Story and Source Ideas for Journalists
05/06/2013
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 Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.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: Members of the Class of 2013 can discuss their UMass Lowell experience, accomplishments and plans for the future. A UMass Lowell expert can discuss researchers’ quest to develop safer, more sustainable materials and the aims of the upcoming Greener Materials Research Symposium at the university’s Toxics Use Reduction Institute.
- Navigators Club Banquet Celebrates Student Success
- Students Present Marketing Plans for Burmese Weavers
- Fine Arts Students’ Work Exhibited at Public Show
- Technology Entrepreneurs Pitch Ideas Before Judges and the Public
- Biopharmaceutical Summit Explores What’s Next for Industry
- Book Series Explores Jack Kerouac’s Lowell-Centric Works
- Green-Materials Researchers Share Ideas to Improve Environment
- Commencement Eve Gala Celebrates Graduates, Funds Scholarships
- Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to Address Class of 2013
NavigatorsNavigators Club Banquet Celebrates Student Success
When: Wednesday, May 8, 5 p.m.
What: Students who are members of the Navigator’s Club will celebrate their accomplishments during the club’s first end-of-year banquet with UMass Lowell officials and faculty. The club – overseen by the Psychology Department and founded by a student who was formerly in foster care – offers services, support and camaraderie to UMass Lowell students who have been foster children, who have experienced homelessness or who have encountered other challenges. Recently, the club collected and donated more than 50 dresses and a dozen pairs of shoes to Lowell High School to help offset the cost of the senior prom for participating students. UMass Lowell Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney is scheduled to speak at the event.
Where: Allen House, South Campus, 2 Solomont Way, Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
WeaversStudents Present Marketing Plans for Burmese Weavers
When: Thursday, May 9, 9 a.m.
What: Student teams will present marketing plans to a five-judge panel of professors and community leaders on behalf of Burmese weavers living in Lowell. To prepare their plans, the students learned about Burmese culture, met the women refugees who want to make and sell their traditional weavings, and researched Lowell-area market venues. Each of the seven teams, who are students in a comparative management class taught by Prof. David Lewis, has four minutes to present their plans. Selected plans will be implemented through a UMass Lowell service-learning grant in partnership with the SayDaNar Community Development Center of Lowell. (NOTE: The event is not open to the public. Weaving samples will be on display.)
Where: Falmouth Hall, Room 205, North Campus, 198 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
ArtFine Arts Students’ Work Exhibited at Public Show
When: Artists’ reception, Thursday, May 9, 5 p.m.; exhibit runs through Thursday, May 23. Exhibit hours between May 9 and May 23 are by appointment only.
What: UMass Lowell seniors who are about to receive their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees will exhibit their thesis projects in a variety of media. The show, which closes out the academic year’s exhibition schedule, is free and open to the public and will be held in both of the university’s galleries.
Where: Dugan Gallery, Dugan Hall, South Campus, 883 Broadway St., Lowell; University Gallery, McGauvran Student Center, South Campus, 71 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
SandboxTechnology Entrepreneurs Pitch Ideas Before Judges and the Public
When: Thursday, May 9, 6 p.m.
What: Fledgling entrepreneurs who want to break into the technology market will present their ideas to a panel of expert judges and the public as they vie for more than $2,500 in seed money for their innovations. Judges are scheduled to include Nancy Saucier, associate director of venture development at UMass Lowell; Matt Pettine, managing director of Internet technology practice at Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico; and Chester Szablak, executive vice president of Enterprise Bank. Presenters include UMass Lowell student Philip Colangelo, who developed a robotic arm that helps people with disabilities feed themselves. The contest, which will also award seed money to the presenter deemed the audience’s favorite, is presented by the Merrimack Valley Sandbox Initiative, which promotes social entrepreneurship and leadership in Lowell and Lawrence. The Sandbox was established by the Deshpande Foundation through the Merrimack Valley Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UMass Lowell and is one of four such initiatives in the world.
