Binghamton Research

Binghamton
ReseaRch
Binghamton University / State University of New York / 2010 research.binghamton.edu

Earth on our minds
A surprising way to curb teen pregnancy 26 • An Rx for what ails alliances 54 • Is climate change making us sick? 74

44 Diving into the data
Computer scientists empower citizen scientists

Binghamton ReseaRch
Binghamton University / State University of New York / 2010 research.binghamton.edu

c o N t eN t S
2 38 62
about Binghamton Research cool model for a hot planet Probing public policy
Economist explores how New ideas about networks
3 international cooperation may reveal why programs
can mitigate climate change succeed or fail
messages

4 44 74
honors for early-career Diving into the data is climate change
scientists and engineers Computer scientists empower making us sick?
citizen scientists The answer is yes, and a
geographically based approach
18 50 can help fight diseases such as
clinic sets course for a cure malaria and swine flu
origins of the culture wars
Psychologist aims to eliminate
Dispute over evolution in the
social anxiety disorder, OCD
1920s paved the way for
78
ongoing debate Bookshelf
22
a revolutionary idea 58 79
Historian’s new book breathes historian revisits a in Brief
life into debates of 1790s
battlefield of cold War
medicine 80
26
Gerald Kutcher walked away impact
Well connected from a career in cancer care
Nurse finds that girls are less to delve into military experiments,
likely to be teen moms if their nuclear threats and informed
parents get involved in the consent
community

f eat U r eS

12 30 54 66
Binghamton University / Binghamton ReseaRch / 2010

On the fly Earth on our minds An Rx for what Cultivating the
Biologist’s work may lead Cover Story: Innovations
ails alliances next generation
to ways of controlling in sustainability could save Partnerships built on
of innovators
insects that spread money, reduce greenhouse innovation lead to better In labs and far beyond,
disease or harm crops gases, boost national results for drug companies graduate students are vital
security and protect our to campus ecosystem
water supply from pollutants

1

ABOuT BINGHAmTON REsEARCH

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2

mEssAGEs

From the president From the vice president for research

Binghamton University has made a com- the economy of the future will be fueled
mitment to leverage its academic excellence, by environmentally sound practices — and
global awareness and green initiatives “green” jobs — in numerous disciplines.
to benefit new York state and the nation Binghamton University researchers are
through its advanced research and eco- expanding the possibilities for this new
nomic development partnerships. these and era of sustainability with innovations in
other initiatives are part of our larger Think solar energy, batteries, fuel cells, electronics
Green. Think Global. Think Binghamton packaging technologies, environmental
advocacy efforts. sensors and power-aware computing.
multidisciplinary collaborations and
green has long been more than just a partnerships with industry are helping to
school color at Binghamton. it’s also a key ensure that ideas developed on our campus
philosophy in much of our research and in have an impact far beyond new York.
campus activities in and out of classrooms.
We are proud that we are listed on the our graduate students also carry this
Princeton Review’s “green honor roll” and pioneering and collaborative spirit into
also one of the sierra club’s “cool schools.” the next chapters of their lives, whether
our faculty members’ voices are heard in in industry or in academic pursuits. these
some of the world’s most vital conversations, outstanding scholars are making their
including the ongoing negotiations about mark in fields ranging from history to
climate change. economist Zili Yang was materials science. their presence creates
among just 21 experts worldwide invited by new possibilities for Binghamton researchers
the copenhagen consensus center to help while enriching our vibrant intellectual
examine the costs and benefits of different community.
solutions to global warming.
Binghamton’s creativity and innovation
Binghamton’s commitment to discovery are also evident in our continued research
is also visible in the accolades our faculty growth and in the expansion of our efforts
members received during the past year. in technology transfer. in this issue of
scott craver, an expert in cryptography, is Binghamton Research, you’ll learn more
one of 100 young researchers who received about what we can achieve when we have
a Presidential early career award for sci- earth on our minds.
entists and engineers. it’s the highest honor
bestowed by the United states government Gerald Sonnenfeld
on young professionals in the early stages

of their research careers. the University is
also proud to have three faculty members
chosen for national science Foundation
Faculty early career Development (caReeR)
awards. their research stands to advance
technologies ranging from smart sensors to
cloud computing.

Lois B. DeFleur

3


PRESIDENtIAL EARLY CAREER AwARD FOR SCIENtIStS AND ENGINEERS
4

at work on the next frontier
of security
scott Craver’s research could
help stop a terrorist attack — or lend privacy
to people living under an authoritarian regime.

information security expert scott craver’s core research interest is in
digital watermarks, which can be used to provide proof of ownership,
as copy protection devices or to send covert messages. Watermarks are
commonly used in movies, music and images; they could also be used
to protect scientific data, software and other types of information.

craver and his team of students develop algorithms to break watermark
systems. “We need to think like an attacker in order to be certain of
what types of attacks are available,” he said. “the attacks we come up
with aren’t useful tools for a criminal. that’s part of the point in finding
attacks on security systems: if you find an attack, you’re preventing it
from being useful to an adversary because now people know how to
protect against it.”

