of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to CT

Volume 37, 4  /  August 2022

As we all prepare for the fall, it is evident that COVID-19 will likely remain part of everyday life and continue to present challenges and disruptions locally, nationally, and internationally. While climate change has been a story and the subject of consistent alerts and warnings for many years, perhaps due to increasingly evident manifestations imparted by mother nature, the topic seems to have recently assumed increased prominence and is eliciting the greater sense of urgency it deserves. Our nation’s extraordinary STEMM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Medicine) professionals continue to innovate solutions in these and other areas, and our policymakers and those in public service continue to strive for a brighter future.

Young people and the next generations of leaders are already demonstrating they are willing to pursue a brighter future and that they are inspired to act to save the planet and be heard on world issues. Highlighting and communicating the impact and examples of current STEMM practitioners as they address the challenges of our time is important to inspire the next generation to follow the STEMM path and commit to a career of innovation. We should challenge ourselves to think of other ways to encourage students and early career professionals from diverse backgrounds to see STEMM as a way to engage their passion and to capitalize on their desire to pursue the common good.

In closing, I would like to thank Christine Broadbridge for the leadership she provided during her term as President of the Academy. Some of the initiatives she led included the launch of a new website and a LinkedIn page, expansion of the CASE Bulletin from two editions to six, creation of a standing committee to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, placement of a second, two-year fellowship at DEEP with a focus on building decarbonization, and a project supported by the CT General Assembly to Inform and Promote STEMM in Service to CT.  We have a much brighter future and owe her our appreciation for making it so. Thanks Christine. I look forward to continuing our work together in support of our membership and in service to the people and state of Connecticut.

John Kadow, President
CT Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)
Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to CT

Comments about this edition of the Bulletin are welcome via tclark@ctcase.org.

To learn more about the
Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, please visit ctcase.org.

Science and Engineering Notes from Around Connecticut

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, has issued a Quarantine Order with defined restricted areas for the exotic pest spotted lanternfly, a new plant pest to the United States that represents a threat to Connecticut’s environment, residential areas, and agricultural interests, particularly forests, orchards, vineyards, and nurseries.  Read more.

Last legislative session, the Farmers Market Nutrition Program, administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, received additional funding for eligible individuals to redeem checks at certified farmer’s markets and farm stands.  Read more.

If there’s something strange in your backyard – or flock, or water, or garden – who you gonna call? That’s right – the UConn Extension! Part of a national network of Cooperative Extension Systems at land-grant universities across the country, the program reaches every community in the state to help real people solve real problems.  Read more.

Yu Lei, CASE member and UCONN professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, invented a low-abundance biomarker detection platform that performs high-sensitivity readings for a variety of disease biomarkers. This technology holds the potential to advance early-stage disease detection and is 20 times more sensitive than the traditional enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA).  Read more.

Two new papers, one published in the Journal of Cell Biology and the other in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), by CASE member Pietro De Camilli, the John Klingenstein Professor of Neuroscience and professor of cell biology and investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, offers important clues to the development of Parkinson’s disease. The disease is an incurable motor disorder that afflicts about 1M people in the U.S.  Read more.

A new Yale University-developed technology delivers cell-protective fluid that restores cell and organ function in pigs after death. This work builds on an earlier Yale-led research project published in 2019 by the lab of CASE member Nenad Sestan, the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neuroscience and professor of comparative medicine, genetics, and psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine. The findings may extend the health of human organs during surgery, as well as expand the availability of donor organs.  Read more.

An interdisciplinary group of UConn researchers is leading an effort to empower high school students in Hartford, New Haven, and Willimantic to become "Eco-Digital" storytellers in their communities.  Read more.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Connecticut Environmental Public Health Tracking Program collects data to protect the state’s communities from health issues related to environmental factors. Data includes topics such as air quality, asthma, carbon monoxide poisoning, heart attack, Lyme disease, and water quality. Read more.

Governor Ned Lamont announced that the state’s plan to deploy up to $119.5 M in funding through the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) has been approved. The funding will support underserved entrepreneurs across the state through a variety of loan and equity programs designed to spur small business growth, create jobs, promote equity, and catalyze green technologies.  Read more.

On Nov. 2 the Connecticut Convention Center will transform into “The World’s Aerospace Alley.” This fair and trade show will highlight members of the Aerospace Components Manufacturers (ACM), one of the largest, most experienced concentrations of world-class aerospace companies in the world. ACM members are based in Connecticut and Southwestern Massachusetts.  Read more.

Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grants are enabling UConn researchers to conduct ground-breaking work on some of the nation’s most pressing energy problems. CASE member Yang Cao, a professor at the UConn School of Engineering, is working on a three-year project to create a new technology that will help stabilize the power grid and integrate renewable energy sources into the existing energy infrastructure.  Read more. 

The Connecticut Green Bank announced $5M in secured loan facilities to support energy-saving equipment for business customers served by Budderfly. This funding helps Budderfly’s customer to expand by providing support for energy-saving equipment with Budderfly assuming responsibility for logistics, up-front capital and other associated risks.  Read more.

