Impact: Research at Brown

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2019 ImpactResearch at Brown

Bright Spot on Opioids Research Page 16

Brainstorms Page 20

Sky’s the limit for students Page 26

Slavery’s Truth Telling Page 34 Bandwidthbr eakIng the data logjam P age 38 Boom Starting off T able of Contents

Welcome to the second an- Stephen Robert Hall, an expansion designed to fuel an expand- nual issue of Impact: Research ing community of scholars working on global policy issues. Research at Brown, and to the many sto- The latest research hub is at 164 Angell Street, the state- ries of outstanding work by of-the-art collaborative home of the Data Science Initiative, the 16 Brown faculty and students. Center for Computational Molecular Biology, the Carney Institute Briefs We are building on many fronts for Brain Science, and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. 2 Rare Genetic Disorder Confronting in our research, in bricks-and- In this year’s Impact, you’ll read about research made pos- 3 Political Polarization mortar structures and even sible by these Brown investments and by funding from federal 4 Alumni: Ellen Stofan Opioids more in relationships, and there agencies and foundations. The Carney Institute, newly named 4 Robotic Pets Brown researchers are at the is much exciting news to share. by an extraordinarily generous gift, is on the leading edge of ad- 5 Health Decoders forefront of finding new ways to Let’s start in downtown vancing research in brain science toward cures and treatments 6 Mindfulness reduce the toll of a national Providence, where Brown is investing in a newly thriving entre- for ALS, Parkinson’s, and other neurological disorders and dis- 7 Innovate with Industry health epidemic. preneurial and research-intensive ecosystem that is supporting eases. Continuing a proud tradition of excellence in particle 7 Alumni: Lynn Nottage BY Maura Sullivan Hill the University’s ambitions in translational medical research, forg- physics, Brown researchers continue to make discoveries con- 8 What Babies Can Do ing new industry partnerships, and much more. tributing to our understanding of the universe, and play leading 8 Alumni: Ayanna Howard It is home to the Warren Alpert Medical School, flourishing roles in the multinational upgrade of the particle collider in Europe. 9 On the Horizon medical/biology labs, the School of Public Health, the Institute The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice marks its fifth 10 Alumni: David De Luca for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, year with an ambitious agenda. And our undergraduates are Assessing Architecture 20 10 and, most recently, the South Street Landing building, which is engaging in remarkable research projects, including creating 11 Research Honors Eureka inspiring collaboration between my office and hundreds of other EQUiSat, a small satellite deployed in July by astronauts on the 11 Brown Arts Initiative key administrative staff consolidated there. Later this year, our International Space Station. 11 Rising Funds growing School of Professional Studies will join the Jewelry I hope that you enjoy this year’s selection of stories and this 12 Rare Jewish Books Moments District’s new Innovation Center in a building developed by glimpse of the depth and breadth of research and scholarship 14 Sickle Cell The rapidly growing Carney Wexford Science & Technology. at Brown. y 14 Concept to Clinic Institute for Brain Science is On College Hill, we dedicated the Engineering Research 15 Controlling Asthma driven by discoveries. Center last May. This three-story, 80,000-square-foot structure BY noel rubinton ’77 universit

has specialized research laboratories and collaborative spaces n w for biomedical engineering, advanced materials, environmental o Jill Pipher r engineering, and other programs. In December, the Watson In- Vice President for Research , B o stitute for International and Public Affairs opened the doors to Elisha Benjamin Andrews Professor of Mathematics Focus

ntamar 26 e 38 Breaking a Data k D c i Logjam Sky’s the Limit

; N The Real Costs of War F rom satellites to immunology to r 40 e

k Unpacking animation, and more, undergraduates are c 42

Connect o Vice President for Research Mathematics engaged in a wide range of research deeply cr [email protected] 43 Adding Diversity to connected to educational experiences Research at Brown 401-863-7408 Research and aspirations. ephen Impact t Brown University New Way to Store Data

; S 44 BY Sarah c. baldwin ’87 E ditor b Box 1937 a 46 Universe Explorers Noel Rubinton L 350 Eddy Street rnea

Providence, R.I. 02912 a D esigner ; B

Min O. Design n Office of Industry Engagement and o 34 Impact: Research at Brown is published annually Commercial Venturing by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the [email protected] Brown The Power Office of University Communications

Office of Research Development administrati [email protected] N Research of Truth A simulation of radiation emerging from a ic The Center for the Study of Slavery

On the Cover: Office of Foundation Relations k cement dentamar terahertz multiplexer. Terahertz is high-frequency radiation that [email protected] r and Justice is changing how the world o

f Index could enable the next generation of ultra-high-bandwidth s Book learns about legacies of slavery and

en 48 networks to handle more data. (Mittleman lab/Brown For ongoing news about Brown research, g 51 Selected Faculty the global slave trade. r o University/Ducournau Lab/CNRS/University of Lille) follow us on Twitter @BrownUResearch. D u Honors BY Gillian Kiley

Impact 2019 2019 impact 1 ResearchApn com e dium ofB recentr highlighefsts of Brown research

For Leslie Gordon ’98 MD PhD, a professor of pediatrics Leslie Gordon ’98 MD PhD at Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School and Hasbro Chil- with her son, Sam Berns, in dren’s Hospital, medicine is especially personal. Don’t Blame 2005, when he was 8. He Before he was two years old, her son, Sam Berns, was died in 2014. diagnosed with progeria, an extremely rare genetic disorder the Web that causes premature aging and death. Sam, whose optimism in the face of the condition was chronicled in an HBO Growth of political polarization documentary, died at age 17 in 2014. is largest for groups least likely to After Sam’s diagnosis, Gordon shifted her work as a physician-scientist to focus on the disease, which affects ap- use Internet. proximately one in every 6 million infants born. Children with the condition currently live an average of 14.5 years and gen- Political polarization in the United States? Don’t just erally die due to rapid progression of heart disease. But in blame the web, says Brown economics professor Jesse 2018, there was significant progress. Shapiro. Gordon was the lead author of a Journal of the American A popular narrative has developed that online news Medical Association article suggesting an experimental drug sources and social media circles create “echo-chambers” of therapy to extend the lives of children with progeria. Re- like-minded individuals who paint the opposition as perpe- search showed that children with progeria who were treated trators of outrages and close off opportunities for conversa- with lonafarnib, a drug originally developed to treat cancer, tion. were more likely to survive over the course of the study, But Shapiro—along with two colleagues, Levi Boxell and compared with children with progeria who did not receive Matthew Gentzkow of Stanford University—showed through the drug. The results suggested a promising avenue for data-driven research in an article published in the Proceed- treating a condition for which there are currently no ap- ings of the National Academy of Sciences that growth in po- proved therapies. litical polarization is actually largest for the demographic groups in which individuals are least likely to use the In- “T hese results provide new ternet and social media. In addition, their analy- promise and optimism.” sis of web use among Re- —Leslie Gordon publican voters in the 2016 presidential election re- vealed that Donald Trump In addition, the nonprofit Progeria Research Foundation performed especially well announced a collaboration and supply agreement with a among those least likely to pharmaceutical company to test the drug—the first therapy get political information submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for online. That finding, published in the journal PLOS ONE, treatment of progeria. Gordon and her husband and fellow challenges claims that the web and social media drove the physician, Scott Berns, started the foundation and she is presidential election in favor of Trump. medical director. “These findings don’t prove that online campaign efforts le

a “This study provides supporting evidence that we can be- and other aspects of digital media had no impact on the h

fas gin to put the brakes on the rapid aging process for children election,” Shapiro said. “But they do pose a challenge for

t with progeria,” Gordon said. “These results provide new some conventional narratives that put those factors front en promise and optimism to the progeria community.” and center.” Age was a major predictor of Internet and social media use, according to the research. Some 30 percent of those aged 65 and older used social media in 2016, in contrast to 88 percent of those 18 to 39 years old. Yet Shapiro and his collaborators found that, for seven of eight individual mea- sures, polarization increased more for the older demographic than for younger Americans. “The main culprits in explaining the rapid rise in polarization probably have to do with forces broader and deeper PersonalA professor makes progress on a rare disease that claimed Medicineher son’s life. than the digitization of the news,” Shapiro said. 2 impact 2019 2019 impact 3 1 1

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Ell o en St fan ’85 ScM, ’89 PhD ’ s

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I 0111110110111011100101 O incredibly large N Decoders 0101101111010001010110 research need 0 Biomedical 01101000010001001001 0 across the Informatics center 010010001101111010 010 0100010001 110 001000 state.” is broadening0 0 Creature Comfort 010111101010001 0 0101 —Neil Sarkar Scientists team up with toymakers to find new ways to aid older adults. opportunities by 0010111 01011 1 10 1 1 making data 1 Older adults often need help includes researchers from realistic pet sounds and ges- accessible. with the challenging tasks of Butler Hospital and the Uni- tures,” Malle said. “We may 0 everyday living, and Brown versity of Cincinnati, is devel- want to expand those capaci- 1 cognitive and computer scien- oping additional capabilities ties and add intelligence, so researchers Associate Director Elizabeth Chen said the center has made Even in a state as compact as Rhode Island, 0 tists are working to make smart for animatronic companions the companions give mean- have long had a hard time accessing the statewide health data significant progress in solving the challenge0 of finding secure robotic cats and dogs part of to help with tasks that could ingful clues—gestures, nudges, essential to their projects. places to store and analyze data so they are accessible to re- the solution. include finding of lost objects purrs—that help guide users With the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics creating searchers and also protects patient privacy. With a $1 million grant and reminding about medica- toward misplaced objects or new opportunities at Brown and throughout the state, that’s Sarkar0 said, “I’m expecting that in the next year or two, as from the National Science tion. let them know it’s time to do now changing. Three years since the center’s founding, it has more and more researchers Foundation, Brown’s Humanity- “This project really repre- something.” sparked a wide range of research projects aimed at studying work with us, we’re going to Centered Robotics Initiative sents what we do at HCRI, Michael Littman, a profes- preterm births, opioid use disorder,1 suicide risk, and more. meet an incredibly large re- 1 (HCRI) is teaming up with which is to let societal needs sor of computer science at “We have really changed the landscape as to how0 biomedi- search need across our state.1 researchers who are part of drive technology develop- Brown and coprincipal inves- cal researchers are able to get access to data and continue We’re starting to enable clini- y a company spun out from ment,” said Bertram Malle, a tigator, said, “The ‘A’ in ARIES t working with that data within a secure environment,” said Director cians of tomorrow to use data si r

Hasbro Inc. to provide interac- professor of cognitive, linguis- stands for affordable. This is e Neil Sarkar. to provide better quality care v i tive aid and comfort for older tic, and psychological sciences one of the important reasons n For Megan Ranney, an associate professor of emergency in a more efficient way.” u adults. at Brown, codirector of HCRI, Ageless Innovation is a great n medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School and director of The center is a component The project, dubbed ARIES and principal investigator on industry partner for this proj- the school’s Emergency Digital Health Innovation program, the of Advance-CTR, a statewide brow

(Affordable Robotic Intelli- the grant. ect. The current Joy for All ; center is helping to generate new data sets on opioid use from partnership based at Brown D gence for Elderly Support), is The ARIES team is evalu- Pets cost roughly $100, while N the Lifespan hospital system. It will allow her to model opioid and funded by the National In- adding artificial intelligence ating challenges older adults similar robotic products can RA use, predicting which patients are at high risk for abuse, and stitutes of Health. It provides R B E

capabilities to the Joy for All face and testing technical ap- cost $5,000 to $6,000. We Artificial intelligence H identify patients at risk of return emergency visits. The center funding and other resources P

Companion Pets from Ageless proaches to equip robotic want the ARIES robot to be will make robotic cats and O is building data sets for many other researchers and topics, to clinical and translational T

Innovation, a former Hasbro companions. “The Joy for All available to anyone who dogs more useful R including one intended to help predict suicide risk and another researchers across Rhode Neil Sarkar (left) and H group. The team, which also Companion Pets make some needs it.” as companions. C IS to devise new ways to help kids with asthma. Island. —Elena Renken ’19 Elizabeth Chen.

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alth alth e d H ct re cke said, said, cke a i o p binton ’77 L u imp ns R

s i el o a 2019 N cke led. led. cke o — L renBulock, andexpects tional tional Institutes of a she w a BBIIfunds the transforma K , d N e won the rown. i V v a C a E t B a o h re t 2017, s 2017, n t a d a e n , a plan maximize to impact Brown’s on m h a o T y w on l s a e R

d the on n Also, as part the of University’s enhanced commitment to The Innovation Hub and BBII are partBrown of and the a twice, in 2009 Research is being used to boost entrepreneurship and growth.job lic engagement, this initiative bolsters Brown’s connections with with connections Brown’s bolsters initiative this engagement, lic public, private, and nonprofit partners and helps focus our re sources toward economic growth and job creation.” are discontinued, and industry and investors become willing to step up. BBII, supported by gifts totaling more than $8 million, recruiteditsfirst managing director, we strengthen“As academic excellence at Brown and address pressing real-world issues through teaching, research, and pub of our efforts to innovate by engaging with the commercialsystem in order unleash to theeco impact research.” Brown’s of Biomedical Brown Innovations Impact to innovation, spawning (BBII) is expanding. Created Jack by Elias, senior vice president sciences biological and medicine of dean and affairs health for atBrown, and comanaged I by commercial into innovations biomedical early-stage of tion opportunities—thus bridging the gap between the time when research funding sources like the to fundto major projects in 2019. Economy Innovation innovation, entrepreneurship, M. Richard and Provost that job team a by growthoped that was devel 86, ma T tes

i - - - a R C e ’ b will A u g es’ b part r Dr i P H u a d o H f IM stu a ott . “It is an example n ) N a V a $20 million bond C ic E r f tzer Prize i l I c ancestral texts really to personal access own my we could become narrative andway figuringout a verypart interested I’m in continuum. that of been people have stories the who of excavating marginalized. I learned own celebrate to my how story in is tradition rooted that and tell it in a way goes Africa.” that to back y A e 5,000-square-foot i Pu b alumni alumni Lynn “ ertainly use skills the Ilearned, that building upon b) in Providence.b) nturing (I h u e T V H b (i u H and voters approved voters and sl I ovidence and a new and a new ovidence r ode ode P h R e state awarded $2.5 million to Brown and its i h T Teaming up with organizations around the world, universities universities up with organizations Teaming world, the around “Having iHub enables the critical ‘innovation a key density,’ gagement and Commercial n n

I 2016, issue create Innovation to Campuses stimulate to the translation of products, partnerships, commercial new into research academic and jobs. around the state submitted proposals, and Brown won an award developto an Innovation ners, the University of Rhode Island, IBM Alpha Zone, and Mass Zone, Alpha ners, IBM the UniversityIsland, Rhode of Challenge, in December 2018. be in Providence’s Jewelry District. It expects to be a magnet for start-ups; spark interactions between entrepreneurs, industry, academic researchers, and students; incubate emerging com panies; and offer educational programs. said economy,” innovation area’s the catalyzing to ingredient Daniel Behr, executive director of Brown’s OfficeE of Industry Innovating with with Innovating Industry efforts Growing Innovation include in Hub biomedical fund.

