinci- dentally, Adam’s chair turned just as Cole was singing “Who’s that lounging in my chair, Did you INSTAGRAM @UConn casting devious stares in my direction.” Then, at the end of the song, there’s the lyric know UConn has a “This surely is my dream, mama, this is my dream.” Club? @UconnBreakdance “To be there and be successful,” says Cole, “it was a dream.” The student-run organiza- Cole also turned Blake’s chair but ultimately decided to join Adam’s team, beginning tion actively participates in an unforgettable journey that ended just shy of the top twelve and, he says, has opened intercollegiate competitions. doors for him. “It’s been damn cool. ‘The Voice’ helped set me apart and put me on a And you might even spot pedestal during my time on the show.” them performing around the Cole was an economics major at UConn but was “always taking music courses,” he UConn campus! says. His brand arguably got its start sophomore year when he posted a video of himself playing for his best friend Richie Hume’s golden retriever Bailey. It got more than 14 Celebrating 20 @UConn million hits. And despite the fact that Bailey steals that particular show, it got the atten- years @UConnStamford tion of people in the industry. “I got hit up by a music producer in Los Angeles, Jimmy McGorman, who said ‘If you Q: How many @UConn get yourself out here we’ll record some songs,’” says Cole. “L.A. inspired me so much official Jonathans has musically. For the first time, I thought I wanted to play music for the rest of my life.” UConn had? A: It’s not the After graduation in 2014, he packed up his car and went back to California. He audi- number you might assume… tioned for “The Voice” twice before making it to the blind auditions. We approve, @kobebryant #UConnNation Once UConn Generation 1 finishes reading Pups at the Helen Woodward Animal Find out on the latest  “Third time’s a charm,” he says. —TIFFANY VENTURA THIELE : @uconnhuskies #UConnMag, UConn Future Generation Center will have some new toys thanks to @UConnPodcast takes over and pulls out all the highlights these San Diego Huskies! #UConnCares  @cewt23 #UConnNation  @uconnalumni To read more of Thiele’s interview with Cole, go to s.uconn.edu/voice.

6 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 7 UCONN NOW UCONN NOW

CHECKING IN WITH... OLYMPIAN PHYLICIA GEORGE ’10 (CLAS) Phylicia George ’10 (CLAS) before I made a final decision. hand that I would take two How has UConn helped you and teammate Kaillie Hum- While it was a bit of a shock runs that day. on your journey? phries took bronze for Cana- to my system, I enjoyed the Thankfully, I stuck with it, UConn played a huge role in da in the two-woman bobsled thrill of it and the challenge because my second run felt my development as an athlete behind the U.S. (silver) and of seeing myself get better at better. And every run I’ve and as a person. My coach, Germany (gold) at the Winter the sport. I took two weeks off done since has gotten better Clive Terrelonge, helped Olympics in PyeongChang. after the 2017 London Track and better. to lay the foundation and Believe it or not, George and Field World Champi- gave me some of the tools had never even been on a bob- onship, and then I began Have you always been a for my future success. He sled until about 15 months full-time bobsled training for thrill seeker? truly helped me to become a ago. But this is actually her the winter. I wouldn’t say I’m a thrill mentally strong athlete. He third Olympics. seeker, but I believe in step- saw potential in me that I A premier sprint hurdler Are there any similarities ping outside of your comfort didn’t even know existed, and from Markham, Ontario, between the two sports? zone to constantly challenge his belief helped me push my George was a finalist in the I’d say the main similarity is yourself. boundaries and to believe in 100-meter hurdles in London that running is involved and myself and my abilities. in 2012 and Rio in 2016. She being fast is a huge advantage. Have you had any crashes? And I had the opportunity hopes to do it again at the But it’s very different in the Only one. It was in Lake to train alongside some tal- 2020 Summer Games in way that you run and create Placid, New York. It was near ented athletes I was fortunate Toyko. force. I had to get used to not the end of the run; we had enough to call teammates. This is perhaps not surpris- swinging my hands while about two more turns to go We all pushed each other to ing to her UConn teammates, running and learning how to and flipped onto our side. In become better athletes. While who remember her prowess use my hands to transfer the a crash, you still travel down studying for my degree in as a track and field star. force I was creating with my the track, so we basically biology, I gained many life She excelled off the field at feet into the sled. were sliding through two skills and made some life- UConn as well, majoring In essence, I had to learn to turns with our helmets and long friendships. —GRACE in biology and minoring in push the sled and accelerate shoulders on the ice. The MERRITT physiology and neurobiology. it instead of simply running main thing I remember is We caught up with George behind it. just how loud it was. Thank- recently in PyeongChang and fully, I had no injuries. talked to her about becoming What’s your job on the a bobsledder and how UConn bobsled? What’s going through your helped shape her drive and I’m the push athlete; I sit mind when you’re hurtling mental toughness. behind the pilot. My job is down the track? to get the sled moving as I’m mainly focused on the You just started doing the fast as possible at the start. track and the turns that we bobsled, right? How did that Bobsled is a sport that is won are going through, making happen? in hundredths of a second, sure I feel the turns so I Kaillie Humphries, my cur- so the start is essential to know where we are. Every- rent race teammate, contact- ensuring the run is fast. Then thing happens so quickly, so ed me after the Rio Olympics at the end of the track, I pull it’s hard to think about too in search of a new brakeman the brakes. much. to race with for PyeongChang. She and her coach, Stu Mc- What is the scariest part? Did you have to build Millian (and now my bobsled You’re moving at speeds up to muscle weight to do the coach), saw a lot of potential 99 mph and there are g-forces bobsled? in me and saw the benefit of pressing down on your body. I had to start lifting much having an experienced athlete My first time in a bobsled was heavier than I do for track team up with Kaillie. in Whistler, British Columbia, and field. I gained 12 pounds The idea of potentially be- which is the fastest track with of lean muscle mass, added coming a summer and winter some of the highest g-forces three inches to my bicep, Olympian sparked my inter- of any bobsled track. I was one inch to my quad, and five est. I relish any opportunity sitting up way too high and, inches to my hips and glutes. Strength plays a huge role to compete for my country. as a result, I felt those forces George, left, with bobsled teammate I agreed to come out and try much more excessively. How- in bobsled — the sled weighs Humphries and, above, running going down the bobsled track ever, I had decided before- 363 pounds! hurdles for UConn track and field.

8 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU Athletics UConn Getty, SUMMER 2018 9 UCONN NOW

ON CAMPUS DEAR FRESHMEN: This spring’s seniors shared advice with the incoming Husky Class of 2022 in a series of videos called “Dear Freshmen.” They shared favorite places on campus, best food and dining halls, ways to maximize academic potential ­and get a professor’s ear when needed, how to find a good roommate, and so much more. Here are just a few of to whet your appetite.

Find the entire Dear Freshmen video series on UConn’s YouTube channel or go to s.uconn.edu/dearfreshmen.

Frank Amaefuna ’18 (CLAS); molecular & cell biology Living with a roommate: “Of course I looked them up on Facebook, but I didn’t try to draw assumptions. It might turn out that this person is your best friend for the rest of your life.”

Danni Dong ’18 (CLAS); Natalia Gutierrez : ’18 (ENG); psychological sciences computer science and engineering Maxing out academics: “Show up to I couldn’t survive without: THIS JUST IN office hours. Perseverance will get you a “The app.” [myUConn] long way. And that applies to everything else, like showing up to a club that you’ve INVASION OF THE BODY-SNATCHING ZOMBIE FUNGUS never been to before or applying for a competitive program. It’s never easy. Just UConn researchers recently documented in Nature Scientific And back to that horror movie — it’s not a pretty doom. do it.” Reports a gory and fascinating relationship between periodical The infection results in the insect’s abdomen becoming cicadas and a fungus that infects them, hijacks their behavior, distended as it fills with powdery, white fungal spores eventually Sean Palzere ’18 (ED); and causes a scene straight out of a zombie movie. to the point of bursting open or falling off altogether. When the elementary education “It’s a fun story for us, not for the cicadas,” says UConn abdomen falls off, the genitalia are lost with it — but that doesn’t ecology and evolutionary biology researcher and adjunct faculty stop the cicadas from their eager quest to copulate. If I could give you one piece of member John Cooley. Cicadas that have been infected by the spores passed around advice: “Dive in headfirst.” Though researchers have known about the fungus for around by the initially infected cicadas exhibit what is called a Stage II 100 years, Cooley and his colleagues, postdoctoral student David infection. Stage II follows the same infection cycle as that seen Marshall and lab technician Kathy Hill, recently published new in Stage I infections. These cicadas in some cases act normal —­ findings about the infection. despite missing genitalia and large portions of their abdomens, The story starts with the cicadas’ emergence, when around they go about their business, spewing spores wherever they go. 2 to 5 percent are infected with spores of a fungus called Masso- Now the fungus’s job is complete — the spores are spread and spora cicadina. The fungus infects both male and female cicadas. ready to infect future generations. Taylor Mayes ’18 (CLAS); environ- However, the researchers discovered that early in the cicadas’ “This phenomenon is the ultimate evolutionary arms race, mental studies and political science emergence, the infection — at this point called a Stage I infec- where the hosts lose because they are rendered sterile or tion — causes curious behavioral changes in the males. evolutionarily irrelevant by the fungus in order to spread the Maxing out academics: “I know this is In addition to their normal mating behaviors, the infected spores,” says Cooley. He anticipates that this area of research kind of corny, but I would say pick a major males will exhibit wing-flicking that is typically seen only in will continue to heat up in coming years, as more details of these Austin Barrett ’18 (BUS); accounting that you’re passionate about. If it’s art, female cicadas. The infected male cicadas put on a ruse, much arms races are uncovered. This type of research has to be per- if it’s design, if it’s things around social like the Sirens of Greek mythology — they flick their wings like formed in the field, and it’s hard to predict where the fungus will If I could give you one piece of justice and humanities, even if it seems a female and lure in uninfected, unsuspecting males. Those be present. The best sites for studying these unfortunate cicadas advice: “Stay away from Netflix! Do like you’re not going to make money, I healthy males then get close enough to the infected cicadas to have been almost stumbled upon. As Cooley explains, “I’d be Huskython. Do Oozeball. Go out and promise you that you will be where you be exposed to spores, which leads to their doom. The diseased driving along and say ‘Holy smoke, there are a lot of dead cicadas meet new people because you only have need to be because your passions will males will also attempt to copulate with the uninfected females, in this spot. What’s going on?’” —ELAINA HANCOCK ’09 MS 13 weeks per semester. College flies!” take you.” exposing them to even more spores.

