Feb. 10, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Advances in studying genes mean that scientists in evolutionary developmental biology or "evo-devo" can now explain more clearly than ever before how bats got wings, the turtle got its shell and blind cave fish lost their eyes, says University of Massachusetts Amherst evolutionary biologist Craig Albertson. More...
UMass Athletics Announces $33 Million Fundraising Campaign
Feb. 10, 2012
Aggressive fundraising campaign bolstered by creation of The Minutemen Club
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Director of Athletics John McCutcheon has announced the kick-off of a major $33 million fundraising campaign aimed at enhancing capital, scholarship, endowment and sport specific goals over the next six years. As part of the campaign, the Athletic Department has also announced the renaming and re-organization of the annual fund for student-athlete scholarship support to The Minutemen Club in an effort to bolster and reflect UMass’ commitment to success. More...
Feb. 9, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - There will always be a wild and unpredictable quality to creativity and invention, says Anthony McCaffrey, a cognitive psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, because an "Aha moment" is rare and reaching it means overcoming formidable mental obstacles. But after studying common roadblocks to problem-solving, he has developed a toolkit for enhancing anyone’s skills. More...
UMass Amherst Professor Peg Riley to Speak at Science Cafe Program on Antibiotics
Feb. 9, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - The Science Cafe, a community series produced by graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, continues Monday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at Esselon Cafe in Hadley with "Antibiotics: Resistance is Futile." More...
Feb. 8, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Today’s "locavore" movement with its emphasis on eating more locally-produced food is a natural fit for fruits and vegetables in nearly every region, but few entrepreneurs have dared to apply the concept to fish farming. Those who have ventured to turn a vacant barn or garage into an aquaculture business have too often been defeated by high energy and feed costs, building-related woes and serious environmental problems, says aquaculture researcher Andy Danylchuk at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. More...
Former Chancellor David K. Scott to Lecture on Learning at UMass Amherst
Feb. 7, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Former University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor David K. Scott will speak on "Multiple Modes of Inquiry and the Nature of Reality" on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium at UMass Amherst. More...
Feb. 7, 2012
*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***
DATE: Wednesday, Feb. 8
TIME: Halftime of UMass Men’s Basketball Game vs. St. Bonaventure.
Game begins at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Center Court, Mullins Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst
As part of "Stand Up and Be Counted," the fourth annual UMass Amherst White Ribbon Campaign event, more than 100 men and boys will take a public pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about men’s violence against women. The pledge offers a powerful way for men to show their love for the women in their lives. More...
UMass Amherst Moves Quickly to Discipline Students Involved in Super Bowl Disturbance
Feb. 7, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - The Dean of Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst today announced the university is moving quickly to discipline students involved in a disturbance following the Super Bowl. More...
Students Face Sanctions Following Super Bowl Arrests
Feb. 6, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Dean of Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will immediately launch a disciplinary review of 13 students arrested Sunday night during a campus disturbance following the Super Bowl. More...
UMass Amherst Student Inspired by ‘Green Campus’ and Sustainability Activities Wins National Award
Feb. 2, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Inspired by her three years devoted to sustainability activities and "greening the campus" at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recent graduate Rachel Dutton of Burlington won first prize and $500 in a national writing contest, as announced recently by the National Association of College Auxiliary Services’ (NACAS). More...
UMass Amherst Dining Services Bets Meal for Six on the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl
Jan. 31, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst and New York University have agreed to a friendly food wager as the New England Patriots face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb 5. More...
Jan. 30, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Amherst Permaculture Garden Committee may be small, but the super-size dedication of its 12 students and three staff members has gained the campus national recognition for offering students’ hands-on learning and experience in sustainable land use. More...
Wolf Greenfield Establishes David Wolf Prize for UMass Amherst’s Innovation Challenge
Jan. 26, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Amherst and the intellectual property law firm of Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C. today announced the establishment of the David Wolf Prize as a new award in support of the UMass Innovation Challenge business plan competition. Wolf Greenfield was a founding sponsor of the competition and continues as a platinum-level sponsor. More...
