University at Buffalo (UB)
In Memoriam
Joseph J. Tufariello
Joseph J. Tufariello
Professor Joseph Tufariello was a synthetic organic chemist who retired from UB in 2003. During his longtime career at UB, he served as chair of UB Chemistry and Dean of College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (predecessor to CAS). Professor Tufariello established an endowment in honor of his parents that is used to present an award to the outstanding graduating senior at UB Chemistry.
Robert D. Allendoerfer
Robert Duff Allendoerfer
Professor Robert Allendoerfer (Bob) was a member of our faculty from the late 1960s until his retirement in 2001. Professor Allendoerfer's research program focused primarily on the use of electrochemistry and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to generate and characterize organic radicals. Additionally, Bob was a passionate and dedicated instructor of undergraduate chemistry courses. He played a leading role in refining our general chemistry curriculum over the years. Bob was an early innovator in introducing web-based and computer-aided calculations and instruction in general chemistry, and he contributed significantly to the chemical education literature in these areas. Bob was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1987.
James W. McIver, Jr.
James W. McIver, Jr.
Professor James McIver (Jim) was a member of our faculty for 40-plus years. He was a theoretical chemist who developed computational methodologies and studied electronic structure, reaction trajectories and intermediates, and biradical species. Jim was a dedicated and passionate teacher. He served our department in many capacities over the years, including as our Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Alan Jere Solo
Alan Jere Solo
Professor Alan Jere Solo (Jere) attended MIT and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in 1955. He then went on to earn M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Organic Chemistry from Columbia University in 1956 and 1959 respectively. He worked as research associate at the Rockefeller University in New York City from 1958 through 1962 when he accepted a position as assistant professor of Medicinal Chemistry at University at Buffalo, SUNY, becoming a full professor in 1970.
Jere served as the Director of Graduate Studies of Medicinal Chemistry at Buffalo prior to becoming Chairman of the Department in 1969, a position he served for close to 30 years, until his retirement in 1997. Dr. Solo was a Professor Emeritus at SUNY Buffalo and has two assistant professorships named after him, the Dr. Alan Jere Solo Assistant Professorships. Dr. Solo was a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, The Scientific Research Honor Society, Sigma Xi, and was listed as a noteworthy Medicinal Chemistry educator and consultant by Marquis Who's Who. His research focused on carbocyclic synthesis of steroids, and structure-activity relationships of steroid hormone analogs. Dr. Solo enjoyed decades of teaching and mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as acting as a consultant for various pharmaceutical companies.
Jere Solo Interdisciplinary Award in Chemistry (2001-2012)
The Solo Fellowship was established in 2001 by Dr. and Mrs. John N. Kapoor in honor of Dr. Kapoor’s PhD Mentor, Professor Jere Solo. The award consisted of a generous fellowship for graduate students studying medicinal chemistry.
Michael R. Detty
Michael R. Detty
Professor Michael Detty was a native of Ohio. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bowling Green State University and his PhD in organic chemistry from The Ohio State University. After completing his PhD, Mike spent 17 years as a research scientist at the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, where he developed a range of dye chromophores, focusing particularly on IR-absorbing dyes. His work at Kodak yielded 26 patents and 62 peer-reviewed articles. In 1995, Mike joined UB’s faculty, initially in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and then in the Department of Chemistry following the merger of the two departments. Mike made lasting contributions in research, teaching, and service, and he truly relished the opportunity to contribute in all three pillars of academia.
In 1995, Mike joined UB’s faculty, initially in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and then in the Department of Chemistry following the merger of the two departments. Mike made lasting contributions in research, teaching, and service, and he truly relished the opportunity to contribute in all three pillars of academia.
Mike expanded his prolific research career at UB, applying synthetic organic chemistry and the design of dyes and other compounds to wide-ranging problems in medicinal chemistry, materials science, catalysis, solar energy conversion, biofouling, and biomedical imaging. Mike’s research on heavy chalcogen dyes is world-renowned. A hallmark of Detty group research was its collaborative nature; he and his group engaged in many successful collaborations with researchers at UB and worldwide. While at UB, Mike authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications and obtained seven more U.S. patents. Mike received the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal from the Western New York section of the American Chemical Society, as well as UB’s Visionary Inventor Award in recognition of his accomplishments in research and technology transfer.
