Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts Creates Endowment for BCT Program at UMass

Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts Creates Endowment for BCT Program at UMass

May 18, 2018 AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst has received a $100,000 gift from the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts (AGC MA) of Wellesley, Massachusetts. The gift, also made possible through the Construction Industry Association of Western Massachusetts in Springfield, will provide support for the building and construction technology (BCT) program and its students. The BCT program is part of the department of environmental conservation in the College of Natural Sciences. AGC MA is the state’s leading commercial construction association. The gift represents the second endowment dedicated to supporting UMass Amherst’s BCT program. In addition to providing financial support for BCT’s programs, the gift will make it possible for four students a year to receive scholarships. The BCT program prepares students for careers in construction management, sustainable building systems, and building materials technology. BCT offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as continuing education programs. The program is located in the new John W. Olver Design Building, a distinctive architectural...
Read More
Hoque’s IUMAT research featured on NextCity

Hoque’s IUMAT research featured on NextCity

BCT Assistant Professor Simi Hoque's research into the "Integrated Urban Metabolism Analytical Tool" and her NSF CAREER award were just featured in a blog article on NextCity. Link: https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/math-tool-big-data-planning-solution   Reposted from: https://bct.eco.umass.edu/news/hoques-iumat-research-featured-on-nextcity/...
Read More
Professors Rick Peltier (Public Health) and Charlie Schweik (ECo, CPPA) Receive a Grant to Develop an International Collaboration in the Development and Deployment of Low-cost Air Pollution Sensors

Professors Rick Peltier (Public Health) and Charlie Schweik (ECo, CPPA) Receive a Grant to Develop an International Collaboration in the Development and Deployment of Low-cost Air Pollution Sensors

This proposal establishes a partnership between six international institutions on four continents to enable a platform for the development of inexpensive, user-configurable air pollution sensors. A particular focus of this application is building a network of solutions well suited for use in the developing world, where pollution levels, and corresponding public health risks, are highest. The team will construct a comprehensive framework for the development of low-cost air pollution sensing hardware and software, which can be used to address a global pandemic responsible for millions of premature deaths and altering our climate balance. The model follows a distributed effort approach, where WUN-affiliated investigators produce open-source and freely available software, coupled with hardware that is both inexpensive to obtain and easy to assemble. Providing these resources freely to our collaborators, as well as to anyone with internet access, will empower millions of people to build upon these developments providing a highly scalable and utilitarian instrument capable for answering a wide range...
Read More
Peggi Clouston Receives Grant for Cross Laminated Timber Research and Featured on WNPR

Peggi Clouston Receives Grant for Cross Laminated Timber Research and Featured on WNPR

WNPR Broadcast http://wnpr.org/post/can-creating-bigger-market-timber-help-preserve-connecticut-woodlands#stream/0   UMass Amherst study to show viability of underused wood in construction timber panel Courtesy of UMass News and Media Relations October 21, 2015 Contact: Janet Lathrop 413/545-0444 AMHERST, Mass. – A new three-year study funded by a $390,000 National Science Foundation grant to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is expected to show that a strong new building material known as cross laminated timber (CLT) can incorporate currently underused wood species grown in the northeast United States, creating a market for local trees and opening jobs in rural communities. CLT is made from layers of dimension lumber laid crosswise, then glued and laminated together. Because it is a composite, it is forgiving of defects, which means that small-diameter and lower quality woods that are abundant in the Northeast offer real potential as source materials for CLT, says lead investigator Peggi Clouston, associate professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst. One of her study goals is to show the structural viability of using underused, low-value...
Read More