10 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU Illustration by Jess Carrero SUMMER 2018 11 UCONN NOW

Rising seniors Jessica Hinckley and Mia about other interests, such as oil drilling, Dupuis at Mystic Aquarium’s ray touch commercial shipping, or commercial pool, tracking how ray movement differs fishing?” In the name of finding the most when guests are not in the exhibit. creative, efficient solutions, says Bucklin, “It’s important to help students learn to Romano conducts her research — see all sides of a problem, to be devil’s on the health and immune systems of advocates.” endangered species — at UConn Avery Another mission is to help students Point, having moved the aquarium’s labs to envision all the things they can do to that campus. with a marine sciences degree. Romano “I now have this beautiful lab space is the perfect partner for that endeavor, which we didn’t have at the aquarium,” says Bucklin. “The aquarium is such a says Romano. “And I have access to wonderful outlet for so many kids to see students, faculty, and a library. All of what they can do.” this enables us to raise the level of our Indeed, Romano reels off myriad research.” possibilities — animal care and training, Class labs and independent projects, water quality, exhibit design, public ed- meanwhile, often take place at the ucation and outreach, research, animal aquarium. husbandry, vet services, graphics. “The ability to go to Mystic Aquarium Having Mystic for show and tell helps and see the animals firsthand, to have illuminate lecture material, too. “I gave access to the collection, to get behind the this lecture on dolphins and whales, went scenes to see what the public doesn’t get into the various toothed whales and then to see, and to be able to listen to the staff talked about the adaptations of belugas,” talk about what it’s really like to work says Romano. “And then we went out to at aquariums —­ for a student, that’s magi- the aquarium’s beluga habitat and had cal,” says Bucklin. the beluga lay out so the students could The two teachers say they get to know see these characteristics. We had the each student personally and work “ag- whale vocalize and showed students its gressively” to match them with meaning- unique feeding behaviors. Seeing it first- ful practical research experiences. That hand is an amazing learning experience.” could mean at-sea fieldwork, internships, Students also observed firsthand how or teaching assistantships. seals and sea lions differ. After learning Romano recalls taking a Native about it in the classroom, they watched American student with her to Alaska to the Mystic denizens strut their stuff. collect samples from wild belugas. “Being Labtime for the second half of the se- exposed to that culture and seeing what mester is for individual or group projects COVETED CLASS belugas mean to them, it was really pow- that the students design. Many use the erful for her.” aquarium, where they are free to study, Bucklin says she asked to teach this but not make contact with, the animals. Rising sophomore Lissa Giacalone and rising junior Vanessa Thornberg recording beluga MARINE BIOLOGY, class because it is the one that inspired vocalizations at Mystic Aquarium. They hypothesize that the belugas vocalize more before her to become a marine biologist. She Why We Want to Take this Class feeding sessions than immediately after. MARN 3014 remembers being captivated by the Ourselves “strange and lovely — and mostly tiny The fieldwork is the big draw, of course — “Tracy gave a marine mammals look at a polychaete [a marine worm One of the payoffs of the partnership that UConn Avery Point has with Mystic and long dead — marine animals” she not just at Mystic, but also collecting data lecture and then we got to do a demon- also known as a bristle worm] under the Aquarium and its Sea Research Foundation is courses that give students an studied in that class, which were brought from a boat on Long Island Sound, and in stration and give Juno the male beluga a microscopes.” opportunity to learn firsthand about potential jobs in the marine sciences and to life by the dynamic professor. visits to estuaries and tidal zones. hand sign so he would open and close his “There are so many examples of what to conduct research at the famous aquarium. MARN 3014 is one of those classes. “Watching what my professor did The intimacy of the class is compel- jaw. It’s one of those behaviors they learn we can actually do career-wise.” inspired me,” she says. “And I’ve always ling, too. During a lecture on estuaries, that helps keep the animals healthy.” “Having guests like Dr. Romano The Instructors wanted to be that professor — the one the every student contributed and each was “Seeing how significant a role the come in and seeing what she does.” “Tracy is a role model,” says marine sciences professor and Fulbright fellow Ann students watch and say, ‘okay I want to called on by their first name. We had a aquarium plays in research conserva- “The interaction with the animal is Bucklin of her co-teacher Tracy Romano, who is not only a marine sciences professor do that.’” chance to ask them what their favorite tion; realizing that without the ability something, getting to see the way they in residence at UConn Avery Point, but also is the vice president of research at Mystic things about this class had been so far. to study these animals in the aquarium, actually work in the real environments is Aquarium. “I can’t imagine a better partner. We come to each other’s classes when we’re Class Description Here are some of their answers: we’d understand so much less about wild especially helpful if you want to go into in town.” This course is a mix of lecture and labs, “Going behind the scenes at the aquar- populations.” marine mammal conservation like That last is a big caveat. On the spring day UConn Magazine caught up with the two and in both cases a primary goal is to ium. We got a real taste of what it’s like to “I liked the dogfish dissection.” I do.” —LISA STIEPOCK of them, Bucklin had returned from Finland the night before and Romano was leaving stimulate critical thinking. do those jobs.” “ Everything here is more hands-on. for Alaska in a couple days. Both are active researchers and actively recruit students to “Conservation biology is a field that “It was really cool to be so close to the Monday we were at the coast looking at For photos of the professors, help with that research. And, like that classic example of the shark and the remora, the has no easy answers,” says Bucklin. “You animals. The beluga whale came right up organisms and sea worms and we were Avery Point, and Mystic, go to partnership between the two is a symbiotic one. may be trying to save animals, but what to us.” able to bring some back to the lab; to s.uconn.edu/mystic.

12 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU Peter Morenus (3) SUMMER 2018 13 UCONN NOW

IN DEVELOPMENT Chickpea Rotini with Roasted Garlic, Tomato, Mozzarella and Balsamic Gastrique | Makes 8 (6 oz) portions SPIDER SILK KEY TO For the garlic oil FIXING BROKEN BONES 1 cup olive oil 6 ounces garlic, peeled and chopped UConn researchers have created a 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes biodegradable composite made of silk 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the compli- Combine oil and garlic in a sheet pan and roast at 375 degrees cations presented by other materials. until light golden brown. Remove from oven and season with Repairing major load-bearing bones, red pepper flakes and salt. Cool, then blend in a blender or such as those in the leg, can be a long and mash with wire whisk. Makes extra. uncomfortable process. Doctors may in- stall a metal plate to support the bone as For the balsamic gastrique it fuses and heals. Yet some metals leach 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ions into surrounding tissue, causing ½ cup balsamic vinegar inflammation and irritation. Metals are Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan over medium also very stiff. If a metal plate bears too heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and much load, the new bone may grow back the vinegar reduces to a syrup (about half its volume). Cool and weaker and be vulnerable to fracture. place in a squirt bottle if you have one. Otherwise a bowl is fine. Seeking a solution to the problem, UConn professor Mei Wei, a materials To assemble scientist and biomedical engineer, turned 16 ounces Banza chickpea rotini, cooked according to to spiders and moths for inspiration. In package directions 8 ounces fresh tomatoes, cored and diced The composite Jeff Gonci ⅛ cup garlic oil ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly TASTE OF STORRS showed strength and 4 ounces fresh mozzarella log, diced flexibility characteristics balsamic gastrique, for garnish PASTA SALAD 2.0 that are among the In a large pot over medium high heat, combine the chickpea Stephen Slade ’89 (SFA) (SFA) Slade ’89 Stephen highest ever recorded. This chickpea and rotini salad is one dish from Dining Service’s rotini, the diced tomatoes, and the garlic oil. Cook for 2 to 3 new, national award-winning line of Healthy & Lean Bean Pastas. minutes until heated through, stirring occasionally. KUDOS All are vegetarian, low-carb, gluten-free, non-GMO, and high in Remove the pot from the heat and gently stir in the basil. both fiber and protein. Also, a quick straw poll at one dining hall Spoon the rotini mixture onto serving plates, garnish with the particular, Wei focused on silk fibroin, a THANKS FOR FOUR YEARS OF AWESOME! found students insisting they were absolutely delicious as well. fresh mozzarella, and drizzle with balsamic gastrique. protein found in the silk fibers spun by Graduates Kia Nurse ’18 (CLAS) and Gabby Williams ’18 (CLAS) head to the spiders and moths known for its tough- WNBA, along with Azura Stevens, who will earn her CLAS degree this summer ness and tensile strength. The medical community has been Role models on and off the court, Williams, Nurse, and Stevens (a transfer from Duke) CLUBBING aware of silk fibroin for a while. Yet no will be much-missed members of the UConn academic and athletic community. All one had ever tried to make a dense poly- three were top 10 picks in the WNBA draft. Williams will join Stefanie Dolson ’14 mer composite out of it. CONCRETE CANOES (CLAS) playing with the Chicago Sky. Nurse joins Tina Charles ’10 (CLAS), Kelly Faris Working with UConn associate profes- ’13 (ED), Bria Hartley ’14 (CLAS) and Kiah Stokes ’15 (CLAS) on the New York Liber- Student members of the sor Dianyun Zhang, a mechanical engi- ty’s roster, and Stevens will play for the Dallas Wings with Saniya Chong ’17 (CLAS). School of Engineering’s con- neer, Wei’s lab began testing silk fibroin During their four years, Nurse and Williams lost only three times in 151 games and crete canoe club finish work on in various composite forms, looking for were part of many historic UConn moments. They were on the court during the team’s this year’s Neapolitan-themed the right combination and proportion of 100th consecutive win and coaches Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey’s 1,000th win. race boat (the colors are different materials to achieve optimum They helped lead the team to three undefeated regular seasons, eight AAC champi- designed to bring to mind the strength and flexibility — and finding it! onships, four Final Fours, and two National Championships. Charismatic players and strawberry, chocolate, and In a study recently published in the people, the community may miss their post-game microphone banter most of all. vanilla of the classic ice cream Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Individually, each won honors› too numerous to list. Highlights for Williams in- combo). In the annual con- Biomedical Materials, Wei reports that clude the Senior CLASS Award, given to the most outstanding senior student-athlete crete canoe invitational in Ver- her high-performance biodegradable in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, the Cheryl Miller Award recognizing the top mont in May, the team finished composite showed strength and flexi- small forward in NCAA Division I, and being named a Huskies of Honor at Gampel, in second of 14 places. —EMMA bility characteristics that are among the the 2017 WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year, and twice a WBCA first CASAGRANDE ’18 (CLAS) highest ever recorded. —COLIN POITRAS team All-American. She chalked up more than 1,500 career points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 ’85 (CLAS) assists, and 300 steals. Nurse was AAC Freshmen of the Year, 2018 WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year and received All-American honorable mention. She racked For more on the study, go to For more on the club, see up more than 1,600 career points, 395 rebounds, 400 assists, and 185 steals. s.uconn.edu/silkbones. s.uconn.edu/canoe.

14 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU Photo Courtesy of the Concrete Canoe Association SUMMER 2018 15 UCONN NOW

On evaluating how much plastic is in the ocean by viewing it from space: UCONN TALKS

“To know that it’s actually plastic and not something else On pitching for the floating or even a bubble or a whitecap, we have to have Boston Red Sox: more of a sense of the spectral fingerprint and what’s “I was a Yankees unique to plastics.” fan. The keyword there is ‘was.’” Heidi Dierssen, professor of marine sciences and geography, Newsweek, March 21, 2018 Former UConn star Matt Barnes, ABC News, May 9, 2018 On a study finding that On how the changing acidity of ocean surface waters is a blue light like that from good thing for seaweed, including edible seaweed: smartphones can be On his book Prince linked to some cancers: of Providence, about “There are winners and losers in ocean the city’s notorious acidification. Organisms that produce mayor, being turned “The most into a play: carbonate shells like shellfish, they’re efficient a loser. They can’t handle the lower pH. “Politics is suppression They can’t deposit as much calcium theater, and of melatonin in their shells. On the other hand, Buddy’s life is with that seaweeds like kelp, they actually pick was a huge beautiful up that carbon dioxide because now it’s drama.” blue light” easier for them to do photosynthesis.” Mike Stanton, associate professor of journalism, Associated Press, Richard Stevens, UConn Charlie Yarish, marine biology professor, CBS’s March 16, 2018 Health, CNN, April 17, 2018 “60 Minutes,” April 29, 2018

On helping students who have experienced bullying and violence: On Kanye West’s take on slavery: “A trauma-informed approach is critical for schools.”

Sandra Chafouleas, professor of educational psychology, Washington Post, April 3, 2018 “His music stems from those slave spirituals . . . He On the sexist nature of a new video game called “Super Seducer”: ought to know “The game appears to essentialize women’s and men’s sexuality that even when by assuming that all people are basically the same, leaving blacks were no space for individual preferences. The game also seems to enslaved, their fall into the sexist trope of assuming that women’s sexuality is minds were not passive — that men ‘make a move’ and that women ‘react.’” enslaved.” Manisha Sinha, history professor, Time magazine, May 2, 2018 Amanda Denes, associate professor of communication, Newsweek, March 14, 2018

16 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 They walked in droves for days . . . tied together by sewing thread and warned that if the thread broke they would be shot.

