Thanks to a pair of three-year grants totaling more than $612,000 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Biology Asst. Prof. Jennifer L. Fish is conducting studies to understand how genetic mutations cause birth defects of the head, face and mouth.

Ketan Muni ’87 and his son, Ronak Muni ’19, are part of the Earlens team that developed an innovative hearing device, which was recently recognized by Time magazine as one of the “Best Inventions of 2020.”

Ryan Shields, assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies, is sharing a $1.5 million, four-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study a unique approach to deterring child sexual abuse.

Garret Roberts, a sophomore business administration major and member of the UML baseball team, walked 120 miles — from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington to Hampton Beach — in six days to raise money and awareness for those struggling with mental health issues.

Siblings Abby and Ben Drezek are wrapping up parallel student-athlete careers at UMass Lowell that are almost unparalleled in terms of all-around success.

For many people, 2020 is a year that they’d rather forget. But across the UMass Lowell community, there have been bright spots, with students, alumni, faculty and staff staying focused, working hard, pursuing their dreams and making us all proud to be part of the River Hawk family.

UMass Lowell had its own remembrance of John Lennon - via Zoom - on the 40th anniversary of his death.

Honors College students are creating graphic novels about science and medicine in a new seminar. Assoc. Prof. of Art Karen Roehr says that during the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re more relevant than ever, because linking words and images helps people understand and relate to health and safety issues.

A pair of federal grants totaling over $2 million will examine right-wing terror and the ethics of testing soldiers with artificial intelligence.

Thanks to a five-year, $6.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, The New England Consortium at UMass Lowell will expand its hazardous materials worker health and safety training under the direction of Research Prof. David Turcotte.

Political analyst Steve Kornacki looked inside the election number for a UMass Lowell Zoom crowd. He also talked Electoral College, football and Trump’s post-presidency.

In her new book “Wake Up Call: Lessons from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge for Nonprofit Social Media,” Assoc. Teaching Prof. Deborah Finch explores how smaller nonprofit organizations can leverage the power of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

It was a cousin’s lacrosse injury that inspired Alyssa Mulry to dream up ConnectKnee, a brace that tracks a patient’s recovery time. And at the recent DifferenceMaker Francis College of Engineering finals, her team -- ConnectKnee -- topped 16 other teams for first place.

Asst. Prof. of Management Elizabeth Altman and Deloitte’s Robin Jones examined how the pandemic is accelerating changes to the future of the workforce, in the first Women’s Leadership Conversation, a new virtual series hosted by UML.

A UMass Lowell music ensemble class spent the semester learning every note of Pink Floyd's classic "Dark Side of the Moon." Then they recorded it. And now, it's going viral.

The rush to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to billions of people around the world will challenge supply chain capabilities in unprecedented ways, says Nichalin Summerfield, assistant professor of operations and information systems in the Manning School of Business.

The Master’s of Public Health program is growing in size and reputation since it debuted six years ago. Starting in January, the health care management option will be offered completely online.

Mechanical Engineering Prof. and Dept. Chair Christopher Niezrecki has been named the 2020 Distinguished University Professor for exemplary teaching, research and service to the university.

Jiabin Shen's new $713,112 research grant from the National Institutes of Health will help him further his quest to improve the quality of life for children and adolescents suffering brain injuries.

To celebrate the Little Canada neighborhood that once stood where East Campus is now, the university has installed four new informational panels that tell the story of the life and times of Lowell’s French Canadian immigrants. The project draws on the research of History Prof. Robert Forrant and several students.

Assoc. Prof. of Management Beth Humberd examined why working women are being disproportionately impacted by the current “she-cession” and offered signs of hope, in a webinar hosted by the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub.

Four current and former exercise science majors won praise at a conference for their research on a heart rate finger sensor – and honors student Andreas Himariotis carried off the top undergraduate prize.

After overcoming health obstacles, former UMass Lowell hockey player and Manning School of Business alum Barry Goers ’10 fulfilled a longtime dream of taking on the “American Ninja Warrior” obstacle course.

