May 11, 2012     Vol. 6, Issue 5

'Stars of Stony Brook Gala' Shines Brighter Than Ever

Over 600 friends of Stony Brook University gathered at Chelsea Piers in New York City for the 13th annual Stars of Stony Brook Gala fundraiser for student scholarships and academic excellence. This was a record-breaking year for the Gala, which generated $2.6 million in gifts along with a $1 million matching grant from the Pollock Krasner Foundation for a total $3.6 million. As part of the year-long commemoration of Jackson Pollock’s 100th birthday, the Gala honored the PK Foundation and actor and director of "Pollock," Ed Harris. Since it was established, the Stars of Stony Brook has raised $24 million in scholarships for Stony Brook University students. More photos here.

 Alumnus Wins Goldman Environmental Prize

Ikal Angelei grew up playing on Lake Turkana's dusty shores, chatting with old fishermen who sold their daily catch to her family and others. When she graduated from high school, she moved to the capital to study at the University of Nairobi, traveling later to the United States to earn a Master's degree in Public Policy and Political Science at Stony Brook University as part of the class of 2010. Then she returned home and began working on community outreach for the Turkana Basin Institute, "To Fight a Dam, Rather Than 'Live on Your Knees'". More. 

Generation One Rocks Pritchard Gym

Over 600 Alums from Classes '61 to '81 Returned to the Brook last month for the first-ever "Generation One Reunion" More photos here. 

New Home for Laufer Center Dedicated

The new home of the Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology at Stony Brook University was officially dedicated at a celebratory event on May 7. Research at the Center focuses on solving challenging problems at the interface between the physical and life sciences. More. 

Professor Elected to American Academy of
Arts & Sciences

Jeffrey A. Segal, PhD, a SUNY Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook, is one of 220 newly elected members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies and the leading center for independent policy research. More.





Goodale Family Makes Meaningful Contribution to Children's Hospital

Cathy and Russell Goodale found out they were carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene when their six-week-old son, Keith, was diagnosed. Another son, Jeffrey, was later diagnosed with CF. Cathy Goodale has been facing her own health battle – with breast cancer – since 2003, and yet she focuses on relieving stress for other parents, not only parents of CF children but parents of any child who needs emergency or other care. The Goodale family gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by an anonymous donor and will make a significant impact on the hospital, said Dr. Margaret McGovern. More.

Martian Rover Finds Evidence Of Water Flows At Ancient Impact Crater Endeavour

Evidence of ancient water at a Martian crater is the latest in a long series of discoveries. "The rover discovered evidence for low temperature liquid water and environments that would be conducive for life," said Scott M. McLennan, Professor of Geochemistry at Stony Brook University and a member of the team that published the paper. Dr. McLennan noted that this was the third area on Mars visited by the Mars rovers that has produced evidence of "habitable" ancient geological environments. More. 

PBS Documentary on Turkana Basin Institute on
May 16

Bones of Turkana follows the story of famed paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey and his wife Meave, daughter Louise and their colleagues, as they work in the arid northern regions of Kenya’s Turkana Basin to unravel the mysteries of human evolution. Bones of Turkana airs on PBS on May 16, 2012. Please check local listings for the time of broadcast. We hope you will tune in for Bones of Turkana, written, directed and produced by John Heminway. More.

Seawolves Punch Tickets to the NCAA

Women's Tennis

After winning its first America East Championship in program history, the women's tennis team will travel to face Stanford for an NCAA first round matchup. Led by Most Outstanding Player Polina Movchan, the Seawolves knocked off 18-time defending champion Boston University, 4-3, in the semifinals before knocking off UMBC in the final, 4-2, at US National Tennis Center. More.

 Men's Lacrosse

The Stony Brook men's lacrosse team will face No. 2 Johns Hopkins in the first round of the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Seawolves, who captured their third America East Championship title with last Saturday's win over Albany (score 14 to 8), will travel to Baltimore to face the Blue Jays on Sunday, May 13 at 3 pm. on ESPNU. More.

14 Stony Brook Students Receive SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher honored 14 Stony Brook University students with the 2012 Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence at an awards reception held earlier this month at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. The Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence is the highest honor that SUNY bestows upon its students and is given to those who have best demonstrated the integration of academic excellence with accomplishments in the areas of leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement or career achievement. Stony Brook had the second most honorees recognized among 257 students from all 64 SUNY campuses. More.

Is Eating Seafood Good or Bad?

The answer could be both. "Choosing which types of seafood to eat is not simple," says Dr. Meliker. "Seafood provide important nutrients, most notably n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to confer benefits to brain and visual system development, and reduce risk of heart disease. However, seafood can also be a source of contaminants, perhaps most importantly, methylmercury, a known neurotoxicant." More.

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