Spotlight on the Sciences

QT H E M A G A Z I N E O F

Queens CollegeVOL. X, NO. 1 FALL 2004

YOUR INVITATION TO OCTOBER 2 HOMECOMING INSIDE!

Spotlight on the Sciences

USE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE TO RESERVE TODAY! THIS IS YOUR ONLY NOTICE!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2004 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM

FOR ALL ALUMNI

COME BACK FOR THE DAY – CATCH UP ON A LIFETIME

HOMECOMING DAYThe day begins with registration and continental breakfast at 9:30 am in the Music Building and

continues with lectures, exhibits, campus films, lunch with classmates, and campus tours. President Jim Muyskens will present 50th Anniversary Medals to the Class of ’54. There will be special

hospitality for the classes of ’44 and ’54 and a closing reception at 4:30 pm. Dress is casual. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring your yearbook, photos, and camera!

Due to planning requirements (catering, seating, etc.), you must register by Monday, September 13. (Early replies greatly appreciated.) Sorry, we will not be able to accommodate walk-ins. Do you know

graduates not in our database? Invite them to Homecoming and enjoy the day together.

Visit www.qc.cuny.edu/alumni_affairs for latest Homecoming details.

FREE ON-CAMPUS PARKING

See you October 2!

3

THIS ISSUE: In the first of a series of special themed issues, we examine thesciences at Queens, the research beingdone by faculty and the careers our students have made after graduation.

Photon Initiative: Finding a New Way to Look at Cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

By Bob Suter

Fashioning a Liberal Arts Curriculum for the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

By Donald Scott

Fall 2004 Festival of Art . . . . . 9

Alumni Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

What Can You Do with aScience Degree?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

By Leslie Jay & Donna Shoemaker

QC News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Maria Terrone

EDITOR

John Cassidy

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Dyanne Maue

STAFF WRITER

Jacquelyn Southern

DESIGNER

Georgine Ingber

Photos: Nancy Bareis cover, pp. 2-6, 16(Halperin), 17 (Heilman, Michels);

Kathryn McGlynn, back cover

We welcome your letters. Send them to:Q Magazine, Queens College, CUNY,Kiely Hall 1009, Flushing, NY 11367

THE MAGAZINE OF

Queens College

Q

Vol. X, No. 1, Fall 2004

COMMENCEMENT 2004June 3 was a beautiful day for the college’s nearly 4,000 graduates and theirfamilies. Students received warm congratulations from U.S. Senator CharlesSchumer, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall ’72, and a number of otherdignitaries. Honorary doctorates were awarded to jazz great Jimmy Heath, thefounder of the jazz studies program at the college, and research scientist JeffreyKordower ’80 (see page 14 for a profile). Once again, the complete Commence-ment ceremony was broadcast live on the Web and is available for viewing onthe QC homepage (www.qc.cuny.edu).

Cover: Bonnie Gersten (Chemistry) working with students in her lab (see page 4).

While the glint of gold may blind some, forBonnie Gersten (Chemistry) it offers a newway of seeing. And it may mean hope formany afflicted with one of mankind’s mostlethal maladies. “It’s a project to usebiosensors for cancer detection,” she says,describing her novel concept for a nonsur-gical way to detect lung cancers using acombination of fiber optics and nanoparti-cles of gold.

Gersten was recently selected to receivea $200,000 grant for her project. The pres-tigious James D. Watson grant was award-ed in May by the New York State Office ofScience, Technology and AcademicResearch (NYSTAR). Only ten awardswere given statewide to, in GovernorGeorge Pataki’s words, “our finest youngbiotechnology scientists and engineers.”The awardees, who all have received theirdoctorates in the last five years, are based

at universities including Rockefeller,Cornell, and Columbia.

“Dr. Gersten’s research,” said RussellW. Bessette, executive director of NYS-TAR, “could lead to the creation of biosen-sors that improve our ability to detect can-cer at an earlier stage, and it will alsostrengthen Queens College’s role in devel-oping new biotechnology innovations.”

In receiving this grant, Gersten is fulfill-ing part of the mission of the CityUniversity of New York’s PhotonicsInitiative, a universitywide effort launchedin 2000 to make CUNY one of the coun-try’s premier research centers in photonics.Photonics seeks to use laser beams, fiberoptics, and as-yet-to-be-developed materi-als and technologies to create new ways touse light energy (photons) in the fields ofmedicine, communications, and militarydefense.

FIGHTING KLINGONS AND CANCERMention the word photon and, for

many, it conjures up images of CaptainKirk launching bursts of photon torpedoesat an attacking Klingon spaceship in a StarTrek battle. That scenario may seem a littlefarfetched, but, like much of sciencefiction, it does have theoretical underpin-nings in current scientific thinking.

“There’s nothing fantastic in this,”explains Lev Deych (Physics). “Light canexert pressure. As such, it can move things,it can crack things, it can crush things,” heexplains in soft, modulated tones resonantwith his origins in Tajikistan, one of theformer Soviet Republics. Deych, whocame to Queens in 2001, was the first to behired under the Photonics Initiative.

“Deych and Gersten are building onstrengths that exist at CUNY and at Queensas well,” observes Thomas Strekas,

Bonnie Gersten encourages students to work with her in the laboratory. “You don’t need to be the next Einstein to work well in thelaboratory setting,” she says.

Photon Initiative: Finding a New Way to Look at Cancer

By Bob Suter

Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE . FALL 20044

Dean of Mathematics and NaturalSciences, referring to the presence on cam-pus of Harry Gafney (Chemistry), theoreti-cian Alexander Lisyansky (Physics), andAzriel Genack (Physics).

“Genack really developed the concept ofthe photonic band gap,” Gersten says, refer-ring to the area of photonics that is the focusof research at Queens. She then explainshow the concept, which has been around lit-tle more than a decade, is propelling herefforts: “It’s really opened up an area ofengineering. . . . The physics has been devel-oped. Now, what can we do with it?”

Prior to coming to Queens, Gersten hadworked as a materials engineer at the ArmyResearch Lab in Aberdeen, MD, withwhich she still maintains a working rela-tionship. “I’m primarily interested in syn-thesis of materials and developing them fornew applications,” she says. For example,Gersten has worked with boron carbidenanoparticles and nanowires to improve thehardness of armor. She is also researchingways to enhance the receptivity of antennas.

“Photonic band gap,” she continues, “isthe frequency in which light is not permit-ted.” Some of the same materials she isworking with for armor applications may,when combined with the right substances,produce photonic crystals that can controlaspects of laser light. This could lead tomore precise applications. And this iswhere her research in chemistry ties in withDeych’s research in physics.

A FIRE ON A HILL“The name photonics,” Deych observes

dryly, “is a kind of a misnomer. It justsounds cool. In a broad sense it encom-passes almost all literature in optics. In amore narrow sense, when people talk aboutphotonics they have in mind more moderntypes of structures in which light exhibitsrather unusual properties – artificial struc-tures which hadn’t been designed or creat-ed ten years ago.”

Deych uses the analogy of the develop-ment of semiconductors, the materials thatmade possible the personal computer andother technologies that have changed theways we work and communicate.“Scientists looked at them as trash thatcould not be used because they wereextremely unpredictable. It’s only as scien-tists devised ways to purify these sub-stances that they became suitable material.This is when the whole revolution began.”

Deych finds himself in a position not

unlike one of those early semiconductorpioneers. Only, where they were trying tofind better materials to transmit electronicimpulses, he is working on better materialsto transmit impulses of light.

“In a way we’re getting back to the dayswhen people would transmit information bysetting fires on hills,” he says, pausing to letthat image take hold, then adding: “but in amuch more sophisticated way. If there islight, it means one thing. If there is no light,it means another. If light is this intensity, itis one bit of information; if it is that intensi-ty, it is another bit of information.”

“The main idea of photonics is to findways to monitor wave light, to send lightwhere we want it to go, to change the prop-erties of light the way we want to change itand then use it for various applications.And this has been done for a long timealready,” he says, citing the use of opticalfibers and lasers.

BUILDING A BETTER LASERBut science always looks for a better

way. Deych proceeds to explain the con-cept of controlled spontaneous emission oflight, a way to theoretically transmit lightover great distances with minimal or noloss. This is the most important step in cre-ating more efficient types of lasers. Thereis also the potential to use photonics withsemiconductors to create significantlyfaster, more energy-efficient optical com-

puters. And, as semiconductors were thesubstance essential to creating the last greattechnological revolution, the next revolu-tion may be built on photonic crystals.

“What is new about photonic crystals,”Deych says, referring to the micro-sizedelements Gersten is creating in her lab, “isnow we’re devising ways to control lightpropagation in a much more sophisticatedway.” Some of the applications he foreseesinclude optical switches, new types of opti-cal filters, and so-called super lenses moresophisticated than anything we have now.

“It’s a nice goal to replace wires withfibers,” explains Deych, “but, once you getto the smaller and smaller scale, you have alot of problems controlling light,” which isthe very essence of his research funded bya grant from the Air Force Office ofScientific Research.

Despite the demands of research, stu-dents come first for Deych and Gersten.Indeed, Deych spent part of his summerrecruiting students at Moscow StateUniversity for QC’s graduate program.

