Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil pulled back the curtain to a future filled with transformative technologies such as a three-dimensional printer that can print a violin with good sound quality. His talk, given in a packed Edwards Auditorium, was the inaugural lecture of this fall’s Honors Colloquium, Are You Ready for the Future?

Kurzweil envisions that plans for solar panels or house parts could be emailed to individuals who would then print the products on these printers.

Human life will be extended because biology has become part of information technology, thanks to the unlocking of the human genome. Kurzweil said the creation of microscopic blood cells that could be sent through the bloodstream to destroy pathogens and disease at the cellular level and organ replacements are around the corner.

Kurzweil foresees a merger of the human brain with artificial intelligence in 20 to 30 years.

The two professors head two ongoing studies that examine the impact of technology use on physical and mental health and interpersonal relationships in college students.

Adams and Kisler found texting and cell phone use is affecting important aspects of students’ physical health. In their study of 236 college juniors and seniors, 47 percent reported that they were awakened by text messages to which they responded before falling back asleep.

They also reported that 40 percent of the students answered phone calls during sleep time. Students who use such technology throughout the night were averaging as much as 44 minutes of lost sleep per week. This pattern of sleep interruption showed indicators of other serious issues for students, particularly poor sleep quality, depression, and anxiety.

“At first glance 44 minutes doesn’t seem like much, but combined with the fact that college students are the most sleep deprived population across all age groups, the implications are significant,” Adams said. “More often than not, the interruptions caused by texting come within the first few hours of sleep, which is the most important time for restorative sleep. If students are constantly interrupting their sleep cycle, they place themselves at risk for sleep debt, which can impact multiple areas of their lives, including academic performance.”

Beavan visited the Kingston Campus in September to help kickoff a semester-long series of lectures, activities, and film screenings designed to raise awareness of and interest in sustainability issues.

Check out Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man blog.

The University has recently completed a Climate Action Plan, an evolving document that will guide URI to climate neutrality, meaning no net greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, the University aims to reduce its 2005 emissions levels 50 percent, according to Robert A. Weygand, vice president for administration and finance and chair of the President’s Council on Sustainability.

Click here for more information about sustainability activities on campus.

The U.S. has an 18 percent rate of hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge; as many as 76 percent of these readmissions are preventable, according to Medicare data. If these unnecessary readmissions were avoided, an estimated $25 billion could be saved annually.

Studies show that medication problems occur frequently after hospitalization, with about half of patients experiencing drug therapy duplication, drug interactions, or other types of medication problems after discharge.

Pharmacists can make sure that new medications prescribed in the hospital are compatible with the ones prescribed by the patient’s usual doctors and also review over-the-counter medications that the patient may be taking. Additionally, pharmacists are specifically trained to look for an important medication that may have been inadvertently omitted and would also know if a better formulation of a prescribed medication is available, Kogut said.

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death of women in Peru, where only 30 percent of women get Pap smear screenings.

CerviCusco, a non-profit Peruvian agency, is committed to increasing that percentage. Barbara Klitz ‘76, clinical professor and director of the Cyto-pathology Program offered at URI’s Feinstein Providence Campus, volunteered at the clinic during the summer of 2010.

That experience inspired Klitz to create the first summer abroad course, Special Problems in Clinical Lab Science.

Last August, graduate students Robert Mathis ’10 of Pawtucket, Ashlee Taylor ’10 of North Kingtown, Carolyn Thompson ’05 of Hopkinton, Daniel Attoh of Pawtucket, and Stephanie Ruszcyk of Danville, N. H., screened more than 400 pap smears and found a number of atypical smears. Even though it wasn’t part of their six-credit course, which completed their degree, the students happily volunteered to screen an extra day to help with the clinic’s workload.

Sandy Quaglieri ’73 of North Kingstown, who has 30 years experience as a cytotechnologist, served as clinical instructor. To prepare for the trip, she studied Spanish for a year.

In addition to the screenings, the class gained an historical perspective by reading Kim MacQuarrie’s book, The Last Days of the Incas. “Some of those stories were fresh in our minds,” says Quaglieri. “We were amazed at the gentleness of the Peruvian people.”

He’s more than up to the task. His 20-year career in higher education philanthropy includes three major campaigns at institutions in Kansas that netted a total of more than $800 million. He developed and implemented a comprehensive development program at Kansas State University that increased annual gifts from $21 million to more than $100 million.

“I was impressed by all of the people I met throughout the interview and selection process and energized by the transformative goals that have been set by President Dooley,” said Smith. “From the Foundation Executive Board and staff, to the administration, Alumni Association, academic deans, athletics, and beyond, it was obvious to me that everyone shares a passion for this University and an understanding of the great potential it has.

“The role of private philanthropy at URI is becoming increasingly important, and I look forward to doing what I can to help build and increase opportunities that will enhance URI’s profile and competitiveness.”

Her study involves not only helping the gibbons, but engaging with local residents and students to teach them about global conservation. She is shown here with her Lao research team field (from left) Tsing, Souliya, Dua, Somphet, and Suree.

Because Laos is so mountainous and isolated, there are a lot of areas where gibbons survive. However, industrialization and development have created rapid changes in recent years, causing widespread habitat fragmentation for the gibbons,” she says.

“Ruppell’s research is part of her doctoral dissertation in biology at Portland State University where she earned a master’s degree in biological anthropology.

“Gibbons are one of the few primates to sing,” says one of the ape’s biggest fans. “An adult male and female live together with their offspring in a territory they defend by singing. The male sings for several minutes, then the female chimes in with a great call of notes that become louder and increase in siren-like frequency.”

Left to right: Gerry Tyler, Joanne Walsh, Sharon Woodsmansee, Al Killilea.

This fall, more than 100 alumni, faculty, students, and friends gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Department of Political Science. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) was on hand to mark the milestone. His talk, “The Place of the U.S. in the New Global Order,” was followed by a question-and-answer session.

Poli-sci, which now enrolls about 2,000 undergraduates and 150 graduate students annually, has achieved much in just 50 years. Department highlights:

• Six faculty members received URI Foundation Teaching Excellence Awards, a faculty member received a URI Foundation Research Excellence Award, and a staff member received a URI Foundation Staff Excellence Award.

• Conversion in 2009 to an innovative four-credit curriculum for deeper learning;

• The founding in 1994 of the John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service, which offers ethics workshops for public officials as well as other programs in ethics and public service.

• The founding of the Mentor/Tutor Internship in 1998, which enrolls more than 150 trained interns annually. MTI students assist the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative as well as high school students in more than 25 schools at risk of dropping out.

• Dedication in 2003 of a Pre-Law Home Conference Room and Pre-law Classroom where students interested in legal careers can gather, study, and get advice.

In addition to these highlights, in 2004 Professor Al Killilea played an instrumental role in URI being named one of three Truman Foundation Honor Institutions. Killilea served as URI’s Truman Scholarship campus committee chair for 20 years. Seven of URI’s 12 Truman Scholarship winners were political science majors.

