Science and Technology

Want to make college science faculty really nervous? Tell them to stop lecturing and start telling stories, instead. That's the advice that science faculty hear when they participate in one of the "Case Studies in Science" workshops at the University at Buffalo.

As parts of the Western and Southwestern United States prepare for wildfire season, which experts predict again will be severe, researchers at the University at Buffalo and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are developing a new software tool to use geographic information systems (GIS) to help forest managers optimize efforts to prevent wildfires.

Robert Shibley, Ph.D., professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and founding director of the school's Urban Design Project, was an invited participant on April 23 in the Bruner-Lobe Forum, "Transforming Community through the Arts" in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) has awarded a $750,000 Faculty Development award to the University at Buffalo to recruit Jonathan Bird, Ph.D., as a professor to its Department of Electrical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

Interested in building and repairing your own computer? Looking for a morning workshop for someone who is fairly new to using computers? Thinking of creating a Web page for your church group or sports team? Millard Fillmore College at the University at Buffalo will present a series of workshops this summer for adults with little or no computer experience.

Three faculty members at the University at Buffalo have joined the ranks of distinguished professors appointed by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.

University at Buffalo biomedical engineers have acquired a rapid-prototyping machine to aid their groundbreaking efforts to manufacture living tissues and organs, and fabricate customized implants and prostheses, among other projects.

Four teams of students and alumni from the University at Buffalo will compete for cash and services in excess of $50,000 in the final round of the inaugural Technology Entrepreneur Competition from 4-6 p.m. on May 7 in the Jacobs Executive Development Center, 672 Delaware Ave.

A computing division is teaching students how to put their computers to "sleep." A chemistry department found ways to reduce fume hood use without affecting classes or research. A library department found a way to recycle microfiches and microfilms. These are just a few of the University at Buffalo's environmental efforts being celebrated this Earth Day (April 22) as part of the new Green Partners program, organized by faculty, staff and students of UB's Environmental Task Force.

Hung Q. Ngo, Ph.D., an assistant professor of computer science and engineering in the University at Buffalo's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation to develop a theory for the design and analysis of ultra-fast optical switches.