Media Coverage

Anatomy Research on Evolution of Filter Feeding in Whales Featured in Daily Mail and The Economist

Jun 29, 2017

How baleen whales, some of the largest vertebrates to ever live, became filter feeders is a widely debated topic among paleontologists, but new findings from NYITCOM faculty members may finally solve this mystery. As seen in multiple publications, including The Economist and Daily Mail, NYITCOM Anatomy department chair Jonathan Geisler and associate professor Brian Beatty explain how the remains of an ancient whale discovered in a South Carolina river could provide vital clues in understanding the origins of filter feeding.

“We know from the fossil record that the ancestors of baleen whales had teeth,” says Geisler in Daily Mail. “However, the transition from teeth to baleen is controversial. Our study indicates that early toothed whales used spaces between their large complex teeth for filtering and that baleen gradually replaced teeth over millions of years.”

Similar articles also appeared in:

 

Dean Gabrielle St. Léger on “Belonging” for College Success

Jun 28, 2017

Gabrielle St. Léger, dean of students at NYIT-Long Island, discusses a sense of belonging as a factor in academic success in a recent post on GoodCall.

“Belonging is defined as a feeling of mattering to others, of being important to a greater whole,” says St. Léger. “Students need to know that they matter to their institution and to particular communities within an institution – however we specifically define ‘community’.”

 

NYIT School of Architecture and Design Discusses IPAL Program with Architectural Record

Jun 26, 2017

NYIT School of Architecture and Design’s decision to offer the Integrated Path to Architectural Licensing (IPAL) initiative was recently featured in Architectural Record. The program will enable students to obtain Architectural Experience Program (AXP) credits while still in school, and allow them to take all divisions of the Architectural Record Exam (ARE) prior to graduation. In the article, Robert Cody, department chair and associate professor, NYIT School of Architecture and Design, credits the input of architecture students as a driving force in the decision to offer the IPAL program:

“Of course, the impetus to join IPAL came from our students wanting to get their licenses as soon as possible,” he states.

Cody also mentions that IPAL has benefits for the university, and will help draw students with four-year degrees to the School of Architecture and Design’s upcoming Master of Architecture program, a three-and-a half-year program projected to begin in 2019. Under the initiative, students will work part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer to fulfill the AXP requirements.

 

Hsu Explains How to Teach Difficult Concepts

Jun 07, 2017

In an exploration of why Americans don’t pursue STEM professions at a rate to meet market demand, GoodCall.com cites Hui-Yin Hsu, chair of the Teacher Education Program in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies & Education, on the topic of teaching to various learning styles.

For some students, it’s easier to memorize solutions to specific problems than to learn the concepts the solutions are based on. To see the connection, Hsu says, “students need time to digest the concept itself and to practice the concept in various contexts.” Teachers can help by approaching the concept via a wide range of examples. Eventually, she says, “The students will be able to make connections or association to the concept even outside familiar contexts.”

 

Reader's Digest Features Dietary Advice from School of Health Professions Faculty Member Mindy Haar

Jun 06, 2017

In the online article, “13 Small Diet Changes to Look (and Feel!) Great in Your 40s”, Reader’s Digest includes expert nutrition advice from Mindy Haar, Ph.D., director of Academic Management for NYIT’s Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, for women in their 40s to minimize the effects of premenopausal symptoms through their diet. In addition to adjusting caloric intake, Haar discusses the critical need for women to be mindful of their daily calcium requirements, which can help to prevent painful osteoporosis. As featured in the article:

“Women in their 40s should be sure they are getting the recommended 1200 milligrams of calcium each day," says Dr. Haar. "One cup servings of low-fat milk and yogurt or non-dairy substitutes usually have 300-400 mg per serving." 

 

Martinez Op-Ed Discusses the Imminent Health Dangers Associated with Proposed Federal Budget Cuts

Jun 02, 2017

In his Newsday Op-Ed, “A cut in research would wound U.S.”, Luis R. Martinez, Ph.D., associate professor of Biomedical Sciences, NYITCOM, discusses how proposed budget cuts by the White House administration could threaten our nation’s ability to research and develop treatments for disease, maintain technological leadership, ensure a more prosperous energy future, and train the next generation of scientists and innovators. In addition to explaining the economic benefit that research and development provides through job creation, Martinez argues that the proposed cuts would impede advancements to studying microbial diseases, preventing the necessary development of effective diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines, stating:

“Despite our advancement in the control of microorganisms, the eradication of infectious diseases remains a challenge. Microbe-related diseases kill thousands of Americans each year, while incapacitating thousands more. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies Acinetobacter baumannii infections as a serious threat and estimates that 12,000 infections occur in the United States each year. Nearly 7,000 of these infections are multidrug-resistant, resulting in about 500 deaths.”

