The Translation Center offers language solutions to the UMass Amherst community and industry customers. The nature of the increasingly internationalized market and academic arena necessitates that researchers present their materials in other languages as well as have access to others' non-English language research. With a network of professional staff, faculty, graduate students, interns and contractors offering translation and interpretation services in over 80 languages, the Center is well-equipped to serve these needs of researchers and businesses. Read more.

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The Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities and Fine Arts (ISHA) is a faculty forum at UMass Amherst that brings together members from across the university to engage with each other around shared topics of interest. The Seminar's main goal is to foster intellectual and creative energy and connect researchers both within and beyond the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Each year ISHA conducts a seminar organized around a specific theme, with eight to ten faculty fellows who take it in turns to present their projects. The theme for 2006-07 is Cultural Ownership, a topic which has allowed participants to explore everything from indigenous archaeologies to the ownership and circulation of antiquities, to questions of open-source access on the internet, to the 'ownership' of genes. The theme for 2007-08 will be 'Other Worlds', focusing on how we imagine worlds other than our own across a range of practices, from science to religion, to the humanities and creative arts. ISHA also organizes colloquia and working groups, and has an annual lecture connected with its theme for the year.

To find out more about ISHA and its upcoming programs, visit the ISHA website or contact Dr. Stephen Clingman, ISHA director.

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The Community of Scholars (COS) website offers researchers valuable information about faculty areas of expertise as well as funding opportunities. Researchers from all disciplines are encouraged to complete a profile for the COS expertise database that allows faculty members at UMass Amherst to promote their areas of interest. While the majority of current listings in the database focus on faculty from STEM areas, this is a great way for researchers from all disciplines to stay connected and informed. Researchers can also look for faculty at other colleges and universities who share their interests through the COS expertise database. The Community of Scholars Funding Opportunities also offers comprehensive information on funding across all disciplines, including those within the fine arts and humanities. For assistance with the COS database, call the Office of Grant & Contract Administration (OGCA) (413) 545-0698. Here is a small sampling of upcoming opportunities listed in the service:

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art Research Support Grant
Deadline: September 15
Grants are available from a Yale University- affiliated, UK-based research center to support scholarship in the field of British art and architectural history. Awards can be up to $3,000 and can go toward travel, subsistence and other research costs. The grants are awarded twice a year. Click here for more details and for an application form.

Modern Humanities Research Association Publications Fund
Deadlines: Continuous
Applications for financial assistance towards the costs of publishing scholarly works in the field of medieval and modern European literatures and language (including English) are invited. The committee will consider the academic quality of the work and will give priority to individuals rather than academic institutions. Visit the funding portion of the Modern Humanities Research Association Web site for details about the application process.

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On April 27th, Commonwealth College at UMass Amherst hosted the 13th Annual Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference. The event brought undergraduates from the 28 institutions in the Massachusetts Public System of Higher Education together to present their work in an academic environment. Students presented thesis research, creative work in the visual and performing arts, independent study projects, community service work and work resulting from study abroad experiences. This year, the conference attracted more than 400 student participants, 140 of which were from UMass Amherst.

Vice Provost for Research Paul Kostecki gave a keynote address at the conference. "All students should be exposed to research activities and concepts if we are to produce the best students possible. The conference is a prime example of how this exposure is bearing fruit at the undergraduate level," says Kostecki. "The conference is just another impressive example of the quality of undergraduates this University attracts and develops," he says. For more information about the Undergraduate Research Conference, visit the event Web site.

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The Center for the Study of African American Language (CSAAL) was established in 2006 in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. The Center is directed by UMass alumna and Associate Professor of Linguistics, Lisa Green ('G93). Other faculty currently affiliated with the Center come from the departments of Afro-American Studies, Linguistics, English, Communication Disorders, and Psychology at UMass Amherst and Smith College. The Center's goal is to promote basic research on language in the African American community and work with scholars and practitioners in different fields to apply the research in educational, social, and cultural realms. According to Green: "The Center aims to be a resource for the Five Colleges and also for communities across the country."

The Center's first colloquium on April 27 hosted John and Angela Rickford, two internationally known scholars from Stanford and San Jose State Universities, who spoke to UMass audiences on the application of linguistic research in education. This June, the Center's Summer Dialect Research Project will provide a two-week research experience in linguistics to ten undergraduates and two graduate interns from Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, California, and New York. Participants will develop research projects with Center faculty that they will continue when they return to their home institutions. A three-day teacher workshop on the impact of dialect research on reading and writing instruction in early education is also planned for summer 2008.

For more information visit the CSAAL Web site or contact director Lisa Green (413) 577-0937 or Center Coordinator, Barbara Pearson (413) 545-5023.

