This morning’s Roundup included 4 photos that we identified as computer-generated images of Spinnaker’s proposed Saugatuck development.
They’re part of the packet that Beinfield Architecture will present at next Tuesday’s Architectural Review Board meeting (May 26, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall room 309).
The images were identified incorrectly. They’re actually part of a new Spinnaker project in Norwalk, called Ardea Pointe, near a cemetery.
They were included in the ARB packet next to Beinfield’s artist renderings of that project, to show the resemblance to what is actually built.
Here is a screenshot of the packet. Beinfield’s drawings are on the left; Spinnaker’s completed Norwalk project are on the right.
“06880” apologies for the error, the misinformation, and any confusion.
Meanwhile, here are 2 renderings of Spinnaker’s Saugatuck proposal. The first view is of Riverside Avenue, looking toward the train station with Charles Street on the left.
The second is a view of Railroad Place (left), and Riverside Avenue (center and right).
The Architectural Review Board gets its first look at the proposed development of 606 Riverside Avenue — the Minute Man Dry Cleaners property — next Tuesday (May 26, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall, Room 307/309).
Spinnaker Real Estate recently bought the parcel — and a nearby parking lot where boats are now stored — following the Planning & Zoning Commission’s rejection of the Hamlet at Saugatuck project.
Among the computer-generated designs to be considered:
The ARB will also discuss proposed façade modifications, solar panels and lighting at 520 Post Road East — the former nail salon next to Five Guys (and before that, a pancake house). The new proposed use is a Pilates studio.
Board of Education chair Lee Goldstein won the Democratic Party endorsement for State Representative of the 136th District last night.
She beat Representative Town Meeting member Matthew Mandell, 38 votes to 10. The two Westporters vied to replace Jonathan Steinberg, who is retiring.
The process allows for a primary. Mandell heads to Town Hall today, to pick up petitions.
Goldstein vowed to fight for and represent “this vibrant community we love, and for a Connecticut that remains dynamic, compassionate, and full of opportunity.”
She said she will work to protect and strengthen public schools, invest in infrastructure, preserve the environment, and ensure the state budget reflects the values and pressures facing Connecticut residents and towns.
Goldstein highlighted the increasing importance of fighting for reproductive rights, gun control, and civil liberties, saying, “At a time of federal hostility, we will defend our fundamental rights, safety, and freedoms.”
Lee Goldstein and Matthew Mandell
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A Cross Highway construction project will restrict access to residents only, beginning next month.
The small bridge near Wakeman Town Farm and the Wakeman athletic fields will be replaced. Cross Highway will be closed between North Avenue and Bayberry Lane, after students’ last day of school on June 18.
Local residents can access their roads. But through traffic will not be allowed.
The project will last 6 to 8 weeks. The road is planned to reopen by the end of August, before school starts.
The contractor, FGB Construction, has already put up signs announcing the work. Electronic signs will be placed there too.
Access to Wakeman Town Farm and the Wakeman fields is available, as always, through Bedford Middle School on North Avenue.
Questions? Contact town engineer Keith Wilberg: 203-341-1128; kwilberg@westportct.gov.
Cross Highway bridge. (Photo courtesy of Google Street View)
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You never know what kind of art you’ll see at the Westport Library.
And this spring, Artists Collective of Westport members didn’t know what they were creating, either.
48 artists received a printout of a single 12″ x 12″ section of a much larger, 6-foot high by 8-foot high work, and a blank panel. Each reimagined it, in his or her own way, using any medium they chose.
The result is “Piece by Piece” — a “vibrant and often surprising mosaic of styles, perspectives, and artistic voices … a playful yet powerful celebration of community, creativity, and collaboration. As the individual pieces come together, the larger image is gradually revealed, reminding viewers that every contribution plays a role in the creation of something greater than itself.”
It’s one of 2 Artists Collective exhibits opening at the Library on June 4 (6 to 8 p.m.). “Piece by Piece” will be unveiled at 7.
“Piece by Piece”
The other exhibit is “American Journeys,” an all-member exhibition inspired by America’s 250th birthday. The title reflects the idea that there is no single American journey, but rather a tapestry of countless personal paths, experiences, struggles and triumphs that together define the American story.
