Class Notes

Class Notes celebrates the milestones and achievements of our alumni community. 

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September 2026

1960s

Frank Pagani ’69 published his first book of poems, Come Then, You and I on Kindle Direct Publishing. It features a collection of poems on a wide range of topics that he has written since the 1960s.

1970s

Stanton Green ’71 published a memoir, It’s Not a Meal Without Bread, which traces 100 years of his family coming to the United States.

1990s

Tara Bane ’93 has published a memoir, Evolution of a Heart: From the Darkness of 9/11 to Rebuilding a Life and Finding Joy. In the memoir, Bane, who lost her husband, Michael Bane ’93, traces the journey from loss through community-building and healing.

Shari Stone-Mediatore ’98 published Freeing the Carceral Imagination: Prisons, Criminalization, and the Ruse of Righteous Violence with Bloomsbury Academic Press.

August 2026

1970s

Robert A. Michaels, PhD ’79 became co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Environmental Risk, Impact, and Claims (Taylor & Francis, UK and US). In 2025 he published a digital book of his upstate New York nature photography titled My Nisky Environs. 

1980s

Kumu Gupta BE, MS ’86 became a three-time Guinness World Record holder by participating in Chinmaya Mission’s simultaneous global chanting of Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gita on May 9, 2026, in celebration of the mission’s 75th anniversary. The world record was confirmed in July. She also recently received the Marquis Who’s Who World Lifetime Achievement Award for 2026.

July 2026

1970s

Fran Danis (Stillerman) ’74, MSW ’76, PhD has published Origin Stories From the Movements to End Domestic Violence, a two-volume series highlighting the unique narratives and pioneering work of multiple movements addressing domestic violence in the United States. 

1980s

Mark Mattson ’79, MA ’83, PhD ’87 has transitioned from associate professor to professor emeritus of psychology upon his retirement after his 37-year career at Fordham University.

2010s

Jordi Alonso, MFA ’16 has been awarded an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Project Development Grant for his work involving a manuscript he found in Rome that had not been part of a scholarly conversation since its creation approximately 300 years ago.

2020s

Jia Ying ’19, MS ’20, PhD ’26 was recognized with the First Place Young Investigator Award by the Brain Imaging Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at its annual meeting. Read more about her research.

June 2026

1980s

Cindy Ellen Hill ’84 has released Leeds Point, a gothic historical novel written in sonnet verse. She is also the author of four poetry collections and five novellas. This latest work draws on five years of historical research and fieldwork inspired by the southern New Jersey salt marshes.

May 2026

1970s

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Veerabhadran Ramanathan, PhD ’74 the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences for his work in helping to combat global warming.

John Quinn ’77 helped to establish a Stony Brook student chapter for the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), giving the university access to networking, national contests and references to every major sports publication in the country. Learn more about this new student chapter for the APSE.

2000s

Arturo Flores ’00 presented “Rooted in Culture, Rising in Community” to the SBU Athletic Training Program of the School of Health Professions. 

2010s

Nick Martinez ’11 co-created his first exhibition on gaming at the Long Island Museum. Read more about how planning the exhibit brought him back full circle to Stony Brook.

Ryan Famulari ’09, MFA ’13 and Anthony Famulari ’11 were honored at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame for their first independent feature film, Best Man. The brothers also received two awards — Best Feature and Best Actor in a Feature — at the Long Island Cinema Festival. Click here to find out more about how Stony Brook shaped their careers.

Andrea Hidalgo ’10 was appointed Corvette racing program manager at GM Motorsports.

2020s

Zain Zaidi ’25 was named a 2026 fellow by the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. He was also selected for the 2026 class of Hertz fellows. Click here to learn more about both honors.

Yenifer Mercado, EDL ’22 was appointed principal of Jack Abrams School in Huntington Station, New York, effective July 1, 2026.

April 2026

1980s

H.S. Philip Wong, MS ’83 was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions in the field. Read about Wong’s time at Stony Brook.

Ken Abbott ’89 is completing a cross-country bike journey to raise awareness for organ donation and transplantation. The journey, with his wife, Eleanor Jiran-Abbott ’89, following in their RV, began in March 2026 in San Diego, California, and will end in May 2026 in St. Augustine, Florida. He is raising funds for the LiveOnNY Foundation.

1990s

Anastacia Kurylo ’95 has published her seventh book, Riling Up the Base: Examining Trump’s Use of Stereotypes Through an Interdisciplinary Lens.

2010s

Victoria (Fulgieri) McMullen ’18 opened McMullen Health Care, a pediatric telehealth practice focused on mental and behavioral healthcare for children across New York State. It offers individualized and family-centered care.

March 2026

1970s

Daniel Thomas Moran ’79, DDS, former poet laureate of Suffolk County, is having his 17th collection of poems, Five Questions and Other Poems, published by Salmon Poetry in Ireland.

1980s

Since graduating from the School of Social Welfare, Larry Bassett ’88 has been working in the nonprofit sector, specializing in affordable housing development.