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Collaborative Biomedical Research Grants
Deadline: July 15.
Graduate students and physicians are invited to apply for the Collaborative Biomedical Research Grants offered through UMass Amherst and Baystate Medical Center. Projects must have co-principle investigators from each of the sponsoring institutions. The grants are intended as seed funds to help the research team gain a competitive edge for external funding applications. Click here for more information or contact Professor Barry Braun.

MassDevelopment Emerging Technology Funds
Deadline: Continuous
MassDevelopment's Emerging Technology Fund provides technology-based start-ups with loans. Up to $2.5 million is available to technology companies that are beginning or expanding manufacturing operations in Massachusetts to help with facility acquisition, expansion or improvements and equipment acquisition. Applicants must also get two other private parties to provide financing for their projects. For more information, visit the Emerging Technology Fund homepage.

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Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities and Fine Arts
Deadline: May 11
Faculty members in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences and sciences are invited to apply for participation in the 2007-2008 ISHA Seminar Series. The theme will be "Other Worlds" and will focus on topics dealing with the human imagination. Interested parties should submit a 1- 2 page proposal and a copy of their Curriculum Vitae to isha@hfa.uma ss.edu. For more information about ISHA, click here.

Collegiate Inventors Competition
Deadline: June 15
The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation encourages university advisors to talk with their students about its 2007 competition. Graduate and undergraduate students can enter the competition with their proposed inventions in new technologies and scientific breakthroughs. The Student Grand Prize awards the advisor $15,000 and the student $25,000. Entrants are encouraged to begin the patent process prior to entering their submission. Contact CVIP (413) 545-3605 with questions about this process. Download a copy of the application and rules here.

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May 11: NCIIA Grant for Curriculum Development and E-Team Projects submission deadline
May-July: American Water Works Association Research Funding submission deadline
May 15-18: CUMIRP Spring Polymer Event
May 29-June 2: International Trumpet Guild 2007 Conference
June 9-15: 3-D Model Building for Finite Element Analysis: A Workshop for Biologists & Bioengineers

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Research Area Awards Dinner

The Research area will recognize over 40 faculty on May 15 at the Research Recognition Dinner. New this year will be the presentation of the Armstrong Fund for Science awards. Janice Telfer from Veterinary & Animal Sciences and Harry Bermudez from Polymer Science & Engineering are the first recipients of this award. A number of other accomplishments in research, technology development and scholarly activity will be recognized during the evening. Click here for a description of each award and a complete list of awards and recipients.

CVIP Welcomes New Licensing Associate

Dr. Ling Shen joined the Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Properties (CVIP) staff as a Licensing Associate in April 2007. She will assist researchers during the licensing process by soliciting invention disclosures, evaluating technologies for patentability and commercialization potential and performing market analyses of commercialization potential. A graduate from the Isenberg School of Management's MBA program, Ling is no stranger to the UMass Amherst campus. She was previously awarded a B.S. in Chemistry from Fudan University in Shanghai, an M.S. in Chemistry from San Francisco State University and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. She also brings with her industry experience as the Director of Scientific Affairs at Hybridon, Inc. and Manager of Genomic Analysis at Variagencies, both in Cambridge, MA. Ling can be reached at (413) 545-5276.

OGCA Expands Staff

The Office of Grants and Contracts Administration is pleased to announce the addition of Kim Lowney to its pre-award staff. Prior to her new appointment as a grants and contracts administrator at UMass Amherst, Kim worked at Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public economic development think-tank, administering the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund since 1998. She is an alumna of UMass Amherst, receiving her BA in 1991. With the hiring of Kim and the recent promotion of Kimberley Broderick from within the office, the pre-award staff now numbers five. Kim Lowney can be reached at (413) 545-6098.

Becky McNiven to Retire

After many years of service to the UMass Amherst campus, Becky McNiven, Administrative Assistant in the Office of Research Liaison and Development (RL&D), is retiring. Becky has been with RL&D for the past four years and at UMass Amherst for the last 11. She previously worked in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in the Development Office. Becky's last day is June 22nd. She plans to do a lot of traveling with her husband Sandy, who is also retiring. The Research Area extends its congratulations and wishes her well in her retirement.

Space Available Near UMass Amherst Campus

Solutia Inc. has a significant amount of laboratory/office space in Springfield, MA available to faculty at a low cost. Solutia offers a very secure location with pre-existing wet chemistry laboratory space. Additionally, there is ample existing building space for larger experimental or testing facilities. As an established chemical facility, the company has existing pre-treatment for waste streams and in-place environmental permits. Direct inquiries about this space to Paul Gerstenberger (413) 730-2417 in facilities at Solutia.

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MentorNet Receives Alcoa Grant
MentorNet, a nonprofit organization focused on diversity by providing e-mentoring services for college and university students in science and engineering recently received a $25,000 grant from Alcoa. The grant will help MentorNet build awareness about the program and increase participation. UMass Amherst is a member of MentorNet and encourages students from STEM areas to take advantage of the service. Women and minority undergraduates can find a mentor to answer questions about career options and opportunities in STEM areas through this organization. MentorNet is always on the look out for faculty interested in becoming mentors. Click here for more information or contact Barbara Pearson (413) 545-5023.

