Fall 2015

In this Issue CSAM Celebrates Official Ribbon Cutting By Jinan Jaber, Dean’s Office From Dean Prezant p. 2 ighteen months after ground- naut, U.S. Navy Captain, test pilot and Advisory Council Member Profile p. 3 E breaking the new $55 million author of children’ books. Robert Center for Environmental Life Scienc- Hariri is chairman, founder and chief Rising Tide Program p. 3 es (CELS) building held its’ first clas- scientific officer of Celgene Cellular ses on September 2nd. An official Therapeutics, as well as a pioneer in New Directors/New Faculty p. 5 grand opening ceremony was held on the use of stem cells to treat a range of Breadlau/Thiruvathukal Memorial p. 6 Wednesday, October 13 with one hun- life threatening diseases. Kelly and dred and fifty invited MSU alumni, Hariri capped the event with a discus- New Home for Telescope Night p. 7 sion on “The Future of Science,” moderated by Dean Prezant. The CSAM’s Welcome Lets Talk p. 7 open discussion covered topics MSU and NJDEP Collaborate on such as STEM education and Woodrat Project p. 8 social and ethical issues that im- pact our citizens, the local, na- Treat and Reduce Obesity p. 9 tional and global communities. Summer in Cape Cod p. 9 The Center for Environmental In preparation SC15 Poster Presentation and Life Sciences (CELS) p. 10 “provides 107,500 gross square feet of new critically important Unprecendented Shoreline Migration space and dramatically increases Rate p. 10 Flanked by CSAM students, Captain Kelly, Dean our research space” said Dean Student News p. 11 Prezant, President Cole and Dr. Hariri cut the Prezant. He added that “The ceremonial ribbon. new building represents a successful Varde: Senior Researcher at Max members of the CSAM Advisory collaboration between our administra- Planck Institute p. 12 Council, representative from NJ in- tion and faculty, who participated in Kudos p. 12 dustry and educational institutions, almost every aspect of its design.” The and MSU faculty, administrators and building was financed in part with Faculty News p. 13 students. Captain Mark Kelly and Dr. state funding from the $750-million Robert Hariri joined President Susan Building Our Future Bond Publications p. 15 A. Cole and Dean of the College of Act approved in 2012. The CSAM Newsletter is published Science and Mathematics Robert Pre- semi-annually by the College of Science zant in the ceremonial ribbon cutting. CELS, designed by SLAM Cooperative and Mathematics Mark Kelly is a former NASA astro- and constructed by Terminal Construc- tion, houses the Department of Earth Robert S. Prezant, Dean and Environmental Studies, class- Jinan Jaber, Assoc. Dean & Editor rooms, the CSAM Dean’s Office, as Lynn F. Schneemeyer, Associate Dean Raquel Peterson, Admin. Assistant well as the administrative offices of the Diane Prince, Admin. Assistant College’s Sokol Institute for Pharma- ceutical Life Sciences, PSEG Institute Back issues are available at: for Sustainability Studies, and the Pas- montclair.edu/csam/about-us/ saic River Institute. The research space newsletters consists of seven large trans-disciplina- Send your comments and news to [email protected] continued on page 4

Fall 2015

From Dean Prezant he College of Science and Department of Environmental Protection. CELS, as is true T Mathematics has always for so much in CSAM, has a foundation built in the spirit been focused on discovery and of outreach and collaboration. Teams of individuals collaboration…preferably to- across departments, along with colleagues from industry, gether. With the official open- envisioned the new building while an outstanding team of ing of the Center for Environ- architects and builders put the bricks and mortar together mental and Life Science to make it real. So much of what we do depends on teams (CELS) the college has added a and team efforts. A team of CSAM Chairs, Directors, and new platform for discovery and Administrators gather each September for a retreat at our collaborative work, adding to NJ School of Conservation (also part of CSAM) to toss our current facilities in Richard- around new ideas and new directions for our College (see son, Science, and Mallory Halls image of retreat team below) and to reflect on where we've along with parts of Schmitt and Blanton Halls. With astro- been and where we're going. From these meetings and naut Mark Kelly and stem cell pioneer and entrepreneur meetings throughout the year we continue on a path for Bob Hariri on hand to insure a successful launch, CELS continual renewal and quality improvement…building on has officially opened and taken off. The labs, teaching our strong foundations and producing new programs, pur- facilities and open social areas are alive with students and suing new research, and creating new infrastructure…with faculty and staff (from across campus) taking advantage of a strong eye on student needs and student futures. For this newest addition to CSAM...as well as the great view those not currently part of our College but would like to of the NYC skyline. What is more remarkable is the build- learn more, see: http://www.montclair.edu/csam/ and for ing has been "found" by the "outside world" and in the those who would like a tour of our remarkable new facili- past several weeks has served as a "venue" for programs ty, our CSAM Student Ambassadors stand ready to as- for with BioNJ, the NJ Technology Council and the NJ sist…just let us know. ♦

CSAM academic department chairs, centers, institutes and program directors, and members of the dean’s office at the annual College retreat in September 2015 at the NJ School of Conservation. Photo by R. Fitzgerald.

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Advisory Council — Member Profile eanne Litwin is a 1981 gradu- Jeanne became a member of the MSU College of Science J ate of Montclair State Univer- and Math Advisory Committee in May 2015 and is active- sity with a B.A. in environmental ly involved with several professional organizations. She is studies. She is a senior vice presi- associated with the National Registry of Environmental dent with CDM Smith, a full- Professionals as a registered environmental manager and service global firm offering engi- the Project Management Institute as a project management neering and construction services professional (PMP), and is a long standing member of the across project life cycle in water, Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). In environment, transportation, ener- 2014, Jeanne established and a chaired a 3-day SAME gy, and facilities. training symposium, co-sponsored by EPA and titled “Design and Construction Issues at Hazardous Waste Jeanne serves as the portfolio Sites,” with a goal to facilitate interaction between profes- manager for CDM Smith’s nation- sionals on relevant issues affecting the cleanup of the envi- al U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Fed- ronment. She serves as the president of the New Jersey eral Land Agency’s environmental work. In this capacity, Post SAME Scholarship Committee with an objective to she manages program operations and client service deliv- promote a mentoring link with students in science and en- ery for her client’s hazardous waste remediation programs. gineering. In the 15 years that Jeanne was involved in the CDM Smith is a leader in the EPA Nationwide Superfund program, more than $65,000 has been awarded to deserv- program; through advanced technologies and designs, ef- ing engineering, architectural and engineering-related fective and efficient program management; and industry- (STEM) college students in New Jersey. respected thought leadership, the firm delivers innovative and sustainable solutions to clients. CDM Smith is com- As a leader in her organization, Jeanne created a multi- mitted to continually improving environmental value, office Women’s Forum designed to provide networking quality of life and economic prosperity for the communi- opportunities to women and help build relationships that ties where we live and work. CDM Smith has three offices will enhance careers, develop mentors and leadership in the New York metropolitan area and has association skills, address work/life balance issues, promote communi- with MSU graduate students, faculty and student interns. ty service, while fostering high employee engagement CDM Smith has been a proud sponsor of the Passaic River within the offices. She leads the steering committee made Symposium. up of women at different stages of their career. ♦ The Rising Tide Program By Sandra Passchier, Earth and Environmental Studies n 1953, a northwesterly storm surge aggravated by ed themes such as the Dutch Republic, a former maritime I spring tide flooded a large part of the Netherlands. The power, and its legacy in New Jersey and New York. The U.S. Army sent helicopter units stationed in Germany to history of human understanding regarding the sea and nat- help with the rescue efforts. More than 1800 people lost ural disasters will also be examined from a local and glob- their lives. While the 1953 event was unprecedented in its al perspective. scale, floods have plagued the Netherlands for centuries and flood management is engrained within all government The program is organized by CSAM, Harry A. Sprague levels and its cultural heritage. In the aftermath of Hurri- Library, Global Education Center, College of the Arts, cane Sandy, the Rising Tide program aims to highlight the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, WMSC Ra- rich history of Dutch water management. dio, and the Office of Civic Engagement made possible by a grant from was the New Jersey Council for the Humani- An initiative of Steven Shapiro of the MSU Sprague Li- ties, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Hu- brary in a collaborative effort with the College of Science manities. (See calendar of events on page 4.) Additional and Mathematics (CSAM), the program consists of a se- support has been provided by the Kingdom of the Nether- ries of lectures, discussions and multimedia events lands, the Montclair Public Library, the Montclair Histori- throughout the Fall 2015 semester. Nearly a dozen lec- cal Society, Greener Bloomfield, the MSU PSEG Institute tures and discussions are planned along with film screen- for Sustainability Studies, the Jacob Leisler Institute and ings, an art exhibition and a concert (see back page for list Montclair TV34. The free program is open to entire MSU of events) that all explore the Dutch and their uneasy rela- community as well as the general public. More infor- tionship with water in an attempt to learn what New Jersey mation is available at montclair.edu/csam/rising-tide/. ♦ can do in the wake of . To better compre- hend the Dutch mindset, the program will address relat-

