Skip directly to content

First land animals kept fishlike jaws for millions of years, says biologist

Scientists studying how early land vertebrates evolved from fishes long thought that the animals developed legs for moving around on land well before their feeding systems and dietary habits changed enough to let them eat a land-based diet, but strong evidence was lacking. Now, for the first time fossil jaw measurements by Philip Anderson, a senior research fellow in Biology, and others have tested and statistically confirmed this lag.
 
“This pattern had been hypothesized previously, but not really tested. Now we've done that,” Anderson says.

150-pound birthday cake cut as campus celebrates Founders Day

Thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends attended festivities marking Founders Day celebration on April 29 on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the campus charter. Among the highlights was the ceremonial cutting of a 150-pound birthday cake created in the shape of the iconic Old Chapel.
 
It was on April 29, 1863 that Gov. John Andrews signed the charter to form Massachusetts Agricultural College, creating the first Board of Trustees for what would become Massachusetts State College in 1931 and the University of Massachusetts in 1947.
 
Befitting the occasion,

$300 million UMass Rising fundraising campaign announced

University leaders have announced the launch of the campus’ s most ambitious fund-raising campaign ever, “UMass Rising,” in its sesquicentennial year, setting a goal of $300 million to achieve new heights as a leader in the Commonwealth’s and the nation’s innovation economy.

At the April 28 kickoff event, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said, “To excel today, the best universities must adapt. Simply reacting to new circumstances will not do, much more is required.

Biologists propose new research roadmap for connecting genes to ecology

A team of Biology Department researchers is proposing a new investigative roadmap for the field of evolutionary developmental biology, or “evo devo,” to better understand how innovation at the genetic level can lead to ecological adaptations over time. Evo devo seeks to understand the specific genetic mechanisms underlying evolutionary change.
 
Seven authors, all biologists but with diverse research programs including evolutionary genetics, developmental biology, biomechanics and behavioral ecology, describe the new framework they created to link genes to ecology in the May issue of Trends

Subbaswamy inaugurated as chancellor

With academic pomp and pageantry, Kumble R. Subbaswamy was formally inaugurated April 27 as chancellor during ceremonies at the Mullins Center.

The installation was held in conjunction with a weeklong commemoration of the founding of the campus in 1863, an occasion noted by Subbaswamy during his inaugural address.

“For 150 years, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by making a world-class education accessible to qualified students from all walks of life, engaging in research to solve our most complex problems, and working in communities to

Pages