 

Hampton on the Emerging Role of Data Scientists in Education

Jun 02, 2017

For education to make good on the promise of a data-driven future, a new role needs to emerge within the leadership ranks – that of “data scientist,” according to an article in Converge, published by the Center for Digital Education. In higher education, the article notes, data scientists are going beyond tapping metrics to improve student outcomes; schools also are using data to better manage their facilities, fine-tune online courses and allocate their course offerings. For example, Mark Hampton, NYIT vice president for planning, analytics and decision support, has tapped into analytics to find more classroom space. With campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, where space is always at a premium, data can make a difference.

“It’s not like we can just pitch a tent. We need to have a very concrete plan, and absent this data, we haven’t been able to do that,” he said. A recent dive into the data showed that classes in the health professions are among the school’s strongest performers. “As a direct result of these analyses, the conversations have turned to be about getting them more space.”

 

The New York Times Features NYIT First-Generation Students Who Refused to Give Up

May 30, 2017

The college experience can be challenging for nearly any student, but for first-generation students, it is an experience they must learn to master largely on their own, without the advice or guidance from parents to provide reassurance. The New York Times asked five first-generation journalism students, including NYIT journalism student Nicole Pereira, to interview other first-generation students at their colleges about the challenges they have faced for an article titled, “I Won’t Give Up: How First-Generation Students See College”. In the article, Pereira interviews Agnes Gyimah, a nursing student from Ghana, and Vasiliki Sgourdou, a journalism student from Greece, on overcoming the obstacles of being the first in their families to attend college.

“In Ghana, we were poor and my parents couldn’t afford to raise me, so they sent me to America to work,” Gyimah states in the article. “I pursued my education here, regardless of not knowing how to read or write. I worked to get my G.E.D. Then, I had children and had to take care of them. That was the hardest part: being a mother while getting an education.”

“I’ve done many things that my parents couldn’t have imagined for themselves, or for me,” said Vasiliki, who moved to New York to become a journalist. “My parents came from poor families and needed to have a standard monthly income. Going to school wasn’t as important as finding a job. They didn’t want that worry for their children.”

 

Nada Anid Op-Ed Published by Forbes.com

May 25, 2017

In an op-ed published by Forbes.com, Nada Marie Anid, Dean, NYIT School of Engineering and Computer Sciences, discusses the need for the Trump administration to stand behand women in STEM, stating that no matter who is in the White House, addressing this challenge must be a key priority.

Anid makes the case for women in STEM, stating that while women hold nearly 60 percent of the nation's bachelor’s degrees, they account for only 13 percent of computer science graduates, with computer science consistently having the lowest share of female bachelor's degree-earners of any STEM field. This alarming disparity comes at a time when the skills of computer science graduates are needed to combat threats to cybersecurity, says Anid.

“The effects of the STEM gap on our national security are just as troubling. At a time when our power grid, financial institutions, and even our political system are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattack, more than 200,000 cybersecurity positions remain unfilled throughout the country,” says Anid. “And yet, computer science consistently has the lowest share of female bachelor's degree-earners of any STEM field. Women, in other words, represent an extraordinary reservoir of untapped talent for countering the threats posed by cyber warfare.”

 

Rock Steady Boxing NYIT Makes Headlines in Newsday

May 20, 2017

Newsday recently featured Rock Steady Boxing NYIT on the cover of LI Life, a section in its Sunday newspaper. Following the workout of boxer, Rosilind “Ros” Drukker, the story, which also included a photo essay and online article (subscription required), demonstrated how the non-contact boxing based fitness curriculum empowers Parkinson’s disease patients to fight back against the debilitating illness. In addition to interviews with Drukker, first-year NYITCOM student Kirtan Patel and Adena Leder, (D.O. '99), assistant professor, NYITCOM and director of the Parkinson’s Treatment Center at the Old Westbury campus, discuss the impact of the program on the lives of patients.

“A lot of Parkinson’s patients don’t want to do physical therapy because it makes them play the ‘sick’ role,” Leder said. The program, which began in September with five patients and has grown to nearly 90, “gives them somewhere to go,” she said. “Many of these patients are socially isolated, and some of them don’t leave their house. Many of them have formed bonds with one another, and they’ve made connections.”​