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continued from page 1— Ribbon Cutting and numerous student open ry research lab suites for faculty- stu- lounges and study areas. This dent research, with a multitude of LEED Certified Green Building prep and shared equipment and other includes a green terrace, light- lab support spaces. A computational harvesting system in classrooms, research lab, a GIS lab, four lab class- energy-saving heat recovery rooms, a 140 seat lecture hall chiller and a storm water manage- (pictured below), and five seminar ment system. The third floor green ter- race is used as a study site and retreat. Green roofs are encouraged CELS Green Terrace by LEED® as an ap- proach to cool the building Montclair students with a unique and better retain “gray” place to conduct studies and experi- water. The green terrace ments. The advantages of the green helps extend the life of the roof, according to SLAM Public Rela- roofing membrane, provide tions Coordinator Angelica Y. energy savings, and creates Poprawa, “include extending the valuable public green green space of the campus, reducing space. It also provides heat transfer through the roof, im- CELS Atrium proving energy efficiency, limiting rooms of various capacity comprise rainwater surges, serving as an out- the instructional space. An 880 door classroom and providing an en- square foot incubator laboratory, of- tertainment venue.” fering a suite of lab spaces and equip- Celebration of the building will con- ment, was constructed in support of tinue throughout the academic year CSAM’s goal of outreach to industry. with a lecture series entitled Emerg- ing Science. (See schedule below). ♦ The building also features a two story atrium and a first floor patio over- looking the New York City skyline

Emerging Science Lecture Series The Rising Tide Program Lectures Thursday, November 19, 2015 (6:30 PM): The Power of Thursday October 29 (6:15 p.m.): The History, Archaeol- the Sea: A History of Man’s Quest to Predict Storm Surg- ogy and Social Context of the Van Reyper-Bond House in es, Floods and Other Marine Catastrophes. Dr. Bruce Par- Upper Montclair. Peter Siegel, MSU. ker, Stevens Institute of Technology. Monday November 2 (6:30 p.m.): The Netherlands, New Monday, December 7, 2015 (6:30 p.m.): Approaches to Amsterdam and the Origins of Modern America. David Global Diseases. Dr. Jerry Zeldis, Chief Medical Officer, Voorhees, Jacob Leisler Institute. Celgene Corp. Thursday, November 5 (6:30 p.m.) The Sand Engine: An Thursday, February 18, 2016 (8:00 p.m.): Phosphorus Innovative Approach to Creating a Natural Water Barrier. and nitrogen and carbon, oh my! The watershed and glo- Karel Heijnert, Deltares USA Inc. bal roles of wetlands in mitigating pollutants. Dr. William J. Mitsch, Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Wednesday November 11 (7:00 p.m.): Remembering Habitat Restoration and Management, Professor of Marine Holland. Henry Luttikhuizen, Calvin College. and Ecological Science, Florida Gulf Coast University Thursday, November 19 (6:30 p.m.) The Power of the Wedensday, April 13, 2016 (11:30 a.m.): PharmFest Sea: A History of Man’s Quest to Predict Storm Surges, keynote: The Value of Innovation. Mr. James C. Green- Floods and Other Marine Catastrophes. Bruce Parker, wood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organ- Stevens Institute of Technology. ization.

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New Directors Join CSAM New Faculty Ms. Kelly S. Patterson joined CSAM in spring 2015 as the founding Vivarium Director. She holds a B.S. Dr. Deepak Bal (University of Phoenix) and M.S. (Drexel University) in Assistant Professor Laboratory Animal Science. Previously, Kelly worked at Department of Mathematical Purdue Pharma, L.P. and managed the vivarium as part of Sciences the Discovery Research effort within the In-Vivo Sciences B.S. Ohio State University group. She was instrumental in setting up the pre-clinical M.Sc.,Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon GI Cancer research laboratory at Columbia University for University the Chief of Digestive and Liver Diseases. She has co- authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles on GI cancer and G-protein Coupled Receptors. Kelly brings a strong foundation to develop and grow the in-vivo re- Dr. Jaclyn Catalano search program. She is a member of the Laboratory Ani- Assistant Professor mal Managers Association (LAMA), National American Department of Chemistry and Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), Biochemistry Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research B.S. Providence College (PRIM&R), and is the incoming president for New Jer- M.S., Ph.D. Columbia University sey’s branch of AALAS- NJAALAS.

Dr. Amy Tuininga, an ecosys- tems ecologist and most recently Dr. Vanessa A. Klein Chief Research Officer at Ford- Assistant Professor ham University, joined CSAM as Department of Biology and Director for the PSEG Institute Molecular Biology for Sustainability Studies. Amy B.S. Bowling Green State Uni- has served many roles at Ford- versity ham including Co-Director of the M.A. Kent State University Bronx Science Consortium, As- Ph.D. Kent State University sociate Dean for Strategic Initia- tives, Partnerships and Assess- ment for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Associate Chair of Graduate Stud- Dr. Teo Paoletti ies for the Department of Biological Sciences. She holds Assistant Professor a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers Universi- Department of Mathematical ty, an M.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Oregon Sciences State University, and a B.S. in Botany from the University B.A. The College of New Jersey of Washington. Amy has received funding from NSF, M.S. Texas A&M University National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, Wild- Ph.D. University of Georgia life Conservation Society, NIH, NJ DEP, and the US DOI for her research and program initiatives. Her research funding has centered on ecology of pathogenic fungi, changes in forest health and nutrient cycling, effects of host defoliation and distribution on spatial patterns in ec- tomycorrhizal fungi, and invasive earthworms. She is Dr. Bharath Kumar Samanthula looking forward to fostering collaborations and partner- Assistant Professor ships across disciplines that support sustainability. Department of Computer Science B.Tech IIIT-B.S. Hyderabad Ph.D. Missouri University of Sci- ence and Technology Visit CSAM at

www.montclair.edu/csam/

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In Memoriam: John T. Thiruvathukal By Stefanie Brachfeld and Gregory Pope, Earth and Environmental Studies rofessor John V. Thiruvathukal passed away on Sep- crust. John was also a marine scientist and interested in P tember 17, 2015. “John T.,” as he was affectionately alternate energy resources from the sea such as ocean ther- mal energy conversion. We estimate that John directly influenced the lives of near- ly 10,000 students enrolled in his undergraduate and grad- uate courses in Oceanography, Earth and the Environment, and Advanced Marine Geology, and Geophysics. He influ- enced many more students via his textbook “Elements of Oceanography,” which he co-authored with lead author Dr. Jon Michael McCormick. John T.’s former students describe him as a caring and compassionate man with a gift for bringing science to life.

