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Friday, March 29, 2024
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Campus News

UB awarded $2.9 million to build an advanced materials data research lab

UB has been awarded a $2.9 million grant by National Science Foundation (NSF) to transform a traditional lab into an automated computer laboratory, according to a UB news release. The lab will introduce the tools of machine intelligence, conduct simulations and large-scale materials modeling.

“The lab builds upon significant investments UB has made in recent years to build a hub for advanced manufacturing in Western New York,” according to the release.

MBA student recognized as part of Forbes Under 30 summit

Lindsey Macaluso, a graduate architecture and MBA student, was recognized for her startup business MemoryFox, as part of the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Boston. MemoryFox is a cloud-based startup which allows for genealogy tracking and sharing. Macaluso and co-founder Chris Miano, MBA, first designed the idea for the 2016 Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition. Macaluso and Miano finished as semifinalists. The pair pitched the Blackstone Launchpad Foundation for additional funding at the Summit.

UB poetry curator retires after 32 years

Michael Basinski, UB poetry curator and director of Special Collections retired after working 32 years at UB, according to a UB news release. Basinski has worked with writers from all around the world and has lent UB materials to prominent museums. He was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service in 2010, and he received the Esprit de Corps Award for service to the arts community from the Burchfield Penney Art Center in 2013.

A public exhibition of his work will through Oct. 31 in 420 Capen Hall, North Campus from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. James Maynard will serve as the seventh curator.

UB holds retirement celebration for chemistry Professor Philip Coppens

UB held a symposium to honor Philip Coppens, a former SUNY Distinguished chemistry professor on Saturday. Coppens’ friends colleagues and friends came all the way from countries such as Germany and Denmark to honor Coppens at the symposium.

Coppens had an expertise in crystallography, the study of how atoms are arranged within crystals. He worked at UB for 48 years.

Local

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo offers $1 million challenge for a new Buffalo train station

Governor Cuomo visited Buffalo on Wednesday and spoke at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He offered a challenge to Buffalo mayor Byron Brown in order to progress the plans for a new train station. Buffalo will receive $1 million if it successfully completes this task in six months or else it will have to pay $1 million to a consultant.

Brown accepted the challenge and is confident in Buffalo.

Buffalo is New York’s second largest market for gun crimes

A new report from the state Attorney General’s office that analyzed data from 2010 to 2015 showed more than 5,200 crime guns were confiscated in Buffalo and the Niagara Falls area, which amounts to 10 percent of the statewide total, according to Time Warner Cable News.

Local experts said they are not surprised. Although there is no current federal law against gun trafficking, the attorney general said making a gun trafficking a federal offense may decrease those numbers.

National

Pentagon suspends efforts to reclaim enlistment bonuses

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced on Wednesday, that he ordered the Pentagon to suspend its efforts" to get back bonus payments granted to members of the California National Guard.

Thousands of soldiers who previously served in Iraq were recently told they had to repay the bonuses for the reenlistment. The House Oversight Committee announced Tuesday that it had begun an investigation to reclaim the bonuses of the reenlistment, according to CBS News. An audit revealed recruiters had "improperly offered" the money, according to The Associated Press.

NFL kicker Josh Brown released from Giants for abuse

Josh Brown was released from The New York Giants on Tuesday after Washington authorities released journals entries and letters, where Brown admitted to spousal abuse, according to CNN.

Brown released a statement through the Giants saying, "In the coming days and weeks I plan on telling more of the pain I had caused and the measures taken to get help so I may be the voice of change and not a statistic."

Previously Brown had a one-game suspension after being arrested in May 2015 for a prior incident with his wife. Brown has not yet been charged with abuse.

Global

2016 has record deaths in the Mediterranean

Over 3,800 people have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year. That means 73 people a week, and 13 a day die crossing the water, the largest number in history, according to CNN.The people crossing the Mediterranean are largely from war-torn countries including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. One in 83 people who crosses the water dies, trying to reach Greece, Spain, or Italy. A third of the people crossing are refugees seeking asylum.

Pakistani police academy attacked by ISIS

Terrorists attacked a police academy in Quetta, Pakistan on Oct. 24, leaving 61 dead and 117 injured, according to CNN. The police cadets were unarmed and unable to defend themselves against the suicide-bombers. Security officers killed one attacker and the other two were killed when they detonated bombs. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistani military officials believe it may have been an al-Qaeda linked military group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Military officials are currently conducting an investigation to determine the identity of the attackers.

News desk can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com

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