AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst hopes to increase pedestrian safety this spring using a multi-faceted approach that includes an advertising campaign, engineering studies of existing crosswalks and traffic signals and increased enforcement of crossing rules and speed limits.

AMHERST, Mass. – University Health Services (UHS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has earned accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). UHS’ three-year term is the maximum granted as a result of the voluntary accreditation process.

AMHERST, Mass. – Ethan Katsh, professor emeritus of legal studies, has been selected as the 2010-2011 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Haifa School of Law in Israel from January to June 2011. He will be conducting research and teaching a class during his stay.

AMHERST, Mass. – For centuries biologists have known that bird bones are hollow, and even elementary school children know that bird skeletons are lightweight to offset the high energy cost of flying. Nevertheless, many people are surprised to learn that bird skeletons do not actually weigh any less than the skeletons of similarly sized mammals. In other words, the skeleton of a two-ounce songbird weighs just as much as the skeleton of a two-ounce rodent

The sunrise and sunset associated with the vernal equinox will be marked among the standing stones of the UMass Amherst Sunwheel on Saturday, March 20 at 6:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. This year’s Sunwheel events not only mark the astronomical change of seasons when length of day and night are approximately equal, but the Sunwheel’s 13th year. At the gathering, UMass Amherst astronomer Judith Young will explain the significance of the celestial events. (Gazette, 3/17/10; News Office release)

A feature story looks at the work of Beverly Woolf, computer science, and her colleagues, in developing a computerized math tutor that responds to the emotions of the users and adjusts to help the students. The tutor is especially aimed at girls who often seem to do well with more emotional support when learning. (Big Think, 3/17/10; News Office release)

AMHERST, Mass. – More than 80 University of Massachusetts Amherst students are spending spend this week in rural Virginia assisting two separate local organizations with community-designed projects serving low-income, largely African American communities.

AMHERST, Mass. – The public is invited to witness the sunrise and sunset associated with the vernal equinox among the standing stones of the UMass Amherst Sunwheel on Saturday, March 20 at 6:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. This year’s Sunwheel events not only mark the astronomical change of seasons when length of day and night are approximately equal, but the Sunwheel’s 13th year. Rain cancels the event.

AMHERST, Mass. – A Congressional committee will hear this Wednesday where future funding should be spent to bolster nanomanufacturing when Mark Tuominen, a leading nanotechnology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, testifies before the House Committee on Science and Technology in Washington. The goal is to boost research and development and to foster university-industry partnerships, he says.

AMHERST, Mass. – More than 80 University of Massachusetts Amherst students are spending spend this week in rural Virginia assisting two separate local organizations with community-designed projects serving low-income, largely African American communities.

AMHERST, Mass. – As Massachusetts lawmakers consider a law to ban text messaging while driving for all and cell phone use by younger drivers, Don Fisher, head of the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Human Performance Laboratory, says research shows that texting while driving increases the risk of crashing by a factor of over 20 and should be banned for drivers of all ages.

AMHERST, Mass. – The Psychological Services Center (PSC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Camp Kingsmont in Amherst have formed a new partnership to promote healthy lifestyles in children struggling with weight problems and overeating.

AMHERST, Mass. – The UMass Amherst Department of Communication Disorders will host its first annual Walk and Roll for Aphasia on Saturday, April 10 at 11 a.m. beginning at the Amherst Town Common. All proceeds from the event will benefit the department’s aphasia research and support efforts. The walk will take place rain or shine.

AMHERST, Mass. – As schools gear up for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) statewide testing of mathematics skills in grades 3–8 and geometry in grade 10 this spring, some students in Holyoke, Turners Falls and Deerfield will be helping to fine-tune a computer-based, emotionally perceptive math tutoring software developed by University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Beverly Woolf, Ivon Arroyo and colleagues, which can improve standardized test scores.

