Theme: Our Beat

TEDxSBU will be held October 10th, 2013. It will showcase talent from Stony Brook University exclusively, including students, faculty, staff and alumni. It is our intent that the program will be cross disciplinary, represent all of the diversity of SBU and be uniquely inspiring. Unfortunately due to TEDx rules, we are only allowed to have 100 attendees, but we will be streaming the event live and hope many members of the campus and world communities will have ample chance to watch the proceedings.

WANG Center Theater
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York, 11794
United States

Hannes Bauman

Hannes Baumann is a research professor and leader of the Fish Ecology Lab at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at SBU. He grew up in East Germany and lived through the peaceful revolution and societal change that made pursuing a career as a marine scientist in the U.S. possible. In Germany, he studied Fisheries Biology and Biological Oceanography at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel (1995-2001) and at the Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science in Hamburg (2002-2006), subsequently finding his research subjects in diverse marine areas such as the Baltic Sea, the Bays of Newfoundland, the Great Barrier Reef, or the American Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Since joining Stony Brook University in 2008, his research has primarily been focused on natural and man-made reasons for ubiquitous changes in marine fish abundance, growth and population characteristics. He is particularly interested in studying principles of short- and long-term adaptation of marine organisms to temperature change, ocean acidification, and commercial fishing, all of which will help to better anticipate the great ecological restructuring that we are witnessing in the age of the Anthropocene.

Paul Bingham

Paul M. Bingham (PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard) has been on the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook for the last 31 years. Paul’s basic biological contributions range from the discovery of the P element transposon to the development of a novel class of anti-cancer drugs (with Prof. Zuzana Zachar). Paul has an equally important research interest in human origins, behavior and history. This work focuses on “Darwin’s unanswered question,” how humans came to be unique among all other animals. In collaboration with Joanne Souza and Daijiro Okada, Paul has developed a novel answer to this question currently referred to “social coercion theory.” This approach proposes that all the multifarious difference between humans and non-human animals are effects of a single ultimate cause, our unprecedented, evolved capacity to control the conflicts of interest that prevent non-human animals from building large societies. Social coercion theory gives us strong new insights into not only human origins, but also our language and cognitive virtuosity; our political, economic, and reproductive behavior; and our history. As a theory of history, social coercion theory reveals how the global community can shape a more humane, wiser, and wealthier future for all Earth’s citizens.

Fikri Birey

Fikri Birey is a PhD candidate in Genetics at Stony Brook University. Fikri was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1987. Upon finishing high school he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to attend university in the US, graduating from the University of Kansas in 2008 with a BS in Genetics and a minor in Philosophy. Fikri joined the Aguirre research group in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at Stony Brook in 2010. He has presented his graduate research at scientific conferences in New Orleans, New York City, Washington D.C, San Diego and Cancun, Mexico. Fikri’s research centers on glial cell biology in the context of neurological disorders, with a particular focus on Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). MDD is a culmination of profound cognitive and affective disturbances, affecting 350 million people worldwide. Although MDD has garnered widespread attention from the scientific community, the underlying maladaptive mechanisms remain poorly understood. This knowledge gap represents a significant barrier in the attempt to outline a clear etiology of MDD. Glial cell dysfunction has emerged as a new hallmark of depression, though the roles and mechanistic contributions of specific glial subtypes remain completely unknown. Fikri’s research has revealed disturbances in a novel subtype of glia, NG2+ cells (previously categorized as oligodendrocyte precursors), which drive depressive-like behaviors in mice. He believes that a definition of MDD at a cellular resolution will aid in a better understanding of its etiology and provide novel therapeutic targets for antidepressant drug development.

