Boston College Chronicle

OCTOBER 14, 2021 VOL. 29 NO. 4

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

INSIDE 3 Clifford and Kitz Chair

First endowed chair at BC School of Theology and Ministry will honor founding dean.

3 Disrupting Science Education Grant to Lynch School prof will launch OpenSciEd Equitable Instruction Initiative.

8 Robsham Fall Season

The magic of live theater returns to campus this month.

Discernment at the Doctoral Level ILA internship program supports career exploration for Ph.D. students

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Boston College doctoral student Kelly Lyons’ love of history bloomed during her undergraduate years, in large part because of her professors.

“They emphasized how the study of history reveals a lot about how we understand the present—what we think is important about the past reflects what we value in contemporary society,” said Lyons, who graduated from Suffolk University. “That’s why history is such a dynamic, ever-changing field.”

But while she admired her history professors and considered them mentors, the Connecticut native didn’t necessarily envision being a professor herself—especially since tenured faculty positions, the

traditional destination for Ph.D. students, have become increasingly scarce. So she came to BC’s doctoral program in history with an open mind about her career path.

“I was excited to pursue graduate studies at Boston College because the humanities, including history, have been the cornerstone of Jesuit education for 500 years,” she said. “BC can be a modern university while celebrating and investing in the humanities.”

Last summer, Lyons was among seven Ph.D. students who benefited from one such investment: a new program developed by the University’s Institute for the Liberal Arts with support from the Office of the Provost that provides internships for doctoral students in the humanities and qualitative social sciences. The internships were in University Libraries, which offered positions in digital scholarship, digital pedagogy, and archival work; the McMullen Museum of Art; and the

Continued on page 4

Class of 2020 to be Celebrated October 16-17 Members of the Class of 2020, forced by the coronavirus pandemic to leave campus during their final semester and forgo their graduation ceremonies, will now be properly celebrated with an inperson Commencement Weekend on October 16 and 17.

Hosted by the Boston College Alumni Association, the weekend will kick off with a tailgate and barbecue before the home football game against North Carolina State on Saturday, October 16. Members of the class received complimentary tickets to the 7:30 p.m. game, where they will be recognized and invited to partici-

Continued on page 7

The first official photo of the Class of 2020 was taken on August 27, 2016 at Alumni Stadium. photo by lee pellegrini

BC Global Observatory Study Shows Air Pollution’s Deadly Toll in Africa First continent-wide survey to detail harm to economies and children

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Air pollution was responsible for 1.1 million deaths across Africa in 2019, with household air pollution—driven largely by indoor cookstoves—accounting for 700,000 fatalities, while increased outdoor air pollution claimed 400,000 lives, according to a report in a recent edition of the journal The Lancet Planetary Health from a team led by Boston College’s Global Observatory on Pollution and Health.

Furthermore, air pollution is costing African countries billions in gross domestic product and can be correlated to losses in cognitive development among Africa’s children, the researchers found.

In the first continent-wide examination of the far-reaching impacts of air pollution in Africa, the international team found that while deaths from household air pollution have declined slightly, deaths caused by outdoor, or ambient, air pollution (AAP)—are on the rise, said Boston College Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, M.D., who led the project with U.N. Environment Programme Chief Environmental Economist Pushpam Kumar.

“The most disturbing finding was the increase in deaths from ambient air pollution,” said Landrigan, director of the BC observatory. “While this increase is still modest, it threatens to increase exponentially as African cities grow in the next two to three decades and the continent develops economically.”

The African continent is undergoing a massive transformation, the co-authors note. Africa’s population is on track to more than triple in this century, from

Continued on page 5

Especially now, students need to be curious about the world around them. They need to ask questions and be able to engage in debate using science ideas and evidence. We’re at a point in time where it’s exciting to see teachers and kids getting enthusiastic again about science, and that’s what motivates me.

– professor katherine mcneill, lynch school of education and human development | page 3

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October 14, 2021

Around Campus

New undergrad journal brings diverse perspectives to theological topics KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

Mystērion: The Theology Journal of Boston College, a newly launched undergraduate journal, features essays by students from Boston College and beyond that bring a diverse array of perspectives to bear on important—and difficult—theological questions.

“There are a lot of smart students who go to BC and there’s a real opportunity to learn from them, but you can’t take a class with every person,” said senior Dennis J. Wieboldt III, editor-in-chief of Mystērion.

“The purpose of the journal is to provide a forum where students can have their excellent work published and provide an opportunity for students to learn from other students.”

Like the Theology Department itself, Mystērion seeks to represent different areas of study within the discipline: biblical studies, comparative theology, historical theology, theological ethics, and systematic theology. The journal’s inaugural issue [https:// ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/MYST/issue/ view/1209] explores the relationship of feminist theology to American religion, the historiography of the Salem Witch Trials, the role of prayer and language in the human experience, the Catholic Church’s evolving position on questions of church and state, and how comparative theology can help us better understand human suffering and liberation.

“The journal shows how insights gained from the study of theology can be applied to and integrated into other disciplines,” added Wieboldt, a history and theology double major who also is pursuing a master’s degree in history.

Boston College student contributors to Mystērion’s first issue are Amanda Garza ’22, Paige McDonald ’23, Sean O’Neil ’23, and Connor Thomson ’23.