Last year, craver was among 100 recipients of the prestigious
Presidential early career award for scientists and engineers (Pecase).
the award includes a grant of $200,000 a year for five years.

craver said the funding will allow his team to continue to pursue a
unified theory of detection. “all of our hard security problems these
days are really detection problems,” he said.“this is the last frontier, or
at least the next one. these problems have applications to all possible
adversaries. You’re talking about anything from kids who want to make
trouble to organized crime.”

craver earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from Princeton
University in 2004 and came to Binghamton that year as an assistant
professor of electrical and computer engineering. he is the first
Binghamton researcher to receive a Pecase since the program began
in 1996.

“the person who is trying to evade detection is not necessarily the bad
guy,”craver noted. “if alice and Bob are trying to communicate secretly
and a third party is trying to catch them, who’s the bad guy? it depends.
if the person doing the detection is in law enforcement and trying to

uncover a terrorist plot, that’s one possibility. if alice and Bob live in a
country where the internet is highly censored and they’re just trying
to communicate with a normal level of privacy, the person doing the
detection is not necessarily the good guy.

“We’re not trying to figure out how to score a win for one side or the
other, but to find out in these sorts of situations who will win.”

5


6
NAtIONAL SCIENCE FOuNDAtION CAREER AwARD

algorithms harness power
of cloud computing
Kartik Gopalan’s research enables
companies to capitalize on cloud computing,
resulting in lower costs for businesses
and revolutionizing everyday tasks such as
shopping and browsing the Web.

Kartik gopalan’s work focuses on “virtualization” in cloud computing,
large clusters of computers used by organizations of all sizes.
Virtualization allows a single computer to do the work of multiple
machines. it also allows information technology managers to pool
the resources of multiple computers on a network to perform large or
complex tasks.

“Virtualization helps people use their hardware resources more
efficiently,” he said. “You can consolidate multiple services on a single
machine. You have less hardware, it costs you less, it uses less power
and it gives you a better return on investment.”

the technique is already commonly used. however, it managers
don’t have good tools to manage the hundreds or thousands of
virtual machines that could be running in a cluster. gopalan’s team
develops algorithms that can be used under different circumstances,
whether running a Web server or a database server or providing
some other service.

gopalan, an assistant professor of computer science at Binghamton
since 2006, received a nearly $400,000 grant from the national science
Foundation’s Faculty early career Development (caReeR) Program
to support his research. the work, including an algorithm that helps
large-memory applications run efficiently on a network, has already
generated commercial interest.

if cloud computing seems difficult to understand, consider what
happens when you run an “app” from an iPhone.

“Where are these applications actually running? they are often running
in the back end, in a cluster or a data center,” gopalan said. “and
the it manager needs the right tools to satisfy the user’s performance
requirement while minimizing cost. these are two conflicting

requirements. i develop algorithms to try to bridge that gap.”

7


8

Research may deliver
‘greener’ computers
Qinru Qiu aims to reduce the power demands
of microprocessors while maintaining performance.
Her work could lead to smaller, more reliable
computers that require less energy.

step into Qinru Qiu’s lab at Binghamton University and you’ll see
what appears to be a teenager’s fantasy: Rack after rack of sleek, black
Playstation 3 game systems.

and while she’s quick to explain that the Ps3s are set up to emulate
a multiprocessor, not for an epic showdown in Resident evil, Qiu’s
work may one day fuel new adolescent dreams. her work on low-
power computing could lead to smaller computers that function more
efficiently and use less power.

the work holds such promise that Qiu received a five-year grant of
more than $400,000 from the national science Foundation’s most
prestigious program for young faculty.

Qiu’s project focuses on reducing the power demands of multiprocessor
system-on-chip designs, which are becoming more popular.

a single processor can be very fast, but as its performance improves it
requires more and more power. a multiprocessor, on the other hand,
can deliver the same performance as numerous single processors at
much lower power.

Benefits of cutting power demands include reduced energy consumption
and manufacturing costs. Low-power designs can also improve reliability,
since high power consumption increases the temperature of a chip,
which harms its reliability.

Qiu, an assistant professor in the Department of electrical and
computer engineering at Binghamton since 2003, said microprocessors
are designed to deliver peak performance, even though users don’t
need peak performance all the time.

“the basic idea is to slow the microprocessor down or put it into low-

power mode when we’re not using it,” Qiu said. “Before, people just
tried to minimize the power consumption of a chip when they designed
it. nowadays, more and more devices have many power modes, like a
hard disk has a sleep mode, so we can have more control.”

9


10

tiny devices have big potential
as smart sensors
mohammad Younis’ research
could lead to new ways
of safeguarding the environment
as well as protecting electronics.

mohammad Younis designs, models and characterizes miniscule micro-
electro-mechanical systems, or mems, and even tinier ones called
nano-electro-mechanical systems, or nems. he’s especially interested
in aspects of their mechanics and motion.

