Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
11/18/2013
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. 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 Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.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:
- President John F. Kennedy’s legacy and his connection to UMass Lowell as the country marks the 50th anniversary of his death;
- What Monday’s record highs in the stock market could mean for the economy;
- How to handle stress during the holidays.
Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.
- High-Schoolers Explore Science Careers at Biotech Futures Event
- Leaders Ask for Innovative Solutions to Problems
- Robots Rule at NERVE Center Open House
- UMass Lowell Launches Program to Reduce Solid Waste
- Documentary, Discussion Delve Into Toxic Chemical Exposure
- Students, Faculty Help Build Habitat for Humanity Home
- ‘Whiteout Weekend’ Pits River Hawks Against Fighting Irish
- Free Concert Commemorates 50th Anniversary of JFK’s Death
- Celebration of Sport to Include 2013 Hall of Fame Induction
- Volunteers Prepare Thanksgiving Baskets for Community
HighSchoolers High-Schoolers Explore Science Careers at Biotech Futures Event
When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
What: High-school juniors and seniors from across the state who are interested in science careers will learn about how researchers and engineers create new medicines, improve food production, combat climate change and more during the Biotech Futures Conference. UMass Lowell laboratory sessions and demonstrations will introduce participants to the university’s cutting-edge work in fields such as polymer sciences, microscopy, bioinformatics, nanomanufacturing and assistive technology. Students will also tour UMass Lowell’s Center for Baseball Research, where they will learn about the physics and engineering behind the game. The conference is presented by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation. Students scheduled to attend include those from the following high schools: Bellingham, Concord-Carlisle Regional, Greater Lawrence Technical, Haverhill, Malden, Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational, and Revere. For more information, visit www.massbioed.org/events.
Where: Opening session, Cumnock Hall, North Campus, 31 University Ave., Lowell. Laboratory demonstrations throughout North Campus.
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Difference Leaders Ask for Innovative Solutions to Problems
When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 4:30 to 6 p.m.
What: Representatives of organizations throughout the region – from the U.S. Army to Habitat for Humanity – will ask UMass Lowell students to help devise solutions to problems they face in their work during the first DifferenceMakers Reverse Pitch Contest. Students will be encouraged to take on these projects as part of the 2014 DifferenceMakers Challenge, a contest that hones students’ innovative-thinking, team-building and entrepreneurial skills, and awards cash prizes to the participants who develop the best new big ideas.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Mezzanine Reading Room, 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
NERVE Robots Rule at NERVE Center Open House
When: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6 to 8 p.m.
What: The public, along with researchers and developers, will see how robots are being developed with the help of the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center at UMass Lowell, the country’s most advanced robotics testing facility. The open house will showcase the center’s many state-of-the-art obstacle courses that challenge robots’ capabilities and durability. Robots from VGo Communications, Adept MobileRobots, Aldebaran Robotics, KTS Associates and the UMass Lowell Robotics Lab will be demonstrated. While admission is free, reservations are required and may be made at http://nerveopenhouse2013.eventbrite.com/. Robotics professionals and students may bring their robots to see how the center can contribute to their work. To do so, contact NERVE Center Manager Adam Norton at anorton@cs.uml.edu.
Where: NERVE Center at UMass Lowell, 1001 Pawtucket Blvd., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Waste UMass Lowell Launches Program to Reduce Solid Waste
When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 8:30 a.m. to noon
What: Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, local environmental groups and businesses will meet to discuss advances in recycling and resource management. UMass Lowell representatives will present the university’s new food-waste composting program. WasteWise is a voluntary program sponsored by the EPA and the MassDEP designed to help private and public organizations reduce solid waste.
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
Toxic Documentary, Discussion Delve Into Toxic Chemical Exposure
When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
What: The Massachusetts premiere of “Unacceptable Levels,” a documentary about society’s exposure to toxic chemicals, will be held and followed by a panel discussion with experts from UMass Lowell who appear in the film along with representatives of Beyond Benign and Massachusetts Clean Water Action. The movie examines the ramifications of the chemical revolution of the 1940s through the eyes of filmmaker and father Ed Brown. For the documentary, he interviewed environmental advocates, lawyers and scientists, including UMass Lowell Associate Prof. Joel Tickner of the Department of Community Health and Sustainability, and Richard Clapp, a researcher in the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at UMass Lowell. The screening is free and open to the public; reservations are required by contacting Malinda_Buchannan@uml.edu. The event is presented by UMass Lowell’s College of Health Sciences and the Environmental Health Program.
