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Adapted from UBNow

Paschalis Alexandridis, UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Jonathan Lovell, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering; and Filip Stefanovic, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, have received SUNY Chancellor’s Awards, recognizing their consistently superior professional achievements and ongoing pursuit of excellence.

Alexandridis earned the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, Lovell earned the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, and Stefanovic received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A total of 24 University at Buffalo faculty and staff received 2025 Chancellor’s Awards. 

Alexandridis received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. The award recognizes consistently superior service and contributions of teaching faculty that have been sustained over a period of time.

Alexandridis has held several administrative positions within his department and SEAS, including director of graduate studies in chemical engineering, co-director of the materials science and engineering (MSE) program, and associate dean for research and graduate education.

As the director of graduate studies, Alexandridis oversaw the curriculum, program requirements and progress toward degree for graduate students, and directed recruitment and admissions leading to growth in graduate student numbers. He led a revision of the department’s PhD curriculum to better prepare PhD students for research and professional career success.

As associate dean, Alexandridis contributed significantly to building the SEAS faculty strengths in research and graduate student mentoring. He led the successful UB and SUNY proposals to establish the MSE program which then launched the Department of Materials Design and Innovation.

Alexandridis has also been heavily involved in faculty governance, having served seven terms on the UB Faculty Senate and on various committees of the SUNY-wide University Faculty Senate.

A world-renowned expert on soft matter and complex fluids, Alexandridis has led the Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology since 2021 as its editor-in-chief. He is currently serving as Review Editor of the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents, and Section Editor-in-Chief of Polymers. Alexandridis also held various leadership positions with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Chemical Society.

He has received more than $17 million in funding, been awarded six U.S. patents, edited two books, and co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and 700 presentations, with over 26,100 citations and h-index 84. He has mentored 86 undergraduate, 71 master’s and 25 doctoral students, and has developed many new courses.

A highly regarded scholar, Alexandridis is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), AIChE, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the International Association of Advanced Materials.

This is the third Chancellor’s award for Alexandridis, who has previously received the Chancellors Awards for Excellence in Teaching and for Scholarship and Creative Activities.

"I’ve been with UB throughout my entire career as a professor, and I have dedicated all my efforts toward advancing UB’s mission: groundbreaking research, transformative educational experiences and deeply engaged service to our communities,” said Alexandridis. “It is gratifying that my diverse contributions and significant impact have been recognized at the SUNY level by three Chancellor's Awards, one for each of the three pillars of academia. I am proud to be a member of UB’s academic community for over 28 years and to play a role in its continued success.”

Lovell earned the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, recognizing the work of individuals who engage actively in scholarly and creative pursuits beyond their teaching responsibilities.

Since joining UB in 2012, Lovell has distinguished himself as a stellar scholar and excellent educator. He has established multiple patents, pursued entrepreneurial endeavors and secured substantial research funding — all while teaching dozens of undergraduate and graduate courses and developing curriculum.

Appointed a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in 2020 — and promoted to full professor in 2022 — Lovell conducts research on topics including light-activated drug delivery systems, cancer immunotherapy and optically responsive nanomaterials.

He currently serves as principal investigator on projects funded by more than $8 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense that focus on tuberculosis-vaccine development and cancer immunotherapy. In total, his research has garnered more than $16 million in external funding.

As co-founder of POP Biotechnologies, Lovell holds 14 U.S. patents spanning multiple areas — from photoacoustic imaging agents to next-generation vaccine platforms. Many of the technologies developed through his company focus on drug delivery that — unlike chemotherapy treatments — limits potential harm to the body. During the coronavirus pandemic, he developed the EuCorVac-19 that successfully advanced into human clinical trials.

Lovell has written six book chapters and published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals, including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Chemistry, and Nature Communications. He has also participated in more than 100 scientific conferences and workshops, and delivered the keynote and plenary talks at such prominent international events as the World Vaccine Congress and the American Society for Photobiology.

In addition, Lovell has been lauded as an excellent teacher and mentor who has guided 12 PhD and 10 master’s students to graduation — many of whom have earned prestigious awards and secured positions in academia and industry.

Stefanovic received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, honoring those who consistently demonstrate superb teaching at the undergraduate, graduate or professional level. 

Stefanovic is a committed educator and innovative scholar who expertly weaves traditional classroom methods with experiential learning to prepare the next generation of engineers.

Stefanovic worked in private industry and academia in Canada, Serbia and Denmark before joining UB’s Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2015. Over the past decade, he’s made a significant mark on the department, designing four new upper-level courses and integrating additional hands-on experiences and practical applications into existing courses.

His students have had the opportunity to analyze movement in UB’s SMART Motion Capture Lab, learn about rehabilitation technology at Kaleida Health’s Gates Vascular Institute, and design 3D-print and test prosthetic devices.

“Dr. Stefanovic’s teaching does more than impart knowledge,” Ciprian Ionita, associate professor of biomedical engineering and co-director of the Engineering Division at the Canon Stroke & Vascular Research Center, wrote in his supporting letter. “It also encourages students to apply what they’ve learned in innovative ways, preparing them for both academic and professional success.”

Stefanovic has repeatedly received accolades for his teaching methods, including the 2018 School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Best Teaching Faculty of the Year Award, the 2020 UB Student Accessibility in Teaching Award and the 2023 UB Teaching Innovation Award.

And he’s received excellent student feedback. Each of his courses has received an average student evaluation of approximately 4.8 out of 5. Many of his students have gone on to pursue advanced degrees at UB and other institutions, publish articles, win awards and present at conferences.

Stefanovic has also made large strides as a scholar. He’s received four grants totaling more than $450,000, primarily from the National Science Foundation; published 12 journal articles; and presented at numerous conferences. He has one patent, with an additional three patent submissions pending or under review.