Computer scientists, biostatistician share in system technology grants

Faculty members from the College of Natural Sciences and the School of Public Health and Health Sciences are among the recipients of nearly $750,000 in grants from the President’s Science and Technology Initiatives Fund announced June 18 by President Robert L. Caret.

Computer scientists Yanlei Diao, Preshant Shenoy and Deepak Ganesan were awarded a total of $321,250 and biostatistician Andrea Foulkes received $97,500 through the fund, which provides seed grants to accelerate research activity across all five campuses and position researchers to attract larger investments from external sources

Computer researchers help lay groundwork for White House 'US Ignite' initiative

Senior officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and non-government partners announced June 14 the launch of US Ignite, a national “innovation ecosystem” for developing and deploying public sector applications and services on ultra-fast, software-defined networks to enhance the next generation of the Internet.
 
UMass Amherst scientists are among those from nearly two dozen institutions tapped by NSF to take part.

Peregrine falcons take to the sky

The three female peregrine falcon chicks that hatched last month on the roof of the Du Bois Library all successfully began flying over the weekend of June 9-10.

They have been coming back to the box at night to be fed, but they will spend less and less time at the box over the next few days until they completely stop visiting it on a regular basis, according to Richard Nathhorst, capital projects manager in Facilities Planning.

“They are in the flight school phase of their training, following the parents around campus begging for food, learning to fly and hunt for prey and developing

Badgett testifies before Senate panel in favor of employment non-discrimination act

Economics professor M.V. Lee Badgett, director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on June 12 that Congress should pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because lesbian, gay and bisexual people are nearly as likely to file discrimination complaints as those already protected by federal anti-bias laws.

Badgett was one of five witnesses who provided the Senate committee with testimony related to the proposed bill, which would ban discrimination in hiring and other employment decisions based on sexual

Goldman appointed Distinguished Professor

The Board of Trustees voted June 6 to appoint Sheldon Goldman of the Political Science Department as a Distinguished Professor.

The appointment recognizes Goldman's outstanding research, service and teaching over the course of his nearly 47 years on the faculty. During that time, Goldman has become one of the nation's top experts on the politics of judicial selection and confirmation.

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