Discovery Seminar Program - Fall 2008
Architecture
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering
Comparative Literature
Education
English
History
Libraries
Management
Marketing
Mathematics
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Nursing
Operations Management and Strategy
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Scientific Methods: Science, Technology and Human Values
- Vioxx Drug R&D and Approval: What Went Wrong
Physics
Psychiatry
Radiation Medicine
Social and Preventive Medicine
Theatre & Dance
Urban & Regional Planning
Visual Studies
Women’s Studies
Architecture
Design Matters
- Instructor: Brian Carter
- Department: Department of Architecture
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 5:30 – 6:40 pm
- Location: 130 Crosby
- Section: O
- Registration Number: 098119
Learn about the built environment that surrounds us from the leading architects and planners who design it. You’ll be exposed to cutting-edge developments in architecture, urban planning, and environmental design through a series of fascinating lectures by renowned professionals, researchers, designers, and academics who will present a range of topics associated with design, ranging from the study of materials and the creation of a sustainable building to the planning of cities. Students will maintain a diary of the lectures and research the contributions of guest speakers before attending the lectures. Attendance is vital and students should be prepared to participate actively in lively discussions surrounding the presentations.
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Exploring Nanomaterials in Consumer Products
- Instructor: Mark Swihart
- Department: Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 9:00 – 9:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: K
- Registration Number: 359739
We read the labels on our consumer products, but do we really know what they are made of? As more nanotechnology-enabled products enter the marketplace, they are eliciting varying reactions ranging from hope to hype to hysteria. Using electron microscopy and other state-of-the-art characterization techniques, you’ll identify the nanoscale structures behind familiar products, such as cosmetics, tires, computer chips, inks, drug delivery devices, antibacterial undergarments, and cleaning products. Class discussion will focus on the role that nanoscale materials play in the function of these products. Several field trips to high-tech on-campus materials characterization labs will bring to life the nanotechnology behind these everyday products.
Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering
Ecosystem Restoration in the Lower Great Lakes
- Instructor: Alan Rabideau
- Department: Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 3:00 – 3:50 pm
- Location: 223 Jarvis
- Section: O
- Registration Number: 076997
The restoration of damaged or degraded ecosystems is a critical national and international priority. Following successful federal efforts in the florida Everglades and the Pacific Northwest, it is anticipated that the next national investment in large-scale restoration will focus on the Great Lakes. The team-taught seminar will provide a unique multi-disciplinary perspective on ecosystem restoration, including its philosophical foundations, scientific basis, engineering practice and political/cultural context.
Comparative Literature
On Time
- Instructor: David Johnson
- Department: Comparative Literature
- Day and Time: Thursday, 11:00 – 11:50 am
- Location: 640 Clemens
- Section: R
- Registration Number: 459105
We will examine the concept of “time” by reading western philosophy’s major articulations of the concept from Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Kant and Hegel. We then explore the necessary implications of these specific understandings of time for the possibility of ethics, justice and politics.
Education
Electronic Portfolios
- Instructor: Mary Beth Troy
- Department: Graduate School of Education
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 2:00 – 2:50 pm
- Location: 4 Baldy
- Section: II
- Registration Number: 027681
Need help presenting your creative work to land that internship or job? Collect your digital media—video, music, animation, or whatever medium you work in—and present it using the latest techniques in electronic portfolio creation. Learn how to professionally organize your work using html, PDFs, and PowerPoint so your portfolio stands above the rest!
English
The Bible
- Instructor: Diane Christian
- Department: English
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 2:00 – 2:50 pm
- Location: 610 Clemens Hall
- Section: NNN
- Registration Number: 098460
Hebrew and Christian Bible Highlights. The seminar will look at 14 famous stories—including Adam & Eve, Abraham & Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Ruth & Esther, David, Isaiah’s suffering servant, Job, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, Chris, Mary, the Acts of the Apostles, the Apocalypse.
Homer’s Odyssey
- Instructor: Bruce Jackson
- Department: English
- Day and Time: Monday, 1:00 – 1:50 pm
- Location: 610 Clemens Hall
- Section: CC
- Registration Number: 302447
Homer’s Odyssey is one of the most influential works in Western literature. It is also a terrific story, magnificently told. We’ll study the story, and how it incorporates elements from several narrative modes, such as myth, folktale, saga and fiction. We’ll talk about the techniques of the oral narrative tradition from which the text we have is derived. We’ll talk about problems of translation. And we’ll talk about some later avatars of the narrative in Virgil, Joyce and others.