“For me, it is a joy to see students finding their own voice and helping others share their thoughts and articulate their reasoning on difficult topics,” said Walsh Professor of Bioethics Andrea Vicini, S.J., who serves as faculty advisor for Mystērion and previously was faculty advisor for Lumen et Vita, the graduate student journal based in the School of Theology and Ministry.

“My role is to create a possibility for the students to manifest their own abilities and accompany them in the process,” he added.

“I’m a sounding board for ideas and I offer advice, reaction, comments, feedback, criti-

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

photo by caitlin cunningham

cal suggestions, and constructive input. It’s about empowerment of the students.”

Other members of the journal’s staff include Megan Stevens ’23, Christy Liu ’22, Conor McCormick ’22, Tyler Savluk ’21, and Emma Searle ’23.

Wieboldt said Mystērion made the intentional decision to invite students outside of BC to contribute to the journal as well, to create conversation between students at different universities in an academic setting. The inaugural issue includes contributions from Princeton and Fordham universities; the second issue, expected later this semester, will feature student essays from Marquette and Santa Clara universities, as well as BC, on topics such as Islamic and Christian reconciliation, the interpretation of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Catholic social teaching and hookup culture, femicide in Latin America, and ecological suffering, among others.

“It is my hope that Mystērion inspires more students to spend time thinking about the questions of human existence that impact us all—no matter who we are or where we come from—and to share with others the insights we have gleaned for ourselves,” Wieboldt writes in his editor’s note. “We may not always be right, but it is critical that we continue to chal-

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan

Patricia Delaney PHOTOGRAPHERS EDITOR

Sean Smith

Caitlin Cunningham Lee Pellegrini

Myst ērion Associate Editor Conor McCormick ’22 and Editor-in-Chief Dennis Wieboldt ’22 in conversation with the journal’s faculty advisor, Walsh Professor of Bioethics Andrea Vicini, S.J., and graduate student advisor Tiffany Lee ’24.

lenge the ideas of our time and of times gone by so that we can come to an evermore-full understanding of ourselves and the world around us.”

For spring, the journal staff is discussing a possible event at which students would offer papers in response to a selected faculty book.

Wieboldt and Fr. Vicini expressed gratitude for the support given by Theology Department Chair Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies Jeffrey Cooley, graduate student advisors Grace Agolia and Tiffany Lee, and BC Libraries Digital Publishing and Outreach Specialist

Chronicle www.bc.edu/bcnews chronicle@bc.edu

Gabe Feldstein.

Wieboldt said that courses he took his first year at BC—Perspectives on Western Culture and Religion and American Public Life taught by Boisi Center Director and Professor of Theology Mark Massa, S.J.—have had a profound influence in his intellectual and personal formation and inspired him to create the journal.

The courses, he said, not only asked questions about God, self, and society, but created an environment where one could learn from other students with different backgrounds, beliefs, academic interests, and life experiences.

In his editor’s note, Wieboldt says he hopes the journal is marked by the same ethos he believes undergirds Boston College: respect for those of other religious beliefs, an honest desire for truth, and a willingness to engage in dialogue about important issues.

He added: “This process of inquiry, reflection, knowledge production, and knowledge sharing is precisely what [Professor of Theology] Fr. Michael Himes encouraged members of the Boston College community to embark upon so eloquently in his 2009 ‘Last Lecture’… ‘if you hold onto your life, you lose it, but if you give your life away, it becomes everlasting life.’”

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Chronicle

October 14, 2021

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Gift Intention Will Establish First Endowed Chair at STM

said about Fr. Clifford. “He is the best Old Testament/Hebrew Bible professor I have ever had.”

Kitz first met Fr. Clifford in 1981 when he served as her faculty advisor during her studies at Weston Jesuit School of Theology. Kitz went on to earn a master of theology degree from Harvard Divin-

ity School and a Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She has taught Old Testament studies at Loyola University Maryland and in the seminaries of the archdioceses of Baltimore, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

She is the author of the book Cursed Are You! The Phenomenology of Cursing in Cuneiform and Hebrew Texts, as well as of articles in the Journal of Biblical Literature, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal of the American Oriental Society, and other publications. She is working on a book project titled A History of the God who Creates.

Kitz said that the endowed chair is formal acknowledgement of Fr. Clifford’s lifelong contributions to the School of Theology and Ministry.

A Boston College graduate, Fr. Clifford taught biblical studies at Weston Jesuit School of Theology from 1970 to 2008. He was president of Weston Jesuit when it reaffiliated with Boston College, and he went on to serve as the founding dean of STM from 2008 to 2010. A former president of the Catholic Biblical Association, he was general editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly and is a coeditor of the award-winning Paulist Biblical Commentary. His many publications include The Wisdom Literature, Proverbs: A Commentary, Psalms 1-72, and Psalms 73-150.

The Clifford and Kitz Chair was announced at the September 23 Clifford Lecture on “The Bible and Human Rights,” presented by John J. Collins, the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School.

science education in the professional development.

United States.

