Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

January 25, 2022     As virtual learning continues to grow in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, advancements in technology and course design, U.S. News & World Report has issued its annual rankings of the Best Online Programs for 2022, and four of Stony Brook University’s graduate programs made the list.      Making the top 10, the Online Master’s in Nursing ranked at No. 8. The Online Master’s in Nursing Administration ranked No. 13, which marks the first time that this specialization has appeared in the ranking of online programs. U.S. News evaluated several factors to rank the best online nursing degree programs, including faculty credentials, graduation rates and student services and technologies.     “Students taking courses in our online master’s format often work full-time, and going to school in this way benefits them not having to travel to classes every day, especially during this pandemic,” said Annette Wysocki, dean of the School of Nursing. “Furthermore, this platform is not static, as our content and presentations include visuals, graphics and even simulated clinical experiences to enhance the quality of education.”     The Online Master’s in Business (non-MBA) program ranked at No. 82 and the Online Master’s in Education ranked at No. 80. These programs have strong academic foundations based on the excellence of entering students, graduation rates and instructor credentials. They also excel at educating distance learners while offering strong career support.     This year’s edition of the rankings includes more than 1,700 online bachelor’s and master’s degree programs for those looking to complete or further their education.      U.S. News uses data gathered directly from each institution to compile the rankings. The methodologies are based on factors such as student engagement, faculty credentials, and student services and technology. Only degree-granting programs that are offered primarily online by regionally accredited institutions are included.     Click here to read the original article

January 25, 2022     After two decades of excellence on and off the field in the America East Conference, Stony Brook University has accepted an invitation to join the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) as a full-time member, elevating the university’s profile and enhancing the student-athlete experience.      Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis and Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron made the announcement on Jan. 25. All 18 Stony Brook athletic programs will compete in the CAA, marking the first time in the university’s Division I era that every sport will be a member of the same conference.     “I’m very excited to announce that Stony Brook University will join the Colonial Athletic Association,” McInnis said. “This invitation is a historic step for our institution and a testament to our tremendous growth – both in academics and athletics – over the last two decades. Today would not be possible without the dedication of our student-athletes and coaches, who have paved the way for this moment. Our future is bright, and we look forward to competing for CAA Championships for years to come!”     Stony Brook’s football team has competed in the CAA since 2013. Decisions regarding scheduling formats and championship field sizes are ongoing and will be determined over the coming months.     “Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter in the history of Stony Brook Athletics as we announce our transition to the Colonial Athletic Association,” said Heilbron. “The decision to move to the CAA is synchronous with the aspirational nature of our university as well as our department’s vision to positively transform the life of each student-athlete. We took an extremely deliberate approach to this process and believe that the outcome encapsulates the best interests of our entire Stony Brook community.”     Hampton University and Monmouth University joined the CAA along with the Seawolves. Current CAA members include the College of Charleston, University of Delaware, Drexel University, Elon University, Hofstra University, Northeastern University, Towson University, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and the College of William & Mary.     “We are pleased to welcome Hampton University, Monmouth University, and Stony Brook University as the newest members of the CAA,” said CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio. “All three institutions fit perfectly into the framework of the Conference’s vision that calls for our membership to work together to advance nationally competitive athletic programs – coupled with outstanding academic programs – that empower student-athletes as whole persons to strive at the highest level in every aspect of their lives.”     Stony Brook joined the America East Conference for the 2001-02 academic year following a two-year stint as an independent after ascending to the NCAA Division I level in 1999. Over its Division I history, Stony Brook has collected 38 regular season championships and 44 conference championships. The Seawolves were twice recognized as the strongest athletic program in the America East by claiming the Commissioner’s Cup in 2018-19 and 2020-21.     Over the course of the last two decades, Stony Brook has emerged on the national scene. In March 2012, Lucy Van Dalen became the Seawolves’ first NCAA individual national champion after winning the mile at the indoor track & field championship. In June 2012, the baseball team advanced to the College World Series for the first time in program history, knocking off LSU in the Super Regional.     The men’s basketball team won a conference title for the first time in program history in 2015-16 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The women’s basketball team has won back-to-back conference championships and earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2021.     SBU football earned NCAA FCS playoff berths in 2017 and 2018, respectively.      The Seawolves’ women’s lacrosse team has become a national power, winning a conference record eight consecutive America East championships. In 2018, Stony Brook earned a No. 1 overall ranking in all major lacrosse polls for the majority of the season and has advanced to three NCAA Tournament quarterfinals since 2017.     Men’s lacrosse program has been a top-tier team in America East, wining three conference championships. In 2010, the Seawolves advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in program history.     Academic excellence has always been at the forefront for the department. During the 2020-21 academic year, nine Stony Brook athletic programs posted a perfect NCAA APR score of 1,000. Every Stony Brook program scored over 960, which was well above the NCAA standard of 930. APR measures eligibility, graduation, and retention each semester of the academic term and provides a clear picture of academic performance for each team.     Stony Brook’s world-class athletic facilities include Island Federal Arena, the 4,000-seat home of the men’s and women’s basketball teams. LaValle Stadium, the home of the football, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer teams expanded to its current capacity of 12,300 in 2017. The Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center officially opened in 2012, a strength and conditioning facility featuring cutting-edge equipment to aid student-athlete high performance.      In 2020, Stony Brook opened its state-of-the-art indoor practice facility featuring an indoor multi-purpose synthetic turf practice field designed for multi-use, allowing all athletic programs to have a place to practice and train year-round.     Click here to read the original article