The anniversary event also celebrated the careers of Killilea, who will retire in June 2012, and Professor Gerry Tyler, who retired in June 2011. Both educators were praised by their former students for impressing upon them the importance every citizen has in this country’s affairs.

Sex Ratio: 55 percent female; 45 percent male.

Where U.S. Students Come From: Forty-three states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; after Rhode Island, the top states represented are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

Where International Students Come From: Fifty-four countries; the top countries are South Korea, China, India, Germany, Japan, and Great Britain.

Price Tag: Rhode Islanders pay $11,366 for tuition and fees; out -of –state students pay $27,454. Room and board is not based on geography—everyone pays $10,432.

Most Popular Majors: Nursing, psychology, and communication studies.

“Design is not about how well you can draw,” says Susan Hannel, associate professor of textiles, fashion merchandising, and design. “It’s about the ability to recognize and create good design. That ability can be taught. With the technology and equipment here at URI, students are able to realize their designs and ideas, regardless of their artistic ability.”

Apparel magazine has named Hannel its All Star Educator of the Year, in part for her efforts to improve technology in URI’s apparel lab and bring it up to industry standards so that students are prepared for fabulous careers.

According to Apparel, under Hannel’s guidance, the apparel lab was transformed from a “sea of home sewing machines to a true-to-life production floor, replete with industrial machines and sergers, professional steam irons, industry-standard dress forms, and professional worktables.”

Hannel was able to achieve that transformation with the help of two Champlin Foundations grants and with equipment donations from Lectra, a worldwide textiles industry leader in integrated technology solutions.

In addition to teaching apparel classes, supervising internships, and winning grants, Hannel also leads students on fashionable study tours to London and Paris.

In what it dubbed its “Payback Score,” the magazine assessed public and private colleges on their ability to deliver the best return on investment and sought to quantify the long-term value of a college education based on alumni salaries. When the survey was first published in 2008, URI was ranked 15th for its return on investment.

URI Dean of Admission Cynthia Bonn said, “We are pleased that once again the SmartMoney study has shown that the University provides its students with an excellent education at an affordable price, and prepares them for rewarding careers. It’s exciting to see that the return on the investment in a URI education has continued to improve in recent years, despite the difficult economic situation we are facing as a nation.”

◊ These digital natives are tech savvy—being connected is essential through IM, texting, blogging, pod casting, Facebook, and YouTube.

◊ They are also connected to their parents and struggle more than previous generations with taking responsibility for themselves.

◊ Cheating is more rampant than ever but hard to define as “collective knowledge” and group work is highly prized.

◊ They spend little time studying, 35 percent indicating that they spend about six hours per week on homework—the lowest percentage since this question was asked 25 years ago.

◊While nationally 50 percent of incoming students plan to work to help pay for college, the percentage is less at URI.

◊ These members of the millennial generation show increased interest in social and civic responsibilities.

◊ More than 70 percent socialize with someone of a different racial or ethnic background.

“This type of information helps us to know this ever changing population,” says Dean Richmond. “With it, we can better plan a curriculum and a support network that will facilitate our students’ success.”

“When you have been together for 13 years, you know that you love each other and will be there for each other,” says Coutu who is the assistant director of the Cumberland Public Library, as well as an adjunct instructor for URI’s Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. “At the same time, it was totally amazing to officially recognize our relationship and announce that we really are one in front of family and friends.”

The new state law creating civil unions for gay couples falls short for gay-rights advocates who have sought for full marriage recognition.

“The fact that there is a different phrase used to describe our union indicates that there is a difference, which means there is also inequality. Some in the community are holding out for full equality, but I feel that it can be helpful to take advantage of what is available now and keep fighting for the rest,” said Coutu who, while not an official advocate, worked for full equality in Burrillville where he and Daignault reside.

The new law allows many of the same rights provided as marriage law on the state level but none of the federal rights of marriage. Previously, Coutu and Daignault would have had to obtain those state rights, vital for medical considerations and inheritance rights, at great legal expense because same-sex couples could not be considered next of kin.

The new law, however, comes with exemptions for religious cause: “The law basically says we have similar rights unless someone is religiously offended by our relationship, allowing their right to freedom of religion to trump ours.”

Still the exemption didn’t dim the couple’s day or the congratulations that followed: “Everyone I have spoken to has been supportive of our union, and the good wishes are usually accompanied with the hope that full marriage equality passes soon,” said the new groom. “This has not only been from friends and family, but also patrons at the library, some of whom I don’t know well at all.”

Assistant professors Sue K. Adams and Tiffani S. Kisler head a team on two ongoing studies that examine the impact of technology use on physical and mental health, as well as interpersonal relationships in college students.

In a survey of 204 college students, the team found that 56 percent had received sexually suggestive images, and 78 percent had received sexually suggestive messages. Two-thirds of the group had sent sexually suggestive messages. While most of the messages (73 percent) were sent to a relationship partner, 10 percent were sent without the consent of the person who originally sent the message.

The prevalence of such activity combined with Gov. Lincoln Chafee signing a law this summer outlawing sexting by minors makes education on technology practices vital for college students say Kisler and Adams.

According to the law, minors who create and send sexually explicit images of themselves can be charged with a “status offense” and referred to family court. Minors and adults who possess or forward sexual images of anyone younger than 18 may be charged under the state’s child pornography laws.

“It’s a delicate situation with the new laws that are in place,” Kisler said. “While it‘s important to protect minors and help them recognize the short- and long-term implications of sending sexually explicit images, opening them up to something as serious as potential child pornography charges may not be the most effective course of action.

“It’s important to help everyone, especially students, understand the importance of setting boundaries around their use of technology,” Kisler concluded.

Three new majors in Chinese, health studies, and neurosciences help expand the University’s global reach, increase the number of interdisciplinary programs, and respond to today’s marketplace.

Health Studies

While some colleges and universities offer a health studies major that combines two or three disciplines, such as health policy and business, URI’s new health major brings together 28 departments across all eight colleges and the expertise of 130 faculty members.

This fall, the health studies major will begin to prepare a generation of students to succeed in non-clinical health careers.

“This is a prototype for developing interdisciplinary programs on campus,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald H. DeHayes. “The Health Studies major offers an exciting new way for students to learn varied perspectives on health and prepare for careers that will make a difference in people’s lives. ”

Health care is one of the fastest growing industries nationally and globally, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that certain professions, such as health educator, epidemiologist, and health administrator, will grow even faster. The Bureau reported that health care will generate 3.2 million new jobs between 2008 and 2018, more than any other industry.

Mandarin Chinese

Students can now earn a B.A. in Chinese to give them the language and cultural skills to compete. URI encourages students to combine a second major with Chinese, a combination that propels graduates of the program to even broader international career opportunities.

The popularity of Chinese has skyrocketed. In the fall of 2004, thanks to student and faculty demand, URI offered its first classes in Mandarin. Thirty students enrolled. By the fall of 2010, 150 students had enrolled.

About 23 percent of students taking Chinese are enrolled in URI’s International Engineering Program (URI educates more bilingual engineers than any other university in the country). The program leads students simultaneously to two degrees: a B.S. in engineering and a B.A. in German, French, Spanish, or Chinese.