The grant also makes it OpenSciEd aims to possible for McNeill and disrupt inequalities by her staff to visit schools supporting schools and to assist teachers, provide teachers who begin their workshops and webinars, science lessons with the and form virtual commuinterests and curiosities nities where teachers can of all students, said Mcconnect with their peers Neill. while learning to use the “I really want to help new curriculum. kids—all kids—have a The Massachusetts Degood experience with partment of Elementary science. I want to open and Secondary Education it up for them, help launched a pilot of Openthem connect and get Katherine L. McNeill SciEd in 2018 with the engaged,” she said. “I’m One8 Foundation providbiased because I love sciing additional funding. photo by lee pellegrini ence, but I know that it’s The foundation focuses turned off a lot of kids over time because on helping schools and teachers prepare of the way it’s taught, forcing them to students for success, focusing on STEM memorize facts like the periodic table. Sci- and 21st-century skills and applied learnence is so much more than facts—it’s also ing opportunities as one of its five areas of about curiosity and wonder, and making interest. sense of the world around us.”

All three organizations will partner to The OpenSciEd curriculum is openscale OpenSciEd and support Massachusource and free for all U.S. middle school setts schools to maximize its impact on teachers and schools, but as McNeill noted, middle school classrooms. “there’s a lot of stuff involved in science.”

McNeill is co-director of the new initiaThe initiative, through support from the tive, along with Senior Research Associate Boston-based One8 Foundation, will Renee Affolter. The team also consists of make grants available to schools to cover Program Manager Hillary Paul Metcalf, the cost of supplies, materials, and other School Support Specialists Nicole Rutforms of support for their teachers, such as tan and Bruce Kamerer, Senior Financial

Administrator Jana Brinkhaus, and two graduate research assistants.

McNeill’s team, along with Mass STEM Hub, a program of the One8 Foundation, has started this work with a cohort of 40 schools across Massachusetts; their goal is to reach approximately 110 over the next three years. Eventually, McNeill and the foundation would like to expand the program further, and include elementary and high school science teachers.

“The One8 Foundation is excited and proud to support schools and districts in their adoption of OpenSciEd,” said Joanna Jacobson, foundation president.

“We have seen how OpenSciEd provides the resources for educators to engage students as scientists with hands-on, relevant, inquiry-based lessons. The world is rapidly changing and students need to be able to apply what they learn to the real world.

OpenSciEd does just that.”

McNeill emphasized that we need to think broader than students just scoring well on a standardized test.

“Especially now, students need to be curious about the world around them,” she said. “They need to ask questions and be able to engage in debate using science ideas and evidence. We’re at a point in time where it’s exciting to see teachers and kids getting enthusiastic again about science, and that’s what motivates me.”

–University Communications

New Clifford and Kitz Chair will honor School of Theology and Ministry founding dean KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

A gift intention will establish the Clifford and Kitz Chair in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament—the first endowed chair at the School of Theology and Ministry, STM Dean Thomas D. Stegman, S.J., has announced.

The Clifford and Kitz Chair is named in honor of STM Professor Emeritus Richard J. Clifford, S.J., a renowned Old Testament scholar who served as the founding dean of the STM. The chair will be made possible through the generosity of BC alumna Anne Marie Kitz M.A.T.’80, M.Div. ’84, a religious scholar, educator, and author who has known Fr. Clifford for 40 years.

“Anne Marie has a deep appreciation for the work that we do at the STM,” said Fr. Stegman, adding that her gift intention is “an investment in the intellectual capital needed to transform future generations of leaders who will serve Catholic and Christian communities both in and beyond the Church.

“On behalf of the University, I want to give my heartfelt gratitude to Anne Marie for her extraordinary dedication to the School of Theology and Ministry,” he added. “Her generous investment plays an important role in upholding the Jesuit, Catholic heritage of Boston College and helps us to ensure an even brighter future

Initiative Will Support Equitable Science Instruction The Lynch School of Education and Human Development has been awarded a five-year, $5.3-million grant from the One8 Foundation to launch the OpenSciEd Equitable Instruction Initiative, Katherine L. McNeill, a professor in the Department of Teaching, Curriculum, and Society, has announced.

For the past three years, McNeill and her team have worked to develop a new middle school science program in collaboration with OpenSciEd, a consortium of nonprofits and universities, including the Lynch School. Dedicated to delivering materials to teachers implementing the federal Next Generation Science Standards, the group emphasizes hands-on projects and integrates several scientific disciplines.

According to McNeill, students of color, those whose first language is not English, and those who reside in communities and schools lacking financial resources are often the first to feel disconnected from science.

She and her team are excited by the new curriculum’s potential to capture the imagination of students often left behind when it comes to science, and to revolutionize

Anne Marie Kitz, M.A.T. '80, M.Div. '84 and School of Theology and Ministry Founding Dean Richard Clifford, S.J., at the event announcing the Clifford and Kitz Chair in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. photo by john deputy-metrodesign

for the school. We are deeply grateful for her leadership and philanthropy.”

The Kitz Family also supports an annual lecture at the STM in honor of Fr. Clifford, as well as a scholarship.

“I’ve never met anyone who has so fully and completely embodied the Jesuit values in every aspect of his life,” Kitz

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October 14, 2021

ILA Ph.D. Internships Highlight Career Opportunities Continued from page 1 Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. Each student received a stipend.

As tenure-track teaching positions have decreased—a trend exacerbated by the recession of 2008 and more recently by the pandemic—such programs help doctoral students transition to alternative career possibilities that enable them to make use of their expertise and skills, according to ILA administrators. While not the only university to offer a Ph.D. internship program, BC adds its distinctiveness as a Jesuit, Catholic institution to the experience, through regular meetings that focus on personal formation as well as professional development.

