A TRIBUTE IN LOVING MEMORY Gregory James Gluszak (1982-2006) Greg Gluszak was a lifetime resident of Walker Valley, New York and graduated from the State University of New York at Albany (B.S.) in 2004. At the time of his death, he was a first year Ph.D. student in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University. As an undergraduate student, majoring in geology, Greg became interested in planetary science and was a student team member with the NASA-sponsored New York Center for Studies on the Origin of Life at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and SUNY Albany. During his first year at Stony Brook, Greg was busy taking courses and acting as a teaching assistant in undergraduate classes. He was continuing to pursue his interests in planetary science and had just begun a laboratory research project where he was examining the chemical and mineralogical effects of interacting acidic aqueous solutions with rocks and minerals characteristic of the Martian surface. These experiments were designed to help explain some of the observations made by the Spirit rover that is currently active on the surface of Mars. After his first semester at Stony Brook, Greg returned home to spend Christmas with his family. During this time he fell suddenly and seriously ill. He passed away on January 13, 2006 due to Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome of unknown origin. Greg had a passion for learning and for science. His family has expressed his awe and gratitude at being able to say that he was part of Stony Brook University where he knew his passion would be kept alive and where he would be mentored by some of the most brilliant minds in the country. He had hoped to add his contribution to the legacy of Stony Brook researchers, scientists and educators. In turn, Greg had a remarkable impact in his brief time at Stony Brook – from his great enthusiasm for scholarship to his engaging good humor to baking cookies for his graduate seminar classmates. At home he was an active member of his local church and was heavily involved with community service. He greatly enjoyed the outdoors and his other favorite activities included music, art and photography. He will be sorely missed and always remembered by family and friends. A TRIBUTE IN LOVING MEMORY Teresa Elizabeth Haire (1975 – 2006) Teresa Haire, a native Long Islander, graduated from high school summa cum laude. She attended SUNY Plattsburgh and graduated with a B.S. degree in Biology in 1998. Her undergraduate research on the primary photoreceptor pigment of Euglena gracilis that is used for phototaxis, together with her work after graduation in a physician’s clinical laboratory in Sitka, Alaska, fueled her desire to pursue biomedical research aimed at curing human diseases. She became a doctoral student in the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Program at Stony Brook University in the fall of 2003 and was the recipient of a University Graduate Fellowship. Teresa began her dissertation research on the regulation of epithelial cell polarity during oncogenic transformation in Dr. Senthil Muthuswamy’s lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the summer of 2004. She was a superb experimentalist who did not shy away from applying new techniques and experimental approaches to her project, and she was deeply committed to her work. Teresa was an excellent speaker and teacher, and was well known for working long, hard hours in the lab including weekends and holidays. Outside the lab, she enjoyed spending time with her many friends, camping, fishing, playing with her dog, and listening to the music of the Grateful Dead and Phish. Quite unexpectedly, Teresa suffered a brain hemorrhage and she passed away peacefully on January 30, 2006 in the presence of family and friends. Her passing is a great loss to her family, friends and the program. Teresa is remembered by all for her warm and gentle personality, generous spirit, optimism, and infectious laugh. She is deeply missed by all who knew her. GREETINGS FROM THE DEAN We began to compile a record of the achievements of Stony Brook's graduate Students in 1991 and have published an issue each academic year since then. This issue covers the 2005-2006 academic year. The accomplishments of Stony Brook’s graduate students are quite extraordinary. They include winning numerous, prestigious, national and international fellowships and research grants. Our students have also established an impressive presence in the literatures of their disciplines with publications in many of the best scholarly journals and books. They have achieved recognition in the creative arts with acclaimed exhibitions and performances. Stony Brook’s graduate students also won awards for their excellence as teachers. Our students participate fully in the intellectual activities of their field of scholarship by participation in conferences and workshops. Finally, graduates of Stony Brook’s programs leave us to take up a wide variety of professional appointments. Many of these are Post- Doctoral fellowships or faculty positions at some of the nation’s finest universities. In addition, Stony Brook’s graduates carry the knowledge and expertise that they gained here to many prestigious institutions overseas, thus enhancing Stony Brook’s international reputation as an outstanding research university. The success of Stony Brook’s graduate enterprise is rooted in the success of the faculty of the University in research, scholarship and creative activities. The international reputation of Stony Brook’s faculty attracts outstanding students to our graduate programs from across the country and around the world. Our educational programs and the opportunities to work with dedicated faculty mentors develop the potential that students bring with them so that they become independent researchers and scholars. Graduate education lies at the heart of a research University and this publication demonstrates the vitality of the research, scholarly and creative activities underway at Stony Brook. The students whose accomplishments make up this document deserve recognition for their achievements and our thanks for what they have contributed to the intellectual life of the campus and to the reputation of our University. The faculty who have guided these efforts and the staff and administration of the University who help to foster an environment in which scholastic excellence is valued and in which outstanding graduate education can take place all played important roles in the successes documented here. The achievements listed here required hard work by many people and all who contributed should feel a sense of pride in the accomplishments of these students. My congratulations and thanks to all concerned. Lawrence B. Martin Dean of the Graduate School i 05-06 Graduate Student Achievements Acknowledgements The Graduate School would like to extend special thanks to all participating Stony Brook graduate students who have made this publication possible, the deans for encouraging their respective programs to participate, and the chairs, graduate directors, and graduate coordinators who have taken the time to coordinate and submit the program’s achievements. • On the Cover Untitled by Athena LaTocha Athena LaTocha is a graduate student in the Master of Fine Arts program and the winner of the 2006 Dorothy L. Pieper Memorial Purchase Prize • Cover Design: Smruti Patel. • Editing and Typesetting: Smruti Patel and Samia Omar. The Graduate School 2401 Computer Science Building Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 11794-4433 (631) 632-GRAD, (4723) http://www.grad.sunysb.edu Stony Brook University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity educator and employer. If you need a disability-related accommodation, please contact the Disabled Student Services Office at (631) 632-6749/TDD. ii Graduate Student Achievements 05-06 TABLE OF CONTENTS GRADUATE PROGRAMS ...............................................................................................................................................1 THE 2006 GRADUATE AWARDS ..................................................................................................................................2 ANATOMICAL SCIENCES .............................................................................................................................................4 ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES ...............................................................................................................................6 APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS.........................................................................................................15 ART....................................................................................................................................................................................20 BIOCHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY ..................................................................................................24 BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING....................................................................................................................................26 CHEMISTRY ...................................................................................................................................................................32 COMPARATIVE LITERATURE ..................................................................................................................................36 COMPUTER SCIENCE ..................................................................................................................................................38