Newswise — As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, University at Buffalo faculty experts are available to discuss the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath. Additional experts on other topics in the news are available at http://ubfacultyexperts.buffalo.edu
Faculty members with research expertise relevant to 9/11 include:
Michael Poulin, PhDAssistant Professor of PsychologyUniversity at BuffaloHas studied the emotional aftermath of 9/11
Poulin says that traumas like 9/11 fundamentally change our brain circuitry, but as many studies have shown, afterwards, we have a strong drive to feel “normal” again. He says, “As a nation, after 9/11 we endeavored to put our fear and grief in the back of our minds so we could return to our usual, sometimes trivial, business. It's generally a good feature of the human mind. Whatever happens, you adjust to it." The longing for normality has a downside, however. Poulin points out that the positive things that came out of Sept. 11 -- the sense of national unity, the civility, the newfound desire to help neighbors, donate blood or volunteer for the Red Cross -- dissipated just as quickly as the pain.
Poulin and fellow researchers demonstrated in a 2009 study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, that those who valued the positive changes in society shortly after Sept. 11 felt slightly worse in later years than people who didn't see any upside to the tragedy. The message, he says, is that if you put a lot of stock in people's ability to suddenly become more altruistic, compassionate and cooperative, you are likely to end up feeling let down and disappointed. In retrospect, he isn't surprised that the positive changes didn't last. He points out that the desire to return to the norm is so powerful that even good news tends to have no more than a minimal, fleeting effect on a person's state of mind.
Mark G. Frank, PhDProfessor, Department of CommunicationDirector, Communication Science CenterUniversity at Buffalo
Frank’s two decades of behavioral identification research has given security experts new insights into when people are lying. He has refocused this research to show implications for homeland security following the 9/11 attacks. Frank’s research, which has been widely featured in numerous national media, has shown that while liars can reduce facial actions that signal lying when under scrutiny, they can’t suppress them all.
Frank has also been a key player in government conferences trying to understand the mindset of terrorists and defuse extremist arguments that breed radical behavior.
“Behavioral countermeasures," says Frank, "are the strategies engaged by liars to deliberately control face or body behavior to fool lie catchers. Until this study, research had not shown whether or not liars could suppress elements of their facial expression as a countermeasure.
"As a security strategy," he says, "there is great significance in observing and interpreting nonverbal behavior during an investigative interview, especially when the interviewee is trying to suppress certain expressions."
Nancy J. Smyth, PhDDean and Professor of School of Social WorkUniversity at Buffalo
Smyth is nationally prominent for creating a trauma-informed emphasis in the school’s curriculum. Simply put, this means most people social workers try to help have experienced significant trauma. The 9/11 attacks also dovetailed with the school’s emphasis on social justice and human rights.
“When you really look at 9/11, you start to ask yourself the question, ‘Why were we targeted by these groups? Why were we so hated? What is going on internationally?’” says Smyth. “It’s impossible to answer those questions without figuring in a social justice agenda.”
That “catapulting of awareness” of the school’s trauma/social justice elements merged with students’ changing perspective, Smyth explains. “It used to be our students had to be sold on the fact that this was a global world, that we are interconnected. It’s not a hard sell anymore. Our students now come in very aware in that global perspective. And 9/11 is one large piece of that.”
Shambhu Upadhyaya, PhDProfessor of Computer Science and EngineeringDirector of Center of Excellence in Information Systems Assurance Research and Education (CEISARE)University at Buffalo
Upadhyaya leads one of a handful of national centers established shortly after 9/11 to train students in the art of information assurance, or IA, a broad umbrella of cybersecurity that includes network administration, firewall protection, security practiced at the basic level of writing programs and codes, building better systems, computer forensics and establishing best practices for these systems.
UB’s IA major is an example of a career path that has expanded exponentially in demand since 9/11. Besides presenting students with promising career opportunities and an intellectually challenging field using science and math, the students also have the satisfaction of making a real contribution to a safer world.
“There is the sense of protecting the country,” he says. “These attacks happen. And they keep coming. You’re providing the technical support to protect infrastructure that is critical to the nation and people’s lives.”
The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.
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