Author: RMcase2021

News Release

May 14, 2010

Hartford, CT — Jonathan M. Rothberg, PhD, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Guilford-based Ion Torrent, has been named the 2010 winner of the Connecticut Medal of Technology for his development of innovative genomic technology. Dr. Rothberg is the founder of four genomics companies in his home state of Connecticut and has dedicated his life to developing sequencing technology that will help improve the health of people around the world. By focusing his efforts in Connecticut, he has brought jobs, opportunity and innovation to the state.

Frank W. Ridley, chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, will present the award at the annual meeting of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at the Hartford Marriott Downtown Hotel on May 20th.

In 1991, Rothberg founded New Haven-based CuraGen, one of the first companies to develop drugs based on genomics. In 2004, he founded 454 Life Sciences, based in Branford, which pioneered an entirely new way to sequence genomes. Rothberg founded Ion Torrent in 2007 and is also founder of the Rothberg Center for Childhood diseases and chairman and co-founder of RainDance Technologies, a provider of innovative microdroplet-based solutions that accelerate human health and disease research.

Ion TorrentTM has pioneered an entirely new approach to genetic sequencing that enables a direct connection between chemical and digital information on a semiconductor chip. The result is a sequencing system that is simpler, faster, more cost effective and scalable than any other technology available. The company’s goal is to make this critical technology available to every lab.

The New Haven-born Rothberg earned a BS in chemical engineering with an option in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MS, M.Phil, and PhD in biology from Yale University. He was twice named The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer, is an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and received The Wall Street Journal’s First Gold Medal for Innovation. He has received Nature Methods First Method of the Year Award, and The Irvington Institute’s Corporate Leadership Award in Science. Dr. Rothberg is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University.

The CT Medal is the state’s highest honor for scientists and engineers and recognizes extraordinary achievements in scientific fields crucial to Connecticut’s economic competitiveness and social well-being. Modeled after the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, this award is bestowed by the Board of Governors for Higher Education, with the assistance of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, in alternate years with the Connecticut Medal of Science. Rothberg is the sixth recipient of the CT Medal of Technology.

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

May 13, 2010

Hartford, CT — Connecticut’s most talented young scientists and engineers will be honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at its 35th Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on May 20, 2010 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown, preceded by a reception at the Connecticut Science Center. Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science Fair, Connecticut Science Challenge, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention will be recognized during the evening ceremonies.

The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and presented in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, will be awarded to the two first place winners of the Connecticut Science Fair and the first place winner of the Connecticut Science Challenge. The medal was created to recognize and honor H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost-effective in a worldwide competitive environment.

Academy member Thomas A. Steitz, co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, will give the keynote address. Steitz is Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Yale University.

Student winners to be honored include:

The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence:
Amoolya Narayanan, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, CT
2010 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division
Project: Effect of Trans-cinnamaldehyde on Reducing Attachment and Invasion of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli in Urinary Epithelial Cells

William C. Newberry, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2010 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division
Project: Diatom-CdS Nanostructures as a Method to Enhance the Efficiency of a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

Jason A. Gandelman, Staples High School, Westport, CT
2010 Connecticut Science Challenge – 1st Place
Project: Bioinformatic and Synthetic Approaches to Studying Advanced Glycation End-products in Eukaryotes

2010 Connecticut Science Challenge
1st Place – See H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence award winner

2nd Place: Jenny Lu, Pomperaug High School, Southbury, CT
Project: Determination of the Relationship between Retina-cognin and N-cadherin in the Characterization of a Disulfidedependent Cell Adhesion Complex

Honorable Mention: William C. Newberry, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
Project: Laser Induced Microfluidic Motion of a Liquid-Liquid Interface

2010 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
1st Place: Jenny Liu, Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT
Project: Emotional Models Promote Human-Robot Interaction

2nd Place: Neeharika Krothapalli, Farmington High School, Farmington, CT
Project: Characterization of Jatropha curcas Oil and Glycerol for Biofuel Production

