other news

  • Green Infrastructure Grant to Help N.H. Communities Manage Stormwater

    A pair of grants to the UNH Stormwater Center will help communities in the Great Bay watershed better manage stormwater– runoff from rainfall that is not absorbed into the ground – with innovative “green” infrastructure.  

    With $600,000 from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative grant, a partnership between UNH and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Stormwater Center will give New Hampshire’s 42 coastal watershed communities much-needed support in reducing stormwater runoff and its related costs of pollution and flooding. A second grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (N.H. DES) will provide additional funding, bringing the green infrastructure project a total of $700,000 to combat the rising tide of stormwater within the region. 

    A collaboration of regional partners will provide a toolkit from which watershed communities can pick remedies that will address...

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  • Take Police Safety Survey for Chance to Win an iPad Mini

    The UNH Police Department is asking faculty and staff to complete a survey on campus safety.

    Responses are confidential and will help the police department better serve the university community.

    In the questions that follow, indicate your responses by clicking or typing in your answers. If you cannot answer a question, leave it blank. Responses are being collected by the UNH Survey Center.  All responses will be confidential and reported in group format only.  When you are finished, click on the “Submit Survey” button at the end to send your answers.

    Click here to get to the survey; it will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

    Upon completion of the survey, you will be given an opportunity to enter a raffle for a new iPad Mini.

    If you have questions, contact Tracy Keirns at...

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  • “Embellishments: Constructing Victorian Detail” Exhibit at the UNH Museum Extended Through March 22

    The exhibit “Embellishments: Constructing Victorian Detail” has extended its run at the University Museum through March 22, 2013. T he Victorian-era garments and accessories on display explore the aesthetics of 19th-century clothing design and how their embellishments were constructed.

    Twenty-five Victorian era garments and accessories from the UNH Irma Bowen Textile Collection look closely at the aesthetics of 19th century clothing design and how their embellishments were constructed. Each mannequin in the show was custom made to support its historical garment safely and correctly for its specific style

    For a look at one of the exhibited dresses, see the UNH Museum web site.

    The exhibition is sponsored by the University Museum, Blue Tree, and Fabric Place Basement, and...

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  • Friends of USNH Advocate for a Restoration of State Funding

    More than 1,400 friends of Keene State College, the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University and Granite State College – alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and voters – have joined the state’s four-year public colleges and universities in calling for lawmakers to restore state support and make higher education a priority. This support, representing resident from more than 170 New Hampshire towns and cities from all 10 counties, continues to grow and advocates will be writing letters, contacting their local legislators, and reaching out to friends and neighbors.

    The four institutions comprise the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) and enroll more than 30,000 students.

    In 2011 the New Hampshire state legislature cut support for in-state students by nearly 50 percent, the deepest cut to higher education in the country ever. The state’s appropriation to its four-year public college and university system is the same now as it was...

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  • Underemployment Persists Since Recession, With Youngest Workers Hardest Hit

    Underemployment has remained persistently high in the aftermath of the Great Recession with workers younger than 30 especially feeling the pinch, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at UNH. 

    “While on the decline, these rates have yet to return to their prerecession levels. Moreover, as the recession and other economic forces keeps older workers in the economy, openings for full-time jobs for younger workers might remain limited in the short-term,” said Justin Young, a doctoral student in sociology and a research assistant at the Carsey Institute. His research is presented in the brief “Underemployment in Urban and Rural America, 2005-2012.”  

    Underemployment is defined as part-time workers in search of full-time work or working part-time because the hours of a former full-time job were reduced involuntarily. 

    “These workers represent a source of untapped economic capital, as their jobs do not allow them to...

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  • Single Stream Recycling to Go Campus-wide Jan. 21

    Starting Monday, Jan. 21, you no longer need to separate your bottles from your cans or newspapers from your plastics as single stream recycling takes effect on campus.The recycling method, also called single-sort or full comingling, allows all recyclable materials to be collected in one container and then sorted later at the recycling center.

    The system has proven to increase the rate of recycled materials in other municipalities and educational institutions. Some campus buildings have been testing the new system since 2011.

    The full program is being implemented by UNH Facilities along with departmental representatives from the Sustainability Institute, Housing, Residential Life, Dining Services and Waste Management.

    Container Preparation:

    Remove all plastic bags

    Remove any non-acceptable items

    Flatten containers whenever possible

    Cardboard should be broken down to fit inside the container without jamming and will...

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  • UNH Community Members Help College Woods

    A diverse mix of UNH employees, students, townspeople, members of Greek societies, and friends gathered in College Woods recently to help restore the ecology of the forest. 

    UNH land use coordinator and Woodlands office manager Steve Eisenhaure lead a crew of more than 20 people during two days.  Eisenhaure is working with volunteers to rid the forest of glossy buckthorn, a non-native invasive shrub that has taken over portions of the understory of the forest in UNH’s backyard, the College Woods Natural Area.  

    “College Woods is recognized as one of the oldest and best examples of hemlock-beech-oak-pine forest in New Hampshire. Eliminating invasive plants will encourage native shrubs and trees, keeping the forest healthy and resilient,” Eisenhaure says.   

    In just a few hours, volunteers were able to make a dramatic impact on the forest understory. Elizabeth Sterndale, a senior and president of the forestry honor society Xi Sigma...

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  • Citizen’s Police Academy Sponsored by UNH Police Department Starts Feb. 6

    Ever wondered what it was like to be a police officer without having to endure the mental and physical training required for the job? If so, you need to take advantage of the UNH Citizen’s Police Academy.  

    Classes begin Feb. 6, 2013. Graduation is May 1. The academy meets once a week on Wednesday from 7 p.m. -10 p.m. in the UNH police department’s conference room. Participants have the opportunity to meet with the chief of police and other staff members. Applicants are asked to commit to full attendance of all scheduled classes.

