of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to Connecticut

Volume 40, 1 /  February 2025

As we begin another year focused on advancing STEMM in Connecticut, I am optimistic about the Academy's future. Our commitment to excellence remains strong, and we continue to make progress thanks to our members' dedication and expertise.

To enhance our impact, we need to bring together the best STEMM knowledge that Connecticut has to offer. Our state is a leader in innovation, with strengths in biotechnology, financial and insurance technology, and submarine and aerospace manufacturing—all driven by cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. By uniting Connecticut’s STEMM expertise, we will expand our collective knowledge and position ourselves as leaders in addressing today’s complex challenges.

To achieve this, CASE must unite the brightest minds from diverse fields, creating an environment where new ideas can flourish. Broadening our membership will strengthen partnerships among academia, industry, and government. A broad membership will also strengthen our Technical Boards (learn about them here), which provide critical insights and guidance that drive our initiatives forward. I encourage you to get involved—whether by sharing your expertise, mentoring emerging talent, or participating in collaborative projects. Together, we can build a solid foundation to support our mission and increase our impact.

January also marks the beginning of our new leadership team. With my assumption of the presidency, Mike Ambrose has joined the team as vice president, and Jeff Orszak has started his role as executive director. We once again thank Terri Clark for her many years of service to the Academy. In February, Kerry Shea became our new assistant director. I look forward to collaborating with our team to implement these important initiatives.

The Academy remains committed to serving Connecticut, recognizing the importance of broad technical membership in meeting the needs of our communities and driving economic growth. With your continued support and collaboration, I am confident we will make lasting contributions to society’s progress.

Amy R. Howell, President
CT Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)
Celebrate, Promote, Inform in Service to Connecticut

Comments about this edition of the Bulletin are welcome via jorszak@ctcase.org.

To learn more about the
Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, please visit ctcase.org.

Science and Engineering Notes from Around Connecticut

While Connecticut’s sugar kelp farmers grow kelp primarily as food for humans and animals, farmers say kelp is potentially useful in a wide range of applications, including sustainable fuel, biodegradable packaging, and food preservation, among the options being tested to support the growth of the industry here in Connecticut. Read more.

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the SCBGP aims to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in local, domestic, and foreign markets. The USDA defines specialty crops as fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, tree nuts, maple syrup, honey, horticulture, and nursery crops. Applications must be submitted no later than March 10, 2025. Read more.

Scientists at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station have discovered potent attractants that are specific for spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) (Drosophila suzukii) and do not attract non-SWD species. First detected in Connecticut in 2011, SWD is a serious pest of soft-skinned fruits, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and grapes. The identification of these specific attractants may significantly advance the development of targeted traps for SWD and save millions of dollars in the fruit industry. Read more.

CASE Member Bodhisattwa (Bodhi) Chaudhuri was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). This recognition is AIChE’s highest membership grade, reserved for professionals who have made exceptional contributions to the field of chemical engineering. Chaudhuri holds Professor positions in the Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Institute of Material Sciences (IMS) at the University of Connecticut. Read more.

Nancy J. Brown, CASE Member and the Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine as well as the C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine at Yale, has been reappointed for a second term as Dean of the Yale School of Medicine. Her second five-year term will commence on July 1. Read more.

CASE Member Syam Nukavarapu, professor and chair of biomedical engineering at UConn, was among only twelve individuals inducted into the 2024 Class of Fellows of the Biomedical Engineering Society. Nukavarapu oversees a cross-campus department that includes faculty from the College of Engineering, the School of Dental Medicine, and the School of Medicine. Read more.

CASE Member Nita Ahuja, chair of the Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine and chief of surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, has been appointed as the next dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, along with the role of vice chancellor for medical affairs at the university. Ahuja has led Yale University’s Department of Surgery since 2018, becoming the first woman to do so in its 200-year history. She has also served as Chair of the Yale Medicine Faculty Practice Plan, Associate Cancer Center Director for Surgical Services at the Yale Cancer Center, Chief of Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), and Surgeon-in-Chief for the Yale New Haven Health System, managing 85 operating rooms across seven hospitals. Read more.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection released the 2024 Connecticut Broadband Report, which evaluates the progress made in closing the digital divide, including the expansion, availability, adoption, and affordability of high-speed internet while addressing key challenges to digital equity. Read more.

A project led by Yale to develop quantum technology for practical applications has received a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation. Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage (ERASE), a pilot initiative headed by CASE Member and Yale physicist Steven Girvin, is a collaboration between academia and a Connecticut-based industrial hardware partner aimed at bringing the first practical quantum computers to market. Read more.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development launched a $25M grant program to help supply chain companies in core industries expand and increase production capacity. Priority consideration will be given to manufacturing, semiconductors, insurtech and fintech, biomedical instruments and life sciences, clean energy, and information technology, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Read more.

XingImaging, a leader in advanced research imaging and radiopharmaceutical services, has opened a new state-of-the-art research facility in New Haven. The facility includes a clinic to recruit and evaluate participants for clinical research studies, cGMP radiochemistry laboratories, 2 PET-CT and 1 SPECT-CT scanners, and image analysis capabilities. Read more.