John T. was active in every facet of Montclair State Uni- known by his friends and colleagues at Montclair State versity life. He served in leadership roles within inherently University, was born in Cherthala, Kerala, India. He interdisciplinary units that transitioned from the Depart- moved to the as a teenager and earned his ment of Physics and Earth Science, to the Department of B.S. in Geological Engineering at St. Louis University in Physics and Geoscience, and finally to our merger with 1961, his M.S. in Geology at Michigan State University in Geography to form the Department of Earth and Environ- 1963, and his PhD in Geophysics from Oregon State Uni- mental Studies. He was twice elected chairman of the versity in 1968. During his distinguished career, John T. President’s Commission on Affirmative Action. He served served on the faculty at DePauw University, Indiana, as a on the MSU Faculty Senate, and on numerous university, consultant and staff associate with the National Academy college, and department committees. As his colleagues, we of Sciences - National Research Council Board of Earth will always remember John T.’s calm and steadying influ- Science, and as a faculty member at Montclair State Uni- ence, how he cared deeply for the personal and profession- versity since 1970. John’s research interests included re- al well being of new faculty and staff, and how he helped gional geophysics of Oregon and New Jersey, the use of junior colleagues adjust to the rigors of life at MSU. John gravity measurements to probe the structure of the Earth’s T. will be deeply missed. ♦

In Memoriam: Carl C. Bredlau r. Bredlau was Professor of Computer continues to impact humanity through D Science and taught at Montclair State his beautifully crafted personalized University for 38 years, retiring in 2008. He software. Other interests included held a PhD in Mathematics from Rutgers amateur radio, computers, and motor- University and a Master’s degree in Com- cycles. Most of all, he enjoyed spend- puter Science from Stevens Institute of ing time with his family and friends. Technology. He was a dedicated teacher and deeply valued his interactions with students Born in Long Branch, he grew up in and colleagues. Mountainside and moved to West- field in 1974. Carl is survived by his Carl loved music and was a member of the wife, Janet; his daughters, Susan Choral Art Society of New Jersey and the Bredlau of Decatur, GA and Eliza- Oratorio Singers of Westfield. He also loved beth Bredlau and her husband Jason mountains, and in his retirement he explored Strawsburg of Maplewood, NJ; his many national parks by RV, often blogging about his trips. beloved grandsons, Ryan and Amiere Strawsburg-Bredlau; Carl enjoyed volunteering with the Agape Community and his brothers, Peter Bredlau and his wife Margie Sisson Kitchen and was a board member of the Cowperthwaite of Colorado Springs, CO and Paul Bredlau and his wife Square Condominium Association. Carl Bredlau's user Kathy, of Hayes, VA. Carl is also survived by many nieces friendly e-health calculators are used world-wide by clini- and nephews and many good friends. We extend our con- cal researchers and individuals who want to improve their dolences to the family. ♦ well-being. His creativity, his ingenuity, his entire spirit Fall 2015 6

New Home for Telescope Night By Marc Favata, Mathematical Sciences n Thursday evenings our campus hosts a weekly CELS front entrance. The iron tripod suspends what ap- O Public Telescope Night. This provides the Montclair pears to be an abstract mass of aluminum over a concrete State community and its neighbors a chance to see the cra- disk. The sculpture actually represents the constellation ters of the Moon, the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter, Ophiuchus. In May and July the Sun casts a shadow on the and other celestial objects. Since its inception over 30 concrete disk depicting the “serpent bearer.” The sculpture years ago by Dr. Mary Lou West (Professor Emerita, was designed in 1988 by Mac Adams (a former MSU fac- Mathematical Sciences), Public Telescope Night has occu- ulty member) with the assistance of Mary Lou West. pied the area directly in front of Richardson Hall. With the completion of the new Center for Environmental and Life Public Telescope Night runs from 8pm-9pm every clear Sciences (CELS) and the surrounding landscape, it has Thursday when school is in session. On November 19 it now moved a short distance away—to the center of the begins a bit earli- Science Quad. This space was specifically designed to er at 7:30pm so serve as the new home to telescope night. It features a con- young children crete area adjacent to the main walkway directly opposite have the oppor- the CELS front entrance. Nearby light posts are equipped tunity to see the with electrical outlets for powering the telescopes’ track- Moon. In addi- ing motors, eliminating the need to snake extension cords tion to students into Richardson. stopping by on The overall view of their way to the sky on the Sci- class, telescope ence Quad walkway night has been (left) is much ex- popular with ele- panded in compari- mentary school groups, MSU astronomy students, and res- son to our former idents of surrounding towns. location. Most im- portantly, the lights Telescope Night would not be possible without the volun- outside CELS can tary contributions of members of the North Jersey Astro- now be shut off dur- nomical Group (NJAG) who are responsible for setting up ing telescope night, and running our Telescope Nights. Anyone interested in greatly improving astronomy is welcome to join NJAG. The club also organ- sky visibility. The izes a monthly lecture series. More information can be telescope gathering found at http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~west/njag.html. area and lighting modifications were made possible by a generous gift from Dr. West. Benches and a plaque recog- We hope you’ll have a chance to stop by to look through nizing Dr. West’s support will be added soon. our telescopes. If you have never seen the Moon, Jupiter, or Saturn through a telescope, you are missing an impres- You may also have noticed that the metal sculpture for- sive experience. Bring your family and friends and enjoy merly from the area near Café Diem now rests next to the these sights and more. See you Thursday night! ♦ CSAM Welcomes Let’s Talk By Jude Uly, CAPS et's Talk", a program that provides easy access to in- Let’s Talk has been in existence at MSU for over 6 years. L formal, confidential one-on-one consultations with It allows for students to speak to counselors outside of the CAPS counselors, has added two new sites to their line- counseling center regarding any concern they wish. It is free and confidential (not part of the student’s rec- up. One of the new sites (Thursdays from 1:00pm - ord). Students simply show up and meet individually with 2:30pm) is at our newly relocated CSAM Student Services a counselor. Walk-in hours are held five days a week Suite in Mallory Hall room 116B. The other is at Stone at five other sites on campus. For more information about Hall room 217A on Wednesdays from 10:30am-12:00pm. Let's Talk, including times and locations and other CAPS Let's Talk is joining forces with CSAM Academic Advis- services, please visit out website at http://montclair.edu/ ing and Career Services to provide a well-rounded envi- caps. ♦ ronment for students.

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MSU and NJDEP Collaborate on Woodrat Project By Randall Fitzgerald, NJ School of Conservation

