June News from SoMAS

Catch up on the latest press featuring SoMAS faculty, staff and alumni!

Stony Brook University is proud to announce this year’s 40 Under Forty honorees and awards celebration, recognizing an exceptional group of young alumni who have distinguished themselves as leaders in their communities. From leading efforts to protect the environment to saving lives on the frontlines of COVID-19, this year’s class of honorees has displayed exceptional fortitude and dedication to addressing global issues. Please join us in celebrating these extraordinary individuals on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at Tribeca Rooftop in New York City.

“The caliber of this year’s honorees is a true testament to the power of a Stony Brook education to make an impact not only in our own community, but around the world,” said Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis. “I am inspired by the strides that these remarkable alumni have made so early in their careers.”

Among this year’s honorees are Rachael Coccia (MA, 2017) and Geoff Bansen (BS, 2010) who are the first two SoMAS alumni to be featured in the Stony Brook University 40 Under 40!

Read the full story on the Stony Brook News site.

 

Press Features

News12: DEC: Shark that washed ashore in Point Lookout found dead

• “Anytime anyone sees a shark like that, they say, ‘I’m never going in the water, I’m scared of sharks, they’re going to bite me, they’re going to attack me,’ but with a mako, they are strictly fish-eaters,” says Christopher Paparo, of the Stony Brook University Marine Scientist Center.

World Economic Forum: Marine protected areas: Just 0.3% of Atlantic ocean off the US coast is protected, study finds

• “A lot of work needs to be done, and quickly, to significantly expand marine protection in vast areas of the US waters that have been largely neglected,” says coauthor Ellen Pikitch, professor of ocean conservation science at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Dan’s Papers: What the Truk: New App Brings Food Trucks & Diners Together

• While he may be from points west, Tousey says the Hamptons and North Fork are an important part of his plan for What the Truk. He really connected with the East End while studying environmental design and planning as a member of Stony Brook Southampton’s very first graduating class, which started in 2007.

Southampton Press: Stony Brook University Study Shows Benefits Of Growing Kelp Near Oyster Farm Beds

• Scientists from Stony Brook University, led by Dr. Christopher Gobler, has discovered that the growth of kelp reduces ocean acidification, an effect of climate change.

The Fish Site: Kelp and bivalve co-culture gets another research nod

• A Stony Brook University-led study titled “Kelp (Saccharina latissima) mitigates coastal ocean acidification and increases the growth of North Atlantic bivalves in lab experiments and on an oyster farm,” reveals that harvesting kelp may be a new way to help keep bivalves such as clams and oysters healthy and more abundant.

Phys.org: Kelp mitigates ocean acidification, a key to the health and abundance of important shellfish

• A new study led by Christopher Gobler, Ph.D., and a team of scientists at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) shows that the presence of kelp significantly reduces ocean acidification, a result of climate change.

Associated Press: NY girding for shark season with more drones, vigilance

• New visitors to the area this summer could include tropical hammerheads, although they typically focus on stingrays and other bottom-dwellers, Chris Paparo, Stony Brook University Marine Sciences Center manager, told Newsday. Also ran on US News & World Report,  Journal Report,  WNYW-TV, Head Topics, Stamford Advocate, Connecticut Post,  The Darien Times, The Hour, Fort Bend Herald, The Pantagraph, Dothan Eagle, Arizona Daily Sun, Rapid Circle Journal, The Independent Record,  Business Fast, Long Island Press and many outlets.

Newsday: This summer, sharks will again share their Atlantic with Long Island swimmers and surfers

• Shark experts and the DEC urged beachgoers to adapt to this age-old hazard by following recommended precautions. Said Stony Brook’s Christopher Paparo: “It’s their ocean. We’re using it.”

Newsday: Shinnecock Bay gets Hope Spot designation for work done to restore it

• It was also a recognition of Stony Brook University’s Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program, which “creates and populates clam sanctuaries, constructs oyster reefs and reseeds seagrass beds” to help restore the bay, with open ocean access through Shinnecock Inlet, to something more approximating its pre-colonial status, when the Shinnecock tribe was its primary steward.

Long Island Press/Associated Press: Long Island Girding for Shark Season With More Drones, Vigilance

• New visitors to the area this summer could include tropical hammerheads, although they typically focus on stingrays and other bottom-dwellers, Chris Paparo, Stony Brook University Marine Sciences Center manager, told Newsday. Also ran in Syracuse.com,

WSHU-FM/NPR: Shinnecock Bay on Long Island receives global recognition

• Ellen Pikitch, a professor of marine conservation science at Stony Brook University, co-led scientific work on the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program. She said in the past decade, the group has seen major changes.

