OWNED AND PUBLISHED BY THE CORNELL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2016 $6.00 F ast Forward Four years on, it’s full speed ahead for Cornell Tech PLUS: Winter in ithaca: embracing the inevitable Change.org’s Jennifer Dulski ’93, MBA ’99 Danger: asteroids! c1-c1 CAM jf16 cover.indd 1 12/18/15 2:36 PM Only on Kiawah Island. THE OCEAN COURSE CASSIQUE AND RIVER COURSE AND BEACH CLUB SANCTUARY HOTEL OCEAN PARK 2012 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTS PAVILION FRESHFIELDS VILLAGE SASANQUA SPA HISTORIC CHARLESTON Kiawah Island has been named Condé Nast Traveler’s #1 island in the USA (and #2 in the world) for a myriad of reasons – 10 miles of uncrowded beach, iconic golf and resort, the allure of nearby Charleston, KiawahIsland.com | 866.312.1791 | 1 Kiawah Island Parkway | Kiawah Island, South Carolina and a superb private Club and community to name a few. For a recharge, for a holiday, or for a lifetime, KIAWAH’S EXCLUSIVE ONISLAND REAL ESTATE SALES OFFICES SINCE 1976 your discovery of Kiawah Island can be the rst day of the best of your life. homes • homesites • villas • cottages | from about $300,000 to over $20 million Obtain the Property Report required by Federal law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. approval of the sale or lease or offer for sale or lease by the Department of State or any offi cer thereof, or that the Department of State has in any way passed upon Void where prohibited by law. An offering statement has been fi led with the Department of State of the State of New York. A copy of the offering statement is available, the merits of such offering. This project is registered with the New Jersey Real Estate Commission. Registration does not constitute an endorsement of the merits or upon request, from the subdivider. The fi ling of the verifi ed statement and offering statement with the Department of State of the State of New York does not constitute value of the project. Obtain and read the NJ Public Offering Statement and read it before signing anything. (NJ Reg #89/15-175). AN AFFILIATE OF KIAWAH PARTNERS 160137_Kiawah_ivy.indd 1 11/23/15 2:30 PM c2-01.indd 2 12/22/15 9:55 AM Only on Kiawah Island. THE OCEAN COURSE CASSIQUE AND RIVER COURSE AND BEACH CLUB SANCTUARY HOTEL OCEAN PARK 2012 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTS PAVILION FRESHFIELDS VILLAGE SASANQUA SPA HISTORIC CHARLESTON Kiawah Island has been named Condé Nast Traveler’s #1 island in the USA (and #2 in the world) for a myriad of reasons – 10 miles of uncrowded beach, iconic golf and resort, the allure of nearby Charleston, KiawahIsland.com | 866.312.1791 | 1 Kiawah Island Parkway | Kiawah Island, South Carolina and a superb private Club and community to name a few. For a recharge, for a holiday, or for a lifetime, KIAWAH’S EXCLUSIVE ONISLAND REAL ESTATE SALES OFFICES SINCE 1976 your discovery of Kiawah Island can be the rst day of the best of your life. homes • homesites • villas • cottages | from about $300,000 to over $20 million Obtain the Property Report required by Federal law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. approval of the sale or lease or offer for sale or lease by the Department of State or any offi cer thereof, or that the Department of State has in any way passed upon Void where prohibited by law. An offering statement has been fi led with the Department of State of the State of New York. A copy of the offering statement is available, the merits of such offering. This project is registered with the New Jersey Real Estate Commission. Registration does not constitute an endorsement of the merits or upon request, from the subdivider. The fi ling of the verifi ed statement and offering statement with the Department of State of the State of New York does not constitute value of the project. Obtain and read the NJ Public Offering Statement and read it before signing anything. (NJ Reg #89/15-175). AN AFFILIATE OF KIAWAH PARTNERS 160137_Kiawah_ivy.indd 1 11/23/15 2:30 PM c2-01.indd 1 12/22/15 9:56 AM 02-02 CAM jf16 toc_000-000CAMJF07currents 12/18/15 2:39 PM Page 1 IN THIS ISSUE January | February 2016 Volume 118 Number 4 CURRENTS 13 Taking the Reins Downstate horse hospital 16 Flight of Fancy Avian mural takes wing 18 The Verdict Is In For federal prosecutor Carrie Cohen ’89, a big win 20 Snow Bird Drone pix on the slopes 46 22 Speaking Up Wingman 101 works to help prevent sexual assault 26 Collision course Astronaut vs. asteroids 28 Cream of the Crop Vegan cheese goes upscale 38 50 38 Beta Test Cornell Tech has been moving ahead at breakneck speed ever since the University resolved to enter the 2010–11 competition to build a graduate technical campus on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Even as Tech’s first three buildings rise on land in the middle of the East River, its academic program is well under way—with dozens of master’s degrees already granted, start-up companies spinning off left and right, and technically oriented programs of study being offered in fields from business to law. “Things are cruising along,” says Dan Huttenlocher, Tech’s founding dean. “It’s great. It’s a place now.” A look at the University’s most prominent work in progress. 