Younis, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Binghamton
since 2004, received $440,000 through the national science Foundation’s
Faculty early career Development (caReeR) Program. that project
will focus on mems and their potential as smart sensors.

Younis has already received a patent for a mems device that would
detect acceleration and mechanical shock. the device would be able to
recognize when something crashed with a high level of force. it would
then perform a desirable task. applications range from protecting the
hard disk of a laptop computer to deploying a side-impact air bag.

he’s also working with Binghamton colleagues to develop hybrid
sensors and actuators to detect gases and harmful substances in the
environment based on novel electro-mechanical principles. these
devices could act as electric switches upon the detection of a harmful
material to inform authorities of the problem.

Younis said he expects to devote at least the next decade to studying the
dynamics of mems and nems. “i think with the increasing demand
for sophisticated sensors and actuators, mems will remain a sought-
after technology for many years to come,” he said. “also, with the
emergence of applications where extreme specifications need to be
met, such as having ultra-sensitive sensors and very high-frequency
electronics, scaling down structures from the micro to the nano regime
seems to be another avenue of significant future research.”

Last year, Younis and colleagues at cornell University received a grant
of more than $357,000 from the national science Foundation. that

initiative is designed to provide a basic understanding of the dynamic
behavior of carbon nanotubes when used as devices, or in nems
applications.

11

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12

Dozens of vials — each containing a mechanisms such that you could target
one species or even a subset of that
male and a female fly as well as a small population and have no impact on
other species.”
amount of food — are lined up for Fiumera’s lab specializes in large-scale
observation. it’s 8 a.m. on the day of an experiments with the model system
Drosophila melanogaster, commonly
experiment in which 800 such pairings known as fruit flies. his findings
are in some cases easily extended
will be arranged. to non-model systems, such as the
insects that are vectors for malaria
an old boom box plays ZZ top’s and other diseases, which could have
“sharp Dressed man” as anthony a significant impact on human health
Fiumera and his students watch to see if and agriculture.
the flies mate. the classic rock provides
an amusing undertone in a Binghamton “the interaction between the tricks
University laboratory that’s focused on males use to manipulate females

finding new insights into male and for the male’s best interests and the
female insects’ interactions. techniques the female uses to limit
that male’s ability to manipulate her
Fiumera, an evolutionary biologist, be- is wonderfully exciting,” said Fiumera,
lieves this experiment and others like whose work is funded by the national
it will lead to techniques for reducing science Foundation. “We have good
agricultural pests and bugs that spread evidence that this dynamic interaction
disease. “in theory,” he said, “you could is being controlled by proteins that
design very specific biological-control males are transferring to females and

13

“our laB’s uniquE
contriBution to
this fiEld is that
wE’rE focusing
proteins that females are producing on natural “that’s interesting,” he said, “because
in their reproductive system. it sets up the fitness of a male depends on the
this amazing co-evolution, almost an populations genotypes in the female population.this
arms race between males and females suggests that some form of balancing
of the same species.” and natural selection could be operating.”

males vs. females variations to evolutionary biologists are interested
to understand Fiumera’s work, it’s es- in balancing selection because it
sential to know that female fruit flies idEntify thEsE appears to preserve genetic variations
can mate with multiple males and that in a given population. mariana F.
females have the ability to store sperm. malE and fEmalE Wolfner, professor of developmental
biology and a stephen Weiss Fellow
“We’re interested in trying to under- at cornell University, said biologists
stand the forces that are driving these
gEnEs that arE want to know why there’s so much
interactions between males as they’re variation in nature, and what keeps
trying to encourage a female to mate
intEracting with it there.
or competing to fertilize her eggs,” he
said. “and, from a female’s perspective, Each othEr.” “You would think that if there were
why is she choosing to re-mate and a variant in nature that’s important,
whose sperm is she going to use? We’re it would just sweep through the
trying to go after and identify the genes it’s an exciting time for this research, population, whether it’s fruit flies or
that are involved in these interactions.” Fiumera said, in part because of the humans,” she said. “But instead of that
variety of researchers attacking these we see lots of variation, and we don’t
there are proteins produced by males questions: molecular biologists, behav- understand why.”
that are secreted in the seminal fluid ioral ecologists, evolutionary geneticists
and transferred to the female during and others. Fiumera’s focus on natural variation
mating, Fiumera explained. it is only and important traits sets his work
in the female where many of these looking to the future apart and may help to answer key
proteins are physiologically active. his Fiumera said he recognizes that these questions about why so much variation
lab has shown that polymorphisms — male-female interactions are not going is maintained, she said.
natural variations — in one protein can on within a static population. males are
affect female re-mating rates. some not always competing against the same some of the theories Fiumera is
of these male proteins are toxic to fe- type of male or mating with the same developing about cooperation and
males; they increase the fitness of the type of female. conflict may also have implications
male but at a cost to the overall fitness for host-pathogen evolution, in which
of his mate. other proteins influence “our lab’s unique contribution to this the genetic makeup of a disease, and
such factors as female egg-laying rates field,” he said, “is that we’re focusing the population affected by it, changes
and sperm storage. on natural populations and natural over time.
variations to identify these male and
“We have a good understanding of female genes that are interacting with other experiments Fiumera has
individual roles of some of these each other.” planned will examine how wild popula-