January 24, 2022     New York State Governor Kathy Hochul visited Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Jan. 21 and toured its new Laboratory for BioMolecular Structure (LBMS), which has conducted game-changing research to overcome the COVID pandemic.     Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis introduced the governor at her press conference following the tour, noting that the lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source II supports the work of more than 100 research groups and 200 Stony Brook faculty and students, who conduct world-class research in partnership with BNL scientists. LBMS is attached to the National Synchrotron Light Source II and was funded with $15 million from Empire State Development.     “Governor, using the Cryo-Electron microscopes at BNL’s Laboratory for BioMolecular Structure, we are proud and deeply grateful to have been able to assist the state and your efforts in finding the answers that now help protect so many people not only here in New York, and throughout our country, but around the world — research and results that have been so desperately needed during this pandemic,” McInnis said. “Whether it be COVID or so many other challenges, including creating sustainable and renewable energy technologies or developing innovative ways to deliver on New York State’s climate goals, our partnership with the state is making a world of difference today and into the future.”     Stony Brook co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy — one of only eight universities in the country with a role in running a federal research laboratory.     Governor Hochul delivered her weekly COVID update while at the lab, noting that the state’s seven-day average dropped to below 10 percent for the first time since Dec. 20, as cases decline in all regions. “I want to thank New Yorkers for doing the right thing to get where we are in fighting this winter surge,” said Hochul, who also announced 17 new #VaxforKids pop-up vaccination sites aimed at increasing vaccination rates among children and adolescents. A total of 80 sites will be established over a six-week period statewide.     Click here to read the original article

SUNY Korea Admissions’ Speech at Annual Conference of Korean Association of International Educators in Jeju ​ SUNY Korea Admissions was invited to speak at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Korean Association of International Educators at the Oriental Hotel in Jeju Island on January 13, 2022. ​ KIM Kyuseok (Mick), admissions team leader, led the session themed as ‘Investor-Centered Strategies for Successful International Recruitment’, speaking about the international students and recruitment trend between the U.S. and South Korea, particularly in the context of the pandemicdriven transformation in the global higher education. He also discussed the value-centered approaches in international student recruitment and enrollment to maximize the return on investment from students’ and parents’ perspectives. ​ It was the first opportunity for SUNY Korea, as the first and the most prominent American higher educational institution established in South Korea, to share its 10-year experiences and the ideas of innovating transnational higher education with the international educators and professionals of the Korean colleges at the conference.     Read more

How to prepare to get a job in a Global Company-Based on the case in SUNY Korea     Recently, Korean global companies are gradually increasing, and the companies’ globalization is accelerating.     Korea's five largest groups such as Samsung, LG, SK,  Hanwha, Naver, and Kakao, these big tech and bio companies are expanding into global companies. It is time to look back on whether Korean universities, which have changed their status as global companies, are still thinking of Korean enterprises as local companies and are providing easy job guidance to students.     SUNY Korea is a school that has the strength in finding  a job in global companies. Professor Sunghyun Sean Lee, the Team Leader of the SUNY Korea's Career Development Team, talked about what needs to be done to prepare for a job in a global company.     Read More  

