University Of Massachusetts Amherst News

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has set out plans to invest $4.75 million to establish a new national center of excellence to accelerate offshore wind deployment across the United States.The Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW), led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst with approximately 40 partners, will focus on workforce development, targeted research, and partnerships and strategies to advance offshore wind development.As offshore…

Take a look around you.Perhaps you’re snacking on a banana, sipping some coffee or sitting in front of your computer and taking a break from work to read this article. Most likely, those goods—as well as your smartphone, refrigerator and virtually every other object in your home—were once loaded onto a large container in another country and traveled thousands of miles via ships crossing the ocean before ultimately arriving at your doorstep.Today, an estimated 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea…

Stolt-Nielsen Limited announced Jens F. Grüner-Hegge has been appointed as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective from April 2, 2018. Grüner-Hegge, who has served as Vice President, Corporate Finance since 2007, succeeds longtime CFO Jan Chr. Engelhardtsen, who will retire from his executive role and has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the company’s board of directors. With the addition of Engelhardtsen as a director, the SNL Board now has seven members, four of which are independent.

Four Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program students have been awarded scholarships by Crowley Maritime Corporation. Claire Fahrner, Vitya Romanov, Rachel Earnhardt and Jessica Menges were each chosen as a result of their academic excellence, morale and community involvement. The students also exhibited strong leadership qualities and were articulate spokespeople for maritime education, according to Sarah A. Jordan, Williams-Mystic's director of alumni and development. Farner is a senior at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts focusing on environmental studies. Romanov is a senior at University of Massachusetts Amherst majoring in geography and studying environment and public policy.

It's a career-defining moment for 36 college and university faculty April 30, as the Department of the Navy announces the recipients of its 2015 Young Investigator Program, one of the oldest and most selective scientific research advancement programs in the country. Collectively, awardees will receive $18.8 million in grants to fund research across a range of naval-relevant science and technology areas. This is a banner year for the program, administered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), which increased funding by 50 percent over last year. "These recipients demonstrate the type of visionary, multidisciplinary thought that helps the U.S. Navy anticipate and adapt to a dynamic battlespace," said Dr. Larry Schuette, ONR's director of research.

Scientists have long known that leatherback sea turtles travel thousands of miles each year through open ocean to get from foraging habitats to nesting beaches and tropical wintering grounds, but how the wanderers find their way has been “an enduring mystery of animal behavior,” says marine biologist Kara Dodge. “Adult turtles can pinpoint specific nesting beaches even after being away many years,” she notes. Sea turtles’ ability to identify and maintain appropriate headings affect migration distance, duration and, for reproductively-active adults, breeding schedules, so understanding migratory orientation and potential cues is an important step toward understanding how sea turtles optimize travel routes and minimize energy costs of migration, Dodge adds.

Klϋber Lubrication, a worldwide manufacturer of specialty lubricants, appoint Ralf Kraemer chief executive officer (CEO). Kraemer assumes the role of CEO from Dieter A. Becker, who returns to Klüber’s global headquarters in Munich, Germany, after leading the North American operations for nearly three years. Born in Germany, Kraemer brings more than 15 years of sales, marketing and management experience in the metal cutting, woodworking, industrial equipment and power transmission industries to his new role at Klüber.

Six researchers funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) honored with Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. “ONR has always had an excellent ability to identify and foster young talent by keeping current with the most innovative research being done in various fields,” said Dr. Michael Kassner , ONR director of research. Honorees funded by ONR include: David M. Blei, Princeton University; Alejandro L. Briseno, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Lee R.

UMass Amherst Ecologists among the First to Record and Study Deep-sea Fish Noises. University of Massachusetts Amherst fish biologists have published one of the first studies of deep-sea fish sounds in more than 50 years, collected from the sea floor about 2,237 feet (682 meters) below the North Atlantic. With recording technology now more affordable, Rodney Rountree, Francis Juanes and colleagues are exploring the idea that many fish make sounds to communicate with each other, especially those that live in the perpetual dark of the deep ocean.