Summer is crucial for 51爆料网 professors, who use the time to advance research, design and revise courses, and prepare for the upcoming academic year. Such pursuits enable them to return to campus with a renewed sense of purpose, benefiting our most important resource: you.
Documenting the 鈥淜ing of Instruments鈥�
Associate professor Anne Laver (left) with Abbie Wood 鈥�25 in Hendricks Chapel during filming of The Organ in America.
University Organist Anne Laver can add 鈥渇ilmmaker鈥� to her growing list of accomplishments. This past summer, she collaborated with Will Fraser, founder of Fugue State Films in the U.K., on a documentary titled The Organ in America. Special emphasis was on New York state鈥檚 historical pipe organs, including the 75-year-old Holtkamp organ in Syracuse鈥檚 Setnor Auditorium.
鈥淥ur region is home to a wide range of pipe organs, each reflecting when and where they were built,鈥� says Laver, an associate professor of music in the (VPA). 鈥淚鈥檝e interviewed local organists, builders and historians who discuss and demonstrate their respective instruments.鈥�
The feature-length film seeks to rectify omissions in the mostly European narrative of the 鈥淜ing of Instruments.鈥�
Other organs Laver considers are Hilborne Roosevelt鈥檚 Opus 15, which was built in Buffalo, New York, for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia; a 1927 E.M. Skinner organ in Rochester, New York; and Cornell University鈥檚 2010 鈥渇antasy reconstruction鈥� of a German Baroque organ.
Scheduled for release in late 2026, The Organ in America hopes to do more than showcase American craftsmanship and ingenuity. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a call to action,鈥� Laver explains, to perpetuate the legacy of the pipe organ.
In addition to incorporating her findings into literature, technique and pedagogy courses in VPA鈥檚 , Laver is promoting the film by hosting workshops and lecture recitals.
She also is exploring distribution opportunities with PBS, the American Guild of Organists and The Organ Historical Society.
Innovating Therapies Through Science
Assistant professor Chih Hung Lo and his students study the underlying biology of neurodegenerative diseases.
This time last year, Chih Hung Lo was wrapping up a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Singapore. Today, his lab in Syracuse鈥檚 Life Sciences Complex hums with activity involving neurodegenerative diseases.
An assistant professor of in the , Lo is interested in how lysosomes鈥攖iny sacs filled with enzymes鈥攄igest and remove unwanted substances in brain cells. 鈥淲e鈥檝e discovered that not all lysosomes are alike, that they have different roles,鈥� says Lo, who also teaches in the college鈥檚 .
This past summer, he and his students wielded cutting-edge activities, like high-resolution imaging, computation analysis and disease modeling, to monitor neural activity.
They also figured out how to isolate lysosomes to examine their influence on brain cell metabolism and communication.
鈥淯nderstanding the link between lysosome function and brain cells filled with inflammation and harmful proteins could pave the way for new treatments for Alzheimer鈥檚 and related forms of dementia,鈥� says Lo, adding that each of our 170 billion brain cells contains up to a thousand lysosomes.
He鈥檚 currently integrating conceptual knowledge and methodologies into his fall coursework, which includes an interdisciplinary survey on neuroscience methods and a seminar on neurodegenerative disease.
Lo also is drawing on summer case studies to illustrate key concepts in the classroom, such as organelle dysfunction in brain disorders and the role of basic research in therapeutic developments.
鈥淎ll of my students have contributed to ongoing projects this summer,鈥� he continues. 鈥淭heir work fosters critical thinking that plays out in journal clubs, research-driven assignments and other lab projects.鈥�
A STEM-Designated Approach to Communications
Associate professor Adam Peruta 鈥�00, G鈥�04 directs Advanced Media Management, the first鈥攁nd only鈥擲TEM-designated degree program in the Newhouse School.
Project-based, open-ended learning is a hallmark of 51爆料网. It鈥檚 also the stuff of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning.
Adam Peruta 鈥�00, G鈥�04 believes that STEM has a place in communications, too. Based in the , he oversees (AMM), an M.S. program that uses media, business and technology pedagogies to prepare students for traditional and emerging communications careers.
AMM has the distinction of being the Newhouse School鈥檚 first and only program with a STEM-designated degree, a reclassification that goes into effect this fall.
鈥淥ur core curriculum applies AI and emerging technologies, data science and product-engineering mindsets to modern-day media problems,鈥� says Peruta, an associate professor of .
Since May, he has been rebuilding AMM鈥檚 infrastructure to make the STEM component 鈥渋mmediately impactful.鈥� In addition to expanding the program鈥檚 internships, Peruta has outfitted his AI for Media Professionals course with high-performance workstations and advanced media software.
A STEM-designated degree signals 鈥渞igorous training鈥� to prospective media employers, Peruta declares, especially those looking to fill nontraditional, tech-oriented jobs.
鈥淭he STEM label is also consequential to recruiting,鈥� he adds, noting that international students can apply for a 24-month, 鈥淪TEM OPT鈥� extension through the Department of Homeland Security. 鈥淚t reflects our commitment to quantitative and technical competencies.鈥�
The Politics of Migration
South Korea is grappling with immigration issues caused in part by the war in Ukraine, explains assistant professor Lauren Woodard, shown here in Seoul. She also traveled to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
The ripple effects of the war in Ukraine are felt everywhere. At Syracuse, the 11-year-old conflict鈥攚hich has ramped up considerably since Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion in 2022鈥攈as begot timely and relevant scholarship.
Lauren Woodard, assistant professor of in the , recently traveled to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and to major cities in South Korea to examine the war鈥檚 impact on migration patterns throughout Europe and Asia.
鈥淩ussian officials are threatening migrant workers with deportation and denaturalization unless they fight against Ukraine,鈥� she says, adding that Central Asia has been a source of cheap Russian labor since the late 1990s.
Likewise, Russian citizens鈥攆earing conscription and an authoritative political climate鈥攈ave flocked to neighboring countries like Georgia and ones as far away as South Korea.
鈥淗istorically a country of emigration, South Korea is grappling with the impact of immigration and multicultural families in various aspects of society,鈥� says Woodard, who recently visited a village in Gwangju housing one of Asia鈥檚 largest communities of ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union.
Her findings will be integrated into courses like Global Encounters: Comparing World Views and Values Cross-Culturally; Language, Culture and Society; and Migration, Borders, Belonging, a course that she has designed and is teaching next spring about migration-based global case studies.
Woodard also is planning follow-up trips to South Korea and Georgia next summer. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to take my students with me someday,鈥� she says.