While we socially distance and mask up to avoid the virus, we can also take steps to stay healthy, productive and on task in class and at work. UML experts share their suggestions for navigating the latest wave of COVID-19.

Science teacher Karin Loach ’11, ’20 presented a paper at the 2020 conference for the Eastern Education Research Association, held last February. This fall, she learned that she’d won the 2020 Best Graduate Paper award for her study of elementary educators’ confidence in their science-teaching ability.

With COVID-19 cases surging and the economy sputtering, Assoc. Prof. of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ying Huang expects intense competition among retailers for online business this holiday season.

When the stage went dark as the pandemic arrived, UML's student-run theater group, Off-Broadway Players, took up radio theater to interpret plays. They're airing this month on WUML.

Unprecedented. Almost everything about the 2020 presidential election is different than before. UMass Lowell gathered three experts -- including UMass system President and former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan -- to discuss the campaigns and where we might all end up after Nov. 3.

Using centralized building management technology, Facilities Management keeps fresh, outside air flowing in classrooms, labs, offices and residential halls on campus, which helps prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.

The Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy has awarded its inaugural fellowships to Asst. Prof. of Economics Kelly Hellman, plastics engineering major Kerry Candlen and chemical engineering major Maria Fonseca-Guzman.

UMass Lowell has received a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to develop a campus-wide renewable energy master plan that will help advance the university’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering a three-year, $500,000 grant to develop a new, wireless high-temperature sensor network for smart, coal-fired boilers used in industry.

Asst. Prof. of Nursing Mazen El Ghaziri and a colleague at Saint Louis University have been awarded $160,000 by the National Institute of Corrections to create a training program aimed at improving the health and working conditions of correctional officers, who suffer high rates of injury, stress, obesity and premature death.

The River Hawk Scholars Academy is a supportive community for first-year, first-generation students who want help navigating the transition to college. It’s now recognized as a national model for such students, who make up a large share of UMass Lowell’s undergraduate population.

For some families, UMass Lowell is more than a university. It’s a family tradition that spans generations.

Asst. Prof. Serena Rajabiun and two other Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences professors are leading a $3.9 million federal grant to help HIV treatment centers improve care for Black women, who have higher infection rates and worse health outcomes because of poverty, stigma and structural racism.

Like others around the world, Jason Reyes was horrified by the video of George Floyd being killed by Minneapolis police, as well as the Black lives lost before and after. He takes artistic action on a Lawrence street on Oct. 25.

A new honors seminar that helps students think critically about different sources of energy is inspiring research involving renewables, including projects at UMass Lowell’s Haiti Development Studies Center.

The Pawtucket Greenway, a collaboration between UML and the City of Lowell that will connect South and East campuses with a continuous, shared-use pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists, got a boost from a pair of state grants.

Senior business major Ben Kenney is taking classes remotely this fall from behind the counter of his very own fishing gear shop, Ben’s Tackle Shack, which he opened in May with his father.

Members of the UMass Lowell community have been involved in the election process on multiple fronts, including scholarship and research, voter registration efforts, election polling in battleground states and community education on the history of voting rights.

As America’s streets filled with protests and its social conscience reignited following the killings of George Floyd and a long line of others earlier this year, organizers of the university’s Greeley Peace Scholar program decided to expand the annual discussion from a few weeks in April to a yearlong series of speakers and events.

Michele Woodland and Shanice Kelly do almost everything together: They’re both in the Honors College and they both do renewable energy research with Physics Prof. Robert Giles. They both work at the new telescope on South Campus – and they’re president and vice president of the UML Astronomy Club.

UMass Lowell student-athletes are taking part in the America East Votes Challenge, a get-out-the-vote competition that’s part of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a national initiative to boost voter registration, engagement and turnout among college students.

Even while learning remotely during a pandemic, students who need help with their coursework or who have a question about finding a UML resource can turn to peer tutors and advisors — trained students who are available online.

