The project started when Aaron Budris, Environmental Planning Director for the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG), started to work with UConn Extension and UConn Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis 10 years ago on an economic impact study for the Naugatuck River Greenway Trail, a partially completed paved multi-use trail following the Naugatuck River. NVCOG was interested in understanding the multi-use trail as an economic driver for the communities along the trail, but soon realized the data they needed to conduct an economic impact analysis did not exist.

“We had some general nationwide information, or trail information from other states, but nobody had really looked at how trails were being used in Connecticut,” says Budris.

The project team needed to collect their own local trail use data, and the first step was to establish a methodology using infrared pedestrian counters on trails, Budris explains. This way they could count how many people pass in front of the counter on the trail, and then using in-person intercept surveys, they could gain insight into how people are using the trails and how much money they spent while visiting the area. While vetting their methodology with trail experts and stakeholders, the project team repeatedly heard of a statewide need for reliable trail use data. They decided to try to change that with a statewide data collection pilot. NVCOG partnered with UConn on an application to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Recreational Trails Grant Program, and they were awarded funding in 2016 to purchase 10 trail counters to get started.

Budris says that as they reported the findings, more people became interested in what they were doing. With funding from subsequent DEEP Rec Trails awards, NVCOG purchased more counters and the program picked up steam, eventually outgrowing the capacity to be staffed and administered solely by NVCOG. The program became a partnership with UConn and grew as part of the CT Trails Program.

The trail counters are infrared sensors that measure differential temperatures, says Budris. The sensors collect data 24 hours a day, and they are visited four times per year both to check on condition and to manually download the count data. To visit the current counters, it takes three team members, including Budris and Trails Program coordinator Laura Kelly,  about three full days to visit all locations, which includes hundreds of miles of travel around the state.

Because the sensors can over- or underestimate counts, they require several hours of manual counts for verification, so that the researchers can compare the actual counts with what is counted by the sensor for each specific hour. Kelly says that under ideal circumstances, manual counts are done 10 times per year for at least a total of 10 hours at each count location. Then the team calculates a correction factor that is used to adjust the data at the end of the year before they publish the annual Count Data Report.

“The reports are a really good tool for local officials to understand how their trails are being used,” says Budris. “We want to provide the information that communities need if they’re looking for grant applications or funding for maintenance, or if they want to know what time they should send their maintainers out there. They can get that information from our data.”

A significant part of the project’s outreach includes the interactive Trail Census Dashboard, built by the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) assistant Extension educator Qian (Rachel) Lei-Parent.

“This is where most of our users, whether they’re managers or other people, get access to the count results,” says CLEAR geospatial educator and CT Trails Program co-lead Emily Wilson. “You can select certain trails or do comparisons to track trends over time; there are a lot of ways to do a deep dive into the counts.”

Since the CT Trails Program has been collecting data, they have recorded how trail use has increased over the years. The sensors were out prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the team says they saw use spike in 2020 before a relative post-pandemic decline. Ongoing counting, however, indicates that trails remain popular recreational destinations, with current use levels remaining above pre-pandemic levels, says Wilson.

Weather is the biggest factor affecting trail use. The busiest days of each year tend to be days that bring the first glimpse of springtime in March or early April; however, the data show that many people remain out on the trails even in the middle of winter. These sometimes surprising insights are instrumental for planning efforts, such as one focused on installing lighting in a dark tunnel on the Hop River Trail in Bolton.

“The folks that put together that grant application for tunnel lighting cited our data as the reason they were successful in their efforts,” says Budris. “It’s a dark tunnel and if you can say there’s this many people using it, you can argue it’s a good investment to make it safer for those people.”

Wilson says the counters have helped identify trails used by commuters based on spikes in use during certain times of day on weekdays versus weekends. They also see increased use of trails around UConn Storrs during semesters. Since many trails are posted for use from dawn till dusk, these results present an opportunity for the data to show that municipalities might rethink the hours of operation.

“Especially on commuter trails in the winter, you’re going to be using the trail probably before dawn or after dusk,” says Budris. “This could be eye-opening to municipal officials, and it’s information for communities … People are going to be using the trail, one way or the other, so you might as well make it safe.”

The information is also vital for planning snow removal and maintenance, says Department of Natural Resources and the Environment associate professor and CT Trails Program co-lead, Anita Morzillo.

“These are a huge expense, but knowing that these are year-round paths that people are using shows that maintenance, including the snow removal, is something that allows for the continuous use,” Morzillo says.

This is reflected in the data, which shows that snow removal results in immediate rebounds in trail use. For people who rely on these trails for transportation, maintenance and snow removal are crucial.

With an extensive baseline set of data, the team can now deploy short-term counters to estimate use patterns to assist towns, trail organizations, and others.

“It’s on a case-by-case basis. We see what their needs are, what they need the data for, and normally we can offer to put a counter out for a month or two, and then we can take that data, and give them annual estimates based on the counts from a nearby counter because we know patterns of use are similar on similar trails,” says Budris.

This strategy has helped the program grow by partnering with more communities and partners around the state.

“From the last report, I think we now have 28 permanent counters and five short term counters,” says Kelly. “We have a lot of enthusiastic volunteers this year who help us with most of the manual counts. We could not count as widespread or estimate as accurately without all of the volunteers.”

Morzillo says they hope to return to collecting more data about the people using the trails via intercept surveys and crowdsource data collection: “Having that context is important for understanding long term trends and details about people’s choices.”

Though a small group runs the “mission control,” the program has included over 140 partners, says Morzillo, demonstrating the participatory nature of the work.

“There are about two dozen coordinators for the counters. People of all ages are participating in the manual counts, sometimes UConn students, grad students, undergrads, Scout troops,” says Kelly.

Wilson adds, “This is a huge team effort. We get comments from across the country that this is a leading-edge program compared to other places, including a lot of compliments about the length of time and the comprehensive nature of it. I think it’s something to be proud of.”

Partners in the CT Trail Census Data Dashboard include Farmington Valley Trails Council, Naugatuck Valley COG, Capital Region COG, and New Milford River Trail Association. The CT Trails Program is made possible through a partnership with CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research, the Naugatuck Valley Council of Government NVCOG, UConn College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, UConn Extension, and the CT Greenways Council.

For Oskar Harmon, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at UConn, a recently published paper was inspired by a conversation with a friend.

About football.

“One of my close friends said they were no longer going to watch NFL games,” Harmon explains. “I was a bit surprised, because he’s normally open to different points of view. So that’s what motivated me.”

What discouraged Harmon’s friend was the widely publicized NFL player protests during televised U.S. national anthem proceedings at the start of games.

Player protests, notes Harmon, became one of the most visible controversies facing the NFL during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, as players like the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat or kneeled as the anthem was played live on network television.

In 2018, major broadcast networks discontinued live coverage of national anthem ceremonies, greatly reducing visibility of player protests. But the interest in what happened in 2016 and 2017 didn’t wane for Harmon.

“I was looking at how television ratings changed during the protests,” Harmon explains, “and I was really surprised that no one was asking about what happened inside the stadiums. Do all people feel so strongly that they’re not going to go to the games? Because people are very committed to football. And I didn’t see anybody in the literature looking at it.”

Despite media reports of a decline in television viewership and attendance at NFL games amidst the protests, academic research has been limited.

In a review of published studies, Harmon found that a few looked at television viewership responses to the anthem protests, but none examined in-stadium game attendance.

Harmon, who studies consumer behavior and behavioral economics and is a football fan himself – “And I’m very, very, very disappointed in the Giants,” he quips, “but I still watch their games” – partnered with fellow associate professor Jungbin Hwang, an econometrics researcher who uses statistical and mathematical theory to analyze economic data, to see what happened to NFL stadium game-day attendance during the height of the NFL protests in 2016 and 2017.

Their findings were recently published in the June edition of the Southern Economic Journal.

Home-field advantage

For their study, Harmon and Hwang looked at the impact of the protests on ticket sales and used local economic and political conditions to estimate the impact of player protests on game attendance.

“The attendance statistics are produced by the NFL at a website they have,” Harmon explains. “And then, to understand political polarization, we looked a two different data sources on Black Lives Matter protests as well as data from the Washington Post that tracks fatal police shootings of unarmed Black males.”

As a measure of political polarization, they used county-level voting data from the 2016 U.S. presidential contest between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump.

They also used sports betting data to see how competitive games were and controlled for things like the day of the week, the time of day, and game-day weather.

