The Graduate School will host a New and Applied Graduate Programs Information Session on Wednesday, March 7, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.

The session will highlight the following graduate degree and certificate programs:

• Applied Economics (M.A.)
• Forensic Science (M.S.)
• History (M.A.)
• Multidisciplinary Studies (M.A. and M.S.)
• Museum Studies (M.A and Graduate Certificate)
• Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics (M.S.)
• Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management (M.P.A.)
• Public Management (Graduate Certificate)

Students can register online or call the Graduate School at ext. 5601 for more information.

Buffalo State Dining is now offering a WOW Deal of the Day every Wednesday at a select location in the Campbell Student Union Food Court from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Today's WOW Deal will be offered at 2.mato. Purchase any calzone and a fountain beverage for only $4.99!

For more information on WOW Deals and Buffalo State Dining, visit our website.

The Research and Creativity Council Incentive Program, which has been on hiatus for the last couple of months, has resumed, and the Research Foundation's Pre-Award and Contract Services, located in Bishop Hall 24, is accepting applications until Monday, March 26. Three applications are already in process, but the council is encouraging faculty and staff to submit additional applications before the deadline. Three council members have been appointed to review applications received by the above deadline date.

The incentive funds administered by the Research and Creativity Council are aimed at promoting faculty creativity and research. Their goal is to generate additional funded programs. One year after receiving an incentive award, recipients are required to submit a full report documenting the use of these funds and to submit a grant proposal to an outside sponsoring agency. Recipients are also obligated to participate in the Faculty and Staff Fall Forum, which takes place in October.

Expenditures that will be considered for support under this program include travel to consult with a funding source, secretarial assistance, student assistance, consultation with grant specialists, preparation of specialized support materials for proposal (e.g., graphs, drawings, resource books), release time, and any other expense that can be justified. Funds cannot be requested for the purchase of computers. Also, it is not the council’s intention to directly pay an individual for writing a proposal.

Research Incentive Program applications are available on the Research Foundation's website.

The SMRT application workshop scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. is canceled. Individuals interested in SMRT training should contact the Budget Office to schedule a training session.

Assistant Professor Javid Rzayev from the Department of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo will present his seminar "Nanostructured Materials from Multicomponent Bottlebrush Copolymers" during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) on Thursday, February 23, in Science Building 220.

[Abstract]
Bottlebrush copolymers, or molecular brushes, are comb-like macromolecules with densely grafted polymeric branches. When the backbone is longer than the branches, these molecules take on a cylindrical shape in solution. This unique macromolecular architecture allows for the unprecedented control of molecular shape and dimensions. We targeted the preparation of two types of materials from bottlebrush copolymers: organic nanotubes and periodic polymer nanostructures. In the first part, advanced bottlebrush copolymers with a tailored chemical framework were synthesized by a combination of living radical and ring-opening polymerization techniques. These multicomponent bottlebrush copolymers were then converted to standalone organic nanotubes with well-defined structural parameters (length, diameter, and pore size) and functional composition (interior and exterior surface). Water-soluble nanotubes prepared by this technique are efficiently internalized by living cells and thus can serve as versatile scaffolds for drug delivery applications. In the second part, we studied the self-assembly of bottlebrush block copolymers into periodic nanostructures with domain spacings larger than 100 nm, not easily achievable by linear block copolymers. A unique length scale of these nanomaterials renders them useful for photonic applications and as templates for ultrafiltration membranes.

An opportunity to "fertilize" your research interests by meeting with faculty and staff who have received grants or have worked with various funding agencies and organizations will take place on Friday, March 9, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. For more information and to register, visit the Research Foundation website; please direct any questions to Gina Game.

The Caribbean History and Culture Lecture Series continues with a presentation by Yvie Fabella, lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, at 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 2, in Upton Hall 230. Her talk, "Creole Coquettes: Fashion, Slavery, and the Making of Race in Late-Colonial Saint Domingue (Haiti)," is free and open to all members of the college and community.

This event is sponsored by the History and Social Studies Education Department, Phi Alpha Theta, the School of Natural and Social Sciences, and the Faculty-Student Association.

At this time, we expect to process travel reimbursements and conference registration fees during the implementation of the new Statewide Financial System (SFS) shutdown; however, two unforeseen incidents could have an impact on our plan:

1. The Office of the State Comptroller or SUNY shuts down our travel reimbursement process.
2. Fund reserves are depleted (we will not be able to replenish reserves during the shutdown).

Therefore, we ask that any outstanding travel that has been completed but not yet delivered to the Accounts Payable and Travel Services Office, Cleveland Hall 417, be done so immediately. We can still replenish funding until the shutdown period.

We also request that all authorized air and train travel bookings from now until April 18 be done through the business travel agent (BTA). When the BTA is utilized, there will be no out-of-pocket expense to the employee. Charges incurred are made directly to an authorized T-Card, which will be in effect during the entire shutdown period.

Abbreviated Procedure for Using the BTA

1. Call Albany Travel at (800) 774-0655.
2. Identify yourself as a New York State SUNY employee at Buffalo State College.
3. Make your arrangements.
4. Call the Accounts Payable and Travel Services Office at ext. 4117 (Albany Travel will contact the Travel Services Office to confirm the travel). Please do not e-mail the Travel Services Office in lieu of calling.

If you have any questions concerning the SFS shutdown, please call our office at ext. 4117.

The Economics and Finance Department will host a public lecture, “Heterodox Microeconomics and Real World Economic Problems,” by Frederic S. Lee, professor of economics at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, on Friday, March 2, from 11:00 to 11:50 a.m. in Bulger Communication Center North. The lecture will offer Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn an alternative theoretical perspective that is rarely taught in typical economics courses and that is relevant to a critical understanding of the ongoing economic crisis.

Lee is the editor of the American Journal of Economics and Sociology, president of the Association for Institutional Thought, founding editor of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter, and author of A History of Heterodox Economics (Routledge, 2009) and Post Keynesian Price Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1998). He has published extensively on heterodox microeconomics, on the history of economics, and on the ranking of journals and departments and their impact on heterodox economics.

This event is open to the public. For more information, contact Tae-Hee Jo, assistant professor of economics and finance.

The Buffalo State Sustainability Council continues its film series with the screening of My Life as a Turkey on Thursday, March 8, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center West 2. This film reenacts renowned naturalist and wildlife artist Joe Hutto’s remarkable experiences while raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood.

After a local farmer left a bowl of eggs on Hutto’s front porch, his life was forever changed. Hutto, possessing a broad background in the natural sciences and an interest in imprinting young animals, incubated the eggs and waited for them to hatch. As the chicks emerged from their shells, they locked eyes with an unusual but dedicated mother. Hutto remained totally committed to his research for an entire year, forgoing human contact as he played the role of mother-researcher while raising the poults. This documentary was inspired by Hutto’s highly acclaimed book Illumination in the Flatwoods, his detailed account from the journals he kept during this project.