UB’s Discovery Seminar Program offers freshmen and sophomores the opportunity to explore a topic with a small group of students, led by a UB faculty member. the course meets throughout the Spring semester for 50 per week and students receive 1 credit.
Topics for Spring 2007 include: Global Warming: Myth or Fact: Ideas of Justice in Literature and Art; Emergency Management; Science, Technology, and Human Values; Democracy and Women’s Heath.
For more information, and a complete list of the Spring semester’s topic visit their website at http://discoveryseminars.buffalo.edu
These seminars are voluntary and will not count towards the Honors Experience requirements of the Honors Program.
The first of our Evening with Faculty program for next semester is scheduled for January 21st, and will be sponsored by Dr. Janicke, a faculty member in the Biology Department. She will be hosting a lasagna dinner from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A short bio is attached at the bottom of this message.
If you are interested in attending this event, please email Nigel at nmarrine@buffalo.edu and provide the following information:
- Your name
- The name of Faculty Host
- Major
- Whether you can drive or need a ride
- Email address
- Dietary Preferences (i.e. Vegetarian)
Once the participant list is finalized I will send additional information including transportation and Prof. Janicke’s address.
Dr. Janicke’s Bio:
I earned my B.A. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the Department of Biological Sciences in 1977. It was as an undergraduate, in the laboratory of Dr. Jim LaFountain, that I first witnessed a live cell dividing right before my eyes, a sight that has ever since continued to captivate my imagination. I did my undergraduate research in Dr. LaFountain’s lab and remained there for my Ph.D, my post-doctoral work, and several years of teaching and research as a Research Assistant Professor. After the birth of my second of three daughters, I “retired” to stay-at-home motherhood for 13 years. In 2004, I had the Rip Van Winkle-like experience of returning to Dr. LaFountain’s lab and to teaching Cell Biology again. The change that had occurred in the field of mitosis and meiosis, and in Cell Bio in general, was staggering and exciting. I was fortunate that first semester to have a freshman in my class named Seth Nickerson, who conceived of, piloted, and developed my undergraduate teaching assistant program. I now have many undergraduate TA’s, with whom I very much enjoy working as a team. Seth also has helped me develop an Honors section of Cell Biology, which we are looking forward to teaching for the first time in spring 2007.
We wanted to alert you that your mandatory advisement meeting is coming up early in the spring 2007 semester. If you are from the Western New York area and are able to come in during winter break, the Honors office will be open and we will be happy to meet with you thenFor students pursuing the following majors, you will need to meet with your departmental adviser or mentor and a meeting with your Honors advisor is not necessary: Engineering, Architecture, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions, Nursing, and Performing and Creative Arts.
If you are seeing an honors staff adviser, please schedule your appointment for between Jan. 4th and Feb. 2nd. If you are seeing an adviser in one of the above fields, you need to have completed your advisement appointment by March 3, 2007 as your fall registration window is March 5th, 6th, and 7th. We will be providing you with an adviser signature form that must be returned to the Honors office by March 3, 2007.
This message is from Stacy Pustulka, from UB’s Student Chapter of Biological Engineers
“My name is Stacy Pustulka and I’m the chair of UB’s Student Chapter of the Society of Biological Engineers (SBE). This Friday, December 8th our club will be joining with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) to host a Science and Engineering Undergraduate Research Fair. This event is open to ALL majors. If you are interested in becoming involved in Undergraduate Research, this will be a great opportunity to meet with faculty from a variety of disciplines who are interested in having undergraduates work in their labs. I hope many of you will take advantage of this great opportunity. The specific details are as follows:
Date: Friday, December 8th
Time: 2:30-3:45 PM
Location: 206 Furnas Hall
Refreshments will be served
Faculty from the following departments and programs will be on hand to present their research, engage in open discussion with interested students, and answer questions:
- Chemical & Biological Engineering
- Physics
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Biophysics & Physiology
- Research Institute in Biomedical Materials Science and
- Engineering, RIBSE Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, CURCA Pharmacotherapy Research Center
I hope that you can make it and look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at smp37@buffalo.edu.”
The University at Buffalo’s Summer Research Institute in Biomedical Materials Science and Engineering (RIBSE), is a 12-week undergraduate research training program integrating topics in the chemistry of tissue engineering, taught by a multidisciplinary faculty team from UB and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). RIBSE combines innovative pedagogical approaches with hands-on laboratory research related to some aspect of the complex problems facing biomaterials surface chemistry (such as chemistry of polymeric membrane materials, surface chemistry, the molecular biology of cell adhesion and growth and the in-vitro cell and tissue biology applicable for study of synthetic materials, molecular diagnostics of protein and growth factor structure and function, etc.). The overarching goal of RIBSE is the development of a cadre of interdisciplinary research scientists well-equipped to address increasingly complex research questions in biomedical materials science and engineering.
Through this program student can gain valuable experience in interdisciplinary research methodologies and team-based research, presented the results of their work at a research symposium held in August, and earn 3 credits in the process. This year’s programs will include some field local trips to local facilities such as Wilson Greatbatch, Hauptmann Woodward Medical Research Institute, the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and Bausch & Lomb.
2007 participants will receive tuition-subsidized academic credit and a stipend of $3,000 upon satisfactory completion of the didactic portion of the course. Detailed eligibility information and application requirements can be found at the program website, www.ribse.buffalo.edu or http://www.ribse.buffalo.edu/.
