Flu vaccines will be available tomorrow, December 4, during the Employee Health Benefits Fair from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Butler Library 210. No appointment is necessary. The vaccine will be available in shot or mist form.

The following health insurance plans will be accepted: Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, Independent Health, Blue Choice, and Medicare Part B. Employees must present a valid health insurance ID card. Employees without a participating insurance plan will be charged $30 for the flu shot or $40 for the flu mist.

Empire Plan enrollees may obtain their flu shot from their doctor’s office (participating provider) for their usual co-pay or from a participating pharmacy at no cost should they wish to do so.

Participation and acceptance of any insurance is not a guarantee of benefits or payment in full. Co-payments or a deductible may apply. Please call your insurance provider's member services department with questions regarding coverage.

Please call Employee Benefits at ext. 4821 or the member services department of your insurance company with questions regarding your health insurance coverage. The phone number should be on your insurance card.

Flu vaccines for faculty and staff members will be available on campus in Butler Library 210 during the Employee Health Benefits Fair on Thursday, December 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. No appointment is necessary. The vaccine will be available in shot or mist form.

The following health insurance plans will be accepted: Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, Independent Health, Blue Choice, and Medicare Part B. Employees must present a valid health insurance ID card. Employees without a participating insurance plan will be charged $30 for the flu shot or $40 for the flu mist.

Participation and acceptance of any insurance is not a guarantee of benefits or payment in full. Co-payments or a deductible may apply. Please call your insurance provider's member services department with questions regarding coverage.

Empire Plan enrollees can obtain their flu shot from their doctor’s office (participating provider) for their usual co-pay or from a participating pharmacy at no cost should they wish to do so.

Please call Employee Benefits at ext. 4821 or the member services department of your insurance company with questions regarding your health insurance coverage. The phone number should be on your insurance card.

For the spring semester, in conjunction with the Year of the Innovator, Butler Library would like to highlight our faculty and staff as innovators. We invite faculty and staff members to submit their publications or creative works for display in the faculty-staff scholarly exhibits case in our lower lobby. Faculty and staff members with recent publications who would like to be included should complete the Faculty-Staff Scholarly Exhibits application. Please encourage your colleagues to submit applications as well. We want to feature your accomplishments. Please contact Jeremy Floyd, Library Exhibits Committee chair, with questions.

Catlin Johnson, a master's degree candidate in forensic science at Buffalo State, will present the literature seminar "Science Underlying the Coffee-Ring" at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, November 20, in Classroom Building B119. Light refreshments will be served before the seminar. The Chemistry-Physics Seminar Series is supported by the Faculty-Student Association.

Abstract
When a liquid drop containing dispersed solids dries on a solid surface, the particles are deposited leaving a ring-like stain. This phenomenon was known as the “coffee-ring” effect and successfully explained by Deegan et al. for the first time. They found that the coffee-ring is formed when particles are accumulated at the edge of a droplet by an outward capillary flow to replenish the loss of a solvent occurring at a liquid-air interface. Two important conditions should be met for the coffee-ring effect to occur during the solvent evaporation: (1) Marangoni flow, a flow created by a surface tension gradient, should be weak; (2) the contact line of a droplet on a surface should be pinned.

Since the coffee-ring effect causes problems when a formation of homogeneous deposits is necessary, recent research has been focused on suppressing and controlling the coffee-ring effect.^2-5 These could be achieved in several different ways by loosening either one of the two conditions of the coffee-ring effect mentioned above. Adding a surface active agent to a droplet or evaporating an aqueous droplet in the presence of ethanol vapor effectively creates the Marangoni flow that circulates particles in a droplet, thus counteracting the formation of a coffee-ring. Others have recently reported that the coffee-ring effect can be suppressed by controlling the critical angle hysteresis (CAH) of a surface. They showed de-pinning the contact line of a droplet could eliminate the formation of a ring-shape deposit. The pinning and de-pinning behavior of a droplet was closely associated with the CAH of a surface. Additionally, it is reported that the shape of the suspended particles can control the coffee-ring effect. Ellipsoidal particles displayed uniform deposition after the solvent evaporation. Long-range interparticle interactions prevent dense packing of particles, which reduces the accumulation of particles at the edge of a droplet. Recent study further shows that the coffee-ring effect can be dynamically controlled by using a light-responsive surface-active agent.

The coffee-ring effect is a complicated phenomenon that involves surface, air-solvent interface, particles, and solvent. A better understanding of its science will provide useful insights to the applications that require the deposition of a colloid solution on a surface.

Six community leaders who are significantly affecting the revitalization of Buffalo will participate in the forum "The Art of Advocacy" today, November 18, at 6:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Each leader has strongly advocated quality-of-life and social-equality issues within our community. Panel moderator Howard Zemsky, who chairs the Buffalo State College Council, is the region’s foremost spokesperson for the infusion of the Buffalo Billion. Panelists are Timothy Tielman, a champion of architectural and historic preservation; Stephanie Barber, neighborhood housing rights advocate; Ba Zan Lin, Buffalo State graduate student and advocate for a peaceful resolution among the Burmese people; Patricia Jones, transgender rights spokesperson and leader within Pride Buffalo; and Eric Walker, cofounder of PUSH Buffalo.

Members will discuss what led them to passionately engage in advocacy and the challenges they have had to face. In all, the program provides insight into the courage and resolve that characterizes those who lead and advocate for the public good. This program, free and open to the public, is not to be missed.

For more information, please contact Peter Yacobucci, associate professor of political science.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity. For 25 years, Dr. Phillip Santa Maria served as dean of students at Buffalo State. During his tenure, he was recognized both on campus and throughout the community for his leadership on a variety of diversity and social justice issues. The Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity has been established in his honor and is given annually to recognize students who exemplify Dr. Santa Maria’s commitment to service, social justice, and diversity.

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit nominations of student leaders who exemplify Dr. Santa Maria’s commitment to service, social justice, and diversity through promoting respect for diversity and individual differences in their activities, projects, discussions, or their leadership with student organizations and groups for this purpose.

Eligibility:

Undergraduate and graduate students at Buffalo State

Criteria:

1. Recipients must have demonstrated leadership in the promotion of respect for diversity and individual differences through their roles in organizing discussions, curricular experiences, out-of-classroom experiences, or special projects for programming that go beyond that usually expected of a student.
    
2. Recipients must demonstrate leadership in encouraging their peers to embrace diversity and to appreciate the benefits of diversity on campus, in the community, and in their everyday lives.
    
3. Recipients must have created or played a significant leadership role in initiatives or programs that promote access, equity, or social justice in relation to the diversity of thought, diversity of experiences, diversity of values, or other aspects of diversity within the college or the broader community.

Please use the form on the Equity and Campus Diversity website to nominate a student. Submit the nomination form to the Equity and Campus Diversity Office no later than Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

Questions? Please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Cleveland Hall  415, ext. 6210, 
equity.buffalostate.edu.

The 2014–2015 "Conversations in and out of the Disciplines" series continues Friday, November 21, when M. Scott Goodman, chair and associate professor of chemistry, will present "Two-Step Spin Crossover Behavior in the Iron(II) Complex of Tris(3-methylpyrazolyl)methane: What Could This Title Possibly Mean?" at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. A short, informal wine-and-cheese reception will be held after the talk. Everyone is welcome.

Please also mark your calendars for the other talk this fall: Jennifer Hunt, associate professor of psychology, will present "Princesses, (Super)power, and Patriarchy: How 'Princess Culture' Influences Gender Ideologies, Relationship Beliefs, and Career Choices" on Friday, December 5, at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320.

Monday, March 2, 2015, is the deadline for departments and programs to submit listings of students having received awards and scholarships during their studies at Buffalo State. These students will be recognized in the Commencement booklet distributed at all three ceremonies on Saturday, May 16. Department chairs, program coordinators, and awards committee chairs should have received e-mail notification of the submission process during the previous two weeks. Any faculty or staff member who did not receive an e-mail notification and does have student names and awards to submit should please e-mail Patricia Alessandra in the Academic Affairs Office. Awards submission guidelines are posted on the faculty and staff section of the Commencement website. Thank you.

The Buffalo State dietetics education program is proud to present the Year of the Innovator Health Fair on Thursday, November 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Butler Library 210. This event will feature several off-campus vendors such as Ashker’s Juice Bar and therapy dogs, campus organizations, blood pressure screening, fitness tests, yoga, cardio kick-boxing, and more. For a relaxing break, make your own stress ball or participate in de-stressing arts and crafts. Test your knowledge with a game of Nutrition Jeopardy. There will be plenty of information and take-home materials on health and wellness, nutritious recipes, and healthful eating tips for commuters and resident students. Enjoy free food samples and enter to win one of many exciting prizes and gift baskets. Whether you would like to let off some stress or gain more information about your health, this is the place to be. Come for as little or as long as you’d like. There will be plenty to see, do, and learn!

Classes were canceled on Tuesday, January 7, 2014, because of extreme weather conditions. New York State policies and regulations required state employees who did not report to work under such circumstances to charge their leave accruals for the absence.

The college submitted a joint request with the University at Buffalo that SUNY petition the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations and the Civil Service Commission to suspend the attendance rules for January 7, 2014, and excuse the full-day absence without charge to leave accruals. We have received notification that our request was denied by the Civil Service Commission; therefore, charges to leave accruals for that day cannot be restored.