WalletHub.com has released its annual ranking of the Best and Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals in 2025, featuring three Connecticut metro areas in the Top 100. Hartford secured the 24th spot, New Haven the 64th, and Bridgeport the 87th. Ranking was based on 21 relevant metrics, including the quantity and quality of professional opportunities in STEM fields, invention patents per capita, engineering programs and schools, and quality of life. Read more.

During his final week in office, President Biden honored CASE Member Arash E. Zaghi, UConn professor of civil engineering, with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Established in 1996, PECASE is the highest award the federal government bestows, recognizing early career researchers and contributions to far-reaching developments in science and technology. Read more.

Starting in the summer 2025 semester, the sustainable plant and soil systems major at the UConn College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources will be renamed “Plant Science.” This change aligns the major’s name more closely with industry needs and enhances understanding for prospective students. Additionally, graduates with a plant science degree may find it easier to navigate the job market after graduation, as the broader degree name provides flexible alignment with various plant science-related careers and fields. Read more.

Argonne National Laboratory and Yale University researchers, including CASE Member Gary W. Brudvig, the Benjamin Silliman Professor of Chemistry and director of the Yale Energy Sciences Institute, have unveiled the structure of a photosynthetic catalyst that turns light into hydrogen fuel. This finding represents the culmination of 13 years of research providing critical insights into the design of efficient systems for solar-driven hydrogen production. Read more.

The Federal Highway Administration has suspended state electric vehicle infrastructure deployment plans under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. New guidance about the NEVI Formula program will be published for public comment in the spring. Additionally, the approval of all State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment plans for all fiscal years has also been suspended, and no new obligations will occur until the final program guidance is published. Read more.

A study by researchers at the Yale School of the Environment found that communities of color in the U.S. face greater heat exposure and have fewer cooling options than predominantly white communities, and these disparities are increasing. Focusing on the ten largest cities in Connecticut, the study authors- including CASE Member Karen Seto, the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science- found that increasing tree canopy and improving access to home air conditioning are essential for addressing these disparities and enhancing resilience to climate change. Read more.

Snigtha Mohanraj, a STEM student at the New Haven Engineering and Science University Magnet School and a Werth Industry Academic Fellow at Southern Connecticut State University, has secured her first patent. A 2024 Connecticut Technology Council Women of Innovation Youth Category award winner, Snigtha began her independent research in seventh grade, focusing on water contaminants such as oil, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and microplastics. Snigtha will be part of a panel on sustainability at the CASE Annual Dinner on May 28. Read more.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services selected Connecticut to participate in a state total cost of care model: the State Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model (AHEAD Model). CT AHEAD is a collaborative effort between the Office of Health Strategy and the Department of Social Services focused on improving population health, enhancing health equity/reducing disparities in health outcomes, and slowing healthcare cost growth. Read more.

A new study led by Yale researchers, including CASE Member Theodore Holford, the Susan Dwight Bliss Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics and Senior Research Scientist in Biostatistics, and the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network Lung Working Group, estimates that raising the age for tobacco sales to 21 and comprehensively enforcing local, state, and federal laws could result in up to 526,000 premature smoking-attributable deaths being averted across the United States, more than double prior estimates, and 13.3 million life-years gained through 2100. Read more.

Two CASE members were inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. Igor Cherepinksy, director of Sikorsky Innovations at Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, is recognized for his technical achievements and leadership in developing autonomous systems for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Julie Zimmerman, vice provost for planetary solutions and professor at the School of the Environment, Yale University, is honored for her leadership in education and for developing green technologies that enhance the sustainability of engineered systems. Read more.

The laboratory of CASE member Francis Starr, a professor of physics at Wesleyan University, recently published a paper on their research into phase change materials—substances that can transition from one state to another, similar to common transitions between solid and liquid. In this case, however, the material can quickly switch between two distinct solid phases. This has led to the development of a novel model to simulate a phase change that could someday influence practical matters, such as how fast our smartphones process data. Read more.

The Federal Railroad Administration is awarding Connecticut approximately $11.6M for the CTrail Hartford Line Expanded Enhancement Project to increase service and reliability through the addition of a weekday midday round trip from New Haven to Hartford, increase customer service hours at Hartford Union Station, and enhance the connectivity of the existing rail service along the Northeast Corridor, among other activities. Read more.

Pratt & Whitney unveiled their Hydrogen Steam-Injected, Intercooled Turbine Engine concept—a hybrid engine configuration that combines the advantages of the fuel’s cryogenic properties with the thermodynamic benefits of steam injection. Developed under a U.S. Energy Department Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy grant, the engine’s process is complex and requires more study, the early results are encouraging, showing potential for as much as 35% lower energy use. Read more.

Items that appear in the In Brief section are compiled from previously
published sources including newspaper accounts and press releases.  

The following is excerpted from press releases and other news reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (nationalacademies.org).

