QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
Inside Disney
Meet three Pandora Imagineers | 24
Change Makers
Distinguished Achievement Award winners | 28
We tapped URI experts to bring you 28 ways to live better, now. | 12
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017 | VOLUME 25, NO. 2 FEATURES
12 Life, Better We asked every college at URI for tips on how to live well. Professors, students and staff gave us expert answers of all kinds: how to talk to someone with hearing loss, sound knowledgeable about wine, have better arguments with your spouse, follow through on your good intentions, and figure out what size pizza gives the most pie for your buck. Dig in.
24 Disney Dreams Meet three landscape architects turned Disney Imagineers who helped turn the movie Avatar into the Magic Kingdom’s latest real-life attraction.
28 12th Annual Distinguished Achievement Awards This year’s winners have brought distinction to themselves and to the University through their professional achievements, leadership, community service, and philanthropic support.
MORE ONLINE
uri.edu/quadangles
DEPARTMENTS 2 FEEDBACK 4 PRESIDENT'SVIEW 6 NEWS&VIEWS 30 CLASSACTS News from your classmates 33 CLOSEUP Matthew Brum ’10 37 CLOSEUP Brittany Diamond ’14 40 BACKPAGE Enter our photo caption contest. STAY CONNECTED twitter.com/universityofri instagram.com/universityofri facebook.com/universityofri
North Campus At left, a view of the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences and the newly named pharmacy building, Paramaz Avedisian ’54 Hall. Woodward Hall is seen through the snow-laden trees on the right.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: AARON MESHON; CONTENTS PHOTO: SHELBEY GALLIHER
FEEDBACK Write to us: pjack@uri.edu Read more online: uri.edu/quadangles
The Power of an English Degree To Ann Hood ’78, I could not agree with you more! Ok, I confess, as a URI grad with a B.A. in English and Spanish, mine might not be the most unbiased opinion on the subject. But after years of enduring the quizzical looks and snarky comments (both of which wondered, “What kind of job are you going to get with that?”), I still don’t think of a college education as simply job training. It took me a couple of years to finally stumble into it, but I found my vocation and passion in the field of learning and development, where there has been no shortage of opportunities to use the written word to connect with people, communicate all kinds of fascinating ideas, and watch them learn and grow. I have never regretted my choice of study at URI. Although I do share that one about not studying abroad for a semester... Denise Van Tassell ’82 Nipomo, California “We are drowning in information,” Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist E.O. Wilson tells us, “while starving for wisdom.” I love this essay. Thank you, Ann Hood and URI. Mary M. Hartley ’76 Cranston, R.I. From uri.edu/quadangles
2
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
I loved Ann Hood’s essay in the Fall 2017 QuadAngles! Though I did go into business after earning my B.A. in 1971, my English degree has served me very well in my career. People underestimate the need for people who can write clearly. Ann, I think we both had Dr. Smith for Shakespeare! Your essay supported what I have told my own students for many years! Janis Dietz ’71 La Verne, California Thank you so much Ann Hood! This essay is so timely for me, as I witness—year after year—the humanities becoming less and less significant in the district where I teach and where technology gets all the attention and funding. I will share this with my colleagues and my students, who are book lovers, so they realize that technology is not the end-all, be-all. Lisa Laferriere North Scituate, R.I. From uri.edu/quadangles
Probiotics with Antiobiotics I was very interested to read the article “The Thin Red Line” in your QuadAngles [Fall 2017] this past month. It was disappointing, however, to hear no mention of the use of probiotics in helping gut flora to maintain while on a course of antibiotics. Except for a slight mention of investigation into their uses in aquaculture, it was completely ignored. When will the medical profession and scientists start encouraging the use of specific probiotics when prescribing an antibiotic? I am fortunate to have a physician here in San Diego and one previously in Boston who are savvy enough to do this. The cases of Clostridium difficile are rising rapidly in children who are given antibiotics with no instruction to add a probiotic to the treatment. I believe—as do many others and, surely your pharmacists, scientists, etc. quoted in the article—that this would be helpful. Christine Curley (wife of John Curley ’65) San Diego, California
PHOTOS: ILLUSTRATION: ANTHONY RUSSO; ISTOCKPHOTOS.COM; NORA LEWIS
QuadAngles is published by the University of Rhode Island Alumni Association. Copyright pending, all rights reserved. The URI Alumni Association informs and engages current and future alumni as committed partners of the University, its mission and traditions. Executive Editor Michele A. Nota ’87, M.S. ’06, Executive Director, URI Alumni Relations; Secretary, Alumni Association Executive Board Editor in Chief Art Director
Pippa Jack, pjack@uri.edu Kim Robertson
Contributing Editors
Barbara Caron Dina M. Dionizio ’91 Shane Donaldson ’99 Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87 Kate O’Malley Elizabeth Rau
Contributing Designers
Johnson Ma Cynthia McMillen Bo Pickard
Photographer Nora Lewis Digital Media Editorial Board
Kyla Duffy Kelly Mahoney ’03, Executive Director, External Relations and Communications Linda A. Acciardo ’77, Director, Communications and Marketing Tracey A. Manni, Director, Communications, URI Foundation
URI Alumni Relations Staff
Those IBM Punch Cards My first experience with digital computers was in a URI course in the spring of 1966, just before I graduated with a BSME degree. Since the Computer Science Department had apparently not yet been created, it must have been a math course. The punch cards (Hollerith cards, more formally) were actually a good way to program. They were very durable, with people keeping and running their card decks for years. I took a job with Monsanto in Springfield, Mass., at graduation. There I got to use an IBM 1620, which I believe was the first mass-production machine designed expressly for engineering calculation. It was run “open shop”: you actually got to throw switches yourself. The first problem I programmed was to calculate the transient temperatures at various points in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. It took the 1620 more than 5–6 hours to calculate for 60 seconds of transient time. The 1620 had a main console about the size of a desk, with 8k of memory, and there was a second console with another 8k. Might seem primitive by today’s standards, but this machine was a vast improvement over using adding machines and slide rules. Don Champagne ’66 Silver Springs, Maryland From uri.edu/quadangles
Christina Haas ’05, Assistant Director Karen LaPointe ’77, M.B.A. ’84, Associate Director Kasey Geremia, Senior Specialist Mary Ann Mazzone, Office Assistant Esther Reynoso ’15, Executive Assistant Samantha Rodrigues ’11, Senior Specialist Caitie Runyon '16, Graduate Assistant Amy Simonini, Assistant Director Samantha Stevens, M.S. '15, Specialist McKayla Stubbs ’16, Specialist
Alumni Assoc. Daniel G. Lowney ’75, President Executive Board Susan R. Johnson ’82, Immediate Past President Colleen M. Gouveia Moulton M.B.A. ’98 Vice President Kathleen P. O’Donnell-White ’90, Vice President Steven R. Frazier ’07, Treasurer Alumni Assoc. Councilorsat-Large
Correction Caighln Perrin ’01 should have been identified as a URI alumna in the story “Helping Wigglers Become Learners” in the Fall 2017 issue. She graduated with a B.A. in Communication Studies in 2001.
Laurel L. Bowerman ’77, M.B.A. ’84 Matthew T. Finan ’11 Jordan D. Kanter ’99, M.S. ’00 Mackenzie K. Hofman ’12 Sulina M. Mohanty ’07 John J. Palumbo, Sr. ’76 Joseph F. Penza, Jr. ’69 Perry A. Raso ’02, M.S. ’06 Karen E. Regine ’81 Thomas F. Shevlin ’68
Alumni Assoc. College Representatives: Arts & Sciences, Nancy J.S. Ferrara ’88, M.B.A. ’97 Business, Marianne Gattinella ’79 Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education & Professional Studies, Kaitlin E. Donahue ’07 Engineering, Anthony J. Rafanelli ’78, M.S. ’85, Ph.D. ’95 Environment and Life Sciences, James D. Marques ’79, M.P.A. ’88 Health Sciences, Marcia A. Costello ’77 Nursing, Silifat “Laitan” Mustapha ’97 Graduate School of Oceanography, Veronica M. Berounsky Ph.D. ’90 Pharmacy, Ewa M. Dzwierzynski ’96 URI Foundation, Thomas M. Ryan '75 Student Senate, Ryan Buck ’18 Student Alumni Association, Timothy J. O’Connor ’18
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
3
PRESIDENT’SVIEW I expect that there are many Paramaz Avedisians among our alumni body. Your lives, like Paramaz’s, were enriched by the generosity of ordinary people who saw your promise and found a way to help you achieve success.
A
From top: URI President David M. Dooley; newly named pharmacy building, Paramaz Avedisian ‘54 Hall; Edward Avedisian at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
4
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
t the start of every new year I’m reminded of just how lucky Lynn and I are to be part of the University of Rhode Island community. Having spent nearly a decade here, we’ve witnessed incredible change and growth. In 2017, of course, we were honored to lead the celebration of URI’s 125th anniversary. Together with you, we created some wonderful lasting memories. Even as we look ahead to the excitement of our spring semester and all that it holds, I do want to share just one memory—which you can read about in much greater detail on the facing page. On Monday, October 16, we were thrilled to cut a ribbon at the College of Pharmacy building, which opened in 2012 and is now known as Paramaz Avedisian ’54 Hall. Paramaz’s brother, Edward Avedisian, made the incredibly generous gift of $5 million as a tribute to Paramaz, who embodied the best of URI scholarship and fellowship. Edward, a recipient of the 2016 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is given to individuals for sharing their “wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents, and selfless generosity; all the while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they embody the American Dream,” wanted current and future generations of students and faculty to feel connected to Paramaz, who was in his own right a philanthropist, as well as a brilliant scholar and successful pharmacist. Paramaz’s experience reflected that of many students who were the children of immigrants growing up in the mid-20th century. They knew education was their ticket to the American Dream. Things are really not so different today at URI. In fact, our campus continues to welcome and support first-generation college students whose families have stressed the importance of education. In 2015–16 alone, URI distributed more than $90 million in financial aid—but another $100 million in need remained unmet. True to our mission as the state’s flagship public research institution, we are committed to access, equity, and social benefit, and determined to serve all Rhode Islanders.
I expect that there are many Paramaz Avedisians among our alumni body. Your lives, like Paramaz’s, were enriched by the generosity of ordinary people who saw your promise and found a way to help you achieve success. Perhaps you were the recipient of an athletic or academic scholarship, or had a campus job that helped you create your first professional network, or studied in our International Engineering Program and forged connections that led to the start of an amazing career. Somehow, your path at URI was eased by someone who came before you. Someone who helped you to think big—much bigger than you imagined possible. Today, URI is poised to take a giant leap forward. Our campus is humming with activity. We’ve recruited hundreds of bright new faculty stars. Our student selectivity, retention, enrollment, and graduation are at record highs. We are a trusted partner to business and government in the state, and we have developed a reputation for excellence that extends beyond Rhode Island’s borders. Continuing to drive this forward momentum will require a tremendous effort—with support from every member of our community. Whether through scholarships for deserving students, or resources to ensure our classrooms, labs, and facilities are appropriately equipped for 21st century learning, opportunities to make a difference abound. You can play a critical role in helping achieve our vision for the University’s bright future. I look forward to sharing more about our plans with you in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, I hope you draw inspiration from Edward Avedisian’s transformative gift, and from the story of his brother, Paramaz, who experienced the kind of life-changing opportunity we can still make possible. Onward and upward. Wishing you all the best in 2018.
David M. Dooley President, University of Rhode Island
PHOTOS: JOE GIBLIN; NORA LEWIS
Prescription:
PAY IT FORWARD
T
Today’s students may have never heard of Paramaz Avedisian ’54. But on Monday, October 16, they learned about a man who understood the true meaning of philanthropy.
hat was the day the 144,000-square-foot, five-story College of Pharmacy building, which was built in 2012 and serves as academic and research home to nearly one thousand undergraduate, graduate, and doctor of pharmacy students, was dedicated in Avedisian’s name. His brother, Edward Avedisian, made the largest single gift to the College of Pharmacy—$5 million— as a tribute to Paramaz. Paramaz Avedisian, who died in 1996, graduated first in his class from the College of Pharmacy. The son of Armenian immigrants who believed in the transformative power of education, he was motivated to work hard and be successful, like the children of so many immigrants. But despite his many academic awards and honors, Paramaz considered his greatest achievement to be the tutoring assistance he gave to classmate, Eugene “Gene” Disarro ’54. Disarro, legally deaf, will never forget this selfless act. “Paramaz was my best friend and instrumental to me,” says Disarro. He, Paramaz and Rodolfo “Rudy” Barbone ’54 were known as the “gang of three.” “Paramaz was brilliant and helped me so much. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it. There was nobody better.” Edward Avedisian concurs. In fact, this is not the first gift Edward, a worldrenowned symphonic clarinetist, professor, and philanthropist, has made to URI in Paramaz’s honor. Edward established the Paramaz Avedisian Pharmacy Scholarship in 2010. The scholarship carries special significance: Paramaz was the beneficiary of a similar act of generosity. As an undergraduate, he was faced with the very PHOTOS: COURTESY EDWARD AVEDISIAN; ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Paramaz Avedisian ’54 as a URI student.
real possibility of having to drop out of school when his father died, feeling a keen sense of responsibility to take care of his family. Tom Simpson, owner of Simpson’s Pharmacy in Pawtucket, where Paramaz worked, recognized the young man’s potential and funded the remainder of his URI education. And to think: Paramaz almost did not attend the University! According to Edward, Paramaz did not apply to URI in time for the admission deadline, so he returned to high school and took additional courses in physics and chemistry. From a young age, inspired by a medicine cabinet that was a gift from his mother, he envisioned a career as a pharmacist.
