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bupipedream.com | April 20, 2017
Prof. gets $500K to fund skin research Debate team succeeds at CEDA
500K FROM PAGE 1
work with biological interfaces, the regions where biological substances interact with organic material like bacteria and inorganic material such as anti-aging cosmetics. “I look at the mechanics and the function of biological interfaces, which are everywhere,” German said. “So, if you imagine what a biological interface is, you are looking at a biological interface when you look at me. You look at my skin.” According to German, scientists still lack information about the way skin functions, and he said the grant will help to expand existing learnings through new research ideas such as the stretchability of skin.
“Wrinkling, if you look at it from a physics perspective, is buckling,” German said. “You stretch something and it buckles and causes wrinkles. It’s really mechanics, and so that is the field that I sit in. How does it stretch, and how does it break? There’s gaps in the knowledge, and that is what we are trying to fill in.” German’s lab is exploring the different factors that affect the mechanics of skin, such as the sun and microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. In addition, German hopes to gain a greater understanding of the fundamentals of skin mechanics. Skin diseases and disorders also alter the skin’s biology, leading to dry, cracked skin. German said he wants to understand how the
protective organ can transform from an intact piece of tissue, which stretches and snaps back, to a degenerative piece of broken skin. “What does skin do?” German said. “Everyone just assumes that it’s there, and it just does. But it enables touch, it protects you from physical, chemical and microbial knocks. It also regulates your temperature and enables you to live on land. Skin is this sort of ‘jackof-all-trades,’ and it’s very good at doing its job. I think a lot of people take it for granted sometimes.” German explained that one of his graduate students is studying Langer’s lines, which are lines of skin tension that correspond to the natural orientation of collagen in the skin. “We believe these Langer’s
lines are closely associated with what happens when you age, because breakdown of collagen fibers, we think, is related to wrinkle formation,” German said. “Applications range from quantifying the accuracy of cosmetic products to surgical considerations.” According to German, surgeons have to take into account the direction they cut in to skin, because if you were to stretch it in one location and then again in another orientation at the same location, it will stretch differently and leave a scar. Looking forward, German said he hopes to make discoveries about the biomechanics of skin within the coming years.
BU adds biotech building to health complex JC FROM PAGE 1 Johnson City. “There will be a fair amount of drug development and drugdiscovery work,” she said. “The individuals that I have hired work very closely with the industry. We would envision being able to attract some biotechs and maybe even spin off some startups ourselves, who will be able to use this new R and D facility. This opportunity doesn’t happen very often, and for this region, it really is important for driving that economic engine.” The new facility will be the third building in the health sciences complex currently under construction in Johnson City and will be located at 48 Corliss Ave. In addition to the research and development building, the health sciences complex will also house the pharmacy school and the Decker School of Nursing. The pharmacy school building is expected to be completed by fall 2018. The Decker School of Nursing building will be located across the street from the new pharmacy school facility and will be fully constructed by April 2019.
Michael Contegni/Staff Photographer
Ride-sharing services to expand reach to upstate RIDE FROM PAGE 1 convenience for New York state residents, some Binghamton cab drivers are worried about what it means for them and their customers. A local cab driver, who wished to remain anonymous due to his association to the subject, said that Uber will hurt his business and disadvantage Binghamton University students who won’t have the same pre-existing relationships with Uber drivers as they do with local Binghamton area cab drivers. “We hate Uber; you don’t know who’s driving,” he said. “It will hurt our business and students because you don’t know who’s driving.”
However, not all drivers are concerned about ridesharing companies coming to Binghamton. Ali Waad, the owner of A&B Taxi, said that he is not worried about companies like Uber because he is already in competition with other local cab companies. “There’s competition with all companies,” Waad said. “If you have a good service, people will come to you.” Many students said they are excited about the prospect of having services like Uber in the area. Jessica Lamazor, an undeclared freshman, said she thinks ride-sharing companies will be beneficial for students but could hurt local cab drivers.
