Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series - UMass Amherst Provost's Office

Provost's Office > Campus Honors > Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series

For more than thirty years, the campus has recognized the distinguished achievements through the series. The lectures honor individual faculty members and celebrate the value of academic excellence.

Faculty members chosen for the series receive the Chancellor's Medal following their lectures. The Chancellor's Medal is the highest honor bestowed on individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to the University.

All lectures are held in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center and begin at 4:00 p.m. A reception follows immediately after the lecture. Open to the public, the lectures for 2008 - 2009 are:

Robert N. Pollin Monday, October 20, 2008
Robert N, Pollin, Department of Economics
"How Green Growth Can Revive the Economy"

The U.S. economy faces four fundamental threats: environmental problems, wage stagnation and sluggish job creation, dependence on foreign oil, and persistent trade deficits. Based on his ongoing research, Professor Pollin will propose a unified approach to all four problems, focused on a major clean energy investment program to spur conservation, renewable energy development, and creation of millions of decent jobs.

Professor Pollin joined the university in 1998 as a professor of economics and founding co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute. His research centers on macroeconomics, conditions for low-wage workers in the United States and globally, the analysis of financial markets, and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S. Most recently, he co-authored the reports “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy” (June 2008) and “Green Recovery” (September 2008), exploring the broader benefits of large-scale investments in a clean-energy economy in the United States.

His books include: A Measure of Fairness: The Economics of Living Wages and Minimum Wages in the United States (co-authored, 2008); An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya (co-authored, 2008); An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for South Africa (co-authored, 2007); Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity (2003); The Living Wage: Building A Fair Economy (co-authored, 1998); the edited volumes Human Development in the Era of Globalization (co-edited, 2006); Globalization and Progressive Economic Policy (co-edited, 1998); The Macroeconomics of Saving, Finance, and Investment (1997) and Transforming the U.S. Financial System (co-edited, 1993). Pollin has worked with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa on policies to promote decent employment expansion and poverty reduction in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. He has also worked with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.

Professor Pollin earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York City in 1979 and 1982, respectively.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Rafael A. Fissore, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
"Activating the Egg: A Tale of Mice, Pigs, and Men"

The egg, the female gamete, always emerges from the ovary arrested in its development. Exactly how the sperm “activates” the egg has long been a mystery. Professor Fissore will explain what his research team has discovered about mammalian fertilization using mice and pigs, and most recently studying infertile men, and what these findings hold for new treatments for infertility, along with their ethical implications.

Professor Fissore joined the university in 1993. His research looks at understanding the mechanism by which the sperm is able to induce activation and trigger development in mammalian eggs. This research has implications for understanding reproduction and the development of new treatments for infertility and the ethical questions such treatment will raise.

Professor Fissore was an assistant professor from 1993-98, associate professor from 1999-2007 and has been a professor since 2007. He also served as a visiting professor in the department of physiology at Katholiek Universeit of Leuven in Leuven, Belguim in 2003. Professor Fissore also served as an embryologist in the in-vitro fertilization program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology and Harvard Medical School from 1990-93. He was also a veterinary assistant in the veterinary practice of Dr. Roberto Magnasco in Canals, Cordoba, Argentina in 1983-84.

He earned a degree as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Buenos Aires in 1983; was a resident at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis from 1984-88; earned a master of preventive veterinary medicine from the University of California Davis is 1988; earned a diplomate ACT from the American College of Theriogenology in 1988 and earned a doctorate in veterinary and animal sciences from UMass Amherst in 1993. Professor Fissore also served as a postdoctoral fellow in reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston from 1988-89.

Monday, February 23, 2009
Weibo Gong, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
"Will the Internet Soon Outsmart Humans?"

In one field, the human brain still outstrips the prodigious ability of Internet search engines to search content. That’s because the brain engages in “creative searching,” connecting different types of knowledge stored in different regions. Professor Gong will argue that the means exist to tap the enormous capacity of the Internet to make creative connections efficiently, that this will likely happen soon, and we should be prepared for the consequences.

Professor Gong joined the university in 1987. He is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and has been an adjunct professor of computer science since 2001. His work focuses on computer networks, communication systems and complex systems and he is affiliated with the Complex Systems Modeling and Control Laboratory (CSMCL) in the electrical and computer engineering department in the College of Engineering. Professor Gong’s research interests include security of communications networks, modeling and control of communication networks, optimization methods, queuing theory, stochastic dynamic systems in electrical engineering and cognitive searching methods.

Professor Gong was an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering from 1987-93, was an associate professor from 1993-97 and professor since 1997. He was elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1998 and received the Engineering College Senior Faculty Award in 2002.

Professor Gong earned a master’s degree in control theory from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1981, and a master’s degree in engineering in 1985 and a doctorate in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1987.

Monday, April 27, 2009
Sally I. Powers, Department of Psychology
"Hormones and Lovers’ Quarrels: How Stress Translates Into Depression"

It’s normal for romantic partners to experience conflict and produce “stress” hormones. Chronic stress, however, disrupts hormonal regulation, often leading to physical and mental health problems. Professor Powers will describe how her research illuminates people’s hormonal stress responses, differentiates how men and women resolve conflicts and calm themselves, and helps explain why women and girls are twice as prone to depression.

Professor Powers joined the university in 1988. She is a professor of psychology, clinical division and has been director of the Center for Research on Families in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences since 2003. Professor Powers’ research investigates the interaction of normal developmental processes and psychopathology in adolescents. She focuses on understanding the role of interpersonal behavior in close relationships and social-cognition in the development of psychopathology. Her most recent studies investigate a biopsychosocial model of factors hypothesized to contribute to the gender difference in the prevalence of adolescent depression.

Professor Powers was an assistant professor of psychology from 1988-91 and an associate professor from 1991-95. She has been a professor since 1995. She served as coordinator of the Psychological Services Center from 1998-2000 and was head of the department of psychology’s clinical division in 2003-06. Professor Powers has also been a professor in the neuroscience and behavior program since 2007.

From 1987-91 Professor Powers was director of family research at the Laboratory of Developmental Psychopathology at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., and was an assistant in child psychology at the Hall-Mercer Children’s Center there from 1985-89. She was an instructor of psychology in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School from 1982-92. Professor Powers was a senior research associate at the Henry A. Murray Research Center at Harvard University from 1981-88 and a research associate from 1981-87. She was associate director of the Adolescent and Family Development Project in the department of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston from 1978-83.

Professor Powers earned a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College in California in 1975 and earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard University in 1976. In 1977-78 she was a clinical psychology intern at the James Jackson Putnam Child Guidance Center in Boston. In 1981 Professor Powers completed a one-year course in clinical concepts of psychoanalysis at the Boston Psychoanalysis Institute. She earned a doctorate of education in human development from Harvard University in 1982.

List of previous DFLS winners

		Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series
		Provost's Office > Campus Honors > Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series For more than thirty years, the campus has recognized the distinguished achievements through the series. The lectures honor individual faculty members and celebrate the value of academic excellence. Faculty members chosen for the series receive the Chancellor's Medal following their lectures. The Chancellor's Medal is the highest honor bestowed on individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to the University. All lectures are held in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center and begin at 4:00 p.m. A reception follows immediately after the lecture. Open to the public, the lectures for 2008 - 2009 are: Monday, October 20, 2008 Robert N, Pollin, Department of Economics "How Green Growth Can Revive the Economy" The U.S. economy faces four fundamental threats: environmental problems, wage stagnation and sluggish job creation, dependence on foreign oil, and persistent trade deficits. Based on his ongoing research, Professor Pollin will propose a unified approach to all four problems, focused on a major clean energy investment program to spur conservation, renewable energy development, and creation of millions of decent jobs. Professor Pollin joined the university in 1998 as a professor of economics and founding co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute. His research centers on macroeconomics, conditions for low-wage workers in the United States and globally, the analysis of financial markets, and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S. Most recently, he co-authored the reports “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy” (June 2008) and “Green Recovery” (September 2008), exploring the broader benefits of large-scale investments in a clean-energy economy in the United States. His books include: A Measure of Fairness: The Economics of Living Wages and Minimum Wages in the United States (co-authored, 2008); An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya (co-authored, 2008); An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for South Africa (co-authored, 2007); Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity (2003); The Living Wage: Building A Fair Economy (co-authored, 1998); the edited volumes Human Development in the Era of Globalization (co-edited, 2006); Globalization and Progressive Economic Policy (co-edited, 1998); The Macroeconomics of Saving, Finance, and Investment (1997) and Transforming the U.S. Financial System (co-edited, 1993). Pollin has worked with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa on policies to promote decent employment expansion and poverty reduction in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. He has also worked with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Professor Pollin earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York City in 1979 and 1982, respectively. Tuesday, December 9, 2008 Rafael A. Fissore, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences "Activating the Egg: A Tale of Mice, Pigs, and Men" The egg, the female gamete, always emerges from the ovary arrested in its development. Exactly how the sperm “activates” the egg has long been a mystery. Professor Fissore will explain what his research team has discovered about mammalian fertilization using mice and pigs, and most recently studying infertile men, and what these findings hold for new treatments for infertility, along with their ethical implications. Professor Fissore joined the university in 1993. His research looks at understanding the mechanism by which the sperm is able to induce activation and trigger development in mammalian eggs. This research has implications for understanding reproduction and the development of new treatments for infertility and the ethical questions such treatment will raise. Professor Fissore was an assistant professor from 1993-98, associate professor from 1999-2007 and has been a professor since 2007. He also served as a visiting professor in the department of physiology at Katholiek Universeit of Leuven in Leuven, Belguim in 2003. Professor Fissore also served as an embryologist in the in-vitro fertilization program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology and Harvard Medical School from 1990-93. He was also a veterinary assistant in the veterinary practice of Dr. Roberto Magnasco in Canals, Cordoba, Argentina in 1983-84. He earned a degree as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Buenos Aires in 1983; was a resident at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis from 1984-88; earned a master of preventive veterinary medicine from the University of California Davis is 1988; earned a diplomate ACT from the American College of Theriogenology in 1988 and earned a doctorate in veterinary and animal sciences from UMass Amherst in 1993. Professor Fissore also served as a postdoctoral fellow in reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston from 1988-89. Monday, February 23, 2009 Weibo Gong, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering "Will the Internet Soon Outsmart Humans?" In one field, the human brain still outstrips the prodigious ability of Internet search engines to search content. That’s because the brain engages in “creative searching,” connecting different types of knowledge stored in different regions. Professor Gong will argue that the means exist to tap the enormous capacity of the Internet to make creative connections efficiently, that this will likely happen soon, and we should be prepared for the consequences. Professor Gong joined the university in 1987. He is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and has been an adjunct professor of computer science since 2001. His work focuses on computer networks, communication systems and complex systems and he is affiliated with the Complex Systems Modeling and Control Laboratory (CSMCL) in the electrical and computer engineering department in the College of Engineering. Professor Gong’s research interests include security of communications networks, modeling and control of communication networks, optimization methods, queuing theory, stochastic dynamic systems in electrical engineering and cognitive searching methods. Professor Gong was an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering from 1987-93, was an associate professor from 1993-97 and professor since 1997. He was elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1998 and received the Engineering College Senior Faculty Award in 2002. Professor Gong earned a master’s degree in control theory from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1981, and a master’s degree in engineering in 1985 and a doctorate in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1987. Monday, April 27, 2009 Sally I. Powers, Department of Psychology "Hormones and Lovers’ Quarrels: How Stress Translates Into Depression" It’s normal for romantic partners to experience conflict and produce “stress” hormones. Chronic stress, however, disrupts hormonal regulation, often leading to physical and mental health problems. Professor Powers will describe how her research illuminates people’s hormonal stress responses, differentiates how men and women resolve conflicts and calm themselves, and helps explain why women and girls are twice as prone to depression. Professor Powers joined the university in 1988. She is a professor of psychology, clinical division and has been director of the Center for Research on Families in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences since 2003. Professor Powers’ research investigates the interaction of normal developmental processes and psychopathology in adolescents. She focuses on understanding the role of interpersonal behavior in close relationships and social-cognition in the development of psychopathology. Her most recent studies investigate a biopsychosocial model of factors hypothesized to contribute to the gender difference in the prevalence of adolescent depression. Professor Powers was an assistant professor of psychology from 1988-91 and an associate professor from 1991-95. She has been a professor since 1995. She served as coordinator of the Psychological Services Center from 1998-2000 and was head of the department of psychology’s clinical division in 2003-06. Professor Powers has also been a professor in the neuroscience and behavior program since 2007. From 1987-91 Professor Powers was director of family research at the Laboratory of Developmental Psychopathology at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., and was an assistant in child psychology at the Hall-Mercer Children’s Center there from 1985-89. She was an instructor of psychology in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School from 1982-92. Professor Powers was a senior research associate at the Henry A. Murray Research Center at Harvard University from 1981-88 and a research associate from 1981-87. She was associate director of the Adolescent and Family Development Project in the department of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston from 1978-83. Professor Powers earned a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College in California in 1975 and earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard University in 1976. In 1977-78 she was a clinical psychology intern at the James Jackson Putnam Child Guidance Center in Boston. In 1981 Professor Powers completed a one-year course in clinical concepts of psychoanalysis at the Boston Psychoanalysis Institute. She earned a doctorate of education in human development from Harvard University in 1982. List of previous DFLS winners
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