UMass Archeological Services (UMAS) provides cultural resource management services to clients from many different sectors. Funded entirely by outside contracts and grants, UMAS conducts archeological reviews that inventory and protect historic sites. This work is essential because under U.S. law, any construction that uses federal or state funds or permits is required to perform an archeological review. Read more.

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Strategic Alliance with Kodak Fuels Campus Research

UMass Amherst has signed a collaborative research agreement with Eastman Kodak Company, an industry leader in imaging products and services, to further the development of new technologies. The campus is one of a handful of universities that Kodak has targeted for investment as they seek opportunities to develop cutting edge-technologies that will enhance “infoimaging,” the hundred-billion dollar industry created by the convergence of images and information technology.

Under the five-year, renewable Master Research Agreement, Kodak will fund specific research projects providing support to promising students working in areas of interest. Two such projects are already underway with Polymer Science Faculty, with plans to expand collaboration with other areas of campus, such as Engineering and Computer Science.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for both parties, and we’re very pleased that Eastman Kodak has identified UMass Amherst as a superior research partner,” says Paul Kostecki, UMass Amherst’s vice provost for research. “This agreement encourages a fruitful interaction between industry and academia without the bureaucratic constraints that often encumber such relationships.”

Researchers and administrators from Kodak and the campus celebrated the forging of the research alliance at a dinner held on campus October 5th.

To learn more about the UMass/Kodak Alliance, contact Karen Hayes, RL&D (545-9586).

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November 1
Research Leadership in Action Fall Grant Cycle
Applications are now open for fall 2006 Research Leadership in Action (RLA) grants. The RLA, an internal grant program launched by the Vice Provost for Research, is designed to support faculty interested in showcasing leadership in their field of research and scholarly activity. RLA grants provide support for highly visible campus events, such as conferences, professional meetings and performances that bring together researchers, industry, government and the public. Awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 are distributed twice annually, in the spring and fall. More details, including the RFP, application, past recipients and FAQs are available at the Research Leadership in Action Web site. Applications should be submitted to Martha Martin (545-5270). For more information, contact Karen Hayes, program administrator (545-9586).

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OGCA Launches New Workshop Webpage
The Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OCGA) is pleased to announce that its workshop schedule is now available online. The site lists the dates, times and locations of various grant workshops throughout the semester. Workshops cover topics related to Grants.gov, Community of Science and GAMS. Researchers can access the semester schedule here or through the OGCA homepage. See upcoming workshops in the “Events” section below.

Free Microsoft Software Available Through MSDN- AA
The Microsoft Developer's Network Academic Alliance (MSDN-AA) program allows members of the UMass Amherst community to download Microsoft programs for instructional and educational use. The special agreement between UMass Amherst and Microsoft includes access to the latest developer tools, platforms and servers. For more information and to take advantage of this alliance, click here.

Fall 2006 In Brief Now Available
In Brief, the semiannual newsletter of the UMass System’s Office of Economic Development, is now available online. The newsletter highlights achievements and new activities of members of the UMass community in the areas of research, technology transfer, education and workforce development and regional economic analysis. An archive of previous issues can be found online here. Contact Marla Michel (577-0092) regarding submissions.

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Call for Papers:
Deadline: November 5, 2006
2nd Annual Microsoft Academic Days Conference on Game Development Call for Papers
Faculty members are encouraged to submit unpublished original work on "The Use of Game Development in Computer Science Education." Topics could include but are not limited to: game development classes in the Computer Science major, games as capstone projects, interdisciplinary collaboration with non-CS disciplines, laboratory and infrastructure requirements for game development classes, engaging middle school and high school students in game development, etc. Chosen papers will be presented at the conference to be held February 22 - 25 aboard the Disney Wonder Cruise. Submissions must be made online via the conference website. For more information and complete submission guidelines, click here .

Call for Papers and Posters:
Deadline: December 15, 2006
Water Resources Conference
The 4th Annual Water Resources Conference is taking presentation submissions for its April 9, 2007 installment called "Sustainable Waters in a Changing World - Research to Practice." Those interested can click here for more information and submission guidelines.

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ACCESS keeps you informed about and can help promote events that are sponsored by the Research Area and our partners. Another great events resource is the all-campus calendar on the UMass Amherst home page. Use the campus calendar to list campus events as well as university-sponsored events happening off-campus. All events submitted to the calendar must be open to the UMass Amherst community. To enter an event, go the UMass Amherst homepage and click on "Submit an event" in the lower right corner. Contact Nina Sossen, Web Communications Director at 413-577-4741 with questions.

October 16: The Office of Grant and Contract Administration offers a workshop open to all faculty in "Setting Up Your Funding Alert in Community of Science." Goodell 316 10:00 A.M.- 12:00 P.M. Register for this workshop by contacting Kimberley Broderick.