75 Collective members contributed works. All are available for purchase.
Speaking of the Library: A quarter century of “Shrek” came to life last night there.
Roger Schulman — co-writer of the iconic animated fantasy comedy — spoke with Sacred Hart University professor of communication, media and the arts Todd Barnes.
Schulmanl discussed his journey from journalism to Hollywood — and took the audience behind the Shrek scenes.
Roger Schulman (right), Professor Todd Barnes, and the Shrek franchise. (Photo/Susan Garment)
Speaking of entertainment: As the Westport Pops Concert nears — it’s June 5 (7 p.m., Levitt Pavilion) — the Staples Music Parents Associates announces a partnership with Romanacci’s.
Meals are available by pre-order only (click here). A portion of the meal price supports Staples Music. The deadline is May 29.
There are no food trucks in the Levitt Pavilion parking lot. However, the Oggi gelato cart will be on site.
The lawn opens at 6 p.m. (BYO lawn chair). Pre-show groups begin performing at 6. The main show starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets are free, though a suggested donation of $15 per ticket helps offset production costs. Donations in lieu of tickets can be made at the same (new) Stpales Music website — click here.
Compo Beach got a “C” grade, while Burying Hill Beach and Sherwood Island both earned “B”s, in Save the Sound’s analysis of water samples during the 2025 swimming season.
55 of 72 public and private Long Island Sound beaches in Connecticut (76%) received an A or B.
Last summer, water quality samples at Compo Beach failed 9% of the time. The rates for Burying Hill and Sherwood Island were 7 and 3%, respectively.
Burying Hill Beach closure last summer. (Photo/Seth Schachter)
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Mark Shapiro is buying a stake in another pro team.
This time it’s in the NFL.
The Westporter will join with his sports and entertainment industry partner Ari Emanuel in a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. The deal is expected to close this month. The current ownership group includes Michael Dell and Tom Brady.
Shapiro’s NFL ties run deep. In 2005 he acquired Monday Night Football while running programming and production at ESPN. He later created the NFL Honors.
Shapiro also led Endeavor Group Holdings’ acquisition of On Location, the NFL’s exclusive hospitality provider. Shapiro is also a minority owner of MLS soccer team Los Angeles FC.
Emanuel and Shapiro are longtime business partners. Shapiro is now president and COO of TKO (comprising UFC, WWE, PBR, On Location and IMG), president and managing partner of WME Group, principal investor and board member of MARI (owner of the Miami Open, Madrid Open, Frieze and TodayTix), and is involved with WME Basketball.
Mark Shapiro — StartUp Westport’s 2025 Innovator of the Year — was interviewed at the Westport Library by Sara Eisen of CNBC.
The Bedford Middle School 6th grader placed first — and won $600 — in the World of 8 Billion International Student Video Contest. The event, sponsored by Population Connection, drew thousands of entries from teens in 63 countries around the world.
Her 60-second video, “Hanging by a Thread,”tackles environmental challenges created by fast fashion, and proposes the use of biodegradable fabrics in clothing production as a key to a more sustainable future.
This year’s contest challenged students to explore how population growth intersects with three critical global issues: wetlands, energy and economics.
Contest officials said, “Katherine Rose’s entry stood out for its smart analysis of fast fashion as well as its colorful animation.”
“Unsung Hero” appears weekly on “06880.” It’s posted every Wednesday, at noon.
But today’s story deserves the featured 5 a.m. slot. Jen Dumonceau nominates “the community of Westport” for the honor. Read on, and you’ll see why.
For 14 years, we — myself, my husband Stéphane, and our children Fiona and Emil — lived in Pacific Palisades, California.
In January 2025 we, along with many others, lost our home to the devastating wildfires. In the days that followed, we learned our daughter’s high school had suffered more than 50% loss of its buildings and was unusable. The fate of our son’s middle school was still unknown.
The housing situation was overwhelming. With 30,000 people suddenly needing homes, even temporary options were scarce.
The remnants of the Dumonceaus’ home in Pacific Palisades.
We made a very quick decision to move to Westport, a community where my sister and brother-in-law had raised their 2 children. For more than 20 years we had visited Westport and grown familiar with the town, the beach, the schools, and the community. We hoped it would be as welcoming to us as it had been to my sister’s family.