“I think it’s great for students,” Lamazor said. “It probably won’t work out so well for the cab drivers now unless they become Uber drivers, because Uber is definitely more convenient and potentially cheaper.” Noelle Wong, a sophomore majoring in linguistics, said having these companies will be beneficial because it will lead to more accountability for drivers. “As a student, I definitely think that I could benefit from it,” Wong said. “I remember one time a cab driver said they would come to pick me up but never came so I think that if Uber came, I could see where the cab was and be
guaranteed it would come for me.” According to Uber’s website, the company will be on the road in upstate New York as early as July 2017 and could potentially create 13,000 jobs. Gabriel Mesidor, a senior majoring in economics, said he thinks ride-sharing companies provide a better option. “I’ve used Uber in the past and I had pretty pleasant experiences,” Mesidor said. “For students in Binghamton in particular, I think Uber or Lyft might offer an improvement over the current taxi companies in place, especially if an Uber Downtown or to the Binghamton airport would cost less than a taxi.”
DEBATE FROM PAGE 1 In addition, Jason Smith, the president of the team and a senior majoring in computer engineering, and Thomas Buttgereit, a team captain and a junior double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law, were both named part of the Cross Examination Debate Association’s AllAmerican Team. Later, at the National Debate Tournament, the team won four rounds for the first time in its history. Held from March 23 to March 27, the tournament is a national championship for collegiate policy debate where the top 72 teams in the country face off. Joseph Leeson-Schatz, BU’s debate coach and director of speech and debate, credited the team’s recent success largely to administrative support and funding. He claims that the team’s fall in position from the top ten came as a direct result of budget cuts during the 201516 season when the Student Association (SA) cut funding to the team. The SA funds a portion of the team’s budget, along with other funds from University administration. “Without funds for an assistant coach and a consistent travel budget it is impossible to compete,” Leeson-Schatz wrote in an email. “Policy debate is both a curricular activity and a competitive sport. When you have a squad that is 20 to 30 people, and they’re all looking for five hours of meeting times per week, and people are traveling 10 weekends a year, you need an infrastructure that can support such a squad. The ability for us to enable people who have never debated before to compete while still achieving varsity success is why we end up being consistently ranked as one of the best debate programs in the nation.”
The team’s budget from the SA was restored for this season, which coincided with a return to top form. Aside from increased funding, Buttgereit, Smith and Leeson-Schatz stated that novices Amy Williamson, a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics and law, Anita Pan and Roberto Montero contributed greatly to the team’s growth. Smith claimed that the increased funding has allowed the novice debaters to accrue more experience, which Buttgereit believes will lead to a bright future for the team. “Our team’s success is largely due to our dedicated novices this year, and all of our new debaters who this is their first season,” Buttgereit wrote in an email. “They were a really impressive group who adapted to the activity with enthusiasm and skill that allowed them to thrive at tournaments. Also important to mention is our freshman, who came in with high school debate experience and were instantly competitive.” Williamson claimed that getting to witness the varsity debaters in action has proved to be a vital learning experience which has allowed for novice debaters like her to adapt and debate more freely and efficiently. “I would contribute a majority of the success of the team, to the varsity members who work hard in perfecting their own arguments as well as helping others,” Williamson wrote in an email. “When watching our varsity debaters in action, like Jason Smith in his Octofinal Round at CEDA for example, I realized how much people really care about debate. Rounds like that teach me why debate is important and why I can’t wait to continue with the activity.”
University highlights undergrad research RESEARCH FROM PAGE 1 work.” According to McDonald, Research Days are an integral part of the success of research at BU. “I think that all of the activities during Research Days demonstrate the range of research and creative activities that our students pursue,” McDonald said. “All undergraduates in all majors can pursue research or creative work that takes them beyond what is required in a course. These experiences benefit them in so many ways.”
It's a moment to show each other some of our best work —Rachel Coker Director of the Division of Research