unded by Montclair State Uni- seeds, nuts and acorns. Primarily the bait dispensers to ensure the bait- F versity PSEG Institute for Sus- nocturnal, they collect food items at ing program remains operational. tainability Studies, I collaborated with night and store them in food caches wildlife biologists Gretchen Fowles near their nests. Nicknamed Another more insidious threat to the and Sharon Petzinger from NJDEP’s “packrats,” the Allegheny woodrat is woodrat population in the Palisades is Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endan- known to collect all kinds of items the loss of genetic diversity. Genetic gered and Nongame Species Program from their surrounding environment analysis of the population in recent to ensure that New Jersey’s last re- including bones, feathers, foil, coins, years has indicated that genetic diver- maining population of Allegheny nails, rubber bands, shotgun shells, sity is decreasing, suggesting that woodrats (Neotoma magister) sur- and even dung from various other dwindling numbers of animals and the vive. species. lack of immigrating new animals has lead to inbreeding. This loss of ge- The Allegheny woodrat (pictured be- The species faces several threats that netic material can result in the popu- low) is a medium-sized rodent that have combined to push the woodrat lation becoming more vulnerable toward extinction. Suburban sprawl pathogens and to changes in the envi- has fragmented northeastern forests ronment, and could lead to the col- reducing suitable habitat to a fraction lapse of New Jersey’s last remaining of its historic norm, and gypsy moth population. infestations have impacted the abun- dance of traditional forest foods like In June of 2015 a team was put to- acorns. More importantly, this new gether consisting of myself and a human dominated landscape brings number of biologists from the the remaining woodrats into contact NJDEP, the Game with populations of raccoons that Commission, Indiana University of thrive in the presence of humans. A Pennsylvania, Union College, and parasitic roundworm (Baylisascaris Delaware Valley University. The procyonis) carried by raccoons can be goal of the team was to lay out a plan occurs along the Appalachian Moun- passed on to woodrats with dire re- for the ‘genetic rescue’ of the Pali- tain range from Tennessee through sults. sades population. After considering a northeastern Pennsylvania and north- number of different strategies for in- ern New Jersey. Although they previ- Raccoon roundworm may be the sin- creasing genetic diversity within the ously ranged into New York, they gle most important factor contributing New Jersey population, the team de- have been extirpated from that portion to the decline of this species in New cided on the trans-location of sub- of their range. Today in New Jersey, Jersey. Roundworm eggs are passed adult woodrats from central Pennsyl- the last remaining population of Alle- on to the woodrats when they come in vania to the Palisades. gheny woodrats exists at a single lo- contact with the feces of raccoons that cation along the Hudson River among are infected with the roundworm. In August, two sub-adult woodrats the large boulders found at the base of While not lethal to the raccoons, the were captured in Pennsylvania and the Palisades. roundworm quickly kills infected subsequently released into the Pali- woodrats. In an effort to save the last sades population. Both have been Woodrats prefer rocky landscapes at remaining population of woodrats in monitored with radio-telemetry and the base of cliffs and talus slopes. New Jersey, I have been working with camera traps, and are assimilating They require numerous deep crevices Ms. Fowles to rid the local raccoon into the population nicely. With a and overhanging rock ledges to pro- population of this parasite. Bait dis- little luck, these two individuals will vide cover and nesting sites. The sur- pensers have been placed in the field breed this coming spring, increasing rounding vegetation is usually decidu- and provisioned with raccoon bait that the genetic diversity of this fragile ous forest that is comprised of oaks, contains the de-worming medicine. population of woodrats. The fate of birches, and a variety of shrubs and MSU/NJSOC AmeriCorps members New Jersey’s woodrats are in good herbaceous plants, where the wood- Kate Hausman and Amanda Menasi- hands as the NJDEP and MSU contin- rats are important agents of seed dis- on, have been instrumental in helping ue to work together to insure their persal. This vegetation community with the project by making the medic- survival for many generations to provides the woodrat with their diet: a inal baits at the School of Conserva- come. ♦ variety of fruits, berries, tree buds, tion and provisioning and monitoring

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Treat and Reduce Obesity By Diana Thomas, Mathematical Sciences he Center for Quantitative Obe- Our clinic also utilizes a portable ul- tion and treatment through enhanced T sity Research has recently relo- trasound that can track changes in magnetic resonance imaging and 3D cated to Richardson Hall 267 and con- tissue quality during weight change. ultrasound, understanding tissue sists of a waiting room, two patient There are twenty Center students changes in injured patients, and dis- exam rooms, and a records room. In from Biology & Molecular Biology, covery of biomarkers through free addition to our new location, we have Chemistry, the Mathematical Scienc- radical chemistry and mass spectrom- also acquired state of the art technolo- es, and Health and Nutrition Sciences etry. Collectively, Center faculty have gy to help our community reach their who are happy to meet with you, set published 14 peer-reviewed publica- health weight goals. We will soon be your weight loss goals, and ensure tions over the past academic year. We home to a snazzy portable device that you reach them by using the most continue to engage students in a assesses resting metabolic rate by evolutionary personalized information unique research and team experience measuring oxygen consumption called provided by technology and mathe- where disciplines know no bounds. the BodyGem. We also have on loan, matics today! Contact us at weight- Center students work together move BiteCounters, a device that tracks the [email protected] to make forward ideas. number of bites you take per day and your appointment. has goal setting capabilities, and re- Center students are trained to apply search grade body movement moni- The Center for Quantitative Obesity their science background to inform tors called SenseWear. The Sense- Research has been jumping with ac- legislation. Two of our Center stu- Wear armband is one of the most tivity on all fronts. The science we dents, Ann Nduati and Blanca Men- heavily tested devices which develop at the Center remains at the dez recently met in Washington D.C. measures heartrate, perspiration, and forefront of the new medical frontier with legislators as part of the Obesity motion through a tri-axial accelerom- utilizing telemedicine through smart Society’s effort to support the Treat eter. phone technology, informing preven- and Reduce Obesity Act. ♦

Summer in Cape Cod By Luis Germano Biolchi, Visiting Student hen I got accepted to Montclair State in the Department of Geology and Geophys- W University I was not expecting such a ics at WHOI offered me a guest student posi- nice environment and so many amazing pro- tion for the summer. I promptly accepted. fessionals. It took me some time to get used to working and learning in English, but after- During the three months at WHOI, Dr. Ash- wards my stay at MSU could not have been ton and I studied how different wave cli- better. I am a Brazilian who was able to study mates affect alongshore sediment transport abroad for a year under a scholarship from the (AST) and shoreline instability. Our main Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program. focus was to understand how gradients in AST along the U.S. East Coast influence After surviving the winter (yes, it was ex- Biolchi at lab in Woods Hall shoreline evolution (mainly erosional or ac- tremely hard for a Brazilian that has never cretional tendencies). The work I`ve been seen snow before), I contacted Dr. Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba doing involves MatLab modeling, database analysis, and in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies in basic imagery processing. We have been getting promising order to find out if there were any projects regarding results based only on our first-order approach that fit long- coastal processes being conducted at the University. This term evaluations. All the knowledge I have accumulated is something that had interested me for a while, since my during college both in Brazil and at MSU has played a major in Brazil is Oceanography and I have taken classes significant role in my work at WHOI. Spending the sum- about coastal morphodynamics and sedimentology. We mer on Cape Cod is an amazing experience because I have started meeting every week to talk about projects and how been able to enjoy nature and conduct research in an ex- and where to conduct research in a productive way. Dr. tremely qualified institution. Lorenzo-Trueba told about a Summer Student Fellowship program at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution I thank MSU for accepting me, my supportive professors, (WHOI) on Cape Cod. With his help, and also the support the Brazilian government and particularly Dr. Lorenzo- of Drs. Mark Chopping, Tanya Blacic, James Brown, and Trueba, who showed me how rewarding it is to work Pascale LaFountain, I applied for the fellowship. As a re- alongside experienced scientists and having fun doing so.♦ sult of the review of my application, Dr. Andrew Ashton