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kr a en Philippi ------e Institute, and and Institute, e if L alth, the Mind and and Mind the alth, alth and also associated with mem with associated also and alth e e H H is is the first step to an evidence-based per h T , with, Eric Loucks,an associate professor epide of tional Institutes of of Institutes tional d users can alter the amount of each practice to fit their a n N E

Britton conducted the study, published in Behaviour Research in published study, the conducted Britton More than individuals 100 with mild severe to depression, “ The Mindfulness Center, launched in 2017 and continuing to to continuing and 2017 in launched MindfulnessThe Center, he individual needs,” Britton said. “The study created validated validated created study “The said. Britton needs,” individual single-practice programs that can be used other by research ers or providers. mindfulness.” to approach sonalized-medicine Therapy and tice improves attentional control, while open-monitoring pro open-monitoring while control, attentional improves tice motes emotional non-reactivity,” said Britton.be “However, cause these two practices are almost always delivered in combination, it is difficult to assess.” anxiety, and stress were enrolled in eight-week courses. The reportedgroupFA-only greaterabilitymuchimprovementthe in willfullyto shift or focus attention than the OM-only group. Meanwhile,OM-onlysignificantlythewasgroup improved more in being non-reactive negative to thoughts. T miology and medicine who directs Brown’s Mindfulness Center; Center; Mindfulness Brown’s directs who medicine and miology and Jared Lindahl, who teaches contemplative studies at Brown. Brown’s ContemplativeBrown’s Studies Initiative funded the research. expand, includes a range grant-supported of research, as well aseducation and community programs. It is housed in the Public of School Brown bers of the Warren Alpert Medical School andthe Contemplative Initiative. Studies - - efs i r based on mindfulness have grown in ch B r 2019

ct a imp Mindfulness-based interventions sometimes blend practices, practices, blend sometimes interventions Mindfulness-based Researchers took a common intervention for mood disorders— “It has long beenhypothesized that focused-attention prac Resea 6 As health interventionsAs popularity, so has concern that the evidence base for such practices is not yet robust enough. A new Brown study shows how a rigorous approach can help ensure that claims are backed science. by which makes it difficult to measure how each assistant an practice Britton, Willoughby author lead said affects participants, professor psychiatry of and human behavior at the Warren Alpert School. Medical mindfulness-based cognitive therapy—and created a study iso The Case for for Case The Mindfulness ensureRigor are claims used is to science. by backed (OM)— open-monitoring are Those ingredients. main two its lating noticing negative feelings without judgment or an emotional secondary reaction; and focused-attention (FA)—maintaining focus on or shifting it toward a neutral sensation, such as breathing, disengage to from negative emotions or distractions. Research Briefs

A Babylonian ogy at Brown, a $166,632 grant to digitally preserve culturally cuneiform significant clay tablets in Syria. What Babies tablet similar The project, codirected by Jacob Lauinger of Johns Hop- An infant looks at a screen, where a series of shapes was to those in kins University, will enable researchers to explore the country’s presented. Matthew ancient history and provide new tools for understanding writing Can Do Rutz’s on the tablets. The digital preservation project will bring into a I nfants are found to have surprising and distraction,” Amso said. “A critical question in our lab has project. searchable database the text of thousands of clay tablets in- capacity to learn, remember, and been whether infants at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, scribed in cuneiform script. The tablets document the political, especially autism spectrum disorders, have differences in the social, and economic life of Ugarit, a cosmopolitan city that find context. way they process visual information, and whether this would flourished more than 3,000 years ago. impact future learning and attention.” Rutz and Lauinger will translate from Ugarit into English Just six months into the world, babies already have the ca- In the research funded by the James S. McDonnell Founda- 1,887 cuneiform texts in a single online resource, enhancing pacity to learn, remember, and use contextual cues to guide tion and the National Institutes of Health, Tummeltshammer and scholarly and public access to the texts. “These are ancient, them searching for objects of interest, such as faces. Amso invited the parents of 46 healthy, full-term infants, either 6 historically unique documents that are imperiled by modern- e cour That was the central finding of a study by Dima Amso, an as- or 10 months old, to bring their children to the lab to play a day conflict in Syria,” Rutz said.

sociate professor in Brown’s Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, game of finding faces. Seated on a parent’s lap, the babies sim- t s and Psychological Sciences, and Kristen Tummeltshammer, a ply had to watch a screen as they were presented with a series y African Americans with HIV Kris postdoctoral scholar. of arrangements of four colored shapes. The shapes would turn Chanelle Howe and Akilah Dulin, assistant professors in t

“It was pretty surprising to find that 6-month-olds were capa- around with one revealing a face. An eye-tracking system would en Brown’s School of Public Health, are leading a five-year, NIH-

ble of this memory-guided attention,” said Tummeltshammer, the measure where the baby looked. Tumm funded, multi-institution study examining the role of “resilience” lead author of the paper published in Developmental Science. There was little difference between the 6-month-olds and among African Americans living with HIV. e

Amso said learning that infants can recognize and exploit the 10-month-olds, Tummeltshammer said, suggesting the skill lt “Resilience is about thriving despite adversity,” said Howe. s patterns of context provides important new insights into typical is developed at the younger age. h After the team develops a new resilience measure, they will use a and possibly atypical brain development. “We think of babies as being quite reactive in how they mm it to determine whether resilience is associated with outcomes e

“They are efficient in using the structure in their environment spread their attention,” she said. “This helps us recognize they r such as adhering to HIV medications. If resilience can be shown ; D

to maximize attentional resources and to reduce uncertainty are actually quite proactive. r as a significant contributor to betterH IV outcomes, researchers . Howard hope to design ways to increase it among persons living with HIV, and reduce persistent HIV racial disparities.

“The goal is to increase the proportion of people living with

alumni IMPACT a n

d HIV with a suppressed HIV viral load, especially among African M

o Americans,” Dulin said. gu

Ayn an a Howard ’93, recently named chair of the School of l d

Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, got her start in robotics while studying om Training Brown Scientists

engineering at Brown. ; F Brown and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and a ci Technology (NIST) have started a five-year partnership that n g

will enable Brown scientists to work in NIST laboratories as they “ I’d been wanting to do robotics forever, pag advance research and develop new discoveries. e and this was the first time I touched real A , De NIST, one of the nation’s leading physical science laboratories, will provide funding to cover living expenses and other g

hardware. I was working on how you use os needs while Brown researchers work at NIST locations in Gaith- t i

n ersburg, Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado, with potential aid i

robots to basically grab an object without / G. D G. totaling more than $13 million.

pushing it or breaking it. It inspired me ag The program is open to any Brown researcher working in l

i physical sciences. NIST develops measurement standards O

to think about manipulation. Research is r

t used in everything from nanoscale devices and microchips to i / a skyscrapers and global communications networks. key for getting students to continue because g e On the Horizon

fo “This is a fantastic opportunity for faculty and students at

t T hree early-stage projects are

it actually allows them to see how to o Brown to collaborate with some of the best researchers in the s

t world at some of the world’s most advanced facilities,” said Larry o showing promise.

apply the theory they’re learning in the c

k A Larson, dean of Brown’s School of Engineering. “For NIST, it’s

m Preserving Tablets in Syria an opportunity to tap into the expertise of the faculty here as classroom to real-world problems.” e r

ica The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded well as help to train—and potentially hire—some of our excep- Matthew Rutz, associate professor of Egyptology and Assyriol- tionally talented grad students and postdocs.”

8 impact 2019 2019 impact 9 Research Briefs

alumni IMPACT Research Honors Six professors receive Brown Di av d De Luca ’85, who recently became head of global equities at Raymond James Financial Inc., Concentrated in political achievement awards. science at Brown. I n recognition of outstanding work across a wide range of academic areas, Brown’s annual Research Achievement Awards were “ My research as part of my undergraduate given to six faculty members in April 2018. honors thesis—which delved into Congressional “These awards are the University’s recognition of the research contributions of some of our extraordinary faculty,” said Jill Pipher, PRE FORMANCE AND BEYOND: In its second oversight of covert military action—ignited a lifelong vice president for research and professor of mathematics. “Each of year, the Brown Arts Initiative (BAI), which these individual award winners has transformed research fields includes six academic departments and two interest in academic research, culminating in two through deep scholarship and creative solutions to complex problems.” programs, expanded its research, teaching, graduate degrees, including one in international Nominations for the award were sought in six categories and and performance activities. Here, artist Kelly reviewed by panels of Brown faculty. Besides the award, each winner Nipper (right) talks with RoseLee Goldberg, relations. The research skills I attained at Brown received a $5,000 research stipend. founder of Performa, which promotes visual art have served me in my career and nourished my “Research is central to Brown’s mission,” Provost Richard M. performance and is a BAI institutional partner. Locke said at the awards ceremony. “It’s crucial to innovation and Nipper’s new work, Terre Mécanique, was personal interests.” discovery and essential for advancing just, peaceful, and prosper- developed on site at Brown’s Granoff Center with ous societies locally and globally. Research is also vital to our quest the assistance of Brown students and designers to educate highly capable leaders across the disciplines, and we from MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab. Encompassing celebrate these award winners for their commitment to excellence, dance, photography, scientific inquiry, and exceptional collaboration, and mentoring of the next generation of performance, it then premiered in New York City Reconstructing Architecture scholars.” with Brown students attending. Sifting through visual language in the built environment Winners of the 2018 Winners of the 2018 Distinguished Research Early Career Research can decode messages and ideas. Achievement Awards are: Achievement Awards are: H uajian Gao (engineering), E rica Larschan (molecular I tohan Osayimwese is an architectural historian at Brown, but professor of history of art and architecture, did the research for •for lasting contributions biology,• cell biology, and she works much like an archaeologist, sifting through visual lan- what became the book Colonialism and Modern Architecture in in his primary field, the biochemistry), for the strong Rising Funds guage to see how it is translated into messages and ideas. Germany, she aimed at widening the conceptual and geographic mechanics of solids and start in her career in terms of Brown’s research expenditures Osayimwese believes that many people still don’t think of lens of architectural history. structures, such as in the both basic research and Germany as a colonial power of the 19th century and do not un- Her book, which became the first major English-language mechanics of thin films and medical applications, including in millions of dollars, fiscal derstand the country’s modern architectural history in relation to study of the subject, encourages people to form links between nanostructured and energy important discoveries in the years 2014 to 2018 larger developments worldwide. When Osayimwese, an assistant Germany’s modernist architecture and its colonial venture. It storage materials. field of gene regulation associates the “economic challenges of Germany’s colonial involving the CLAMP protein.

O R R ose McDermott a project” with what Osayimwese said was the abandonment of y (international relations), for her I tohan Osayimwese m • 148.9 152.2 156.7 168 187.2 a “centuries-long, highly ornamental architectural style in favor n pioneering scholarship, •(history of art and architecture), d

of an architectural language based on structural technologies jam including in the area of political for her research in the fields of and building materials.” She said her analysis took advantage of psychology, and her innovative modern architecture and e s

architecture’s ability to reflect a society’s ideologies, technologi- ; interdisciplinary work, which colonial studies, looking at u n

cal advancements, economic situation, and social and political i includes political science, intersections between v e

concerns. r international relations, geopolitics and architectural si t

Osayimwese’s book earned a Society of Architectural y psychology, and behavior discourse. Historians/Mellon Author award, and she is the winner of a 2017 of genetics. S tefanie Tellex (computer P i Brown Early Career Research Achievement award. Osayimwese’s t R ena Wing (psychiatry science• ), for her artificial t z ’19 s e current research includes studying the historical effects of burg and• human behavior), cited as intelligence research as she r migration on the built environment on the Caribbean island a one of the top researchers for designs new approaches for 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 h

state of Barbados from emancipation to the 20th century, and Alv the treatment of obesity and humans to communicate with pr o e gender and the modernist artistic avant-garde in postcolonial t related health problems, robots that could revolutionize Brown University Research Administration

s Source: s Main hall of Berlin Trade Exhibition, 1896. Nigeria. —Liyaan Maskati ’21 Vicr especially Type 2 diabetes. such interactions. Information Systems & Reporting

10 impact 2019 2019 impact 11 Research Briefs

Using History A gift of remarkable Jewish Passover books becomes a rich resource.

W hen Steven Ungerleider approached Brown about donating rare Jewish books he had collected—Passover Seder texts that go back hundreds of years, from around the world—a key question arose: Would the books be a valuable resource for the University? The answer that came back was a resounding yes, it would spark much new scholarship. The Dr. Steven Unger- leider Collection of Haggadot was created in 2018, taking its place alongside other special library collections. “This collection presents exceptional teaching and research opportunities across disciplines,” said President Christina Paxson. “The impact it will have on scholarship for faculty and students is profound.” Ungerleider, a psychologist and Olympic sports medicine specialist, gave the books in honor of his father, Samuel Ungerleider Jr. ’39. Available in person at the John Hay Library, many of the books also have been digitized to provide worldwide access. The collection already has been the subject of a public exhibition and a symposium with scholars from around the country. More than 400 volumes go back over 500 years, coming from Jewish communities in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Near East. “It would be hard to overstate the importance of the collection for anyone interested in the history of Jewish culture, the Jewish religion, and the Jewish people,” said Adam Teller, (2) d

professor of Judaic studies l and history. gou k Beyond Judaic studies, i r

Teller said the collection is ex- ; e t pected to attract research in religious studies, history, the

history of art, music, and other Haggado

fields. —Noel Rubinton ’77 of n o i t A 1887 Haggadah (left) c le l

published in New York was o C

one of the first to reflect the r e d American Jewish experience; i e l

it included a new view r e of the “Four Sons” story. g A Haggadah published in London in 1806 (right)

had fold-out maps of . S r

key sites. D teven Un

12 impact 2019 2019 impact 13 research Briefs

Calculating Sickle Cell M athematics is being used to Computer models enable researchers to see what understand and combat disease. happens inside red blood cells.