Ken Dill

Ken A Dill is Distinguished Professor of Physics and Chemistry, the Louis and Beatrice Laufer Endowed Chair of Physical Biology and Director of the Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, at Stony Brook University. Previously, he was Distinguished Professor of Biophysics and Associate Dean of Research, School of Pharmacy, at the University of California, San Francisco. Dill received SB and SM degrees from MIT in Mechanical Engineering, a PhD in Biology at the University of California, San Diego, and did postdoctoral research in Chemistry at Stanford University. He received the Hans Neurath Award in 1998 from the Protein Society, for his research on structures, properties and folding of proteins. Dill has been president of the Biophysical Society, and was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008. With Sarina Bromberg, he co-authored Molecular Driving Forces, a textbook in physical chemistry and statistical mechanics. Dill studies the physical principles of protein folding, the physics of water, nonequilibrium statistical thermodynamics in small systems, and cell biophysics. His work has elucidated that protein folding occurs on funnel-shaped energy landscapes and that protein structures are largely determined by hydrophobic interactions. And, with Dr. Ron Zuckermann, he has developed peptoids, a new class of polymer materials that have protein-like properties.

David Ecker

Ecker is a Stony Brook graduate who previously served as the Interim Director/Manager of Client Support for over 10 years and led the Project 50 Managed Output initiative. He focuses on strategic planning, partnering with researchers and developing best practices for the research community. David brings a background from management, client interactions, and system management to this role. David is a technology guy at heart always fond of exploring the newest technologies that will further the needs of the Higher Education. He received his M.S. from Stony Brook in Technological Systems Management where he teaches Management for Engineers in the department.

Rich Fantasia

Known to many by his production moniker pthelo, Rich Fantasia (aka rich(e)rich) has built a loyal following of friends and fans alike with his 'always super vibing' DJ sets of funked up, pumping house grooves. Rich has performed his original compositions and inspired DJ sets in a wide range of venues from clubs, bars, outdoor festivals and raves to yoga studios, art exhibitions and installations, and even at a Buddhist Temple. First introduced to piano by his grandfather at age 5, Rich has spent his life expanding his instrumental abilities to include bass, guitar, drums and assorted percussion, as well as exploring a variety of ethnic instruments including kalimba and dulcimer. His passion for engineering and composition, over instrumental performance, was first tapped when introduced to sampling and synthesis in the early 1990's. Having been exposed to the experimental sounds of Industrial and Electronica artists such as Skinny Puppy and Aphex Twin, and with a thirst for the techniques of creating these sounds, Rich began formal studies of Music Education at Adelphi University and Audio Engineering at Five Towns College. His love for sound design and experimental music remains at his core, and inspires the talk and performance he will be giving at TEDxSBU. Taking the conference's theme of "Our Beat" to heart, and inspired by John Cage's composition 4'33" where the audience is left to experience the ambient sounds of the performance space they are in, Rich has composed an original work inspired by the sounds of the buildings and campus itself. By capturing the ambient sounds of different buildings on campus as well as capturing improvised performances in these spaces, his TEDxSBU talk will take Cage's inspiration and expand on it - capturing these bits of ambience and working them into full compositions, layering them over electronic grooves in various genres. Rich will be celebrating his 5 year anniversary at Stony Brook as an Audio Visual Associate in Audio Visual Services, a part of DoIT, and is honored to share his musical vision and joy of sound design with both the campus community and TEDxSBU audience. You can explore more of Rich's DJ sets and original compositions at pthelo.net and soundcloud.com/pthelo.

Fred Ferguson

Dr Fred S Ferguson is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry and Associate Professor of Pediatric Medicine University Hospital, Stony Brook University. He is Director Division of Pediatric Dentistry, the Advanced Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry, the Pediatric Dental Infectious Disease Program, and Co-director the Craniofacial Cleft Palate Center. Dr Ferguson has directed oral health programs for children and adults with special medical and developmental needs and has a long history in community service. His professional experience includes membership in national dental organizations and an extensive history of presentations to professionals and the health care industry. Dr Ferguson is president and CEO of AboutSmiles Inc., (www.AboutSmiles.com), a marketing and communications company. He is the creator of a secure interactive oral health education, behavioral intervention and tracking on-line tools www.MySmileGuide.com, and www.MySmileGuideU.org managed under ABOUTSMILESWORLD LTD. (NFP) to partner with community based organizations, schools, health professionals, health professional education schools, colleges/universities and community based groups with the goal to improve overall health through oral health literacy globally.