proteins,” he said. “What we’re able to tions adapt to changing environmental
do now is take our understanding of one ongoing project is designed to test conditions and investigate how chang-
the function of these genes and put how the reproductive success of a male ing food sources affect the potential for
them in the broader context of their changes when he mates with different adaptation.
evolutionary potential.” it appears, females under competitive conditions.
he said, that the success of a male Fiumera said he has found variations step into the laboratory
depends not only on his genetic makeup in male reproductive genes that show the laid-back atmosphere in Fiumera’s
but also the genes of the females with strong interactions with the genotype lab belies the quiet efficiency with
whom he mates. — or genetic makeup — of the female. which his team works.

14

Evolutionary biologist Anthony
Fiumera studies the “arms race”
between male and female insects.

15

A graduate student observes
fruit flies during an experiment
in Anthony Fiumera’s lab.

glossary students scurry back and forth be- jokes about colleagues flipping to the
tween the “fly room” and lab benches, last page of his papers to check out the
Balancing selection: A form of carrying armloads of vials. others stare sample size. “in a full experiment,” he
natural selection that preserves intently at the pairs, ready to label a vial said, “we might do 2,000 to 4,000 mat-
genetic variations in a population. and move it to a waiting tray as soon as ings and score the paternity of several
a mating has been confirmed. hundred thousand offspring.”
Genome: All the DNA contained
in an organism or a cell. after a pair mates, the male is removed Wolfner called Fiumera’s experiments
from the vial. the females will have enormous. “they have a statistical
Genotype: Genetic identity of an an opportunity to mate with another power much greater than they would
individual. male in a few days. the second round otherwise,” she said. “You can pick up
of males will also be removed and subtle effects that you wouldn’t be able
Mutation: A permanent
Fiumera and his team will wait for the to see in a smaller experiment. they are
structural alteration in DNA. resulting progeny. heroic.”
Some mutations can improve an
organism’s chance of surviving that’s when the results of an experiment the sheer scope of the work means
and passing the beneficial become clear: the researchers check that graduate, undergraduate and
change on to descendants. the paternity of each of the young flies occasionally even high school students
to determine which male succeeded can play a role. “a small army of
Phenotype: Visible traits of an in producing the most offspring. they undergraduates works in the lab,”
individual, such as eye color. then examine the males’ genotypes to Fiumera said. “We can involve students

determine if successful males share
Polymorphism: A common similar polymorphisms, or genetic
variation in the sequence of DNA variations. When successful males visit
among individuals. share a particular polymorphism, it go.binghamton.edu/fiumera
suggests that gene is important for
Definitions provided by Anthony reproduction. Anthony Fiumera
Fiumera and by the National Human talks about his
Genome Research Institute.
the lab specializes in large-scale ex- research.
periments, to the point that Fiumera

16

early in meaningful science. they • The flies are easy to maintain and Wolfner said understanding Drosophila
are making useful contributions; we have a short generation time. may be a vital first step in reducing the
couldn’t do this work without their harmful effects of other insects.
assistance.” • It’s relatively easy to set up massive
experiments. “When we figure out what molecules
why Drosophila melanogaster? are important in controlling fly
Fiumera’s own path to evolutionary • A huge amount of background work reproduction, then we can go and
biology and to working with Drosophila enhances researchers’ ability to move look for similar molecules in disease
melanogaster was anything but direct. forward. vectors like mosquitoes and other
he became an animal trainer at insects,” she said. “and from the fruit
the columbus Zoo after studying • The species has large numbers of fly data, we’ll have a handle on how
zoology as an undergraduate. that mutants, and many mutations are those molecules might work and thus
led to an interest in conservation and phenotypic markers. (this means, for how we might control those insects’
conservation genetics, which in turn example, that researchers can use eye reproduction biologically. For this, it
brought him to genetics and then to color to determine a fly’s paternity.) would be important to know if the
Drosophila melanogaster. he joined level of variation anthony sees in fruit
the Binghamton faculty in 2006 as an • There are full genome sequences for flies exists in these other insects. For a
assistant professor of biology. 12 closely related species. disease like dengue fever, there is no
vaccine and no cure. the only way to
Fiumera said fruit flies make an ideal Drosophila biologists do band together, control it is to control its vector.”
model system for numerous reasons: Fiumera said.
— Rachel Coker
• The species is native to and abundant “We have tools that a lot of other
in the northeast, which allows systems don’t have,” he explained.
researchers to study variation in “We can answer questions that can’t fly facts
natural populations. be answered with other systems.”
Drosophila melanogaster
(aka the fruit fly) has been
a favorite model system for
more than a century.

The flies can live in the lab
for about two months; in
most of Anthony Fiumera’s
experiments, they live for two
weeks or less.

Females can reproduce when
they’re 10 hours old.

