Blackboard websites and other services such as Degree Works, Banner, and SUNYConnect will experience connectivity downtime from 10:00 p.m. Saturday, November 3, to 6:00 a.m. Sunday, November 4, during planned emergency maintenance by SUNY ITEC’s internet service provider.

Actual connectivity downtime during this time frame is expected to be about one hour; however, it is not possible to determine exactly when interruptions might occur for various services during the eight-hour window.

If you experience any technical difficulties after the scheduled maintenance period, please submit a help request ticket through the Open SUNY HelpDesk web page. Always check the Buffalo State Alerts page when you experience a down system.

Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for an introduction to service learning and community engagement on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to noon in Caudell Hall 110.

Are you new to community-engaged learning and interested in understanding how you might incorporate a community engagement project into your course? This interactive session will help new faculty and staff as well as those who could use a brush-up on community-engaged learning and the practice of incorporating a community based project into a course.

     Topics will include

• an overview of the theory and practice of service-learning,
• strategies for identifying reciprocal and meaningful community partnerships, and
• a discussion of effective methods of incorporating student reflection to connect the service and course learning.

Please register by e-mail.

The Civic and Community Engagement Office will host the workshop "Fostering Meaningful Community Partnerships" on Friday, November 30, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Technology Building 358.

Creating high-quality partnerships that are sustainable and meaningful adds to student learning, creates effective community outcomes, and makes collaboration more effective for everyone. The Civic and Community Engagement Office will facilitate a discussion on strategies and supports for fostering partnerships for your courses for the first hour of the workshop. The second hour will involve representatives from partnering community organizations to discuss your course, hear ideas and feedback, and make connections with potential future partners.

Whether you are new to community-engaged learning or already experienced in this area, this discussion will be beneficial in deepening your service-learning, civic-engagement, and other community collaborations. RSVP to cce@buffalostate.edu.

The Garman Art Conservation Department in Rockwell Hall will open its doors from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. tonight, November 2, for its annual Fall Open House. The event gives visitors a peek into the world of art and cultural heritage conservation. Come and see what our students and faculty have been conserving this past year and take a tour of the many studios and labs. 

This year, we are excited to partner with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's M&T First Friday event, featuring free gallery admission from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and special tours for our open house guests. Both the open house and the First Friday event are free and open to the public.

Please call the department at 878-5025 with questions or visit the Garman Art Conservation Department website.

The Garman Art Conservation Department in Rockwell Hall will open its doors for its annual Fall Open House on Friday, November 2, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The open house gives visitors a peek into the world of art and cultural heritage conservation. Come and see what our students and faculty have been conserving this past year and take a tour of the many studios and labs. The event is free and open to the public.

This year, we are excited to partner with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's M&T First Friday event, featuring free gallery admission from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and special tours for our open house guests.

Please call the department at 878-5025 with questions or visit the Garman Art Conservation Department website.

Please join us today, November 5, for the seminar "Long-Term Change in the Great Lakes Lower Food Web: The Importance of Deep Chlorophyll Maxima," presented by Annie Scofield, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 424. Dr. Scofield's talk is part of the Biology-Great Lakes Center Seminar Series.

Abstract
The Laurentian Great Lakes have undergone oligotrophication in recent decades, leading to changes in the lower food web. Epilimnetic production has declined in some lakes, but increased production in deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) may partially compensate for these losses. For example, the DCM in Lake Ontario now has chlorophyll concentrations two to three times that of the epilimnion, and it is a productive layer during summer stratification. Understanding the dynamics of DCM is thus essential to assess the bottom-up effects of changing lake productivity. For instance, the vertical redistribution of phytoplankton may cause selection pressure toward cold-adapted zooplankton that can effectively utilize the DCM as a food resource. Along with changes to lake productivity, zooplankton communities in the Great Lakes have shifted toward dominance by deeper-dwelling species, such as calanoid copepods. In this research, I explore the potential bottom-up food web effects of DCM dynamics using evidence from long-term monitoring data, zooplankton feeding experiments, and stable isotopes.

Please join us for the seminar "Long-Term Change in the Great Lakes Lower Food Web: The Importance of Deep Chlorophyll Maxima," presented by Annie Scofield, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, on Monday, November 5, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 424. Dr. Scofield's talk is part of the Biology-Great Lakes Center Seminar Series.

