Two School of Management Faculty Members Honored as Exceptional Scholars

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Two School of Management faculty members are among the 10 University at Buffalo teachers and researchers who were named recipients of the university’s 2012 Exceptional Scholars and Teaching Innovation awards.

Debabrata Talukdar, professor of marketing, and Sanjukta Das Smith, assistant professor of management science and systems, will be honored as part of the fall Celebration of Faculty and Staff Excellence.

Talukdar received the Sustained Achievement award, which recognizes senior scholars based on their body of work over a number of years. The award is not meant to serve as a lifetime achievement honor, but rather as recognition for outstanding performance in a recent segment of a scholar’s career.

An award-winning scholar, Talukdar has worked extensively as a business strategy and public policy expert in both private and public sector multinational organizations. In 2010, he received one of four research fellowships through the UB Civic Engagement and Public Policy Strategic Initiative, which he used to conduct a systematic empirical study of slum dwellers in several cities across sub-Saharan Africa. His research has been cited in national media, including Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Atlantic.

He has a doctorate and Master of Science from the University at Rochester, Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bachelor of Engineering from Jadavpur University in India.

Smith received the Young Investigator award, which is presented to untenured researchers who have obtained the highest degree in their field within the past eight years, and whose work has garnered universal acclaim or been completed under the auspices of a prestigious fellowship grant.

Smith’s recent research has focused on issues including digital piracy, social networks and online storage grids. She is co-recipient of a recent $102,000 Google Research Award that will support research addressing the reliability of cloud computing.

She has a doctorate from the University of Connecticut, Master of Science from Clarkson University, and Master in Business and Management and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from Calcutta University.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

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.