Emily J. Fusco, environmental conservation, writes in The Conversation about her research on how nonnative invasive grasses are changing, and in some cases intensifying the dangers from wildfires. Fusco says research suggests there are eight species of grass that are increasing fires in different ecosystems across the country. (KESQ [Palm Springs] 12/6/19; Midland Daily News, The Register Citizen [Connecticut], The National Interest, The Conversation, 12/3/19)
News from the Media
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Invasive Grasses Fueling Wildfires Across US: Fusco Reports On Her Research
December 4, 2019 -
Homeowners Associations Can Promote Environmentally Friendly Lawns
December 3, 2019Susannah B. Lerman, environmental conservation, is mentioned in a story about how housing associations can promote environmentally friendly lawns. She has conducted research that shows lawns that are mowed less frequently support larger bee populations. (Scientific American, 12/3/19)
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Saving the Striped Bass in Massachuestts
November 29, 2019Andy Danylchuk, environmental conservation, is quoted in an article about proposed options to preserve the striped bass population in Massachusetts. Danylchuk says more research is needed on the issue of post-release death rates for fish caught and released by recreational anglers. (Vineyard Gazette, 11/27/29)
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Bill to Protect Massachusetts Pollinators Advances, UMass comments
November 25, 2019Legislation designed to restrict the use of a popular pesticide that is harming the state’s bee population is moving forward after a successful Statehouse hearing. Joan Milam, UMass environmental conservation, says chemicals are not the only threat the bill addresses, noting that it also looks at land conservation and forage space for native pollinators. (MetroWest Daily News, 11/22/19)
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UMass Amherst Food Scientist Receives Nils Foss Award in Denmark
November 19, 2019University of Massachusetts Amherst Distinguished Professor David Julian McClements was honored Monday in Hillerød, Denmark, with the 2019 Nils Foss Excellence Prize for his pioneering work in food design and nanotechnology.
The annual award was established to recognize a globally respected scientist for innovative research that leads to “remarkable improvements” in the quality, safety, nutrition and sustainability of food. (News Medical Life Sciences, 11/18/19; News Office release)
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Small Businesses Put Food Safety First
November 18, 2019Amanda Kinchla, University of Massachusetts associate extension professor, led a USDA pilot program in New York entitled, "Food Safety First!" for small business entrepreneurs about how to prevent food safety problems. (Lancaster Farming 11/7/19)
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Researchers Dicovering New Ways to Improve Food Using Nanoparticles
November 14, 2019D. Julian McClements, Distinguished Professor in food science, comments that researchers have found new ways to improve food using nanoparticles. “There has been a revolution in the design of food-grade microparticle and nanoparticle delivery systems,” he says. (Chemical & Engineering News, 11/13/19)
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Climate Change May Make Massachusetts More Hospitable to Pests
November 12, 2019Stephen M. Rich, microbiology and director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology, comments in a news story about climate change and how it has an impact on pests, including ticks. (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 11/10/19)
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Plants Get Creative to Fend off Foraging Insects
November 12, 2019Jennifer Van Wyk, post-doctoral research associate, biology, is lead author of an article reporting that some plants may trap pollen in their fuzzy leaves as a way of luring pollen-loving insects that then defend the plant against other predators. (Inside Science, 11/7/19)
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UMass Study: Invasive Grassess Contributing to Wildfires Across U.S.
November 6, 2019There is widespread news coverage of a first national-scale analysis where ecologists at the UMass Amherst, (lead author, post-doctoral student, Emily Fusco, along with colleagues at the University of Colorado-Boulder), report that across the United States, invasive grasses can double the number of fires. ( SierraClub 11/18/19; KTSA (San Antoino) 11/6/19; NOVA, Voice of America, New York Times, The Boston Globe; Jackson Hole News and Guide, KSBY-TV 6 [Calif.], 11/4/19; News Office release)
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Cranberry Farmers Eye Solar Solutions
October 31, 2019Plummeting cranberry prices and the country's ongoing trade wars have America's cranberry industry eyeing a possible new savior: solar power. Some cranberry farmers in Massachusetts are proposing to build solar panels above the bogs they harvest each fall. ( Star Tribune, The Seattle Times, Herald-Whig [Illinois], 11/27/19) Wisconsin State Farmer 10/21/19; The Washington Post; Chicago Tribune; WTOP; NECN; Reading Eagle [Penn.]; The Herald News [Fall River]; 10/30/19, Fox Business; Christian Science Monitor; Daily Hampshire Gazette; Portland Press Herald [Me.]; USA Today; 10/30/19)
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Local Legislators Visit UMass Solar Energy Farm
October 23, 2019A local solar energy equipment supplier spoke to legislators at UMass South Deerfield farm on how to integrate solar power with active local farms. (Recorder 10/23/19; WWLP-TV 22, 10/21/19
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This Fungus Mutates. That’s Good News if You Like Cheese.
October 22, 2019John G. Gibbons, food science, says the discovery of how a fungus evolves into edible mold that is the key to making French cheeses such as Camenbert shows both how a favorite food item evolved and how fungus can be manipulated without genetic engineering. (New York Times 10/15/19; Yahoo! News 10/16/19)
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Crabapple Trees Attacked by Apple Scab and Leaf Splotch
October 21, 2019Nicholas J. Brazee, UMass Extension, says there are two fungi that are attacking crabapple trees in the area: apple scab and leaf blotch. He also says they are both difficult to control but not fatal to trees. (Daily Hampshire Gazette 10/18/19)
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Cranberry Market Seeks to Develop New Products, Hilary Sandler Comments
October 10, 2019Ocean Spray wades into new waters with a line of cranberry-based tea tonics and oat milk elixirs. Hilary Sandler, director of the UMass Cranberry Station, a research laboratory weighs in. (Globe 10/10/19)
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Deep Soils Have Dual Role In Global Carbon Cycle: Keiluweit Reports
October 9, 2019UMass Doctoral student, Mariela Garcia-Arredondo, with her advisor, biogeochemist Marco Keiluweit, UMass Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture, and others, report how their new model is designed to predict how deep soil carbon responds to environmental change and to offer a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling soil carbon storage at depth. (Scienceblog 10/8/19)
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Climate Change Impacts on Invasive Species: Bradley Presents at North American Confernce
October 3, 2019Bethany A. Bradley, environmental conservation, comments in a news story about how climate change is having an impact on the spread of invasive species in the region. (Times Union, 10/2/19)
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Foliage Changes Discussed by Richard Harper
October 1, 2019Richard W. Harper, environmental conservation and UMass Extension, explains why foliage changes colors in fall as days get shorter. (WWLP-TV 22, 9/28/19)
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Young Farmers Fulfill Dreams of Working the Land, UMass Amanda Brown Quoted
September 26, 2019An article about young farmers in Franklin County quotes Amanda Brown, director of the UMass Student Farming Enterprise Program and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture’s Agricultural Learning Center. She says the learning curve for first-time farmers is steep and she advises new farmers to spend a couple years learning by working for a good established farmer. (Recorder 9/20/19)
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Springfield Public Schools Expand Partnership With UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program
September 25, 2019Springfield Public Schools, working with its dining service management company, Sodexo, will use their USDA grant funds to build five to seven new teaching gardens at schools. They’ll also expand parental involvement in partnership with the Springfield Food Policy Council and UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program. (Gazette 9/23/19)