This meant leaving our friends, our lives, and everything we had known for years, moving across the country during our daughter’s second semester of junior year and our son’s second semester of 7th grade.
It was an incredibly difficult decision, but it became clear it was our only choice. We needed to be surrounded by family — a warm hug and a place we knew and hoped would welcome us.
We arrived 2 weeks after the fires. Very quickly, the community went into action.
Our daughter, who originally planned to remain on Zoom with her high school back in Los Angeles, ultimately made the decision to attend Staples High School.
We had initially expected she would wait until the fall to transition. But Bill Plunkett, director of school counseling, with extraordinary care and insight, helped us see what it would look like for her to start immediately — not as a disruption, but as an opportunity to rebuild stability and connection sooner.
Because of his guidance, what we assumed would be a long transition became an immediate and transformative decision. He was the reason she joined Staples when she did.
Fiona was warmly welcomed into the school community. Mr. Plunkett connected her with Gray, who introduced her to a group of friends — Gabi, Carly, Jade, Sarah, Mila, Sheyenne, Sarah and Claire — who embraced her fully. The warmth, openness, and friendship she received were extraordinary.
She is graduating just a few weeks from now, and already feels sadness at leaving these friendships and Staples behind. Over the past 18 months she has had an incredible experience — completing her AP coursework without disruption, building a rigorous senior-year schedule, and earning admission to her dream school, the University of Michigan.
Thanks to the Staples community — its teachers and students — she did not miss a beat socially or academically. She celebrated birthdays, attended prom and homecoming, and built friendships that feel as though they have existed since early childhood.
The Dumonceau family, enjoying their first autumn in New England.
Our son, entering middle school during this transition, was also warmly welcomed. Within weeks he was invited to social events, birthday parties, and activities that helped him adjust. His academic progress remained strong, and he was placed into rigorous coursework aligned with his previous school in Los Angeles.
While he deeply missed our life in California, Bedford Middle School, along with Megan Gallant, assistant principal, and Jessica Rabine, school counselor, ensured his success by checking in regularly, supporting his needs, and providing a safe and encouraging environment during a very difficult time.
Jane Pimentel, who runs the Longshore Sailing School, generously offered him a week of summer camp so he would have something joyful and familiar to look forward to in a new town — another example of the quiet generosity that defined our experience.
For my husband and me, the community showed up in remarkable ways as we rebuilt our lives. After one post on Westport’s Gift Economy page, we received an overwhelming outpouring of support — furniture, household goods, services, and help of every kind.
We found a home to rent, and in a meaningful coincidence, the homeowners had grown up in Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. They welcomed us with extraordinary kindness, and helped us begin rebuilding our life in Westport.
Over the next several months, we gathered everything needed to start over — from furniture and kitchen supplies to clothing, bikes and essentials for our dog, who had come with us. Arriving with only 5 suitcases made it clear just how much is required to rebuild a life from nothing.
Creating a home that felt safe, warm and stable for 2 teenagers and a dog who had lost everything was overwhelming at times. But the Westport community continued to show up again and again.
Neighbors, families, schools, even strangers extended kindness without hesitation. What could have been an isolating and devastating experience instead became one defined by compassion, generosity, and belonging.
As we head into the next chapter of our lives, with our daughter headed to college and our son headed to Staples, my husband and I are ready to immerse ourselves more deeply in the community through book clubs, local events, and the everyday connections that make Westport so special.
Reflecting on the past 18 months, we could not be more grateful to this town. Westport did not simply welcome us — it carried us through one of the hardest moments of our lives. For embodying empathy, humanity and quiet heroism through collective support, the community of Westport is truly an Unsung Hero.
(“06880” is proud to honor Unsung Heroes — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog.)
But the fall 2008 production was especially special.
For “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” directors David Roth and Kerry Long made an inspired cast choice.
Principal John Dodig delivered a tour de force — and, to some audience members, unexpected — performance, near the end of the musical.
Many did not know that the popular educator had experience in community theater. Watch his “Brotherhood of Man” number here, or below — taped and edited by former media teacher Jim Honeycutt — to see.
