WE ARE ACCELERATING EXCELLENCE
Accelerating Excellence: Breaking Ground on a Bold Future
Dear Colleagues,
The groundbreaking ceremony of Russell L. Agrusa Hall was a transformative moment in the history of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Last fall, elected officials traveled to our campus to celebrate the development of a building that will reshape the future of engineering and computing at UB. This new student-centered facility will be a hub where bold ideas take shape and where students gain the skills to become leaders in industry and academia.
Agrusa Hall is an embodiment of the immense growth within our school across all areas of our operation, which would not be possible without you. Your support has empowered our students, enabled us to attract top talent, and deepened our impact on the world. Agrusa Hall is not just a structure—it is a symbol of our collective commitment to excellence.
Thank you for being an essential part of this exciting chapter in our school’s history. Together, we are building more than a school—we are building the future. Join us on this journey by supporting this transformational project with a donation of any amount.
Sincerely,
Kemper Lewis, PhD, MBA Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
RANKEDNO.
31 AMONGPUBLIC UNIVERSITIESIN2025 BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
DEGREESAWARDED 2024 ACADEMICYEAR GRADUATE
1,569 MASTER’S
87PhD UNDERGRADUATE
1,043
ENROLLMENT 2025 ACADEMICYEAR
2,981 GRADUATE STUDENTS
4,896 UNDERGRADUATES
$113M INANNUALRESEARCH ANDRISING 2024 FISCAL YEAR
DEGREEPROGRAMS
37 GRADUATE PROGRAMS
15 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
WEWELCOME STUDENTSFROM
79 COUNTRIES ACROSSTHE GLOBE TO OUR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
New National Initiatives
UB
to Launch Department ofAI and Society
Our bold, new department will forge collaborations across disciplines in the sciences and humanities to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges using artificial intelligence.
Shared between our School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and UB’s College of Arts and Sciences, our department will empower students to explore how AI can accelerate meaningful change in more than half a dozen fields, including geography, health, public policy, communication and the arts.
UB received $5 million from New York to support the formation of the department, continuing the state’s investment in UB as a pioneer in AI education and research. Chaired by Professor Atri Rudra, this new department will reinforce our legacy of innovation in AI that spans nearly 50 years.
ENROLLMENT SURGES IN AI MASTER’S PROGRAM
With AI at the forefront of public consciousness, more UB students than ever are studying the subject through our Engineering Science MS with a focus in AI, launched in 2020 Within five years, the program has grown from five to nearly 100 students.
Accelerating Artificial Intelligence
Supercomputer, Supercharged Discovery
EMPIRE AI POWERS ON SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER, AMONG WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL
The processing power of Empire AI, New York’s $400 million AI-research consortium, has begun accelerating tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Its first stage, named “Alpha,” houses a GPU supercluster at UB that is among the most powerful computers in the world. Our faculty are using the supercomputing center to develop large language models that use AI to improve mental health care, help children with speech and language challenges, and more.
Strengthening the Clean Energy Economy
UB LAUNCHES CENTER FOR ACCELERATED INNOVATION THROUGH MATERIALS
The new research center will tap into UB’s expertise in artificial intelligence, materials science and advanced manufacturing to propel New York’s transition to a clean energy economy. Supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and championed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, the center will help develop infrastructure for hydrogen fuel, build energy-efficient microelectronics, and produce next-generation solar panels.
35 New Faculty Join Our GrowingTeam
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Mary Canty
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Prevention of orthopedic implant infections
Filip Stefanovic
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Computational neurorehabilitation; computer-assisted health care
Jungeun Won
Assistant Professor of Research
RESEARCH AREAS: Developing biomedical optical imaging technologies
Lin Zhang
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Smart electronics for biomedical engineering
CHEMICALAND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
Aurora del Carmen Munguía-López
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS:
Optimization; process design; life cycle assessment
CIVIL, STRUCTURALAND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Jonathan Boualavong
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Electrochemical separations for just climate interventions
Xudong Fan
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Intelligent urban water systems
Samantha Mehltretter
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Engineering within natural aquatic systems
Mark Voisinet
Associate Professor of Practice
RESEARCH AREAS: Computer-aided design
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Adekunle Afolabi
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: AI-enabled robust software for health care
BakrAlbahri
Associate Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Machine learning and computer architecture
Yorah Bosse
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Programming; education; misconceptions; patterns; difficulties
Haipeng Cai
Associate Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Software/systems security; software engineering
Xiangyu Guo
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Algorithm design for combinatorial optimization
Asif Imran
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Improving energy consumption and carbon footprint
Vishnu Lokhande
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Machine learning; visionlanguage models
Xi Lu
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Human-computer interaction
Naeem Maroof
Associate Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Low-power memory and compute circuits
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Mostafa Mohammed
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Computer science education
Maria Rodriguez
Principal Research Scientist
RESEARCH AREAS: Equity optimized algorithmic decision making
Qianchuan Ye
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Interactive proof assistants; programming languages
Adedoyin Inaolaji
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Optimization of renewablerich power systems
Barnard
Onyenucheya
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Pulsed power; non-thermal plasma
Ming Shi
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Machine learning theory; network optimization
INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Yu Jin
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS:
Analytics for advanced and smart manufacturing
Aanuoluwapo Ojelade
Distinguished Research Fellow
RESEARCH AREAS: Occupational ergonomics and biomechanics
MATERIALS DESIGN AND INNOVATION
Hui Cao
Assistant Professor of Research
RESEARCH AREAS:
Thin film synthesis and characterization
Soohyun Im
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Structure-property relationships in materials
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
Hyeongyun Cha
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS:
Addressing energy and water challenges
Chaozhe He
Assistant Professor
RESEARCH AREAS:
Building trustworthy robot
companions
Katharine Hunter
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Thermal and energy sciences; engineering education
Arnaldo RodriguezGonzalez
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Qualitative dynamical systems, transport phenomena
Xin Yong
Associate Professor
RESEARCH AREAS: Synthetic and biological soft matter
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES
Yulong Huang
Process Engineer
RESEARCH AREAS: Materials science and engineering
Adithya Lakshmi Narayanan
Assistant Professor of Teaching
RESEARCH AREAS: Data for/in social good
290+
FULL-TIMEFACULTY AND GROWING FAST
34
FACULTYNAMEDFELLOWS OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES SINCE 2020
28
NRC PRESTIGIOUS&HIGHLY PRESTIGIOUSAWARDS
AWARDED TO OUR FACULTY SINCE 2020
22
NSF CAREERAWARDS AWARDED TO OUR FACULTY SINCE 2020 ACCELERATING
