News

Sunwheel and sky-watching programs mark summer solstice

The public is invited to witness sunrise and sunset associated with the summer solstice among the standing stones of the UMass Amherst Sunwheel on Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. for sunset and on Friday, June 21 at 5 a.m. for sunrise. These events will mark the astronomical change of season when days are longest and nights are shortest in the Northern Hemisphere. Rain cancels the events. 
 
At the hour-long gatherings, astronomers Judith Young and Stephen Schneider will discuss the astronomical cause of the sun’s solstice or standstill.

Physical Plant administrative offices moving back to Physical Plant Building

Administrative offices of the Physical Plant Division will once again be located in the Physical Plant Building at 360 Campus Center Way, effective Tuesday, June 18.
 
This move, from the temporary location at Dickinson Hall, includes the executive office, the administrative offices for the associate and assistant directors of Administrative Services, Grounds Management, Utilities/Engineering and Building Maintenance.
 
The Service Desk will also return to the Physical Plant Building. All Physical Plant phone numbers, including the Service Desk (545-6401), will remain unchanged.

Dining Services wins silver in national nutrition award competition

Dining Services is a recipient of the Silver Award for the 2013 Nutrition Awards, given by the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS). The Nutrition Awards aim to help member institutions advance their culinary expertise by acknowledging successful promotions and outstanding recipes.

Thirty colleges and universities across North America submitted entries in two categories, including Most Innovative Wellness and Nutrition Program, and Best Local Foods Recipe. Each entry was judged by a team of collegiate dining professionals.

New Badgett report shows higher poverty rates in LGB community

Poverty rates among all Americans have increased during the current recession, but people in our country’s lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) communities are more likely to be poor than their heterosexual counterparts, according to a new study co-authored by M.V. Lee Badgett, professor of Economics and director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration.
 
The report, “New Patterns of Poverty in the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community,” shows that women, children and African-Americans are particularly vulnerable.

Kinesiology Department hosts ICAMPAM 2013 from June 17-19

The Department of Kinesiology is hosting the third International Conference on Ambulatory Monitoring of Physical Activity and Movement on June 17-19.
 
ICAMPAM will provide an international forum for researchers, clinicians, technologists and users to explore the latest advances and view the newest technologies in the field of ambulatory and sleep monitoring. It will also offer industry partners the opportunity to introduce their products to an audience of users and discuss future developments.
 
This year’s conference themes are physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep measurement.

Visiting scientist from Bangladesh training on campus this summer

Ferdous-E-Elahi Jabin, a visiting scientist from Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, will work in professor Rob Wick’s laboratory this summer under the auspices of a Norman Borlaug Fellowship.

Jabin is a plant pathologist and is seeking training in nematology through the Wick lab. She will receive a short-course in nematology that will include identification of nematodes using morphological as well as molecular techniques.

Schweik given award honoring legacy of Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom

Charles Schweik, associate professor of Environmental Conservation and Public Policy, is one of three senior scholars worldwide to receive a new award honoring the late political economist Elinor Ostrom, the only woman to date to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
 
Throughout her career, Ostrom, who died in 2012, focused on demonstrating that “collaboration is possible, frequent and occurs among individuals of different rationalities and in different contexts,” according to the website for the new award.

Botelho elected to NCTEAR executive board

Maria José Botelho, assistant professor in the School of Education, was elected to the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research’s executive board as its newsletter editor.

Xing addresses international symposium in Jerusalem

Baoshan Xing, professor of environmental and soil chemistry in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, gave an invited talk on May 23 at the International Symposium on Agriculture and Environmental Health at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
 
Xing spoke on “Environmental risk and toxicity of engineered nanoparticles.”
 
 
 
 

Friedmann cited for volunteer work at Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies

Arnold Friedmann, professor emeritus in Art, Architecture and Art History, received the Outstanding Community Leadership Award on May 30 as part of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s  “Unsung Heroes” awards dinner in Springfield.

Friedmann was recognized for his work as a volunteer with the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies. The award included a monetary stipend for Friedmann and the institute.

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