University of Massachusetts Amherst - Office of News & Information

Sunday, September 5, 2010

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UMass Amherst Students to Benefit from $30 Million in Facility Improvements Made During the Summer

September 3, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - Students returning to the University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall will find physical and electronic improvements that include installation of wireless Internet access in many residence halls, renovated academic space and a fresh look for some athletic facilities. More...



UMass Amherst Researchers Win $1.2 Million EUREKA Award to Study Disease-Related Protein Misfolding

September 2, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - Three University of Massachusetts Amherst scientists have received a four-year, $1.2 million EUREKA grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study folding and misfolding of secretory proteins in the cell’s protein factory, the endoplasmic reticulum, where misfolding can lead to diseases such as cystic fibrosis and liver cirrhosis. More...



UMass Amherst Students Return to Campus and Move in on Labor Day Weekend

September 2, 2010

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

DATE: Sunday, Sept. 5 and Monday, Sept. 6

TIME: Beginning at 9 a.m.

PLACE: Residence halls across the UMass campus

Students returning to the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be moving into residence halls on Sunday, Sept. 5 and Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6 beginning at 9 a.m. On Sunday, the Class of 2014, approximately 4,500 students will move in. On Monday, the remaining undergraduate students will arrive on campus. More than 12,400 students who applied for on-campus housing this fall have been accommodated in residence halls. More...



Everywoman’s Center Receives $149,520 Grant to Support Teen Survivors of Sexual Assault and Dating Violence in Hampshire County

September 2, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - The Everywoman’s Center (EWC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been awarded $149,520 over three years by the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance to provide support services to adolescent survivors of sexual assault and dating violence in Hampshire County. More...



UMass Amherst Computer Scientists Are Helping to Lay ‘Clean Slate’ Foundation for Next, More Mobile and Secure Internet

September 1, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - Because today’s Internet was designed for "tethered" computers such as desktop models, its behind-the-scenes operations are often fragile, inefficient and difficult to manage for connecting via smart phones, laptops or sensors. More...



UMass Amherst Volunteers to Attempt World Record By Assembling 400-Foot Sushi Roll on Labor Day

September 1, 2010

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

DATE: Monday, Sept. 6, 2010

TIME: 4:45 p.m.

PLACE: Haigis Mall (by the Fine Arts Center)
UMass Amherst

Led by celebrity chefs, 300 volunteers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will attempt to assemble the world’s largest sushi roll this weekend using 650 sheets of nori (seaweed), 200 pounds of rice, 200 pounds of surimi, 100 pounds of avocado, 100 pounds of cucumber, two pounds of sesame seeds, five gallons of soy sauce and six pounds of wasabi. More...



Largest-Ever First-Year Class of 4,500 Arrives at UMass Amherst as Campus Welcomes Students on Labor Day Weekend

August 31, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - An academically outstanding group of first-year students and the largest-ever class to enter the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be welcomed to campus this weekend. The Class of 2014, numbering approximately 4,500 students selected from a record 31,000 applicants, will move in Sunday, Sept. 5. On Monday, Sept. 6, Labor Day, the remaining undergraduates will arrive on campus. More...



UMass Amherst Introduces New Integrated Sciences Education Program

August 27, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - Incoming undergraduates interested in pursuing a science major at UMass Amherst will be able to choose a completely new, enhanced science education program believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. It will teach science "the way it is really done," and "emphasize the reason people become scientists in the first place, which is to solve problems," says Justin Fermann, a program coordinator and senior lecturer in chemistry. More...



UMass Amherst Geologist Will Evaluate Astronauts’ Planetary Exploration Skills

August 26, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - As the new academic year opens next week, geologist and pilot Christopher Condit of the University of Massachusetts Amherst will begin by spending two intense weeks on a remote, high desert plateau with an unusual group of students: NASA astronauts-in-training preparing for human exploration of other planets. More...



UMass Researchers Say Warbler Fight Songs Follow Fashion While Love Songs Stick to a Few Classics

August 23, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - A team of researchers has found that chestnut-sided warblers possess two distinct cultural traditions in song variants that evolve independently - one, used for territorial disputes that changes frequently, and another, used for romance that relies on a small unchanging sampling of classics. The findings suggest songbird culture is more complex than previously thought, the scientists say. The paper will be published in the journal The American Naturalist. More...

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UMass Research

UMass Amherst Researcher Studies How Flowers Fight Back Against Damaging Insect Visitors

AMHERST, Mass. - Though summer’s flowers appear delicate and carefree to us, in fact plants must be tough enough to defend their blossoms against antagonists including florivores and nectar robbers, that is, insects who eat, steal or destroy nectar and flowers without performing beneficial pollination services.

NSF Research Dollars to UMass Amherst Top $14.6 Million for Last Quarter of FY10

AMHERST, Mass. – As one of the leading research institutions in the state, the University of Massachusetts Amherst continues to attract impressive amounts of federal research funding. For example, in the last quarter of FY10, the campus accepted 75 awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a total of $14,668,990.

UMass Study: Consumers, Marketers Differ on Electronic Privacy

AMHERST, Mass. – A new study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that consumers and marketers have different expectations for privacy boundaries when new technology is used, and consumers most often prefer an opt-in system for revealing personal information. The study was conducted by George Milne, associate professor of marketing at the Isenberg School of Management, and Shalini Bahl, founder of iAM Business Consulting. It was published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

UMass Amherst Study Suggests Ways to Ease Effects of Primary Care Doctor Shortage

AMHERST, Mass. – A national shortage of primary care doctors plus a growing population of older adults, many with chronic diseases, is leading in some areas such as western Massachusetts to longer wait times to see a doctor and is reducing patients’ chances of seeing their own physician, experts say. These problems can lead to “fragmented” care, worsen health outcomes and overtax emergency rooms.

UMass Amherst Cybersecurity Expert Kevin Fu Named to U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

AMHERST, Mass. – Kevin Fu, the University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist who is best known for calling attention to the security and privacy risks of wireless, implantable medical devices and designing prevention and fixes, has been selected as one of the nation’s brightest young engineers and will take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 16th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium in September.

Arctic Freshwater Cycle is Intensifying Consistent with Climate Warming, say UMass Amherst Researcher and International Team

AMHERST, Mass. – The amount of fresh water flowing through the Arctic as snow or rainfall, in rivers and other cycles is increasing, in agreement with model projections under a warming climate, according to a new study by University of Massachusetts Amherst hydrologist Michael Rawlins and colleagues from 18 other institutions in the United States, Norway and Finland.

Successful Genome Sequencing May Lead to Improved, Non-Chemical Control of Body Lice

AMHERST, Mass. – Suffering from itchy bites and epidemic disease spread by the lowly body louse over thousands of years, humans may finally have found a tool for fighting back against this pest and discovering its knack for evading pesticides. University of Massachusetts Amherst pesticide toxicologist John Clark, with colleagues at 28 institutions in the U.S., Europe, Australia and South Korea, this week report that they’ve sequenced the genome of the body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus L, the smallest insect genome known.

UMass Professor Julie Caswell Says FDA Needs Risk-Based Approach to Food Safety to Help Prevent Foodborne Illness

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst food safety expert Julie A. Caswell says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to implement a risk-based approach to food safety using data and expertise to pinpoint where in the production, distribution and handling chains of food there is the greatest potential for contamination and other problems.

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