UMass Amherst Ecologists among the First to Record and Study Deep-sea Fish Noises
Jan. 26, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Amherst fish biologists have published one of the first studies of deep-sea fish sounds in more than 50 years, collected from the sea floor about 2,237 feet (682 meters) below the North Atlantic. With recording technology now more affordable, Rodney Rountree, Francis Juanes and colleagues are exploring the idea that many fish make sounds to communicate with each other, especially those that live in the perpetual dark of the deep ocean. More...
UMass Amherst Team from Isenberg School of Management to Present Finance Webinar on Feb. 1
Jan. 26, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, headed by Ben S. Branch, professor of finance at the Isenberg School of Management, will present a webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. to review findings and field questions about the team’s just-released paper, "Mergers and Acquisitions and the Universal Investor." The paper is the first to analyze the impact of corporate takeover announcements on shareholders and bondholders of peer/competitor companies of both acquiring and target companies. More...
President Caret Lays out UMass Role in Pioneer Valley
Jan. 26, 2012
Says, "the people I’ve met want us to do more’’
HOLYOKE - UMass President Robert L. Caret outlined a plan today for working with Holyoke, Springfield, and other communities in the Pioneer Valley region to help grow and recruit innovation economy based-companies and expand existing enterprises in information technology, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and the life sciences. More...
Jan. 25, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - A research team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst resource economist Sylvia Brandt, with colleagues in California and Switzerland, have revised the cost burden sharply upward for childhood asthma and for the first time include the number of cases attributable to air pollution, in a study released this week in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal. More...
UMass Amherst Sustainability Team Wins National Recognition from EPA’s Game Day Challenge
Jan. 24, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Students and staff who work to make the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus greener and cleaner received a big pat on the back this month with national recognition for their efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling at the Minuteman football team’s last home game of 2011 in November. More...
.jpg)
UMass Amherst Names JC Schnabl as the New Executive Director of Alumni Association
Jan. 23, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Amherst has named JC Schnabl to be the assistant vice chancellor for alumni relations and executive director of the UMass Amherst Alumni Association. The announcement was made today by Michael A. Leto, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations. Schnabl begins his new duties in mid-February, Leto says. More...
Prevention Conference Features UMass Amherst Experts
Jan. 17, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Representatives from University Health Services (UHS) and the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be among the featured presenters at the 2012 NASPA Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention and Intervention Conference, Jan. 19-21 in Atlanta. More...
UMass Amherst Researchers Find Sleep Preserves and Enhances Unpleasant Emotional Memories
Jan. 17, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - A recent study by sleep researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to suggest that a person’s emotional response after witnessing an unsettling picture or traumatic event is greatly reduced if the person stays awake afterward, and that sleep strongly "protects" the negative emotional response. Further, if the unsettling picture is viewed again or a flashback memory occurs, it will be just as upsetting as the first time for those who have slept after viewing compared to those who have not. More...
.jpg)
Jan. 17, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Geoscientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Minnesota this week published the first evidence that warm-cold climate oscillations well known in the Northern Hemisphere over the most recent glacial period also appear as tropical rainfall variations in the Amazon Basin of South America. It is the first clear expression of these cycles in the Southern Hemisphere. More...
Jan. 17, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Robert Holub today announced that a special committee is exploring possible modifications to the university’s Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) as it develops competitive bid specifications for coverage in fiscal 2013. More...
Jan. 12, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Looking back at weather in the year just ended, residents of central New England endured a wild ride of extremes in snowfall, says Michael Rawlins, manager of the Climate Science Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Early 2011 will be remembered for serial storms that dropped nearly three feet of snow on central and northern areas, where records for the snowiest January were set in some places. By contrast, in December the days were exceptionally warm with a record lack of snow accumulation. More...
UMass Amherst Polymer Science Team Designs New Nanotech Technique for Lower-Cost Materials Repair
Jan. 11, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - In the super-small world of nanostructures, a team of polymer scientists and engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered how to make nano-scale repairs to a damaged surface equivalent to spot-filling a scratched car fender rather than re-surfacing the entire part. The work builds on a theoretical prediction by chemical engineer and co-author Anna Balazs at the University of Pittsburgh. More...
