Strategic Plan

After a period of self-assessment, with contributions from faculty, staff, students and alumni, we proudly present our strategic plan to enhance academic excellence and continue to grow our reputation nationally and internationally for the next five years.

Large group of graduate students at the 2016 SEAS orientation in UB's CFA.

Our Vision

The vision of the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (UB SEAS) is to be widely recognized for creating and discovering new knowledge, for leveraging the strengths of a diverse and open academic community, and for educating leaders that advance the resilience, sustainability, health, and economic well-being of our region, our state, our nation and the globe. 

Our Mission

The mission of UB SEAS is to conduct high-impact and original research in science and engineering; produce graduates from across diverse populations who can innovate and lead in science and engineering; and develop equitable, creative, and inclusive solutions to societal and educational challenges.

Our Tradition

With a rich history of research accomplishments and innovation, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, founded in 1946, is the oldest public engineering school in the State of New York.

We invented the handwriting recognition system that has been widely adopted by post offices in the U.S. and other countries.

We developed and implemented systems that protect buildings, bridges and mission-critical infrastructure from earthquakes.

We were early leaders in integrating medicine with fluids engineering and in engineering vascular tissues to deliver innovations in the prognosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

We pioneered the development of computational and experimental approaches to engineer nanomaterials, and tailored their properties for applications in drug and gene delivery, vaccine delivery, biomedical imaging, and energy generation and storage.

We developed innovative electromechanical systems that evolved into today’s digitally controlled machines, which are widely used in modern transportation, manufacturing, and agricultural systems.

We introduced many principles in the field of design automation that led to groundbreaking uses of virtual reality and other decision support technologies, resulting in better products in shorter timeframes.

We were instrumental in advancing aerodynamics and spacecraft guidance theory and practice with regional partners, Calspan and CUBRC; partnerships that still thrive today.

We pioneered nationally adopted concepts of resilience to natural and man-made hazards.

We advanced federal regulations and policies on aircraft inspection and maintenance, and accessibility for those with disabilities.

We promoted sustainable restoration practices in surface and groundwater ecosystems.

We partnered with government and industry to create the first cognitive softwaredefined all-spectrum wireless network.

We discovered unexpected properties that could route light around objects and render them invisible.

We continue to grow jobs, wealth, and opportunity in our region.
SEAS student doing outreach with elementary students.

We are at the center of research leading to technological innovation in our region, state, nation, and globally.

Our Values

  • We tackle big problems
  • We inspire innovation
  • We are tenacious in pursuing our goals
  • We cultivate the joy of learning
  • We encourage and aim for excellence
  • We embrace diversity in all its forms
  • We nurture individual growth
  • We take pride in our history and accomplishments
  • We define the future

Our Goals

1. Attract and support innovative, inspiring and diverse faculty and staff to enhance research and teaching impacts, reputation, and ranking.

2. Recruit talented and diverse students and fulfill their educational expectations.

3. Develop our infrastructure to support excellent research and educational experiences.

4. Expand student experiential learning programs.

5. Grow school pride among current students, staff, faculty and alumni.

6. Accelerate knowledge transfer.

Strategic Context

Engineering programs across the U.S. are in a period of growth, driven by the national and global dialogue on the need for a STEM-educated workforce. Our continued growth reflects the very real need for STEM graduates in our home state of New York.

To meet demand without loss of quality is an over-arching priority that frames all the elements of this plan. Well managed, this growth will provide economies of scale that can be leveraged to provide a better environment for the pursuit of excellence by our students, staff and faculty. Growth is an essential component of our planning over the next five years.

Behind all our aspirations is the imperative to build financial strength in the school and within the departmental units, such that new and existing activities can be funded appropriately.

Then, woven through these plans is consideration of the often-subtle influences that arise from the national and international university ranking systems (NRC, AAU, U.S. News and World Report, etc.). These matter to us because students and their parents pay attention to them and because they provide tangible indicators of strengths and weaknesses, despite their much-discussed flaws.

Students and faculty in lab.
Arrow pointing down.

Here is how...