AMHERST, Mass. – As schools gear up for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) statewide testing of mathematics skills in grades 3–8 and geometry in grade 10 this spring, some students in Holyoke, Turners Falls and Deerfield will be helping to fine-tune a computer-based, emotionally perceptive math tutoring software developed by University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Beverly Woolf, Ivon Arroyo and colleagues, which can improve standardized test scores.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Thursday, March 11, 2010 TIME: 5:30 p.m. PLACE: 10th Floor, Amherst Room, Campus Center Alumnus Jeffrey B. Mullan, the secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will be the keynote speaker March 11 when the University of Massachusetts Amherst student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) hosts its 11th annual Tech Day in the 10th floor Amherst Room of the Campus Center. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 5:30 that will include the keynote address and an awards ceremony. Mullan’s talk is titled, “Facing Transportation Challenges in the Commonwealth.”

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Thursday, March 11, 2010 TIME: 5:30 p.m. PLACE: 10th Floor, Amherst Room, Campus Center Alumnus Jeffrey B. Mullan, the secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will be the keynote speaker March 11 when the University of Massachusetts Amherst student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) hosts its 11th annual Tech Day in the 10th floor Amherst Room of the Campus Center. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 5:30 that will include the keynote address and an awards ceremony. Mullan’s talk is titled, “Facing Transportation Challenges in the Commonwealth.”

AMHERST, Mass. – The visiting chef series hosted by dining services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst continues Tuesday, March 9 with a competition between four two-member teams of chefs from universities around the country. The “Epic Battle of Taste” takes place from 5-9 p.m. at the Berkshire Dining Commons in the Southwest residence area.

AMHERST, Mass. – When NASA launched its Chandra X-ray observing telescope into orbit in 1999, astronomers didn’t know much about the galactic winds made of wispy, multi-million-degree gas clouds that stream out from normal galaxies like our own, because they are “diffuse, gentle and unspectacular” compared to far more dramatic emanations of starbursts, recalls astronomer Q. Daniel Wang of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

AMHERST, Mass. – The next monthly Hillside Salon at the campus home of Sabine and Robert Holub, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will be on Tuesday evening, March 16, at 6 p.m. It will feature the book as art form, curated by Motoko Inoue of the Eric Carle Studio.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 TIME: 6:30-8:30 p.m. PLACE: TD Bank, 1441 Main St., Springfield 1st floor conference room Faculty and students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst will hold a public discussion of strategies and two proposed designs for the core area of downtown Springfield. This visual planning and design framework is focused on the revitalization of open space and the connection from the Quadrangle to the Connecticut River and on Pynchon Plaza, a park that has been closed for 20 years. The event is free and open to the public.

AMHERST, Mass. – Patricia Culross, who headed UMass Extension’s Nutrition Education Program in Worcester for much of the past three decades, says she was in a perfect position to witness big changes in her hometown.

AMHERST, Mass. – For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, recognizing its commitment to volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.

AMHERST, Mass. – The Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (CCC) and the Strategic Planning Initiative for Families and Youth (SPIFFY) Coalition are co-sponsoring a forum on “Responsible Retailing: Creating an Effective System” on Monday, March 8, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Howard Johnson Express Inn, Route 9, Hadley.

AMHERST, Mass. – For nearly a decade, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been developing an expanding presence in Afghanistan, providing technical and educational programs that train teachers, improve that country’s higher education system, and now help develop training for doctors and other medical personnel.

AMHERST, Mass. – Tobias Baskin, professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is being recognized as this year’s recipient of the Self-Directed Learning Award from North Star Self-Directed Learning for Teens. Baskin will be honored at the organization’s 6th Annual Celebration of Self-Directed Learning for Teens on April 11 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The event is open to the public with an RSVP.

AMHERST, Mass. – A high-tech new proficiency test for adult learners, developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is earning high marks from federal education officials, in part for its ability to adapt itself to the student being tested.

AMHERST, Mass. – Richard Brooks, principal system architect of ISO-New England, will discuss initiatives in the development of a smart electric power grid for the region on Friday, March 5 at 11 a.m. in 112 Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The talk is free and open to the public.

AMHERST, Mass. – “Designing for Sustainability in the Built Environment,” a new series of panel discussions at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is highlighting green technologies being incorporated into construction projects on the campus.

AMHERST, Mass. – The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded this year’s Tage Erlander Prize in physics to Egor Babaev, assistant professor of physics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, “for pioneering theoretical work that predicts new states of matter in the form of superfluids with novel properties.”

