Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
10/28/2013
This is a notice of upcoming events, photo opportunities and story ideas at UMass Lowell, compiled by the Office of University Relations, 978-934-3224. In case of inclement weather, call UMass Lowell’s weather hotline at 978-934-2121; if the university is closed, all events are canceled. For more stories about UMass Lowell, visit www.uml.edu and click on “Media” at the top of the page. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.
Sources of the week are available to discuss:
- The testing process performed in UMass Lowell’s Baseball Research Center on baseballs used during the World Series;
- Advice on Halloween-related parenting issues;
- The environmental factors that gave rise to Superstorm Sandy and what scientists and researchers know one year later in terms of predicting and mitigating future storms’ impact.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
- Baseball Research Center Artwork Debuts on Boston Marquee
- Flecktones’ Founder Performs Scholarship Benefit Concert
- Social Media Maven Discusses Technology’s Impact on Life
- Speaker of the House to Visit UMass Lowell
- College Women Steer Course for Future at Leadership Conference
- Author Explores China’s Growth as a World Power
- Flag-Raising Pays Tribute to Veterans’ Service and Sacrifices
- River Hawks Honor Marathon Bombing Victims, Survivors, Responders
Baseball Baseball Research Center Artwork Debuts on Boston Marquee
When: Opening reception, Monday, Oct. 28, 6 p.m.
What: When a baseball traveling 90 mph hits a bat, it’s more than a feat of science and athletics – it’s a work of art. Just in time for the Boston Red Sox’s World Series run, digital artwork created by Ellen Wetmore, a member of UMass Lowell’s art faculty, and Patrick Drane, co-director of the university’s Baseball Research Center, will debut on the 80-foot-tall, multi-screen LED marquee outside the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The premiere is part of Boston Cyberarts and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s “Art on the Marquee” project, which solicits public art for the largest digital canvas in New England. Wetmore and Drane’s piece, “The Bat Lab Test” – one of nine to be featured in rotation on the marquee this fall – illuminates the work of UMass Lowell’s Baseball Research Center, which tests bats and baseballs used in Major League Baseball for durability and performance.
Where: Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St., Boston
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Levy Flecktones’ Founder Performs Scholarship Benefit Concert
When: Monday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.
What: Grammy Award-winning musician Howard Levy – an incomparable master of the harmonica and piano best known as a co-founder Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – will perform in concert at UMass Lowell. Among an eclectic mix of genres, the concert will feature a piano duet between Levy and Meg Ruby, who teaches piano at UMass Lowell, as well as the world premiere of “8-Bit Attitude,” a composition for digitally processed harmonica written by John Shirley, chairman of UMass Lowell’s Music Department. Concert admission is free but donations will be accepted at the door for scholarships for UMass Lowell music students.
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 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Mele Social Media Maven Discusses Technology’s Impact on Life
When: Tuesday, Oct. 29, 11:45 a.m.
What: One tweet at a time, social media is reshaping relationships, commerce, politics and activism. Entrepreneur and author Nicco Mele will explore these issues and share the insights found in his book, “The End of Big: How the Internet Makes David the New Goliath,” which was published earlier this year. Mele is the former Internet operations director for Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. His presentation is one in the 2013 Lunchtime Lecture Series, co-sponsored by UMass Lowell’s Center for Arts and Ideas and the Moses Greeley Parker Lectures with support from community partners, including Prof. Bill Mass of the UMass Lowell Center for Industrial Competitiveness. Free and open to the public, the event includes a complimentary buffet. For reservations, which are required, e-mail artsandideas@uml.edu or call 978-934-3107.
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 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
DeLeo Speaker of the House to Visit UMass Lowell
When: Thursday, Oct. 31, 11:30 a.m.
What: Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo will visit UMass Lowell. Stops during his visit will include the $80 million Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, where he will tour the state-of the-art laboratories, clean rooms and plastics processing high bay that are home to cutting-edge research in UMass Lowell’s new pharmaceutical sciences programs, nanotechnology, molecular biology, plastics engineering and optics, advancing fields such as life sciences, energy, national security, environmental protection and more.
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 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Women College Women Steer Course for Future at Leadership Conference
When: Saturday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What: Young women from New England colleges and universities will gather to develop their leadership skills for roles on their campuses and in the community. From sessions on interpersonal style to career advancement, community activism to starting a business, participants will meet peers and mentors who will share success stories. Keynote speakers are scheduled to include UMass Lowell Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney, who oversees the university’s operations, fundraising, capital and strategic planning and is an award-winning national pioneer in online education, and fellow UMass Lowell graduates Christine Cournoyer, chief executive officer of health-care company N-of-One Inc.; Colleen Brady, UMass Lowell’s government relations associate; and Amsi Morales, a lawyer who established an educational scholarship foundation that supports Merrimack Valley students. Free to UMass Lowell students and $30 for students from other higher-education institutions, the conference is presented by the Women’s Leadership Committee at UMass Lowell.
Where: Cumnock Hall, North Campus, 31 University Ave., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
China Author Explores China’s Growth as a World Power
When: Monday, Nov. 4, noon
What: Author and international economic policy expert Kevin Gallagher will discuss China’s trajectory as a world power in his presentation, “The China Triangle: China’s Rise and the Future of the Western Hemisphere.” A member of the National Advisory Committee to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Gallagher is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue’s China and Latin America Working Group. His talk is one in UMass Lowell’s Fall 2013 Seminar Series, which is presented by the College of Health Sciences, College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Economic and Social Development of Regions program and the Center for Industrial Competitiveness.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Veterans Flag-Raising Pays Tribute to Veterans’ Service and Sacrifices
When: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 11:30 a.m.
What: UMass Lowell’s flag-raising ceremony will pay tribute to the university’s more than 1,400 student veterans, UMass Lowell 2013 Veterans Hall of Fame inductees and veterans throughout the region. Hall of Fame members include the alumni for whom the city’s Textile Memorial Bridge was rededicated in 1947 to honor their ultimate sacrifice in action during World War II. Speakers are scheduled to include U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan, Massachusetts National Guard Col. Francis Magurn and Navy veteran Pamela DeHollander, president of UMass Lowell’s Student Veterans Organization.
Where: Cumnock Hall, North Campus, 31 University Ave., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Marathon River Hawks Honor Marathon Bombing Victims, Survivors, Responders
When: Saturday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.
What: UMass Lowell will honor the victims, survivors and first responders of the Boston Marathon bombings during “River Hawk Strong Night” at the Division I men’s ice hockey game between UMass Lowell and Northeastern University’s Huskies. Marathon survivors Celeste and Sydney Corcoran of Lowell, Karen Rand of Somerville and Roseann Sdoia of Dracut, a UMass Lowell graduate, will drop the ceremonial first puck. They will be joined on the ice by first responders.
Where: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu