Kim Chinquee, associate professor of English, participated in the panel discussion "The Craft of Fiction: Flash Fiction and Innovative Forms" with fellow award-winning writers Dawn Raffel and Eugene Lim, on Wednesday, February 15, at the renowned Center for Fiction in New York City.

The panel explored such questions as What can be discovered within a narrative mosaic? and How can the most succinct stories become building blocks for a larger tale? The conversation also addressed the possible uses of flash fiction: novel as flash, novella as flash, and other structures of unexpected connections. The event was also live-streamed. 

The Center for Fiction was founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library of New York and has continued with its vision of keeping historical and innovative literature accessible to its members and beyond.

Ramona Santa Maria, associate professor of computer information systems, was an invited panelist for the STEM Goes Red event, hosted by the Jacobs Institute and the American Heart Association, on February 7. The panel discussed pathways to STEM careers for female students attending public and charter schools in the city of Buffalo. The American Heart Association and the Jacobs Institute, a medical device innovation center, are working to engage more women in STEM. STEM Goes Red brings interesting careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to life for young women by giving students access to leading employers and experts, offering them an insider's look at what they do.

Michael Littman, associate professor and former chair of the Business Department, completed a three-week medical logistics project for the Israeli Defense Forces on site in Israel, working with Daniel Shimshak, retired dean of the College of Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Marilyn Berkowitz, retired associate dean of the School of Business at Stockton University in New Jersey. Dr. Littman also spent time at Ramon Air Base as a continuation of the logistics project.

Arjun Pathak, assistant professor of physics, published the peer-reviewed scientific article “Magnetocaloric Properties of Co-doped Mn0.5Fe0.5Ni1?xCoxSi0.94Al0.06 Intermetallic Alloys” in the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Advances 13, 025236 (2023). The article, coauthored by Noah Kramer, a Buffalo State technology major and physics minor, and Chris Hanley, a Buffalo State physics major, along with other collaborators, reports the comprehensive magnetic and structural properties of multi-element alloys that have a high potential for heat-pump technology application. At Buffalo State, the alloys were prepared by cooling metal from a very high-temperature liquid state (2000 degrees Celsius or above) to room temperature (within a few seconds) by a rapid solidifying process in a vacuum and studied for their magnetic properties. Dr. Pathak is also a corresponding author of the manuscript. This research was supported by National Science Foundation Award No. DMR-2213412 and the Buffalo State Undergraduate Research Office.

Naila Ansari, assistant professor of theater and Africana studies, was recognized for her work in the arts by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown during his annual Black History Month Celebration on February 10 in City Hall.  

A native of Buffalo, New York, Ms. Ansari is a cum laude graduate of Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts and holds an M.F.A. from the University at Buffalo. She has danced for the legendary Lula Washington Dance Theatre and performed works by Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, Camille A. Brown, Darrell Grand Moultrie, and Sidra Bell. Ms. Ansari served as the choreographer for Black Roots Summer, named Best Dance of 2021 by the New York Times, and was praised by Broadway World for her directing and choreography of the adaptation of Shea’s 710 Theater’s first produced show, Once on This Island, in 2022.

Ms. Ansari merges artistry and scholarship to tell Black stories in America. Her research and performance project “The Movement of Joy” archives stories of Black women's joy across the country. In addition to her film documentary of these stories, Ms. Ansari hosts the podcast This Is Joy on the Alive Podcast network, the first Black woman-owned podcast distribution company in the country. She has published articles in Theatre Journal and the Dancer-Citizen and has received numerous grants and awards, including the New York State DanceForce Grant and the Pittsburgh Courier 40 under 40 Award. Ms. Ansari is a current Interfaith America fellow for the Black Interfaith Project in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she recently presented her production of the “Movement of Joy.” She also serves as the dance director and a company member of Ujima Theatre in Buffalo, New York.

Dianne McCarthy, associate professor of Elementary Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership, presented her research, "Productive Struggle: Addressing Unfinished Learning of Fraction Knowledge in a 'Teaching Elementary Mathematics' Class," at the 2023 annual conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2–4.

Arjun Pathak, assistant professor of physics, published the peer-reviewed scientific article “Magnetic Properties of LaFe2?xCoxSi: A New Two-Phase Naturally Formed Composite Alloy” in the journal American Institute of Physics (AIP) Advances 13, 025320 (2023). The article, led by Noah Kramer, a Buffalo State technology major and physics minor, along with other collaborators, reports the comprehensive magnetic and structural properties of a new two-phase composite alloy for magnetic refrigeration-alternative cooling technology. Mr. Kramer, a 2022 undergraduate summer research fellow and EURO awardee from the Buffalo State Undergraduate Research Office, has been working with Dr. Pathak since spring 2022. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Undergraduate Research Office.

Thomas Reigstad, professor emeritus of English, presented an illustrated lecture, “Scribblin’ for a Livin’: Mark Twain’s Pivotal Period in Buffalo,” at the Darwin R. Barker Historical Museum in Fredonia, New York, on February 4. The presentation focused on Twain’s domestic, social, and professional experiences in Buffalo from 1869 to 1871, a formative and important juncture in his life. The talk was based on Dr. Reigstad’s 2018 book of the same name and was presented in conjunction with the Darwin R. Barker Museum’s new exhibition, Mark Twain in Fredonia, on view through July 22.

Dan MacIsaac, professor of physics, was appointed chair of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Committee on International Physics Education (CIPE) in January. CIPE seeks and establishes collaborations with educators from around the world to share pedagogical and methodological practices in physics education at all levels and lay foundations for joint research.

The short story "Shark," by Kim Chinquee, associate professor of English, along with an author interview, was featured in the international journal Shuddhashar on February 1.

Shuddhashar was established in 1990 at the advent of the little magazine movement in Bangladesh as an independent magazine and periodical of anti-establishment writing, working toward a broader sociocultural movement. Shuddhashar was one of the independent little magazines in Bangladesh from the 1990s to the early 2000s. In 2004, it also started a publishing house. Shuddhashar became well-known for its commitment to finding and supporting young writers, promoting freethinking, and for its integrity in publishing material that was otherwise deemed too controversial. Today, Shuddhashar is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting freedom of expression, human rights, democratic culture and values, and multiculturalism. The journal aims to inspire and promote at-risk writers, artists, and journalists.

More about Shuddhashar.