Mitchell Fourman

Mitchell S. Fourman is a fourth year medical student at Stony Brook, as well as an undergraduate alumnus. As part of the Scholars for Med BA/MD program, Mitch was able to diversify his work and research interests, simultaneously becoming a Goldwater Scholar for his research in Biomedical and Materials Engineering while completing a double honors thesis in History and Political Science. After graduating from the University of Cambridge with an M.Phil in Sociology, Mitch went on to delve into what he considers the ultimate humanities study: the study of blood and lymphatic flow and its predictive qualities for both medical and surgical outcomes. Non-invasive diagnostics is the new holy grail of medicine. And it's proper that it should be. We boast about the power of our mobile phones, of the resolution of mini-cameras, and yet all of our efforts to optimize these technologies have - quite literally - only gone skin deep. But what if light - plain, simple, harmless light - could tell a doctor everything he needed to know about a patient's health, both present and future, in an instant? The concept isn't unique, and I'm not the first one thinking about it. One need look no further than the Qualcomm XPrize to invent the "Star Trek Tricorder" as evidence that loftier minds than I have dreamed of this day. While I present nothing of that kind of grandeur, I propose we examine how innovative use of feedback from near-infrared light is changing medicine - both by its own merits and by the evolution it portends.

Kent Gustavson

Kent Gustavson is an acclaimed author, speaker, educator, and musician. He is highly regarded for writing the definitive biography of music icon Doc Watson, Blind But Now I See. The book won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in 2011, and currently has 50,000 copies in circulation. As an in-demand public speaker, Kent speaks nationally on a myriad of music related topics, as well as independent publishing, executive coaching, motivational speaking, and social media education. Parallel to his work as an author and public speaker, Kent is an esteemed educator who holds a PhD in classical composition from Stony Brook University, and for over ten years has taught courses ranging from music to language, mythology, writing, and leadership at the college level. When not writing, speaking, or teaching, he’s an active musician, producer, and composer. He has released 14 critically acclaimed albums. His music has been featured on National Public Radio’s All Songs Considered, and his sweetly uplifting liturgical music and hymns are played in hundreds of Lutheran churches around the country.

Lauren Hale

Dr. Lauren Hale (Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University; Core Faculty, Program in Public Health; PhD, Princeton University) studies the social patterning of sleep and how it contributes to growing inequalities in health and well-being. With funding from NICHD, NIDDK, and NIA, she analyzes demographic, behavioral, and neighborhood data from large-scale studies to understand how they relate to sleep and well-being in children, adolescents, adults, and aging populations. Dr. Hale has published over 45 published peer-reviewed articles in Sleep, Sleep Medicine Reviews, Journal of Sleep Research, Pediatrics, among numerous other peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Hale also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Sleep Foundation.

Joanna Kaczorowska

Joanna Kaczorowska (Doctor of Musical Arts, SBU), an internationally acclaimed and prize-winning violinist, is a professor of violin and chamber music and Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Undergraduate Chamber Music in the Music Department at Stony Brook University. She is also the Founder, Executive Co-Director and Artistic Director of a non-profit chamber music series, New York Chamber Musicians, which has been recognized as offering the very best of classical and contemporary chamber music in intimate settings performed by world class chamber musicians. Joanna is a sought after performing artist around the globe including Europe, the Americas, and Asia. She performed multiple times in places like Carnegie Hall in New York, Beethoven's Haus in Bonn, in Bayreuth during Wagner's Festspiele or Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Her playing features uncommon refinement, passionate expression and tonal sensitivity. Her artistry combines rare talent with ferocious enthusiasm: Joanna has an irrepressible passion for musical experimentation and discovery. In both classical and contemporary repertoire and world music traditions, Joanna has an ability to express herself in the deepest personal sense through her music. Joanna is a First Prize winner in the 2009 Liszt-Garrison Festival & International Piano Competition which also awarded her the Best Interpretation Award and the Grand Prize of an appearance at the Richard Wagner Festspiele 2010 in Bayreuth, Germany. In addition to her music career, she is a published journalist, video blogger, and an avid proponent of the benefits of Natural Medicine. She is particularly fascinated in the field of quantum theory and often ponders the hidden dimensions of the universe and beyond.

