Skip directly to content

News

Two UMass Amherst Faculty Named Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

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.
 
The honors were in the AAAS News & Notes section of the Nov. 30 issue of Science. The 702 new fellows will be officially recognized Feb. 16 during the association’s annual meeting in Boston.
 
Maria Santore was elected

UMass Amherst Biogeographer Tracks Invasive Cheatgrass’ Role in Larger, More Frequent Western Fires

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.
 
Bethany Bradley, a biogeographer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, brought her expertise in remote sensing and spatial analysis to the study, which was led by

All UMass Amherst Residence Halls Now Protected by Fire Sprinklers, Completing Massive, Voluntary Retrofit Program

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.
 
More than 12,100 students in 7,163 rooms are now protected by sprinkler systems.

UMass Amherst Police Department Awarded National Accreditation

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.
 
UMass Amherst is only the fifth police department and the first university or college police department in Massachusetts to attain national accreditation.
 
The CALEA accreditation process—considered by the public safety community to be the “gold standard” — is a proven modern management tool.

UMass Amherst Biophysicists Unravel Cellular ‘Traffic Jams’ in Active Transport

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.    
 
Now a team of biophysicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, using a special technique and unique microscope, have improved upon earlier studies that used too-simple models not able

UMass Amherst Graduate Program Aimed at Offshore Wind Energy is Training Its First Class of Students

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.
 
The program was started with a $3.2

New Book by UMass Amherst’s Schreyer Expands Understanding of Architectural Computer-Aided Design Software

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.”
 
Published and released as paperback and e-book editions, the book is now available through online and local bookstores.

Christopher Hollot Appointed Interim Dean of College of Engineering at UMass Amherst

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

UMass Amherst Historian Stephen Platt Captures Prestigious Cundill Prize for 'Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom'

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.
 
Published earlier this year by Alfred A. Knopf, Platt’s book was chosen from among 143 works submitted by publishers from all over the globe. The competition, now in its fifth year, features a $75,000 U.S. grand prize.

UMass Amherst Prepares for Innovation Challenge on Dec. 4

 
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
 
DATE:        Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012
TIME:         3:30 pm
PLACE:     Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union
 
A dozen teams of young entrepreneurs seeking $10,000 in prize money will be pitching their innovative business concepts to a panel of judges at the UMass Innovation Challenge Executive Summary and Elevator Pitch competition.
 
Competitors are interdisciplinary student/alumni teams working with faculty members and external advisors. For example:
  • Team Green Latrineoffers a solution for sustainable global sanitation, a latrine that purifies waste water at the same time

Pages