Philosophy Chair Nicholas Evans and Criminology Assoc. Prof. Neil Shortland are researching the future of artificial intelligence in warfare and policy under a pair of Department of Defense Minerva Grants worth $4.2 million, leading teams that include paid student researchers and other UML and outside faculty.

Three faculty members have won U.S. Department of Justice grants to study pressing issues in crime: whether “red flag” laws help to prevent mass shootings, how police internal affairs units investigate citizen complaints, and whether sending mental health clinicians with Boston Police on some calls improves outcomes for troubled individuals.

Melissa Mullen, a 28-year veteran of the UMass Lowell Police Department, was sworn in as deputy chief, becoming the first woman to hold the role at the university.

Ryan Lamore, a housekeeper with Facilities Management, brightens people’s day – and copes with personal grief – by sharing dahlias from his home garden.