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Savion Glover to perform
The Center for the Arts will present "Savion Glover: Improvography 2005" at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Mainstage theater in the CFA, North Campus.
A pre-performance talk will be held at 7 p.m.
The CFA appearance is part of an eight-week, multi-city tour of brilliant improvisation and heart-stopping choreography by the Tony Award winner that melds breathtaking tap with the sounds of jazz, hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul, rock and funk.
The tap impresario will perform various improvised musical numbers with his four-piece jazz band, as well as selections from his hit show "Improvography," which will be performed with members of his dance troupe Ti Dii. "Improvography" debuted in December 2003 with an unprecedented, sold-out, three-week run in New York's Joyce Theater.
Glover won the 1996 Tony Award for his choreography in the Broadway smash hit "Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk." He also won the 1996 Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for choreography, two Obie Awards and two Fred Astaire Awards for his performance, as well as the 1996 Dance Magazine Choreographer of the Year Award.
Tickets for Savion Glover are $46, $41, $36 and $31. Discount coupons are available at all KeyBank locations. Tickets 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.
Physics to present seminar
Christopher E. Brennen, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, will present a special seminar on "Wave Propagation in Granular Material and the Weird Booming of Dunes" from 3-4:50 p.m. on Wednesday in 210 Natural Sciences Complex, North Campus.
Refreshments will be served prior to the seminar at 2:45 p.m. in 245 Fronczak Hall, North Campus.
The seminar is being presented by the Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences.
Salman Rushdie to speak
Internationally acclaimed novelist and public intellectual Salman Rushdie will speak at 8 p.m. April 28 in Alumni Arena, North Campus, as the final speaker in the Distinguished Speakers Series for 2004-05.
Lecture sponsor is the Graduate Student Association.
Rushdie is perhaps best known as the author of "Midnight's Children" and "The Satanic Verses." The latter novel was deemed sacrilegious by Iran's Ayatollah Khomini, who in 1989 issued a fatwa calling on zealous Muslims to execute the writer—who was forced into hiding—and the publishers of the book. Rushdie went on to produce some of his most compelling work, including "The Moor's Last Sigh" and "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," while living in exile under the constant threat of death.
His most recent book, "Step Across This Line: Collected Non-Fiction, 1992-2002," explores his own reaction to the fatwa, as well as reactions of the media and various governments.
In most of his works, Rushdie draws on his unique upbringing and personal history to make bold statements about modern life.
An astute and informed observer of events in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other hotspots, Rushdie argues that America and its allies must do a better job of evaluating the gains being made by the current "war" on terror versus its costs—in lives, international cooperation and the goodwill of the very people who the effort is designed to liberate. Rushdie's answer to the question of how to create a safe world that isn't in some way also an authoritarian world is that we must not allow ourselves to be frightened out of our own morality.
Rushdie is an honorary professor in the humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He attended Cambridge College, where he studied history.
Tickets for Salman Rushdie range from $12 to $26 and can be purchased at the Alumni Arena box office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at all Tops Friendly Markets and through Tickets.com.
Fung named editor of journal
Ho-Leung Fung, professor and chair emeritus in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been named the editor-in-chief of The AAPS Journal.
A free-access, official online publication of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), the journal features peer-reviewed and invited articles on all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences, including drug discovery, development and therapy.
Fung, a former AAPS president, said the organization has a membership of more than 12,000 "that is international in nature, and the association has been committed to the dissemination of scientific information without charging the scientific community, especially in the developing world." PubMed/Medline, Index Medicus and other publication databases index The AAPS Journal.
"One of the exciting things is that as an Internet-only journal, it is not restricted by the number of pages, there are no space limitations, and there are no photographic and video limitations; so in principle, the papers it publishes could be interactive in nature," Fung said.
He said the journal has several themed issues planned, including one on a controversy concerning whether a thyroid drug's approved generic versions are, in fact, biologically equivalent.
"The issue of generic equivalency is not well understood by the physicians and certainly not by the general public," Fung said.