96 46 Sign of the Times Jennifer Huret Dulski ’93, MBA ’99, has long been advocating for change; even as a DEPARTMENTS freshman she managed to convince Big Red athletics to reverse a long-standing policy 4 From Elizabeth Garrett and let women cox men’s crew. Today, after a career at such Internet giants as Yahoo 8 From the Hill and Google, she’s president and COO of the world’s premier online petition site. Change.org has helped sway hearts, minds—and policy—on topics ranging from debit- 11 Support Cornell Alumni Magazine card fees to gay youth in the Boy Scouts. 30 Sports 32 Authors 50 Cold Comforts 61 Class Notes For as long as the University has been standing far above Cayuga’s waters, Cornellians 93 Alumni Deaths have been complaining about East Hill winter weather. Last year, the grumbling was particularly loud, as Ithaca suffered through brutally low temperatures and set the 96 Cornelliana record for the coldest February ever recorded in the city. In the spirit of the season, Chimesmasters ring it in CAM decided to embrace the inevitable, with a lighthearted survey of the Hill’s weather woes and wonders, past and present. COVER: JOHN ABBOTT Cornell Alumni Magazine (ISSN 1548-8810; USPS 006-902) is published six times a year, in January, March, May, July, September, and November by the Cornell Alumni Association, 401 East State Street, Suite 301, Ithaca, NY 14850. Subscriptions cost $33 a year. Periodical postage paid at Ithaca, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cornell Alumni Magazine, c/o Public Affairs Records, 130 East Seneca St., Suite 400, Ithaca, NY 14850-4353. 2 Cornell Alumni Magazine | cornellalumnimagazine.com Patagonia Join Cornell’s Adult University on a family-friendly expedition to the wild lands of Patagonia, December 21–31, 2016 Led by Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution Experience the wonders of Patagonia on this active OTHER EXCITING DESTINATIONS IN 2016: adventure for CAU travelers and their families! We’ll traverse 1,000 miles of breathtakingly beautiful London Theater, May 14–21 landscapes as we learn about Patagonia’s startling Arctic Svalbard, June 11–21 Alaska, August 4–12 geology and fascinating natural history. Inside the Smithsonian with David We’ll hike, raft, and ride on horseback among fantastic Skorton, September 7–10 Wines of the Rhone Valley, mountain formations, rugged volcanoes, giant waterfalls, September 14–21 placid pools, and massive glaciers, exploring places that Austen’s England, October 5–11 very few people ever see. Eyes to the Sky over Flagstaff, Arizona, October (dates TBA) For details about this and other CAU learning vacations, Pre-election Seminar at Mohonk visit cau.cornell.edu. Mountain House, October 28–30 607.255.6260 Cornell’s Adult University [email protected] International study tours designed and led by Cornell faculty cau.cornell.edu Fro M eliz AbeTh g Arre TT Celebrating the Promise of Junior Faculty circuit dynamics underlying the onset of depression. Well­supported assistant professors are likely to go on to even greater things as they mature into mid­career faculty stars. All three of our Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators—Hening Lin, professor of chemistry and chemical biology; Olga Boudker, professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine; and Michelle Wang, professor of physics and of cell and develop­ mental biology—as well as our newest MacArthur Fellow, William Dichtel, began their Cornell careers as assistant professors. As mid­ career faculty they now have the support and confidence they need to push the boundaries of knowledge in their fields. One way to attract outstanding junior faculty who will thrive in our unique academic environment is to bring them here as postdoc­ toral fellows. NIH New Innovator Matthew Paszek ’02, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, came back to campus as a Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Postdoctoral Fellow, working with faculty mentors from two different Cornell units, and was then successfully recruited to the faculty.