Where: Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico, 1 Highwood Drive, Tewksbury
Contacts for media: Emil Kuruvilla, 978-934-4958, Emil@MVSandbox.org or Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
PharmBiopharmaceutical Summit Explores What’s Next for Industry
When: Monday, May 13 through Wednesday, May 15
What: Scientists and researchers from biopharmaceutical manufacturers, technology and system providers, raw material suppliers and related agencies will unite to talk about the challenges behind creating medications using biotechnology and to share breakthroughs and success stories. Representatives of companies including Genzyme, PBS Biotech, Shire, Tarpon Biosystems Inc. and Chromworks are among those who are expected to attend. The event is the second summit presented by the Biopharmaceutical Process and Quality Consortium. Established last year, the BPQC is a research, development and education collaborative based at the Massachusetts BioManufacturing Center at UMass Lowell that assists biotechnology companies in bringing their scientific discoveries to market. For a conference agenda, visit www.uml.edu/Research/Centers/BioManufacturing/BPQC/Workshop/Agenda.aspx.
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
KerouacBook Series Explores Jack Kerouac’s Lowell-Centric Works
When: Tuesday, May 14, 6:30 p.m.
What: UMass Lowell Libraries’ free reading and discussion series on Jack Kerouac’s Lowell-centric novels concludes with a public reading of “Visions of Gerard” in downtown Lowell, Kerouac’s old stomping ground. To register, go to http://libguides.uml.edu/kerouac or contact Sara Marks at Sara_Marks@uml.edu. Support for the series is provided by the UMass Lowell English Department, Office of Community and Cultural Affairs, and the Massachusetts Humanities Council.
Where: The Old Court Irish Pub and Restaurant, 29 Central St., Lowell
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
TURIGreen-Materials Researchers Share Ideas to Improve Environment
When: Thursday, May 16, 12:30 to 5 p.m.
What: Industry leaders will connect with UMass Lowell faculty, staff and students in an interactive symposium on developing materials and technologies that are safer for the environment and human health. The Greener Materials Research Symposium, hosted by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at UMass Lowell, will include presentations by UMass Lowell researchers on innovative green-materials projects, roundtable discussions and a tour of the Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, UMass Lowell’s new, $80 million academic building. The center – where industry partners with UMass Lowell scientists – features a nanofabrication laboratory, a plastics manufacturing high-bay facility, a compounding lab, materials characterization lab and more.
Where: Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, Atrium, 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
GalaCommencement Eve Gala Celebrates Graduates, Funds Scholarships
When: Friday, May 17, 5 p.m.
What: UMass Lowell students, faculty, alumni and honored guests will celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2013 and raise money for student scholarships during the sixth annual Commencement Eve gala. Participants are scheduled to include Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis and social entrepreneur Harish Hande, ’98, ’00, this year’s Commencement speakers; philanthropist Nancy Donahue; Elisia and Mark Saab ’81, co-founders of Advanced Polymers Inc.; and Distinguished Alumni Award winner Bernard Shapiro ’56. Gary Mucica ’71 will be honored posthumously with a Distinguished Alumni Award. The event will also honor students who have excelled in academics, community service and service to the university. In the past five years, the Commencement Eve celebration has raised more than $2.2 million for student scholarships and will this year will include the UMass Lowell Boston Marathon Scholarship Fund. The fund will assist members of the university community, including their families and alumni, who have been affected by the tragedy and would like to pursue a UMass Lowell education. Gala admission, which includes cocktails, dinner and entertainment, is $125 per person. For tickets, contact Kathleen Sullivan at 978-934-3236 or Kathleen_Sullivan@uml.edu. For sponsorship information, contact Louise Griffin at 978-934-3243 or Louise_Griffin@uml.edu.
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
CommencementBoston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to Address Class of 2013
When: Saturday, May 18, undergraduate ceremony, 9 a.m., graduate ceremony, 3 p.m.
What: Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, whose leadership in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings has personified the spirit of “Boston Strong,” will deliver the Commencement address to the Class of 2013 at UMass Lowell’s undergraduate ceremony. Social entrepreneur Harish Hande ’98, ’00 – who as the co-founder of Solar Electric Light Co. India is pioneering access to solar electricity for more than half a million people in India – will deliver the graduate ceremony address. For the sixth year in a row, a record number of graduates – 3,169 – will receive degrees from UMass Lowell. Davis and Hande will receive honorary degrees from the university, along with philanthropist Nancy Donahue and Elisia and Mark Saab ’81, co-founders of Advanced Polymers Inc. Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented to Bernard Shapiro ’56 and Gary Mucica ’71 (to be honored posthumously). A champion of predictive and community policing, Davis leads the 20th-largest law enforcement agency in the U.S. with more than 2,000 officers and 800 civilian employees. A Lowell native, he previously served as the superintendent of police in the Mill City for 12 years.
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, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu