Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

  Thomas R. Sexton ’79, PhD and Margherita (Terry) Sexton ’85, MS ’88 share a long history with Stony Brook University. Both obtained degrees from Stony Brook — graduating from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences — their children attended the university, and Tom helped shape the College of Business into what it is today. They met as undergraduates at St. John’s University, and in 1977, Tom was hired at Stony Brook for a research associate position in the W. Averell Harriman College for Urban and Policy Sciences. He began teaching, and never left. “I’ve been teaching at Stony Brook for 47 years now, and they can’t get rid of me!” Click here to read the original article. 

At Stony Brook, the collaborative spirit among students is palpable, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) team of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, working together on tissue regeneration research.   The VIP Program unites undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members in multidisciplinary teams to work on long-term, real-world projects in research, design and entrepreneurship. Two years ago, Miriam Rafailovich, distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, along with Marcia Simon, professor in the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology in the School of Dental Medicine; Gurtej Singh, associate professor in the Department of Surgery in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony University; and Alexander Dagum, MD, chief of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division in the Renaissance School of Medicine, discussed whether it would be possible to 3D print skin tissue and posed this question to the VIP students. Click here to see the original article

International research team led by SBU’s Jin Koda to present “molecular cloud” research at national meeting The mystery of star formation in galaxies continues to intrigue astronomers worldwide. Yet, a key question remains just how and why and where do stars form in the Universe? A new discovery from an international team of astronomers provides a significant clue to star formation. Led by Jin Koda, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the research team used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and investigated the far edge of the spiral galaxy M83, at a distance of 15 million light years from Earth. They uncovered 23 concentrations of dense molecular gas called “molecular clouds,” which are evidence of the birthing region of stars. Click here to see the original article

Two students from Stony Brook’s School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) won Hearst Journalism Awards for video storytelling and feature writing.  Rafael Fonseca Cruvinel, a senior, placed 11th of the top 20 winners in the country for his feature story on pop culture’s influence on Oheka Castle.  Recent graduate Justin Mitselmakher also placed 11th out of 20 in the multimedia narrative storytelling category for his video on the history of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., as told through the eyes of a New Yorker.  “Our students tell stories that regularly rank among the best student journalism in the country,” said George Giokas, a journalism instructor who oversees the Hearst nominations. “I’m proud of their work, particularly as the recognition helps them to grow in confidence in their abilities and experience.” Click here to read the original article

The National Academy of Inventors, Stony Brook University Chapter (NAI-SBU) presented its 2023 Young Academic Inventors Award to Sima Mofakham, Jann Stavro and Yifan Zhou. The winners, announced during the NAI-SBU Chapter Annual Meeting in May, presented a short lecture of their inventions at the Young Academic Inventors Award Symposium via Zoom on December 11. They were each honored with a certificate and a $1,000 award. Click here to read the original articles.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recognized Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) for its public commitments to decarbonizing its operations and improving resilience in the face of climate change. As part of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), HHS announced December 3 that SBUH was one of more than 130 organizations to join the White House-HHS Health Sector climate pledge, committing to align with the Biden administration’s goal of reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Click here to see the original article.

The Cardiothoracic Surgery Division at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) has once again earned the distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG or heart bypass surgery) procedures. The three-star rating awarded for the July 2020 to June 2023 analytic period denotes the highest category of quality and places SBUH among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the United States and Canada. Stony Brook University Hospital received its first three-star rating in 2017 and has consistently received top ratings since. “At Stony Brook, we take great pride in our comprehensive heart program that has a long legacy of bringing the highest quality standards to benefit our patients and their families,” said Carol Gomes, chief executive officer, Stony Brook University Hospital. “And we remain laser-focused on serving our community with the most advanced technology, our outstanding cardiovascular staff and the full spectrum of lifesaving cardiac interventions.” Click here to read the original article.