Dodig retired a decade ago. But some fellow cast members — all decades younger — have gone on to remarkable careers, in the entertainment world. For example:
Max Stampa-Brownappeared in “The Third Man,” “FREUD” and “The Garret East,” after studying acting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He now works as a mixologist at Borochito in NYC.
Eva Hendricks is a lead singer, and Dan Shure plays bass, in Charley Bliss, a successful New York band. Their current release is “Back There Now.”
David Ressler is an actor and singer currently performing in a Bay Area Opera Collaborative production of “Pirates of Penzance.”
Chris McNiff is an actor, singer, dancer and choreographer based in New York. Notable credits include Phil Davis in “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” Don Lockwood in “Singin’ in the Rain,” and Claude in “Hair.”
Brittany (Uomoleale) Baronis an actress, best known for her role as Justine Biagi in the TV series “GLOW,” and for voicing Tifa Lockhart in the “Final Fantasy VII Remake” franchise, for which she received an award for Best Supporting Performance.
Zoe Apoianis a model, an actress and dancer. She starred in the 2015 movie “Karina Jones: Lazy.”
Matthew Van Gessel is an actor, director and writer based in New York. He played Isaac Goodenow in the “The Sudbury Devil,” appeared in the film “Bookworm,” was featured as an actor in the project RedDrop, and was cast as Father Rand in “The Vampires of New Orleans.”
Max Samuelsis a New York-based stage and screen actor known for his roles in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” He also appeared in “George Kaplan,” “Angry Young Man,” “The Winter’s Tale” and “The Brothers Karamazov.”
When Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana opens at 361 Post Road West — formerly the Naan restaurant — on June 1, it may seem like an Italian restaurant replacing an Indian one. (Which previously took over from Kibberia, a Middle Eastern spot.)
Residents with longer memories will recall that for many years, the space was occupied by John’s Best Pizza. So — like a big pizza pie — things are coming full circle.
But Frank Pepe has been around the block far longer than John’s Best. The “Original New Haven Apizza” place opened in 1925, on Wooster Street.
The Westport location — its 18th nationally, and 9th in Connecticut –features a large coal-fired oven, enclosed with a cast iron door that matches the original one in New Haven location. The dining room seats 110.
Frank Pepe Pizzeria will be open every day, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Takeout, delivery and catering ordering is available here. Diners get $10 in their account by signing up signing up here, or downloading the Frank Pepe Pizzeria app.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, May 20, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), the Board of Finance will set the town’s mill/tax rate.
That’s item 6 on the agenda. They’ll also hear:
A request for additional funds to cover legal expenses, due to an atypical cost overrun. The item allows residents to glimpse the type of litigation the town faces (agenda item 8).
Funding to prepare the 2027 Plan of Conservation and Development. The state requires each town to create this, every 10 years. The POCD is important, as Westport thinks about housing in the years ahead (agenda item 9).
In addition, the Board of Finance will hold office hours this Thursday (May 21, 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.), Westport Library room 213). The public is invited to meet a member, and ask questions about any aspect of the board, and public finances.
Railroad station parking permits expire on June 30.
To renew a railroad permit, click here. Then click the “Permit” icon at the top of the page. Double-check that your email address is correct.
All renewals are online, or dropped off in the Police Department lobby. Drop-offs require cash or a check made out to “Town of Westport – Railroad Parking,” and a copy of the current vehicle registration(s). The Police lobby is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Time to renew! (Photo/Elle Bowe)
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Weston 1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor took a big step toward a new job last night.
She earned the Democratic Party endorsement to run for the State Senate’s 26th District. She captured 48 delegate votes, nearly twice as many as State Representative Lucy Dathan. A primary is set for August 11.
The winner will face a Republican opponent in November: Westporter Alma Sarelli.
Prospect Gardens — the spectacular 9-acre arboretum-style Greens Farms space featuring flowers, plants — is open to public on Sunday, May 31 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The event is a partnership with the national Garden Conservancy.
Main garden designers Cindy Shumate and Judy Gardner will there all day, telling stories and answering questions.
Greens Farms Garden Club members will explain how they plant, tend and harvest the 3-tiered vegetable garden. Last season, their harvest of over 1000 pounds was donated to local organizations that feed families in need.