History
The American Declaration of Independence in World History
- Instructor: Andrew Wise
- Department: History
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. (every other week)
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: J
- Registration Number: 252413
This seminar will provide an introduction to the development of the modern idea of natural rights and freedoms that are proclaimed in the American declaration of Independence of 1776. We will encourage students to place the American experience within a global historical and political context by exploring the application of the Declaration’s ideas in other settings and times. We will examine the earlier replies to the Declaration, including the many American statements issued on behalf of African-Americans, women and other groups during the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In addition, we will explore the various translations and imitations of the American Declaration produced by later nationalist and anti-colonial movements. Finally, we will examine the ways that the ideas of the Declaration of Independence continue to resonate with Americans and the wider world.
The Real Abraham Lincoln
- Instructor: Carole Emberton
- Department: History
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 3:00 – 3:50 pm
- Location: 257 Capen
- Section: NN
- Registration Number: 161106
Once hailed as the “Great Emancipator,” Abraham Lincoln recently has been criticized for his limited impact on the issue of slave emancipation as well as his racial views. In this seminar we will explore the historical controversies surrounding this iconic figure through Lincoln’s own writings and a variety of other first-hand accounts of his life, death and legacy. Through weekly reading assignments and thoughtful class discussions, we will endeavor to know the “real” Abraham Lincoln.
Libraries
Graphic Novels & Comic Books in American Culture
- Instructor: Michael Lavin
- Department: University Libraries
- Day and Time: Monday, 11:00 – 11:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen
- Section: B
- Registration Number: 035534
Comic books, though available worldwide, represent a uniquely American art form. So-called graphic novels, broadly defined as comic books and published in book format, presently enjoy a growing popularity in the United States, especially among teenagers and young adults. Today, graphic novels have moved beyond the traditional super-hero fare to embrace virtually every literary type and genre. This seminar, intended for newcomers to the field of comic books and graphic novels as well as longtime readers and fans, will explore how themes and characters in graphic novels reflect issues and concerns in contemporary American society. Through readings and discussion, students will survey the history of comic book art in America and examine how graphical storytelling differs from traditional narrative.
Introduction to Birdwatching
- Instructor: Christopher Hollister
- Department: University Libraries
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 10:00 – 10:50 am
- Location: 127 Capen
- Section: KK
- Registration Number: 356452
Students will be introduced to the art and discipline of birdwatching. Course subject material will include the natural history, evolution, and current status of North American birds. Students will learn the importance of birds to the environment, and also the importance of the environment to birds. Students will also develop and hone their skills for identifying wild birds. Field trips will be incorporated into the coursework, allowing students the privilege of witnessing the autumn migration of Neotropical songbirds through Western New York. It is hoped that the course will provide students with an appreciation for wild birds, and further, an appreciation for the importance of environmental stewardship.
Management
IT in a Flat World
- Instructor: Rajiv Kishore
- Department: Management
- Day and Time: Monday, 11:00 – 11:50 am
- Location: 320 Jacobs
- Section: DDD
- Registration Number: 239109
As the world’s economy becomes increasingly global, businesses must adapt their information technology (IT) platforms and systems to meet new challenges and opportunities. The jobs of the future will require an understanding of the global distribution of work (GDW) in areas such as human resources, operations, finance and accounting, and IT. Through timely research and real-world applications, you’ll learn more about the globalization phenomenon and how “market-driven” firms can leverage it to manage their cost structures and encourage innovation in their products, processes, and services.
Microfinance: An Introduction
- Instructor: Philip Perry
- Department: Management
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 2:00 – 2:50 pm
- Location: 102 Alfiero
- Section: I
- Registration Number: 116236
The field of Microfinance is defined as the provision of financial services to those too poor to be served by traditional financial institutions. In this seminar, we explore what microfinance is, how it got started, and how it operates today around the world. Seminar activities include lectures, films, and individual research.
