College of Arts and Sciences to highlight Diana Aga’s pollution research at first Spotlight Symposia Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Colleges of Arts and Sciences is the University at Buffalo’s largest and most diverse academic unit, boasting faculty from a wide range of disciplines who are internationally recognized experts and generate millions of dollars in annual research expenditures. 

Now, a new event later this month will recognize and further elevate the profile of these highly distinguished faculty. 

The College of Arts and Sciences’ annual Spotlight Symposia Series is designed to honor a particular faculty member by inviting distinguished speakers to campus who share the honoree’s research field. 

“There are many faculty members in the college whose research and creative work have already garnered significant recognition. We hope this symposium will bring them additional exposure and lead to collaborative partnerships with other distinguished researchers from across the world,” says Sambandamurthy Ganapathy, PhD, associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor in the Department of Physics. 

Following a competitive nomination process and support from the university provost, the inaugural symposium, being held Oct. 25-26 on the North Campus, will recognize Diana Aga with the theme of “Convergence of Science for One Planet, One Health.”

Those interested in attending are asked to register by Thursday. 

Aga, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Henry M. Woodburn Chair in the Department of Chemistry and director of the UB RENEW Institute, is a recognized world leader in environmental analytical chemistry. Since joining UB in 2002, she has been awarded over $15 million in federal, state and industrial grants to support her research.

“The symposium will place our honoree at the center of vital national and international conversations. It will help build scholarly relationships critical to our campus,” says Robin Schulze, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Diana’s contributions have dramatically improved our knowledge of the ecological and human impacts of emerging contaminants. We are very proud to honor her and her research. She is a true leader in her field.”

The two-day symposium will bring together Aga and approximately 200 other leading experts in chemistry, environmental science and engineering to tackle the complex challenges of increasing chemical pollution, scarcity of natural resources and climate change. 

Aga’s research lab, “Aga Laboratory for Environmental Research & Testing” (ALERT) allows UB scientists the opportunity to investigate the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment. These include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of synthetic compounds that have been widely used in consumer products for decades and take so long to break down in the environment that they’re known as “forever chemicals.”

Aga is currently the principal investigator on a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study chemicals that leak into the environment and exacerbate the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance.

“Problems like environmental degradation, climate change and water scarcity are not merely contemporary problems — they cast a long shadow over the health of future generations and are grand societal challenges we need to address urgently,” says Aga, who will give a talk on the second day of the symposium, Oct. 26, about lessons learned from her three decades of research on emerging and re-emerging contaminants.

The event’s keynote address on Oct. 25 will be given by Pedro J.J. Alvarez, PhD, George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University and founding director of the NSF Engineering Research Center on Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT).

Alvarez’s address will examine emerging opportunities for nanotechnology to improve the selectivity and efficiency to remove priority pollutants, decrease electrical energy requirements and meet a growing need for safer and more affordable decentralized water treatment and reuse. 

Other technical talks will be given by:

• Hector Abruña, Cornell University
• David A. Dzombak, Carnegie Mellon University
• Vicki Grassian, University of California San Diego
• Kate Freeman, Pennsylvania State University
• Richard G. Luthy, Stanford University
• Shelley D. Minteer, University of Utah
• Lutgarde Raskin, University of Michigan
• Elsie M. Sunderland, Harvard University
• Paul K. Westerhoff, Arizona State University

The symposium will also feature a performance. Presented by the UB Department of Environment and Sustainability and the UB Department of Theatre and Dance, “Toward a Climate Haven” blends sustainability science with performance art to address Western New York's role as a potential climate refuge amid its own climate uncertainties. 

“We wanted a way to highlight the college’s arts and humanities in this first symposium,” Ganapathy says. “This is a very unique opportunity to have a collaboration between a social science department and an art department.”

Below is a full schedule of the events:

Friday, Oct. 25:

• 12 - 2 p.m. | Tour of Niagara Falls [for invited speakers, additional cost]
• 3:30 - 6 p.m. | Reception, keynote and performance | UB Center for the Arts, North Campus

Saturday, Oct. 26:

• 8 - 8:30 a.m. | Continental breakfast
• 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Technical talks | UB North Campus
• 12 - 2 p.m. | Lunch and poster session | UB North Campus
• 2 - 5 p.m. | Honoree and technical talks | UB North Campus