AMHERST, Mass. - A team of chemical engineers led by Paul J. Dauenhauer of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a new, high-yield method of producing the key ingredient used to make plastic bottles from biomass. The process is inexpensive and currently creates the chemical p-xylene with an efficient yield of 75-percent, using most of the biomass feedstock, Dauenhauer says. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

AMHERST, Mass. - Increasingly, food manufacturers want to use nanoparticles to boost nutrition by adding compounds with health benefits such as carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D and E, sometimes called "nutraceuticals." The tiny capsules can be designed to preserve nutritional value and freshness, enhance nutrient bioavailability and maintain desirable product quality.

AMHERST, Mass. - A team of kinesiology researchers led by Richard Van Emmerik at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently received a 2.5-year, $975,000 grant through the Navy Health Research Center in the Department of Defense to study how the average 100-lb. equipment load carried by soldiers, which can be even heavier in some missions, affects their survivability, likelihood of injury and ability to carry out missions.

AMHERST, Mass. - Five teams of student entrepreneurs will pitch business plans based on their innovations to a panel of expert judges in hopes of winning some of the $50,000 in prize money available at the seventh annual University of Massachusetts Amherst Innovation Challenge. The competition will be held Tuesday, April 17 beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Amherst Room on the 10th floor of the Campus Center. It is free and open to the public.