3rd Place: Amoolya Narayanan, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, CT
Project: Effect of Trans-cinnamaldehyde on Reducing Attachment and Invasion of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli in Urinary Epithelial Cells

4th Place: Kousanee Chheda, Edwin O. Smith High School, Storrs Mansfield, CT
Project: Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) Induces Cytoprotection and Angiogenesis in Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HMEC-1)

5th Place: Caroline W. Bazinet, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT
Project: Effects of PMCA2 Overexpression on Induction of Apoptosis by Docetaxel and Methotrexate in T47D Cells

2010 Connecticut Invention Convention
Bridgeport, CT — St. Ann School: Dominika Baginska and Jack Seperack
Torrington, CT — Torrington Middle School: Richard Bakula, Taryn Canfield, Mitchell Canty, Shannon O’Connor, Whitney Quarles, Molly Serven and Brittany Young
East Hartford, CT—Two Rivers Magnet Middle School: Jordon Alexandre
Fairfield, CT —Assumption School: Kathleen Gardella
Moodus, CT — Nathan Hale Ray Middle School: Caley Luna Millen
Hartford, CT — Independent Study Entrant: Cole Reavill
Westport, CT— Coleytown Middle School: Alec Solder
Avon, CT— Talcott Mountain Academy: Benjamin Suski

Twenty-eight newly elected members of the Academy will also be recognized during the evening.

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

September 4, 2009

Hartford, CT – District energy systems, waste heat enterprise zones and algae farms are among the options that Connecticut should pursue to utilize waste heat from electric power generating stations, according to a recent study by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE). CASE briefed the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board (CEAB) Friday on the findings of the study, which CEAB commissioned last September.

The study, entitled, The Feasibility of Utilizing Waste Heat from Central Electric Power Generating Stations and Potential Applications, came about due to concern that facilities that utilize once-through cooling systems may be required to install new cooling technologies that minimize thermal releases and impact on fisheries, as required by the federal Clean Water Act. This study’s objective was to evaluate the trade-off between the cost of installing a new cooling water system versus using that investment to increase the thermal efficiency of a facility (i.e., reducing or utilizing waste heat) while reducing overall environmental impact.

According to the study, the total heat currently being rejected from Connecticut’s power plants is roughly equal in value to all of the fossil fuels used for the state’s residential, commercial, and industrial sectors for process and space heating – a cost of $3.8 billion.

Connecticut’s power plants transform energy stored in nuclear and chemical fuels, with roughly one-third being converted into useful energy and two-thirds being rejected as heat, due to the fundamental physical laws associated with the power generating process. That heat is rejected into the atmosphere or bodies of water.

However, proven combined heat and power (CHP) technologies — in use in the United States and Northern Europe — can be utilized to capture rejected heat for useful purposes; and, the CASE study says, will pave the path towards energy independence and security by reducing dependence on fossil fuels, while creating jobs and providing economic benefits, as well as improving the environment and energy efficiency.

Although rejected heat is plentiful and readily available, the CASE report notes, it is not at conditions suitable for distribution and high-value end use. These conditions are a result of striving for maximum electrical efficiency, a goal arising from current practices and regulations that is based on limited thinking of energy as disparate forms (electricity, natural gas and heating oil), CASE contends, rather than considering all forms of energy as an integrated whole. Modification of existing plants would be required to achieve beneficial use of rejected heat and CASE recommends that new plants be designed with heat use as a consideration.

The CASE study committee examined various uses for waste heat and developed the following recommendations for Connecticut:

  • Develop district energy (heating and cooling) systems in high population/employment areas
  • Create Waste Heat Enterprise Zones to encourage economic development
  • Explore the potential for growing algae for generating biofuel from fossil fuel stack gases, or cooling water reject heat.

