of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
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Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to CT
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Volume 38, 4 / August 2023
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A message to our readers... |
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This summer marked the end of my first year as President. I am grateful I had the opportunity to serve the Academy this past year and look forward to my final year with much still to accomplish.
This fall begins the Academy’s Annual New Member Election process with a Call for Nominations in early October. Our members are encouraged to think about nominations that will strengthen our service to the state by identifying nominees who are recognized for their scientific distinction in theory and/or unusual accomplishments in new and developing fields. Additionally, leadership is committed to increasing the diversity of our membership by race/ethnicity, gender, sector (academia, business, industry, government/public service), and field. If you have a suggestion on an individual who would be a valuable addition to the Academy, please let me know via Terri Clark.
Additionally, this fall through February 2024, CASE Members will serve on the Connecticut General Assembly’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group, with the role of the working group and CASE’s involvement more fully described in Public Act 23-16. The working group meetings will be available via CTN. Stay tuned.
I encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the Academy’s Learning and Living STEMM in Connecticut podcast series. Host and CASE Member Tanimu Deleon interviews CASE Member Mike Ambrose, recently retired from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, about digital transformation. Mike helps us understand this complex technical topic and how important it is for the businesses of our state.
Lastly, the Academy is looking to increase our capacity to serve the state by engaging in a more proactive way our ten technical boards. You can access the one-page overview of the technical boards, including the policy area each board serves, via our website, and note that the Bulletin’s In Brief section is organized by these ten boards.
Enjoy the rest of the summer,
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John Kadow, President CT Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to CT
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CASE PODCAST |
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Learning & Living STEMM in Connecticut
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In the latest episode, CASE Member Mike Ambrose starts the conversation on Digital Transformation - or DX - and the complexities of product considerations, the importance of data, and the concept of the single source of the truth. Listen, subscribe, and never miss an episode. Read more.
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SOCIAL MEDIA |
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CASE LinkedIn Page
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The Academy has an active LinkedIn page that we encourage the Bulletin’s readership to follow. The page will connect you to news on the Academy, its members, and science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine topics of interest to Connecticut. Follow CASE and stay up to date.
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To learn more about the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, please visit ctcase.org.
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Science and Engineering Notes from Around Connecticut
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Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition |
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The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) is reporting an increase in the frequency of new species of invasive ticks to the region. Hitchhiking on human travelers returning from international destinations, these ticks are capable of establishing expansive populations and introducing new tick-borne pathogens, leading to public and veterinary health concerns. Read more.
Governor Lamont and CT Department of Agriculture Commissioner Brian Hurlburt announced that the state received a federal agricultural disaster declaration due to the impact of the abnormal, sub-freezing weather event that occurred on May 18. This declaration means that farmers can apply for disaster assistance from the Farm Service Agency, such as emergency loans, to cover crop losses. Read more.
Jumping worms are threatening parts of the US again and experts are warning gardeners and gardening enthusiasts about the dangers posed by the worm species that is native to Asia and has been in the US since 2013. The name 'jumping worms' was derived from the behavior of the animal, which moves in an 'S' pattern and seems to be elevating from the ground when disturbed. Studies have shown that the jumping worms (Amynthas agrestis) can make the soil inhospitable for plants to grow, destroying not only local gardens but also farmlands and forests. Read more.
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Biomedical Research & Healthcare |
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A new type of biodegradable ultrasound implant based on piezoelectric nanofibers could improve outcomes for patients with brain cancer. Researchers including CASE Member Kazem Kazerounian, professor and dean of the UConn School of Engineering, fabricated the devices from crystals of glycine, an amino acid found in the human body. Brain tumors are particularly difficult to treat as many chemotherapy drugs are blocked from entering the brain by the blood–brain barrier (BBB). However, ultrasound can be safely used to temporarily alter the shape of the barrier cells allowing chemotherapy drugs circulating in the bloodstream to pass through to the brain tissues. Read more.
Yale University researchers conducted a study of more than 22,000 people with multiple sclerosis, with the research leading to the identification of a genetic variant associated with faster progression of the disease. CASE Member David Hafler, the William S. and Lois Stiles Edgerly Professor of Neurology and Professor of Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine was a co-author of the study, with the findings providing important leads for developing new therapies. Read more.
The Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology focuses on transformative research in human immunology and is intended to encourage and support young investigators in computer science, artificial intelligence/machine learning, protein engineering, nanotechnology, genomics, parasitology and tropical medicine, neurodegenerative diseases, and gene editing. The 2023 application is open until October 1st. Read more.
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Communication & Information Systems |
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Health Equity Solutions launched a new website featuring a fresh design, easy navigation, and updated resources to support the organization’s mission of advancing health equity in Connecticut through anti-racist policies and practices. Read more.
