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Buffalo Engineer 2021 News Briefs Photoacoustic Tomography Enhances Biometric Security BUFFALO Engineer 2021 AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE PANDEMIC MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN BUFFALO 2021 Buffalo Engineer is published by the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to showcase the excellence of our faculty, staff, alumni and students. Kemper Lewis, PhD, MBA Dean, School of Engineering and School Leadership Applied Sciences Kemper Lewis, Dean Rajan Batta, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Diversity Shambhu Upadhyaya, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education Jeffrey Errington, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Christine Human, Associate Dean for Accreditation and Student Affairs Photo: Onion Studio, Inc. Department Chairs Albert Titus, Biomedical Engineering Dear Friends of the School of Mark Swihart, Chemical and Biological Engineering Joseph Atkinson, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and Applied Sciences, Engineering The past year has brought significant challenges for each of us Chunming Qiao, Computer Science and Engineering individually and as a community. I have heard many stories from our Jonathan Bird, Electrical Engineering Carl Lund, Engineering Education students, staff, faculty and alumni, collectively marked by a wide range of Victor Paquet, Industrial and Systems Engineering emotions including grief, anger, frustration, gratitude, encouragement Krishna Rajan, Materials Design and Innovation and hope. These conversations have also revealed the resilience, creativity, Francine Battaglia, Mechanical and Aerospace collegiality, brilliance and selflessness of our community. Engineering In this year’s issue of Buffalo Engineer magazine, you will read about Engineering Alumni Association Officers Jordan Walbesser, President how we have come together during these times of uncertainty. Right from JD ‘10, BS ‘07 CSE the start of the pandemic, our faculty quickly pivoted their expertise to ease Kurt Bessel, Immediate Past President MS ‘08, BS ‘07 ME, BA German ‘07 the shortage of PPE, develop vaccines and health monitoring equipment, and Luke Adams, Vice President partner with community organizations to help keep the public safe (page 14). BS ‘08 MAE The UB Engineering and Applied Sciences Alumni Association remained Tim van Oss, Secretary MS ’16, BS ‘14 CSEE active and developed creative ways to continue growing and deepening their Francis Mahaney, Treasurer interactions with students (page 18). BS ‘12 CSEE Other alums pivoted their businesses or started new ones to address Kristen Murphy, SEAS Liaison BA’96 pandemic-related needs. On page 26 you will read about a local distillery Editor that provided free hand sanitizer to the community, and on page 28, a new Jane Stoyle Welch wellness app for sleep and focus. Contributing Writers And, in response to racial unrest, we formed a working group to create Michael Andrei, Nicole Capozziello, Sarah D’Iorio, Peter Murphy, Cory Nealon, Tracy Puckett opportunities to address deficiencies in critical areas so that we can grow, Cover Illustration improve, and increase our success, significance and impact. Our efforts Peter Reiling related to racial equity are now known as SEAS for JEDI (Justice, Equity, Design Diversity, and Inclusion – see back cover). Jason Yates As we approach the one-year mark since the coronavirus changed all of Photography our lives, we are looking ahead to a brighter future. But challenges remain. In Maximilian Kapitonoff, Meredith Forrest Kulwicki, the coming weeks, you will hear about our Student Emergency Campaign to Douglas Levere, Onion Studio, Inc. help our students in need. Support Our School I am extremely proud of our SEAS community, which has risen to the Your philanthropic support helps to fund a variety challenges we face with integrity and innovation, and thank you for your of student programs. Please visit buffalo.edu/ campaign/seas to make your contribution. Your continued support. participation at any level is appreciated. Together, let’s lead, and in our leading, bring positive change. Address Changes UB Alumni can update their address through UB Connect: ub-connect.com All others should email [email protected] or clip the address label and return it with the correct address to: Buffalo Engineer, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University Kemper Lewis, PhD, MBA at Buffalo, 438 Bell Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260. Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences CONTENTS At the Forefront of the Pandemic From vaccine development to mental health apps, learn how our faculty, staff and students are pushing ahead to combat COVID-19. 