Jaime Piñero, along with Dean Michael Fox of the College of Natural Sciences, welcomed four staff members from Hokkaido University who “conducted the second round of its Two-way Professional (Technical) Staff Development Program” with UMass Amherst. Since its inception two years ago, the initiative has prioritized tasks from “improving laboratory operational efficiency” to “exploring inter-unit coordination and sustainable collaboration.”
Record high temperatures on Independence Day caused several heat-related issues, including “one dozen” hospitalizations and brought up concerns from experts like Michael Rawlins about climate change "doubling in the U.S. since the ‘80s.” “‘It’s not an anomaly,’” he says. “‘It’s a preview.’”
Along with 2026 PEP fellow Jared Starr, Erin Baker explains the pros and cons to lawmakers’ proposals to “make our energy more affordable while addressing climate change.” While both the House and Senate bills make it “easier for the state to invest in clean energy,” a compromise between the two is best to “protect the planet and the future of our children.”
Along with 2017 PEP fellow Erin Baker, Jared Starr explains the pros and cons to lawmakers’ proposals to “make our energy more affordable while addressing climate change.” While both the House and Senate bills make it “easier for the state to invest in clean energy,” a compromise between the two is best to “protect the planet and the future of our children.”
For this year’s Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary race, bans on trans athletes competing in women’s sports is a “flashpoint,” especially following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold certain state-level bans. Sharrow, an expert on Title X laws which prohibit sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, thinks the Supreme Court's ruling “reflects its own bias more than adherence to legal precedence.”
As a result of the extreme heat in the Northeast over the week of the Fourth of July, officials are seeing alarming numbers of heat-related emergencies. Michael Rawlins asserts that “more extreme weather is going to happen — like it or not,” if greenhouse gas emissions are not brought down soon.
As MA lawmakers consider Governor Healey’s DRIVE Act proposal to invest in research innovation, Sanjay Arwade urges the state to lean in favor of strategic investment for the future. The clean energy economy, he says, “depends on engineers, scientists, data analysts, environmental specialists, policy experts, and entrepreneurs. Universities help produce that workforce.”
In the Watson v. RNC case decided on June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the decision for states to hold grace periods after Election Day for mail-in ballots to come in. Rowen says this decision was “designed to protect the voting rights of overseas military personnel.”
The Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind, directed by Sanjay Arwade, hosted a four-day SEA (Summer Education Accelerator) program for faculty and students from 16 universities to “explore offshore wind energy.” Participants toured offshore wind farms, “visited the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at UMass Dartmouth,” and heard from UMass faculty and industry experts.