Prospect Gardens dates back to an 1812 Victorian farmhouse and onion farm. Property acquisitions over the past 20 years have created the current gardens. Mature deciduous and evergreen trees create a sweeping canvas.
Key features include a Mediterranean entry garden, 2 orchards, berry houses, bee hives, perennial garden, shady woodland walk, conifer collection, numerous flowering shrub and grass borders, a Japanese-inspired meditation garden and maple collection, citrus and cacti, a glasshouse, sculptures, 1-acre perennial/ native wildflower meadow, and a 4-tiered grassy amphitheater with a stone-medallioned stage.
The Staples high School Jazz Ensemble plays at 10:30 a.m. They’ll be fresh off an appearance 2 days earlier at New York’s Birdland Club.
The Westport Weston Domestic Violence Task Force is collecting items for their Crisis Center.
They need toothbrushes, toothpaste, menstrual products, deodorant, lotion, soap and body wash, shaving gel, shampoo and conditioner, and hair care products.
Drop-off locations are the Westport and Weston police stations.
To purchase items directly through an Amazon wish list, click here.
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Anyone can get scammed.
Before scammers hack your accounts, they hack your emotions.
In response, Westport’s E3 Wealth Advisory Group is sponsoring a 30-minute webinar. Attendees will learn how to recognize emotional manipulation, before they react.
It’s repeated 4 times: 12 noon and 2 p.m., tomorrow (Wednesday, May 20) and next Wednesday (May 27). Click here to register.
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Singer Melissa Newman — Westport’s own, and a Jazz at the Post favorite — kicks off their first-ever Voices of Spring festival this Thursday (May 21, shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 7; VFW Post 399).
“Then & Now” — our “06880” series featuring Dave Matlow’s photos of pre-demolition Westport homes, and the houses that replace them — has drawn plenty of interest.
Some readers lament the loss of smaller structures, and a different streetscape. Some say, “good riddance.”
Some bemoan the new style of architecture. Others like it.
Many also wonder: We’ve got a Historic District Commission. What exactly does it do?
Three years ago, “06880” ran a comprehensive story on that exact topic. Now seems a good time to revisit it.
Then-chair Grayson Braun and vice chair Scott Springer offered a brief “Historic District Commission 101” intro course. (Ben Levites is the current chair. Braun is now vice chair. Springer’s term expired last November.)
They noted that the HDC is a volunteer organization. Members are appointed by the 1st selectperson.
The commission has an office in Town Hall, and is supported by an administrator — currently Donna Douglass — who is a town employee.
The HDC offers support and guidance to help property owners, in the service of historic preservation.
Grayson Braun
Braun’s route to the commission was typical. She and her husband moved to Westport in 1997, for “the historic feel and character” of the town. When a developer planned a project for their Gorham Avenue neighborhood, she worked with the HDC to gain “Local Historic District” status for the area, making demolition more difficult. In 2009, she joined the board.
Braun stresses: Their work is, by town and state ordinance, strictly advisory. They collaborate with other town agencies, like the Architectural Review Board, to establish Local Historic Districts and designate Local Historic Properties.
But they cannot unilaterally stop teardowns.
The only time the HDC can prevent demolition is if a property is designated as a local historic property or a local historic district.
When a homeowner, commercial property owner or developer of any other building 50 years or older (and 500 square feet or larger) requests a demolition permit, there is an automatic 180-day waiting period.
They can apply to the HDC for a waiver. The HDC can uphold or deny that request.
That 6-month period is the maximum allowed by state regulation. Many municipalities adopted a shorter waiting time.
If the HDC denies the request, the goal is for something to happen in those 6 months. A stakeholder can come forward with an alternative to demolition. An architect may come up with a plan for zoning relief, in return for preservation.
Those things happen.
Owners Blanca and Suni Hirani of 19 Soundview Drive, for example, originally applied for a demolition permit. They were approved for a new house, with a completely new design.
But during the 180-day period, they reimagined what they wanted. They updated the structure, while keeping the outside look. The result is impressive. And it earned the owners an HDC Preservation Award.
