Science and Technology

With an assist from the National Science Foundation, an assistant professor of media study at the University at Buffalo is launching a unique software game that addresses the lack of computer educational activities oriented toward girls, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

Just because a volcano isn't erupting doesn't mean it poses no danger. In papers being presented today (Tuesday, Dec. 14) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, University at Buffalo volcanologists show how, in some cases, soft spots on volcanoes that simply collapse from the side may trigger mudflows that potentially can be more devastating than eruptions.

At this moment, computers across the University at Buffalo campus are analyzing signals from the sky that could be indicators of alien intelligence.

For the University at Buffalo Department of Geology, "hands-on" in a lab apparently isn't hands-on enough. That's why excavators are drilling four, 50-foot wells on the North (Amherst) Campus so that students can learn about hydrogeology -- the study of how water and other liquids, such as pollutants, move through the shallow subsurface -- up close and personal.

The University at Buffalo has established a new, multidisciplinary institute to conduct research designed to harness the power of light in a broad spectrum of applications and potential products, ranging from telecommunications to cancer therapy.

Mention the nation's most damaging natural disasters and most people probably think of earthquakes and floods. Wind probably isn't even on the list. But it should be, according to Michael Gaus, Ph.D., University at Buffalo professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering and president of the American Association of Wind Engineering, since the most vulnerable structures are low-rise buildings, such as residences.

As the millennium nears, the hype surrounding Y2K -- or the Year 2000 -- seems to have died down. But Lewis Mandell, dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management, says it may be that we're already in the eye of the Y2K storm, and the damage won't be apparent until the arrival of the new year has blown over.

The University at Buffalo and IBM Corp., the world's largest computer manufacturer, have signed a memorandum of understanding in which the two parties will collaborate on research and development of new technologies, education, training and placement of UB students, and delivery of educational services and business systems.

The work of a faculty member in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo to create a virtual teaching tool has attracted the attention of Apple Computer, Inc.

The complicated process of revitalizing Western New York's many brownfields could be enhanced and accelerated significantly through the formation of a new, nonprofit organization designed to facilitate such projects, according to a report by a new University at Buffalo group, the Brownfield Action Project (BAP).