ILA Director and Rattigan Professor of English Mary Crane, the program’s creator, said the first year hit all the marks: “BC staff who supervised the internships were all delighted with what the students accomplished and all agreed to take on student interns in the future. The students all found the program to be valuable and appreciated the reflection and workshop sessions.”

Interning with University Libraries, Lyons enjoyed putting together a digital humanities project about the Boston busing crisis of the 1970s, using the Tableau platform to create interactive data visualizations of her research, making the findings easier for a general audience to interpret.

The program has illuminated a direction in which she would like to go, she said.

“In my career, I want to use the digital humanities to bring history to a wider audience and show that what we understand about the past is always changing, which is a good thing because it helps us move toward a more just and fair society.”

Alexander D’Alisera, a doctoral student in history whose interests lie in late ancient and early medieval Europe, spent his internship in the McMullen Museum, helping work on a future exhibition on alternative comics and graphic magazines from the 1980s and ’90s. He relished learning about the day-in, week-out routine of the museum, as well as about exhibition design and curatorial considerations, and the procedure of object loaning and lender communication.

“I love the process of teaching history and working with students in a classroom setting, and I believe that this skill set is eminently transferable to the world of educating the public in a museum context,” he said. “Whether I wind up employed in a traditional professorial role or not, I hope to always engage with this lifelong pursuit of historical inquiry on whatever career path I find myself.”

Emily Kulenkamp, a doctoral student in political science, said serving an internship at the Schiller Institute was useful in that it gave her a chance to work in a team to accomplish discrete goals, and to observe an academic institute in its beginning stages.

“I feel the internship gave me a valuable insight into higher education administration, and that is the area I’m most likely to explore as a career.”

Kelly Lyons

Alexander D’Alisera photos by lee pellegrini

Internship Program Associate Director Deanna Danforth said the program addresses the unique challenges many doctoral students typically face, especially if they’re not certain how much they want to teach or do research. The faculty members with whom Ph.D. students train can help them prepare for the classroom, she explained, but are seldom able to provide guidance in considering or seeking alternative career work.

“Many doctoral students have been out of the workforce for several years, so they’re not sure what other career paths exist, or even how they can have conversations about that,” said Danforth. “So being able to work in, say, a library setting can be an eye-opening experience that gets them thinking about how they can apply their skills and knowledge in another context.”

Program workshops include discussions with representatives of the Career Center—a resource too little utilized by doctoral students, according to Danforth—on nuts-and-bolts aspects of career exploration, such as creating a resumé and cover letter, but also concerns about how Ph.D. holders are perceived in the marketplace: “If I come in with a doctorate,” said Danforth, reciting an oft-expressed comment by doctoral candidates, “will employers think I’m not really serious about wanting the job, and that I’ll just jump at the first teaching position which comes along?”

The program participants also are prompted, especially in reflection sessions, to think more deeply, broadly, and holistically about their academic and career

“ In my career, I want to use the digital humanities to bring history to a wider audience and show that what we understand about the past is always changing, which is a good thing because it helps us move toward a more just and fair society.”

—Kelly Lyons

“I love the process of teaching history and working with students in a classroom setting, and I believe that this skill set is eminently transferable to the world of educating the public in a museum context.”

—Alexander D’Alisera

interests: What is it I like about studying this field/discipline? Do I enjoy the teaching or the research more? Are there other areas in my life where I could find fulfillment if I went the alternative career route?

Salvatore Cipriano, assistant director for career education at the Career Center, presented the internship program students a living, breathing example of someone who has taken the less-traditional route with his doctorate. Although unable to fulfill his original goal of becoming a history professor, Cipriano found a place in a university setting that enabled him to work with students; he also has kept up his scholarly interests by publishing material in academic journals. From his perspective, the question of “Where can a doctorate take me?” is not as important as “Who am I as a doctoral student?”

“I certainly have a better understanding of what is meaningful to me in both a professional and personal sense,” he said.

“What I wish I knew then, and what I recommend for current Ph.D. students now, is to be intentional about their personal and professional growth—take time to reflect on how the manifold responsibilities associated with a Ph.D. can contribute to a stronger sense of self and clearer vision of the career pathways they’d like to pursue.”

Crane said the internship program will continue next summer, with a still to-bedetermined number of additional positions. Depending on the COVID-19 situation, among other factors, it is possible that external internship opportunities will be available, she added.

Chronicle

October 14, 2021

Toll of Air Pollution in Africa Continued from page 1 1.3 billion in 2020 to 4.3 billion by 2100.

Cities are expanding, economies are growing, and life expectancy has almost doubled. Fossil fuel combustion has driven an increase in outdoor air pollution that in 2019 killed 29.15 people per 100,000 population, an increase from 26.13 deaths per 100,000 in 1990, according to the report.

Indoor and outdoor sources combine to make air pollution the second-largest cause of death in Africa, claiming more lives than tobacco, alcohol, motor vehicle accidents, and drug abuse. Only AIDS causes more deaths. The impact in Africa is part of a global toll taken by air pollution, which killed an estimated 6.7 million people worldwide in 2017, the paper notes.

“Air pollution in Africa has major negative impacts on health, human capital, and the economy,” the co-authors conclude.

