Seeking Volunteers for UB 360 Spring Events

Posted by Tim on February 28, 2020 in Community Announcements, Event, Volunteering

Volunteers are needed for both the April 5^th and April 18^th UB 360 Spring events to help welcome and guide our guests across campus.

If you are interested, you can register at the following link: https://ubconnect.buffalo.edu/register/VolsSpring2020

March 3rd Sip & Chat – Research Opportunity!

Posted by Tim on February 27, 2020 in Event, Honors Experiences, Honors Program Announcements, Research Information and Opportunities

Join us for a special Sip & Chat where we will hear from multi-disciplinary faculty on their unique project, with Computing for Social Good (C4SG @ UB), that WILL HAVE OPENINGS for Honors students to become involved and contribute. This is a great opportunity to earn Honors Experience credit!

Meet the staff:

• Melanie Sage is interested in the use of technology in social work education and practice, the intersections of technology and child welfare, family engagement in child welfare and child welfare practice with indigenous families.
• Kenneth Joseph is interested in the use of machine learning for social good from an applied perspective, and the ways in which people express themselves and opinions of others on social media.
• Atri Rudra is  interested in the use of machine learning for social good from a theoretical perspective (including identifying the pitfalls of its use).
• Huei-Yen (Winnie) Chen is interested in human-machine interactions and how best to support operator performance in dynamic, complex systems, such as transportation and healthcare.
• Varun Chandola is interested in the use of machine learning for social good from a data mining perspective, and who studies scalable anomaly detection and data mining for big graphs, temporal, and spatial data.

What this particular project is about:

• There are more than 400,000 youth in foster care in the US, and each year more than 20,000 age out of foster care without reunifying with their families. The outcomes for these youth are poor. Fortunately, youth in foster care are potentially eligible to receive services, such as vocational training, that may improve their chances at positive life outcomes. However, caseworkers are typically only able to identify youth for these services after the youth experiences a relevant need or crisis. To address this problem, our final goal will be to provide a system that assists caseworks to identify youth in need of services before a crisis occurs. Developing this system includes surveying case workers in the field to identify their needs and then using this information use data visualization (and machine learning) tools to help them make better decisions.

Event Details:

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Don Schack Lounge

Please fill out the survey at this link to give us an idea of your interests and we will get back to you!

Please email Kenny Joseph (kjoseph@buffalo.edu) and/or Atri Rudra (atri@buffalo.edu) if you have more questions (but please do fill in the Google form above!)

NASA-funded Undergraduate Research Experience – University of Tennessee, Knoxville This Summer

Posted by Tim on February 27, 2020 in Honors Experiences, Networking, Research Information and Opportunities, Summer Research

NASA-funded undergraduate research experience at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville this summer.

The NASA University Leadership Initiative is now accepting applications for University of Tennessee (UT) and non-UT students interested in participating in summer research on the UT Knoxville campus! Students working on this project will contribute to the development of slotted, natural-laminar-flow airfoil technology through aerodynamics and/or structural analyses using industry-standard tools. Research activities will be assigned based on the students’ interests as they align with the current needs of the overall project. In previous years, students worked on airfoil design optimization strategies and laminar-flow-compatible high-lift systems. Some of this research resulted in presentations at national AIAA Aviation and SciTech conferences!

DATES: Sunday, May 31st – Saturday, July 25th
Selected participants will receive a $2,500 monthly stipend (June and July) and on-campus housing through the duration of the summer program.

Interested candidates may submit a cover letter and statement of interest by March 6th to Sarah Segal, Program Manager of the NASA University Leadership Initiative, for further consideration at ssegal1@utk.edu.

Scharps Legal Essay Competition (Apply by March 18, 2020)

Posted by Tim on February 26, 2020 in Competitions, Financial Aid

Apply for the 2020 Benjamin and David Scharps Legal Essay Competition by March 18!

The Benjamin and David Scharps Legal Essay Competition is open to juniors and seniors (or underclassmen who have that status based on credit hours) at SUNY campuses who are interested in legal issues, or are interested in pursuing a career in the legal field. The topic of this year’s essay competition is Criminalizing Speech.

One award of $1,500 will be presented to the student who has written the best 2,000 word essay describing the role and relevance of law in dealing with a current legal issue. A second award of $1,000 will be presented to the runner-up. 

Students must submit their essays to the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.

Questions can be directed to fellowships@buffalo.edu.

Learn more!

South Asia Summer Language Institute – Summer 2020

Posted by Tim on February 25, 2020 in Academics, Scholarship Opportunities, Student experience, Summer Courses

South Asia Summer Language Institute

1. SASLI Application is open until April 1, 2020. As a reminder, we will be offering Nepali and Punjabi as new additions for the Summer 2020, in addition to Bengali, Dari, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Pashto, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu. To apply, click here.  
2. SASLI Distance Learning Applications are now open until April 1, 2020! Want to study at SASLI, but find it difficult to spend 8 weeks away from your current obligations? Distance learning is the perfect opportunity to still partake in SASLI, without having to relocate to Madison. More information about the requirements and link to the application can be found here.
3. SASLI Half/Full Fee Remission Application is now open until April 1, 2020! SASLI is excited to announce that our scholarship, which covers between 50 to 100% of the SASLI tuition is now accepting applications. Get in your application now to be considered for such an incredible opportunity. Application guidelines can be found here.
4. WISLI Tuition Scholarship is now accepting applications until April 1, 2020! This scholarship provides coverage of tuition and segregated fees for language study in the summer 2020. Application requirements can be found here.

