The Buffalo State Center for Studies in Creativity will host the 2106 Beyonder Creativity Camp for kids ages 10–17. The camp is designed to boost kids' creativity—whether they are interested in science, the arts, or sports. Camp meets August 1–5 in Chase Hall on the Buffalo State campus.

Middle School Camp
9:00 a.m. to noon for kids entering grades 5–8 (or ages 10–13).

High School Camp
1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for campers entering grades 9–12 (or ages 14–17).

The cost is $250 per camper for the half-day camp. For more information, please contact Pamela Szalay.

Register online.

The Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence (COTE) is pleased to announce the May 2016 issue of the Online Teaching Gazette. Topics in this monthly publication include credentialing systems for skills-based education, open education resources, and competency-based courses.

New Open SUNY textbooks include Foundations of Academic Success: Words of Wisdom and Good Corporation, Bad Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Economy. Nine new titles are forthcoming. View upcoming titles and find out how to get involved on the Open SUNY website. Did you know you can join COTE as a fellow? Buffalo State has more than 50 COTE fellows. Visit the COTE website for more information.

As your FACT² representative, I encourage you to subscribe to the Online Teaching Gazette to stay informed on topics of interest to the community of online practitioners. You can receive updates and future issues to your inbox by subscribing to the publication; enter your e-mail address in the "Subscribe to updates" field.

Reminder: Registration is now open for the 25th annual Conference on Instruction and Technology (CIT), which will be held from Tuesday, May 31, through Friday, June 3, at SUNY Potsdam.

Please join the Computer and Information Systems Department for an informal data analytics round table discussion on Wednesday, May 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Rockwell Hall 204.

Presentations will include proof of concept and examples of modern big data wrangling, mining, and more for non-specialists. The discussion will involve faculty members and students interested in data analytics at Buffalo State. Please let us know if you want to contribute to the program with a short presentation.

This event is held in conjunction with the "Data Analytics across Disciplines" conference May 18 and 19 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.

Please see the Buffalo News article about data analytics jobs that will be created by IBM.

RSVP to Barbara Sherman, chair and associate professor of computer information systems.

The call for proposals is still open for the eighth annual Anne Frank Project, "Engage. Lead. Improve the World," to be held on campus September 28 and 29. Please submit your proposal by Wednesday, June 1.

Think of the theme as an equation: Engagement + Leadership = Improving the World. If we use our unique skills to bring people together and build community, we foster leadership and a commitment to making our world a better place. At AFP 2016, we are interested in learning and practicing how you engage, lead, and improve the world.

Submit your proposal.

AFP’s annual social justice festival is an experiential exchange of ideas with a focus on processing theory into practice. We seek diverse performances, workshops, and exhibits that actively engage participants in kinesthetic learning opportunities and connect to the theme, AFP's mission, and the life and work of Anne Frank.

For more information, please review highlights from past festivals or contact Eve Everette, AFP assistant director and festival curator, 878-5559.

University College invites you to participate in the 2016 Pedagogical Institute May 16-20, featuring a variety of sessions with a focus on knowing, growing, and doing. Campus experts will lead sessions related to community and collaboration, the faculty role in student success, best practices to engage our students, curriculum development, and service learning. Provost Melanie Perreault will kick off the Pedagogical Institute with opening remarks on Monday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall. The institute closes with a campuswide conversation about first-year students who are in campuswide programs and the use of supplemental instruction on Friday, May 20, at 9:30 a.m. in Bishop Hall 115. For more information, please e-mail Amitra Wall, assistant dean of University College.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling Community and Collaboration
Monday, May 16
9:30–11:30 a.m.
Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall
Register for this session.

The Anne Frank Project facilitates a kinesthetic story-building workshop to teach tools and vocabulary for community-building, conflict resolution and identity exploration that are applicable in all disciplines and professions. This workshop will focus on developing workplace collaborative processes.

Facilitators
Drew Kahn, Professor, Theater; Director, Anne Frank Project
Eve Everette, Assistant Director, Anne Frank Project

--------------------------------------------------------------

Greater Expectations
Monday, May 16
1:00–3:00 p.m.
Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall
Register for this session.

Participants will explore the relationships among student characteristics, institutional language and polices, instructor expectations, and student academic success. The roles of students' individual and collective identities and their conflicts will be discussed. Examples of practical applications that have been effectively used to support student academic success in mathematics classrooms will be shared.