“These impacts are growing in magnitude as countries develop.”

Examining the toll on the developing brains of children, the researchers calculate that air pollution exposure to infants and young children resulted in the loss of 1.96 billion IQ points across the continent.

The team studied trends in air pollution in Africa to determine impacts on human health and economic development in 54 African countries. The team devoted special attention to three rapidly developing SubSaharan countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda.

“We focused on these three countries because they are all at somewhat different points in their economic development, and we reasoned that comparing air pollution

Philip J. Landrigan, M.D. photo by gary wayne gilbert

“ We argue that African countries are in a unique position to leapfrog over mistakes made elsewhere and to achieve prosperity without pollution.”

—Philip J. Landrigan, M.D. patterns among them would give us a good indicator of future trends,” Landrigan said.

Within these three countries, the upward trend in outdoor air pollution is most clearly evident in Ghana, the most economically advanced of the countries, and is beginning to be seen in Ethiopia and Rwanda, Landrigan said.

5

“Experience from other countries suggests that the increases in AAP appearing in Africa today could be the harbinger of a looming problem,” according to the report.

“In the absence of visionary leadership and intentional intervention, AAP could become a much larger cause of disease and premature death than at present and could pose a major threat to economic development.”

In addition to the toll on human health, air pollution imposes economic costs, the study found. Economic output lost to airpollution-related disease was $3.0 billion in Ethiopia, or 1.16 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product; $1.6 billion in Ghana (0.95 percent of GDP), and $349 million in Rwanda (1.19 percent of GDP).

“Investment in pollution control besides climate and biodiversity has significant return than usually construed,” said UNEP's Kumar. “This study from three diverse countries of Africa demonstrates that managing pollution favorably impacts human capital and helps lay the foundation for sustainable recovery in the post pandemic era.”

The study recommends governments make air pollution prevention and control national priorities and create sustainable funding to support those priorities. Specific recommendations include: • Invest in clean renewable energy, in particular taking advantage of solar and wind power resources and reducing reliance on coal, oil, and gas.

• Reduce road traffic and traffic-related pollution by raising fuel taxes and parking fees, levying congestion charges, creating vehicle-free zones and cycle paths, and improving public transportation.

• Regulate the open burning of waste by households and firms and place restrictions on agricultural burning, including burning forest to convert to agricultural land as well as crop residue burning.

• Undertake systemic reforms to identify, control, and track sources of indoor and outdoor air pollution and sponsor research to further assess the impact on public health.

“We encourage Africa’s leaders to take advantage of the fact that their countries are still relatively early in their economic development and to transition rapidly to wind and solar energy, thus avoiding entrapment in fossil-fuel-based economies,” said Landrigan. “We argue that African countries are in a unique position to leapfrog over mistakes made elsewhere and to achieve prosperity without pollution.”

He added, “Air pollution in Africa threatens economic development and future growth, but can be avoided by wise leaders who transition rapidly to wind and solar energy and avoid entrapment by coal, gas, and oil.”

In addition to Landrigan and Kumar, co-authors of the report include Boston College researchers Samantha Fisher, senior data analyst at the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health, and Gabriella Taghian; David C. Bellinger of Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School; Maureen L. Cropper of the University of Maryland; Agnes Binagwaho, M.D., vice chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda; Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, United Nations Environment Programme; and Yongjoon Park of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

New Ransomware Recovery Assessment Resource Organizations seeking to assess their ability to recover from a ransomware attack now have a new resource, developed with the assistance of a Boston College expert.

Available without charge, website GetRScore provides a credit score-like assessment of survey answers to provide companies with a simple and efficient way to determine their ability to repel and recuperate from ransomware.

Developed by Boston-based HYCU, Inc., a Bain Capital Ventures-backed, multi-cloud backup and recovery service company, “R-Score” represents the culmination of months of work with cybersecurity and data privacy protection experts and leaders, including FireEye Mandiant, Carahsoft, SADA, Rackspace, and Kevin R. Powers, founder and director of the M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance program at BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies.

“Ransomware is the most significant cyber-threat faced by private and government organizations, which is exactly why cybersecurity experts and leaders from private industry, government, and academia came together to develop ‘RScore,’” said Powers, also a cybersecurity research affiliate with MIT’s Sloan School

of Management and an assistant professor of the practice at the BC Law School and Carroll School of Management.

“By using its interactive platform, information security teams and most importantly, senior executives and boards of directors, will be able to get key insights as to their cyber-readiness through the tool’s easy to follow dashboards and grading system.

“I’m excited to be a part of this initiative,“Powers added,” particularly because it’s in keeping with BC’s overarching mission of service for others.”

According to HYCU, ransomware attacks have been occurring at an alarming rate over the past 18 months with a strike happening on average every 11 seconds.

“R-Score” assists organizations in protecting their business operations, customer and employee sensitive personal data, intellectual property, and other confidential and proprietary information, said Powers.

“It’s become a tired cliché that it’s not a matter of if but when a company will be faced with a ransomware recovery incident,” said HYCU Founder and CEO Simon Taylor in the company’s website launch announcement. “As much as all of us in technology would like to believe

photo by christopher soldt-mts

“ Ransomware is the most significant cyber-threat faced by private and government, organizations, which is exactly why cybersecurity experts and leaders from private industry, government, and academia came together to develop ‘R-Score.’”

