New s of N ote Building devoted to innovative research opens on campus The university in April opened a new 22,000 square foot research building that will focus on science critical to the development of the innovation economy in the region and state. The facility will be the home of the National Botulinum Research Center and other laboratories focusing on biotechnology-related science. The building, the first on campus devoted entirely to research, strengthens an “Innovation Triangle” in southeastern Massachusetts that includes the UMass School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford and the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center in Fall River. “Today, we celebrate more than the opening of a building,’’ Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said. “This is the latest stage in a rapid evolution of our university and our region.” “This new research building is the latest state-of-the-art facility opening on a University of Massachusetts campus, one that will enable our faculty and students to make further advances in the important area of biotechnology,’’ added UMass President Jack M. Wilson.
“Today’s opening ceremony for a new research building on the UMass Dartmouth campus is great news for faculty and students here, as well as for everyone concerned about efforts to develop methods of treating and possibly curing the effects of botulism, a deadly bioterrorism threat,’’ UMass Chairman Stephen P. Tocco said. Professor Bal Ram Singh, one of the nation’s leading experts on botulism, leads the National Botulinum Center at UMass Dartmouth, and has been working on similar projects at the university for the last 17 years.
Senator Kerry is speaker at university commencement Design Professor Harvey Goldman's "Undulation" was chosen for the first Visual Music Marathon, held April 28 at Northeastern University. The piece, a collaboration with former music professor James Bohn, reflects visual and sonic elements of factors such as cadence and matter.
U.S. Senator John F. Kerry will deliver the main address and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry will receive an honorary degree at UMass Dartmouth’s 107th commencement on May 27. The pair co-authored the recently published book, This Moment on Earth: Today’s New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future. Honorary degrees will also be presented
to: Edmund Barry Gaither, director and curator of Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists; Robert P. Lawrence, pastor of First Congregational Church of Fall River; and Julie Moir Messervy, garden designer and author. Kerry has been the Massachusetts junior senator since 1984. A former lieutenant governor and decorated Vietnam War veteran, he was the 2004 Democratic Party nominee for the presidency. He is a member of several key Senate committees. Teresa Heinz Kerry is a well-known philanthropist who has been active in environmental causes.
A l u m n i
M a g a z i n e
|
Spring 2007
5