@UB: September 2007

ARE YOU READY FOR HOMECOMING?

Join us on campus Oct. 5-7 to catch all the new action as well as your favorite UB Homecoming traditions:  the 35th Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the second annual Dodge”Bull” tournament, Pillars Society reunion and the annual pre-game Homecoming tent party with contests, prizes and a young alumni reunion featuring adult beverages. Were you part of the orientation staff?  Then make plans to attend a reunion reception on Oct. 6 and reconnect with your fellow orientation staff members.

Other events include two top comedians appearing in the Center for the Arts:  Craig Ferguson, host of CBS’s The Late, Late Show, and popular standup performer Jo Koy; reunions will be held for orientation aids and former student athletes as well as a reception for alumni ambassadors; special lectures are planned, a tour of the earthquake lab and the North Campus, singer Meg Allison, and more.

And of course, football fever is rising this season with the reinvigorated Bulls, and hopes are high that UB will defeat Ohio University in UB Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.

We’re pulling out all the stops to make this the best Homecoming ever, so COME ON BACK!
Learn more or order tickets online now.

       Graham G. Stewart, Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations

 

UNIVERSITY NEWS

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS:  With the opening of the fall semester, UB has supplemented its crisis communication vehicles with a new text-messaging service designed to disseminate critical information in a timely manner to members of the university community.
Read about safety measures at UB.

SOM MOVES UP:  For the seventh consecutive year, the School of Management has been ranked as one of the world’s top business schools by the Wall Street Journal.  This year the school is ranked No. 9, up one spot from last year.
Learn about the School of Management's high ranking.

INDIA EXCHANGE PROGRAM:  A comprehensive exchange program has been established with Banaras Hindu University, one of India’s leading comprehensive universities.
Learn about the new Indian exchange program.

ENGINEERING PROFESSORSHIP:  Praxair, Inc., valued corporate partner with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has pledged a $250,000 gift to establish the Praxair Professor in Operations Research and a $25,000 gift to support the university’s annual Business Partners Day.
Read about Praxair's gifts.

UB BIKES:  An initiative designed to improve bike riding to, from and across UB’s three campuses has kicked off.
Read about bicycling at UB.

SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE:  As a follow up to the 2006 visit by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the UB Asian Studies Program will offer introductory courses in the classical Tibetan language in the 2007-08 academic year taught by noted Tibetan scholar Craig Preston.
Learn more about these courses.

GOOD AS GOLD:  Thirty members of a newly established UB alumni group whose principal goals include connecting the university’s young alumni to service opportunities throughout Buffalo and Western New York recently volunteered for a day to help make a Buffalo family’s dream of home ownership a reality.
See UB GOLD Group volunteers in action.

GIFT TO TRAIN:  The Bank of America Charitable Foundation today announced a $250,000 gift to create and provide initial support for a program to train entry- and mid-level workers for Western New York's emerging life-sciences industry.
Read more about Bank of America's support.

UB PEOPLE

OPERA STAR:  The Department of Music will present soprano Laura Aikin, BFA ’86, internationally renowned opera star and recitalist, as she returns to her hometown for two concerts in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall:  a recital on Oct. 14 with pianist and recital partner Donald Sulzen, and a performance with UB’s professional chamber orchestra, the Slee Sinfonietta, on Oct. 17.
Get more concert details now. 

JEFFERSON FELLOW:   John Yeh, M.D., an internationally recognized reproductive endocrinologist who is professor and chair of the Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is one of eight individuals selected to be 2007-08 Jefferson Science Fellows.
Read about the Jefferson Fellows. 

BREAKING RESEARCH

BETTER CORONARY IMAGING:  A newer imaging method called positron emission tomography myocardial perfusing imaging, or PET MPI, provides a more accurate “picture” of coronary obstruction, costs 30 percent less, reduces the needs for follow-up invasive procedures by 50 percent and produces excellent clinical outcomes.
Read about this new imaging method.
 
ALS’ PEPTIDE “FINGERPRINT”:  For the first time, a nanotechnology developed by a UB professor has enabled researchers to identify a molecular signature common to both familial and sporadic cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Learn more about the ALS fingerprint. 

GROWING THIN FILMS:  UB chemists have developed a novel way to grow chemically pure, zinc oxide thin films characterized by dense, bristle-like nanostructures and a new method for depositing them on temperature-sensitive substrates, including polymers, plastics and tapes.  The research may lead to the development of more efficient solar cells, liquid-crystal displays, chemical sensors and optoelectronic devices.
Read on. 

HEARD ON CAMPUS

“People just give so much of themselves.  We could never say thank you enough for what [the volunteers] have done.  Each one of them has left their fingerprints in our hearts and in our home.”

--Habitat for Humanity homeowner Ursula Davis, on the UB GOLD volunteers who helped restore her home.

IN MY OPINION

Whether you were full of confidence or a bit on the shy side, there were probably times when things didn’t go exactly as you had planned.  Tell us about your most embarrassing moments from UB.

 

HOT LINKS

The fall 2007 issue of UB Today is now online.  Check it out!

Linda Yalem Safety Run, Sept. 30, 2007

Family Weekend is Oct. 13-14.  UB alumni-parents are invited to an exclusive reception.

DSS in 21st YEAR:  Controversial and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore will open the 21st season of the Distinguished Speakers Series on Sept. 29.

DSS DISCOUNT:  Members of the UB Alumni Association are eligible for a discount to the Distinguished Speakers Series.  Contact Joy Wrona in the UB Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-284-5382 to receive your voucher.

Have you checked out the MySpace and Facebook groups for UB alumni?