About 33 percent of the students taking Chinese are enrolled in the International Business Program. Modeled after the International Engineering Program, the business program provides the opportunity to earn simultaneous degrees: a B.S. in business administration with a major in one of the seven business disciplines and a B.A. in German, Spanish, French, or Chinese.

In both programs, students travel abroad, taking language, culture, and engineering or business courses in the host language. In the second semester they intern abroad with a leading firm.

The remaining 44 percent studying Chinese come from a variety of disciplines.

Neurosciences

URI has joined the quest to understand the brain by launching graduate programs in the neurosciences. A new interdisciplinary neurosciences program offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the neurosciences with the goal of educating scientists and professors who can contribute to private and public sector research.

The potential growth in the development of the $10 billion-a-year neuro-device industry is expected to increase 22 percent annually.

“We have built a network of 15 departments at URI in which people are focusing on the neurosciences. We have many talented researchers in more than eight different disciplines working in this field,” said Graduate School Dean Nasser Zawia.

The program will produce researchers able to focus on some of the most debilitating brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.

The editors of The Ocean State Review decided to think big. The literary journal’s inaugural issue features Pulitzer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri and National Book Award-winner Julia Glass along with other distinguished writers and poets.

The Ocean State Review was launched at the June 2011 URI Ocean State Summer Writing Conference (OSSWC), and the first issue showcases the work of writers and poets who have presented at the University or its Ocean State Summer Writing Conference.

Assistant Professor of English and conference director Peter Covino initiated the idea of a literary journal that would be published to coincide with—and celebrate—the fifth year of the popular summer writing conference, which began in 2007 and attracts writers from Rhode Island and beyond interested in improving their craft.

The Ocean State Review will be published annually in June, and will feature fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submissions for the 2012 journal will be accepted September 6 through February 12. The 2012 Ocean State Summer Writing Conference will be held June 21–23.

To learn more or obtain a copy of The Ocean State Review, visit the conference website at uri.edu/summerwriting.

The wizard behind the social media curtain is California-based businessman Matthew Michelsen ’94 whose associates include 50 Cent and B.o.B.

Michelsen approached Google with an idea for the Google Chrome commercial featuring Lady Gaga, which has already been viewed more than 3.2 million times on YouTube.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Michelsen and Lady Gaga’s business manager, Troy Carter, co-founded a new social network site for celebrities called Backplane. The site will combine various social media presences into one platform while providing more opportunities for fans to interact. Lady Gaga is a major stakeholder.

Sounds like Backplane could prove to be a monstrous success.

* Number of fans as of Aug. 2, 2011.

Here’s some good news for all you guilt- stricken pancake eaters. You can now pour pure maple syrup on the stack and feel better, too.

Researcher Navindra Seeram, professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, has discovered 54 beneficial compounds in the syrup. How sweet is that?

“Nature is the best chemist,” Seeram said. “Our laboratory research showed several of these compounds possess anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown to fight cancer, diabetes, and bacterial illnesses. Discoveries of new molecules from nature can also provide chemists with leads that could prompt synthesis of medications that could be used to fight fatal diseases.

“I can guarantee you that few, if any, other natural sweeteners have this anti-oxidant cocktail of beneficial compounds,” he continued. “Pure maple syrup has some of the beneficial compounds that are found in berries, some that are found in tea, and some that are found in flaxseed.”

Levin began her career as a reporter for The Providence Journal. After leaving The Journal, she became an award-winning freelance writer specializing in health, medicine, and travel. She wrote a nationally syndicated health and medicine column, travel stories for magazines and newspapers, and edited two books on Rhode Island history. Her most recent book was a biography of Stephen Early, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s press secretary.

Levin has spent the last decade writing about First Amendment issues, in particular the area of access to public information.

During her tenure, journalism majors have doubled. A host of URI graduates work at daily and community papers in the state and the region. In addition, a number of journalism alumni report on national and international issues.

Blood drives, sponsored by The Clearinghouse for Volunteers, are held four times a year. Between 85 to 110 pints per day are collected during the three-day drives.

The donated blood is tested, split into its various components, and then distributed first to hospitals in Rhode Island and then to hospitals in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The blood is used to help leukemia, cancer, accident, anemia, transplant, and surgery patients. “It’s one of the little things that I do that can make a big difference in people’s lives,” said frequent donor Anita Burke, senior word processing typist in the Department of Communications and Marketing.

He envisions students raising a roof on a Habitat house in the morning and advocating for affordable housing at the Statehouse in the afternoon.

It’s not surprising that Campus Compact chose this man of action for its first group of 135 Newman Civic Fellows. The fellows come from 30 states. The award, named after the late Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact and URI president from 1974 to 1983, honors inspiring college student leaders who through service, research, and advocacy are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues, and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change. Newman Civic Fellows are nominated by their college presidents.

Andrews spent his freshman year at the University of Miami and witnessed what he said was corporate greed that led to the country’s financial meltdown. He began to take stock of himself and his personal values. He heard presidential candidate Barack Obama ask citizens to believe in their own abilities to change the world, saying “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Inspired, Andrews headed home and enrolled at URI. He became an active member of community service groups including URI Habitat for Humanity, URI SAVES (Students Actively Volunteering and Engaging in Service), and Student United Way. He switched his major from business to political science.

“This is the right decision. URI is the place for me,” he said, noting that his mother and father earned their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University. He plans to take time off for the presidential race, graduating either in December 2012 or May 2013.

Last summer, he turned a three-week stint in U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s Providence office into a yearlong internship. This summer, Andrews is interning in the senator’s Washington, D.C., office.

For the past year, Andrews has volunteered with the Obama for America organization, building on the grassroots movement that elected the president by empowering communities across the country.

In appreciation, Andrews was invited to meet President Obama on the tarmac as Air Force One arrived in Rhode Island last fall and to attend Michelle Obama’s Holiday Open House dinner at the White House in December.

“These kinds of University experiences show students the connections between the classroom and society,” said Gail Faris, whose honors course, Classroom Without Borders, includes an alternative spring break. Faris has spent the past six spring breaks overseeing students doing community service in other states. This year, accompanied by Chip Yensan, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, she lead 23 URI students who emptied an 18-wheeler filled with kitchen cabinets, installed windows, and hammered clips into boards for Habitat for Humanity in Birmingham, Ala.

“The goal is to have students think and analyze social and political issues critically and to be respectful to all regardless of difference,” says Faris.

Faris also kept in contact with URI seniors Elise Glidden and Ryan Kilpatrick who led six other students to Exmore, Va., as part of a senior honors project. They pitched in to help the Eastern Shore Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

“We worked on three different houses, two foundations, and an enclosed structure. We built a driveway, which included shoveling and raking dirt and then laying the gravel. We also installed anchor bolts, did some plumbing, closed gaps in one of the houses’ framework, reinstalled insulation, and set up scaffolding,” explained Glidden.

Besides practical construction skills, the students learned valuable lessons in friendship. “Eight different people became as close as family in just a week’s time,” she said.

