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Amelia Alessi, B.S. '09
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 Amelia Alessi is a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Her research explores how humans undergo complex developmental transitions, although her interest in biology stemmed from her undergraduate research project examining the genetic diversity of bald eagles in Maine and Alaska. In her current fellowship, Alessi also serves as a mentor and leader to undergraduate students at John Hopkins—her way of paying it forward given the opportunities and support she received at Buffalo State. Learn more.
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Erin Baccari, B.S. '14
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 Erin is a student at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She says a post-grad field course studying howler monkeys in Nicaragua solidified her interest in environmental science, but the research she did at Buffalo State laid the foundation for her academic career. Baccari engaged in several projects in the fields of psychology, forensic anthropology, and animal behavior—adding that these research experiences allowed her to be more well rounded. This summer Baccari is working for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to prevent giant hogweeds (an invasive species) from harming other plants. Learn more.
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Azda Beda, B.S. '17
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 Jon Battison, who has degrees in computer information systems and electrical engineering technology, is a master’s student at the University at Buffalo studying communicative networks and drone technology. His ultimate goal is to examine how drone networks can communicate technical glitches and environmental obstacles and adjust accordingly without the need of human intervention. As an undergraduate, Battison and a team of students explored new cost-effective, software-driven techniques to conducting electronics prototyping analysis in classrooms. Learn more.
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Jon Battison, B.S. '17
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 Jon Battison, who has degrees in computer information systems and electrical engineering technology, is a master’s student at the University at Buffalo studying communicative networks and drone technology. His ultimate goal is to examine how drone networks can communicate technical glitches and environmental obstacles and adjust accordingly without the need of human intervention. As an undergraduate, Battison and a team of students explored new cost-effective, software-driven techniques to conducting electronics prototyping analysis in classrooms. Learn more.
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Kari-Anne Clayton, B.S. '16
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 Kari-Anne Clayton works in global technology and solutions at Deutsche Bank and lives in London, England. Clayton, who has a master's in organizational leadership from Colorado State University, works for a worldwide bank in technology, innovation, and problem solving. Learn more.
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Valerie Fleishcahuer, B.S. '13
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 Valerie Fleishcahuer is pursuing a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Rochester and will work in the field of inorganic research. Her current work examines catalytic reactions—processes used in the pharmaceuticals, fuel manufacturing and other industries to speed up production, which ultimately leads to more cost-effective results. Her research aims to undercut the use of expensive and toxic previous metals to to facilitate these reactions. Fleishcahuer says lab was always her favorite part of the chemistry program at Buffalo State, and that undergraduate research allowed her to take academic concepts and apply them to practical use. Learn more.
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Hiruni Senarath Dassanayake, B.S. '16
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 Hiruni Senarath Dassanayake's interest in space and geology started with a research project that began while studying at Buffalo State when she studied volcanism on Mars. Through undergraduate research, she combined her passion for earth and planetary sciences with geology, physics, and math in an innovative project that worked on looking for “water” on Mars. This project evolved into researching and discovering a possible “crater lake” in Margaritifer Terra, Mars. Since graduation Dassanayake has been an advocate for early STEM education, and she founded an educational project to engage more impoverished children with science in her native country Sri Lanka. Learn more.
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Alex Ford, B.S. '12
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 Alex Ford has been consumer- and patient-focused since designing his undergraduate research project at Buffalo State. Ford, a nutrition major, wanted to dispel mainstream advertisements and see if fruit juice could be consumed as an alternative to a sports drink during physical activity. Research exposed Ford to the connections between what we consume, our physical bodies, and our overall health. This ultimately influenced Ford to expand his work in the medical field and pursue a doctorate in osteopathic medicine. Learn more.
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Lis Gallant, B.S. '12
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 Lis Gallant was first exposed to volcanic research at Buffalo State, when she traveled to El Salvador with her research mentor to looked at explosive eruption deposits from Santa Ana volcano. Since graduating from Buffalo State she has worked on projects that explore hazards related to volcanoes in Colombia, Nicaragua, Utah, and the Pacific Northwest. Gallant is currently pursuing a Ph.D. to continue studying the implications of hazards related to volcanoes. Learn more.
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Brian Grabiner, B.S. '02
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Brian Grabiner is a senior scientist at Biogen, and he studies neurodegenerative disease. Learn more.
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John Lang, B.S. '14, M.S. '16
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 John Lang started his biology career by examining a fish population in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and on the Niagara River as a student at Buffalo State. Lang—who is now a biological science technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lodi, California—studies endangered fish to make real-time decisions about water infrastructure in the nearby Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Learn more.
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Joshua Oliver, B.S. '05
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 Josh Oliver is a clinical social worker and entrepreneur. He has worked as a social worker in clinical, educational, and private-practice settings. Oliver also founded his own company, Living Matters, which provides seminars, workshops, and training programs on a wide variety of business and mental health topics including: grief, depression, parenting, and redefining the sales process. Learn more.
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Hayley Panye, B.S. '15
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 Hayley Payne has a master’s degree in communicative disorders and is a speech-language pathologist. Payne always wanted her college experience to extend beyond the classroom, which is why she got involved in undergraduate research. Her research experience, through which she studied memory storage and manipulation, exposed Payne to a career helping adolescents with developmental disabilities. Today she works alongside children with disabilities on their speech, expressive and receptive language, and social-pragmatic skills. Learn more.
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Jennifer Shemansky, B.S. '08
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Jennifer Shemansky is a biologist at the National Center of Toxicological Research, which is part of the Food and Drug Administration. Shemansky says Buffalo State taught her that research was "fun" and opened her to the diverse careers in science beyond the medical field. Learn more.
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Matthew Tarasek, B.S. '08
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Matthew Tarasek is a lead magnetic resonance scientist at General Electric’s headquarters in Schenectady, New York. Learn more.
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Amanda Schiedel, B.S. ’15
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 Amanda Schiedel is a human resources manager for the brand-new University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Her department employs approximately 800 medical and dental residents, and we have a full-service HR team. She oversees the department and works in benefits, onboarding/recruiting, immigration, etc. Learn more.
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Thomas Bohlen, B.S. '09
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 Thomas Bohlen is an environmental program manager who assesses and evaluates environmental risk. Bohlen, who studied geology and earth science education at Buffalo State, says he uses the technical skills he gained through undergraduate research on a daily basis at his firm. Learn more.
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Huewayne Watson, B.S. ’09
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 Huewayne Watson combines his love for art, scholarly research, and education to critically examine social, economic, and racial issues. Through his understand research, Watson first employed cultural lens to study transnational conflicts between immigrant communities in the U.S. Since, Watson’s breadth of ethnographic research has expanded and he studied photography, paintings, prints, among other mediums, to advance his work. He is pursuing a M.F.A. and has worked in museum program development, grant writing, and research. Learn more.
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Bryan Wight, B.S. ’12
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 Bryan Wight learned how to conduct qualitative and quantitative data through surveys while studying psychology at Buffalo State. After graduation, Wight spent several years working in marketing and campaign planning, but his psychology degree propelled his interest in how cognitive processing affects public opinion. Wight, who is a graduate student at the University of Connecticut, is using his foundations in psychology to conduct studies on surveys and understand if perceptions are malleable and how they change overtime. Learn more.
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Henry Zomerfeld, B.A. '11
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 Henry Zomerfeld says the analytical, research, and writing skills he gained at Buffalo State are valuable in his career as an attorney, through which he has had to argue in hundreds of court cases. He tackled the issue of same-sex marriage in his undergraduate research around the same time New York State legalized same-sex marriage, which Zomerfeld says indicated the pressing nature of his work. Learn more.
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