Hires/Promotions/ Honors

Praxair Inc., an industrial gases company, named Yang Luo senior manager, process development, in the company’s research and development organization. She will be assigned to the Praxair Technology Center in the Town of Tonawanda. With the company since 2006, Luo most recently served as program development manager for R&D’s bulk and on-site cost reduction technology network. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Zhejiang University in China and a doctorate in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University.

The board of trustees of the Elmwood Franklin School, a Buffalo independent pre-K through eighth grade school at 104 New Amsterdam Ave., elected three new members for the 2009-10 school year: Ludvik Karl, an independent financial consultant; Donna Muscarella, a paralegal with Phillips Lytle; and Scott Saperston, a financial consultant with Smith Barney. Board officers are: president, Elizabeth Maloney; vice president, Madeline Lillie; treasurer, Michael Hogan; and secretary, Alison Keane. In addition, the school named Linda Morris, Kim Schlehr and Sheila Walier cochairs of 2010 fundraising auction.

Gross Shuman Brizdle and Gilfillan partners Thomas J. Keable and Robert J. Feldman spoke at the “Responding to Challenges in the U. S. Market” seminar recently held at the Innovation Synergy Centre in Markham, Ont. Keable’s presentation was titled “Avoiding Perils and Pitfalls Encountered by Others.” Feldman presented “Defending (and Avoiding) U. S. Bankruptcy Preference Claims.”

Company items

The AAA recognized nine Western New York area AAA Approved auto repair facilities and one AAA Approved auto body repair facility with its Top Shop Award for 2009. AAA Approved Auto Repair awardees are: Bill’s Auto, 101 Evans St., Batavia; Bison Automotive and Detail, 1370 Kenmore Ave., Buffalo; Brownie’s Auto Care Center, 1082 Oliver St., North Tonawanda; Buffalo Discount Muffler and Brake, 2125 Eggert Road, Amherst; Dan’s Tire and Auto Service Center, Genesee Country Mall, Batavia; Ray Laks Acura, 7460 Transit Road, Amherst; Ray Laks Honda, 100 Orchard Park Road, West Seneca; Ray Laks Mitsubishi, 120 Orchard Park Road, West Seneca; and S& SService, 5071 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg. AAA Approved auto body repair awardee: Ray Laks Auto Body, 120 Orchard Park Road, West Seneca.

Greatbatch Medical achieved more than 1 million hours worked without a lost-time accident in the company’s Clarence manufacturing facility recently. Located on Barton Road, the facility manufactures machined and molded components for medical devices, and is one of the company’s three facilities in Western New York.

University Occupational Health, a division of University Emergency Medical Services at the Erie County Medical Center, has been selected by the Kaleida Health System to provide Fit Testing for up to 4,000 employees for the hospital network.

Buffalo Spine and Sports Institute, a recognized nonsurgical medical practice, recently welcomed Dr. Stuart McGill as guest lecturer at a seminar for elite practice physicians and clinicians specializing in low back disorders. The seminar was held at the BSSI College Parkway location where more than 85 attended the lectures and workshops. Dr. McGill is a leading researcher in spine biomechanics.

Contributing

The Internal Revenue Service awarded $60,000 to the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers to support its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. For the second consecutive year, the IRS awarded nearly $8 million in matching grants under this program to 147 organizations that will offer free tax preparation services during the 2010 filing season in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Patents

Title: “Thermoelectrically heated/ cooled seat with improved transient response using a proportioning valve” No.: 7,610,767 Inventors: Kadle, Prasad Shripad (East Amherst); Wolfe IV, Edward (Amherst); Heremans, Joseph Pierre (Troy, Mich.); Morelli, Donald T. (White Lake, Mich.) Assignee: Delphi Technologies (Troy, Mich.) Date issued: Nov. 3, 2009