Alumni News

Lisa Anderson (BS ’05, MS ’06) has been named a 2019 Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

UB alum and entrepreneur Bradley Cheetham came back to campus to share best practices for starting and maintaining a successful business.

Maliheh Karamigolbaghi received the Professor Emeritus Howard Strauss Memorial Scholarship, the largest scholarship distributed by UBEAA. The scholarship rewards academically outstanding students who demonstrate leadership skills through involvement on campus and community activities as well as scholastic accomplishments.

In 2005, a group of ten students traveled over 5,000 miles from their home country of Turkey to study at UB. The cohort came with a unique goal: to participate in the Dual Diploma Program, a partnership between the University at Buffalo’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and Istanbul Technical University (ITU).

This year's distinguished alumnus graduate commencement ceremony speaker, Victor Bahl, is director of mobility and networking research in Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Research division, a member of Microsoft’s Redmond Lab Leadership Team, and co-founder of a non-profit organization, Computing For All, which he began with his wife, Ritu.

As a child, one of Gina Lee-Glauser’s (MS ’88, BS ’82) dreams was to become an astronaut. But today, the 2018 SEAS Dean's Award winner has a different mission: helping underrepresented and underprepared students achieve their dreams of graduating college.

His love of space began in kindergarten, but Christopher Scolese (BS '78) credits the broad and somewhat unique curriculum at UB for ultimately leading him to his position as center director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Industrial and systems engineering alumnus Michael Moskal has been recognized for his contributions to the Florida high tech industry.

James F. van Oss is passionate about his alma mater and in giving back to the University at Buffalo and the community at large.

"Being back at my alma mater is my obvious inspiration. I know that UB is one of best in the world. Every day when I leave my office, I think to myself, 'I hope what I did today made UB a better place,' said John Crassidis, who was recently recognized with the celebrated Samuel P. Capen professorship.

Growing up, Jordan Walbesser didn’t know if he wanted to be an engineer or a lawyer. So when he got to UB, he earned a degree in each field.  

MAE alum Richard Linares has had space debris on his mind for nearly a decade: as a student working with professor John Crassidis; as an employee protecting military satellites at CUBRC; as a researcher and assistant professor at the University of Minnesota; and most recently, as a recipient of the U.S. Air Force’s prestigious 2018 Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) award.

The chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering will lead UB's undergraduate academic enterprise.

Ann M. (Amy) Bisantz, professor and chair of industrial and systems engineering, received the Paul M. Fitts Education Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).

Sissy Nikolaou (MS ’95, PhD ‘98), PE was elected governor of the ASCE G-I Board last month. The G-I is a membership organization, within ASCE, focused on geoprofessionals and the geo-industry.

For Brian Dillard (BS ’92), a conversation at a National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) convention led to a decades-long career with the largest sneaker manufacturer in the world

Vaccine under development provides the “most comprehensive coverage” to date and alleviates antimicrobial concerns, new study finds.

On Saturday, September 30, 2017, faculty, students, alumni and friends gathered at the Center for the Arts to hear from UB alumni on a wide range topics as part of a four-day 50th anniversary celebration of computer science and engineering at UB.

Alumni, corporate partners, and students were recognized for their achievements during the Fourth Annual SEAS Awards Night on Oct. 5, 2017.

Bob Zwolinski (BA ’83) and Nisha Chaudhari (MS ’15) remember how well-prepared they were for the job force after earning computer science degrees at UB.

UB engineering grads launch Mogabi (moe-guh-bee) to offer a new engagement tool to mid-sized businesses.

The 2006 graduate discussed his young and lauded career as a visual storyteller with UB faculty, staff and students.

Stephen Still’s gift will create an endowment to support the Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics.

Akash Narani (MS 2010), a senior process engineer with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Biofuels (and Bioproducts) Process Development Unit in Berkeley, California, was recognized for his excellence in the field of bioengineering and for his significant contributions to the AIChE National and NorCal section.

Just one year after Adriane Wolfe (BS ’09) founded Quinn Energy, her company had the honor of being named a semifinalist in Energy CIO Insights Magazine’s Top Ten Big Data Providers 2017.

