News Archives - Department of Environmental Conservation

Fall 2023 BCT Lecture Series Announced

September 7, 2023 by Comment Closed

The start of a new semester brings with it a new series of public lectures. We are happy to announce the four speakers mentioned below, who will present on various current topics in the built environment. All lectures are open to the public and are held on Mondays from 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm in the Olver Design Building Room 170. Zoom options will be available, too. Want to get notified when these are? Sign up for our email list. MassDOT: Route 2 Gill Slope Failure and Rapid Repair Procedures Patricia Leavenworth, PE, Director for MassDOT Highway District 2, Connecticut River Valley, Western MA 09.18.23 | 4:00-5:15pm | Design Building Room 170 Energy Modeling for Homes: HERS Rating Process & MA Stretch Energy Code Lia Douillet, HERS Consultant, Ecotechnology, Florence, MA 10.16.23 | 4:00-5:15pm | Design Building Room 170 Building a Greener Future: Mercy Corps’ Global Sustainability Efforts Francis Xavier Tuokuu, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, Mercy Corps 11.06.23 | 4:00-5:15pm | Design Building Room 170 Climate-smart Construction: Plant-based Prefab: A Carbon...

Scott Jackson, Extension Professor, part of team that received a seed grant from the Institute of Diversity Sciences

August 9, 2023 by Kelly Capponcelli Comment Closed

July 20, 2023 UMass Amherst’s Institute of Diversity Sciences (IDS) recently announced that it has awarded five grants to multidisciplinary teams of researchers in its annual seed grant competition. The winning teams focus on health equity, environmental justice, the political implications of the “majority minority” narrative, learning equity and the impact of transportation inequities on Black maternal health. The goal of these grants is to support STEM research that addresses social problems with an equity angle. Awardees received a total of $82,032. Most 2023 grants averaged $15,000, while one grant, awarded to a partnership between IDS and the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, was for $25,000. Researchers supported by these grants came from 14 departments at UMass Amherst. Director of IDS, Nilanjana Dasgupta, director of the Institute of Diversity Sciences and Provost Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences says, “we are delighted to fund such wide-ranging research projects. Each project brings together faculty and students from two or more departments and colleges across UMass. We...

2022-23 Environmental Conservation Awards and Scholarships Announced

May 22, 2023May 23, 2023 by Kelly Capponcelli Comment Closed

We congratulate our students for all of their hard work this year! These students represent the three different programs offered within Environmental Conservation: Natural Resources Conservation, Environmental Sciences, Building and Construction Technology. We're fortunate to have a chance to shine a light on outstanding student achievements and provide student scholarship. Below is the complete list of award and scholarship winners. We are immensely proud of you all! Forest Ecology & Conservation: Outstanding Senior Award Maeve Noone-Price and Ethan Aubuchon Fisheries Ecology & Conservation: Outstanding Senior Award Jillian Taylor and Marin Allen Wildlife Ecology & Conservation: Outstanding Senior Award Amelia Anslow Water Resources: Outstanding Senior Award Callista Macpherson Arboriculture & Urban Forestry: Outstanding Senior Award Morgan Parent Environmental Conservation: Outstanding Senior Award Brahm Van Antwerp and Taylor Lo Environmental Science: Outstanding Senior in Natural Systems Brahm Van Antwerp and Ruichen Wang Environmental Science: Outstanding Senior in Society & Environment Zoe Murphy and Caitlyn Egan Environmental Science: Outstanding Senior in Environmental Quality Owen Porterfield Environmental Science: Outstanding Senior Transfer Student Hanwen Chen and Zachary Shein Environmental Science: Leadership & Engagement Award Cameron Chin, Julia...

New Research Links Changes in Land Use to Water Quality and Quantity

May 16, 2023 by Kelly Capponcelli Comment Closed

Future scenarios for eastern Massachusetts include 69% increase in runoff May 12, 2023 Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published a study in the journal PLOS Water that focuses on the Sudbury-Assabet and Concord watershed in eastern Massachusetts, and which links hydrological changes, including floods, drought and runoff, to changing patterns of land use. “We all live in a watershed” says Timothy Randhir, professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst and the paper’s senior author. “We’re constantly modifying our landscape, turning what were once forests into roads, parking lots and backyards. We’re changing the landscape from one that was once hydrologically resilient to one that pushes water downstream.” But it can be hard to see the complex links between changes in land use and changes in the hydrological cycle. For instance, much of Massachusetts is now subject to the paradoxical situation in which summer drought follows spring flooding. Surely if there’s enough extra water to flood the streets in towns throughout the state then shouldn’t there...

UMass iCons: Women in Power

May 12, 2023 by . ECO . Comment Closed

The iCons program takes a unique approach to STEM education, preparing leaders and innovators for tthe sustainable energy field The Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) Program uproots expectations about what undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business are capable of achieving. iCons brings the real world into the classroom with two goals in mind: preparing undergraduates for success after graduation and equipping them to change the world for the better. To do this, iCons asks students to tackle problems that have defied solution by even the world's foremost experts. "To most students, pinning one's grade on solving a grand challenge would be terrifying," points out Scott Auerbach, chemistry professor and Mahoney Family sponsored executive director of the iCons program. iCons' methodology is designed to convert this learning environment from terrifying to fun through a unique blend of team-based learning, student-driven learning, and reflective learning. In their solution-focused model, iCons encourages students to explore (with a moral compass) societal needs for practical applications of new technologies...