SBU Quick takes
The Pack
Our pets have been a tremendous source of support and comfort during the past year.
How has your pet helped you during the pandemic?
We want to see the members of your SBU Pack!
Email us a pic of your fur or feathered friends and let us know how they made you smile.
Here are a few of the SBU furkids from the Office of Marketing and Communications and what they mean to us:
Daisy and Holly
(Boston Terrier, 16 and Yorkie Terrier, 14)
“Pandemic co-workers are the best! These old ladies kept me company by sleeping next to me all day long.”
— Alina Rossi, Traffic and Production Manager
Ringo
(rescue tiger cat, 14)
“Tiger has definitely been my sanity while I’ve been home. He has tried to serve as my editor on more than one occasion when one wasn't available, but is still learning the keyboard and takes too many food breaks and siestas.”
— Glenn Jochum, Writer
Charlotte and Hank
(German Shepherds, 2 and 6)
“Charlotte and Hank love having their mommy home! They especially like Zoom meetings with my new coworkers. They enjoy going for walks or playing fetch during my lunch break and help me get more exercise in! They have been the best coworkers.”
— Sabrina Diaz, Administrative Coordinator
Teddy
Nickname: Teddy "Rex"
(domestic shorthair, 19)
“Teddy is excellent at making me realize that there's more to life than work! I could be deeply engrossed in a story I'm editing and he will walk on my keyboard, blocking my view of the screen, and DEMAND that I pet him. And if I should stop petting him, he bumps my hand continually until I resume. Such a sweet boy.”
— Susan Tito, Senior Editor
Tootsie
AKA Tootsie Woofsie or Toots
(Pembroke Welsh Corgi, 8)
“Tootsie greets us every morning by flopping onto her back for a belly rub. She then stands at the top of the bedroom stairs and on cue takes the first step down in unison with me. She makes me laugh when I eat. Where there is food she is never more than a few feet away. Toots loves her frisbee and could fetch for hours. Love that mushball!”
— John Griffin, Senior Photographer/Photography Manager
Austin and Lily
AKA Austie and Lil
(Persian, 4, and French Bulldog, 2)
“Here's my furry WFH (work from home) team for the past year. They often join team Zoom meetings. Despite Austin's fluffy tail on my keyboard, they have been great support as I work safely from home.”
— Allison Schwartz, Senior Designer
Porsche & Darla Mae
AKA My "special" girls
(Pit Bull sisters, 9 and 8)
"Darla Mae always knows when I need to take a break. She'll come into my office and hit me with her head until I get up. Usually that means it's time for her to go out! Porsche is content sleeping all day."
— Karen Keeley, Advertising Coordinator
William and Lucy
AKA Galoot, Luce, and 'the Big Cats'
(tabby-and-white felines, brother and sister, age 16)
"The very best part of working partly at home this past year has been spending more quality time with my cats. William often works on his naps in the back, dark, cozy depths of my bedroom closet, which is right off my bedroom 'home office.’ Toward the end of my work day, he comes out meowing vociferously and continuously for food. Lucy is sometimes an 'assistant' on my lap or keyboard but more often downstairs waiting for me to take a snack break in the kitchen so she can do the same. Both appreciate the periodic cuddles and pets, and purr up a storm whenever they see me."
— Ellen Cooke, Associate Director of Internal Communication
Linguine
AKA Squeaky, Kamikaze Kitty, Zoomer, Silly Berry
(Tuxedo Domestic Shorthair, 8 months)
“Linguine is overflowing with personality! We've had him for 6 weeks. He's gone from extremely shy to rambunctious and affectionate during that time. Linguine is good at getting me to take breaks and get out of my chair. He causes a lot of running up and down the stairs, which is a good thing. He chats all day in a chirpy, squeaky voice that's absolutely adorable! He has a lot to say. He is well on his way to running the household! I can see he's going to be my new boss.”
— Loren Moss Meyer, Web Designer
Ted
AKA Teddy, lamby, wiggly boy, monster
(hound/retriever rescue mix, age 4)
“Ted embraced his job of making sure I took regular breaks from my work day with the zeal he usually reserved for chasing squirrels. He made sure I never sat too long, sometimes nudging me multiple times an hour when he noticed I was working too hard. He has been a great assistant, even commenting on Zoom calls when he felt the meetings were getting off track.”
— Shelley Catalano, Senior Project Manager and Managing Editor, SBU Magazine
Paper dragons, that is.
This past August, Shrikant Iyer ’01 and his friend Paul Frasco built the world’s largest origami dragon, coming in at 12 feet, 8.75 inches long; 6 feet, 6.5 inches high; and 3 feet, 11.5 inches wide. Over the course of two days, the team folded a Dragon Whelp, an original origami design created by Frasco and first published in 2011.
Iyer, who earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from SBU, has worked at Stony Brook since 2002 and is currently a system engineer in network services at Stony Brook Medicine. He has practiced origami since he was 9. He also ran Origami Heaven, an origami festival, held annually at the Charles B. Wang Center from 2005 to 2019.
Shrikant Iyer as the folding of the 24-foot long square paper begins.
“Origami has been such a lifeline for me during the pandemic and for a lot of my origami friends. Ironically, the Long Island origami group is called LIFE (Long Island Folding Enthusiasts), and in rebranding our online meetings we have over Zoom, I came up with LIFE-line. Everyone immediately responded,” Iyer said. “We get together regularly through Zoom and fold together. We also record some of these meetings to share online, helping our community grow all around the world. We still miss all the random folding, which would happen in person, but we will continue to evolve.”
Measuring the dragon for the record books.
“The planning and organizing logistics for making the dragon happened all through video calls. Paul [Frasco] and I planned what the dragon would look like in a large paper scenario and concentrated on figuring out the tricky areas,” Iyer explained. “At the end, the tricky spots were not so bad. What surprised us was how difficult it was to do a step we often take for granted in origami, which is to turn the paper over. It was so big (24 feet), so to do it without ripping it was quite a challenge.”
Shrikant Iyer and Paul Frasco with their completed dragon, which set a world record.
Look for a mini-Origami Heaven online this spring as part of the Wang Center’s 2021 offerings. Iyer is creating two videos that participants can watch to learn how to fold a “Wang Wallet,” an original design Iyer created to honor the Wang Center, and an ox to celebrate the lunar year. To watch these videos, visit the Wang Center’s event website. The “Wang Wallet” is available April 1 and the more complicated ox origami is available
May 1.
The official plaque from Guinness World Records.
“The most enjoyable thing about this project was simply doing it in spite of all the logistical, creative and artistic hurdles,” said Iyer.
A View from the Shore
While plans are still being discussed regarding this year’s 32nd annual Roth Pond Regatta, we are looking back at the legendary boat race through the eyes of staff from the Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering. Staff members have been documenting the event since its inception through their own “unofficial” Roth Pond Regatta website. The site includes photos from Curt Epstein (1989 to 1993 pics), one of the originators of the regatta, and hundreds more by department member Jim Quinn.
Here are a few of their photos to make you smile while we wait for the next regatta:
