Explorations Prin S George H

2015 G explorations prin s GeorGe H. Cook Campus ma Gazine fast facts We are a place of history and tradition. Founded in 1766, Rutgers is the eighth oldest college in the nation. Rutgers is a member of the Big Ten Conference and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of 15 world-class research universities, including all Big Ten members and the University of Chicago. We are the land-grant university of New Jersey. School of Environmental and SEBS Student-to-faculty 3,432 Biological Sciences (SEBS) Full-time 10:1 ratio undergraduate students Affiliated graduate 400 Clubs and organizations 12 programs Participants in Student to Professional SEBS Majors 184 Internship Network (SPIN) 20 contents 01 Dean‘s messaGe 03 sTuDenTs 05 FeaTure - CeleBraTinG 150 Years 03 07 07 FaCulty 09 research 11 news anD evenTs 13 FeaTure - uncharTeD waTers 15 Alumni 19 Donors 21 Gifts 23 alumni noTes anD musinGs 13 Stay Connected 04 Keep up to Date with whaT’S Happening on George H. Cook Campus explorations facebook.com/rutgersSEBs twitter.com/rutgersSEBs Editorial officE Explorations Magazine youtube.com/user/rutgersSEBs Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 57 US Highway 1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8554 newsroom officE of alumni and community EngagEmEnt sebsnjaesnews.rutgers.edu Director, Diana Orban Brown newsletter officE of communications discovery.rutgers.edu/pubs Director, Michael Green contributors Diana Orban Brown, Melissa Kvidahl, Cindy Rovins, Paula Walcott-Quintin, and Kelly Watts post-it! What’s up with you? We want to hear from you. graphic DesignEr Lori Casciano @ [email protected] photographErs office of alumni and Community engagement Nick Romanenko, Matt Rainey, Roy Groething rutgers, The state university of new Jersey 57 US Highway 1 on the Cover: Commencement 2014. Photo by Nick Romanenko. new Brunswick, nJ 08901-8554 inside Cover: Induction Ceremony for incoming students. Photo by Please include your name, school, class, mailing address, Matt Rainey. Table of Contents: iStockphoto, Roy Groething, Max email, and phone number. Häggblom, and Scott Glenn. Dean’s Message A Message from Bob Goodman elcome to the grant competitiveness; grown of a mostly young faculty cohort inaugural issue of our international program; recruited in the last eight W Explorations, the new completed a comprehensive years are women. Our student semi-annual magazine for overhaul of our agriculture and population is more diverse and alumni, retired faculty, donors, food systems major; created new international, like those who and friends of the School of institutes for climate and energy come to us through our Environmental and Biological studies and for food, nutrition, pioneering 2+2 programs with Sciences. and health; and begun to better top Chinese universities, while engage our thousands of alumni more students leave our shores Why the name Explorations? in support of the school. for study-abroad experiences It’s a reflection of imagination, that always transform their lives. creativity, investigation, and discovery, which are at A new building that will the core of what all great house the New Jersey universities do. Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health is set to open Why now? Last in 2015 and is but one year, Rutgers celebrated “concrete” (though mostly, 150 years as the state’s in this case, of glass) example land-grant institution of our commitment to trans- serving the residents of parency and collaboration New Jersey. Next year, in finding multi-disciplinary we will celebrate the 250th solutions to difficult and anniversary of Rutgers’ critical challenges, like founding. A much more nutritional security and modest milestone is that global human health. 2015 marks my 10th year as executive dean of the As alumni, you are the school. Taken together, living embodiment of our these milestones seemed impact throughout the to be a propitious time to world and I invite you to introduce a school-based become more engaged with magazine that will your school. Stay connected communicate the impact online as well as in person of our research, teaching, and Even if you have not set foot through any of our campus outreach as well as reinforce the on the George H. Cook Campus celebrations. I hope you enjoy value of a Rutgers degree. for decades, there is still much the magazine and I thank you that will feel familiar, like for your interest in and support While many of our existing Passion Puddle, Skelley Field, of all that we do. structures have served us well, and Helyar Woods, as well as some will no longer be as relevant the timeless rhythm of students, to the future of our school, so faculty, and staff that marks we’ve begun to introduce new a thriving campus learning models for excellence that are environment. interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international. We’ve What you’d experience as Executive Dean, moved our faculty toward a culture new is the face of our faculty that School of Environmental and of intense engagement in teaching is at once more diverse and more Biological Sciences and research; strengthened our international. Over 50 percent Photography by Roy Groething. 