Flies are about a couple of
millimeters long. Binghamton University / Binghamton ReseaRch / 2010

17

CLINIC SEtS COuRSE
FOR A CuRE
Psychologist aims to eliminate social anxiety disorder, OCD

When it comes to dealing with
anxiety disorders, meredith coles
has no interest in modest goals.

18

“how grandiose do we want to be?” points out the difficulty patients
she said when asked about her dream have in perceiving the reality around
for the field. “i don’t want anyone to them. one paper by a graduate
have obsessive-compulsive disorder, assistant showed that people with
ever again. that’s pretty grandiose.” social anxiety disorder often focus on
less emotive parts of the face, so they
But coles, director of the Binghamton have problems perceiving reaction
anxiety clinic and an assistant to social interaction. other research
professor of psychology at Binghamton suggests a difficulty assessing the
University, has mapped out an legitimacy of threats.
ambitious plan that just might do aBout thE disordErs
it. she envisions a combination of “We have treatment, and it works,”said
focused research projects to promote coles, whose treatment focuses on People with obsessive-
better outcomes and large-scale policy cognitive and behavioral methods. compulsive disorder (OCD)
analysis to help set goals. her work suffer from unwanted and
may lead to treatments for obsessive- But the current treatment can’t cure intrusive thoughts that they
compulsive disorder (ocD) and social everyone. in fact, most patients con- can’t seem to get out of their
anxiety disorder that are cheaper, more tinue to experience symptoms of the heads (obsessions), often
effective and more widely available. disorders. compelling them to repeatedly
perform ritualistic behaviors
ocD and social anxiety disorder early diagnosis and treatment becomes and routines (compulsions) to
have similar pathologies. the patient critical, coles said, because it prevents
try to ease their anxiety. OCD is
feels increasingly acute anxiety that’s years of suffering and impairment. and
one of the 10 most debilitating
alleviated either by avoiding social the longer a patient has ocD or social
contact or through a ritual. a classic anxiety disorder, the more likely he is illnesses in the industrialized
example of ocD is perpetual hand- to develop additional problems such as world, according to the World
washing. Patients with social anxiety depression or substance abuse. Health Organization. It affects
disorder often avoid situations such about 2.5 percent of the
as giving speeches or interacting with this is where her latest project — a population — roughly 40 million
strangers. large-scale quantitative study — takes Americans.
the next step. coles received a two-
a certain level of anxiety is normal and year, $400,000 grant from the national Social anxiety disorder, also
perhaps even healthy. a person who institute for mental health to survey called social phobia, can
fears a social faux pas may pay attention 500 people about barriers to seeking wreak havoc on the social and
to avoid making one. Fearing flat treatment for anxiety disorders. romantic lives of the 15 million
tires may encourage a driver to check American adults who suffer
tire pressure regularly. the problem her preliminary data suggest most from the disorder, leaving
is when the anxiety is associated people delay treatment because they
them isolated, ashamed and,
with dysfunctional behavior. and the think they can cope without help. they
in some cases, misdiagnosed,
difficult part of both ailments is that, can’t. others may fear real or imagined
left untreated, they rarely go away on stigma for seeking psychological help. according to a survey
their own. in fact, strategies people many people may not understand the commissioned by the Anxiety
employ to cope with the disorders may disorder or may lack access to appropri- Disorders Association of

offer short-term relief but ultimately ate care. in fact, some of coles’ patients America.
reinforce the anxiety: You get out of travel three hours across upstate new
giving a speech, let’s say, but the next York and northern Pennsylvania to get For more information about
time you have to prepare one, you’ll be to her campus clinic. these and other anxiety
even more anxious. disorders, visit the Anxiety
“there are so many people suffering Disorders Association
coles and her staff have already and not seeking help,” coles said. of America online at
looked at some of the roots of the “i want to bring that up a step. therapy http://www.adaa.org.
disorders, including research that helps. i want people to get it.”

19

“there are so many people suffering
and not seeking help. i want to bring
that up a step. therapy helps. i want
people to get it.”
— Meredith Coles

