Steve Goodwin's blog

This is a mast year for sugar maples, when they produce an overabundance of seeds. Here on campus, we’ve had our own banner spring, with a crop of inspiring speakers reminding this Dean of what being part of a university is all about—a community of learners where students and faculty gather together for stimulating exploration of ideas and attempt to identify solutions.

I discovered that my phone is on the verge of being able to perform spectacular feats through cloud computing from Dr. Victor Bahl '97 PhD, Director of the Mobile Computing Research Center (MCRC) in Microsoft Research, and recipient of the 2012 UMass Distinguished Alumni Award. I am a little worried that I might never be quite as smart as my smart phone.

From environmental business leader and advocate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the keynote speaker for the campus’ action-packed two-day Earth Day celebration, I learned we face some hard decisions about how we use energy. Kennedy was named one of Time magazine's “Heroes for the Planet” for spearheading a series of successful legal actions that helped Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River, motivating the creation of more than 160 Waterkeeper organizations across the globe.

With urgency laced with humor, Charles Mann, writer of the best-selling 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, sparked a dialogue that got everyone thinking hard about putting the notion of sustainability into cultural settings. For Mann sustainability is a forward-looking concept, not a backward looking concept.

I’ve had the opportunity to learn what we do and don’t know about preventing Alzheimer’s Disease from award-winning neuropsychologist Dr. Mary Sano '74 (Psychology). There’s clearly a lot we don’t know, but Sano, a 2012 Eleanor Bateman Alumni Scholar and the Director of Alzheimer's Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is on the forefront of discovery.

Participating in these events is truly the best part of my job. And I’m sure that just as the profusion of sugar maple saplings will (eventually) lead to more brilliant leaf-peeping and sugaring seasons, these inspiring messages will take root in the fertile brains of our outstanding students. In a nutshell (to mix my metaphors), I’ve been reminded over the past few weeks that the solutions to our most pressing problems will require all of us to be engaged in conversations that are at once cultural and political and technological and scientific. And that is what makes it so interesting.

As a scientist and Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, I’m continually impressed by the exciting and innovative research of our CNS faculty. Take the work of Rob Deconto, whose work in climatology and earth system not only take him all over the world, from the Antarctic to the Connecticut River—but also has landed him a major role in the new Northeast Climate Science Center! Hopefully the center will help us learn more about intense weather, like the October snowstorm.

I’m also amazed by what a renovation, a dedicated and creative researcher, and a useful partnership with a state agency can accomplish. The marine laboratory in Gloucester had been boarded up for four years, and the interior lab space was antiquated. The run-down exterior and frost heave-filled parking lot were victims of the harsh ocean weather. But the spectacular location in Hodgkin’s Cove, and a internationally-recognized and energetic new faculty member who specializes in studying Atlantic Ocean-based sea life—and a desire to create a value-added opportunity for the Commonwealth prevailed—and the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute, a shared venture between UMass Amherst and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries was born.

The institute is home to the Large Pelagics Research Center, where Molly Lutcavage, research professor in Environmental Conservation, studies bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, swordfish, and leatherback sea turtles, when she’s not out at sea tracking and tagging them. Lutcavage also partners with Gloucester fishermen, and there will be future opportunities for growth in research and education that will benefit state fisheries and the town of Gloucester. No fish tales here, just clear sailing.

It was a bit surreal to be riding the bus Wednesday en route to the inauguration of Robert Caret as the new president of UMass. Surreal because Amherst and the surrounding area had been devastated by a snow storm a few days previous that had felled huge trees, blocked roads, smashed cars and caused sustained power outages throughout the region. I’d lost power for 50 hours—and I was one of the lucky ones!

But the inauguration, despite the challenges of Mother Nature, was an uplifting event. President Caret seems well poised to lead the UMass system to the next level. He’s a New Englander born and bred. He’s a first generation college graduate who went on to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire. He’s been the president of two public universities before coming to UMass. And he’s intent on strengthening even further our already outstanding research productivity and is committed to putting ever increasing emphasis into insure "student success" for all students.

Yesterday I was at the Clean Energy Connections Conference in Springfield. This is the fourth year of this important regional conference that was developed by UMass. The keynote speaker was Jim Robbins who happens to be the guy who developed the two technology incubators that became part of San Jose State University under President Caret's leadership. I think it is clear that we will have a strong partner in President Caret as we work to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship within the College of Natural Sciences.

I agree with Martha about the New Laboratory Science Building and I often find myself climbing to the top floor of the Integrated Science Building to spend a few minutes watching the construction.

Saturday was the kick off meeting for the iCons program.