On Campus: Space Invaders

A revealing look at UB's personal and public spaces

Doug McCallum, Rm 126 Diefendorf Hall

The office of Doug McCallum, Web services manager, School of Architecture and Planning. Photo: Douglas Levere

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Ensconced with his co-workers in temporary digs as Hayes Hall gets a facelift, McCallum (BPS ’94), who oversees his school’s Web development projects, has gracefully met the challenge of fitting his eclectic collection of stuff into tight quarters. An unapologetic IT and design geek, he loves gadgets, plants and anything having to do with computers. His latest toy: Leap, a palm-sized, biometric device he’s testing out for his department that allows a person to control a computer’s operating system with a wave of his hand or fingers.

Jade plant in aquarium: I call it my “Shrek” jade, because of its green, ear-shaped leaves. I like to rescue plants; this and the philodendron [not pictured] were saved from the old architecture library in Hayes.

Server discs, large and small:
We techies love the older ones, as you just don’t see them this size anymore. They’ve gone from 40 pounds and 600 megabytes down to a few ounces and 120 gigs.

Lego figurines and Transformers: I’ve been spurred on to collect these by various staff and faculty members. The black and red Lego figure came from Associate Dean Beth Tauke. I suppose I also collect them because of my two sons, who are 5 and 3.

Metal sculptures: I picked up welding in architecture school and like to do metalwork as a hobby. The floral sculpture I made for the late Magda McHale—she was this wonderful, flamboyant futurist and a great professor here. I made the guy out of scraps that were sitting around the band saw one day.

“Architect Barbie”: Everyone in the school has one of these! [Editor’s note: It was designed by Mattel in 2011, in consultation with UB professor Despina Stratigakos and UB architect Kelly Hayes McAlonie.]

Stuffed crab: This was a little gift from my team. I was having what they called a 'crabby' year.

“Semper Fi” bulldog: My brother is a Marine. He’s going up now for gunner.

Grandfather clock face.

Ol' Grandad: McCallum’s grandfather clock, tucked into a corner of his office, miraculously survived a fire at his parents’ house, despite having all-wooden gears. It has been passed down through the generations to the first-born sons in McCallum’s family. “We have no idea how old it is, but I hope to get it working someday,” he says.