AMHERST, Mass. – Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a device that uses a natural protein to create electricity from moisture in the air, a new technology they say could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change and in the future of medicine.
On the morning of February 8, students woke up to find 4 large, hand-made VOTE sculptures placed throughout the campus. The project created awareness for the February 12 deadline to register to vote in the presidential primary. The sculptures are part of an effort by the UMassD Votes Coalition to create a culture on campus that encourages students to exercise their right to vote.
The challenge made by the UMass Dartmouth student chapter of Engineers Without Border set seems simple – build a balsa wood bridge. And then withstand up to 100 pounds of paper piled on top.
On February 28, from 12 – 2 p.m., the Leduc Center for Civic Engagement at UMass Dartmouth will host the 2020 Engaged Scholarship Symposium. The event will be held in the Robert F. Stoico/FirstFed Charitable Foundation Grand Reading Room in the Claire T. Carney Library on the UMass Dartmouth campus.
Research from the lab of Jeanne B. Lawrence, PhD, shows that differentiated human cells retain the ability to undergo chromosome silencing in response to XIST, a naturally occurring “off switch” for the female X-chromosome. These findings, published in Developmental Cell, address a considerable obstacle in the potential development of chromosomal therapies and provide a platform to directly study the effects of trisomy 21 on neurodevelopment and eventually other cell types.
The Whitcomb quadruplets’ names begin with A, B, C and D – but their parents didn’t plan it. They just picked four names that they liked, and it turned out that way.
Likewise, three of the four quadruplets – Andrew, Collette and Diana – didn’t set out to go to the same college. Each decided to come to UMass Lowell for different reasons. Still, they’re happy to be together.
Laetitia La Follette, associate professor and chair of the department of history of art and architecture, was elected to a three-year term as President of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) in January.
Professor Julie Brigham-Grette, geosciences, has been honored by Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation with one of its coveted Humboldt Research Awards, which will support her research collaborations there over the coming six months. 
Three startup companies with UMass Amherst ties earned cash prizes at the inaugural “Amherst Pitch Night” at AmherstWorks last week.
The event, hosted by representatives from UMass’s Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship, the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, AmherstWorks, Hampshire College Entrepreneurship and Valley Venture Mentors, consisted of five judges who collectively picked the top three places. The audience also voted for a fourth winner, given a $100 prize.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Niya Sa’s expertise is in designing rechargeable battery materials, which is beyond the current lithium ion technology. Sa is the lead principal investigator of a $426,000 National Science Foundation-Major Research Instrumentation Program (NSF-MRI) grant, which she and her co-PI, Associate Professor of Chemistry Michelle Foster, have used to purchase a field emissions scanning electron microscrope. It’ll arrive in the Integrated Sciences Complex this spring.