Jan. 10, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - A new documentary, "Fish Meat: Choose Your Farm Wisely," by eco-filmmaker Ted Caplow and featuring University of Massachusetts Amherst fish ecologist Andy Danylchuk, debuts this week at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema near Palm Springs, Calif. It exposes some pitfalls of modern aquaculture and the plight of the world’s wild fish stocks, to help consumers think more holistically about where their seafood comes from. More...
Jan. 10, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, using a catalytic fast pyrolysis process that transforms renewable non-food biomass into petrochemicals, have developed a new catalyst that boosts the yield for five key "building blocks of the chemical industry" by 40 percent compared to previous methods. This sustainable production process, which holds the promise of being competitive and compatible with the current petroleum refinery infrastructure, has been tested and proven in a laboratory reactor, using wood as the feedstock, the research team says. More...
UMass Amherst Hillside Salon Art Event Set for Jan. 17
Jan. 9, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Felt-making, photojournalism, painting and the stories of a best-selling author will be featured at this month’s Hillside Salon hosted by Sabine Holub, wife of UMass Amherst Chancellor Robert Holub, at their home in Amherst at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17. More...
.jpg)
Jan. 6, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Supported in part by a six-year, $3 million National Science Foundation grant, the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Education is offering four-year fellowships to qualified professionals holding a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics discipline who would like to be teachers. More...
.jpg)
Jan. 6, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Kevin Fu, associate professor of computer science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been appointed to a four-year term on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) - an advisory committee that brings together senior professionals from industry, government, and academia to help advise senior federal officials on matters of privacy and security. More...
Daily News Summary
Jan. 4, 2012
A research team led by UMass Amherst biochemist Scott Garman has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease. The discovery will help understanding of other protein-folding disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, as well. Findings are featured as the cover story in the current issue of Chemistry & Biology. (Medilexicon.com, 1/3/12; News Office release)
Daily News Summary
Jan. 4, 2012
A local column on campus activities includes mention that Theodore E. Djaferis, dean of the College of Engineering, has received the 2011 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Control Systems Society Distinguished Member Award. Also, Jon Machta and Mark Tuominen, physics, have been named fellows of the American Physical Society. And, UMass Extension has been honored with the Quarter Century of Service award from the Partners for Livable Communities. (Gazette, 1/2/12; News Office releases)
.JPG)
Jan. 4, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - A recent analysis led by ecologist Bethany Bradley at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests that climate change predicted for the United States will boost demand for imported drought- and heat-tolerant landscaping plants from Africa and the Middle East. This greatly increases the risk that a new wave of invasives will overrun native ecosystems in the way kudzu, Oriental bittersweet and purple loosestrife have in the past, members of the international team say. More...
_0.jpg)
UMass Amherst Police Chief Johnny Whitehead Named to Post at Rice University
Jan. 4, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - Johnny Whitehead, chief of police at the University of Massachusetts Amherst since 2009, has been appointed chief of police and director of public safety at Rice University in Houston, Texas. More...
UMass Amherst Named a ‘Best Value’ Public College by Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Jan. 3, 2012
AMHERST, Mass. - For the third consecutive year, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is among the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" compiled by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. The 2011-12 ranking cites four-year schools that combine outstanding education with economic value. More...
UMass Amherst Ranks Third Nationally in Federal Gilman Scholarships for Study Abroad
Dec. 27, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Fifteen University of Massachusetts Amherst students have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships for students to study abroad. Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, the Gilman scholarship program broadens study abroad participation for those in need of financial assistance. More...
UMass Amherst Engineering Dean Theodore E. Djaferis Wins Distinguished Member Award
Dec. 22, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Theodore E. Djaferis, dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received the 2011 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Society (CSS) Distinguished Member Award. It was one of two awards given in 2011 and one of only 86 that have been given out since the society’s formation in 1954. The award was presented at the 2011 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, held in conjunction with the 2011 European Control Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 14. More...
UMass Amherst Biochemists Develop Promising New Treatment Direction for Rare Metabolic Diseases
Dec. 22, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease. The discovery will help understanding of other protein-folding disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, as well. Findings are featured as the cover story in the current issue of Chemistry & Biology. More...