Facilitators
Angela Thering, Lecturer, Computer Information Systems and University College
Kevin Railey, Associate Provost and Dean Graduate School
Beth Delecki-Earns, Lecturer, Mathematics
Reva Fish, Associate Professor, Social and Psychological Foundations of Education

--------------------------------------------------------------

Working with Students Who Are on the Spectrum
Tuesday, May 17
9:30–11:30 a.m.
Bacon Hall 115
Register for this session.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1 percent of individuals worldwide have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), currently affecting about 3.5 million Americans (2016). The latest statistics released by the CDC, in April of this year, indicate that the prevalence of ASD in the United States is currently 1:68 births. It is estimated that 0.7 to 1.9 percent of students in higher education have an ASD, and that merely 20 percent of these students will complete their college degree (VanBergeijk, Klin & Volkmar, 2008). This presentation will discuss what characteristics of ASD you may see from adult students in your classroom or on campus, how to best support colleges students with an ASD, and the best teaching strategies to implement in your coursework to increase student success.

Panel Participants
Stephen Anderson, Executive Director, the Summit Center
Frederick Floss, Professor, Economics and Finance
Sumana Silverheels, Accommodations Coordinator, Disability Services
Kathy Doody, Assistant Professor, Exceptional Education

--------------------------------------------------------------

Integrating Shakespeare's Sonnets into the Curriculum
Wednesday, May 18
9:30–11:30 a.m.
Bacon Hall 115
Register for this session.

Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, first published in 1608, constitute one of the most eloquent and enigmatic collections of love poetry in literary history. As the world commemorates 400 years since Shakespeare’s death, we will explore ways to use individual sonnets, or the entire collection, in any classroom to examine language, gender, rhetoric, sexuality, social class, love, jealousy, desire, self-delusion, patriarchy, comedy, adapting to rules, breaking rules, racial identity, invention, soliloquizing, communicating, failing to communicate, unoriginality, working on commission, working for yourself, relating parts to wholes, reading carefully, aging, scholarly authority, proofreading, editing, trust, stalking, theft, self-promotion, textual analysis, dishonesty, compromise, and genius.

Facilitators
Lisa Berglund, Chair and Professor, English
Anthony Chase, Assistant Dean, School of Arts and Humanities

--------------------------------------------------------------

Service Learning in the First and Second Year
Thursday, May 19
9:30–11:30 a.m.
Bacon Hall 115
Register for this session.

Service learning and other high-impact practices have demonstrated benefits for college students from many backgrounds. Incorporating successful service-learning activities for first- and second-year students, however, can look very different than it does in an upper-division course. This interactive session for faculty will focus on strategies for successful community-based projects focused on first- and second-year students. Topics will include an overview of the theory and practice of service learning, data and research on service learning with first- and second-year students, and support considering approaches to community-based learning for your particular course.

Facilitators
Laura Hill-Rao, Volunteer and Service-Learning Center Coordinator
Lori Ann Woods, Lecturer, College Writing Program
Gary Welborn, Associate Professor, Sociology
Joy Guarino, Associate Professor, Theater

--------------------------------------------------------------

Teaching, Advising, and Coaching First-Year Students
Friday, May 20
9:30–11:30 a.m.
Bacon Hall 115
Register for this session.

The Pedagogical Institute week will close with a campuswide conversation about first-year students. Engage with professional staff who work with Compass, Say Yes, Undeclared, and Middle Early High School students. Hear about supplemental instruction from a professor who has presented nationally on the practice.

Panel Participants
Patrick Crosby, COMPASS Program Coordinator
Stanley Simmons, Say Yes Program Director
Leasa Rochester-Mills, SSA for Academic Intervention, University College
Holly Quicksey, Assistant to the Dean, University College
Bill Ganley, Professor, Economics and Finance

Faculty and staff members who have not yet specified their participation in Commencement on Saturday, May 14, are kindly asked to register online today to march or usher at one or more ceremonies. The graduating Class of 2016 and their families appreciate your support!

Marcher registration
Usher registration

Thank you very much.

The Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program will celebrate the exemplary academic performance of its outstanding students at the 49th annual Honors Convocation on Thursday, May 5, at 3:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall Auditorium. This year's theme is "Imagine, Believe, Achieve: #BecauseofBuffaloStateEOP, My Dreams Are Now a Reality.”

