Science and Technology

Scientists at the University at Buffalo have created a mutant worm that changes color when it moves. The color change is generated by an optical sensor called stFRET. The sensor is composed of a pair of fluorescent molecules connected by a molecular spring that is inserted into structural proteins in the worm's cells.

University at Buffalo undergraduate Mindy Underhill straddles a ceiling beam, checking the joists in a home going up on Buffalo's East Side. Underhill, a junior speech and hearing science major from Marilla, N.Y., is one of a team of young women working on what they call "the girls' house." It is one of four new homes being built this year by Habitat for Humanity with major assistance from 36 UB students, and it is the 41st such house since 1990.

Anne E. Meyer of Eggertsville, director of the Buffalo site of the Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces (IUCB), has been named a fellow in biomaterials science and engineering by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE).

Structural engineers at the University at Buffalo are conducting some of the most comprehensive experiments ever attempted to develop methods of evaluating and designing steel buildings so that they will be less vulnerable to collapse during strong earthquakes.

Food systems planner Samina Raja, Ph.D., of the University at Buffalo School of Architectural and Planning, has been involved for several years with a number of successful projects with the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) and other community groups that are helping make Buffalo a healthier city by improving its food environment. It is one aspect of her continuing effort to understand and propose ways through which urban planners can strengthen a community's food system.

Students in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning recently received awards of excellence in their fields of study.

Building a scale model of a functional steel bridge is a tough assignment, but students from the University at Buffalo's Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering recently created one that took second place overall at the 2008 regional American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) conference hosted by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Engineering students from the University at Buffalo's Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering recently created a concrete canoe that beat out competitors from some of the region's top engineering schools, taking second place overall at the 2008 regional American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) conference hosted by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

A new study of television viewing and communication patterns among young adults by University at Buffalo researchers has found a relationship between reality television viewing and "promiscuous friending" on popular social networking sites such as Facebook.

More than 130 teachers from Western New York high schools are now using a Web-based curriculum called MoneySKILL™ to help their students develop personal finance skills, thanks to outreach efforts by the University at Buffalo School of Management and M&T Bank.