Media Advisory: Research by Outstanding Undergrads to be Highlighted at UB Celebration of Academic Excellence

The University at Buffalo will celebrate the research and academic achievements of its outstanding undergraduates, as well as its faculty and staff, at the fifth annual Celebration of Academic Excellence, to be held today (Tuesday, April 7, 2009) in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

More than 160 student projects will be on display in the atrium of the Center for the Arts as part of the celebration. The projects, which represent student work from all disciplines and majors, include:

• Humpback whale research conducted in Puerto Rico

• Physiological responses to the media

• Effects of dietary folate on alcohol-induced breast cancer susceptibility

• The social significance of Buffalo City Hall

• The frequency of cell phone use among UB students

• Crushes during adolescence and the implications for social anxiety and self-esteem

• Impact of family on academic success

• The influence of college athletes on fruit-eating behavior during school breakfast

Student project posters will be on display in the Center for the Arts beginning at 1 p.m., with a number of student available to discuss their work and in some cases show animated presentations on their laptop computers. Robots constructed by members of UB's Robotics Club also will be motoring their way around the atrium.

A formal celebration ceremony will be held from 3:30-4:45 p.m. beginning with an academic procession. In addition, the event will recognize UB's newly named SUNY Distinguished Professors, the recipients of the SUNY Chancellor's Awards for Excellence, the new UB Distinguished Professors and recipients of various student research awards and national fellowships and scholarships.

A reception will follow the ceremony.

Press arrangements: Christine Vidal in the UB Office of University Communications at 645-5000 ext. 1416 and onsite at 697-2935.