UB to celebrate student scholarly, creative accomplishments

UB students, faculty and administrators will gather April 16 to recognize student research and creative achievements at the 11th annual Celebration of Student Academic Excellence.

The event will be held in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. All members of the UB community are invited. Anyone planning to attend is encouraged to register online.

“The celebration is a wonderful opportunity to showcase and recognize the outstanding contributions that UB students make across the disciplines,” says Mara Huber, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education. “It is inspiring to see where our students’ curiosities lead them and I encourage everyone to come out and show their support.  

“Our award winners are excellent examples of how students can weave together academics and experiential learning to achieve success, distinction and community impact,” she says.

The event will open with poster presentations from graduate and undergraduate students who will describe the results of their research projects. The UB Art Gallery will host the Sigma Xi Graduate Student Research Poster Competition, beginning at 12:30 p.m. More than 200 undergraduate students will present on more than 160 research posters in the CFA atrium, beginning at 1 p.m.

Student research topics range from extending 3-D printing technology from polymers to high-strength metals; building wellness as a driving force of design; developing new sustainable approaches to food production; and, in a two-year project, planting 1,000 new trees in the University District, contributing to energy conservation, air quality and community pride.

The celebration ceremony, hosted by President Satish K. Tripathi and Andrew M. Stott, dean of undergraduate education, will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Mainstage theater.

The university will recognize student winners and nominees for national, SUNY and UB awards, some of which include the prestigious Goldwater, Truman and Udall scholarships; Fulbright and National Science Foundation Graduate fellowships; Ford Foundation fellowships; SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence; and the UB Undergraduate Awards for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creativity.

The ceremony will feature a student performance of a musical/theatrical adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” with a score composed and conducted by James P. Bobak (Class of ’15) and directed by Connor J. Graham (Class of 16).

The event also will include a video presentation on the design of GRoW Home, UB’s entry in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2015 Solar Decathlon.

A complete listing of award categories and registration information is available online.