BioCT, the industry voice for bioscience in Connecticut, publishes The Roundup. This electronic newsletter includes industry news, BioCT member news, new member profiles, and upcoming events. Read and subscribe.
CASE Member David Ferrucci, an artificial intelligence researcher who led the team that created IBM Watson, has raised nearly $60 million for his AI startup, Elemental Cognition, a company started in 2015 that seeks to develop AI that “thinks before it talks.” Read more.
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Connecticut Innovations will invest $200M from the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund (CBIF) over the next 10 years in the form of grants, equity investments, and loans to speed breakthroughs to market. Startups and early-stage businesses, and accredited colleges and universities together with nonprofits (academics), may apply for funding up to $500,000. Read more.
Formed in 2012, the Connecticut General Assembly Manufacturing Caucus is one of the oldest legislative caucuses with manufacturing-friendly policy priorities that include workforce development, easing regulatory burdens, encouraging innovation, and educating other lawmakers on the value of manufacturing. Read more.
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Energy Production, Use, and Conservation |
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Governor Ned Lamont and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that Connecticut is joining eight other states – including MA, NJ, NY, and RI - in proposing regulations to make cars and trucks up to 90% cleaner and to require vehicle manufacturers to deliver more zero-emission vehicles, while also increasing consumer protections. Significantly reducing pollution from cars and trucks provides benefits to those living closest to transportation corridors, which include many distressed municipalities and other environmental justice communities. Read more.
New England's largest energy utility, Eversource, has parted ways with the American Gas Association — an industry group that environmentalists say has been instrumental in blocking efforts to address climate change around the country. Eversource stated that the utility canceled its membership with the gas industry group in early 2022 as part of a broader, strategic effort to prioritize “decarbonization” and reduce planet-warming emissions. Eversource’s departure appears to mark the first time a major utility has left the influential gas trade group over diverging climate agendas. Read more.
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US Environmental Protection Agency scientists began to test a low-cost, do-your-own air purifier against infectious aerosols like the virus that causes COVID-19. The purifier, “Owl Force One,” was created by a 5th-grade student and her classmates from the Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown. Read more.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced $1.6M in funding for the Beverage Container Recycling Grant program to improve services at existing facilities and to support the establishment of a new facility. Container deposits will increase to 10 cents on January 1, 2024, increasing the demand for redemption center services. Many communities, particularly those in urban centers and environmental justice communities, lack reliable and convenient access to beverage container redemption locations. Read more.
The high consumption rate of critical materials - which can include water, metals, rare earth elements, nutrients, and pharmaceuticals - not only jeopardizes their supply chains but is also detrimental to the environment. Two recent studies from the lab of CASE Member Menachem Elimelech, the Roberto C. Goizueta Professor of Environmental and Chemical Engineering at Yale University, offer new perspectives and provide guidelines for extracting valuable materials from water through nanofiltration. Read more.
Sustainable CT, a statewide program that supports municipal sustainability initiatives, announced that its 2023 cohort of Sustainable CT Fellows are currently working on developing strategies and materials for an extensive outreach campaign to support the implementation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded Climate Action Plans across the state. Read more.
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Human Resources and Education |
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The University of New Haven's Board of Governors is launching a national search for the university’s next president. The search committee is being chaired by CASE Member Michael Ambrose, a 1984 graduate of the university and vice chair of its board. Ambrose is a recent retiree from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, where he spent nearly 40 years. Read more.
The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering at UConn has selected the 2023 Presidential M1 Mentorship Program Awardees. The program aims to create a national model for best practices in the mentorship of underrepresented students and faculty in the sciences, engineering, and biomedicine. 2023 awardees include CASE Members Mu-Ping Nieh, professor, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering, and Gualberto Ruaño, assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry, and assistant director, Special Projects. Read more.
The High School Student Research Apprentice Program, run by CASE Member Marja Hurley, professor of medicine and orthopedic surgery at UConn, is a unique opportunity for high school students to get out of the classroom, become exposed to the workplace culture of research labs, and enhance lab skills, learning new techniques. Read more.
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UConn Researchers have been awarded $1M in funding from the Connecticut Department of Public Health for a new project to study how infant feeding practices such as breastfeeding changed throughout the pandemic and how these changes affected children’s health and weight outcomes. Read more.
CASE Member Melinda Pettigrew, the Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Epidemiology and deputy dean of the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), was named the new dean at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Professor Pettigrew will begin the new role on December 29th. Read more.
