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Congratulations to the 2017 award winners.

On May 11, the UB Alumni Association recognized 12 outstanding alumni and friends for their achievements and bringing distinction to UB. This year's on-campus celebration included dignitaries, alumni, colleagues, family and friends.

Alumni accomplishments significantly benefit both society and our university community, advancing the common good and inspiring others with passion and creativity.

The 2017 Honorees

The University at Buffalo and the UB Alumni Association honor the accomplishments of these individuals. Click on their award to watch the acceptance videos. 

Samuel P. Capen Award
5/19/17
James Smist, BS ’80
Smist, who received a bachelor of science degree, summa cum laude, in chemical engineering from UB, earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. 
Community Leadership Award
5/19/17
Juanita Hunter, EdD ’83, MS ’74, BS ’71
 Professor Hunter, who retired in 1998 after teaching for 20 years in the School of Nursing, has worked in numerous health-care settings. 
Walter P. Cooke Award
5/19/17
L. Nelson Hopkins
 His innovations in the field of endovascular surgery have been the benchmark for therapeutic endovascular intervention. 
Distinguished Alumni Award
5/19/17
Edward Dong, MBA ’91
 A graduate of the UB China Dalian EMBA program, Dong is the founding chair of the U.S.-China Committee of the International Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, with 15 chapters nationwide. 
Distinguished Alumni Award
5/19/17
Michael Garz, BA ’72
Garz is senior vice president of the buildings and facilities division for STV Inc., an architecture, engineering and construction management firm. 
Distinguished Alumni Award
5/19/17
Ram Kumar Krishnamurthy, MS ’94
 A senior principal engineer and research director of the High Performance Research Group at Intel Labs, Krishnamurthy leads research in high-performance, energy efficient and low-voltage circuits for next generation microprocessors and systems-on-chip.
Distinguished Alumni Award
5/19/17
Dean Seneca, BA ’90
Seneca has been with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta since 1999. He serves as a senior health scientist, policy health analyst and project advisor for global health programs within the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. 
International Distinguished Alumnus
5/24/17
Holger Schunemann, PhD ’00, MS ’97
 Schunemann is chair of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University – the birthplace of evidence-based medicine and problem-based learning -- in Hamilton, Ontario.
Clifford C. Furnas Award
5/24/17
Hratch Kouyoumdjian, MS ’70
 Kouyoumdjian attended Jesuit schools in his native Baghdad, including Al Hikma University, where he earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering in 1967. 
Richard T. Sarkin Award for Excellence in Teaching
5/24/17
Robert Genco, DDS ’63
Genco earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967, and returned to UB to begin teaching periodontics and endodontics that year.
George W. Thorn Award
5/24/17
Joel Lunenfeld, BA ’99
 The vice president of global brand and creative strategy at Twitter, Lunenfeld (@joell) ignites conversations between the world’s most iconic brands and Twitter’s 300 million users.
Philip B. Wels Award
5/24/17
Wayne Anderson
 Now dean emeritus of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Anderson has been a vigorous advocate for UB since joining the faculty as an assistant professor in 1968, nearly 50 years ago. 
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