Author: RMcase2021

East Hartford, CT — The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (Academy) is pleased to announce that Academy Member Gualberto Ruaño, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Assistant Director for Special Projects at the Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering, UConn Health, has been appointed by the Academy’s Governing Council to chair its Broadening Participation, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The Academy convened the committee, initially as an ad hoc committee and this past year as a standing committee, for the purpose of affirming the Academy’s commitment to considerations of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the decision-making processes for all its activities.

In appointing Dr. Ruaño, President John Kadow shared the Governing Council’s support for his leadership and the work of this committee, stating, “We recognize that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive approach within our organization will strengthen the guidance we provide to the people and the state of Connecticut on issues related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. We are fortunate to have Dr. Ruaño lead this effort.”

Dr. Ruaño has been an innovator in biotechnology for 30 years and is a pioneering expert in the science and clinical deployment of personalized medicine. He was elected to CASE in 2004 and then served as Chair of the Health Technology Board. A native of Puerto Rico, Dr. Ruaño has resided in Connecticut for 40 years since his studies at Yale University, where he received his Ph.D. and M.D. degrees.

East Hartford, CT – The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering is pleased to announce the election of two Honorary Members:  Andrew Bramante, Science Research Teacher and Director of the Science Research Program, Greenwich Public Schools; and Bernard J. Zahren, Founder and Executive Chairman, Clean Feet Investors and Owner and Founder, Zahren Financial Co. Mr. Bramante and Mr. Zahren will be recognized at the Academy’s 48^th Annual Meeting to be held Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at the Woodwinds in Branford. The Academy’s Governing Council voted to name Bramante and Zahren in recognition of their outstanding service to the Academy through participation and/or activities in support of the Academy’s mission 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.

Andrew Bramante is honored in recognition of his commitment to the education of students through his teaching and as director of Greenwich High School’s Independent Science Research program since 2006.  His students consistently win some of the highest state, national and international prizes awarded for science-related research at the high school level, including two Google Science Fair Finalists, one Google Science Fair winner, and 37 Regeneron/Intel STS finalists/Scholars. And, this year Mr. Bramante has extended his teaching to include middle school students interested in science research.

More than 49 of his Greenwich High School students have competed in the annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), winning eight First Place awards, five Best of Category Awards, and four Grand Prize Awards. His students are frequently the top winners of the CT Science and Engineering Fair and CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, with those students receiving top awards from the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, including the H. Joseph Gerber Medals of Excellence.

Bramante has a BS and MS in Chemistry from Fordham University. Prior to teaching, Bramante worked in industry for 15 years including Hitachi Instruments and PerkinElmer Instruments. In 2003 he met Ray Hamilton, a Greenwich High Science Research Teacher, at a local American Chemical Society event. Bramante offered to help with Hamilton’s instrumentation needs, which Ray accepted, and from that experience, his life changed. He obtained his teaching certificate in 2005, began teaching at Greenwich the same year, and a year later Hamilton retired, and Bramante became the science research teacher. Key to his success are high expectations for his students and an incredible work ethic. His students know he is available as needed, including opening his lab and classroom during out-of-school time. If students know he is in the building, word gets around – even at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning – and the lab fills.

Andy’s work with his students was profiled in “The Class”, a book by Heather Won Tesoriero, who shadowed Bramante for a year.

Bernard J. Zahren is honored in recognition for his commitment to business-focused sustainability initiatives critical to reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. His entrepreneurial and management leadership capabilities have been instrumental in this effort. Mr. Zahren is owner and founder of Zahren Financial Co., LLC (est. 1984; ZFC), with ZFC the manager of Clean Feet Investors I, LLC (CFI I). CFI I is a private, multi-million-dollar investment fund, with a nationwide portfolio focused on solar photovoltaic, SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates) aggregation and finance, energy efficient hydroponic greenhouses, battery storage, water heater controls, solar thermal, and other renewable energy projects. CFI I, co-founded by Bernard and Sun Edison founder Jigar Shah, is a Connecticut-based fund which seeks socially responsible investments in small to medium-sized renewable energy and energy conserving projects. Mr. Zahren truly believes in “Doing Well” by “Doing Good”.