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
Habitat Students, Faculty Help Build Habitat for Humanity Home
When: Friday, Nov. 22, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What: Volunteers from UMass Lowell will lay the flooring and install tile at a house being constructed by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell. They will be working alongside one of the home’s eventual owners. The session is part of an ongoing effort by students and faculty members in UMass Lowell’s Manning School for Business, the Francis College of Engineering and the Accounting Society to help build the house.
Where: 53 to 55 Rock 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
Hockey ‘Whiteout Weekend’ Pits River Hawks Against Fighting Irish
When: Friday, Nov. 22, 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 23. 4 p.m.
What: The defending Hockey East champion UMass Lowell River Hawks will face off against Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish – the newest team in the league – twice during a weekend of action that will be broadcast on WBIN-TV on Friday night and NESN on Saturday. UMass Lowell fans will show their team pride during “Whiteout Weekend” by wearing white for both games. Tickets are available at http://www.tsongascenter.com, by calling 866-722-8780, or in person at the Tsongas Center box office.
Where: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Christopher O’Donnell, 978-934-2306, Christopher_ODonnell@uml.edu or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
JFK Free Concert Commemorates 50th Anniversary of JFK’s Death
When: Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.
What: The University Orchestra, under the direction of UMass Lowell music faculty member Mark Latham, will present a free concert to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy. The program, which is open to the public, will honor JFK’s legacy with works that reflect his life and death, including “Symphony No. 1” by Beethoven; the funeral march from Brahms’ “Requiem,” which will be performed with the University Choirs; and Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” Written in homage to Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency, the Copland piece will include spoken text from the “Gettysburg Address” that will be narrated by special guest state Sen. Eileen Donoghue of Lowell. The selection will evoke the many parallels between Lincoln and Kennedy. Kennedy and his family have an enduring connection to UMass Lowell and its predecessor institutions. In 1945, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. created a Lowell Textile Institute scholarship to research silk and nylon – materials used in parachutes – in memory of his oldest son, Joseph, a Navy pilot who was killed in action during a bombing mission over England. In 1956, Lowell Technological Institute awarded an honorary doctorate to then-Sen. John F. Kennedy for his public service and leadership.
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
HOF Celebration of Sport to Include 2013 Hall of Fame Induction
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 12:30 p.m.
What: Outstanding UMass Lowell athletes and individuals who have improved the lives of others and strengthened Merrimack Valley communities through their involvement in sports will be honored during the third annual Dream of Perfect Games Celebration of Sport and Athletic Hall of Fame Induction. The 2013 Hall of Fame inductees include Billy Riley, UMass Lowell ice hockey head coach from 1969 to 1991 along with athletes Joe McMahon ’87 (lacrosse), Esia Johnson Harper ’06 (track and field), and Kristen Mahoney Farrell ’07 (softball). The Family Lew Community Impact Award will be presented to Team Impact. The Gary Mucica Award will be presented to faculty athletic representative Prof. Bob Gamache, while Robert Sheridan, retired president and chief executive officer of SBLI, will receive the UMass Lowell Athletic Legacy Award and John Kennedy ’70 will receive the James T. Smith Award for Lifetime Achievement. Tickets, which are $75 per person and include dinner and admission to the River Hawks hockey game against Notre Dame at 4 p.m., may be purchased by calling 978-934-2303.
Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell;
Contacts for media: Christopher O’Donnell, 978-934-2306, Christopher_ODonnell@uml.edu or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
Baskets Volunteers Prepare Thanksgiving Baskets for Community
When: Monday, Nov. 25, 10:30 a.m. to noon
What: More than 50 UMass Lowell students will assemble Thanksgiving baskets filled with holiday food to be provided to more than 300 families in need throughout the community. Each basket will contain a gift certificate to Hannaford supermarket, stuffing and gravy mix, vegetables, cranberry sauce and a dessert. Food for the baskets was donated by UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff and the public through a campus-wide collection. Coordinated through the Food Pantry of Merrimack Valley, which determines the recipients, the annual drive is conducted through the UMass Lowell Office of Residence Life, Student Activities, Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Campus Ministry.
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