Science and Technology

Biometrics, the science of identifying individuals based on their physical, chemical or behavioral characteristics, is a key piece in homeland security strategies, but no single biometric -- such as face, signature or fingerprint -- fits all applications, says the director of the University at Buffalo's Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors (CUBS).

Following Sept. 11, 2001, political analysts observed that more American scholars and students should study Arabic. But the lack of digital tools to access Arabic documents on the Web puts those who pursue that field of study at a distinct disadvantage. Computer scientists at the University at Buffalo's Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors (CUBS) are remedying that by developing optical character recognition (OCR) software for handwritten and machine-printed Arabic documents.

The Internet, mobile technologies and new-media technologies may be the most influential drivers of cultural change in American society today, according to University at Buffalo faculty members offering courses this semester exploring the social and cultural consequences of information and communication technologies.

A University at Buffalo expert on the commercial aircraft industry has been invited to speak at the 84th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), where he will present research analyzing subsidy claims at the heart of World Trade Organization complaints made by rival U.S. and European aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.

Librarians at the University at Buffalo have put together a one-stop Web site to help the public keep abreast of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

A gene therapy method that doesn't rely on potentially toxic viruses as vectors may be growing closer as the result of in vitro research results reported by University at Buffalo scientists in the current online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A potential new neuronal pathway involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease that may be a promising target for new treatments for the disease has been identified by scientists at the University at Buffalo.

A new software application, developed with assistance from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer at the University at Buffalo, promises to ease the frustration of using a mouse -- and provide greater computer access-- for people who suffer from cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury or other disabilities that make it very difficult to point and click.

University at Buffalo researchers, working with an Amherst, N.Y., startup company called Esensors have developed a unique, real-time patient dose-tracking system, which lets physicians know when the accumulated radiation dose is approaching a dangerous threshold.

Community members and business leaders in Buffalo's Broadway-Fillmore area have been working for months with senior students in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning on what both consider "real" plans to invigorate the neighborhood, grounded in the past success of other "fresh market" projects, national shopping trends, and interest by the federal government.