Noteworthy: Research grants, awards and publications

A man with short gray hair and sunglasses poses next to solar panels on the UAlbany campus on a blue-sky day.
Richard Perez, senior research faculty at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC), published an opinion article in the Syracuse Post-Standard that offers five reasons why New Yorkers should embrace a solar energy future. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 27, 2023) — The latest developments on University at Albany faculty and staff who are receiving research grants, awards and other noteworthy attention.

  • CTG UAlbany Director and Rockefeller College Professor J. Ramon Gil-Garcia served as a subject matter specialist on a recent report from the U.S. General Accountability Office. The report, “Government Performance Management: Leading Practices to Enhance Interagency Collaboration and Address Crosscutting Challenges” provides eight leading practices that could help agencies collaborate more effectively, such as bridging organizational cultures, developing compatible policies or agreeing on common terminology.

  • Cynthia Najdowski, associate professor of psychology, and doctoral student Paige Oja published a study in the journal Behavioral Sciences & The Law. The article, “Relations between peer influence, perceived costs versus benefits, and sexual offending among adolescents aware of sex offender registration risk,” explores whether awareness of juvenile sex offender registration and notification policies deters young people from engaging in behavior that could result in registration. The study is the first to test individual-level developmental perceptions of peer influence in this context.

  • Jayanti Pande, Department of Chemistry, has received $430,250 from the National Eye Institute to support her project titled “Probing the specific interactions of AlphaA- crystallin and its aging- and cataract-associated forms with lens cell membrane mimics.” The project will investigate the roles of specific proteins in maintaining lens transparency and sight quality, particularly in light of processes that accompany aging which can degrade eyesight.

  • Richard Perez, senior research faculty at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC), published an opinion article in the Syracuse Post-Standard that offers five reasons why New Yorkers should embrace a solar energy future. Perez has led solar energy research at ASRC for nearly 40 years.

  • Jeannette Sutton, an associate professor at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, was awarded $99,853 from the U.S. Geological Survey to examine how members of the public and official alerting authorities define and understand “over-alerting.” The collaborative project includes researchers from UAlbany and California State University Fullerton.

  • Mathias Vuille, a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences, was awarded $282,980 from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative research project to examine global climatic responses to large volcanic eruptions during the 20th century. The project will run from Sept. 1, 2023 through Aug. 31, 2026.