Fung has published more than 200 articles on the bioanalysis, drug delivery, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nitric oxide donors and nitric oxide synthase inhibitors. Currently funded on two research projects from the National Institutes of Health, he has received numerous awards for his research, including an NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) grant award, research achievement awards from the AAPS and the American Pharmaceutical Association, and the Takeru and Aya Higuchi Award from the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology in Japan.
Remembrance ceremony to be held
A ceremony to honor the memory of 10 UB students who passed away during the academic year will be held at 4 p.m. tomorrow in 210 Student Union, North Campus.
The ceremony will be open to all members of the university community.
A reception and dedication of bricks in permanent remembrance of the students will be held following the ceremony on the promenade along the Spine on North Campus.
The 10 students who will be remembered are Aaron J. Coonick, business administration; Christopher D'Abbracci; Kin Fung (Dominic) Ho, engineering; Nina C. Hurley, nursing; Jonathan T. Newman, English; Timothy J. Reinhart, linguistics; David L. Roustum, accounting; Joseph Patrick Snyder, mathematics; Richard J. Szatynski, electrical engineering; and Kazutoshi Yoda, communication.
"As we come to the close of another academic year, we wanted to find a way to remember the students we lost and to give everyone a chance to reflect on what these—and all—students bring to the UB experience," said Barbara J. Ricotta, associate vice president for campus life. "It's a simple way for the entire UB community to appreciate the lives of these important people and for their friends and colleagues to share the impact they had on UB."
While there have been remembrance ceremonies held on campus for deceased individuals, this will be the first time such a ceremony has been held by the university for a group of individuals.
MacMaster to perform
Fiddle player Natalie MacMaster will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
While still fairly new to songwriting, the 30-year-old MacMaster is already a veteran of her instrument. She first picked up a fiddle at the age of nine and hasn't looked back.
The niece of famed Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster, Natalie quickly became a major talent in her own right. After winning numerous East Coast Music Awards for her early traditional Cape Breton recordings, she began taking Celtic music to new heights with albums like "In My Hands," which featured elements of jazz, Latin music and guest vocals by Alison Krauss.
In addition to her 2000 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album for "My Roots Are Showing," MacMaster has been named Fiddle Player of the Year for the past five years by the Canadian Country Music Association, has won two Juno awards (Canada's equivalent to a Grammy), and has won 11 East Coast Music Awards, including 2002 Entertainer of the Year.
She and her band have toured the world, sharing the stage with an astonishingly diverse range of acts, including Carlos Santana, the Chieftains, Paul Simon, Luciano Pavarotti, Alison Krauss, Mark O'Connor and dozens of world-class symphony orchestras.
With her latest release, "Blueprint," MacMaster once again is pushing the boundaries for traditional music, fusing her Cape Breton fiddling with the sounds of banjo, Dobro and mandolin as played by the cream of America's bluegrass community.
Tickets for Natalie MacMaster 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.
Summer teaching institute set
The Center for Teaching and Learning Resources and the University Libraries will cosponsor a summer institute from 10:30 a.m. to noon July 13 and July 20 in 567 Capen Hall, North Campus.
The session on July 13, "Addressing the Needs of International Students," will focus on the difficulties faced by international students in the American classroom and suggest specific strategies instructors can use to alleviate these problems.
It will be presented by Aditi Pai, postdoctoral research associate, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
The July 20 session, "Developing Autonomous Learners: Helping Students Succeed in College," is designed to help students ease the transition from high school to college by addressing the strategies and techniques students need to master for college success.
It will be presented by Kelly H. Ahuna, director, and Christine Gray Tinnesz, associate director, Methods of Inquiry Program, Graduate School of Education.
Although both sessions are free of charge and open to UB faculty and staff, seating is limited and registration is required.
Those interested in attending one or both sessions can register at http://wings.buffalo.edu/ ctlr or by contacting Lisa Francescone at lcf@buffalo.edu or 645-7328.
Conklin to be honored at dinner
Robert B. Conklin will be honored for his distinguished service to the UB Law School and the Western New York community by law students affiliated with the Buffalo Law Review at the law review's 16th annual dinner tonight in the Buffalo Club.
Conklin is president of the law firm Hodgson Russ LLP, where he focuses his practice in both business and employment litigation. He has a bachelor's degree from Canisius College and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the UB Law School in 1968, graduating cum laude. He was a senior member of the Buffalo Law Review in 1967-68.