Twenty-three members of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship hopped on a bus and nearly 30 hours later rolled into New Orleans to help remake what Hurricane Katina had destroyed.

“We went because as Christians we believe our faith does not allow us to be complacent in the face of others’ suffering,” said fellowship member Adam Croft. The group helped Habitat for Humanity, Arkansas Baptist Builders, ReBuild Together, and the St. Bernard’s Project. After the day’s work, they discussed connections between the Christian worldview and justice issues.

New Orleans was also the destination of 21 students from URI Habitat and URI Students Actively Volunteering and Engaging in Service (SAVES) with staff advisors Sarah Miller, coordinator of URI’s Feinstein Center for Service Learning, and Jerry Sidio, director of University Facilities Services.

The trip, organized by students Courtney O’Keefe, Chelsea Tucker, and Evan White, partnered with the St. Bernard Project, Habitat for Humanity, and the Green Project. Their work included sorting through rubbish to find building materials that could be refurbished and used for reconstruction efforts.

“One of the key reasons for going on alternative spring breaks is to help students take that commitment of service to the community a little bit further,” said White, who will move to Sacramento in the fall to serve a year with AmeriCorps. He will be part of a team assisting the Pacific Coast area in a variety of ways, from volunteering as firefighters to becoming mentors in local schools.

“I have been blessed to get a college education and be able to do what I want with my life,” he said. “Why not help others, if I can?”

…And Right Here at Home

URI, in partnership with South County Habitat for Humanity, held a groundbreaking this spring for four single-family homes on Old North Road, just walking distance from campus.

The first house to be built at the site is the result of fundraising that involved the URI Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and members of the Greek system, athletic teams, and URI’s Department of Housing and Residential Life.

Building begins this fall. “This is an opportunity for students to go beyond their residence halls and become part of the larger South County community,” said Scott Andrews, president of the URI Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

—Jan Wenzel ‘87

URI hosted 13 teams during the Northeast Regional Championships last April. Presentations were made in Edwards Auditorium on the Kingston Campus while the swamp tests and races were held at Burlingame State Park.

Students from our northern neighbors, Laval University in Quebec, captured first place while our Rhody students took second.

—Nancy McKinstry ’80, Hon. ’05, CEO of Wolters Kluwer, the Dutch publishing and information company.

From “Distilling The Wisdom of CEOs,“ New York Sunday Times Business Section, April 17, 2011.

Adrain is managing director of Ballentine Partners, LLC, an independent wealth management firm. He is the founder of the initiative to establish National Neighborhood Day and of KindMark, a leader in the creation of software and technologies that advance philanthropy. He is co-founder and former chair of Social Venture Partners—Rhode Island, an organization that engages entrepreneurs in community initiatives. He is also co-founder of BetterProvidence.org, which aims to bring the voice of citizens and taxpayers together for better governance. Adrain received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

According to URI Vice President Robert M. Beagle: “Lorne is a consensus builder who likes to look at the big picture. As URI Alumni Association president, he proactively worked with us to build the Alumni Association into a national organization. He has a strong commitment to the importance of public higher education and its value to Rhode Island.”

In addition to Adrain, the other appointees with URI degrees are Dr. Antonio Barajas ’91, Eva-Marie Mancuso ’82, and John A. Walsh, Ph.D ’08. URI Vice Provost Emeritus Thomas Rockett, whose term expires in 2012, will remain on the board.

URI, in collaboration with Rhode Island Hospital, will launch a 5-year medical physics degree in fall 2011 that combines a B.S. in physics with an M.S. in medical physics. The 162-credit program will be the first in New England and may well be the only 5-year program in the country. Only 26 universities in the U.S. and Canada currently offer accredited graduate medical physics programs.

There is a significant shortage of qualified clinical medical physicists. And, with each passing year, the shortage becomes more acute.

Why such demand? The increased development and use of complex technology in radiation oncology and medical imaging requires skilled scientists. Almost 1.1 million cancer patients underwent a course of radiation in 2009, up 15 percent from 2007. The increase may reflect the growth of cancer screening and early detection initiatives, along with the aging of the baby boomers.

To find out more about the program, contact Physics Professor Len Kahn at 401.874.2053 or lkahn@uri.edu.

The portable device needs just a pinprick of blood and provides results in less than 30 minutes.

Testing can be performed in a clinic, in a doctor’s office, or right at home, according to Mohammad Faghri, professor of mechanical engineering and lead researcher on the project: “Patients can have their blood tested when they walk into the doctor’s office, and the results will be ready before they leave.”

With the new lab-on-a-chip technology, a drop of blood is placed on a plastic polymer cartridge smaller than a credit card and inserted into a shoebox-sized biosensor containing a miniature spectrometer and piezoelectric micro-pump. The blood travels through the cartridge in tiny channels 500 microns wide to a detection site where it reacts with preloaded reagents enabling the sensor to detect certain biomarkers of disease.

Several patents are pending on the invention. Compared to similar devices in development elsewhere, the URI system is much smaller, more portable, requires a smaller blood sample, and is less expensive. While the sensor costs about $3,200, each test costs just $1.50, which is the cost for the plastic cartridge and reagents. Commercialization should begin shortly.

Faghri envisions further miniaturization of the invention so that it can be adapted into a smart phone application. Patients will be able to test themselves and send the results to the doctor’s office. Now that has quite a healthy ring to it!

Not one to rest upon his past inventions, Fan has another 70 patents pending. And his problem solving ability and scientific curiosity apparently never rests. On average, Fan has been submitting 10 to 15 applications annually in recent years. Patent approval generally takes 3 to 4 years.

Fan is a terrific collaborator—he shares about 70 percent of the patents with his co-inventing colleagues and solos on the remaining 30 percent.

While he doesn’t earn royalties from the patents, Fan says that Xerox fosters innovation by rewarding employees with patentable ideas.

Born in Shanghai, China, Fan was encouraged to come to URI with his wife, Yijuan Shen ’88, by a friend studying physics here. The friend also encouraged the Department of Electrical Engineering to accept Fan as a student: “He’s quite bright,” the friend remarked.

“We have mile after mile of asphalt pavement around the country, and in the summer it absorbs a great deal of heat, warming the roads up to 140°F or more,” said K. Wayne Lee, professor of civil and environmental engineering and leader of the joint project. “If we can harvest that heat, we can use it, save on fossil fuels, and reduce global warming.”

With Chemistry Professor Sze Yang and graduate student Andrew Correia, Lee has identified four approaches.

One of the simplest is to hang flexible solar cells over the top of Jersey barriers to power streetlights and illuminate road signs.

Another practical approach would be to embed water pipes beneath the asphalt. The sun-heated water could be piped beneath bridge decks to melt ice and reduce the need for road salt.

A third approach uses thermo-electricity produced with semi-conductors when hot and cold temperatures meet. With thermo-electric materials embedded in the roadway, enough electricity could be generated to defrost roadways.

Perhaps the most futuristic idea is to completely replace asphalt with large, durable electronic blocks that contain solar cells, LED lights, and sensors.

