UB Recognizes Architecture Students

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Students in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo recently received awards for excellence in their fields of study.

The award winners in the Department of Architecture were:

o Tamara Chenez of Lockport (senior), Thomas Kujawa of Rochester (junior), Jana Kasikova of Syracuse (sophomore) and James Maurer of Medina (freshman), the Academic Excellence Award, presented to the students in each class with the highest overall grade-point average. Kujawa also received the Dean's Certificate, which is awarded to the junior continuing for his or her final senior year with the highest overall grade-point average.

o Chun-Cheng (Brian) Kuo of Snyder (senior), Ryan Conway of Syracuse and Milenko Ivanovic of Yugoslavia (juniors), Jose Chang of Brooklyn (sophomore) and Sean Bookman of Warners and Jonathan Rule of Brooklyn (freshmen), the Design Excellence Award, given to students who have produced outstanding studio work. Ivanovic also tied for first place for the Pella/WESTNY Scholarship for superior use of fenestration in architecture.

o Kenneth Schmitz of Hamburg (first-place tie), Pella/WESTNY Scholarship for superior use of fenestration in architecture

o Stephen Mylenski of New Rochelle (first year of two-year graduate program), Carrie Galuski of Cicero (second year of two-year graduate program), Lynette Markofski of North Tonawanda (first year of three-year graduate program), Mark Ferrari of Poplar Ridge (second year of three-year graduate program), Rebecca Bish of Buffalo (third year of three-year graduate program), Oscar Traynor of St. Catherines, Ontario, (fourth year of three-year graduate program) and Jayant Sai of Greensboro, N.C. (one-year graduate program), the Academic Excellence Award, presented to students with the highest overall grade-point average.

Stephen Mylenski of New Rochelle also received the Dean's Certificate as the master's student returning for the final year of the program with the highest overall grade-point average and the second-place Pella/WESTNY Scholarship award for superior use of fenestration in architecture.

Carrie Galuski of Cicero also received the Service & Leadership Award and a "Who's Who" Certificate, which is awarded based on a combination of academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success. In addition, she received the Henry Adams Gold Medal for the architecture student with the highest grade-point average and the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for leadership, scholarship and service.

Mark Ferrari of Poplar Ridge also received a "Who's Who" Certificate, which is awarded based on a combination of academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success.

Oscar Traynor of St. Catherines, Ontario, also received the Rose Weinsten Award for outstanding achievement in disciplinary research or artistic activity relating to the phenomena of human aging in a context of social and cultural change at UB.

o Melisa Delaney of Poughkeepsie, the Design Excellence Award, given to a student in the first year of the three-year graduate program who has demonstrated outstanding studio work

o Korydon Smith of Cassadaga, the Henry Adams Certificate for the architecture student with the second-highest grade-point average. Smith also received the Matthew W. Del Gaudio Award for the design of an imaginative solution to an architectural problem that is both structurally sound and functionally ideal, and the Chair's Award, which is given to a graduating master's student to recognize consistent, high-caliber design work performed in the design studios. In addition, he received a "Who's Who" Certificate, which is awarded based on a combination of academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success.

o Michael Maggio of Utica, the Chair's Award, given to a graduating master's student to recognize consistent, high-caliber design work performed in the design studios. Maggio also received a "Who's Who" Certificate, which is awarded based on a combination of academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success.

o Kerron Miller of Brooklyn, a "Who's Who" Certificate, which is awarded based on a combination of academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success

o Catherine Ferraris of Buffalo, the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence recognizing students who are model citizens and who have excelled in such areas as academics, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, entrepreneurship, leadership and career achievement."

The Department of Planning recognized students in the following degree programs:

o Bachelor's in Environmental Design: Joel Allen Kleinberg of Pittsford, the R. Buckminster Fuller Award given to a student returning for graduate study and the Academic Excellence Award; Melissa Anne Burgio of Tonawanda, the Dean's Certificate for the continuing student with the highest grade-point average.

o Master's of Urban Planning: Debargha Sengupta of Jagaddah, India, the Dean's Certificate for the continuing student with the highest grade-point average; Mahbubur Rabb Meenar of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Academic Excellence Award and the Service Award; Joelle Marie Guy of West Seneca, the Best Thesis Award; Chiquita Dajuan Howard of Buffalo, the Best Professional Project Award; Abdul Bari of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Service Award, and Angela Neal Jones of Long Island, the American Institute of Certified Planners' Planning Excellence Award

In addition, planning department students Preeti N. Shroff-Mehta of Ahmedabad, India, and Farhat Muhawi of Ramallah, Palestine, received the Ibrahim and Vivian Jammal Award for best thesis on an international or global topic.