Science and Technology

George C. Lee, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the University at Buffalo Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, today received a 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from the White House.

Ibrahim M. Jammal, 77, associate professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Environmental Design and Planning in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, and a major force behind the study of globalization in the field of planning, died Nov. 13 after a long illness.

Artist and architect Dennis Maher collects discarded building materials from demolition sites and salvage yards throughout the de-industrialized city of Buffalo and uses them to create haunting sculptures, paintings and environmental installations that he usually installs in other city buildings slated for demolition, restoration or renovation.

What makes some clays such powerful antimicrobial agents capable of killing MRSA and other virulent bacteria? It's a question that University at Buffalo researchers have been studying for several years.

On March 11, 2007, three years to the day after a series of terrorist bombings in Madrid killed 191 commuter-train passengers and injured more than 1,800 others, King Juan Carlos of Spain inaugurated a brilliantly designed monument to the victims at Atocha railway station, where most of the victims were found. The beautiful Atocha monument is the work of one of Spain's most promising young architectural firms, Estudio FAM, and its principals will present an illustrated discussion of their work at the University at Buffalo on Nov. 7.

Long lines of passengers have an effect on the speed with which airport security screeners do certain aspects of their jobs, according to a study by researchers in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo. The study's findings demonstrate empirically for the first time that security screeners do speed up when lines are long, but only when inspecting laptop computers.

In its initial public demonstration, the world's first seismic testing apparatus for nonstructural components performed exactly as designed last Friday at the University at Buffalo and MCEER, providing engineers with the first realistic, experimental method of simulating and evaluating how earthquakes damage building equipment, contents and components.

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of a large group of patients with multiple sclerosis has provided the first evidence that those with a history of MS in their families show more severe brain damage than patients who have no close relatives with the disease.

A new testing facility at the University at Buffalo and MCEER is the world's first test apparatus specifically designed to subject costly equipment and mechanical systems in hospitals and other important structures to the precise floor vibrations that they experience during the strongest earthquakes.

The University at Buffalo has received a $750,000 grant from the New York State Foundation of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) to recruit an internationally known scientist in nanotechnology.