After years of civil war, Pol Pot’s Khmer for days. Some recall being separated to create collectivized farms. Those Cam- Rouge regime invaded the Cambodian from family members; others remember bodians who survived the journey were By a Thread capital city on April 17, 1975. Dressed in being tied together by sewing thread brought to work camps in the countryside black uniforms, the communist soldiers and warned that if the thread broke they and tortured and starved for more than Cambodian refugees, severely tortured 40 years ago, are suffering from trauma-related forced two million Phnom Penh residents would be shot. three years. diseases today. A team of UConn professors is helping them here and in their homeland. from their homes, saying they were being The evacuation was, of course, not Lila Plawecki was 10. evacuated briefly to avoid American about protecting the Cambodians but The tears flow easily as Plawecki, now By Julie (Stagis) Bartucca ’10 (BUS, CLAS) | Illustrations by Michelle Kondrich bombings. Instead, they walked in droves about serving the Khmer Rouge mission 53, describes the abuse she and her par-

18 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 19 ents endured. Her father, once a dignified lions like Plawecki survived the trauma. Cambodian refugees in Connecticut and soldier, was yoked like a cow, forced to All these years on, they still suffer. Massachusetts. KHA is the only Cambo- Eat, Walk, Sleep . . . is being pull carts through the fields. “The genocide continues,” says Thom- dian-American health organization in “After that, I never see him,” Plawecki as Buckley, UConn associate clinical pro- the U.S. widely implemented by UConn says. “They kill him.” fessor of pharmacy practice. “It manifests In a regime focused on agricultural itself now as chronic disease.” researchers, whose studies have revolution, those from the city, “new The prevalence of depression and “Sister” people” such as Plawecki’s mother, were post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) For more than two decades, Plawecki proven it is particularly effective tortured particularly harshly and in in the Cambodian-American immigrant/ worked on engine pistons at a machine many ways, including through starvation. refugee population is more than 10 times shop. The detailed work required manual for traumatized patients with While reaching into a hole in the ground, the national average, and they experience dexterity, but the incessant pain in her trying to catch crabs for her family to eat, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, once-broken fingers made the task diabetes or pre-diabetes. Plawecki’s mother was bitten by a venom- stroke, and death from diabetic complica- difficult. Suffering on the job and severely ous snake. She died two days later. tions at a rate six times that of the general depressed, she nonetheless worked The orphaned Lila was taken to a work population. 14-hour days. In October 2016 she suffered a bad fall at work. “After that, I just wanted suicide because I couldn’t work for a living, no physicians would look at refugees’ symp- and I don’t have bad dreams,” she says. go away, remaining mute, an inability to income,” says Plawecki. toms separately, not understanding that But perhaps the most important piece speak about their fears, and loss of a sense But while she was in the hospital, a PTSD and the related cortisol spikes were of “Eat, Walk, Sleep” — and all the sup- of togetherness, according to Chhim’s “The genocide continues,” friend told her about Khmer Health causing many of their patients’ chronic port offered through KHA — is the social published research. Advocates and the woman Plawecki physical ailments, Buckley says. The component. The curriculum is delivered The population-specific symptoms says Thomas Buckley, UConn affectionately calls “Bong Vy” — Theanvy researchers have taught many to ask the in group sessions, designed to combat and other cultural factors means “having Kuoch, also known as “Vy” (pronounced right questions. the social isolation that studies have ethnically specific community health associate clinical professor “vee”). The founder and head of KHA, “There’s a tree in Cambodia called the shown can be a stronger predictor of workers has been critical to getting peo- Kuoch is also a survivor. Bong means “sis- kapok tree. When the wind blows, the death than clinical risk factors like heart ple to understand and accept treatment,” of pharmacy. “It manifests itself ter” in Khmer, the Cambodian language. leaves remain silent,” Buckley says. “The disease. Buckley says. “My friend said Khmer Health can Cambodians were taught to be like the Plawecki views the people at KHA as The researchers’ latest collaboration, now as chronic disease.” help. That’s why I came straight to Bong,” kapok tree and to remain mute to survive family. The students who visit the doctor funded by a UConn Health Research Ex- says Plawecki, who lives in Burlington, the Khmer Rouge. with her also took her on a 20-mile bike cellence Program Convergence Grant and Connecticut. “I don’t have appointment, “Physicians have a hard time breaking ride along the Farmington Canal Heritage called PLUS CamboDIA — Remote Peer I don’t know what Bong Vy look like. I through,” he says. “The refugees won’t Trail and occasionally attend her Bud- Learning for U.S.-Cambodia Community just came straight here, and now I have talk to health care providers about their dhist temple in Bristol. They call her their Health Workers Managing Diabetes — camp for children and forced to labor in “When you have such astronomically another life.” trauma — and U.S. health care providers “Cambodian mom,” and gave her a ticket brought Buckley to Cambodia on sabbati- the fields from sunup to sundown with high rates, it shows this population has In her new life, Plawecki is comfort- don’t ask.” for their pharmacy school graduation. cal. He spent this January through March hardly anything to eat. The Khmer Rouge been ignored. They have low BMI [body able talking about her past. Though Plawecki now visits doctors with In two hours, she expresses her grati- in Cambodia’s second-largest city, Siem berated her, telling her she wasn’t work- mass index], yet they’re dying of strokes sometimes she struggles to find the words UConn pharmacy graduate students tude for all of them by name — Bong Vy, Reap, setting up a program with the Cam- ing hard enough. They rapped her fingers and cardiovascular disease. It’s so unex- in her second language, she just needs a Connor Walker and Celeste Cheung in Mr. Tom, Mary [Scully, clinical director bodian Diabetes Association and KHA. with bamboo, breaking her hands and pected,” says Buckley. “Khmer Health minute to think through what she wants tow to make sure all her questions get an- of KHA], Dr. Miller, Connor, Celeste — Having laid the groundwork, Buckley permanently damaging her nerves. Advocates considers this a manifesta- to say. Speaking in an office at KHA, swered. Between that and the interven- no fewer than seven times. She says she will oversee U.S.-based community health Still not a teenager, Lila was jailed and tion of genocide because the American Plawecki sometimes turns to Kuoch to tion from Buckley and others at KHA, she prays for them every night. raped and starved. The Khmer Rouge ate health care system has not addressed the say certain things in Khmer first. Then is now treated for her PTSD, depression, in front of their prisoners, giving them ramifications of genocide. Who would’ve she either lets Kuoch translate or she pain, and hypertension, and is learning nothing. Lila and the others stole any thought you’d get diabetes from a high takes Kuoch’s encouragement and says it the Eat, Walk, Sleep curriculum pre- “Broken Courage” food they could find — even if that meant level of cortisol that happened over 40 herself, this time in English. scribed to prevent diabetes. Over the past 12 years, the bugs or putrid, rotting rice — and hid it to years ago?” It’s a complete turnaround from the Initially developed by KHA, “Eat, Walk, UConn researchers and eat when the soldiers were gone. Sent to Buckley, along with S. Megan Berthold, person she was less than two years ago: Sleep” is a culturally specific framework their partners at KHA have get meat from dead cows or elephants for School of Social Work associate profes- withdrawn, depressed, and scared to talk, promoting evidence-based dietary and discovered many ways to the Khmer Rouge to eat, they would gnaw sor, and Julie Wagner, UConn Health says Kuoch. Now, “If she wants to cry, she nutrition guidelines, exercise routines, break through the particular on the tough skin. associate professor of oral health and cries; if she wants to laugh, she laughs. and sleep hygiene practices. The program roadblocks to treating these Though Lila Plawecki survived the diagnostic sciences, have dedicated their She’s not afraid. And she’s very brave.” is being widely implemented by UConn refugees. In addition to their reign of Pol Pot, which ended in January work to battling this phenomenon, not researchers, whose studies have proven fear of speaking about their 1979, her anguish endured. Sponsored by only in Cambodians but in other refugee it is particularly effective for traumatized problems, Cambodians suffer her sister, she came to the U.S. in 1990. populations. Eat, Walk, Sleep patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes. a specific iteration of PTSD, And then, for 26 years, she suffered in The three faculty members, all princi- When she arrived at KHA, Plawecki was Through the 18-month program, named baksbat or “broken silence. pal investigators at UConn’s Institute for not on any medication. Her doctors had Plawecki has picked up several healthy courage,” by Cambodian psy- Collaboration on Health, Intervention, never asked her about her history, and habits, like eating many more vegetables chiatrist Dr. Sotheara Chhim. and Policy, have worked with West Hart- like many Cambodians, she didn’t share and brown rice instead of white. She Those who survived the After the Trauma ford, Connecticut–based Khmer Health it. Berthold, Buckley, and Wagner have walks 30 to 40 minutes every day, and has genocide experience symp- An estimated two million people died Advocates (KHA) since 2006, developing developed programs to educate doctors learned to meditate and not to watch TV toms including fear of fear, during the Cambodian genocide. But mil- programs that improve health care for on caring for survivors. For a long time before bed. “It helps a lot, relax my mind wishing that the trauma would

20 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 21 “We want to look at how what we’ve learned can be applied to other traumatized refugee communities . . . can we prevent some of these debilitating conditions in other groups? That’s what we really want to see.”

workers as they deliver a curriculum on education about their conditions furthers “They are angels” “Eat, Walk, Sleep” to workers in Cambo- the problem. What about those currently experienc- dian villages via videoconferencing this One patient Buckley met in Cam- ing trauma-induced cortisol spikes, like summer. The six village health workers bodia this year was a 52-year-old man Syrians coming to the U.S. today? “In 20 on the ground will work with 60 new from a remote village who has diabetes, years, will they have the same issues?” patients in remote villages who were not hypertension, pain and gastrointestinal Buckley asks. previously engaged in treatment and will issues, and a long history of PTSD and He believes they will — unless the U.S. be tracking their outcomes into next year. depression. government makes changes to help these The goal of PLUS CamboDIA is not The man’s only access to medication is populations when they get here. Effecting only to reach patients on the ground when the Cambodian Diabetes Associ- that change is the team’s goal. in Cambodia but also to leverage the ation’s mobile clinic visits his village, While their initiatives directly help expertise of health aides in both places to which might occur only once every Cambodian refugees, the solutions Ber- improve treatment in the future. few months. It’s impossible to provide thold, Buckley, and Wagner have found Additionally, Buckley has long em- patients in the villages enough medicine can be used to prevent the same chronic phasized medication management in his in one visit to cover them until the next, health problems from affecting other work with refugees, and he also studied Buckley says. And this man, like other pa- refugee communities. medication adherence during his time tients of his in Camboda, is generous with “We want to look at how what we’ve in Cambodia this spring. When he first his medication — too generous in fact. learned can be applied to other trauma- connected with KHA, they had realized He continually sacrifices the treat- tized refugee communities that come to patients were not following their pre- ment that could save him to help others the United States. We know the Cam- scribed medication regimens. in his family and village, many of whom bodian community is a model of what “People were getting over-the-counter may have similar symptoms to his, but happens to a traumatized community things, going to emergency rooms [to probably shouldn’t be taking the same long term,” Buckley says. treat chronic diseases]; they were all medicines. “Can we prevent some of these debil- screwed up,” Buckley says. KHA hadn’t “It’s difficult to see him deteriorate,” itating conditions in other groups? Can realized a pharmacist could play such a Buckley wrote in an email from Cambo- lay workers in the home country and in large role in their efforts. dia in March. “This was obviously true for the diaspora leverage each other’s efforts Today, though KHA has implemented the CDC clinic MD who was with me on to address diabetes? That’s what we really programs to deal with these problems in these village visits, as he was uncharac- want to see.” Cambodian-Americans, similar issues teristically sensitive and emotional about At least for now, for Plawecki, their persist back in the home country. this man, obviously upset that we can’t work is paying off. “Cambodians have a misconception help him more.” “We’ve seen dramatic improvements in that diabetes is a short-term disease. The doctor was struggling to main- her pain and sleep issues, a reduction in They’ll take medicine for a week, like an tain the stoicism typically required to medicine, and the social isolation piece is antibiotic,” he says. “We’re trying to pro- administer healing concepts of his Bud- huge,” Buckley says. mote treatment adherence overall.” dhist faith “knowing he was sending the “Everyone supports me,” says Pla- Many patients live with symptoms for patient back into an environment filled wecki. “I feel more strong; I’m so happy many years before seeking treatment, and with the social determinants of health for living every single day I get up. I’m so “There’s a tree in Cambodia once they do, more hurdles prevent them that we can’t control, and therefore the happy. from being properly treated. According vicious cycle of health care will continue,” called the kapok tree. When the wind “They are angels. If I don’t meet this to Buckley, optimal medications are often Buckley wrote. group, I probably suicide. It’s true.” blows, the leaves remain silent. too expensive for the poverty-stricken lo- This vicious cycle is exactly what Buck- The Cambodians were taught to be cals, so cheaper, less effective treatments ley and his partners are trying to prevent, For photos of the players and places, are used. Lack of knowledge and proper in as many populations as possible. visit s.uconn.edu/cambodia. like the kapok tree and to remain mute to survive the Khmer Rouge.” UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 23 As you’d expect of an institution that got its start in 1881, UConn has its fair share of curiosities — quirky corners and obscure objects that have HIDDEN accumulated a wealth of stories over the years. Call it “Hidden UConn,” because most of these charming oddities are often overlooked during the daily bustle of a great university, even if some are right in front of our noses. Can you name the whats and wheres of these peculiar facets that make UConn Storrs unique? (Find the answers on pages 50 to 51.) UCONN QUIZ By Tom Breen ’00 (CLAS) | Photos by Peter Morenus