But psychologists lack details of how many cases begin in childhood or ado-
different factors play into the delay, lescence. Yet previous research suggests
and how influential each factor is. that patients will delay treatment an
“the majority of people never access average of nine years after they recog-
treatment for anxiety disorders,” coles nize they’re having trouble. and they
said. “can they recognize something don’t recognize they’re having trouble
aBout thE clinic is wrong? What do they know about for a good five years following the point
anxiety disorders? Do they even know where they would receive a diagnosis.
The Binghamton Anxiety Clinic
what they are?”
is like many psychological
“the younger we educate kids, the
treatment facilities at a
her survey hopes to answer some of better off they’ll be,” said coles, who
medical university: a complex those questions. “We’re putting a lot of serves on the scientific advisory Board
of offices, meeting rooms weight on getting people to recognize of the anxiety Disorders association of
and treatment areas in a the symptoms,” coles said. america. “We need to prevent mental
small building in a quiet disease in kids.”
corner of campus. There’s the survey might help set a course
one difference: Binghamton toward reducing the effect of ocD australia already has programs in
University doesn’t have a and social anxiety disorder. “it’s hard place to educate and screen children as
medical school. to say what the next step is, but young as 4 for anxiety disorders. coles
education is a likely first step,” said has looked into its health-care system
Binghamton University was gail s. steketee, dean of the Boston to see what lessons america can learn.
Meredith Coles’ target when University school of social Work.“how
she was looking for a place to to get the right message across will steketee hesitates to suggest that
take some thoughtful analysis of the 4-year-olds need to be targeted for
set up a clinic after she earned
findings. We also have to keep in mind education, but certainly younger people
her doctorate from Temple
that education does not always change in general must be. “it is reasonable to
University in 2003. She liked
public opinion when other contextual try to get education into the hands of
the data-driven research focus or personal factors are at work.” parents and teachers of grade-school-
she found. age children, as early intervention is
Understanding what people know and most likely to be helpful and to prevent
“I’m a clinical psychologist,” think about ocD and anxiety disorders worse problems,” she said. “But many
Coles said, gesturing out her can help treatment at the personal and people do not develop a serious ocD
office door to the complex she community levels, steketee said. “the or social anxiety problem until their
runs. “Integrating science and beginning part of any good therapy is teenage years or their early 20s.”
practice is important to me.” education about these psychological
issues,” she said. “We can also do this the good news? they are older and
The location also was rich in on a more mass-media level and it has can be more “rational” about the need
people who needed help. Some been pretty successful when you con- for help. however, they are also in the
of her patients drive up to three sider that the stigma of seeking help is throes of concern about what their

hours to seek treatment — a much less today than a generation or peers would think if they knew about
range that covers communities two ago, thanks to magazines, newspa- the problem.
from Philadelphia to the pers, the internet and so forth.”
outskirts of metropolitan New
“this and other factors delay the
in particular, coles is interested in treatment-seeking process,” steketee
York and to Rochester and
pediatric diagnosis and education. it’s said. “education that targets this
Albany, N.Y.
an exercise in math: almost all cases of young adult group would be especially
ocD or social anxiety can be diagnosed helpful and is most likely to occur
by the time the patient is 21 years old. through the media.”

20

Meredith Coles, director of the
Binghamton Anxiety Clinic,
hopes to improve access to
treatment for anxiety disorders.

that brings coles full circle: back to proved to be useful in predicting ocD with anxiety disorders and public-
the focused research on outcomes and symptoms later on. she and her staff policy makers. early intervention,
progression of ocD and social anxiety are continuing this research with a coles said, can mean:
that constitutes about 90 percent of her larger study examining multiple risk
work to date. if programs can be put in factors. • Less dysfunction with the incumbent
place to screen and educate children as loss of productivity
young as 4, can that same mechanism But awareness is only one aspect • Less expertise needed to treat the
be used to identify the predictors that behind recognizing and treating ocD disorder
lead to the diagnosis? and if the cause and social anxiety disorder, steketee • Less money spent to provide that
can be pinned down, can ways be said. stigma takes more time to address, treatment
developed to prevent ocD and social especially because it’s a cultural factor.
anxiety disorder? “slowly but surely, we are breaking at least that’s the assumption, coles
this barrier down,” she said, “and said. Proving it is another question.
these are big questions, and coles every famous person or person of
completed a study last year to begin power who stands up and admits a “there’s always another question,”
answering them. problem and how they are seeking she said. “i’m always asking another
help moves this effort forward.” question.”
the data supported the hypothesis
that cognitions are important in the steketee said informing mental-health and coles isn’t afraid to ask the
development of ocD, coles said. professionals about effective treat- grandiose one, too.
“specifically, particular types of ment methods is also a challenge.
beliefs such as a heightened sense “most clinicians want to do the right — Todd R. McAdam
of personal responsibility to prevent thing to help their patients/clients, but

harm, the likelihood of threat and adopting new methods seems harder
the importance of and need to than it should be,” she said. “moving
control one’s thoughts were related to mental-health research into practice visit
increased levels of ocD symptoms is a major goal of nearly every national go.binghamton.edu/coles
over time.” mental-health professional organiza-
tion and of the federal government.” Meredith Coles
Further, she said, her study showed talks about her
that combining those tendencies overcoming those stumbling blocks research.
with a heightened self-consciousness will have major implications for people

21

a
revolutionary
ideahistorian’s nEw Book
BrEathEs lifE into
dEBatEs of 1790s

22

you think you know the story:

American political leaders and state delegates
gather in Philadelphia in May 1787 to draft a new
government design following the failures of the
Articles of Confederation. The convention members
debate and negotiate over the summer before
completing a Constitution that establishes the federal
system of government and defines its three branches.
The necessary nine states ratify the document by
June 1788, a Bill of Rights is included, and the new
government takes effect in March 1789. The basic
rights of the citizenry are laid out and the ratification
of the U.S. Constitution ends the Revolutionary Era.
not so fast, said douglas Bradburn.

