The Department of Mathematics congratulates Professor Barbara Prinari on receiving the 2026 UB Exceptional Scholar Award for Sustained Achievement. Prinari’s main area of research deals with nonlinear waves and integrable systems, and has focused on both the study of the integrability of certain nonlinear partial differential equations and their discretizations (differential-difference equations), as well as the properties of these equations and their solutions. Prinari’s research also explores how mathematical models can be used for social and behavioral sciences. She recently developed a dynamical systems model for triadic reciprocal determinism to study how a person experiences stress or traumatic events, and the interplay among coping self-efficacy, behavior and the perception of external environment.

The Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Alia Spaker has been named Outstanding Senior 2026 by UB College of Arts and Sciences. Spaker, of Honeoye Falls, NY, graduates summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in mathematics. She is a Summer Math Scholar and recipient of the Harriet Montague Award. Spaker completed an honors thesis in analytic number theory under the supervision of Professor Jakob Streipel. She served as a teaching assistant for the Department of Mathematics and participated in the Directed Reading Program for three semesters. In the fall, Spaker will pursue a doctorate in pure mathematics at the University of Connecticut. An event honoring the Outstanding Seniors was held on April 20, 2026, hosted by CAS.

Michael Reyf entered UB at age 16 with more than 30 credits earned through Advanced Placement (AP) exams. With those credits, along with consistently taking 20 to 21 credits per semester, he was able to complete his undergraduate degree in four semesters. There’s also an interesting family connection with graduating college early. Aleksandr Reyf, Michael’s father, graduated from New York University’s College of Arts and Sciences in May 2000 at the age of 18, making him the youngest graduate in the class of 2000. Read the story by Vicky Santos.