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Saturday, Feb. 27 TIME: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PLACE: Marcus Hall, Engineering Student Center More than 30 Girl Scouts ages 11-16 from Western and Central Massachusetts will gather at the Engineering Student Center in Marcus Hall at UMass Amherst to investigate engineering as a possible career.

b>AMHERST, Mass. – The rate of childlessness among American women is the same for whites and blacks, although black women without children are more likely to be married than childless white women, according to a new study by sociologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, examines the causes and characteristics of childless women and is the only one that has looked specifically at African American childlessness, the authors say.

AMHERST, Mass. – Temple Grandin, an advocate for people with autism, a world-renowned animal behaviorist and expert on their humane treatment, will speak in several classes and sign her books at a public event from 1:45 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Center. Grandin is the subject of a current HBO television drama that portrays her struggles against the isolation of autism at a time when little was known about it.

AMHERST, Mass. – The Environmental Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst continues its spring Environmental Lecture Series with “Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes,” a talk by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) geosciences professor Kerry Emanuel, on Tuesday, March 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.

AMHERST, Mass. – Alexei Oblomkov, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is among 118 researchers, of which 20 are in mathematics, in the United States and Canada to be awarded prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation this year.

AMHERST, Mass. – Roderic A. Grupen, professor of computer science, will present the third in this year’s series of Distinguished Faculty Lectures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Monday, March 1 at 4 p.m. in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

AMHERST, Mass. – Several University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty members have received recognition for their work in recent weeks:

AMHERST, Mass. – State, local and campus leaders will mark the fifth anniversary of the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (CCC) and recognize outstanding contributions to the effort on Monday, Feb. 22 from 3:30-5 p.m. on the 11th floor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Center.

AMHERST, Mass. – Three University of Massachusetts Amherst students have each won part of a $25,000 scholarship created by Conservation Services Group (CSG) of Westborough, Mass. and the SunPower Foundation of San Jose, Calif., to support their research and studies in energy efficiency, clean energy and environmental protection. The CSG Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy Scholarship was launched to celebrate the firm’s 25th anniversary in the clean energy business.

AMHERST, Mass. – An exhibition of work by students in the architecture + design program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is on display through Feb. 24 at the Herter Art Gallery.

AMHERST, Mass. – Daniel Hallin, an expert on political communication and the role of the news media in democracies, will give lectures on Feb. 23-24 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

AMHERST, Mass. – The latest in a series of monthly Hillside Salons at the campus home of Sabine and Robert Holub, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will be held on Tuesday evening, Feb. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m.

AMHERST, Mass. – Biologist Samuel Hazen at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of more than 100 researchers who collaborated to publish this week in Nature, the entire genome of the model grass commonly known as purple false brome. It is the first member of this economically important grass family to have its DNA fully sequenced.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst Police Department is offering a Citizens Police Academy this spring, providing community members an opportunity to get an inside look at how law enforcement operates. Classes in the nine-session program start Feb. 23 and continue through April 27.

AMHERST, Mass. – As part of its new branding initiative, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is sponsoring its first-ever Student Video Contest by asking students to demonstrate how UMass Amherst is SMART.

AMHERST, Mass. – U.S. Rep. Barney Frank will appear at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Tuesday, Feb. 16 to discuss his 30-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives, and to sign copies of his biography “Barney Frank: The Story of America’s Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman,” published by the University of Massachusetts Press.

AMHERST, Mass. – Robert C. Pozen, recognized as an expert on the underlying causes of the financial crisis of 2008, will meet with finance students at a University of Massachusetts Amherst class on Thursday, Feb. 11. He will speak at the Isenberg School of Management, room 108, starting at 2:30 p.m.