Paramaz worked even harder as a result of Tom Simpson’s belief in him. And he found many ways, including tutoring Disarro, to give back. Years later, as the successful owner of Wheaton Pharmacy in Washington, D.C., Paramaz continued to pay forward Simpson’s kindness. Edward recalls Paramaz telling him about a young man who was going to leave college and get a job so that he could pay for his father’s cancer medication. Paramaz would not hear of it. He instructed the young man to stay in college and provided the medication free of charge. According to Edward, Paramaz lived by a profound philosophy: “If you can’t be an advocate for the patient, why be a pharmacist?” Generations of URI pharmacy students and faculty will benefit from Edward’s latest paean to his brother. A portion of the gift will fund the Paramaz Avedisian ’54 Endowed Chair in Medicinal Organic Chemistry. The gift will also be used to recruit and support highachieving pharmacy students with a passion for research and discovery. Professor of Pharmacy Administration Emeritus Norman Campbell ’57 greatly admired Paramaz, considering him a true mentor. “Everyone who walks in that building should know who he was and model their lives after him,” Campbell notes. Edward Avedisian has cemented his brother’s legacy. More than that, his gift bridges the distance between past hope and future promise, lighting the way for others to embrace Paramaz’s humanity. Echoing Campbell, Edward explains: “I want students who walk through the door to feel a direct connection to him. I want his spirit of helpfulness to imbue this building.” • UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
5
NEWS&VIEWS
New Era of Astronomy Historically, scientists have used light to study the cosmos. But now, scientists have a second way of looking at deep space: fluctuations in gravity called gravitational waves, which are ripples in the fabric of space and time created when two objects spiral together and collide. For new URI physics lecturer Robert Coyne, it’s a childhood dream come true. “I used to wonder what it might’ve been like to witness the invention of the telescope, to get a chance to experience, firsthand, a brand new way of observing the universe,” says Coyne, 32. “I don’t have to wonder anymore.” Coyne is a member of an exclusive club: the Laser Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory, or LIGO, whose founders won the Nobel Prize in physics this fall. The international group of 1,200 scientists and technicians made headlines with the announcement that it had seen two neutron stars colliding 130 million light years away. Born from the explosive death of larger
stars, neutron stars are city-sized stellar objects with at least the mass of the sun. Gravitational waves were first predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, but scientists thought they were too weak to be detected. After decades of effort, two LIGO detectors, in Physicist Robert Coyne Livingston, La., and “We can learn a lot from observing Hanford, Wash., were built to sense tiny fluctuations caused by these waves. In 2015, something with gravitational waves, and we can learn a lot from observing something a ripple produced by the merger of two black holes was “heard’’ by LIGO, and since with light,” says Coyne. “We can learn a lot more when we observe with both. This then three more pairs of black holes have multi-messenger astronomy is the future of been detected, says Coyne. But the recent observation of two merging neutron stars— how we will unlock the universe’s greatest mysteries. Imagine what we’ll learn. We’ll also seen with telescopes—is particularly find answers to questions we haven’t even significant because it marks the first time thought to ask yet.” • scientists have detected gravitational waves and light from the same event.
Giving Caregivers a Break A 75-year-old grandmother cares for a legally blind teenage grandson and a 10-year-old foster child with behavioral issues. A father with developmental disabilities tries alone to raise a young son who has surpassed him in cognitive ability. A young mother raising her two children provides around-the-clock care for her aging mother who suffers from dementia. These are just a few examples of Rhode Island residents struggling to care for a loved one in the home. Sometimes, it’s the caregivers who need to be cared for, and URI College of Nursing students, along with students from Rhode Island College, are helping thanks to a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Human Services Lifespan Respite Grant Program. Nursing students visit homes and provide whatever
6
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
assistance caregivThe student visits ers need, whether will continue for three it’s help feeding a more years thanks to an paralyzed patient, extension of the Lifespan modeling appropriRespite grant, said Rhode ate parenting Island Department of behavior, or Elderly Affairs Director simply sitting with Charles Fogarty, M.P.A. a patient so the ’81. The state agency is caregiver can receiving $831,000 in break away. federal funds to continue “It consumes the respite program with your whole life,” URI and RIC and extend URI Nursing it to include students at Chris McGrane, assistant clinical professor Professor Diane Salve Regina University of nursing at URI, with a mannequin in a Martins said of and New England Instisimulation laboratory. caring for an ill, tute of Technology. disabled or aging loved one. “Sometimes, Any caregivers interested in receiving you need help providing care, or you just respite care can fill out an application at need someone to watch them while you go dioceseofprovidence.org/elder-services or to Stop & Shop.” call 401-278-4500. •
PHOTOS: COURTESY ROBERT COYNE; NORA LEWIS
Do Animals Know that Sex Makes Babies? URI CELS students Becky Gumbrewicz, Sara Tucker and Sara Dotson pose as they prepare to plant a pollinator garden at URI’s East Farm
Bee Gets a Bad Rap Native species is potential crop pollinator Carpenter bees are among the largest bees in the Northeast, and since they burrow into wood— including houses—they have a bad reputation. But they’re also important native pollinators, so Becky Gumbrewicz ’19 decided to take a closer look. Carpenter bees are so large they sometimes cannot get their head far enough into flowers to collect nectar. So in a strategy called nectar robbery, they slit the side of the flowers to feed on the nectar without pollinating the flowers. Gumbrewicz and her team— including graduate student Sara Tucker and Plant Sciences and Entomology Professor Steven Alm— wanted to see if the strategy had any negative implications for local blueberry crops. “We know that carpenter bees are managed similarly to honey bees in Brazil and the West Indies to pollinate passion fruit, and in other parts of the world to pollinate eggplant, tomatoes and many types of flowers,” Gumbrewicz said. “We were looking to see if they are also beneficial to blueberry growers. If so, small farmers could use them instead of bringing in expensive honey-bee hives.” The research team collected 33,000 flowers that had fallen from blueberry bushes and conducted a wide variety of measurements to determine whether there was a correlation between flower size—blueberry flowers are small—and whether the bees used the nectar robbery strategy. She found that about 34 percent of the blueberry flowers she collected had slits in their side indicating a bee had robbed the flower of nectar. “But when we looked at the weight of the berries that developed from slit flowers and measured their sugar content, we found that there wasn’t a significant difference from fruit which developed from unslit flowers,” she said. “The slitting didn’t seem to have a detrimental effect on fruit yield. So the bees don’t harm the harvest—and they do benefit the pollination.” • PHOTOS: COURTESY BECKY GUMBREWICZ; MICHAEL SALERNO
Does an animal, other than a human animal, think about procreating? Nature Channel fans might be inclined to say yes. Who hasn’t seen those shows where young lions or male silverback gorillas enter a group, drive off or kill the leader, and then kill their young? We assume that they do this to obliterate a competitor’s lineage, and then to impregnate the females and ensure the survival of their own. But is this really what’s going on? Associate Professor of Anthropology and Department Chair Holly Dunsworth is examining this familiar notion. As far as we know, she says, animals do not have knowlAnthropologist Holly Dunsworth edge of the abstract that would cause them to act in a certain way. For instance, they wouldn’t know not to touch metal in a lightning storm, or that thirst is a result of dehydration, because they don’t have the cognitive ability to reason about abstract concepts such as electrocution or dehydration. Similarly, she says, they don’t have the capacity to understand that sex can lead to reproduction. Dunsworth has been ruminating on this idea—that reproductive consciousness is strictly a human phenomenon—for about a decade. It caused her angst at times. “I kept thinking, ‘This is so obvious. How significant could it be?’” She began reading everything she could about sex and evolution, families, and kinship, expecting someone had already made the argument that animals don’t understand reproduction—but no one had. The significance of her question? It affects how we understand, and teach, sexuality in animals—and in people, too. For instance, that familiar silverback gorilla tale is one that Dunsworth would often use as a young professor teaching her class human origins—that’s what she’d been taught to do. But we may need to reframe the story—and in the process, ask new questions. If the dominant new male isn’t seeking to ensure his genetic lineage, then why is he killing the young in his new group? We may know less than we thought we did. Although Dunsworth has just started asking these questions publicly, they’ve already generated a lot of interest. This year, Scientific American included an article by Dunsworth in its special collector’s edition “Secret Lives of Animals,” and she co-authoring an essay in digital magazine Aeon with Anne Buchanan, adjunct senior research associate in anthropology at Penn State, on reproductive consciousness and its influence on the development of human culture. In August, Penn Jillette, one half of the famed magic duo Penn and Teller, had Dunsworth and Buchanan on his podcast “Penn’s Sunday School.” Dunsworth’s next step will be an article for peer review, and she’ll include work on reproductive consciousness in a new book she is writing, which will cover human evolution more broadly. • UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 7
NEWS&VIEWS
Mental Health First Aid More than 300 faculty and staff at URI are now certified in the essentials of a Participants in a Mental Health program that aims to help people First Aid training session. recognize the signs of mental illness, listen without judgment to those experiencing it, assess risk of harm or suicide, provide information and being certified as Mental Health First reassurance, and encourage self-help—or Aid trainers last spring. They, in shorter professional intervention, if indicated. sessions, have instructed more than 300 The program is called Mental Health others at URI in the essentials of the First Aid, and it was already being offered program. They are now spreading out by South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy through the URI community. Minds, a collaborative that serves nine R.I. Like every other college and university municipalities. URI Provost Donald H. in the state, URI offers an array of DeHayes is on the collaborative’s steering counseling and treatment services to its committee, and it struck him that with students and employees. Some have URI’s approximately 18,000 students, the chapters of Active Minds, a student-led campus needed to participate. support organization. But URI is apparently With the assistance of Susan Orban, the first and so far only institution of higher director of Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, learning in Rhode Island to roll out Mental a dozen faculty and staff spent eight hours Health First Aid. •
Mental health facts 5% Prevalence of serious mental illness among people ages 18 to 25 14 Age by which half of all chronic mental illness begins 24 Age by which three-fourths of all chronic mental illness begins 15 to 34 Age group in which suicide is the second leading cause of death Years to decades Typical time between first appearance of symptoms and when people get help Sources: National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Institute of Mental Health.
Hackathon Winners Two University of Rhode Island students won top awards at a national smart-textiles hackathon in October: one for a toy to help autistic children, the other for a motorcycle jacket. Competitors at the the E-Textiles Hackathon Design Challenge at the Industrial Fabrics Association International Expo in New Orleans had 12 hours over two days to conceptualize, design and build products using smart textiles. Joshua Gyllinsky ’17, who is pursuing his master’s degree in computer science and statistics and will seek his doctorate in URI’s Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering Department, was on the first-place team that created a toy—a fabric cube—for autistic children who are nonverbal. Sections of the cube heat up when touched, giving the children a strong sensory experience. The next version could be programmed with lights, sound and even smell.
8
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
Mohammadreza Abtahi, M.S. ’14, who is pursuing his doctorate in the Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering Department, and his team won second place for creating a smart motorcycle jacket. “It alerts drivers on the street,” says Abtahi. “We used microcontrollers and different kinds of sensors to turn on LEDs as left or right turn indicators, a stop sign and a flashing signal. All the sensors and LEDs were sewn to the fabric by conductive threads instead of wires, and the two-layer design of the jacket covers all the materials, making it look like a regular jacket.” •
Mohammadreza Abtahi, M.S. ’14 (center)
PHOTOS: MICHAEL SALERNO; COURTESY MOHAMMADREZA ABTAHI; NORA LEWIS
The Certainty of Change Seven Tibetan Buddhist monks created a colored-sand mandala in the URI Memorial Union this fall. The monks, all from the Drepung Loseling Monastery, spent a week creating the mandala, then destroyed it. The complex and beautiful 2,000-year-old art form is meant to illustrate life’s impermanence and invite attention to the idea of cultivating compassion. The monks’ visit coincided with the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, Sept. 21.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
9
NEWS&VIEWS
The Bitter End of Boat Disposal Turning old boats into new solutions Old boats are a dime a dozen in New England. After a few years off the market, a used boat’s value drops precipitously and eventually it ends up under a tarp in someone’s backyard or at the back of a boatyard. Many make their way to the landfill. But the path there is expensive and time consuming: It’s estimated that it would cost $20 million to dispose of the estimated 1,500 abandoned or derelict boats in Florida alone. In Rhode Island, the smallest state—with an almost-full landfill—the question of what to do with derelict fiberglass boats is pressing. “It’s not like you can recycle fiberglass like you can recycle a plastic bottle,” says Evan Ridley ’15, a research assistant at Rhode Island Sea Grant. But while a fiberglass boat can’t be recycled in the traditional sense, Ridley says there are other options. “The global demand for fiberglass is going up and production is going up,” he says. “To be throwing fiberglass away is counterintuitive.” Ridley’s research reveals that in Europe, “fiberglass has been adopted as this wonder material by the European cement industry.” Now he’s figuring out the logistics of how to supply the cement industry with fiberglass from derelict boats. “The great thing that we’re doing at Sea Grant, since it’s a national program, is that if we can get a strategic plan written for developing a pilot program in Rhode Island, we could then share that with all the other Sea Grant programs in the network; all thirtythree states that no doubt have these same issues, but have better access to cement markets than the East Coast,” he says. “It’s potentially a national solution.” •
10
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
$19 Million for Statewide Coastal Ecology Consortium The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Rhode Island a $19 million grant to establish a statewide research consortium to study the effects of climate variability on coastal ecosystems. “This landmark grant will enable researchers from throughout the state to address some of the most pressing issues of our time, while also providing economic development benefits to our innovation economy,” said URI President David M. Dooley. “It will further position the Ocean State as a leader in the study of climate change and coastal ecosystems.” The grant will establish the Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology, Assessment, Innovation and Modeling, which will assess the impacts of climate variability on coastal ecosystems, create innovative technologies for detecting those changes, and build computer models to predict and plan for changes in coastal ecology. URI is the project lead on the grant and will work in collaboration with researchers at Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, Bryant University, Providence College, Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University. The consortium will create a state-of-the-art Bay Observatory, including high-tech instrumentation and wireless data transmission, to collect real-time information about the changing environmental conditions in Narragansett Bay. That data and imagery will be accessible to scientists and the public. “We need to improve our ability to measure changes in climate variability and nutrient pollution, in terms of both time and space,” said Geoff Bothun, URI professor of chemical engineering and the grant’s principal investigator, “to help predict and plan for what is to come.” •
PHOTOS: ISTOCKPHOTOS.COM
Flooding on North Road in Jamestown, R.I., after a storm.