Marketing
New Product Innovations
- Instructor: Debabrata Talukdar
- Department: Marketing/Management
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 10:00 – 10:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: G
- Registration Number: 080302
A firm exists essentially to market its products, which can be tangible or intangible (e.g., services, ideas). An intrinsic challenge facing any firm is the continuous pursuit of new product innovations in order to survive in a competitive market place. In this time and age of global competition, the success of any national economy depends even more critically on the ability of its firms in effectively dealing with that challenge. The broad goal of the seminar will be to examine how a market-driven firm handles such a challenge. Specific goals will include discussion of: (l) The role of product innovation as an engine of economic growth; (2) the adoption/diffusion process dynamics of new product innovations across consumers over time; (3) the impact and implications of the globalization process on new product innovations and diffusions; and (4) the primary market research tools and techniques used by contemporary firms in its pursuit to identify new product opportunities and seize such opportunities.
Mathematics
Mathematics and Human Nature
- Instructor: William Menasco
- Department: Mathematics
- Day and Time: Monday, 4:00 – 4:50 pm
- Location: 122 Math Building
- Section: E
- Registration Number: 181519
In the modern scientific enterprise we find that biologists use chemistry to study biological processes. Chemists use physics to study chemistry. Physicists use mathematics to study modern physics. But, when we come to the mathematician we reach the end of our progression and are presented with a tautology: mathematicians use mathematics to study mathematics. This progression illustrates what has been termed the Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics. Through mere force of rigorous reasoning our minds are able to predict with precision the outcome of numerous physical processes. Moreover, the triumph that is modern mathematics is unique among human endeavors. It is a body of expanding knowledge that is totally consistent—not matter what path of valid reasoning we take we never arrive at a statement asserting A and not A. No other field of human endeavor can make such a claim—not in law, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, literature or the arts. But, what is it we do when we do mathematics? To understand this is to understand human creativity at its inception. This seminar explores what our ability to do mathematics tells us about human nature. In particular, we will discuss such questions as: How mathematicians use ambiguity, contradictions, and paradox. Is mathematics discovered or made? Is all knowledge algorithmic? In order to participate fully in class discussions, keeping up with the readings is required.
Mathematics of Voting
- Instructor: David Hemmer
- Department: Mathematics
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 9:00 – 9:50 am
- Location: 122 Math Building
- Section: F
- Registration Number: 097981
In a simple election with two options, declaring the winner to be the one with the most votes is indisputably both simple and fair. But with more than two choices complications arise. A shocking theorem of Arrow asserts that there is NO consistent method of making a fair selection from among three or more choices, every system must be “unfair” in some fundamental way. We will discuss the interesting mathematics surrounding this theorem and the issues it raises about designing electron procedures. We may also discuss closely related topics, such as algorithms for ranking, for example, athletic teams.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The Teachings of the Ancients: Connecting Vintage Truth with Modern Life
- Instructor: Kemper Lewis
- Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 11:00 – 11:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: GG
- Registration Number: 207305
Ancient scriptural teachings speak to many issues in decision making, relationships, conduct and purpose. These issues span societal, gender, racial and cultural boundaries and provide a foundational perspective to understand the world we live in and our role in it. Dialogue will be facilitated by a set of videos from Nooma which originates from the English phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma, commonly translated as “spirit” or “breath.” Ideas and topics from history, philosophy, science, religion, psychology and sociology will provide the backdrop for the course related discussions and student position papers.
Nursing
Extending the Frontiers of Quality Health Care Through Nursing Research
- Instructors: Jean Brown and Donna Tyrpak
- Department: School of Nursing
- Day and Time: Friday, 9:00 – 10:50 am
- Note: this seminar will be held every other Friday, beginning with the first Friday of the semester.
- Location: 1140 Kimball Tower
- Section: U
- Registration Number: 344141
Nurses are America’s most trusted health care professionals. Beginning with Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, nursing research has provided the scientific evidence for nursing practice. The exponential growth of nursing research led to the establishment of the only discipline-specific institute within the National Institutes of Health. Created in 1993, the mission of the National Institute of Nursing Research is to promote and improve the health of individuals, families, communities, and populations. Because of the contributions of our nurse scientists, the UB School of Nursing has moved into the top 100 schools nationally ranked for nursing research funding. The UB nurse researchers programs of clinical research focus on the development and testing of theories, measures, and interventions related to health promotion and qualify of life. Collectively, nursing faculty contribute significantly to the development of the UB 2020 strategic strength of health and wellness across the lifespan. This course will present exemplars of nursing research and implications for shaping present and future health care.
