Michael Riso, ’84, recently wrote the book, Finding Joy in Daily Living: Creating a Fulfilling Life from A to Z (Self-published, 2026), which is available at findingjoydaily.com. A heartfelt guide to navigating the complexities of modern life, this book offers practical advice and emotional support for those seeking to rediscover happiness and purpose. Through a series of insightful chapters, readers are encouraged to embrace simplicity, foster meaningful relationships, and develop a positive outlook on life. The core message revolves around the power of self-reflection and the importance of nurturing one’s mental and emotional well-being. Riso notes, “My mesothelioma diagnosis and recent passing of my wife from ALS prompted writing the book to help people find joy not just when it’s easy to feel this way (like when the Bills win) but during the many challenges all of us face throughout life.”
Robert Stauffer, M.S. ’85, has self-published Winning Science Fair Projects (2025), with co-author Megan Noreen. A retired physicist and science educator in Las Vegas, Stauffer has reinvented himself as a writer, conservation advocate, and mentor, publishing nearly twenty books and writing regularly for Animal Companion Magazine. Noreen was a student in Stauffer’s high school physics class. Years later, she told Stauffer that his class—the creative experiments, the sense of wonder, the belief that students can do real science—had inspired her career choice. She became a science teacher herself, and today, despite living in different states, the two are colleagues and co-authors, working together to help the next generation of students discover their own abilities. This book is the result of 30 years of teaching, mentoring, and designing unusual experiments: measuring the speed of light with marshmallows in a microwave; using the Luxor Hotel elevator to explain Einstein; helping middle-schoolers publish real research; and guiding six students all the way to the annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Kevin Klipfel, ’05, a teaching and learning librarian at the University of Southern California Libraries, has co-authored Thinking Critically About What Matters: A Punk Rock Guide (ALA Editions | Neal-Schuman, 2026). According to the publisher, the book “lays out an original perspective on critical thinking, defined as the values-based decision-making process of making up our own minds about what matters in life and making choices in the real world based on our own authentically chosen values. Kevin Klipfel and Lyndsay Klipfel deftly synthesize the critical thinking mindset of thinking for yourself with the DIY punk rock ethos of doing things for yourself, presenting an actionable approach to critical thinking that will give you the philosophical tools you need to creatively embody these rebellious philosophical perspectives in your own life and work.” Kevin has published widely on learner-centered approaches to authentic engagement, building on extensive experience as a faculty member in academic libraries working with students, faculty, and incarcerated individuals on research and critical thinking skills.