October 17: An Open House of Western Mass-Based Life Sciences Companies (TOURS). 9:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M., an RTC and EDC East Meets West Event. Visitors from the Commonwealth and around New England will tour companies in our region that are members of the life sciences industry. Baystate Health, Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI), Biomedical Research Models, Inc. (BRM), MicroTest Laboratories, Texcel and UMass Amherst are among those who have already agreed to open their doors to visitors. Highlights: UMass Amherst opens the event by introducing experts from their new Institute for Cellular Engineering (ICE), nationally recognized Polymer Science & Engineering (for biomedicine & pharmaceuticals); Baystate Health plans to showcase their clinical trial capabilities and extensive tissue bank; there will be 2 separate tour tracks: A) Biotechnology / Pharmaceutical companies and B) Medical Device manufacturers. Transportation is provided. Contact April Cloutier to register for the event. A reception for western Mass suppliers to the life sciences follows the tours. To view the complete agenda, click here.

October 23: The Office of Grant and Contract Administration offers a workshop in "Completing Electronic Forms in Grants.gov". 613 Goodell 11:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. Register for this workshop by contacting Kimberley Broderick.

November 7: The 2nd annual Conference on Clean Energy takes place in Boston at the Park Plaza Hotel. The theme of this year's conference is Financing and Partnering for Emerging Technologies and will feature Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts, Howard Berke, Co-Founder and CEO, Konarka, Ian Bowles, President, Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), Warren Leon, Deputy Director of the Renewable Energy Trust (RET) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), Brad Bradshaw, President, Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition. For more information and to register, go to the conference homepage.

In addition, the Research Area is currently developing the UMass Amherst Advanced Energy Research web portal, an online directory of energy-related research on campus. Please contact Loren Walker if your research activities touch on this topic.

November 8: The Office of Grant and Contract Administration offers a basic level workshop on "Preparing Your Proposal Budget" in GAMS. 316 Goodell 9:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. Register for this workshop by contacting Kimberley Broderick.

November 15: The Office of Grant and Contract Administration offers an advanced level workshop on "Preparing Your Proposal Budget" in GAMS. Topics will include cost share, subcontracts, and NIH modular subcontracts. 316 Goodell 9:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. Register for this workshop by contacting Kimberley Broderick.

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Each month ACCESS welcomes faculty new to UMass Amherst. In this issue, we highlight new faculty from the School of Education.

Flavio Azevedo Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies. Research Interests: Students' interests and motivation; Computational media for learning; Learning in- and out-of-school; External representations and student cognition.

John Francisco Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies.

Rebecca Gajda Educational Policy, Research and Administration. Research Interests: Educational leadership in curriculum, instruction, and assessment; School improvement through professional learning communities; Program evaluation.

Richard Lapan Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services. Research Interests: School counseling and career development.

Margaret Pierce Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services.

Cristine Smith Educational Policy, Research and Administration. Research Interests: Women and girls' literacy programs in Asia; Professional development and training for adult literacy teachers in the U.S.

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OGCA processed 115 proposals for a total of $12,150,126 in September. How does that stack up against last year and previous months? Have a look at the histograms to find out.

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September Grants and Contracts

Daniel R. Anderson
Psychology
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: IRADS Collaborative Research: Influences of Digital Media on Very Young Children
Total Award: $500,002

Yossi Chait
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Dynamics of the Human Thyroid: Towards Clinical Applications
Total Award: $209,593

Anthony DeCaprio
Public Health
Sponsor: Montefiore Medical Center
Title: Molecular Mechanisms of Hexacarbon-Induced Axon Atrophy
Total Award: $117,750

Stephen Destefano
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: Geological Survey
Title: Assessment of Potential Disturbances to Nesting Common Loons on Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, New Hampshire and Maine
Total Award: $104,937

Todd S. Emrick
Polymer Science and Engineering
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: NIRT: Controlling Interfacial Activity of Nanoparticles
Total Award: $1,199,999

Deepak Ganesan
Computer Science
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: NeTS-NOSS: STONES: Storage-Centric Networked Embedded Systems
Total Award: $500,000

David M. Hart
Computer Science
Sponsor: National Park Service
Title: Create Web-Based High School Curricula on Springfield Armory's Role in the Industrial Revolution
Total Award: $25,000

Agustin Lao
Sociology
Sponsor: Ford Foundation
Title: Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship
Total Award: $40,000

Stephen D. McCormick
Natural Resources Conservation
Sponsor: Forest Service
Title: Stream Fishes as Sentinels for Acid-Aluminum Impacts in New England Forested Ecosystems
Total Award: $142,000

Daniel H. Schaubert
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor: Air Force
Title: Advanced Sensor Antennas and Propagation
Total Award: $947,326

Norman H. Sims
Communication
Sponsor: Minnesota News Council
Title: Media Giraffe Project
Total Award: $75,000

John Staudenmayer
Mathematics and Statistics
Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital
Title: Stress, Environment, and Genetics in Urban Asthma
Total Award: $17,100