The study concludes that the potential for beneficial use of power plant rejected heat is significant. The challenge for Connecticut, the study contends, is not technical but requires a paradigm shift in the state’s energy policy and planning—to consider all energy forms/sectors (electricity, natural gas and heating oil) along with their impacts on the environment and economic development
holistically.

The CASE report recommends initial policy changes that include requiring new facilities to integrate electricity and thermal generation into their design and operation; providing that facilities that convert to a CHP mode of operation or new CHP plants and utilities be allowed to pursue long-term purchase contracts for selling electricity to the grid or to each other and providing Class I or Class II renewable energy credits for use of rejected heat from electricity generating facilities that otherwise would have been discharged into the atmosphere or a water body.

“The question can no longer be how do we best dispose of the waste heat,” writes CASE, “but how the facilities can be best designed (new or retrofitted) to beneficially use the rejected heat.”

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

May 18, 2009

Evening To Feature Keynote Address by Dr. Gary Yohe; Student Award Presentations

What: 34th Annual Meeting and Student Awards Presentations  Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

When: Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 6 pm to 9:30 pm

Where: New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, CT

Who: Dr. Gary Yohe, Keynote Speaker
Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics, Wesleyan University

Why: To highlight advances in science and technology in Connecticut and to honor the state’s most talented young scientists and engineers. Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science Fair, Connecticut Science Challenge, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention will be recognized during the evening ceremonies. The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by the Academy and presented in partnership the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, will be awarded to the two first place winners of the Connecticut Science Fair and the first place winner of the Connecticut Science
Challenge.

Twenty-three newly elected members of the Academy also will be introduced.

The 2009 Connecticut Medal of Science will be presented by Frank Ridley, Chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education.

 

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

May 13, 2009

Hartford, CT — Connecticut’s most talented young scientists and engineers will be honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at its 34th Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on May 20, 2009 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT. Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science Fair, Connecticut Science Challenge, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention will be recognized during the evening ceremonies.

The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and presented in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, will be awarded to the two first place winners of the Connecticut Science Fair and the first place winner of the Connecticut Science Challenge. The medal was created to recognize and honor H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost-effective in a worldwide competitive environment.

A member of the Nobel Prize-winning International Panel on Climate Change, Dr. Gary Yohe, will give the keynote address. Yohe is a professor of economics at Wesleyan University and a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

Student winners to be honored include:

The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence:
Eliza H. McNitt, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2009 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division
Shedding Light on Imidacloprid’s Role in Colony Collapse Disorder

Michael D. Tom, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2009 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division
A Novel Tensiometer Utilizing Carbon Nanotube Elastic Conductors

Aditya Rajagopalan, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT
2009 Connecticut Science Challenge – 1st Place
Modeling Synergistic Cellulolytic-Hemicellulolytic Enzyme Complexes for Lignocellulosic Hydrolysis

2009 Connecticut Science Challenge
1st Place – See H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence award winner

2nd Place: Stephanie Choi, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT
Project: Identification of Nox2-Modifier Gene Variances on C57BL6 Mice Hybrid SJL/C57BL6 Mice

Honorable Mention: Fiona W. Wood, North Haven High School, North Haven, CT
Project: Biophyscially Realistic Computational Models of Temporal Encoding in Cortex

2009 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
1st Place: Amoolya Narayanan, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, CT
Project: Anti-biofilm Effect of Trans-cinnamaldehyde on Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

2nd Place: Swathi Krishnan, Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY
Project: Use of Novel Structured RNA Molecules to Block HIV-1 Replication

3rd Place: Matthew Greenberg, Staples High School, Westport CT
Project: Obesity Pathogenesis: Dissecting the Models of Leptin Resistance

4th Place: Anita Gade, Fairfield Warde High School, Fairfield, CT
Project: Stargazin Glutamic Acid 191, a Conserved Residue amongst TARP Proteins: Investigating Its Role in Stargazin Oligomerization

5th Place: Ishan Sinha, Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT
Project: Accelerated Learning within the Human Auditory System