19 Soundview Drive – before (left) and after preservation.
Another Preservation Award went to 8 Mayflower Parkway. It too was a property whose 180-day waiting period was upheld. During that time, builder David Vynerib decided the structure was worth saving — and came up with a plan.
8 Mayflower Parkway, after renovation.
The Historic District Commission pays particular attention to the street-facing part of a property. When Michael and Kim Ronemus wanted to renovate 113 Cross Highway — once a gas station, house and outbuildings just west of North Avenue — the HDC helped them retain the exterior, while adding a modern extension in back.
Braun and Springer know the public is often confused when they see a “historic plaque” on a house, and assume that’s an official designation.
It’s not. Those markers are provided by the Westport Museum for History & Culture (for a fee). The program is separate from the Historic District Commission.
The HDC’s work extends to commercial properties. One recent example: work done on the former Remarkable Book Shop/Talbots/Local to Market building, on Main Street at Parker Harding Plaza. It has been reimagined as Eleish van Breems.
The HDC also oversees Westport’s 7 Local Historic Districts. They range from 4 properties on Morningside Drive South (formerly owned by artists Walter and Naiad Einsel) to about 40 homes on and around Kings Highway North.
The other Local Historic Districts are Evergreen Avenue, Gorham Avenue, Jesup Road, Lincoln Street/Riverside Avenue, and Violet Lane.
(Photo/Morley Boyd)
The HDC website says:
Local historic designation assists in the retention and enhancement of property values by providing a stable market in which to invest. It creates community pride, fosters neighborhood stabilization and enhances the appearance and authentic character of a designated area.
Building materials and natural resources expended in original construction retain their usefulness and rehabilitation itself uses less energy and raw materials than new construction. Restoration conserves energy and materials while reinforcing already environmentally sustainable neighborhoods.
Two-thirds of the owners in an area must approve a vote to become a Local Historic District. That designation offers a degree of protection for exterior (street-facing) alterations.
However, it’s not something all owners want. A proposal to add Sniffen Road, off Clinton Avenue, to the list went nowhere. A number of homeowners felt the designation would prohibit them from selling their houses to developers, as teardowns.
Braun notes, “There are rules for everything in town. No matter how old or new your property is, you can’t just start adding on without a permit.
“The HDC has an extensive review process, but we’re no more restrictive than other rules. We realize people want to do work on their property. We are always happy to help. We even schedule pre-application and special meetings, outside of our monthly ones.”
(To learn more about the Historic District Commission, click here.)
(“06880” explains Westport, to newcomers and old-timers alike. If you appreciate our work, please support us with a donation. Click here — and thank you!)
Nolan Francis is one of just 300 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars in the country. (Never heard of it? It used to be called the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. It’s one of the most prestigious high school honors in any field.)
Nolan Francis
That’s very cool. But Nolan is just one of many Staples High students to receive recognition this year.
He and his classmates have received a host of honors this year, in many science-related areas. For example:
Science Research Course
16 of 21 students (76%) were recognized at one or more science fairs this year.
Staples students submitted work to 7 different science fairs or competitions
High School Science & Humanities Symposium at UConn Health
80 Staples students applied to present their research. 16 were selected to give an oral presentation.
Nolan Francis earned special merit for his oral competition
Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair
Sofia DiLeo took 3rd place in the Petit Family Foundation Women in Science and Engineering Awards, and won the University of Connecticut-Early College Experience Award
Leah Dombrow won first honors (top 20% in life science) for her Life Sciences project, and placed in the top 20% in the Petit Family Foundation Women in Science
Nolan Francis placed in the top 20% in the Jackson Laboratory Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Awards
Jay Hari won first honors (top 20% in life science) for his Life Sciences project
Ezra Schwartz won first honors (top 20% in life science) for his project in Life Sciences, and the JA Augustine and Glista Special Award
Sienna Schwartz placed in the top 20% for the Petit Family Foundation Women in Science
Staples students, at the NCC Science Fair.
CT-STEM: virtual science fair
Four students competed in completed projects, while 17 students competed in the proposal category.