Abstract
The Laurentian Great Lakes have undergone oligotrophication in recent decades, leading to changes in the lower food web. Epilimnetic production has declined in some lakes, but increased production in deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) may partially compensate for these losses. For example, the DCM in Lake Ontario now has chlorophyll concentrations two to three times that of the epilimnion, and it is a productive layer during summer stratification. Understanding the dynamics of DCM is thus essential to assess the bottom-up effects of changing lake productivity. For instance, the vertical redistribution of phytoplankton may cause selection pressure toward cold-adapted zooplankton that can effectively utilize the DCM as a food resource. Along with changes to lake productivity, zooplankton communities in the Great Lakes have shifted toward dominance by deeper-dwelling species, such as calanoid copepods. In this research, I explore the potential bottom-up food web effects of DCM dynamics using evidence from long-term monitoring data, zooplankton feeding experiments, and stable isotopes.

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar “Peptoid Combinatorial Strategies for Targeting Unconventional Biomarkers in Cancer,” presented by Gomika Udugamasooriya, associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Houston, tomorrow, November 1, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Technology Building 160. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome.

Abstract
We have been exploring peptoids, an emerging class of biologically amenable and easy-to-synthesize peptidomimetics with great drug-like properties, focusing on cancer treatment and imaging. We developed a unique on-bead two-color (OBTC) combinatorial cell screen to directly identify the highest specificity ligands for cell surface biomarkers out of on-bed peptoid libraries that has millions of permutations. Recent “unbiased” applications using this OBTC assay developed a new approach for targeting unconventional biomarkers such as structural proteins and lipids. For example, we identified a peptoid called PPS1 targeting lipid-PS, which is typically found in the inner layer of the cell membrane, but flipped to outer layer in cancer and tumor endothelial cells. More importantly, PS is found globally in tumor microenvironments, which makes it a global target as opposed to conventional protein targets that are highly heterogeneously expressed. Also, when we screened on cancer stem cells (CSCs), we identified a peptoid called PCS2 targeting plectin, which is a structural protein. Plectin is ubiquitously found on cytosol of normal and cancer cells, but localized onto CSC surface supporting metastasis.

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar “Peptoid Combinatorial Strategies for Targeting Unconventional Biomarkers in Cancer,” presented by Gomika Udugamasooriya, associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Houston, today, November 1, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Technology Building 160. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome.

Abstract
We have been exploring peptoids, an emerging class of biologically amenable and easy-to-synthesize peptidomimetics with great drug-like properties, focusing on cancer treatment and imaging. We developed a unique on-bead two-color (OBTC) combinatorial cell screen to directly identify the highest specificity ligands for cell surface biomarkers out of on-bed peptoid libraries that has millions of permutations. Recent “unbiased” applications using this OBTC assay developed a new approach for targeting unconventional biomarkers such as structural proteins and lipids. For example, we identified a peptoid called PPS1 targeting lipid-PS, which is typically found in the inner layer of the cell membrane, but flipped to outer layer in cancer and tumor endothelial cells. More importantly, PS is found globally in tumor microenvironments, which makes it a global target as opposed to conventional protein targets that are highly heterogeneously expressed. Also, when we screened on cancer stem cells (CSCs), we identified a peptoid called PCS2 targeting plectin, which is a structural protein. Plectin is ubiquitously found on cytosol of normal and cancer cells, but localized onto CSC surface supporting metastasis.

Congratulations to Barbara Sattelberg, lecturer in the Computer information Systems Department, who won a $100 gift card to Wegmans in last week's online raffle in support of the college's 2018 SEFA campaign.

This week's prize is an overnight stay for two, with breakfast, at the beautiful Downtown Hilton Garden and a $75 gift card to the Pearl Street Grill (can also be used at the Hotel Lafayette). To participate, click on the SEFA/United Way Raffle Tickets website and follow the prompts. Please choose "Raffle No. 3 - October 29–November 2." The winner will be selected on Monday, November 5, notified by e-mail, and announced in the Daily Bulletin on Tuesday. Please contact campaign co-chair Tom Koller, senior associate athletics director, 878-6514, with questions or for more information.