Stephen A. Koch, Stony Brook University professor emeritus in the Department of Chemistry, was recently named the recipient of the 2023 American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry “for pioneering contributions to bioinorganic chemistry and fundamental synthetic coordination chemistry, and for exceptional service to the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry.” The award is sponsored by Strem Chemicals.  Among his many responsibilities that garnered this accolade, Koch was responsible for the logistical task of scheduling the various Inorganic Chemistry Division oral and poster sessions at multiple National ACS meetings for more than a decade. Accordingly, he will be honored at the ACS award ceremony in March 2024, in conjunction with its annual conference, where he will provide an award address, and there will be a day-long symposium in his honor. Click here to read the original art article

When Usama Shaikh, the assistant chief diversity officer in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, got to Stony Brook University, he knew it was special. The university has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, something Shaikh saw from his first interview, but he wanted to do something to confirm and even celebrate the progress. So, he approached Judi Brown Clarke, Stony Brook’s vice president for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, about making that happen. The result? A recognition from Insight into Diversity’s 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. Click Here to read the original article  

20 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Games on SNY The Stony Brook University Athletics Department has announced a linear television agreement with SNY for 20 basketball games during the 2023-24 season. SNY will air 10 Stony Brook men’s basketball games and 10 women’s basketball games this season. The 20-game package is the largest linear television deal in program history. As of November 2, Stony Brook’s 20-game deal with SNY to broadcast men’s and women’s basketball is the largest college basketball linear television agreement of any mid-major program in the Tri-state area. Click here to read the original article.

STONY BROOK, NY, October 24, 2023 – Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) has been named among the top tier of hospitals nationwide for stroke and cardiac care, according to Healthgrades, a leading resource that evaluates approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide solely on patient outcomes. Stony Brook has been named as one of: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care™ (2015-24), making it one of only two hospitals in New York State to receive this distinction for 10 consecutive years. America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care™ (2016-24), the only hospital in New York State to receive this award for 9 consecutive years. This places SBUH within the top 5% for stroke care and the top 10% for cardiac care — reflecting SBUH’s outstanding clinical performance and distinguishes it as one of the country’s leading hospitals. Healthgrades identified the 100 Best Hospitals for 16 of the most common specialty care areas – recipient hospitals represent the top 2% of hospitals for each specialty. These newest rankings come on the heels of Stony Brook achieving the highest level of national recognition as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2023.   Click here to read the original article.  

STONY BROOK, NY – October 23, 2023 – The American Physical Society (APS) announced that Derek Teaney, Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, is among the organization’s 2023 Fellows. This distinction recognizes Professor Teaney as a leading physicist whose research and service as an educator have helped advance the frontiers of science and technology. Professor Teaney’s research involves Quantum Chromodynamics, which describes the nearly massless particles called quarks and gluons that exist within the nucleus of every atom. When nuclei are crashed into each other at high speeds, these particles form an extremely hot and dense state of matter known as quark-gluon plasma, which existed a microsecond after the big bang. Professor Teaney’s work has helped elucidate these collisions, painting a more complete picture of the quark-gluon plasma in the very early universe. Click here to read the original article.  

Stony Brook University’s admissions application rate and enrollment experienced new highs in the 2023-2024 academic year, along with its largest-ever incoming first-year class. The increases in application and enrollment rates were announced by Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Retention Dawn Medley. The increases come as the university continues to build momentum, including being named a New York State flagship university as well as the anchor institution of The New York Climate Exchange, and receiving a $500 million endowment from the Simons Foundation. Click here to read the original article.

Chris Johnson, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry, was announced as the winner of the 2023 Stony Brook Foundation Discovery Prize on September 18. The $200,000 Discovery Prize is awarded to an early-career Stony Brook faculty member in the STEM disciplines whose pioneering project embraces risk and innovation and embodies the potential of discovery-driven research. It is intended to advance and support the career of a rising star on the Stony Brook faculty, whose ideas and research may be so revolutionary that traditional funding agencies may be unlikely to provide support. At the Discovery Prize finals in the Charles B. Wang Center Theatre, Johnson presented his research proposal, “A New Platform to Track the Chemistry of Climatically Relevant but Currently Underaddressed Ultrafine Aerosol Particles.” Click here to read the original article.

Stony Brook ranked #1 among public universities in New York, #26 among public universities in the U.S. and #58 nationally in 2024 Best Colleges Stony Brook University has achieved its highest-ever rankings — and the highest rank ever for a SUNY institution — in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 America’s Best Colleges publication. Stony Brook, New York’s flagship university, is ranked #58 among national universities, a 19-position jump from #77 a year ago, which had been the university’s previous best ranking. SBU is also #1 among public universities in New York for the second year in a row and #26 among public universities nationwide, a five-spot increase from 2023. Stony Brook is tied with the University of Connecticut in the national rankings, and maintained its status as the top public university in New York. It also was ranked #12 among national universities for social mobility, tied for second among all AAU institutions.  Click here to read more