Innovate LI: Shinnecock Bay earns global ecological distinction – Innovate Long Island

• Shinnecock Bay is one of only a handful of Hope Spots along the U.S. East Coast (including three in the Northeast) and the first in New York State. And significantly, it’s “the only one near a major metropolitan region,” according to the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Times Beacon Record: SBU’s Ellen Pikitch helps show gaps in U.S. marine protected areas

• “The mainland of the United States is not well protected” with no region reaching the 10 percent target for 2020, said Ellen Pikitch, Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Sciences at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University and a co-author on the study. “The mid-Atlantic is one of the worst of the worst in that regard. We’re not well positioned and we have no time to waste.”

Southampton Patch: In Environmental Win, Shinnecock Bay Lauded As New Global ‘Hope Spot’

• The bay has been designated a new global “Hope Spot,” by Mission Blue, an international organization that supports the protection of oceans worldwide, a release from the organization said. The distinction is the result of a decade of restorative and scientific work co-led by Ellen Pikitch, Ph.D., Christopher Gobler, Ph.D. and Bradley Peterson, Ph.D. in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, or SoMAS, at Stony Brook University, those involved said. Also ran on MSN.

New York Times (Newsletter): An Exodus From the City’s Public Defense Offices/A Kind of Farm Comes to New York Waters

• Doall became a marine scientist when he grew up — a shellfish specialist at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at Stony Brook University — and an oyster farmer. And then he discovered sugar kelp. Also ran in DNYUZ.

Fox Weather: Kelp is on the way: University partners with New York oyster farmers to reduce ocean acidification

• Researchers at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine Atmospheric Sciences recently published a study using kelp that could potentially reduce ocean acidification and keep bivalves, like oysters and clams, healthy.

Dan’s Papers: Shinnecock Bay Deemed a ‘Hope Spot’

• The designation recognizes scientific work by Ellen Pikitch, director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, and her colleagues Christopher Gobler and Bradley Peterson in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, where a team of scientists, educators and students have worked together to revive the health, biodiversity, and aquaculture potential of the bay.

Newsday: SUNY policy changes to allow for students’ chosen names, pronouns

• Local SUNY officials reacted favorably to the policy changes. Stony Brook officials, in a statement, said the campus will move to implement them. “Stony Brook University’s mission and vision are built on the principles of providing a world-class education in a caring and respectful environment for our campus community.”

Projin News:  Is the Red Sea really red?

• “I don’t think anyone knows for sure how it got its name,” said Karine Kleinhaus, an associate professor of marine and atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook University in New York. Also ran on MSN.

Medium: Are Hurricanes More Powerful Because of Climate Change?

• A recent study by researchers at Stony Brook University examined hurricanes in the Atlantic basin for the past 25 years and found that storms experienced rapid intensification more often than their historical counterparts.

New York Times: The Johnny Appleseed of Sugar Kelp

• Mike Doall grew up and in the waters off the south coast of Long Island with a mother who saw a beautiful day as a great excuse to take him to the beach instead of school. He helped his family with an ambitious vegetable garden in Massapequa Park and earned a master’s degree in marine environmental science before becoming a shellfish specialist at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. Also ran in DNYUZ,

Times Beacon Record: SBU’s Christoper Gobler, Mike Doall show how kelp helps oysters

• Kelp, and other seaweed, may prove to be an oyster’s best friend. And, no, this isn’t a script for a new episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Akilli Gundem/New York Times: The Johnny Appleseed of Sugar Kelp

• Doall grew up on, and in the waters of, the South Shore of Long Island with a mother who considered a beautiful day a fine excuse to take him to the beach instead of school. He helped his family with an ambitious home garden in Massapequa Park and got a master’s degree in marine environmental science before becoming a shellfish specialist at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Times Beacon Record: Local state officials sponsor bill to protect Flax Pond tidal wetland

• The Flax Pond tidal wetland area is about 150 acres and was acquired by the state in 1966. Is it under the joint jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Stony Brook University.

News Explorer.net: Is the Red Sea really red?

• “I don’t think anyone knows for sure how it got its name,” said Karine Kleinhaus, an associate professor of marine and atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook University in New York.

AZO CleanTech: Climate Change is Worsening the Coastal Impacts of Hurricanes

• Extreme weather expert Kevin Reed, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, says that ongoing research shows climate change is worsening the coastal impacts of hurricanes — which are becoming wetter and more intense causing negative environmental and economic effects for our coastal communities.

National Geographic: One of the best tools for predicting COVID-19 outbreaks? Sewage.

• “Unfortunately it took a pandemic to even realize how important and exciting this field of research is,” says environmental chemist Arjun Venkatesan at Stony Brook University in New York.