in his new book, The Citizenship “the ratification
of the constitu-
Revolution, the associate professor of tion makes for a
nice, easy end to
history at Binghamton University the story of the

extends the revolutionary timeline american Rev-
olution,” said

by emphasizing the political fights Bradburn, who joined the Binghamton
faculty in 2005. “You have a break from
over citizenship. the constitution did Britain, a period of warfare and then a
struggle to figure out what the shape
not define who was a citizen in 1789, of independence will look like. … the
1790s are left for the historians of the
Bradburn said, nor did it clarify who 19th century. i find that unsatisfying.
You have the same people involved. in
would settle disputes between the states every revolution, you have to watch the
whole arc of the political actors.”
and the nation.

telling the story
these issues would not begin to be Bradburn’s narrative arc begins
in the fall of 1774, when the first
resolved until the 1790s. continental congress convened. these
meetings marked the transformation
“the 1790s are the crucially forgotten moment to understanding the real creation of British colonial resisters into
of the United states,” Bradburn said. “When you read the debates and the american revolutionaries and ensured
newspapers of the 1790s, you understand quickly that there was no consensus at that political struggle would help feed
that time about what the constitution meant. the citizenship issue.

23

as the former British subjects became lawsuits in federal court.) mobilization citizenship did not see revolutionary
“we the people” by excluding indians, against the alien and sedition acts change again until the Union was re-
reinstating Loyalists and leaving the included meetings, petitions, the jected by southern slave owners and
issue of blacks unresolved, a new planting of “liberty poles,” newspaper collapsed during the civil War, Brad-
question emerged. Who ruled america: stories and protest songs. thomas burn added.
the “people” of the new nation or the Jefferson and James madison observed
separate “people” in all of the states? the popular response, put politics Bradburn’s work has drawn praise
in motion and drafted Virginia and from historian Peter onuf, thomas
the problem of citizenship became Kentucky Resolutions that called for Jefferson Foundation professor at the
entangled with the problem of the the alien and sedition acts to be University of Virginia, co-host of the
growing nation-state. Bradburn found overturned. nPR show Backstory with the American
answers in the decade-long battle History Guys and author and editor of
between the Federalists, who sought the common citizen worked with the 11 books.
to create a national, centralizing state, elite (along with immigrants) to hold
and the Jeffersonian Republicans, who national politics together and form a “What in effect had been ratified in
called for states to define the rights of shared idea about the constitution that state constitutions and the federal
citizens. knocked Federalists from power in 1800 constitution was a potent new concep-
and 1801. most important, a union of tion of citizen power,”onuf said.“What
“these are two groups who had states triumphed over the nation. form it took was up for grabs and the
forward-looking visions for what the subsequent debates reflected that.
country should be,” Bradburn said. “the Federalists of the 1790s were
“it’s really a fight over two different beaten back and failed,” Bradburn “Doug does a nice job of articulating
modern states. all great revolutions said. “it was the people who wanted a both the emerging opposition view of
are a contest between two competing, decentralized union, where the states the Jeffersonian Republicans and the
modern visions. in the 1790s, the story were in charge of the rights of citizens Federalist position. i think it sheds new
wasn’t conservatives vs. progressives or and in control of municipal regulations light on the period.”
good guys vs. bad guys. it was about of their own populations. the decen-
people fighting over what they thought tralized union was a compromise. the onuf called Bradburn “one of the
was the meaning of the Revolution.” emphasis on locality was a way to deal smartest people writing in the (early
with diversity. You didn’t have a homo- america) field today.”
the Federalists, led by alexander geneous population. that was the way
hamilton, demanded a unified the Union could continue and people “it’s terrific: You take 1787, blow it up,
citizenry and a strong government could live together.” and ask, ‘What is the founding?’ Doug
that spoke for the nation. they even gives us a new version,” onuf said.
cultivated a national spirit after the the ultimate political settlement and
XYZ affair, circulating petitions of the end of the american Revolution, as connections to today
support for President John adams. Bradburn sees it, came with Jefferson’s although the book does not address
this homogeneous vision of america presidential re-election in 1804, the current politics, Bradburn said today’s
culminated in the passage of the alien passage of the 12th amendment and the political fights over rights are similar to

and sedition acts of 1798. electoral college and the recognition the struggles of the past.
of a two-party political system.
But those laws only unified an “the story of citizenship is one that has
opposition that had gained momentum “You saw a transition from revolutionary dominated american history to the pres-
by overturning the supreme court’s politics to one that accepted parties, an ent,” he said.“the citizenship revolution
ruling in Chisholm v. Georgia. (the acceptance of the federal, decentralized — people having equal rights, being
11th amendment, which Bradburn nature of the Union and an acceptance members of a community, having a con-
calls the most important pre-civil War of the racial limits of american stitution — these things were all created
amendment, protected states from citizenship,” Bradburn said. out of the american Revolution.”

