Campus Notes for The Point

Here is a summary of new sponsored awards recently received by UMass Boston faculty and staff, compiled by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs:

September 2011

Deborah Boisvert (Executive Director, Boston Area for Advanced Technological Educational Connections, or BATEC) has been awarded a $5 million grant by the National Science Foundation to increase the scale of BATEC from a regional to a national initiative through the establishment of the National Center for Computing Technologies.

August 2011

Randy Albelda (Professor, Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts) has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in support of her project, "Linking Youth Development with Parents' Low-Wage Work."

Lilia Bartolome (Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts) has been awarded a $7,000 grant by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in support of her work in "Professional Development for Teachers of English Language Learners."

Joan Becker (Vice Provost for Academic Support Programs) has been awarded an $1,468,544 grant by the U.S. Department of Education in support of the "TRIO Talent Search Program." The program identifies and assists individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education.

Joan Becker (Vice Provost for Academic Support Programs) has been awarded an $1,713,500 grant by the U.S. Department of Education in support of the "TRIO Student Support Services Program." The program provides opportunities for academic development, assists students with basic college requirements, and motivates students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education.

John Butterworth (Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Community Inclusion) has been awarded a $100,000 grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration in support of his project "Services and Outcomes for Transition-Age Young Adults with Autism."

Lisa Cosgrove (Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling and School Psychology, College of Education and Human Development) has been awarded a $23,700 grant by the Harvard University Safra Foundation Center for Ethics in support of her project "Anatomy of an Organization:  An Ethnographic Approach to Institutional Corruption in the American Psychological Association."

Steve Crosby (Dean, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies) has been awarded a $400,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop and present "A National Forum on Civility and American Democracy."

Ellen Douglas (Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $68,539 grant by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust in support of her project "Monitoring Dam Removal in Massachusetts:  Towards a Regional River Restoration Strategy."

Donna Haig-Friedman (Director, Center for Social Policy, McCormack Graduate School of Public and Global Studies) has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Vinfen Corporation in support of her project "Strategies for Community-Based Services for Persons with Disabilities."

Katherine Gibson (Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $305,000 grant by the National Institutes of Health in support of her project "Cell Cycle Regulation in the Symbiont Sinorhizobium Melilot."

Katherine Gibson (Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $300,000 grant by the National Science Foundation in support of her project "Cell Cycle Regulation in the Symbiont Sinorhizobium Melilot."

Andrew Grosovsky (Dean, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $20,000 grant by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in support of the conference "Advancing in the Life Science and Uniting Universities, Corporate, and Government Partners," which will be held at UMass Boston on October 27-29, 2011.

Kurt Jacobs (Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $460,000 grant by Telecordia to support the development of a "Quantum Computer Science Program."

Michael Rex and Solange Brault (Professor and Associate Professor, Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics) have been awarded a $145,637 grant by the National Science Foundation in support of their project "Reproductive and Geographic Evidence for Source-Sink Dynamics in Deep-Sea Benthic Communities."

Crystal Schaaf (Professor, Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $140,775 grant by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in support of her project "Land-to-Sea Carbon Export from the Northeast Watersheds of North America."

Crystal Schaaf (Professor, Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $153,616 grant by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in support of her project "Albedo Trends Related to Land Cover Change and Disturbance:  A Multi-Sensor Approach."

Gary Siperstein (Director, Center for Social Development and Education) has been awarded a $115,000 grant by the Special Olympics, Inc. for the project "Get Into It 2." The prime sponsor is the U.S. Department of Education.

Eileen Stuart-Shor (Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Sciences) has been awarded a $5,000 grant by the American Nurses Association in support of her project "Global Cardiovascular Risk Assessment:  Kenya Heart and Sole Program."

Heather Trigg (Research Scientist, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts) has been awarded a $10,500 grant by the University of Tennessee in support of her project "Analysis of Microbotanicals from Wingos Indian Camp, Poplar Forest Virginia."

Alexey Veraksa (Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $290,379 grant  by the National Institutes of Health in support of his project "Regulation of Developmental Signaling by Beta-arrestin."

Kristan Wendall (Center of Science and Mathematics in Context) has been awarded a $20,526 grant by Tufts University in support of the project "Integrating Engineering and Literacy." The prime sponsor is the National Science Foundation.

Wenfan Yan (Professor, Department of Leadership in Education, College of Education and Human Development) has been awarded a $90,000 grant by the Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School as part of the "Collaborative Agreement for the Institute for International and Comparative Education and the Center for U.S.-China Educational Leadership."

July 2011

Randy Albelda (Professor, Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts) has been awarded a $50,000 grant by The Ford Foundation in support of her project "Linking Youth Development with Parents' Low-Wage Work."

Lilia Bartolome (Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts) has been awarded an $39,200 grant by the Massachusetts Department of Education to support  her work in the "Professional Development for Teachers of English Language Learners."

Joan Becker (Vice Provost for Academic Support Programs) has been awarded a $7,000 grant by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services in support of the "Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Transition to Work Program." At UMass Boston the program is operated by the Ross Center for Disability Services.

Susan Foley (Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Community Inclusion) has been awarded an $116,000 grant by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide a "Comprehensive Assessment of All Massachusetts Focus Academy Grant Activities."

Judith Kirland (Executive Director, Center for Community Democracy and Democratic Literacy, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies) has been awarded a $47,000 grant by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay in support of her project "Creating a Community of Practice Among Place-Based Community Change."

Crystal Schaaf (Professor, Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $34,100 grant by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for work on "Mapping Change in Arctic Shrub Abundance and Woody Biomass."

Angela Stone-MacDonald (Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education and Human Development) has been awarded an $8,700 grant by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to participate in "Developing Early Education and Care On-line Courses."

Jack Wiggin (Director, Urban Harbors Institute) has been awarded a $179,585 grant by the Town of Southampton, New York to "Develop a Waterfront Revitalization Plan" for that town.

J. Cedric Woods (Director, Institute for New England Native American Studies) has been awarded a $15,000 "Leadership and Entrepreneurship Feasibility Grant" by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The prime sponsor is the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wei Zhang (Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Mathematics) has been awarded a $25,000 grant to host the "2011 American Chemical Society Pharmaceutical Roundtable" at UMass Boston.

To view additional awards, visit  UMass Boston's Research site.