1990s

Kate P. Horan ’95, MLS, director of the McAllen Public Library, was honored with the Texas Library Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025. In addition, she was elected president of the association, effective March 2026.

2010s

Yan Leyfman ’11, MD delivered two featured presentations at an international conference hosted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

2020s

Daniel Chaykin ’24 is preparing to take his qualifying exam to advance to candidacy for his PhD in materials science and engineering at Stanford University.

February 2026

1970s

The State University of New York at Stony Brook has named a campus street for Rich Gelfond ’76 in recognition of his decades of leadership, philanthropy and unwavering commitment to the university. Campus Drive has been renamed Richard L. Gelfond Drive.

1980s

Leonard Moss ’80, MD,Stony Brook Alumni Association president-elect, was recently named a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctor, representing the top 7 percent of physicians nationwide.

Mitch Cruzan, PhD ’89 published his second book, Looking Down the Tree: The Evolutionary Biology of Human Origins, 2025, with Oxford University Press. He was also promoted to senior editor with the journal Molecular Ecology in January of 2026. 

1990s

Samuel Ramos ’97 retired from state service in law enforcement in 2025. He worked for the Stony Brook University Police from 2003 through 2019 and then at Purchase College in their police department until he retired as interim police chief after 25 years of service.

2010s

Matthew Hickey ’14 was named vice president of human resources at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare.

Samuel Bifulco, MA ’17 was promoted to partner at Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano PLLC.

2020s

Chrislynn Enmanuel ’23, MS ’24 has started a new position as operations manager at Duet – Care at Home.

Frank DiAntonio ’20, MBA ’20 established Lexington Capital in 2021. He opened a new corporate office in Port Jefferson Station in 2025.

January 2026

2010s

Samuel L. Bifulco ’17 was recently promoted to partner at Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano, PLLC in Hauppauge, New York. Bifulco focuses his practice on zoning and land use planning, real estate law and transactions, municipal law and legislative practice, corporate law and estate planning.

2025

1970s

The Secret World of Flexagons, co-written by Ann Schwartz ’71, was published in 2025 by CRC Press. An English major and copywriter in the publishing industry, Ann has a passion for recreational mathematics that led to the book and various speaking engagements around the world.

Albert Kalter ’72 retired from his own office practice, Braintree Chiropractic, after 40 years. He also retired after seven years as the executive director of the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society, Inc. in 2024.

1980s

Philip Lewer ’87 launched Soundview Consulting, which is focused on helping early-stage deep-tech startups align innovation with real-world value. Find out how Lewer is helping lead the next generation of engineers.

Father Bill Fox ’89 has been appointed pastor of three churches in Northwest Missouri: St. Mary’s in Carrollton, Sacred Heart in Norborne and Immaculate Conception in Richmond.

Susan Levine ’86, MSW ’90 published her new book, Speak UP, It’s Your Life! If It Matters to You, It Matters, which explores the impact of silence and the power found in speaking your truth.

Lisa Ferrante-Walsh ’87 was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Software Development for 2025 in Women We Admire.

1990s

J.P. Walsh MS ’97, PhD is a professor in the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. He is also involved in coastal and marine geological research locally and globally.

Prince Johnson ’98, MA ’03 has spent nearly three decades inspiring students — and is now the 2026 New York State Teacher of the Year! Learn about his journey as a mentor and role model.

2000s

Guru Madhavan, MS ’02, PhD was named the first international honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom. He joins a distinguished cohort of 74 engineers and innovators elected in 2025. Read how Stony Brook shaped Madhavan’s life and career.

Abacus Brands acquired Pixicade, which was created by Martin Horstman ’06. The acquisition allows the digital game platform to be distributed to a wider market. Learn how Horstman came up with the idea for the successful game at Stony Brook.

2010s

Craig Geoghan ’13 is Hallmark’s next leading man as the winner of the reality show “Finding Mr. Christmas.” He won a role in A Make or Break Holiday, which aired in December 2025 on the Hallmark Channel. Read more about his experience on the show.

Jeremy Dennis ’13 guest-curated the “Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: The Power of Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art” exhibition at Zuccaire Gallery, featuring 26 Indigenous artists from around the country. Learn more about his inspiration for the exhibit.

Czareena Dotchev, MA ’13 was featured in City & State’s 2025 “Who’s Who in Government Relations.” Find out how she’s using the larger platform to share her voice.

On Remembering My Friends, My First Job, and My Second-Favorite Weezer CD, a fiction novella by Francisco Delgado, PhD ’17, won the 2024 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize and was published by Texas Review Press.

Jacqueline Henry Moloney ’17 published her first book of poetry, First Look Poems.

Matthew Hickey, MS ’14 was named vice president of human resources at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare.

2020s

Nasir Stovall ’21 was named to the 10th class of Schwarzman Scholars, one of the most prestigious graduate fellowship programs in the world. See how Stony Brook prepared Stovall for medical school at Harvard and the Schwarzman Scholars program.

Click here for previous Class Notes from 2015-2024.