Astrophysicists from UNH’s Space Science Center (SSC) have created the first online system for predicting and forecasting the radiation environment in near-Earth, lunar, and Martian space environments. The near real-time tool will provide critical information as preparations are made for potential future manned missions to the moon and Mars.

Associate professor of physics Nathan Schwadron of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS), which houses the SSC, is the lead developer of the new web-based tool known as PREDICCS.

Lisa Tiemann, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, has been awarded a prestigious three-year, $520,299 fellowship through the National Science Foundation’s Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (NSF SEES) program. The grant will fund interdisciplinary research on sustainable agricultural practices in Uganda

A new tool for short- and long-range economic planning in the lodging industry has been created by UNH researchers E. Hachemi Aliouche, associate professor of hospitality management and associate director of the Rosenberg International Franchise Center; Nelson Barber, associate professor of hospitality management; and Raymond Goodman Jr., professor emeritus of hospitality management.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, scientists explain why salt marshes have been disintegrating during the past two decades along the U.S. Eastern seaboard and other highly developed coastlines. Unexpectedly, they discovered that nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from septic and sewer systems and lawn fertilizers can cause salt marsh loss.

Jeffry Diefendorf, Professor of History; Douglas Lanier, Professor of English; Josh Lauer, Assistant Professor of Communication; and R. Scott Smith, Associate Professor of Classics, have been awarded Center for the Humanities Faculty Research Fellowships for 2013-2014.

Researchers from UNH have received a grant from NASA’s Space Archaeology program to investigate the transition of indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures to agricultural-based communities in the U.S. Great Lakes region prior to European contact between AD 1200-1600.

The focus of the study will be to determine if “micrometeorological lake effects” around major inland lakes contributed to settlement and development of prehistoric agriculture by creating favorable conditions for an extended growing season.

In a paper just published in Nature Physics, an international team of space scientists, including researcher Noé Lugaz in the Space Science Center of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, explains the mysterious physical mechanisms underlying the origin of sun’s powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

Bruce Pfeiffer, assistant professor of marketing in the Whittemore School of Business and Economics (WSBE), has conducted extensive research about how people react to celebrities once they know their personal viewpoints.

He has found that those who are most vocal about political, religious, and social causes may pay with decreased popularity and reduced income.  The more the public knows about celebrities’ personal views, the less we like them, according to Pfeiffer.

A multidisciplinary team led by UNH researchers will engage over 2000 rural and indigenous youth in afterschool programs across New England in which they will map sustainable practices (MSP) within their communities.

The goals of the project are to (1) strengthen the connection for youth between science and their home and community lives, and (2) research whether the program improves science achievement in traditionally underachieving groups.

The UNH Institute on Disability (IOD) and the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services will collaborate on a new program to promote and maximize health, prevent chronic disease, improve emergency preparedness, and increase the quality of life of individuals with disabilities.

The New Hampshire Disability and Public Health Project is funded by a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.