2008-09 News Releases

January 2009

Really Going Green (America's Heartland story)

You might not recognize these super heroes of tomorrow. Found in unlikely places like this bio-diesel lab at the University of New Hampshire. They forsake traditional mask and cape; they might be disguised by a lab coat and safety goggles or simply a passion to save planet earth. But these superheroes are working to rehabilitate scum and slime. Not the human variety, but algae! Converting that green goo into energy for the future! Chemical Engineering student, Danah Hashem says, “I feel this is extremely important. The political ramifications, the financial ramifications, the environmental ramifications are huge in reducing our usage, our dependency on oil as an energy source.”

Renovated UNH Earth Science Building to be Greener, Leaner

The renovation of James Hall, which is currently well underway, will create the university’s first bonafide green building. UNH has registered the building's construction with the U.S. Green Building Council to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED certification. LEED is a rating system used to measure projects on their efficiency and sustainability practices.

December 2008

His Bomb Detector is Out of This World

By Billy Baker, Boston Globe Correspondent
Jim Ryan says the problem with being an astrophysicist is that you often get asked the same question: What good is all this stuff you're studying in outer space?

"Because we're curious and want to be smarter," used to be his short answer. Now, thanks to two bits of serendipity, he has a more direct response: because it could save you from bad guys with bombs.

Ryan's tenure as a bomb hunter began when he and colleagues at the University of New Hampshire's Space Science Center were developing an instrument to be put inside the orbit of Mercury to look for low-energy neutrons coming from the sun.

November 2008

GIS Day mapped a UNH Treasure

GIS Day is an annual event in Morse Hall. The event's attractions include professional geo-spatial science vendors, a cartographic exhibition, a driving simulator, a NASA photo exhibit, the Earth as Art collection and a college fair. This year's event brought in about 700 people, believes coordinator Michael Routhier. The 10th annual Geographical Information System (GIS) Day Conference at the University of New Hampshire was held Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008.

Professor Puts Science on a Sphere in New Smithsonian Hall

When the Smithsonian Institution opened its eagerly anticipated Sant Ocean Hall at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. earlier this fall, the work of University of New Hampshire professor Colin Ware made a splash. Ware, who directs the Data Visualization Research Lab at UNH's Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM), created the global ocean currents animation that appears on the room-sized Science on a Sphere exhibit, one of the major attractions of the Sant Ocean Hall. Ware's work helps museum visitors better understand how ocean waters flow around the planet.

Dr. Jiebing Sun G'08 has received this years Morton M. Traum Award at the 55th International Symposium of the American Vacuum Society in Boston, MA.

Gregg Hall Goes Green

The rest of the university community could take this as a challenge: a Green Team has been created at Gregg Hall. Initially, the goal wasn’t to make the rest of us step up but if that’s a result then it’s a good one.

Here’s why: The Green Team aims to make Gregg Hall as sustainable as possible. Well, of course, you may think, given it’s home to the Environmental Research Group and other ecologically supportive research centers. But the staff didn’t have to get involved. And they have.

Alaska Fish may Set Off Geopolitical Dispute

Andrew Rosenberg, former deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and current UNH professor, expects the pollock to be a test case in an emerging pattern to fish driven by climate change across jurisdictional boundaries. Alaskan pollock are becoming Russian pollock, swimming across an international boundary in search of food and setting off what could become a geopolitical dispute. (Kenneth Weiss, Los Angeles Times)

October 2008

UNH Mapping Experts Reveal Arctic's Riches

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Some New England scientists have just returned from a mission to the arctic where they were mapping the region's seafloor.

It was a mission that could have a big impact on our future.

"We know much more about the moon and several other planets than we do about the bottom of the Arctic Ocean," said mapping expert Larry Mayer of the University of New Hampshire.

Mayer is helping to change that along with his University of New Hampshire team that has been mapping the shape of the Arctic Sea floor.

Four CEPS Faculty Receive University Awards

2008 Alumni Association Excellence in Public Service:
Karen J. Graham, Mathematics

2008 UNH Distinguished Professor:
Dennis Chasteen, Chemistry

2008 UNH Excellence in Public Service Award:
Nancy E. Kinner, Civil Engineering

2008 UNH Teaching Excellence:
R. Daniel Bergeron, Computer Science

September 2008

Reception for University Professorships and Presidential Chairs

President Mark W. Huddleston and Provost and executive vice president Bruce L. Mallory invite members of the campus community to a reception honoring the recipients of the University Professorship and Presidential Chair appointments, Sept. 23, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the University Museum of Art, Paul Creative Arts Center.

Four professors have been honored for their outstanding contributions in their fields and to the university community. Mathematics professor Kevin Short has been named a University Professor. Professors Martin Lee, physics; William McDowell, natural resources; and Janet Polasky, history; have received Presidential Chair appointments.

