A bomb goes off at one entrance to a crowded sports stadium. There are multiple casualties, and the exit is blocked.

You’re in charge of the response, and you have moments to make a critical decision. Do you rush first responders to the scene through other entrances, knowing that a second bomb could detonate and kill them as well? Or do you first clear the area and send in bomb-sniffing dogs, knowing that some of the injured might die?

AMHERST, Mass. - Five Colleges, Incorporated has been awarded a $2.5 million, four-year grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help its member campuses transform how they approach Native American and Indigenous studies (NAIS), with the goal of enhancing teaching, learning and scholarship in the field. The grant is one of the largest made by The Andrew W.

AMHERST, Mass. – Online bachelor’s degree programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst rank 23rd nationally, according to a survey released by U.S. News & World Report, which also listed the university 18th for online baccalaureate programs for veterans.

The list of the 358 schools with the best online bachelor’s programs for 2020 is based on weighted factors in student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology and peer reputation. The weighting varied among programs.

AMHERST, Mass. – A new approach to studying the effects of two common chemicals used in cosmetics and sunscreens found they can cause DNA damage in breast cells at surprisingly low concentrations, while the same dose did not harm cells without estrogen receptors.

Panayotis “Panos” Kevrekidis, Distinguished University Professor and professor of mathematics and statistics, recently was named a member of the 2020 Class of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for “contributions in applied mathematics, especially in the theory and applications of nonlinear waves.” He is one of just 52 mathematical scientists from around the world to be recognized by their peers in the program, now in its eighth year. 

The start of 2020 marks the launch of a new statewide initiative called Resolution Massachusetts to be announced at a State House briefing for legislators on January 21, and it could not be timelier.

UMass Boston’s online graduate education programs have jumped 19 spots in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Online Programs rankings, released today. UMass Boston’s online graduate education programs are ranked No. 35, up from No. 54 in 2019. UMass Boston has four online undergraduate programs. Collectively, those are ranked No. 93 on the list of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs.

A new year brings both hopes and anxieties. We want things to be better for ourselves and the people we love, but worry that they won’t be, and imagine some of the things that might stand in the way. More broadly, we might worry about who’s going to win the election, or even if our world will survive.

As it turns out, humans are wired to worry. Our brains are continually imagining futures that will meet our needs and things that could stand in the way of them. And sometimes any of those needs may be in conflict with each other.

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology has selected Sheldon Benjamin, MD, as one of its eight psychiatry directors. Dr. Benjamin, interim chair of psychiatry and professor of psychiatry and neurology, began his four-year, renewable term on Jan. 1.

“I consider this one of the most important roles that I’ll have in organized medicine because the deliberations of the board get at the core of what is expected of people in our specialty,” said Benjamin. “Its deliberations are quite important and I’m very excited to be at the table for these discussions.”

The Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives will host the launch of the book, The Final Report: a History of the Portuguese American Citizenship Project from 6–7:30 p.m. on 23 January 2020 at the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives at UMass Dartmouth. Project Coordinator James McGlinchey will offer a brief talk on the report and the development of the book at the launch event. Guests should use Parking Lot 13. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.