News

New England Medieval Conference coming to campus Oct. 13

"Objects of Desire: The Materiality of the Middle Ages" is the focus of the 39th Annual New England Medieval Conference to be held in the Campus Center on Saturday, Oct. 13.
 
The conference will feature eight distinguished speakers from Harvard, MIT, Yale, Holy Cross, Brown, West Virginia, Dartmouth and Boston College. All talks will take place in 160 Campus Center.
 
According to the conference organizers, “We inhabit a world filled with material objects.

Manoogian receives Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award

Emily Manoogian, a graduate student in the Neuroscience and Behavior Program, recently received a Love of Learning Award worth $500 from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
 
She is one of 140 recipients nationwide to receive the award, which helps fund post-baccalaureate studies and career development. Manoogian was initiated into the society in 2011. Manoogian plans to use the award to travel to work with her collaborators at University of Pennsylvania to learn new genetic techniques.
 
 

UMPD welcomes new chief to ranks

Calling for a strong emphasis on “communication, collaboration and engagement” with the campus and local communities, new Police Chief John K. Horvath was officially sworn in during an Oct. 4 ceremony at the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center.
 
Along with a large contingent of UMPD officers and staff, the event was attended by about 75 people, including local and university officials and fellow police officers from Amherst, Amherst College, Hadley, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Boston, Massachusetts State Police, University of Connecticut Health Center, Cheshire, Conn., East Hartford, Conn.,

Governor approves $85 million for new physical sciences building

A new $85 million physical sciences building for the campus is among the projects funded through a $607 million bond package for the UMass system announced this week by Gov. Deval Patrick.
 
The new facility, which will serve the Physics and Chemistry departments, was included in the five-year capital plan recently approved by the Board of Trustees. The funding is part of a $2.2 billion higher education bond bill approved in 2008.
 
Patrick made the announcement at UMass Boston as President Robert L. Caret and other university leaders marked the system’s 150th anniversary.

MIT professor to discuss 'How the Hippies Saved Physics'

David Kaiser of MIT will give a talk, “How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival,” on Sunday, Oc. 14 from 2-4 p.m. at the Friends of the UMass Amherst Libraries' 14th Annual Fall Reception in the Science and Engineering Library on the second foor of Lederle lowrise.

Kaiser is Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and department head of MIT’s program in science, technology, and society, and a seniorl ecturer in MIT's department of physics. The program starts at 2:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Environmental activist Van Jones to speak Oct. 18 at Mahar

Van Jones, a prominent environmental advocate, civil rights activist and a former green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama, will speak on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Mahar Auditorium and sign copies of his new book, Rebuild the Dream.
 
The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for this limited seating event.
 
Jones was instrumental in passage of the Green Jobs Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2007, and was appointed in 2009 as green jobs advisor to the White House by Obama.

Lili He receives Young Scientist Award

Lili He, assistant professor of Food Science, recently received the Young Scientist Awardat the 16th World Congress of Food Science and Technology held in Iguassu Falls, Brazil.
 
The award is sponsored by the International Union of Food Science and Technology, the global scientific organization for food science and technology supporting programs and projects to increase the safety and security of the worlds food supply.
 
Its Young Scientist Award is given biannually to seven early career food scientists under age 35 around the world who best exemplify food science and technology excellence.

Campus hosts Muskie fellows from Armenia and Georgia

Two international students are enrolled in the master’s degree program in Public Policy and Administration through the U.S. Department of State’s Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program.
 
Hasmik Hayrapetyan from Armenia and Nodar Kereselidze of Georgia are expected to be on campus for two years to complete their degrees.
 
By selecting emerging leaders from 12 countries of the former Soviet Union, the Muskie Program aims to promote mutual understanding, build democracy and foster the transition to market economies in Eurasia and Central Asia through intensive academic study and

UHS schedules flu clinics across campus

University Health Services is offering flu clinics during October and November. Everyone six months and older is advised to be vaccinated against flu.
 
For students, faculty and staff who use UHS as their primary care provider, vaccinations will be available at several new, mobile clinics and at the health center. Both injected and inhaled forms of the flu vaccine are available at all UHS clinics. Vaccinations will be billed to health insurance, so patients should remember to bring their health insurance card.
 
Call and schedule an appointment at 577-5101 for the following UHS clinics:
 
· 

Softball field to be named for Sortino

The softball field will be named in honor of longtime head coach Elaine Sortino this weekend to recognize her distinguished career and dedication to both the program and the sport of softball, according to athletic director John McCutcheon. The formal ceremony to name the playing surface Sortino Field will take place on Saturday, Oct. 6 prior to the annual alumni game at 11 a.m.
 
More than 70 former letter-winners, managers and coaches are expected to be in attendance, including members of the 1992 Women’s College World Series squad for the 20th anniversary of that season.
 
“It’s an honor

Pages