The recipients of the University Professorship and the Presidential Chairs represent the high level of excellence for which UNH is known and further the university’s efforts to attract and retain talented faculty. Presidential Chairs are a new way to recognize faculty members’ many contributions and years of service. Funds for these awards are made available by the generosity of alumni and private donors through the UNH Foundation.

Physics Senior Wrote Computer Code for Eagerly Anticipated Large Hadron Collider

When the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator that is the world’s most eagerly anticipated physics experiment, starts up near Geneva, Switzerland, tomorrow (Sept. 10, 2008), a University of New Hampshire undergraduate will be among the 7,000 scientists worldwide to claim credit for the creation of this landmark scientific instrument. Austin Purves, a senior physics major from Silver Spring, Md., worked on ATLAS, one of two general-purpose detectors of the LHC and, at 7,000 tons, the largest volume particle detector ever constructed.

On a collision ourse with scientific history

Ice Age Lesson Predicts a Faster Rise in Sea Level

If the lessons being learned by scientists about the demise of the last great North American ice sheet are correct, estimates of global sea level rise from a melting Greenland ice sheet may be seriously underestimated.

Writing this week (Aug. 31) in the journal Nature Geoscience, a team of researchers led by UW-Madison geologist Anders Carlson reports that sea level rise from greenhouse-induced warming of the Greenland ice sheet could be double or triple current estimates over the next century. In addition to Carlson one of the co-authors of the study, which was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation is Joseph M. Licciardi of the University of New Hampshire.

James Hall Closed for Renovation

Work has begun on James Hall which will undergo complete restoration during the next year as well as the construction of a new 14,000-square-foot addition that will increase the square footage of the building from about 60,000 to about 75,000.

 The $25.5 million project is the first at UNH to seek LEED certification.

August 2008

Karen L. Von Damm
1955-2008

Karen Von Damm, a full professor and world-renowned researcher in marine geochemistry at the University of New Hampshire, passed away at her home in Durham, NH, on August 15, 2008.  She was 53 years old.

Karen was a world renowned geoscientist whose research contributed significantly to our basic understanding of the chemistry of the ocean.  She will be sorely missed by the many friends, colleagues, and students who knew her.  We have developed a short memorial web page at http://www.unh.edu/esci/von_damm.html. A more detailed tribute to Karen can be found at www.unols.org/committees/dessc/Karen_VonDamm.html.

UNH Tech Camp Inspires Innovation

“The UNH Tech Camp is just one way that the College is trying to develop a stronger people pipeline for the technical industries of the State and the region,“ commented Robert Henry, associate dean for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.  “There are not many opportunities in New Hampshire for students to get hands-on experiences that are related to these careers.  The two-week UNH Tech Camp tries to address both of these issues with hopes to expand in the near future.”

DeMeritt Hall, Home of the Physics Department, Ready for Students

The new DeMeritt Hall isn’t much bigger than the one built in 1913 with money secured by its namesake Albert DeMeritt, but differences between the two buildings are huge.

“It’s about quality of space,” says Doug Bencks, university architect and director of Campus Planning. “The building is designed to give us what we need for the next 100 years.”

July 2008

UNH Internship Program Benefits the EPA nationwide ENERGY STAR Challenge

Together with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), UNH Pollution Prevention Internship Program works to help New England communities join the Community Energy Challenge by benchmarking their town building and municipal facilities.

UNH Gets Nod for $12.6M NanoTech Grant

NSF has recommeded the renewal of a $12.6 million, five-year grant for the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing based at UNH, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Bits Go a Long Way in Terms of Salary

It's no secret that technology jobs are hot!. "It's starting to get crazy again," Phil Hatcher, UNH chair and professor in Computer Science, said. "There simply are not enough graduates now to fill the demand."

Across the country, tech jobs average incomes around $80,000 annually, while Granite Staters average $65,500. Starting salaries hover around $50,000 in New Hampshire, so it comes as a surprise that there is a shortage of graduates matriculating with technology degrees. (www.fosters.com)

Database Training a Boost in Current Job Market

Unlike many graduates facing today's uncertain markets, UNH master's student in Computer Science, Sam Vohr, is virtually assured a job. That's because Vohr, and other computer science majors, will be entering a job market where demand for those with tech-training has far outpaced supply.

"I want to continue with things that keep me interested," Vohr explained during an interview Wednesday. "I get probably two or three emails a week from (professors) updating us on jobs postings companies have filed with the college.There are a lot of different options with this degree," Vohr added. "It's most important that it's interesting." (www.fosters.com)

UNH Undergrad Team Wins Rocket Payload Contest

Its no secret that making it smaller has become a gold standard in technology, and good spacecraft design is no exception. During the recent 2008 International CanSat Competition held in Amarillo Texas, UNH's 10-student team was the only one whose "satellite in a can" met all the various design criteria for the payload. Devices had to measure and transmit the tiny changes in atmospheric pressure encountered during a half-mile-high flight and use them to deploy a parachute, descend at a particular rate to a particular place, dump the parachute and then stand up, all on its own.