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In preparation for SC15 Poster Competition By Michael Estwanick, BS‘15 n Spring 2015, I was fortunate to mous computing universities, UC He conducted exercises that allowed I participate in the Supercomputing Berkeley. The lab was now just a us to demonstrate and critique one 15 Poster Workshop at Lawrence shuttle ride away. Upon arrival to another’s research poster. This was Berkeley National Laboratory LBNL, I was astonished to see that accomplished through a series of (LBNL). LBNL is a Department of the entire facility was built into the tasks spanning two days; the tasks Energy funded facility and home to side of a mountain overlooking the consisted of 30 second elevator pitch, 13 Nobel Prize winners. The work- UC Berkeley campus and Northern 2 minute poster introduction, Power- shop was designed to help aspiring San Francisco. The workshop itself Point presentations and finally a mock presenters better their research posters took place inside a large conference conference. The workshop concluded in preparation for SC15 Poster Com- room adjacent to the NERSC super- with a presentation from the director petition in Austin, Texas. computer, a computer responsible for of the LBNL concerning the future of tackling many of the most prominent high performance computing known My participation in the workshop was physics, chemistry and biological is- better as HPC. based on work done under a Sokol sues today. The only thing more cap- Faculty/Student Research award pro- tivating than the facility was the Everything about my experience at ject with Dr. Stefan Robila in the De- workshop attendees. I was one of 12 the SC15 poster workshop is invalua- partment of Computer Science’s participants (and one of two under- ble, from the view to the people. Dur- Computational Sensing Lab. In the graduate students) from places as far ing my stay at LBNL I have made project we designed, implemented, as the United Kingdom, South Africa, connections that will last a lifetime, and tested novel parallel algorithms Puerto Rico, Argentina and Canada. most of whom I am still in contact for Graphical Processing Units (GPU) The workshop participants came from with today. After the workshop I have to be used for hyperspectral imagery. various computational backgrounds contacted many of my workshop col- and levels of education. leagues for information regarding After flying into San Francisco and a higher education and assistance with short train ride on the BART I found The workshop was led by Dr. Tony my research poster. ♦ myself outside of one of the most fa- Drummond a Staff Scientist at LBNL. Unprecedented Shoreline Migration Rate By Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba, Earth and Environmental Studies espite the economic and ecological importance of of sand, and shallow seismic profiles indicate very thin to D barriers, and their near ubiquity along the US East no lower shoreface deposits below approximately 4 meters and Gulf coasts, there exists a critical gap in understanding water depth. This is in stark contrast to other portions of of how barrier systems respond to coastal change general- the Texas coast where shoreface deposits are thicker and ly, and sea-level rise rise and changes in storm patterns extend to the toe of the shoreface, between approximately specifically. Dr. Lorenzo-Trueba, together with research- 8 to 12 meters water depth. These observations suggest ers from Rice University, has conducted a number of field that the barrier has been sand-starved in historical time. campaigns over the past year in Follets Island, a transgres- Even at the current rate of shoreline retreat and loss of sive barrier island located on the upper Texas coast. This sand from the longshore transport system through over- work aims to enrich our understanding of how barrier sys- wash, it seems unlikely that Follets Island will survive the tems have responded to past sea-level rise, and end of this century, but this also depends on how they may respond in the future to accelerat- the number and magnitude of storms that ed sea-level rise. Specifically, two key objec- will impact the island during this time. Re- tives of the field campaigns were to determine gardless, the role of the island as a natural the thickness of sand composing Follets Island barrier to storm impact on inland areas will and the adjacent shoreface, and to compare cur- significantly diminish. The volume and rent rates of barrier erosion to the geological rate flux estimates indicate that sustaining the to assess the magnitude of change over time. island by beach nourishment would require volumes of sand that currently do not exist Cores that penetrated Follets Island revealed that in the nearshore zone as little sand exists the sand that composes the island is less than ~2 seaward of the upper shoreface to a dis- m thick, which makes it the thinnest barrier is- tance of approximately 40 kms offshore. ♦ land on the Texas coast. Likewise, cores from Rice U. Prof. J. Anderson and Ph.D. student C. the upper shoreface sampled no more than 1.5 m Odezulu preparing core sampler, photo by J. Lorenzo-Trueba.

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Student News At the 249th American Chemical Society National Meet- University Sustainability Center: Inspired by Earthship. ing and Exposition, undergraduate students Maryam Ab- dulsalam and Sandeep Suresh (Kasner Group) presented Biology Science Education masters student 1st Lt. Debra their work on computational studies of the relationships Cho, U.S. Army (2nd row center) is one of ten recipients between structure and energy of substituted six-member of the 4th Annual New Jersey Heroes Heart of a Hero ring. Maryam Abdulsalam and Rabih Balilli presented Scholarship announced by First Lady Mary Pat Christie. on systems and the structure of glucose (D-glucopyranose) Debra’s experience as a Biology Teacher with the Teach in a variety of solvent systems. Rabih (BS’15 Biology) is for America program at Newark Prep Charter School has currently enrolled in Dental inspired her to become a leader in urban education and to School at Rutgers University. help students achieve educational equality. Each of the ten Sandeep (BS’15 Biology) is attending the Post-Baccalau- reate Pre-Medical program at the University of Florida. Maryam is continuing her studies in Biochemistry. L to R: Suresh, Abdulsala & Balilli at the Meeting in Denver

Robert Barrows presented a poster at the 249th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition de- NJ First Lady Mary Pat Christie (front right) and scribing his progress on developing new methods for the Charlene Brown (front left), ATT VP, NJ External Affairs, congratulates Scholarship recipients. synthesis of substrate ana- logs of the enzyme indole- recipients will receive a $5,000 scholarship award to help 3-glycerol phosphate syn- advance post-secondary education or vocational training. thase (IGPS). The new compounds being prepared Along with Dr. Mark Favata, students Lita De La Cruz in the Konas lab using and Goran Dojcinoski assisted with a LIGO exhibit dur- Robert’s methods will be ing the NYC 2015 World Science Festival. used in collaboration with Professor Nina Goodey to Master's student Goran Dojcinoski gave an oral presenta- understand more about the details of the IGPS protein and tion on his thesis work at the 2015 American Physical So- its chemistry. Robert (BS’15 Chemistry) is now a Ph.D. ciety Meeting in Baltimore titled "Nonlinear gravitational- student in organic chemistry at Rutgers University. wave memory from merging binary black holes."

Students Schyler Edwards and Alex DeVito, with Dr. Giancarlo Labruna won the Outstanding Undergraduate Sandra Adams, attended the Howard Hughes Medical In- Oral Presentation Award entitled “Maximum or minimum stitute (HHMI) 7th Annual Symposium of the Science Ed- Randić connectivity indices among trees attached to a hex- ucation Alliance – Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics agon” at the Garden State Undergraduate Mathematics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) Symposium Conference. held at Janelia Farm Research Campus. Schyler and Alex presented the research completed by MSU’s fourth cohort In April, graduate students Kristy Mulroy, Thalia of the SEA-PHAGES program. They had the opportunity Ramirez, Mike Young, and Carola Springer served as to meet the Symposium’s judges at Grover Cleveland Middle School's first Eighth keynote speaker, physi- Grade Science Fair. They judged over 100 research pro- cist and sharer of the jects, interacted with students, and gave out awards in four 2014 Nobel Prize in categories. Chemistry for the devel- opment of super-resolved SHIP student Blake Moore gave an oral presentation on fluorescence microscopy, "Secular gravitational-wave phasing to 3PN order for low- Dr. Betzig. eccentricity inspiraling binaries" at the 2015 American L to R: DeVito, Betzig and Edwards Physical Society Meeting in Baltimore. The MSU Environmental Club, led by Stephano Castro, received honorable mention for Innovative Sustainability Eleanor Ojinnaka a student in the Chemistry BS/MS pro- Initiative from the US Green Building Council of New gram has received a $5,000 scholarship from the Execu- Jersey Chapter for its submission of the Montclair State tive Women of New Jersey (EWNJ) Continued on page 14