    The Citizen’s Police Academy gives community members an inside look at how their police department functions on a day-to-day basis, increasing understanding and awareness in regards to the community role of the UNH Police Department.  

    Attendees are offered a variety of training programs and are shown the true life of a police officer through hands-on...

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  • Changing Lives, Changing Campus: UNH Enrolls Its Largest International Class

    From the UNH Center for International Education Newsletter

    “The landscape and scenery here are beautiful, the people are always nice and life is peaceful—not like New York, Boston or a big city,” exclaims Rilei Tong of China, discussing why he and other international students decided to come to UNH. Navitas, an Australian company that partners with universities to recruit and support international students, brought Rilei to campus through their International University Transfer Program, which offers international students a smooth transition, or “pathway,” into the American university system and UNH.

    This fall, UNH welcomed its largest class of international students, enrolling 206 individuals from countries including Nepal, Vietnam, Korea, Saudi Arabia and China. UNH is growing the global presence in this small New England town. With more than 100 percent increase since last fall in the Navitas program...

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  • Spending to Save With UNH’s Energy Efficiency Fund

    When it comes to energy efficiency upgrades, the old “You’ve got to spend to save” adage holds true. That’s the principle behind UNH’s Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF). Launched in 2009 with a $650,000 grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the fund has invested in more than half a dozen projects that save the university’s energy dollars -- $250,000 in this fiscal year alone --  and greenhouse gas emissions.  

    The EEF is what’s known as a green revolving fund: It funds efficiency projects then returns the savings realized by those projects back into the fund for future projects. For its first project, for instance, the EEF spent $550,000 of the initial ARRA funding to upgrade lighting in older buildings on campus to current efficiency standards. So far, those upgrades have saved the university $175,000 per year in energy costs, so that $175,000 returns to the EEF to fund the next project.  

    “Everything that is saved...

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  • Passing: Pilar de la Torre

    Pilar de la Torre, 68, emerita professor of computer science, passed away peacefully Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, at her home in Durham, following a two-month struggle with advanced lung cancer.

    Her obituary from the Portsmouth Herald follows.

    Pilar de la Torre was born in Bembibre, a town in northwest Spain, on Feb. 1, 1944. When she was 3 years old, her family emigrated to Argentina and settled in the city of Alta Gracia, where she eventually attended high school. In 1967, she graduated with highest honors and a gold medal in mathematics from the University of Córdoba, Argentina. In the same year she came to S.U.N.Y. Buffalo to study for a Ph.D. in mathematics, which she completed in 1975. She passed up opportunities to do post-doctoral work at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University; instead she accepted a junior membership for a year at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,...

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  • Seacoast Science Café Explores the Role of Forests in Earth’s Ecosystem Nov. 14, 2012

    We all know that the importance of a forest doesn’t stop at leaf peeping season, but how important are tree populations in the functioning of our planet’s biosphere? The third event in the Seacoast Science Café series will explore that question Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, at 6 p.m. when Scott Ollinger, professor of ecosystem ecology and remote sensing at UNH, presents his most recent research to the public for both education and discussion in The Portsmouth Brewery’s Jimmy LaPanza Lounge.  

    Ollinger’s research interests span a variety of topics within the fields of ecology and biogeochemistry including regional analysis of forest productivity across the northeastern U.S. He is also a director of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and a co-investigator of the NASA-led North American Carbon Program, which examines the role of North America’s ecosystems in regulating the Earth’s climate.  

    The Science Café format brings the discourse out...

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  • Employee Fitness Center Free to All Employees in Expanded Hours Pilot Program

    The Employee Fitness Center is now open to all employees in a pilot program that runs through Dec. 21. During the trial period, the hours of operation will be Monday through Friday, 6 to 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  

    The 3,600-square-foot workout space, located in the field house balcony overlooking the basketball court, is run by the kinesiology department and provides a real-world laboratory situation for graduate and undergraduate kinesiology/exercise science students.  

    Equipment includes treadmills and Star Trac elliptical trainers, LifeFitness exercise cycles, Schwinn AirDyne cycles, StairMaster step machines, Concept II rowers, Nautilus strength stations, and free weights and equipment. 

    Users are required to sign in but are not required to show a UNH ID. There is no charge to use the workout center. The pilot program is being done in collaboration with the department of kinesiology and Healthy UNH, who will evaluate broader...

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  • Jessica Fish, Profile in Sustainability

    Jessica fishFrom the Sustainability Newsletter

    How does race and ethnic studies intersect with sustainability?

    Our classes and minors are a great example of cultural sustainability in action. Our students through the lenses of restorative and social justice think critically about power structures which impact access to resources (intellectual, cultural, environmental) and their distribution. 

    What do you do as coordinator of the UNH race and ethnic studies minors?

    I advocate for and promote the Africana and African American Studies, Race, Culture, and Power, and American Studies minors on campus. I advise our students, support our faculty, and work to create community around the programs.  

    ...

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  • UNH Space Scientists to Develop State-of-the-Art Radiation Detector

    Scientists from the Space Science Center (SSC) at UNH have been selected by NASA to develop a space radiation detector that possesses unprecedented performance capabilities despite a design requiring only minimal resources with respect to mass, volume, power, and cost.

    The successful UNH proposal, titled "Small active readout device for dose spectra from energetic particles and neutrons (DoSEN)," will develop the concept and demonstrate the proof-of-principle of the instrument that measures and calculates the absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to indirect and direct ionizing radiation.

    Lead scientist for the project is SSC associate professor Nathan Schwadron of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space and department of physics.

    "DoSEN is an innovative concept that will likely lead to a new generation of radiation detectors, or dosimeters, to aid in understanding the hazards posed by the radiation environment...

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