A recent Discover article in the series “Scientists You Should Know” features CASE Member Paul Anastas from the Yale School of the Environment. Known as the “Father of Green Chemistry,” his work focuses on the redesign of chemical processes for health and sustainability, including the invention of new materials and new manufacturing processes that are conducive to life.  Read more.

A research team with co-lead and CASE member Menachem Elimelech, Yale University, developed a new water decontamination technology, the direct oxidative transfer process (DOTP). DOTP has promising applications for water pollution control and wastewater treatment.  Read more. 

Governor Ned Lamont joined state agency officials, legislators, and environmental stakeholders to celebrate the passing of Public Act 22-25 – the Connecticut Clean Air Act - a new law that will help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector, improve air quality and health outcomes for Connecticut residents, and help to mitigate impacts from the climate crisis. Watch the Governor’s announcement.

Evolution has long been viewed as a rather random process and therefore largely unpredictable. However, an international team of scientists led by researchers from Columbia University and Yale University, including CASE members Michael Donoghue and Erika J. Edwards, published a study in the journal of Nature Ecology & Evolution providing the first examples in plants known as “replicated radiation,” in which similar forms evolve repeatedly within different regions, suggesting that evolution is not always such a random process but can be predicted.  Read more.

CASE Members Jinbo Bi, UCONN Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, and Kent Holsinger, Vice Provost for Graduate Education, joined with UConn colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team recently awarded $3M from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop TRANSCEND: TRANSdisciplinary Convergence in Educational Neuroscience Doctoral training. The program will focus on recruiting graduate students from both classic and atypical backgrounds into educational neuroscience research.  Read more.

UConn Technology Commercialization Services is presenting “Pfizer Emerging Science & Innovation: Fueling Portfolio Innovation Through External Collaborations” on September 7th. This virtual event will focus on Pfizer’s external partnering organization, and the ways they collaborate with academia to advance novel science and cutting-edge technologies.  Read more.

Seven higher education institutions in Connecticut are participating in the Tech Talent Accelerator to boost high-demand tech skills in areas such as cybersecurity, virtual modeling, software development, and digital analytics. The University of Saint Joseph, Quinnipiac University, University of Bridgeport, Mitchell College, the University of Hartford, the University of New Haven, and the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system will receive grants from the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), supported by funding from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (CTDECD) Technology Talent Fund. Read more.

CASE Member and current vice president Sten Vermund recently ended his five-year tenure as the Dean of the Yale School of Public Health – a tenure that saw him navigate the school through the COVID-19 pandemic. There is much more to his legacy including the largest jump in the school’s national rankings (now ranked 11th, its highest ever), the establishment of the school’s first Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and the growth of the school’s endowment of over $70 million in the past three years alone.  Read more.

The Yale LISTEN study is recruiting patients with long-COVID for research that is looking into a connection between demographic patterns and changes to the bodies of individuals with long-COVID. The principal investigators are CASE Members from the Yale School of Medicine Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Professor of Investigative Medicine and of Public Health, and Akiko Iwasaki, Professor of Immunobiology and Professor of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology.  Listen here.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health has available information about Monkeypox, a rare disease that is part of the same family of viruses as smallpox. To learn more, visit the DPH Monkeypox page.  To monitor the outbreak, visit the CDC map of U.S. cases. 

Through a 5-year grant, Yale researchers are leading a cross-disciplinary team of experts working to advance blockchain systems, while exploring their connections to economics and law. PAVE: A Center for Privacy, Accountability, Verification, and Economics of Blockchain Systems is a multifaceted approach designed to accelerate the deployment and adoption of blockchain, a decentralized, communally maintained database designed to reliably store digital information.  Read more.

Check out the “Member Spotlight” from the CT Tech Council. Focus this month is on Janus Associates, which offers services in vulnerability risk assessments, penetration testing, CIO & vCISO, and more. Read more about Pat Fisher, President, and CEO, of this innovative company, and the services they provide.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding for Connecticut will be managed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation in partnership with other state agencies and stakeholders. The plan for use of the funds requires approval by the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. According to the CTDOT’s website, “Connecticut’s NEVI Plan will create a robust roadmap for how the state intends to expand a safe, reliable, accessible, and equitable electric vehicle fast charging network throughout the state.”  Read more.

CASE member Mike Ambrose, VP of Enterprise Business Transformation at Sikorsky, visited the Made in America podcast to discuss how helicopter technology and artificial intelligence have allowed Sikorsky to run more efficiently and effectively and the important role digital transformation plays in improving modeling and design.  Listen to the podcast.

Items that appear in the In Brief section are compiled from previously
published sources including newspaper accounts and press releases.  

The following is excerpted from press releases and other news reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (nationalacademies.org).

The Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity describes a path forward so the world can reap the benefits of older people while avoiding predicted challenges of population aging. The National Academy of Medicine assembled an international commission to author the Global Roadmap with guidance from an international oversight board, comprised of leaders from foundations, business, government, and academia. Through evidence-based recommendations, The Global Roadmap describes how challenges can be translated into opportunities to promote healthy longevity across the life course and around the globe. The report emphasizes the need for equity within and across countries, and describes how improvements in social infrastructure, the physical environment, and health systems can lead to healthy longevity, and, in turn, to thriving societies.   Read more.

In thousands of communities across the United States, drinking water is contaminated with chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These chemicals are used in a wide range of products, such as non-stick cookware, water and stain repellent fabrics, and fire-fighting foam, because they have properties that repel oil and water, reduce friction, and resist temperature changes. PFAS exposure has been linked to adverse health effects including certain cancers, thyroid dysfunction, changes in cholesterol, and small reductions in birth weight. This report recommends that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) update its clinical guidance to advise clinicians to offer PFAS blood testing to patients who are likely to have a history of elevated exposure, such as those with occupational exposures or those who live in areas known to be contaminated. This report recommends that the CDC, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and public health departments support clinicians by creating educational materials on PFAS exposure, potential health effects, the limitations of testing, and the benefits and harms of testing.  Read more.

Chemistry plays a pivotal role in the strength of the U.S. economy and the advancement of humankind. Chemists' achievements include life-saving pharmaceuticals, advanced energy solutions, improved agricultural productivity, and novel materials used in products from clothing to electronic devices. The many sectors reliant on the U.S. chemical economy account for about 25% of the U.S. GDP and support 4.1 million U.S. jobs. However, a new and evolving chemistry landscape requires changes to funding, training, and a focus on integrating sustainability into manufacturing, product usage, and product disposal. This report identifies strategies and options for research investments that will support U.S. leadership while considering environmental sustainability and developing a diverse chemical economy workforce with equitable opportunities for all chemistry talent.  Read more. 

Every community is affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI). Causes including falls, sports injuries, vehicle collisions, domestic violence, and military incidents can result in injuries across a spectrum of severity and age groups. So too are the physiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes that can occur following injury. This report examines the current landscape of basic, translational, and clinical TBI research and identifies gaps and opportunities to accelerate research progress and improve care with a focus on the biological, psychological, sociological, and ecological impacts. This report calls not merely for improvement, but for a transformation of attitudes, understanding, investments, and care systems for TBI.  Read more.

In late 2021, the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a virtual Summit entitled Taking Stock of Science Standards Implementation. The Summit was designed to take stock of the implementation of state science standards and to determine the next steps for continuing or reinvigorating implementation efforts. This report summarizes the three days of presentations and conversations, where stakeholders considered implementation across all states and territories, identified successes and challenges, and identified areas where additional resources or work is needed; as well as outlining the goals achieved with regard to understanding the current state of science standards implementation, identified what needs to happen in the next phase of implementation, and identified the tools, resources, and capital needed to advance a more just, equitable, and inclusive learning experience for our youth, teachers, and communities.  Read more.

Communities across the United States are subject to ever-increasing human suffering and financial impacts of disasters caused by extreme weather events and other natural hazards amplified in frequency and intensity by climate change. While media coverage sometimes paints these disasters as affecting rich and poor alike and suggests that natural disasters do not discriminate, the reality is that they do. There have been decades of discriminatory policies, practices, and embedded bias within infrastructure planning processes. Among the source of these policies and practices are the agencies that promote resilience and provide hazard mitigation and recovery services, and the funding mechanisms they employ. These practices have resulted in low-income communities, often predominantly Indigenous people and communities of color, bearing a disproportionate share of the social, economic, health, and environmental burdens caused by extreme weather and other natural disasters. This report explores equitable and infrastructure investments for natural hazard mitigation and resilience, with a focus on: partnerships for equitable infrastructure development; systemic change toward resilient and equitable infrastructure investment; and adaptations in finance and financial analysis.  Read more.

The purpose of the Academy is to "provide guidance to the people and the government of the State of Connecticut... in the application of science and engineering to the economic and social welfare." 

OFFICERS OF THE ACADEMY

John Kadow, President
ViiV Healthcare

Sten Vermund, Vice President
Yale School of Public Health (ret.)

Eric Donkor, Secretary
UConn

Edmond Murphy, Treasurer
Lumentum (ret.)

Christine Broadbridge, Past President
Southern Connecticut State University

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Terri Clark

EDITORS
Leon Pintsov, Executive Editor - Engineering
Pitney Bowes, Inc. 

Mike Genel, Executive Editor - Medicine
Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics
Yale University School of Medicine
CASE President, 2008-2010

Amy R. Howell, Executive Editor - Science
Department of Chemistry
University of Connecticut

COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Rebecca Mead, INQ Creative

The Bulletin is published by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, Inc, 222 Pitkin Street, Suite 101, East Hartford, Connecticut, 06108. 860.282.4229, tclark@ctcase.org. To subscribe, visit ctcase.org.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering is a private, nonprofit public service organization established by Special Act No. 76-53 of the Connecticut General Assembly.

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