Alumni in the News

Solving homicide cases bone by bone

Stephen P. Nawrocki, MA '90, PhD '92, was profiled in a June 21, 2004 article in the Indianapolis Star, "Anthropologist's skills help crack touch cases," by Andy Gammill. As also the state of Indiana's only forensic anthropologist Nawrocki, an associate professor of anthropology and biology at the University of Indianapolis, has worked on numerous homicide cases with almost every county in Indiana. He is also a consultant to the Illinois State Police. As the article notes, "When police find bones, they call Nawrocki.

"Perhaps most famous for his role in unearthing the remains of at least 11 people at the Westfield estate of Herbert Baumeister. Nawrocki works on a dozen significant cases a years, including homicides, suicides and mysterious deaths," the article continues.

The article goes on to detail just how Nawrocki goes about his work at a crime scene, with his students as assistants, armed with "screens to sift dirt, trowels, lines for a grid, pails, dustpans, toothbrushes and sharpened chopsticks to dig near bones."

In addition to his professorship at the University of Indianapolis, Nawrocki is also director of osteology at the university's Archeology and Forensics Laboratory.

"Heeding 'Nature' call"

Fred Kaufman '78 was featured in Clem Richardson's "City Beat" column in the New York Daily News, "Heeding 'Nature' call: Top dog at PBS show for 13 years." Kaufman, executive producer of Nature, the award-winning PBS series, said in the article: "I'm not what people usually expect. . . . I'm not exactly David Attenborough, not the guy you have in mind when you think of someone doing nature shows."

In fact, as Richardson notes, "Bronx-born Kaufman, 47, is a New York kinda guy, a lover of the local hustle and bustle and five-star restaurants."

Nevertheless, as Kaufman said in the article, "Underlying each show is respect for the natural world and the need to take care of it."

Kaufman also described a grueling Nature shoot, filming wild dogs in Africa, and talked about his career path, from turning down a job as runner/production assistant on Raiders of the Lost Ark -- "the title sounded like a B-movie" -- to landing a production assistant job on the then-new Nature program in 1982. More recently, Kaufman introduced celebrity hosts, such as Julia Roberts and Robin Williams, to attract new viewers to Nature, and has teamed with National Geographic to fund some expeditions.

Nature begins its 24th season on the air this fall. Kaufman has been executive producer of the show for 13 years.

Search for a cure bonds father and son

Eric Hilburger '02, MS 04, who is pursuing his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at Binghamton, was featured in an article in Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle, June 20, 2004, "This battle bonds and father and son," by Scott Pitoniak. "Two years ago, shortly after Eric began studying ways to slow down the spread of brain-wasting diseases, his father, Gary Hilburger, was diagnosed with one such affliction -- Parkinson's," reads the article.

"It's such a strange coincidence that it would happen this way," Eric said in the article. "It's almost like this was meant to be for me and for Dad. It's almost like we've been chosen to make this journey together."

The article notes that, while this father and son have always been close, now "They are bound by their desire to help others deal with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease."

A champion of minority voters' rights

Aaron Mair '84 [http://harpur.binghamton.edu/31902hotline/index.htm#aaron] was featured in a May 18, 2004 article in the Albany Times Union, "Activist pushes to redraw city lines," by Brian Nearing. According to the article, Mair said that the city's redrawing of its election wards two years ago illegally dilutes the voting strength of a growing minority population and protects the power of white incumbents.

The article reads: "Mair, who beat the county in federal court last year on the same voting rights issues, said . . . he's ready to sue again if the city doesn't increase the number of wards in which minority voters hold sway in time for the 2005 city elections. 'This is about geography and political choice,' said Mair, president of Arbor Hill Concerned Citizens. 'How do we get the council to wake up that the urban environment has changed?'" Mair used the federal Voting Rights Act to successfully sue the county. The local chapter of the NAACP joined him in that lawsuit, and is prepared to do so again.

"From 1990 to 2000, the city's share of blacks and Hispanics grew from 25 percent to 37 percent, according to the 2000 Census," notes the article.

The Professor of Comedy

Eddie Tafoya, PhD '97, wrote the cover story for the March 2004 issue of Storytellers magazine, "Hot salsa moves," and was also profiled in the magazines "About Our Contributors" section. "Albuquerque native Eddie Tafoya . . . is a writer, comedian and professor of English at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas," reads the profile. "In recent years, Tafoya's chosen creative pursuit has been stand-up comedy and his scholarly pursuit has been the study of stand-up comedy as literature. In more than a couple of his classes, Tafoya takes the work of comedians such as Jackie Mason and Richard Pryor and examines it the way anyone else would examine the work of William Faulkner or Ernest Hemingway."

Tafoya has posted a most unusual autobiographical poem/essay on his website at http://www.nmhu.edu/english/homepages/etafoya/bio.htm


Recognize this face?

Anthony LaScala '96, modeled for the full page Verizon ad on page 6 of the first section of the June 24, 2004 issue of The New York Times.

 

Short takes

Gayle Kirschenbaum '75 and her beloved "dogter," Chelsea, were featured in the AKA (American Kennel Club) Family Dog Magazine, summer 2004 issue.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti, PhD '01 was included in an article in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Times Leader, "Area can boast about authors," by Marques G. Harper, June 20, 2004. Bartoletti wrote Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850, for which she won the 2002 Robert F. Sibert Award for most distinguished informational book for children published in 2001, and Growing Up in Coal Country.

Beth Goldberg '87, founder of Latka's De-licious Doggie Treats, was featured in a fun article in Crain's New York Business magazine, "Park becomes a pet project." The article is about Goldberg's success in marketing her doggie treats through pushcart vendors in Central Park. "I presented it to them [the pushcart vendors] as a new customer niche," she said in the article. "They bit," the article continues. "Pushcarts throughout Central Park are now featuring the treats."

Debra Orringer '95 was featured in an April 26, 2004 article In Florida Today, "Exercise programs adapt for disabled," by Kathy Hagood. Orringer, a clinical exercise physiologist who heads up the Adapted Physical Activity Program and the Kennedy Space Center, explains that the center was created to provide a safe, comfortable and supportive place for people with special needs to exercise. "Those with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs, are concerned about hurting themselves, so they want to work with a trainer to make sure they are exercising in a safe way," Orringer said in the article.

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