2009 Connecticut Invention Convention
Bridgeport, CT – St. Ann School: T.J. McCarthy, Michaela Pelletier & Timothy Pelletier
Canton, CT – Home Schooled: Alexei Sondergeld
Colchester, CT – William J. Johnston Middle School: Carey Ozmun
Hartford, CT – Hartford Magnet Middle School: Justin Kupec
Hebron, CT – Home Schooled: Bridget Oei
Old Lyme, CT – Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School: Hanna DeBruyn, Isabelle Foster & Kalyn Wiese
Newtown, CT – Newtown Middle School: Melanie Curtis
Pomfret, CT – Pomfret Community School: Helen Schmidt
Torrington, CT – Torrington Middle School: Sara Heath, Dylan Miller, Sierra Nicolson, Michael Novajasky & Kiley Rosengrant.

Twenty-three newly elected members of the Academy will also be recognized during the evening.

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

May 13, 2009

Hartford, CT — Three outstanding young Connecticut scientists will be awarded the H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence at the 34th Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering on May 20, 2009, at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT.

The award, created by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and presented in partnership with Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, is in recognition of H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost effective in a worldwide competitive environment.

As an inventor and as founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and President for South Windsorbased Gerber Scientific, Inc., Mr. Gerber was a leader for nearly half a century in inventing and producing factory automation equipment designed to solve global manufacturing problems. An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, Mr. Gerber received the National Medal of Technology in 1994 followed by the Connecticut Medal of Technology in 1995.

The recipients of this year’s H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence are 2009 Connecticut Science Fair winners Eliza H. McNitt (1st Place, Life Sciences – Senior Division) and Michael D. Tom (1st Place, Physical Sciences – Senior Division), both of Greenwich High School; and 2009 Connecticut Science Challenge winner Aditya Rajagopalan of Choate Rosemary Hall (1st Place).

McNitt’s winning Science Fair entry was entitled, “Shedding Light on Imidacloprid’s Role in Colony Collapse Disorder” and Tom’s award was for his project, “A Novel Tensiometer Utilizing Carbon Nanotube Elastic Conductors.” Rajagopalan, the winner of the Connecticut Science Challenge, won for his project, “Modeling Synergistic CellulolyticHemicellulolytic Enzyme Complexes for Lignocellulosic Hydrolysis.”

The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) is sponsoring the award as part of its goal to strengthen the quality of high school STEM education.

“CCAT believes strongly that recognizing educational achievements in the sciences by Connecticut’s students is an important aspect of improving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the state,” said Elliot Ginsberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of CCAT. “We are delighted to join with CASE to present these awards.”

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

May 13, 2009

Dr. Gary Yohe is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

Gary Yohe, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics at Wesleyan University, will be the keynote speaker at the 34th Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, on May 20, 2009 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks. His topic will be, “Pitfalls and opportunities when scientists meet decision-makers and the media.”

Dr. Yohe’s work has focused attention on the mitigation and adaptation/impacts sides of climate change. He is a senior member of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was awarded a share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

A member of Wesleyan’s faculty for more than 30 years, he is also currently serving as a visiting professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is the author of more than 100 scholarly articles, several books, and many contributions to media coverage. Involved with the IPCC since the mid 1990’s, Dr. Yohe served as a Lead Author for four different chapters in the Third Assessment Report that was published in 2001, the Convening Lead Author for the last chapter of the contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report, and a member of the core writing team of the Synthesis Report of the Fourth Assessment Report.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Yohe earned his PhD in Economics from Yale University in 1975. He is a member of the New York City Panel on Climate Change and the standing Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change of the National Academy of Sciences. He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the “Hidden (climate change) Cost of Oil,” in 2006 and before the Senate Energy Committee on the Stern Review and the Senate Banking Committee on “Material Risk from Climate Change and Climate Policy,” in 2007. In addition to accepting an invitation to join the Adaptation Subcommittee of the Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change (CT), he has been appointed to the Adaptation Panel of the National Academy of
Sciences’ recently launched initiative on America’s Climate Choices.