Conklin is a member of the UB Law School's Dean's Advisory Council, a group that assists the dean and faculty in the development of policies and plans for the law school. As a member of the council, he introduced the mentoring program for first-year law students who are paired with members of Buffalo's legal community.
"Mentors offer advice and assistance to law students as they embark on their legal careers," said Nils Olsen, dean of the law school "Without Bob Conklin's support, this program would not have been launched."
Conklin often lectures for the New York State Bar Association Continuing Education Program and for the Conference of Casualty Insurance Companies. He also has served as vice chair of the Eighth Judicial District Attorney Grievance Committee.
Fowler named to STOR post
Michael L. Fowler has been named bioinformatics and health sciences commercialization manager for UB's Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR).
Fowler will work with faculty to identify and protect intellectual property resulting from their research programs, and will be responsible for developing commercialization opportunities to transfer the technology into the marketplace. Fowler will oversee intellectual property and commercialization opportunities for UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, in addition to UB's health-sciences fields.
"Having worked both in academic and private sectors, Mike brings a valuable perspective to the position," said Jeff Dunbar, director of the Intellectual Property Division of STOR. "He understands the diverse types of research being conducted at the university and also has experience in identifying potential market opportunities for the outcomes of such research."
Fowler comes to UB with more than 21 years of research and industry experience. Most recently, he worked as a product manager in the Cell Culture Division of Invitrogen Corp. (GIBCO) on Grand Island.
At Invitrogen, Fowler was responsible for providing marketing and product support for new product lines. He also worked to increase sales performance by delivering sales and technical training, developing product literature and providing competitive market analysis.
Fowler previously was a life-sciences marketing manager for Schleicher & Schuell Bioscience in New Hampshire. Prior to his work in industry, Fowler had 17 years of research experience. He was a research assistant professor at the University of Rochester and a postdoctoral fellow for the University at Michigan and Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research.
He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Cornell University and a doctorate in cell and molecular biology from UB's Roswell Park Cancer Institute Graduate Division.
Greiner to speak in Sunrise series
The UB Alumni Association's UB at Sunrise Downtown Speaker Series will kick off its spring season with a presentation by William R. Greiner, University Professor, chair of the Greater Buffalo Commission and former UB president. Greiner will discuss "The Regional City of Buffalo: The Merging of Buffalo and Erie County Governments" on April 29 in the Hyatt Regency, Buffalo.
The spring series will consist of three programs presented by members of the UB community who will address topics of human interest and current concern. Each program will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast and networking. Presentations will start at 8 a.m. and conclude promptly at 9 a.m. after a question-and-answer session.
The 11-member Greater Buffalo Commission, consisting of top government, education, religious and community leaders, was co-founded by Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra and Buffalo Mayor Anthony M. Masiello. The commission made its recommendations for a merger earlier this year, but the process has been put on hold as a result of the county's fiscal problems.
UB alumnus and Buffalo Bills' offensive line coach Jim McNally, Ed.M. '68, B.S. '66, will speak on May 19, and Woodrow "Woody" Maggard, associate vice provost of the Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR) will speak on June 15.
To register for the series, or for individual presentations, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 829-2608. The cost per program is $12 per person; $32 for the entire series.
Alfiero Center to be dedicated
The dedication of the School of Management's new Alfiero Center will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Lichtenberger Lecture Hall in the center, which is adjacent to and connected with the Jacobs Management Center on the North Campus.
Among those speaking will be UB President John B. Simpson, SOM Dean John M. Thomas and SUNY Chancellor Robert L. King.
Making special comments will be Sal H. Alfiero, who, with his wife, Jeanne, provided the $2 million naming gift. Alfiero is CEO and chair of Protective Industries LLC and serves on the board of trustees of the UB Foundation.
The 23,000-square-foot, three-story structure is entirely student focused. It houses the world-renowned Frank L. Ciminelli Career Resource Center, undergraduate and graduate student advisement offices, three high-tech lecture areas, an Internet cafe, a suite of offices for student organizations and multiple breakout rooms for student team meetings and group projects.