Tag Archives: research

UB Proposes New State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics

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A Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics would use the latest robotics and data-intensive computing technology.

Advanced materials are everywhere in our daily lives, from the fibers in Kevlar vests to the indium alloys in flat-screen TVs. New materials can help U.S. companies make lighter prosthetic limbs, cars that use less fuel and longer-lasting batteries for medical devices like pacemakers.

In a proposal to New York State officials, UB President Satish K. Tripathi explained that there is a shortage of advanced materials in the U.S. for new technologies in energy, automotive, clean tech, medical and other industries. Tripathi proposed to the New York State Legislature and the governor’s office that a state Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics be designated at the University at Buffalo.

The new center will help solve this problem, accelerating the discovery and commercialization of innovative new materials, including synthetic replacements for elements that are growing scarcer. This would foster increased industry collaboration, giving Western New York companies a competitive advantage and potentially creating thousands of jobs.

“This is the perfect illustration of our successful ‘strategic strengths’ paradigm in action—high-impact faculty research and collaboration at the intersection of key fields,” said Tripathi. “It is exactly at this crossroads that our faculty members are working to develop innovative solutions for the critical challenges facing our society today.”

Tripathi noted that the UB proposal is aligned with state economic development strategies, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council and $1 billion investment in Buffalo.

The UB Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics would use the latest robotics and data-intensive computing technology. Specifically, the center would make it possible for researchers to synthesize and test the properties of hundreds of materials at once, as opposed to one at a time.

To read more; http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/2012_03_15/materials_informatics

A New Mindset: UB’s “Treadmill Test” Offers Answers into Post-Concussion Syndrome

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Brian Krempa at the UB Concussion Clinic

The UB Concussion Clinic helped Brian Krempa get back on his feet after suffering the debilitating effects of multiple concussions.

Sidney Crosby. Eric Lindros. Jim Kelly. All great athletes, and all three suffered severe concussions that experts say could potentially threaten their long-term health. Add John Syty to the list.

Syty, ’11, joined the University at Buffalo’s Division I football team in 2007 as a walk-on. Improving after each of his first three seasons, the Clarence, N.Y., native was projected to start at middle linebacker for the Bulls for the 2011 season, his last. But the lingering effects of at least seven known concussions forced Syty to hang up his helmet or risk further damage.

Using an established treadmill protocol, researchers at UB’s Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Concussion Management Clinic have developed a novel assessment tool for both professional and amateur athletes who, like Syty, suffer from post-concussion syndrome, a condition that can lead to permanent, neurodegenerative brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It’s the first standardized test developed to help physicians determine whether an athlete is ready to return to play. The hope is that it will also reduce the number of CTE cases in the future.

“There’s no such thing as a minor concussion, and the problem is that once you have one or two, you’re more likely to have a third, fourth or a fifth, and then you are at risk for sustaining cumulative and permanent damage over time,” says John Leddy, associate professor of clinical orthopedics and director of the UB clinic, which has received attention from athletic programs across the country that are eager to use this new method to help their athletes compete successfully—and safely.

Read more at http://www.buffalo.edu/home/feature_story/the-right-call.html