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

April 20, 2009

Hartford, CT — The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering announces the election of twenty-three of Connecticut’s leading experts in science, engineering and technology to membership in the Academy. The newly elected members will be introduced at the Academy’s 34th Annual Meeting and Dinner on May 20, 2009, at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks.

The twenty-three newly elected members are:

  • Mark Aindow, PhD, Professor and Materials Science and Engineering Program Director, University of Connecticut
  • Amvrossios Bagtzoglou, PhD, Head of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering; Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Vladimir Blasko, PhD, Fellow, Power Electronics Group/United Technologies Research Center
  • Mun Choi, PhD, Dean of Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Michael Donoghue, PhD, Vice President for West Campus Planning and Program Development; G. Evelyn Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Curator of Botany, Peabody Museum, Yale University
  • Monty Escabí, PhD, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; University of Connecticut
  • J. Peter Gogarten, PhD, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut
  • Peter Jones, PhD, James E. English Professor of Mathematics & Applied Mathematics, Yale University
  • Diane Jorkasky, MD, Consultant (formerly of Pfizer, Inc.)
  • John Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Deputy Chairman for Research; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
  • Cato Laurencin, MD, PhD, Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the College of Medicine; Van Dusen Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery; and Professor of Chemical, Materials, and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center
  • Bruce Liang, MD, Ray Neag Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, Director of Center for Cardiology and Cardiovascular Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center
  • Lynne Regan, PhD, Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Chemistry, Biophysical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry; Director, Sackler Institute for Biological, Physical & Engineering Sciences, Yale University
  • Peter Salovey, PhD, Provost, Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology; Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University
  • William Sessa, PhD, Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Pharmacology; Director, Vascular Biology & Therapeutics Program, Yale School of Medicine
  • Robert Sherwin, MD, C.N.H. Long Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine
  • Abraham Silberschatz, PhD, Sidney J. Weinberg Professor and Chair of Computer Science, Yale University;
  • Michelle Steen, PhD, Rotational Assignee/Program Manager, Executive Initiatives, IBM Corporate Technology Evaluation and Intellectual Property
  • Joann Sweasy, PhD, Professor of Therapeutic Radiology and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine
  • William Tamborlane, MD, Professor and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology, Yale University School of Medicine
  • T. Kyle Vanderlick, PhD, Dean of Engineering and Thomas E. Golden, Jr. Professor of Engineering, Yale University
  • Pieter Visscher, PhD, Professor of Marine Sciences, Director, Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut
  • Robert Whitlatch, PhD, Professor, Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut/Department Marine Sciences

Election to the Academy is on the basis of scientific and engineering distinction achieved through significant contributions in theory or applications, as demonstrated by original published books and papers, patents, the pioneering of new and developing fields and innovative products, outstanding leadership of nationally recognized technical teams, and external professional awards in recognition of scientific and engineering excellence. By statute, the Academy’s membership is limited to 250 individuals.

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

February 3, 2009

Hartford, CT ―― The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) released a report today entitled, “Implementation of University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) Study Recommendations.” CASE was engaged as an Independent Monitor, at the request of and acting on behalf of the Connecticut General Assembly to monitor and report on progress regarding the implementation of recommendations from the 2008 CASE study, “A Needs-Based Analysis of the University of Connecticut Health Center Facilities Plan” in accordance with the provisions of Special Act 08-4.

The comments cited in today’s CASE report are based upon meetings with UCHC and its hospital partners, and additional information provided by UCHC. The report focuses on Phase 2 (Aug. 4, 2008 – Feb. 3, 2009) of a two-phase process. Phase 2 involved monitoring and reporting on progress regarding UCHC’s selection of hospital partners through a solicitation of interest process.