SUNY Korea FIT hosted a six-months long Corporate Training Program for 17 store managers from a French luxury fashion brand. ​ The first module of this Training Program started in Summer 2021, followed by Module 2 in Fall 2021, both in synchronous remote class mode. From January 10 to 14, 2022, Module 3 was offered in-person on the SUNY Korea campus. ​ The program aimed to provide education on the fundamentals of fashion design from materials, sewing and draping to end-product. In Module 3, the participants, with outstanding assistance from five 2nd-year Fashion Design students, built a half-sized suit or dress in the Fashion Design labs at SUNY Korea, which led to the successful completion of the program.

January 18, 2022     A new course focuses on sustainability and technological advancements in fashion as the industry moves further toward the Metaverse.     ByondXR, a market leader in immersive, virtual retail experiences, has announced that it is bringing its software to the classroom through an exclusive course created for FIT. The course, titled The Business of Virtual Merchandising (FM304), utilizes the same ByondXR software that is altering the landscape of fashion by changing the way wholesalers and retailers are leveraging technology to shift their businesses to digital platforms. Students will develop skills to use the software, gain insight into the world of virtual environments, and understand how technology is paving the way for sustainability and innovation in the fashion Industry.     The course is being offered for the first time this semester as a part of the Fashion Business Management department in the college’s Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology.     The Business of Virtual Merchandising will present students with an interactive and immersive experience, offering students an in-depth look at e-commerce and an opportunity to apply their knowledge to a virtual setting. As e-commerce continues to boom, students will learn firsthand how ByondXR’s software bridges the gap between digital and physical spaces, reduces costs for buyers and wholesalers by eliminating the need for international travel, and shortens the time to market through offering on-demand placement orders. FIT’s commitment to combining traditional learning techniques with technology-driven tools directly aligns with ByondXR’s vision of the future of fashion. Students will gain industry knowledge in the digital fashion sphere, the tools and techniques required to excel, as well as a competitive edge when venturing into new careers, having understood the extensive possibilities in the world of digital fashion.     FIT holds sustainability as a core principle in its commitment to the future, and with the digitization of fashion, waste in the industry has proven to be significantly reduced.     “Today’s student is extremely motivated and excited for the possibilities that the future of the industry will bring,” said Robin Sackin, chair, Fashion Business Management. “They understand that currently there are challenges due to the pandemic but they are enthusiastic about exploring new opportunities and careers in this ever-evolving industry. As we all look ahead to a post-pandemic world it is important to realize that the opportunities that were available for a graduate 10 years ago are comparably different to those available today.”     Click here to read the original article

January 19, 2022     Eric Zolov, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of History, was recently awarded the 2021 María Elena Martínez Prize for his 2020 book, The Last Good Neighbor: Mexico in the Global Sixties. This award is bestowed annually by the Conference on Latin American History (CLAH-AHA) for the most significant work on the history of Mexico in the previous year.       “Winning the Martínez Prize for best book in Mexican History is a major feat for Eric Zolov’s most recent book, The Last Good Neighbor,” said Paul Gootenberg, distinguished professor and chair, Department of History. “The Department of History prides itself on the broad significance of its research and has an internationally renowned tradition of research excellence in Latin American history. Professor Zolov’s book exemplifies that.”     Zolov received his PhD from the University of Chicago. His research and teaching interests focus on the interplay between culture, politics and international relations in 20th-century Latin America, with a particular emphasis on the Cold War period, as encompassed by the phrase “Global Sixties.” His research is highly interdisciplinary, seeking to make connections between ideological articulations, consumptive practices and broadly defined notions of power. These ideas are expressed in The Last Good Neighbor: Mexico in the Global Sixties.     During Fall 2019, Zolov was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile. He has a forthcoming book, The Walls of Santiago: Social Revolution and Political Graphics in Contemporary Chile (Berghahn, 2022) with Terri Gordon-Zolov, in which they explore the significance of the 2019 social uprising in Chile viewed through the lens of protest street graphics.     Established in 2009 as the Mexican History Prize, the prize was renamed in 2015 in memoriam of María Elena Martínez. The CLAH is a professional association devoted to encouraging the diffusion of knowledge about Latin America through fostering the study and improving the teaching of Latin American history. The Conference is a non-political, autonomous, incorporated, tax-exempt and non-profit society affiliated with the American Historical Association.     Click here to read the original article

