Category Archives: Binghamton

Binghamton

Retired UUPer murdered on campus

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Authorities are investigating the apparent murder of former UUP member Richard Antoun, who was stabbed to death in his office on the SUNY Binghamton campus Dec. 4. He was 77.

A 46-year-old post-graduate student and Saudi national, Abdulsalam al-Zahrani, was arraigned in the Town of Vestal Court, Broome County, on charges of second-degree murder.

Media reports quote other students and faculty describing the suspect as acting erratically in the days before the fatal assault. He was reportedly upset about not getting financial aid.

Antoun had retired as a full-time anthropology professor in 2000, but continued to conduct research. He had been a faculty member since the 1970s.

“We deeply regret the tragic death that took place as we would the loss of life on any of our campuses,” UUP President Phillip Smith said. “Our hearts go out to Dr. Antoun’s family and his university and union colleagues, who are deeply saddened by this tragic event.”

Prior to the incident, the union’s Binghamton Chapter had been working with the campus administration through a joint labor/management committee on how to improve training on preventing and responding to workplace violence.

— Donald Feldstein

Spotlight shines on three UUP members

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Each year, SUNY and numerous academic and professional groups honor hundreds of UUPers for outstanding accomplishments in their disciplines, on campus and in the communities.

The Voice is pleased to recognize three of these members this month.

• Lawrence Fialkow of SUNY New Paltz has been granted the rank of distinguished professor of mathematics and computer science. The distinguished professor designation is conferred on individuals who have achieved national or international prominence in a chosen field.

Fialkow, a 2001 recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, is an accomplished mathematics scholar who has achieved worldwide recognition for his seminal research in functional analysis.

• Kathleen Lesniak, an assistant professor of science education and coordinator of science education programs at SUNY Fredonia, recently received a $5,000 National Education Association (NEA) Foundation and Leadership grant to enhance the learning of science teacher candidates in accelerated graduate programs. She shares the award with Milissa Albano, a teacher at Southwestern High School in Jamestown.

NEA Foundation grant recipients are selected on their potential to enhance student achievement. This year, the foundation awarded 51 grants nationwide.

• Leo Wilton, an associate professor of human development and Africana studies at Binghamton University, was one of six people nationwide appointed to a four-year term on the Director’s Council of Public Representatives at the National Institutes of Health.

Wilton specializes in health disparities related to HIV and AIDS in black communities and is regional trainer for the American Psychological Association’s HIV Office for Psychology Education.

— Karen L. Mattison

Spotlight shines on UUP members

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Every year, SUNY and numerous academic and professional organizations honor hundreds of UUPers for top accomplishments in their disciplines, on campus and in their communities. The Voice is pleased to recognize four of these members here.

• Laura Kaminsky, a professor of music at Purchase State College and a world-renowned composer, recently took part in a two-week fellowship in Russia designed to help promote Russian culture in the U.S. The fellowship was awarded by the Likhachev Foundation.

• Roxana Pisiak, a professor of humanities at Morrisville State College, recently earned a Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes professors who show scholarship and growth and a commitment to students.

• Patrick Regan, a professor of political science at Binghamton University, has written a new book, Sixteen Million One: Understanding Civil War (Paradigm, 2009). Regan draws from a decade of research on civil conflicts to explore the conditions that would drive individuals to take on the life of a rebel.

• Anjali Sharma, an assistant professor of medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has been awarded a three-year $300,000 grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study bone loss among adults with or at risk for HIV. She is director of Downstate’s Adult Inpatient HIV?Services and medical director of the Buprenorphine Clinic for the STAR?Health Center.

— Karen L. Mattison

Two UUPers earn Presidential Early Career Awards

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President Barack Obama recently recognized two UUP members with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor bestowed by the federal government to researchers in the early stages of their careers.

Honored were Elizabeth Boon, an assistant professor of chemistry at SUNY Stony Brook, and Scott Craver, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Binghamton University. Winning researchers receive a grant of $200,000 per year for up to five years to further their study in support of critical government missions.

PECASE winners are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology, and for their commitment to community service.

“UUP has always been proud of the work undertaken by its members,” UUP President Phillip Smith said. “Now the rest of the nation knows about SUNY’s outstanding young researchers.”

Boon’s research focuses on bacterial biofilms—communities of bacteria that live on surfaces and are difficult to kill. Her research would allow scientists to better manipulate the bacterial biofilms to protect everything from cargo ships to severe wounds.

“When I learned I was to be awarded the PECASE I felt extremely surprised and honored,” Boon said. “Although our work is still in its early stages, my research group and I have worked very hard, so national recognition of the potential of our discoveries is thrilling and gratifying.”

Craver’s research focuses on a unified theory of counter-deception in information security applications, including the ability to detect those trying to destroy watermarks.

“I have been interested in cryptology for as long as I can remember,” Craver told The Voice, noting that a former professor introduced him to a digital watermarking system—and he found a flaw. “Most of my research since then has focused, in one way or another, on breaking multimedia security systems.”

Craver is “honored and relieved” to have received the presidential award.

“The funding comes at just the right time to secure support for existing and future students,” Craver said. “I am also up for tenure this year, and I suspect that this award will help.”

— Karen L. Mattison