News

Brandt kicks off CPPA Colloquium Series with talk about traffic-related pollution

Associate professor Sylvia Brandt of Resource Economics and Public Policy, will discuss her recent work in a talk titled “The Costs of Traffic-Related Pollution in Los Angeles: Implications for Smart Growth” on Monday, Feb. 4 at noon in 620 Thompson Hall.

The research upon which Brandt’s talk is based was published last January in the European Respiratory Journal and has been named one of the top research papers of 2012 by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The study examined the full economic impact of childhood asthma caused by air pollution in two California cities.

Sinha to give annual Lincoln Lecture at Washburn University

Afro-American Studies professor Manisha Sinha will speak on “Race and Equality in the Age of Lincoln,” at the annual Lincoln Lecture at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, on Feb. 6.

Recently, Sinha was a featured commentator on “The Abolitionists” part of the “American Experience” series on PBS. Sinha consulted on the script for the series and is featured prominently on screen discussing the era and her upcoming book on the abolitionists.

Brandon’s photos exhibited at Providence City Hall

Photographs by Liane Brandon, professor emerita of Education, are featured in the exhibit “Masters of the Craft: Gallery of Memory,” on view through March 15 at Providence City Hall.
 
The exhibit commemorates the 80th anniversary of the founding of the city’s Local 1329 of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the first labor union in New England organized predominantly by Cape Verdeans.
 
The formal portraits by Brandon feature members of Local 1329 longshoremen, their families and descendants, and are part of the project Working the Boats, a documentary-in-progress about the

Women for UMass Amherst supports campus through new fund

Women for UMass Amherst (WFUM), a network of alumnae and friends of the campus who have made gifts to support the university, is boosting its impact through a new dedicated, collective fund that is providing awards to worthy projects.
 
Women become members of WFUM by donating to any area of campus, according to Stephanie Flaherty, senior associate director of Annual Giving in the Development Office.
 
“Through WFUM, we want to build a network of like-minded women who inspire and encourage other women to support the university through philanthropy,” she said.

UMass Extension's 2013 Green Directory now available

The updated UMass Extension Green Directory is a free, comprehensive guide to educational resources for beginning and established agriculture industry professionals in Massachusetts.

The directory includes:

* Contact information for UMass Extension Agriculture and Landscape specialists and faculty.

* Upcoming UMass Extension conferences, seminars and workshops.

* UMass Plant Diagnostic Lab sample submission information for insect, tick, disease, weed and cultural problems.

* UMass Soil and Tissue Testing Lab information.

* Pesticide license information, including test dates, training

Espada interviewed on 'Moyers & Company'

English professor Martín Espada was interviewed about poetry's power to capture ideas on the PBS series "Moyers & Company" on Jan. 18.
 
Espada also read his poem, "Litany at the Tomb of Frederick Douglass," which he wrote at the time of President Obama's first inauguration.
 
Watch the interview
 
Photo by Dale Robbins
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies lists exhibition hours

The Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies has scheduled regular visiting hours for the spring semester for its permanent teaching exhibition "A Reason to Remember: Roth, Germany 1933-1942."
 
The hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All visitors are welcome during these hours and student groups are also welcome by appointment. For appointments, contact the center at (413) 835-0221 or by e-mail at ihgms@acad.umass.edu.

Amherst scholar speaks on invention of national dress in 21st century China

On four Wednesdays in February, the Fine Arts Center Asian Arts and Culture Program presents "Weaving Our Stories," a series of free talks by scholars and artists on topics of popular and unique interests. Highlighting the artistic and cultural arts of Asia, the lectures use the concept of "motif" as a central theme and examine landscapes, nature, and personal expressions seen in Asian culture to understand the significance of these objects from a socio-cultural perspective.

All lectures begin at 7 p.m. and are held in various locations on campus.

Yoga classes offered in Newman Center

Spring semester yoga classes begin this week in the Newman Center. All levels of experience are welcome; classes are open to all students, faculty and staff.

Schedule:

Monday/ Wednesday - 3-4:30 p.m., Power Yoga (athletic flow, beginners welcome)
Tuesday/Thursday - 3-4:30 p.m., Intermediate (more challenging poses and movements)
Monday - Thursday - 4:45-6:15 p.m, Yoga Basics (an introduction to yoga fundamentals)

Fees:

1 class per week - $100/semester
2 classes per week - $175/semester
Unlmited attendance - $220/semester
Single drop-in class - $12
 
 

Shulman's text analytic software purchased by Canada-based Vision Critical

After more than a decade in development, DiscoverText, a cloud-based text analytic software developed by faculty member Stuart Shulman, has been purchased by Vision Critical, a Vancouver-based provider of consumer insight technologies and services.
 
Vision Critical officials announced the deal with Shulman’s company, Texifter, LLC, on Jan. 22. According to Shulman, DiscoverText is based on the idea of sifting huge amounts of text, such as documents, tweets and e-mails, making it easier to locate, classify and segment information using various parameters.

Pages