“I'm also here to teach undergraduateshow to do research,” says Gersten. “Ihave five students I'm presently workingwith this summer and I have one graduatestudent and one post doc. What I’m try-ing to do,” she declares emphatically, “ismake a difference. And, if nothing else, atleast teach my students how to make adifference.”

Lev Deych’s summer plans included encouraging students at Moscow State University to study physics at Queens. “If I convince 10 people to apply, I will consider the trip a success.”

5FALL 2004 . Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE

At the beginning of the spring2003 semester, President JamesMuyskens invited the Queens

College community to address the ques-tion of what we want our students toknow and be able to do as a result oftheir college education. He established aspecial Task Force on General Education– composed of faculty from all four divi-sions and all professorial ranks – andchallenged it to think deeply about whatis the ideal undergraduate curriculum. At the end of its three-semester effort,the Task Force would prepare a compre-hensive final report and set of recom-mendations.

President Muyskens’ call for a thoroughreview of general education is especiallytimely as it has been nearly a quartercentury since the college last did so. Inthat time, unprecedented changes haveswept the world, especially in the waysin which knowledge is created, organ-ized, and disseminated. These changesrequire us to review and, if necessary,revise our curriculum to ensure that itserves the mission of the college and theneeds of our students.

The college is not alone in undertakingthis examination of general and liberaleducation. Indeed, our sister institutionsin CUNY are engaged in a similar

process; Yale University completed astudy last year; and this spring HarvardUniversity issued a report calling for sig-nificant changes in the core curriculum ithad established in the mid-1970s.

The Task Force embraced PresidentMuyskens’ challenge as an opportunity,rare in any academic lifetime, for thecollege community to address the mostfundamental questions facing it. It takesseriously the college’s motto, “We Learnin Order to Serve.” A vision of the uni-versity as a humane force in a globalsociety has guided its discussion anddeeply influenced its recommendations.At the end of their undergraduate career,our students should have gone beyondsimply acquiring knowledge and analyti-cal and communicative skills; theyshould be prepared to take their place ascitizens of the world.

The explosion of knowledge over thepast three decades demands a re-exami-nation of what our students, as educatedcitizens, should know and be able to do.Entirely new disciplines have arisen,enormous volumes of new informationhave been added to established fields,and “the” literary canon now extendsacross the globe. How can we absorb andaccommodate this new knowledge andprepare students to understand it?

Fashioning a Liberal ArtsCurriculum for the 21st Century

By Don Scott, Dean of Social Sciences

Computers were experimental objects inthe 1970s, and there was no Internet todisseminate information in microseconds.Information literacy has a very differentmeaning today than even 10 years ago,much less 30. Technology plays a largerrole in our lives than at any other time inhistory. What role should the college playin making technology understandable?Usable? How do we help our studentsaddress the moral and ethical issues asso-ciated with that technology?

In Queens, the most ethnically diversecounty in the nation, cultures once oceansaway are now next-door neighborhoods.Our campus has become a microcosm ofthis global society. In what ways shouldour curriculum enable students to thrive insuch diversity? The ever-faster speed oftransportation and information transfermirrors the quickened pace of daily life.How can we best prepare our graduates tomake intelligent decisions in the face ofsuch rapid change? In an increasingly cyn-ical society, what role can education playin addressing ethics and the nature andmeaning of a participatory democracy?

There is an even more compellingreason for Queens College toundertake a review at this time, a

reason that goes to the heart of the pro-foundly democratic and uniquely

In Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, cultures

once oceans away are now next-door neighborhoods. Our campus has

become a microcosm of this global society. In what ways should our

curriculum enable students to thrive in such diversity?

7FALL 2004 . Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGELeft: Dean Donald Scott in front of the newly renovated Powdermaker Hall

American mission with which the collegewas founded and which it has long con-tinued to serve. Today, unfortunately,many would argue that liberal educationis a relic of the past, suitable only for thefew who can afford to attend expensive,well-endowed private institutions. Thetruth, of course, is just the opposite. Theliberal education that a diverse, heavilyimmigrant-based, urban public institutionsuch as Queens College has been dedicat-ed to is more essential than ever.

For thousands of students otherwise cutoff from the possibility of higher educa-tion, Queens offers access to an educationthat leads to a better life. Just as impor-tant, the college has long provided its stu-dents with a more profound kind of entryinto a broader world of knowledge,understanding, and appreciation, expand-ing the mind and heart, while fosteringunderstanding of the ethical dimensionsof individual and collective behavior andresponsibility.

Two issues have dominated the nationaldiscussion of general education. The firsthas to do with the character of knowledgeitself. As Vartan Gergorian, president ofthe Carnegie Corporation and formerpresident of Brown University and theNew York Public Library, put it, “Thefundamental problem underlying the dis-jointed curriculum [that characterizesmost of higher education] is the fragmen-tation of knowledge itself. HigherEducation has atomized knowledge bydividing it into disciplines, sub-disci-plines, and sub-sub-disciplines – breakingit into smaller and smaller unconnectedfragments of academic specialization.”This is not a trivial problem, for asGergorian says, “understanding the natureof knowledge, its unity, its varieties, its limitations, and its uses and abuses is necessary for the success of ourdemocracy.”

The second issue has to do with what isoften referred to as “critical thinking.”

Few refrains have been more insistent inthe many recent calls for reform than theneed for “critical thinking.” Studentsmust understand that knowledge is con-structed from “data” and “evidence”(themselves subject to debate and dis-pute); they need to learn to identify and

evaluate different viewpoints; to under-stand how different kinds of argumentsare constructed – to recognize theassumptions and purposes that informthem – and evaluate them; and they needto learn how to construct their own logi-cal and persuasive arguments.

These two concerns have shaped theTask Force’s report and recom-mendations. In an academic world

in which knowledge is increasingly frag-mented, specialized, and professionalizedwhile also crossing disciplinary bound-aries in unprecedented ways, general edu-cation must enable students to make con-nections across course and disciplinaryboundaries and between their educationand the constantly changing world.Moreover, the Task Force believes thatgeneral education should not be confinedto a set of courses taken only at the outsetof a student’s undergraduate career; itmust extend throughout the whole of it.Accordingly, it recommends a two-tiersystem of areas-of-knowledge require-ments, with three courses, designedaround integration and synthesis, to betaken in students’ last two years.

The capacity for critical thinking is also afundamental goal that must be addressedthrough the course of a liberal education.But rather than consider “critical think-ing” a discrete “ability” to be taught in afew basic courses, the Task Force hasidentified a set of core critical abilitiesthat constitute critical thinking. It recom-mends that these abilities be incorporatedinto general education requirements, andthat the responsibility for equipping stu-dents with these abilities be suffusedthroughout the curriculum and embeddedin courses at every level.

The Report and Recommendations of thePresident’s Task Force on GeneralEducation will be presented to the collegecommunity on September 1 for discus-sion and debate, consideration by theUndergraduate Curriculum Committee,and a vote by the Academic Senate. Themembers of the Task Force look forwardto a lively discussion and feel confidentthat the final result will be of great bene-fit to all our students and the reputationof the college.

In spring 2003 the Task Force conducteda series of faculty and student forums,solicited opinions from across the com-munity, and presented its initial report tothe President. That fall the Presidentreleased the report, which served as theframework for yearlong discussions.During the fall the Task Force held aseries of faculty forums on the report;members met with chairs’ committees of each division, as well as with theUndergraduate Curriculum Committee of the Academic Senate. In addition, thecoordinator and other members of theTask Force met regularly with the presi-dent, vice president, and chairs of theAcademic Affairs Committee of theStudent Government. In late Novemberthe Student Government held an openforum on the report that members of theTask Force attended.

On the basis of these discussions, theTask Force organized working groups toexamine four key dimensions of generaleducation: The Entry Experience, Areasof Knowledge, Suffusing Critical Abilitiesthroughout the Curriculum, and AnIntegrative Capstone Experience.

These working groups, with over 60 faculty and staff members, met intensive-ly for eight weeks in the spring and pro-duced a number of suggestions. Finally,the Task Force drew heavily on theefforts of these groups and the ideasgenerated in various forums to produceits final Report and Recommendations.

Task Force MembersAli Ahmed, Comparative LiteratureJune Bobb, Africana Studies andEnglishMartin Braun, MathematicsMary Bushnell-Grenier, ElementaryEducationRaymond Erickson, MusicAllan Ludman, Earth andEnvironmental SciencesFrederick Purnell, PhilosophyRobin Rogers-Dillon, SociologyDonald Scott, Dean of Social Sciencesand Professor of History, Coordinator

How the Task Force Worked

Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE . FALL 20048

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QUEENS COLLEGEFALL 2004 FESTIVAL OF ART

Your guide to the best of the arts in Queens

SPECIAL PULL-OUT CALENDAR

Clockwise from top left: author Tom Wolfe, Diagonal Route by Professor Emeritus Clinton Hill, Still Life with Amphora and Fish by artist Yiannes, Louis Armstrong with wife,Lucille, Clara’s Dream: A Jazz Nutcracker, QC music director, Michael Mossman, choreographer Yin Mei.

AUGUST 20–OCTOBER 24, 2004LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM IN HIS SPARE TIMELouis Armstrong was a world-famous trumpet

player, vocalist, and actor. He per-formed an average of 300 concertseach year, with his frequent toursto all parts of the world earninghim the nickname “AmbassadorSatch.” This exhibit looks at how

Pops passed frequent lulls in his busy touringschedule, and explores the private world of theoffstage Louis Armstrong. The Museum is locat-ed at 34-56 107th St., Corona, NY 11368. Forinformation, call 718-478-8274.

SEPTEMBERSEPTEMBER 9–OCTOBER 27, 2004QUEENS COLLEGE ART CENTER Rosenthal Library, 6th FloorDENNIS CADY: BY LAND OR BY SEA, PAINTINGS, PRINTS AND SCULPTURE,1982–2004GALLERY TALK AND RECEPTION:Thursday, September 9, 5–8 pm. New Yorklandscape painter Dennis Cady, based in NewYork City and the Hudson Valley, will exhibitover 50 works, including paintings, prints, water-colors, and sculpture. His richly colored land-scapes, including those of the Hudson Valley,Long Island, the Catskill and Adirondack regions,and the Northwest from where he hails, capturethe spirit of the land and the changing moods of each unique setting. Hours: Mon–Thurs, 9 am–8 pm; Fri, 9 am–5 pm. Closed weekendsand holidays.

20MONFACULTY RECITAL: Art Songs and OperaticArias. Meredith Parsons McComb, soprano, andCharles Burkhart, piano. LeFrak Concert Hall,12:15 pm.

23THURSALUMNI COMPOSERS CONCERT: Leo Kraft’45 and Friends, with Morey Ritt ’65, piano.LeFrak Concert Hall, 12:15 pm.

30THURS FACULTY RECITAL: Jan-Piet Knijff performingon the Maynard-Walker Memorial Organ. LeFrakConcert Hall, 12:15 pm.

OCTOBER7THURSALUMNI CONCERT: Daijiro Ukon (MA ’04) conducting the Queens Sinfonietta in PierrotLunaire by Arnold Schönberg. LeFrak ConcertHall, 12:15 pm.

OCTOBER 13–DECEMBER 15, 2004GODWIN-TERNBACH MUSEUMKlapper Hall, Room 405RECENT ACQUISITIONS: 1998–2004A selection of gifts generously donated to the Museum by alumni and friends since 1998, representing works in all media, periods, andcultures. Free public programs include a walk-through of the exhibition and guest lectures by noted curators and scholars.Hours: Mon–Thurs, 11 am–7 pm; Sat, 11 am–5 pm. For program information andschedules, call 718-997-4724.

17SUNALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: AmericanPremiere of Felix Mendelssohn’s Humboldt cantata, James John, conductor. Elebash RecitalHall, CUNY Graduate Center (5th Avenue and34th Street), 3 pm.

21THURSQUEENS COLLEGE CHOIR AND CHORUS:James John and Cindy Bell, conductors. LeFrak Concert Hall, 12:15 pm.

21–24THURS–SUNTHE COLLEGE PLAYS: A festival of world premiere short plays in college settings,directed by Susan Einhorn. Rathaus Hall, M 11.Thurs, 7 pm; Fri & Sat, 8 pm; Sun, 3 pm.$13/$10 QCID, seniors, alumni. For ticket information, call 718-997-3095.

27WEDQUEENS COLLEGE ORCHESTRA: MauricePeress, music director. Smetana, Ma Vlast (MyCountry). LeFrak Concert Hall, 12:15 pm.

28–31THURS–SUNTHE COLLEGE PLAYS: A festival of world premiere short plays in college settings,directed by Susan Einhorn. Rathaus Hall, M 11.Thurs, 7 pm; Fri & Sat, 8 pm; Sun, 3 pm.$13/$10 QCID, seniors, alumni. For ticket infor-mation, call 718-997-3095.

NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 2, 2004–JANUARY 9, 2005LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME: LOUISARMSTRONG AND THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFEFrom his grandmother, to his mother and sister, to his four wives, women played animportant role in the development of LouisArmstrong as man and musician. The Museum is located at 34-56 107th St., Corona, NY11368. For information, call 718-478-8274.

NOVEMBER 3–DECEMBER 23, 2004QUEENS COLLEGE ART CENTERRosenthal Library, 6th FloorYIANNES: CERAMIC SCULPTURECo-sponsored by the Foundation for HellenicCulture, New York City. Queens College GalleryTalk and Reception: Thursday, November 4, 5–8pm. The Greek-born sculptor and multimediaartist known as Yiannes will exhibit his clay sculp-tures, spanning several decades of work. Yiannes,who teaches in the Art Department of QueensCollege as well as in its Continuing Education pro-gram, utilizes various materials with his clay, suchas wood, rope, wire, and glass, to achieve maxi-mum expression. His metaphorical works, richwith symbolism, also convey something of theland and earth of his Greek heritage. Hours:Mon–Thurs, 9 am–8 pm; Fri, 9 am–5 pm. Closed weekends and holidays.

3WEDVOCAL SEMINAR PERFORMANCE:Claudio Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppeain a new English translation staged by DavidLeighton. LeFrak Concert Hall, 12:15 pm.Eagle Creek by Dennis Cady

Maurice Peress

10WEDQUEENS COLLEGE ORCHESTRA GALAEVENING CONCERT: Maurice Peress, musicdirector. Mozart concertos featuring DavidJolley, horn, Daniel Phillips, violin, and MoreyRitt, piano; Edward Smaldone, Trio Concertino(world premiere). LeFrak Concert Hall, 7:30 pm.

EVENING READING: A Tribute to RogerStraus. With Jonathan Galassi, Jamaica Kincaid,Norman Manea, Susan Sontag, Derek Walcott,and Tom Wolfe. Roger Straus, of Farrar, Straus& Giroux, was one of the most important pub-lishers in contemporary literature, a “brash andopinionated grandee who presided for nearly sixdecades over the book-publishing company thatbore his name . . . ” (The New York Times). MusicBuilding, 7 pm. $15. For ticket information, call718-793-8080.

15MONQUEENS COLLEGE BRASS STUDIO RECITAL:David Jolley, instructor. LeFrak Concert Hall,12:15 pm.

17WEDQUEENS COLLEGE WIND ENSEMBLE:Michael Lipsey, conductor. LeFrak ConcertHall, 12:15 pm.

18THURS LONG ISLAND COMPOSERS ALLIANCE CONCERT: LeFrak Concert Hall, 12:15 pm.

CHORAL COFFEE BREAK: Queens CollegeChoir and Chorus, James John and Cindy Bell,conductors. Norman and Carole BarhamRotunda, Rosenthal Library, 12:15 pm.

19FRIGUEST PERFORMANCE: Sharmila Daniel, soprano, and AndrewSaderman, piano. Highlights from Puccini’sLa Bohème. LeFrak ConcertHall, 7:30 pm.

21SUNCECILE LICAD, PIANO: First of five events in theColden Center ClassicalConcert Series. LeFrakConcert Hall, 2 pm. SingleTickets: $34; Five-Event Series:$140. For tickets or informa-tion, call 718-793-8080.

22MONQUEENS COLLEGE PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE: Michael Lipsey, director; specialguest David Cossin. Music of Ralph Shapey.LeFrak Concert Hall, 12:15 pm.

23TUESQUEENS COLLEGE GRADUATE ANDDIRECTORS SYMPHONIC WINDS CONCERT:Richard Sang, director. LeFrak Concert Hall,7:30 pm.

28SUNKIDSCLASSICS: Brass. First concert in a seriesdesigned to teach youngsters about the parts ofthe orchestra in a fun way. Pre-concert activitiesand Fun Book included. Recommended for chil-dren ages 5–10. LeFrak Concert Hall, 3 pm.Single Tickets: $12. Five-Event Series: $40. Fortickets or information, call 718-793-8080.

30TUESEVENING READING: Cynthia Ozick. TheNational Book Critic Circle Award-winningauthor of the novels The Shawl, The Messiah ofStockholm, The Puttermesser Papers, and forth-coming Heir to the Glimmering World, has beendescribed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “oneof the finest and most imaginative writers of ourtime.” In addition to reading from her work, Ms.Ozick will also be interviewed by LeonardLopate. Music Building, 7 pm, $10. For ticketinformation, call 718-793-8080.

DECEMBER6MONAN EVENING OF CHORAL MUSIC:Queens College Choir and Chorus, James Johnand Cindy Bell, conductors. LeFrak ConcertHall, 7:30 pm.

7TUESGRADUATE STUDENT COMPOSERS CONCERT: Bruce Saylor,coordinator. LeFrak Concert Hall, 7:30 pm.

9–12THURS–SUNDANCE CONCERT: Directed by Yin MeiCritchell, featuring choreography by guestartists Eiko & Koma. Goldstein TheatreMainstage. Thurs, 7 pm; Fri & Sat, 8 pm; Sun, 3 pm. $13/$10 QCID, seniors, alumni. For ticket information, call 718-997-3095.

