Major Highlights
Research awards to faculty totaled $240.9 million in 2006-2007, a reflection of the University at Albany's established and emerging research strength, including four areas of research emphasis: nanoscale sciences and engineering, social science and public policy including public health, life sciences, and atmospheric sciences.
Nanoscale Sciences and Engineering
International SEMATECH, the global consortium of leading nanoelectronics manufacturers, announced it would locate its headquarters at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, ranked this year as the No. 1 college in the world for nanotechnology and microtechnology by Small Times magazine. New funding for nanoscale sciences research in 2006-07 surpassed $66 million.
Social Science and Public Policy
Several new projects were launched through the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis (CSDA).
- Tim Gage, CSDA associate and professor of anthropology and public health, was awarded a four-year, $900,000 grant by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to support his work on "The Determinants of Infant Mortality: Statistical Models."
- CSDA Director and Distinguished Professor of Sociology Richard Alba is leading a study of the children of immigrants in schools, conducted by a consortium of 10 universities and research institutes and funded by a four-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
- Donald Hernandez and Nancy Denton, CSDA associates and professors of sociology, began a series of monthly reports on children in immigrant households.
Life Sciences
Building strength in this area were a number of developments.
- The Northeast Forensics Research Institute (NERFI) and the New York State Prosecutors Training Institute received a Community-Oriented Policing Services grant from the National Institute of Justice to link forensics evidence and prosecutorial databases. Also funded was NERFI's laboratory-intensive DNA Academy in casework, databank and serology for newly hired forensic scientists and laboratory technicians.
- The Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics, led by its director, Professor of Biomedical Sciences Paulette McCormick, worked with regional partners to create the Capital-Adirondack Network for Cancer Research and Education (CANCER), a translational research framework for a first-of-its-kind regional cancer center.
- Zhen Huang, a researcher in the Department of Chemistry, was awarded a $135,000 grant by the Muscular Dystrophy Association to identify potential drug candidates for neurodegenerative conditions, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Atmospheric Sciences
Wei-Chyung Wang, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Department of Energy to study the impact of greenhouse gases on regional climate in China and the Northeastern United States.
Awards and Recognition
Physics Professor T.S. Kuan and Conley Rieder, professor of Biomedical Sciences and chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Regulation at the Wadsworth Center, were honored by the Research Foundation of SUNY for distinguished research contributions.
Kuan was recognized for his research on how atoms arrange themselves on a microscopic scale and how properties of a material are influenced by its microscopic structure.
Rieder was honored for his contributions to cell biology, in particular, characterizing the molecular players involved in mitosis.