“Because that could affect attendance,” Harmon says. “The idea is that you’ve got your main variables of interest, but then you need to control for other factors that might influence attendance. So, you isolate those.”

“We were particularly interested in how these protests by NFL players in those two years affect attendance of the games in the stadium, because there are some hot debates about the effect, negative and positive,” says Hwang. “And it’s not simple. We had to systematically organize the data into panel format and employ causal interference methods for panel data that can control for confounding factors, such as team, game location, week, and seasonal effects.”

What Harmon and Hwang found was that some reduction in game-day attendance was consistent with boycott behavior amongst fans.

That reduction, however, was somewhat offset by attendance from MAGA-aligned fans engaged in counter-protest as well as fans who attended in order to support player protests.

“We are very cautious to be decisive in one specific direction,” says Hwang. “Claims that political protests are driving fans to or pushing fans away from a stadium are really not that simple. The results are mixed, and fans still have a lot of incentive to be in stadium, either supporting or disagreeing with these protests.”

The greatest in-stadium attendance impact, the researchers noted, was the response of fans to away-team player protests, where fans had a more statistically significant response in attendance to protests by away teams visiting their stadium as opposed to protests by players on their home team.

The finding showed that attendance was lower when an away team’s players were protesting, as opposed to a home team, an unexpected result for Harmon, who suggested home-team loyalty or local demographics might be the cause.

“The big surprise was the away-team reaction – I thought it would be uniform,” Harmon says. “I did not expect that it would be largely in response to away teams.”

A new arena for research

Harmon says that the study is limited by the nature of NFL ticket sales.

“Seventy-five percent of NFL tickets are sold the season before,” he notes, “so we’re only looking at 25% of overall ticket sales. So, there might have been other people who didn’t physically go, but their tickets had already been sold.”

The study also did not include surveys of individual people.

“We’re trying to look at correlations and then interpret them and say, well, this is a plausible scenario,” Harmon says.

The data is also limited by the relatively small sample size, Hwang says.

“We only have 32 weeks of game days,” he says, “and fans are pretty fixed as far as inflow of demand each season. Sports markets, we believe, are kind of inelastic.”

Additional study, they said, that looks at turnstile data – as opposed to ticket sales – might shed greater light on in-person impact.

But at least for Harmon, this new-to-him area of research, embarked upon after a personal conversation, has already led to additional discussions with colleagues and a new area of inquiry for him.

He’s planning to take his behavioral economic research back to the sports arena to look at how response to unexpected sporting event outcomes, combined with political sentiment, can impact social and domestic issues.

“There’s literature about the Super Bowl and follow-up articles about upset games and their relationship to spikes in domestic violence,” Harmon says. “The little part of the literature that I want to tap into is how political polarization plays a role in fan response to game loss and incidents of domestic violence.”

Miller Foods is a family-owned, fourth-generation business in Avon, Conn., founded in 1950 by his great-grandparents, fondly known as Oma and Pa. DeJulius was immersed in the business from an early age, working alongside his family carving turkeys during the family’s annual pre-Thanksgiving turkey sale.

Today the business is focused on its flagship natural pet nutrition business, Oma’s Pride, while ushering in the next era of growth.

“As a fourth-generation leader, I see myself as both a steward and a builder,’’ said DeJulius, a two-time Husky. “My responsibility isn’t simply to preserve what my family created, but to build upon it while maintaining the values that have guided us for more than 75 years. At the same time, we’re embracing new ideas, investing in people, and pursuing thoughtful, sustainable growth.’’

DeJulius will be honored with a ‘40 Under Forty’ award from the Hartford Business Journal at a ceremony in September. The ceremony honors early career leaders who are making an impact in business and their community. DeJulius, who earned his bachelor’s degree in business and technology, with honors, in 2009 and a UConn MBA in 2020, is one of three UConn School of Business alumni to be recognized at the event.

Working in Varied Industries Gave DeJulius New Perspective

DeJulius started his career in insurance and management consulting, seeking the knowledge and skills to become a strong leader. In 2019, he returned to Miller Foods, bringing valuable business experience, a broad perspective, and a new vision for the company’s future.

He enjoys the diversity of responsibility, fast pace, and diversity of his role.

“Every decision we make ultimately affects our employees, our customers, and their families,’’ he said. “That’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly.’’

Even the difficult decisions, such as discontinuing a product that customers have come to rely on, are approached with empathy. “Sometimes the right business decision is also the hardest personal decision,’’ he said. “We care deeply about our customers, so those conversations matter.’’

In partnership with Connecticut Foodshare, the company’s philanthropic non-profit organization, Miller Farms Cares, has provided nearly 300,000 meals to families since 2020.

Advice for Students: Surround Yourself with Rising Stars

In hindsight, DeJulius believes that one of his best career decisions was to explore other fields before returning to Miller Foods.

“It’s easy to spend a great deal of time trying to map out the perfect career,’’ he said. “But experience comes from doing. Every role teaches you something, if you’re willing to learn. The years I spent outside our family business gave me perspectives I couldn’t have gained any other way.’’

Students and young alumni should seek mentors and colleagues who inspire and challenge them, he said.

“Surround yourself with people who have high standards, who are curious, and who make everyone around them better,’’ he said. “Learn from them; contribute whenever you can. Your career is shaped far more by those relationships than by chasing titles.’’

DeJulius, 39, works alongside his brother, Nick, who oversees operations. Together they’ve built a partnership rooted in mutual respect, trust, and complementary strengths.

“Nick’s attention to detail, operational expertise, and commitment to excellence make him an exceptional partner,’’ said DeJulius, whose mother Capri led the company for a decade. “We each bring different strengths to the table, but we share the same values and the same commitment to doing what’s right. I genuinely believe the business is stronger because we work together.’’

Completing the UConn MBA program helped DeJulius sharpen his financial knowledge and strengthen his ability to think strategically. It also helped him develop the discipline required to lead a growing business.

“Balancing graduate school, work, and family wasn’t easy, but it shaped the leader I am today,’’ he said.

DeJulius’s wife Kate DeJulius is also a UConn alum, earning a 6th Year Certificate in Educational Leadership at UConn in 2019. She is an assistant principal at Webster Hill Elementary School in West Hartford. The couple, who met as Newington High School students, balance their demanding jobs with raising children Gio, 4, and Luciana, 2.

The couple often share leadership ideas, and are both committed to helping others grow, developing strong teams, and creating environments where people can excel. “I couldn’t do what I do without her partnership,’’ he said.

The UConn Tech Park seeks to answer those questions with a pilot program that connects industry leaders directly with students eager to make their mark. Uniquely, it is offered to first-years, not juniors and seniors.

This summer, UConn Tech Park worked closely with nine key industry research partners on the initiative. The idea grew from conversations with UConn Tech Park’s advisory board.

“We execute incredible industry research here at UConn, bringing direct economic benefit to Connecticut and the community. UConn also stands as our state’s flagship educational institution. Our industry advisors astutely pointed out a missed opportunity to merge these two great strengths,” says UConn Tech Park Director Emmanouil Anagnostou. “Through this new Talent Incubator, first-year students get direct mentored exposure to the most powerful and successful research industry partners in the region.”

Companies including Eversource, Synchrony, AvanGrid, Travelers, Sikorsky, Casella, Trane, Tescan, and Hyaxiom are supporting 20 early-career students. The UConn scholars are exploring challenges in fields like sustainability, security, and finance, spending approximately 100 hours over the summer exploring these challenges.

Theo Menounos, then the director for student professional development for the College of Engineering, visited early level engineering classes to garner interest, encouraging interested students to submit their resumes for consideration.

“The Tech Park Talent Incubator initiative is a unique opportunity for first-year engineering students to gain early hands-on experience working on real-world industry projects,” says Menounos, now UConn’s assistant director of the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills. “This program provides an excellent way for them to assess their career interests while enhancing core NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) Career Readiness Competencies, such as critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.”

Hundreds of students submitted resumes for consideration and the Tech Park narrowed the field to 50 candidates for 10 total challenges. Students were paired with the participating companies on merit and availability. In May, after acceptance into the Incubator, students got to work on the various challenges. This opportunity is not a typical summer internship or temporary job, but rather a chance for the students to flex their own learning and expertise in areas significant to the respective companies.

For example, students selected for the Trane challenge helped audit heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems throughout UConn Storrs. They sought methods to improve system efficiency and help with large-scale sustainability solutions.