Fall 2015 11

Varde: Senior Researcher at Max Planck Institute ased on her expertise in the Data the area of Common Sense tificial Intelligence), ACM CIKM B Mining area, Dr. Aparna Varde Knowledge (CSK) and they initiated a 2010 (Conference on Information and was invited to Max Planck Institute project along with Dr. Weikum on Knowledge Management) and ACM for Informatics in Saarbruecken, Ger- CSK in Domain Specific Knowledge EDBT 2011 (Extending Database many (MPII) as a Senior Researcher. Bases. This work, started in August Technology) with MPII researchers as It is a part of the premier Max Planck 2015, is ongoing through joint re- co-authors. In addition, Dr. Varde Gesellschaft (Society) that comprises search. This is gave tutorials with MPII colleagues as almost a hundred Max Planck Insti- the second co-authors at DASFAA 2009 and tutes across the world. Dr. Varde visit by Dr. 2015 (Database Systems for Ad- worked in the Databases and Infor- Varde to vanced Applications) and ACM mation Systems Group (D5) headed MPII. The EDBT 2011 and authored journal arti- by Dr. Gerhard Weikum, a Research first one in cles with them in ACM SIGKDD Ex- Director at MPII. Dr. Weikum, a well May to July plorations 2012 and 2014 (Special known researcher in the Data Analyt- 2008 initiated Interest Group for Knowledge Dis- ics area worldwide. work in the covery and Data Mining) and ACM area of Termi- SIGMOD Record 2010 and 2013 While at MPII this summer, Dr. nology Evolu- (Special Interest Group on Manage- Varde gave a talk on “Knowledge tion in Web ment of Data). Her co-authors on discovery in environmental manage- and Text Min- Varde at entrance to MPII these works include Fabian Suchanek, ment” that described her multidisci- ing. It propagated further research Pierre Senellart and Gerard de Melo. plinary research with PhD students with her MS Computer Science stu- Her earlier MPII visit was very prolif- and colleagues at MSU including Mi- dents at Montclair including Amal ic and it is anticipated that the current chael Pawlish, Xu Du, Robert Taylor Kaluarachchi and Debjani Roy- one will also lead to excellent publi- and Stefan Robila. She also worked choudhury and led to publications in cations and presentations as she con- with MPII PhD students Niket Tan- premier venues such as AAAI 2010 tinues to collaborate with researchers don and Sreyasi Nag Chowdhury in (Association for Advancement of Ar- at MPII. ♦ Kudos Dr. Lisa Hazard received a $3500 New Jersey Conserve than anywhere else on Earth, resulting in reduced Arctic Wildlife Matching Funds Grant for “Environmental Corre- sea ice, thawing of permafrost soils, decomposition of long lates of Ranavirus Disease Distribution in NJ” with Co-PI -frozen organic matter, widespread changes to lakes, rivers, Kirsten Monsen from the New Jersey Department of Envi- coastlines, and alterations of ecosystem structure and func- ronmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife. tion.

Dr. Mark Chopping with collaborators R. Duchesne- Drs. Yang Deng, Dibyendu Sarkar, and Pravin Punami- Onoro, (University of Wisconsin - Whitewater), C. Schaaf ya received a $39,200 subaward from Manhattan College (University of Massachusetts Boston), K. Tape (University for the University Transportation Research Center-funded of Alaska, Fairbanks) and Z. Wang (NASA/GSFC) re- "Development of a New, Effective and Low-cost Mulch ceived a $148,357 three-year grant titled: "Changes in Adsorption Material for Sustainable Management of Pol- Shrub Abundance in Arctic Tundra from the Satellite High luted Road Stormwater in Highly Urbanized Areas." Drs. Resolution Record for the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Ex- Deng, Sarkar, and Punamiya will play critically important periment and Impacts on Albedo.” This NASA-sponsored roles in developing a new, low-cost, and “green” mulch for project supports the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experi- mitigation of stormwater pollutants on urban roads. ment (ABoVE) campaign. It will use high resolution im- agery acquired by Earth-orbiting satellites to assess the NSF S-STEM grant titled "Opening Pathways, Engaging, direction and magnitude of changes in shrub cover and and Networking in Chemistry in Northern New Jersey aboveground biomass in Alaskan and Canadian Arctic tun- (OPEN-NJ)" was awarded to PI: Nina Goodey, with Co- dra over a 10- to 15-year period. NASA's Arctic-Boreal PIs: M. Kasner, J. Siekierka, K. Herbert, and J.A. Kru- Vulnerability Experiment Campaign (http://above. mins. The $ 603,999 award is for July 2015 to June 2020. nasa.gov) will take place in Alaska and western Canada during the next 5 to 8 years. ABoVE will seek a better un- Nicole Panorkou was awarded a Career Development derstanding of the vulnerability and resilience of ecosys- grant from Montclair State University of $3,075 to conduct tems and society to this changing environment, as climate research on the teaching and learning of dynamic measure- change in the Arctic and Boreal region is unfolding faster ment. ♦ Fall 2015 12

Faculty News gram was supported by the U.S. De- ence (co-authored with Christina Eu- partment of Energy, Office of Sci- banks-Turner of Loyola Marymount Dr. Sandra Adams presented the “In ence, Office of Workforce Develop- University). In March, Dr. Li gave a vitro synergistic antiviral activity of ment for Teachers and Scientists joint seminar talk, “Prime spectra of black tea theaflavins and acyclovir on (WDTS) under the Visiting Faculty certain two dimensional integral do- Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2 Program (VFP). Along with col- mains − History and new develop- in A549 Cells” (co-authors Cody leagues W. Zhang, W. Liu, L. Yu, Y. ment” at the Karl-Franzens University Berkefeld and Lee H. Lee) at Howard Qian, J. Wang, J-J. Wang, C. Eng, C- and the Graz University of Technolo- Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) 7th J. Liu, K.W. Jones, R. Tappero, he gy, Graz, Austria. She was also invit- Annual Symposium of the Science presented “Synchrotron radiation ed as a guest lecturer on “Interlace Education Alliance – Phage Hunters measurement for metal distributions polynomials of certain graphs” at St. Advancing Genomics and Evolution- in wetland plant root system” at the Michael’s College (co-authored with a ary Science (SEA-PHAGES) Sympo- 2015 NSLS-II and CFN Joint Users’ former MSU graduate student, Chris- sium . Meeting. tian Hyra). Dr. Li reviewed two arti- cles for Mathematics Reviews and M.T. Kousoulis and Dr. G.E. Antoni- Dr. Lisa Hazard co-edited the special refereed two articles for the journals: ou presented "Realization of 4D lad- issue of Herpetological Conservation Complex Analysis and Operator The- der structured digital filters" at the and Biology 10 (Symposium): Head- ory and Primus. IEEE (Xplore) 6th IEEE Latin- starting in turtles and tortoises and American Symposium on Circuits and was an invited contributor. She was Dr. Aihua Li, together with CSAM Systems. presented with the Robert C. Stebbins faculty members Drs. Dajin Wang Research Award by the Desert Tor- and Haiyan Su, participated in a Chi- Dr. Mark Favata presented an invit- toise Council, for “significant contri- nese American Visiting Scholar ed plenary talk, "Modeling relativistic bution to the preservation or League sponsored by the Ministry of orbits and gravitational waves," at the knowledge of desert tortoises.” She Education of China and the Consulate American Astronomical Society’s co-presented the invited key- General of China in New York. The Division on Dynamical Astronomy note address, “Nutritional value of league visited Northeast University of meeting and two contributed talks, desert tortoise foods,” with collabora- China (NEU) and gave a series of lec- "Modeling the nonlinear gravitational- tor Ken Nagy (co-authored with B. tures to the faculty and students of wave memory" at the 11th Amaldi Henen, P. Medica, C. Meienberger, D. NEU. Conference on Gravitational Waves S., D. Vyas, I. Wallis) at the 40th an- and "Spin effects in the nonlinear nual symposium on Desert Tortoise Dr. Carlos Molina obtained a short- gravitational-wave memory from in- Council. term fellowship grant to work with spiralling binaries" at the 2015 Ameri- Dr. Walter Keller of University of can Physical Society Meeting. He Dr. Aiuha Li was appointed new Graz in Austria (UniGraz). The visit organized an exhibit on gravitational director of the NSF funded LSAMP was to establish partnerships with waves and the LIGO project at program. Before her appointment, UniGraz with the hopes of starting a NEAF—the North East Astronomy Drs. Quinn Vega and Carlos Molina long-standing, sustainable program. Forum at SUNY Rockland Communi- had served as directors. During Dr. Molina’s fellowship in ty College. This is the world’s largest Graduate student, Carolyn Mathieu Graz he works on developing models exhibition for the amateur astronomy from the Department of Chemistry, is on how protein modifications like community. The exhibit, assisted by the new program assistant. This year’s ubiquitination and phosphorylation MSU Physics students Lita De La cohort consists of 6 mentors and 16 affect the structure of transcription Cruz, Goran Dojcinoski, Nicholas scholars. Dr. Li was re-elected to factors; it’s binding to DNA and ulti- Drywa, Kevin Johansmeyer, and serve as a council member of the na- mately gene expression. The visit to Blake Moore, involved several tables tional organization Council on Under- UniGraz fits with the overall objec- displaying a variety of videos, anima- graduate Research (CUR) for a 3-year tives of exposing MSU faculty, and by tions, video games, hands-on exhibits, turn, June 2016-May 2018. In the association students, to world- brochures, stickers, and other infor- summer she was invited to give 10 renowned universities. It is also mation. colloquia presentations on research providing the opportunity for MSU and educational topics to five univer- faculty to interact with other faculty Dr. Huan Feng was selected to partic- sities through out China. In April, she and further develop cross-cultural pro- ipate in US Department of Energy’s gave an invited presentation, fessional contacts. With this visit Dr. Visiting Faculty Program and to con- “Graphical properties of the bipartite Molina expect to be able to span his duct research at Brookhaven National graph derived from Spec(Z[x])\{0}” research agenda and establish new Laboratory in summer 2015. The pro- in South Regional Algebra Confer- scientific Continued on next page