Division. Doubt. COVID-19. There's plenty to fret in 2020, but Josh Dyck, who oversees the university's Center for Public Opinion, believes voter turnout isn't one of them.

Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Asst. Prof. James Heiss and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were awarded a three-year, $784,000 National Science Foundation grant to study how powerful coastal storms affect the fresh water flowing below the ground along the seashore.

UMass Lowell is No. 16 on Sierra magazine’s “Cool Schools” list for 2020, the university’s highest ranking ever in a survey that assesses colleges’ performances on everything from sustainability-focused courses, carbon-neutral energy and land policies, eco-friendly dining halls and student engagement.

The Tsongas Industrial History Center has created a series of free, live webinars to educate teachers about the historic struggles of Black people, women and other groups to win the vote and have a say in government.

The Graduate and Professional Studies Center opened its doors this fall on East Campus as the new home of Residence Life, Study Abroad, the International Students & Scholars Office, Navitas, Graduate Admissions, and Graduate, Online and Professional Studies.

Several UMass Lowell alumni and students got married this summer — in spite of the coronavirus pandemic — in intimate, socially distanced ceremonies where veils and open bars were replaced by face masks and hand sanitizer.

First-year Manning School of Business student Jasmine Varona is the first student to complete Haverhill High School’s NAF Academy of Finance, a certificate program developed by the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants in partnership with UML to introduce young students to the accounting profession.

The Provost’s Excellence in Learning and Teaching summer workshop series was among several ways the university helped faculty prepare for remote instruction this fall. The workshop sessions, led by UML faculty and Information Technology staff, focused on both technical and pedagogical development.

Even before COVID-19 testing overwhelmed hospital and public health laboratories, medical lab scientists, including those who graduate from UMass Lowell, were in great demand. Now their skills – analyzing lab samples and helping doctors to diagnose patients – are more sought after than ever.

When two alumni now working at Lowell Community Health Center wanted volunteers for their “Stop the Spread” COVID-19 testing campaign this summer, they knew whom to call: their former professors in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences.

Eliza Bobek, clinical assistant professor of education, has two young children, and like many working parents she’s juggling her job with supervising her children’s online learning. In the process, she’s learned a lot about taking breaks and using timers.

The Nanofabrication Laboratory clean room on North Campus, perhaps the safest place to be during the coronavirus pandemic, is one of 10 Core Research Facilities that have partially reopened to faculty, students and industry partners under careful safety protocols.

Profs. Mathew Barlow and Christopher Skinner of the Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences will study the cause of heat waves and droughts in the Northeast and how they interact with each other under a three-year, $478,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Students who miss being on campus — and incoming freshmen who want to meet fellow River Hawks outside of the remote classroom this fall — can connect virtually on HawkCraft, the university’s official Minecraft server.

Armed with a prestigious Burkhardt Fellowship, Assoc. Prof. of Art History Kirsten Swenson will spend the 2021-2022 school year researching and writing about a subject she calls an “obsession” – urban parks designed by artists.

Manning School of Business Asst. Prof. Denise Dunlap is studying how entrepreneurial companies are developing COVID-19 testing technologies through her work with RADx, a National Institutes of Health initiative backed by $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funding.

As a fall semester like no other gets underway, UMass Lowell is focused on the health and safety of students — both residential and remote —  through measures such as surveillance testing for COVID-19 and teletherapy counseling sessions.

It'll be different this time, said student and university leaders at the 15th annual Convocation, but UML remains united in blue to help incoming students find their passion.

Students, faculty and researchers interested in Portuguese-Americans in the Merrimack Valley and beyond will soon have access to a digital archive chronicling generations of immigrants, thanks to a $300,000 grant received by the university’s Saab Center for Portuguese Studies.

UML’s education faculty prepare future teachers for classrooms with multilingual students. The inclusive teaching methods they impart benefit all students, including those with learning disabilities.

Thanks to his alert teenage son, UMass Lowell Police Officer Brian Ethier helped rescue eight neighbors — including five children — from their burning home in Tyngsboro, Mass.

