Science and Technology

Two of the oldest volcanoes on Mars, which have been active for 3.5 billion years, are providing clues to the possibility of life on the planet, according to preliminary analysis by University at Buffalo geologists of new data from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), currently orbiting the planet.

Middle school students at the Tuscarora Indian School in the Niagara-Wheatfield School District have been working since late September to produce "Skarooran Journey: A Tuscaroran Adventure," an educational journey that explores aspects of the history, language and culture of these ancient eastern woodlands people through a student-designed, multimedia, CD-ROM program.

Cort Lippe appears in his formal photographs to be the serious-minded composer he is -- a leading figure in the international electro-acoustic music community. He is an assistant professor and director of the Lejaren Hiller Computer Music Studios in the Department of Music at the University at Buffalo, an international nerve center for composition and research in the field of interactive computer music. That, however, is just part of his story.

Practitioners of applied mathematics use a lexicon of numerical equations, instead of letters and sentences, to illuminate the secrets of the physical world. Now UB mathematics professor Bruce Pitman is using this "foreign language," to help solve gritty, real-world problems by developing computational models of everything ranging from large industrial systems to tiny biological ones, including the primary functional unit in the kidneys -- the nephron, which measures a mere 20 microns across.

The University at Buffalo and the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Inc. (HWI) have agreed to establish a UB Department of Structural Biology at HWI, initiating a 10-year collaboration that positions Buffalo to play a lead role in this critical field.

Genomics and proteomics research in Western New York will play a significant role in the post-gene-mapping era. Here are some story lines and research initiatives that will be useful to you in your continuing coverage:

The University at Buffalo's Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering has been awarded $16.5 million in federal and state funding to develop the world's most versatile earthquake engineering research facility designed to provide testing capabilities that will revolutionize the understanding of how even very large structures behave during earthquakes.

The UB Business Alliance will celebrate its accomplishments -- ranging from the retention and creation of thousands of jobs to new technologies and licensing agreements -- at its 2001 Grand Reception, to be held Feb. 8 in the Center for the Arts on the University at Buffalo North (Amherst) Campus.

Praxair Inc., a global supplier of industrial gases that has operations in Tonawanda, has pledged $600,000 to the University at Buffalo -- $400,000 for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and $200,000 for the School of Management and its Executive MBA Program in China. Payments will be made over a period of five years.

IBM, a partner since day one in the University at Buffalo's Center for Computational Research (CCR), is positioning UB's outstanding supercomputing facility for even greater growth by donating equipment worth more than $640,000.