Social Sciences

BUFFALO -- Hugh West Calkins, Ph.D., a pioneer in the development of geographic information systems who was University at Buffalo professor emeritus of geography and former chair of UB's geography department, died from cancer on June 18 in Littleton, Colo. He was 66.

Renowned experts in the fields of childhood and adolescent mental-health problems will gather next month to discuss new and effective treatments for a wide-range of mental illnesses affecting children and teens at the fourth Biennial Niagara Conference on Evidence Based Treatments for Childhood and Adolescent Health Problems

History is replete with "black legends," conflations of truth, myth and bad press that have caused individuals, families, and whole nations to have what English poet and dramatist John Dryden called "a name to all succeeding ages curst." The term "Black Legend" originated as a reference to the world-wide loathing of Spain during its conquest of the New World, but an expert in the production of such cultural narratives says history, in one sense, may be repeating itself.

The role of negative emotions in alcohol use, abuse and relapse will be the focus of a study by Paul R. Stasiewicz, Ph.D., a researcher at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), under a $1,937,729 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

By harnessing the power of computational techniques initially developed on academic supercomputers, urban planners, engineers and even litigators are creating vivid animations of urban life to solve problems ranging from urban sprawl to traffic jams to site selection.

Seventeen students attending the University at Buffalo School of Social Work received awards during the school's commencement ceremony held on May 14.

Three University at Buffalo faculty members were among the 52 State University of New York faculty members recognized for their research and scholarship by the SUNY Research Foundation at a recent dinner in Albany.

The development of geographic information science tools to help rangers and forest scientists determine whether logging or prescribed burning is the best way to reduce the fuel load to mitigate the risk of devastating wildfires is the goal of software-development work being done in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service by Chris S. Renschler, Ph.D., of the University at Buffalo.

Mental-health professions representing a variety of fields will gather in Buffalo June 16-18 for the First International Interdisciplinary Conference on Clinical Supervision, the first interdisciplinary conference devoted to clinical-supervision theory, practice and research.

A new version of a reliable and well-regarded dimensional test for personality disorders developed by a University at Buffalo researcher and clinician may lead to clearer diagnosis of personality disorders and point toward more precise and specific treatment plans for the more than 31 million Americans affected by them.