Weekly Bulletin

Public hearing on reclaimed water use in cooling towers at Central Heating Plant

The Central Heating Plant (CHP) currently utilizes the effluent (reclaimed water) from the Amherst Waste Water Treatment Plant as boiler make-up water to produce steam for the campus. To increase water conservation, the CHP has submitted a Class A Reclaimed Water Application to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to use reclaimed water at the CHP cooling towers as well.  
 
The Amherst campus currently uses about 340 million gallons of water per year.

Doctoral oral exams for March 18-22

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

Adriana Kita, Ph.D., Molecular and Cellular Biology. Wednesday, March 20, 2 p.m., 221 Integrated Sciences Building. Dissertation: “Mass Spectrometry Based Approaches for the Characterization of Disulfides in Cysteine Rich Protein Therapeutics.” Igor Kaltashov, chr.
 

New course proposal

The following new course proposal has been submitted to the Faculty Senate Office for review and approval and is listed here for faculty review and comment. Comments on any new course proposal should be submitted to Ernest May, secretary of the Faculty Senate, at senate@senate.umass.edu.

BCT 311, “Sustainable Indoor Environmental Systems,” 2 credits; Instructor: Simi Hoque; The focus of this course is to understand the fundamental principles behind the sustainable design and regulation of thermal comfort, mechanical, plumbing, and lighting systems in buildings.

New student acknowledgement program call for nominations

Nominations are now open for the Rising Researcher award program. Faculty advisors and mentors who are working with exceptional undergraduates are encouraged to nominate their students for this new campus award. The deadline for spring nominations is March 15.

Rising Researcher recognizes UMass Amherst undergraduate students who excel in research, scholarship and creative activity. Eligible students will be exceptional undergraduates identified by their faculty mentor/advisor who have demonstrated leadership and impact in their chosen area of study.

Five College Renaissance Seminar

Amy Rodgers, assistant professor of English at Mount Holyoke College, will discuss “The Language of Looking: Jonsonian Masque and Conspicuous Consumption” at a Five College Renaissance Seminar on Thursday, March 14 at 4:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Center, 650 East Pleasant St.

The event is free and open to the public.
 
For information, contact the center at renaissance@english.umass.edu or 577-3600.

Renaissance Wednesday Lecture

Nathaniel Leonard will present “The Alchemist and Renaissance Theater” at a Renaissance Wednesday Lecture on March 13 at 4 p.m.
 
This play will be performed in April as part of the Renaissance Center Theater Festival.
 
The talk is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the Amherst Woman’s Club.
 
For information, contact the center at renaissance@english.umass.edu or 577-3600.

Flags lowered March 6 in honor of Randolph Bromery

The campus will lower its flags to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, March 6 in honor of former Randolph Wilson “Bill”  Bromery, who served as chancellor from 1971-79. Bromery died Feb. 26 in Danvers.

Speaker examines impact of political conflict on youth

Brian K. Barber, founding director of the Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict at the University of Tennessee, will discuss “Considering the Long-Term Impact of Political Conflict on Youth: Simple Question, Complex Answers” on Monday, March 11 at 4 p.m. in 423 Tobin Hall.

One of the major limitations of the burgeoning research literature on the impact of political conflict on young people is the absence of long-term assessments.

Ellis keynotes Graduate History Assocation conference

The Graduate History Association will host its 9th annual Interdisciplinary Conference, “Competing Visions: Changing Landscapes in the Past, Present, and Future”on Saturday, March 9 in the Isenberg School of Management.

Presenters include local, regional, and international emerging scholars in the fields of history, economics, German studies, communications, gender studies, religion and geoarchaeology.

At 3 p.m., Joseph Ellis, professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, will give the keynote address, “Telling the Story: The Summer of 1776."

For more information, see the conference program

Bateman scholar Kevin Knobloch, '78, to address strategy for low-carbon future

Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists and the spring Eleanor Bateman Alumni Scholar in Residence, will speak on “Needed: Skillful capitalists to lead us to a low-carbon future,” on Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m. in the Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Building,

In his talk, Knobloch will explain the processes by which he achieved results on a wide range of environmental and national security issues—such as renewable energy, nuclear weapons, forest management and corporate responsibility—by working with scientists, legislators, industry leaders and delegations to the United

Pages