2 NEWS BRIEFS New research announcements, research results, exciting discoveries, and more. 6 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 10 SCHOOL NEWS 12 10 QUESTIONS WITH THE DEAN 14 13 ENGINEERING PARTNERS STUDENTS 22 Using 3D printing to make prosthetic hands, MDI graduates first PhDs, and more. ALUMNI 26 Distillery turns spirits into hand sanitizer for the community, industrial engineer creates a wellness app, and more. 18 CLASS NOTES 30 Learn about the achievements and Making an accomplishments of your classmates. Impact on Students The UB Engineering and Applied Sciences Alumni Association LAST WORD 32 Fighting the coronavirus pandemic is working to improve school spaces and create more with wearable tech. opportunities to connect with students. Facebook YouTube @ubseas UBengineering Some photos that appear in this magazine Twitter LinkedIn @UBengineering University at Buffalo Engineering and were taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic Applied Sciences and therefore may not accurately reflect current operations or adherence to UB’s Instagram Sign up for our eNewsletter Health and Safety Guidelines. @ubengineering engineering.buffalo.edu/news NEWS BRIEFS The 24,000-square-foot research facility, SOAR (Structure for Outdoor Autonomy Research), is believed to be the third-largest outdoor, enclosed drone-testing facility in the nation. Photo: Douglas Levere Chase Murray, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, secured a $393,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research’s UB BUILDS MASSIVE Defense University Research Instrumentation Program to support the OUTDOOR DRONE facility’s construction. At slightly more than half an acre and 86 feet tall, SOAR is believed to be the third-largest outdoor, enclosed drone-testing TESTING FACILITY facility in the nation. Because it is enclosed, and thus considered an indoor flight facility, researchers will not be subject to Federal Aviation Administration rules when testing UAVs. Researchers will use the facility to explore unmanned vehicle research focused on drone deployment optimization, autonomous vehicle fleet management, and prototype testing A new outdoor research facility, dubbed SOAR (Structure research to support applications in agriculture, homeland for Outdoor Autonomy Research), is nearing completion on security, product service delivery, wildfire monitoring, and UB’s North Campus. bridge/building inspections. The enclosed netted complex will allow faculty, students The facility will also be a resource for undergraduate and and industry partners to conduct experiments on uncrewed graduate students who study robotics and computer vision. aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are more commonly known as Additionally, it will benefit Western New York companies unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. interested in using the complex to test UAV hardware. For more information, contact Chase Murray at [email protected]. 2 | BUFFALO ENGINEER 2021 NEWS BRIEFS PHOTOACOUSTIC TOMOGRAPHY ENHANCES BIOMETRIC SECURITY Researchers developed a new biometric approach that uses 3D images NEW CENTER TO FOCUS of finger veins. Shown are finger ON CELL, GENE AND vessel images from six different subjects, with TISSUE ENGINEERING colors that represent different depths. Stem cell expert and SUNY Biometric authentication uses anatomical features such Distinguished Professor as fingerprints or facial features to verify a person’s identity. Stelios Andreadis named What’s next for this field? The veins in your fingers, according to Jun Xia, an associate professor in the Department of inaugural director A team of researchers in chemical, biological Biomedical Engineering. He led a study that described how 3D and biomedical engineering have joined forces to images of finger veins could boost digital security, which was develop innovative technologies for regenerative published in Applied Optics (Vol. 59, Issue 2). medicine and educate future leaders in the field. Funded by the UB Provost, the new Center for Cell, Gene and Tissue PAPER-THIN TRANSISTORS Engineering (CGTE) will be led by SUNY Distinguished A gallium oxide- Professor Stelios Andreadis. based transistor Andreadis is an expert in being developed by UB researchers stem cells, tissue engineering could help improve and regenerative medicine, how far electric and is the director of UB’s cars, airplanes and locomotives can travel. Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine (SCiRM) Training Program, a joint initiative between the Photo: Douglas Levere UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Transistors crafted from gallium oxide could lead to smaller Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences systems for controlling and converting electric and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center power in electric cars, locomotives and airplanes. A study Graduate Division and funded by the New York led by electrical engineer Uttam Singisetti found that paper- State Stem Cell Science Board (NYSTEM). thin electronic switches can handle 8,000 volts. Advances The Center will initially focus on several areas in
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