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Talking Points

Robot-delivered speech and physical therapy succeeds in test

In one of the earliest experiments using a humanoid robot to deliver speech and physical therapy to a stroke patient, researchers in Communication Disorders and Computer Science saw notable speech and physical therapy gains and significant improvement in quality of life.
 
Regarding the overall outcome, speech language pathologist and study leader Yu-kyong Choe says, “It’s clear from our study of a 72-year-old male stroke client that a personal humanoid robot can help people recover by delivering therapy such as word-retrieval games and arm movement tasks in an enjoyable and engaging way.”
 

New UMass Poll finds strong support for minimum wage increase, assault weapons ban

The results of a new national UMass Poll released March 18 show strong public support for an assault weapons ban and a broad consensus in favor of a higher federal minimum wage. Additionally, President Barack Obama enjoys high personal favorability, while House Speaker John Boehner is viewed as equally unfavorable.
 
Respondents were asked about a variety of topics, including which issues they viewed as most important, about how favorably they view various government officials, and their personal views on a number of hot-topic issues such as minimum wage, gun control, the Voting Rights Act,

STEM Diversity Institute receives $1.6m NIH award to support graduate students in biomedical research

A newly formed institute that serves as a campus-wide umbrella to coordinate campus diversity initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has received a four-year, $1.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund one-year internships for post-baccalaureate students from underrepresented groups interested in biomedical and biobehavioral research.
 
Sandra Petersen, director of the STEM Diversity Institute (SDI) and professor of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, is the principal investigator of the award with Lynmarie Thompson, associate

Researchers reveal mechanism of novel biological electron transfer

When researchers led by Microbiology professor Derek Lovley discovered that the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens conducts electricity very effectively along metallic-like “microbial nanowires,” they found physicists quite comfortable with the idea of such a novel biological electron transfer mechanism, but not biologists.
 
“For biologists, Geobacter’s behavior represents a paradigm shift. It goes against all that we are taught about biological electron transfer, which usually involves electrons hopping from one molecule to another,” Lovley says.

Sesquicentennial celebration includes Subbaswamy inaugural, Founders Day cookout

 
Planning is continuing for events scheduled for Founders Week, April 22-29, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Massachusetts Agricultural College, according to Nancy Buffone, executive director of External Relations and University Events.
 
As the campus marks its sesquicentennial, two of the major public events will be the formal inauguration of Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy on April 27 and the annual Founders Day cookout on the Goodell Lawn on April 29. 
 
“Invitations and announcements about these events will be sent to all faculty and staff, so keep an eye out for

Survey seeks campus input for updated UHS mission statement

Students, faculty and staff are being asked to help shape a new mission statement for University Health Services by participating in an upcoming survey, according to James Sheehan, vice chancellor for Administration and Finance.
 
“The current mission statement is about 20 years old and health care has changed quite a bit in that time,” said Sheehan. “We’re asking the campus community to identify what’s important to them.”
 
Sheehan said a revised mission statement will help clarify the expectations for the scope and role of UHS, but will not lead to wholesale changes at the health center.

Study questions improved memorability of symbol license plates

Results of a new study by memory experts in the Psychology Department suggest that adding symbols such as stars or circles to license plates does not make them easier for adults to remember than the traditional plate with only letters and numbers.
 
Cognitive psychologist and memory expert Caren Rotello says, “We found that whether the license plate contained a symbol or not didn’t matter when people tried to remember details. There was no overall benefit to license plates with symbols in our study.

Faculty and Staff Campaign raises $764,238 as participation, gifts grow

More than 1,200 members of the campus community contributed $764,238 to the 2012-13 Faculty and Staff Campaign, according to Sarah Sligo, executive director of Annual Giving.
 
The gift total represents a 5 percent increase in donations over last year, while the number of donors grew 6 percent to 1,229, said Sligo.
 
“Our faculty and staff really stepped up for this year's campaign, illustrating in this most tangible way the depth of their support for moving UMass Amherst forward,” said co-chair Robert Feldman, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
 
To help promote a culture

Researchers develop tools for discovering new species

For hundreds of years, naturalists and scientists have identified new species based on an organism’s visible differences. But now, new genetic techniques are revealing that different species can show little to no visible differences.

In a just-published study, evolutionary biologists at UMass Amherst and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) combine traditional morphological tests plus genetic techniques to describe new species. Groups of morphologically similar organisms that show very divergent genetics are generally termed “cryptic species.”
 
Lead authors of an article describing

STEM Education Institute nets state grant for out-of-school programming

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Institute, which manages the Pioneer Valley STEM Network, has received a $39,780 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education through its STEM Pipeline Fund.
 
The money will allow the Pioneer Valley STEM Network, in partnership with after school and informal STEM providers, to develop strategies to support sustainable, high-quality, informal science and engineering education opportunities in out-of-school time (OST) programs.

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