News

Doctoral oral exams for Dec. 3-7

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

Eve Ng, Ph.D., Communication. Monday, Dec. 3, noon, E-31 Machmer Hall. Dissertation: “Rebranding Gay: New Configurations of Digital Media and Commercial Culture.” Lisa Henderson, chr.

Anand Atmuri, Ph.D., Chemical Engineering. Monday, Dec. 3, 1 p.m., Gunness Student Center, Marcus Hall. Dissertation: “Effect of Colloidal Interactions on Formation of Glasses/Gels, Stable Clusters and Structured Films.” Surita Bhatia, chr.

Ahmed Hassan, Ed.D., Education.

Duke University scholar to discuss ‘Social Justice in the Age of Social Media’ Nov. 29

Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal will give a lecture titled “What if the Greensboro Four Had Twitter? Social Justice in the Age of Social Media” on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. in 904-08 Campus Center.
 
Neal is professor of black popular culture in the department of African and African-American studies at Duke. He has written and lectured extensively on black popular culture and music, black masculinity, sexism and homophobia in black communities, and black digital humanities. His books include Soul Babies: Black Popular Culture and the Post-Soul Aesthetic (2002); Songs in the Key

Nugent speaks at conferences in Norway and Ireland

J. Kevin Nugent, professor emeritus in the School of Education, addressed the 25th anniversary conference of the Norwegian Society of Perinatal Medicine held Nov. 7-9 at the Gamle Festsal, University of Oslo.

He spoke on "Family-centered Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit."

Nugent also spoke about the use of the newborn behavioral observations with at-risk infants and families at the International Infant Development in Neonatal Intensive Care-Ireland on Nov. 15 in Dublin, Ireland.

A member of the School of Education faculty since 1986, Nugent is the founder and director of the Brazelton

UMass Hotel plans New Year's Eve dinner and celebration

The UMass Hotel and Conference Center is offering a special New Year’s package that includes a gala buffet dinner, champagne toast, dancing and entertainment for $29.95 per person plus tax and gratuity. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m.
 
The menu includes maroon and white brie with an antipasto display, clam chowder, shrimp cocktail, bakery breads, locally grown baby greens salad with winterberries, grilled asparagus salad with roasted tomatoes and prosciutto chips, grilled chicken breast with gnocchi primavera, fire-grilled Alaskan salmon with peach salsa, chef-carved prime rib with

Chametzky to read from new book Nov. 29

Jules Chametzky, professor emeritus of English and Judaic Studies, will be reading and discussing his new book, “Out of Brownsville: Encounters with Nobel Laureates and Other Jewish Writers,” on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, 758 North Pleasant St.
 
A reception follows the event.

Overtree keynotes Safe Schools Summit in Northampton

Christopher Overtree. director of the Psychological Services Center, delivered a keynote address at the Northwestern District Attorney's Safe Schools Summit held Nov. 14 at Smith College.

Overtree's talk, "The Dignity of Expertise: Using Youth Empowerment to Improve School Climate and Culture," led local educators through the overall process of first understanding, and then reforming school climate issues that may be impacting the learning and social/emotional environment of a school.

A senior lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Overtree specializes in anxiety, depression, cognitive-behavior

Ganz developing new system to save lives at mass-casualty disasters

Aura Ganz, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded a four-year, $1.6-million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue her research on a computerized disaster-management response system. Ganz says the system is designed to quickly organize chaotic, mass-casualty, disaster scenes, such as airliner, bus and train wrecks, and cut the evacuation time of survivors in half.
 
For the past several years, Ganz has been developing what she calls the DIORAMA I system, designed to coordinate the initial response in mass-casualty incidents and improve the

Lovett discusses new book in NYC and on N.H. Public Radio

Laura Lovett, associate professor of History, helped moderate a panel titled "Forty Years of Free to Be ... You and Me: Looking Back at a Children's Classic and the Difference It Made" on Nov. 14 at New York's 92nd Street Y.

Lovett and Lori Rotskoff of Barnard College are the co-editors of the new book "When We Were Free to Be," published by the University of North Carolina Press.

Mednicoff to speak on 'Law and the Arab Uprisings of 2012'

David Mednicoff of the Center for Public Policy and Administration will speak on "Law and the Arab Uprisings of 2011: Theorizing legal issues and political change in non-Western contexts" on Thursday, Dec. 6 from noon to 1 p.m. in 521B Tobin Hall.

The talk is part of the Interdisciplinary Seminar on Conflict and Violence, which promotes interdisciplinary exchanges among faculty and graduate students interested in the topics of conflict, violence, and peace, from a wide range of departments across campus.

Mednicoff directs the master's in Public Policy and Middle Eastern Studies programs.

Wiist moderates, presents at APHA annual meeting

William H. Wiist, faculty member in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences’ Online MPH in Public Health Practice program, organized and moderated a session on Oct. 29 at the annual meeting and exposition of the American Public Health Association (APHA) in San Francisco.
 
Titled “Snack Food and Beverage Industry and Global Noncommunicable Chronic Disease,” the session included presentations from Sanjay Basu of Stanford University, Marion Nestle of New York University, Michele Simon of Eat Drink Politics, and Jennifer L. Pomeranz of Yale University.

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