Mike was deeply committed to training and mentoring young scientists, from undergraduate and graduate students in the classroom and laboratory to young faculty colleagues beginning their independent academic careers. Mike graduated twenty-plus PhD students and mentored countless undergraduate researchers, and additionally was a skilled and dedicated classroom teacher. Mike’s superior teaching and mentoring was recognized with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Milton Plesur Award from the Undergraduate Student Association, and the Meyerson Mentoring Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring.
Mike was also an accomplished administrator. Throughout his academic career, Mike served selflessly on an outsized share of committees in the department and beyond. He served as chair of the Department of Chemistry for four years, during which time we hired six new faculty and addressed key staffing needs. Mike wasn’t afraid to shake things up, and he left the department better than he found it. Following his term as chair, Mike served for two years as Interim Director of UB’s Center for the Arts. During that role, Mike merged his administrative prowess with his love of music and the performing arts, and he found yet another way to move our university forward.
Mike cherished his role as a member of our faculty. He positively impacted the lives of countless students and colleagues, and he made myriad contributions in research, teaching, mentoring, technology transfer, and administration. Mike left a lasting impression at UB, and the impact of his work will live on. He is sorely missed by faculty, staff, and students.
Michael Detty Undergraduate Summer Research Award
Margaret Logan Detty, PhD, along with friends and family of the late Michael Detty, PhD, have created an endowed fund within the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc. to be used for the purpose of supporting a student participating in a summer research opportunity with a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry. Our department is grateful to Margaret Logan Detty and the other donors for establishing this award, which honors Michael Detty’s legacy and highlights his longstanding dedication to mentoring research students.
Peter T. Lansbury
Peter T. Lansbury, Sr.
Professor Peter Lansbury, Sr. joined UB’s Chemistry faculty in 1960 and spent his entire career here until retiring in 1995. During his career at the University at Buffalo, he collaborated in physical-organic and synthetic organic chemistry research with his 38 Ph.D. students, 12 post-doctoral fellow and numerous undergraduate scholars. His major scientific contributions were in organosynthetic methodology and natural products total synthesis, for which he was awarded the 1985 Jacob F. Schoellfopf Medal by the Western New York ACS. Professor Lansbury created the Peter T. Lansbury Undergraduate Research Award for junior Chemistry majors. The award is for a research project to be done during the summer between the Junior and Senior year.
Peter T. Lansbury Chemistry Award
Joseph P. Vacca, PhD 1983, received the Merck Director’s Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the discovery of Crixivan, an HIV protease inhibitor. Dr. Vacca selected the University at Buffalo as recipient of the Merck prize because of the important role UB played in his career. To honor his former PhD mentor, Dr. Peter T. Lansbury, Professor Emeritus, Dr. Vacca created the Peter T. Lansbury Chemistry Award in 1999. This award is given periodically to a deserving undergraduate chemistry major, preferably in his/her junior year. The funds may be used to carry out summer research with a UB faculty member.
George H. Nancollas
George H. Nancollas
Professor George Nancollas, a member of the UB faculty from 1965-2014, was recognized internationally for his research on the physical chemistry of the interface between solids and liquids, and the mechanism of crystal growth and dissolution. A holder of UB’s Larkin Chair in Chemistry, he was the author of more than 420 publications and the recipient of numerous awards, among them the National Institutes of Health MERIT Award and the Schoellkopf Medal from the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. He was named a 2011 Pioneer of Science by the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for Crystal Growth. During his tenure at UB, Nancollas also held administrative positions as provost of the former Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and as chair of the former Department of Biomaterials. He was well-known in the local community as the founder of the Western New York Science and Technology Forum, an annual program designed to expose teachers at all levels — elementary, middle and high school — to some of the most exciting new scientific developments in a broad range of fields.