News

Worcester DC Oak Room open for dining

The Worcester Dining Commons Oak Room is now open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., two weeks earlier than usual, reports Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises. "We welcome staff to join us for lunch and dinner in a sparkling clean peaceful atmosphere."

Institute for Global Health hosts Russian delegations

David Buchanan, director of the Institute for Global Health and professor of Community Health Education, hosted three delegations of public health students and faculty from Russia for a week each during fall semester. The visits were part of a three-year collaboration between the Institute for Global Health and Novgorod State University’s Institute of Medicine.
 
“The delegations came from Novgorod, which is the ancient capital and birthplace of Russia, founded more than 1,150 years ago,” said Buchanan.

Carbone, Puleo receive CDC funds to assess Springfield project

Elena T. Carbone, associate professor of Nutrition, and Elaine Puleo, associate dean for Research in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, have received a two-year, $189,476 grant to assess the impact of new policies implemented as part of “Live Well Springfield,” a project to expand healthy eating and physical activity in that city.
 
The grant is part of a $1,993,443 Community Transformation award from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to a coalition of community groups led by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
 
The goals of the project include bringing

Obituary: Jahmal Nelson, former maintainer with Grounds Management

Jahmal N. Nelson, 41, of Amherst, a former mainainer for Grounds Management, died Dec. 26 of complications due to a long-term illness.

Born in Garberville, Calif., he was educated in local schools and lived most of his life in the Amherst area.
 
He joined the staff as a temporary hire in 2005 and worked several stints until gaining a permanent appointment in 2007. He left campus service in July 2012.

He leaves his parents, Donald and Suzanne, and his brothers, Paul Nelson and T.J. Nelson, all of Cambria, Calif., his sister, Alanna Nelson of Baltimore, and several cousins.
 
The family

Obituary: Stephen A. Resnick, professor emeritus of Economics

Stephen A. Resnick, 74, of Newton Center, professor emeritus of Economics and Helen Sheridan Memorial Scholar, died Jan. 2 of leukemia.
 
Born in New Bedford, he was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his Ph.D. in economics in 1963.
 
As a graduate student, Resnick was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in 1960-62 and held a Brookings Institution fellowship from 1962-63.
 
After completing his doctorate, he was a visiting assistant professor at the University of the Philippines from 1964-65.
 
He joined the faculty of Yale

Obituary: Jacqueline W. Mellen, former staff member and alumna

Jacqueline Wyman Mellen, of Hadley, a former campus staff member and lecturer, died Jan. 1 at Hospice of the Fisher Home in North Amherst.

Born in Bennington, Vt., she moved at the age of 2 to Guilford, Vt., where she lived with her parents. She attended Brattleboro High School where she met William J. Mellen, whom she married in 1943.

After World War II, the couple moved to Amherst, where he continued his studies at the University on the GI Bill, and she worked for the Music Department. She played trombone in the UMass Marching Band and Orchestra, and sang in the chorus.

Doctoral oral exams for Jan. 14-18

The graduate dean invites all graduate faculty to attend the final oral examinations for the doctoral candidates scheduled as follows:

Felicia Bokel, Ph.D., Polymer Science and Engineering. Monday, Jan. 14, 10 a.m., A110/A111 Conte Polymer Science Building. Dissertation: “Solution Assembly of Conjugated Polymers.” Ryan Hayward, chr.

Pamela Williams, Ph.D., English. Friday, Jan. 18, noon, 316 Bartlett. Dissertation: “A Multidirectional Memory Approach to Colonization, Racism and Genocide.” James Young, chr.

Male adolescent participants needed for Kinesiology study

Researchers in the Kinesiology Department are seeking male adolescents to participate in a study to help assess sedentary behavior. For completing the study, participants will earn $100.
 
The goal of the project is to validate a newly developed survey that will measure where, why and how much people sit each day. The study consists of five study visits over a four-month period, which includes three months of no study activity.

DHE funds expansion of service-learning courses

A one-year, $112,501 grant from the state Department of Higher Education’s Vision Project is funding the design and teaching of service-learning courses on campus. The new money will support faculty members to develop new courses or to adapt existing courses by adding a service-learning component.
 
Funding is now available for faculty  interested in participating in the program either as individuals or as part of a teaching team. The courses they design will be offered to students in the spring and fall semesters in 2013.
 
Service-learning is the integration of community service with

CNN Money names Geckskin a top science breakthrough for 2012

Geckskin, a super-strong adhesive device developed by campus researchers that can hold 700 pounds on a smooth wall, has been named one of the top five science breakthroughs of 2012 by CNN Money.
 
Inspired by the footpads of geckos, Geckskin was created by Michael Bartlett, a doctoral candidate in Polymer Science and Engineering, polymer scientist Alfred Crosby and biologist Duncan Irschick, who has studied the gecko’s climbing and clinging abilities for more than 20 years. The researchers published their findings in the journal Advanced Materials last February.
 
“Amazingly, gecko feet can

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