Prior to ZFC, Mr. Zahren developed successful investment syndications for a subsidiary of CIGNA Corp., and in his early career held senior management positions in firms including Angeles Leasing Corp., Architectural Wood Products, Inc., and The Koppers Company.

His contributions to public service include serving as chair of the Avon CT Clean Energy Commission and the Advisory Board for the Partnership for Responsible Growth. He previously served as a board member for Talcott Mountain Science Center and Academy, Special Olympics, and Community Health Charities of CT where he received the Ellsworth S. Grant Founders Award.

Zahren committed himself professionally, and personally, to strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions. His home won two prizes from the Connecticut Zero Energy Challenge (2010-2011), including the lowest overall HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Index score and the lowest net energy annual operating costs. To achieve his goal of “net zero energy” consumption, his home includes a ground-source geothermal HVAC system and three renewable energy systems: a solar hot water system, solar PV panels and a wind turbine.

Mr. Zahren has a BS from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

The 47th Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) Annual Meeting was held virtually Thursday, May 26, 2022.

To learn more about those honored and celebrated, visit the 47th CASE Annual Meeting Website.

The website includes:

• A recording of the live portion of the virtual meeting, with the keynote by CASE Member Craig M. Crews, Yale University, and a virtual reception highlighting middle and high school CASE Student Awardees
• Recognition of our sponsors
• Welcome from President Christine Caragianis Broadbridge
• Information about the 2022 CT Medal of Technology, including awardees Craig M. Crews and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology

Additionally, you can learn about the Academy’s 2022 new members and find out about our newest honorary member, Dawn Hocevar from BioCT. Included is an update on the Academy’s Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Program.

Student awardees from the CT Invention Convention, CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, the CT Science and Engineering Fair, and the fair’s urban school challenge are highlighted, with videos prepared by the Awardees available for viewing.

East Hartford, CT – Craig Crews, PhD, will deliver this year’s keynote address at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), to be held virtually on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Dr. Crews is the John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Professor of Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Management at Yale University. He will present on “Why Science? Motivations for the Ages”. Additionally, Professor Crews is a recipient of the 2022 Connecticut Medal of Technology and will be recognized during the evening’s program for this honor, as well as presenting the keynote.

Dr. Crews conducted pioneering research that launched the pharmaceutical field of Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD). TPD is hailed as a new paradigm for drug development and will almost certainly lead to novel therapeutics. DThe 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. escribed as an exceptionally creative scientist, with an eagerness to ask piercing, mechanism-based questions, and a commitment to evidence-based, first-rate, definitive science, he has had a profound translational impact in drug development.

Combining his groundbreaking science with an entrepreneurial spirit, Crews and his colleague Raymond Deshaies co-founded Proteolix in 2003.  Proteolix developed a therapeutic treatment approved by the FDA in 2012 for relapsed multiple myeloma. Drug development is a slow and arduous process, and few technological advances are truly transformative in the field. However, for Crews, this was just one step in his journey.

Since 2001, he has developed a new technology, known as PROTACs, or Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras.  This innovative and potentially disruptive approach for inhibiting the function of disease-causing proteins is being commercialized in the biotechnology, New Haven-based, oncology-focused company Arvinas that he founded in 2013. The company has created more than 300 new jobs in New Haven with a $3.5B market cap, two drug candidates in clinical trials, and several partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies. Arvinas focuses on drugs to treat cancer, neurodegeneration, and other diseases [now in clinical trials for breast and prostate cancer].