The program will begin with a tribute to Bradley Doyley and Eddie Hernandez, who passed away this semester, and an inspirational performance by local well-known and loved musician Drea D’Nur. Highlights of the program will include the presentation of special awards to students, staff, and faculty. A Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented to Gregory Mott, Class of ’95, ’97, and ’01 (elementary education). Recognition will be given to students who have obtained a 3.0 semester or cumulative GPA during the 2015 calendar year. In addition, the Hope for Haiti Study-Abroad Team will be selling $20 “Ayiti Cherie” T-shirts to help fund their trip to Haiti May 15–24. The campus community is invited to attend the program, with a catered reception to follow. RSVP to Cathy McCoy, office assistant 2, 878-4426.

Please contact Jude Jayatilleke, senior EOP counselor, 878-6028, with questions.

Ricky Mittiga, a master's degree candidate in chemistry at Buffalo State, will present his master thesis seminar, "Determination of Kinetic Parameters of Equilibrium between Peracetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide to Calculate Self-Accelerating Decomposition Temperature," at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in Science Building 272. Light refreshments will be served before the seminar.

Abstract
Peracetic acid is a simple molecule that works as a powerful oxidant in many applications including food safety and water disinfection. The synthesis of the compound is fairly understood due to a straightforward mixing of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. However, the decomposition of the compound has not been well studied. Few sources are available to provide kinetic data for the decomposition along with data that shows when the compound will undergo a self-accelerated decomposition that could lead to disastrous effects.

This paper will discuss an effortless way to determine kinetic parameters for the decomposition of peracetic acid in equilibrium with hydrogen peroxide using basic first-order kinetics, and then try to relate the energy given off during decomposition to the total active oxygen of the formulation by applying a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) to determine the enthalpy of decomposition. Once these parameters are established, the self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) can be determined using an equation developed by Nikolay Semenov. This equation will apply chemical kinetics to a real world application that is not well understood by end users of this type of chemical.

Caitlin Johnson, a master's degree candidate in forensic science at Buffalo State, will present her master thesis seminar, "Assessment of 70 nm Citrate-Capped Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrate Using Rhodamine 6G" at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, in Science Building 272. Light refreshments will be served before the seminar. The Chemistry-Physics Seminar Series is supported by the Faculty-Student Association.

Abstract
Raman microscopy is a potentially useful method for detecting drug metabolites in fingerprints and imaging latent fingerprints without a physical or a chemical treatment. However, with normal Raman scattering signals, it is difficult to detect analytes in the mM concentration range, a typical order of the concentration of drug metabolites in sweat. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can improve the intrinsic low sensitivity of normal Raman scattering. The Raman scattering intensity of molecules can be increased by 104–1,010 times when they are adsorbed on a nanoscale metal surface such as gold or silver. For the broader use of SERS in trace chemical analysis, it has long been an important issue to develop a simple and reproducible method to prepare for SERS substrates.

My thesis research has been focused on assessing the SERS activity of citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) having a sphere shape and the diameter of 70 nm. We chose 70 nm AuNPs, because a deposit layer of the AuNPs formed by drop evaporation showed a broad plasmon band above 700 nm wavelengths, which was close to our laser excitation wavelength. The SERS activities of these AuNPs were tested in a deposit layer and a solution using Rhodamine 6G (R6G). Unlike other reports that used smaller size AuNPs,4 the SERS activity of the 70 nm AuNPs showed an inconsistency in the deposit layer. This suggests that the size of AuNPs may play an important role in the formation of a uniform self-assembled monolayer of AuNPs during evaporation and our AuNP layer formed aggregates of AuNPs. On the other hand, we observed a predicted trend of SERS signals in a mixed solution of AuNPs and R6G. The SERS signals of R6G showed a strong dependency on the AuNP concentration, indicating more adsorption sites for R6G molecules was available as the AuNP concentration increased. Using an optimized AuNP concentration, we could detect R6G at the concentration as low as sub-µM concentration.

The Buffalo State Child Care Center offers a school-age summer camp program for children who have completed kindergarten through age 10. The camp will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 27, through Thursday, August 25. The cost is $200 a week for full-time attendance. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided. 

Campers will enjoy many field trips and on-site enrichment programs.

Registration is now open. Please call 878-5335 or e-mail the Child Care Center for more information.