Tabatha Lewis, a URI senior majoring in environmental science, holds a container of microbeads.
Tiny Sleuths Nanotech beads track the path of environmentally dangerous storm-water runoff Tabatha Lewis ’18 has teamed up with Engineering and Geoscience Professor Thomas Boving to use microscopic glass beads to track the path of storm water runoff—sediment and grime—that washes off roads and can damage the environment. With more than 4 million miles of roads in the United States, it’s critical to know what contaminants are in road runoff, and how far they’re traveling on abutting land. Lewis says there is no reliable system in place now to track runoff. “We intend to change that through our experiment,” says Lewis, a native of Brookfield, Conn. “And, so far, it looks promising.” The project started in July, when Lewis placed microbeads—in three different sizes—at six sites along Plains Road. The microbeads are the size of natural soils and mimic their movements, which allowed Lewis to track the microbeads in ditches. “The number of microbeads we released was about 130,000 at each site,” says Lewis, an environmental science major. “We take samples every two or four weeks to determine how far the beads moved.”
PHOTOS: MICHAEL SALERNO; RACHEL CALABRO, SAVE THE BAY
So far, Lewis has collected five sample rounds from the ground. The data is translated into computerized “plume maps” that show what’s happening. “I’m very excited about our results,” says Lewis. “The plume gets bigger as the microbeads move across the land. This is what we predicted.” Lewis says the project will continue with other URI students for the next few years. In the future, engineers could use the microbeads to trace runoff that is potentially hazardous to streams or lakes nearby. Microbeads could also be used to trace oil spills on roads and highways. “People don’t realize how damaging road runoff can be to surrounding waterways and lands,” says Lewis. “Road toxins can kill fish, harm plants and leach into the groundwater, so it’s important we understand the movement of these contaminants.” Lewis’s preliminary results were presented this fall at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Works on the Kingston campus. •
Free Online Training in Coastal Resilience Protecting the state’s coast has taken on greater urgency as threats from climate change become real—and expensive. The University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center is offering a free online tool that will help community planners prepare for sea-level rise, flooding and other climate-related challenges for coastal communities. Providing Resilience Education for Planning in Rhode Island, or PREP-RI, offers guidelines about how to protect the coast in a self-guided, six-lecture program that looks at issues such as climate change, flooding, the impact on infrastructure, mapping tools, stormwater and adaptation. “It’s been a pleasure to work with the region’s best minds on this topic,” says project manager Pamela Rubinoff, M.M.A. ’90. “Publishing their knowledge to benefit the entire state has made our efforts all the more worthwhile.” The Rhode Island General Assembly funded the project. “Rhode Island must be more proactive in planning for flooding and sea rise,” says Rhode Island State Rep. Lauren Carson, M.B.A. ’91, M.A. ’08, D-Newport, who spearheaded the effort to fund the program. “The devastating toll of human loss and suffering in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico must remind us of the high stakes involved.” •
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 11
r e t t be
life, E BY
We’ve gathered tips, factoids and expert advice from every corner of URI, for you to use in your
LL
EN
LIB
ER
(and not so everyday) life.
M
AN
everyday
W
IT
H
D TO
D
Read on to find out how to raise
M CL EI SH AN D PI A PP CK JA
chickens, stay safe online, get your whites whiter, have better arguments with your spouse, and—just in case—what to do if you find yourself in prison.
12
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
ILLUSTRATIONS: AARON MESHON
The Art of
Pizza Pi
It’s a weeknight, the kids are hungry, work ran late and the fridge is empty. The only question: What size pizza are you ordering? James Baglama, chair of URI’s Mathematics Department, can help. His local is Kingston Pizza, where a small 10-inch pie with one topping rings in at roughly $7, while the Big City 18-incher costs $16.
It seems
“
two 10-inch pizzas, with a total cost of $14, is giving you more pizza for less money than the 18-inch pizza,” Baglama observes. “ ”
But is it?
Assuming uniform thickness and setting aside the thorny issue of topping choice, Baglama walks us through the math. “The formula for the surface area is (π/4) × D2, where D represents the diameter,” he says. “A 10-inch pizza has a surface area of (π/4) x 102—about 79 square inches. An 18-inch pizza has a surface area of (π/4) x 182— about 254 square inches. So, two 10-inch pizzas (79 +79) give you about 158 square inches of pizza, while the 18-inch pizza gives you 254 square inches.” Follow that? Here’s the take-away: There is more surface area in one 18-inch pizza than in three 10-inch pizzas. So go ahead: order the large!
Conversation with Hearing Loss
Sleep Better
You’ve heard it before, but Sue K. Adams, associate professor of human development and family studies, wants to make sure you hear it again: Phones are bad for your sleep. “According to the Pew Research Center, 95 percent of Americans own cellular phones, 77 percent of them smart phones,” Adams says. “But phones aren’t so smart when it’s time for bed. My research has found that college students sleep only about six hours per night, when they need nine. One of the most commonly cited reasons is FoMO (Fear of Missing Out). A smart phone is like a FoMO generator, disrupting the journey to dreamland with alerts and lost hours checking emails or perusing social. “Other research has shown physiological reasons smart phones impair sleep: their blue light tricks your brain into thinking it is daytime and suppresses melatonin production; and even with a bluelight filter, phones are an active form of technology, versus watching television, which is passive. “So shut off email and social media alerts and place the cell phone out of reach—and not at your bedside. Apps such as Offtime, Moment and Flipd can help break the habit.”
It’s a loud world. And by age 65, nearly half of the population will pay for it with some degree of hearing loss. Unlike a Saturday Night Live “News For the Hard of Hearing” skit, hearing loss isn’t amusing. It can be frustrating for the speaker and isolating and embarrassing for the listener. “Some withdraw, some feel hostile, and some people experience a grieving process. It’s a change you did not initiate and that’s tough,” says Bethany Milner, M.S. ’94, a lecturer in URI’s Department of Communicative Disorders. Conversation can become a puzzle to solve. “People describe it being like Swiss cheese— there are holes,” says Milner. “So people with hearing loss are always looking for supplemental information. We have a term for it: bluffing. A nod and a smile, for instance, might be the path of least resistance—but that strategy isn’t good for either conversational partner. It’s not getting the job done.” Here’s how the fully functional speaker can help: 1. Speak face-to-face: All of us speechread—scan the speaker’s facial expressions, gestures and body language for more information about the words being spoken. Give the listener that boost of visual data. Optimum conversational distance: 6 feet. 2. Eliminate background noise: CNN, the swirl of party chatter, the clink and rattle of cutlery and glasses—these things are the enemy. Turn off TV and radio, and choose the restaurant table in a corner with good lighting. 3. No shouting: Don’t amp up the volume too high or slow your words to a crawl—you risk causing insult, and even discomfort if your listener has a hearing aid. Speak slightly slower and slightly louder, allowing the conversation to flow in a natural way. 4. Vary your vocab: If the listener doesn’t catch something after two tries, repeat it using different words. Sometimes it’s the combination of particular sounds with the pitch and intonation of your voice that creates the “holes.” 5. Keep your sense of humor: People often mistake hearing loss for indifference, or assume the person they’re addressing is ignoring them. These communication snafus—and their attendant hurt feelings—are more common than people realize. A reframe may be in order: “
They just didn’t hear you,” Milner says. “It’s worth thinking about.” UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
13
Cooped Up
Don’t count
your chickens
You’ve made the decision: Your household is going sustainable, and it starts with home-grown eggs. Heidi Wright ’90, URI Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program coordinator, says don’t count your chickens before you’ve done your six-step homework: 1. Zoning Laws: “You don’t want to invest in these chickens and find out you have to rehome them,” Wright says. “It can be tricky, because a lot of cities and towns flip-flop on backyard chickens.” 2. Hen House: Chickens are considered delightful dining by more than humans, so the coop should be sturdy and the chicken run well fenced. Extend the run fence a foot below ground, to discourage digging predators such as foxes, and at least three feet above ground, to discourage climbing predators such as raccoons. You’ll also need a roof to keep wild birds from transmitting disease. Each chicken needs 2.5 to 3 square feet of coop space, and 6 to 8 square feet of run. 3. How Funky is Your Chicken : Domesticated for thousands of years, chickens come in hundreds of breeds. If you’re all about egg production, try a Red or Black Sexlinks hybrid. Fancy something fancy? The Polish Crested or the Barred Rock are pretty enough for a Martha Stewart Living spread. The cutest little chickens are bantams, while Jersey Giants or Buff Orpingtons are “big, snuggly chickens,” Wright says. 4. No Foul Fowl: Wright advises buying your chickens from a National Poultry Improvement Plan hatchery. Started in the 1930s to combat the spread of salmonella in chicken flocks, NPIP facilities test for a variety of avian diseases. Your local vet, extension office or poultry club can help with advice and resources too. 5. The End of Eggs: Chickens start laying eggs at about 20 weeks and continue producing for up to two years. After that, your chickens will lay inconsistently—but might live another six or seven years. You can send them off to a livestock auction or slaughtering facility, but Wright recommends you sit back and enjoy. “They are like pets, very sociable,” she says. “Sometimes after a stressful day, I put my feet up and watch them do their chicken-y things—pecking, putting an eye to the sky. I had one who was a real gossip. If she heard us talking, she’d run over to see.” 6. Caution: Chickens are addicting, Wright warns, and can lead the unwary deeper into animal husbandry. She’s seen it happen to many a 4-H family that never even owned a dog: “Chickens are gateway livestock.”
?
before you’ve done your six-step homework
14
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
ILLUSTRATIONS: AARON MESHON
During his studies of snow geese in the Arctic, Wildlife Ecology and Physiology Professor Scott McWilliams has had numerous encounters with Ursus maritimus. He sees the massive animals almost every N day he works along the coast of ’T Canada’s Hudson Bay, but usuCH AN ally from a considerable disGE tance—which is how he prefers it. He YO UR and his research colleagues have developed a Maybe the waitress is a bit taken aback when few strategies for not becoming lunch: he hands her the Tupperware container he BE VIGILANT . Never travel in bear country alone, brought for his restaurant leftovers, but Rainer and always designate one member of your group as the bear Lohmann doesn’t care. Lohmann, an associate professor of guard, carrying a gun with live ammunition and noise-making oceanography and director of the Lohmann cracker shells. Always have a two-way radio available—there’s no Lab at URI’s Graduate School of cell service in the area—to communicate with base camp. Oceanography, studies persistent organic STAY DOWNWIND. If you can’t, make sure the bear sees you, pollutants in the world’s oceans, lakes, and so it can avoid you. If it comes toward you, do your best to intimiatmosphere. But he is just as vigilant date the animal by yelling at it and making yourself appear larger. against inorganic pollutants. McWilliams says that 99 percent of the time, polar-bear encounters Each year, 300 million tons never go beyond this step. of plastics are produced worldwide—half for MAKE SOME NOISE. If the bear continues toward you, shoot a single use—and more cracker shell in the air; the loud noise should scare it away. than 8 million tons are DON’T CHANGE YOUR SOCKS. McWilliams says his closest dumped in the ocean. polar bear encounter occurred while he and his colleagues were napping in their tents. One of them was awakened by a polar bear sniffing his toes. The man’s frightened scream was enough to scare the bear away—or maybe it was the smell of his feet.