January 14, 2022     Sea level rise and land subsidence have made coastal areas around the world more and more vulnerable to flooding, with an increasing frequency and intensity of storms that has been well documented.     Globally, approximately three billion people — almost half of earth’s population — live within 200 kilometers of a coastline, and 20 percent of them reside in areas less than 10 meters above sea level. In the United States, more than half of the population lives in coastal counties.     Locally, the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 brought the climate crisis literally to the front doorstep of many Long Islanders.     But in the basement of Stony Brook University’s Heavy Engineering building, Ali Farhadzadeh, assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, conducts research in the innovative Coastal and Hydraulic Engineering Research Laboratory (CHERL), which is designed to explore these issues and investigate possible solutions.     “In this lab we study a variety of research topics at the interface of ocean and land that has to do with the wave and storm surge interactions with built or natural environments around communities,” said Farhadzadeh.     The lab examines erosion and scours around beaches and buildings. One example would be bluff erosion, which Farhadzadeh notes is one of the problems Long Island has on both the north and south shores. “We also explore the possibility of nature-based or more environmentally friendly solutions for coastal mitigation.”     The facility was commissioned in Spring 2017 and has been operating ever since, with researchers conducting a variety of studies on the interaction of waves with coastlines, particularly with structures under extreme storm weather conditions.     “We need to project both the direct and indirect physical effects of future sea level changes and intensified storms when considering the engineering and design of coastal projects,” said Farhadzadeh. “Better preparedness against future extreme flooding requires a deeper understanding of coastal phenomena, which leads to novel design procedures and construction of coastal infrastructures.”     The lab features state-of-the-art equipment, highlighted by an 85-foot combined wave and bi-directional current flume. The massive tank is capable of generating combined random waves and reversible currents to simulate a variety of real-world phenomena, including those involving sediment transports. The flume can also be used for marine renewable energy projects, as well as testing and calibrating energy harvesting devices. There is also an instructional, smaller scale flume that shows the processes of sediment erosion and movement.     The wavemaker and pump can be controlled from a computer in the laboratory equipped with software that can produce sine waves and multi-spectral seas, as well as bi-directional currents.     The end result is a lab experience that enables students to witness first-hand the science underlying a critical environmental challenge.     “I was always interested in physics and the environment, and I thought coastal engineering was a great blend of the two,” said senior civil engineering major Ephraim Bryski ’22, who joined CHERL in his freshman year. “Once I started performing tests, it was really neat to be able to recreate what I see at the shore in a controlled setting. Since it’s a small lab, I can work closely with the professor and grad students, and get to see all the parts of the experiments come together, from the initial idea to writing a report on the analysis of our results.”     Farhadzadeh’s current research explores the impact of oyster reefs on the reduction of wave energy and shore mitigation, and erosion reduction or management. He said that there is increased interest in using more environmentally friendly solutions for coastal protection, as opposed to a more conventional approach, which requires the use of hard engineering solutions for shore protection.     This particular project is attempting to optimize engineered oyster reefs to dissipate and reduce more energy as a wave passes the reef. As a result, there will be less erosion if it’s a building, and less force on the building behind it.     “If we can achieve that, oyster reefs can be designed for more energetic wave environment,” said Farhadzadeh. “And that can make these types of shore protections work for many coastal areas in the nation that suffer from erosion and flooding problems.”     One of the driving forces behind the creation of the lab was the consequence and aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and similar weather events that have left a devastating impact across the country, and have facilitated a sense of urgency regarding coastal engineering research.     “The fact that more than 50 percent of the U.S. population lives within the proximity of the shoreline means that there is a great need for research and investment in the field of coastal engineering,” said Farhadzadeh. “We need to be better prepared for the future, and we expect more intensive storms and climate-related anomalies. That’s why we are investing a lot of time and effort in this. It’s critical that we develop the next generation of coastal engineers, and we’re doing everything we can to do that.”     — Robert Emproto     Click here to read the original article

