of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
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Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to CT
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Volume 37, 1 / February 2022
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A message to our readers... |
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I am pleased to announce the election of 35 new members of the Academy (see a list in the Academy News section). These members will be recognized at the Academy’s 47th Annual Meeting, to be held virtually on Thursday, May 26. The Bulletin readership will receive an invitation to this meeting, and I hope you will consider attending.
Along with the new members, the Academy will recognize student winners of state STEM competitions, the 2022 Connecticut Medal of Technology awardees and our newest honorary member. We also are excited to share that Craig Crews from the Yale School of Medicine and founder of Arvinas, Inc. will present the keynote address. Additionally, Academy leadership will share information about our work and a website designed for this meeting will be available for attendees to learn more about us.
Hope to “see” you on the 26th!
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Christine Caragianis Broadbridge, President CT Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)
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MEMBERSHIP |
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CASE Elects New Members |
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35 of Connecticut’s leading experts in science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and technology have been elected to membership in the Academy.
The new members will be introduced at the Academy’s 47th Annual Meeting. Read more.
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CT MEDALS |
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Call for Nominations: The 2022 Connecticut Medal of Technology |
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Two medals will be awarded in 2022, with one medal awarded to an individual and one medal to a team, company/non-profit, or divisions of companies/non-profits. Nominations are due via email March 14, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Read more.
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FELLOWSHIP |
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CASE Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program Expands |
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A $432,801 grant award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will support an expansion of CASE’s Fellowship Program in Connecticut. Read more.
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CASE LEADERSHIP |
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Sten H. Vermund Elected
CASE Vice President |
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Sten H. Vermund, MD, PhD, Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health and Dean, Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, will serve as Vice President beginning July 1, 2022 and as President July 1, 2024. Read more.
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ANNUAL MEETING |
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CASE Annual Meeting to be Virtual in 2022 |
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47th CASE Virtual Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2022. More details to follow.
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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, engineering, medicine, and technology topics of interest to Connecticut. Please click the blue "follow" button on the page to 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 CT Department of Agriculture issued an alert for High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) restrictions for pet birds from Canada due to the presence of subtype H5N1. This alert also affects the biosecurity of poultry, one of the state's most valuable agricultural sectors. Read more.
The state of Connecticut received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Hemp Production. The plan supports Connecticut hemp law and governs the registration, production, and compliance for hemp cultivation in 2022. Read more.
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Biomedical Research & Healthcare |
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CASE member, JAX researcher, and UConn School of Medicine Professor Se-Jin Lee has been honored with the prestigious International Space Station Award. Se-Jin, along with his co-investigator, wife, and fellow CASE member Dr. Emily Germain-Lee, professor of pediatrics at UConn School of Medicine, led JAX’s ‘Mighty Mice in Space’ program. The program is charting new frontiers in muscle research. Read more.
CASE Member Philip E. Rubin, Chief Executive Officer Emeritus and former senior scientist, Haskins Laboratories, adjunct professor, department of surgery - Otolaryngology, Yale University School of Medicine, and UConn Trustee has been named President of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences. Read more.
The Donaghue Foundation created Another Look 2022, which supports research for improving health for older adults in long-term care facilities. In 2022, the foundation will invest approximately $750,000 in this grant program and expects to make four or five awards. Read more.
2022 ABCT: Accelerator for Biosciences in Connecticut cohort participants and ventures have been announced. This is the second cohort of the accelerator program for bioscience startups and includes nine ventures and a 6.5 month-long program. Read more.
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Communication & Information Systems |
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The CTData Collaborative, the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, and Aurora Women and Girls Foundation released groundbreaking research on who is being evicted in Connecticut. An interactive mapping tool that provides access to eviction data at the town- and neighborhood-level is now available. Read more.
The state of Connecticut named Alfred Herrera its first geographic information officer. Herrera was the former geographic information systems (GIS) analyst for the City of New Haven. As the state’s head GIS official, Herrera is tasked with planning and delivering location-data technology that supports “key services” for the state. Read more.
The Secretary of State launched a CT Business Services hub to streamline, digitize and create a more user-friendly way to access business resources. Read more.
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CTNext named Onyeka Obiocha, founder of Sharelogical, co-founder of A Happy Life, and former managing director of the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY), as its Executive Director. Onyeka will use his entrepreneurial and innovation background to guide CTNext into the future. Read more.
Rafael Perez-Escamilla, CASE member and Director of the Office of Public Health Practice and professor of epidemiology and public health, Yale School of Public Health, has been elected to the Board of Directors for Newman's Own Foundation. Read more.
Connecticut Innovations published a list of top ten achievements from among the many entrepreneurs and partners at the forefront of innovation in our state. These achievements came from Arvinas, Digital Currency Group, Logicbroker, CI portfolio companies, IsoPlexis, Greenworks Landing, Tamarack Global, and Enko Chemo. Read more.
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Education and Human Resources |
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CASE member Radenka Maric, Professor and Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at UConn was named as the Interim President of UConn effective February 1, 2022. Read more.
New research on emotional intelligence and how it is affected by affluence was published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. This research builds upon CASE member and Yale University President Peter Salovey’s research on emotional intelligence. Read more.
The Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy launched CareerConneCT - an investment of $70 million to help job training for those affected by COVID-19. This program is designed to train people in manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, infrastructure, clean energy, and other in-demand industries. Read more.
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Energy Production, Use, and Conservation |
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According to Connecticut’s 2nd Clean Energy Industry Report from the Joint Committee of the Energy Efficiency Board and the Connecticut Green Bank Board of Directors, Connecticut’s Clean Energy Industry is more resilient during the pandemic than other states and the nation and is well-positioned for growth. Read more.
CASE member and Professor Emeritus at the University of Connecticut, Lee S. Langston, shared the recent decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to remove the proposed natural gas power plant in Killingly from its future development considerations. Read more.
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Gary Yohe, CASE member and Wesleyan’s Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Emeritus, and recipient of a share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his involvement with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and colleagues' latest article states that the "1.5 degrees goal" is a ‘useful spur to action,’ but not necessarily a make-or-break point. They note that each 0.1-degree increase avoided is cause for celebration and hope.’ Read more.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and UConn announced that the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has designated Southeastern Connecticut locations as the Nation’s 30th National Estuarine Research Reserve. This “Living Laboratory” will protect habitat and provide expanded research, education, and stewardship opportunities. Read more.
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CASE member Bruce Liang, dean of the UConn School of Medicine and the Ray Neag Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, has been named UConn Health’s Interim CEO and Executive Vice President of Health Affairs. Read more.
Jordan Peccia, CASE Member and Thomas E. Golden Jr. Professor of Environmental Engineering at Yale University explained a new research tool in the measurement of COVID-19 in New Haven’s population. Read more.
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UConn Tech Park – Innovation Partnership Building's First Annual Microscopy Art Contest demonstrates how science can become art. Using Tech Park’s state-of-the-art high-electron microscope technology, CASE Member and UConn Tech Park Executive Director Pamir Alpay explained, “This competition is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our students’ creativity and display the beautiful images they have captured. It encourages students to continue discovering art in their scientific research and gives them a richer perspective on research programs as they move forward in their careers. Read more.
CASE Member and Chief of Product Safety & Reliability at Collins Aerospace Dr. Y. F. Khalil noted that “The U.S. industrial sector accounts for »28% of the nation’s energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, hence, decarbonizing this sector can be a major contributor to achieving a greener U.S. economy.” The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified the following technologies as critical pathways towards decarbonizing the U.S. economy: Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); synthesis of low-carbon fuels; and the use of renewable electricity in industrial processes (such as electrification of the ammonia production process). Subscribe for updates on initiatives in this area through the agency’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.
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Governor Lamont announced the launch of CTpass, a new state program administered by the CT Department of Transportation to offer organizations group rates to access public transportation. Read more.
The CT Department of Transportation announced the launch of a new Vision Zero Council website for traffic safety information and invites public engagement in working to eliminate roadway injuries and fatalities. Read more.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is distributing $24 million in federal congestion mitigation and air quality funds to ten transportation projects in Connecticut. As part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program, Connecticut invests federal funds in local, cost-effective projects that will reduce vehicle exhaust emissions in areas of the state that do not attain national air quality standards. 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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A growing body of evidence has sounded the alarm that the biodiversity that supports and sustains life on Earth is at risk. Habitat destruction, resource exploitation, and climate change are among the many stressors that have put 1 million species under threat of extinction and sharply reduced the populations of many plant and animal species. This booklet, produced by an international committee of experts, provides a publicly accessible overview of the many dimensions of biodiversity and why it's vital to the health of all life on the planet, examines the causes of biodiversity loss, and presents actions that can be taken from the individual to the global level to stop this decline. Read more.
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A recent workshop convened by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reviewed issues related to safety of passengers and employees in commercial air transportation, for domestic and international travel, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This publication documents the presentation and discussions held during the workshop including the exploration of best practices to assess and mitigate COVID-19 transmission risks experienced during the travel chain, from the departure airport entrance to the destination airport exit. Read more.
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In November 2020, the National Academies convened a multi-day virtual symposium on imaging the future of undergraduate STEM education. This publication summarizes the symposium presentations on today’s approaches to undergraduate STEM education and recaps discussions on ideas for the future, how student-centered learning experiences could be created, and what issues need to be considered to facilitate a successful transformation. Read more.
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With the federal moratorium on rental eviction expiring as of September 12, 2021, actionable guidance is urgently needed to ensure that renters can stay in their homes and housing aid reaches the communities that need it most. This report recommends that the Executive Office of the President of the United States should consider establishing a task force to prevent rental evictions and mitigate housing instability caused by the pandemic, and proposes actions to be taken both urgently and over the next three years aimed at addressing the immediate crisis as well as long-standing needs related to housing choice, affordability, and security across the United States. Read more.
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A new consensus study report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice evaluates evidence gaps in clinical prevention recommendations described by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and other clinical practice guideline developers and presents a taxonomy of these evidence gaps for future use. This report aims to improve the coordination of efforts to describe and communicate priority evidence gaps among funders and researchers and proposes new opportunities for collaboration among researchers, funders, and guideline developers to accelerate research that could close evidence gaps. Read more.
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A National Academy of Medicine perspective notes that “it should not be more difficult for health care providers to prescribe life-saving medications that treat opioid use disorder than to prescribe addictive opioid pills themselves. Yet that is the reality clinicians face today.” This commentary calls for an overdue update of policies related to telephone e-services, stating that “utilizing telemedicine services, which realized many positive outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, could remove many barriers that many communities face when seeking buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder.” 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
Christine Broadbridge, President Southern Connecticut State University
John Kadow, Vice President ViiV Healthcare
Eric Donkor, Secretary UConn
Edmond Murphy, Treasurer Lumentum (ret.)
Baki Cetegen, Past President UConn
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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