Crews earned a BA in Chemistry from the University of Virginia, completed a research fellowship at the University of Tübingen (Germany), and received his PhD in biochemistry from Harvard University. His awards and honors are numerous, including the 2013 CURE Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2014 Ehrlich Award for Medicinal Chemistry, 2015 Yale Cancer Center Translational Research Prize, a NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (2015), elected a CASE Member (2015), the American Association for Cancer Research Award for Chemistry in Cancer Research (2017), Khorana Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018), Pierre Fabre Award for Therapeutic Innovation (2018), the Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics (2019), the Heinrich Wieland Prize (2020) and the Scheele Prize (2021).

East Hartford, CT  – The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) is pleased to announce the placement of Dr. Seema Alim as a Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) — Science and Technology Policy Fellow.  Dr. Alim’s fellowship at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will focus on Building Decarbonization.

Dr. Alim has a PhD in civil engineering, is a licensed professional engineer, and brings 30+ years of experience in urban planning, building design, and infrastructure development.  Her work included projects in the US, and internationally, including Canada, UK, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Middle East/North African (MENA) countries. She accepted the fellowship, “…to continue working on climate mitigation and Green House Gas emission reduction through policies, programs, and integrated planning focused on decarbonizing existing residential and commercial buildings, incentivizing new construction to adopt zero-emission building and appliance standards, and training the real estate community to incorporate energy efficiency metrics in real estate transactions.”

Dr. Alim’s professional experience includes an IEEE Science & Technology Policy Fellowship at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and leadership positions at CH2MHill/Jacobs and Louis Berger.  She has a BE in Civil Engineering from NED Engineering University and a MSc and PhD from Imperial College in London.

“The Science and Technology Policy Fellowship program aligns with CASE’s mission to provide advice on issues of science and technology in public policy that effect the social and economic well-being of the people and the state of Connecticut,” CASE President Christine Caragianis Broadbridge said. “We are grateful for the opportunity provided to us by DEEP to place Dr. Alim in support of the agency’s building decarbonization efforts.”

The CASE Science and Technology Fellowship Program provides opportunities for scientists and engineers to engage with and support policymakers as they navigate increasingly complex policy issues in their public service to the state and its residents.  Additionally, the program supports scientists and engineers during their fellowship to improve their ability to effectively communicate with policymakers and the public.

East Hartford, CT — Talented Connecticut middle and high school student scientists and engineers will be honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) at its 47th Annual Meeting, to be held virtually on Thursday, May 26, 2022, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Students from this year’s Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair, including the fair’s urban school challenge program, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention received CASE awards and will be recognized as part of the meeting.

The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence established by CASE will be awarded to the top winners of the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair. 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.

The 2022 H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence

Ambika Grover, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

2022 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division; Project: Design of a Novel, Dual-Functioning Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Anticoagulant Therapeutic for Rapid Ischemic Stroke Treatment     

Naomi Park, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

2022 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division; Project: Biomimetic Removal of Microspheres Water Contaminants, via Calcite-Infused, Coral-like Melamine Sponges

2022 H. Joseph Gerber Award of Excellence

Snigtha Mohanraj, Engineering and Science University Magnet School, West Haven, CT

2022 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – Urban School Challenge High School Winner; Project: Implementing Nontoxic Modified Biochar Enhanced Filtration for the Efficient Removal of Emerging Contaminants in an Aqueous Solution

2022 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – Middle School Winner, Urban School Challenge

Ethan Joseph, Engineering and Science University Magnet School, West Haven, CT; Project: Catalace: Combining Conventional Artificial Intelligence Algorithms with Precision Medicine Data to Accurately Diagnose Cervical Cancer

2022 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

1^ST Place: Snigtha Mohanraj, Engineering and Science University Magnet School, West Haven, CT; Project: Ferro-Sponge: An Investigation into the Usage of Metal Oxides for Microplastic and Oil Removal from Water

2^ND Place: Sebastian Mengwall, Darien High School, Darien, CT; Project: Cloud Identification in Mars Daily Global Maps with Deep Learning

