A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

At the University, our scholars’ minds are constantly humming, giving off the sparks that ignite ideas in such diverse fields as microbiology and information security.

From David Davies’ work with biofilms, which could transform health care, manufacturing, shipping and pharmaceutics, to Victor Skormin’s immune system-inspired approach to computing, our researchers are setting the pace for inquiry and discovery. They’re also raising the alarm about land use and disaster preparedness in the wake of devastating hurricanes and the need to improve science and mathematics education as part of important national debates with far-reaching impact.

The tools and facilities available to these researchers are more advanced than ever. Consider the flex labs at our Innovative Technologies Complex, which are designed to be adapted quickly to new projects and to foster multidisciplinary work. State-of-the-art technology and facilities support creativity and innovation, which in turn attract additional faculty, staff and students.

We are pleased to share these exciting stories with our colleagues, friends and supporters and hope you’ll enjoy learning about the many ways that Binghamton University continues to question and challenge existing knowledge.

A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH

Like the parts of a suspended mobile, many aspects of today’s world are interconnected, and, as such, advances in any arena often provoke reactive change in others. Few arenas, however, possess the transformative potential of research. Within and across the disciplines, research, scholarship and creative activity do more than just spur reactive change. They spark innovation, ignite invention and provide the fuel to define — or redefine — the future.

New ideas and perspectives, new solutions to problems and new technologies and products — all of these are research dividends that significantly reshape the way we interact with each other and our environment. But each new research-inspired revelation also further informs and enhances the very activity from which it sprang. New questions materialize. New pathways of inquiry reveal themselves. New tools of observation and analysis take shape. And all such innovation opens up new creative possibilities and economic opportunities.

At Binghamton University, our commitment to research is clear, and as the cover of this issue of Binghamton Research suggests, we are, in every sense of the phrase, “bringing the heat.“ In a competitive research climate, this year’s 24 percent rate of growth in our research heralds the enterprise and dedication of our faculty researchers and of the graduate and undergraduate students who assist and learn from them. Twenty new patent applications signal their ingenuity and inventiveness. The opening of the biotechnology research building at the Innovative Technologies Complex, the designation of Binghamton University as a New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging and the state’s commitment of $66 million for the design and construction of a second science and engineering research building at the ITC portend well for our future. The “heat“ generated by the creative engine of Binghamton research gives a lift to regional economies, advances national interests and launches promising careers within and beyond the academy. We trust you will enjoy reading about a sampling of the important work going on here.