Reviewing UB Centers and Institutes for Collaborative Goals

Published June 27, 2017 This content is archived.

At UB, our centers and institutes catalyze a collaborative culture which fosters interdisciplinary research and technological innovation. The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (VPRED) supports these activities by reviewing the centers and institutes to ensure they are meeting their missions and goals.

Why it matters

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The capabilities of these units helps attract and retain outstanding students and faculty as well as allowing them to compete effectively for sponsored funding. Their collaborative attitudes and the resulting research contribute to our stature as a leading research university.  

To ensure that these units maximize their potential, the VPRED conducts periodic reviews to support evidence-based decision making in managing resources. These peer reviews assess the quality of a center’s work, its national and international recognition, its impact on the discipline / field and its plans for the future.

Reviewed centers

The VPRED recently reviewed two of its reporting centers: the Center for Hearing and Deafness (CHD), directed by Professor Richard Salvi; and the Institute for Laser Photonic and Biophotonics (ILPB), directed by Professor Paras Prasad.

A panel of two external and one internal reviewers did a site visit of CHD on April 11, 2017.  Another panel of one external and two internal reviewers visited ILPB on May 2, 2017.  In both cases, the site visit began with an open presentation by the director to the campus regarding the status of the center. The remainder of the day was devoted to interviews with stakeholders, so panel members could gather information for their report. These meetings included center members, collaborating faculty, students and trainees, and administrators.

Upcoming reviews

The VPRED will use this format for two additional centers scheduled for review later this year: the NYS Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics and the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.