Martellino traveled to the New York City hospital each week to read to her would-be camper. Today, Grace is in recovery with a cookbook named for her. All Because of Grace, spearheaded by Martellino, was designed as a fundraising project to help with Grace’s medical expenses. Profits from the book go to the Yes! Grace Rocks Foundation.

In planning the book, Martellino thought it would be nice to include a handful of children’s book authors so she wrote to a few she had met through the years, explaining the project. She asked each to share a favorite recipe and provide a story explaining why the recipe was meaningful.

Within four weeks, Martellino received responses from more than 130 award-winning children’s book authors and illustrators. Support did not stop there. Publishing giant Scholastic donated $2,500 to help cover the cost of printing the book.

Grace still has a long way to go. She slipped into another coma that has hampered her recovery. She suffered nerve damage that impacts her speech and vision.

Through it all, books have kept the young patient’s spirits up. “We write stories together,” Martellino reports. “Grace has a gift for telling stories, which makes the project that much more perfect.”

Cappello came across the Chevalier Jackson Foreign Body Collection during a trip to the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia more than four years ago.

Jackson, a laryngologist who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, had a near-perfect success rate of extracting foreign objects without causing injury or death to thousands of patients. And he did it without using anesthesia.

“Jackson had a way of being able to calm patients down, especially children,” Cappello said. “He used rigid, brass instruments and proved that the human body is more capacious than we tend to think.”

Her goal was not to offer a definitive piece on the life and career of Jackson, but to peel away some of the layers behind the stories of the objects themselves. She succeeds by approaching the subject with splendid imagery and lyricism.

She researched many of Jackson’s cases through archives held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., and found more than 40 boxes filled with detailed accounts of Jackson’s patients, such as the 9-month-old boy who survived despite having been forced to swallow safety pins, buttons, cigarette butts and more.

“Reading the background on many of the cases proved to be shockingly illuminating,” Cappello said. “Jackson often reduced the presence of foreign bodies to carelessness, and he didn’t really take into account the complexity of human psychology. There was accidental ingestion, purposeful ingestion, forced ingestion and in some cases phantom ingestion, where people were imagining and even showing symptoms that they had swallowed something that wasn’t there.”

Vice President for University Advancement Bob Beagle, left, President David Dooley, right, with Gail Frechette...

... Lorne A. Adrain,

... John V. Priore, and

Joseph G. Formicola Jr.

Held during halftime at home A-10 men’s basketball contests, The Alum of the Game program began three years ago as a way to honor alumni who have distinguished themselves by their service to the University, by their service to the community, and/or through their careers. Seen here with President David Dooley and Vice President for University Advancement Bob Beagle are four of the six alumni who are being honored this year. Gail Frechette ’72, honored at the Xavier game on January 9; Lorne A. Adrain ’76, M.B.A. ’83, honored at the St. Bonaventure game on January 16; John V. Priore ’87, honored at the La Salle game on January 22; Joseph G. Formicola Jr., honored at the Charlotte game on February 12.

This new section of QUAD ANGLES features feedback from readers of both the print and online magazine. The following comments, all posted online, relate to stories in the Fall 2010 issue. Thank you to our correspondents for sharing your thoughts with us.

“The Simple Joy of Life Continued”

Bethany, Robert, and Professor Vaccaro:
My name is Jamie, and I am a health teacher at a school in Worcester, Mass. My son Sean is a freshman at URI, and I receive QUAD ANGLES. I shared this article with my classes (grades 7–12) this week, and we were moved by your family’s resolve. The courage of Robert and your family is inspiring to all of us. In the article war is talked about in not only life or death circumstances but in having to deal with a family member’s struggle with disability. Some of the students in the school aspire to go in the military, and sharing your anguish with us through your essay has opened some of their eyes to the reality of war. Thank you for your willingness to share this information and your strength as a family to work as a unit to help Robert succeed in his quest for independence.
Regards, Jamie Sullivan
—Posted October 20, 2010, at 9:55 a.m.

I don’t know how to begin this comment, so I think I will just dive right in. The strength of the Vaccaro family is so evident through Rob’s story. Not only the strength of Rob, but of all of you. When one family member is affected, it affects you all, good or bad. God must have found favor in the Vaccaro family, because he promised in his word that he would never give us more than we can bear, and you all have had to bear so much. But speaking for myself, and my family as well (my father coached the church softball team) we are so grateful for your love and support of Rob, because without it we would not know him. We love him very much, and I personally am very blessed to call him a friend. Seeing him every week is such a joy!
Marjorie Harrison
—Posted October 20, 2010 at 4:31 p.m.

“Working the Room: Move-in Day, September 2010”
Looks a tad crowded! I remember Weldin being a building of double rooms. Did renovation enlarge the living spaces?
Catherine Becker-Lanni
—Posted October 14, 2010, at 6:08 p.m.

I knew that photo looked familiar! They’re still tripling in Weldin Hall?! How I remember squeezing into one dorm room with my two new roommates freshman year. Fortunately for us in the class of 1977, we were probably far more used to sharing rooms than this generation is!
Patty Boyd
­—Posted October 15, 2010, at 2:07 p.m.

Many years ago I lived in a double at Bressler Hall. It was about the time bunk beds were introduced. What a change 25 years makes!
Charlene
—Posted October 19, 2010, at 6:08 p.m.

I had the BEST ROOMMATE in the world. She was rock ’n roll and I was preppy. We met in ’81 and graduated in ’85. ’Til this day she is the “sister of my heart” 25 years after graduation. That means we’ve know one another 29 years—WOW! And to think it all began at URI—three years living in Browning and senior year “down the line”!!
Linda Duros
—Posted October 22, 2010, at 1:59 p.m.

I’ve got you all beat. We were told that our freshman year, 1967, was the first time for triples in Weldin.
Pam Abbott
—Posted: October 23, 2010, at 5:16 p.m.

“Celebrating a Legacy: John Grandin’s Legacy Made URI a Leader in International Engineering Education”

Dr. Grandin is a gifted visionary with unique talents. I benefited enormously from his enthusiastic approach and love of teaching. His inspiration sparked a strong interest in learning German, and as a U.S. Army foreign area officer I used those language skills and cultural awareness initially obtained at URI to serve 17 years in Germany, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. Congratulations on retirement!
Tim Shea ’80, colonel (retired), U.S. Army
—Posted October 15, 2010, at 8:58 a.m.

“Chemistry—Essential 2 Rhode Island’s Future”

I came to URI as a chem major in 1956 when Pastore Hall was a very new, modern facility. It’s hard to believe it’s still the center for chemistry at the University. Have there been any major renovations to the building since then? There must have been, or else how could chemistry be as good as I know it currently is there? I wish I were still a Rhode Islander, so that I could vote Yes on the bond referendum (#2). Good luck on the referendum.
Dick Durst
—Posted October 23, 2010 at 9:49 p.m.

Janett Trubatch, who served as vice provost for Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach from 2000–2005, died on October 26, 2010, at her home in Chicago. She was a dynamic leader who increased research funding from $47 million to over $60 million during her tenure at URI. She initiated and served as principal investigator to a National Science Foundation grant to hire, retain, and advance women in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This resulted in 10 major hires at URI and development of family leave and dual career guidelines to improve recruitment and retention of all URI faculty. She subsequently served as graduate dean and vice provost for research at Roosevelt University in Chicago. She is survived by her four children: David, Joel, and Anna Trubatch, and Beth Trubatch Schlicting.

Efforts to extend the life of structures and reduce repair costs have led engineers to develop “smart materials” that have self-healing properties, but many of these new materials are difficult to commercialize. A new self-healing concrete developed and tested by a URI graduate student may prove to be cost-effective.

Michelle Pelletier, while a master’s degree candidate, embedded a microencapsulated sodium silicate healing agent directly into a concrete matrix. When tiny stress cracks begin to form in the concrete, the capsules rupture and release the healing agent into the adjacent areas.

The sodium silicate reacts with the calcium hydroxide naturally present in the concrete to form a calcium-silica-hydrate product to heal the cracks and block the pores in the concrete. The chemical reaction creates a gel-like material that hardens in about one week.

“Smart materials usually have an environmental trigger that causes the healing to occur,” explained Pelletier, who collaborated on the project with URI Chemical Engineering Professor Arijit Bose. “What’s special about our material is that it can have a localized and targeted release of the healing agent only in the areas that really need it.”

Pelletier’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Public Works magazine named Pelletier, who graduated last summer with a master’s in chemical engineering, a 2010 Public Works Trendsetter whose research could extend the life of roads, bridges, foundations, and sidewalks. She was featured in more than two dozen trade publications in the transportation, construction, engineering, and chemical industries this past fall.

Ken Sherman, M.S. ’59, URI and NOAA researcher, shared the Göteberg Award for Sustainable Development this fall. The international award is considered the environmental equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Sherman, director of the Narragansett Laboratory and the Office of Marine Ecosystems Studies in NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and adjunct professor of oceanography at URI, pioneered the concept of large marine ecosystems with URI’s Lewis Alexander and others during the 1980s.

The scientist and his colleagues recognized that large areas of the oceans function as ecosystems and that pollution, unsustainable fishing practices, habitat degradation, toxic pollution, aerosol contamination, and over-exploration of living resources, along with natural factors, influenced the varying productivity of these ecosystems.

That knowledge has led to a growing recognition that actions on the part of governments and society are required to address the degradation.

Sherman shared the prize, one million Swedish crowns or about $148,000, with conservationist Randall Arauz of Costa Rica.

Most people know Charles Darwin was the father of evolution, but few know about the famous English naturalist’s wife, Emma Darwin.

That is all about to change, thanks to James Loy, professor emeritus of anthropology, and his wife, Kent Loy, M.S. ’79, a freelance writer. The result of their 12-year labor of love, Emma Darwin: A Victorian Life, was published by the University Press of Florida this fall.

The bulk of the couple’s research was done in England during a semester-long sabbatical at Cambridge University where the URI anthropologist was a visiting scholar. The Loys read most of Emma’s letters housed at the Cambridge University Library and spent time at Keele University reading portions of the Wedgwood papers. Returning home, they pored over reels of microfilmed letters for the next four years.

The letters and other correspondence reveal a bright, talented, and religious woman who served as Darwin’s editor, nurse, confidante, and companion.

As first cousins, Emma and Charles grew up together, saw each other frequently, and were fond of each other.  

“There is some evidence that she secretly loved him before he worked up the courage to express his love for her. For both of them, their marriage was an exercise in comfortable familiarity,” report the authors, who relocated to North Carolina after Jim retired last spring.

James and Kent Loy

“Charles Darwin wasn’t skeptical about marriage; indeed he wanted very much to get married in the late 1830s, but he did make a famous list of the pros-and-cons of marriage just before he proposed to Emma.

“Emma was no wallflower, although at the time of Darwin’s proposal in 1838, she apparently had no other suitors. She had received two or three proposals just a few years earlier, however, but for reasons that are not clear had not accepted any of them.”

Emma aided Charles in his scientific correspondence, proofread portions of his most important manuscripts, including On the Origin of Species, and gave him her opinion on scientific points. Still, science was most definitely not her thing, and as a Christian, she worried that Darwin’s decreasing religious beliefs might result in the two of them being separated in the afterlife.  

She willingly nursed Charles through many years of episodic illnesses. Darwin, in turn, came to depend on her care. His list of symptoms is long and complicated and the etiology of his ill health is still controversial. The Loys find the theory that he had Chagas Disease to be the most convincing of many possibilities.

A talented pianist, Emma played for Charles and their 10 children (three of whom died at an early age) during the evenings at Down House. Family legend suggests she studied with Chopin, but the Loys did not find any proof of that.

Emma was passionate about the abolition of slavery, animal welfare, Irish nationalism (she would have none of it), and British and international politics.

The Loys were charmed by her dry, quiet sense of humor (she had been described as almost dour), her sometimes unorthodox child-rearing practices (the Darwin children had the run of Down House and Emma favored bribery to get a child to mind), and her maternal devotion to all her children.

For more about Emma, visit upf.com/book.asp?id=LOYXX001.

An excavator made short work of demolishing the aging four-building, 54-bed Terrace Apartments on Baird Hill Road this past fall to make way for a new 429-bed residence, Hillside Hill, which will be the most energy efficient residence on campus. The $42 million facility is expected to open in fall 2012.

“This represents another major step in the University’s efforts to modernize and expand its on-campus housing,” said Chip Yensan, assistant vice president for Student Affairs and director of Housing and Residential Life. “Three years ago, we opened three new residences to address the needs of upperclassmen, and now we are embarking on a new facility that will enhance the freshman and sophomore experience. The goal in all of these projects is to create a more vital campus community through the development of energetic and connected neighborhoods.”

The Kingston Campus is no longer a ghost town on weekends, thanks to more than $225 million in construction and renovations of residential residences and amenities during the last decade. Students have increasingly flocked back to campus living. Ten years ago, about 39 percent of students lived on campus. Today that figure has risen to 49 percent.

Millions watch medical shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, House, and E.R. each week. Yet watching a heavy dose of medical news and drama on television can lead to hypochondria and can reduce people’s satisfaction with life, according to a study by Yinjiao Ye, assistant professor of communication studies, Harrington School of Communication and Media.

In the study, Ye surveyed 274 students in the College of Communications at the University of Alabama about their TV viewing and life satisfaction. They were not told the purpose of the survey.

The study, published in the September issue of the journal Mass Communication and Society, found TV viewing led the students to believe they had a greater likelihood of being victimized by health risks and that the risks were severe.

Since most people learn important information about health risks from the mass media, there is clearly a double-edged-sword effect at work here. As people become more knowledgeable, they enjoy life less. But ignorance, at least of TV’s presentations of medical information, is closer to bliss.

These findings extend previous research that TV viewing can cause people to be less satisfied with their lives because it makes them more materialistic and causes them to overestimate other people’s possessions compared to their own. Now getting sick and not being able to do much about it can be added as a second cause of life dissatisfaction.