How to Say hi to a Polar Bear
DO
The Man With
The Tupperware
SO
CK
S
There is no good solution for plastic waste, so
Lohmann just says no to disposable plastic every time he can. You can, too. 1. Carry your own bags for all purchases. 2. If you bring your lunch to work, keep metal utensils on hand. 3. Bring your food in a glass container; an old jar works well.
4. Get your take-out coffee in your own travel mug. 5. Never dine out
without Tupperware
. “The waitress may say ‘Oh, you brought your own, how good,’” Lohmann says. “It’s a little strange, but people know you are doing the right thing.”
Eight Seconds of Social
Smart phones and social media platforms are ideal for sharing information, as long as the communication is direct—and brief. That’s because the average attention span of a human being is…oh, wait
minute, my boyfriend is texting me.
a
Scientists say technology has rewired our brains and our ability to stay on task. A recent survey of media consumption by Microsoft concluded: “The average attention span has fallen to eight seconds, down from 12 in the year 2000. We now have a shorter attention span than goldfish.” (The attention span of goldfish is believed to be nine seconds). So, keep it snappy when you’re socializing digitally. And remember: technology has made life easier, but could also have strange effects on human behavior. I’d Google them, but it might take longer than eight seconds. By Jane Fusco ’76, marketing manager at URI’s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 15
☛
Most wines are 98 percent water and ethanol,
This Wine
is Phenolical says Biotechnology
Professor Edward
Bozzi ’68 of URI’s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional
it’s the other 2 percent Studies, so
that distinguishes
one wine from
another—and a
great wine from an average one.
So what’s in that 2 percent?
Half is glycerol, says Bozzi; it changes wine’s viscosity. When you see “legs” or “tears” on your glass after swirling the wine, it’s thanks to glycerol, and there’s a name for it: the Marangoni effect. Wine is somewhat acidic, so there’s tartaric acid in the mix, at around 0.5 percent. Then there are carbohydrates; sweeter wines contain more fructose and glucose than the dry ones, but we’re still talking around half a percent. Finally, at just 0.1 percent, it’s
the phenolics that make wine special. Flavonoids and
anthocyanins, in varying proportions, give wines distinctive colors and tastes. Phenolic tannins give you a feeling of dryness. “Now that you know a little more about wine’s chemistry,” says Bozzi, “perhaps your next glass will taste even better.”
16 QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
IL
TO JA
You’re in the Jailhouse Now
The U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation. In 2016, some 2.3 million adult and juvenile Americans were imprisoned in a jail, a prison or a federal detention center. Safely surviving life in a correctional facility requires a series of adjustments in thinking and behavior—you’re in a confined space now, and surrounded by predators. Leo Carroll, a professor of sociology and former correctional officer who teaches policing, punishment and corrections, and criminal justice policy, offers this survival guide. Get a lawyer. If you’re in jail awaiting trial, don’t talk to the police—at all. Police are legally allowed to lie to suspects during interrogations, and have many methods of soliciting damaging statements. “In some cases people have been sent to prison for very long sentences when later evidence—such as DNA—has shown them to be innocent,” Carroll says. Put on your prison mask. Don’t show fear, and don’t confide anything personal. “There are people looking to exploit others,” Carroll says. “If someone wants to be your
friend, that’s a danger sign that they are more likely to be a predator.” Keep your distance from the COs. Your stock in the prison population will plummet if you appear to be friendly with the guards. Comply with what they tell you, but don’t be eager to do it. Carroll recalls one inmate who stood for the daily count, but with his back to the cell door—or wore his prison uniform with some small alteration. “It’s a little thing—you don’t control all of me,” Carroll says. “That’s a message to the correctional officers and a message to other inmates.” Make yourself useful. Find a niche that takes advantage of your education and skills and makes them available to other inmates. Many of your peers can’t read or write. Write letters for them or get a job as a clerk in the law library. This can keep you busy—and safe. Don’t join a gang if you can help it. This isn’t a problem in some prison systems. But in others, guards only control the perimeter and the use of force, and gangs run everything else. If the gang tells you to do something, you will have to do it, or it will be done to you. Avoid conspicuous consumption. People can put money into a prison store account that will allow you to buy yourself some goodies. Carroll advises: “Don’t do it to excess. You can get ripped off. Or, you can find yourself having to pay tribute to someone.”
How to Fightwith Your Spouse
The way a couple fights is one of the most accurate indicators of relationship satisfaction. Jerome Adams, professor of marriage and family therapy, says there are tools for keeping your inevitable disagreements as relationship-friendly as possible.
Pick the right time and place
Resist the temptation to hash things out at vulnerable moments. It’s much more effective to say, “I want to work this out, but I’m not at my best right now. Let’s discuss it another time.” ” or change the subject when you feel things are You can also call a “ getting out of hand, resolving to finish the discussion when each party has cooled off. The partner who calls time-out resumes the conversation at a later date.
time-out
Stay on topic
If you’re fighting about the fact that he left you stranded at his sister’s wedding, then stick to that grievance. This is not a good time to throw in that she never puts her dirty clothes in the laundry hamper. Bringing up past hurts and complaints will put your partner on the defensive.
Pick your battles
Sometimes you just have to accept that your partner will always be 15 minutes late and will never learn to see the black stuff that grows between the bathroom tiles. If you’re
always picking a fight about little things, it will be hard to get him or her to listen to the big stuff. Researchers estimate that only 31
percent of couples’ major areas of continuing disagreement were about resolvable issues. So 69 percent of the time, they were about perpetual problems. Unsuccessful couples stockpile grievances, while successful couples know what to let go—and how to accept their partner with humor, affection, and even amusement. ILLUSTRATIONS: AARON MESHON
Get to Know Your Pharmacist
Most of us will invest a great deal of time researching our doctors, but very little on our pharmacist—a convenient location usually trumps other considerations. Yet your pharmacist is the drug expert for every member of your family—particularly important when someone is taking multiple medications, possibly prescribed by different doctors. It’s the pharmacist who evaluates the regimen for potential drug interactions and side effects, as well as giving recommendations and counseling on over-the-counter medication and vaccines.
So how do you pick the right one? Introduce yourself, either in person or over the
EX
PE
RT
phone. Ask questions and determine if the pharmacist: provided accurate, clear information; gave you undivided attention; offered to research your questions further if necessary. If the pharmacy was too busy to give you one-on-one time, or you’re otherwise unsatisfied, you have the choice to fill your prescriptions at another pharmacy. A pharmacist is not just a pill dispenser, but an integral part of your health-care team.
YO U R P HA R M AC I ST
By Ginger Lemay, Pharm.D. ’00, clinical associate professor at URI’s College of Pharmacy
IS T
H
R ED
UG
Blue Light
Special
What to do if you’re stopped by the police
No one grabs the car keys anticipating an encounter with the law. But if you see flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror, don’t panic. You may drive away with a ticket, says URI Director of Public Safety Stephen Baker, but at least you’ll drive away. • Pull over in a safe spot, as far from the side of the road as possible. If there is a parking lot nearby, go there. If it’s at night, try to choose a well-lit spot, and turn on your interior lights so the officer can see inside your vehicle. • The officer could approach from either side of your vehicle—roll both windows down. • Keep your hands visible and on the steering wheel.
Remain still unless the officer asks
you to get something.
• If you have to retrieve your license and registration, tell the officer where you are moving to comply with the request: “I’m going into
my glove box to get my registration.” • If you have passengers, ask them to be quiet and to leave the exchange with the officer to you. • If you really have no idea why you’re being stopped, you can ask the officer, but don’t demand answers. Most will tell you, but they may have reasons not to—such as when police are on the lookout for a vehicle similar to yours that is associated with criminal activity. • In most states, it’s legal to tape the encounter, even though the officer might not like it. If you want to do that, don’t put the cell phone in the officer’s face. Set it down to record—you shouldn’t have anything in your hand. • You can ask for the officer’s name and badge number, but don’t argue at the scene. Once the ticket is written, it won’t be retracted. If you feel you weren’t committing an infraction, you’ll get a chance to argue your case in court. “Escalating the situation never helps,” Baker says. “You don’t want to raise suspicion. Most traffic stops are for minor violations like speeding, so don’t turn a minor thing into a major confrontation.” • If you have a complaint with the way you were treated, deal directly with the officer’s superior after the encounter. “You can ask to see the officer’s supervisor at the scene, but that might not be the best course of action,” Baker says. “Calling the police station after leaving the stop and making an appointment to speak with the officer’s supervisor ensures that things de-escalate sooner rather than later. You can give your account, and the supervisor will read the officer’s report and get back to you with potential resolutions.” “You want to end the encounter as soon as possible, and end it without any aggressiveness,” he says. “Everybody goes home safe. That’s the main thing.” UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
17
KeepMosquitos at Bay
There are at least 176 different species of mosquitos in the U.S., and at dusk in the warmer months, it may feel like all of them are in your yard.
is the female who bites you,Itlooking
for a blood meal so she can reproduce, and her saliva can transmit a host of nasty diseases: the Zika virus, Eastern and Western equine encephalitis, dengue fever, and malaria, to name a few. Jannelle Couret, URI assistant professor of biological sciences, studies mosquitos and vector-borne diseases. She recommends several steps to protect yourself: 1. Wear long sleeves and pants if the weather allows it. What color? It turns out mosquitos like black. Light colored clothing won’t repel mosquitoes, but dark colors are a draw. 2. Create a decoy by putting a black tote bag in a corner far away from you. That will give you a chance to gauge mosquito numbers. 3. Wear repellent—and forget citronella, it doesn’t work. Try a permethrin spray for clothing, DEET for bare skin. “I understand that people are concerned about chemicals, but it depends on the risk,” Couret says. “If I’m in an area where there are mosquito-borne diseases, like West Nile or Zika, I would much rather take the risk of exposing myself to a chemical to avoid getting a bad disease.” Other products that provide some protection contain picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. None, including DEET, are expected to have adverse health affects. 4. Avoid dawn and dusk, prime time for mosquito bites. In most places in the U.S., day-biting mosquitos are not transmitters of disease. Two prominent exceptions are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, found in parts of Texas and Florida and responsible for Zika, along with outbreaks of chikungunya and the re-emergence of dengue and yellow fevers. 5. A mosquito egg needs 7–9 days to develop into adulthood. Disrupt the life cycle by removing standing water from gutters, unused flowerpots and watering cans, and dumping the water in birdbaths once or twice a week. 6. If you must spray your yard, stick to shady areas where mosquitos congregate. You don’t want to kill beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies, so avoid flowering plants and
spray at night, when bees are safely in their hives.
How to Look After
a Cage of Mosquitos
Entomology Professor Roger LeBrun has had a hate/hate relationship with mosquitos ever since encountering clouds of them— carrying drug resistant malaria, which sickened him twice—as a platoon medic during the Vietnam War. Yet he’s also gone to great lengths to keep them alive. As a grad student at Cornell in the 1970s, he reared 26 different species of the bloodsuckers for research on preventing the spread of disease in developing countries. When h
e ran out of the cow blood he
procured from Cornell’s vampire bat lab,
he would stick
his arm in the mosquito cages.
“The price we pay for a Ph.D.!” he jokes. “My arm would swell, of course, but all things are relative, and it was nothing compared to Vietnam, when so many would descend on me that it appeared I was wearing a cardigan sweater. I’ve wanted to get back at them ever since.” LeBrun’s latest research is aimed at preventing mosquitoes and ticks from transmitting pathogens, from Zika and dengue fever to Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. 18
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
ILLUSTRATIONS: AARON MESHON
Apps for the Hapless
The two-brain theory, and how to align your mind Art Mead, URI professor of economics, knows there’s a big difference between what you mean to do and what you actually do. Here’s his advice on how to close the gap: “For many of us, there are significant differences between our intentions and actions. The weak power of self-interest in decisionmaking is evident in the near 40 percent of Americans who are obese, or the 40 percent of boomers with no savings as they approach 65. Marketers have known this for a long time; the selfhelp industry thrives because of it; and government officials design policies around it. “It turns out we have . One is slow, and is about calculation and deliberative decisions; the other is fast, ruled by emotions, impulses, and gut feelings. We need both, but it is the fast one that tends to get us in the most trouble, making quick decisions that lead to regret. “Fortunately, there are enough of us who would like to better align our two brains to support a market for apps aimed at helping. Search for ‘apps for self-control’ and ‘commitment devices.’ “At the core of these web-based services is a nudge: an email or text informing you of how many in your neighborhood paid their taxes, or what their average water or electric bills were. The nudge might also be a preprogrammed timer to shut off the websites you find most distracting, or warn you that you’ve exceeded your budget. I have set up commitment devices with my students in which they are charged for every missed deadline, to help them improve their grades. “You could also use a human nudge—ask a friend to remind you, or seek out others with similar goals. For me, it is a good friend who nudges me toward healthier eating, and my noontime basketball buddies who get me the needed exercise. You can also make it more difficult to make bad choices: For example, I chose no cable access to sports channels to keep me from turning on a game in moments of weakness.” In the past, these services were rendered by your mother, and were called ‘nagging.’ Today, you can digitally nudge yourself to better, slow-brained decisions.
two brains
How To Get a Job
if You’ve Never Had One
It’s a catch-22. You need experience to get a job—but if you don’t have a job, how will you get it? Staff at URI’s Center for Career and Experiential Education suggest these indirect routes:
Internships
Learn about an industry from the inside while making contacts. If you’re a college student, you may earn credit; if you’re not, many companies may still be interested in you. In many cases you can turn it into a full-time job.