Seven SUNY Korea students (SBU and FIT) successfully finished an internship program with the Korea JoongAng Daily Newspaper from January 10 to 18. ​ This program was organized by the SUNY Korea Career Development Center (CDC) in collaboration with Korea JoongAng Daily in order to provide students a chance to explore careers in journalism, media and marketing. Korea JoongAng Daily Newspaper is the only global, local English newspaper in Korea that issues articles from both JoongAng Ilbo and International New York Times. ​ On January 18, 7 students presented their outcomes and learning points from the internship. This presentation was held at SUNY Korea and the Korea JoongAng Daily CEO, Mr. Chun-gun Cheong, and the SUNY Korea President, Dr. Arthur Lee, were in attendance. After the presentation, the internship completion certificates were delivered to students. Students’ articles will be published on the Korea JoongAng Daily website. ​ One student expressed that through the internship, she gained a lot of things such as patience and good communication skills. SUNY Korea and Korea JoongAng Daily will continue to collaborate to provide valuable opportunities to students.

AI and job interviews: Leveling the playing field   Written by Chihmao HSIEH     In the recent last few years, artificial intelligence has been implemented to handle some of the filtering processes involved in assessing job interviews. A growing number of companies is requiring job applicants to answer questions online via video camera, whereby computer programs then process the video clips and audio transcripts. Assessments of facial expressions, eye movements, voice intonation, and word choice are combined to come up with sets of scores for each applicant.  For now, it appears that most of the companies using this technology are using it only for the initial cut, thus capable of filtering applications easily from tens of thousands to mere dozens. Some AI interview software works by having current employees answer the questions on video, and then evaluating the candidates on how well they match those employees.     The criticism has been swift and wide-ranging. Besides the obvious criticisms related to tying voice intonation and facial expressions to personality or expected job performance, applicants also express unfairness about the unilateral nature of AI interviews, where applicants are unable to correct an AI’s perception in the same way that they can correct a human interviewer while face-to-face. Career development staff at universities lament that AI doesn’t know how to comprehend applicants’ value systems, or appreciate the work motivations stemming from their aspirations or passion. Researchers have found that AI systems are prone to making decisions that reflect racism or sexism, and have called to regulate AI to ensure transparency and accountability. AI also has severely limited ability to recognize humor, which is valuable within creative, entrepreneurial organizations. As a result, some companies such as Korea Airports Corp. have gotten rid of AI interviews because managers were unsure exactly how and what the AI were evaluating. Overall, policymakers have asked whether the cost savings offered by this technology are worth discounting this much of human value and dignity.     As with many technological advances, there are tradeoffs in using AI to assess job interviews.  At the surface, the cost savings are obvious and significant. As communication technology improves and more work goes remote, the physical boundaries of the workplace will open up. HR managers become less confined in recruiting from a local labor market, and companies can benefit from more candidates for each of their open positions. In processing all these extra applications, AI doesn’t suffer from fatigue or the broadest set of human biases. As many AI software chiefs have commented, AI’s purpose here is to complement human-led decisions, without substituting for them completely. Maybe we trust AI’s job placement ability in the future just as much as we trust Google’s search capability today.     But let’s take a step back: the ultimate goal here is to accurately match job seeker to open position. We can design the system with two strategies. In a first scenario, we facilitate the assessment of job applications. That’s what AI technology currently offers to us. In a second scenario, we help job seekers to foster taste in all the large and small companies hiring around the world. But how? I suggest that technology should scrutinize companies, as much as companies want to scrutinize job applicants. For example, a system could collect 24-hour real-time electronic data of employee behaviors at companies, and offer scores of each company’s ability to manage and support communication and collaboration. It might track the daily actual communication between employees, use that data to score the quality and challenge of all workgroups’ actual goals and projects, and offer weekly scores regarding the company’s level of creativity and bureaucracy. In this way, the burden then falls on companies to be more transparent about the quality of their daily internal work environment and the worklife of employees, besides simply relying on technology that robotically sifts through hundreds of thousands of resumes and video interviews.     These two strategies are not mutually exclusive. But the point is that we give some power back to job applicants and level the playing field. Although companies today have more applicants to choose from, applicants today also potentially have more companies to choose from. If a medium-sized company in the USA has opened up their boundaries to the world, then the world should also be able to identify and assess it. We need more employment policies and entrepreneurship acknowledging that job seekers deserve to identify the best companies that are fit for them, not just the other way around. Perhaps one day, job applicants can use AI to help them identify the thousands of companies around the world that are currently hiring, and then see a score that estimates the probability that they won’t like or are too talented for any given company.     Companies could simultaneously get the chance to send a strong signal regarding the quality of their philosophy towards humanity. Perhaps some companies would be willing to pay for the rights to be certified in this kind of applicant-friendly system. They could be proud that they not only welcome shortlisted finalists to interview face-to-face at their offices, but that they are also confident and humble enough to respect job applicants in helping them decide whether their company is good enough for them in the first place. On the other hand, if job applicants paid a nominal subscription fee to use such AI, it would have the added benefit of helping companies to identify those job seekers that signal seriousness about their job hunt (as we might observe with LinkedIn’s subscription service today). These kinds of business models bring some balance back to the equation. If companies use AI job interview software to assess candidates but aren’t willing to share daily or weekly AI data regarding their own internal environment or their own company culture, then they are largely hypocritical.     These kinds of issues regarding the direction of innovation weren’t matters of concern in the past. However, times are changing. As AI advances further and further, part of the system should still ensure that job candidates are valued with some basic standard of dignity, from a human perspective. But at the very least, candidates deserve to be on a similar playing field as companies. If that requires giving job applicants the power to leverage their own AI in assessing the desirability or fit of companies to work for, so be it.      Note:     News story regarding Korea Airports Corp dropping AI interviews: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20211004000214       Click here to read the article