While most companies provided one challenge, Synchrony Financial offered opportunities to two teams of students. Synchrony senior vice president for engineering Dan Murphy ’06 (ENG) says the company, which specializes in cybersecurity, saw sponsoring the programs as a mutually beneficial opportunity.

“The talent incubator program has been a great solution to bridge the gap between newer UConn students and our internship programs, which are designed for students nearing graduation,” Murphy says. “Through real world experiences, top performing students build critical skills, foster relationships with leaders in the industry, and prepare to be future leaders in the state. For Synchrony, the benefits are clear: growing our talent pipeline while solving real business problems with the support of these students.”

Incubator students will present their final reports to the industry sponsors on Sept. 9. After their presentations, the students will have the opportunity to network with leaders from throughout Connecticut’s industry ecosystem.

“Nowhere else can first-year students connect with nearly a dozen major employers in a setting that’s welcoming, personal, and built around conversation,” UConn Tech Park business development Manager Mike DiDonato says. “At the same time, our industry partners get a chance to meet exceptional students early and begin building relationships that can grow over the next four years.”

While designed as a pilot, the reception amongst participants has already been strong. UConn expects the Talent Incubator to grow in the coming 2026-27 academic year with more participating industry partners and a larger cohort of first-year students.

Award of Academic Tenure

Dr. Margaret K. Callahan – Medicine

Professor – In-Residence

Dr. Enrique Ballesteros- Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Dr. Karina Berg – Medicine

Dr. Murali Dharan – Medicine

Dr. Hao Feng – Dermatology

Dr. Marilyn Katz – Medicine

Dr. Philip Kerr – Dermatology

Dr. Agnes Kim – Medicine

Dr. Christine Thatcher – Family Medicine

Dr. Kristina F. Zdanys – Psychiatry

Professor – w/Award of Academic Tenure

Dr. Carla Rash – Medicine

Professor – Tenured

Dr. Irina Bezsonova – Molecular Biology & Biophysics

Dr. Breno Diniz – Psychiatry

Dr. Michael Guertin – Genetics & Genome Sciences

Dr. Yusuf Khan – Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Taeho (Greg) Rhee – Public Health Sciences

Professor – Affiliated Institution

Dr. Sonia Chaudhry – (Connecticut Children’s) – Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Henry Chicaiza – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics

Dr. Andrea Orsey – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics

Dr. Rachel Stanley – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics (new chair)

Dr. Haviva Veler – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics

Associate Professor – In-Residence

Dr. Roopjeet Bath – Medicine

Dr. Mina Boutrous – Surgery

Dr. Laura E. Bujold – Family Medicine

Dr. Jaclyn Cox – Medicine

Dr. David FitzGerald – Psychiatry

Dr. Lalarukh Haider – Medicine

Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen – Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Parvathy Madhavan – Medicine

Dr. Yazeed Maghaydah – Medicine

Dr. Anu D. Maharjan – Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Dr. Natalie Moore – Emergency Medicine

Dr. Hardeep Singh – Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Amanda Ulrich – Obstetrics & Gynecology

Dr. Tarunya Vedere – Medicine

Associate Professor – w/Award of Academic Tenure

Dr. Eran Agmon – Molecular Biology & Biophysics

Dr. Rajkumar Verma – Neuroscience

Dr. Kepeng Wang – Immunology

Dr. Dong Zhou – Medicine

Associate Professor – Affiliated Institution

Dr. Jessica Abrantes-Figueiredo – (Trinity St. Francis) – Medicine

Dr. Corey Baker – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics

Dr. Natasha Frederick – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics

Dr. Edward D. Gifford – (Hartford Healthcare)- Surgery

Dr. Jason Gluck – (Hartford Healthcare) – Medicine

Dr. Robert Hagberg – (Hartford Healthcare) – Surgery

Dr. Christopher Hughes – (Connecticut Children’s)- Surgery

Dr. Colin Huguenel – (Hartford Healthcare)- Emergency Medicine

Dr. Matthew Jaffa – (Hartford Healthcare)- Neurology

Dr. Cesar Mesia – (Connecticut Children’s)- Pediatrics

Dr. Sandra Motta – (Connecticut Children’s)- Pediatrics

Dr. Elizabeth Ng – (Connecticut Children’s)- Pediatrics

Dr. Alaina Pyle – (Connecticut Children’s) – Pediatrics

Dr. Anumeha Singh – (Hartford Healthcare) – Emergency Medicine

Dr. Ajay Tunguturi – (Hartford Healthcare) – Neurology

Clinical Professor

Dr. Melanie Collins – Pediatrics

Dr. Dhamodaran Palaniappan – Anesthesiology

Associate Clinical Professor

Dr. Yasser Al-Baghdadi – Anesthesiology

Dr. Joseph Gerace – Anesthesiology

Dr. Alberto Gonzalez – Psychiatry

Dr. Vasilije Mijovic – Anesthesiology

APPOINTMENTS TO SENIOR RANK:  

Professor – In-Residence

Dr. Linganatha Adisesh – Medicine

Associate Professor – In-Residence

Dr. Sunny Mitchell – Surgery

Dr. James Scott – Anesthesiology

Associate Clinical Professor

Dr. Neal Weisbrod – Neurology

Adjunct Associate Professor

Dr. Derek Rosenzweig – Orthopaedic Surgery

The Office serves primarily Connecticut residents, but also helps those from anywhere in the U.S. The Office can address an array of gardening questions about plant health, insects, diseases, when to do routine maintenance like pruning and fertilizing, and even how to start a garden.

“Our main purpose is to help anybody who is interested in gardening or plants to do better or do more with what they already do in the garden,” Heather Zidack, horticultural outreach educator, says.

The Office is staffed with horticultural professionals who leverage their expertise to help the public.

“We do have that background knowledge, both from our education and working in the field,” Zidack says. “We really pride ourselves on how we leverage that knowledge for our clients, because we have so much experience that we can share.”

The Office cannot diagnose diseases or pests itself, so it works closely with the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. Having a confirmed diagnosis before beginning treatment can help prevent unnecessary or ineffective pesticide and other chemical applications.

“Being able to offer that testing for confirmation is a huge piece of what we do because we’re able to make sure that people know what they have so that they’re treating things specifically,” Zidack says. “It’s really important with gardening that you don’t just treat something and then ask questions later.”

The Office hosts educational talks with local garden clubs and other organizations throughout the year on topics like native plants and pollinators, and not-so-garden-variety oddities. They also produce fact sheets and newsletters with information and gardening tips.

In collaboration with the integrated pest management team at UConn, the Office hosts an annual seminar for home gardeners.

“We really strive to bridge that gap between commercial growing knowledge and gardening resources for homeowners,” Zidack says. “We will work with UConn Extension professionals to be the translator between super technical information and what the homeowner needs to know.”

With its move into the new George Leigh Minor Plant and Soil Health Center, the Home Garden Education Office is looking to host more workshops where they can welcome the public into the space.

“We want to increase how much the public can come in to see us in person,” Zidack says. “We want to get back to being together, looking at actual plants together, and that’s really what we want to encourage in this new space.”

This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Ensuring a Vibrant and Sustainable Agricultural Industry and Food Supply.

Follow UConn CAHNR on social media

“My dad would sometimes bring us in on weekends, and I have fond memories of spending a portion of some Saturdays drawing pictures and stringing paper clips together for hours,’’ Brine said. “Patti, our receptionist, always knew when we had been in the building, because she spent her first half hour on Monday unclipping that paper-clip chain!’’

Today, Brine is Vice President at the fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer in Cheshire. HOB Industries specializes in high-speed metal stamping, custom tooling, and precision engineering. The company serves the automotive, aerospace, electronic, appliance, and commercial roofing sectors.

Brine, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Babson College and an Executive MBA from UConn in 2017, will be honored with a ‘40 Under Forty’ award from the Hartford Business Journal in September, recognizing her as an outstanding young professional excelling in her industry. Brine is one of three UConn business graduates to be recognized.

EMBA Program Taught Her to Think More Strategically

Running a manufacturing business today isn’t easy, Brine said.

“For me, the challenge is the joy,’’ she said. “On a global scale, there are tariffs and pricing challenges and 20 great employees who have their own needs in the business and outside of it. “
“On the days when it all comes together and works, it is fun. Like they say, ‘Everyone wants to be a star athlete but no one wants to go to practice,’’’ she said. “But it is the hard work and preparation that brings success and that allows us to celebrate when we get the win.’’