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30 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 31 WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER FLUSH A TICK DON’T Another summer in New England, another boom in the tick population. It seems im- BY ELAINA HANCOCK ’09 MS NO, IT WON’T possible to miss media accounts of how large the PHOTOS BY PETER MORENUS GROW TO population was last year and how much worse it could be this year. GATOR SIZE And you would be hard pressed to find someone FLUSH THIS AND COME — or someone who knows someone — who hasn’t Finally, consider that some of these infections been impacted by a tick-borne disease. It’s even can carry lasting effects, such as those seen in BACK TO harder to avoid the terrifying headlines about the post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), BITE YOU. latest devastating disease and how rampant it is ranging from fatigue and malaise to arthritis, cardi- likely to be. Every mention is accompanied by that tis, and neurological symptoms. BUT TAKING feeling that something is crawling on your arm, “Would you rather wait or would you rather your neck. One could become inured to it. know?” asks lab technician Heather Haycock ’03 IT TO THIS But it is important not to let the yearly wave of (CAHNR), who works at the Connecticut Veteri- UCONN TEST- tick stories simply wash over us, warns associate nary Medical Diagnostic Lab (CVMDL) smack dab professor of pathobiology Paulo Verardi. “People in the middle of the UConn campus. ING FACILITY have become used to ticks as just something we CVMDL is a little-known resource offering COULD REAP have to deal with. But this is a big deal.” powerful data and potential peace of mind for those TICK Typically after an attached tick is found, a patient who have picked ticks off of themselves or loved SOME PRETTY is advised to monitor for flu-like symptoms or a ones (two- or four-legged loved ones). The lab tests SIGNIFICANT rash for about a week, an understandable tactic around 600 ticks each year — provided by clients considering how common tick bites are. who take the test results to health care providers. REWARDS. However, consider a tick is like an eight-legged Why have your ticks tested? “Knowledge is syringe potentially loaded with multiple pathogens power,” says lab technician Maureen Sims ’06 that may or may not be passed to its host while (CAHNR). The knowledge will get you targeted, ap- attached. Ticks literally “dig in” while feeding. propriate treatment. Or conversely, it will give you After cutting the host’s skin, a tick will sink its peace of mind that the tick you found didn’t harbor mouthparts into the wound and insert a feeding any nasty pathogens. tube. Some ticks even secrete a cementlike mixture to help them attach even more efficiently. Some diseases are passed quickly; others may take a day IF YOU PUT A TICK IN A BLENDER... or two. A recent visit to CVMDL finds Sims leaning over Now consider that some of the diseases that a dissecting microscope, bright lights and lens could result from this encounter may have immedi- trained on a specimen that resembles a parched ate symptoms and others may have symptoms that gray watermelon seed. The tick was recently sub- don’t show up for days, weeks, even months. And mitted and is ready for identification and testing. even with symptoms, some tick-borne diseases are “This one is a female deer tick, and Oh!, she’s difficult to test for in a patient — they can hide out moving!” Sim’s head pops up from the scope and and evade routine testing techniques. she points out eight legs slowly beginning to stir as

44 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 33 “Would you the lights from the scope warm and wake the tick may overlap, expertise is shared, and collaborations up. Stay tuned: There’s a far ruder awakening in this are frequent. Within the department, focus tends rather wait tick’s near future. to be on studying animal diseases. But many of Sims is in charge of the initial steps of tick testing these diseases are shared with the human popula- at CVMDL, where she determines the species, tion, says Guillermo Risatti, associate professor of or would you the sex, where it is in its life cycle, and the degree pathobiology and head of Diagnostic Testing Ser- of engorgement, which gives an idea of how long vices at CVMDL. Powassan virus, the newest tick- rather know?” the tick was feeding on its host. All of these bits of borne infection to make headlines in Connecticut, information help determine how successful the tick is one of those diseases. may have been in transmitting a litany of diseases Powassan itself is not new. It was first described to its host. in the 1950s in a fatal case of encephalitis in a young After the ID, Sims places the tick in a test tube boy and is in the same family as West Nile and the and hands the specimen off to Haycock, who Zika virus, says Risatti. But humans were seen as carries on with the processing, first with the ruder more of an incidental host for Powassan, which awakening — the gruesome job of squishing the mostly appeared in woodchucks and was carried by tick. She adds a little liquid, then smashes the tick a tick not typically interested in people. Then the into a brownish-red sludge using a small wooden virus started to show up in the deer tick population, stick. “This one was pulled off a dog. When they the same ticks often pulled off people. have been pulled off of people, it’s worse somehow,” Though only one case of Powassan has been opines Haycock. reported in Connecticut, there were 21 cases in the This sludge is where the genetic information for U.S. in 2016, and the virus is a serious one. It packs any pathogens the tick was carrying will be. After a deadly punch, with a reported 10 percent of cases extracting the DNA, Haycock runs tests for two ending fatally. Powassan is also quick, with trans- species of Borrelia and another common tick-borne mission in as little as 15 minutes after the tick digs pathogen in the Northeast, Anaplasma. Ticks may in, unlike the often-touted 24 to 48 hours required have feasted on multiple hosts since many ticks, for Lyme disease. The third punch Powassan packs such as the deer tick, require more than one blood is that it has no cure, only supportive treatments meal to complete a life cycle, with each host offer- can be administered with hopes the patient will pull ing another opportunity to transmit pathogens to through. the hungry tick. “This is a public health crisis in the making,” says Verardi, who in addition to teaching pathobiology works as a virologist and vaccine developer. He nat- THE “NEW” DEADLY DISEASE urally started thinking about a vaccine when news As a component of the pathobiology and veterinary of Powassan in Connecticut broke. Since most of science department at UConn, CVMDL also serves the tick-borne diseases in our area are bacterial and as the Connecticut State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. are relatively easily treated, the issue of vaccines for Work with the diagnostic labs and research labs tick-borne diseases had been on his back burner.

DISEASES pain or discomfort. high fever. Transmis- hours of attachment DISEASES AND tick, RMSF is caused Those who develop example, beef and Though many look sion can happen as to the host. by the bacterium encephalitis may pork). The allergic TYPICALLY for the bull’s-eye Tick-borne soon as 15 minutes CONDITIONS NOT Rickettsia rickettsii Powassan be left with perma- reaction can occur TRANSMITTED rash, this is not seen relapsing after the tick be- YET TYPICALLY and can be fatal. Transmitted by nent neurological a few hours after BY TICKS IN THE in all cases. Left fever caused comes attached. TRANSMITTED IN The disease typical- the deer tick, and symptoms, and 10 eating the meat untreated for days by Borrelia Babesiosis caused ly starts with flu-like caused by the virus percent of Powas- and may present NORTHEAST* to months, Lyme miyamotoi by the parasite THE NORTHEAST* symptoms often of the same name, san-caused enceph- with hives, itching, can lead to arthri- bacterium Babesia accompanied by a the disease is trans- alitis cases are fatal. gastrointestinal tis, heart problems, Spread by deer Anaplasmosis Spread by the deer rash. As many as 20 mitted in as little symptoms, and pos- Lyme caused by nerve pain, and ticks, this presents This presents with tick, babesiosis is percent of cases are as 15 minutes after sible anaphylaxis. Borrelia bergdor- neurological issues, with muscle and flu-like symptoms often asymptomatic. fatal if untreated; a bite. Symptoms feri bacterium such as depression joint aches and a typically within a When symptomat- five percent are fatal may include fever, Alpha-gal *Information Spread by deer and memory trou- high fever that often week or two of ic, the illness may Rocky Mountain in treated cases. headache, enceph- allergy from experts at ticks, Lyme disease bles. Ticks must be lasts about three being bitten by present with flu-like spotted fever Estimates vary, but alitis, confusion, If bitten by the Lone the Connecticut presents with flu- attached for 24 to days followed by a deer tick. It is symptoms. Ticks (RMSF) it is suggested the and seizures, to Star tick, individuals Veterinary Medical like symptoms and 48 hours for Lyme seven fever-free estimated that the must feed for 36 to Spread by the tick needs to feed name a few. How- may develop a se- Diagnosttic Lab is typically accom- disease to be trans- days followed by pathogen will be 48 hours for trans- brown dog tick, dog for 24 hours prior to ever, some do not vere allergy to mam- and cdc.gov. panied by joint mitted to the host. another three-day transmitted after 24 mission to host. tick, or Lone Star transmission. develop symptoms. malian meats (for

34 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 35 “With Powassan virus happening right here,” he This data will also come in handy for keeping says, “it becomes a big deal.” tabs on tick species found here. With different Now plans are under way to start working on ticks come different or “new” tick-borne patho- vaccines for both Powassan and Lyme. But vaccine gens, ones creeping closer to our region, such as development is a long, expensive process, often Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Powassan isn’t the involving a lot of trial and error. In the meantime, only new disease we should be worried about. Consider a tick is like an eight- Verardi and his colleagues here and elsewhere in Verardi stresses, “What we have here isn’t just a the Northeast are exploring vaccines for animal problem with these diseases. What we have here is hosts. Small rodents, for example, could receive a a problem with ticks!” legged syringe potentially vaccine that would either block transmission of the So why are ticks such a problem here in the pathogens to the tick once it feeds or perhaps kill Northeast? The topic, like the ticks, seems to pop the tick altogether. up everywhere, and it’s hard to avoid because the Since Powassan is not a new virus, why are we Northeast happens to be a fantastic place to be loaded with multiple pathogens hearing about it now? It seems like there is a new a tick. Dr. Bushmich explains, “We’re near the tick-borne disease popping up every few years. The ocean and there’s more moisture here, making it truth is that you can’t test for what you don’t know a favorable climate for ticks.” Essentially, we are that may or may not be passed about, and as tick expert and CAHNR associate living among more and more hosts, with fewer dean of academic programs Sandra Bushmich puts predators, in conditions ticks thrive in. As wildlife it, “There are diseases that we do know about that populations grow and become comfortable with to its host while attached. people aren’t testing for routinely. Powassan causes the cushy suburban lifestyle, they will support an encephalitis, and you don’t always know the cause ever-growing, ever-hungry tick population. of encephalitis, therefore it is probably an under- reported illness.” It likely has been present in Con- necticut much longer than documented, lurking in PROTECT YOURSELF the animal population and only recently making What can we do to stay safe? headlines in the human population. For one thing, we can make our yards less tick friendly. Ticks rely on cool, damp, and dark locations, where they hang out and can keep from TICK RADAR drying out. Stone walls, say, are ideal. Fortunately What if there were a way to monitor disease activity for ticks these habitats are also frequented by before these diseases even had a chance to make squirrels, chipmunks, and mice, who play the roles their way into the human population? One way to of a taxi and a source of blood for them to feast on. do this is by putting ticks to work for us, and CVM- Ticks cannot fly or jump, but they are particu- DL has plans to do that. Risatti explains, “Ticks are larly good at hitchhiking, using a behavior called a big deal for us; they are real-life biosensors,” feed- “questing”— clinging to the tips of grass or other ing from and sampling wild animal populations, the vegetation with its rear legs and using its front same animals that may harbor diseases like Powas- limbs to grab on to passersby. While the tick hitch- san. Along with the 500 to 600 ticks submitted es a ride and starts chowing down, its rodent host each year, typically pulled off humans and domestic carries on with its life, scurrying about looking animals, there are plenty of ticks hitchhiking for food and making rodent babies. The tick will their way to CVMDL. “We receive a lot of wildlife hang out here until it is full; then it will ditch its submitted for rabies testing,” says Risatti, “and they current host in search of different host, whether often have ticks on them. What we are doing now is it be another rodent, a dog, a child — you name it. saving those ticks for future testing.” There are few places these rodents and their blood Like old buddies, with ticks come tick-borne sucking passengers can’t access. pathogens. Tick-borne pathogens persist in the Susan Pelton of the UConn Home and Garden animal population for the most part because they Center (HGC) stresses the importance of elimi- aren’t usually fatal to their hosts. If an animal nating tick and rodent habitats — those cool, dark harboring the Powassan virus isn’t sickened it will places they prefer. “Landscape modification pro- carry on with its life, infecting and ferrying ticks vides a barrier to ticks and can be very effective at around and acting as a great disease spreader. managing ticks — use dry wood mulch or crushed “These animals will keep the virus in the environ- stones, just no fresh mulch or leaf litter. Keep that ment,” Risatti warns. As long as the virus remains clear!” Maintain clear paths and also provide a dry in growing animal populations, the growing tick mulched perimeter around stone walls, plantings, population is more likely to carry it. and in areas close to the forest’s edge. A fact sheet Just like forecasts for weather, UV levels, or pol- provided by the HGC notes that 82 percent of For more strategies on protecting len counts, this expanded surveillance data could deer ticks found in a yard will be around nine feet yourself and your yard from ticks, forecast what diseases might start popping up, and from the edge of the nearest wooded area. Keeping go to s.uconn.edu/ticktalk. where, in the human population, giving doctors yards tidy and increasing sunlight conditions are tools to quickly diagnose and treat tick-borne key strategies. Ask yourself, “Would a tick hate disease infections. this?” If the answer is yes, do it.

