University of Massachusetts Amherst - Office of News & Information

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

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UMass Amherst Neighborhood Nestwatch Brings Citizen Science to Western Massachusetts Backyards

May 23, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - A citizen science project to study nesting populations of common backyard songbirds started recently as researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst began visiting the yards of 60 volunteer families across western Massachusetts for the "Neighborhood Nestwatch" project. More...



UMass Amherst Researchers Track Atlantic Bluefin Tuna to Learn Migration, Habitat Secrets

May 22, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - New fish-tagging studies of young bluefin tuna in Atlantic waters off New England by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are offering the first fishery-independent, year-round data on dispersal patterns and habitat use for the popular game fish. The availability of miniaturized pop-up satellite tags suitable for smaller (two- to five-year-old) fish helped make the research possible. More...



UMass Amherst School of Education Helps Train the Next Generation of Education Faculty in Afghanistan

May 21, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Twenty-one Afghan teachers who received master’s degrees in education in Kabul this spring are returning to their university classrooms embracing a hard-won commitment to skills and values of leadership, research methodology, teaching and assessment forged in partnership with faculty and students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School of Education. More...



Historic Preservation Challenges First Graduates of UMass Amherst-Hancock Shaker Village Masters Design Program

May 15, 2012

PITTSFIELD, Mass. - The first six recipients of the Master of Science in Design in Historic Preservation degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are ready to take on some of the most complicated and delicate preservation projects around after having completed a rigorous and unique three-year course of study offered by UMass Amherst and Hancock Shaker Village, a national historic landmark. More...



U.S. Department of State Awards Critical Language Scholarships to UMass Amherst Students

May 15, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Three University of Massachusetts Amherst students will attend intensive language institutes overseas this summer through Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) awarded by the U.S. Department of State. More...



Stockbridge School Commencement at UMass Amherst Salutes Graduates

May 12, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - At the 90th commencement for the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, speakers told graduates they will become stewards of the world through their chosen professions as well as the latest addition to a longstanding family of graduates who support each other. The students in six majors received associate of science degrees in Bowker Auditorium today. More...



UMass Amherst Program Lays the Groundwork for College Success with Summer College

May 11, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Amherst is introducing Summer College, a pre-college program for high school students that provides an opportunity to acquire skills and develop habits that will help them succeed in high school and college. More...



UMass Amherst Class of 2012 Celebrates Graduation, Hears Legendary Journalist Ted Koppel Critique Age of Instant Communication

May 11, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Amid breezy spring weather, approximately 5,000 candidates received bachelor’s degrees during today’s 142nd undergraduate Commencement of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A crowd of 20,000 heard Commencement speaker Ted Koppel critique today’s instant and constant connectivity, saying he fears it may undermine the nation’s ability to address pressing problems. More...



UMass Amherst Graduate Commencement Honors Student Teaching, Research and Outreach

May 11, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - The Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Amherst conferred more than 1,300 doctoral and master’s degrees this morning at commencement ceremonies that drew nearly 1,000 graduates, along with family members and friends to the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. More...



UMass Amherst Chancellor-Elect Kumble R. Subbaswamy, President Caret to Meet Springfield Leaders on May 14

May 11, 2012

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

DATE: Monday, May 14, 2012

TIME: 7:30-9 a.m.

PLACE: Sheraton Springfield Hotel, One Monarch Place,
Ballroom North, third floor

UMass Amherst Chancellor-elect Kumble R. Subbaswamy and Robert L. Caret, UMass president, will meet with business, community and government leaders from the Springfield area to discuss the City of Springfield/UMass Partnership and future plans to help revitalize Springfield. More...

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UMass Research

UMass Amherst Engineer Paul Siqueira Selected for NASA Team

AMHERST, Mass. - Paul Siqueira, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been selected to serve on the Science Definition Team for a NASA space-borne radar mission to study Earth Deformation, Ecosystem Science, and the Dynamics of Ice (DESDynI). The project is expected to be launched before the end of the decade.

UMass Amherst Researcher Seeking Subjects at Three Local Senior Centers for Lifespan Social Psychology Study

AMHERST, Mass. - A University of Massachusetts Amherst doctoral student in social psychology, Daniel Rovenpor, is working with senior citizen centers in Northampton, Belchertown and Amherst to recruit participants over age 60 over the next three months for a study on lifespan social psychology, in particular the links between social cognition and aging.

UMass Amherst Researchers Plan to Double Biofuel Yield from a Non-Food Oil Seed Crop

AMHERST, Mass. - One of the most promising avenues for reducing our national dependence on imported oil, lowering greenhouse gases and boosting domestic fuel production is biofuel from non-food plant seed oils. Recently, a University of Massachusetts Amherst team started a $2 million project to develop Camelina, a non-food oil seed crop related to canola, to dramatically increase seed oil generation for processing into sustainable liquid transportation fuels.

Winners of 2012 Armstrong Fund for Science Awards Named at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. - A team of wind power engineers and a physicist have won the sixth annual Armstrong Fund for Science Awards at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which grants $30,000 over two years to two research teams to encourage transformative research that introduces new ways of thinking about pressing scientific or technical challenges.

UMass Amherst Psychology Research Suggests Infants Begin to Learn about Race in the First Year

AMHERST, Mass. - Results of a new study reported recently by psychology researcher Lisa Scott and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst confirm that although infants are born with equal abilities to tell apart people within multiple races, by age 9 months they are better at recognizing faces and emotional expressions of people within groups they interact with most.

UMass Chemical Engineers and Collaborators Discover a High-Yield Method for Producing Everyday Plastics from Biomass

AMHERST, Mass. - A team of chemical engineers led by Paul J. Dauenhauer of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a new, high-yield method of producing the key ingredient used to make plastic bottles from biomass. The process is inexpensive and currently creates the chemical p-xylene with an efficient yield of 75-percent, using most of the biomass feedstock, Dauenhauer says. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

UMass Amherst Geneticist Develops Tool to Identify Genes Important in Disease and for Tailoring Individual Treatment

AMHERST, Mass. - Though the human genome has been sequenced, scientists are still trying to figure out how the accomplishment can help people, for example, how it can be used to treat disease. As University of Massachusetts Amherst geneticist Jacob Mayfield notes, "It was easy to think of the human genome as the big prize, but what we realize now is, it’s just a foot in the door."

UMass Amherst Food Scientist Studying the Use of All-Natural Nanoparticles in Food Products

AMHERST, Mass. - Increasingly, food manufacturers want to use nanoparticles to boost nutrition by adding compounds with health benefits such as carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D and E, sometimes called "nutraceuticals." The tiny capsules can be designed to preserve nutritional value and freshness, enhance nutrient bioavailability and maintain desirable product quality.

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