Noureddine Melikechi, dean of the Kennedy College of Sciences and a physics professor, is a member of the science team for SuperCam, one of the main instruments onboard NASA's Mars 2020 "Perseverance" rover.

A team of researchers from UMass Lowell and SUNY Albany won a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a computer science curriculum for middle schools in collaboration with school districts in Lowell and Methuen, Mass., and Schenectady, N.Y.

Get connected this fall by joining a student-run club, a fitness class or a musical group. While nearly all activities are online, there are still plenty of ways to dive into campus life and find your River Hawk crew.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple social interaction, upend education, endanger health and disrupt business, the university’s researchers are exploring the ever-widening aspects of the virus’ presence. Several UML researchers recently earned grants to explore a wide array of COVID-19's effects.

With the economy still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, the summer of 2020 could have been a washout for students looking to land internships or build their résumés through summer jobs. But scores of UMass Lowell students managed to find opportunities where they could apply their skills and gain experience.

UML students from the Manning Consulting Group volunteered their services this summer to help two Lowell businesses, Warp and Weft and Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus, find ways to increase business during the coronavirus pandemic.

Two dozen incoming first-year and transfer students got a jump on their engineering studies — and a preview of college life during the coronavirus pandemic — through the Francis College of Engineering’s Research, Academics and Mentoring Pathways (RAMP) program.

If it's Tuesday, junior Physics major Sarah Bustin must be sending a flurry of emails and prepping for Folk Dance Club's Zoom class.

Christian Lutete ’19 ’20, recently named America East Man of the Year, is a standout basketball player who excels off the court, too. Lutete, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in peace and conflict studies, served as a mentor to 20 DC-CAP Scholars who, like him, came through the Washington, D.C., public schools.

Prof. Arie Perliger's vast database and years of study come together in "American Zealots."

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently found that the students in the Economics Department at UMass Lowell are more racially and ethnically diverse than in 99 percent of economics programs across the country. Students liken the department to a family.

More than 640 students and faculty from 23 countries participated in the Manning School of Business’ Global Entrepreneurship Exchange program, which pivoted to a one-week virtual session this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanks to a state grant, the university’s Fabric Discovery Center acquired equipment to test PPE that could be used to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Now, staff are conducting PPE testing for the state emergency management agency, hospitals, and regional companies that are ramping up to manufacture high-quality masks and gowns. And that’s just the beginning.

Zoom interviews, delayed start dates, online onboarding and working remotely from the homes where they grew up are just some of the circumstances that recent UML graduates face as they begin their careers in the age of COVID-19. Despite the shaky economy, many are landing jobs and adjusting to the new workplace realities.

Without traditional support structures like schools and day care in place, working parents — especially moms — are being put in a difficult situation in the rush to reopen the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Assoc. Prof. of Management Beth Humberd.

By taking simple steps like turning off unneeded computers and lights and adjusting air conditioners during peak periods of energy demand, UML faculty and staff helped the university reduce its projected utility bill by $180,000 for the coming year.

Assoc. Prof. Christopher Harris researches policing, including early intervention programs for police officers accused of misconduct. He also works closely with police departments and communities to improve public safety.

The UMass Lowell Library’s Center for Lowell History has created a research guide on a forgotten group of people from the city’s industrial past: the overseers who managed the workers on the factory floors for the wealthy mill owners.

Asst. Prof. of Philosophy Nicholas Evans has won a $209,749 grant to study the ethics of conducting research into biomedical enhancements on members of the military. The three-year grant from The Greenwall Foundation comes with an appointment as a Faculty Scholar in Bioethics.

A teacher changed Assoc. Prof. Keith Mitchell’s life, setting him on the path to become a professor of American and African American literature. Now Mitchell’s passion for the classroom has been recognized with the 2020 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Between missing his students and a summer of live performance, Music Prof. John Shirley decided to round up other faculty and send a video note to their students. The message? We miss you!

