UMass Amherst Biologist Thomas Zoeller to Discuss Far-Reaching Chemical Impact on Hormones and Health

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst biologist R. Thomas Zoeller continues the campus’s 2012-13 Distinguished Faculty Lectures Series on Monday, Feb. 25 with a discussion of ways in which chemicals in the environment may disrupt the body’s endocrine system.
 
His lecture, titled “The Brain on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals,” begins at 4 p.m. in the Massachusetts Room at the Mullins Center followed by a reception. All lectures in the series are free and open to the public.
 
Zoeller’s research laboratory has pioneered the study of the role of thyroid hormone in brain

UMass Amherst Engineer Studying How Smart Buildings Can Be Made Cheaper and Greener

AMHERST, Mass. – David Irwin, an electrical and computer engineer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received a five-year, $461,434 grant from National Science Foundation to fund research on energy efficiency in houses and buildings.
 
The grant is from the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program.
 
Irwin says understanding how and why individual electrical devices consume electricity is critical to improving a building’s overall energy efficiency.

Psychology Professor Nilanjana Dasgupta to Discuss Shortage of Women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fields

AMHERST, Mass. – Nilanjana Dasgupta, professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will speak on “STEMing the Tide: How Female Experts and Peers Act as ‘Social Vaccines’ for Girls and Women in STEM” on Thursday, Feb. 28at 4 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium.

In her presentation, Dasgupta will propose that individuals’ choice to pursue one career path over another is not really a free choice, but rather is constrained by subtle expectations in achievement environments that send the message some individuals “naturally belong” in science, technology, engineering and

Recent Nor'easter Was a Storm of Historic Proportions, Says UMass Amherst Climate Scientist

AMHERST, Mass.– Last week’s Nor’easter will go down in the record books as a once-in-a-lifetime event for residents across much of central New England, with record snowfall at locations from southern Connecticut to eastern Maine, says Michael Rawlins, manager of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
Hartford’s total of 22.8 inches ranks secondin the historical record, and the 28.2 inches recorded at Worcester is third. In Boston, the 24.9 inches reported by the National Weather Service (NWS) places the storm at fifth.

NOW President Terry O’Neill to Speak about Challenges Facing Feminists in Lecture at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), will discuss the past, present and future challenges facing feminists at the 2013 Rossi Lecture on Tuesday, March 5, at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
The event is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.
 
O’Neill, a feminist attorney, professor and activist for social justice, was elected president of NOW in June 2009. She is also president of the NOW Foundation and chair of the NOW Political Action Committees, and serves as the

UMass Amherst Study Seeks Children 5 to 7 Years Old for Hearing Test

AMHERST, Mass. – A University of Massachusetts Amherst doctoral candidate is looking for healthy 5- to 7-year-old youngsters and their families in the Pioneer Valley who are willing to take part in a 30- to 40-minute hearing test on the campus in Amherst. 
 
Nicole Maynard, who is leading the study and will conduct the tests, is investigating young children’s ability to detect small gaps in a stream of noise. She will use the Gaps-in-Noise Test, which so far has only been used for children seven years old and older.

UMass Amherst Named a 'Best Value College' by Princeton Review

AMHERST, Mass. – The Princeton Review has named the University of Massachusetts Amherst to its newest list of the nation’s 150 “Best Value Colleges.”
 
Released Feb. 5, the annual list identifies 75 public and 75 private colleges and universities based on assessments that consider academics, cost and financial aid. The 150 schools were chosen from 650 institutions across the U.S. The Princeton Review ranks the top 10 private and public schools and lists the others alphabetically. Complete listings are contained in the just-published The Best Value Colleges: 2013 Edition.
 
The guide says

UMass Amherst Launches Sesquicentennial, Celebrating 150 Years of Service as the State's Flagship Public University

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst today announced details of its 150th birthday celebration—a yearlong series of events and activities that will reflect on the contributions of a once-tiny agricultural college that now enrolls 28,000 students and ranks among the nation’s top public research universities.
 
“UMass Amherst has been a driving force for individual opportunity and economic development dating back to the time of Abraham Lincoln and the creation of land-grant colleges,” said UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy.

Ten Chefs, 35 Dishes, Representing Five Canadian Universities, Join Forces at One Venue at UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – Billed as the largest Canadian college chefs gathering south of the border, 10 chefs representing five universities from the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan, assisted by UMass Amherst chefs, will prepare the menu for the “Flavors of Canada” event on Tuesday, Feb. 5, from 5-9 p.m. at the Berkshire Dining Commons of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The event is part of UMass Dining Services’ Visiting College Chef Series.
 
The chefs, who hail from McGill University, three Ontario universities – McMaster, Waterloo and Guelph – and the University of

UMass Amherst's Center for Women & Community to Celebrate 40th Anniversary with Gala on Feb. 22

AMHERST, Mass. – The Center for Women & Community (CWC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will mark its 40th anniversary with a gala celebrating women’s achievements on Friday, Feb. 22 from 7-10 p.m. in the Amherst Room of the Campus Center.
 
Formerly known as the Everywoman’s Center, CWC is one of the oldest continually operating women’s centers in the country. According to Everywoman’s Center: Evolution of an Alternative, a “herstory” penned by its founders, an organized collective of Pioneer Valley women approached UMass Amherst in the early 1970s about the educational and

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