When Brine was accepted into UConn’s EMBA program, she was the youngest in the cohort and she was nervous about it. But she met people with different leadership styles, different viewpoints, and experience in a vast wealth of industries. She said the professors were exceptional and she still maintains friendships with many of her classmates.

Through the EMBA program, Brine developed a new perspective.

“The EMBA program gave me the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day operations of the business and think more strategically,’’ she said. “Instead of simply reacting to whatever came my way each day, which is so easy to do in a small business, it challenged me to spend time on our long-term goals and priorities and to make decisions with the company’s future in mind. This has stayed with me for many years.’’

Brine’s father, Francis Macary Jr., is no longer CEO but is still an owner and remains involved in the business, while her brother, Peter Macary, serves as company president.

Brine said her father never pushed her, or her three brothers, to join the company. But the summer after her junior year in college, he asked her if she would help build a custom software for the company.

“We were the kind of family where you had to earn your own gas money, so I said yes,’’ she recalled.

That summer she enjoyed the work, particularly providing new data for the company and knowing that the processes she developed would benefit the organization. By the time she returned to college, she was invested in the company’s success. Her first accomplishment after becoming a permanent employee was to create a method that allowed employees to measure production in real time, an essential tool for the staff.

Brine’s Advice to Students/Alums: Enjoy Your Work

If Brine could offer advice to students or young alumni, it would be two-fold.

“A core value of mine is to enjoy work,’’ she said. “So much is written about people working to make money, but there is so much joy it brings to your life if you enjoy what you do and take pride in it. That’s very important.’’

“Also, I can’t overstate the importance of relationships. People sell products to other people. The root of business is building relationships with customers and with co-workers,’’ she said.
Brine, and her husband Stephen, an inner-city teacher for more than 20 years, are raising their 2-year-old daughter, Dottie, and are excited to welcome a baby boy in January.

“I’ve been fortunate enough never to have to view my career and family as separate parts of my life; they’re both part of an incredible adventure that challenges me and brings me so much joy. I truly believe one makes the other more rewarding,’’ she said.

That is the experience of Ethan Gasteyer of Western Massachusetts.  Many of his former classmates in the Class of 2026 at UConn School of Medicine, who are now doctors, didn’t know he was continuously battling brain cancer, until he had to step away at the start of his third year of medical training to focus on his cancer care.

“My cancer wasn’t something I talked a lot about or openly about. Some of my classmates had no idea. When I had to step away, they were all incredibly supportive,” he says.

Gasteyer is still going through various cancer treatments, but was able to cheer on his classmates in-person at Commencement as he watched them become doctors this May as his journey fighting brain cancer marches on.

“I went to graduation with my walker. It was really cool that they mentioned my name during Commencement as an honorary member of the Class of 2026,” he shares heartwarmingly.

Journal writing has always helped Gasteyer get through his ongoing treatments. On June 17, 2026 his book, When a Bright Spot Darkens Your World: Battling Brain Cancer, was released online and has already sold over 1,800 copies.

“It feels incredible. What started as a journal and thoughts on paper, is now a full book. I started writing a book to stay busy and distracted. My family and friends encouraged me to write a book out of my journaling, so I did. It took me a full year and a half!”

“I’m still going through treatments,” Gasteyer shares. “But the book has helped me reclaim my life. I am going on with my life, and pursuing my passions.”

Gasteyer shares that the type of brain tumor he has can end up being a chronic disease.

“Some people with it live for decades. I expect that I am not going to be fully healthy, as we don’t know the full prognosis.”

But this medical student’s dream of becoming a doctor someday soon continues, and it started way back in high school.

“I always loved biology, and helping people,” he says. “My friend in high school had cancer and unfortunately passed away. Also, my aunt had cancer, and she battled a recurrence of non-Hodkin’s lymphoma too, but did well thanks to a newly available CAR-T Cell treatment that cured her.

He adds, “Both of their journeys have inspired me to pursue a career in medicine,” along with Gasteyer’s own personal experience of a cancer diagnosis that began during COVID in 2020 when he found himself once again wanting to become a doctor.

“I now want to help people like me!”

Gasteyer’s symptoms started during COVID.

“I felt dizziness, loss of balance, and began waking up every day with a headache. On family walks that we started during COVID, I had to begin thinking about taking one step after another.”

Gasteyer knew something wasn’t right.

“I finally went to the doctor. He thought it might be vertigo, but since I was getting consistent headaches he sent me for an MRI just in case it might be a brain tumor,” he says. “Thank God he did!”

In August of 2020, when an undergraduate at UConn Storrs, about to start his junior year, the MRI results in Boston at Mass General Hospital showed a golf ball size tumor that looked like it had a spider web extending from it. It was diagnosed as a low-grade 2 astrocytoma brain tumor.

Gasteyer spent 9 days in the hospital to remove part of his skull, C1 vertebra, and part of the tumor located on the back of his brain’s cerebellum. After surgery, 6 weeks of radiation occurred and chemotherapy started.

“I’ve been a Husky for a long while now,” he happily shares. Gasteyer was grateful to be able to finish his UConn Storrs undergraduate degree, take the MCAT exam to apply and successfully be accepted to UConn medical school’s Class of 2026, and finish two of the four years of medical school so far.

“I am so glad that I kept on going with my life and went to medical school,” he says all while on chemo treatments to keep his cancerous tumor’s growth at bay.

“Medical school knowledge helped me better understand my own medical appointments and brain scans better,” says Gasteyer. “But what we also learned about in medical school with cancer is that it can be unpredictable, even if you do everything perfectly! It was a challenge sitting in class knowing I might not have the same lifetime as my medical school classmates. But I did know that I wanted to help and treat patients!”

Gasteyer’s biggest advice to others that may find themselves battling a cancer diagnosis: “Find something outside of yourself to fight for. Enjoy the people in your life. My motivation has been my family and friends. They believe things are going to turn out well for me.”

In recent months, Gasteyer reports having lost a bit more balance and using a walker. “While I don’t feel good right now, it’s still so important to my family, especially my parents, that I stay involved and see my family and friends. Force yourself to say yes to everything social that you can. You will be glad you did.”

He is remaining very hopeful, and currently receiving targeted therapy infusions once every two weeks, while also exploring experimental injections of an exploratory and promising new, immune system vaccine available in Germany. His Germany treatments are all thanks to a Go Fund Me.

“Since Thanksgiving I’ve traveled to Germany for nine vaccine doses so far,” he says and they are definitely “giving me more energy. It’s pretty cool. The hope is that the vaccine is working to train my own immune system’s T-cells to fight off my cancer using my body’s boosted own defense system, with very little side-effects.”

Gasteyer is still on medical leave from medical school for now. But his last MRI showed the tumor has shrunk. His next scan is in a couple of weeks.

He is comforted by the “endless support” he says he received from his fellow Huskies.

“A lot of my UConn and UConn medical school classmates have reached out to me to check on me, and spread word about my new book, and contribute to the Go Fund Me for my vaccine treatments in Germany. I have a lot of thanks for my classmates.”

He concludes, “Huskies are amazing!”

Gasteyer was awarded the Ryan Doyle Courage Award recently from the RD26 Foundation started by the parents of his childhood friend who passed away from cancer.

Congrats to Gasteyer on this well-deserved honor for his inspiring courage, as he pursues his dream of always helping others and to do so as a future doctor.

Your fellow Huskies are always here for you, and rooting for you!

Hosted by the School of Computing (Soc) in partnership with the Vergnano Institute for Impact (VII), the camp was created to help students build foundational knowledge in artificial intelligence while exploring how AI is transforming the field of engineering. 

“AI is a disruptive technology that can either enhance or undermine student learning,” says camp program co-director Derek Aguiar. “Our camp introduces students to foundational AI concepts and teaches them how to use AI responsibly to support their education.” 

Aguiar is an associate professor within the SoC, which is a unit of the UConn College of Engineering. 

Campers from grades 8-12 gathered at UConn Storrs on July 27-31 for the immersive one-week program centered on the rapidly evolving field of AI. Through interactive games and hands-on activities, campers explored the algorithms, math, and programming that power AI systems. 

Throughout the week, campers from 19 high schools across Connecticut, New York, and abroad, along with three homeschooled students, experimented with programming environments, trained AI models, and tested them through computer vision scavenger hunts and building their own video games. Alongside technical instruction, instructors challenged students to think critically about the responsible use of these emerging technologies. 

One of the week’s highlights took students beyond the classroom and into a UConn research laboratory. During their visit to the cyber-physics lab test track, campers met Keshawn Smith, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student who is developing technologies that enable vehicles to perceive their surroundings and navigate roadways safely. Campers connected the concepts they had learned throughout the week with the hands-on challenge of programming race cars to drive themselves. 