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts standardized testing and widens educational gaps between well-off and low-income students and districts, College of Education faculty say that educators have an opportunity to rethink the outsized role that test scores play in K-12 schools and college admissions.

David Seybert ’20, who earned his business degree in just three years and landed a full-time job a year before graduating, is sharing what he learned at UMass Lowell in a new self-published book, “One Student to Another: 200 Tips to Ensure College Success.”

To help students save money on textbooks, the UMass Lowell Library offers faculty members a variety of ways to adopt free or low-cost digital textbooks for their courses.

With the coronavirus pandemic persisting, people may be tempted to increase the use of disinfectants to help stem the spread of the virus. But these products contain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered pesticides that can cause harm, especially if not used as directed.

Chancellor Jacquie Moloney said the COVID-19 crisis is moving colleges and universities to reimagine how they serve students during a panel discussion on “The Future of Higher Education” hosted by the Boston Business Journal. She also discussed what UMass Lowell is doing to combat racism.

With the help of seed funding from the Office of Research and Innovation, faculty researchers from the Kennedy College of Sciences and the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences will conduct studies designed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once planned for Cleveland (where it will be in 2021), the Deshpande Symposium sidestepped the pandemic and went viral. And it was a hit, with loads of timely content.

First-year and transfer students can get a head start on their UML experience by signing up for the university’s newly expanded Launch! Summer Program, which offers free workshops and seminars as well as exclusive courses at a discounted tuition rate.

For the first time, UMass Lowell’s animation program has cracked the top five among the state’s animation schools, ranking third in Massachusetts according to Animation Career Review’s 2020 listing.

The university’s in-person study abroad programs are on hold, but International Experiences & Study Abroad is offering virtual global internships and online courses with an international focus. An Honors College professor even moved his summer study abroad program in San Sebastian, Spain, to Zoom, bringing experts on Basque history and culture into students’ homes.

A stint with the Peace Corps in Jordan led Asst. Prof. of History Elizabeth Williams to study the history of the Middle East, from the waning of the Ottoman Empire through the post-World War I French Mandate. Now she has been awarded a Kluge Fellowship to spend nearly a year doing research at the Library of Congress.

David Moloney ’15 worked for five years as a correctional officer at a New Hampshire jail before quitting and returning to college. A creative writing major, he used those experiences in his first book of linked short stories, “Barker House,” and now teaches offenders in a jail diversion program as well as college students.

In his recently published book, “Opus in Brick and Stone: The Architectural and Planning Heritage of Texas Tech University,” architect and author Brian Griggs reveals how Texas Tech’s roots became intertwined with UMass Lowell nearly a century ago.

Manning School of Business student Michael Hulen started his own face mask business, STATEMENT, last fall — nearly six months before the coronavirus pandemic made wearing a mask in public a requirement across much of the country.

Commencement 2020 wasn’t what anyone pictured, least of all the thousands of graduating students, or the families that supported them.

With help from undergraduates, the Center for Public Opinion expanded its polling in 2020, measuring approval ratings for political leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic and taking the temperature of Democratic primary voters in key early voting states.

For nearly three hours on the last night of spring semester’s finals, current and former students of the Music Department gathered online with faculty and friends to cut loose in song. Even the department head chimed in.

As the class of 2020 prepares to receive their degrees, members of this historic class reflect on what they’ll remember best about their time at UMass Lowell, what comes next and what advice they would offer to incoming students.

Two assistant professors of criminology have won a pair of $500,000 grants from the National Institute of Justice to study sex and labor trafficking. Ryan Shields is working on ways to better identify trafficking victims, while Amber Horning Ruf researches how people become pimps and sex traffickers.

Students practice assessment, critical thinking and communication skills via videoconferencing with the help of student actors.

From his pioneering role in video conferencing software to his tenure as UMass president during the Great Recession, UML Distinguished Professor Jack Wilson provides a unique perspective on these uneasy times.

The 23rd annual Student Research and Community Engagement Symposium went online this spring. The quality of the student projects remained as high as ever, despite the change of venue.