—Kevin Powers

we can eliminate ransomware attacks, the focus needs to be on rallying the industry around a way of quantifying and measuring what steps can, and should, be taken to avoid having to pay exorbitant ransoms for companies to get their data back.

We are extremely excited to announce ‘R-Score’ along with our supporting partners.”

An approved training provider for the United States Department of Homeland Security’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies, the M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance at Boston College aims to prepare professionals to design, develop, and implement cybersecurity strategies that defend against and ensure recovery from cyberattacks and to bridge the communication gap between information technology security professionals and key business stakeholders.

Its courses are taught by cybersecurity industry leaders and practitioners doing cutting-edge work in the field; the program collaborates with more than 50 private industry and government leaders who serve as visiting professors and guest lecturers, or as members of the program’s advisory council.

—Phil Gloudemans

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Mission Driven Physics major Bailey Renger spent her summer helping NASA build the quantum network of the future

BY ALIX HACKETT SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

During her first year at Boston College, Bailey Renger got a chance to meet Mae Carol Jemison, a former National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut who made history as the first Black woman to travel to outer space. Their conversation left a lasting impression on Renger, a then-18-year-old with a budding interest in physics.

“I knew I wanted to be part of NASA after that,” said Renger, who will graduate in December. “Although I didn’t really think that I ever would be.”

Last summer, Renger exceeded her own expectations, landing a coveted internship in NASA’s space communication and navigation program, where the acceptance rate

Bailey Renger

hovers around one percent (Renger was one of just 30 interns accepted in the summer of 2021). For 10 weeks, she worked virtually alongside a team of researchers at the Glenn Research Center exploring the creation and application of space-based quantum networks. The experience was as thrilling as she imagined.

“I started with just reading and taking courses on this type of physics, so to be actually applying it and contributing to a future mission was incredibly interesting,”

October 14, 2021

she said. “Plus, I got to talk to an astronaut almost every day.”

Quantum technology, which uses the rules of quantum mechanics to perform complex calculations, has been heralded by many scientists as the future of computing. With access to a quantum computer, experts say, researchers could run simulations that would alleviate the need for medical testing, collect data from the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and discover new superconducting materials for use in manufacturing.

Linked together to form a network, quantum computers could also transform the way we collect, store, and send information. In 2018, NASA announced a partnership with MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory to explore the use of a laser system on the International Space Station that would connect quantum computers on Earth.

The result, if they are successful, would be a quantum network that allows speedy and highly secure data transmission to take place without physical connections of any kind.

As part of her internship responsibilities, Renger spent hours poring over literature related to quantum memory architectures—noting data points like storage times and what wavelength they operate on—to determine the most appropriate model for NASA’s future mission. Her recommendations were included in a report

delivered to NASA headquarters.

The experience affirmed Renger’s passion for quantum theory, and allowed her to utilize the knowledge and skills she’s gained as a physics major at Boston College. In addition to working in optics and astrophysics labs, Renger has completed a graduate course in quantum computation, and gained real-world research experience through her involvement in the Boston College Research Experience for Undergraduates, a summer program where students utilize integrated science to tackle complex societal problems.

“NASA was really a culmination of all the experiences I’ve had so far, and it really helped me get a better idea of how I can contribute to the field,” she said.

Renger’s next move will be applying to graduate programs in hopes of continuing to work in quantum technology, either through a start-up or research lab. It’s a field in which there is still so much to discover, which is what makes it so exciting, she said.

“Less than a hundred years ago nobody really believed that this type of physics was real—it seemed like something out of a scifi or fantasy novel,” she said. “Now we’re actually learning how to implement it.”

Alix Hackett is a senior digital content writer for the Office of University Communications

BC Physicists Create Liquid-Like Electron Flow

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

A team of researchers from Boston College has created a new metallic specimen where the motion of electrons flows in the same way water flows in a pipe—fundamentally changing from particle-like to fluid-like dynamics, the team reported recently in Nature Communications.

Working with colleagues from the University of Texas at Dallas and Florida State University, Assistant Professor of Physics Fazel Tafti found in the metal superconductor, a synthesis of Niobium and Germanium (NbGe2), that a strong interaction between electrons and phonons alters the transport of electrons from the diffusive, or particle-like, to hydrodynamic, or fluid-like, regime.

The findings mark the first discovery of an electron-phonon liquid inside NbGe2, Tafti said.

“We wanted to test a recent prediction of the ‘electron-phonon fluid,’” he said, noting that phonons are the vibrations of a crystal structure. “Typically, electrons are scattered by phonons which leads to the usual diffusive motion of electrons in metals. A new theory shows that when electrons strongly interact with phonons, they will form a united electron-phonon liquid.

This novel liquid will flow inside the metal exactly in the same way as water flows in a pipe.”

By confirming the predictions of theoreticians, the experimental physicist Tafti—working with departmental colleague Professor Kenneth Burch, Luis

Fazel Tafti photo by lee pellegrini

Balicas of FSU, and Julia Chan of UTDallas—says the discovery will spur further exploration of the material and its potential applications.

Tafti noted that our daily lives depend on the flow of water in pipes and electrons in wires. As similar as they may sound, the

two phenomena are fundamentally different: Water molecules flow as a fluid continuum, not as individual molecules, obeying the laws of hydrodynamics; electrons, however, flow as individual particles and diffuse inside metals as they get scattered by lattice vibrations.