UCHC received four proposals – three from Bristol Hospital, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital interested in serving as medical education partners – and one comprehensive proposal from Hartford Healthcare Corporation (HHC) in collaboration with The Hospital of Central Connecticut (HCC) that provided for HHC to serve as a principal clinical partner, and both HHC and HCC to serve as a medical education partners. Efforts regarding the details of individual affiliation agreements have been focused on developing the Connecticut Health Education and Research Collaborative, designed to enhance the education and research missions of all participating partners.

The proposed principal partnership between UCHC and HHC would create a University Hospital on two campuses, in Farmington and Hartford. The proposal calls for the construction of a replacement hospital of approximately 250 beds at UCHC, which will be accomplished within the existing number of licensed beds of Hartford Hospital and John Dempsey Hospital. Since adding hospital beds to the Greater Hartford Region was a major objection voiced by many of the regional hospitals, being able to construct a replacement hospital without adding additional beds to the region overcomes this objection.

While the framework and foundations for the articulation of detailed agreements have been developed, the CASE report cites the necessity for UCHC and its partners to complete this process by finalizing affiliation agreements that will set forth the details of their relationships and operating understandings.

The report notes that the implementation of the plans developed by UCHC and its regional hospital partners is expected to provide an opportunity for added economic impact through the creation of new opportunities driven by expanded research initiatives and improved quality of health care. These opportunities are expected to create economic growth and new jobs, and make the Greater Hartford region a destination for health care.

The CASE Project Committee therefore concluded that action is needed to achieve the goals of the state and the University of Connecticut. Failure to act jeopardizes both the status and the research capacity of UConn’s medical and dental schools. Furthermore, failure to act requires continued operation of an inefficient, obsolete John Dempsey Hospital with its attendant structural operating deficits or assures its eventual closure with subsequent loss of on-site clinical capacity for teaching and clinical research. As stated in the Academy’s initial report, maintaining the status quo is unacceptable. The cost of any eventual action by the state to sustain quality medical education and research capabilities as well as to achieve a high quality of medical care for the people of the region and the state will only continue to steadily increase. UCHC’s plan has the potential, if implemented, to serve as a major economic stimulus for the region.

The CASE report notes that the state of Connecticut is at a crossroads. It can maintain the status quo, or it can look to the future by supporting the proposed vision for medical education and research in the Greater Hartford Region. This vision includes endorsement of the principal partnership between the University of Connecticut Health Center and Hartford Healthcare Corporation, as well as construction of a replacement hospital on the UCHC Campus and the formation of the Connecticut Health Education and Research Collaborative that includes UCHC’s regional hospital partners.

###

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science

News Release

May 16, 2008

Evening To Feature Keynote Address by Dr. Kelly Brownell, Student Award Presentations

What: 33nd Annual Meeting and Student Awards Presentations Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

When: Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 6 pm to 9:30 pm

Where: New Haven Lawn Club, New Haven, Connecticut
***Reception will be held at the Peabody Museum (across the street) from 6pm – 7pm

Who: Dr. Kelly Brownell, Keynote Speaker
Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University

Why: To highlight advances in science and technology in Connecticut and to honor the state’s most talented young scientists and engineers. Winners of the 2008 Connecticut Science Fair, the 2008 Connecticut Science Challenge, the 2008 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and the 2008 Connecticut Invention Convention will be recognized during the evening ceremonies. The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by the Academy and sponsored by Gerber Scientific, Inc., will be awarded to the two first place winners of the Connecticut Science Fair and the first place winner of the Connecticut Science Challenge.

Nineteen newly elected members of the Academy also will be introduced.

The 2007 Connecticut Medal of Science will be presented by Frank Ridley, Chairman of the
Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Suggested News

News Release

Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 36 New Members in 2025

March 18, 2025 | CASE Member News

News Release

Call for Nominations: The 2025 Connecticut Medal of Science

February 19, 2025 | Connecticut Medal of Science