36 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 37 Michael Bradford ’98 (BGS) introduces a student-run Connecticut Repertory Theatre performance of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” for area high school students at the Nafe Katter Michael Theatre on the Storrs campus. Bradford’s ‘Brainpower Job’

By Kenneth Best Photos by Peter Morenus

“After that night I thought, ‘I days, but I loved it.” “Thank goodness I was in the military didn’t know people really did this, No one in his family had ever gone because I don’t know if you know, but and this is what I want to do,’” to college. After high school, Bradford every base has a theater. Every base. says Michael Bradford of the first sold encyclopedias, worked in fast food And rank doesn’t matter, none of that time he saw live theater. Now head restaurants, and then had a series of jobs matters.” You could just go in and say you of the Department of Dramatic Arts through an employment agency in San were an actor or a playwright and they’d in the School of Fine Arts and artistic Jose, where he told the person in charge invite you to act or write, he recalls. “I director of the Connecticut Repertory of hiring that he liked to read and write. had five or six years where I was just Theatre, Bradford ’98 (BGS) was then a “She said, ‘This is not a brainpower job,’” living in community theater on bases.” systems operator in the Navy. says Bradford, with a smile. After one rehearsal in Bangor, Wash- Bradford grew up in Arkansas City, Having initially turned down an ington, he told the director of the play Kansas, and later moved to San Jose, Cal- invitation to join the U.S. Navy from a re- he was working on that he was a writer. ifornia. He remembers reading stories cruiter he met during a chance encoun- Though he had never written for theater, about American history and the Afri- ter, Bradford reconsidered, wanting that he turned one of his short stories into a can-American poetry of writers such as “brainpower job.” He enlisted. play and then continued to write as he Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, and It was during a posting in Seattle, moved to new postings. Sonia Sanchez that he found in books while on a date, that he ended up at the By the time he arrived at what would collected by his mother. He wanted to theater. He wanted to see a jazz quar- be his last post, the U.S. Submarine Base become an English teacher. tet, but his date had tickets to see “Ma in Groton, Connecticut, Bradford was “I thought, ‘I’m going to write the Rainey’s Black Bottom,” August Wilson’s married with a family. He took advantage great American novel,’” he recalls. landmark play about the African-Amer- of an early release program from the “When I started reading those works, I ican experience in the 20th century. Navy, was hired by Electric Boat, and thought, ‘Poetry is where I really want to For Bradford, the performance was life started taking classes at UConn Avery live.’ I wrote a lot of bad poetry in those changing. Point, where he earned his undergrad-

38 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 39 uate degree. Bradford then enrolled in are written lyrically about history. an MFA program at Brooklyn College, Do you agree? where he commuted three days a week A. The meter of Shakespeare is some- while also delivering newspapers, work- thing I’m probably not thinking about, ing at Home Depot, and teaching writing but the way he turns a phrase, finds at Avery Point. the exact word or words to explain the A reading of one of his first plays, complication of this moment in a really “Living in the Wind,” at the Eugene simple way — “my heart is figured on my O’Neill Center in Waterford resulted in a tongue” [Richard III]. That’s as good as meeting with an Off-Broadway producer it’s going to get. We don’t want everyday

“You need a scuba tank to listen to and read Shakespeare — because that brother is diving for the bottom of the ocean.”

and a staging of the play. He went on to conversations on the stage. We can live write plays, read, and perform in New that and have it in our lives. You need a York City, elsewhere around the U.S., and scuba tank to listen to and read Shake- in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, speare — because that brother is diving Romania, and Cuba. for the bottom of the ocean. It’s language Serving as department head since that I find to be at the top of the game. Bradford works with students in the Nafe Katter Theatre 2016, Bradford teaches classes in theater I don’t know that it’s ever been bested by during a playwriting class. history, dramatic literature, and play- anybody. I love [Ernest] Hemingway, but writing. He received a Research Scholar even he couldn’t come close. Fulbright to Granada, Spain, and contin- ues to work with the nonprofit Lark Play Q. What is your process for writing? Development Center in New York City. A. I’m not a writer who can jump about they find themselves in has a humanist audition. What gives you a little more over there for their digital filming and directors coming in the door? It’s been His plays have premiered in Chicago, in the play. I have to write the play from universality that somebody in another knowledge, a little better way to map green screens, who they’re sending over difficult on both of those fronts. Seattle, London, New York City, and at the beginning to the end. I will try to country can glom onto; that’s when I out your career as you leave here? All of here to support our projection work. The No matter how much you don’t want the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. His knock out five to ten pages at a sit. The feel I might have written something that those things are important to me, those interdisciplinary work is really exciting. to think about money, you cannot not most widely celebrated work is “Olives next time I sit down, I go back about five could stick around. practical ways of operating in the world I’m fascinated by it. A lot of that work is think about it. I can’t be egotistical or and Blood,” which highlights the life and pages, read what I have written, don’t as an artist. If you can get the craft down, starting to bubble up. arrogant about what I’m going to put into controversial death of Spanish writer make any corrections, but put a mark Q. As head of the Department of we can make you a consummate artist; It’s not only within the School of Fine our season when our subscribers are go- Federico Garcia Lorca. next to something I want to address. Dramatic Arts, what are you hoping to then you have to know how to apply it, Arts. We have some engineers over in our ing to rebel against it and we’re not going Then I try to knock out another five to provide for your students? where to apply it. design program helping to build sets by to have enough budget to give our MFAs Q. You’ve said you don’t like directing ten pages, keep going back a bit, and A. I want our students to be in tune and Academically we just need to chal- engineering mechanical things. We’re what they need for their thesis projects. your own work. Why? move forward. Hemingway said to always in relationship with the small number of lenge ourselves to be on point. You al- starting to stretch out a bit more than we It never crossed my mind. A. What I have on the paper is not a fait leave something in the well; never stop people that are in the rehearsal room, to ways have to have foundational courses. have in the past and have conversations Diversity might have been a simple accompli. When there is a director in the when the well is dry. I always try to stop recognize the experience and to take full The work is moving forward out there. with others. We’re doing a lot of reaching thing to say, but it’s not a simple thing room, that director is challenging me. when I know what the next line is going advantage of the experience and profes- Technology is a great part of that work, out to STEM folks. We can all benefit. It’s to do. We’re working hard on both those We go into the rehearsal process and the to be, and come back to it the next day. sionalism of the equity actors. and we need to get on board on the tech an exciting time. fronts to move the needle. director is still saying, “I can’t get that I put it down for a month when I’ve fin- What is it to not only learn the craft side, design side, the dramaturgy side. I tell our students we’re a big ship, and moment to work; I need something else ished the first draft. but to operate as a professional? What Q. What has surprised you about tak- big ships move slow. You turn that wheel from you.” That would not happen were is the hierarchy in the rehearsal space? Q. The resources available at UConn ing over the department? too fast and you’re going into the ocean. I directing my own work. The actors Q. How significant is it to you to have What kind of conversations should you are unique for a theater department, A. I came in the door with all these ideas But at the very least, you’ve got to turn are questioning the work. The director your work performed outside of the have or not have with the director that including music, art, digital media, and about the kind of theater I’d like to see, the dial to start the turn. In my first year, is questioning it. They’re being critical United States? you’d like to work with? We’re working puppetry. What does that mean for the the kind of opportunities to give our we’ve turned the dial. Don’t expect big because they want clarity. It’s just so A. I’m honored. I may be talking very with the curriculum to get some of that future? students, shifts in the academics to open changes yet, but we’ve turned the dial. dynamic. particularly about these African-Amer- course work in there so our students are A. It’s unbelievably exciting. We just got up more time academically, and issues of ican vets returning from World War II a bit more comfortable graduating. a new head of Digital Media and Design diversity. For behind-the-scenes photos from Q. Your writing is likened to poetry, somewhere in the South [in “Willie’s There’s a lot of actors going out into [Heather Elliott-Famularo]. We’ve been How can we diversify the voices of the CRT’s “As You Like It” production, go not unlike Shakespeare’s plays that Cut and Shine”], but the situation that the world queuing up for the same in conversation about who we’re sending writers, and how can we diversify the to s.uconn.edu/bradford.

40 UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 41 BITCOIN BELIEVERS IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND PIZZA AND POKER, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND BITCOIN — AND DAVID NOBLE BELIEVES YOU SHOULD

By Peter Nelson Illustrations by Andrew Colin Beck

On May 22, 2010, Floridian Laszlo nobody in our position, in business Hanyecz ordered two pizzas from Domi- schools, management, venture capitalists nos. It’s not the kind of thing that usually . . . It just wasn’t on their radar screen. It makes the history books. Yet his name was wide open. I started by just asking goes on a list that includes Max Pruss, the around, saying, ‘Hey — do you know captain of the Hindenburg, and Fred Kap, about this?’” the magician who followed The Beatles In addition to teaching business and on The Ed Sullivan Show — unfortunate management courses, Noble is head of men who will forever be remembered UConn’s new Peter J. Werth Institute for for being in the wrong place at the wrong Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The time. 40-year-old Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Laszlo Hanyecz’s mistake was to buy native’s boyishness is accented by the the pizzas with bitcoins, 10,000 of them, red Chuck Taylors he wears during our a value of about $41, the first recorded interview. bitcoin purchase. Had he held on to his If great minds are reflected by untidy bitcoins for a few more years, he could offices and desks, his mind is clearly have sold them for $100,000,000. Or great. There’s an empty dog crate on the bought 6,253,909 large pepperoni pizzas. floor beneath the window. On a table, an It is stories like this that suggest easel and a painting he’s begun, tubes of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may paint all around. have once been silly, but now they matter. “You want to be able to explain it to “The first time I taught the subject was people,” says Noble. “Even my colleagues 2016,” says David Noble, from his office in don’t really know what all this stuff the UConn School of Business. “We said, means. A lot of people still say, ‘What are hey, here’s this thing going on, and if we you talking about?’” start collecting data on it, we’re gonna Think of it (to oversimplify) this way: know more than anybody. Because there’s suppose seven poker players each buy 100