24

Bradburn points to the gay marriage
debate. supporters will say it is a right,
while the opposition will say it has
never been a right and stress that tra-
ditional marriage has been standard
for centuries. a similar framework was
crafted in the alien and sedition acts
debates, Bradburn said.

“You get the same kind of dynamic
with people asserting these aggressive
rights,” he said. “they are ultimately
played out in politics: the ones who win
the elections decide what’s a right and
what isn’t a right. this revolutionary
rhetoric of rights is something people
continue to appeal to.”

Bradburn also parallels the power of local
and state governments in rejecting the
alien and sedition acts with local and
state groups that fought the Patriot act of
the Bush administration. opponents of
each made use of citizen petitions.

Bradburn said he hopes people who
have read books by Joseph ellis or Historian Douglas Bradburn in his latest book invites readers to rethink
John Adams by David mccullough the American Revolution and debates over citizenship.
will enjoy The Citizenship Revolution,
which was published by University of
Virginia Press. what’s nExt for BradBurn
Douglas Bradburn’s examination Gordon becomes what Bradburn
“i want them to come away feeling like of the Revolutionary Era is far from calls a “witness to empire” by
they understand this better than they over. Bradburn is undertaking a providing firsthand accounts of
did before and that it’s a satisfyingly long-term project that looks at the what the British Atlantic looked like
rich picture of a period that’s very dis- origins of the American Revolution as the Revolution neared. Gordon
tinct from today but still struggled with and the causes for the collapse of also played a supporting role in the
a lot of the issues that we continue to the British state. conflict by taking the Stamp Act
fight over in our fundamental political resolves back to Britain.
disagreements,” he said. “There’s no consensus among
academic historians about why it “He’s staying with people and
Bradburn also wants academic readers happened,” said Bradburn, who writing about who they are,”
to re-examine the chronology of the anticipates the book being a five- Bradburn said. “He contrasts
american Revolution. year project. “There are compelling Jamaicans, South Carolinians,
arguments, but there’s no debate. New Englanders and Virginians.
“i want them to understand that the That’s what I am trying to re-ignite: He’s bright in his portraits of these

way the academic world thinks about interest in that moment.” regions.”
this period is wrong,”he said.“the over-
emphasis on the ratification moment is In the interim, Bradburn is planning Bradburn also is editing with John
misplaced. We need to understand the a book about Lord Adam Gordon, C. Coombs of Hampden-Sydney
politics of the 1790s to understand the a Scottish aristocrat who traveled College a book of essays by young
american Revolution. these are the big- the British Atlantic in the American scholars about 17th- and early
stakes arguments that i want to last.” colonies, Canada and West Indies 18th-century Virginia called Early
in 1763 following the Seven Years’ Modern Virginia: New Essays on the
— Eric Coker War. Old Dominion.

25

nursE finds that girls

arE lEss likEly to BE tEEn moms

if thEir parEnts gEt involvEd

in thE community

26

if it takes a village to raise a child,
what about that village works best?
are there qualities at work in certain
neighborhoods that help point
youngsters toward success in life?
susan seibold-simpson, clinical after the fact. “What can we do at the
assistant professor in Binghamton community level,” she asked, “to make
University’s Decker school of nursing, a teenager feel she has more options
hopes that by learning to understand in life than becoming a teen mom, so
the influence of neighborhoods, nurses she might choose to delay childbearing
can help reduce a major risk that until she’s a little older?”
limits opportunities for girls — teen
pregnancy. one of her most tantalizing seibold-simpson took inspiration
findings suggests that when parents get from social psychologist Peter Benson’s
involved in community organizations, work on positive youth development,
their daughters may be less likely to which stresses giving children assets
become young mothers. to help them succeed. as a public
health professional, she also seized
as a nurse practitioner in reproductive on the concept of social capital, which
health since 1988, seibold-simpson looks at relationships among people in
has too often seen early motherhood communities.
shut doors in the faces of adolescent
girls. “a lot of the teenagers i work with
come from difficult families,” seibold-
“once a young woman becomes simpson said. as mothers struggle to
pregnant, whether it was planned or raise their kids, she wondered, what
not, it appears to substantially alter her can the neighborhood contribute to
prospects of continuing in school and help launch children in a positive
going to college,”said seibold-simpson, direction?
who still works several hours a week at
a clinic near campus. the young mother to find answers, seibold-simpson
often stays involved with the baby’s examined data from the national
father, even if he makes a bad partner, Longitudinal study of adolescent
limiting her chances for other, healthier health, a survey of about 90,000
relationships. and early motherhood adolescents in grades 7-12 conducted

might doom her to a life of low-paying in 1994 and 1995. she chose about
jobs, with little time and few resources 2,000 girls from this sample, based
to devote to her children. on several criteria: they were sexually
active; they answered survey questions
While caring for individuals, seibold- about sexual activity, use of condoms
simpson came to realize that she also and use of contraceptives; and the
wanted to make a difference on a mother or father (usually the mother)
larger scale. and she wanted to prevent had responded to a separate survey
problems, not just deal with them for parents.

27

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