Dr. Thomas Szyperski, director of the UB High-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility and professor in the Department of Chemistry, has been named a UB Distinguished Professor. The UB Distinguished Professor Award recognizes its most successful distinguished scholars and their achievements.
The UB Library Skills Workbook was designed to help students develop their research skills, yet was often a neglected requirement put off by many students until the end of their senior year. After a change to the language of the requirement, freshmen must now complete the Workbook during their first year at college. The Library Skills Workbook is a general education requirement for all UB undergraduate students.
A cloud of uncertainty surrounds New York State's finances.The furloughs came first and now Governor David Paterson is proposing a layoff plan that could leave thousands of state workers without jobs.
The University at Buffalo and Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute are co-sponsoring a visit on April 8 and April 9 from world-renowned scientist and recent Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Ada E. Yonath. Yonath is the fourth woman ever to receive the chemistry's highest international honor. SUNY Distinguished Professor Phillip Coppens has known Yonath since the 1970s when she was a student at the Weizmann Institute. He spoke about her before she sat down to the round table. "Her work and her attitude are an inspiration for us all," Coppens said. Yonath will deliver two talks while in Buffalo. On April 8 at 11 a.m. at HWI, she will discuss "The Stunning Ribosome Architecture and hints on its Origin." On April 9 at 4:15 p.m., she will discuss "Antibiotics Targeting the Ribosome" at UB as the Howard Tieckelmann Memorial Lecturer. The lecture will be held in 225 Natural Sciences Complex on North Campus. Bill Duax, Hauptman Distinguished Scientist at HWI also knows Yonath professionally. He brought up a statement made by Yonath at a previous event. "She said it is possible to be a first rate scientist and have a family," Duax said. Yonath is visiting UB and HWI because of her close personal and professional relationship with crystallographers in Buffalo, who are themselves internationally renowned in the field of X-ray crystallography; which is a technique in which molecular structures are revealed by the diffraction patterns of X-rays as they "bounce" off of molecules. "We are extremely fortunate to be able to host this visit from Dr. Yonath," Coppens said. When she first began her research, only a few individual protein molecules had ever been determined. She pioneered ribosome crystallography in the late 1970s when a project like this was far beyond capabilities of the techniques available to them. Yonath is currently the director of Kimmelman Center for Molecular Assemblies at the Weizmann Institute. She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. "Ada is someone who can lead us to a more peaceful world," Duax said. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Students should be prepared to give UB even more of their money. If a proposal by Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs, and Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs is approved, student fees will be increased by two percent. "It starts in fall semester of 2010," said Carol Adler, resource analyst for the office of academic planning and budget. "Summer session 2010 will be on this current year rate, the new rate would go fall 2010 to summer 2011." Black and Tripathi noted that the total proposed increase of two percent is in accordance with the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI). The increase is necessary so that UB and SUNY can continue to offer programs and services that students need and expect. "They're pretty much increased every year," said Laura Barnum, senior assistant vice president for the office of academic planning and budget. "It's just the rate at which they increase has been differentiated." Barnum added that the student fee increase is still in the proposed stage and has not been finalized by SUNY. "There's always the opportunity that things may be adjusted or looked at differently," Barnum said. The comprehensive student fee would increase by $20.50 a semester for full-time undergraduates, rising to $947.25. For full time Graduate and Professional students, the fee would be an extra $16, bring it to $719.25 for the semester. So far the proposed per-semester increases include a campus life increase of $3.50 to support a portion of state-mandated negotiated salary-and-benefit increases, a health services increase of $2.50, an intercollegiate athletics increase of $4.50 (undergraduates only) to support required operating contractual increases, a transportation increase of $3 to support state-mandated negotiated salary and benefits, and a technology increase of $7 to address some of the increased costs. Technology is a good example because of how much it has grown in just a few short years, and how expensive it is becoming to keep everything updated. "The cost of the electronic databases are growing at a rate of nine percent," said Barnum. The fee increases in the last few years do not cover the mandated increases. Costs continue to rise and adjustments have to be made in order to keep balance. The economy also plays a role in the budget, including state cuts for SUNY. "We're now facing a third year of cuts from the state," Barnum said. "We're looking at $40 million that's been cut, state tax support, and we're looking at another $15 million to $20 million." The increase in fees will help keep a variety of services running; some of the student services range from the bus system and printouts at the library, to the student Health Services in Michael Hall on South Campus. The student consultation process has shown that students are in support of the services that are being provided and that the students want to have those services available to them. "We want to provide the services our students need to be successful, we want them to be able to focus on their academic pursuits and also have an enjoyable experience here at the University at Buffalo," Barnum said. "We want to know we are providing a valuable experience for them, a lot of these fees help accomplish that." Barnum also added that Student Affairs does an excellent job with the whole student consultation process and all of their work to ensure that this information is provided to the students. "[Dennis Black] and his area do a good job of representing the students," Barnum said. "He believes in what he does and that shows." E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
The nation has been seeing a new trend on college campuses — more women than men have been enrolling in higher education.
A multimillion dollar investment into the General Motors Powertrain Plant in Tonawanda was made public this week. GM announced that it would invest hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the facility so it can produce the next generation engine used in Chevrolet models. This news will breathe new life into the Tonawanda plant. This will also make it possible for workers that were let go in the past to come back. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), chairwoman of the House Committee on Rules, congratulated GM on its plans to upgrade. 'This is great news for Tonawanda and great news for GM,' Slaughter said. 'Over a year ago, Congress was deciding if we would step in to help GM and to me, it was a no-brainer. Our investment to keep an American icon afloat wasn't about Detroit, it was about Tonawanda. The men and women of this plant have proven their value time and time again and today's announcement is another testament to our local workforce. I applaud GM for recognizing your great work and look forward to the growth of this incredible facility.' The announcement affirms the competitiveness of the Western New York plant and ensures it will have new work well into the future as it manufactures this new engine. GM is upgrading in order to produce the next generation, fuel-efficient, four-cylinder Ecotec engine. Currently, GM makes four-cylinder L850 engines, which are used in the Chevrolet Cobalt, certain versions of the Chevrolet Malibu and certain Pontiac models. GM also makes four and five cylinder engines for other vehicles. In December 2008, Congress debated the auto bailout, which was signed by President Obama later that month. During this time, Slaughter debated the rule on the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act. 'The U.S. automobile industry is one of the largest sectors of our economy,' Slaughter said. 'Auto companies directly or indirectly support over four million American jobs and provide nearly one million retirees with pensions and health care benefits. In Western New York alone, the auto industry supports over 12,000 workers, and 13,000 retirees.' According to the United Auto Workers officials, the Tonawanda Plant currently employs 600 hourly workers. About 375 workers are on indefinite layoff and available to be called back to work. With the new investment, it may be possible to bring employees who were let go back to work. In 2007, GM invested $100 million into the plant to produce a 4.5-liter diesel engine as a premium option in Chevy Silverado and also in GMC Sierra pickup trucks. GM rolled the last V-8 engines off the line that December, which resulted in 150 layoffs. 'It can bring back all these people that would be let go,' said Victoria Dillon, Slaughter's press secretary. 'This is certainly good news for Tonawanda [and] for the area.' Even though the auto industry has been hit hard by the economy, things are beginning to look up for GM. '[GM] is such a great piece of pride for the area,' Dillon said. Dillon added that that this shows 'the hard work ethic [this area] has.' E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
UB will host a three-day series of events honoring the life of Alison Des Forges.
Solutions by The State News
