Bright Named Chair of UB Department Of Chemistry

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Frank V. Bright, Ph.D., UB Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and A. Conger Goodyear Professor of Chemistry, has been named chair of the Department of Chemistry in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.

Bright, a UB faculty member for 19 years, and previously associate chair of the Department of Chemistry, conducts research in a broad range of areas in analytical, bioanalytical chemistry and optical spectroscopy.

A common theme of Bright's research, which has a broad range of applications, is that advances in analytical methods and materials stem from a fundamental understanding of the key molecular events and processes involved.

He has developed new, integrated chemical sensor array systems for simultaneous multi-analyte detection, new materials to improve wound restitution and supercritical and ionic fluids as environmentally friendly solvents.

Bright also has explored the use of techniques, such as multi-photon excitation, to conduct spectroscopic analysis of biological samples, such as blood and urine "as they are" without pretreatment.

His research group also develops and constructs analytical instruments where a desired feature is unavailable commercially.

Bright's research has been reported in more than 230 peer-reviewed publications and more than 500 lectures.

His work is highly multidisciplinary; he works with faculty in other subfields in chemistry as well as with researchers in departments that include surgery, electrical engineering and computer science and engineering. He is a co-founder of the university-funded multidisciplinary Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors (CUBS), which aims to provide key enabling technologies to build engineered systems with a focus on human health and homeland security applications.

Currently, as part of his work with CUBS, Bright is principal investigator with several colleagues across the university on a grant funded by the John R. Oishei Foundation to develop a rugged, inexpensive Breathalyzer-type device that will contain thousands of chemical sensors "trained" to recognize complex chemical patterns, some of which are known biomarkers for certain diseases. The goal is to develop an inexpensive tool for rapid, early screening of multiple diseases.

Bright and his colleagues have formed a spin-off company, Tailored Sensors and Materials, Inc., to commercialize the findings that emerge from that research. With Michael R. Detty, Ph.D., UB professor of chemistry, he also co-founded Telluride East, Inc., a company that develops anti-fouling coatings for freshwater and marine applications.

In addition to the Oishei Foundation, Bright's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Energy.

He has consulted for Kodak, Bausch & Lomb and other major corporations.

Bright is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Eastern New York Section of the American Chemical Society Buck-Whitney Medal, the A. A. Benedetti-Pichler Award in Microchemistry from the American Microchemical Society, the New York Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy Gold Medal, the American Chemical Society Akron Section Award and the J.F. Schoelkopf Medal of the Western New York American Chemical Society.

Bright also has been awarded the SUNY Chancellors' Award for Excellence in Teaching, the SUNY Outstanding Inventors Award, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Niagara Frontier Intellectual Property Law Association, Technical Societies Council of the Niagara Frontier, "2003 Inventor of the Year, Life Sciences."

Bright is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and the New York Academy of Sciences.

He lives in Williamsville.