The School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) collected more than 200 toys to benefit the children at Square One, the Springfield-based early childhood education program whose building was damaged in a gas explosion last month.
Together, students, faculty, and staff in each of the school's four departments, along with many others throughout the campus community, donated toys for children ages 15 months to 5 years.
SPHHS organizers thanked everyone who participated in the toy drive and helped make a difference in a child's life this holiday season.
Photo: School of Public Health and
In accordance with President Obama's proclamation, Gov. Deval L. Patrick has ordered that the U.S. and Commonwealth flags be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings until sunset Friday, Dec. 21, in honor of U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, who died Dec.17.
Distinguished Professor Naomi Gerstel of the Sociology Department, whose research has examined gender inequality, work, marriage, and how race and class shape caregiving and the extended family, has been recognized as a Spotlight Scholar.
Though it seems like an oxymoron, Arctic hurricanes happen, complete with a central “eye,” extreme low barometric pressure and towering 30-foot waves that can sink small ships and coat metal platforms with thick ice, threatening oil and gas exploration. Now climate scientists in the Geosciences Department and in England report the first conclusive evidence that Arctic hurricanes, also known as polar lows, play a significant role in driving ocean water circulation and climate.
Insectaphobia, an opera by Salvatore Macchia, professor of contrabass and composition in the Department of Music and Dance, will premiere in March at the New Music Festival of the East Carolina University School of Music in Greenville, N.C.
Biologist Jeffrey Blanchard and microbiologist Kristen DeAngelis, with other New England researchers, recently received a $500,000 grant from the Joint Genome Institute at the U.S. Department of Energy to identify soil microbes in Harvard Forest and track how they break down forest litter in a simulated warmer climate. The goal is to determine the impact of a warmer climate on microbes and their production of greenhouse gases.
Sandra Petersen, professor of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, is executive director, Patricia Lehouillier the financial director and Jennifer MacDonald managing director of the institute, which is overseen by Provost James