Fall 2015 13

Continued from previous page— Faculty News collaborations. The travel was funded formative assessment” at the New phorus removal (co-authored by S. by a grant from UniGraz and travel Jersey Association of Mathematics Panja, K. Mendoza, U. Tripathi, P. funds from CSAM Dean’s office and Teacher Educators Ninth Annual Das, R. Datta, and D. Sarkar). the Department of Biology at MSU. Conference. Dr. Aparna Varde recently present- Dr. Eileen Murray presented work At the 2015 Geological Society of ed “Knowledge discovery in environ- at the 16th Biennial EARLI confer- America Annual Meeting, post-doc mental management” at the Max ence for Research on Learning and Pravin Punamiya, along with Drs. Planck Institute for Informatics and Instruction: Transition from initial R., Pal, Y. Deng and D. Sarkar, pre- “Multicity simulation with data min- teacher education into the teaching sented “Ferrate [Fe(VI)]-driven reme- ing for urban sustainability” at the profession," along with mathematics diation of arsenic-contaminated Bloomberg Data Science Labs. She educators from Germany and Nor- groundwater: A scaled-up reactor served as: Journal Reviewer for IEE- way. study with contaminated groundwater E’s TKDE (Transactions on and aquifer materials.” He also pre- Knowledge and Data Engineering), At the 16th Biennial EARLI confer- sented, with R. James, L. Zheng, P. ACM’s TKDD (Transactions on ence for Research on Learning and Das, R. Datta, and D. Sarkar, Knowledge Discovery and Data Min- Instruction, Drs. Nicole Panorkou “Characterization of aluminum-based ing), Springer’s DMKD (Data Mining and S. Greenstein presented a poster, drinking water treatment residuals and Knowledge Discovery); Program “A learning trajectory for transfor- collected from various parts of the Committee Chair of PIKM 2014: PhD mation-based reasoning in geometry” United States” and with N. Jamil, R. Workshop in ACM CIKM 2014; Pro- and a paper titled “Using the know- Datta and D. Sarkar, “Antimony re- gram Committee Member in IEEE’s ledge quartet as a tool for introducing moval from aqueous solutions: Poten- ICDM 2015, 2014 (International Con- the mathematics teaching practice” tial for aluminum-based drinking wa- ference on Data Mining), ACM’s together with M. Petrou. Also, ter treatment residuals as a “Green” CIKM 2014, 2015 (Conference on Panorkou and Jennifer Kobrin of sorbent,” and “Short-term and long- Information and Knowledge Manage- Pearson Learning presented “Using a term effects of hydro-raking on the ment). ♦ mathematics learning trajectory to trophic level of Lake Wapalanne and enhance teaching practices through Potential of Vetiver Grass for phos-

Continued from page 11 — Student News for assistance to non-traditional graduate school students Biology with a minor in Chemistry, has received a Post- attending New Jersey colleges and universities and a Baccaulareate Intramural Research Training Award from $1,000 2015 ASBMB Undergraduate Research Award for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). James was men- work on “Function of Soil Enzymes In Microhabitats Of tored in research by Drs. Sandra Adams and Lee Lee, De- Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil.” partment of Biology. He will spend 1 or 2 years perform- ing full time research with Dr. McBride, Chief of the DNA Chemistry majors M. Okondo and S. Cho with Dr. N. Tumor Virus Section. Dr. McBride’s research focuses on Goodey presented a poster, “Effects of allosteric mutations the understanding the mechanisms by which human papil- on the conformational equilibrium of DHFR,” at the 2015 lomavirus genomes are successfully established, main- ASBMB Annual Meeting. tained and partitioned in persistently infected keratino- cytes. Rob Rexler Baello and Donald Coleman won the Out- standing Undergraduate Poster Award at the Garden State James Stamos and Shivani N. Patel, with Dr. Sandra Ad- Undergraduate Mathematics Conference for “Design of ams, presented their research on the inhibition of Herpes knapsack cryptosystems using certain t-superincreasing simplex virus (HSV) by polyphenols at the 34rd Annual sequences.” Meeting of the American Society for Virology. Stamos presented a poster on the “Inhibition of HSV-2 infection in Karla Sanchez, Romy Perez-Abraham, with Drs. U. A549 and vero cells by EGCG-Stearate” (Mentors Lee H. Gubler, J. Siekierka, and N. Goodey presented a poster on Lee and Sandra D. Adams). Patel presented a poster “Expression and purification of a potential antifolate tar- “Green tea polyphenols, EGCG and EGCG-Stearate as get, dihydrofolate reductase from B. malayi” at the 2015 potential inhibitors of Herpes simplex virus – 1 in human ASBMB Annual Meeting. epithelial A549 cells” (Mentors Lee Lee and Sandra Ad- ams). ♦ James Stamos, 2015 Cum Laude graduate in Molecular Fall 2015 14