Operations Management and Strategy
Introduction to Emergency Management
- Instructor: Natalie Simpson
- Department: Operations Management and Strategy
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 10:00 – 10:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen
- Section: KKK
- Registration Number: 089958
An emergency service system such as a fire department routinely resolves unplanned events within a given service area, while even a “normal” business system can be expected to weather unexpected events occasionally. But what precisely constitutes an emergency? How does one plan for an unexpected event, or manage an uncontrolled condition? In this seminar, we will explore these questions, seeking out the principles of successful emergency management. This seminar will begin with a tutorial phase, in which participants will learn basic principles of emergency management, including the national standards of the Incident Command System. We will then progress to a creative phase, in which participants will research and write emergency simulation scenarios, for use in table-top simulation exercises during an application phase. The application phase also represents an opportunity to assist with the professor’s research into managerial tools developed for emergency conditions.
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Scientific Methods: Science, Technology and Human Values
- Instructor: David Triggle
- Department: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 11:00 – 11:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen
- Section: LL
- Registration Number: 285605
The 21st century poses a number of extremely serious challenges and critical public policy decisions that require input and dialog from an informed public. How will hot button scientific issues—such as energy availability, climate change, gene-based technologies (foods, stem cells diagnostics, genetic enhancement, etc.), surveillance and privacy, intellectual property and knowledge privatization, and economic and cultural globalization—be dealt with by government, media, the scientific community, and the public? This seminar will explore the scientific method and the ethos of science, the relationship between science and its applications to a set of contemporary problems, and uncover how science policy is made, translated and implemented.
Vioxx Drug R&D and Approval: What Went Wrong
- Instructor: Kathleen Boje
- Department: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Day and Time: Thursday, 3:00 – 3:50 pm
- Location: 540 Cooke
- Section: SS
- Registration Number: 376774
Only 1 of every 10,000 potential medicines investigated by US pharmaceutical companies makes it through the research and development (R&D) pipeline and is approved for clinical use by the US Food and Drug Administration. A new drug approval takes approximately 15 years of R&D with costs of over $800 million dollars. Potential new medicines pass through several crucial stages on their way from research laboratories to the pharmacy shelf. So what wend wrong with Merck & Co.’s Vioxx (refecoxib), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug approved by the FDA for osteoarthritis and acute pain, and subsequently recalled from the market? Following FDA approval 1999, Vioxx was heavily marketed and prescribed, with over 80 million prescriptions, and sales revenue of $2.5 billion in 2003. In 2004, Merck issued a voluntary recall amid controversy of increased risk of heart attack and stroke associated with long-term, high-dose Vioxx use. By 2006, 10,000 individual lawsuits and 190 class actions suits were filed against Merck over Vioxx’s adverse effects and the adequacy of Merck’s warnings. Merck’s legal strategy was to take each lawsuit to trial, resulting in winning some and losing others. The litigation ended when all parties announced a $4.85 billion class action settlement in November 2007. This Discovery Seminar will examine the drug development and approval process, using Vioxx as a case study. The format of the seminar will be that of a legal proceeding, with students assuming roles of Merck scientists, marketing & sales persons, Merck executives, FDA officials, independent experts, patients and lawyers. We will attempt to answer the question as we investigate the drug research & development process and drug approval process.
Physics
Global Warming—Fact or Myth?
- Instructor: Michael Ram
- Department: Physics
- Day and Time: Monday, 1:00 – 1:50 pm
- Location: 219 Fronczak
- Section: D
- Registration Number: 431341
Global Warming is constantly in the news, even though many people who talk or write about it are not truly familiar with what the expression REALLY means (and implies). In this seminar, we will study what is meant by Global Warming, and will investigate its implications and will try to determine if it is really occurring. The semester will be guided by Professor Michael Ram (PhD) of the Physics Department who, as principal investigator in NSF’s GISP2 (Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2) program, studied how the dust concentration varied along the length of a ~3km-long ice core retrieved from central Greenland. One of the purposes of these measurements was to reconstruct how climate changed during the past 100,000+ years. Students will be actively engaged in the seminar and will be assigned simple projects that will allow them to elucidate the debate.
Psychiatry
Solving Crimes using Referent Tracking
- Instructor: Werner Ceusters
- Department: Psychiatry
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 1:00 – 1:50 pm
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: M
- Registration Number: 175555
Referent Tracking (RT) is a new methodology to build digital copies of the parts of the world we are interested in. These copies, when running inside a computer, should mimic what is happening in reality. As such, RT combines elements from philosophy with computer science. RT was originally designed to solve problems in healthcare, but has shown to be applicable to a variety of other domains. In this seminar, we will apply RT to reconstruct histories of criminal activities and demonstrate how the paradigm can cope with facts, beliefs, and mistakes, keeping track of information that is sometimes accurate, sometimes misleading, and often contradictory. We will look specifically to a well-known case in which a man was wrongly sentenced to death for a rape and murder he didn’t commit, although all evidence was against him.
