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UB People
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
>>
In the air Kelly Halvorsen, UB psychology and
dance student (foreground), soars above the dance floor at a
ballet class held this past fall at the Center for the Arts on the
North Campus.
University News
Biomedical Engineering
The university has established a Department of Biomedical Engineering that
will focus on development of groundbreaking medical devices and therapies
addressing society’s most pressing health problems, including cardiovascular
disease, diabetes and cancer.
Launch of the department is made possible by a $3 million grant from the
John R. Oishei Foundation, which requires UB to raise $1 million for the new
department from additional funding sources in 2009.
“The number of biomedical engineering programs nationwide is still small,”
says Harvey G. Stenger Jr., dean of the School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences. “The new department will enable UB to compete for top faculty,
students and research funding with other major research universities, such
as Michigan, Johns Hopkins, MIT and Stanford.”
Furthermore, by innovating cutting-edge devices for diagnosis and treatment in
Western New York, research generated by the department will directly improve
the quality and cost of health care in the region, says Michael E. Cain, dean of
the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “All these new devices and
procedures have allowed things to be done faster, easier and sometimes less
invasively, which in the end lowers health-care costs,” he says.
A historic gift to UB engineering
John R. “Jack” Davis, BS ’55, a well-known
Western New York industrialist and engineering
alumnus, has given $1.5 million to the UB
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
in support of a high-tech, flagship engineering
building to be constructed on UB’s North
Campus. The gift is the largest single contribution
by an individual in the engineering
school’s 62-year history.
The Davis gift will support construction
of the facility’s “clean room,” a complex
structure devoid of
airborne particles
or contamination.
Clean rooms allow
intricate research
in nanotechnology,
electronics, biomedical
engineering and
other precise manufacturing
fields. In
honor of his generosity,
the clean room
will bear the Davis
name.
“An investment
in UB engineering
is an investment in
our region and the
place where I believe
it will do the most
good,” Davis says.
“Young men and women, educated right here
in Western New York, will use their practical
knowledge to solve problems here and around
the world.”
The new engineering building will modernize
programs and facilities for the departments
of computer science and engineering,
and electrical engineering. Groundbreaking for
the building, designed by renowned architects
Perkins + Will, is slated for summer 2009.
Harvey G. Stenger Jr. (right), dean of
the School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences, thanks local businessman
John R. “Jack” Davis, BS ’55, for his
generous gift, which will fund a “clean
room” in the school’s new building.
www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Winter 2009 7