The team’s investigation, with significant contributions from graduate student researcher Hung-Yu Yang, who earned his doctorate from BC earlier this year, focused on the conduction of electricity in the new metal, NbGe2, Tafti said.

They applied three experimental methods: electrical resistivity measurements showed a higher-than-expected mass for electrons; Raman scattering showed a change of behavior in the vibration of the NbGe2 crystal due to the special flow of electrons; and X-ray diffraction revealed the crystal structure of the material.

By using a specific technique known as the “quantum oscillations” to evaluate the mass of electrons in the material, the researchers found that the mass of electrons in all trajectories was three times larger than the expected value, said Tafti, whose work is supported by the National Science Foundation.

“This was truly surprising because we did not expect such ‘heavy electrons’ in a seemingly simple metal,” Tafti said. “Eventually, we understood that the strong electron-phonon interaction was responsible for the heavy electron behavior. Because electrons interact with lattice vibrations, or phonons, strongly, they are ‘dragged’ by the lattice and it appears as if they have gained mass and become heavy.”

Tafti said the next step is to find other materials in this hydrodynamic regime by leveraging the electron-phonon interactions. His team will also focus on controlling the hydrodynamic fluid of electrons in such materials and engineering new electronic devices.

Chronicle

October 14, 2021

Summer L. Williams is New Monan Professor in Theatre

photo by becca lewis

An active artist in Boston’s theater scene since the 1990s, accomplished director, producer, and educator Summer L. Williams has joined the Boston College Theatre Department this academic year as the Monan Professor in Theatre Arts.

“We are very lucky to be able to have a Monan visiting professor/artist each year,” said Theatre Department Chair Luke Jorgensen, associate professor of the practice.

An award-winning director and cofounder and associate artistic director of Boston's Company One Theatre, Williams is teaching a directing class and will direct BC’s performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a theatrical version of the camp film classic, Jorgensen added.

Founded in 1998, Williams’ Company One Theatre is a home for social justice and artistic excellence; it connects Boston’s diverse communities through live performance, the development of new plays and playwrights, arts education, and public engagement programming.

According to its website [companyone. org], “By establishing a dedicated space for marginalized and alternative narratives to thrive, and working with partners and collaborators across the city, it has become a local leader in the ongoing conversations that continue to define the era of social change in contemporary America.”

Williams’ recent directing credits include Wolf Play (2020), School Girls, or

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The African Mean Girls Play (2019), Miss You Like Hell (2019), the world premiere of Leftovers (2018), Wig Out! (2018), Smart People (2017), and Barbecue (2017).

In addition to her work at Company One Theatre, she has directed for SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston University's Playwrights' Theatre, Brandeis University, Clark University, the Theater Offensive, and Huntington Theatre Company, among others.

She won Elliot Norton Awards for Outstanding Director in 2009, 2016, and 2018, and has been nominated for three Independent Reviewers of New England Awards.

A teacher of drama and a director at Brookline High School, Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in theater and master’s degree in urban education. She serves on the boards of directors of StageSource and the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

According to Jorgensen, Williams’ spring BC production (April 27-May 1, 2022) of The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be choreographed by award-winning director/choreographer Larry Sousa, with musical direction by David McGrory.

In this cult classic homage to science fiction and horror B films, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, encounter the eerie mansion of scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter and a houseful of wild characters. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-NFurter unveils his latest creation: "Rocky."

The Monan Professorship in Theatre Arts was established in 2007 by a gift to Boston College in honor of the late University Chancellor and former BC President J. Donald Monan, S.J. The position, which also commemorates the late trustee E. Paul Robsham, enables the Theatre Department to bring nationally and internationally known professionals to Boston College to teach and work with undergraduate students.

—Rosanne Pellegrini

7

BC in the Media Visiting Professor Kurt Straif, co-director of BC’s Global Observatory on Pollution and Health, commented for Reuters regarding the World Health Organization tightening its guidelines on air pollution.

BC Law Assistant Professor Ryan Williams discussed the importance of a nonpartisan Supreme Court in an op-ed for NBC News.com. The essay was cited by the Boston Globe.

School of Theology and Ministry Professor of Liturgy John Baldovin, S.J., was interviewed by "Inside the Vatican," a podcast from America magazine, about Pope

Snapshot

Francis’ decision to place restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Latin Mass.

Interim Director of Irish Studies Robert Savage was among speakers contributing to an online series on the partitioning of Ireland that was produced by Queen’s University Belfast, the U.K. and Irish governments, and the BBC. Lynch School of Education and Human Development Associate Professor Betty Lai was quoted by NBCNews.com regarding the experience of children traumatized by natural disasters.

PHOTO BY FRANK CURRAN

School of Theology and Ministry Dean Thomas Stegman, S.J., kicked off the 15th season of Agape Latte, the popular coffeehouse faith series co-sponsored by BC’s Church in the 21st Century Center and Campus Ministry, on September 21 in Hillside Café.

Class of 2020 Commencement Exercises Continued from page 1 pate in a pre-game fan tunnel and a postgame photo on the field.

