University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: April 15, 2004

Moskal to speak at downtown breakfast series

Paul Moskal, chief division counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Buffalo, will discuss identity theft on April 28 during the first offering of the revived "UB at Sunrise Downtown," a series of breakfast presentations by members of the UB community.

All programs, hosted by the UB Alumni Association, will be held in the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo. Continental breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m., with the lectures beginning at 8 a.m. A question-and-answer session will follow each presentation, concluding by 9 a.m.

Business First is the corporate sponsor of "UB at Sunrise Downtown."

Moskal, who earned a bachelor's degree in English and political science in 1976 and a law degree in 1979, both from UB, has served with the FBI for more than 25 years. He was one of the FBI's principals in the case involving the "Lackawanna Six."

His topic of identity theft is a timely one. Identity theft occurs when an individual's credit card, Social Security number or other identifying information is obtained and items are purchased with those credit card accounts, or new accounts are opened and then used. Statistics have shown that as many as 10 million citizens were victimized last year at a cost of $53 billion.

"UB at Sunrise Downtown will continue on May 12 with a presentation on "Buffalo...The University, The Community" by President John B. Simpson. Sargur Srihari, founding director of the Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Research (CEDAR), will conclude the spring-semester portion of the lecture series with a presentation on "The Science of Handwriting, Writer Recognition and Forensic Analysis" on June 16.

The cost of the "UB at Sunrise Downtown" program is $12 per session or $32 for the entire spring semester lineup for the general public and $10 or $25 for the entire spring series for members of the UB Alumni Association. Alumni Association members may bring one guest at the reduced rate.

Reservations may be made by calling the Office of Alumni Relations at 829-2608 by April 23. The deadline for subsequent single events is five days before the date of each presentation.

Toxic comedy "Blue Vinyl" to be screened in CFA

The award-winning documentary "Blue Vinyl," which helped to fuel an international conversation about the lifecycle of PVC (vinyl) and its real and long-term effects on consumers, workers and neighborhoods near PVC manufacturing plants, will be screened at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

The screening, which will be free of charge and open to the public, is being presented as part of UB's Earth Day activities.

Judith Helfand, the Peabody Award-winning filmmaker who co-directed "Blue Vinyl" with Daniel B. Gold, will attend the screening and discuss the film.

The film chronicles the adventures of Helfand and Gold, who, with humor and a piece of vinyl siding firmly in hand, traveled from her family's vinyl-sided home in suburban New York to America's vinyl manufacturing capital and beyond in search of the truth about PVC.

Among its many awards, "Blue Vinyl" was nominated for two 2003 Emmys—Best Documentary and Best Research—and received the 2003 Sundance "Excellence in Cinematography Award" and the 2002 "Environmental Messenger of the Year Award" from the Environmental Grantmakers Association.

The screening and talk are being presented by the UB Green Office, Citizens' Environmental Coalition and New York Public Interest Research Group, in conjunction with numerous other Western New York and UB groups.

Mobile Computing Fair to be held

The latest in technological products and services related to mobile computing will be on display at the Mobile Computing in Healthcare Fair, to be held from noon to 6 p.m. April 23 in the Health Sciences Library (HSL), Abbott Hall, South Campus. The fair will be free and open to the public.

UB—in particular its health sciences schools—has a strong and growing number of mobile computer users, both on campus as well as in the health-care institutions in Buffalo and elsewhere in Western New York.

The HSL, in response to its users, is supporting these new initiatives by offering workshops on PDA use and maintaining a Web presence with a Mobile HSL site, designed specifically for use with PDAs (http://ublib.buffalo .edu/hsl/mobile/).

Because of this burgeoning group of users on campus and off, HSL will host a variety of software and hardware vendors at the fair to provide information on the latest developments in mobile computing specific to the health sciences.

In addition, vendors will provide demonstrations and instructional sessions throughout the afternoon in a conference room adjacent to the display area. Vendors expected to attend will include Apple Computer, Verizon Wireless, InfoPOEM, PAEPID, MercuryMD, Lexi-comp, Gold Standard Multimedia, Cisco Systems, Toshiba, Motion Computing, PatientKeeper and HUBNET.

All attendees will be eligible for door prizes and giveaways, compliments of the vendors and the University Libraries.

Additional information about the fair can be found by visiting http://ublib. buffalo.edu/hsl/mobilefair.htm.

Tracy Morgan to perform

Tracy Morgan, star of "The Tracy Morgan Show" and a "Saturday Night Live" cast member for seven years, will bring his standup comedy act to UB during an appearance at 8 p.m. April 22 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

In addition to his television work, Morgan has had featured roles in such films as "Head of State," "Half Baked" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

On "SNL," Morgan most recently popularized two memorable characters—"Safari Planet" host Brian Fellow and the space adventurer "Astronaut Jones." Other popular characters include Woodrow, the homeless romantic, and the longtime favorite, Dominican Lou. Among Morgan's popular impressions are those of Mike Tyson, Star Jones of "The View," Della Reese, Busta Rhymes, Maya Angelou and Samuel L. Jackson. He also has made numerous comedic appearances as himself, both on "Weekend Update" and in backstage sketches in which he grills the guest host with inappropriate questions.

Tickets for Tracy Morgan are $27 and are available at the CFA box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations.

For more information, call 645-ARTS.

Dental school to offer free oral cancer screening

If you are over 50, a smoker or regularly consume alcohol, you could be a candidate for oral cancer, a disease that is treatable if caught early.

Faculty and students in the School of Dental Medicine will offer free oral cancer screenings at the dental school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The program is targeted at smokers and those over 50, but screening will be available to all. The screening involves a 15-minute examination of the mouth to look for suspicious lesions and an additional 15 minutes to complete paperwork. No appointment is necessary.

Participants will be directed from the lobby of Squire Hall (which faces Main Street) to the dental clinic, where the screenings will take place. There is ample free parking in the lots along the Main Street side of the campus.

Cancers of the mouth and pharynx (the passage that connects the back of the nose and mouth to the esophagus) account for about 3 percent of all cancers in the U.S. Approximately 30,000 new cases are found each year.

Significant risk factors are smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Most oral and pharyngeal cancers occur in patients over 45, and men are affected more often than women. The most common sites are the tongue, floor of the mouth and lip. Early detection improves survival. An oral cancer examination by a dentist, dental hygienist or physician is recommended on an annual basis.

The program is being organized by dental students in conjunction with Lance Ortman, associate dean of clinical affairs, and the faculty of the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences. The dental school can be reached at 829-2824.

The screening is sponsored by Injun Enterprises, a sovereign Seneca enterprise.

ESI to hold Earth Day colloquium

Dale Meredith, professor emeritus in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will discuss "Water Resources from the Beginning" during the keynote address of the Environment and Society Institute's Colloquium Commemorating Earth Day 2004, to be held from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. tomorrow in the Atrium and Screening Room in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

In his talk, which will be held at 10:15 a.m., Meredith will reflect on the development of the modern water-resources infrastructure, from Biblical times to the present.

The colloquium also will feature invited talks by Barry Boyer, professor in the Law School, and Lynda Schneekloth, professor in the Department of Architecture in the School of Architecture and Planning, on community and faculty participation in the relicensing of the Niagara Falls power facility, and Walter Simpson, UB energy officer, on how UB has become an internationally recognized leader in campus environmental sustainability.

In addition, the colloquium will include more than 40 posters and exhibits covering a wide range of environmental topics, and a members forum providing an update on current ESI research projects.