Events
May 30: The Annual Faculty Writing Retreat will take place at Mount Holyoke College. Professor Emeritus of English Peter Elbow will offer some brief words about writing to begin the day. 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM, Willits-Hallowell Center, Mount Holyoke. Please RSVP with your name, department and meal preference to Diane Burns by May 22nd.

Nanotechnology Events
Learn about UMass Amherst research in Nanotechnology by attending one of these nano- focused events. Contact MassNanoTech Institute (413) 577-0570 for more information.
May 17: " Nanotechnology and Society: The Organization and Policy of Innovation" 8 A.M. - 4 P.M., UMass Amherst, Campus Center Room 163C
May 17: Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing's Annual Spring Meeting, 8 A.M. - 1 P.M., Conte Polymer Center.
May 18: National Nanomanufacturing Network, " Advancing Solar Energy Conversion Devices through Nanotechnology and Nanomanufacturing", 8 A.M. - 4 P.M. Conte Polymer Center.

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OGCA processed 119 proposals for a total of $11,334,618 in April 2007. How does that stack up against last year and previous months? Have a look at the histograms to find out.

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This month ACCESS welcomes new faculty from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Emily Erikson. Sociology. Research interests: Comparative historical sociology; social networks; economic sociology; complex organization; and foreign trade.
Mwangi wa Githinji. Economics. Research interests: Development; environment; Marxian political economy with particular attention to Africa; and issues of class, gender and income distribution in relation to agrarian transition.
Jerri Husch. Sociology. Research interests: Social detriments of health and international health policy; global food policy and human rights; international drug policy; health promotion and education.
Anca Romantan. Communications. Research interests: Effects of media representations of environmental, technological, and social risks; globalization and transnational social movements; media and political culture; research methodology.
Amy Schalet. Sociology. Research interests: Culture; sexuality; the welfare state; theory and qualitative methods.
Lisa Scott. Psychology. Research interests: Neural mechanisms of perceptual category learning and perceptual experience in primarily developmental, but also adult, populations.
Shawn Shimpach. Communications. Research interests: Cinema Studies; Television Studies; Media and Cultural Studies; cultural history of entertainment; significance of popular culture.
Linda Tropp. Psychology. Research interests: Peace psychology; intergroup contact among minority and majority status groups; membership in and identification with social groups; interpretations of intergroup relationships; and responses to prejudice and disadvantage.
Amanda Walker Johnson. Anthropology. Research interests: Cultural Anthropology with an emphasis in the intersection of critical race theory, anthropology of science, and critical educational theory.
Stephen Watts. Political Science. Research interests: International security; military interventions; peacekeeping; ethnic conflict; state failure; American foreign policy; transatlantic relations; foreign aid and democracy assistance.

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Each month ACCESS includes a selection of grants and contracts awarded to faculty from across campus to provide a sense of what's going on in research at UMass Amherst. These listings reflect only a small fraction of the total sponsored activity for any given month. Since this is just a snapshot in time and grant/contract terms vary, actual award totals may be higher than the amounts listed.

William Richards Adrion
Computer Science
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: BPC-A: Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education
Total Award: $668,185

Peter Alpert
Biology
Sponsor: University of California Davis
Title: Control of Exotic Grasses in Natural Coastal Grasslands Using Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Total Award: $11,737

Carol Bigelow
Public Health
Sponsor: Baystate Medical Center
Title: Rays of Hope Research Proposal 2004/2005. Baseline and F/U Atypia Database Management Systems.
Total Award: $18,726

John M. Clark
Veterinary and Animal Sciences
Sponsor: US Golf Association
Title: Utilizing Reduced Risk Pesticides and IPM Strategies to Mitigate Golfer Exposure and Hazard
Total Award: $90,000

Kevin McGarigal
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: Forest Service
Title: Landscape Ecology Short Course Development
Total Award: $103,761

Margaret Ann Riley
Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Evolution of Stress-Induced Bacterial Toxins
Total Award: $384,570

Gretchen B. Rossman
Educational Policy Research & Administration
Sponsor: Temple University
Title: Science in the City Academy
Total Award: $109,177

Caren M. Rotello
Psychology
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Two-Process Recognition Memory: Evidence from ROC Curves
Total Award: $226,659

Vincent M. Rotello
Chemistry
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Title: Recognition and Presentation of Alpha Helices Using Nanoparticle Receptors
Total Award: $261,530

Howard Joseph Schultz
Computer Science
Sponsor: Office of Naval Research
Title: Equipment in Support for Polarimetric Imaging
Total Award: $324,550

Dara Wier
English
Sponsor: National Endowment for the Arts
Title: Jubilat NEA Grant for Arts Project 07
Total Award: $5,000

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