11SATQUEENS COLLEGE CHORAL SOCIETY WINTER CONCERT: Joseph Haydn’s LordNelson Mass, James John, conductor. ColdenAuditorium, 8 pm. $15 orch, $13 mezz; $2alumni discount. For ticket information, call 718-793-8080.

12SUNNEWSDAY FAMILY THEATRE CLARA’S DREAM: A JAZZ NUTCRACKER:Inspired by the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhornjazz version of Tchaikovsky’s fairy tale ballet,Clara’s Dream is a high voltage, swinging, andsophisticated modern-day classic where thedancers wear tap shoes, the nutcracker gets ared zoot suit, and Clara gets whisked away to a posh 1940s nightclub! Colden Auditorium, 7pm. Adults: $15, Children 12 and under $12. For tickets or information, call 718-793-8080.

13MONCHORAL COFFEE BREAK: Holiday Songs and Carols. Queens College Choir and Chorus,James John and Cindy Bell, conductors. Normanand Carole Barham Rotunda, Rosenthal Library,12:15 pm.

19SUNKIDSCLASSICS: Woodwinds. Second concert in a series designed to teach youngsters aboutthe parts of the orchestra in a fun way. Pre-concert activities and Fun Book included.Recommended for children ages 5–10. LeFrakConcert Hall, 3 pm. $12. For ticket information,call 718-793-8080.Cecile Licad

KidsClassics

This calendar is only a partial list of fall events. For complete listings, see next page for individual department contact information or visit www.qc.cuny.edu.Programs are subject to change. Call ahead for confirmation of artists, dates, and times.

AARON COPLAND SCHOOL OF MUSICThe Aaron Copland School of Music presents anexciting series of mostly free events featuringfaculty, students, alumni, and distinguishedguests. To receive a complete Music Calendar,send your name and address to the School ofMusic office (Music Building, Room 203A).

For information, call 718-997-3800 or accessthe Events Calendar on the Web atwww.qc.cuny.edu.

COLDEN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSColden Center for the Performing Arts has beenpresenting the finest artists and attractions tothe metropolitan region since 1961, offering asophisticated range of classical music, jazz, con-temporary entertainment, and children’s events.Colden Center is comprised of the 2,127-seatColden Auditorium and the 489-seat LeFrakConcert Hall, a recital hall boasting state-of-the-art acoustics and recording facilities. Both ven-ues are available for rental year-round.

BOX OFFICE HOURS: Mon, 10 am–4 pm; Wed,12 noon–8 pm; Fri, 12–4 pm; Saturday, 10am–2 pm. Discounts are available for groups,seniors, students, and alumni. For informa-tion, to receive a season brochure, or to beplaced on our email list, please call 718-793-8080, or visit www.coldencenter.org.

DRAMA, THEATRE & DANCEThe Drama, Theatre & Dance Department pro-duces four mainstage productions each season: amusical or opera (co-produced with the Schoolof Music), a classical play, a contemporary orworld premiere production, and a dance con-cert. These are directed by our faculty and guestartists. The department offers an intensive cur-riculum in all areas of theatre, literature, history,acting, directing, design, musical theatre, anddance training in modern, ballet, tap, jazz, Asiandance forms, Caribbean and African dance, aswell as dance history.

For information, call the Arts Hotline at 718-997-3095.

GODWIN-TERNBACH MUSEUMKlapper Hall, Room 405Conceived as a teaching institution, the Godwin-Ternbach Museum is a professional not-for-profitart museum with a comprehensive permanentcollection of 3,500 objects, ranging from theancient world to the present day. Exhibitions,which alternate between showcases of the col-lection and special presentations of contempo-rary and historical significance, are designed ascultural and educational vehicles for students,faculty, and public audiences alike. Recently wehave received over 500 gifts of objects fromalumni and friends of the museum. To make a

donation of art to the Godwin-TernbachMuseum, please call 718-997-4724.

Hours: Mon–Thurs, 11 am–7 pm; Sat, 11am–5 pm. For information, call 718-997-4724or visit www.qc.cuny.edu/art/gtmus.html.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSELouis Armstrong House34-56 107th Street, Corona, NY 11368

Louis Armstrong was an international celebritywho could have lived anywhere. In 1943 he andhis wife, Lucille, settled in a modest house inCorona, Queens, where they lived for theremainder of their lives. This unpretentioushouse was Louis’s haven from the road, a homewhere he entertained friends and neighbors, andwhere he created a remarkable record of his lifethrough his writings, collages, and home record-ings. The Louis Armstrong House offers hourlytours, interpretive exhibits, a gift shop, and spe-cial events in the Armstrong garden.

Hours: Tues–Fri, 10 am–5 pm; Sat & Sun, 12 noon–5 pm; closed on some holidays.Admission: adults: $8; seniors, students, and children: $6; Group rate: $6; CurrentMembers: Free. Group tours are available.For information, call 718-478-8274, or visitwww.satchmo.net.

THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG ARCHIVES Benjamin Rosenthal Library, Room 332

The Louis Armstrong Archives is the home ofLouis and Lucille Armstrong’s personal belong-ings originally found in the Armstrong home.Included in the collection are 1,600 soundrecordings, 650 home-recorded audio tapes inhand-decorated tape boxes, 86 scrapbooks,5,000 photographs, 270 sets of big band parts,120 awards and plaques, and much more.Between 100 and 200 new items are added tothe collection annually. The Armstrong Archivesis open to the public free of charge.

Hours: Open by appointment. For moreinformation, call 718-997-3670 or visitwww.satchmo.net.

QUEENS COLLEGE ART CENTERRosenthal Library, 6th Floor

The Queens College Art Center welcomes you to its seventeenth season in the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library. The program features avariety of exhibitions of modern and contempo-rary art, presenting the works of both emergingand established artists in diverse media.

Hours: Mon–Thurs, 9 am–8 pm; Fri, 9 am–5 pm. Closed weekends and holidays. Forinformation, please call 718-997-3770, or visitwww.qc.cuny.edu/Library/art/artcenter.html.

EVENING READINGSQueens College Evening Readings celebrates its 29th Anniversary Season with readings andinterviews with some of the greatest living writers in the world, from Nobel LaureateDerek Walcott to Cynthia Ozick to JamaicaKincaid and Tom Wolfe.

For information, call 718-997-4646, or visitwww.qc.cuny.edu/readings. To order SeasonTickets, call the Colden Center Box Office at 718-793-8080.

Directions: www.qc.cuny.edu/directions

The generosity of alumni and friendskeeps the arts alive at Queens College.

Be a patron of the arts by making atax-deductible gift to any of the

departments listed below:

Aaron Copland School of Music718-997-3800

Colden Center for the Performing Arts 718-544-2996

Department of Drama,Theatre & Dance 718-997-3090

Godwin-Ternbach Museum 718-997-4724

Louis Armstrong House & Archives 718-997-3670

Queens College Art Center718-997-3770

Queens College Evening Readings718-997-4646

And when making a donation, ask your company if they have a matching-gift

program or are interested in a corporate sponsorship.

Fall 2004

1950: Virginia Lucas Freyeand Henry B. Freye (né Freydberg)’52 write that despite the passage ofmore than 50 years, they still careabout what goes on at their almamater. Henry was co-captain of theQC soccer team and played in theOrchestra-Band. Henry and Virginiamet at the college and married inl954. Virginia went on to a career atSloan-Kettering Institute, CibaPharmaceutical, Duke University,and the University of California atSan Francisco, where she authoredor coauthored 13 scientific publica-tions. Henry graduated from DukeUniversity Medical School in 1959and returned there for a pediatricresidency, followed by a fellowshipin allergy and immunology at Dukeand CHMC in Boston. He joinedthe faculty of Brown University in1965 and started a private practicein Rhode Island and Connecticut,which he continues on a part-timebasis. Henry and Virginia havethree grown children . . . 1956:Marcia Ascher is an emerita pro-fessor of mathematics at IthacaCollege in Ithaca, NY. She haswritten several highly regardedbooks on the relationship betweenculture and mathematical ideas andon applications of mathematics toarchaeology. Marcia has been aGetty Scholar at the Getty Centerfor the History of Art and theHumanities, and was twice named aDana Research Fellow at IthacaCollege . . . After a career as aneducator – her last position being