UCONN MAGAZINE | MAGAZINE.UCONN.EDU SUMMER 2018 43 chips, worth ten cents apiece, $70 total, think you said “five ships.” have a viable virtual monetary system and they start to play poker, moving chips The system keeps perfect track of what that exists only in cyberspace. “Do you remember in and out of play — making transactions. everyone in the network of players owes “There’s no physical coin,” Noble says. But now suppose you can have more everybody else, what everybody pays “People have a very hard time under- than seven players at the table. An eighth when they buy chips or gets paid when standing that. I was talking at a high-level saying, ‘I’ll player wants to buy in but offers to pay 20 they sell them to each other or cash them insurance conference, where I had to ex- cents a chip. A ninth player offers to pay in. That’s called a blockchain, describing a plain that you don’t put it in your wallet. never put 50 cents a chip, and so on. The value of secure ledger that records and verifies ev- The wallet is more like a key, a code, and the chips goes up, according to how much ery data block or transaction and makes the currency is stored there. The ledger people will pay, believing they will be sure nobody tries to buy or sell the same exists in the computers of the people who my credit card worth even more in the future. chip twice. run the mining software. The number of Now imagine you have a million Participants who run the blockchain miners, and the power of those miners players instead of nine, making wagers, software, called mining, earn extra chips, collectively, has a lot to do with the safety number in a winning and losing chips, all day long, and which are added to the collective pot at of the network and the currency.” new players are added every day. Each a controlled rate until a finite number chip is a bitcoin. is reached. The agreed-upon ledger is computer?’” Now take away the physical chips. In- distributed on thousands of computers THE [MAN?] WHO stead of shoving a stack of chips into the across the network, creating redundant pot, someone says, “Hey Siri — keep track backup and scale. INVENTED BITCOIN of this — I bet five chips.” At the end of the Now take away the cards, the table, the game, Siri knows who owes what to whom chairs, the building, the town, the state, “Crypto” is slightly misleading as a prefix, . . . except there is no end of the game. and the country, and imagine instead because it means “secret or hidden.” One Then suppose instead of Siri, you have a million people (or a billion) making might suppose they’re called “crypto- software that’s infallible and doesn’t transactions on their computers. You now currencies” because no one understands what they are exactly, a mysterious virtual monetary system that exists only in cyberspace. In fact, the prefix describes the technology that encrypts and protects identities and data, but the system is open-source, transparent, and therefore decentralized — and that’s its strength. An investor who buys a bitcoin is assigned a personal key, impenetrable or encrypt- ed in a way that is impossible to hack or to have a connection to the cypherpunk evolution. The first stage of open-sourced “But,” Noble says, “there have been six reverse-engineer and that key becomes movement,” Noble says. “They are aware codes (HTML, email, GPS and so on) or seven bitcoin bubbles already. Six or a kind of digital safe. The algorithms of of things that were firmly entrenched led to a second stage of centralized data seven sudden devaluations. What causes the blockchain create a peer-to-peer within that cypherpunk community. It where companies like Google, Facebook, that? Different things. It relates to emo- decentralized banking system, without was almost an act of anarchy, a political or Amazon collect and own our digital tion. The price is based upon potential. any middleman or data-hoarding corpo- movement that believes central banks, information. Blockchain might mean we Not on, well, reality. It’s like the stock rate entity handling or authorizing the politicians, etc. are able to be corrupt own and control our own data again. market, where valuations are based on all transactions. because they live in the shadows, behind the possibilities of what could happen to “The beauty of bitcoin,” Noble obfuscation.” any particular company. And when you explains, “is the combination of technol- The nineties cypherpunk movement get new information that’s unexpected, ogies and the elegance and simplicity of was a lot about obfuscation, about letting I’M FOREVER your stock prices change. Mount Gox was that. It’s the methodology with which privacy be private, and about populariz- BLOWING BUBBLES one of the first big crypto-exchanges that you’re able to backtrack the entire history ing encryption. got hacked and collapsed the market.” of the bitcoin. There’s no single ground- “When you place financial transactions As with many attractive new financial Mt. Gox was a Japanese exchange, a breaking piece of technology. It’s the in the light of day, you don’t need to know opportunities, excessive zeal creates place to connect buyers and sellers of consensus mechanism for proof of work. who those parties are. You just need to bubbles when overenthusiastic adopters bitcoin for a fee or percentage. Early on, It started as a nine-page white paper, re- know the history of the transactions, and let their optimism, or greed, best their Mt. Gox handled as much as 70 percent leased two weeks after Lehman Brothers that will eliminate corruption,” continues common sense. Any chart graphing the of bitcoin traffic — until it was hacked crashed, saying, ‘Here’s how we’re going Noble. “The thinking was, centralized history of the American economy will in 2014 to the tune of $460 million. Mt. to build digital currency, which is not banks, and politicians, don’t have the best show a rollercoaster of manic specula- Gox operating software was vulnerable reliant on any central bank.’” interests of people at heart. Therefore, tion creating bubbles and busts, starting to being overwritten, and only the owner The invention of bitcoin is credited to we need to find a monetary system that in 1716 when investors overvalued the could approve changes to the source code, white paper author Satoshi Nakogama, allows for peer-to-peer transactions. potential for trade in French-held Loui- which meant bug fixes took weeks. with the caveat that no one knows if he’s Something like the way music file-sharing siana. More recent would be the dot-com “Bitcoin had hit a thousand dollars,” a real person or if the name represents a evolved on Napster.” bubble of Y2K or the housing bubble of Noble says, “but it fell to 200-plus after group of rebel programmers. Some believe blockchain technolo- 2007. People who talk about bitcoin often Mt. Gox. A lot of people sold. But when “Whoever wrote that white paper had gies represent a third stage of internet refer to it as “the bitcoin bubble.” you read of a hack involving bitcoin,

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it’s not the system. It’s the centralized used to happen in Silicon Valley, jockey- exchange. People go there to open an ing for position to get into deals and find The Peter J. Werth account, but then they leave their money out about them first, to get your money in in that account, where it becomes a early to get the best valuation, pump it up, Institute for target. And there’s a hundred-something sell it — all that is unfolding in a public exchanges, and these get hacked all the forum, in cryptocurrencies.” Entrepreneurship time. It happens because people don’t As with any tech innovation, predicting and Innovation want to do the work it takes to set up their the future is fraught with peril. It’s not own wallets or buy cold storage wallets hard to remember the false promises Peter J. Werth sees UConn [secure offline USB drives]. People leave new technologies made in the past. Cable becoming the premier hub of en- it in their exchange accounts and then television was supposed to mean we’d trepreneurial education. To help you get hacked, the same way Target got watch TV without commercials. Word make it happen he announced hacked. processing was going to mean paperless a $22.5 million commitment “People thought Mt. Gox was the end offices. Those of us who grew up with the to the UConn Foundation for a of bitcoin, but now we’ve seen that five space program are still waiting for our namesake Institute for Entre- or six times, something that challenges jetpacks and flying cars. Comedian John preneurship and Innovation. the existence and the utility of bitcoin in Oliver, in a piece on bitcoin, reminds us The Institute brings together a major way. And each time, it corrects that someone thought, five years ago, we student and faculty programs itself. The answer might be decentralized would all be wearing Google glasses. that foster entrepreneurship exchanges.” “Yeah — that’s not a thing,” Oliver said. and innovation and that have the “Do you remember saying, ‘I’ll never potential to create new products PUT ON YOUR JETPACK put my credit card number in a com- and new companies. puter?’” Noble asks. “Or ‘I’ll never buy This is not just a School of AND GOOGLE GLASSES anything online?’ Or ‘I’ll never buy some- Business endeavor. The Institute thing using a mobile phone?’ Now, 7,000 is actively seeking ideas from If open-source transparency protects websites store my credit card informa- students and faculty members blockchain technologies like bitcoin tion, and I don’t think twice about it. We in every school and college, says by making them self-monitoring and don’t know the future. What we’re talking director David Noble. self-correcting, it is also a vulnerability, about is potential. That’s all you can do. “If they have innovative ideas where if anyone can start their own cryp- At a conference I went to, one of the top they now have a partner that tocurrency, anyone will, and probably 10 people in the field said, regarding

can financially and administra- Foundation / UConn McCarthy G.J. already has. There are now hundreds of cryptocurrencies and blockchains, ‘We’re tively support their efforts,” he cryptos, including Ripple, Ethereum, like where we were with the internet in says. “The Institute cannot be Dach, ZCash, Monero, Litecoin, and 1991. We’re pre-dial-up. We’re dot-matrix successful without a lot of great For information on events Thank You: We Raised a Quarter of a Million in 36 Hours! others, all vying for a piece of the pie (for printers.’ ideas and partners.” in Connecticut and in your an index of the best-selling coins, see “To know what it is, you really have to Begun at the end of last year, neck of the woods, visit At the stroke of noon on April 5, Anthony LaRosa’08 (CLAS), Jennifer Doak-Mathewson’06 (CLAS), coinmarketcap.com). This year, the state bring a humility to your understanding, the University-wide collabora- uconnalumni.com/events. Hannah Davis, and Amanda Bradley ’15 MA celebrated the official end of UConn’s first-ever Giving of Massachusetts blocked five companies which is not easy, because you want to tion has already produced fruit Day. The four had just written the names of the final donors on the painted rock. Starting at 8 a.m. (18Moons, Mattervest, Pink Ribbon, make a statement. You want to say some- in the form of a 3-D printer for that day, Foundation volunteers from across campus had been outside writing the names of each of Across Platforms, and Sparkco) from thing. But what we’re talking about today personalized medicine, a certi- the nearly 2,500 alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends who donated money during the issuing their own ICOs, or initial coin of- is potential.” fication program for farms that 36-hour event. ferings, in hopes of regulating a runaway It’s tempting to extrapolate the future promotes farmers’ health, and a In total, members of UConn Nation raised $260,582. Contributions came in from around the globe, market where disreputable start-ups is- by drawing a line from the past to the musculoskeletal loading device with folks in the state of Connecticut alone chalking up 1,744 donations in celebration of Husky sue coins to raise quick capital, or where present and extending it. for sit-to-stand maneuvers for pride. —EMMA CASAGRANDE ’18 (CLAS) pump-and-dump schemes artificially Eight years ago, a man paid 10,000 bit- people with lower limb injuries. inflate coin values. Massachusetts is just coins for two pizzas. On March 22, 2018, Werth is the founder and CEO one state, a relatively small jurisdiction New York City real estate developer Ben of ChemWerth, a drug man- in an economy that has no borders, at a Shoul sold two condos on Manhattan’s ufacturing company based in time when buying cryptocurrencies is Upper East Side for the equivalent of Woodbridge, Connecticut. CLASS NOTES the groups at The WHUS the Pennsylvania College Optometry, now called Salus University. approaching mania. Noble thinks getting $2,360,000 in bitcoins, turning a virtual “While I didn’t attend That Was facebook.com/ of Optometry in 1970, he groups/WHUSthatwas/ was co-investigator for a the SEC involved is not a bad thing. currency, existing only in cyberspace, UConn,” said Werth in a state- “We may need regulation to prevent into a place to live in real space. and UConn Radio Through new soft contact lens and ment announcing the donation, The Years facebook.com/ authored the first book fraud,” Noble agrees. “My research Can the value of bitcoin keep rising? 1960s 70s which was the second-largest in groups/1732682130108280/. ever written on soft contact 19 started in 2016, and eventually Dominick Probably yes. University history, “I have come He invites all WHUS lenses. He wrote countless Oddo, a graduate student, and I pulled to- Or no. to believe in its mission, and see alumni to join. ➼ Michael articles and research gether a data set. It’s pretty damning, the the importance of creating op- ➼ Robert Neagle ’64 R. “Rick” Spinell ’66 papers during his career, ➼ James R. Benn ’72 amount of fraud that happened in 2017. *Author’s note: 10 minutes after inter- portunities for innovation at our (CLAS) has created and (CLAS), an optometrist, presenting them across the (CLAS) reports that his It’s all marketing. This is the way to think viewing David Noble, I received an email state’s flagship University.” maintains two Facebook was inducted into New country. He is considered 13th novel in the “Billy Boyle about it — the dot-com craze is unfolding telling me how I could “jumpstart my bit- groups for discussions and York’s Eastchester High an expert in sports vision WWII” mystery series, again but in a public spectrum. So all the coin portfolio and become a millionaire.” images of UConn radio School Hall of Fame recently. and was a faculty member Solemn Graves, will be fighting between venture capitalists that Probably just a coincidence. during the 20th century. Find After graduating from at Pennsylvania College of released by Soho Press in