Prof. Stephen Balsis is part of a $3.74 million National Institutes of Health grant to improve the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries that can lead to CTE.

The Art & Design Department transformed the opening of its annual end-of-the-year student art show into an online celebration for a class of 46 graduates whose last semester of college has been disrupted, but not defined, by the coronavirus pandemic.

Manning School of Business alum Ed Keon ’77, chief investment strategist for Quantitative Management Associates, shared his insights on the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the economy as part of Alumni and Donor Relations’ “Virtual Village” speaker series.

With labs closed and all academic programs now online due to COVID-19, seniors are adapting their capstone projects. Some capstones have even taken on new relevance because they address aspects of the pandemic.

From online résumé reviews and practice interviews to a virtual career fair and professional networking events, the Career and Co-op Center is finding new ways to help students find opportunities in a suddenly changed job market.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Asst. Prof. Danjue Chen’s research into the complex traffic interactions between self-driving and human-driven cars has won a five-year, $500,000 faculty early-career development award from the National Science Foundation.

In lean times for New Orleans street musicians, one of their own – UML alum Seth Bailin – steps up to help.

Three faculty-led research projects focused on immediate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic received more than $33,000 in seed funding from the university’s Office of Research and Innovation.

The university is advancing its sustainability and cost-saving goals through new partnerships and programs with its utility provider, National Grid, doubling both its electric vehicle charging stations and its incentives for energy efficiency.

Thirty undergraduate and graduate public health students from the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences have volunteered to work with local boards of health on contact tracing efforts to help contain the coronavirus pandemic.

International students, students with disabilities or mental health concerns and some LGBTQ+ students are facing unique challenges during the campus shutdown. The university offices that serve them are supporting them with services ranging from teletherapy to online get-togethers.

Plastics engineering majors organized a small-scale COVID-19 response effort, using their 3D printing capabilities to crank out supplies for health care workers.

The university's student-run radio station continues to stream and broadcast, despite the campus shutdown.

Midway through the spring 2020 semester, as first-year education majors were taking a new, required class in educational technology, schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Studying virtually themselves while learning how best to use online teaching tools is giving these students a new perspective on technology’s promise – and its limitations.

The New England Consortium, a UML-based institute, is offering free trainings on keeping workers safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, whether they’re front-line health care workers or employees in other essential industries.

As food insecurity grows because of the coronavirus pandemic, the university’s Urban Agriculture Program is helping to provide fresh, healthy produce to the community through its partnership with Mill City Grows.

Assoc. Prof. of English Sandra Lim has won a national award for her poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Lim was among eight writers to win a $10,000 Arts and Letters Award in literature this year.

Graduate student Justin Simone pitches a gem during the eighth annual DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge, which was held online.

Rationing health care amidst a pandemic is ethically complex, says Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy Carol Hay.  What is clear is that COVID-19 is exposing deep inequalities in access to health care and other basic resources that existed long before the pandemic arrived, she says.

Thanks to online voting, the Student Government Association was still able to hold its election this spring. Thirty-two students were on the ballot for president, vice president, student trustee and senators.

The top-ranked UMass Lowell men’s club basketball team was crowned national champions by the National Club Basketball Association after rolling to a perfect 18-0 record. It’s believed to be UML’s first national championship for a club sport.

The university has switched to remote operations because of the coronavirus pandemic, but student EMTs are still providing continuous emergency response services for the students and essential staff members who remain on campus.

As high school seniors weigh college decisions without the chance to visit campuses, UMass Lowell’s Admissions team is offering one-on-one admissions counseling, individual virtual tours of campus by student tour guides, and social media forums where prospective students can ask questions.

With the university’s mid-March shift to virtual learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a new, remote reality began for students, faculty and staff. And don't forget those learning in retirement: LIRA members treasure their time at the university, as well.

Thanks to strategic investments in technology and a universitywide spirit of support, UML was able to successfully transition to online learning and remote work after the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of campus.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a two-year, $1.4 million grant to Mechanical Engineering Asst. Prof. Murat Inalpolat to develop and test a new, sound-based sensor system for monitoring the structural health and integrity of wind turbine blades.

The Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences and the Kennedy College of Sciences donated face shields, masks, gowns, eyewear, gloves and more to local health and first responders on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus.

Since its debut in early 2011 on Fox, “Bob’s Burgers” has developed a dedicated audience and twice won Emmy awards. UMass Lowell alumni, Spencer natives Tim and Pat Dacey, have been linchpins of the show’s distinct musical soundtrack since 2017.

Prof. Susanna Remold, the new chair of biology, served on a White House working group on pandemic prediction. She says the U.S. response to COVID-19 was hurt by the lack of testing and contact tracking early on – and that it still lags.

The River Hawk Rising program provides structured support and a personal connection to students of color, transfer students and first-generation students during their time at the university, setting them up for success in college and beyond.

With millions of people working from home because of the coronavirus, Asst. Prof. of Management Elana Feldman offers guidance on how businesses can manage expectations and help employees deal with unprecedented uncertainty.

UML has launched a special campaign on behalf of the Student Emergency Needs Fund in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) has quickly shifted its focus to connect members of the life sciences innovation community with resources and funding opportunities to advance solutions for the coronavirus pandemic, from testing and detection to, ultimately, an effective vaccine.

As CEO and chief scientific officer of Franklin, Mass.-based MRN Diagnostics, Gregory Chiklis has spent the past six weeks in a race against the clock, working on a rapid blood test for COVID-19.

Computer Science Prof. Xinwen Fu has been awarded more than $4.5 million by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy for his research on the Internet of Things, or IoT.

As Massachusetts officials advised everyone to stay at home to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus, students are adapting to studying online – and adopting coping strategies to help manage the upheaval.

Campus Recreation shifts fitness and wellness classes, along with intramural and club sports programs, online to help members of the UML community stay active at home.

Music professors adapt to the ever-shifting notes of teaching in the age of COVID-19.

Paulette Renault-Caragianes brings a wealth of public health experience to the job of leading the UMass Lowell Wellness Center through the COVID-19 crisis.

Graduate students from the Francis College of Engineering’s Solar Energy Association are helping the community by inspecting the city of Lowell’s solar-powered parking meter kiosks as part of an extracurricular service-learning project.

The College of Education is stepping up to help teachers in K-12 schools transition their classes online during school closures caused by COVID-19. Clinical Prof. Michelle Scribner-MacLean created a Facebook group with teacher resources, and the Tsongas Industrial History Center is beefing up its social media offerings and website.

Going stir-crazy? Here are some suggestions from arts and humanities faculty on how to enrich and entertain yourself – all while staying safe.

Senior business administration major David Seybert, who is writing a book on how to succeed in college, shares strategies for getting the most out of courses in the new online-only environment.

UML's Elissa Johnson-Green's EcoSonic Playground melds music with STEM and ends up being a whole new thing at the regional science fair.

Epidemiologist and Public Health Prof. David Kriebel, who is reviewing data as it becomes available on the outbreak of COVID-19, sees cautiously encouraging trends on the containment of the virus emerging in China.

Asst. Prof. of Philosophy Joel Michael Reynolds is co-directing a series of community conversations on disability and technology as part of a $250,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant. He’s also starting a journal on the philosophy of disability.

Over the course of a light, fun evening, UML students and others tried to sell an audience and a trio of judges products and services. Just one catch ... everyone learned what the business did at the same time.

Asst. Prof. Richard Gaschnig of the Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences has been awarded a three-year, $222,600 grant by the National Science Foundation to study the chemical exchange that occurs between the ocean crust and the earth’s mantle during a geological process called subduction.

How zinc is distributed to tissues and cells is the root of Prof. Shannon Kelleher’s research, which aims to reveal the role that zinc plays in the development of inflammatory bowel disease and food allergies.

A large gathering recently celebrated the unveiling of a student-painted portrait of late FAHSS Dean Nina Coppens. It is, say friends and family, exactly what she would have wanted.

Hieu Phan, an associate professor of finance in the Manning School of Business, says the global financial markets’ reaction to the coronavirus outbreak shows that companies are not prepared to deal with the challenges of pandemics.

It took a lot of folks to make the Oscar-winning "Toy Story 4," and one of them was a 2011 UMass Lowell SRT graduate. Rachael Bigelow didn't take the easy way to her diploma, but she's making it work for her at Pixar.

Visiting international scholar Anna Rosinska is researching an understudied group of nannies, elder care providers and housekeepers: American-born, non-Hispanic whites. She hopes her research will lead to improved policies for all domestic careworkers.

Cash Forward, a project that proposes cash-back incentives from credit cards to be put into customers’ investment accounts, won the seventh annual Rist DifferenceMaker Innovation Contest, sponsored by Digital Federal Credit Union and the Manning School of Business.

Students learned how to confidently navigate a business meal and make a great first impression at Career Services’ annual “Dine, Dress and Network Like a Pro” event.

Three of the Whitcomb quadruplets chose UMass Lowell, each for their own reasons. But they’re happy to be here together.

Faculty can save time grading – and provide faster and more detailed feedback to students – with Gradescope, an online tool now available campuswide.

Three student projects proposing ways to reduce the university community’s carbon dioxide emissions by 10,000 pounds in 10 weeks received the first-ever Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy (RISE) Student Innovation Awards and a share of $1,000 in prize money.

Over two days, students from South Korea explored the worlds of virtual reality and 3D sculpting on their mission to Mars.

Art conservators are uncovering and restoring a set of 1930s murals depicting the educational mission of Lowell Teachers College, as part of the renovation and expansion of Coburn Hall.

This year’s winners of the university's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Awards have served the community through theater, community health research and volunteer work with homeless people and at-risk high school students.

When the Honors College dean put out the call for volunteers at a local food pantry, dozens of students stepped up, allowing Central Food Ministry to serve more families. Now, two honors student fellows are helping to sustain and grow the partnership.

Studies show that fad diets don't keep off weight in the long term. Faculty who are registered dietitians and students majoring in nutritional science share science-based advice to eat healthy for successful weight loss.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Asst. Prof. Sheree Pagsuyoin’s study on the impact of drug abuse on the environment has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a CAREER award. This prestigious national faculty early career development award highlights the research being conducted by the nation’s best young university faculty-scholars.

The Local Ecologies exhibit running now March 6 at Mahoney Gallery uses the Merrimack River to examine water and our relationship to it.

UMass Lowell has its own student-run record label, and they’re serving up a showcase on Saturday, Feb. 1 in Lowell at The Worthen Attic.

Climate change was the central issue at the 100th annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Boston, where students, faculty and alumni from the Kennedy College of Sciences shared their environmental and atmospheric science research and networked with meteorologists, climate scientists and academics from around the country.

The start of the spring 2020 semester brings the reopening of the university’s earliest academic building, Coburn Hall, as well as a new home for the Centers for Learning and Academic Support Services and progress on several other Facilities Management projects.

Asst. Prof. Neil Shortland has won a $420,000 National Science Foundation CAREER grant to study how police, firefighters, doctors and others make critical decisions in emergencies – and whether they can learn to make better ones.

Sgt. Mike Soucy, who recently received the statewide Sean Collier Award for Innovations in Community Oriented Policing, was among several UMass Lowell Police Department officers recognized at a breakfast celebrating the successful strides the department has made over the past decade.

From exploring the solar system and searching for habitable planets around nearby stars to zapping the Martian surface with a laser, our faculty and student researchers are working to gain a better understanding of the cosmic neighborhood in which we live.

Honors students are assigned to explore the city of Lowell, from its past as America’s first planned industrial city to its current identity as a multicultural arts hub, in the First-year Seminar in Honors.