January 6, 2022     In her first State of the State Address on Jan. 5, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the formal designation of Stony Brook University and The University at Buffalo as New York State’s flagship universities as part of her plan for “A New Era for New York.”     A joint statement from the two universities said, “The official recognition of these premier centers of higher education as joint flagships of the State University of New York (SUNY) system reflects the preeminent role that The University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University play statewide, nationally and internationally as models of research and academic excellence. This designation acknowledges the excellence and reputations of our universities and it will further enhance our ability to continue to recruit the world’s most accomplished faculty and attract outstanding students — regardless of their income or socio-economic background — and attract even more highly competitive federal research funding.”     “We are nationally recognized for our ability to produce cutting-edge research at the same time as we offer a world-class education to students from all socio-economic backgrounds, which in turn provides them unmatched social and economic mobility,” said Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis. “Our ambition, as leading public research universities, is to grow our combined annual research expenditures to bring jobs, innovation and renown to New York State. This recognition by the State of New York will strengthen our mission to deliver the benefits of our research, clinical care and education locally, regionally, nationally and globally. We thank Governor Hochul for her decision to designate our campus as one of two SUNY flagships.”     Hochul’s plan includes a number of proposals aimed at higher education in general and Stony Brook specifically, including:     Additional funding to construct a multidisciplinary engineering building on campus Supporting the Stony Brook/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory partnership to launch NeuroAI, an initiative that combines neuroscience and artificial intelligence Expansion of the Stony Brook Center for Clean Water Technology research to include wastewater treatment technology and creation of the Suffolk County Wastewater Management District, both with the goal of protecting Long Island’s aquifer system Funding for the modernization and repair of scientific labs Funding for “Grand Challenges” that will encourage cross-disciplinary research Increased funding to attract world-class faculty and researchers The joint statement noted that across the country, flagship universities are those that provide vital leadership in advancing their home state’s public higher education mission, provide a comprehensive array of professional schools and degree programs, and are proven economic catalysts. “Flagships attract the world’s best and brightest faculty and students and are nationally and internationally recognized for the quality and impact of their research and academic innovation and rigor.”     Stony Brook and Buffalo are both members of the prestigious Association of American Universities, have built reputations as research-intensive institutions with preeminent academic programs, and their combined economic impact on the state exceeds $8.9 billion annually. They enroll nearly 59,000 students, have hundreds of thousands of alumni, have annual research expenditures of over $660 million, and offer more than 700 degree programs across academic disciplines.     Hochul also outlined a healthcare plan aimed at rebuilding and growing the state’s healthcare workforce by 20% over the next five years, with a $10 billion commitment that includes $4 billion to support higher wages and bonuses, and $2 billion for healthcare capital infrastructure and improved lab capacity. The plan also calls for increased training, attracting students by providing financial support for the education of healthcare professionals who work in New York State, supporting career flexibility for direct care workers, investing in digital innovation, making affordable healthcare coverage available to everyone, expanding and improving access to prenatal and postnatal care, establishing a state master plan for aging, and strengthening addiction, suicide, mental health and domestic violence services.     Hochul’s agenda includes nine key components: rebuilding our healthcare economy; protecting public safety and taking strong action against gun violence; investing in New York’s people; investing in New York’s communities; making New York’s housing system more affordable, equitable, and stable; making New York a national leader in climate action and green jobs; rebuilding New York’s teacher workforce and reimagining higher education; advancing New York’s place as a national equity model; and making critical reforms to restore New Yorkers’ faith in their government.     Click here to read the original article