College students are generally associated with good health and vitality. “While this surveyed group shows dissatisfaction, I suspect that if I surveyed a more general population the dissatisfaction would be even higher,” says the researcher.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the last the University would see of a Jackson. Just as Leland Jackson was exiting, his daughter Anita Jackson Derreza joined our College of Pharmacy as a clinical assistant professor in pharmacy practice. In her role as an instructor in the Professional Pharmacy Practice Laboratory, she teaches students about patient counseling, cultural competence, medication reconciliation, inter-professional health care teams, and the prevention of adverse medication events.

“I grew up on South Road in Kingston,” Derreza recalled. “I learned to throw and hit a softball on the Quad and took many after-dinner walks through the URI gardens. I remember spending lots of time at the Fine Arts Building where my mother accompanied opera students on the piano and in Kelly Hall with my father, drawing on the board and reading.

“It has always been my dream to be at URI. I hope I can be even a shadow of the professor, teacher, and mentor that my father was for so many students.”

Since the Deepwater Horizon drill site began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico last April, Reddy, a marine chemist at the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, has collected oil samples from Louisiana salt marshes, testified before congressional committees, and answered questions posed by the international media. He also climbed aboard the GSO research vessel Endeavor last June and spent 12 days in the Gulf of Mexico collecting data on the historic spill.

Reddy was part of a Woods Hole team that deployed a submersible, about the size of an average refrigerator. Named Sentry, the submersible was equipped with a spectrometer in its nose that “sniffed” out a 22 mile long underwater plume of oil and mapped its dimensions.

This information will help researchers better understand the subsurface oil behavior and composition in the area.

Sophia gave the ring to her father, who had bought the former family home in 2005. Dan Spano recognized the Greek fraternity letters engraved in the ring because he knew that his father was a brother in Phi Sigma Kappa during his URI years.

Forty-five years ago, Joseph John Spano ’64 lost his fraternity ring shortly after graduation. The North Stonington, Conn., resident never knew what had happened to his ring and never expected to see it again. After college, he went on to teach chemistry and physics for 40 years, first in Uncasville, Conn., and later in Charleston, S.C.

The sentimental value resurfaced with the ring. Spano was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He plans to keep the ring, a gift from his mother, very close to him from now on.

By Erica Sloan ’11

The panelists, Margo L. Cook ’86, executive vice president for investment services at Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Barry Knapp ’84, managing director, equity research at Barclays Capital in New York; and Christopher J. Wolfe ’91, chief investment officer, managing director of private banking and investment group at Merrill Lynch, discussed the causes of the economic crisis, its effect on regulation, and its impact on career opportunities in finance. A video of the program is archived on the URI YouTube channel at youtube.com/universityofri.

E. Paul Larrat, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, will address these concerns and the larger health care issues in the nation’s capital as a Congressional Fellow.

Larrat was one of 30 chosen by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science for the fellow program. He specializes in pharmacy benefit management with private companies and government agencies and contributes solutions in health policy issues at the state level. For example, since 2002 he has headed collaboration between the College of Pharmacy and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections that resulted in $12 million in savings for taxpayers due to reductions in the cost of prescription drugs.

Larrat left for Washington in September and will spend the next year there. After three weeks of training, he will be assigned to a specific committee/legislators’ office.

He isn’t the only URI faculty member lending expertise in the nation’s capital. President Obama appointed Kate Moran, an ocean engineering professor and associate dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography, to a two-year term as senior policy analyst in 2009. Moran analyzes and works on issues related to the Arctic and climate change.

“An important part of our mission at URI is outreach and service,” said the Rev. Lynn Baker-Dooley, honorary chairperson of the recently formed URI Building Homes Campaign. “This campus and community-wide partnership perfectly fits with that mission. It provides us with a unique opportunity to work together to meet an urgent local need for affordable housing.”

Before the campaign started, the URI Helping Haiti Committee, organized in response to the Haitian earthquake last winter, donated $2,500 to pay for the first URI Habitat home in Haiti.

For updates, visit uri.edu/habitat.

On QUAD ANGLES Summer 2010—The Sustainability Issue

To Web Master:

It is good to see renewable energy issues and a concern for the environment become more a part of your magazine. I graduated in 1971 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and have been involved with renewable energy through non-profit work, residential design/construction, and policy issues (greenhomedesignbuild.com in case you are interested) since the late ’70s here in North Carolina. Involving students, communicating with alumni, changing policy on campus while also participating in local political decisions are all critical steps for our moving ahead personally and collectively to positively impact our most pressing national and global concern.

Keep it up.

Paul Konove

pkonove@greenhomedesignbuild.com

On “Farming in Rhode Island: A Growth Industry”

To Professor Rebecca Brown

Dear Dr. Brown:

I just received my QUAD ANGLES and read the article “Farming in Rhode Island: A Growth Industry.” I sent a note to the magazine complementing their “Sustainability issue” and telling them how pleased I was to see agriculture again in the lexicon at Rhody. I want to commend you for your sustainable agriculture curriculum initiative. Food safety and security are becoming very important issues for agriculture to address both locally and globally. Most importantly, this is a production major that is relevant and appropriate for the Land Grant College in Rhode Island.

As an agriculture graduate from URI in 1964, I watched with some distress the evolution {of the College of Agriculture} to the College of Natural Resources {now the College of the Environment and Life Sciences} and the loss of the word “agriculture” from my college. Many years ago I wrote to then Dean Cobble expressing my concern. Obviously I’ve overcome this angst as I watched the Agronomy Department at Virginia Tech become Crop and Soil Environmental Science some 24 years ago, and my “crop option” become “agro-ecology” as I changed our curriculum to be more relevant over 20 years ago.

We are really in parallel development at this moment as our undergraduate production major has indeed become “sustainable agriculture,” and we have just launched a new minor called “civic agriculture” with the Department of Health, Nutrition, Food, and Exercise focusing on local sustainable food production.

I like to think we are among the leaders in curriculum development for our 220 undergraduates in CSES. I am very proud to see my alma mater keeping right up with us.

I received a wonderful education and start toward a 46-year career in agricultural education, cooperative extension, and university academics at URI. The basic science and hands on nature of our old agriculture curriculum provided me the tools I needed. I retired from Virginia Tech as department head in July and presently am staying on in that role until we identify a new head this fall, so I’ve run my race.

I’m so pleased to see things on the Kingston Plains are still alive and growing. Keep up the good work. If you or any of your co-conspirators are attending the ASA meetings in Long Beach, I’d enjoy hearing more about your efforts.

Sincerely, Jim McKenna

Dr. James “Jim” McKenna

Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences

Virginia Institute of Technology

Blacksburg, Virginia

jamckenn@vt.edu

From: Nancy L. Fey-Yensan

Dear Dr. McKenna,

Thank you for that wonderful and encouraging feedback. Dr. Brown and the Department of Plant Sciences have worked hard to keep agriculture as a vibrant and viable part of the curriculum within the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. I think they have a very bright, and very important future, as they, along with sister departments within the college, consider how to best create a major in sustainable food production.

I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know the department and their passion as I served for one year as the college’s interim dean. I will watch with great interest as they continue to be creative and forward thinking, serving both the public and our students in extraordinary ways.

