FACULTY & STAFF
 

     Robert F. Erbacher has joined the University as an assistant professor in the computer science department. Professor Neil Murray, chair of the computer science department, said, “Professor Erbacher’s research concerns visual assistance for concurrent processing. He enhances our expertise in graphics and concurrent systems. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and was a visiting professor at the University of Idaho before joining UAlbany. Professor Erbacher employs high end graphics systems to extend development and debugging tools on systems having concurrent architectures. Specifically, he is working on interactive computational steering, data analysis (as opposed to processor or control analysis), and analysis of data operations, often using direct manipulation techniques, all in support of the development of concurrent applications.”
    His research areas of interest include visualization for security analysis, visualization in the simulation of artificial societies, and virtual reality.  Visualization for security analysis is an attempt to detect whether someone is trying to break into a system. Visualization in the simulation of artificial societies is being used to gain understanding of the learning process,  and how societies learn from interaction.  His work in virtual reality focuses on computer graphic representation of military simulations. 
    He has been a guest editor for the Journal on Electronic Imaging: Special Issue on Visualization and Data Analysis. His new work, Visual Steering for Program Debugging, was completed for the SPIE 2000 Conference on Visual Data Exploration and Analysis VII in San Jose, Calif.

    Kirk Edward Smith is a new associate professor of music and director of instrumental activities. Reed Hoyt, the chair of the music department, recently said, “Having Kirk here is a significant upgrade to our instrumental program.  He has run highly successful programs elsewhere before.  He'll also be teaching in the Africana Studies Department because of his expertise in African American Music.”  Smith comes to UAlbany from California State University at Hayward.  Before that he was an associate professor and orchestra conductor at Iowa State University.  Smith was a doctoral fellow in conducting at Ball University and earned an M.A. in conducting from the Lamont School at the University of Denver. He received his B.M.E.(magna cum laude) and performance certificate in clarinet from Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia.  He received some of his early training in the U.S. at places such as the Aspen Music Festival, but was also educated in Zlin, Czechoslovakia, where he attended the International Workshop for Conductors in the summer of 1992.
    Smith was inducted by Sigma Alpha Iota as a National Arts Associate in 1997.  In 1992, he received the Iowa State University Foundation Award for Early Achievement in Teaching.
    He has conducted works ranging from Barber’s Adagio for Strings, to Mozart's Exultante Jubilate.  Others include works by Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven, and many more.
    Smith is a member of the board of directors of the Conductors Guild.  He has guest conducted all over the country and has worked with notable violinists, composers and vocalists.  Among them are violinist Robert McDuffie, vocalist Simon Estes and renowned composer Hale Smith.
    As Samuel Floyd, director of the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago recently said, "Smith…shows evidence of great promise as a major figure in American musical circles."

    William A. Maniatty is a new face in the computer science department. Computer science department chair Neil Murray said, “Professor Maniatty adds to our expertise in networking and in high performance computing. He was involved in the TEMPEST Project at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he earned his Ph.D. in computer science in 1998. This involved simulation of spatially explicit models of interspecies competition, parasitism, infection, and vector-borne disease, so this is obviously something kind of new and exciting here.  He has collaborated with Professor Syzmanski of RPI and he also created some tools that are used by one of our own professors, Thomas Caraco from the biological sciences department here at the University at Albany.” He teaches applied computing courses including computer communications networks and operating systems on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. 
    Prior to coming to Albany, Maniatty was a clinical assistant professor in the computer science department at RPI. He was awarded both the Robert McNaughton Prize in computer science and the Karen and Lester Gerhardt Prize for research. These awards were given to the most outstanding graduate students among Ph.D. candidates at RPI on both the departmental level and in the schools of science and engineering.  He was an IBM Graduate Fellow from 1994-1995 and from 1995-1996.  Also, he was awarded the Mannheim SuParCup '93, an international prize for his applied high performance computing topic, Virtual Epidemics-Ecological Modeling on a Parallel Machine.

Peg Aldrich Appointed
    Robert Ashton, vice president for University Advancement, has announced the appointment of Peg Aldrich, formerly executive director of the University at Albany Alumni Association, to the position of Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations. This position emphasizes the high importance the University places on its expanding alumni programs and Annual Fund.
    As Associate Vice President, Aldrich will build on successful programs which have engaged alumni in the life of their alma mater, while she also builds new philanthropic support for the University's academic mission.

S. Trivikrama Rao Elected As AMS Fellow
    S.T. Rao, an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has been elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Election to the grade of Fellow serves as a recognition of outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences, or their applications, during a substantial period of years. 
    In addition, last summer Rao was presented with the Frank A. Chambers Award of the Air and Waste Management Association, their highest award. The Frank A. Chambers Award is presented annually by the association for outstanding achievement in the science and art of air pollution control.
    Rao earned his Ph.D. from UAlbany, and after post-doctoral work, joined the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Ronald Bosco Wins Boydston Prize
    Distinguished Service Professor of English Ronald A. Bosco has been awarded the Boydston Prize by the Association for Documentary Editing for his essay, "The Expanding Textual Circle of New England Transcendentalism," published in TEXT: Transactions of the Society for Textual Scholarship. This prize is presented every other year by the Association for the best essay or review essay published in the previous two years that focuses on the theory and practice of textual editing.

Center for Technology in Government Wins Archives Award
   The Center for Technology in Government will receive the 1999 Archives Week Award for Excellence in State Agency Archival Program Development during a luncheon Nov. 4. This award is presented annually by the Board of Regents and the State Archives and Records Administration to recognize exceptional work within state government to help ensure preservation of archival records.
    The award honors the center's innovative work in helping government agencies create, manage and preserve electronic records. It cites its partnership with the State Archives to conduct applied research on the management and preservation of electronic records, resulting in new tools and techniques to ensure that archival electronic records remain usable and accessible.

David Griggs-Janower Wins Award
    David Griggs-Janower was one of five recent winners of a Regional Arts Award from the Albany-Schenectady League of Arts. The awards are presented to honor individuals or groups for outstanding contributions to the region's arts community through creation, presentation and support of the arts.
    Griggs-Janower is an associate professor of music and director of the University Chamber Singers, as well as founding artistic director and conductor of Albany Pro Musica.