AMHERST, Mass. 鈥 Scientists at the 麻豆视频 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 鈥 build a balsa wood bridge. And then withstand up to 100 pounds of paper piled on top.
On February 28, from 12 鈥 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 鈥渙ff switch鈥 for the female X-chromosome. These findings, , 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鈥 names begin with A, B, C and D 鈥 but their parents didn鈥檛 plan it. They just picked four names that they liked, and it turned out that way.
Likewise, three of the four quadruplets 鈥 Andrew, Collette and Diana 鈥 didn鈥檛 set out to go to the same college. Each decided to come to UMass Lowell for different reasons. Still, they鈥檙e happy to be together.
鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly a bonus that my sisters are here, but I would have come here anyway,鈥 says Andrew, a major.
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鈥檚 Alexander von Humboldt Foundation with one of its coveted , 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 鈥淎mherst Pitch Night鈥 at AmherstWorks last week.
The event, hosted by representatives from UMass鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檒l arrive in the Integrated Sciences Complex this spring.