Story and Source Ideas for Journalists

04/16/2013

Source of the week: A UMass Lowell terrorism and security expert can discuss the tragedy at the Boston Marathon and how such events affect the public.  

Student Teams Compete for $25,000 in Idea Challenge Finals

When: Wednesday, April 17, 5 p.m.  

What: Ten teams of UMass Lowell students who have developed solutions to business, technology and social problems will go before a panel of judges including faculty experts in fields including entrepreneurship and successful UMass Lowell alumni in the finals of the DifferenceMakers Idea Challenge. The challenge, which began in January, originally involved 45 student teams and faculty mentors from each of the university’s six colleges and the finalists chosen in an earlier round of competition. The winners will share in $25,000 in seed money to help bring their ideas to fruition in a new incubator space on North Campus that is scheduled to open next month.  

Where: Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, North Campus, 40 University Ave., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

Human-Rights Activist to Speak About Peace in Wake of Marathon Tragedy

When: Wednesday, April 17, 5:30 p.m. 

What: Human-rights scholar George Lopez will present “Imagining a Violence-Free World: Building the New Peace to End the New Violence,” a free, public lecture that is part of the F. Bradford Morse Distinguished Lecture Series. The talk will include his thoughts on the tragic events at the Boston Marathon on Monday. Lopez’s research interests focus on ethics and the problems of state violence, especially economic sanctions, human-rights violations, the use of force. The program, which will begin with a reception, is presented by UMass Lowell and Middlesex Community College in cooperation with the UMass Lowell Department of Political Science, the Peace and Conflict Studies Program and the Center for Arts and Ideas.

Where: Morse Federal Building, 50 Kearney Square, Lowell 

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

UMass Lowell Opens New $40 Million Academic Building

When: Thursday, April 18, 11:30 a.m. 

What: The UMass Lowell community, legislators, and city and state officials including Glen Shor, secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance, will open the university’s new Health and Social Sciences Building. The $40 million, 69,000-sqaure-foot facility – the first new academic building to open on the university’s South Campus in more than 30 years – will be the new home of three of UMass Lowell’s most popular majors: criminal justice, nursing and psychology. The building includes a demonstration hospital wing and other simulation laboratories, state-of-the-art classrooms, meeting spaces for team projects and community engagement. Tours, including one especially for the media, will be offered following the speaking program.

Where: Health and Social Sciences Building, South Campus, corner of Wilder and Broadway streets, Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

University Alumni Awards Honor Outstanding Graduates

When: Thursday, April 18, 5:30 p.m.

What: UMass Lowell will honor alumni who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to their professions, communities and the university at the 2013 University Alumni Awards ceremony. The honors pay tribute to graduates from each of the university’s six colleges and schools and will recognize a recent graduate. This year’s honorees are nurse anesthetist Bruce Arakelian ’82; Jeffrey Cosiol ’67, a retired principal projects director with Kling Stubbins; Mark Forziati ’78, retired senior vice president and partner of Tudor Investments; Danielle Bergeron McFadden ’07, president and CEO of the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce; George Membrino ’52, owner and founder of GEM Consulting; Kimberly Sawyer ’89, deputy laboratories director and executive vice president of mission support of Sandia National Laboratories; and George Tsapatsaris ’77, retired superintendent of Lowell Public Schools. Tickets are $75 per person ($35 for young alumni from the Classes of 2002 through 2012). Proceeds from the event will go to student scholarships. 

Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

Relay for Life Raises Awareness, Funds to Eradicate Cancer  - POSTPONED 

When: Friday, April 19, 6 p.m. through Saturday, April 20, 6 a.m. 

What: This event has been postponed as of April 19 and will be rescheduled at a later date. UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff will gather on the university’s outdoor track to walk or run laps overnight to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The event will include games and activities as participants celebrate the stories of cancer survivors and honor those who have succumbed to the disease. Event proceeds will go toward cancer research, prevention and early detection.   

Where: Cushing Field track, North Campus, 275 Riverside St., Lowell.

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

Free Concert of Cutting-Edge Compositions Features Faculty, Robot

When: Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.

What: Michael Testa, a visiting professor in UMass Lowell’s Sound Recording Technology program, will play a robotic glockenspiel known as a “heliphone” as part of “Bleep Blop,” a free concert open to the public showcasing electronic and cutting-edge compositions by several composers. The concert, which will unite technology with improvisation, will feature electronically manipulated piano, analog synthesis, the Kronos Quartet drum machine and performances by Ramon Castillo, a UMass Lowell visiting lecturer and composer, and his wife, Pochun Wang. 

Where: Durgin Concert Hall, South Campus, 35 Wilder St., Lowell   

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

Youth Orchestra Performs Music by Dan Ellsey in Free Concert

When: Sunday, April 21, 3 p.m. 

What: Dan Ellsey’s determination, humor and talent have inspired the many people who have worked with him or seen him perform. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, he is not able to walk or talk but he can make music through the use of computer software. He has recorded a CD and performed his work across the country. During this concert – part of UMass Lowell’s “Making Music, Building Bridges, Connecting Cultures” series – the UMass Lowell Youth Orchestra will perform one of Ellsey’s original compositions. The concert is free and open to the public and donations to the orchestra program will be accepted. The orchestra provides Lowell’s young musicians with performing experience. The concert series is supported by a grant from the UMass President’s Creative Economy Initiatives Fund and the event is presented by the UMass Lowell Disable the Label Club, the Disability Studies program and the Center for Arts and Ideas. 

Where: United Teen Equality Center, 34 Hurd St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

Photography Students Capture Pilgrimage to Masters’ Homes

When: Exhibit runs through Thursday, April 25. University Gallery hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturdays and evenings by appointment. 

What: The UMass Lowell photography program presents works by UMass Lowell international students who participated in a road trip from Lowell to Lexington, Va., to visit the homes of American photography entrepreneur George Eastman and photographer Sally Mann. The students were joined by counterparts from the Bilder Nordic School of Photography in Oslo, Norway and the Ecole Superieure d’Arts and Medias de Caen/Cherbourg in France. “Spirit Level V: An American Road Trip” is curated by Arno Rafael Minkkinen, the Nancy Donahue Professor of the Arts at UMass Lowell and world-renowned photographer, and includes works on display at UMass Lowell’s University Gallery and the Arts League of Lowell Gallery.

Where: University Gallery, McGauvran Student Center, South Campus, 71 Wilder St. Lowell. Arts League of Lowell Gallery, 117 Merrimack St., Lowell

Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

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