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CASE Member Y. F. Khalil of Collins Aerospace, authored a U.S. patent entitled “Digital Twins for Circuit Board Reliability Prediction” for space applications. Digital Twining (DT) is a core aspect of the digital transformation that aims to create a virtual digitalization environment for data collection from sensors, sorting, analyzing, and generating actionable insights to support real-time informed decisions about the health and reliability of equipment used in space systems. DT is an effective approach to extending equipment life by predicting degradation before failure occurs and, hence, supports sustainable development and circularity. Read more.
The interest in Responsible Tech - a field focused on making technology more ethical and responsible – is rising, as seen by surging tech employee interest in activism, unionization, alternative methods of funding, and building tech more intentionally. This is inspiring the emergence of multidisciplinary degree programs to feed the talent pipeline and make it more diverse, multidisciplinary, and aligned with the public interest – all to create a better tech future. All Tech is Human, an international organization founded in Hartford in 2018, is making an updated version of its “Responsible Tech Guide” available for download. Read more.
CASE Members Kenneth Rosen, Vice President of Research and Engineering (retired) at Sikorsky, and Krishan Pattipati, UTC Professor of Systems Engineering at UConn, authored the chapter, “Operating Digital Twins within an Enterprise Process,” of the newly published, The Digital Twin book. The book focuses on harnessing the power of technology, business practices, and digital infrastructure to make revolutionary improvements for the benefit of society. Ninety experts from around the world contributed to summarize four decades of digital advances and successes and to define the Digital Twin’s potential for the decades ahead. Read more.
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The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is purchasing 60 new single-level rail coach cars that will be used on the state’s commuter rail lines. The customized, sustainable, next-generation commuter rail cars will have a spacious two-by-two seating configuration, will provide easy access for passengers using mobility aids, and will enhance the customer experience with convenient overhead luggage racks, foldable workstation tables, and a bicycle storage area. Read more.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched the Project Delivery Center of Excellence to help recipients of federal infrastructure funds deliver projects more efficiently and effectively, from concept to completion. The Center will serve as a central resource for innovative practices and will bring project managers together to enable knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning. Read more.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) a $25M grant to help build a new bus rapid transit system in New Haven. The project includes creating 18 new stops and four mini-hubs, traffic signal priority buses, and the procurement of 15 new battery electric buses. This program is modeled after the successful CTfastrak service in the Greater Hartford area. Read more.
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Items that appear in the In Brief section are compiled from previously published sources including newspaper accounts and press releases.
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From the National Academies |
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The following is excerpted from press releases and other news reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (nationalacademies.org).
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Airports face increasing regulatory and technical challenges for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found on or near their facilities. Sources of PFAS may be attributable to activities such as the use of aqueous film forming foam during aircraft rescue and firefighting activities or from airport neighbors who use products that contain PFAS. This research report provides recommended practices for determining the source of PFAS detected in soil and water on or near an airport. Read more.
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Racially and ethnically minoritized populations and tribal communities often face preventable inequities in health outcomes due to structural disadvantages and diminished opportunities around health care, employment, education, and more. This report analyzes how past and current federal policies may create, maintain, and/or amplify racial, ethnic, and tribal health inequities, and identifies key features of policies that have served to reduce inequities and makes recommendations to help achieve racial, ethnic, and tribal health equity. Read more.
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Most state departments of transportation (DOTs) are aware of the importance of integrating freight and active transportation, but there is a lack of coordination and standardized protocols for doing so. This report from the TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program documents state DOT practices, tools, and approaches related to the integration of freight and active transportation policy, programs, plans, and project development. Read more.
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The United States is experiencing a decline in life expectancy despite high healthcare spending due to a multitude of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid epidemic, the high burden of chronic disease, and systemic and structural inequities. This publication explores opportunities to transform the current health and healthcare system to one that promotes whole person and whole population health, emphasizing the need for a bold vision and sustainable financing strategies to prioritize health and well-being for all. Read more.
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Extreme weather and wildfires, intensified by climate change, are damaging the native plant communities of landscapes across the United States. Native plant communities are foundational to thriving ecosystems, delivering goods and services that regulate the environment and support life, provide food and shelter for a wide range of native animals, and embody a wealth of genetic information with many beneficial applications. Restoring impaired ecosystems requires a supply of diverse native plant seeds that are well-suited to the climates, soils, and other living species of the system. This report examines the need for native plant restoration and other activities, provides recommendations for improving the reliability, predictability, and performance of the native seed supply, and presents an ambitious agenda for action while considering the various challenges facing our natural landscapes, and calling for a coordinated public-private effort to scale-up and secure a cost-effective national native seed supply. Read more.
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The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering |
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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 (ret.)
Sten Vermund, Vice President Yale School of Public Health
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
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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.
COPYING PERMITTED, WITH ATTRIBUTION
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