UB in the News

An article in Fast Company reports on the work of architecture Assistant Professor Sergio López-Piñeiro, who will work with the Buffalo Olmsted Park Conservancy this winter to plow snow in Buffalo's Front Park into a whimsical, polka dot pattern.

Coverage on C-SPAN of a local appearance this fall by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts includes a question by a UB law student, who asked Roberts if it is difficult to write opinions if you disagree with prior rulings.

An article in the Albany Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog looks at Assemblyman Mark Schroeder's unhappiness with Sheldon Silver's leadership, particularly the way Assembly Democrats rebuffed efforts to give SUNY more autonomy, and includes a letter Schroeder wrote to Assemblywoman Deborah Glick in which he questioned her "close attention" to issues important to Upstate New York, noting that, "Perhaps you were correct in asserting that these initiatives were not ignored. It is, after all, awfully difficult to strangle the life out of something unless you pay it at least some attention."

Dennis Maher, a clinical assistant professor of architecture, was the focus of a short feature in Rust Wire, a website that covers news across the Rust Belt. Maher's work was also featured on sites including the Architectural League of New York's Urban Omnibus forum.

An article in the online research-news magazine Miller-McCune about the Stop TB Partnership, an effort to call attention to tuberculosis as the leading cause of death among persons infected with HIV in Africa, quotes Gene Morse, associate dean of clinical pharmacology, who discussed the tendency of the diseases to occur together and the differences in the way each is treated.

An article on Dentistry iQ reports Robert Genco, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Oral Biology, is co-editor "Periodontal Disease and Overall Health: A Clinician's Guide," a new textbook that features 18 chapters of information regarding the relationship between oral and systemic diseases.

An article in CSP Magazine about a public hearing on banning menthol cigarettes reports a ban could create a black market for the product and quotes Gary Giovino, professor and chair of community health and health behavior. "Mentholated cigarettes are at least as dangerous as their non-mentholated varieties, and there is concern about menthol sweetening the poison," he said.

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education's Wired Campus section looks at the new mobile app Serendipitor, created by Mark Shepard, assistant professor of architecture and media studies, which, rather than providing the shortest distance between two points, generates a circuitous trip plan that actually encourages users to get lost along the way.

An article in the Wheeling Intelligencer about a conference held at the University of Pittsburgh titled "Health Effects of Shale Gas Extraction" quotes Tracy Banks, assistant professor of geology, who told the group that uranium is being mobilized by the fracking process. "Concentrations are fairly low," she said of uranium's presence in the water used to frack a well, "but they are high enough that it should not be treated like your drinking water.

An article in The New York Times about a study that showed that high levels of fearlessness in 3- and 4-year-old children is strongly associated with aggression and a lack of empathy quotes Jamie Ostrov, assistant professor of psychology. He says that children at the extreme end of the fearless spectrum "may be charming, but they're also highly manipulative and deceptive and skilled at getting their way – even at ages 3 or 4."