Social Sciences

University at Buffalo architect Annette LeCuyer's recent research is on a remarkable material that is changing the way architects and engineers think about building performance. The material, ETFE, is being showcased at the Beijing Olympics as the material used to construct the National Aquatics Center.

Over the last decade, energy drinks -- such as Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar -- have become nearly ubiquitous on college campuses. Although few researchers have examined energy drink consumption, a researcher at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) has been investigating links between energy drinks and public health concerns like substance abuse and risky behaviors.

The vast majority of Erie County's age 50-plus residents would prefer to "age in place" -- with most hoping to remain in their current residence for as long as possible, according to the University at Buffalo Regional Institute's latest Policy Brief, "When I'm 65."

Persons with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can relieve their symptoms as effectively by following a self-administered, at-home cognitive behavioral program as they can by undergoing a 10-week in-office program administered by a trained therapist, a new pilot study has shown.

How did 19th-century immigrants maintain relationships with loved ones thousands of miles away, much less preserve ties with pasts rooted in places they had left voluntarily? In his critically acclaimed book, "Authors of Their Lives: The Personal Correspondence of British Immigrants to North America in the Nineteenth Century," David A. Gerber, Ph.D., analyzes the cycle of correspondence between immigrants and their homelands to uncover the critical role played by letters in reformulating personal relationships made vulnerable by separation.

University at Buffalo undergraduate Mindy Underhill straddles a ceiling beam, checking the joists in a home going up on Buffalo's East Side. Underhill, a junior speech and hearing science major from Marilla, N.Y., is one of a team of young women working on what they call "the girls' house." It is one of four new homes being built this year by Habitat for Humanity with major assistance from 36 UB students, and it is the 41st such house since 1990.

Contrary to popular notions about what is normal or healthy, new research has found that it is okay not to express one's thoughts and feelings after experiencing a collective trauma, such as a school shooting or terrorist attack.

Food systems planner Samina Raja, Ph.D., of the University at Buffalo School of Architectural and Planning, has been involved for several years with a number of successful projects with the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) and other community groups that are helping make Buffalo a healthier city by improving its food environment. It is one aspect of her continuing effort to understand and propose ways through which urban planners can strengthen a community's food system.

Students in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning recently received awards of excellence in their fields of study.

A new study of television viewing and communication patterns among young adults by University at Buffalo researchers has found a relationship between reality television viewing and "promiscuous friending" on popular social networking sites such as Facebook.