UMass and the Environment

Clues to how plants form cell walls could aid biofuels, nanotechnology, says Cannon
When plant cells divide, they assemble molecular building blocks into new cell walls made of carbohydrate and protein, but scientists know almost nothing about how this process occurs. A team of researchers including Biochemistry professor Maura Cannon has found that the first step in building new plant cell walls is the assembly of a scaffold made of structural proteins, a process similar to using a metal or wood scaffold to construct the walls of a building.(More)

Nanopores that can recognize, separate proteins and small molecules developed
Nanopores, holes less than one-thousand the width of a human hair, are capable of isolating strands of DNA or therapeutic drugs from a solution, based mostly on the size of the pores. Now, chemist S. “Thai” Thayumanavan has created nanopores that can recognize and interact with certain molecules, actively controlling their movement across synthetic membranes. Results were published online Feb. 3 in Nature Nanotechnology. (More)

Research aimed at US climate policy wins Baker $430k CAREER award
Erin Baker, assistant professor in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, has received a five-year, $430,000 award from the National Science Foundation CAREER program to continue research designed to influence the government’s future investments in the most cost-effective energy technologies for carrying out the nation’s climate-change policies. (More)

UMass Amherst Geoscientists to Host One of 11 Exhibits at the National Science Foundation Open House Feb. 4
Geoscientists Julie Brigham-Grette and Robert Deconto of the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been invited to host one of 11 exhibits at the National Science Foundation Open House on Monday, Feb. 4 in Arlington, Va. The team will represent an international group of scientists recovering a complete 3.6 million-year record of the arctic climate from a remote Siberian lake. (More)

UMass Amherst scientists link natural gas formation by bacteria to climate change and renewable energy
Natural gas reservoirs in Michigan’s Antrim Shale are providing new information about global warming and the Earth’s climate history, according to a recent study by Steven Petsch, a geoscientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study is also good news for energy companies hoping to make natural gas a renewable resource. Results were published in the February 2008 issue of Geology. (More)

Researcher engineers genetic switches to enhance production of proteins, pharmaceuticals
Bacteria have evolved complex mechanisms called quorum sensing systems that provide for cell-to-cell communication, an adaptation that allows them to wait until their population grows large enough before mounting an attack on a host or competing for nutrients. Chemical engineer Lianhong Sun has engineered one of these systems to create genetic switches that could lower the cost of producing therapeutic proteins and pharmaceuticals. (More)

Resource economists to assess welfare of farmers, food producers, retailers and consumers
When Wal-Mart introduces superstores or several meat packers merge to form a large corporation, they create changes that affect the entire agricultural goods market. Nathalie Lavoie and Christian Rojas of the Resource Economics Department have won a $168,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to document the effects of these changes on the welfare of farmers, consumers, retailers and processors. (More)

Harper to discuss new book on political ecology in Hungary
Krista Harper, assistant professor of Anthropology, will discuss her new book, “Wild Capitalism: Environmental Activists & Post-Socialist Ecology in Hungary,” on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at Food for Thought Books. “Wild Capitalism” examines environmental issues in the “New Europe” of the 21st century. (More)

Scientists developing computer vision technology for tracking wildlife
Campus scientists are developing computer vision technology to help identify and monitor individual animals in their environment by using digital photographs for quick identification. Much like facial pattern-recognition programs used by the FBI, the software will use complex algorithms to identify each individual’s unique features and automatically catalog them. (More)

Nüsslein’s work named a ‘best invention’ by Time
Time magazine has named the work of Klaus Nüsslein, associate professor of Microbiology, and his collaborators as one of the best inventions of 2007. Nüsslein studies a microorganism, dubbed the “mighty microbe” in the Nov. 12 issue of Time, that when injected into loose sand can create cement-like, stable ground. (More)

UMass Amherst to host National Fuel Cell Research Center
The University of Massachusetts Amherst will create a new research center focused on the cutting edge of hydrogen fuel cell science, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced, awarding a three-year, $1.5 million grant to the Fueling the Future Chemical Bonding Center. (More)

The Center for Fueling the Future and MassCREST
The Center for Fueling the Future will build on what is already an impressive body of alternative energy research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with UMass Amherst’s Massachusetts Center for Renewable Energy, Science and Technology (MassCREST). (More)

MassCREST Website

UMass Amherst biology professor recieves $625,000 to support biofuels
Magdalena Bezanilla, assistant professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been awarded a $625,000 Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering. Bezanilla’s research focuses on uncovering plant genes that increase biomass production and cellulose content, which can then be converted into ethanol and used as a source of renewable energy. (More)

Research team receives grant to further biofuel studies at UMass Amherst
A team of researchers from UMass Amherst has received a $500,000 National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grant that will buy instruments for a shared biofuels research lab containing state-of-the-art equipment to help further biofuel studies on campus. (More)

NSF grant supports polar science studies in schools
The National Science Foundation has awarded $597,000 to campus scientists to help middle and high school teachers learn and teach about the polar regions where changes in snow and ice are revealing secrets of the planet’s past climate and the climate of the future. (More)

First UMass Wood Structures Symposium promotes green building
Presentations and related links from this year's symposium, hosted on November 1-2 by Peggi Clouston and the UMass Amherst Building Materials and Wood Technology program, are now posted online. (More)

Leschine Testifies on Biofuels before House Panel
Microbiology professor Susan Leschine testified Oct. 24 about biofuels and their development at a congressional committee hearing in Washington, D.C. (More)

UMass microbiologist receives grants to study deep-sea, high-temperature microbes
Microbiologist James Holden of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been awarded two grants to study microorganisms from deep-sea volcanic environments that grow best at temperatures around 200 F. (More)

UMass Amherst researchers contributed to Nobel-winning climate change reports
Raymond S. Bradley, director of the Center for Climate Change, is one of many researchers affiliated with UMass Amherst who contributed to reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the past year. The reports earned the panel the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, shared with environmentalist Al Gore. (More)

UMass geoscientist receives grant to study effects of volcanoes on arctic climate
Raymond S. Bradley, director of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received a three-year, $416,550 award from the National Science Foundation for his project, titled “Volcanoes in the Arctic System: Geochronology and Climate Impacts.” (More)

UMass Amherst and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Receive EPA Grant
The University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission have received a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate science into regional planning with the goal of enhancing sustainability. (More)

Engineers Without Borders aim to aid rubber tappers in Amazon
A team from the campus chapter of Engineers Without Borders has just returned from an assessment trip to the Brazilian Amazon that will lead to a cheap, sustainable way to collect clean water and dispose of wastewater. (More)

UMass Amherst Professor Awarded Fellowship to Study Arsenic Contamination in U.S. and Overseas
Chemistry professor Julian Tyson has been awarded a $200,000 Discovery Corps Fellowship by the National Science Foundation to support his research on the toxic contaminant arsenic. (More)

In a snap, turtles could aid researchers in saving species
Two University of Massachusetts scientists are using technology to track and map the movements of snapping turtles, providing migratory information important to conservation efforts. (More)