On Sunday, October 17, each graduate will be permitted to bring two guests to attend the day’s events, which begin with a Baccalaureate Mass at 10 a.m., followed by a Commencement ceremony at 11:15 a.m., both in Conte Forum. Author, business leader, motivational speaker, diversity champion, and Boston College Trustee Steve Pemberton '89, M.A. '19, H'15, whose best-selling memoir A Chance in the World was shared reading for the Class of 2020 during the summer before their arrival at the University, will address the graduates. Immediately following the Commencement Exercises, individual school ceremonies will take place at various locations throughout campus, after which

“ We are very pleased to be able to host a Commencement Weekend for the Class of 2020, where nearly three-quarters of the class has signed up to return to the Heights.”

—Leah M. Spencer

the graduates and their guests are invited to attend a celebratory lunch and toast to the class on the Plaza at O’Neill Library.

The main Commencement Exercises and school ceremonies will be livestreamed at bc.edu/commencement.

“We are very pleased to be able to host a Commencement Weekend for the Class of 2020, where nearly three-quarters of the class has signed up to return to the Heights,” said Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations and University Commencement Director Leah M. Spencer.

“The pandemic prevented us from hosting Commencement in 2020, so we very much look forward to celebrating the many accomplishments of this great class.”

For the safety of the campus community, all graduates and guests over 12 years of age must provide either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test in order to attend any Commencement Weekend activities.

For more information, visit bc.edu/ commencement.

—Christine Balquist

Chronicle

8

ROBSHAM FALL SEASON

The Magic of Live Theater Returns to Campus Audiences will return to Boston College’s Robsham Theater Arts Center next week for the New England premiere of the critically-acclaimed play Oil, an important work that explores our dependency on ever-dwindling fuel sources. Performances will run October 21–24 on the main stage.

“We are tremendously excited to be returning to making theater with a live, masked audience,” said Theatre Department Chair and Associate Professor of the Practice Luke Jorgensen. “Although last year was a success in terms of pivoting to online performing, nothing beats the magic of live theater.”

Oil, a play lauded as an “epic political tale in the context of a gripping motherdaughter story” by The Washington Post, will be directed at Boston College by Patri-

cia Riggin, a Theatre Department associate professor of the practice.

“Oil is an extremely timely play, given the recently released United Nations report

on climate change,” she said. “It examines our dependence on oil, the history behind the politics of developing it, and the impact on Middle Eastern and Northern African countries due to exploitation of this resource.”

Written by British playwright Ella Hickson—and lauded by The Daily Mail and The Guardian, as well as in other reviews—it depicts time travel through the “Age of Oil” with May, a woman who marvels at the glow of a kerosene lantern in 1889; then journeys to the future, where we meet her as a waitress in Britishoccupied Iran in 1908, an oil executive in 1970s London, and a former member of Parliament in the desert outside Kirkuk in 2021. Ultimately, in the year 2051, she lives in a world where oil has become scarce.

“It’s a profoundly topical piece of theater that was well-received in London and other cities,” added Riggin, who spent three years in pursuit of the rights to stage the production at Boston College.

From November 17-21, Jorgensen will direct a new adaptation of The Lion, the

October 14, 2021

Witch and the Wardrobe.

“The original C.S. Lewis classic story was written during a time when wartime children felt unsafe to go outside, and lived in a vivid fantasy world,” he said. “It seemed like an ideal time to create a play in which our children have, for very different reasons, experienced fear and isolation.

Our play will be a celebration of the classic with a modern comic twist featuring some of our finest BC actors, magical effects, large-scale puppetry, and dance.

“This show is very much a family production and appropriate for all audiences.

In many ways I think it will be the feelgood show we have all been yearning for.

This performance will truly be a spectacle,” Jorgensen added.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe also will feature members of BC dance groups Sexual Chocolate and Masti.

For more on fall Theatre Department/ Robsham Theater Arts Center main stage productions, including performance times, ticket information, and COVID-19 protocols, visit bc.edu/theatre.

—Rosanne Pellegrini

Gaelic Roots Returns With In-Person Campus Concert New England traditional folk musicians Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy will present a free concert at Boston College on October 28 as part of the University’s Gaelic Roots series. The performance, which takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the Theology and Ministry Library auditorium on Brighton Campus, is a return to in-person events for Gaelic Roots, which used a virtual format during 2020-2021 due to the pandemic.

Murphy (guitar, mandolin, piano, foot percussion, vocals) and Tracy (fiddle) are highly regarded for their knowledge and mastery of the assorted music traditions common to New England, including Irish, Quebecois, French, English, as well as American. The Vermont-based

husband-wife duo brings a modern mindset to interpretations of songs and dance tunes—some of them hundreds of years old—using tasteful arrangements to showcase the power and beauty in the music.

Over the course of their three-decade musical partnership, the two also have forged their own successful paths in the folk and traditional music scene: Tracy is a popular fiddle teacher at many music camps and workshops in the Northeast, for example, while Murphy is the music director for the annual WGBH-FM “Celtic Sojourn St. Patrick’s Day” production.

For other details, go to events.bc.edu/ group/gaelic_roots_series.

—University Communications

BC Scenes Fresh takes

Students check out locally grown produce and other treats at BC Dining’s fall farmer’s market, held Friday afternoons on Corcoran Commons Plaza.

PHOTOS BY LEE PELLEGRINI

photo by sean smith