Professor Jonathan Rothstein, mechanical and industrial engineering, is part of a multi-institutional research team developing a new collection system for COVID-19 testing that will allow for rapid diagnosing via a device similar to a breathalyzer.
Based on the state plan and requirements for Reopening Massachusetts, UMass Amherst is moving ahead to reopen research labs, onsite library services and access, and other facilities for research and creative activities.
The Juniper Institute for Young Writers at UMass Amherst has long been a place to explore, create, and find a life-long writing community. COVID-19 has suspended all in-person instruction at UMass this summer, but organizers have taken the Juniper Young Writers program online this summer.
UMass Amherst has developed a new training video focused on best practices and protocols to keep the university community safe as a phased reopening of campus begins.
Multiple federal and state agencies are reporting an increase in fraudulent unemployment claims exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically of public sector employees. Within the UMass system, there have been several cases where unemployment claims have been fraudulently submitted to the state Department of Unemployment Assistance.
The American Institute of Architecture’s (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) announced recently that the John W. Olver Design Building on the UMass Amherst campus is a winner this year of its highest honor, the COTE Top Ten Awards. Projects “illustrate the solutions architects have provided for the health and welfare of our communities and the planet,” the AIA citation says.
Claudia Donald, executive director of digital marketing and online communications, has been named interim chief marketing officer at UMass Amherst. Donald will oversee the Marcom Group, which provides a strategic suite of centralized services that handle all aspects of marketing and related communication.
Three faculty-student research teams on campus have received seed grants of up to $12,000 each from the Institute of Diversity Sciences – a consortium across UMass and the Five Colleges – “to encourage multidisciplinary research that strives to solve important equity-related problems through science and engineering research,” director Nilanjana Buju Dasgupta announced this month.
A film by Liane Brandon, professor emerita of education, is being featured as part of the “Tell Me” series on the Criterion Channel. Brandon’s 1972 film, “Betty Tells Her Story,” is a documentary exploring the issues of body image and self-worth in American culture.
The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) has provided the Sierra Club with a commissioned report proposing a $6 trillion, 10-year stimulus plan for creating 4.6 million jobs annually to upgrade American infrastructure, and another 4.5 million jobs annually to transition the country to a clean energy economy.