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Future of Engineering Education Written by Hamid Hefazi, PhD Professor & Chair, Mechanical Engineering Department     Convergence and recent advances in numerous emerging technologies are referred to as the era of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).  The term was first proposed in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF).  4IR has major social, cultural, political, and global implications. American writer Alvin Toffler, in his book “Future Shock” published in 1970, was among the first to predict and discuss many of these issues.  Engineering is one of the most crucial professions for achieving the potentials of 4IR. In turn, it is also markedly impacted by it.     Faced with tremendous opportunities and challenges that the 4IR presents, engineering educators must take a critical look at the current state of engineering education and answer a number of hard questions such as: What skill sets are required for future engineers? Do current engineering curricula adequately provide these skills? What is the appropriate balance between theory and practice in engineering education? Is a four-year curriculum adequate to educate engineers of the future? Who should become an engineer?  These are difficult questions, for some of which there are no consensus answers.        Several studies by prominent engineering organizations such as the US National Academy of Engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers have addressed this topic.  While some of their conclusions are different, they all strongly agree on the need for the development of certain attributes beyond the technical training of engineers.  These skills which are referred to as “soft skills”, are considered as essential as technical skills.       4IR presents substantial growth in the scope and scale of problems that engineers need to address. For example, engineering knowledge is now applied to improving the quality of healthcare, the safety of food products, and the operation of financial systems. Many of these problems are multidisciplinary and require teams of experts to address them. The complexity of the problems also requires a “tool-based” approach, integrating advanced technologies such as Computational Methods, Machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence with traditional engineering disciplines.        As former US secretary of education, Richard Riley noted: “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems, we don’t even know are problems yet.” These challenges demand that engineering curricula go beyond traditional technical training. While it is safe to assume that future development in engineering will still be rooted in Mathematics and Physics, many other disciplines will be integrated with engineering. The intersection of biological sciences and engineering is already well established. However, the multidisciplinary nature of future problems is not limited to these areas. For example, understanding Cognitive Sciences play an important role in the engineering design process as well as the development of autonomous robots of the future. Understanding human psychology and human factors is an essential consideration in the development of space travel and space colonization.         It is only by aligning teaching and learning methods with the skills such as lifelong learning, complex problem solving, critical thinking, and cognitive flexibility, we can ensure that today’s students will be able to advance in the future dynamic environment.  Educating future engineers also needs integrating advanced tools in curricula and assigning complex problems that would require the synthesis of concepts from multiple disciplines, applying logical boundary conditions, and examining outcomes.       Engineering work is also the link between social needs and commercial applications. Along with solving technical issues, engineers must also analyze the impact of the products they develop or the systems they design on the environment and on the people using them. In the 4IR era economy, the allure of employment in “big businesses” will be replaced by the success of new industries that start as home businesses.  To thrive in such an economy, innovation, entrepreneurship, a global perspective, communication, and leadership skills are essential.       Finally, attracting the right talent to engineering programs is essential for the future of the profession. The current approach requires that young students join an educational pathway that ultimately results in an engineering degree. If a student enrolled in the wrong math class in 7th grade, she will find it difficult to become an engineer. This approach deprives the profession of many potential talents. A more holistic approach is needed to identify those candidates who have the ability to acquire knowledge rather than those who have certain pre-requisites.        In short, engineering education should focus on strong fundamentals in a wide range of sciences, the ability to acquire and use advanced technology, various softs skills, and most importantly the ability to acquire and apply new knowledge. It could be argued that it is extremely difficult to adequately include all of these elements in four-year engineering curricula. Therefore, the need for education beyond the Bachelor’s degree and technical specialization at the graduate level becomes inevitable.  The American education system is perhaps the first to recognize these challenging requirements and attempt to address them to some level of success.         Click here to read the article

December 13, 2021 Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) is launching a Master of Science in Journalism program. Students are now able to apply for the program and begin working toward their degrees in the 2022-2023 academic year.     An updated version of a previous program, the new master’s in journalism will offer students a firm grounding in multimedia journalism and ethics, while helping them develop skills that are increasingly important in our divided society: inclusive communication and community engagement, data journalism and visualization, and solutions-based journalism.      “Journalism is vital to democracy, but to fill that role, people need to trust journalism,” said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the SoCJ and executive director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. “With this program, the School and its future graduates will help to re-establish trust in journalism by looking critically at data and working alongside communities to find and tell the stories that need to be told. Our graduates, in partnership with the communities they cover, will be able to reflect the reality of individuals’ lived experiences in ways that traditional journalism hasn’t.”     The program is designed for individuals who are new to journalism and early-career media professionals seeking to advance in their careers.     Click here to read the original article

December 14, 2021 Lonnie Wollmuth, professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, was named a recipient of the 2021 Lupus Innovation Award by the Lupus Research Alliance.     Wollmuth’s project, “Diversity of anti-NMDA receptor autoantibodies in lupus patients” is among 11 projects selected, representing a wide range of areas of discovery from probing the development and progression of lupus to pointing to potential personalized therapies. Studying the disease from different vantage points can maximize the overall understanding of the disease, which can lead to more viable treatment options. The award offers up to $150,000 per year total costs for up to two years.      Lupus is an autoimmune disorder where individuals produce antibodies against their own body leading to a wide range of symptoms. Prominent symptoms include brain disorders ranging from memory loss to more severe problems such as epilepsy and psychosis. These symptoms negatively impact quality of life, and treatments are limited.     Wollmuth’s lab will develop strategies targeting the NMDA receptor, a molecule that controls communication between nerve cells to prevent or reduce brain disorders in lupus patients. NMDA receptors are involved in numerous brain functions including higher order processes like learning and memory. In some lupus patients, antibodies are produced that target the NMDA receptor, which alters the functioning of the receptor and may be linked to brain disorders.     Using mouse models, Wollmuth’s research team will first look at the damage caused by individual antibodies targeting the NMDA receptor obtained from different lupus patients, and then see if the damage can be blocked by various agents. His study will lay the foundation for personalized medicine for lupus patients experiencing brain disorders by showing how the NMDA receptor is affected, and by identifying potential therapeutic agents.     “We are proud to support fundamental lupus research through these grants in order to encourage the development of novel and/or improved therapeutic options for the lupus patient community,” said Teodora Staeva, chief scientific officer, Lupus Research Alliance.       Wollmuth received his PhD in physiology and biophysics from the University of Washington, Seattle. Before joining the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1998, he was a senior fellow in the Division of Cell Physiology at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research from 1993 to 1998. He is a co-director of the Center for Nervous System Disorders at Stony Brook University and is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the Biophysical Society.     The Lupus Innovation Award provides support for highly innovative approaches to major challenges in lupus research with a special emphasis on exploring fundamental mechanisms, novel targets for drug development, novel technologies and interdisciplinary approaches.     Click here to read the original article