head of St. Paul’s School for Girlsin Baltimore – Evelyn A. Flory isretired and lives in Princeton. “Inaddition to the usual retirementactivities (travel, writing, family,etc.), I have set up my own busi-ness for selling my late husband’spaintings. I can scarcely believethat I am only two years away frommy fiftieth reunion!” she writes . . .1957: Marvin Miller wasawarded a grant by the PuffinFoundation to prepare a slidelecture on the Vatican and theHolocaust. Marvin previouslypresented slide lectures on relatedtopics to religious groups, schools,libraries, Holocaust centers, Elder-hostel groups, and historical soci-eties . . . The Boston UniversitySchool of Music recently honoredJoel L. Sheveloff, professor ofmusic and chair-man of the musi-cology department,with its highestteaching award, theMetcalf Cup. Joelhas been teachingat BU since 1964and has developed and taught over50 courses, ranging from medievalkeyboard music to music in theSoviet Union. His articles havebeen published in Current Musicol-ogy, Chigiana, Musica Poetica,Symphony Newsletter, CriticalInquiry, and other journals. Joel hasalso conducted lecture series aboutBach, Handel, Domenico Scarlatti,and contemporary musical issues.Joel, who earned his MFA and PhDfrom Brandeis University, ismarried to Thea Jones (’59) . . .1958: Neil Wolf received hismaster’s degree (1960) and doctor-ate (1966) in physics from theStevens Institute of Technology.Neil was a physicist at the GordonSpace Research Lab (1965-67), anda professor at Dickinson College(1967-98). He writes that “I had anexcellent education at Queens, andwas well prepared for grad school. Ialso appreciated the well-roundedprogram. The non-science courseshelped me as a professor at Dickin-son, a liberal arts college, where Itaught many courses on the historyof science and also science andsociety (as well as physics courses,of course). The physics program atQueens was especially useful inclassical physics. I remember goodadvanced courses in optics and

acoustics. My research field wasand is plasma physics. Now I amdoing computer simulations of theplasma boundary in the DIII-Dtokamak at General Atomics Labhere in San Diego.” You cancontact Neil at wolf@dickinson.edu. . . 1959: Marian KaplunShapiro began her professional lifeas an English teacher, before return-ing to graduate school at Harvard in1974. Since receiving a doctorate in1978, she has been practicing as apsychologist, specializing intrauma. Marian has written oneprofessional book, chapters inpsychology anthologies, and manyjournal articles. Recently, shereturned to her first love: poetry(she first published in QC’s Spec-trum). In the past three years shehas published in many small poetryjournals and received six prizes.Married for 44 years to IrwinShapiro, a physicist, she has twomarried children and three grand-children. Marian lives in Lexington,MA, where she has a private prac-tice . . . 1962: Ira Greene (MA’65) is a partner in the Brooklynlaw firm of Wenig, Ginsberg,Saltiel & Greene LLP, which con-centrates on complex real estateand landlord-tenant litigation . . .1963: Gary A. Leo is president

and chief execu-tive officer of theALS Association(ALSA), thenation’s preemi-nent organizationin the fightagainst amyo-

trophic lateral sclerosis, commonlyknown as Lou Gehrig’s disease.Gary has more than 30 years ofexperience in management,fundraising, teaching, and trainingin the nonprofit sector. He mostrecently served as senior vicepresident for development atCedars-Sinai Medical Center in LosAngeles. Gary holds a master’sdegree in social work administra-tion and planning from RutgersUniversity, and a master’s degree ineducational administration fromNew York University. For moreinformation, visit www.alsa.org . . .1964: David Goldbeck and hiswife, Nikki, a nutritionist, are theeditors of Healthy Highways: TheTraveler’s Guide to Healthy Eating(Ceres Press, 2004). It lists over1,900 en-route alternatives to fast

food in all 50 states. Since publica-tion of their 1973 best-seller TheSupermarket Handbook, the Gold-becks have coauthored severalbooks on diet and lifestyle. Previ-ously, David directed a communitylegal service program (after com-pleting his BA in economics, heobtained his LLB from BrooklynLaw School). The Goldbecks livein Woodstock, NY . . . 1965:Lynne Friedman (MS ’74) is apainter who lives in Kingston, NY.

In May she hadher sixth soloshow in NewYork City at NohoGallery in Man-hattan, featuringwork createdduring an art

residency in New Mexico, awardedto her by the Helene WurlitzerFoundation in Taos. Lynne receiveda doctorate in art education fromColumbia University’s TeachersCollege. Her work is in the collec-tions of Pfizer, McGraw-Hill, andIBM . . . Robert Levy is presidentof the New YorkChapter of TaxExecutives Insti-tute, the premierprofessional organ-ization for in-housecorporate taxattorneys and taxaccountants . . . 1967: IraStrauber was awarded the nationalC. Herman Pritchett Award for hisbook Neglected Policies: Constitu-tional Law and Legal Commentaryas Civic Education (Duke Univer-sity Press). The award is made by

QAlumni Notes

Continued on page 18

13FALL 2004 . Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE

We extend our deepest sympa-thy to George Gubernikoff ’77on the sudden death of his wife,Judith. George, director of clini-cal cardiac services at WinthropUniversity Hospital in Mineola,NY, recently approached the col-lege with the idea of starting aQueens College Medical AlumniAssociation (see Spring 2004issue of Q). Our thoughts andcondolences are with Georgeand his family at this difficulttime. If you would like to extendyour sympathies to George,please contact Alumni Affairs.

IN SYMPATHY

LET’S KEEP INTOUCH

Want to be informed by email of important happenings at the college? Then go towww.qc.cuny.edu/QC_Foundation/and click on Register for Email,and complete the form.

Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE . FALL 200414

Fighting the Most FrighteningDiseases

Jeffrey H. KordowerHe’s the director of the Research Center for Brain Repair in the departments ofneurology, neurosurgery, and neuro-science at RushUniversity MedicalCenter in Chicago.He’s one of thenation’s top author-ities in Parkinson’s,Huntington’s, andAlzheimer’s dis-eases. He’s theauthor of “about200” papers and the recipient of moregrants than he can remember. He receivedan honorary doctorate from QueensCollege at this year’s graduation cere-monies. So it’s surprising to learn thatJeffrey H. Kordower ’80 discovered hiscalling by accident. “I stumbled into psy-chological research in the labs of SusanFleischer and Richard Bodnar,” saysKordower, a Forest Hills High Schoolgrad who describes himself as just anaverage student until he was inspired bytalented professors.

Clearly, his trajectory since then hasbeen anything but average. Based atQueens for his graduate work at CUNY,he completed his PhD in three-and-a-halfyears—a period in which he published 10peer-reviewed papers on pain perceptionand analgesia. Kordower’s next stop wasa postdoctoral program at the Universityof Rochester School of Medicine, wherehe concentrated on neurodegenerative dis-eases and published another 22 papers.

He stuck with this topic in Chicago,spending two years at the University of

Illinois School of Medicine before movingto Rush in 1990 and establishing a nonhu-man primate center as the headquarters forhis research. His recent efforts involvegene therapy, which holds tremendouspromise as a mean to arrest, and perhapsrepair, the damage wreaked on patients’brains. Better yet, at age 45, Kordower canexpect that some of his most excitingwork lies before him. “I love science,” hesays. “It’s been a great ride.”

On the Whale Watch

Arthur KopelmanLike a latter-day Captain Ahab, Arthur Kopelman ’75 tracks whales. But he’spursuing data, not revenge. As presidentof the Coastal Research and EducationSociety of Long Island (CRESLI), hemonitors local marine environments andtheir rich plant and animal life.

A native of the landlocked Jamaicaneighborhood, Kopelman began exploringwaterfronts in his teens: He sailed the

Hudson River as afrequent volunteeron the Clearwater,an environmentalstudy center housedin a nineteenth-cen-tury-style sloop.After earning a BAin biology, hestayed on the

Queens College campus for seven years,teaching in the biology department andworking toward his PhD, awarded byCUNY in 1982. “My doctorate was forresearch on parasitic insects, but I startedlooking at whales as a grad student,” saysKopelman. “Queens provided me with the

mental tools and rigor that I needed.” He didn’t have to look far to find thecetaceans. “I have documented twentyspecies of whales and dolphins in NewYork,” he adds. “That’s one-quarter of all the species in the world.”

A faculty member at the FashionInstitute of Technology, where he hasbeen a full professor for eleven years,Kopelman co-founded CRESLI in 1996with a team of local scientists and educa-tors. “I wanted to put my work where myrhetoric was,” he explains. Today, he livesin Sayville and divides his energiesbetween the classroom and the field, lead-ing whale watches, conducting populationassessments, and promoting the rehabilita-tion of stranded sea mammals and turtles.He also makes occasional political waves.“I recently testified against the LongIsland Power Authority’s plans to buildwind farms in the ocean without testingthem first,” he says. “Our natural systemsare being stressed. There’s no politicalconstituency for the offshore area.”

From Dancer to Fitness Trainer

Mary Kathryn Haltiwanger SchmitzEpidemiological research was not what Mary Kathryn Haltiwanger Schmitz hadin mind when she came to New York in1984. A former dance major who earned aBA in economics from the University ofNorth Carolina at Greensboro, sheplanned to support herself in arts manage-ment. Instead, she spent four years per-forming with companies as varied asMartha Graham and Avodah – a Jewishliturgical dance troupe – before swappingher slippers for sneakers and becoming a

What Can You Do with a Science Degree?

Queens College graduates answer this question in laboratories, hospitals, on the open trail, and on the high seas

By Leslie Jay and Donna Shoemaker

15FALL 2004 . Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE

garden; cares for the burros and other ani-mals on its farm; raises mealworms,mice, and turtles; maintains the micro-scopic exhibit of pond life; and guidesbirders through Tilden’s nature trails.Growing up in the post-Sputnik erafueled Kaplan’s passion for all things sci-entific. He thrived on geology, chemistry,and biology and pursued those interests at the Bronx High School of Science. “Icould not not be interested in science; itwas all around me,” he says. “I grew upat exactly the right moment.”