Publications

Aasi, J. et al (LIGO-Virgo Collabora- Cushman, T. Gant, S. Shah, A. Abreu (2014). "In-band bootstrapping in tion, including M. Favata) (2015). -Cruz, N. Panchariya, V. Nimbagal database-driven multi-hop cognitive “Advanced LIGO.” Classical Quan- (2015). “Geotagger: A collaborative radio networks." Proceedings of IEEE tum Gravity, 32: 074001. environmental inquiry platform.” 2014 Consumer Communications and Proceedings of Collaboration Tech- Networking Conference: 611-616. Aasi, J. et al (LIGO-Virgo Collabora- nologies and Systems (CTS): 383-390. tion, including M. Favata) (2015). Krumins, J. A., N.M. Goodey, F. “Directed search for gravitational Feng H, W. Zhang, W. Liu, L. Yu, Gallagher (2015). “Plant–soil interac- waves from Scorpius X-1 with initial Y. Qian, J. Wang, J-J Wang, C. Eng, tions in metal contaminated soils.” LIGO data.” Physical Review D, 91: C-J Liu, KW Jones, R. Tappero Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 80: 062008. (2015). “Synchrotron micro-scale 224-231. study of trace metal transport and dis- Aasi, J. et al. (LIGO-Virgo Collabora- tribution in Spartina alterniflora root Li Y., D. Colombini, Y. Qian, B.B. tion, including M. Favata system in Yangtze River intertidal Witherfell, H. Feng (2015). (2015). “Narrow-band search of con- zone.” Environmental Science and “Estimation of riverine nutrient fluxes tinuous gravitational-wave signals Pollution Research. doi 10.1007/ from an urban watershed in New Jer- from Crab and Vela pulsars in Virgo s11356-015-5068-4. sey.” In: Advances in Environmental VSR4 data.” Physical Review D, 91: Research, Volume 41 (Justin A. Dan- 022004. Ge C., W. Zhang, C. Dong, Y. Dong, iels Ed.). Nova Science Publishers. X. Bai, J. Liu, N. Thi Thu Hien, H. pp.35-48. Aasi, J. et al. (LIGO-Virgo Collabora- Feng, L. Yu (2015). “Magnetic min- tion, including M. Favata) (2015). eral diagenesis in the river-dominated Lin, L., S. Zhou, L. Xu, D. Wang “Searching for stochastic gravitational inner shelf of the East China Sea, (2015). "The extra connectivity and waves using data from the two co- China.” Journal of Geophysical Re- conditional diagnosability of alternat- located LIGO Hanford detec- search: Solid Earth, doi: ing group networks." IEEE Transac- tors.” Physical Review D, 91: 022003. 10.1002/2015JB011952. tions on Parallel and Distributed Sys- tems, 26(8): 2352-2362. Buchanan, S.B., B.C. Timm, R.C. Hazard, L.C., D. J. Morafka and Cook, R. Course, L.C. Haz- S. Hillard (2015). “Post-release dis- Lin, L., L. Xu, S. Zhou, D. Wang ard (2015). “Surface activity and persal and predation of head-started (2015). "The reliability of subgraphs body temperature of Eastern Hognose juvenile Desert Tortoises (Gopherus in the arrangement graph." IEEE Snakes (Heterdon platirhinos) at agassizii): Effect of release site dis- Transactions on Reliability, 64(2): Cape Cod National Sea- tance on homing behavior.” Proceed- 807-818. shore.” Journal of Herpetology: doi: ings in Herpetological Conservation 10.1670/13-212. and Biology 10 (Symposium): 504- Lin, L. S. Zhou, L. Xu, D. Wang 515. (2014). "Conditional diagnosability of Chatr Aryamontri, D., G. Pope, T. arrangement graphs under the PMC Renner (2015). “Indagini archeolog- model." Theoretical Computer Sci- iche presso la ‘Vill degli Antonini Herbert, K.G., E. Hill, J.A. Fails, ence, 548: 79-97. (Genzano di Roma).” In Lazio e J.O. Ajala, R.T. Boniface, P. Cush- Sabina (eds), 11° Incontro di studi, 4- man (2015). “Scientific data infra- Lv X., B. Liu, D. Yuan, H. Feng, F- 6 giugno, 2014: 135-142. structure for sustainability sci- Y. Teo (2015). “Random walk meth- ence applications.” Proceedings of od for modeling water exchange: An De Melo, G., M. Kacimi, A. Varde International Congress on Big Data application to coastal zone environ- (2014). “PIKM 2012: 5th ACM (BigData): 804-805. mental management.” Journal of Hy- Workshop for PhD Students in Infor- dro-environment Research, doi: 10. mation and Knowledge Manage- Hubey, H.M. (2015). “Measures/ 1016/j.jher.2015.07.001. ment.” Proceedings at the ACM Con- models for hierarchical objects: Of ference on Information and quality, quantity, teaching and ru- Manivannan, I., and J.A. Fails Knowledge Management: 2098- brics.” Proceedings of The 2015 In- (2015). “Investigating technology for 2099. ternational Conference on Founda- children with selective mutism.” Pro- tions of Computer Science: 27-33. ceeding of Interaction Design and Fails, J.A., K. Herbert-Berger, E. Children (IDC): 259-262. Hill, A. DeStefano, B. Hesse, P. Jia, J. D. Wang, J. Fan, S. Zhang Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page—Publications Nica, A.. M. F.M. Suchanek, A. Pawlish, M. A. Varde, S. Robila D. Sarkar, Y. Dan, J. Ma, Y. Zheng Varde (2014). “New research direc- (2015). "The Greening of data centers (2015). “Determination of prometryn tions in knowledge discovery and al- with cloud technology." International in Vetiver Grass and water using gas lied spheres.” Journal of ACM’s Journal of Cloud Applications and chromatography–nitrogen chemilumi- Special Interest Group on Knowledge Computing, 5(4):1-22. nescence detection.” Journal of Chro- Discovery and Data Mining Explora- matographic Science, 10: 1093-(doi: tions, 16(2): 46-49. Pawlish, M., A. Varde, S. Robila, A. 10.1093/chromsci/bmv108). Ranganathan (2014). “A call for ener- Pampoore-Thampi, A., A. Varde, D. gy efficiency in data centers.” Jour- Talgar, C. P., N.M. Goodey (2015). Yu (2014). “Mining GIS data to pre- nal of ACM’s Special Interest Group “Views from academia and industry dict urban sprawl.” Proceedings of on Management of Data Record, 43 on skills needed for the modern re- the ACM International Conference (1): 45-51. search environment.” Biochemistry on Knowledge Discovery and Data and Molecular Biology Education, 43 Mining: 118-125. Pawlish, M., A. Varde, S. Robila, C. (5): 324–332. Alvarez, C. Fleischl, G. Serviano Panchariya, N., A. DeStefano, V. (2014). “GreenDSS tool for data cen- Varde, A., N. Tatti (2014). “A pano- Nimbagal, R. Ragupathy, S. Yavuz, ter management.” Proceedings of the rama of imminent doctoral research in K. Herbert, E. Hill, J.A. Fails IEEE International Conference on data mining.” Journal of ACM’s Spe- (2015). “Current developments in big Information and Communication Sys- cial Interest Group on Management data and sustainability sciences in tems, ISBN: 978-1-4799-3022-7: 1-6. of Data Record, 43(3):71-74. mobile citizen science applications.” Proceedings of IEEE BigDa- Pope, G. (2015). “A regolith and Wang, D., J. Jia, L. Lin (2014). taService : 202-212. weathering (Rock Decay) in the criti- "A cost-effective scheme for restoring cal zone.” In Giardino, J.R., C. connectivity of disconnected WSNs." Panorkou N., A. Maloney (2015). Houser (eds.), Principles and Dynam- Proceedings of the 29th International “Elementary students’ construction ics of the Critical Zone. Develop- Conference on Information Network- of geometric transformation reasoning ments in Earth Surfaces Processes ing (ICOIN), 69-74. in a dynamic animation environ- Series, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 19: 113- ment.” Constructivist Foundations, 10 145. Zhang, X., J. Ma, A. Li, A. Li (2015). (3): 338–347. “Quintic spline smooth semi- Pope, G., D. Chatr Aryamontri, L. supervised support vector classifica- Panorkou N., A. Maloney (2015). Wu, T. Renner (2015). “Deterioration tion machine.” Journal of Systems “Authors’ response: Planting seeds of stone and mineral materials from Engineering and Electronics, 26(3): of mathematical abstraction.” Con- the Roman Imperial Villa of the An- 626 - 632. structivist Foundations, 10(3): 352– tonines at ancient Lanuvium.” In 354. Lollino, G. (ed.), Engineering Geolo- Zhu, Q., G. Guo, D. Wang (2014). gy for Society and Territory ( IAEG "Relating diagnosability, strong diag- Panorkou, N. (2015). “Proposing a 2014). Cham, Switzerland: Springer nosability and conditional diagnosa- framework for exploring “bridging”. ” International Publishing: 495-501. bility of strong networks.” IEEE Constructivist Foundations, 10(3): Transactions on Computers, 63(7): 331–332. Punamiya, P., D. Sarkar, S. Rakshit, 1847-1851. R. Datta (2015). “Effect of solution Panorkou, N., S. Greenstein (2015). properties, competing ligands, and Zhou, S, L. Lin, L. Xu, D. Wang “A learning trajectory for transfor- complexing metal on sorption of tet- (2015). "The t/k-diagnosability of star mation-based reasoning in geometry.” racyclines on Al-based drinking water graph networks." IEEE Transactions Proceedings of the 42nd Annual treatment residuals.” Environmental on Computers, 64(2): 547-555. ♦ Meeting of the Research Council on Science Pollution Research, 22:7508– Mathematics Learning: 25-32. 7518 (doi 10.1007/s11356-015-4145- z), Pampoore-Thampi, A., A. Varde, D. Yu (2014). “Mining GIS data to pre- Singh, H. (2014). "Triumph of the dict urban sprawl”. Proceedings of demographic transition." Population the ACM International Conference Geography, 36(1&2): 1-6 on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining: 118-125. Sun, S., Y. Li, P. Lv, P. Punamiya, Fall 2015 16