AMHERST, Mass. – The spring 2010 Environmental Lecture Series at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will kick off with a presentation by Stanley Crawford titled “A River, A Place,” Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 3:30 p.m. at the Cape Cod Lounge in the Student Union. Crawford is a visiting writer in the MFA Program for Poets and Writers at UMass. His talk is free and open to the public.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst is celebrating a major expansion of its W.E.B. Du Bois Library Learning Commons, where students have access to research tools and assistance, academic advising, tutoring and writing assistance — all in a comfortable, high-tech environment that fosters small group interaction.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 TIME: 2 p.m. PLACE: Learning Commons W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Lower Level UMass Amherst Campus The University of Massachusetts Amherst will hold an event celebrating the expansion of the Learning Commons at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, where students have access to research tools and assistance, academic advising, tutoring and writing assistance - all in a comfortable, high-tech environment that fosters small group interaction.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 TIME: 9 a.m. PLACE: Court Square, Downtown Springfield No. 3-7 Elm Street The University of Massachusetts Amherst will begin refurbishing office space in downtown Springfield for its new Design Center, with Chancellor Robert Holub and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno wielding sledgehammers to begin the renovations.

AMHERST, Mass. – A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has for the first time determined the mechanism of one of the cell’s “recycling” enzymes, human alpha-galactosidase or alpha-GAL, as it breaks down substances in the lysosome, the cell’s recycling center. The work promises to aid treatment of a rare childhood metabolic disorder, Fabry disease. Patients may survive to adulthood but have compromised kidney function or heart disease, for example, due to lipid buildup in blood vessels, tissues and organs.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s MFA Program for Poets and Writers, recently ranked among the top writing programs in the country by Poets & Writers Magazine, will hold its sixth annual Juniper Summer Writing Institute and concurrent Institute for Young Writers from June 20-26.

With basketball season well under way, we now face the challenge of preparing our nationals routine. We met with our choreographer just a few weeks ago and our routine for sure has the potential to be the best one yet. There is no doubt that it is going to be the hardest as well, but [...]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute announces that Marcia Dougan Woods has joined the Institute as its business development manager. In that capacity, she will work closely with the senior leadership team to advance relationships and implement innovative programs with industry.

AMHERST, Mass. ? The UMass Fine Arts Center is producing a benefit concert for Haiti Relief on Thursday evening, Feb. 11 at 7 pm in the Concert Hall. All proceeds from the concert will go directly to Partners in Health (PIH). PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. PIH works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. The vast majority of PIH staff are local nationals based in the communities they serve.

AMHERST, Mass. – Studying pollen tubes, University of Massachusetts Amherst plant cell biologist Peter Hepler and colleagues have captured some of the fastest growing tissues known, on camera for the first time, to advance understanding of fertilization processes critical to development of all fruits, nuts, grains, rice, corn, wheat and other crops we depend on for food.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s extensive five-campus transit system with its high ridership, large student workforce and many incentives to reduce single-occupant car trips to campus was recently recognized for excellence in sustainability by an independent evaluator based in Cambridge. Its 2010 College Sustainability Report Card gave UMass Amherst campus an “A” grade for sustainability in transportation.

AMHERST, Mass. – Based on a study of seasonal rainfall variations in the desert Southwest between 56,000 and 11,000 years ago as recorded in cave stalagmites, geoscientist Stephen Burns of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with colleagues at the University of New Mexico, suggest the rapidly growing Southwest could become even more arid as global temperatures rise. Their findings are published in this week’s Nature Geosciences and are corroborated by another study presented in the same issue.

AMHERST, Mass. – With the arts community particularly hard hit by the economic recession, the Arts Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts Amherst plans to provide training in best business practices for the region’s artists through an $8,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Seahorse Bioscience and the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI) have announced an agreement to work together to validate a novel technology developed by Seahorse Bioscience to measure the CO2 (carbon dioxide) production rates of cells. PVLSI scientist Nagendra Yadava is principal investigator for the project.

AMHERST, Mass. – Is there a recipe a scientist might follow to spur creativity and cook up new discoveries? Cyber security expert Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts Amherst says spending time in the kitchen experimenting with basics, flour, salt and yeast, to bake artisanal bread helps to keep his creative juices flowing and gives him a great environment in which to mull over thorny research problems.

AMHERST, Mass. – Prudence Carter of Stanford University will speak on “The Paradox of Opportunity: Race, Class, Culture, and Boundaries in South African and U.S. Schools” on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 12:30 p.m. in 620 Thompson Hall at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

AMHERST, Mass. – Psychologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have designed a program for parents of hyperactive pre-school children and have openings for sessions that begin in February.

AMHERST, Mass. – The building of a smart electrical grid, pricing and stockpiling of pediatric vaccines and issues faced by South Africa in developing its research sector are among the topics to be covered in the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Spring Speaker Series at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

AMHERST, Mass. – The latest in a series of monthly Hillside Salons at the campus home of Sabine and Robert Holub, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will be held on Tuesday evening, Jan. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. Visual arts will be the main focus of the January salon.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a star when it comes to recycling, not only common items such as paper, cans and cardboard, but light bulbs, paint, tires and plastics. “The list is impressive,” says Josh Stoffel, the campus’s sustainability coordinator. “We also make sure that printers and cartridges, CDs, batteries and computers don’t end up in the landfill. It’s a large effort but well worth our time.”

AMHERST, Mass. – For the first time, a work from the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be shown at the New York Jewish Film Festival (NYJFF), a preeminent showcase for world cinema that investigates, records and celebrates the Jewish experience.

AMHERST, Mass. – University Health Services (UHS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is hosting a walk-in H1N1 flu vaccination clinic on Thursday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.

AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers are finding that the ability to see very small things—objects 20,000 times thinner than a human hair—can help answer big biological questions. That’s why Jennifer Ross, a University of Massachusetts Amherst physicist, is building a new microscope that achieves super resolution, allowing scientists to see molecules 100 times smaller than are visible using traditional light microscopy.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst is among the “100 Best Values in Public Colleges for 2009-10,” according to a just published ranking by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

AMHERST, Mass. – Graduate programs in engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are among the best in the country, says a recently released ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

AMHERST, Mass. – A pair of University of Massachusetts Amherst chemists believe they have for the first time explained how the main players in transcription—RNA polymerase, RNA and the DNA template—come together and link tightly enough to create a stable complex while DNA unwinds to pass crucial genetic information to RNA, but not so tightly that they can’t come apart easily once transcription is complete. This transcription process takes place in all cells and is essential for making the proteins that carry out almost every process important to life.

AMHERST, Mass. – Guy Lanza, a University of Massachusetts Amherst microbiologist, isn’t the only environmental scientist concerned that the hydroelectric power industry isn’t as green as it tries to seem, but he is certainly among the most willing to challenge it. In a report in the January/February edition of WorldWatch magazine, Lanza and a co-author warn that hydroelectric facilities from China to Belize are destroying ecosystems and uprooting locals “under the guise of promoting cheap, clean energy.”

AMHERST, Mass. – The website of University Health Services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been honored with a merit award in the national Web Health Awards competition.

AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are trying to decode why aging prevents sleep from enhancing memory. Rebecca Spencer, assistant professor of psychology, says she is trying to isolate the stage of sleep that provides the learning benefit and to discover more about the overall role sleep plays in learning. The research is funded by the National Institute on Aging.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst campus is a recognized leader when it comes to involving students in sustainability projects such as recycling, green building and energy conservation, according to a national green report card prepared by the Sustainable Endowments Institute of Cambridge. Its independent evaluation identifies leaders among hundreds of colleges across the United States and Canada.

AMHERST, Mass. – The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Washington, D.C., and the University of Massachusetts Amherst announced that four faculty members have been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow in an election by their peers to recognize scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The precision manufacturing industry in Western Massachusetts received a major boost today with the announcement of a $600,000 federal grant to foster innovative practices through a partnership with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The two-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) follows an earlier state investment of $650,000 in industry competitiveness through the MTC’s John Adams Innovation Institute, and will be enhanced by a newly formed partnership between academic, workforce development and industry leaders in the region.

AMHERST, Mass. – New Englanders who want to bake traditional holiday apple pies and turnovers like grandma used to make, even using heirloom varieties, are now more likely than ever to find locally grown, sustainably produced fruit, thanks to a business-grower-university partnership known as Eco Apple™, according to Dan Cooley, a plant pathologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

AMHERST, Mass. – Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are among the most successful nationally in the congressionally funded Gilman Scholarship program for study abroad.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009 TIME: 2:15 p.m. PLACE: Museum of Springfield History 21 Edwards St. (The Quadrangle) Springfield, Mass. At a news conference, Gregory Bialecki, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno will join in announcing a new National Science Foundation grant to help strengthen the precision manufacturing industry in Western Massachusetts, which has 230 companies and 7,700 employees. Project partners will also sign a memorandum of agreement to enhance collaboration between UMass Amherst and the industry to spur innovation and the application of advanced technologies to create new business and new jobs.

