News

UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy to Discuss Partnership with Greater Springfield

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***
 
DATE:            Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013
TIME:             4:30 p.m. 
PLACE:          Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
                       1000 Hall of Fame Ave., Springfield
 
New England Public Radio (NEPR) and the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield are hosting a formal welcome for University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, who will discuss the university’s role in Springfield and the campus’s partnership with the city.
 
Martin Miller, CEO and general manager of NEPR, will speak about the station’s planned

Multicultural Film Festival 'Continuities' Begins Feb. 6 at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – The interdepartmental program in film studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is presenting the 20th annual Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival starting Feb. 6 and continuing through April 25.
 
This year’s festival focuses on the theme of “Continuities.” With weekly screenings and events at UMass Amherst and in the Five College area, the entertaining and provocative line-up headlines award-winning narrative features and documentaries from France, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Romania, Spain and the U.S. 
 
Unless otherwise noted,

Science Café Series Resumes with 'Smell: the Secret Sense'

AMHERST, Mass. – The Science Café resumes Monday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. with “Smell: the Secret Sense,” presented by Tom Eiting, a University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate student in organismic and evolutionary biology. The program takes place at the Esselon Café in Hadley.
 
Eiting will spotlight his work exploring how the sense of smell works in mammals, from the anatomy of nasal passages to how smell is perceived. All Science Café events are free and designed for a public audience. Light snacks will be provided and drinks available for purchase. 
 
The Science Café series is organized by

UMass Amherst Archaeologist to Discuss Using Modern Methods and Technologies to Probe History of Pompeii

AMHERST, Mass. – Eric Poehler, assistant professor of classics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will speak on “The Roles of Innovation and Imagination in the Archaeology of Pompeii” on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium.
 
The talk is part of the Honors Faculty Lecture series presented by Commonwealth Honors College and is free and open to the public.
 
Poehler is a classical archaeologist with 16 years of field experience at Pompeii and another seven years at the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary at Isthmia, Greece.

New Research from UMass Amherst Sociologists Dispels Myths about Academic Parental Leave

AMHERST, Mass. – New research from sociologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst counters misconceptions surrounding the use of paid parental leave on university campuses.
 
In a study published in the January 2013 issue of the journal Fathering, UMass Amherst associate professor Jennifer Lundquist (left) and professor Joya Misra, along with KerryAnn O’Meara of the University of Maryland, examined assumptions that men take unfair advantage of parental leave at universities, using the leave as an opportunity to further their research while shirking the responsibility of childcare.

UMass Amherst Chemical Engineer Receives NSF CAREER Grant to Study Advanced Process for Biofuel Production

AMHERST, Mass. – Paul J. Dauenhauer, a chemical engineer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received a five-year, $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s CAREER program to conduct basic research on the chemical reactions that create biofuel from organic matter such as wood.
 
The funding will allow Dauenhauer and his research team to study in great detail the complex chemical reactions that take place when an ultra-thin sheet of cellulose is quickly heated to 500 degrees Celsius inside a biofuel reactor.

UMass Amherst Cell Biologists Show Molecular Forces Are Key to Proper Cell Division

AMHERST, Mass. – Studies led by cell biologist Thomas Maresca at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are revealing new details about a molecular surveillance system that helps detect and correct errors in cell division that can lead to cell death or human diseases. Findings are reported in the current issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
 
The purpose of cell division is to evenly distribute the genome between two daughter cells. To achieve this, every chromosome must properly interact with a football-shaped structure called the spindle.

U.S. News Ranks UMass Amherst Among Top Online Graduate Programs in Nursing, Business and Education

AMHERST, Mass. – Online graduate programs in nursing and business administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been ranked among the top 25 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
 
UMass Amherst’s online master’s in nursing program is ranked 12th nationally, while the online MBA program offered by the Isenberg School of Management is 22nd. The School of Education's online master's in education was 59th on the list.
 
According to U.S. News, the nursing program rankings are based on information obtained from 101 schools with online programs.

UMass Amherst Study May Explain Why Wolves are Forever Wild, But Dogs Can Be Tamed

AMHERST, Mass. – Dogs and wolves are genetically so similar, it’s been difficult for biologists to understand why wolves remain fiercely wild, while dogs can gladly become “man’s best friend.” Now, doctoral research by evolutionary biologist Kathryn Lord at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests the different behaviors are related to the animals’ earliest sensory experiences and the critical period of socialization. Details appear in the current issue of Ethology.
 
Until now, little was known about sensory development in wolf pups, and assumptions were usually extrapolated from

Cundill Prize-Winning Historian Stephen Platt to Discuss Taiping Civil War at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass – University of Massachusetts historian Stephen R. Platt will offer rare glimpse into the Taiping Civil War on Thursday, Jan. 24 as part of a celebration of his book “Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War,” which won McGill University’s 2012 Cundill Prize – called the world’s richest and most prestigious award for historical literature.
 
Platt’s talk, titled “Into the Storm: Some Windows into a Chinese Civil War,” begins at 4 p.m. in UMass Amherst’s Cape Cod Lounge. A reception will follow.
 
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