Neha Kinariwalla

Neha Kinariwalla is a part of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and Scholars for Medicine (Bachelor’s/MD) Programs at Stony Brook University and will be graduating a year early in May 2014 with a major in Sociology and a minor in International Studies. At age 16, Neha travelled to Nicaragua and Ecuador on medical missions and became interested in the prevalence of developmental disorders such as cleft palate in third world nations. As a part of the Garcia MRSEC Program, she conducted research on dental pulp stem cell growth and differentiation to develop a biocompatible scaffold to replace the metal plate typically used in cleft palate surgery, earning semi-finalist status in the Siemens Competition for her project. In 2012, Neha studied and conducted research in Madagascar on infectious diseases and preventive measures for disease transmission. Subsequently, she interned for the Institute for Conservation of Tropical Environments, forging a partnership with Soles4Souls and Sketchers USA that provided 273 pairs of shoes for children in Malagasy villages. Additionally, Neha interned at the Department of State Madagascar Embassy through the Virtual Student Foreign Exchange Service founded in 2006 by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A first-degree brown belt in martial arts, Neha volunteered in India this past winter at the Gandhi Ashram for 5 weeks teaching self-defense to girls as well as working on various health education initiatives. Neha is currently studying the psychosocial effect of epilepsy; her work focuses, particularly, on the stigma that surrounds the disorder. This past summer, Neha joined the Epilepsy Research Team at the John Radcliffe Oxford University Hospital (OUH) in the United Kingdom, studying the psychosocial effect of epilepsy on marriages through patient-spouse surveys. This is a cross-cultural effort in which the same project will be executed, compared and correlated at the Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute. Neha is the founder of “The Humanology Project”—a not-for-profit organization dedicated to destigmatizing illnesses through the use of multi-author blogs and an interactive support forum. The project currently has 16 interns and is running for WSE 488 internship credit at Stony Brook University. 

Daniel Menaker

Daniel Menaker was born in New York in 1941. He attended the Little Red Schoolhouse, Nyack High School, Swarthmore College (BA with High Honors), and the Johns Hopkins University (MA in English Literature). He taught in independent schools for five years before going to work at The New Yorker Magazine as a fact checker. He became an editor there in 1976, working with such writers as David Foster-Wallace, Michael Chabon, Jennifer Egan, Elmore Leonard, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, Pauline Kael, Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant, and many others. In 1995 he moved to Random House as Senior Literary Editor aND Vice President, and in 2003 he was appointed Editor-in-Chief. As an editor and publisher, he worked with Colum McCann, Elizabeth Strout, Nassim Taleb, Reza Aslan, George Saunders, Salman Rushide, Katha Pollitt, Billy Collins, and many others. Mr. Menaker has twice won the o henry prize for short fiction. He is the author of six books, two of them New York Times Notable titles, and his novel "The Treatment" was made into an independent film starring Ian Holm and Famke Janssen. He has served on the Board of the Poetry Foundation, conducted interviews for PEN International, Symphony Space, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He has also written humor and journalism and essays for many publications, including the New York Times, The New Yorker, Slate, Harper's, The Atlantic, and Country Music Magazine. He has tutored in New York City public schools, traveled to Nepal and the country of Georgia as a cultural emissary for the United States State Department, and edits the humor column Grin & Tonic for the Barnes & Noble Review. He has two children, William and Elizabeth, and lives in New York with his wife, the editor and writer Katherine Bouton. His most recent book, "My Mistake: A Memoir," will be published by Houghton Mifflin in November of 2013.

Nobuho Nagasawa

Nobuho Nagasawa is a Japanese artist who studied in Berlin and Los Angeles and established a studio in New York in 2001. She is an interdisciplinary artist whose site-specific works investigates the places, cultural history, ecology, politics and psychological dimensions of space and people. Through her sculptures and public art, she creates environments that are both tactile and sensory in response to the architectural presence. Among her recent projects, Nagasawa has focused on light and sound-based artwork using optical fiber, which is the tool for global communication. Using weaving techniques developed by the traditional kimono weavers in Kyoto, she weaves optical fiber into three-dimensional forms to find new ways to communicate and explore environments through interactive installations mediated by technologies. Her goal is to reconnect people by transforming the natural world (wind, rain, waves, bird songs) and human-produced sound (heartbeat, voices) into light, and activate their awareness of the environment, and consciousness of their ephemeral existence. Her permanent public art for the entrance of CUNY John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York (2013) is a suspended sculpture of light, created with woven optical fiber and emulates a waterfall within the expansive architectural space. Physically and metaphorically the pulsating hues of blue light, cascading down the length of the fiber tapestry create a “mighty stream,” provoking both a historical and current perspective on social justice. Nagasawa is a recipient of numerous international public art commissions, grants and awards, including the Design Excellence Award from both Los Angeles and New York through the Mayor’s Office. She received Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities (2012-2013) from the State University of New York for her work as an Art Professor at Stony Brook University. Her major installations include projects for The Getty Center, Prague Castle, Ludwig Museum, Alexandria Library in Egypt, Setouchi Triennale in Japan, Sharjah Biennale in United Arab Emirates, Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh, Japanese Federal Government Plaza, Austin and Seattle City Halls, among others.

Alberto Perez

DNA is often named the code of life. A code of four letters: A,C,G,T, whose order contains all the information about who we are. Over the last 20 years a new layer of control has been observed on top of the genome, the epigenome, which determines what information is used from the DNA. In this way, the same genome can give rise to very different behaviors (for example, in twins). The epigenome is influenced by our environment and choices: stress, smoking, food, ... and their effect can also be past on to our offsprings. Most importantly, abnormal epigenomic changes are often associated with different kinds of cancers. Alberto uses supercomputers to study life at the atomic level. His research is focused on understanding the way genetic information is stored and accessed inside of us (DNA) and how epigenomic markers change the behavior of DNA. Recently, he has been studying the molecules that “do” everything inside of us (proteins): how they are made and how they can interact between themselves and with DNA.

Howard Schneider

Howard Schneider is the founding dean of the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University, spearheading the team that developed the proposal for SUNY’s first School of Journalism. For more than 35 years. Schneider was a reporter and editor at Newsday. For nearly 18 of those years, he was managing editor and then editor. At Stony Brook, Schneider helped develop the nation’s first course in News Literacy, which seeks to have undergraduates across all disciplines study how to become discerning news consumers. The course has subsequently spread to universities around the nation. He is the executive director of the school’s Center for News Literacy. He also collaborated with the actor Alan Alda in launching the country’s first Center for Communicating Science, which is housed in the journalism school, and which trains future and current scientists on how to communicate more effectively with the public. Schneider began his teaching career at Stony Brook as an adjunct professor of journalism from 1980-1982. Previously, he had been an adjunct professor of journalism at Queens College in 1979. In 2003, Schneider was the recipient of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Alumnus Award (M.S.’67). He earned his B.A at Syracuse University in psychology and journalism (’66). He has been a member of the Pulitzer Prize judging panel three times.