01 explorations Ourfuture.rutgers.edu/thanks Students Back: Tara Zarzecki with ‘Gates,’ Billie Kurek. Front: Emily Martines with ‘Chase,’ Mallory Kolar, Rachel Jeronimus with ‘Figaro,’ and Lauren Clarke with ‘Quenna.’ Rutgers’ Furriest Students ‘Freckles’ waiting to graduate. ‘Graduate’ This Spring hey may not be paying The university’s Seeing Eye For the puppies, their time at attention in class—and Puppy Raising Club started in Rutgers is on par with being in may even be caught 2000 on the George H. Cook kindergarten. They’re socialized, Tdozing—but Rutgers’ furriest Campus. The club consists of learn basic skills, and are four-legged students often make puppy raisers, puppy sitters exposed to new people and it to SEBS Convocation, proudly (who lend a hand when raisers environments. When the puppies walking onto the stage wearing need a break), and general club are around 15 months old, they their little graduation caps, members. Raisers are each return to The Seeing Eye, Inc. for accompanied by their human responsible for their puppy’s four months of formal training companions. They’re the puppies healthcare and training, and live in harness before earning their trained by the Rutgers University on campus with their puppies Seeing Eye Dog degree. Seeing Eye Puppy Raising Club, in special housing. The puppies As club members prepare to a student-run organization that are allowed in campus buildings say goodbye to their puppies this trains puppies for The Seeing (except dining halls, dorms, and spring, they get a dose of that Eye, Inc., a national nonprofit labs), attend classes, and ride on bittersweet feeling their parents organization dedicated to giving university buses. As part of their had when dropping them off at blind and sight-impaired preparation to be dog guides, the Rutgers’ doors. It’s hard to let go, individuals independence and puppies also venture off campus but they know their charges will dignity through the use of to interact with crowds at large go on to accomplish great things. service dogs. events, and even take the occa- sional trip to the beach. Photography by Matt Rainey and Gary Huntzinger. 03 explorations Spring 2015 gardens and parks serve the community—on the George H. Cook Campus and in the Big Apple. Crawford teamed up with Central Park Conservancy president and CEO Douglas Blonsky (CC’83) and Chief of Operations Russell Fredericks (CC’91) to develop the park’s first-ever college internship program. This highly prized, paid summer internship operates jointly in Rutgers Gardens and Central Park. For 10 weeks, interns toil alongside trained taking on central park volunteers, gaining practical saving the oyster knowledge in areas such as Thanks to Rutgers Gardens horticulture, garden design, and Lauren Huey (SEBS’15) may be manager Bruce Crawford, Rutgers public gardens programming in a brand new Rutgers alumna, but students can now experience two unique environments. with four years as an Honors firsthand the ways in which public Program scholar under her belt, she’s already an old hand at fighting to save the oysters in the Delaware Bay. Fascinated with ocean invertebrates since she was a young girl, Huey took advantage of hands-on research opportunities starting in her sophomore year, and capped her senior year with a research project on oyster disease. She also worked as a student intern at the Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, a key partner in helping revive the Delaware Bay Students Rebecca Tonnessen, Miranda Schlitt, alexa Essenfeld, Jesse Tannehill, and Mary Tursi are part oyster population decimated by of the Healthy Dining Team. disease and overharvesting. the healthy dining team helps battle the freshman 15 Next up? Huey’s plans are to study marine policy and biology in Everyone dreads the “freshman and registered dietitian Peggy graduate school, and eventually 15,” notoriously achieved when Policastro (GSNB’93) in conjunction work in the aquaculture industry. newfound freedoms lead to very with Rutgers Dining Services, run bad eating decisions…and packing by executive director Joe Charette This research project at Haskin is on the pounds. But healthy eating (CC’77), the team not only funded by the National Science is an attainable goal for current educates students on healthy Foundation and collaborates with Rutgers students, especially with eating but also provides insight other academic institutions. The the help of a corps of nutritional into student eating trends to help goal is to learn more about how science majors calling themselves guide dining hall offerings that are disease develops and is spread in the Healthy Dining Team. Working both delicious and nutritious. marine systems. under the direction of nutritionist Photography by Clayton Leadbetter and Nick Romaneko.

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