Nathaniel Armstrong, proposal, physical science, 3rd place
Serena Diamond, completed project, physical science category, 2nd place
Altay Erucar-Mathews, proposal, environmental category, 4th place
Noa Katz, proposal, behavior category, 1st place
Ishan Pasham, proposal, physical science, tied for 1st place
William Kwong, proposal, environmental category, 1st place
Jessica Willis, proposal, physical science, tied for 1st place
NCC Science Fair: live science fair
Nathaniel Armstrong won 2nd place overall
Leah Dombrow received honorable mention (top 10%)
Aanya Shrivastava received honorable mention (top 10%)
13th International Young Researchers’ Conference 2026
2 students were selected to orally present their research at a Virtual Conference:
Hayley Epstein
Elise Yan
Southern Connecticut State University Research Day
5 second year dual-enrolled SCSU students (Nolan Francis, Jay Hari, William Kwong, Ezra Schwartz, Elise Yan) presented their research alongside undergraduates. Nolan won first place in the Honors College at the SCSU Undergraduate Student Research and Creativity Conference.
List of Projects
Nate Armstrong: The Effect of Surface Texture on the Aerodynamic Drag of 3D-Printed Rocket Nose Cones
Lily Bottner: The Effect of Increased Temperature and Salinity on H. Exemplaris to Evaluate Tolerance Limits and Understand the Impact of Multiple Simultaneous Climate Changes
Serena Diamond: A Direct Comparison of Vision Transformers (ViT) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for Exoplanet Transit Classification
Sofia DiLeo: Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin in Improving Motor Neuron Health in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)
Leah Dombrow: The Effect of Coenzyme Q10 and Epigallocatechin Gallate on Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation in Caenorhabditis elegans to Treat Parkinson’s Disease
Hayley Epstein: Evaluating Caffeine and the Antioxidant Chlorogenic Acid (components of coffee) on Depression in a Drosophila Model
Altay Eruçar-Matthews: Reducing Algal Growth of Chlorella Vulgaris by Chemically Inhibiting the Absorption of Nutrients with Humic Acid
Alex Fetner: Effects of Probiotics Pediococcus acidilactici and Bifidobacterium longum on the Fat Accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans with Induced Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Nolan Francis: Vitamin D3 Supplementation Ameliorates Muscle Degeneration through Calcium Regulation in a C. elegans Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
Jay Hari: Discovering Novel Targets for the FMN Riboswitch to Test the Utility of Computational RNA-folding Methods to Address Multidrug Antibiotic Resistance
Noa Katz: Intergenerational Effects of Isolation on Hsp70 Expression in Drosophila Melanogaster to Understand the Epigenetic Mechanisms of Stress Response
William Kwong: The activation of SKN-1 via the RNAi knockdown of wdr-23 to reduce oxidative stress from microplastics in Caenorhabditis elegans
Ana Losic:Evaluating the Neurobiological Effects Of Stevia in an Amyloid-β Based Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Vani Punia: Evaluating Toxicity of Natural and Synthetic Dyes in Caenorhabditis elegans: Identifying Safer Options for Consumables
Ezra Schwartz: Using a novel Bidirectional Neural Network for advanced early detection of Black Cutworms on Bush Beans
Sienna Schwartz: Can Your Diet Protect Against Microplastics? Discovering the Impact of Probiotic E. coli Strains on Microplastic-Induced Toxicity in C. elegans
Aanya Shrivastava: Effect of Batch Emulsion Speed on Hydrogel Microparticle Size to Improve Bovine Serum Albumin Release Kinetics in a Simulated Bloodstream and Support Blood Supply Solutions
Jessica Willis: Classifying Cataclysmic Variable Candidates Through a Multi-Time Scale Analysis of AAVSO Photometric Light Curves
Elise Yan: Enhancing Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) stability by inserting it in Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSNs) in C. elegans to determine its Potential Role in Breast Cancer Treatment
List of Proposals
Sierra Denkin: Effect of Combined Intermittent Fasting and Curcumin Treatment on Colon Cancer in Drosophila Melanogaster
Ishan Pasham: Effect of innovative design using additive manufacturing on discreet body armor to improve EMS safety and cost efficiency
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We had initially expected she would wait until the fall to transition. But Bill Plunkett, director of school counseling, with extraordinary care and insight, helped us see what it would look like for her to start immediately — not as a disruption, but as an opportunity to rebuild stability and connection sooner.
