UB in the News

The current issue of R&D magazine reports a research team headed by Paras Prasad, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and executive director of UB's Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, has developed two novel approaches for fabricating quantum dots.

Andre Filiatrault, professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering and deputy director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), was interviewed on CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight." Filiatrault joined a discussion about the earthquake in Pakistan and India and spoke about the need to improve the seismic resilience of buildings in the U.S.

An article in the Oct. 7 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education on young academics without tenure and blogging quotes Alex Halavais, assistant professor of communication, who says that blogs seem "threatening to those who are established in academia, to financial interests and to ... well, decorum."

An Associated Press article on youth culture testing the boundaries of gender identity and roles quotes Elayne Rapping, professor of American studies, who says she believes this experimentation will influence acceptance in a society where gender identities are already blurring.

An article in USA Today about the connotations of the word "suck" quotes David Fertig, associate professor of linguistics, who says "The word 'sucks' was an innocent word that developed a powerful and vulgar sexual connotation related to the taboo subject of fellatio."

An article in USA Today about how hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left thousands of displaced American at risk for mental disorders quotes Nancy Smyth, dean of the School of Social Work, who recently volunteered at a Texas shelter for hurricane victims, and says that Rita triggered flashbacks to Katrina in some and that disasters like the hurricanes can cause flashbacks to "older terrors" in some individuals.

An Associated Press article that appeared in scores of newspapers across the U.S., including The New York Times, on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's budget and the lack of federal money to prepare for disasters that have yet to occur, quotes Natalie Simpson, associate professor in the School of Management and an expert on emergency management

An article prepared by the Newhouse News Services and running in newspapers nationwide cites the work of the reconnaissance team from UB's Multidisciplinary Center of Earthquake Engineering Research that visited the devastated Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina to study damage to large structures as an example of how disaster data help scientists in their research.

Deborah D.L. Chung, Niagara Mohawk Professor of Materials Research and director of the Composite Materials Research Laboratory in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is quotes in an article being distributed nationally by UPI, on how the "smart concrete" invented by her would be a better alternative to strengthen levees and monitor their reliability.

An Associated Press story in Newsday reports on UB professors and students using "clickers" -- slender, handheld devices also known as "Audience Response Systems" that are used in television shows such as "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" -- in large classes to help the classes feel less impersonal and more effective for both students and professors.