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September. Benn, who was School shootings in Parkland, awareness and raise funds for started in the district four president of the Associated Florida, and by CNBC News the poor and homeless with a years ago as a Senior Finance Student Government at on the mindset of the mass group supporting the Fuller Manager of Treasury. UConn Waterbury from 1969 shooter in this and other Center,” he writes. ➼ Tara Mead ’94 (CLAS) to 1970, is a Dilys and Barry such tragic national episodes. is now account director in award–nominated author ➼ Irwin Krieger ’84 MSW, public relations for Gavin and was recently long-listed of Ashford, Connecticut, Advertising, an advertising, 1990s for the 2015 Dublin IMPAC published two books in marketing, and public Literary Award. ➼ Vicki A. the past year, Counseling relations agency in York, (Wollkind) Tesoro ’77 Transgender and Non-Binary Pennsylvania. She segued (CLAS) was recently elected Youth: The Essential Guide ➼ Eric Stockman ’90 from a long-time career in first selectman of Trumbull, (2017) and Helping Your (CLAS) ’94 JD recently broadcast journalism (radio) Connecticut. ➼ Peter P. Transgender Teen: A Guide founded the law firm of in 2008 and served in several LoCascio ’78 (CAHNR), for Parents, second edition Stockman O’Connor PLLC capacities in media relations who holds a master of fine (2018), through the Jessica with offices in Southbury and crisis communications arts from the School of the Kingsley Press. He was also and Bridgeport, Connecticut. before joining Gavin. Art Institute of Chicago, the 2017 recipient of the He has been named to She lives in Harrisburg, reports that his work is Lifetime Achievement Award Connecticut Magazine’s Pennsylvania, with her part of the Smithsonian of the Connecticut chapter of Super Lawyer’s Edition each husband Bill and their Institution Archives of the National Association of year from 2007 to 2017. children. ➼ Curt Balzano American Art by the Paris Social Workers. He has closed ➼ Joseph Azary ’91 Leng ’97 (CLAS) was Gallerist Darthea Speyer. his private practice and (CLAS) has been promoted re-elected mayor of the town ➼ Ken R. Craft ’79 continues to provide clinical to Vice President, Quality of Hamden, Connecticut, in (CLAS) has just released a supervision and training and Regulatory at Z-Medica, November 2017 and elected second collection of poems, for clinicians and educators LLC. He previously worked to serve a second term as Lost Sherpa of Happiness serving transgender youth. for Johnson & Johnson, a board member of the (Kelsay Books). His first ➼ Leigh Ann Curl, M.D. U.S. Surgical, and Fujifilm Connecticut Conference of Sarah Thomas, covered in collection, The Indifferent ’85 (CLAS), head team Medical and owned Azary Municipalities. ➼ Simone heavy-duty sunscreen, during her World, appeared in 2016. orthopedic surgeon for Technologies before selling it Morris ’98 MBA recently world-record–breaking marathon the Baltimore Ravens, was in 2008. He lives in Shelton, published her first book, swim across Lake Champlain.

elected president of the NFL Connecticut with his wife Achievement Unlocked: ALUMNI PROFILE Claasen Ken 1980s Physicians Society (NFLPS) and two sons. ➼ Cathy Strategies to Set Goals and in March. Dr. Curl, who has Cocks ’93 MA, UConn’s Manifest Them, and it is worked with the Baltimore Director of Community available on Amazon. Morris, A SWIM FOR THE CENTURIES ➼ Susanne M. Davis ’82 Ravens since 1997, is also an Standards, is the 2018–2019 of Norwalk, Connecticut, is president of the Association (CLAS) recently released assistant physician for the CEO of her own company, Former UConn swimmer Sarah Thomas ’04 (CLAS) blasts another world record in ultra-marathon swimming. a debut collection of short Baltimore Orioles. Before for Student Conduct Simone Morris Enterprises joining the Ravens, she was Administration (ASCA). A LLC. stories, The Appointed Hour. After a seemingly impossible nonstop was a member of the distance squad open water and not have to do flip turns. Set in rural Connecticut, the an assistant physician for national organization with solo swim across Lake Champlain in alongside Rogers and Michelle (Ula- And the people that do open water are a stories are about characters the University of Maryland about 3,000 members at New York and Vermont, Sarah Thomas little bit more laid back. No lane ropes, whose roots run deep in Terrapins, USA Women’s more than 1,000 institutions, towski) Marino ’05 (ED). The trio nick- 2000s the land. In one story, Basketball, USA Women’s the ASCA is the leading voice ’04 (CLAS) was awarded the 2017 Solo named “Distance Love” swam the longest being outside. It all fits.” for instance, a Mayflower Rugby, Johns Hopkins for student conduct in higher Swim of the Year from the Marathon event on the college racing docket, the From there she sought more difficult descendant wrestles with University, St. John’s education. Swimmers Federation. To be recognized 1,650-yard “pool mile.” That event, which challenges. In short order she completed the legacy of a controversial University, and the New ➼ Charles H. Wilson ’93 ➼ Joey Lee Miranda as a marathon swim by the federation, takes most college swimmers around 20 the Triple Crown of Open Water Swim- monument that honors York Mets. ➼ Leslie A. (CLAS), an attorney who ’00 MBA was appointed Thomas’s 67-hour, 104.6-mile “Century grueling minutes, is a mere drop in the ming, which includes solo swims across his ancestor. Davis teaches Imse ’87 MA, MM, chair represents national and secretary of the board of Swim,” followed a strict set of rules —­ for bucket for Thomas now. the 21-mile English Channel and 20-mile creative writing at UConn of the Music Department international companies directors for New England instance, it had to be completed without She started swimming across lakes, Catalina Channel and a solo 28.5-mile for Farmington Public against discrimination and Women in Energy & the and at Trinity College. a wetsuit and without touching another reservoirs, and channels instead of loop around Manhattan. She also became ➼ Schools, was awarded the harassment claims, wage and Environment, a nonprofit Thom Parrino ’83 person or the support boat. pools a few years after college, in 2007, the first person to complete a 44-mile (CLAS) and Laura Shattuck, American Choral Director’s hour matters, whistleblowing organization that aims The swim capped a career so impres- when a friend suggested she attempt the double crossing of Lake Tahoe and a family law attorneys in Association’s Choral Director and retaliation, workplace to harness the passion, Westport, Connecticut, of the Year 2017–2018 injury and trade secret intelligence, and leadership sive that this March it earned Thomas an Horsetooth 10K, an annual event held in 50-mile double crossing of Lake Mem- have opened a new law at the Connecticut state matters, recently became experience of women to induction into the International Mara- the Horsetooth Reservoir in Thomas’s phremagog in Vermont and Canada. practice, Parrino|Shattuck, conference. ➼ Scott Baker a shareholder at Littler promote and encourage thon Swimming Hall of Fame. adopted state of Colorado. Thomas became a world-record holder PC, that offers solutions ’87 MBA shares that he is Mendelson in its Houston public interest in the Thomas grew up swimming, was “I was so nervous before that first for the first time last October when she to matrimonial conflicts. doing a cross-country bicycle office. ➼ Daniel R. energy and environment captain of her North Texas high school swim,” she recalls. “I really didn’t know swam 80 miles across Lake Powell in ➼ Dr. Alan J. Lipman ride to raise money for The Blanchard ’93 (CLAS) sectors. She is a member team, and walked on to the Huskies whether I’d even be able to finish.” Utah and Arizona in 56 hours. That’s ’84 (CLAS), a clinical Fuller Center for Housing, won a seat on the Mansfield of Robinson & Cole LLP’s swimming and diving team her freshman Instead, when she found some room to when the idea of attempting 100 miles a nonprofit, ecumenical, (Connecticut) Zoning Environmental, Energy, and professor of psychiatry and year. It was apparent even during her stretch out beyond the confines of con- began percolating. behavioral sciences at George Christian housing ministry Board in November 2017. Telecommunications Group. UConn days that Thomas just couldn’t crete walls, “I felt like I’d finally found my Next up? She plans to attempt an Washington University dedicated to providing ➼ Dominick Cristofaro ➼ Mandy Bundock- get enough of distance swimming. “There niche,” says Thomas. 84-mile, four-way crossing of the English Medical Center, was adequate shelter for all ’93 (BUS) recently was Simjian ’01 (CLAS), interviewed by BBC News in people worldwide. “As crazy promoted to director of who was a full scholarship was never quite enough pool for her to The open-water experience was more Channel in 2019. —ELAINE K. HOWLEY February on the causes and as this sounds, this soon-to- Finance Services for the member of the 2001 Big East get going,” recalls teammate Lindsay invigorating than anything she’d done consequences of the Marjory be 61-year-old will be riding District School Board of Champion softball team, (Hansen) Rogers ’04 (CLAS). before, she told espnW reporter Doug For more photos of Thomas in action, Stoneman Douglas High close to 4,000 miles to bring Pasco County, Florida. He was recently inducted into During her time at UConn, Thomas Williams. “It was exhilarating to be in the please visit s.uconn.edu/thomas.