Among the many moments at QueensCollege that Kaplan recalls, he tells of hisfirst semester biology class, where eachstudent dissected a lobster. Then studentslearned to appreciate their research inanother way: “The teaching assistantboiled the tails, and we had them withmelted butter.”

His fascination with invertebrates took wing as a biology student at QueensCollege, where he maintained the fly andparasite colonies of the professor whobecame his mentor: Peter Chabora(Biology). It was Chabora who guidedKaplan into graduate work at the

University ofCalifornia,Berkeley and pre-pared him to holdhis own in studyingentomology.Kaplan completedhis MSc in 1979 atBerkeley.

“The two cor-nerstones of my life,” Kaplan believes,have been his enriching opportunities inbiology and his liberal arts education atQueens. That solid grounding led him todelve into classical music, collect thenovels of Anthony Burgess, and committo writing books when he retires in abouta year, at age 55.

While the West Coast has been homesince 1972, “I’m still the Bronx boy that Iwas,” Kaplan affirms.

Learning to Live WithoutWheat

Anne Roland Lee“Our lifestyles today are so hectic that we tend not to prepare food but to grab-and-go. That’s what gets us into trouble,”observes nutritionist Anne Roland Lee(MS ’02). As a working mother of three

fitness trainer. In the process, she turned aprofessional liability into her strongestasset. “I was always told I was thinkingtoo much,” Schmitz notes. “That’s bad in a dancer, but good in a trainer.”To bolster her resume and her earnings,

she enrolled in themaster’s program inexercise physiologyat Queens. Soon shefound herselfinvolved in agroundbreakingstudy that woulddemonstrate thebeneficial impact of

physical activity on teenagers’ health.“Professor Paul Fardy basically turnedover the reins of the project to me,”Schmitz recalls. “We did it at HillcrestHigh School on a shoestring, using donat-ed equipment and the help of graduatestudents and undergrads in the physicaleducation program. I learned how muchyou can do for very little money.”Upon receiving her MSEd in 1994,Schmitz took her investigative and budg-etary talents to the University ofMinnesota, earning a PhD in kinesiologyand subsequently joining the faculty. Now she’s in the third year of her first biggrant, for a study of strength training inobesity prevention. She’s also conductingresearch into the impact exercise can have on the health of cancer survivors.Appropriately enough, Schmitz works outregularly and limits her consumption ofcertain carbohydrates, but her choiceshave nothing to do with the Atkins plan.“You can’t get a good bagel inMinnesota,” she complains. “And thepizza—ohhhhh.”

A Naturalist’s Trail

Alan KaplanThe Berkeley, CA second-graders gath-ered around Alan Kaplan ’72 bypassedthe enticements of Tilden Regional Park’scarousel, pony rides, and swimming lake.Instead, they came to the Tilden NatureArea to learn about insects by catchingthem in nets.

Kaplan, the naturalist at the East Bay’smost popular park, says he’s known in thepark district as the “go-to guy for dragon-flies, household pests, and yellowjackets.”At Tilden, he has offered a science campfor 20 years. He also tends its butterfly

teenagers, Lee tries to keep her family onthe right nutrition track. At work, she has devoted her career to celiac diseasepatients, who must follow a gluten-freediet.

Once celiac disease surfaces, “youhave it for life,” Lee says. Celiac patientsnot only have to shun wheat, rye, andbarley, but they must be ever vigilant fortraces of the glutenprotein in soy sauce,packaged foods, andcosmetics. If patientslet their guard down,they suffer fromdiarrhea. Once theygo on the gluten-freediet, “the beauty ofit is that the absorp-tive surfaces [in the small intestine] com-pletely recover.”

For two years Lee has been theresearch dietician at the Celiac DiseaseCenter at Columbia University’s Collegeof Physicians and Surgeons in New YorkCity. She takes a special interest in chil-dren and recently published a cookbookfor pediatric celiac patients. Lee teachesfamilies how to cope by packing schoollunches, taking gluten-free treats to birth-day parties, scrutinizing food labels, andusing grains like quinoa and kasha. Sheoffers other tips on the disease in her“Nutrition Corner” column (www.cdcc.hs.columbia.edu/A_Patients/A05-pNutrition.htm).

At Syracuse University Lee majored in nutrition and had begun her master’sdegree. To complete her MS, she choseQueens because “it has a great scienceprogram and a great nutrition depart-ment.”

Her master’s thesis – published in theNovember 2003 Journal of the AmericanDietetic Association – was a large-popula-tion study of how celiac patients viewedtheir quality of life. Their general outlookon health was similar to the control group,but they were negative when it came tohow managing their disease affected lifesocially and at home. At a party or restau-rant, for example, they must ask detailedquestions about every dish.

Celiac disease is more prevalent inIreland and other northern Europeancountries than in the United States. Lee’sown background is part Irish, though sheknows of no celiac disease in her familytree. This spring she presented herresearch in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Recent ScienceGrants$2 Million Grant forResearch on AD/HD A significant number of preschool childrenare being medicated for hyperactivity andaggressive behavior,characteristics typi-cally associated withAD/HD (attention-deficit/hyperactivitydisorder). Althoughthe medication ishelpful for some, itmay be that many ofthese children don’tneed it at all. “Whatwe know is that a lot of young children seem impulsive andhyperactive, but for many of them it’s just a behavioral blip that disappears,” saysJeffrey Halperin (Psychology). “But othersdo not outgrow their symptoms.” Trying

to identify the factors that predict whichchildren go on to develop AD/HD is thefocus of a $2 million National Institute ofMental Health (NIMH) grant recentlyawarded to Halperin and his team at theQueens College Preschool Project (QCPP).“If we can identify who will developAD/HD, we can have more focused earlyintervention with the children, and parent-ing behaviors can be modified,” he says.The five-year study will examine geneticand environmental factors and focus onchildren from the ages of three to five.

HHMI Funds College for $800,000The college received a four-year, $800,000grant from the Howard Hughes MedicalInstitute (HHMI) for several initiatives in biol-ogy and neuroscience. Nearly 200 collegeswere invited to compete for the funding,based on their records of preparing studentsfor graduate education and careers in scienceresearch, teaching, and medicine. The grantwill enable Queens to award four two-yearpostdoctoral research-teaching fellowships inneuroscience and bioinformatics. With thehelp of faculty mentors, the four postdocswill both conduct laboratory research anddesign and teach courses in neuroscience orbioinformatics. Recognizing that experiencein teaching is essential to a strong researchprogram, HHMI hopes this will become anational model for preparing scientists forfaculty positions. The grant will also allow anumber of high school students (many fromminority groups underrepresented in the sci-ences) and QC undergraduates to work withfaculty in the college’s laboratories.

Understanding Cancer SuppressorsCathy Savage-Dunn (Biology) received a $720,000 four-year grant from theAmerican Cancer Society to investigatecell-cell communication in animals using agenetically tractable model organism, theroundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (pic-tured above). Cells communicate, or signal,by releasing molecules that are sensed byother cells. These signals help to controlcell growth and function, while cancer represents an escape from the normal regulation of cell growth and replication.To understand the causes of and possibletreatments for cancer, a detailed under-standing of the normal regulatory path-ways is essential. One important class ofsignaling molecules regulates many aspectsof cell function in diverse animal species,and components of their signaling path-ways act as tumor suppressors involved in human cancers. Through this funding,Savage-Dunn’s laboratory will investigatethe molecular, genetic, and cellularprocesses involved in cell communicationvia TGFb signals.

Global Warming Under the MicroscopeGlobal warming is the focus of a $438,000National Science Foundation grant awardedto Gary Hemming (Earth and Environ-mental Sciences), who hopes to shed lighton whether current warming trends are adangerous aberration or a cyclical phenom-enon similar to others seen throughoutearth’s history. His research looks at his-torically high levels of atmospheric carbondioxide that have resulted from the burningof fossil fuels, a major factor in globalwarming. Since carbon dioxide dissolves in

QQC NEWS

New VP for Student AffairsJoe Bertolino has been appointed Vice President for Student Affairs, effective August 1. He succeedsBurt Backner, who retired as Dean of StudentAffairs after 35 years of service to the college.

Bertolino brings with him an exemplary profes-sional and academic record, including awards foradministrative ability, service, and commitment todiversity. He spent the past eight years at Barnard

College, where most recently he was Dean of Community Develop-ment. Previously he was Director of College Activities for SUNY at Old Westbury and held administrative positions at East Strouds-burg University in Pennsylvania. Bertolino received a BS cumlaude in psychology and sociology from the University of Scranton,an MSW from Rutgers University, and an EdD from TeachersCollege of Columbia University.

Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE . FALL 200416

water, affecting its pH balance, Hemming has developed a tool that can accurately gauge the acidity of the ocean hundreds ofthousands of years ago. The data can then be compared with whatis already known about climate change to determine if the presenthigh levels of carbon dioxide are part of a historic pattern.

