Asst. Prof. Jill Portnoy researches bio-social factors in crime.
Asst. Prof. Jill Portnoy researches bio-social factors in crime.

At UMass Lowell, we work across disciplines to harness technology, design new strategies and evaluate interventions to solve problems of practice. Here are some of our current projects.

Research Highlights

Developing technology to facilitate early intervention for police officers at risk of harming themselves or using excessive force.
Christopher Harris and others: $486,000, National Institute of Justice.

Making the least bad decision: a framework for researching how people make rapid decisions in high-stakes situations.
Neil Shortland: $420,000, National Science Foundation CAREER Grant.

Research partner on Shannon Grants for youth violence and gang prevention programs in Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen.
Christopher Harris, Wilson Palacios and others: $110,000 annually, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Harnessing cellphone technology to monitor probationers and keep them on track.
April Pattavina, Ron Corbett and Guanling Chen (computer science): $99,000, National Science Foundation planning grant.

Biological and social risk factors for criminal behavior and opportunities for effective intervention.
Jill Portnoy, winner of an Early Career Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology: new faculty support.

Environment and crime in Lowell.
Kelly Socia and Melissa Morabito: university seed grant.

James Byrne, Professor of Criminology & Justice Studies at UMass Lowell.

Prof. James Byrne, associate chairman, is an expert on institutional and community corrections. He is director of the Global Community Corrections Initiative and serves on the NIJ committee overseeing implementation of the 2018 First Step Act, a major federal prison reform law. He is the editor-in chief of the journal Victims and Offenders. He has also published more than 100 monographs, journal articles and book chapters and has edited several books, including “The Culture of Prison Violence” and “The New Technology of Crime, Law, and Social Control.” In 2011, Byrne received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Corrections and Sentencing.