Disease fighters are commonly pictured as doctors or other computers been able to simulate the mechanism of sickle cell scientists with their eyes pressed to microscopes. But Brown disease in so much detail—otherwise there’s been far too much applied mathematics professor George Karniadakis is taking data to handle. His work to provide new understanding of the another path to combat sickle cell disease: using computer disease was published in Biophysical Journal. models to visualize how it transforms red blood cells. Using mathematics to understand and combat diseases is a With his team, Karniadakis is developing modeling tools to growing field,K arniadakis said. “It’s not just the genes and pro- assess potential drugs for treating sickle cell disease. Only two teins—it’s also the mechanics of it. We can characterize the dis- approved drugs exist currently, but there are many in develop- ease, and the severity of the disease, by how soft the cells are, ment that harness different mechanisms to combat the dis- by how stiff they are, by their shape.”” ease. Assessing which will be most effective may be key to find- Karniadakis collaborates with fellow scientists to gather clin- ing a way to aid sickle cell patients and reduce disease symptoms. ical and experimental data that show how red blood cells move Karniadakis’s lab simulates how hemoglobin forms fibers through the body and change internally. This information in- that force red blood cells out of their soft, round state. These forms his models, which generate more accurate depictions of models work on multiple scales, processing molecular changes these complicated cells than was previously possible. “Now only where a fiber is growing, while the rest of the fiber is mod- we’re in a position where we actually include all this complexity elled in much lower resolution. Only with this approach have and functionality,” Karniadakis said. —Elena Renken ’19

Daphne Koinis-Mitchell (left) and Beth McQuaid are building an NIH-funded pediatric asthma center.

like the February 2018 Mencoff family gift are essential because From Concept they allow faculty to focus on the next step, converting scien- “We’re not testing whether these interventions work,” McQuaid tific discoveries into medical breakthroughs tested in the clinic Controlling Asthma said. “We know they work.” and brought to patients. Instead, to reach as many children as possible, they’re eval- to Clinic Philanthropic investments give researchers the agility to pur- I ntegrated program focuses on uating potential barriers, sustainability, and cost effectiveness. $50M gift will enable discoveries sue new studies or alter the design of studies in response to low-income children, families Asthma is more prevalent in cities than other areas and is to move from medical labs toward new data without the lengthy processes required to pursue fed- exacerbated in low-income housing, which is more likely to har- eral or foundation grants. “These investments keep Brown on For more than two decades, Brown researchers have honed bor triggers like mold and pests, the researchers said. Beyond market. an ambitious trajectory for moving research out of the labs and approaches to preventing and reducing asthma symptoms health impacts on those in low-income housing, where a dis- into clinics in areas like respiratory diseases, aging, Alzheimer’s among Rhode Island children. Now, with an $8 million grant proportionately high number of African American and Latino T ranslating biomedical research and discovery into treat- disease, and malaria,” Elias said. from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, they are ex- children live, asthma is linked to lower educational achievement, ment and cures for disease is a top goal of Brown’s Warren Alpert This excites Jonathan Kurtis ’89, ’95 PhD, ’96 MD, chair of panding programs to reach 1,500 children and families, with physical activity, and social engagement. Medical School, and a new $50 million gift is propelling those efforts. pathology and laboratory medicine, and director of the medical hopes to create a national model. “It’s not just about asthma,” Koinis-Mitchell said. “It’s about all The gift, from Brown Chancellor Samuel M. Mencoff ’78 and his school’s MD/PhD program. Kurtis has developed a promisingADA Kar Project leaders Elizabeth McQuaid and Daphne Koinis- the other outcomes.” n wife, Ann S. Mencoff, is supporting the Brown Institute for Transla- malaria vaccine poised to begin human trials in Africa. He has i Mitchell, Brown professors of pediatrics and psychiatry and hu- RI-AIR aims to better control asthma through either school- tional Science (BITS), part of the Warren Alpert Medical School. been awarded numerous grants, yet said obtaining funding for man behavior, have developed programs that improve asthma or home-based care in 16 communities in Providence, Pawtucket, k i s

Half of the gift will be dedicated to establishing endowed faculty fighting diseases in developing countries can be challenging. l outcomes, including better control of symptoms, fewer emer- and Central Falls that have high rates of pediatric asthma and a chairs and funding outstanding researchers, with the remaining The Mencoffs’ gift has already facilitated recruitment of two b gency department visits, lower incidence of complications like emergency department use. / b

$25 million supporting other medical education and research. leading researchers. Jeffrey Bailey, who studies the role of ge- row allergies and poor sleep, and fewer missed school days. The ultimate goal of the grant is to find effective models that

“Over recent years, major investments in research in areas netic variation in immunity and disease, particularly malaria, pi McQuaid and Koinis-Mitchell have built on prior initiatives’ suc- can be shared with the rest of the country. That opportunity— n ip u l i like immunology, cell biology, and genetics have provided im- joined the pathology department in October 2018. Wafik El- n cess in establishing the Rhode Island Asthma Integrated Re- to help not just thousands but millions of kids struggling with i v pressive insights into the basic biology of fundamental processes,” Deiry became inaugural associate dean for Oncologic Sciences, e sponse Program (RI-AIR). Seed funding from the Brown-based asthma—is validation for the researchers. “All the work we have r si said Jack A. Elias, dean of medicine and biological sciences overseeing a new joint program in cancer biology for Brown e Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute gave them impor- done,” McQuaid said, “has in many ways been building toward t y and senior vice president for health affairs.H e said investments and the Lifespan health system. Kar tantPh n access to mapping and informatics expertise. this.” —Phoebe Hall

14 impact 2019 2019 impact 15 Jodyh recalls Ric sitting in the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s office in Prov- idence, a two-foot high stack of folders piled on the table in front of him. The files contained a large part of the story of the opioid epidemic in Rhode Island: autopsies and toxicology reports, police reports and witness statements, medical records and death scene photographs. “This whole time you’re reading through this folder … you know how it’s going to end: it’s tragic,” said Rich, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Brown. “It’s the death scene photographs—you can’t unsee those. One image was a woman who was pregnant and had a baby shower earlier in the day, and in the photo she is just slumped among all the presents she had just received. It weighs on you, the magnitude of this epidemic and tragedy.” In the four years before Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo took office in 2015, opioid deaths in the state nearly doubled. One of her first moves in office was to create a task force to confront the opioid epidemic, and she tapped three experts from Courtesy T r a c Traci Green i Green; (left), Jody Rich (center), and g

lenn Brandon Marshall are developing O

s new strategies to mundson reduce opioid overdoses.

Leading Brown researchers help reduce Rhode Island deaths and suggest new national directions.

BY maura sullivan hill Confronting16 Impact 2019 Opioids 2019 impact 17 Brown—Rich; Brandon Marshall, an associate professor of epi- cused on incarceration and criminal justice deterrents. However, demiology at Brown’s School of Public Health; and Traci Green, Rich, Green, and Marshall all found through their research that an adjunct associate professor of emergency medicine and ep- criminal justice efforts are not the most effective ways to deter idemiology—to help lead the way. or rehabilitate people who use drugs. Much of their work offers NaloxBox (above) designed by Brown and RISD “As expert advisors, we had 90 days to come up with an ac- an alternative focused on expanding treatment and rehabilitation professors, is on a wall for use if needed at Amos tionable plan to confront the crisis,” Rich said. “So we scrambled. options, and reducing the stigma around opioid addiction. House, a Providence social service facility. Research And Traci, she’s brilliant. She said, ‘We have to find out why peo- “Instead of bringing people into the criminal justice system, shows rapid-acting fentanyl test strips (right) help ple are dying. We have to go to the medical examiner’s office.’” we need to bring them into treatment,” Rich said. “Individuals reduce overdose risk. Green’s instincts were correct, and their hours spent comb- don’t die of opioid overdoses because we didn’t have enough ing through files yielded important answers—prominently, that arrests, incarceration, or police presence. They die because we heroin laced with fentanyl, a highly potent opioid, was often the have too much of that and not enough treatment.” ready for treatment. We need to keep people alive long enough College of Pharmacy, Green is leading a study to understand cause of these overdose deaths. This insight led to action, in- Rich is the director of the Center for Prisoner Health and to be willing to accept treatment. I see harm reduction programs how to boost access to naloxone, a medication to counter over- cluding a groundbreaking program of addiction treatment for Human Rights at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, and he has as working arm in arm with addiction treatment strategies.” doses, through pharmacies. prisoners in the state. been treating prison inmates for the past 25 years. In 2018, he After conducting a study with rapid-acting fentanyl test CVS Pharmacy, headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I., and In Rhode Island, overdose deaths increased by nearly 90 was elected to the National Academy of Medicine—regarded as strips in 2017, he found test strips have the potential to make a several independent pharmacies are collaborators, and have percent between 2011 and 2017, with 250 to 300 people dying one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine— big impact. In the year prior to the study, 56 percent of drug substantially increased their naloxone disbursement as a result annually. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from over- for contributions that include his work on opioids. deaths in Rhode Island occurred because of fentanyl-laced of the study. doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- His usual routine of biking on Tuesday mornings to the pris- drugs, primarily heroin. The strips work like an over-the-counter Green said a separate study is training and equipping Rhode Is- vention, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servic- on where he works has remained unchanged over those years, pregnancy test to warn drug users of the presence of fentanyl. land pharmacies to provide medication treatment for addiction care. es officially declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. but in 2016, his research led treatment plans to change dramat- Marshall and his research team provided test strips to drug “In crisis comes opportunity,” said Green. “The pharmacy ically. He and Green helped Jennifer Clark, medical director at users and found that they not only used the strips, but often could be a new partner to provide better, patient-centered care REASONS FOR HOPE the Rhode Island Department of Corrections and a fellow fac- changed their behavior to re- “Research into opioid use and treatment is an urgent national ulty member at Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, as Clark duce overdose risk. “The priority. Against this bleak picture of a national opioid crisis, launched a new treatment program that is still the only one of its work we’ve done has shown though, Rhode Island and Brown University have offered rea- kind in the United States. that most people who use il- “I nstead of bringing people into sons for hope,” said Brown University President Christina It treats inmates, using medication for addiction treatment— licit drugs or opioids would Paxson, speaking at an October 2018 “Frontlines of the Opioid drugs like methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone—which very much like to avoid fen- the criminal justice system, we need Crisis: Innovative Science-Based Solutions” event at Brown helps wean them off drugs and reduces risk of overdose upon tanyl,” Marshall said. cosponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. release. Other programs use one of these drugs, but Rhode Marshall’s study, published “In 2017, opioid-related deaths have dropped … in Rhode Island’s is the only one to offer all three options. In the first year in the International Journal of to bring them into treatment.” Island, the first significant decline in almost a decade. And the of this program, post-incarceration overdose deaths decreased Drug Policy in October 2018, state and Brown continues to be widely recognized for generat- by 61 percent, contributing to a statewide 12 percent drop in showed that fentanyl test —Jody Rich ing innovative research and treatment plans that are helping to overdose deaths. The team published its findings in a JAMA strips could help reduce over- ease the crisis, and which could provide models for the rest of Psychiatry study in February 2018 that attracted wide attention. doses. He is now expanding the study to a bigger sample size. for opioid-use disorder, like we have seen in the prison and jail. the country,” Paxson said. Research by Rich and others has shown that treating people He is also using a new $800,000 grant from the Laura and We think this could be a game-changer for addiction care.” Efforts to combat drug use in the United States have long fo- with effective medications—rather than them stopping “cold John Arnold Foundation to study the influence of peer recovery Other opioids efforts continue to broaden at Brown. The Asso- turkey”—is more successful in fighting opioid addiction. Inmates support specialists, who have been through their own addiction ciation of American Medical Colleges gave the Warren Alpert are at higher risk of overdose when they are released if they and recovery, and work at emergency departments throughout Medical School a 2018 curricular innovation award for how it don’t receive treatment while imprisoned. Rhode Island with patients who have overdosed. advanced the education and training of students, residents, “They may have stopped using because they are incarcer- In addition, Marshall is the scientific director of PreventOver- and practicing physicians about opioids. ated, but nothing has been done to change the pathways in the doseRI.org, the information dashboard and online presence for While overdoses are decreasing in Rhode Island, Rich, brain responsible for addiction,” Rich said. the state’s drug overdose task force. Using infographics, inter- Green, and Marshall say there is a long road ahead. Next, they active maps, charts, and videos, the site provides resources for want to share more of their research and data-driven policy ad- ult Corre A

NEW CENTER OF EXCELLENCE d individuals at risk or their friends and family members. Epide- vising with other states and address the crisis nationwide. Green Rich is also the principal investigator of the new Center of miological data are updated regularly by Marshall and his team said that, because Rhode Island is a small state, the statewide Biomedical Research Excellence on Opioids and Overdose at of undergraduate and graduate researchers at the Brown efforts here can be applied at the county level in larger states. Rhode Island Hospital, created in 2018 with an $11.8 million School of Public Health. “This is the service part of academic work,” Green said that c ti

federal grant. Green is codirector of the center, and Marshall is onal “By understanding where overdoses are occurring and who because Rhode Island is small, statewide efforts can be applied (2) a core director. Their work will focus on understanding more is most affected, we can develop programs that more effectively at the county level in larger states., the only constant was that I about the causes of opioid addiction, as well as exploring further n respond to the needs of communities across Rhode Island,” the deaths were going up. But the community came together stitution

treatment methods. e Marshall said. and we were very strategic and intentional about evidence-

Addiction treatment for Rhode Island prison inmates has Marshall brings another dimension to opioid efforts, focusing k d On another front, along with colleagues at Rhode Island based decision making. The data, the deaths, and the patterns reduced overdose deaths. on harm reduction strategies because, he said, “Not everyone is nic Hospital,NTAMARO Boston University, and the University of Rhode Island showed us a way forward.”

18 impact 2019 2019 impact 19 I n the expanding Carney Institute for Brain Science, discoveries are powering Eurprogress. eka BY noel rubinton ’77 Moments b

With trans-Tango technology developed at Brown, scientists can see connections between neurons and trace brain

courtesy Barnea La Barnea courtesy circuits.

20 impact 2019 2019 impact 21 ilad Barnea remembers his “Eureka” at Columbia University and then coming to Brown halfway into the complete sleep-wake cycle. When she examined the sleep moment. After 20 years of work on his “trans- his two decades of work. periods of mice, she said, “It was so unbelievable.” In sleep, the Tango” project, he was sitting in his Sidney “Brown was perfect for this,” Barnea said, as the University link between lack of CLOCK and seizures suddenly became Frank Hall office at Brown when a student in provided the needed intellectual environment and crucial inter- vivid. It was a turning point in her research, and her findings his lab rushed in with a picture that showed it was finally working. nal funding at key points prior to getting a succession of exter- have given hope for a new way to develop treatment for some Considerably more work remained before the discovery nal grants. He said Brown has been the source of “spectacular of the most severe cases of the disabling disorder. would be formally announced with publication in the journal undergraduates” for his lab (five of whom were listed as authors “If we start worrying about how long it will take, we’ll never Neuron in the fall of 2017, but the goal was in sight. on the key published paper), along with graduate students, get started,” Liu said. “Neuroscience and particularly neurolog- After years of efforts aimed at finding a powerful new way of postdocs, and supportive faculty colleagues. ical disease have eluded biomedical researchers in finding studying neural circuits, “that was an amazing moment,” re- cures.” While it won’t be easy or quick, Liu said she’s hopeful called Barnea, an associate professor of neuroscience. The that progress can be made on epilepsy because of the insight Gnew technology reveals which neurons are connected with others Persistence like Barnea’s is not unusual in brain about CLOCK. She said a strategy for further research could be In defining the role of CLOCK protein deficiency, and makes it possible to trace brain circuits, which is key infor- science. The study of the brain and its relationship to cognition, to deliver a drug that compensates for the lack of CLOCK, di- Judy Liu (below) and her lab studied neurons in human mation in understanding and treating disease. It is recognized behavior, and disease is often described as the “last frontier” in rectly in a specific part of a patient’s brain. epilepsy tissue (above) and mouse models. as a tool that could lead to many more discoveries, both in tech- biomedical science, and many of its vital questions have re- Liu conducted four years of research on the CLOCK protein niques and therapies. “Our system endows you with genetic ac- mained extremely difficult to answer. while at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, cessibility to neural circuits based on connectivity,” Barnea said. In 2018, Brown received one of the largest gifts in its history D.C., and, shortly before it was published in Neuron in October Now that the basic technique is proven, work with trans- to support brain science research. Aiming to quicken the pace 2017, she came to Brown as an assistant professor of neurology. Tango is expanding. After years of research using fruit flies, it is of scientific discovery about the brain and find cures to some of Liu said she wanted to be at Brown and the Warren Alpert Med- now being tried with mice, zebrafish, and chicks. And new ver- the world’s most persistent and devastating diseases, such as ical School because of “the amazing basic science community,” sions of the technique are being tested to study cancer and ALS and Alzheimer’s, Robert J. Carney ’61 and Nancy D. Car- and already she’s advancing her work in many new directions. also the immune system. In each new use, it will need to be ney gave Brown $100 million for the brain science institute, and The ability to collaborate at Brown has been fruitful right away, “tweaked” to operate correctly, yet Barnea is confident that it was renamed in their honor. as she has seen that lab space and researchers are not in silos. trans-Tango “is bound to give us insights into disorders of the “This is a signal moment when scientists around the world “Having world experts in neuroscience around me will make nervous system.” are poised to solve some of the most important puzzles of the things go faster,” she said. Many researchers might have given up years earlier, Barnea human brain,” said Brown President Christina Paxson. “This ex- said, but he kept going with his “obsession,” first as a postdoc traordinarily generous gift will give Brown the resources to be at the forefront of this drive for new knowledge and therapies. We carney’s connections are highly active through the know that discoveries in brain science in the years to come will medical school and also throughout the University. One of Brown’s dramatically reshape human capabilities, and Brown will be a often cited strengths in brain science is the breadth of the fac- leader in this critical endeavor.” ulty and research connections—with up to 45 labs across cam- Diane Lipscombe, director of the Carney Institute and a pro- pus engaged in brain-related research and 130 affiliated profes- fessor of neuroscience, called the Carneys’ gift “lifeblood to sors in departments ranging from neurology and neurosurgery driving innovation and discovery.” It will be used to accelerate to engineering and computer science. hiring of leading faculty, supply seed funding for high-impact Undergraduates are also closely knitted into brain science. new research, and fund essential new equipment and infra- About a quarter of all Brown undergraduates take the Introduc- structure in technology-intensive areas of exploration. tion to Neuroscience course, and many work as research assis- tants in brain-related campus labs.

Judy Liu is the kind of researcher that the y

Carney Institute plans to build its growth around. it has for eight years been follow-

s christopher Moore

A physician-scientist looking for an epilepsy cure, she had a er ing in the footsteps of Aristotle, working to create biolumines- v i

plan. Liu thought examining patient samples would hold the key n cent tools for neuroscience, and students have been integral to “ Having world experts

to understanding severe epilepsy. In fact, her team had identi- n U his lab. Bioluminescent light is the glow that can be observed w fied a change in the CLOCK protein in brain tissue that gener- o in organisms like fireflies and jellyfish, and it has long fascinated in neuroscience around

ates seizures. r/Br scholars. e

The next step was to develop an animal model to study the ck More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle recognized that the me will make things o effect of decreased CLOCK on seizures. When she was exam- generation of light by creatures, and their ability to tolerate D d n Cr av ining the data for the mice engineered for this purpose, she had e bright light, was remarkable. Moore, professor of neuroscience go faster.” —Judy Liu h i p orenste mountains of information. Trying to streamline her analysis, she e and Carney Institute associate director, and his team at Brown t

focused on the mice during their waking hours and saw no evi- ; S are aiming to use the same kind of chemical light generation to

Gilad Barnea surveys shelves full of research flies dence of seizures or a connection with epilepsy. lab achieve two defining goals of neuroscience: the widespread i n

in his lab. Then she had an aha moment, realizing she had to look at LIU measurement of brain activity and the control of these same

22 impact 2019 2019 impact 23 24 impact the most motivating factors to continue going forward. going to continue factors motivating most the of one probably to be that Ifound myself. like scientists young with especially discuss, and to collaborate willingness their just and Brown at science brain in I provides the space for creativity. for space the provides need. they that support the having of not fear without ideas their out to try chance the scientists of aspiring alot me…It gives to help funding and mentors the has My research is collaborative thoughts on share students stitute and faculty stinctiv rney the at distinctive Brown. toresearch approach brain C A A Belind of many professors professors many of accessibility the by impressed really been have a 2019 p

a M I D n a hama proac i , talking to others is critical. T learning and memory. memory. and learning diseases, for understanding consciousness, for understanding die. … die. neurons why out figure drugs, for targets right the are what out figure and to try forward disease of this understanding toour move together work to willing are who people and one, of each strengths the using systems, across together M Brown. at here that do we can that We’re lucky that. do can very that world the in places few very are science—there inexpertise neuroscience and engineering applied mathematics and computer to move. and to communicate ability the restore day one will that to a device hopefully, and, trials to clinical way through the all that translating and of movement, and system nervous of the understanding fundamental BrainGate is an incredible example P h g nne H a L A who want to collaborate and who are good at at good are who and to collaborate want who people with work to e ability I look at our work on on work our at I look h y ei in the sense that if I want to try a new technique, [Brown] [Brown] technique, anew to try Iwant if that sense the in D a A s

n S d I see that we could replicate that for sleep, for other other for sleep, for that replicate wecould that d Isee h tudent in i H ng a oc r h t, Professor of ’19, rese h b T e h A rg ’90, Professor of en we’ll make leaps forward. we’ll leaps en make L N S now, where we have…clinical researchers who can work work can who researchers wehave…clinical now, where euroscience a r c T o d h h of basic science that started here at Brown, a Brown, at here started that science of basic

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brown university; Nathan Shaner “ bioluminescence. produce that ingredients the contain tubes Four light. to respond and make to ability the cells system nervous giving technology advance to working ateam of aleader is Moore Christopher disciplin across working boundarino The is w t h i ngs ngs r h e e ar r h e a t e e pp lit s, w he —D e e

e n e s fors h iane Lipscombe iane r .” x i ally citing c h

said. “We don’t see boundaries.” see don’t “We said. Lipscombe happen,” things exciting the where is which plines, Jerome professor by neuroscience led and tute at Brown. at depart many science brain to across advance tools analysis develop projects further and ments research new five launch will for 2018 Center the for years five a $12 next the for renewal million out w said. said. Lipscombe thread, essential an was Moore—and collaboration I Michigan at now Hochgeschwender with continues that tionship - rela enduring an compete, than rather to collaborate decided “ talk. alab give A money from a grant to fly Hochgeschwender to Hochgeschwender fly to grant a from money spent Moore similar. something on working was schwender, researcher, Duke another that heard who norm. the is collaboration way,” Brown where to see, “the came he was It cells. control could bioluminescence that evidence tial ini had and together working were labs two the aweek, Within be this.”be t testing. testing. needed the to do equipped not was lab their knew apostdoc and he ideas, initial the with up come had they While to Brown. new project. the driven dramatically have that of collaboration instances of two proudest seems Moore break to efforts down information barriers. of forefront the at Brown putting movement, science” “open global burgeoning of the avenues other and stitute. laboration with col in tools, such to disseminate center a national to lead gram million from the patients. treat helping hyperactive, less cells make could light the instance, for Parkinson’s, diseases—in in aid neurons. calls walking down the hall and shyly knocking on her door. her on knocking shyly and hall the down walking calls re Moore colleague. established of an a request such making about nervous were they but them, to assist positioned best er he spoke, Lipscombe calmly said, “ said, calmly Lipscombe spoke, he er n 2 key early collaborator with Moore was a colleague at Duke, Duke, at acolleague was Moore with collaborator key early ere taken at taken ere “ T A T While discoveries along the way have been important, important, been way have the along discoveries While to of$9.2 up agrant received recently Brown and Moore C C T he he first pivotal joint effort came in 2011, when Moore was Moore 2011, in when came effort joint pivotal first he n e 018, 018, a h S other critical partnership developed the following spring. ntral ntral rney. ere are literally no boundaries for working across disci across working for boundaries no literally are ere h

T T N e said collaboration infuses and elevates work through work elevates and infuses collaboration e said h A h U a T e group is spreading knowledge through workshops workshops through knowledge spreading is e group n ey decided that Lipscombe, a senior colleague, was was colleague, asenior Lipscombe, that decided ey tional Institutes of Health announced in the fall of h n N m d, Moore remembers, “she had all sorts of ideas.” of ideas.” sorts all had “she remembers, d, Moore iversity. ultimately could tools of bioluminescent e impact e a rvous rvous C C n N a e rney—including those led by Barnea, Liu, and y ntral Michigan a S tional si h S e was just fantastic,” he said, and they they and said, he fantastic,” just e was y g stem Function, part of the of the part Function, stem n S c ificant research ste research ificant ience Foundation’s U

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T h e way to test it would would it e way to test 2019 S a N U nes. nes. P impact euro C r t S e Hochge ovidence to ovidence a c rney Insti rney intillon In T N h ex pro C e grant e grant e ntral ntral 25 p A s f ------

Sky’s the Limit BY sarah c. Baldwin ’87

From building a satellite to exploring immunology, virtual reality, and more, undergraduates are engaged in ambitious research.

When asked about the recent success of a student-led aero- space project called EQUiSat, Brown planetary scientist James Head ’69 PhD said he isn’t surprised—he’s impressed: “Brown undergrads have done the impossible: They have designed, built, and launched a satellite with the audacious goal of bringing space to the people. What could be more ‘Brown’ than students dreaming an impossible dream and then making it a reality?” Whether for the summer, the semester, or the academic year, collaborating one-on-one with a professor or with an interdisciplinary team, writing a thesis, or working on an independent study project, at any given point more than 1,000 Brown undergraduate students are conducting research in labs, libraries, and the field. If Brown is a hotbed of research opportunities for undergrads, said Oludurotimi Adetunji, dean of undergraduate research and inclusive science, it’s because “students are seen as equal partners and cocreators. Their voices and contributions matter.” courtesy max monn max courtesy Their work is not going unnoticed. In fall 2017, two recent graduates were among the 25 cited as EQUiSat, created by Brown having written the top undergraduate research papers by the prestigious Undergraduate Awards—the undergraduates, was launched largest academic awards program in the world, with 6,432 applicants from across the globe that year. into space May 21, 2018, on a Seventeen additional papers by students and recent alumni were “highly commended.” rocket from Wallops Island, And in November 2018, Rhea Stark ’18.5 was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, one of only 32 in Virginia. the country. She was a dual concentrator in archaeology and the ancient world and Middle East stud-

26 impact 2019 2019 impact 27 ies, and the Rhodes Trust said about her work as a researcher students in one of our core missions—discovering and sharing “A lthough we had advisers... that she “uncovers buried histories by elevating the narratives of knowledge. Research not only helps students better understand everyday people, particularly women and people of color.” the specific topic of their projects, but also reinforces the power we mostly learned from each For Dean of the College Rashid Zia ’01, student research is of inquiry. They can appreciate the dynamic nature of knowledge other.” —Lauren Haller ’18 important because “these opportunities help to actively engage and see how their own effort can advance understanding.”

watched on Wallops Island, Virginia. Then, in July, astronauts Yoel Zaid ’19 (left) and Noah Joseph ’18 lay out pieces for successfully launched it into space, where it joined the select EQUiSat at the Engineering School’s Brown Design All Systems Go group of other, decidedly non-DIY satellites orbiting the earth. Workshop. The tiny craft came equipped with a mission. It was outfitted with four industrial LEDs powered by lithium iron phosphate Brown Space Engineering, as the team is called, has been a spot on a rocket in 2014. “With a fair bit of luck, we have accom- (LiFePO4) batteries, which have never been flown in space. entirely student-run from the start, says Lauren Haller ’18, who plished something that none of us ever believed was possible.” NASA will use the batteries’ performance data to determine machined the chassis. “Although we had advisers and reached A number of last-minute challenges made for lots of long their viability for future space suits and rovers. The agency has out to a few experts [including Rick Fleeter, an adjunct associ- hours for team members as the launch approached. But in the also mandated testing of the satellite’s ability to survive a trip into ate professor of engineering at Brown], we mostly learned from end, said Hunter Ray ’18, the team’s project manager in the orbit and to function properly some 250 miles above the earth. each other.” Different teams within BSE had to engineer the months before launch and an engineering concentrator like many EQUiSat’s other mission was to show people that space is complex chemical coating for the delicate solar panels, for ex- of his colleagues, the team pulled together and delivered. “It was accessible—not just to those in the space industry, but to all. It ample, and design the computer code to run the systems. hard to say, ‘Hey, I know you have three finals coming up and a k Dentamaro/Bro Ni

emitted a signal that both complex ground stations, including c “Each generation of leadership has channeled their excite- paper due tomorrow, but we need you to come in and work on the special antenna installed on the cupola of Brown’s Ladd ment toward a different part of the project,” says Hannah Varner this,’” Ray said. “But it really pushed us. I think as a team we Observatory, and amateur radio users have been picking up. ’14, a member of the team that successfully applied to NASA for came out stronger.” The LEDs were set to flash as brightly as the North Star at regular intervals, encouraging people to look skyward and, the team

hopes, post sightings on Facebook and Twitter. These features, w n

coupled with the cube’s low final cost of $3,776 and open U n i

source system (available on the team’s website, along with K–12 v ers curricula for budding space amateurs), are proof positive, ac- i t cording to the student designers, that space technology is y (2) Growing in the within reach. Lab Growing up in Armenia, Lilit a category of lymphocytes—

A 4-inch cube, Brown’s EQUISat was deployed by oryan Grigoryan ’18 thought she the white blood cells that are g International Space Station astronauts July 13, 2018. i wanted to be a doctor like her part of the immune system— gr t i mom. But working in Profes- called cytotoxic T cells. These l i Imagine gazing up at the night sky and knowing that some- sor Laurent Brossay’s lab at are responsible for the remov- where arcing across it is a satellite that you helped build. As of Brown was a revelation. al of the human body’s own summer 2018, that’s a pleasure that some 80 former and cur- There she discovered not cells that have been infected rent Brown students got to experience, along with the knowl- only her love of scientific re- by viruses or taken over by y; courtesy l courtesy y; t edge that they are advancing science. i search, but also a community cancer. She was trying to Lilit Grigoryan ’18 is now pursuing a PhD in ers

The idea for the spacecraft, a four-inch cube called EQUi- v of “helpful, smart, collabora- identify the function of a lipid immunology. i n U

Sat, was born in 2011, when a handful of students in an aero- tive people.” These include marker found on them, but n space engineering class decided to try to design and launch a w the grad students who trained was unsuccessful. “I was dis- satellite. With a budget of less than $5,000, the team got right her, as well as Brossay himself. appointed,” she said, yet to it, building and testing the parts and systems themselves. After a year and a half of gamely decided to write a Seven years later, in May 2018, thanks to the work of suc- doing experiments in Bros- thesis about it anyway. “These world-class professors… cessive generations of undergraduates, EQUiSat was included say’s lab, Grigoryan thought Then, as she was review- on a NASA resupply mission to the International Space Station, Lauren Haller ’18 works on EQUiSat’s aluminum chassis, she had reached a dead ing data from the year before, treated us as their equals.” c lifting off in a commercial rocket while dozens of the students custom-milled by the team. Ni end. Dentamaro/Bro k She had been looking at something jumped out at her. —Lilit Grigoryan ’18

28 impact 2019 2019 impact 29 - - - 31 heart he T impact 2019 ese students had a h T . “ alone was not enough to to enough not was alone guarantee the success Toy of maker vision for their piece and cre ated a tight community that madethe process rewarding enough continue to even when some the of work was “ said. she tedious,” warming story of stands itself, by but for me it the film willalways be interwoven with the story friends of working toward a common goal.” - - —Nellie Robinson ’17 Robinson —Nellie imation. do com n n ier, a well-ier, A e E M ier’s courseier’s In- ier, developingier, e e M mputer M o C do ’18, who helpeddo ’18, n E cording to c h A nji ownership that was crucial was that for ownership work.” our in invested staying e “T usasense of gave is most, while collaborating with with collaborating while most, each other and providing feedback, all in the format a of said studio,” animation small K lead on modeling and set dressing. In 2017, pleted anotherresearch proj ect with and materials curricular new tutorials for 3Dtro to designed course structure - - - - is gave h eles Inter T ng binson. “We A o s s R o L imfest and was ac rything we made hildren’s Film Festival. Film hildren’s n ve C A e format Barb’s of E h T “Itwas student-drivena “ hens t cepted into five more festivals, more five intocepted the including process,” said was from scratch, from story and concept all the way through production. us a sense ownership of that was crucial for staying invest ed in our work.” A national were responsible for setting our own schedule and leading ourown critiques, with Barb guideto us with practical ad vice. course allowed each us of to focus on certain areas the of pipeline that interested us the - - - - , a bin o binson R class, class, ier ’83, o e he R n Brown/ n T M d in 2018, the d in 2018, llie n e A whe N imation Produc n A if she could design a r the next year, M student c ve S D O S ghtmonths and com10,000 I dvanced i

n fall 2015, fall n

’87 ’87 ’17 asked computer’17 science lecturer Barbara film won the music award in the student competition at #TeamworkI R classthat would producean animated film, Meier said yes, as longas she had at least 10 people on the project. son developed the art, story board,and script and gathered collaborators. the A tion, kicked off inE fall 2016. puter hours Toymaker later, seven-minuteshort, animated was complete. “Toymaker,” a 7-minute animated“Toymaker,” short, has been accepted into many international film festivals.

son n i b o R e i ll e N urtesy o C

i Stock - - - - - sequenc anford and t A S N ard, Zabat traveled the to Fascinated the by “cross igoryan amongthe most igoryan is pursuing a PhD w r r A G G accomplished of the thou the accomplished of in immunology at ison herbecoming, to way if comes prediction Brossay’s scientist.” visible highly “a true, sands of undergrads he has has he undergrads of sands taughtover years. the past 18 talk” the of immune system with other parts the of body, - search e R obial communities, fermentation, and veg and fermentation, communities, obial icr udent t M lle hit all of those notes.” those of all hit lle S iche M cording Belenky, to Zabat’s taste in research is as good a c S . Fulbright And her interests were no mere flash in the pan: thanksto a A d he included her as sec S . n pino fermented foods. fermented pino Philippines after graduation to continue studying traditional Fili traditional studying continue to graduation after Philippines U Michelle Zabat conducted ’18 a study on kimchi that earnedinternational scientific attention. liam from a local fermenter and used high-throughput D identify to ing the bacteria. Zabatno, obtained vegan and nonvegan bacterial samples “ timing. her as anism—these are areas people are very interested in right now,” “ said. he ond author on a paper his lab recently published. It stunned herthat at Brown she “met these world-class professors who treated us as their equals.” For his part, Brossay counts and immunology,was deeply involved withher work. “He taught me every cell shape I neededknow to and helped me design new experiments.” A ------Food lecular o esis and esis h M T at quickly be h T ergraduate ergraduate chelle was a Zabat ’18, i igoryan said that, as a nd r M U G the Elizabeth Leduc PhD] [’48 Prize in Cell Biology, named and the scholar distinguished for former dean biology of at Brown. interventions. Brossay, whomentor, is chair microbiology molecular of came the topic her of thesis, for which she received both the Clapp Prize for Outstand ing —foods containing the micro the containing —foods sistant Professor of s A

rean side dish fermented of cabbage is o K erican that she created a food studies track m 2019 , showed that, though they start out with different A bral and Jenna Wurster and research assistant Wil a C e resultse were seen as exciting, yet even more surpris h T impact obiology and Immunology Peter Belenky, with validating validating with Belenky, Peter Immunology and obiology So it was significant when a recent study that attracted con Food has always been so central the to life and identity of Zabat credits her mentor, 27, the marker couldbe 27, h icr D cells in anindividual battling 30 Right Time Right might properly—kimchi function bodies our help that organisms not come immediately mind. to But, along with yogurt and kom bucha, the traditional The Right Study at the the at Study Right The W en you think of probiotics usually it’s Because choice. probiotic popular increasingly an made with fish sauce, though, vegans haven’t been ableto tap into health benefits it may offer. siderable attention,published in the peer-reviewed journal Microbiology microbial communities, vegan kimchi ends up with almost the traditional the as fermentation after bacteria type of identical kind. used identify to this subset of C T a viral infection, eventually leading novel to immune She She realized she was looking at a new one marker, that was blood white on solely present cellsthat were producingthe highly inflammatory interferon gamma,which plays rolea in Dubbed viruses. combating senior at Brown when the study came out. this Filipina- very was “I concentration. biology human and health her within interested in the intersections between culture, health, science, and society. Food presented exploring of a way the overlaps between all these of things,” she said. ing some to was that the lead author, nior thesis project,” she said, “he suggested I merge my pas sion for food science with the human microbiome work his lab com microbial of impacts the is, on”—that focuses traditionally munity dynamics on human health. Working with grad students Damien her interests. “When it came time start to thinking about my se M Back to the Virtual Future

W hen Adam Blumenthal, Brown’s virtual reality artist-in-resi- to Blumenthal, but the project’s “14 creative minds”—concen- dence, launched into an immersive virtual reality (VR) project trators in more than a dozen disciplines, from computer engi- focused on the Gaspee Affair, it wasn’t long before a team of neering to visual art—“were great collaborators.” undergraduates volunteered to pitch in. A year later, he and 14 Students had to think hard about how to structure the proj- students formed a group independent study project titled Vir- ect so it was manageable to produce and also met the educa- tual Reality for Education. tional requirements. “We were really focused in the beginning When completed, the project will be used to teach middle on how you could put this into a curriculum,” said Zev Izenberg and high school students about the 1772 incident in which ’20, a computer science and visual art concentrator. “By the Rhode Island colonists boarded and burned the HMS Gaspee, end, we realized how difficult it was to create anything at all in a British Royal Navy schooner helmed by a captain with a repu- VR. …The hard stuff is getting it there in the first place.” tation for confiscating cargo and harassing merchants and fish- Creating the project involved historical research, script writ- ermen. The incident was significant in the run-up to the Decla- ing, reenactments of historical scenes, animation, 3D modeling, ration of Independence. coding, and learning how to use new and emerging VR pro- To create such a product is no small undertaking, according grams. The team shot the scenes using a 360-degree Google Jump camera rig that the Katerina Ramos Jordan (right) studied Puerto Rican literature and presented at Brown’s annual summer research company loaned to Blumen- symposium. thal, a designated “trusted tes- ter” of Google VR technology. The production also involved Tilt Brush, a Google VR painting program, and a technique called photogram- Shelter from the Storm metry, which figures out the geometry or shape of things Katerina Ramos Jordan ar- derrepresented and under- in the environment. Students rived at Brown on an October served students who want to “ Brown was the perfect place… wove all these elements evening in 2017, not long after explore advanced graduate to conduct my research in a throughout the storytelling Hurricane Maria had devas- study. unique and sciplinary process, adding voiceover tated a swath of the Caribbe- Ramos, who studies litera- narration and using spatial an—including Puerto Rico, her ture from the Puerto Rican di- way.” —Katerina Ramos Jordan audio to guide a student home. Brown welcomed her aspora, worked with Leticia through the experience. and other displaced University Alvarado, an assistant profes- The sense of being im- of Puerto Rico students. sor of ethnic studies and mersed in an environment Over the course of the ac- American studies at Brown. where history is being made ademic year, Ramos found a “We connected immediately,” ences for underrepresented competitive graduate pro- makes VR an effective tool for “passionate and collaborative she said of her mentor. “She students. That funding will grams means that more will overcoming disengagement community,” and wanted to motivated me constantly to support students at the 10 choose the doctoral path, among students, said Blu- stay for the summer and con- analyze in depth and to ex- host universities—Brown, Co- thereby diversifying the acad- menthal. Hannah Seckendorf tinue her work. “I knew Brown press my ideas clearly. Ex- lumbia, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, emy, government, and indus- y t ’20, a cognitive science con- i was the perfect place that changing ideas with her was a New York University, University try. That’s certainly the case ers urtesy C

centrator, agreed, saying that v would allow me to conduct continually enriching process.” of Chicago, University of Virginia, with Ramos. “I plan to contin- i o n U

VR is often referred to as an my research in a unique and Many more students like University of Pennsylvania, and ue developing my research, n

empathy machine. “Students w interdisciplinary way,” she said. her will be able to enjoy the Johns Hopkins University— prepare for graduate school,

[can sometimes feel] that the Ad So she applied to a summer same support. The Mellon that are part of the Leadership and, hopefully, become a pro- a

material they’re studying isn’t m Blument research program run by the Foundation recently gave Alliance Mellon Initiative. fessor,” she said. “Being part relevant, or that it has no im- Leadership Alliance, a Brown- $1.25 million to the consor- Leadership Alliance director of the Leadership Alliance has portance in daily life. In VR, it based consortium of 36 pre- tium to underwrite summer Medeva Ghee said that ex- made me believe that with

is relevant to you, because it’s h mier research and teaching undergraduate research in posing these students to discipline, work, and patience al c

More than a dozen students created a virtual reality project to be used in schools. your environment.” Ni institutions Dentamaro/Bro k that supports un- the humanities and social sci- challenging research and I can achieve that.”

32 impact 2019 2019 impact 33 BY Gillian Kiley

hen Brown’s Center for the Study of Slavery and Jus- ticeS (CS J) opened in 2012, it immediately launched a rich year- long series of programs that asked critical questions about the Wtransatlantic slave trade, its legacies, and its ramifications for the present. What were the conditions on the ships used to bring slaves to America? What kinds of knowledge did enslaved people create? What are the links between slavery and present-day phenomena like racial profiling and human trafficking? While new centers are often forgiven for slow, deliberate start-up periods, the CSSJ had anything but that, drawing crowds to its many initial events. Then, as now, its programs en- abled Brown and the larger community to ask big questions about subjects often suppressed. “The CSSJ is a center in the world,” said Anthony Bogues, The the CSSJ’s founding director. “It does not just reside in the academic space. The academy tends to be isolated from the world, but we are engaged with it. We have no other option, because Brown commissioned the issues and questions we work on demand rigorous scholar- sculptor Martin Puryear ship and are critical to the world we live in today.” Power to create the Slavery The CSSJ generates original research, projects, and pro- Memorial on its grams that address pressing issues related to slavery and its Quiet Green. legacies, from questions about memorials perceived as racist of rary Truth b T he Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice looks at the past In partnership with the International Slavery Museum in England, Brown was the first institution in the United States

at Brown and beyond to move forward. Li hay John University; Brown to exhibit these slave shackles, which were on view at the John Hay Library in 2016.

34 impact 2019 2019 impact 35 to how race impacts health tory, sociology, American studies, Africana studies, public Siperstein recalled visiting the John Brown House—the disparities to the status of vot- health, biology, and Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, the historic home of one of the family members who owned the ing rights today. group researches the history of race and racism in medicine. An ship—as an undergraduate and asking the tour guide there area of great concern, Braun said, is how fixed ideas about race about John Brown’s role in the local slave trade. Truth in all its impact the diagnosis and treatment of disease. “There was nothing about slavery in the display materials,” Sip- complexity The CSSJ’s research clusters have already produced many erstein said. “I think my question made the tour guide nervous.” To serve its public humani- exhibition catalogs, launched undergraduate research projects, At that time, there seemed to be hesitancy about openly ad- ties mission, the CSSJ con- created curricula for high school educators, and convened net- dressing local involvement in the slave trade, Siperstein said. stantly reaches beyond the works of scholars, Bogues said. But now, because of the work of the Steering Committee and walls of Brown, Bogues said. CSSJ, the Sally exhibition that Siperstein worked on is on dis- The work often involves part- Global and local impact play at the John Brown House, and Brown Family Weekend nering with other academic Because slavery and the slave trade had “world-historic programming includes a Slavery and Legacy Walking Tour of and cultural institutions or proportions,” Bogues said, the center works with institutions Providence that was designed by two high school-aged CSSJ bringing distinguished schol- across the globe in its efforts to bring rigor to the way the his- interns. ars and others active in civil tory of slavery is studied and presented. With the Smithsonian Beyond internships, Bogues said the CSSJ frequently en- and workers’ rights move- Institution’s National Museum of African American History and gages with students through tours and exhibitions and through ments to Brown. But its foun- Culture, the CSSJ convenes dation is tied inextricably to the Global Curatorial Project, a the University’s efforts to group of curators from major grapple with its own history museums in South Africa, through the work of its Steer- Senegal, the United Kingdom, Brown’s “Pioneering” Work ing Committee on Slavery and France, Belgium, the Nether- Justice, commissioned in lands, and the United States. “Has Long Stood As The Gold 2003 by then-President Ruth The group’s members ini- J. Simmons. tially met in 2014 to discuss how Standard” Simmons asked the com- they had curated prior exhibi- —Universities Studying Slavery consortium mittee to examine the Univer- tions on slavery and colonial- sity’s historical entanglement ism. Now, they are developing with slavery and the slave new institutional practices to trade. In 2006, the committee encourage the communities they serve to shape how exhibi- its Civil Rights Movement Initiative (CRMI), in which students issued its report, which de- tions about the legacies of slavery are told. from Providence’s Hope High School take a six-week course tailed how Brown alumni, Anthony Bogues, founding director of the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, The CSSJ has also established itself as a resource for other and spend a week traveling to historic sites in the South, meeting Corporation members, and works with organizations around the world interpreting slavery. public projects in media. Award-winning director Stanley J. with movement veterans. members of its namesake fam- Nelson Jr., who has examined the history and experiences of “I have been teaching in Providence for 28 years, and I have ily participated in the slave African Americans in films like Freedom Riders, enlisted the seen few programs with the impact of CRMI,” said Jonathan trade, and it catalogued the objects, buildings, and images on in a manner proper to a university,” Collins said, by “using its help of the CSSJ for a forthcoming documentary that will chart Goodman, a teacher at Hope High. campus that honored those involved. greatest resources,” including the ability to conduct in-depth the economic and human cost of the slave trade. Embarking on a journey that is both intellectual and often The report was a watershed moment, scholars around the research, encourage learning, and develop relationships. Bogues said the slave trade and its economic, social, and emotional is not always easy for students, said Sara Jackson, a world say: In publicly confronting the University’s direct ties to Brown’s “pioneering” work “has long stood as the gold stan- political consequences on multiple continents remain not fully CRMI participant who is now a student at Providence College. slavery, Brown openly addressed its past and examined how dard for how to embark,” according to the website of the Uni- understood, and the CSSJ worked with Nelson’s Firelight “I was reluctant to join,” Jackson said. “I was very aware of that past impacts the present. Among other recommendations, versities Studying Slavery consortium convened in 2014 by the Media to bring together the best scholarship. According to pro- my ignorance, and I didn’t want to confront the emotions that the committee suggested creating a center that would continue University of Virginia and which now has 45 members. ducer Naz Habtezghi, partnering with the CSSJ was critical go hand in hand with learning your history. This trip taught me the work of confronting traumatic histories and, as Simmons As the CSSJ marks the conclusion of its first five years, its to the team’s effort to spotlight this untold story while honoring that, in the end, what you do with the lessons you learn, good said, “tell the truth in all its complexity.” faculty, staff, and students continue to expand the center’s the complexity and humanity of its subject. or bad, is what makes you a brave person.” Brown has been credited with inspiring similar efforts at robust research and public-facing initiatives in ambitious col- The work of the CSSJ and the Steering Committee has also For Siperstein, who is engaged with the work of the CSSJ as many other institutions. The Rev. David Collins, associate pro- laborations involving many academic departments and other changed how the history of slavery is represented locally. Sean an alumnus and as cochair of Friends of the CSSJ, the center’s fessor of history at Georgetown University, said that Brown’s organizations. Siperstein ’05 was a member of an undergraduate group proj- work is energizing, in the center’s existence fulfills the promise b

process for telling the truth about its past, and identifying a The CSSJ is home to a number of research clusters focused rown ect that worked in tandem with the Steering Committee on of the Steering Committee’s efforts. means of taking responsibility for it, was revelatory. When Col- on slavery and abolition, contemporary human trafficking, a Slavery and Justice. The students researched and created an “The entire idea of the Steering Committee’s charge was to lins was asked in 2015 to chair Georgetown’s Working Group comparative history of slavery, the American criminal justice u exhibition on the Sally, a slave ship owned by Brown family grapple with history as a University, as a continuous subject, niversity on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, he said “reading system, and structural racism in biomedicine. members. During a 1764 voyage, Captain Esek Hopkins cap- and then not just grapple but take these steps,” Siperstein said. Brown’s report was one of the first things I did.” The latter is led by Lundy Braun, a professor of medical sci- tured 196 Africans to be auctioned off as slaves, the exhibition “That we want to understand and learn from the past is reflected “Brown showed how a university could tap into the problem ence and Africana studies. With faculty and students from his- explains, and at least 109 of those Africans died en route. in the center’s existence, in its work and mission.”