Dec. 21, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Robert Holub today announced the creation of a special committee that will undertake a comprehensive review of proposed changes at University Health Services (UHS). The committee’s charge is to identify cost savings that will enable UHS to develop a financial plan to build a new health services facility for patients that meets 21st century needs while maintaining a sustainable operating budget. More...
UMass Amherst Professor Honored in Hamburg for Preservation of East German Film Archive
Dec. 15, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Barton Byg, professor of Germanic and Scandinavian studies and founder of the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was honored last month in Hamburg, Germany, for his work to preserve films produced in the former East Germany. More...
Dec. 15, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Two days before Hurricane Irene hit western New England last August and dumped torrential rains far up the Connecticut River watershed, University of Massachusetts Amherst geoscientist Jon Woodruff hastily launched a canoe to take baseline sediment sample cores under ponds and coves in the lower river’s floodplain, from Northampton’s Oxbow Lake south to Long Island Sound. More...
Dec. 15, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - The Arts Extension Service (AES) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is being honored tonight with the Quarter Century of Service award from the Partners for Livable Communities at the organization’s annual dinner in Washington, D.C. More...
UMass Amherst Education Professor Named to State Task Force
Dec. 14, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Professor Rich Lapan of the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School of Education, has been named to a new, 30-member task force formed by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to address career readiness. More...
UMass Amherst Sunwheel and Sky-Watching Events Mark the Winter Solstice on Dec. 22
Dec. 14, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - The public is invited to witness sunrise and sunset associated with the winter solstice among the standing stones of the UMass Amherst Sunwheel on Thursday, Dec. 22, at 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. These Sunwheel events mark the astronomical change of seasons when nights are longest and days are shortest in the Northern hemisphere and the sun rises and sets at its most southerly azimuth, or location along the horizon, over the southeasterly and southwesterly stones in the Sunwheel, respectively. More...
Dec. 13, 2011
Most Also Not Angered by Vote on Legalizing Casinos
AMHERST, Mass. - A political poll conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds that most state residents don’t think their own health care has been improved by the health care reform law approved in Massachusetts in 2006, but nearly four-in-10 say overall health care in the state has improved. A majority of voters also say they’ll neither support nor will punish legislators who voted to legalize casino gambling. More...
Dec. 13, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - The Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is collaborating with Springfield-based Partners for a Healthier Community on an economic and community development project funded through a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. More...
UMass Amherst Innovation Challenge Elevator Pitch Competition Gives out $10,000 in Prize Money
Dec. 13, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Ten teams of aspiring entrepreneurs received a total of $10,000 in prize money in the Executive Summary and Elevator Pitch phase of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Innovation Challenge competition held Dec. 7. The competing teams are made up of students and alumni working to develop marketable business concepts while consulting with faculty members and external advisors. More...
UMass Amherst Permaculture Committee Wins ‘Real Food Award’
Dec. 12, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Boston-based Real Food Challenge (RFC), an organization that aims to shift university food purchasing from conventional to "real" sources via student-led campaigns, recently honored the 12-member University of Massachusetts Amherst Permaculture Garden Committee with its national Real Food Award in the student group/activist category. More...
Dec. 6, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - U.S. commercial banks and large nonfinancial corporations have been carrying huge cash hoards and other liquid assets, totaling $1.4 trillion. At the same time, small businesses have been locked out of credit markets, preventing them from expanding. In "19 Million Jobs for U.S. Workers: The Impact of Channeling $1.4 Trillion in Excess Liquid Asset Holdings into Productive Investments," Robert Pollin, James Heintz, Heidi Garrett-Peltier and Jeannette Wicks-Lim of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst examine the impact that mobilizing these excess liquid assets into productive investments could have on job creation. More...
UMass Amherst Researchers Test a Drug-Exercise Program Designed to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Dec. 5, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - Kinesiology researcher Barry Braun of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues recently reported unexpected results of a study suggesting that exercise and one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for diabetes, metformin, each improves insulin resistance when used alone, but when used together, metformin blunted the full effect of a 12-week exercise program in pre-diabetic men and women. More...