3^RD Place: Ryan Kim, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT; Project: JARVITS: A Novel Deep Learning IoT Traffic Control System for Real-Time Detection and Signal Optimization

4^TH Place: Lily Donzeiser, Darien High School, Darien, CT; Project: Evolutionary Responses to Climate Change in a Long-Distance Migratory Songbird: The Scarlet Tanager

5^TH Place: Gouri Krishnan, King School, Stamford, CT; Project: Electrochromism Paired with Finite Difference Time Domain Modeling Allows for the Successful Prediction of Color Change Achieved by Electrochromic Reactions

2022 Connecticut Invention Convention CASE Awardees

Vivian Balazs, Columbus Magnet School, Hot Ears

Alec Dyar, John Read Middle School, The Safe Bake

Alessa Ferreira, Interdistrict Discovery Magnet School, Comfort Pup

Allison Hartzog, Bolton Center School, Magnipipe

Olivia Hudgens, Homeschool, Flying into the Future

Lilianna Izquierdo, Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy, Pet Bell

Hannah Kravet, Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy, Therapy Crate

Palmer Noe, Independent Inventor, The Heavy Load Lifter

Tanisha Ray, Bolton Center School, Water Sensor Vibration Cane

Ainsley Rinoski, Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, WRIST GUARD

Michael Sherman, John Read Middle School, The Spray and Scrape

Varshny Sriganesh, East Granby Middle School, Firen

Suchita Srinivasan, Dodd Middle School, Myla: A Domestic Violence Alerting Device comprised of an Analog Sound Level Meter, OLED Display, and iOS Mobile App built using Swift

Lexina Swan, Shelton Intermediate School, Grocery Guard

Alex Tillson, Shelton Intermediate School, Sit Dri 202

East Hartford, CT —Craig M. Crews, the John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Professor of Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Management at Yale University and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) have been selected as the 2022 recipients of the Connecticut Medal of Technology. The awardees will accept their medals at the 47^th Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, to be held virtually on May 26, 2022.

Craig Crews is awarded for pioneering research that launched the pharmaceutical field of Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD). TPD is hailed as a new paradigm for drug development and will almost certainly lead to novel therapeutics. Described as an exceptionally creative scientist, with an eagerness to ask piercing, mechanism-based questions, and a commitment to evidence-based, first-rate, definitive science, he has had a profound translational impact in drug development.

Combining his groundbreaking science with an entrepreneurial spirit, Crews and his colleague Raymond Deshaies co-founded Proteolix in 2003.  Proteolix developed a therapeutic treatment approved by the FDA in 2012 for relapsed multiple myeloma. Drug development is a slow and arduous process, and few technological advances are truly transformative in the field. However, for Crews, this was just one step in his journey.

Since 2001, he has developed a new technology, known as PROTACs, or Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras.  This innovative and potentially disruptive approach for inhibiting the function of disease-causing proteins is being commercialized in the biotechnology, New Haven-based, oncology-focused company Arvinas that he founded in 2013. The company has created more than 300 new jobs in New Haven with a $3.5B market cap, two drug candidates in clinical trials, and several partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies. Arvinas focuses on drugs to treat cancer, neurodegeneration, and other diseases [now in clinical trials for breast and prostate cancer].

Crews earned a BA in Chemistry from the University of Virginia, completed a research fellowship at the University of Tübingen (Germany), and received his PhD in biochemistry from Harvard University. His awards and honors are numerous, including the 2013 CURE Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2014 Ehrlich Award for Medicinal Chemistry, 2015 Yale Cancer Center Translational Research Prize, a NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (2015), elected a CASE Member (2015), the American Association for Cancer Research Award for Chemistry in Cancer Research (2017), Khorana Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018), Pierre Fabre Award for Therapeutic Innovation (2018), the Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics (2019), the Heinrich Wieland Prize (2020) and the Scheele Prize (2021).

Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) is awarded the Connecticut Medal of Technology for its leadership of regional and national partnerships that assist the industrial base with the advancement of applied technologies and workforce initiatives to strengthen the global competitiveness of the manufacturing ecosystem in Connecticut.

CCAT, a non-profit incorporated in 2004, is a dynamic and innovative applied technology organization. An invaluable resource to the State, CCAT leads the promotion, demonstration, and adoption of applied technologies, particularly in the areas of modelbased engineering, Industry 4.0 and digital technologies, additive manufacturing, advanced composites, and renewable energy. CCAT’s industry-led approach and delivery of transformative solutions enables manufacturing and technology companies to improve the critical KPIs required to remain a profitable industry leader.

Leveraging its Advanced Technology Centers, CCAT assists the manufacturing ecosystem with research and development, prototyping, technology readiness level /advancement, low-volume production, validation, and demonstration of leading-edge technologies. CCAT further leverages its technology capabilities through public-private partnerships with national consortia, industry associations, manufacturing institutes, global industrial companies, small to medium-sized enterprises, and academia.

CCAT’s leadership in creating and administrating programs on the State and federal level has been a major multiplier for the Connecticut economy. Examples include: leveraging stimulus capital through matching grant voucher programs provided by the Manufacturing Innovation Fund; accelerating digital transformation through the Connecticut Defense Manufacturing Community Consortium’s Digital Model Initiative program; upskilling the manufacturing workforce and identifying the next generation of talent from underserved communities which have been supported by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Deloitte Foundation and other private entities.

CCAT’s contributions, and that of its team, have been nationally recognized for developing innovative solutions to industry challenges, such as the President’s “E” Certificate for Export Service, presented by the Secretary of Commerce for significant contributions to the nation’s Export Expansion Program, the DoD Patriot Employer Award, and awards for community and professional leadership.

“Dr. Crews and CCAT are proof yet again of our state’s incredible science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical talent and resources. The awarding of these medals is a positive and gratifying reminder that even though our state is small demographically and geographically, we are a significant force as a global technology leader propelled by our research community, companies, skilled workforce, and a laser focus on accelerating long-lasting and equitable economic development in Connecticut,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “On behalf of the entire state, I want to thank Professor Crews and Ron Angelo and his team at CCAT for helping to make Connecticut the great state we know it is — and congratulate them both on receiving Connecticut’s highest honor for technological achievement.”

The Connecticut Medal of Technology is awarded to individuals, teams, and companies/non-profits or divisions of companies/non-profits for their outstanding contributions to the economic, environmental, and social well-being of Connecticut and the nation through the promotion of technology, technological innovation, or the development of the technological workforce. By highlighting the importance of technological innovation, the Medal also seeks to inspire future generations to prepare for and pursue technical careers to keep Connecticut and the nation at the forefront of global technology and economic leadership. Modeled after the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, this award is bestowed by the state of Connecticut by the direction of the Office of the Governor, with the assistance of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, in alternate years with the Connecticut Medal of Science.

East Hartford – Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering will hold its 47th Annual Meeting virtually on Thursday, May 26, 2022, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.

To join us in celebrating science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine talent in our state, register today at https://registration.caseannualmeeting.org/

PROGRAM

6:30 p.m. – Reception
Meet middle and high school awardees

7:00 p.m. – Meeting
Welcoming Remarks: Christine Broadbridge, President
Agenda: John Kadow, Vice President/President-Elect
2022 New Members and Honorary Member
Sponsor Recognition
Bestowing of 2022 CT Medal of Technology

Keynote Address
“Why Science? Motivation for the Ages”
Craig Crews, John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University

8:30 p.m. 
Adjourn to Explore the Annual Meeting Website
2022 New Members of the Academy
2022 CT Medal of Technology
Honorary Member:  Dawn Hocevar, BioCT
CASE Science and Technology Policy Fellowship

Connecticut Student Science & Engineering Competitions
Connecticut Invention Convention
Connecticut Junior Science & Humanities Symposium
Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair