Faculty/Staff Achievements Roundup: Sypniewski named PLANT WNY Person of the Year

This is part of a monthly series highlighting the honors and achievements of Buffalo State University faculty and staff. The roundup is compiled from the previous months’ submissions to the Daily Bulletin and department newsletters.

Steven Sypniewski, campus arborist, manager of the annual Big Dig tree planting, and member of the campus Sustainability Task Force, was named the PLANT (Professional Landscape and Nursery Trades) WNY Person of the Year at the organization’s annual awards ceremony on November 13. This prestigious award is given by the largest landscape, horticulture, and trades organization in the region. Sypniewski has served PLANT WNY in numerous capacities over the years and has earned lifetime Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional (CNLP) certification. This honor also carries a special legacy—Steve follows in the footsteps of his father, who received the same award in 1978.

“Receiving this award means so much because I was selected by my contemporaries in an association I have been active in for more than 30 years,” Sypniewski said. “Since 1965, there have been great individuals that have earned this award and to be considered part of this ‘club’ is truly an honor. I wish my father, who passed away in 2020, could have been there.”

In addition to Sypniewski’s honor, here are some other recent outstanding achievements by Buffalo State faculty and staff members: 

John Abromeit, professor of history and social studies education, coedited (with Matthew Dimick and Paul Linden-Retek, both professors at the University at Buffalo Law School) the book, Critical Encounters with Habermas’s Political and Legal Theory, which was recently published by Brill. His article, “Historicizing Habermas’s Between Facts and Norms: A Critique from the Perspective of Early Frankfurt School Critical Theory,” also appeared in the volume.

Saquib Ahmed, associate professor of engineering technology, co-authored a recent publication from Buffalo State’s Center for Integrated Studies in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in the prestigious journal Energy Economics. The publication, “Machine learning analysis of New York clean energy trends,” was co-authored by Joaquin Carbonara, professor of mathematics; data science and analytics graduate students Kamal Nikhil Gokavarapu and Nidhish Abhijit Gore; and Chirag Ohri from the University at Buffalo School of Business. This ML-based work provides a blueprint for clean energy companies to effectively break into energy markets in New York State. 

Sarbani Banerjee, professor of computer information systems, partnered with International Preparatory (I-Prep), Lewis J. Bennett School of Innovative Technology, Math, Science, and Technology (MST) Preparatory School, and several other partner schools. Through her course, CIS 388: Service-Learning in Computing, students engaged with the Buffalo Public Schools to teach coding and cybersecurity concepts to secondary school students. Their work was recognized by Joanne Siwula, business education teacher at I-Prep, and was featured in the International Prep High School Times. 

Fiona Beckett and Rebecca Ploeger, associate professors of art and design, traveled to Munich, Germany to attend and present research at the biennial conference FUTURE TALKS 25: FROM FAILURE TO SUCCESS: Innovative case studies in the conservation of the modern. They presented Stuck in the middle: Treatment decisions surrounding a rare painting by Marisol. This was faculty and student research by Beckett, Ploeger, Jiuan Jiuan Chen, Caitlin Green, Stephanie Gold, Kelsey Marino. The painting is owned by the Albright- Knox.

Dorothea Braemer, associate professor of communication, received a $10,000 New York State Council on the Arts support for her upcoming documentary, Cricket Man.

Jane Cushman, mathematics associate professor and chairperson, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Mathematics Teachers of NYS in Rochester.

Dwight Hennessy, professor and chair of the Psychology Department, did a featured segment about driving behavior on the BBC Radio show All in the Mind. 

Jodelle Magner, associate professor of mathematics, presented an invited talk, “Yes, It is a Mathematical Fact! There are Different Sizes of Infinity!,” at the 75th annual Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State Conference in Rochester. 

Sue McMillen, professor of mathematics, was inducted into the New York State Mathematics Educators Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was created to honor individuals who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in mathematics education in New York State.

Joseph A. Miller, associate professor of art and design, had several of his paintings published in Curlew New York. 

Ram Rai, professor of physics, coauthored one paper, “Canted magnetism, spin interactions, and anisotropic magnetodielectric response in CoTeMoO₆” in Physical Review Materials. This paper was the result of collaboration between researchers from several universities.

Deborah Silverman, chair and associate professor of communication, presented a pedagogical poster, “‘Ethics Minutes’ in the Undergraduate Public Relations Classroom," at the Public Relations Society of America Educators’ Academy Conference in Washington, DC. “Ethics Minutes,” based on real-life ethics scenarios in public relations, is a classroom exercise designed to raise students' awareness about ethical challenges through reflection and small-group discussions. The exercise attempts to address PR practitioners' concerns that entry-level public relations employees are not adequately prepared to deal with ethical challenges on the job.

Mehwish Sarwari, assistant professor of political science and coordinator of BA international relations, was featured in the International Institute of Buffalo’s newsletter.

Xingwang Qian, professor of business, economics, and public administration, presented “The Global Financial Cycle and High-Frequency RMB Exchange Rate Dynamics,” at the 15th Annual International Conference on the Chinese Economy, with discussion led by Sally Chen (IMF) and Mikael Juselius (BIS). 

Dave Wilson, associate professor of mathematics, is now in thel $1,000,000 research funds club.

Jie Zhang, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of the Center for China Studies, published the four articles: “A Worldwide Study of the Relationship between Gini Coefficients and Suicide Rates” in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health with coauthors Juncheng Lyu and Dorian A. Lamis; “Guanxi Beliefs, Self-Efficacy Beliefs, and Depressive Symptoms—Analysis of the Effects of Chinese-Style Special Relationships” in Frontiers in Psychology with coauthors Guoqing Li and Buerzhasala Ha; “Suicide Rates in China: What Will Be the Next?” in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry; and “Reliability and Validity of the Short Quality of Life Scale among Bank Employees in Guangxi, China” in Frontiers in Psychology with coauthors Qianwei Huang, Qiqing Mo, Huiming He, Xinyu Bai, Zhenyu Ma, and Guoxiang Chen.

Photo by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.