Project work
Often overlooked, project work offers flexibility and variety. Some companies advertise project-work positions, but many are part of the hidden job market, filled via company inquiries and referrals. Seek them out on freelancing websites, by networking, and by reaching out to companies and organizations directly.
Like internships, they can turn into a full-time job if you perform well and fit company culture. Volunteering
Nonprofit organizations have diverse needs. Contact them directly and offer to help them with your specialized skills, from web design to marketing. When you feature your volunteer experience on your resume, make sure you illustrate what you did and how you helped the organization achieve its goals.
Skinny
Snack
Have you ever wondered why you’re still hungry after you finish a snack, or got hungry so quickly after eating? They key is better snacking, says Sarah Larson ’08, M.S. ’09, lecturer in nutrition and food sciences. Snacks can help curb appetite, keep blood sugar stable, and help with weight management.
The simple rule: Combine at least two food groups from this chart. What You Need
Find It In
Tasty Combos
complex carbs lean protein healthy fats
fruit, veg, whole grains eggs, beans, low fat cheese avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil
sliced peppers with hummus greek yogurt with berries homemade trail mix
you’re still hungry after you finish a snack UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 19
Brain Gain Preserve your neural health
In 2015, Americans 65 and older made up 15 percent of the population. By 2060, they’ll make up 24 percent—98 million people. Age is the primary risk factor for developing dementia, which is why the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that the annual number of new cases of Alzheimer’s and other
dementias will double by 2050, with someone in the U.S. developing Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds.
The biggest defense? A healthy body. The brain is a highly vascular organ, meaning it is full of blood vessels. And it is a demanding energy consumer, drawing 20 percent of the body’s total energy—the biggest share of any single organ. Interventions and behaviors that improve heart health also increase the flow of blood to the brain. William Renehan, associate director of the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, says that there is a developing consensus: “Things that have been shown to benefit cardiovascular health are also the things most effective at preserving brain health.” The prescription:
Regular physical activity is your first line of defense
—preferably moderate-to-vigorous aerobic Get fit. exercise like running, tennis, or soccer. Like to dance? Combining aerobic exercise with the cognitive challenge of learning steps is even better. Manage risk. Diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension, along with smoking, constrict the flow of blood to the heart and thus negatively affect the brain. Eat well. A Mediterranean-style diet, full of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean meats, such as fish, are associated with a healthy brain. Bonus: the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet calls for a glass of wine a day. URI investigators are currently probing the benefits of specific diets and dietary ingredients for brain health. Learn something. Lifelong learning and cognitive training may contribute to “cognitive reserve,” a term that refers to the brain’s resistance to cognitive decline resulting from injury, age or disease. The theory is that learning leads to changes in the brain (possibly involving enhanced connections between neurons) that make the brain more resilient. Sleep well. The brain is highly active when your body is not. Sleep is essential to the formation of memory, allowing the brain to consolidate the day’s experiences and transfer the information to long-term memory. . While taking up the violin in elementary school and continuing to play as an adult is particularly beneficial, picking up the bow—or any musical instrument you care to learn—as a retiree is also very helpful.
Play music
A Costumer Talks Laundry
When I came to URI as a freshman, all I knew about laundry was: Don’t wash the darks with the whites. But that changed my freshman year, when I took a costume maintenance course as part of my double major in theater management and public relations. I was also a member of the costume maintenance crew for the theater department, helping to triage stains and rips and get costumes ready for the next performance. From makeup to sweat stains, I learned that pretty much any stain will come out if you know what caused the stain and what the fabric is. I feel pretty good that now I’m the go-to laundry expert for my friends.
To get sweat stains out of white clothing: Use a 1-2-1 ratio of dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda in
enough water to soak (a shallow bucket works well). Once the item has soaked for 30 minutes, wash as usual. To get stains out of delicate fabric: Use a clean toothbrush to scrub baby shampoo gently into the stain. Rinse with warm water and wash as usual. To get out stains that have set: Dab the stained area with seltzer water, then use a clean toothbrush to scrub it out. Repeat the process with generous amounts of seltzer, then wash as usual. To keep track of lost socks: Clip a lingerie bag to the side of a hamper and toss all socks into it. When you’re ready to do laundry, zip it and toss in the wash. No more lost socks! —Allyson Schiller ’17
20
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
ILLUSTRATIONS: AARON MESHON
Build a Better Burger
The award-winning team at URI Dining
Services knows how to transform boring burger night into a special treat. Director Steven Mello ’86 brings the sauce with these designer options, featured at Astro’s Retro Burger Station at Mainfare Dining Hall.
The Chunky Train Wreck
Pepper jack cheeseburger, glazed in salsa, then topped with a spicy avocado spread, bacon and lettuce with a Sriracha drizzle.
The Asian Burger
Burger glazed in a sweet and hot chili soy sauce, topped with lettuce and slaw made from cucumber, carrots, onions, and bean sprouts in a wasabi dressing.
The Italian Stallion
Mozzarella cheeseburger with sundried tomato bruschetta, mesclun greens, a dollop of Italian spice-seasoned mayo and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.
Decadent Doughnut Burger
A cheeseburger topped with spicy peanut butter, lettuce, bacon, and a fried onion ring, all inside a grilled glazed doughnut.
The Tipsy Texan
A burger smeared with pimento cheese, peachy bourbon BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion.
Lawn
A Greener
Lawns cover 30 million acres in the U.S. and each year, we apply nearly 80 million pounds of pesticides in pursuit of suburbia’s mythical green carpet. In fact, homeowners use 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers do on crops. That’s a lot of collateral damage to water quality and aquatic life, says Professor of Plant Sciences Bridget Ruemmele, not to mention exposure for homeowners and their pets—remember, it’s not called weed killer for nothing. The first step in going chemical free is to send your soil off to be tested. • Most plants like soil to have a neutral pH of six or seven; if it’s lower, consider adding lime. • Use fertilizers made of animal or plant composted materials with a ratio of 3-1-2 nitrogen/phosphorous/potassium. Apply two pounds per 1,000 square feet. • Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil via the Rhizobia bacteria, which converts nitrogen gas into a useable form. Embrace it. • Fall is the best time to plant your lawn because grass has two seasons to establish itself before the punishing heat and dryness of summer. • Loosen compacted soil by adding compost as a top dressing and renting a plug aerator, which pulls half-inch plugs of soil from the lawn to let air and nutrients in. Dispatch built-up thatch (dead grass) with a good garden rake. • Don’t mow lower than two inches—
you want to keep light away from lurking weed seeds.
Stay Safe in Cyber Space
You want to be online. You need to be online. But you’re aware of the threats: It’s too easy for attackers to get usernames and passwords, whether through phishing scams, malware, wifi “sniffing” or hacking. URI’s Digital Forensics and Cyber Security Center, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Academic Excellence in Education and Research, says you can secure your cyber life using the simple technique of multi-factor authentication. With it, those stolen pieces of information are no longer the keys to the castle. Many online services, from financial institutions to Google, provide it for free. There are three primary factors: • Something you know—e.g. your (strong) password • Something you have—e.g. your phone • Something you are—e.g. your finger print For instance, log on to a Google service like Gmail from an unknown device, and Google texts a code to your phone that you must enter alongside your password to get into your account.
An attacker may have your credentials, but likely won’t have your phone—your
account is safe. (You can set trusted devices like your phone to require this less often if it’s annoying.) What if someone who knows your password also gets your phone? This is where the third factor comes in—something you are. If your phone is set to require your fingerprint, which most modern phones are capable of, the attacker still can’t get that authorization code. UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
21
Writing Done
Get that
Writing effectively depends more on good routines than talent or inspiration. Whether you need to write a brief email or a long document, give yourself time to generate the main ideas and express them cogently. Baby steps. Make a list of questions, jot down a few lines, create the document and name it. Just start. Get some words down, without worrying how they sound. Don’t labor over the opening lines—start anywhere, and come back to the intro when you’re ready. Readers first. Once you have a draft, re-read with your
Plastic Imagination
The growing popularity of 3D printers may make traditional craftsmanship seem a thing of the past. But for those without access to one—and those who just prefer to make things by hand—PVC pipe is the perfect alternative. PVC is a thermal-forming plastic, says Ying Sun, M.S. ’82, professor of electrical, computer and biomedical engineering, which simply means that if you heat it up, it will get soft, then harden again as it cools. Sun uses a hair dryer to make
PVC
pipes “as soft as Play-Doh,” then flattens the PVC into a sheet, cuts it into a shape, and forms it into a finished product. He teaches engineering students to make whatever parts they need this way: clips to attach batteries to circuit boards, safety equipment so children with disabilities can enjoy ride-on toys, and even an entire custom wheelchair for a paralyzed dog. In his new class, “Technologies and Music,” his students will make PVC flutes. PVC is not just useful in the classroom. Sun made a long-handled shoehorn, for instance, so he can put his shoes on while standing up, as well as a paper-towel holder and clips to mount flashlights and other tools in his workroom. He has even seen PVC archery bows. Best of all, he points out, it’s cheap and available. The only limit is your imagination.
22
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
audience in mind. Where do you need more explanation, or say too much? What is the best order? If it’s high stakes, ask colleagues to tell you what’s working and what needs attention. Edit, then edit again. Devote some time to focus on sentences, getting rid of unnecessary words, checking word choices, adding transitions. Correct spelling errors and other typos. Step away. Returning to the work after a break helps you see it fresh. Whether your break is 10 minutes or 24 hours, leave yourself a note about where to start again. Print. If you compose on screen, try printing a copy to see it from a different perspective. If that’s not possible, change the font size or color to trick your brain into seeing it afresh. By Nedra Reynolds, professor of writing and rhetoric in URI’s Harrrington School of Communication and Media
From First Blush to Last Flush
As bathroom design motifs go, the beach—rendered by jars of seashells, seahorse figurines and sandpiper prints—is a ubiquitous link to the natural world of rocky tide pools and bountiful estuaries. But there’s a hard-bitten irony there. We may celebrate our modern bathroom as fundamental to our advanced civilization, but actually, we are often thwarting mother nature’s gut—to the detriment of our waterways. Let’s back up. Naturally occurring bacteria thrive on our daily waste. Engineers and scientists have designed two methods of aiding them in their work, slowly degrading—or actively processing—the waste before it begins the slog to our waterways. A septic system separates solids and liquids, then holds onto the sludge for regular pumping out and percolates the liquid through gravel and soil rife with yuck-loving bacteria. Treatment plants mirror that process by using tanks to separate liquids and solids. More tanks introduce oxygen and stimulate microbe growth, followed by heat treatment of sludge and filtering of effluence to kill off toxic bacteria.
These systems keep us healthy by guarding the health of our fragile ecosystems. Yet we disrupt them. It’s estimated that nationwide,
about a third of prescribed medications are partially or never used—and often flushed down the toilet, out of fear that a child or pet might get at them. Once flushed, they pollute waterways and the flora and fauna that inhabit them, and eventually, our own food web. Fish have been found with traces of antidepressants; contraceptives add hormones to our water. Consider, as well, theoretically flushable items ranging from baby wipes and paper towels to condoms. These items are either slow to degrade and so gum up the works (paper towels), or are not biodegradable at all (condoms) and are unsightly when storm events or needed repairs result in treatment plant overflows. They belong in the trash. We all want and need clean water. Let your décor serve as an incentive to treat the care of our waterways with the same attention and consistency as the cleansing of our bodies. By Judith Swift ’68, director of URI’s Coastal Institute and professor at the Harrington School of Communication and Media ILLUSTRATIONS: AARON MESHON
Do
You Really Need That Shirt?
In 1900, the world population was about 2 billion, with around 5 pounds of textiles produced per person per year. We handed clothes down, mended them, repurposed them, and ultimately turned them into rags. The most highly prized item in a historic clothing collection today would not be a wedding or christening gown—it would be a pair of men’s work pants. So few survive. The world now numbers 7.5 billion people, with a
global
annual
average of about 25 pounds of textiles produced
per person
100 pounds each.
