@UB, November 2004

Next week is Thanksgiving in the United States – a time to reflect on our rich harvest and to give thanks for our family and friends – more than 181,000 alumni from 122 countries around the world. They represent an international presence that brings diversity, perspective and global opportunities to UB.

We have much to be thankful for here at UB this year: the most academically accomplished freshman class in UB history; the fact that the School of Management was again ranked by The Wall Street Journal as one of the world’s top business schools; and that we are 13th in the top 25 most-wired campuses as reported by Forbes.com and The Princeton Review. In addition, we were included as one of only 43 “best buys” by Fiske Guide to Colleges, achieved 10 new faculty-earned U.S. patents, and we continue to lead in earthquake research with the opening of the National Science Foundation’s George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Facility.

Thankful for the bountiful results from hard work along with tremendous alumni and donor support, we enjoy the holiday of Thanksgiving. Wishing the best to you and your family, please share this newsletter with your classmates who might not currently receive it. 

  -- Robert O. Davies, Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations

University News

Warship of the Future: A UB engineering researcher is helping the U.S. Navy develop a next generation, all-electric warship that will revolutionize the Navy’s use of weaponry and require a crew of only 100, compared to traditional battleship crew that numbers in the thousands.

$25,000 For Entrepreneurs: Recent alumni and UB students are eligible to compete for $25,000 in the Panasci Entrepreneurial Competition, made possible through a $1 million endowment by School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences alumnus Henry A. Panasci, Jr., B.A. ’48 & B.S. ’52. The seed capital will go toward new businesses in Western New York.

UB People

Architecture Awards: Three faculty members in the School of Architecture and Planning, Daniel B. Hess, M.U.P. ’97; assistant professor of urban and regional planning; G. William Page, professor of urban and regional planning; and Robert Shibley, professor of architecture, have been honored with major awards from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Upstate New York Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Mikoll receives Jaeckle Award: The UB Law School and Law Alumni Association bestowed their highest honor, the Jaeckle Award, on the Honorable Ann T. Mikoll, the first woman elected to serve on a New York State appellate court and a lifelong advocate for the cultural and educational training of young people.

Volcanic Passion: Tracy K.P. Gregg, Ph.D., associate professor of geology in the College of Arts and Sciences, is co-editor along with Rosaly M.C. Lopes, of “Volcanic Worlds: Exploring the Solar System’s Volcanoes” (Springer-Praxis, 2004), a series of essays about volcanology written by female scientists.  

Breaking Research

Harmful Supplement: Researchers in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have shown that the herbal supplement St. John’s Wort undermines the effectiveness of a blockbuster anticancer drug that has revolutionized the treatment of chronic leukemia.

Helping Archeologists: Based on his experiences with the excavation of an ancient Roman fort in the Jordanian dessert, a UB geologist is making the case for the use of personal computers and Global Positioning Satellite technology in Archeological work.

Genetically Predisposed: African Americans appear to be genetically more susceptible than whites to the toxic effects of alcohol on the liver, according to a finding by researchers in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, which may help explain their higher rates of death from cirrhosis of the liver despite similar levels of alcohol consumption.

Heard on Campus

“I was obviously born too late to participate in Apollo. What I would love to do is to go to Mars myself, right? What I really want is Martian dirt in my own boots. But that’s not going to happen. We are not at the right time in history for that. So for me, the next best thing was building the rover, a robot that has human qualities and human capabilities, that is really an extension of ourselves that we can send to this other world.”

--Stephen Squyres, principal investigator for the NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Project and participant in UB Distinguished Lecture Series.

In My Opinion...

Young adults age 18 to 30 comprised 21 million voters in this year’s presidential election. While a UB student, did you participate in the electoral process, either on campus, locally or nationally? Tell us about your involvement. Please include your name and graduation year.

To see what alumni had to say about UB in 1970, during the era of campus unrest, visit last month’s “In My Opinion” question.

"Hot" Links

Watch the men’s and women’s basketball teams play at HSBC Arena November 27. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at the HSBC Arena box office or by phone at 1-800-223-6000. UB Alumni Association members save $3 per ticket with a valid membership card.

Be part of another exciting season of men’s and women’s basketball:

Men's Schedule | Women's Schedule

Learn about the university’s new strategic planning effort, “UB 2020: A Plan for the Future:”

If you missed President Simpson’s inauguration, watch the webcast or read his address

About @UB

The Division of External Affairs publishes @UB monthly. We thank you for your continued interest in and support of the University at Buffalo and the UB Alumni Association. If you have any comments on an issue, please send them to Barbara Byers, associate director, alumni relations at ub-alumni-news@buffalo.edu.

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