UB's technological innovation took center stage in the state capital last week as administrators, alumni, faculty, students and staff-as well as members of local government and industry-converged for a collective and informative "assault" on Albany.

UB Day-a long-standing tradition with the university's alumni-unfolded on a larger scale this year as more than 60 participants met with some 50 legislators on Feb. 6 to trumpet UB's technology-specifically, how it is fostering growth, not only in academia but in industry as well, serving as a major resource for stimulating the Western New York economy.

	(From left to right) Elizabeth D. Capaldi, E. Bruce Pitman, Joseph Bruno and Russ Miller look at a display by the Center for Computational Research at UB Day in Albany. Capaldi and Bruno are viewing the exhibit through 3-D goggles.
	photo: Adam Koniak

As part of what Sarah Anderson, UB alumna and chair of the Alumni Association's Government Relations Committee, coined as an "in-your-face" approach to UB Day, the university also brought tangible technology to the corridors of the Legislative Office Building. Under the banner, "UB-Leading Computing Technology for the 21st Century," booths set up by the university's research centers and academic departments afforded hundreds of passersby the opportunity to, for example, explore the human abdomen using a hand-held device that simulates the feel of body tissue or immerse themselves in the three-dimensional molecular structure of the antibiotic vancomycin-each with the assistance of virtual-reality technology.

"We're showing them the fruits of their activity," Anderson said, referring to the lawmakers' continued financial support for such endeavors. "And they're bumping into it."

The Center for Computational Research (CCR), the New York State Center for Engineering Design and Industrial Innovation (NYSCEDII), the Virtual Reality Laboratory, the Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR), the Department of Media Study and individuals representing the iConnect@UB computer initiative set up interactive displays, as did UB "partners" Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). Lawmakers were encouraged during meetings throughout the day to stop by and experience first-hand the practical applications of UB's broad technology-from factory design to pharmaceutical drug design, to handwriting recognition and the digital arts, including live animation and virtual fiction.

"The day was just terrific," said Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi, who teamed up with President William R. Greiner and Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello, among others, to meet with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Sen. Mary Lou Rath, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Majority Leader Paul Tokasz. "We made a great impression with our booths (and) our positive attitude.that things are happening at UB-that it's a place on the move with very high-quality people and research."

The thrust of the day was exactly that: to infuse lawmakers with the same enthusiasm for the university's accomplishments that UB Day participants brought to the capital.

"We couldn't have done a better job," said Jaylan Turkkan, vice president for research, referring to the bevy of exhibits sprawled out before her. "We're synergizing each others' resources-I think we've shown what the future of biotechnology and high-performance is," she said, emphasizing the industry-academia “trifecta” of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, RPCI and HWI.

Attending several legislative appointments that day, members of the “brown team”—one of nine color-coded groups—met with Sen. George Maziarz and Heather Briccetti, assistant counsel to the Senate majority, as well as with a staff member of downstate Assemblyman Samuel Colman. Ryan McPherson, a law student and government-relations analyst in the Office of the Senior Vice President, drove home UB’s desire to serve as a major resource for the local economy.

“I think we’ve really started, over the last two or three years, to build up a plan whereby we can really play a supportive role in the Western New York economy,” he told Maziarz.

McPherson emphasized UB’s commitment to energizing the economy, noting that areas such as North Carolina and Boston have seen marked growth as a result of tapping into university resources.

“(UB) is an incredible facility, and in terms of high-tech and biotech information that UB supplies, we are now trying to really market that—not even market, but give it to people in our local economy in ways that would really develop both the high-tech and biotech fields,” he said.

The subtext of discussions with lawmakers was Gov. George Pataki’s recent announcement of a proposed Center of Excellence in Bio-informatics (Informatics) at UB, which would further strengthen the links between UB’s research centers and local industry in the Buffalo area, while also creating thousands of new jobs.

Three of UB’s premier centers—CCR, the Virtual Reality Laboratory and NYSCEDII—all of which would be vital to creating such a center, received top billing throughout the day, as collectively they provide the necessary technological base to situate UB as a world-renowned research engine.

Describing NYSCEDII as one of the best centers of visualization in the world, Thenkurussi Kesavadas, director of the Virtual Reality Lab, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a NYSCEDII associate, told lawmakers he expects the center will be among the top two or three of its kind over the next few years.

“Which means that it brings a lot of visibility to Western New York,” he told Maziarz. “It would allow us to provide the research backbone for scientists in medicine, civil engineering, architecture, art.”

Along with CCR—currently ranked among the top 10 university supercomputing facilities in the world—Kesavadas said the collaboration of high-end visualization and computation “is key to some of the discoveries that are going to happen in the next 10 or 20 years.”

In the team’s meeting with Briccetti, who worked on last year’s Jobs2K initiative for the state, the focus shifted toward luring businesses to Western New York—and on a larger scale, to New York State.

“The senate’s interests are jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs,” Briccetti told the group. “We want ultimately for any of these proposals to turn into reaching some sort of critical mass the same way that California has, where people—when they think about being an entrepreneur or starting their own business in a high-tech field—naturally think, ‘Well, I want to be (in New York).

“We need to be able to use…the resources that we’ve got, and make people want to move here with ideas, who want to start businesses.”

And UB is responding to that.

“I think we’re in a position, now, where we have to take it one step further, and use those resources to really spur the high-tech and bio-tech,” McPherson said.

The other component to expanding the business base is a strong workforce.

“Bringing new people into the area—certainly, that’s part of the equation,” said Kevin Hulme, a research associate with NYSCEDII. “The other thing to focus on is training our people—with these great skill sets— and keeping them here.”

Tony Conrad, professor of media study, agreed, noting that in order to revitalize Western New York, the region as a whole must move in the direction of a high-tech economy.

“We’re having a flood of interest in these areas among students coming in; we have a flood of demand for graduates who are qualified all across the state,” he said. “We’re looking at a digital university in 10 years. So these resources, because we’re building for that, they’re also important to serve the students, and they’re important to serve the industry…so that we can actually realize all of these things.”

Kesavadas noted that high-end visualization at UB is “helping to bring very qualified people to Western New York”—people who otherwise might not be attracted to the area.

While lawmakers’ particular interests in UB varied, one consistent message resonated.

“The focus of the legislative visits was on the many successful research programs already under way (at UB) and how they have a positive impact on both the public and the business communities,” said Russ Miller, professor of computer science and engineering, and director of CCR, who was involved in the lobbying efforts.

Added Capaldi: “Economic development of the region was the topic of the day, and how UB’s expertise in biomedical science and computing can lead new businesses here, consistent with (Buffalo’s) byte-belt and Main-High streets medical corridor initiatives.”