—in the U.S., more like Sewing is an increasingly rare skill. The low cost of labor in South Asian countries has helped keep clothing costs down for the past 20 years. We don’t repair—we replace. What we’re buying is more than 60 percent synthetic, mostly a cheap mix of polyester and cotton. B ut t h i s mix has hidden costs. We recycle only 15% of our castoffs (half of which are sold in African markets as “clothes of the dead”) and send 85% to the landfill. There, cotton will biodegrade, while polyester will not. Polyester can be recycled, but not when it’s combined with cotton. If we thought about this much, we’d realize the cotton-poly blend is not a good idea. We compound these problems by the way we wash clothes. Some 65% of the energy used in the life of a cotton shirt is from home laundering, mostly from the dryer. So the problem in your wardrobe is not synthetic fibers, or the wrinkle-free finish, or the synthetic dyes. The real problem is the amount of stuff in there, and how much time it all spends in the drier. The most sustainable clothing choice you can make? Don’t buy it. By Martin Bide, professor of textiles, fashion merchandising and design in URI’s College of Business Administration
Landscape Like a Boss
For every aspiring home gardener who has ever wandered a nursery in search of the right plants to compose a Better Homes and Gardens-worthy landscape, Kate Venturini ’06, M.S. ’10 , a graduate of URI’s Landscape Architecture and Marine Affairs programs and URI Cooperative Extension educator, has this advice: Plant for nativity. The entire food web is built on insect health, so incorporate native plants that support diversity and beneficial insects. Plant in swaths. Place like species together in groups of three or five. Plants have more visual punch in a mass; don’t dot the bed with singles. Plant in layers. Let the forest—a fine model of an ecosystem in which you have canopy and understory plants—be your guide. The vertical layers capture storm water and decrease run-off. Plant for all seasons. Mix deciduous plants with evergreens so you have something to look at in the winter, and small mammals and birds have year-round habitat. And consider bloom time; something should be in flower at any point in the season, offering nectar or pollen to beneficial insects. Plant in wavy curves. Nature doesn’t array itself in straight lines, and neither should your garden. Give your beds curved, undulating lines, and your plants a staggered line.
Job Hunt
Like a Global Citizen
Here’s the thing, says URI career advisor Princess Metuge: The U.S. attracts skilled migrants, while international companies are always hiring U.S. nationals, especially in fields like tech, education, and English as a second language. So it’s important that today’s job seekers view the job market on a global scale. Put emphasis on soft skills: the ability to interact professionally with individuals at every level and from every cultural background; an understanding of various cultural interactions; the ability to speak another language, preferably Spanish, French, or Chinese. Companies want these skills whether they stay local, relocate overseas, or have offices all over the world.
•
More life hack
ideas online at
☛uri.edu/quadangles
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 23
24
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
There may be no more fantastical place to practice the craft of landscape architecture than Disney World. Just ask the three landscape architecture graduates who worked with Walt Disney Imagineering to help create Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s latest attraction, Pandora—The World of Avatar. BY PIPPA JACK
U
nveiled in May, it’s Disney World’s largest expansion at the park since the building of Animal Kingdom itself and the result of a five-year collaboration among Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Lightstorm Entertainment and James Cameron, maker of the highest grossing movie of all time, 2009’s Avatar. The immersive new land fills 12 acres with rides, a shop and cafeteria, but mostly with lush details that blur the lines between terrestrial plant life and the glowing flora and fauna of Cameron’s movie (a sequel is, naturally, in the works). There are floating mountains, waterfalls, a gentle but eye-popping river ride, and an action-packed thrill ride that mimics flying on the back of a banshee and is being hailed as one of Disney’s best rides, ever. It may be Disney’s latest and greatest, but it’s all in the rear mirror for Jared Sell ’12, Nick Thadeio ’12, M.S. ’15, and Emily Sanchez ’16. Sell, a Framingham, Mass., native who was associate project manager for the attraction, focused on the shop, restaurant, and on supporting the bioluminescent landscape. Thadeio, who hails from West Greenwich, R.I., started as an intern and ended up associate construction manager, also focusing on the bioluminescence. Sanchez, of Franklin Lakes, N.J., served as project management intern, working with Sell on the shop and restaurant. Here’s what the three have to say about their Imagineering experience:
PHOTOS: DAVID ROARK, DISNEY
Above, Disney Imagineers Nick Thadeio ’12, Emily Sanchez ’16, and Jared Sell ’12 on the set of Disney’s Pandora—The World of Avatar. Left, at night, lighting adds a dreamlike quality to the “floating mountains” that Disney has engineered to resemble those in the movie Avatar.
Why landscape architecture?
How did you land the job at Disney?
Sell: I discovered the profession when working on exhibits for the New Spring Flower Show. I found my way to URI, and then got a master’s in interior architecture from Suffolk University.
Sell: This is my third round with Disney. While at URI, I spent two summers at Walt Disney World Resort, first as a horticulture intern at Epcot and then as a landscape architecture intern for the resort. Through networking, I had the opportunity to return after completing my master’s to support Disney’s Animal Kingdom expansion, starting in 2014.
Sanchez: I started out in civil engineering when I began as a student at URI, but discovered I was looking for a major with a more creative and design-focused curriculum. I signed up for Angelo Simeoni’s LAR 101 class, freshman year second semester, and fell in love! Any experiences at URI stand out? Sell: The department built a great community that continually demonstrated passion for the profession and for the students. I know it sounds cliché, but each professor brought something different to the table and I had a unique relationship with each individually.
Thadeio: Jared, who was my classmate, forwarded me a job application in fall 2015 and I have been with the company since January 2016. Sanchez: My sophomore year studio professor, Angelo Simeoni, connected me with Jared, who was in search of a project management intern. I was thrilled Angelo thought of me and cannot thank him enough for being the bridge to an incredible experience. I interned with Walt Disney Imagineering for six months.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 25
What did you love most about it?
What exactly were you responsible for?
Sell: Every day, every hour was different. A typical day could go from reviewing project schedules, to visiting a vendor, to being in the field. The ever-changing project needs kept me on my toes and made every day new and exciting.
Sell: I was the project manager for Satu’li Canteen (restaurant), Windtraders (merchandise), Pongu Pongu (specialty beverage location), Colors of Mo’ara (face painting kiosk), two area restrooms, portions of the area development, and the Na’vi River Journey queue. None of it would have been possible without having an amazing team— passionate and driven to deliver the best quality product for our guests.
Thadeio: I loved being in the field on a day-to-day basis, and driving work forward. Sanchez: Walking into Pandora—The World of Avatar every morning was a gift I cannot thank Walt Disney Imagineering enough for. The creativity and unimaginable depth of design put into this project was something I had never been exposed to thus far. The Satu’li Canteen Restaurant
Thadeio: I was acting superintendent for the area development, which included daily site documentation. I had oversight of all civil utility coordination, installation and inspections throughout the job site. I also worked alongside Jared as construction manager for the Na’vi River Journey queue. Sanchez: Some of my main responsibilities were assisting with design rendering changes, documenting construction progress on the guest service buildings and Avatar Flight of Passage queue, organizing and processing change requests, and accompanying my team leader on vendor site visits. As I progressed in my internship, I had the chance to take on more and more organizational roles on site. I had the opportunity to set up my own meetings to discuss design conflicts or changes in the field that had been submitted or needed attention with all the key players. This was both exciting and nerve-wracking all at once, but I was honored to be trusted with such tasks. What are you working on next? Sell: I’m continuing as an associate project manager with Walt Disney Imagineering, supporting the expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Thadeio: I will be heading on to another large project on the Walt Disney World property, but you will have to wait to find out! Sanchez: Currently I am traveling the world experiencing landscape architecture in all different cultures. Post Disney, I accepted an opportunity to volunteer working for a private garden in Grange-over-Sands, U.K., where all the proceeds are donated to charities. This was an incredible experience to witness a different angle of garden design, as well as broaden my network.
26
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
The queue for the 3-D ride Avatar Flight of Passage passes this tank with an Avatar still in its growth stage.
Where do you want life to take you in the next five to 10 years?
Sell: Surrounded by hundreds of puppies! While that is what I want from life, not sure it is realistic. Although, since dreams did come true with the opportunity at Walt Disney Imagineering, the puppy thing might be possible! Thadeio: I want life to carry me onward and upward through Walt Disney Imagineering as we reimagine and further develop Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Sanchez: In the next five years, I see myself being an integral player in a landscape architecture department or firm. I can see myself back at Disney as well. Overall, I hope to be building my career by pushing design boundaries and exploring more environmentally sustainable design options. Anything else you want to share? Sell: If you can visit Pandora and walk underneath the floating mountains, you will likely stop and think, “How did they do that?” Well, as Walt Disney once said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible!” • PHOTOS: DAVID ROARK; KENT PHILLIPS; STEVEN DIAZ; DISNEY
The Tree of Life lights up at night.
The family friendly Na’vi River Journey.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
27
twelfth annual
distinguished achievement awards gala
On Saturday, October 14, the Distinguished Achievement Awards and Gala honored alumni, corporations, and friends of URI who have brought distinction to themselves and the University through their professional achievements, outstanding leadership, community service, and philanthropic support.
28
QUADANGLES FALL 2017
2017 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS RECIPIENTS PRESIDENT’S AWARDS William B. Gould IV ’58, Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law, Emeritus, Stanford University Marc S. Perlman ’69, CEO, Ocean State Job Lot
RISING STAR AWARD Presented by the Graduate School Abigail Anthony, Ph.D. ’09, Commissioner, Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission ATHLETIC DIRECTOR’S AWARD Gregory P. Barber Geraldine M. Barber ’70
Claire Perlman ’73 Amica Insurance Corporate Award
DEANS’ AWARDS College of Arts and Sciences Jonathan C. Herman ’99, Chief Operating Officer, Preferred Home Health Care & Nursing Services, Inc.
College of the Environment and Life Sciences David A. Bengtson, M.S. ’74, Ph.D. ’82, Professor Emeritus, University of Rhode Island
College of Business Administration
College of Health Sciences
Jesse Baker ’96, Owner, Principal and Co-Founder, Freehold Capital Management
Michael K. Andreozzi ’88, Chief Executive Officer, Beltone New England
Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies
Barbara Hazard ’61, M.S. ’74, Dean Emerita, William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College
Jane E. Picciotti ’00, Assistant Head of School, Highlander Charter School College of Engineering Domenic Joseph Mainelli ’48, Chief Engineer, Providence Water Supply Board (retired) and Special Projects Engineer (retired), Rhode Island Department of Transportation
College of Nursing
College of Pharmacy John A. Stoukides ’85, Chief, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Roger Williams Medical Center Graduate School of Oceanography Dennis R. Costello, Managing Partner, Braemar Energy Ventures
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 29
CLASSACTS
Amanda Perry ‘11 named Associate at DiOrio Law
Front row (left to right:) Earle Perkins ‘60, M.S. ‘74, Dick Hagopian ‘62, M.S. ‘77, Allen (Nibby)Stedman ‘59, John Eastman ‘62, Jack Heelan ‘64, Mike Testa ‘63, M.B.A. ‘71. Back row (left to right): Ed McGlinchey ‘61, Mike DeCubellis ‘65, Angelo DeStefano ‘62, Bob Piacitelli ‘62, Jim Moriarty ‘62, Gary Henry
Paul DePace ‘66 wearing the Paralympic Order medal
Left to right: Ann Stamatov Putalik ‘59, Angie Assis Phelan ’57, Bonnie Thompson Wynn ‘59, Joann Turo ‘59, Ginny Calitri Eagan ‘59, and June Capalbo Hartford Alley ‘57.
STAY CONNECTED URI Alumni Association @URIAlumniAssoc | #URIAlum flickr.com/urialumni URI Alumni Association alumni.uri.edu Joshua Martin ‘98 stands with a Martin Artistic Stone LLC engraving
30
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
KEEP US UP TO DATE ON YOUR NEWS! Submit your class note at alumni.uri.edu/note
’51
Alec Voight of Milford, Conn. writes: “I am very proud to be part of the legacy of the University. The tradition continues with my grandson who is attending URI this year. The circle of life continues with this next generation preparing for success in their chosen field of study.”
’56
Gerald Sands of Dedham, Mass. has published a chapter titled “Prolong Your Life--Get in the Pool” in a new book on aging, Aging Wisely...Wisdom of Our Elders, by Irving I. Silverman and Ellen Beth Siegel. The book is a compendium of essays by an extraordinary group of 75 seniors and the professionals who care for them, on a wide range of topics about how we age and how we can age better.
’57
Idealliance and Printing Industries Alliance have announced that David Q. McDowell will be honored with the second annual Franklin Luminaire Innovation Excellence Award. Meghan Milkowski, 2017 Luminaire Awards Co-Chair, writes: “Throughout his career, both as an employee and a volunteer, David McDowell has exemplified the spirit of innovation that drives our industry forward. At the point in his life when most people retire and relax, he embarked on a new path of industry service as a leader of several industry technology and technical standards initiatives, giving generously of his time, energy, and expertise.”
’58 Bill Nixon of Warwick, R.I., continues to be a national competitor in the NASTAR circuit of ski racing at the age of 87. Leading the 85-89 age group, Nixon has earned a handful of gold medals at local and national levels and says, “I don’t know how long I’ll be racing, I guess I’ll just keep at it.”
’59
Members of Alpha Delta Pi Class of 1959 recently gathered at the Ocean House in Watch Hill with two surprises from the Class of 1957. (See photo, opposite)
’63
Mike Testa of Jamestown, R.I., writes: “Here is a picture of the attendees of a Theta Chi dinner held at Arturo Joe’s in Narragansett on September 5. Attendees included members of classes in the 1950s and 1960s.” (See photo, opposite)
’65
Katherine “Kay” (Danneman) Metres of Lincolnshire, Ill., has written a book titled After The Fear Come the Gifts: Breast Cancer’s Nine Surprising Blessings, published in August 2017. “This subject is of interest to thousands of women,” McCarter writes, “and I want the readers of our alumni magazine to know about it.”
’66
Kenneth Sorensen, a golden graduate in Agricultural Education, received four special recognitions in the fall of 2016: 1) Department of Entomology, Kansas State University Distinguished Alumnus. 2) Coventry High School Hall of Fame Award, CHS Alumni Association, and induction into the Hall of Fame. 3) Outstanding Entomologist Award in North Carolina Entomology Society. 4) Recognition at the annual meeting of the North Carolina Agricultural Consultants Association. The presentation plaque cites Sorensen “for his pioneering work in integrated pest management and long term support to the industry.” Paul DePace was awarded the Paralympic Order on Thursday, September 7, 2017 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the highest accolade anyone connected with the Paralympic Movement can achieve. International Wheel-chair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) President Paul DePace was recognized for his almost 50 years of work, which has contributed to all levels of the Paralympic Movement. During his time he has been an athlete, coach, Team USA Chef de Mission and Board Director for the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games Organising Committee. His roles have also included Vice President of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation and IPC Executive Committee. As IWAS President since 2001, he has done much to promote Paralympic sport internationally from the grassroots to the high performance level. (See photo, opposite.)
’69
Bill Simonson writes: “Save the dates of May 17-19, 2019, for the Class of 1969 50th reunion! Reunion events will be held in the Kingston area and will include an event at the Bay campus and a wonderful lobster/ oyster roast on campus with some great ’60s music. If you would like to join the reunion committee or help contact classmates to spread the word, please contact Bill Simonson at 757-377-0843 or wsimonsonpharmd@gmail.com. Stay tuned for more information.”
’72
John Hansen, M.B.A. ’74, of Burke, Va., writes: “In February 2017, I received the Madelaine Kirlin Award for service to Lacrosse Umpiring at the U.S. Lacrosse Potomac Chapter Hall of Fame Ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes a local lacrosse official for dedication, hard work, service, and commitment that has contributed to the advancement of lacrosse in the Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. I have been officiating women’s high school lacrosse games for 11 years.”
’73
Joseph Crowley, M.B.A. ’75, has cowritten the book Poverty & Despair vs. Education & Opportunity with Al Colella ’61, M.S.E.E. ’65, Ph.D. ’73. The book addresses the fiscal and humanitarian issues associated with poverty and, in particular, the impact poverty has on the education of children. The book attempts to explain why all of the efforts thus far to eliminate the so-called “learning gaps” between richer and needier students have failed because those efforts have operated under the faulty assumption that schools create the problem.
’74
Michael A. Battey of East Greenwich, R.I., writes: “I always thought I’d put my 200-plus articles written for my column, “The Parent Trap,” into a collection—primarily for family and others who had an interest. I’m proud to present The Parent Trap Columns. And, yes, it is Volume 1, and I’m on my way to Volume 2. Please check out my website, parenttrapcolumns.com, for information about where you can buy the book, and where you might find me at author signings and events.”
’89
Gregory Stone, M.M.A., executive vice president of Conservation International in Arlington, Va., recently completed a book on how we can transform our oceans with a new set of leadership capabilities and technologies. Soul of the Sea in the Age of the Algorithm weaves together concepts of history, ecology, business and geopolitics to reveal revolutionary tools and business models that could create new sustainable economic opportunities. This groundbreaking work is at once a manifesto for a healthier ocean, a roadmap to a more prosperous co-existence with our planet, and a call for a new generation of systems leaders.
’92
Chris Jarvis of Southlake, Tex., hit the best seller list this summer with a book he cowrote with Jack Canfield (of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame), Mastering the Art of Success. The book is cowritten with six authors; Jarvis’ chapter is called “Increasing Sales Without Ever Selling,” offering practical advice for connecting with and better serving higher net worth and highly educated clients. Jarvis is an applied mathematician, strategic innovator and author of 12 books; find them on Amazon.com.
’98
Joshua Martin has founded a stone engraving company, Martin Artistic Stone, and is now handling brick engraving for the URI Alumni Associations’ Century Walk bricks on the Quad. He writes: “Martin Artistic Stone’s roots began as a real life Rhody love story. I met my wife, Whitney (Abato) Martin ’98 in Professor Rollo-Koster’s class in 1997. The following year we graduated, and tied the knot in 2001. Twelve years and two daughters later, as my wife likes to say, I ran out of home improvement projects. I began thinking about ways that I could couple my “jack of all trade” mastery with creativity to embark on a new business venture. I found that stone engraving was a trade that wasn’t prevalent in the northeast, and began to learn all I could about different techniques. Four years later, what started as engraving small garden stones has blossomed into an extensive product line. Martin Artistic Stone stays close to our roots of joyful personal engravings, but has grown to include corporate signage,
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 31
address boulders and fundraising bricks and pavers. It is with great pleasure that we are part of URI’s brick campaign, as the University holds a special place not only in our history, but in our hearts.” (Photo, page 30)
’08
The accounting firm of Sansiveri, Kimball & Co, LLP is pleased to announce the promotion of Damian Puerini, M.S. ’12, to the position of C.P.A. to Supervisor. Puerini supervises audits, reviews and compilation engagements, as well as provides consulting services to clients in construction, manufacturing and distribution, healthcare and not-forprofit organizations. He is a member of the firm’s construction and related services specialty group, which consults with clients on job cost
structure, overhead rates, cash flow management, financial forecasting and budgeting, internal financial and operational controls, and financial benchmarking. He joined the firm in 2014. (See photo below) Carlton Fields is pleased to announce that Alex B. Silverman has joined the firm’s New York office as an associate. Silverman will practice in the firm’s Property and Casualty Insurance practice group. Silverman represents insurance companies in complex risks and coverage-related disputes involving multimilliondollar general liability, business, automobile, and environmental claims in state and federal courts across the country. He also represents corporations in shareholder actions alleging breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and fraud, as well as in intellectual
Joshua Thompson ‘11 in Brazil with Earth Expeditions
Henry Carey ‘17 joins Waddell & Reed in West Warwick, RI as a financial adviser
Damian Puerini ‘08, MS ‘12, Supervisor at the accounting firm of Sansiveri, Kimball & Co, LLP
Alex Silverman ‘08 was promoted at Carlton Fields’ New York Office. 32
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
property litigation involving trademark and trade secret disputes. (See photo below) Julie Greenhalgh writes: “My daughter Emily R. Greenhalgh, marine biology major, went on to get a Master of Science Writing from B.U. and was recently named senior science writer at the New England Aquarium.” (See photo below)
’11
Baker Newman Noyes (BNN), one of the nation’s top 100 accounting and consulting firms, recently shared news of a promotion in their Boston office. Ross Harrington, C.P.A., M.S.A., of Westerly, Rhode Island, was promoted to senior in the audit practice. Harrington earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Rhode Island and his master’s degree in accounting from Boston College. Providence law firm founder Joseph M. DiOrio, Esq., announces the addition of Amanda Perry to DiOrio Law as an associate. Perry will work with lending clients in a wide range of sophisticated commercial transactions including asset-based and real estate loans as well as foreclosures, work-outs and debt restructurings. She is admitted to practice law in Rhode Island. (Photo, page 30)
Emily Greenhalgh ‘08 recently accepted a position at New England Aquarium
In summer 2017, Joshua Thompson studied golden lion tamarins in Brazil. Thompson, a conservation education coordinator at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Orlando, Fla., is in pursuit of his master’s degree from Miami University’s Global Field Program. (See photo, below left.)
’14
Kevin C. Malloy was presented with the Meehan Award and the Chairman’s Award during the Utility Technology Council’s (UTC) annual conference in Charlotte N.C. Established in 1998, the Meehan Award is named in honor of UTC’s first executive director, Charles M. (Mike) Meehan, and recognizes individuals for their extraordinary leadership in projects during the past year that greatly furthered the interests and objectives of UTC. Malloy served as the UTC’s Region 1 chair, chair of the Telecom Committee and was a member of the Board of Directors. Malloy also served as a Technical Director for the URI College of Engineering’s Capstone Design Program from 2013 to 2016. Recently retired from National Grid, Malloy is currently working as director of Business Development for telecom startup pdvWireless. (See photo below)
Kevin C. Malloy ’14 receiving the Meehan Award at the UTC’s Annual Conference in May
Rhody attends the wedding of Ashlee Whitehead ‘11 and Steve Hudson ‘11 on July 15, 2017. Taken by David Bibeault Photography
CLOSEUP
A Country
Music Story Matthew Brum ’10
A young accountant sits in a bar, brooding about crunching numbers for the next 50 years. He strikes up a conversation with a stranger over their mutual love of country music. They form a Twitter friendship. Move to Nashville, you’d love the country music industry, she says. He’s a city boy, Rhode Island born and bred, with a good job. But the promise of a lucrative future pales in comparison to this new dream. So Brum quits his job and couch surfs in Nashville while looking for work. He gets a part-time internship at the local country music station. “After being in the professional world, there I was, making $10 an hour,” he remembers. If this were a country song, Brum would end up broke and broken. Turns out, though, this was his Cinderella moment. He’s soon picking up the digital marketing slack for four radio stations, managing websites, email and social media. Then, the big break: the Grand Ole Opry is hiring a social media director. Soon Brum’s running all its social media channels (he brought it onto Snapchat) and “talking” every day to about a million fans. “My childhood dreams came alive. Here’s this little Portuguese kid from East Providence, sharing my excitement about country music in the digital world. The country fan in me was in heaven.” Brum stayed at the Opry for four years. Now he’s director of digital strategy for the Big Machine Label Group, the record label of Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts. “My success wasn’t an overnight thing,” he says. “There was hard work involved. If I could tell the 8-year-old version of myself that one day he’d get to interview Dolly Parton or hang out with Carrie Underwood, he wouldn’t believe it. I think, in my own way, I show that anything is possible.” BY MARYBETH REILLY-MCGREEN
PHOTO: JESS VALIYI
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 33
i& n m u y l l i A am F nd e k e We
0–
r2 e b o t
Oc
17
20 22,
See
34
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
See more of the fun from Alumni & Family Weekend 2017!
uri.edu/afw
PHOTOS: NORA LEWIS
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 35
THE 2018 HENLEY WOMEN’S REGATTA will be held
JUNE 22–JUNE 24, 2018, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. Don’t miss this historic opportunity to support the URI Women’s Rowing Team as they head to the Henley for the second time. For more information about the Henley Women’s Regatta,
hwr.org.uk We are planning an alumni event at the Regatta. More information will be at
alumni.uri.edu. Questions? Please contact Amy Simonini in Alumni Relations
at 401.874.5808 or asimonini@uri.edu.