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is the primary source of federal dietary guidance. It provides recommendations for healthy dietary patterns, including alcohol intake. The last review of alcohol and health conducted for the DGA focused on all-cause mortality in 2020; however, questions related to weight changes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive health, and lactation have not been examined since 2010. To inform the next edition of the DGA, Congress tasked the National Academies with convening an expert committee to independently review the evidence on the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and eight health outcomes, including obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The resulting report presents the committee's findings and conclusions and does not offer dietary recommendations or advice. Read more.

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) are a group of neurodegenerative disorders that impose significant physical, emotional, and financial burdens on individuals, families, and communities. Developing effective strategies to prevent and treat these conditions, which affect millions of people in the United States, remains one of the most urgent priorities in biomedical research today. Consequently, the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have asked the National Academies to convene an expert committee to examine and assess the current state of biomedical research and recommend research priorities aimed at advancing the prevention and treatment of AD/ADRD. This report outlines these research priorities and suggests strategies to overcome barriers to progress. Read more. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation and Congress should direct and support states, localities, regional planning organizations, and other recipients of federal surface transportation funds to pilot test the use of metrics to inform transportation investments that aim to address the needs of all people in a deliberate and equitable manner. This is among the recommendations in this report, called for by Congress, that considers the needs of state and local jurisdictions as they strive to use their federal transportation funds to promote safe and reliable access to life needs such as housing, jobs, health care, and education, and to avoid and mitigate any adverse effects from transportation. Read more. 

Rural areas can offer a rich environment for learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), yet these communities and their students are frequently overlooked in ongoing efforts to expand access to high-quality K-12 STEM education and workforce development. Tackling barriers, often related to funding, and highlighting unrecognized strengths for STEM learning can enhance individuals' ability in rural areas to engage further and contribute to their communities or to broader scientific exploration and discovery. This report recommends that federal, state, and local educational agencies, programs, and other relevant stakeholders work to advance STEM education and workforce development for rural America, in response to a mandate within the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Read more. 

Women represent over half of the U.S. population; however, research on women's health conditions—including those specifically affecting females, such as fibroids, conditions like anxiety that are more prevalent among women, and diseases such as cardiovascular issues that impact women differently—is severely lacking. Medical advancements for women have fallen behind, partly due to a limited understanding of fundamental sex-based differences in physiology. This report outlines specific recommendations for NIH women's health research priorities, training and education efforts to build, support, and maintain a robust women's health research workforce, improving internal structures, systems, and processes, soliciting, reviewing, and supporting women's health research, and ensuring appropriate funding levels. Read more. 

In most state departments of transportation (DOTs), a significant portion of the workforce continues to be eligible for retirement, which could lead to a loss of institutional knowledge. State DOTs and other transportation agencies could benefit from knowledge management (KM) techniques and practices to help identify, capture, and transfer institutional knowledge and support continuous learning. This report presents a research roadmap for promoting KM among state DOTs and other transportation agencies. It consists of 11 research problem statements covering a broad set of research needs that agencies at different stages of readiness for conducting KM research can undertake to support their KM programs. Read more. 

Myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, is increasing worldwide. If current trends continue, 5 billion people could be affected by myopia globally by 2050. Our understanding of myopia has advanced due to improvements in genetics, research using animal models, physiological insights, ocular imaging, epidemiology, environmental studies, and clinical trials of interventional strategies. This report identifies and evaluates the current mechanistic understanding of myopia pathogenesis along with the causes of its rising prevalence. Additionally, this report examines knowledge gaps and barriers to progress and outlines a research agenda aimed at better understanding the biological and environmental factors that may explain the increasing incidence of myopia. Read more. 

As communities become more socially and environmentally conscious, there is growing awareness of some of the adverse impacts of aviation activity, including its contribution to climate change and the resulting social pressure to sometimes discourage air travel. This research report is a guide for airport practitioners to understand the relationships among their airport's activity, economic benefits, and climate change. The guide offers rules of thumb for estimating these changes and effective communication strategies that directly address the most common community concerns. Read more. 

The purpose of the Academy is to "provide guidance to the people and the government of the State of Connecticut... in the application of science and engineering to the economic and social welfare." 

OFFICERS OF THE ACADEMY

Amy R. Howell, President
University of Connecticut

Mike Ambrose, Vice President
MH Ambrose Consulting,
Ambro Enterprises LLC

Tanimu Deleon, Secretary
General Dynamics, Electric Boat

Regis Matzie, Treasurer
RAMatzie Nuclear Technology Consulting, LLC

John Kadow, Past President
Alphina Therapeutics

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jeff Orszak

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Kerry Shea

EDITORS
Leon Pintsov, Executive Editor - Engineering
Pitney Bowes, Inc. (ret.)

Mike Genel, Executive Editor - Medicine
Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics
Yale University School of Medicine
CASE President, 2008-2010

Carolyn Teschke, Executive Editor - Science
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of Connecticut

COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Rebecca Mead, INQ Creative

The Bulletin is published by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, Inc, 222 Pitkin Street, Suite 101, East Hartford, Connecticut, 06108. 860.282.4229, jorszak@ctcase.org. To subscribe, visit ctcase.org.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering is a private, nonprofit public service organization established by Special Act No. 76-53 of the Connecticut General Assembly.

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