Winter 2002

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TRICKY FEET / ACID RAIN UPDATE / BRAGGING RIGHTS

MICROSCOPIC SCOOP: the "surprisingly complex" foot of the fly. Elizabeth Brainerd photo. RECENT WORK BY UMASS BIOLOGIST Elizabeth Brainerd examines the “suprisingly dynamic” feet that allow certain ants and bees to walk on vertical surfaces. Focusing on honeybees and Asian weaver ants, the study finds “adhesive organs” quite different from those of most other insects. Instead of simple sticky pads, the foot of an ant or bee has a pair of claws with a sticky footpad between them. When the insect runs along a surface, the claws try to grasp it; if they fail to catch, they retract and the footpad comes into action – unfolding, inflating with blood, protruding so the adhesive pad can catch the surface, then deflating and folding back. The process repeats with each step as the insect skitters along. The footpad also secretes a fluid, says Brainerd, to allow it to cling to smooth surfaces “the way a piece of wet paper sticks to a window.” This combination of mechanics and hydraulics has intrigued engineers who design tiny robotic devices for medical use. LINGERING ACIDITY DESPITE A DECADE OF clean Air Act measures, acid rain damage in Massachusetts appears unabated, says PAUL GODFREY of the UMass Water Resources Research Center. Samples taken from 192 bodies of water last year are the first collected by the Acid Rain Monitoring project since 1993. “The scientific community has been concerned that acid rain impact was not lessening, and might even be worsening, primarily because of increased nitrogen oxide emissions from automobiles and trucks,” says Godfrey. “This indicates that actions to continue emission reductions seem completely justified. In fact, more will be needed nationally if we hope to make actual progress.” BRAGGING RIGHTS THE YEAR 2002 GRAD school rankings in U.S. News & World Report place four campus programs in the top 50. In listings by discipline, UMass clinical psychology tied for 28th place, education for 39th, psychology and engineering for 45th. Online graduate programs at UMass also shone in the magazine’s rankings: In October, U.S. News placed the online MPH (master of public health) program in the top three in the country, and the online MBA (master of business administration) in the top 25.

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Truth, reconciliation, action

TRUTH: larger image

COMMENCEMENT 2001: a catchup

IN A HEARTBEAT: a faculty response to September 11

LOSSES, RESPONSES: ten alumni lost; six alums' response

RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY: Coolidge Bridge project underway

RECONSTRUCTIVE: larger image

HIGHLIGHTS: rich fish - sounds grotty, but pogy oil’s good for you

Fish: larger image

Damp distinctions: water polo fourth in U.S., shower research scores Ig Nobel

Damp distinctions: larger image

Usefulness U: the Translation Center

Plus: Acid rain update, UMass bragging rights, and the soles of insects