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First Leadership Gifts Received
With design plans underway for the new UB Engineering building, the Dean and UB Engineering development staff have been working to procure funds from individuals and corporations for this exciting undertaking. We are excited to report that we have received the first two leadership gifts. Each of the gifts are very gratifying for slightly different reasons. In the first case, an alumna came forward with a gift in appreciation of her alma mater. In the second case, community leaders came forward in recognition of the promising relationship between the School and industry. The gifts reflect the donors’ confidence in the future of UB Engineering and its vision to attract the top students and faculty and pursue new partnerships, innovations and research opportunities that will impact positively the region, state and beyond.
Gina Bronkie Hammond, MS CS ’73, has given a generous gift of $150,000 and in recognition, UB will name a graduate/undergraduate CSE laboratory after her.
“I originally thought I would become a math teacher, but fell in love with computers,” says Hammond, a vice president at Computer Sciences Corp. who manages the company’s Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts Service Center. “The new lab is an ideal match for me: an improved teaching space for top-notch students and faculty that’s fully equipped with new technology. It’s an exciting opportunity.”
Hammond joined UB as part of a small group of exceptional women pursuing graduate educational opportunities in computer science and engineering. After graduation, she joined the burgeoning computer science field, serving in increasingly more responsible positions at Marine Midland Bank, Vanguard Technologies, CBIS Federal, DynCorp and Computer Sciences Corp.
“Gina Hammond has built an enviable career working on the leading edge of the computer science and engineering industry and the new Hammond Lab will reflect her pioneering spirit,” says Dean Stenger.
Ravinder and Pratibha Bansal have donated a substantial gift of $500,000 for construction costs of the new building. In recognition of their generosity, UB will name the building’s atrium the Bansal Atrium.
Ravinder Bansal is chairman and CEO of Buffalo-based AirSep Corp., the world’s leading manufacturer of PSA oxygen-generation systems for medical and industrial applications. According to Bansal, the majority of AirSep’s senior engineering and R&D staff are graduates of the UB Engineering School. “These alumni have greatly contributed to the success of AirSep,” he said.
He added, “We are proud of the developments and initiatives being undertaken by the School of Engineering. We wanted to support UB Engineering because there is great promise for the region, the state and for national economics that are becoming increasingly dependent on science and technology.”
Bansal is a community-minded corporate executive. He has already participated in exploratory planning for the building and has agreed to serve as “a voice for the campaign” to personally urge others to give. At a critical time in our efforts, he has taken a leadership role through his personal gift and his encouragement of others.