“I wanted to lead this session because it gave students an authentic engineering experience where they could learn through experimentation rather than simply following instructions,” says Smith. “Watching teams test, observe, and refine their autonomous vehicles showed them that engineering is an iterative process driven by curiosity, teamwork, and problem-solving.” 

Campers ended the week with a stronger understanding of how AI works, firsthand exposure to university research, and a clearer vision of the many pathways available in computing and engineering. Most importantly, the camp rounded out their learning with a session helping students build their understanding of the ethical thinking needed to evaluate AI technologies and their impact on people and society.

“There is a larger conversation in AI and social media about how today’s teens are constantly regulating potential harm,” says SoC Ph.D. student Sarah Bennett. “It is more important than ever to give teens the tools and language they need to have conversations and manage ethical dilemmas on their own.” 

The camp is led by SoC faculty members professors Jinbo Bi and Aguiar, with activities coordinated by VII’s logistics team and workshops facilitated by professors Tingting Yu, Sheida Nabavi, and Yufeng Wu. Graduate student instructors serve as activity leaders throughout the week, supported by undergraduate counselors to create a fun computing experience in an environment that emphasizes collaboration, inquiry, and experimentation. 

Beyond teaching technical skills, the program reflects the school’s broader commitment to preparing the next generation of innovators. The AI Summer Camp helps students develop computational thinking, problem-solving abilities, and the ethical frameworks to design technologies that serve society.  

For more information about AI Summer Camp or to provide financial support for campers to attend next year, please visit the VII site. More photos are available online.  

The award comes from the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, or BARD. BARD is a competitive funding program for mutually beneficial, mission-oriented, strategic and applied research of agricultural problems, jointly conducted by American and Israeli scientists. Wunder will be collaborating with UConn assistant research professor Camila Hamond, Ph.D.; Northern Arizona University research scientist Nathan E. Stone, Ph.D.; and Kimron Veterinary Institute researcher and department head Shlomo Blum, DVM, Ph.D.

The project, entitled “Novel Protein Antigens as a Path to Improve Surveillance and Diagnostics of Bovine Leptospirosis,” aims to significantly improve cattle ranchers’ detection of leptospirosis, a disease caused by the bacteria Leptospira. 

The disease can be tricky to diagnose, since infected cattle often do not show pronounced symptoms. Farmers may first notice something is wrong when their female cows start having reproductive issues.  

“To identify those animals in a herd is sometimes complicated,” says Wunder. “Some animals, they actually get a chronic form of the infection, so their kidneys are colonized – they don’t necessarily have clinical signs of the disease, but they are secreting lepto into the environment.” 

Ranchers may perform blood tests on their herd, but existing tests are based on leptospirosis research from the 1950s and 1960s, says Wunder. Today’s lepto landscape is different, with new strains constantly emerging. 

Wunder has previously received NIH funding for his work on developing a new leptospirosis vaccine, using proteins that more closely match current circulating strains of the bacteria. His patented vaccine uses four proteins to protect against a wide range of lepto, in contrast to current inoculations which only include a few strains. 

 This project builds on that work, while specifically focusing on diagnostic tests instead of vaccines. 

“Through the work on the vaccine, I was able to identify several biologically relevant protein candidates,” says Wunder. “Because those candidates are important to infection and protection, we thought they could also be important candidates for diagnostics.” 

Current diagnostic mechanisms test for each strain of Leptospira individually, meaning that “20, 30, 40 antigens need to be used for a serum test” for a given blood sample, says Wunder.  

In contrast, his vision is a single test that uses just one or two proteins to identify infected animals, regardless of the strain they have been infected with. 

“Then we can quickly treat these animals and separate them from the herd,” he says. 

Leptospirosis can cause major economic losses for farmers, as it kills cattle or harms their reproductive and milk-producing capacity. It also poses a threat to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, who can contract it from exposure to urine from infected cows, such as through environmental contamination. Left untreated, it can be fatal. 

If you don’t look, you don’t see it.

The disease is of particular concern in developing countries which lack adequate sanitation infrastructure and access to healthcare. Because of its status as a neglected disease or “disease of poverty,” leptospirosis is less likely to receive research funding and attention. This can create a vicious cycle as the bacterium continues to multiply and infect different animals, without adequate safety mechanisms in place to protect animal, human, and environmental health. 

“If you don’t look, you don’t see it, right?” says Wunder. “So it becomes this hidden thing that could potentially become a major problem.” 

The idea that lepto isn’t a risk in the United States is a misconception, he says – one he is working tirelessly to combat. 

“If you look at the science, you can see that not only is it here, but things are changing,” he says. “New, more problematic strains are coming up. … And a lot of the time, we don’t know the risks they pose to human health.” 

Recently, Wunder says, leptospirosis cases have risen in New York, Chicago, and California. He foresees the problem intensifying in the coming years, as a warming climate, more rain, and increased social inequality provide ideal conditions for bacteria like Leptospira to proliferate. 

Cattle all over the United States do contract lepto, including strains in the vaccine and new strains. Working with farmers in Connecticut, he has found cows — even vaccinated ones – excreting the bacteria into the environment. 

This points to a need for both more effective vaccines and more effective tests. Wunder’s lab is hard at work on both. 

If you’re a UConn researcher – faculty, student, or staff – and you haven’t explored this unique research collaboration tool, you’re missing out.

Lincus leverages data on UConn faculty research to help build connections.

So if, for example, you’re interested in food safety following headlines about the nationwide cyclospora outbreak, a quick Lincus search on “food safety” could help you connect with more than 100 researchers enterprise-wide – from Storrs to Stamford, from UConn Law to UConn Health, from Extension to Educational Psychology – whose diverse expertise might help answer your questions or contribute to a new project.

Lincus was built and is managed by Institutional Insights and Innovation, or i3 – but more specifically, its developer is Maggie Danielewicz ’26 (ENG), who built the powerful system as a student before she graduated from UConn with a degree in computer science this past May.

But Lincus is just one of many tools that i3 has built for the University, and in support of funded projects, as part of its mission to provide practical, purpose-driven digital solutions to help the University run more efficiently, to support innovation, and to help improve the experience of working, researching, and learning at UConn.

“We consider ourselves strategists,” explains i3’s director, Joel Salisbury ’12 (BGS) ’15 MFA. “We help people make decisions about the technology that they employ. The way in which they present themselves requires designers, strategists – people who are writers as well as programmers. Our full-time staff reflects that, too. So, we have strategists and managers, designers, developers, pretty much all professional walks of life are represented in i3.”

Danielewicz is one of many valued students who’ve contributed to i3 since its launch, but she’s not only an alum. She’s now a full-time employee of i3, having joined its staff as a junior software developer in January, just before graduation.

Danielewicz and Salisbury recently joined UConn Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Pamir Alpay for a conversation about the unique role that i3, and the students and staff who work there, play each day in service to the UConn community.

*****

Pamir: A lot of people will wonder – what is i3 and what does it do? So, maybe we can start there.

Joel: i3 – Institutional Insights and Innovation – is the brainchild of vice provost Dan Schwartz. Essentially, it’s a digital enablement group within the provost’s office that serves research and academic operations through a team of developers, designers, and strategists who, on behalf of the University, explore and build out digital tools, websites, apps, and software.

We were born out of a couple of like-minded groups over the years, starting all the way back to Squared Labs and OVPR and the Digital Experience Group from DMD, and we’ve most recently merged with Greenhouse Studios.

Pamir: How big of a group are you?

Joel: We’re a team of 13 full-timers now, and I think we’ll have 10 students when the semester starts.

Pamir: Undergraduate students?

Joel: Yes, 10 undergrads and two graduate assistants.

Pamir: And what kind of projects does this group work on? And how many?

Joel: At our most recent count, we had 212 separate digital projects under our belt, with 50 or so of them under active development and 50 more that we’re responsible for in some way for maintenance. So, the volume is there, and some of those are kind of table stakes projects.

We were lucky enough to inherit the Nexus project. Jeff Winston ’95 (CLAS), the developer and creator of the original Nexus student success platform, brought what he knows about Nexus to us. It was in 2007, I believe, that the first version of Nexus was created. It’s nearly 20 years old, so there’s a tremendous amount of institutional history in that platform, and we’ve inherited it.

The Lincus platform is one that we built and maintain. Actually, Maggie built it while she was a student.

Pamir: I use it quite often.

Maggie: And now I’m responsible for it as a full-timer.

There’s also Grant Trails, which is one of our grant visualization tools. It shows where grant money is spent across the institution.

Joel: And there’s Sourcery, which is Mellon funded.

Maggie: Yes, this is a big, grant-funded application that’s actually being used right now by researchers around the world when they want to request archival documents, but they don’t want to physically have to fly or drive somewhere. It’s kind of like DoorDash, but for documents from institutional and libraries – that’s my most used allegory for it.

With Sourcery, it’s also been great to work with an actual, whole team, because with Lincus, I’ve kind of been the sole developer and manager of that. But with Sourcery, I’ve gotten to work with multiple developers, designers, strategists, and experience what a full team feels like.

Joel: Sourcery first got its grant through Greenhouse Studios in 2020. The PI is Tom Scheinfeldt in DMD.

Pamir: And you started actively working on it a couple years ago?

Maggie: I started working on it, actually, when I became full-time in January, as they’re funding part of my position. I’ve taken on a lot of tasks that [I3 staff engineer] Brian Kelleher ’17 (SFA) was working on mostly, which was nice because I kind of took on a lot of responsibilities from him on the Sourcery team. I’m actively working with the project manager, and I got experience with Jira and all of the platforms that we use. So, it’s been great to have that experience on top of working on my own project.

Pamir: So, the latest iteration of Sourcery – that’s your work?

Maggie: Oh, yes. I get to work with Natalie [Lacroix ’22 (SFA), i3 senior UI/UX designer] on the designs. She’s been doing great – she designs everything new. And our project manager, Joan [Frajaszy Troyano], is amazing. She’ll send me tickets or tell me, ‘Hey, this thing isn’t working.’ I’ll go in and fix it, try to fix it same-day, and then they’ll check it out and we’ll push it to the application that people now use around the world.

Joel: It’s another arm of what i3 does. Along with the internal apps and the tooling that we build on behalf of the University, we’re also a core facility. Researchers and PIs can hire us – we’re available for hire on grant-funded work as well.

Pamir: In terms of your favorite projects in the last three or four years, what are the things that you’ve absolutely loved working on? Or is it that all of the 220 are your favorites?

Joel: Some more than others, for sure! My answer is that, right now, I eat, sleep, and breathe Nexus. We’re tremendously lucky to have the support that we do and the adoption that Nexus has throughout the University.

Nexus is the University’s homegrown student success platform. It serves the advising context, faculty advisors, professional advisors, student support staff, staff in athletics, staff at regional campuses – essentially it snapshots our students and guides their success on the way to graduation.

And we’ve been granted the opportunity to reimagine it and expand it from the ground up, so that’s what I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: the expansion of the Nexus platform.

Pamir: What do you have in mind? What are the new things that are going to be in Nexus?

Joel: We’re looking forward to introducing the idea of insights – institutional-level insights, paths toward degree for students, helping identify problematic course combinations.

Maggie: It’s kind of been full-circle for me because I used Nexus as a student, when it came to advising. I used it when I was a peer advisor for the College of Engineering.

Pamir: Oh, you did that, too?

Maggie: Yes. Students would come in and schedule appointments, and I did a bit of mentoring with them. So, I used Nexus there, from an administrative point of view, and now it’s come to us to build it up.

Pamir: Your recently demoed a version for me, and I saw some exciting new features. One of them was the Forkcast, I believe?

Joel: Yes, the Forkcast – we think one of the biggest pieces of value in building Nexus the way that we are is that we’re inviting input from the entire UConn community. We’ve had some interviews with students who have come to us and said they really wish they had a place to land where they could gather information about their day, whether its their classes, their life on campus, clubs, engagements they’re involved with.

And one of the ideas that’s come through, named by Natalie, is the Forkcast, which gives insights into how busy a dining hall is, naming your favorite dishes and reading the menu and knowing what’s available to you on campus. Is this dining hall at capacity? Should I go there now, or should I look for one that’s not quite as busy?

So, it’s a good idea in itself, but it’s also one example of the way we are going about the build, by soliciting feedback from the entire UConn community.

Maggie: Not just the administrative stuff, but also student-facing.

Pamir: Joel, I’m sure you do a lot of outreach to get these undergraduates to work with the team. What are you looking for in someone joining i3?

Joel: I could go on forever about what drives i3 and just how much we benefit from the undergraduate student workforce. We couldn’t do it without them. Our 212 projects didn’t go through a handful of full-timers. We’re student-led, and the student energy and student output really drives what i3 is.

What we’re looking for in undergrad and grad students is a hunger to contribute to the UConn community. You’re hands-on from day one, really. You’re contributing to your community. You’re doing projects where you can see the direct impact at UConn. You’re building alongside us. These are real things, not hypothetical. They’re not prototypes. They get thousands and thousands of visits every single week.

So, you’re touching real things, and you’re getting paid well as a student, too. And I like that our students are paid pretty well, because we depend on them, and they produce at a high level.

What we’re looking for are people who are interested in the problems that the UConn community faces and are willing to approach it with us, bringing an energy that is focused on solving those problems.

Pamir: I’m going to switch it up a little bit. One of the things I love to do in this series is to highlight student success, student excellence. Maggie, how did you decide on UConn, and can you tell us a little about your UConn journey?

Maggie: When I decided on UConn, I was looking at it both socially and academically. We have so many clubs and activities at UConn. The Outing Club was a big part of my undergrad experience.

I was able to join the engineering learning community in my sophomore year, which connected me to the peer advising program, and that was just great, to be in that environment fostering academic excellence.

When it came to committing, I was between environmental science and computer science as majors. I knew UConn had really strong programs in both areas. I chose computer science and realized that I loved breaking these problems down and it was very satisfying to build something.

When I heard about i3, I decided to apply there.

Pamir: How did you hear about i3 and why was it something you wanted to engage with?

Maggie: I actually heard about it when it was still the Digital Experience, in my sophomore year. I was looking around for student jobs on campus, but I wanted something that would still tie into my career and what I was learning.

I found the Digital Experience Group, and I actually had a friend who had worked there before. I saw that students were actively building tools and software and websites for researchers and faculty, and for UConn in general. And seeing what they were doing inspired me to really jump ahead in my classes.

I learned web development tools on my own. I learned the languages and frameworks. Then, a few months later, I heard that they were transitioning into i3 and were hiring students.

Pamir: How was the interview?

Maggie: The interview was pretty good!

Joel: Did you interview with me?

Maggie: Yes, with you and BK [Brian Kelleher]. I was sitting in my dorm room.

Joel: We met Maggie, and we said, ‘She’s going to lead our dev team.’ We knew – yeah, she’s going to be the dev team leader. We didn’t even have that role in mind until after we talked to you.

Maggie: The interview went well, too, because I was able to talk about everything that I was learning in class. When the interview was happening, I was taking an intro to software class, and I was able to talk about the tools I was using in classes, like GitHub and Docker. And also everything that I learned on my own because of what the Digital Experience Group was doing that I wanted to be a part of. I liked the idea of working as a student – starting my professional career experience in the area of my interest while still being only a junior in college.

Pamir: And that also helped you in your academics?

Maggie: Yes. Honestly, the connection between school and i3 went scarily well. This past spring semester. I was learning about domain name systems in class the same week that I was configuring the DNS systems for Lincus.

Pamir: So, there was a lot of compatibility in terms of what you were doing.

Maggie: Yes. And with everything. With database design and my architecture classes, learning different languages and frameworks. When I first joined i3, I didn’t known any PHP or Laravel, and then I learned that I think in two weeks and started developing Lincus. That definitely was helpful when it came to classes.

Pamir: I’m so happy for you, and so happy for the team at i3. One last question to Joel. The the i3 team – your 23 students, staff, workers – not all of them are computer scientists. Can you give a broad profile of who’s involved in what with i3?

Joel: Yes, we recruit students from all disciplines. I think that the eagerness and the energy that I talked about is what matters most. Because it’s not just software projects that we’re doing.

We consider ourselves strategists. We help people make decisions about the technology that they employ. The way in which they present themselves requires designers, strategists – people who are writers as well as programmers. Our full-time staff reflects that, too. So, we have strategists and managers, designers, developers, pretty much all professional walks of life are represented in i3.

And that’s sort of the point. We recruit heavily from digital media and design. We recruit heavily from computer science. And we have a number of students who are in the humanities. We’ve had communication majors, English majors, political science, marketing, business. We have a Ph.D. candidate right now who is in the Department of Psychological Sciences.

