Fall 2015 Issue 16

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Have a Halloween with Pipe Dream's costumes & recipes. See page 5 Tuesday, October 27, 2015 | Vol. LXXXVIII, Issue 16 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com

The Free Word on Campus Since 1946

BU researchers study flexible tech, solar cells

CCPA grows MPA with Peace Corps

Austin Faucett looks for real-world applications for graphene oxide

Four-year program combines studies with global charity work

Derek Schuster

Contributing Writer

Zachary Wingate

Binghamton University researchers are working hard to revolutionize the field of graphene oxide — even though their findings won’t have any immediate realworld applications. “I like to say graphene is the miraculous material that can do everything but make it out of the laboratory,” said Austin Faucett, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate studying physics, who is researching graphene at BU. Graphene is derived from graphite, the material used in pencils, and is only one atom thick. It is a compound made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms obtained by treating graphite with oxidizers. Graphene oxide is made up of fewer than eight layers of graphene, and can be used to create a strong, paper-like material that is electrically conductive. Along with Jeffrey Mativetsky, an assistant professor of physics, Faucett has discovered a new way to utilize the exceptional electrical properties of graphene oxide, potentially revolutionizing the field. The two have found a way to control the substances they are working with at a much smaller size, which gives them greater control over what they are creating. These findings may lead to advances in fields such as flexible electronics and solar cells, according to Faucett. The fields are relatively new, so it’s not completely known what uses there could be for the material, although Mativetsky said he is hopeful that it can be used in devices that turn solar radiation into energy. “One of the main areas of interest for my research group is organic solar cells,” Mativetsky said. “This technology offers a pathway towards low-cost, clean, renewable energy.” Faucett contributed to Mativetsky’s article, “Nanoscale reduction of graphene oxide under ambient conditions,” which was originally published online in the journal Carbon on September 8. The article will be published again in print in Carbon’s December issue, and Faucett said that he hopes they are making important contributions to the field.

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Pipe Dream News

Franz Lino/Photography Editor Comedian John Mulaney performs his stand-up routine during Family Weekend in the Events Center on Saturday night. The Chicago-based comedian’s hour-long set covered topics ranging from meeting Bill Clinton to buying a house. See Release for the full story, page 4.

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Utility engineer known for faith, love of family Mark Conklin, 57, spent over 10 years as physical facilityies employee on campus Alexis Hatcher Pipe Dream News

Mark Conklin, a plant utility engineer for physical facilities at Binghamton University, died unexpectedly on Thursday, October 15 at his home in New Milford, PA. He was 57 years old. Conklin grew up on his family farm in South New Milford, Pennsylvania, and helped with upkeep on the farm throughout his entire life. He was a member and Deacon of the South New Milford Baptist Church, where he touched many people according to his sister-in-law, Susan Conklin. “Mark was a wonderful, Christian man,” Susan said. “He was an integral

part of the church family.” Conklin graduated from Blue Ridge High School in New Milford, Pennsylvania, and began his professional career by working for IBM as the Central Utility Plant operator. There, he was the lead mechanic for the cooling towers and condenser water systems at both the Endicott and Glendale facilities. Nearly a decade ago, Conklin began work at BU, where he was responsible for maintenance in Hinman College and College-in-theWoods, ensuring that heating and hot water worked properly. One of the things that stood out

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BU hosts Latin American workshop Amy Donovan

participating schools in the Lake Erie Contributing Writer Latin American Culture Studies (LELACS) program, which is made up of Binghamton While some were out dining with their University, Cornell University, University parents, other students and scholars met of Buffalo, University of Rochester, in the library on Saturday to share their Syracuse University and the University of research in Latin American studies, from Pennsylvania, hosts LECAS workshop. This cartographic depictions of El Dorado to the semester’s workshop, held in the Glenn G. effects climate has on how landscapes are Bartle Library, included four presenters remembered. from BU and one presenter each from Each semester, one of the six Syracuse University and the University of

Jersson Torres/ContributingPhotographer Students and scholars meet in the Glenn G. Bartle Library to share their research in Latin American studies. LELACS is made up of students from Binghamton University, Cornell University, University of Buffalo, University of Rochester, Syracuse University and University of Pennsylvania.

