University of Massachusetts Amherst | Research

#BetYouDidntKnow that the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst is home to one of the nation's first and most prominent centers of turfgrass research. In fact, it has the only academic tennis-turf-research program in the U.S.! For more than a decade, members of the tightly knit grass-court community were invited to come play--free of charge--on three singles courts at the Joseph Troll Turf Research Center, each filled with eight different kinds of grasses. After more than 5,000 ball drops to test the bounce of different turfs, inquiries into fertilization, pest resistance and durability, and countless matches played by thrilled enthusiasts, the grass courts, having served their research purpose, closed this past September. But not before the UMass Women’s Tennis Team, 2024 A10 Champions, played one final round on their beloved courts. “The research we conducted was priceless and I was sad when it all came to an end,” says Scott Ebdon, emeritus professor of turfgrass science at UMass, “but the best part was bringing scientists and players into conversation with each other.” Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Z0mLr1

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At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, undergraduates have an incredible opportunity to make a real difference in the world through research. They just have to be willing to put themselves out there and ask a professor about getting involved. In this month's issue of Revolutionary Research Insider, we honor seven UMass Amherst undergrads who have made exceptional contributions to research. They are the Fall 2024 #RisingResearchers, representing diverse academic fields, ranging from linguistics to biomedical engineering to computer science. Read all about their achievements.

How do people make health care decisions around a potential diagnosis? How might investors respond to a senior manager's demonstration of hubris? What color combinations on a beer can are most likely to grab a customer's attention, resulting in a purchase? Academic researchers and industry alike are interested in how people make decisions like these, along with countless others, in the marketplace. Increasingly, researchers are expected to show behavioral outcomes—"moving beyond participants’ self-reported attitudes and emotions to really understand the biology of how people respond to certain forces in the marketplace," according to George Milne, dean of research at the Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst. The opening this fall of the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab at Isenberg will allow faculty and students to enhance the caliber and credibility of their research. The largest of its kind in an academic setting in the Northeast, the lab offers advanced technology—including eye tracking software, facial expression analysis (detecting up to nine different emotions), heart rate monitoring, and galvanic skin response sensors—from iMotions, a global leader in human insights software. The lab was made possible by a historic gift from Douglas ’71 and Diana Berthiaume. Learn more about the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab and some of the exciting research already underway: https://bit.ly/3CvmEw3 #UMassAmherst #UMassAmherstResearch

Psoriasis is a chronic condition that creates inflamed or scaly patches on the skin. It is estimated to affect about 8 million people in the U.S. alone, with associated annual healthcare costs estimated around $135 billion. Relief may be in sight. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have invented a new, sprayable delivery system for psoriasis medication that can be applied easily and locally to psoriasis lesions. Their work, published in Nature Communications, has the potential to reduce side effects for patients and help lower healthcare costs. The researchers in the College of Engineering, UMass Amherst discovered that rod-shaped nanoparticles interact with cells in a unique way, allowing for the delivery of drugs in much higher concentrations. A drug delivery system using these nanorods was 59 times more effective at inhibiting inflammatory responses than freely administering the drug without the nanoparticle system. Learn more about this promising research to treat #psoriasis: https://bit.ly/3YO4YDr #UMassAmherst #UMassAmherstResearch #DrugDelivery

Rice is a staple food for more than half the world's population, yet it is highly sensitive to heat stress and faces dire threats from climate change. A new study published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), co-authored by University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Baoshan Xing, reveals that the application of zinc oxide nanoparticles to rice leaves under heatwave stress increased the grain yield and nutritional quality. Most people associate zinc oxide with its use in sunscreen. But when applied in the form of nanoparticles onto rice leaves, this compound was shown to reverse heatwave-induced transcriptomic dysregulation—a critical biological process—thereby enhancing leaf photosynthesis by 74.4%. “This research emerged from a shared concern about global climate change, its impact on agriculture, along with nanotechnology development,” Xing says. “This collaboration integrated insights from various fields, advancing the application of nanotechnology for sustainable agriculture and food security.” Learn more: https://bit.ly/48HGP61 #UMassAmherst #UMassAmherstResearch #ClimateChange #AgricultureResearch

Happy #TriviaTuesday!

PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals, persist in the environment and pose serious health threats. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever national safety standard for PFAS in drinking water at only 4 parts per trillion. The current gold standard method for testing PFAS requires million-dollar equipment and complicated extraction steps, and it is not portable. But now, a team of University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have discovered a new way to detect PFAS in water. This marks an important step forward in creating testing devices that are simpler, more cost-effective, faster, and generally more accessible than existing methods. “We’re bringing the cost of the instrument from the scale of a million dollars to a few thousand,” says Chang Liu, UMass associate professor of biomedical engineering. “We need better technology for detecting PFAS — more accessible, more affordable and easier to use. And more testing that’s on site. That’s the motivation.” Learn more about this breakthrough: https://bit.ly/3YZOrfZ #UMassAmherst #UMassAmherstResearch #PFAS #PFASResearch #WaterResearch #EnvironmentalSafety

Congratulations to David Keiser, University of Massachusetts Amherst professor of resource economics, who has been awarded a planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to draft a proposal for a National Center for Water Policy (NCWP). This center would coordinate and conduct research on the country’s water quality and quantity challenges—a longstanding urgent environmental concern facing the American public. Specific challenges to the water supply range from traditional pollutants to more recent threats such as microplastics and PFAS "forever chemicals." Over the next year, Keiser will work with some of the nation’s leading interdisciplinary scholars and federal scientists to develop a detailed plan for an NCWP; a policy paper outlining water resource issues in the U.S.; and a record of academic and policy discussions related to water policy. The goal is to empower a data-driven approach to policymaking and infrastructure investments that will inform everything from flood-control measures to clean-water technology. Learn more about this important work: https://bit.ly/3NN521h #UMassAmherst #UMassAmherstResearch #WaterSafety #WaterResearch #PFAS #Microplastics

The University of Massachusetts Amherst has been named by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a partner in the $15M NSF I-Corps hub, and will receive more than $1.4M. The hub seeks to promote entrepreneurialism among STEM researchers, with I-Corps trained faculty, researchers and students working to transform deep technology inventions into marketable products. “We train our researchers to apply their findings to create value. We call it Innovation 101,” says Sundar Krishnamurty, faculty lead of I-Corps program at UMass. “The interdisciplinary program reaches into the whole STEM world. This speaks to the chancellor’s vision of building a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus.” UMass has been an I-Corps site since 2018, but with the new award, will become part of a more integrated hub, forming the operational backbone of a National Innovation Network. Learn more about how the I-Corps Hub will support researchers in Western Massachusetts as they translate their scientific discoveries into entrepreneurial ventures. https://bit.ly/3CkNMOb #UMassAmherst #UMassAmherstResearch #Innovation #STEMEntrepreneurship #NSF