Sixty high school girls completed hands-on projects in different disciplines of engineering at TINKER camp, hosted by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on Aug. 7-11, 2017.

Scott Stevens, an alumnus of UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is utilizing solar energy for his company, Dimension Fabricators —exemplifying that it is possible to protect the environment and still be a strong, effective business.

UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences gave its highest honor, the Dean’s Award for Achievement, to Ann Wegrzyn (BS IE 1985; MBA 1990) for her substantial contribution to the practice of engineering and the applied sciences and for her exceptional professional career.

UB CSEE alumni Michael Lesakowski (MS ’08) and Peter Merlo (BS ’93, MS ‘98); UB staff member Steven Roder; and their team of 40 hockey players helped raise $1.2 million for cancer research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI).

On Friday, May 19, UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) welcomed a Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering (CSEE) alumna as the keynote speaker for its graduate commencement ceremony.

The 2016-2017 academic year holds the record for the largest number of graduating students at UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in history, a testament to the school’s increasingly renowned international reputation.

“Know that if you do good work, you will be helping someone somewhere in the world,” were some of the words of wisdom Ashish Shah (PhD ’93, MS ’89, Electrical Engineering) shared with students and fellow alumni during the annual Engineering Celebrations event.

It will take 220 million pounds of steel, 300,000 cubic yards of concrete and more than 5,800 workers to build the New NY Bridge—and seven UB alumni are helping to bring it all together.

The company, interactiveX, was recently admitted to the START-UP NY economic development program

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences mourns the passing of Erich Bloch (BS ’52), who pioneered the development of IBM’s mainframe computer and later served as director of the National Science Foundation. Bloch died November 26, 2016 at age 91.

The award honors Crassidis’ commitment to excellence in aerospace engineering education.

Located in UB's business incubator, Nupur Technologies LLC has sold nearly 200 machines since February.

Angiograft, co-founded by recent chemcial engineering graduate Sindhu Row, PhD, develops a way to make artificial blood vessels for people with heart disease and could help reduce the costs associated with coronary bypass surgery.

In less than six months on the job at Alta Devices, Yanshu Li (BS/MS/PhD EE 2011/2014/2016; BA Math 2011) helped the solar power technology company break a world record.

When civil engineer Marc Edwards (BS ’86) warned Michigan state officials and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that lead-contaminated drinking water was poisoning the children of Flint, he expected them to declare an emergency. Instead, the regulators insisted there was no cause for alarm. That’s when Edwards, now frequently described as “The Hero of Flint,” realized he would have to take matters into his own hands.

As a dedicated educator, it’s no surprise that Marca Lam (BS/MS ME 1991/1994) was honored by the Society of Women Engineers with the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award.

Mike Pelino (BS ME 2012), self-proclaimed gear head, scored a big win last fall when driver Kyle Busch took home Toyota's first NASCAR Sprint Cup with an engine Pelino helped design.

Norman Hayes (BS EE; BA CS 1980), director of engineering in AISCs and a computer architect, received the 2016 Dean’s Award for Achievement.

Ashutosh Sharma (PhD ChemE 1998) returned to his alma mater in April 2016 to receive the 2016 Distinguished International Alumni Award.

Meherwan Boyce (MS ME 1964) is this year’s recipient of the Clifford C. Furnas award. The award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in a field of science, thereby bringing honor to the university.

In the weeks after Hurricane Sandy struck Long Island in October 2012, engineers were called upon to assess the structural damage to thousands of homes along the South Shore.

USC President C. L. Max Nikias (PhD '82, MS '80, electrical engineering)  received the 2016 Diversity Award from the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department Heads Association Annual Conference and ECExpo.

Frank Clement (BS ’66) hasn’t let a distance of 2,600 miles keep him from remaining close to UB.

Seven students from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) student club visited the Praxair Technology Center’s metal fabrication laboratory for a one-day training session on gas metal arc welding  and gas tungsten arc welding.

The Buffalo News reports on a company founded by UB alums Kurt Wojda and Mark Zorn (BS ’05, MS ’08 Computer Science) that has launched “Emoji with Me,” a video game that lets users of smartphones and other mobile devices challenge their friends to guess the names of movies, TV shows or different phrases using emojis to communicate.

UB faculty and graduates talk about the life and legacy of alumnus Gregory Jarvis, who was one of seven astronauts who died when the Challenger space shuttle exploded just over a minute after takeoff 30 years ago.

The three-decades-old hyperbaric chamber housed in Sherman Annex on UB’s South Campus is being upgraded, and the project will be handled by a Western New York company whose three generations of UB engineering graduates know the chamber inside and out.

President Satish Tripathi presented Outstanding Alumni Awards to two engineers and a computer scientist as part of a celebration to commemorate UB's partnership with Amrita University. The event was held in Bangalore, India.

This past summer, the country was thrilled by incredible images of Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft.

For the second year in a row, a hometown team led by alumni from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences won the $1 million grand prize in the 43North annual business plan competition.

UB Computer Science alumnus and advisory board member Dan Magnuszewski (BS ’05) is ACV Auction’s chief technology officer. 

The visionary thinking of Erich Bloch revolutionalized the computer industry and transformed the National Science Foundation.

Delta members new and old, as well as UB President Satish Tripathi, were on hand to honor 20 years of loyal annual giving by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni, friends, faculty and staff.

Students and faculty have worked for two and a half years to design and build the GRoW home, UB’s first entry in the prestigious U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Christopher Scolese (BS ’78), director 
of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
 and a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, received an honorary doctorate of science from the State University of New York.

Krishna “Kittu” Kolluri (MS IE ’88), general partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), received the 2015 Dean’s Award for Achievement.

The group includes For-Robin, a UB spinoff company developing a cancer therapy.

Three Rochester-area alumni will be recognized by the Rochester Chapter of the UB Alumni Association during its inaugural awards ceremony on June 4.

Panchapakesan, SEAS Dean's Advisory Council member and Head of Engineering at You Tube, passed away on May 11, 2015.

The award is widely considered the highest honor in the United States for journalism.

Among the 236,000 University at Buffalo alumni around the world, only a select few are recognized by the University at Buffalo Alumni Association (UBAA) each year. This year, honorees include Venkat Panchapakesan (MS ’90), head of engineering for YouTube, and Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle (BS ’81), commander of the Navy Medicine Education and Training Command at Fort Sam Houston.

The event will spotlight new patents, student innovators and startup companies in UB’s business incubators.

One of the school’s long standing traditions is the Order of the Engineer and the Engineer of the Year award ceremony.

Ann Wegrzyn's volunteer work and continuous support to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences recognized by the Engineering Alumni Association.

Work of geotechnical engineer Sissy Nikolaou (PhD CSEE 1998) was featured in the Fall 2014 issue of SWE, the magazine of the Society of Women Engineers.

Valerie Beecher, ergonomics specialist at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, UUP member and alumna of UB's industrial and systems engineering department, is part of the Zero Lift Task Force that is defining strategies for safe patient handling.

Pop quiz: How has Praxair enriched the educational experience for University at Buffalo students?

Join the #5050by2050 Tweetathon on Monday, October 20, as UB Engineering's Liesl Folks, Ann Bisantz, and Leslie Ying share their experiences and insights on STEM themes.

David Mitchell  (BS 1984 ME) serves as NASA's lead project manager for  the MAVEN mission, which recently made its way into an orbit around Mars. Mitchell shared some insights with WBFO News.

More than 100 local and national companies representing a wide variety of technical fields will be present at the annual Global Engineering and Tech Fair 2014.

Garcia, SEAS Dean's Advisory Council member and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, passed away on September 10, 2014.

In buildings such as data centers, power plants and hospitals, earthquakes could cause highly-sensitive equipment to swing, rock, fall and generally bash into things.

National Grid is investing $250,000 in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to create and enhance programs.

ATTO Technology is the 2014 winner of the Entrepreneurial Champion Award, awarded by UB’s Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR).

During my undergraduate studies, I would walk between South Campus classes across a well beaten path on the lawn between Acheson and Diefendorf halls.

Buffalo-based research and development firm CUBRC has pledged $250,000 to support Professor John L. Crassidis’ efforts to track dangerous space debris.