36 impact 2019 2019 impact 37 A closer look at researchers and focus projects gaining wider influence

a method for multiplexing data sion to perform outdoor tests carried on terahertz waves, of data transmission in several which may enable the next frequency bands in the tera- generation of ultra-high-band- hertz range. “These kinds of Brown graduate student Rabi Shrestha works on width wireless networks. outdoor tests will be impor- terahertz testing equipment. “The terahertz range is of- tant for understanding what’s ten called the ‘last frontier’ of possible in terahertz commu- will bounce off the ground be- to make a polarizing beam- Information the electromagnetic spectrum, nication,” Mittleman said. fore reaching the receiver. splitter, a device that splits a since it is the least well ex- The first outdoor tests have That reflected radiation can beam of light by its differing plored range of the spectrum,” proven promising, in some interfere with the main signal polarization states, sending Mittleman said. “There’s a good cases easing concerns about unless a decoder compensates vertically polarized light in one reason for this: everything is the versatility of terahertz links. for it. It’s a well-understood direction and horizontally po- more challenging in this For example, it’s long been phenomenon in microwave larized light in another. Such a Ultra-Highway range, including generating assumed that terahertz links transmission, and Mittleman beamsplitter could be useful T ransmitting data via terahertz waves shows promise in the radiation, manipulating it, would require a direct line of and his colleagues wanted to in a wide variety of systems unclogging the data logjam. and detecting it. But, with sight between receiver and test it in the terahertz range. that make use of terahertz ra- these challenges, there are transmitter. But Mittleman and They showed that this kind diation, from imaging systems BY Kevin Stacey and Noel Rubinton ’77 also tremendous opportuni- his team showed that non- of interference occurs in tera- to future communications net- ties for new science and new line-of-sight terahertz data hertz waves but to a lesser works. When Alexander Graham Bell phone receiver was ultimately in the School of Engineering— crowave radiation to carry technologies.” links are possible because the degree over grass compared Terahertz radiation is a hot transformed communications adopted by Bell. is working with colleagues to data, but the demand for In the journal Nature Com- waves can bounce off of walls to concrete. That’s likely be- area of study, and the work with the telephone in the With the revolution in com- find a way to solve a critical more and more bandwidth is munications, Mittleman and and other obstacles without cause grass contains a lot of isn’t limited to data transmis- 1870s, he had an assist munications now going at logjam on the modern-day in- rapidly becoming more than his team reported the trans- losing too much data. Mittle- water, which tends to absorb sion. Mittleman and Professor from two Brown professors— speeds that Bell could never formation superhighway. microwaves can handle. That mission of two real-time video man and his colleagues terahertz waves. Over grass, Vicki Colvin from Brown’s Eli Whitney Blake and John have imagined, another Brown Today’s cellular networks has researchers thinking about signals through a terahertz bounced terahertz waves at the reflected beam is ab- chemistry department are Peirce—whose work on a professor—Daniel Mittleman and Wi-Fi systems rely on mi- transmitting data on higher- multiplexer at an aggregate four different frequencies off sorbed to a greater degree heading a team that has im- frequency terahertz waves, than over concrete, leaving proved the resolution of tera- which have as much as 100 less of it to interfere with the hertz emission spectroscopy— times the data-carrying capac- “T here are also tremendous main beam. That means that a technique used to study a ity of microwaves. terahertz links over grass can wide variety of materials— TLEMAN M opportunities for Mittleman is at the fore- it be longer than those over by a thousandfold, making front of those exploring the new science, and new concrete because there’s less the technique useful at the field of terahertz technology. interference to deal with, Mit- nanoscale. Laser terahertz

lab technologies.” Though terahertz transmis- tleman said. emission microscopy is a bur- /

sion remains in an early stage, Br —Daniel Mittleman There’s also an upside to geoning means of character- o

with much basic research to wn that kind of interference with izing the performance of solar

be done and plenty of chal- U data rate of 50 gigabits per of a variety of objects—mir- the ground. “You can imagine cells, integrated circuits, and lenges to overcome, Mittle- nive second, approximately 100 rors, metal doors, cinderblock that if your line-of-site path is other systems and materials.

man is leading many key ave- r times the optimal data rate of walls, and others—and mea- blocked,” Mittleman said, “you The researchers believe s nues of investigation. He and ity today’s fastest cellular network. sured the error rate of the could think about bouncing it their new technique could be / D

his colleagues are working to ucou “We showed that we can data on the wave after the off the ground to get there.” broadly useful in characteriz- develop the basic compo- transmit separate data streams bounces. They showed that In other terahertz work, ing the electrical properties of r

nents and techniques needed n on terahertz waves at very acceptable error rates were Mittleman and others, includ- materials in unprecedented au ity L to make terahertz communi- s high speeds and with very low achievable with modest ining Masaya Nagai, an aca- detail. r a

cations a reality. b error rates,” Mittleman said. creases in signal power. demic colleague in Japan, “Terahertz emission has / CN Multiplexing, the ability to nive Mittleman and his team The researchers also have developed a new meth- been used to study different U R S /U

send multiple signals through wn have even made the streets of looked at what’s known as od of manipulating the polar- materials—semiconductors, o a single channel, is a funda- nive Providence near their Barus & multipath interference. When ization of light at terahertz fre- superconductors, wide-band- Br /

mental feature of any voice or r Holley offices a literal living a signal is transmitted over quencies. gap insulators, integrated cir- s ity lab data communication system. laboratory. They have con- long distances, the waves fan The technique, outlined in cuits, and others,” Mittleman

An international research of ducted measurements under out, forming an ever-widening a paper in the journal Scien- said. “Being able to do this down L i A simulation of radiation emerging from a terahertz multiplexer. Terahertz could team led by Mittleman has lle the first license from the Fed- cone. As a result of that fan- tific Reports, uses stacks of to the level of individual nano- it

enable the next generation of ultra-high-bandwidth networks to handle more data. demonstrated for the first time M eralTLEMAN Communications Commis- ning out, a portion of waves carefully spaced metal plates structures is a big deal.”

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the Wall Street Journal and history at the University facili- of War Project doesn’t just pared to the Pentagon’s $1.5 the Times of India to The tated smooth coordination generate research; it also trillion estimate. Project lead- Economist and TIME maga- with the project being based strives to connect journalists, ers reached out to U.S. Sen. zine. The New York Times has at Brown. As codirectors, she advocacy groups, and gov- Jack Reed of Rhode Island, cited estimates from the proj- and Lutz write reports them- ernment officials with their re- the ranking Democrat on the ect multiple times, including in selves and edit many others searchers and reports. More senate’s Committee on Armed a 2017 piece from its editorial before they are published. than 40 scholars from a range Services, and Reed hosted a board pushing for greater gov- “It’s not dollars and cents of academic institutions have briefing in the Senate Office ernment accountability, say- alone, nor is it only blood,” been involved, with the proj- Building for journalists and ing: “The Costs of War project Crawford said. “It’s also the ect centered at Brown where staff representatives from con- at Brown University estimates ripple effects in the economy. its administrative and editorial gressional offices. over 200,000 civilians have We also want to help people processes take place. Costs of War research has been killed in Afghanistan, understand that the effects of The project gained a large been used in Congress numer- Iraq and Pakistan since 2001.” war don’t end when the war amount of attention after pub- ous times, Savell said, by Re- Though Crawford teaches terminates or when troops are lishing Crawford’s 2017 report publicans and Democrats, in- political science at Boston withdrawn.” showing that the post-9/11 cluding a map the project s t

r University, she finished her Stephanie Savell, a re- wars have cost the United created showing 76 countries

be undergraduate studies at search associate at the Wat- States $4.3 trillion and will where the United States has o

r Brown in 1985 and later be- son Institute and the project’s cost a total of $5.6 trillion taken military action to fight came a faculty member at the third codirector, also focuses once future spending on vet- terrorism.

joshua Watson Institute—her long on outreach efforts. The Costs erans is factored in, as com- By offering information to policymakers, reporters, and United States troops stationed in Afghanistan. citizens alike, the Costs of War Projects aims to inform assessments of these wars. women, and the overcrowd- More information for the The Real Costs of War ing of Iraqi refugees in Arab public is always better, said A project established at Brown has become a key states. Through a partnership Sebastian Junger, a journalist with Reuters, a series of news who has focused on the war source about the post-9/11 War on Terror. stories focusing on their re- in Afghanistan, producing search insights was released projects like the book War BY elena renken ’19 simultaneously. and the film Restrepo. Few While it also assists many people know that civilian Catherine Lutz, a professor of the Pentagon and the White body had something really other kinds of researchers, deaths have risen since the of international studies and House.” important to say that we had enriching the information avail- United States withdrew anthropology at Brown, was The pair decided to do not realized,” Lutz said. “No one able to journalists is a central troops from Afghanistan, he talking in 2010 to Boston Uni- something to reveal the hid- person has the whole story.” focus of the Costs of War Proj- noted, and added, “It’s the versity colleague Neta Craw- den human, economic, and After these conversations, ect, which provides broader kind of information that is cru- ford about the mass of news political costs of U.S. wars cial if the public is going to articles they knew would ac- since 9/11, so that they could make humane and wise deci- company the upcoming anni- be publicly seen and to in- “ You need to have sions about war.” versary of 9/11. Despite nearly spire a public discussion. Edward Steinfeld, director a decade of fighting the post- The Costs of War Project data and evidence for real of the Watson Institute, said, 9/11 wars, much information was born as Lutz and Craw- accountability.” “It’s fundamentally about ac- on the consequences of these ford gathered a group of countability. It’s the account- conflicts was still missing. scholars at the Watson Insti- —Edward Steinfeld ability of policymakers, the accountability of societies. You “People feel they’re in the tute for International and Pub- guvendemi dark about these wars, and lic Affairs. Representing many Lutz and Crawford coordinat- perspectives through the doz- need to have data and evi- why they’ve been going on so different parts of the United ed with scholars to release an ens of reports it has published dence for real accountability.” long, and what has happened States, as well as other coun- initial set of papers in 2011, fo- in its seven years of operation. “In my view, providing in- r / i

as a result,” Lutz said. “There tries, researchers brought cused on topics such as The Costs of War Project’s re- S formation for general public wasn’t a lot of information with them a wide range of health care costs for veterans, search has been referenced to discussion is what democracy

c Costs of War Project codirectors Stephanie Savell (left), Catherine Lutz, and Neta outside of the official sources ideas for the project. “Every- the effects of war on Afghan by media outlets ranging from k Crawford often make presentations to Congress. is all about,” Steinfeld said.

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program has been to strength- Akshay Venkatesh of the Insti- the mathematical sciences Unpacking Mathematics en the internal coherence of tute of Advanced Study in produces unexpected bene- this widespread subject of Princeton, was awarded a fits,” said Jill Pipher, Brown’s Brown chemistry professor Jason Sello IC ERM is advancing basic research and the next growing importance, which in- Fields Medal, an award often vice president for research, says a summer research position while he was tersects with geometry, anal- described as the Nobel Prize and also founding director of an undergraduate sparked his career. generation of top scientists. ysis, physics, and computer of Mathematics. ICERM and professor of math- BY noel rubinton ’77 science,” said Peter Grabner A large goal of ICERM pro- ematics. “The research that is of Graz University of Technology grams is to develop the next pursued, simply because it There was no tightly packed “Point configurations have a ately keeps rotating. It brings in Austria, a member of the pro- generation of top researchers. pushes the frontiers of mathe- Diversifying pile of cannonballs at Brown’s lot of real-world applications,” together some of the world’s gram’s organizing committee. “The camaraderie among par- matical truth further, often Institute for Computational and said ICERM director and Brown best mathematical minds to “New collaborations were ticipants played an important pays dividends years and de- Experimental Research in Math- mathematics professor Bren- explore topics in pure and ap- formed that have already led to role in the program’s success,” cades later in solving real- Research’s Ranks ematics (ICERM) during its dan Hassett. Among the areas plied math, computer science, progress on such topics as Saff said. “There were no lines world problems,” she added. Brown-based Leadership semester-long program on related to its study are optimi- and related disciplines. lattice theory, packing, and of division between graduate For instance, she said, “Point Configurations” in 2018. zation work such as coding In the Point Configurations statistical physics,” said the students, postdoctoral stu- number theory, once thought Alliance aids those from But the famous mathematical and information theory, mod- program, participants made chair of the organizing com- dents, and senior scientists.” to have no connection to the underrepresented groups. question behind such an ar- eling the Earth’s atmosphere, the ICERM offices their base mittee, Edward Saff, a math- Enhancing the program broader world, eventually led rangement was fully present. dense packing of platelets in for more than three months, ematics professor at Vander- was intense activity in the to a new paradigm in encryp- BY o’rya Hyde-Keller Over the course of the biology, digital communica- using spaces designed to en- bilt University. Communication mathematical field about its tion and helped make the spring, more than 300 people tions, and studying crystalli- courage and support collabo- among workshop participants subject in the months leading Internet age imaginable and In 1995, when Jason Sello was a junior at Morehouse in mathematics, physics, and zation through which a solid rations. From formal presenta- is continuing, and a follow-up up to its start. Henry Cohn, a digital financial transactions College, he was accepted to a summer research position at computer science from around forms. tions to workshops, from conference in two years is be- principal researcher for Micro- possible. Harvard Medical School through the Leadership Alliance, a the world shared ideas at one “ICERM’s goal is to develop spontaneously planned ad hoc ing considered, as is a new ac- soft Research New England Though by design ICERM Brown-based consortium of universities that offers research of the country’s eight mathe- basic research that can be dis- programs to conversations over ademic journal on the subject. who is also on the Scientific programs, which are support- experiences to undergraduates from groups historically un- matical institutes funded by seminated widely,” Hassett lunch, participants discussed Leading scholars from Advisory Board of ICERM, ed by a five-year, $17.5M fed- derrepresented in academia. the National Science Founda- said. Launched in 2010, the current research questions and around the world attended the “That summer at Harvard was a particularly important ex- tion. The goals? Stimulating research institute is like a think started new collaborations. program—a few months later, perience for me,” said Sello, now a chemistry professor at further fundamental research tank with a cast that deliber- “One major impact of the one of the workshop leaders, “ Fundamental research in the Brown. “It gave me more insight into what it would be like to and advancing knowledge. earn a PhD at a research university and also made me see Looming in the background mathematical sciences produces Harvard as a place where I would feel comfortable pursuing during deliberations was one unexpected benefits.” graduate education.” of the most enduring problems Sello proceeded to earn his PhD in biophysics from Har- in mathematics—Kepler’s Con- —Jill Pipher vard before landing at Brown, where his research focuses on jecture, informed by the the development and mechanisms of drugs, including those esteemed 17th-century math- published widely noted re- eral grant, involve far more aimed at viral infections. In 2011, he received the National ematician and astronomer Jo- search on sphere packing in visitors than Brown faculty and Science Foundation’s top award for early-career scientists. In hannes Kepler’s question: 24 dimensions. His work was students, the impact on Brown 2012, he earned tenure, and in 2018 he became a full professor. What is the densest way to discussed both at ICERM and is large. Dan Abramovich, a Sello is just one among the Leadership Alliance’s many stack equal-sized cannon- in a Distinguished Lecture se- professor of mathematics and success stories. Convened by then-Brown President Vartan balls? The solution to the prob- ries with him, hosted by the chair of mathematics, said, Gregorian in 1992 as a partnership of 23 institutions, the Alli- lem about efficient sphere pack- mathematics department at “An ICERM program floods ance had a weighty mission: to address the stark shortfall of ing in three-dimensional space Brown and attended by faculty, Brown with a group of re- individuals from historically underrepresented groups who may be easy to visualize—an undergraduates, and graduate searchers in a particular topic. earn doctoral degrees and pursue research careers in aca- arrangement of fruit at a su- students. The problem of two- Our departments and other demia, the public sector, and industry. permarket is a commonly cited dimensional sphere packing centers benefit from a supply As it passes its 25-year mark, the Leadership Alliance LONCICI B