Thank you for recognizing their efforts and for your continuing interest in the University of Rhode Island. I do hope you will let the college know if you are ever back in Rhode Island—we love to catch up with our alumni.

My very best wishes,

Nancy Fey-Yensan

Professor of Nutrition and Food Science

College of the Environment and Life Sciences

University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

fey@uri.edu

On QUAD ANGLES Winter 2009–2010

Letter to the Editor:

The seven 1950 East Hall residents seen here are Mary Lou Greenhood, June Vine, Sara Kontoff, Sandy Schopack, Margie Mayerson, Roberta Koch, and “Penny” Penzell.

I was pleased to read the article “East Hall Turns 100” in QUAD ANGLES Winter 2009-2010 magazine. Indeed, East Hall remains an attractive part of the URI Quad and campus.

Viewing the 2009 photograph of professors from the Physics Department sent me searching for a 1950 photograph of dormitory residents posing on the same East Hall doorway steps. For your pleasure, I’ve enclosed the 1950 photo of seven (then residents) of East Hall.

Great article, and I am grateful to see how East Hall has survived as a campus landmark, notable piece of architectural history, and attractive part of the URI Quad.

Sincerely,

Marjorie Mayerson Zarum ’89

Punta Gorda, Fl.

Seventy-one years ago during the Great Depression, Providence artist Gino Conti completed his final set of mural paintings for the lobby of Edwards Hall at Rhode Island State College.

But until mid-July of 2010, no one knew that Conti’s murals had survived renovations that kept them hidden for 43 years.

Thomas Frisbie-Fulton, director of campus planning and design, left, and Thomas Branchick, director and conservator of paintings at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center., discuss one of the murals in Edwards Hall.

As a $1.5 million summer renovation progressed, workers with Calson Corp discovered the murals in the Edwards lobby. They sought the expertise of the library staff and the Art Department, which then called the University’s Business Services and Capital Projects offices.

On August 9, a two-person team from the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in Williamstown, Mass., began removing the murals for conservation.

Thomas Branchick, director and conservator of paintings at Williamstown, was encouraged to find that the oil-on-canvas paintings were attached to the walls with wallpaper paste, which simplified their removal from the wall: “The nice thing about that kind of adhesive is that it desiccates with time, meaning it is very brittle.”

He added that the paintings are dusty because of the construction, but they will be cleaned, which will substantially improve their clarity. Branchick recommends that the restored paintings be mounted on panels so that they can be easily moved in the future.

For Professor Ron Onorato, an art historian who wrote a paper in the early 1980s on “Rhode Island’s WPA Art,” the discovery is great news. His paper addresses the sad history of many works of art from the Depression era: “Many, like the projects for Edwards Hall, have been painted out, destroyed, or otherwise lost.”

Like thousands of other artists who struggled to find work during the Great Depression, Conti, who was born in Italy and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, benefited from the New Deal program of the Works Projects Administration. Today in 2010, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, designed to lessen the suffering of what many have called the worst economic crisis since the Depression, is responsible for the discovery of Conti’s murals.

Even though sections of the paintings have been damaged by framework that was nailed to the murals and some pieces are torn at the corners, the images remain remarkably colorful and powerful.

According to the March 16, 1941 Providence Journal, “Of the two largest panels, one symbolizes drama, music, and dance; the other the protection of youth; striving for progress; and the past. Four smaller canvasses depict the elements with groups of figures symbolizing water, fire, air, and workers in the soil.”

In January 1940, Samuel M. Green, the supervisor of the Rhode Island Art Project, wrote to Rhode Island State College President Raymond G. Bressler about murals for Green Hall and Edwards Hall. The Green Hall murals, done by a different artist, have never been recovered.

By Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87

Nick Healey ’03 is “our man in Abu Dhabi” in the United Arab Emirates.

For the last two years, the landscape architecture graduate has been part of a four-person design team working in a part of the world noted for its progressive architecture and innovative development.

He is heavily involved in two major projects. Both are managed by his employer, Boston’s Carol R. Johnson Associates, Inc, which also employs seven other URI alumni.

The Shams Abu Dhabi Central Park and Public Landscapes project, a mixed-use development off the main island of Abu Dhabi, will ultimately house 55,000. Shams Island is about the size of downtown Boston, and its central park is about the size of Boston Public Gardens.

The Johnson firm was also awarded the design for the entire public realm of the island, including four kilometers of canal and adjacent amenities, coastal walks, and streetscape design.

“We won the project largely because of the introduction of passive cooling techniques where cold seawater is pumped through heat exchangers to release cooled air onto the outdoor walkways and plazas in the park. While the country enjoys moderate temperatures a few months of the year, it can hit 120°F in the summer,” explained Healey.

The smaller project, Marasy Harbor, is a residential waterfront development, located on two plots in one of the oldest, most culturally sensitive areas of Abu Dhabi. The area, originally a boatyard, will maintain a nautical concept.

Before he was sent to the UAE, Healy worked on the Boston Chinatown project developing design and construction documents, the Ridge Road Project in Rochester, N.Y., doing a visual impact assessment for the artery that links the city with its suburbs, and a highway interchange project in Chicago.

As a student, he played a design role in the building of Hope Commons and the University’s three newest residence halls. He also assisted the team that prepared a feasibility study for the LEED designation for our Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (see accompanying story).

“Abu Dhabi is doing its best to implement sustainability standards, similar to the LEED program in the U.S., to reduce its current carbon footprint, which remains one of the highest in the world,” said Healy.

Healy enjoys his work. “The boundaries are being pushed at all times, which seems to be the reason Abu Dhabi and Dubai are on the world stage of development,” he said.

Still he misses his family back home. He’s able to visit a few times each year. “My phone bills have certainly been interesting,” he added.

By Rudi Hempe ‘62

URI entered into an $18 million energy performance contract in 2007 with NORESCO, one of the nation’s leading energy services companies. The program was designed to reduce the University’s energy usage. NORESCO guaranteed that energy savings from the improvements during the three-year contact would pay for the entire project in a dozen years.

So far, so great! Here’s a sample of yearly savings: 8.6 million per kilowatt hours, 14,500 gallons of fuel oil, 7.7 million cubic feet of natural gas, 54 million pounds of steam, and 7.9 million gallons in water and sewage. All of this was accomplished by the installation of:

• 15,000 new light fixtures
• 68,000 energy efficient light bulbs
• Lighting sensors throughout the Kingston Campus
• 3,000 steam traps to limit steam waste and provide more consistent heat
• Energy efficient air conditioners in the Memorial Union and Coastal Institute
• A new heating system in the Horn Building, Bay Campus
• Major HVAC changes, including seven new air-handling units in the athletic center
• New windows in Keaney Gym
• Updated energy management controls in more than 100 buildings
• 2,000 water saving fixtures in residence halls

As a result, the University’s carbon footprint has gotten smaller—we’ve reduced our carbon dioxide emissions by more than 18 million pounds. URI estimates it saved $1.6 million for the July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 year—when the project was only 75 percent complete–and estimates that it will save $30 million in 12 years.