UB Campus Garden

Posted by Tim on February 25, 2020 in Community Announcements, Information Session, Student experience, Sustainability, Volunteering, Workshops

The UB Campus Garden is a shared bed garden on UB’s North Campus where UB students, faculty, and staff can grow.

We aim to empower our community to grow food and take an active role in the food systems we are a part of. By learning skills to grow food from start to finish, we encourage more sustainable and mindful consumption practices. The campus garden is an inclusive and diverse space where gardeners of all experience and backgrounds are welcome!

Timeline:

Information session: Week of February 24th, 2020

Workshop: Week of March 9th, 2020

Participants are expected to maintain their plots throughout the entire spring and summer semesters. This involves starting seeds, transplanting, watering, weeding, and harvesting. Have no experience gardening? We will provide you with all the information and tools you need!

Interested in joining? Click here.

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day: Life Below Water Volunteer Opportunity

Posted by Tim on February 25, 2020 in Buffalo Bits, Event, Sustainability, Volunteering, Volunteers Needed

UB Sustainability and the UB Great Lakes Program is assembling a working group of students to help create a game that explains water pollution and the WNY Watershed to local school students. It is based off of a curriculum developed in Cleveland and adapted for Erie PA. This informal working group of students would help us by:

1.  Drafting 40 facts that pertain to Buffalo’s watershed (based on the past 50 years)

2.  Launching and leading the game at UB’s STEP program with 12-20 middle school students on April 3^rd from 4-5pm on South Campus

 
Your time commitment would be about 5 hours of work. The facts for the board game can be created through a shared document online, and then we’d just need volunteers to administer the game in April.
 
We are planning on launching a kickoff meeting next Wednesday, February 26^th from 11-12pm in 101 Statler to explain the scope of the project. We can create a web meeting as well for people that cannot attend in person.
 
If you’re interested in volunteering, please RSVP here.

2020 Asian Studies Undergraduate Study Abroad Award

Posted by Tim on February 24, 2020 in Fellowships, Scholarship Opportunities, Study Abroad

The 2020 Undergraduate Study Abroad Award

The Undergraduate Study Abroad Award supports study abroad for Summer 2020, Fall 2020, AY 2020-21, or Spring 2021. The deadline for the application is March 30, 2020.

The awards will range between $500 and $1000. All UB undergraduate students are welcome to apply, but preference will be given to students majoring or minoring in the Asian Studies Program.

Eligibility Requirements

·       Full-time enrollment as an undergraduate at the University of Buffalo in good academic standing at the time of your application

·       At the time of applying for this award, you must already have applied to a study abroad program in Asia through the UB Study Abroad office. Exceptions will be considered with prior approval from the Asian Studies Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Amanda Kennell.

Criteria

·       Foreign language study is a component of the program

·       Participation in an established, credit-bearing study abroad or exchange program

·       Preference shall be given to applicants who are studying abroad for the first time or in a country or region to which they have never before traveled

·       Awards are based on academic merit and seriousness of purpose

·       The applicant agrees to be an ambassador for Asian Studies at UB by sending occasional posts and photos of their experiences while in-country for use on the Asian Studies Program’s social media and website. The applicant must also be willing to talk with other students about their study abroad experience upon returning to UB.

Application Materials and Guidelines

Please submit the following 4 items:

1. The online application form (http://asianstudies.buffalo.edu/).
2. A personal statement no longer than 3 pages double-spaced, 11 or 12 point font, following the outline below:
   • The Program. Describe the program: what is the length of the program, the course of intended study, and the language focus? You may include a program info sheet or brochure as supporting documentation if one exists.
   • The Language. What language training have you acquired prior to the study abroad program? What is your expected proficiency at the end of the study abroad program? What is your goal in learning this language?
   • Academic Purpose. Describe your academic reasons for selecting a particular program and explain in detail how the study abroad program will fit into your overall academic program and goals. 

1. Development. Describe how the program benefits your personal, academic, and professional development.
2. Candidacy. Why are you a particularly strong candidate for this award?
3. One letter of recommendation from a professor who has taught you in an Asian Studies-related course. The letter of recommendation must be submitted in a sealed envelope signed by the professor or emailed as an attachment directly from the professor.
4. A current copy of your transcript.

Submission Instructions

Email Asian-Studies@buffalo.edu with “Study Abroad Award Application: [your name]” in the subject line. Attach the completed application form, your personal statement, and your transcripts. Ask your professor to email their letter of recommendation as an attachment to Asian-Studies@buffalo.edu with “Study Abroad Recommendation: [your name]” in the subject line.

*All application materials must be submitted by 4pm on Monday, March 30, 2020.*

Please direct any questions about your submission to Asian-Studies@buffalo.edu.

LGBTQ+Dinner Crew March 2

Posted by Tim on February 24, 2020 in Community Announcements, Event, Networking, Stress Relief

LGBTQ+ and Religion

Monday, March 2nd

6p.m.-8 p.m.

240 Student Union

Discussion will be on the intersection of religion and the  LGBTQ+ community.

Goal Getters Workshop March 2

Posted by Tim on February 24, 2020 in Community Announcements, Event, Networking, Workshops

Monday, March 2nd

5 p.m.-6 p.m.

240 Student Union Come spark your inner #Girlboss and start off Women’s History Month on the most positive note with our DIY vision board event