(This article was first published by the Standard-Times of New Bedford on December 26, 2008)

By PEGGY AULISIO

Standard Times correspondent

NEW BEDFORD — Nursing students from UMass Dartmouth made a stop at the Boys & Girls Club of New Bedford earlier this month to teach young people how to avoid germs by washing their hands.

"Hand washing can prevent so many infections," said Julianne Duarte.

She and Erica Pine, both seniors at UMass, said they also promoted hand washing when they held a flu clinic a few weeks before that. They said it is especially important for people to wash their hands often and thoroughly during flu season. More.

UMD Physics Professor Builds Supercomputer from PlayStation 3

(This article was first published in the Standard-Times of New Bedford, MA on Dec. 26, 2008).

By PHIL DEVITT
Standard-Times Correspondent

DARTMOUTH — First he stunned the science world by building a supercomputer for only a few thousand dollars, using parts from the Sony PlayStation 3.

Now he's sharing the secret.

In a new online manual, UMass Dartmouth physics professor Gaurav Khanna explains step by step how to retool the popular video game system into a sophisticated computer capable of solving complex equations in seconds.

"I hear from people who say it's nice to see that something they spend time entertaining themselves with you can do real science with," Dr. Khanna said. More

UMD alums share Washington DC experiences

Here's an interesting story from today's New Bedford Standard Times:

Washington, D.C., is a city for politics. It is also a city for people to chase their dreams. Seventeen young graduates of UMass Dartmouth, listed as "friends" on a Facebook group for university alumni, are chasing their dreams in the nation's capital.

But they don't really know each other. They were invited to join the UMass Dartmouth-Washington DC Alumni Club on Facebook by friends of friends or by their friend's friend's friend.

Some of them were willing to share their stories of life in the capital city, to talk about their dreams and to reflect on whether the real world is what they expected.

Read on...

Parents invited to financial aid meeting

Parents of seniors who plan to continue their education are encouraged to attend a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the Dartmouth High School auditorium.

The session will be presented by Bruce Palmer, UMass Dartmouth director of financial aid, and is sponsored by the Dartmouth High School Parent Support Association and the Dartmouth High School Guidance Department.

Mr. Palmer will discuss the financial aid form and the major sources of financial aid including federal aid programs, Massachusetts state scholarships and Pell grants.

Even though the focus of the meeting will be for seniors who will enter college next fall, any parent may attend in order to understand the financial aid process for future planning.

Barbara Helfrich, director of the Dartmouth High Guidance Department, will briefly review the availability of local scholarships.

This workshop will be taped by DCTV for future viewing.

Check out the new UMD TV ad

Another All-American Corsair! Congrats Seana!

For the first time since the 2006 season, a member of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's field hockey team has earned All-American honors.

Junior goalkeeper Seana Golden (Somerset, MA/Bishop Stang HS) has been named a third team Longstreth National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American. Sixteen players were honored on the third team, and 49 players received honors overall.

Golden ranked posted a 1.20 goals-against average and an .855 save percentage in 22 starts last season, and led the Little East Conference with seven shutouts. She earned first team All-Conference and first team All-New England West Region honors, and is the first Corsair to earn All-America honors since senior midfielder Robin Dziedzic (Palmer, MA/Palmer HS) was named third team All-America by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association two years ago.

"I'm thrilled for Seana, this is such an honor," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Nicole Castonguay. "The players who have been honored are from the top 20 teams, and Seana is right in there with all of them. (Assistant Coach) Temple (Mitchell) will be ecstatic, being her goalie coach. She's been working with Seana, and hard work pays off. Seana works hard in the off-season, and I expect great things from her next season."

UMass Dartmouth finished with a 16-6 record and advanced to the semi-finals of the Little East Conference post-season tournament.

Visit Corsair Athletics

UMD students heading for Germany

This winter break UMass Dartmouth is sending 15 students abroad on international education programs. The majority of them are going to Germany.

UMass Dartmouth has a long standing exchange agreement with the State of Hessen, Germany and its universities. As part of that exchange, UMD students are invited to take part in intersession programs offered by the German universities and taught in English. Students can take a number of different modules, touching upon a number of different subject areas and offered at various times during the summer months, as well as during Winter break.

Students will take part in a 3-week program with two subject tracks to choose from, one being sustainable engineering and the other being German culture. Both groups will take a German language class offered at all levels of proficiency, including no experience with the language. The current Director of International and Exchange Study programs, Heather Makrez, is excited by this great opportunity she is able to present to her students. "With the current economic situation, it is encouraging to know there are still some programs out there that will provide students with the opportunity to achieve that valuable global perspective," Makrez stated.

Visit our study abroad page.