AMHERST, Mass. – The winter solstice will again be observed with sunrise and sunset events on Monday, Dec. 21, among the standing stones of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Sunwheel, a solar calendar and observatory. The gatherings will begin at 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. In the event of rain or a blizzard, the gathering will be canceled.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst campus recently received an “A” grade for leadership in sustainable energy and climate change issues, as assessed by the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card.

AMHERST, Mass. – Judges awarded more than $10,000 in prizes and other incentives to six clever, timely and promising business ventures conceived by teams of students, faculty and alumni in the recent Executive Summary & Elevator Pitch phase of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Innovation Challenge. Of 13 teams, four won $2,000 each and two won $1,000 apiece.

AMHERST, Mass. – Are we smart? You bet! In the latest ranking of college towns, this time by the Internet-based news service, The Daily Beast, Amherst popped up in the top 10, enjoying one of highest percentages of adults with graduate-level degrees (43 percent) in the nation.

AMHERST, Mass. – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are examining the role sleep plays in learning new tasks, how it effects memory and its impact on mitigating impairment caused by Parkinson’s Disease, and they’re seeking test subjects for the work at the Cognition and Action Lab in the department of psychology.

AMHERST, Mass. – Suzanne Model, a University of Massachusetts Amherst sociologist who studies international migration, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research at Academia Sinica in Taiwan during the spring 2010 semester.

AMHERST, Mass. – Led by three UMass Amherst police officers, area law enforcement personnel will stand atop the Walmart in Hadley on Saturday, Dec. 12 to raise money for Special Olympics Massachusetts. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

b>AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst Computer Science Department, is celebrating National Computer Science Education Week by announcing a new core curriculum and major overhaul of undergraduate degree requirements for the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree to be effective in Spring 2010.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst has awarded an honorary doctorate to Charles “Chuck” Davis, the internationally renowned founder and artistic director of the African American Dance Ensemble and the New York-based festival DanceAfrica. The degree was presented at a ceremony held today in the Bernie Dallas Room in Goodell Hall.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst officially opened its new, $50 million Recreation Center today, ushering in a new era of health and fitness opportunities for students.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst has awarded an honorary doctorate to Charles “Chuck” Davis, the internationally renowned founder and artistic director of the African American Dance Ensemble and the New York-based festival DanceAfrica. The degree was presented at a ceremony held today in the Bernie Dallas Room in Goodell Hall.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst officially opened its new, $50 million Recreation Center today, ushering in a new era of health and fitness opportunities for students.

AMHERST, Mass. – The excitement of student teams competing for more than $10,000 in prizes and support for their business ideas will again liven up the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Center as the opening event of the annual Innovation Challenge is held on Tuesday, Dec. 8. The executive summary and elevator pitch competition, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Room 1009.

AMHERST, Mass. – The excitement of student teams competing for more than $10,000 in prizes and support for their business ideas will again liven up the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Center as the opening event of the annual Innovation Challenge is held on Tuesday, Dec. 8. The executive summary and elevator pitch competition, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Room 1009.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 TIME: 5 p.m. PLACE: Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Hall UMass Amherst campus The University of Massachusetts Amherst will award an honorary doctorate to Charles “Chuck” Davis, the internationally renowned founder and artistic director of the African American Dance Ensemble and the New York-based festival DanceAfrica. His ongoing connection with UMass Amherst includes working with children in Springfield.

AMHERST, Mass. – Bret E. Jackson, professor of chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will give the second in this year’s series of Distinguished Faculty Lectures on Monday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** DATE: Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 TIME: 3 p.m. PLACE: Recreation Center, 161 Commonwealth Avenue (across from the Mullins Center) UMass Amherst Chancellor Robert C. Holub and other university officials will formally open the university’s new, $50 million Recreation Center with a ceremony followed by a reception and tours of the building.

AMHERST, Mass. – The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is accepting applications from high school students interested in gaining hands-on laboratory experience in polymer science this coming January and February.