AMHERST, Mass. – Christopher Hollot, head of the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been named interim dean of the College of Engineering by UMass Amherst Provost James V. Staros.
Hollot’s appointment was effective Dec. 1 and he will serve until the arrival of a new dean, which is expected in spring 2013, said Staros.
A UMass Amherst faculty member since 1984, Hollot has served as department head since 2007. Hollot is an authority on the theory and application of feedback control and was recognized for his work by election as
AMHERST, Mass. – The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced that polymer scientist Maria Santore and biochemist Danny Schnell of the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been awarded the distinction of fellow in an election by their peers to recognize scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
AMHERST, Mass. – New research that relied in part on satellite images suggests that cheatgrass, an invasive species brought west by settlers in the 1800s, is one cause for the larger, hotter and more frequent range fires experienced recently in the Great Basin of the American West. The arid region covers about 230,000 square miles (600,000 km) over much of Nevada and parts of Utah, Colorado, Idaho, California and Oregon.
AMHERST, Mass. – All 45 residence halls at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are now protected with fire sprinkler systems, following a massive, voluntary retrofit to protect students in one of the nation’s largest on-campus housing systems. State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan hailed the achievement as an impressive commitment to public safety.
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst Police Department received a national accreditation award on Nov. 17 during the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) fall conference in Jacksonville, Fla., according to Chief John Horvath.
AMHERST, Mass. – Inside many growing cells, an active transport system runs on nano-sized microtubule tracks that resemble a highway, complete with motors carrying cargo quickly from a central supply depot to growing tips or wherever materials are needed. In spite of the cell’s busy, high-traffic environment, researchers know the system somehow works efficiently, without accidents or traffic jams. 
AMHERST, Mass. – An interdisciplinary graduate program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in offshore wind energy engineering, environmental science and policy is now up and running with 25 faculty members from nine departments working with 13 full-time graduate students. The goal of the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Offshore Wind Energy Program is to train researchers who understand the technological challenges, environmental implications, and socioeconomic and regulatory hurdles faced by offshore wind farms.
AMHERST, Mass. – Alexander C. Schreyer, assistant director and lecturer of the building and construction technology (BCT) program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and faculty member in the architecture + design program, has released a book on SketchUp, a popular three dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software, titled “Architectural Design with SketchUp.”
AMHERST, Mass. – “Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War,” a history of the Taiping rebellion by Stephen R. Platt, associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has won McGill University’s 2012 Cundill Prize, called the world’s richest and most prestigious award for historical literature.
DATE: Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012