Ruchi Shah

Ruchi Shah is a sophomore at Stony Brook University in the Scholars for Medicine (B.S./M.D.) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, majoring in biology and minoring in journalism. From a young age, Ruchi has been passionate about translating science into tangible change that will improve the lives of others. Inspired by a trip to India at the age of 14 and the devastating impact of mosquito transmitted diseases, Ruchi created a novel all-natural mosquito repellent while in high school that is effective and inexpensive, rendering it accessible to a global population. This work was recognized by the National Young Inventor’s Hall of Fame, the AXA Achievement scholarship, and Yahoo! Women who Shine. Ruchi also had the opportunity to present about her repellent at an annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry. Since 2011, starting as a Simons Fellow, Ruchi has been investigating biomarkers to improve cervical cancer diagnosis for the past three years at Stony Brook University. Ruchi’s work with her mosquito repellent and cervical cancer biomarkers was further recognized at three Intel International Science and Engineering Fairs, where she placed 3rd in her category twice and was awarded by organizations including the U.S. Navy. In addition to these endeavors, Ruchi interned with the World Science Festival in early 2013 where she worked to create and plan events that would communicate science to a broad audience. Ruchi also traveled to Georgia through the Earthwatch Student Challenge Awards Program, where she collaborated with the University of Pennsylvania to chart sea level rise. She was selected for the internationally competitive and prestigious Summer Student Program at the Jackson Laboratories for the summer of 2013, where she investigated the role of a novel immune pathway in the formation of cancerous tumors through the use of bioinformatics, molecular techniques, and animal models. Valedictorian of Sachem High School North, Ruchi was featured in Forbes and USA Today, and was invited as a spotlight speaker and the youngest participant at the inaugural Forbes Women’s Summit in May 2013. A student ambassador, science writer, a cappella singer, and student researcher at SBU, Ruchi is pursuing a career as a physician and medical correspondent as she believes in the need to make science accessible to everyone and aims to encourage a new generation of scientists.

Joanne Souza

Joanne Souza, faculty, Stony Brook University, is a psychologist focused on the area of social fear in the context of democratic versus hierarchical social systems and its implications for human health, education, and welfare. Joanne entered the academic research arena bringing a lifetime of experience from working in the business community with such companies as AT&T, IT&T, and General Dynamics, as well as a family owned business based on Long Island, NY. Her prior experience in both the positive and negative effects of social stress on the health and welfare of her customers and colleagues as well as the resulting economic productivity/non-productivity, prompted her to re-enter the academic research environment focusing on the influence of evolutionary factors on contemporary behavior. Joanne has been working in collaboration with Dr. Paul M. Bingham over the last 11+ years researching, testing, and further investigating a theoretical view based in evolutionary biology that has been come to be known as “social coercion theory.” Together, they completed the book length coverage of this theoretical view in their book, Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe (2009; Amazon). She has also developed the interactive online learning components of the course they teach on this subject, as well as the pedagogy for other science courses, enhancing learning in the classroom through an understanding of evolutionary and social factors in learning.

Arianna Warner

Arianna Warner is a candidate for Portland State University’s Art and Social Practice MFA. During Warner’s undergraduate career at Stony Brook University she received the Recreational & Leisure Activities Program Award, the Sylvia Artistic Award, a Undergraduate Recognition Award for Community Service, and the Creative Program of the Year Award from the Long Island Student Personnel and Administrators. Born in Southern California in 1990, Warner played soccer growing up for 14 years. Her sports career ended after a minor injury, which sparked a chronic medical condition, caused her to be in and out of hospitals for the past 6 years (2007-2013). While being hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (2011), Warner transformed her stressful stay into a positive experience. She realized that by keeping herself happy wearing her dinosaur onesie that she was helping the other patients and families at the Clinic. While Warner’s struggle with her disease is the root of her socially engaged artistic practice, the project continues to grow beyond both her disease and herself. Ultimately, The Dinosaur Onesie Project is about people taking inspiration from each other to change how they adapt to life's challenges. Warner looks forward to continuing The Dinosaur Onesie Project while cultivating her socially engaged artistic practice as she works toward her Master in Fine Art at PSU.

Jay Loomis

Jay Loomis is a composer and a performer, studying music at Stony Brook University focusing on composition with a particular interest in Ethnomusicology, Jazz, and Electronic Music. He hand crafts Native American and other kinds of flutes, and leads flute making workshops in local libraries and schools. He plays a variety of wind instruments from around the world and has 10 years of experience teaching English to non-English speakers in Spain, Mexico, and China.

Timothy Vallier

Timothy Vallier is a PhD Student in Music Composition at Stony Brook University who creates art through the lens of highly accessible interactive mediums. His works have been performed throughout the world and in Spring 2014 he will be performing in a new collaborative theatre piece at ECNU in Shanghai, China. Vallier is a technology enthusiast, and works at an educational software company, Eduware, as a product developer. A Nebraska native, he currently lives with his wife in Centereach, NY.