Radiation
Bridging the Gap Between Medicine and Physics: Topics in Medical Physics
- Instructor: Matthew Podgorsak
- Department: Radiation Medicine
- Day and Time: Thursday, 9:00 – 9:50 am
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: P
- Registration Number: 469812
Medical Physics, an applied branch of physics, primarily interacts in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Through state-of-the-art technologies such as imaging and radiotherapy, medical physicists work in hospitals and university research centers helping to save lives through their application of scientific knowledge. In this fascinating seminar, taught by the Director of Medical Physics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, students will learn more about the facets of medical physics—such as research, technical development and clinical health care-that make the field essential to society’s health.
Social and Preventive Medicine
Epidemiology: What is it and who does it?
- Instructor: Carl Li
- Department: Social and Preventive Medicine
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 2:00 – 2:50 pm
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: N
- Registration Number: 081416
The seminar explores the broad spectrum of cutting edge epidemiologic research activity at UB. What is epidemiology? What do epidemiologists do? Where can a career in epidemiology take you? Why do we do epidemiology? Our faculty will discuss their innovative epidemiologic research projects ranging from breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and women’s health to international public health. Our ultimate goal is to promote health and wellness, prevent disease, prolong life, and improve the quality of life in populations. Attendance is vital and students should be prepared to participate actively in discussions surrounding the presentations.
Theatre & Dance
Exploring Contemporary Dance
- Instructor: Melanie Aceto
- Department: Theatre & Dance
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 11:00 – 11:50 am
- Location: 284 Alumni
- Section: L
- Registration Number: 401652
Contemporary concert dance is among the world’s most expressive and exciting art forms using the power of human movement to communicate and express ideas. In this vibrant seminar, join a renowned modern dancer, choreographer, and educator in uncovering why we inherently like or dislike a dance, dance’s potential to communicate, and finding meaning from movement. Through live concert attendance, videos and engaging class discussions you’ll explore dance through the elements of Time, Space, and Energy while considering the additional elements of concert dance, including music/sound, lighting, and costumes. With an educated eye, and heart, you will never again leave a dance concert saying “I didn’t get it!”
Urban & Regional Planning
Community-Based Development
- Instructor: Robert Silverman
- Department: Urban & Regional Planning
- Day and Time: Wednesday, 12:00 – 12:50 pm
- Location: 257 Capen
- Section: LLL
- Registration Number: 113142
This seminar will introduce students to community-based development models for solving urban problems. Issues related to neighborhood revitalization, community organizing, and citizen participation will be explored. A special emphasis will be placed on issues and challenges in metropolitan Buffalo.
Visual Studies
Decoding da Vinci and the Renaissance
- Instructor: Charles Carman
- Department: Visual Studies
- Day and Time: Thursday, 1:00 – 1:50 pm
- Location: 608 Capen
- Section: S
- Registration Number: 186047
Uncover the facts (and fiction) behind The Da Vinci Code in this overview of the Italian Renaissance. We’ll investigate the origins of the Renaissance and discuss its importance on culture, art and science today. Through the work and lives of artists such as Masaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo, you’ll gain scholarly insight into the ideas and achievements that shaped the transition between the Middle Ages (Dark Ages) and the modern/post-modern world. Through intriguing course materials and lively class discussions, you’ll be transported on a journey to 15th Century Europe.
Women’s Studies
Globalization, Democracy, and Gender
- Instructor: Barbara Wejnert
- Department: Women’s Studies
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 1:00 – 1:50 pm
- Location: 257 Capen Hall
- Section: HH
- Registration Number: 226853
In recent years, many scholars have sought to look into problems of interconnections between trends of globalization, democracy and the state as an independent explanatory factor in politically oriented social science. What have been the fruits of such efforts? This course surveys recent debates about global development and examines current research in several pertinent areas of globalization and its relation to gender and especially to maternal health: the impact of globalization and capitalist economic development on gender relations at UB and globally; and the impact of national politics and economy on forces of globalization and on culture including gender roles and gender relations.
Last updated: June 26, 2008 3:18 pm EST