Pamir: Let me tell you, my favorite platform is the dashboard you developed for all of OVPR. So, thank you for that, and thank you both for your time and for doing amazing work for the UConn community, for the tools that many of us use every day. Lots of appreciation for you both, and for your i3 team.

Students, faculty, and researchers interested in learning more about employment and collaboration opportunities with i3 can get started by visiting i3.uconn.edu.

Fellows will train predominantly in the Mohs surgery clinic taking care of a multitude of skin cancer patients ranging from routine to complex. They will also gain exposure and expertise weekly in the laser and cosmetic dermatology clinic working with the Mohs surgery faculty. In addition, they will spend time with other oncologic and surgical specialties including otolaryngology (facial plastic surgery and head and neck surgery), plastic surgery, oculoplastic surgery, radiation oncology, and medical oncology throughout their year of training.

Now under the leadership of Fellowship Program Director Dr. Hao Feng, associate professor of Dermatology and director of Laser Surgery and Cosmetic Dermatology, the program will annually train one future Mohs surgeon in the one-year program.

The fellowship, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and recognized by the American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS), relaunched this August 2026 with the arrival of board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shane McTighe who practices at Lane Dermatology in Georgia. He interestingly trained as a resident in the U.S. Army at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss in Texas and a dermatologist resident at the National Capital Consortium in Bethesda, Maryland.

McTighe and other future UConn fellows will receive comprehensive training in Mohs surgery, reconstructive surgery, cutaneous oncology, and laser and cosmetic dermatology at UConn Health Department of Dermatology’s very busy skin cancer practice that performs over 2,600 Mohs surgery cases and 1,000 skin excisions per year. The vast majority of the reconstructions are performed by Mohs surgeons.

“We are very excited to relaunch the Mohs surgery fellowship program as we have a very high volume of Connecticut patients in need,” shares Feng, the new Fellowship Program Director. “There is definitely an increase of skin cancers every, single year, and a lot of patient care need here in our state. The Mohs Surgery fellowship also completes our UConn medical school’s dedicated mission of always training the next generation of providers.”

Plus, fellows will participate in regularly scheduled didactics, journal clubs, surgical conference, multidisciplinary tumor board, and assist with teaching dermatology residents at the UConn School of Medicine as well through didactic sessions and supervising procedure clinics.

“Fellows always bring a lot of energy, ideas, and collaboration to make dermatologic patient care better and better, and to keep UConn on the cutting-edge of patient care,” says Feng. “Having trainees really helps you stay innovative, up to date on the latest scientific knowledge and treatments, and striving to always be the best for our trainees and patients. It’s really wonderful to have this Mohs surgery fellowship back at UConn, for the benefit of our institution, dermatology department, our trainees – but most importantly so many patients.”

Motaref’s own engineering education began in her home country of Iran, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s in earthquake engineering. She moved to the U.S. with her husband in 2006, obtained her Ph.D. in civil engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, and joined the UConn faculty in 2011. Since then, she has received numerous teaching awards and accolades from both students and colleagues, served as assistant director of faculty development for the College of Engineering, and currently directs SoCEE’s Program for Innovation and Student Success.

For the past several years, Motaref’s research has focused primarily on engineering education, specifically neurodiversity in engineering education and the use of AI-powered personalized learning. She is part of the core team of Include, a project within SoCEE, funded by the National Science Foundation. Through the project, 16 I Courses (“I” for “inclusive”) were redesigned to better support neurodiverse students. Course content is offered in multiple formats, a variety of assessment modalities are used, and students have diverse options for showing their work. In one I Course, students were asked to choose a mechanics concept and apply it to their own interests.

“We had students who used engineering concepts to analyze backpacks, toys, sports equipment, even an orchid plant,” says Motaref. For another I Course, she and a colleague provided some students with 3D models to see if they performed better on exams than students who had access to only 2D models. (They did.)

“Probably our most important realization,” Motaref says, “is that the methods we are developing benefit everyone, not only students typically classified as ‘neurodiverse.’ After all, when you think about it, everyone is neurodiverse in some way.”

Read on for more.

Originally developed to help people with Type 2 diabetes manage blood sugar, medications such as Wegovy®, Ozempic®, Zepbound®, and Mounjaro® have quickly become household names as highly effective treatments for obesity.

Their popularity has sparked countless headlines, celebrity endorsements, viral TikTok videos, and endless online debates. Along with the

excitement has come confusion.

Are they safe? Do people have to stay on them forever? Are they simply appetite suppressants? Is taking one “cheating?”

According to Dr. Jason Schneider, an OB/GYN at UConn Health who is board certified in obesity medicine, many of the biggest misconceptions stem from an outdated understanding of obesity itself.

“For decades we’ve viewed obesity primarily as a failure of willpower,” Schneider said. “Today, the science tells us something very different. We now understand obesity is a complex chronic disease influenced by genetics, hormones, metabolism, brain signaling, environment and many other factors. These medications didn’t change obesity, they changed our ability to treat it.”

Below, Schneider separates fact from fiction.

___________________________________________________________________________________

FICTION: “People with obesity just need more willpower.”

FACT: Obesity is a chronic disease—not a character flaw.

Dr. Schneider: One of the biggest misconceptions about obesity is that people simply need to eat less and exercise more. If weight loss were that straightforward, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic.

We now understand that obesity is much more complex. Genetics, hormones, metabolism and brain chemistry all play important roles in regulating hunger, fullness and how our bodies store energy.

Good nutrition and regular exercise remain the cornerstone of healthy living, but for many patients those efforts alone aren’t enough because the biology driving obesity is working against them. That’s why we increasingly recognize obesity as a chronic disease that deserves evidence-based medical treatment, just like diabetes or high blood pressure.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

FICTION: “GLP-1 medications are just appetite suppressants.”

FACT: They work on both the brain and the digestive system.

Dr. Schneider: GLP-1 is actually a hormone your body naturally releases after eating. It communicates with multiple organs including the brain, stomach and pancreas to help regulate energy balance.

The medications slow how quickly food leaves the stomach, helping people feel full longer. Just as importantly, they act on the brain’s appetite centers, helping regulate hunger and fullness signals.

Many patients describe something they call ‘food noise’that constant mental chatter about food, cravings or wondering what they’ll eat next. One of the most remarkable things we hear is that this noise becomes much quieter.

Researchers are now studying these effects beyond obesity because the medications appear to influence some of the same brain pathways involved in cravings and reward.”

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FICTION: “These medications are too new to know if they’re safe.”

FACT: They’ve been studied for nearly two decades.

Dr. Schneider: Although many people first heard about these medications for weight loss, GLP-1 medications have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for years. We have extensive clinical research involving thousands of patients.

Like every medication, they’re not appropriate for everyone and there are important safety considerations. But the idea that these medications suddenly appeared without research simply isn’t accurate.

He notes that people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN2), or certain other medical conditions should discuss the risks carefully with their physician.

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FICTION: “Everyone has terrible side effects.”

FACT: Most side effects are manageable and medical guidance matters.

Dr. Schneider: Social media naturally amplifies the extremes. People who have a difficult experience are much more likely to post than the many patients who tolerate the medication well.

The most common side effects involve the digestive system, including nausea, constipation, diarrhea and acid reflux. For many patients these improve over time or can be managed by adjusting the dose, modifying eating habits or temporarily slowing dose increases.

That’s why ongoing communication with your healthcare provider is so important.”

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FICTION: “I’ll lose muscle instead of fat.”

FACT: Muscle loss can happen with any significant weight loss but it isn’t inevitable.

Dr. Schneider: Whenever someone loses a substantial amount of weight whether through dieting, bariatric surgery, or medication some muscle loss can occur.

That’s why we encourage patients to think beyond the number on the scale. Strength training, adequate protein intake and regular physical activity become even more important while taking these medications.

The goal isn’t simply to lose weight. It’s to improve overall health while preserving muscle mass and physical function.

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FICTION: “Once you stop taking a GLP-1, you’ll gain all the weight back.”

FACT: Obesity is a chronic disease that often requires long-term management.

Dr. Schneider: This reflects how we think about chronic diseases.

If someone stops taking medication that controls blood pressure, blood sugar or asthma, the underlying condition often returns. Obesity is similar.

Some patients may benefit from long-term treatment, while others may transition to different therapies as new medications become available. Obesity medicine is evolving incredibly quickly, and we’re already seeing newer medications, oral options and combination therapies entering the field.”

