University of Massachusetts Amherst - Office of News & Information

Friday, July 3, 2009

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Michael F. Malone Named Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement at UMass Amherst

July 2, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – Michael F. Malone has been named vice chancellor for research and engagement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst by Chancellor Robert C. Holub. More...



Men Are More Accurate than Women When Hitting a Target with Force in the Dark, UMass Amherst Study Finds

June 29, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – Could it be that men have evolved to be more accurate at hitting a target with a weapon in the dark than women? That’s the surprising question left after a recent small study of human biomechanics conducted by evolutionary biologist Duncan Irschick of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues who studied the roles of various factors, including gender, on hammering force and accuracy. More...



UMass President Awards $1 Million to Innovative Faculty Research and Scholarship

June 25, 2009

BOSTON - University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson today announced a total of $1 million in awards to faculty investigators from the President''s Science and Technology Initiatives Fund and the President''s Creative Economy Initiatives Fund for the 2009-2010 academic year. More...



Seekonk Post Office to Be Dedicated to Former UMass Amherst Student Killed in Iraq

June 24, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – The post office in Seekonk, Mass., will be dedicated Sunday, June 28 in memory of former UMass Amherst student and Seekonk resident Eric Paul Valdepenas, a U.S. Marine Lance Corporal who died in combat in Iraq in 2006. More...



NIH Awards $754,000 to UMass Amherst to Encourage Minority Graduates to Pursue Doctorates in Biomedicine

June 24, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – The National Institutes of Health have awarded a $754,000 grant to three faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to establish a program to encourage underrepresented minorities with recent bachelor’s degrees to pursue doctorates in disciplines related to biomedicine. More...



UMass Amherst Professor Advising California Officials on Cap-and-Trade Program to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

June 24, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – James K. Boyce, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been appointed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to a 16-member panel that will advise the state on implementing a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases. More...



Greater Springfield-UMass Amherst Partnership Community Dinner to Be Held Wednesday Evening, June 24

June 24, 2009

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Officials from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the City of Springfield will host their first community engagement dinner at the Old First Church in Springfield, 51 Elm Street. The press is invited to meet with the participants from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. More...



UMass Amherst Researchers Design a ‘Chemical Nose’ to Sniff Out Cancer Earlier, Improve Treatment Options

June 22, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – Using a “chemical nose” array of nanoparticles and polymers, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a fundamentally new, more effective way to differentiate not only between healthy and cancerous cells but also between metastatic and non-metastatic cancer cells. It’s a tool that could revolutionize cancer detection and treatment, according to chemist Vincent Rotello and cancer specialist Joseph Jerry. More...



Campus Hotel at UMass Amherst Gets Makeover, Becomes Standout Destination in Western Mass.

June 21, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. – The Campus Center Hotel at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been transformed from a 1970s-era facility into a modern, three-star facility that stands out as a top destination in Western Massachusetts. More...



Seattle Sounders, Texas El Paso Win PRISM Award for Excellence in Sport Management from Spectator Sport Center at UMass

June 20, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. — The Center for Spectator Sport Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in partnership with Turnkey Sports, has named the Seattle Sounders Football Club and the University of Texas-El Paso as winners of the 2009 PRISM Award. More...

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UMass Research

‘Grassoline’ Research of UMass Amherst’s Huber on Scientific American Cover; Congressional Briefing Set For Thursday

AMHERST, Mass. – The cover story of the July issue of Scientific American on newsstands this week features an article by chemical engineer George Huber of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a co-author who predict that if the United States maintains its commitment to biofuels over the next 15 years, the number of vehicles powered by “grassoline”― gasoline and diesel fuel made from plants―could “fundamentally change the world.”

Avon Walk Boston Ceremony Highlights Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute and UMass Amherst Research Projects

AMHERST, Mass. – Research grants to support three western Massachusetts research teams were announced recently at the closing ceremony of the seventh annual Avon Walk Boston which is part of the Avon Foundation’s annual fund raising to facilitate access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. A total of $453,282 was awarded for the projects, each of which seeks to understand how specific risk factors alter the probability that a woman will develop breast cancer.

UMass Amherst Students in Biofuels, Artificial Intelligence, Nanocrystals Win Isenberg Awards Supporting Further Research

AMHERST, Mass. – Eight graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst whose academic studies integrate science, engineering and management will receive Eugene M. Isenberg Awards for the 2009-2010 academic year, up to $10,000 each, to support their future work.

Aboard Scientific Drill Ship Near Japan, UMass Hydrogeologist Will Study a Major Pacific Earthquake-Birthing Zone

AMHERST, Mass. – When the world’s first ocean research vessel equipped with super-deep core-drilling equipment begins its next scientific cruise this month, hydrogeologist David Boutt of the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be aboard, preparing to study subsurface fluids from 1.25 miles below the sea floor, the deepest ever sampled, at a premier earthquake-spawning ground off the coast of Japan.

Undergraduates from Across U.S. Coming to UMass Amherst to Gain Research Experience in Linguistics

AMHERST, Mass. – Fourteen undergraduates from around the country will gain valuable research experience in linguistics through the Summer Dialect Research Project being held June 7-20 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

After Years of Persistence, UMass Amherst Emerges as a National Leader in Green Research, Advocacy and Campus Facilities

AMHERST, Mass. - Green stands alone as the dominant color in today’s economic and political discourse. Green energy, green buildings, green jobs. Want to find a model of green commitment? Exhibit A is UMass Amherst, which has emerged as a national leader in clean energy research and defining the shape of the green economy, all while transforming its campus into a showcase of environmentally progressive initiatives.

Sediment Drilling in Siberia by UMass Amherst Geologists Yield Unprecedented Data in Push to Understand Arctic Climate Change

AMHERST, Mass. – A team of scientists from the United States, Germany, Russia and Austria returned recently from a six-month sediment drilling expedition at a frozen lake in Siberia, where they retrieved the longest core samples ever collected in the Arctic—information they call “of absolutely unprecedented significance.”

UMass Amherst Camera Photographs the Star-Forming Backbone of a Massive Structure in the Early Universe

AMHERST, Mass. – Using a special camera known as AzTEC developed by a research team led by Grant Wilson, astronomy professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an international research group has imaged a set of ultra-massive galaxies that are thought to form the backbone of a super large structure, or collection of galaxies congregated together, in the very early universe.

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