Student Life

A University at Buffalo professor who says his mission in life is to revolutionize the teaching of science has received an $800,000 grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to do just that.

The so-called "digital divide" between the "haves" -- those who can afford computer access -- and the "have nots" has been erased, at least in the freshman class at the University at Buffalo. Thanks to the university's Students Needing Assistance Program (SNAP) and its corporate partners financial hardship simply is not an issue for 264 freshmen, at least where computers are concerned.

Students in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo are hitting the streets of several urban neighborhoods this semester as they take a close look at issues faced by Buffalo communities. And they'll only have to look as far as their PCs to do it.

George Stephanopoulos, ABC-TV news political analyst, author and former top aide and communications director in the Clinton Administration, will speak at 8 p.m. March 22 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the University at Buffalo North (Amherst) Campus.

Even in 2000, African-Americans who are studying to be -- or already are -- mathematicians face a lonely proposition: only about one-quarter of 1 percent of all mathematicians in the United States are black. But many of them are finding a thriving community at the unique Web site created and maintained by a professor of mathematics at the University at Buffalo.

The first major national conference held to explore the lives, strengths, problems and needs of young urban women will be held in Buffalo April 14-15. The keynote speaker will be Lani Guinier, professor of law at Harvard University.

An extremely enthusiastic response by University at Buffalo faculty to the year-old, high-performance computing facilities in the Center for Computational Research (CCR) has prompted the center to double the capacity of its most powerful machine, a 64-processor SGI Origin2000 supercomputer. By acquiring 64 additional processors and a high-speed interconnect, the CCR now has a 128-processor Origin2000 supercomputer.

When they first arrive on campus, college freshmen are deluged with orientation packets and publications. But after the first few weeks, that deluge dries up, often leaving students' questions unanswered. The University at Buffalo has figured out how to keep information flowing to freshmen -- but not flooding them -- through the development of MyUB, an online portal for freshmen that actually grows with the student.

With an assist from the National Science Foundation, an assistant professor of media study at the University at Buffalo is launching a unique software game that addresses the lack of computer educational activities oriented toward girls, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

At this moment, computers across the University at Buffalo campus are analyzing signals from the sky that could be indicators of alien intelligence.