Preparing a New Generation of Scientists For the first time, the college is being funded by the NIH for theMARC program (Minority Access to Research Careers). Typically,this program, which stresses biomedical research, only goes to colleges designated “minority-serving institutions” by their demo-graphics (over 50% minority students). Although Queens doesn’tfit that profile, Zahra Zakeri (Biology) has managed to bring amodified version of the program here with $244,377 in funding.Six juniors and seniors will be chosen to conduct research with faculty mentors. Students will receive a stipend of $10,000, paidtuition, and additional funds for lab supplies and travel.

An Exceptional ScientistSusan Rotenberg (Chemistry) has received an Exceptional ProjectAward of $100,000 from the Breast Cancer Alliance. The awardsare granted on the basis of a project’s innovativeness, impact,approach, and feasibility. Rotenberg is keeping exceptional compa-ny, as the three other winning researchers are affiliated with theMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Rockefeller University,and the Yale Cancer Center. Her research focuses on identifyingcellular proteins that cause a cancer cell to spread throughout thebody. This process – cancer metastasis – is poorly understood.Rotenberg has identified protein kinase C as an enzyme that pro-motes cell movement. She now hopes to identify the protein sub-strate(s) of this enzyme in order to better understand the chain ofintracellular events that supports cell movement.

Heilman and Michels NamedDistinguished ProfessorsThe City University of New York has bestowed its highesthonor, the title of Distinguished Professor, on two moreQC faculty members: Samuel C. Heilman (Sociology) andCorinne Michels (Biology). President James Muyskensintroduced them at a CUNY Board Meeting on June 28.

“Samuel Heilman’s work is required reading not onlyfor sociologists but also for anthropologists, economists,

students of religion and minori-ty affairs, and anyone with aninterest in the forces shapingour world,” Muyskens noted. Amember of the college’s sociolo-gy faculty since 1973, Heilmancurrently holds the HaroldProshansky Professorship inJewish Studies and Sociology atCUNY. His books, all of whichare still in print, have wonnumerous awards, including theNational Jewish Book Awardtwice, for When a Jew Diesand A Walker in Jerusalem.

He is currently finishing a new book, The Rise and Fall ofAmerican Modern Jewish Orthodoxy? A graduate ofBrandeis University (BA), New School University (MA),and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD), Heilman hasalso written a monthly column on the sociology of Jewryfor New York Jewish Week and is editor-in-chief ofContemporary Jewry.

“If I were asked to explain intwo words what makes Queensan exceptional college,”Muyskens noted in introducingthe second distinguished profes-sor, “my answer easily could beCorinne Michels. As a graduate ofQueens College, she is a fineexample of what someone with afirst-rate liberal arts educationcan achieve. And now, as ateacher and researcher, she hasfew peers.” Michels graduatedfrom Queens in 1963 with amajor in biology and a minor in chemistry. She joined thefaculty in 1972, and since then has earned an internationalreputation for her research into the regulation of maltosefermentation in yeast, which helps to explain metabolismcontrol in almost all living cells. Her work has been praisedas “pathbreaking,” “truly exceptional,” and “novel, unex-pected, and exciting.” She has a remarkable record offunding for her research, including continuous supportfrom the NIH for almost 30 years. Michels’s textbookGenetic Techniques for Biological Research: A CaseStudy Approach is widely used.

QC Alum at D-Day Ceremony: Arnold C. Franco ’43 (r) shakeshands with French President Jacques Chirac after the ceremonyat the American Cemetery in Normandy at Colleville-sur-Mer,France, on Sunday, June 6, marking the sixtieth anniversary ofD-Day. President George Bush is in the background. Arnold,who was featured in the fall 2000 issue of Q, wrote a bookabout his wartime experiences, Code to Victory: Coming of Agein World War II.

17FALL 2004 . Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE

Samuel Heilman

Corinne Michels

the Law andCourts Section ofthe AmericanPolitical ScienceAssociation. Ira isa professor ofpolitical science atGrinnell College

in Grinnell, IA . . . 1968: BobW. Strauss, a partner at Strasburger& Price, LLP was honored by theDallas Business Journal for beinglegal counsel forone of the BestReal Estate Dealsof 2003. The trans-action was citedunder the category“Best CommunityImpact in theGreater Dallas Area.” Bob earnedhis LLM (taxation) from New YorkUniversity (1976) and his JD fromBrooklyn Law School (1971) . . .1969: David M. Guskin (MBAUniv. of Conn. ’72) is director ofArtery Financial Services, LLC. Inaddition, Dave is an adjunct profes-sor in the Business Administrationand Economics Dept. of Mont-gomery College. He was recentlyselected as the precinct vice chairfor his election district and serveson the Parents’ Advisory Board forthe University of Maryland, wherehis daughter, Emily, is a junior. Hecontinues in his capacity as the

chairman for the QC Alumni Asso-ciation in the Washington, DCregion, and has organized thealumni trip to Tuscany this Septem-ber . . . Gary Morgan retired after31 years in the New York City civilservice. Gary was also a psycho-therapist and adjunct college profes-sor. He recently began taking actingclasses and has appeared in films,community and off-Broadwaytheater, industrial videos, and televi-sion. Gary reports that he took oneacting course at Queens, where theseed may have been sown . . .1970: Alan Landes can still beseen at Queens, where he is enter-ing his 25th season coaching themen’s tennis team. In April the teamgave him a milestone 300th careerwin. They also went to the NCAAsfor the third time in three years, andAlan was named the ITA (Intercol-legiate Tennis Association) DivisionII Coach of the Year. As a coach,Alan says, “I’m not a whateverperson.”Alan still plays tennis and,in warm weather, rollerblades 20miles a day. His fourth daughterwas born May 18. Alan invitesformer players to call him at hisoffice: 718-997-2727 . . . 1971:Jane Gabin, chair of the CarolinaAlumni Chapter, is director ofcollege counseling at the ChapinSchool in Manhattan . . . JaneBreskin Zalben and Steven Zalben(’69) have published their first book

together (and his first ever), Satur-day Night at the Beastro (Harper-Collins, 2004). Jane writes aboutattending orientation at QC: “Thespeaker talked about math and saidthat ‘some of you might even meetyour husbands or wives here.’ Iturned to a friend and said, ‘Likethat would ever happen—I amnever taking a math course againand I doubt meeting a husband.’ Itwas 1967, campus revolution, theVietnam War, and feminism. Well, Imet my husband the first day ofcollege on the Quad. I was wearingan orange mini-skirt and he hadreal long hair and sandals. Hegraduated with a BA in Mathemat-ics. We married in my junior year,much to my parents’ dismay, sayingonly beauticians get married atnineteen—‘not that there’s anythingwrong with that,’ to quote Sein-feld.” Jane has since published 50children’s books and won severalbook awards, while Steven is anarchitect . . . 1973: BradleyMandell is a doctor of chiropracticin Pasadena, MD. He is also anavid sailor on the Chesapeake Bayand is building a 34-foot catamaran

. . . John L. Raywas named to thefoundation boardof the MedicalCollege ofGeorgia. He ispresident and

general manager of WRDW-TV inAugusta, GA, and serves on theCBS Television Affiliates AdvisoryBoard, as well as on the board ofdirectors of the Georgia Associationof Broadcasters . . . 1974:Barry Bass earned an MS fromNYU in l977, a DDS from SUNY-Stony Brook in 1981, and a spe-cialty in oral and maxillofacialsurgery at Long Island JewishHospital in 1984. He is in privatepractice in oral surgery in Plain-view and Massapequa, NY, and isassociate director of the TMJDepartment at North Shore Univer-sity Hospital in Manhasset . . .1977: The New York StateSociety of CertifiedPublic Accountantsrecently installedStephen F. Lan-gowski, a CPA andpartner of KPMG,LLP, as its presi-dent-elect. Stephenhas more than 25 years of experi-ence in delivering audit and advi-sory services in the public sector. Afrequent speaker and thought leaderon governmental accounting, audit-ing, and reporting, he joinedKPMG in 1994 after starting hiscareer with Ernst & Young in 1979.Stephen and his wife, Lorna, havetwo children . . . 1978: LarryRuss obtained an MS in physicsfrom the University of Pennsylva-nia in 1980. He then worked at BellLaboratories and at Bellcore beforeobtaining a JD degree fromFordham Law School. Larry is nowa patent attorney at Lerner, David,Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik,LLP, in Westfield, NJ. He writes: “Ihave fond memories of my studiesin the Physics Department includ-ing my classes with Profs. Lazar,Nueberger, Cotter, Garcia, Oren-stein (both), Cadieu, and Shore andmy research work for Prof. Garcia.I feel my classes at Queens gave agood foundation for the analyticalwork in my career.” Larry lives inWest Orange, NJ (Lawrence.Russ.SAS80@alumni.upenn.edu) . . .1979: Helen M. Grady, associ-ate professor of technical communi-cation at the Mercer UniversitySchool of Engineering, received the2003–2004 Vulcan Award forTeaching Excellence “for heroutstanding contributions to under-graduate education, student learn-ing and campus life.” Helen joined

FAMILY TRADITION LEADS TO SALK SCHOLARSHIP

Continued from page 13

Eleonora Khaimova ’04, a native of Uzbekistan,received the Jonas E. Salk Scholarship, awarded tograduating seniors who show promise of becomingoutstanding physicians. A psychology major at the col-lege, she conducted over two years of neuroscienceresearch, leading to several peer-reviewed publica-tions, including one on which she is senior author.