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FICTION: “Taking a GLP-1 is cheating.”

FACT: Treating a chronic disease is never ‘cheating.’

Dr. Schneider: Unfortunately, obesity still carries significant stigma

No one tells a patient they’re cheating because they take medication for high blood pressure or diabetes. Obesity deserves that same medical respect.

These medications don’t replace healthy eating or exercise. They’re one tool that helps patients overcome the biological barriers that have often prevented them from succeeding despite years of trying.

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FICTION: “If I can get a prescription online, that’s all I need.”

FACT: The medication is only one part of successful treatment.

Dr. Schneider: One of the biggest misconceptions is that these medications are simply a prescription you take once a week and the weight comes off. That’s not how we approach obesity medicine.

Patients should be monitored throughout treatment. We look at nutrition, hydration, protein intake, physical activity, sleep and laboratory values. Some patients need adjustments in dosing. Others may benefit from working with a registered dietitian or additional specialists.

It’s also possible to lose weight too quickly or eat too little, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and muscle loss if patients aren’t receiving appropriate medical guidance.

The goal isn’t simply weight loss. It’s healthy, sustainable weight loss that improves overall health and quality of life.

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Looking Ahead: The Future of Obesity Medicine

GLP-1 medications represent one of the most significant advances in obesity treatment in decades, but Schneider believes they’re only the beginning.

Researchers are already studying newer medications that target multiple metabolic pathways simultaneously, oral alternatives to injections, and personalized approaches that better match treatments to individual patients.

“Obesity medicine is advancing incredibly fast,” Schneider said. “The exciting part isn’t just that we have better medications. It’s that we’re finally treating obesity based on the biology of the disease rather than outdated assumptions. That’s leading to better care, better outcomes and, ultimately, better lives for our patients.”

GLP-1 medications aren’t a miracle cure or a shortcut. They’re one evidence-based tool that, when combined with healthy nutrition, physical activity, strength training and ongoing medical care, can help people living with obesity improve their health for the long term.

GLP-1 medications have transformed obesity treatment, but they aren’t a shortcut or a miracle cure. They’re one evidence-based tool that, when combined with healthy nutrition, exercise, strength training and ongoing medical care, can help patients achieve lasting improvements in their health.

As interest in GLP-1 medications continues to grow, Schneider encourages patients to seek information from trusted medical professionals rather than social media influencers or unverified online sources. The right medication, from a reputable source, combined with ongoing medical supervision, is essential for safe and effective treatment.

The event has been held at UConn every other year since 2008. This year, over 240 attendees joined the event. Attendees include golf course superintendents, lawn care and landscape professionals, R&D collaborators, sports field managers, municipal grounds managers, and commercial industry distributors.

CAHNR Dean's Advisory Board chair, Peter Gorman (center)

Extension educator Vickie Wallace

Professor Jason Henderson

Graduate student Matt Antunes

Extension educator Maureen Kahiu

Associate professor John Inguagiato

“Being in person, it’s an opportunity to engage differently than email or phone calls,” Victoria Wallace, sustainable turf and landscapes senior extension educator, says.

The UConn Turfgrass Field Day consists of a series of tour stops that participants visit in the morning to learn about the individual research projects UConn faculty are conducting, with more formal presentations in the afternoon. Exhibitors from commercial vendors and professionals in the turfgrass industry also participate in the event.

“One of the really exciting things about the day is that we get to share the science our faculty and students are working on, but that we’re also partnering on with many of our industry stakeholders,” says John Inguagiato, associate professor of turfgrass pathology. “Both our sponsors and exhibitors are present and have an opportunity to share what’s important to them and new products that they have with the attendees.”

The research conducted at UConn is responsive to industry needs and is designed with real-world applications in mind. Topics of the research projects this year included autonomous mowing, disease control, weed management, and the National Testing of all Major Turfgrass Species (NTEPS).

Maureen Kahiu, assistant extension educator of turfgrass and weed ecology, is conducting research related to how to use commercially available herbicides in the most effective way to remove common weeds like crabgrass alongside using cultural practices. At this Field Day, Kahiu presented on weeds developing herbicide resistance, something she has seen in the southern United States and threatens to creep northwards.

“Up here, I want the industry to be prepared, to know that resistance is a thing, that it’s real,” Kahiu says. “It can get really bad to a point where you cannot use any herbicide that is available on the market to manage the particular weed that you’re facing in your landscapes.”

Jason Henderson, professor of turfgrass and soil sciences, shared his work on autonomous mowing strategies to optimize plant and soil health and the efficacy of a newly developed mechanical weed control device called a Weedbine. He developed this new technology to manage weeds without using herbicides in response to increasing pesticide restrictions. Released commercially in March 2025, this research-based system is most effective for managing turfgrass pesticide-free and integrated pest management, while also showing promise for controlling creeping bentgrass in other cool-season grasses. Henderson was able to share promising results about how autonomous mowing can help turfgrass managers grow healthier grasses with lower costs and fertilizer inputs.

“These are pretty exciting results because they indicate that you likely need less nitrogen if you’re mowing autonomously and have equal, if not better quality, than when you mow conventionally – not to mention the reductions in fuel requirements and labor,” Henderson says.

Inguagiato is researching a new fungal disease afflicting putting greens in the northeast called Yellow Ring Patch. Graduate student Matt Antunes shared research results on how nitrogen fertility can be used to reduce severity of the disease, and discussed the impact of plant growth regulator programs, and identified fungicide options that can best be used for control of yellow ring patch.

“Biotic and abiotic stresses present challenges for maintaining functional turfgrass systems,” Inguagiato says. “There are many commercially available tools marketed to help mitigate these stresses. In my role with UConn Extension, I evaluate many of these products and provide turfgrass managers science-based recommendations using product performance in trials conducted here in Connecticut.”

Sharing emerging science conducted at UConn with industry professionals is having immediate impact, Inguagiato says.

“Being able to share that information with turfgrass managers is important to ensuring that we’re effectively controlling diseases, that we’re not applying fungicides that are ineffective, which can be costly, and potentially impact the environment without having the desired disease control.”

This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Fostering Sustainable Landscapes at the Urban-Rural Interface.

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Mingyu Qiao, assistant professor of innovation and entrepreneurship in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), Department of Nutritional Sciences, received word in June that his proposed project, Ultra Low-Cost DHA Powder from Algae Grown on Digested Grain Spent Wastes, had been selected for funding.

Qiao’s lab at UConn specializes in using eco-friendly biomanufacturing and bioprocessing technologies to create scalable, cost-effective ways to produce nutritious, safe and affordable food and nutrients. Qiao has distinguished himself as an innovator in the eco-manufacturing of nutrients using microalgae. At UConn, he led a multidisciplinary team that won a $500,000 National Science Foundation Future Manufacturing Grant to develop a novel biomanufacturing technology using microalgae to produce essential amino acids for poultry feed.

The latest project is a continuation of that research, though the end product is different. This one focuses on Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), an essential omega-3 fatty acid critical to fetal and infant brain and eye development. The DHA will be produced from a novel strain of microalgae recently isolated in Qiao’s lab.

Using spent brewer waste to cultivate the microalgae offers a means of producing supplemental DHA for humans at a significantly lower cost than existing production methods. Moreover, this method can easily be deployed in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and elsewhere to produce the nutrients locally and create jobs.

Qiao’s proposal details the potentially game-changing impact of the project. While global health authorities recommend at least 200 mg of DHA for pregnant and lactating women, DHA deficiency remains widespread in low and middle-income countries around the world. Current pharmaceutical-grade algal DHA powders cost more than $52 per kilogram, due largely to the expense of producing DHA-rich microalgae using refined sugars, nutrients, and capital-intensive fermentation and downstream processing technologies.

That requirement alone accounts for up to 85% of total cost of production and limits the feasibility of manufacturing DHA in less wealthy countries without an established biomanufacturing infrastructure and workforce. Spent brewery waste is an abundant, underutilized resource in low to middle-income countries. Global production of the nutrient-rich byproduct of the brewing process exceeds 40 million tons annually, making it widely accessible.

Qiao’s co-PIs on the project include Jeffrey McCutcheon, a UConn professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering; Qing Jin, an assistant professor of food science at the University of Maine; and Bo Wang, an assistance professor of bioproducts and system engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

The award covers the initial 18-month development phase of the project, Qiao says. If successful, the project could be eligible for additional funding to establish manufacturing sites in Africa and beyond.