’17
Henry Carey has joined the firm Waddell & Reed as a financial advisor in the New England area. As a personal financial advisor, Carey will help develop customized financial plans, recommend investment strategies and counsel clients throughout the area. “He has a passion for financial planning and enjoys working closely with others,” announced the firm, “which he believes makes him an ideal fit as a financial advisor. We are proud to have him with us.” (See photo, page 32)
Wedding Ashlee Whitehead ’11 to Steve Hudson ’11 on July 15, 2017 (Photo page 32) “Both of us graduated from URI in 2011,” writes Ashlee, “and since we are such big URI fans, one of my bridesmaids arranged for Rhody the Ram to come to our wedding.” 36
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
In Memoriam Harold Bloom ’48 of Middle Grove, N.Y., on August 8, 2017 Mary T. Fuller ’48 of Peabody, Mass., on May 6, 2017 Queenie (Heditsian) Tashjian ’48 of Demarest, N.J., on September 28, 2017 Mary L. Guertin ’49 of Pembroke Pines, Fla., on June 19, 2017 Richard A. Soderberg ’49 of Wakefield, R.I., on June 29, 2017 Ann Ashton ’50 of Citrus Hills, Fla., on July 3, 2017 Eugene Gwizdowski ’50 of Pawtucket, R.I., on July 4, 2017 Francis Knight ’50 of Bristol, R.I., on July 26, 2017 Anna Marcello Parente ’50 of Middletown, R.I., on April 26, 2017
David Michael Blake ’51 of Media, Penn., on August 26, 2017
Anthony Chrones ’57 of Cranston, R.I., on June 22, 2017
William H. Martindale ’51 of Dover, N.H., on September 18, 2017
Norman D. Jalbert ’57 of Barrington, R.I., on June 28, 2016
Bernard McGough ’51 of Woodstock, Conn., on July 31, 2017
Edmund S. Rumowicz ’57 of Hollywood, Fla., on July 16, 2017
Philip “Phil” Paquin ’51 of Annapolis, Md., on July 28, 2017
Robert H. Boutier ’58 of Glenville, N.Y., on September 26, 2017
Robert L. Bender ’52 of North Kingstown, R.I., on July 23, 2017
Joseph F. Grenier ’58 of Pawtucket, R.I., on October 11, 2016
Joseph Zendlovitz ’52 of Nashville, Tenn., on June 20, 2017
Stewart G. Hall ’58 of Wakefield, R.I., on July 6, 2017
A. Elaine Carpenter ’53 of Cumming, Ga., on May 22, 2017
M. Ruth Jursa ’58, M.A. ’73 of Waterford, Conn., on April 20, 2017
Dorothy J. Hetherington ’53 of New York City, N.Y., on November 1, 2015
Robert Augustus Mello ’58 of Narragansett, R.I., on July 14, 2014
Abraham H. Epstein MS ’54 of Bradenton, Fla., on June 2, 2017
Dr. James Wallace Paterson ’59 of Vineland, N.J., on September 15, 2017
Kimber Wheelock ’56 of Lady Lake, Fla., on August 12, 2017
CLOSEUP
Beauty, Power Brittany Diamond ’14 Things Brittany Diamond ’14 could, theoretically, lift: one full oil drum; one empty dumpster; a piano; a motorcycle. A newly minted pro Strongwoman—she placed third in the Strongest Woman in the World competition in Las Vegas in September—Diamond can dead-lift 455 pounds, pull 540 pounds for 50 feet, and put up 210 pounds in a log overhead press. She also bore the financial responsibility of her education, earning an athletic scholarship in a sport— rowing—she hadn’t even attempted before URI. “It was the only way I could afford URI,” Diamond said. “I told my parents I would win enough scholarships to afford it.” It was rowing that led her to weightlifting. A freshman walk-on to a D-I team, Diamond loved rowing but most looked forward to the days devoted to strength and conditioning training. “It was the one aspect of rowing I did alone, and I like situations where 100 percent of the pressure is on me.” In her junior year, Diamond competed in a novice Strongwoman competition and won. She was hooked. Now a personal trainer and one of only 50 professional Strongwomen in the world, Diamond uses her platform to deliver a “message of body positivity.” In college, she and her teammates were weight obsessed. “I was 30 pounds less than I weigh now,” Diamond said. “I feel a responsibility to educate women about healthy weight. And for the first time, people are letting go of the stigma that strong women are manly. I’m here to show people you can be a strong woman, compete, and celebrate your femininity.” BY MARYBETH REILLY-MCGREEN
PHOTO: MICHELLE WOZNIAK
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 37
Barbara J. (Dzialo) McCauley ’66 of Sterling, Conn., on August 21, 2017
Lola F. Marot ’73 of Warwick, R.I., on June 6, 2017
Billy L. Patton ’66 of Providence, R.I., on June 24, 2017
Stephen A. Robley ’73 of East Greenwich, R.I., on December 8, 2016
Lois (Abramow) Bessette ’67 of Fairport, N.Y., on September 18, 2017 Ralph S. Daniels Jr. ’67 of East Greenwich, R.I., on July 6, 2017 Robert T. Moulton Jr., M.L.S. ’67, of Salem, Mass., on September 1, 2017 J. Wendy Nelson ’67, M.S. ’93 of Foster, R.I., on July 8, 2017
NEW YEAR, New Job? Will you be where you want to be in 2018? We are all a work in progress, growing emotionally, professionally, and in other ways that are important to us, and the New Year can be a focus point for change. If it’s on the agenda, think about how much you can handle at once: Do you want a new position, new company, and new industry—or just one of those? Do you want to move fast, or are you more about patience and strategy? A great start is with a pro/con list for your potential move. Once you have completed it, categorize your pros and cons by whether they are connected to your position, company, or industry. If you are looking for help in your job search, we will be hosting a Job Search Circle (JSC) beginning this January. JSC is a facilitated group of job seekers, offering technical assistance and networking. JSC meets the first Friday of the month, January to May. For more information and to sign up or to take advantage of free, one-on-one, URI alumni career services, contact us. Appointments are available by phone or in person. CONTACT ALUMNI CAREER SERVICES 401.874.9404 Audra Lavoie: audraryan@uri.edu Karen Rubano: krubano@uri.edu
alumni.uri.edu/careerservices Peter Gemski Jr. ’60 of Saint Augustine, Fla., on March 15, 2017
John M. Fraser Jr. ’63 of Hernando, Fla., on April 30, 2016
James Joseph McCormick ’60 of Wakefield, R.I., on February 27, 2017
Barbara A. Pine ’64 of Guilford, Conn., on June 28, 2017
Philip M. Wexler ’60 of Providence, R.I., on April 30, 2017
Thomas Charles Jones ’65 of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on January 19, 2017
William H. McDevitt ’63 of Warwick, R.I., on June 24, 2017
38
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
Phebe A. Jacobs ’66 of Mattapoisett, Mass., on August 28, 2017
James “Jim” P. Anderson ’68 of North Kingstown, R.I., on January 14, 2017 George W. Bond ’69 of Leominster, Mass., on September 25, 2017 Josephine M. Lero ’69, MS ’77 of Bristol, R.I., on February 28, 2017 Erik Bense Jr. ’70 of Bristol, R.I., on December 3, 2016 Marjorie Kazin Boyce ’70 of Jamestown, R.I., on April 30, 2016 John P. “Pat” O’Grady ’70 of Rochester, Minn., on October 22, 2017 Robert M. Samuelson ’70 of Manchester, Conn., on August 31, 2017 Marjory S. Day, M.A. ’71 of East Providence, R.I., on April 10, 2016 Richard A. Henault ’71 of New Orleans, La., on December 9, 2016 Paul J. Kokolsky ’71 of Coventry, R.I., on August 27, 2017 David H. Macneill ’71 of Shrewsbury, N.J., on July 13, 2017
Ann J. Zonfrillo ’73 of West Greenwich, R.I., on September 10, 2017 Keith S. Barker ’74 of Darien, Conn., on July 20, 2015 Judith Daggett ’74 of Barrington, R.I., on July 8, 2016 Freeman “Buckley” Lofton ’74, M.B.A. ’80 of Holualoa, Hawaii, on March 13, 2015 Ronald A McKenna ’74 of Manville, R.I., on May 18, 2017 William F. O’Donnell Sr., M.L.S. ’74, of Mystic, Conn., on November 30, 2016 Patricia Shaughnessy M.L.S. ’74, of Silver Spring, Md., on September 15, 2014 Charles Shrader ’74 of Warren, Pa., on July 19, 2017 CDR David P. Smith ’74, M.S. ’00, of Bristol, R.I., on September 7, 2013 Lucia M. Arruda ’75 of Portsmouth, R.I., on August 7, 2016 Gretchen R. Buswell ’75 of Townsend, Mass., on September 28, 2017 Ronald F. Crepeau-Cross ’75 of North Smithfield, R.I., on January 3, 2017 Marjorie Scranton Moore ’75 of Cranston, R.I., on July 28, 2017
Gregory A. Soder ’71 of West Kingston, R.I., on August 7, 2016
Arlene E. Mulligan ’75 of Portsmouth, R.I., on December 17, 2015
Robert J. Barlow ’72 of Salem, N.H., on September 30, 2017
Emily B. Oxx, M.A. ’75, of Newport, R.I., on September 22, 2015
Emil A. Ciallella, Jr. ’72 of Globe, Ariz., on April 18, 2017
Robert A. Zambarano ’75 of Lebanon, Conn., on July 12, 2017
Jean J. (Coduri) Crowley ’72 of Westerly, R.I., on June 20, 2017
Roxie Landers ’76 of Warwick, R.I., on January 17, 2016
Norman G. Gadoury Jr. ’72 of Providence, R.I., on August 7, 2016
Sue Carter Nelson ’76 of Lunenburg, Mass., on July 11, 2017
Capt. John T. O’Brien, M.M.A. ’72, of Amherst, N.H., on July 29, 2016
Deborah Caldwell ’77, M.S. ’79, of Panama City, Fla., on March 14, 2017
Dr. Diane R. Seleen M.S. ’72 of Wakefield, R.I., on October 6, 2017
Mark Bernard Gunning ’77 of Pawtucket, R.I., on September 25, 2017
Stephen Joseph Del Giudice ’73 of Providence, R.I., on December 17, 2015
Gloria Mendez Masi ’77 of Sun City Center, Fla., on June 10, 2016
Hugo “Sandy” Key II ’73 of Saunderstown, R.I., on February 24, 2016
George Ernest “Ernie” Fournier ’78 of Boxborough, Mass., on September 25, 2017
Bruce W. MacLeod ’73 of Charlestown, R.I., on August 14, 2017
Robert G. Gill ’78 of Narragansett, R.I., on July 9, 2017 Kim M. Carvell ’79 of West Greenwich, R.I., on August 17, 2017
Elsie G. Domingo ’79 of Dover, N.H., on February 20, 2017
ALUMNISCENE
Kambiz Karbassi ’80 of Providence, R.I., on August 12, 2017 Stephen Lysik ’80 of South Kingstown, R.I., on June 18, 2017 Thomas F. Murphy Jr., M.M.A. ’80, of Wellesley Hills, Mass., on September 5, 2017 Carol Ann Petrone ’81 of Wakefield, R.I., on July 29, 2017 Carole J. Pignolet ’81 of Saco, Maine, on May 15, 2017 Arlene Early Rosbottom ’82 of Saunderstown, R.I., on July 6, 2017 Robert E. Morris ’84 of Charlestown, R.I., on July 14, 2017
June 29, 2017 Young Alumni Rush Hour: Boston This was a great opportunity for young alumni in the Boston area to come together, network and connect over our Rhody Pride! I always love meeting new URI alums wherever I go and can’t wait for the next Young Alumni event in Boston.” —Lindsay Costa ’14
Mary Sylvia Lake ’87 of Bradenton, Fla., on October 10, 2016 Philip John Burns Ph.D ’88, of Rehoboth, Mass., on July 4, 2017 Mariann Callahan M.S. ’89 of North Kingstown, R.I., on September 18, 2017 Julie Anne Padula ’93 of North Kingstown, R.I., on August 23, 2017 Alan G. Tortolani ’98 of Providence, R.I., on April 15, 2017 Maren E. Robertson ’05 of Westerly, R.I., on September 26, 2017 Peter Woodward Collins ’10 of East Greenwich, R.I., on September 23, 2016
Faculty and Staff In Memoriam Ward Abusamra, Hon., ’77, professor emeritus of music, of South Kingstown, R.I., on Oct. 29, 2017.
July 23, 2017 Member Exclusive: Theatre By the Sea “What could be better? Interesting company, good food, fun play, lovely setting, and even the weather cooperated! It’s a ‘must see’ event each summer for us.” —Joan (Temkin) Gray ‘56, M.S. ‘77 and Mort Gray
August 26, 2017 An Afternoon at Newport Polo
Kenneth Hartt, professor emeritus of physics, of Wakefield, R.I., on August 22, 2017
“Unbelieveable game Rockin’ Rhody Fams Incredible Day
Diane R. Seleen, M.S. ’72, professor emerita of kinesiology, of Wakefield, R.I., on Oct. 6, 2017.
We had a great time and would do it again next year!”
Richard A. Soderberg ’49, past president of URI’s Alumni Assocation, of Wakefield, R.I., on June 29, 2017
—Jean Doyle ’76 and Patti Fountain ’78
Wayne F. Velicer, professor of behavioral science and co-director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center, of Wakefield, R.I., on Oct. 15, 2017. Hermann Viets, dean emeritus of engineering, of Wickford, R.I., on Oct. 1, 2017 Patricia Weeden ’48. M.S. ’61, professor emerita of textiles, fashion merchandising and design, of Kingston, R.I., on Sept. 30, 2017.
If you attended a URI alumni event and would like to share a photo and a reminiscence, we’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at alumni@uri.edu.
Learn more I alumni.uri.edu UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
39
BACKPAGE
it Subm y sb entrie y 8, r Janua 8 201
PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST
Have a funny idea for what’s going on in this photograph from the University of Rhode Island library archives? Email your caption to pjack@uri.edu, or respond at uri.edu/quadangles.
SEPTEMBER WINNERS This photo is titled simply “1979 Greek Life” in our archives, but a quick look at the 1979 yearbook identifies it as the “chariot appearance” during that April’s Greek Week, an event the yearbook says was “a time to run and dance and chug and sing.” Remember, this was the year Andy Kaufmann came to campus, and the movie Animal House was required viewing; it was also the year Jesse Jackson spoke at Commencement, after receiving an honorary degree from URI. RUNNER UP:
Where are those damned horses anyway? – Ed Tillinghast ’55
WINNING CAPTION:
“Greek Uber” – Judy Nazemetz ’72
TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Et tu URI.
– Ken Osfield ’74, M.S. ’89
Can I give you a ride to the cow barns? – Rose McCarthy Martin ’82
40
QUADANGLES WINTER 2017
PHOTOS: COURTESY URI SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Your gift is music to his ears. Your gift supports students like Evan, an electrical engineering major with a minor in jazz studies — and a two-time performer at the Newport Jazz Festival. Celebrate the spirit of the season with a gift that provides opportunity and allows our students to pursue their passions. Take advantage of currentyear tax deductions with a gift made by December 31. GIVE ONLINE E urifoundation.org/ giveonline GIVE BY MAIL E Use the reply envelope in this magazine, or send a check to: URI Foundation P.O. Box 1700 Kingston, RI 02881
Evan Magno ’18 urifoundation.org JOE GIBLIN
Alumni Center 73 Upper College Road Kingston, RI 02881 USA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Alumni Association University of Rhode Island
Weekend Return to Rhody 2018
REUNITE. RECONNECT. REMINISCE.
E H T E SAV RY A U R FEB 0
! E T DA 9– 1
Join us for a winter weekend of reunions, men’s basketball and other special events. alumni.uri.edu/bigchill