Grain & Chaff

Leading role

Professor Phillip R. Westmoreland of Chemical Engineering has been elected vice president/president-elect of CACHE Corporation (www.cache.org), a nonprofit corporation focused on developing software and computing aids for chemical engineers and education. CACHE sponsors conferences on computer-aided process design, computer-aided process operations, and chemical process control. Recent initiatives include a Web-based text on molecular simulations and a task force on computational fluid dynamics. A member of CACHE's board of trustees since 1999 and secretary of the board since 2000, Westmoreland also co-chaired CACHE's first conference on "Fundamentals of Molecular Modeling and Simulation" two years ago.

On exhibit

Works by Art professor Jerry Kearns, Telecommunications staffer Jason Vosu, and two alumni are on display at the Canal Gallery in Holyoke through Oct. 19. Titled "Sententious," the exhibit features five artists whose art "speaks of current social conditions, personal reflection, and a profound commitment to the powerful expressive qualities of the visual arts." Also included in the show are sculptures by Bruce Fowler and Ruth Kristoff, who both earned their MFAs through the Art Department. An opening reception is planned for Sept. 28, 5-8 p.m., at the gallery, located at 380 Dwight St. The gallery is open Thursdays, 4-6 p.m., Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. and by appointment.

On the masthead

Psychology professor Jeffrey Blaustein of the Neuroscience and Behavior Program and founding director of the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, was recently named one of the editors of Endocrinology, the basic research journal of the 9,500-member Endocrine Society. With members from more than 80 countries, the society is the largest group of endocrine researchers and clinicians in the world. The journal receives nearly 2,000 manuscript submissions per year. Blaustein also serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Neuroendocrinology, which is the journal of the British Neuroendocrine Society, and Hormones and Behavior, which is the journal of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, an international society of which he was recently elected Treasurer.

Sacco and Vanzetti case revisited

A conference is being held Oct. 4-5 at the Boston Public Library to mark the 75th anniversary of the execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. The conference will feature the first public screening of a film of the funeral march in Boston in 1927. Former Gov. Michael Dukakis will speak about his 1997 executive proclamation that the two Italian immigrants did not receive a fair trial. In conjunction with the conference, the BPL is hosting an exhibition of archival materials related to the celebrated case. The conference is sponsored by the Sacco Vanzetti Educational Trust of the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts in conjunction with the Boston Public Library, Harvard Law School Library, Massachusetts State Archives, the Supreme Judicial Court Archives and UMass Boston. Support and assistance also has been provided by the Massachusetts State Police.

UN taps Katsh

Ethan Katsh, professor of Legal Studies and director of the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution, has been appointed chair of a United Nations expert group studying online dispute resolution. In June, Katsh coordinated a conference on the topic for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva.

Wright stuff

Former Sociology professor James Wright, now at Central Florida University, has penned a new book about the rising popularity of NASCAR racing. "Fixin' to Git -- One Fan's Love Affair with NASCAR's Winston Cup" traces Wright's year-long sabbatical in 1999 to follow the NASCAR circuit. Wright, whose father raced on quarter-mile dirt tracks in Indiana in the 1950s, dispels the idea that NASCAR is a southern sport. Published last month by Duke University Press, "Fixin' to Git" was featured in the automotive section of The Boston Globe (Sept. 14). Wright left UMass in 1988 for an endowed professorship at Tulane University. He was named Provost Distinguished Research Professor at UCF last year.