RELEASE

OPINIONS

Pipe Dream sits down with John Mulaney,

Toivo Asheeke argues that BU students need to support Palestine,

See page 8

Raquel Panitz/Pipe Dream Photographer Dozens of participants run in the fourth annual Running with the Goats 5K. The event was hosted by student entrepreneurial club Enactus and was a fundraiser for Coins for Change.

Campus 5K fundraises for goats to aid Kenyan tribe Enactus raises over $800 to fund purchase of the 17 animals, which will help sustain the nomadic tribe

Professors highlight their research in inter-university conference

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Binghamton University’s College of Community and Public Affairs is partnering with the United States Peace Corps to offer graduate students a chance to help people across the world while earning credit for a master’s degree in public administration [MPA]. The Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) is a program designed to encourage students to volunteer for the Peace Corps while furthering their education. According to professor of public administration and program coordinator Susan Appe, PCMI students will benefit by gaining international field experience, getting a competitive edge in the job market and acquiring secondary language fluency while working in another country.

Pennsylvania. The workshop provided scholars who have done research in Latin American studies with the opportunity to present their findings, receive feedback and hear the work of others in the field. Luiza Franco Moreira, the chair of the comparative literature department at BU, said that the goals of the workshop were to foster a dialogue among the scholars and to provide a place where they can discuss the aspects of Latin American studies that matter to them. “These are important moments where we have new ideas and we have avenues where other people respond to our work and we see it from a different perspective and see new ways to develop it,” Moreira said. “I think the main goal is the intellectual dialogue and a supportive development of ideas.” Brad Skopyk, an assistant professor of history at BU, presented his research on how climate-induced catastrophes shaped the way landscapes were represented in colonial central Mexico. Skopyk said the workshop was a good place to introduce different aspects of his research that he would not have been able to showcase elsewhere. “I thought it would be a good opportunity to present some of the more

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David Zeiger

Contributing Writer Anyone walking around campus Sunday morning would have been surprised to see a goat hanging around the Old Union. This goat was from the farm of Dickinson Community faculty master Kim Jaussi, who came out to support the dozens of participants in the fourth annual Running with the Goats 5K. After donating $10 apiece, 72 participants ran or walked twice around the Brain, starting at the Old Union. The event was hosted by student entrepreneurial club Enactus, and was a fundraiser for Coins for Change, a charity organization that offers educational support and services to poor and under-served families of Africa. The group raised $822, which will provide the Massai tribe in Kenya with 17 goats. Jacob Ruzi, a Dickinson resident assistant who helped organize the event, was formerly the co-project manager of Coins for Change. He said that he chose to walk for the Massai tribe because it is a nomadic society that is struggling to maintain its culture’s standard of living, and goats are vital to its society’s herding lifestyle. “In 2009, there was a drought that killed off a lot of their livestock, which is why we donate goats,” said Ruzi, a senior majoring in computer science. Ruzi explained that the money goes toward buying Galla goats, specifically,

SPORTS

Volleyball swept at Albany,

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Men’s soccer clinches berth in America East playoffs,

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which produce more milk than the typical east African goat. According to Oluwaseun Fadairo, current Enactus project leader for Coins for Change and a senior majoring in biology, goats are a great asset that can provide milk for the people, and they can also be sold to get other necessary resources. “The goats can have babies so they are a gift that keeps on giving,” Fadairo said. “It raises their standard of living, so it really changes peoples lives like every single day.” The event was also sponsored by Binghamton University’s B-Healthy Initiative as well as Dickinson RAs. B-Healthy provided information on the benefits of exercise, while Enactus tabled to sell beaded jewelry made by the Massai. Briana Renois, who works for B-Healthy and is a junior majoring in nursing, was one of the tablers in the Old University Union and distributed literature on living a healthy lifestyle. She said that fundraising events like this help the global community while also providing tangible benefits to the participants. “It’s super important for Binghamton University students to get enough exercise, and at this event they can even do that with their family if they are here family weekend,“ Renois said. Kali West, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, participated in the run and

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Pipe Dream is looking for an Opinions editor. Email

editor@bupipedream.com for more information.


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Fall 2015 Issue 16 by Pipe Dream - Issuu