That distinction is rare, according to her researchadvisor and department chair Richard Bodnar. “Frommy lab there have been three or four students in my25 years here who have been senior authors. Whatyou’re doing is entrusting an entire body of researchto her,” he explains. Khaimova’s research, conductedin Bodnar’s Laboratory of Opioid Pharmacology, con-cerns the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and behav-ioral analysis of feeding in rats.

The scholarship will help Khaimova fulfill her dreamof becoming a doctor. In Bukhara, the central Asiancity where she grew up, both her parents were inmedicine: her father as a pediatrician, her mother as a

nurse. Following the Soviet break-up and national inde-pendence in 1991, however, increasing anti-Semitismtoward the ancient community of Bukharian Jews ledmost of the Jewish population toleave Uzbekistan. The Khaimova family came to this country in 1994and began the process of rebuildingtheir personal and professional lives.

At Queens Khaimova excelledacademically, staying on the Dean’sList, being inducted into the GoldenKey National Honor Society, and serving as an editorof Nucleus, the journal of undergraduate scientificresearch. She graduated with highest departmentalhonors and won the Mitchell L. Kietzman Award forExcellence in Psychological Research.

Khaimova, who hopes to become a pediatrician,will attend New York Medical College in Westchester,which has awarded her a $20,000 scholarship in addi-tion to her $6,000 Salk Scholarship.

Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE . FALL 200418

Eleonora Khaimova

the faculty of Mercer in 1991 aftera decade of industry experienceleading a technical communicationunit. She earned her bachelor’sdegree in biologyfrom QueensUniversity inKingston, Ontario,her master’s degreein biology fromQC, and her doc-torate in instruc-tional design and distanceeducation from Nova SoutheasternUniversity in Fort Lauderdale, FL.She lives in Macon, GA . . .1988: Halina Goldberg is editorof the anthology The Age ofChopin: Interdisciplinary Inquiries(Indiana UP, 2004). Halina is anassistant professor of musicology atIndiana University. Much of herresearch concerns the culturalenvironment of Chopin’s Warsaw . . . 1995: Demetris Nicolaidesis a professor at BloomfieldCollege. “The sound of the wordsQueens College brings only joy tomy heart,” he writes. “Twenty yearsago I came to the USA and Ilearned English at the ESL programat QC. Then I earned a BA inphysics and applied math as well asan MA in physics at Queens. I wenton to earn my PhD in physics at theCity University of New York withQueens as my base college. Ilearned to do original research withthe help of a great thesis advisor,Professor Alex Lisyansky, and alsolearned to teach physics as a gradu-ate student. Without a doubt QCprepared me professionally and Iwould not do anything different if Iwas taken back in time and had tostart from the beginning” . . .1998: Bridgit PilchmanGoldman is pursuing a PhD atCUNY in the field of plant molecu-lar biology. As teaching assistant inQC’s Biology Department, she wona 2003 President’s Award for Excel-lence in Teaching by a GraduateStudent . . . Dennis Velasco is aproduction editor in the Scientific,Technical, and Medical Division ofJohn Wiley & Sons. He is also theco-founder and publisher ofwww.fanalyze.com, a Web sitespecializing in the world of fantasysports. Dennis lives with his wife,Tavia, and son in New Hyde Park,NY . . . 2002: Zhuo Chencompleted eight weeks of U.S.Navy basic training and is now

Navy Seaman Chen . . . Steven M.Cohen (MLS) was honored as oneof the 55 most innovative librariansin the United States by LibraryJournal. An assistant librarian forRivkin Radler, a law firm in Union-dale, Steven created and is the Webmaster of librarystuff.net, a libraryand information science Web logthat serves about 2,700 visitorsdaily. He and his wife, Barbie, livein Smithtown, NY . . .

WE REMEMBER

1949: Jeanne Knakal, editor-in-chief of the yearbook Silhouette,died January 2, 2004 at her home inSpring Hill, FL. She had a master’sin clinical psychology and studiedin Columbia University’s AnalyticalPsychology Doctorate Program. Formany years she worked in thesocial services division of CancerCare, NY and Misericordia Hospitalin the Bronx. Later she had aprivate practice in Sausalito, CA,and did social work at Mary’s HelpHospital and Harkness Hospital,both in the San Francisco Bay Area. . . 1972: Steve Pasternack,

54, died June 15of an infectionfollowing a trip toRwanda. A jour-nalism professorat New MexicoState Universityfor 21 years,

Steve was instrumental in efforts toestablish an open press in Rwanda.He was also involved in ongoingefforts to strengthen free presses inthe emerging democracies ofAfrica, the Caribbean, and EasternEurope, for which he was awardedseveral Fulbright fellowships. Steveheld a master’s in journalism fromIowa State University and a doctor-ate in communications from theUniversity of Tennessee. He wrotetwo books and numerous articles onmedia law and ethics . . . 1974:Anne Panepinot Ciccone diedJanuary 2003. She was the authorof Creating Bridges: The Art ofUtilizing Creative Skills in Day toDay Living . . . 2004: MannyGoldberg, whose experiences as atranslator during World War II werehighlighted in the fall 2000 issue ofQ, died this June, several weeksafter receiving his BA in music.Manny was 86 years old.

ALUMNI NEWS

19FALL 2004 . Q THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE

years at an overseas alumni toursold out so quickly,” notesWashington, D.C. chapter chairand trip coordinator DavidGuskin ’69. “Please let me knowwhich destinations would inter-est you for our 2005 trip.”

Wanted: ClassCorrespondentsCan’t get enough of “AlumniNotes”? Then be a class corre-spondent. You will collect andpass along news of your class-mates for Q. It’s a great way toget in touch with old friends.Contact Alumni Director JoeBrostek for more details.

Oral History ProjectAnother reason to come toHomecoming on October 2: theOral History Project will have anexhibit in the Dining Hall. Visitthem and find out how you canadd your memories to the col-lege's historical record.

Q Magazine UpdatesBe sure to check the college’sWeb site this November for aWeb-only update of Q.

Missing AlumniWe have lost touch with manyof our over 100,000 alumni. Inmost cases they did not let usknow when they moved.Addresses can be updated onlineby going to www.qc.cuny.edu/QC_Foundation. If you knowalumni who do not hear fromthe college, please let us know.

Send Us Your News!We want to hear from you. Tellus where you are, what you aredoing, and send a photo. Mail to:

Alumni NewsOffice of Alumni AffairsQueens College65-30 Kissena Boulevard Flushing, NY 11367

Phone: 718-997-3930Fax: 718-997-3924 Email: alumni@qc.edu.

Alumni Affairs Web site:www.qc.cuny.edu/alumni_affairs

Hamlisch Named Distinguished AlumMarvin Hamlisch ’68 has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, fourGrammys, two Emmys, a Tony,three Golden Globes, and thePulitzer Prize. He will soon add tohis trophy case the 2004 Distin-guished Alumnus Award from theAmerican Association of StateColleges and Universities(AASCU). Hamlisch was nominat-ed for this by QC President JamesMuyskens. Past winners includePresident Lyndon Johnson andGeneral Colin Powell. AmongHamlisch’s numerous credits arethe groundbreaking musical AChorus Line and the scores of over40 motion pictures, including TheWay We Were. He will receive hisaward at the annual meeting ofthe AASCU on November 23 inCharleston, South Carolina.

Pioneers EventsQC Pioneers – members of theclasses of 1941–1955 – are invit-ed to two special events this fall.The first is a tour of the LouisArmstrong House, completewith concert and soul food, onSunday, September 12, 3–7 pm.Then join us Sunday, November21, at 2 pm for a concert bypianist Cecile Licad, followed bya reception hosted by PresidentJames Muyskens & Mrs. AldaMuyskens. For more informationcall 718-997-5554.

Italy Trip a HitThe Alumni Affairs-sponsoredtrip to Tuscany this September iscompletely booked. “I amthrilled that our first attempt in

QUEENS COLLEGE

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Q GALA HONORS PALMER AND WANN: Virginia Frese Palmer ’42 (left) was 15 years old when she entered QueensCollege during the Great Depression. Robert Wann ’82 (third from right) entered QC in 1980, a year after he had emigratedfrom Taiwan. Both were honored on June 23 at the Q Gala, which recognizes women and men who combine successful careerswith a dedication to higher education. “Ginny and Robert, graduating 40 years apart, are proof of the timeless value of a fine lib-eral arts education,” noted President James Muyskens. “It offers you both the tools to succeed and the proper definition of success,which is serving others.” Ginny had a long career as a speech therapist, and Robert is Senor Executive VP and COO of New YorkCommunity Bancorp, Inc. This year’s gala raised over $860,000 to support scholarships and college programs. With Robert areGala co-chairs (l-r) Muyskens, Joseph Ficalora (New York Community Bank), and Richard Goldstein (Alpine Capital LLC).