representation—but the theory a was solved in the mid-20th of seminar and colloquium continues to make steady progress toward its goal of diversi- has proven to be one of math- century by Lazlo Fejes Tóth, speakers, concentrated expo- fying the research world. Besides helping individuals, there’s ematics’ most difficult to solve but it was not solved in three sure to current research in a a positive impact on research itself. “The literature is clear that / i rigorously and precisely over S dimensions until Thomas Cal- particular topic, and a general diverse research teams are more effective than homogeneous the centuries. to expansion of the Brown com-

c lister Hales did so in 1998, an ones at devising innovative responses to problems,” said lpoio k e The ICERM program in- P accomplishment confirmed by munity, often keeping links well Medeva Ghee, executive director for the Leadership Alliance. D h cluded sphere packing along Inquiry into sphere packing started in the 17th century with the study of how best to oto computer check in 2014. after the end of a program.” The Alliance has grown to 36 institutions and industry a with a variety of related topics. stack cannonballs. D VID “Fundamental research in partners who, to date, have provided more than 4,000 young

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where liquid-handling robots before molecular storage and scholars with research and networking experiences. More than diversity has helped her zero in on her professional goals. just can’t move their arms fast computation devices are a 460 participants have earned PhDs, and another 388 are cur- Research on many mental health disorders often centers less enough to make the mixtures practical reality. rently enrolled in doctoral programs. on people of color, she said; someday, she would like to study we need in a reasonable “What we’re working on Fifty-four percent of Alliance alumni who have earned doc- how treatments for a complex illness like schizophrenia might be amount of time,” Rubenstein here is a foundation of new toral degrees are employed in higher education, 58 percent of improved for underrepresented populations. said. “So we’re thinking about ideas, rather than a product those in tenure-track positions. Sixty-five percent of those posi- “Racial stereotypes and gender stereotypes can affect treat- ways to get over that hump that’s going to be on the mar- tions are at “R1” universities such as Brown, those classified as ment and diagnoses,” Holness said. “Diversifying who is doing using engineering and chem- ket next year,” Rosenstein said. having the highest level of research activity. research can make solutions more effective for a wider variety of 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 istry. We still have to do some “But we’re getting better ev- The Leadership Alliance’s flagship program is its Summer people.” analysis to better understand ery day, and we’re happy with Research Early Identification Program. Each summer, it match- Some institutions—Brown included, through the work of its 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 which approaches will move our progress.” es at least 320 students from community colleges, liberal arts ambitious diversity and inclusion action plan—are turning that us forward.” Rubenstein said she’s colleges, and schools that have traditionally served underrepre- principle into action through other programs as well. Brown’s Ini- 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 The team has also made confident that the diversity of sented students with research experiences at 20 top research tiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) has markedly 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 strides in another of the proj- perspectives and expertise institutions, including Brown. increased enrollment and academic achievement among histor- ect’s objectives, which is to among the researchers puts Students conduct research with professors across the disci- ically underrepresented students in doctoral programs. Digital data can be seen as a string of 1s and 0s. By perform actual in-solution them in a solid position plines, who mentor them through the experience. “IMSD outcomes have told us to date that student success is connecting those digits to the presence or absence of computations on the data to continue that progress. Many undergraduates are first-generation college students all about increasing opportunities, access, and support,” said molecules in a solution, information can be encoded they’ve stored. In recently The team of professors, post- who lack previous exposure to research and have little knowl- Graduate School Dean Andrew Campbell, who developed the in liquid. published research, the team doctoral researchers, and stu- edge about academic career paths, said Ghee, also an assistant initiative as a faculty member in biology and has worked in re- showed that solutions can be dents is attacking the problem professor of the Practice of Behavior and Social Sciences at Brown. cent years to extend it beyond the life sciences. the potential for storing colossal in the pharmaceutical indus- used to build perceptrons. from multiple vantage points— “These summer research opportunities at top-notch re- In 2016, as Brown President Christina Paxson welcomed amounts of data in a mere try to generate millions of You can think of a perceptron chemistry, engineering, infor- search universities give these incredibly bright students the tools U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to a Leadership droplet of solution. possible drug candidates. they need—and a competitive edge—to apply successfully to Alliance forum on diversifying America’s research workforce, “If each molecule dissolved They’ve acquired two liquid- top graduate school programs,” Ghee said. she noted the increased need to advance the mission of the in a flask holds one byte of handling robots to automate “ This is really a grand challenge By diversifying who is conducting research, universities not organization founded on Brown’s campus. data, then we could store the mixture-making, and they’ve problem that requires different only advance equity but position themselves to more effectively “The work of the Leadership Alliance is a great complement equivalent of many billions of purchased one of the most address the many questions that research poses. to efforts at Brown and at other research institutions,” Paxson one-terabyte hard drives,” powerful mass spectrometers perspectives from everybody.” Micah Holness, a Xavier University student who has spent said, “and this is a critical moment for us to use our leadership said Brenda Rubenstein, an in New England to detect dis- —Brenda Rubenstein three summers at Brown conducting psychology research roles to influence higher education and our nation in a positive assistant professor of chemistry solved compounds and re- through the Leadership Alliance, said the Alliance’s lens on direction regarding the challenges and demands of diversity.” and project coleader. “That’s trieve encoded data. far more compact than any “This project started out as the simplest form of artifi- mation theory, robotics, and type of storage we have today.” really as just ideas and con- cial neural network, the sys- computer-aided design. The core concept behind cepts,” said Jacob Rosen- tems that power modern arti- “This is really a grand chal- the project is straightforward: stein, an assistant professor ficial intelligence. lenge problem that requires dif- Use the presence or absence of engineering and project co- For their study, they used ferent perspectives from every- A Hard Drive in a Test Tube? of specific molecules in a so- leader. “But now we’re start- molecular perceptrons to per- body,” Rubenstein said. “One T eam is developing a new way to store vast amounts of data. lution as ones and zeros, the ing to use these new experi- form rudimentary machine thing that’s uniquely Brown components of digital data. mental tools and get some learning tasks. After encoding about this project is that we BY kevin Stacey The challenge is in the de- results. It’s starting to feel a images of handwritten letters have people from across cam- tails—finding efficient ways to bit more real.” and numbers into solutions, pus working together with stu- The world’s ability to pro- universe has many scientists synthesize the millions of And they’ve made signifi- the researchers showed that dents and postdocs. And the duce and collect data is thinking about new ways to unique compounds needed cant progress. As a proof of the solutions could be used to students are being enriched by quickly outpacing the ability stash data. Supported by a to encode complex datasets, concept for DARPA, the team learn which symbols were what. the dialogue—just seeing ev- to store it. Analysts estimate $4.1 million award from the precisely mixing complex so- encoded an 81-bit image into “The chemicals were actu- eryone think through an idea that, by 2040, the world will U.S. Defense Advanced Re- lutions and accurately prob- a solution last year. Now ally doing a little bit of hand- together. Every voice at that ta- have produced 3 septillion search Projects Agency ing those solutions to retrieve they’re up to kilobytes and writing analysis,” Rosenstein ble is just as important as ev- bits of digital data—that’s 3 (DARPA), a team of Brown the data once it’s encoded. climbing. So far, Rubenstein said. “We could have them erybody else’s. I find that really followed by 24 zeros. There chemists and engineers is Since receiving the DAR- said, they’ve not hit any show- answer basic questions like: refreshing.” simply won’t be enough mi- working to store data in a way PA award in January 2018, stoppers in terms of scaling ‘Is this a picture of a handwritten The team is hopeful that amy lab crochip-grade silicon on the that’s never been tried before: the team has been working up to larger datasets. They have number one or a number two?’” all its collective expertise will planet to store all that on solid- by encoding information in A multidisciplinary faculty-student lab team is led simmons on those issues. To make a sense, however, where some Miraculous as that might help lay the groundwork for state memory chips. unique molecules dissolved in by professors Jacob Rosenstein of engineering (first row, their molecules, they’re using roadblocks might emerge. seem, the researchers know an entirely new way of storing

The ever-expanding digital solutions. The approach has center) and Brenda Rubenstein of chemistry (to right). Rubenstein Ugi reactions, a method used “We’ll eventually hit a point there’s much work to be done data.

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Tellex with Baxter, a Universe Explorers research Brown physicists are helping upgrade the world’s most powerful robot, and, below, a particle accelerator. student working in her BY noel rubinton ’77 lab.

T he Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland, the world’s are building in other institutes in the United States, Europe, and largest and most powerful particle accelerator, is nearly 4,000 Asia. We have to coordinate with a global community.” miles away from Providence, Rhode Island, but Brown faculty Built around a huge magnet, the CMS equipment weighs and students are immersed in research that is essential to the more than 12,500 tons, or about the equivalent of 75 747- international project. model jet planes, and is situated in an underground circular The giant collider near Geneva aims to unlock profound tunnel 17 miles in circumference. mysteries about the universe. It accelerates particles to near The CMS detector functions as a giant high-speed camera, the speed of light before smashing them together, sending taking images of particle collisions from all directions millions of them flying at the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), one of the times each second. Information on particles is then assembled, four large detectors at the LHC and the focus of Brown’s re- like putting together puzzle pieces, so an image of the collision search. can be recreated for further analysis. The goal of the CMS experiment is to investigate a wide Narain has been an active participant in CMS experiments range of physics phenomena, including extra dimensions and for many years and was elected in 2018 to chair the collabora- particles that could make up dark matter. The CMS represents tion board of U.S. institutions in the CMS experiment. a collaboration of about 4,000 particle physicists, engineers, “I’m honored that my colleagues from the 50 U.S. institu- computer scientists, technicians, and students from approxi- tions that collaborate with the CMS Experiment have chosen mately 200 institutes and universities around the world. me to represent them,” Narain said. “I see this position as an “This is part of the age-old quest of humankind to under- opportunity to help U.S. CMS to become a more inclusive com- stand where we come from and why we are here,” said Brown physics professor Meenakshi Narain, one of the leaders of the CMS project, likening the experiments to “listening to the stories each particle has to tell and then unraveling the secrets of the “ This is part of the age-old quest… universe.” to understand where we come Narain and two other Brown physics professors, Ulrich Heintz and Greg Landsberg, as well as other Brown postdocs, from and why we are here.” students, and technical staff are making preparations for the —Meenakshi Narain coming upgrade of the accelerator. Beam intensities will be am- plified five times beyond the current level, and the amount of data transmitted will be significantly increased, so the shift re- munity and to enable all young scientists to contribute to their quires parts of the CMS detector to be rebuilt in advance of the full potential to CMS and find rewarding career opportunities in upgrade, scheduled for 2026. academia and industry.” Brown faculty and students are currently doing intensive She said of the collider and its experiments, “It’s not only a research and testing in a fifth-floor lab of the University’s Barus scientific achievement, it’s a tribute to humanity. It shows what and Holley building, seeking the best way to make key new we are capable of achieving when scientists and engineers silicon tracking detectors for the upgraded accelerator. When from all over the world work together.” the right design is perfected, production of 2,500 detector Narain is the first woman to chair the collaboration board, modules will begin. Narain, Heintz, and their team are receiving and she plans to work toward cultivating more diversity. funds from the U.S. Department of Energy, with Brown posi- “With this comes the opportunity to promote women and The world’s largest particle accelerator, near Geneva, is being prepared for a major upgrade, including the detector tioned to receive up to about $10 million for work done between other underrepresented minorities to have the opportunity to being worked on at Brown. now and 2023. develop their careers to their fullest potential,” she said. “I hope ice r

“Building the detector is quite a technical and organizational that I will be able to improve our community in the United States B experiment played key roles in the discovery in 2012 of the Higgs discovery, the CMS experiment has been searching for challenge,” Narain said. “The pieces we build have to be as- and in CMS in general to be more inclusive during my two-year Higgs Boson, which at the time was the final missing piece in particles beyond the Standard Model, including a potential can- sembled with a precision better than the thickness of a human term.” the Standard Model of particle physics that describes funda- didate particle for dark matter, which is thought to account for a hair, and they have to fit together with parts that our colleagues Narain and other Brown physicists working with the CMS M mentalXIMILIEN forces and classifies elementary particles. After the a majority of matter in the universe.

46 impact 2019 2019 impact 47 brown research

With more than 700 regular faculty and hundreds more in clinical and other categories, Brown produces an enormous range of research. The Brown Research Index captures some of this through faculty books published and Index selected faculty honors. By the Book I n 2017, Brown professors published 81 books, spanning many disciplines and subjects.