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your eyes: There’s something music. The record room today 15. Rare Books: With over the Center for Environmental special about these blankets. is also used for live perfor- 300 rare editions, the Fable Science and Engineering. Neag at the 2007 HIDDEN Each one — baby- to king- mances by musicians that are Collection is one of several School of Education sized (scarves, too) — is made broadcast over the air and collections that comprise the 20. Protest memorabilia: commencement with wool from UConn’s own Internet. You may have heard Northeast Children’s Liter- Student protest is a UConn UCONN QUIZ flock of sheep, along with about the resurgence in pop- ature Collection in Archives tradition: from demonstrations other flocks around Connecti- ularity of vinyl records, but at and Special Collections in against militarism in the 1930s If you’re one of those people cut. Offered for sale by the De- WHUS, they’ve never gone out the Dodd Research Center. to civil rights in the 1960s to who reads from back to partment of Animal Science of fashion. This 1734 edition of “Aesop’s sweatshop labor in the 1990s. front, stop now and see the and the Connecticut Sheep Fables and Other Fables,” Among the Dodd Center ar- quiz on pages 24–31 before Breeders Association, there’s a 11. Antlers: This single pair of is from the collection of chives are photos, posters, pins, reading these answers. new pattern every year. deer antlers from the 1930s Richard H. Schimmelpfeng, flyers, even examples of graffiti has been passed down from UConn’s first Special Collec- that mark student protests. 1. Old Ski Lift:A rope tow 7. Gardner Dow Plaque: What one animal science professor tions librarian and a generous Examples include a photo behind the sheep barn east happens when a memorial to the next since the 1930s and donor. of sociology professor Jack of Horsebarn Hill was used plaque outlasts the field it was currently resides with Tracy Roach being arrested during by skiers in the sixties and intended to name? Gard- Rittenhouse. There were so 16. Beehives: Students at a 1968 protest; flyers urging seventies. ner Dow was a World War I few deer in this area at that Spring Valley Student Farm students to protest a 1980 rally veteran and UConn student time that every student got a maintain these bee boxes in eastern Connecticut by the 2. Wall of Keys: When the who died on the football field peek at the treasure. for Dining Services, which Ku Klux Klan; and a copy of Division of Public Safety during a game at the Univer- uses the honey in a salad the UConn Free Press, a radical staff needs to get into a sity of New Hampshire. His 12. Physics Observatory: On dressing at Chuck & Augie’s student publication that was locked building late at night, fellow students named the weeknights during the spring restaurant. If there’s extra, revived in the 1990s and 2010s. valuable time can’t be wasted new athletic field for him, but and fall semesters, if the skies you’ll find it at C-store in the finding and rousing building as the university grew, the are clear, you can journey Student Union. 21. Not Just Desserts Bakery: managers, so firefighters and field shrank. Today it’s the site from Storrs to the stars, cour- Gluten-free recipes may be police officers have a key for of Homer Babbidge Library, tesy of the powerful telescope 17. Little Stone House: Plenty all the rage, but UConn has everything. the School of Business, Oak housed in the observatory of rumors circulate about the been doing it since 2015 in this Hall, and the ITE Building. atop the Physics Building. purpose of the “stone hut” bakery in the Towers complex. 3. Antique Apothecary Jars: For years, when the old Co-Op Dating back to the 1960s, the across from Swan Lake, but Cookies, cakes, muffins, pies, IN MEMORIAM These beauties and more are was located nearby, not even observatory hosts the UConn the truth is both more prosaic brownies, you name it: there displayed in the Lois Ann the plaque was visible. Today, Astronomy Club along with and quirkier. New Britain is something for every sweet UConn Mourns Loss of Ray Neag ’56 (CLAS) ’01 H Reynold’s Conference Room it can be found on the rear viewing sessions for members farmer A.P. Marsh donated tooth, for the gluten-sensitive at the School of Pharmacy. wall of Hawley Armory. of the public who want to his collection of stones from or otherwise, being baked daily Ray Neag ’56 (CLAS), of Goshen, Connecticut, and Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, a philanthropist know more about our place in each Connecticut county and delivered to eateries all who built his fortune in the medical device industry, died Thursday, April 19, at age 86. He died at 4. “The Dynamic Genome”: 8. UConn Test Kitchen: You the galaxy. Major astronom- and each of the (at the time) over campus. “The succession has been won’t find TV cameras or ical events, like eclipses, are 48 states to the Connecticut home with his wife, Carole, by his side. from female mentors to men- Julia Collin Davison here, especially busy times at the Grange, which in turn decid- 22. Wolf Enclosure: These Carole and Ray Neag are among the most prominent benefactors in UConn’s 138-year history, tees in genetics,” says biology but UConn boasts its very observatory. ed to turn them into a tribute empty pens near Horsebarn next to brothers Charles and Augustus Storrs, who donated the land and funding in 1880 to start professor Rachel O’Neill of own test kitchen located on to agriculture on the UConn Hill once were part of the the University. In 2001, Ray received an honorary degree from UConn. this book signed by author and the third floor of the Student 13. Plaster Heads: This collec- campus. Dedicated in 1937, wide-ranging research of “Ray Neag had a profound impact on the University of Connecticut and our entire state. Nobel Prize–winner Barbara Union. Dining Services staff tion of plaster face casts used identifying plates were added Benson E. Ginsburg, legendary With his first record-breaking gift to the Neag School of Education to his generous support for McClintock. is constantly coming up with to create theatrical masks to each stone in the 1960s, professor and pioneer in the life-saving care at the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Calhoun new recipes to satisfy their hangs on the walls in the with stones from Alaska and field of behavior genetics. Gins- Cardiology Center, and many other programs, he played an incredibly important role in our 5. Grave of Jonathan I: Hawaii. customers, from vegan crab Puppet Arts Complex. Some burg studied fruit flies, mice, history,” says President Susan Herbst. “He keenly understood UConn’s potential to be a top UConn had a number of cakes to cheesy pull-apart are from former and current dogs, wolves, humans, and public research university and academic medical center, and how to build the momentum to mascots before the 1930s, garlic bread. Innovation here students, others are the faces 18. Widmer’s Iron Lung: A “coy-dogs,” coyote-dog hybrids, but nothing stuck until the is constant and necessary: of actors from Connecticut 500-pound piece of medical in a program that was the only get there. Ray was a visionary who advocated tirelessly on UConn’s behalf and inspired so many arrival in 1935 of a husky pup with more than 200,000 Reportory Theatre shows. history, the iron lung (tech- one of its kind at any univer- other alumni to follow his lead.” named in honor of Connecti- meals served up every week, The number, at about 40 now, nically a “negative pressure sity. These pens were part of As UConn’s largest donors, the Neags transformed the Neag School of Education and the cut’s Revolutionary War–era UConn’s kitchens have a lot of grows slowly over time. ventilator”) on display at the enclosure where Ginsburg Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center and made significant contributions to many governor Jonathan Trumbull. mouths to feed. the School of Nursing is a conducted his research on other programs. Their legacy, however, bespeaks more than philanthropic generosity. Through That founding hound didn’t 14. Sugar House: At UConn, reminder of the time before wolves. a deep connection to the institution and the UConn community, the Neags helped raise UConn’s have much time to enjoy his 9. Golf in Gampel: Just below the venerable early spring Jonas Salk’s famous vaccine, national profile and elevate the UConn Foundation’s fundraising operation. Neag was a visionary new home, sadly, as he was hit Gampel’s famed roof lies a New England tradition of when polio was one of the 23. Tiny Planetarium: foremost. He approached philanthropic pursuits using the same acumen that enabled him to most feared diseases imagin- by a car shortly after arriving putting course used by the golf making maple syrup goes on On the shores of Swan Lake, build a small medical device company that manufactured hypodermic and textile needles into in Storrs. The 14th husky to team for practice. at the sugar house at the base able. Today it’s part of the Jo- this stargazing chamber was a pioneering manufacturer of cardiac surgery devices, including, in 1978, the first polyurethane bear the Jonathan mantle is of Horsebarn Hill, thanks to sephine A. Dolan Collection built in 1954 and is the oldest currently serving UConn, but 10. Wall of Records: What the hard work of the Forestry on the history of nursing. planetarium in the state. It catheter, which is widely used today. the first still has a place in the would a college radio station and Wildlife Club. Students seats just 25, but generations In a 1999 interview with the Hartford Courant, Neag explained the timing of his $27 million heart of campus: his grave, be without its record library? collect sap from around 100 19. Woodsman Club of UConn students remember gift (including a $4 million match from the state), which was at the time the largest gift ever to a marked by a simple plaque Founded in 1922 and occupy- trees in the UConn Forest. It Training Area: This student it as a staple of astronomy public university in New England and the largest gift ever to a school of education in the country. near the corner of North Eag- ing various spaces on campus, takes about 40 gallons of sap club practices for events, and physics courses. Students He said, “I worried about the commitment of other people to the University, but I could see it leville Road and Rte. 195. WHUS is now housed in the to make one gallon of syrup. such as two-person cross- and faculty members are was starting to happen.” Student Union, along with When the sap is flowing, the cut sawing, bow sawing, axe interested in revamping this 6. Wool Blanket: We’re not countless slabs of vinyl from club has tours, demos, and — throwing, vertical chopping, venerable facility for the For more on Neag and his legacy, as well as other obituaries for alums and trying to pull the wool over every conceivable genre of happily — sales. and log rolling in front of modern era. staff, please visit s.uconn.edu/neag.

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SHARE YOUR as an addiction therapist. ➼ Craig Yannes ’07 friends when they both NEWS WITH She loves seeing the world (ENG), ’09 MS and enrolled in back-to-back UCONN NATION! and recently attended a Angela (Marchetti) English courses: Honors Your classmates want to conference for student social Yannes ’08 (CAHNR) Medieval Literature and know about the milestones workers in Mangalore, India, announce the birth of their Intro to Literary Theory. in your life. Send news about where she gave an address on son, Leo, in December. The After graduating in 2013, weddings, births, new jobs, best practices in substance family lives in Milford, Chris took a graduate new publications, and use disorder treatment. Connecticut. ➼ Elizabeth publishing course at more to: ➼ Dana Balter ’03 MPA Petrakis ’07 (BGS) reports Columbia University’s School ➼ alumni-news@ is excited to announce she is that she has been the head of Journalism and started uconnalumni.com running for the U.S. House coach of the West Haven a career in publishing at or via snail mail to of Representatives in New High School dance team Rodale Books in New York Alumni News & Notes York’s 24th Congressional for 10 years and her team City. After Holly graduated, UConn Foundation District. ➼ Michael J. has competed in the state they started dating. But then 2384 Alumni Drive Nichols ’05 (CLAS), ’08 championships since 2013. Holly moved to Washington, Unit 3053 JD has been named the Liz is also a personal trainer, D.C., to start law school at Storrs, CT 06269 Executive Director of the group exercise instructor, Georgetown University and Submissions may be edited for Esplanade Association. and therapeutic recreation Chris went back to school clarity or length. The Esplanade Association director and says she loves to earn his master’s in from is a private nonprofit working with clients of all Columbia University’s dedicated to revitalizing ages, her oldest being 103. Teachers College. After three and enhancing the Charles ➼ While studying during years in a long-distance the Lyman Hall High School River Esplanade in Boston. finals week of 2006,Chris relationship, they both (Wallingford, Connecticut) Previously, Michael served Hall and Meg Burns, both moved back to Connecticut. Hall of Fame, Class of as Chief of Staff at the ’08 (CLAS), met at Homer In November, while taking a 1997, for softball. She also Rose Kennedy Greenway Babbidge Library. A decade walk around campus, Chris recently started a new job Conservancy in Boston. after graduation, the Halls proposed to Holly on the working in the Learning and ➼ Jennifer Soffayer are proud to welcome their quad of South Campus where Development Department Hrbek ’05 (CLAS) daughter and future Husky, Holly lived as a student. of Medtronic as a training recently took a job as Nell “Nellie” Marin Hall. ➼ Caitlin Briody ’17 coordinator. ➼ Pam Malyk executive director of Positive They are excited for Nell’s (CLAS) won a seat on the ’01 (CLAS), ’03 MA, Directions—The Center for first trip to the Dairy Bar this Mansfield (Connecticut) the University of Florida’s Prevention and Counseling summer! Town Council in November Assistant Dean/Director in Westport, Connecticut. 2017. ➼ Rebecca Arpin of Student Conduct and ➼ Marie Ann Mosher ’05 ’17 (CLAS) recently Conflict Resolution, is the (CAHNR) has published joined the marketing team 10s 2018 Conference Chair for several books, among them 20 of Nutmeg Technologies, ASCA’s Annual Conference. The Secret Ingredient and where she had interned Morenus Peter A national organization with Beyond Food: The 5 Keys to while at UConn. Arpin, about 3,000 members at Kickstart Your Health, which ➼ Holly Wonneberger of Vernon, Connecticut, JOB ENVY more than 1,000 institutions, is specifically written for ’14 (CLAS) and is the company’s the ASCA is the leading people who have stalled in Christopher De Marchis marketing coordinator. CSI Boston voice for student conduct their goal to optimize their ’13 (CLAS), both English She also manages Nutmeg administration in higher weight and their overall majors, got engaged at Technologies’ social The Boston Police did not have quite enough evidence to charge a suspect in a horrific 2013 murder of a young woman. They turned to education. ➼ Linda Benoit health because of stress. She UConn in November 2017 media platforms, as well one of the department’s forensic scientists — Joe Ross ’04 (CLAS). Ross, 36, shown above in the Boston Police Headquarters Lab, closely ’03 MSW shared that she also hosts thebookbabes.org, and set a July 20, 2019, as coordinating its online examined the man’s shoes, which appeared to have been wiped clean. Still he found tiny blood droplets, about 30 or so, and in a few of has a private practice as a a free support community for wedding date. They met in marketing and advertising those he found some DNA – the victim’s. With that evidence, the police were able to charge the suspect. social worker and also works women authors. the fall of 2011 and became campaigns. Though that sounds like a storyline plucked from an episode of “CSI,” Ross, now in his 10th year in the department, is quick to point out that not much about his job resembles the TV version. Cases can take months. Forensic scientists don’t carry guns or drive Humvees, he adds. But they can work long hours collecting evidence at a crime scene. Last year, he and a fellow scientist spent 18 hours at a grisly double murder in South Boston. KUDOS Ross, though, is happiest in the lab with an eye glued to a microscope and a pipette in one hand. That’s why the self-proclaimed “science nerd” studied molecular and cellular biology at UConn. He envisioned working for a biotech developing new drugs. Then in his senior year, the ardent Huskies’ fan took a criminology class taught by two adjunct professors, both working forensic scientists at the Connecti- Karl L. Schultz ’92 MPA is the new cut State Crime Lab. He found their enthusiasm for their work inspiring, and he revamped his career plans. commander of the U.S. Coast Guard “I feel like I make a difference on a daily basis,” says Ross. —AMY SUTHERLAND

Vice Admiral Karl Schultz, an East Hartford, Connecticut, native, was appointed the 26th Commandant of the U.S. Coast For more of our interview with Ross, go to s.uconn.edu/ross. Guard on June 1. He had been the commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Schultz is a recipient of numerous pres- tigious awards, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, and four Meritorious Service Medals. He led the Coast Guard in its efforts to help in the aftermath of Hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey.

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