American Studies Applied Mathematics Behavioral and Social Jhno an a Hanink Comparative Literature Yang Wang Engineering Hispanic Studies Elizabeth Geeorg Sciences The Classical Debt: Eli as Muhanna Basis Chinesisch B rian Sheldon Julio Ortega Hoover Karniadakis Sara Becker Greek Antiquity in an Era of The World in a Book: Sprechen—Übungsbuch Electro-Chemo- Muestra del Nuevo The River Is in Us: Numerical Methods Drug Addiction and Austerity Al-Nuwayri and the Islamic Mechanics of Solids (Editor) Relato Mexicano Fighting Toxics in a Mohawk for Stochastic Partial Recovery (Vols. 1-13) Encyclopedic Tradition Economics Community Differential Equations (Editor) Esf tratios Oded Galor English History with White Noise Papaioannou Peter Szendy Unified Growth Theory Ok l a unle F aiz Ahmed Steven Lubar Biology Michael Psellos on All Ears: The Aesthetics (Chinese edition) George Afghanistan Rising: Inside the Lost Museum: Govind Menon Kn en eth Miller Literature and Art: A of Espionage African Literature and Islamic Law and Statecraft Curating, Past and Present Mathematics and Miller & Levine Biology Byzantine Perspective on Prêter l’oreille: Petite St elios Social Change between the Ottoman and Museum History Materials (Editor) Aesthetics (Editor) conférence sur l’écoute Michalopoulos British Empires Journal, special issue on Biostatistics Christian Novels from the Le Supermarché du The Long Economic and Epidemiology lost museums (Editor) B oris Rozovsky Cno stantine Menologion of Symeon visible: Essai d’iconomie Political Shadow of History David Savitz Ome r Bartov Stochastic Partial Gatsonis Metaphrastes Lignes d’écoute, écoute (Editor) Assessment of the El ejército de Hitler: Kiri Miller Differential Equations Methods in Comparative (Editor, translator) en ligne (Editor) Department of Veterans Soldados, nazis y guerra Playable Bodies: Dance Effectiveness Research Egyptology and Affairs Airborne Hazards en el Tercer Reich Games and Intimate Media Archaeology (Editor) Cognitive, Linguistic & Computer Science Assyriology and Open Burn Pit La urel Bestock Methods in Health Psychological Sciences Eliezer Upfal James Allen Registry (Editor) Ha rold Cook Anthropology Violence and Power in Services Research (Editor) James Anderson Probability and A Grammar of the Ways of Making and M at thew Ancient Egypt: Image After Digital: Computing: Randomization Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Si min Liu Knowing: The Material Gutmann and Ideology before the Classics Computation as Done by and Probabilistic Texts, Vol. 1: Unis Journal for Diabetes, Culture of Empirical Os significados New Kingdom James Brains and Machines Techniques in Algorithms special issue (Editor) Knowledge (Editor) de ser homem em uma Fitzgerald and Data Analysis, J ohn Steele Colonia Popular na F elipe Rojas Special Issue on St even Sloman Second Edition Rising Time Schemes in German Studies Je e nnif r Lambe Cidade do México Silva Locating Philosophy in The Knowledge Illusion: Babylonian Astronomy Gerhard Richter Madhouse: Psychiatry Antiquarianisms: the Mahābhārata, Journal Why We Never Think Alone East Asian Studies Studies on the Ancient Imagens de Pensamento: and Politics in Cuban Di an el Smith Contact, Conflict, of Indian Philosophy H ye-Sook Wang Exact Sciences in Honor of Reflexões dos escritores da History To Be a Man Is Not a Comparison (Editor) (Editor) New TOPIK Master Final Lis Brack-Bernsen (Editor) Escola de Frankfurt a partir One-Day Job: Masculinity, (Translator) da vida danificada M ary Gluck Money, and Intimacy in A láthatatlan zsidó Nigeria Budapest

48 impact 2019 2019 impact 49 B rown Research I Ndex

Andrew H istory of Art and Eleni Sikelianos Asgne Kane Ma arg ret Weir Campbell Architecture Make Yourself Happy Some Nanomaterials and We the People, 11th Dean of the Graduate Shl ei a Bonde Le tendre inventaire des Some Fibres, Volume 111 Edition School, Professor of L’abbaye Saint-Jean-des- vivants et des morts Selected Faculty Medical Science Vignes, Soissons Modern Culture and Psychiatry and Fellow, American Society The Digital Middle Ages, Md ere ith Media Human Behavior for Cell Biology special issue of Speculum Steinbach B onnie Honig Kh at arine (Editor) The Enigma of Rain and Public Things: Phillips Research Honors J ohn Cayley During the 2017—18 academic year, faculty won dozens Other Stories Democracy in Disrepair Body Dysmorphic Professor of Literary Arts I tohan Disorder: Advances in of honors from national and international organizations. The Marjorie C. Osayimwese Clwo e S ensen Obstetrics and Research and Clinical Luesebrink Career Colonialism and Modern On Walking On Gynecology Practice (Editor) Achievement Award, Architecture in Germany Gave Marguerite Electronic Literature In the Beginning: Vigliani Public Policy Eli Y. Adashi Health Services, Policy, and Di av d Borton Organization International Relations Illustrated Stories from the A History of Medicine in Eric Patashnik Professor of Medical Practice Assistant Professor of Reos McDermott Old Testament (Translator) 50 Discoveries Unhealthy Politics: The Science President-elect, Engineering Mo el dy Chan Intelligence Success and Battle over Evidence-Based Honorary Doctorate, Association of State and Director’s Fellowship, Assistant Professor of Failure: The Human Factor Mathematics Philosophy Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Territorial Health Officials Defense Advanced Mathematics Brendan Hassett Cls har e University of Ottawa Research Projects Agency Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Nni a Tannenwald Geometry over Non- Larmore Religious Studies Frc an esca Foundation Do the Geneva closed Fields (Editor) Das Selbst in seinem Sth ep en Bush Jas jit Ahluwalia Beaudoin B . Anthony Conventions Matter? Brauer Groups and Verhältnis zu sich und William James on Professor of Behavioral and Associate Professor of Bogues Suzn an e Colby (Editor) Obstruction Problems— zu anderen Democratic Individuality Social Sciences, Professor Emergency Medicine Asa Messer Professor of Professor of Psychiatry Moduli Spaces and of Medicine 2017 Young Investigator Humanities and Critical and Human Behavior Italian Studies Arithmetic (Editor) Political Science Sua s n Harvey Fellow, Society for Award, Society for Theory (Research), Professor of Rno ald Martinez Pe ter Andreas Knowing Bodies, Research on Nicotine and Academic Emergency Presidential Faculty Behavioral and Social Cleansing the Temple: Richard Rebel Mother: My Passionate Souls: Sense Tobacco Medicine Award, Spring 2018 Sciences (Research) Dante, Defender of the Schwartz Childhood Chasing the Perceptions in Byzantium President-elect, Society Church The Projective Heat Map Revolution (Editor) F aiz Ahmed Elizabeth Benz Lundy Braun for Research on Nicotine Associate Professor of Clinical Assistant Professor Professor of Medical and Tobacco Judaic Studies Medical Science J uliet Hooker Theatre Arts and History of Surgery Science, Professor of Di av d Jacobson Eric Darling Theorizing Race in the Performance Studies Fellow, American Fellow, International Africana Studies Kareen The Charm of Wise Articular Cartilage, Americas: Douglass, S arah dAngelo Research Institute in College of Dentists 2018 Ludwik Fleck Prize, Coulombe Hesitancy: Talmudic Stories Second Edition Sarmiento, Du Bois, and Native American New Istanbul, Turkey; National Society for Social Studies Assistant Professor of in Contemporary Israeli Vasconcelos Play Festival: A Four Year Endowment for the Rb o ert Blair of Science Engineering; Assistant Culture Ham ish Fraser Celebration—Second Humanities Joukowsky Family Assistant Professor of Molecular Global Health Informat- We ndy Schiller Edition (Editor) Professor of Political J oseph Braun Pharmacology, Physiology, S aul Olyan ics: Principles of eHealth Gateways to Democracy, Edward Akelman Science and International Associate Professor of and Biotechnology Friendship in the Hebrew and mHealth to Improve An Introduction to American Pa tricia Ybarra Vincent Zecchino, MD, and Public Affairs Epidemiology 2017 Rising Star Award, Bible Quality of Care (Editor) Government: The Essentials Latinx Theatre in the Professor of Orthopaedic Henry Merritt Wriston 20 Pioneers under Cellular and Molecular Times of Neoliberalism Surgery Fellowship 40 in Environmental Public Bioengineering Group of Literary Arts C hi-Ming Hai David Skarbek A. Lee Osterman Health, The Collaborative the Biomedical Sk awa o Vascular Smooth Muscle: The Decline and Rise of Source: Information from Excellence in Education on Health and the Engineering Society Nakayasu Structure and Function in Institutions Faculty Activity Reports Award, Society for Surgery Dale S. Bond Environment A TransPacific Poetics Health and Disease (Editor) submitted to the Brown of the Hand Associate Professor of Donald Coustan (Editor) University Dean of the Psychiatry and Human Stu art Burrows Professor Emeritus of Faculty. N icole Behavior (Research) Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Alexander-Scott Innovation Award, English Giant in Obstetrics and Associate Professor Association of Migraine 1921 Prize in American Gynecology, American of Pediatrics; Associate Disorders Literature, American Journal of Obstetrics and Professor of Medicine; Literary Society Gynecology Associate Professor of

50 impact 2019 2019 impact 51 B rown Research I Ndex

J.J. Trey Crisco Hi uaj an Gao Md ere ith Geeorg Mitchell Levy Kn en eth R. Miller Kt avi a Ramanan Anthony Spirito Henry F. Lippitt Professor Walter H. Annenberg Hastings Karniadakis Professor of Medicine Professor of Biology Professor of Applied Professor of Psychiatry and of Orthopedics, Professor of Professor of Engineering Associate Professor of Charles Pitts Robinson Member, Association of President, Board of Mathematics Human Behavior Engineering (Research) Theodore von Karman Environment and Society and John Palmer Barstow American Physicians Directors, National Center for Fellow, American Dean’s Award for Faculty Goel Award for Medal, Engineering and Earth, Environmental Professor of Applied Science Education Mathematical Society Research Mentoring, Division Translational Research in Mechanics Institute, and Planetary Sciences Mathematics Ca rol Lewis of Biology and Medicine Biomechanics, American American Society of Civil Special Award for the Research Award, Professor of Pediatrics, Eric Nathan Csharle Rardin Society of Biomechanics Engineers Earth Science Women’s Alexander von Humboldt Clinician Educator Assistant Professor of Music Professor of Obstetrics and Sh aron Swartz Member, German Network, American Foundation Special Achievement Visiting Artist Residency, Gynecology Professor of Biology; John Cronan National Academy of Meteorological Society Award for Distinguished American Academy in Rome President, American Professor of Engineering Professor of Diagnostic Sciences Klar a Kaun Service and Dedication to Henry Merritt Wriston Urogynecologic Society Fellow, American Imaging Member, National Sth ep en Helfand Robert and Nancy Carney the Mission and Goals, Fellowship Association for the Pollack Medal, Society of Academy of Sciences Professor of Biology Assistant Professor of American Academy of H olly Shaffer Advancement of Science Abdominal Radiology Fellow, American Neuroscience Pediatrics Ja yanti Owens Assistant Professor of History Cno stantine Association for the 2018 Young Investigator Mary Tefft and John Hazen of Art and Architecture St i eFAn e Tellex S arah dAngelo Gatsonis Advancement of Science Award, International Diane Lipscombe White Sr. Assistant Professor Postdoctoral Fellowship in Joukowsky Family Assistant Assistant Professor of Henry Ledyard Goddard Fellow, Gerontological Behavioural and Neural Thomas J. Watson Sr. of International and Public History of Art, Smithsonian Professor of Computer Theatre Arts and Perfor- University Professor of Society of America Genetics Society Professor of Science; Affairs and Sociology Institution Science mance Studies Biostatistics Director of the Robert and Spencer Postdoctoral Director’s Fellowship, 2017 Rhode Island Theater Marvin Zelen Leadership Pe ter Heywood Aindr en e Keene Nancy Carney Institute for Fellowship, National Jesseh S apiro Defense Advanced Research Award for Favorite College/ Award in Statistical Professor of Biology Assistant Professor of Brain Science; Professor of Academy of Education George S. and Nancy B. Projects Agency University Production, Motif Science, Harvard T.H. Chan Fellow, Royal Society of American Studies Neuroscience Parker Professor of Economics Magazine School of Public Health Biology Council Spencer Postdoctoral President-elect, Society J ohn R. Parziale Fellow, Econometric Aa m l Trivedi Fellowship, National for Neuroscience Clinical Associate Professor Society Associate Professor of Health Al ki ah Dulin Su san Gerbi Sth ep en D. Academy of Education of Orthopaedics Services, Policy, and Manning Assistant George D. Eggleston Houston Lar u a Lopez- 2017 Distinguished Anit a Shukla Practice; Associate Professor Professor of Behavioral and Professor of Biochemistry, Dupee Family Professor of Geeorg Sanders Clinician, American Academy Assistant Professor of of Medicine Social Sciences Professor of Biology Social Science, Director of Konidaris Assistant Professor of of Physical Medicine and Engineering; Assistant Fulbright Senior Scholar Marie O. Weil Outstanding Fellow, American Society Early Cultures Assistant Professor of Sociology Rehabilitation Professor of Molecular Award, Australian-American Scholarship Award, for Cell Biology Fellowship, American Computer Science Henry Merritt Wriston Pharmacology, Physiology, Fulbright Commission Association for Community Council of Learned Director’s Fellowship, Fellowship Mre au e n Phipps and Biotechnology Organization and Social Ya n Guo Societies Defense Advanced Chace-Joukowsky Professor Henry Merritt Wriston Gregory Tucker Administration Professor of Applied Jay I. Kislak Chair for the Research Projects Agency Wang Lu of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fellowship Professor of Physics Mathematics; Chair, Study of the History and Assistant Professor of Music Professor of Epidemiology, WMAP Team Honoree, Jack A. Elias Division of Applied Cultures of the Early Miche a l Fellow, American Assistant Dean for Teaching Prerna Singh 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Senior Vice President for Mathematics Americas, Library of Kosterlitz Academy in Berlin and Research on Women’s Mahatma Gandhi Assistant Fundamental Physics Health Affairs, Dean of Elected Fellow, American Congress Harrison E. Farnsworth Health Professor of Political Science Medicine and Biological Mathematical Society Professor of Physics F elipe Martinez- Accolades Award, and International and Public Source: Brown University Sciences, Frank L. Day Aam nd Jamieson Member, National Pinzon American Congress of Affairs Dean of the Faculty’s Office, Professor of Biology Ca rolina Assistant Professor of Academy of Sciences Assistant Professor of Obstetricians and 2018 Andrew Carnegie School of Public Health, Fellow, National Academy Haass-Koffler Molecular Microbiology and Hispanic Studies Gynecologists Fellow, Carnegie Corporation Division of Biology and of Inventors Assistant Professor of Immunology Jessaca Henry Merritt Wriston of New York Medicine, as reported in the Psychiatry and Human Director’s Fellowship, Leinaweaver Fellowship J ill Pipher 2018 Commencement Je e nnif r Behavior, Assistant Defense Advanced Professor of Anthropology; Elisha Benjamin Andrews Suzn an e Stewart- program. Friedman Professor of Behavioral and Research Projects Agency Director, Center for Latin Je e nnif r Merrill Professor of Mathematics, Steinberg Professor of Pediatrics, Social Sciences American and Caribbean Assistant Professor of Vice President for Research Professor of Comparative Professor of Epidemiology Dean’s Award for Jasmn i e Johnson Studies Behavioral and Social President-elect, American Literature and Italian Studies Elected Member, Excellence in Research Assistant Professor Sawyer Seminar Grantee, Sciences Mathematical Society Guggenheim Fellowship, American Society of Clinical Collaboration in Public of Theatre Arts and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 2018 Distinguished John Simon Guggenheim Investigators Health Performance Studies Scientific Early Career Memorial Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, Contribution Award, Society Ford Foundation of Addiction Psychology

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PUTTING IT TOGETHER: Public art for Brown’s new Engineering Research Center became itself a collaborative research project. Working closely with the School of Engineering, artist Spencer Finch created “The Garden in the Brain,” nine artworks embodying concepts, such as tessellations, related to engineering. Above, handmade ceramic tile. Right, a glass wall separating Hazeltine Commons from the Teaching Lab includes a custom design that repeats three patterns across the band of windows. Warren Jagger Warren