The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing th e artwork of graduating Master of Fine Arts students from the College of V isual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman\, Arghavan Booyeh\, Immer Cook\, Ali Masoumzadeh \, Allison Morones\, Maya August Palmer\, MITRAAVRS\, Sarah Valinezhad\, a nd Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting\, drawing\, ceramics\, digital media\, and site-specific install ation.
\nThis year\, the exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios\, Art and Design Studios\, The New Bedford Art Museum . Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in each location. P lease join us for the AHA! Night Receptions with ArtTALKS on Thursday\, Ap ril 9 and Thursday\, May 14 at 6 PM.
\nExhibition Dates: April 9 – May 14\, 2026
\nOpening Reception: April 9\, 5-8pm
\nAHA! N ight Reception with ArtTALKS: Thursday\, April 9 at 6 PM
\nAHA! Nigh t Reception with ArtTALKS: Thursday\, May 14 at 6 PM
\nNon-AHA! Nigh t Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday: 9 AM to 5 PM\; free entrance with UM assD ID
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/eve nts/cms/new-bedford-art-museum-mfa-thesis-exhibtion-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T200000 LOCATION:New Bedford Art Museum MFA Thesis Exhibtion SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:New Bedford Art Museum MFA Thesis Exhibtion UID:677d8609b7b0a771304a5cb774ceb907@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing the artwork of graduating Master o f Fine Arts students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman, Argha van Booyeh, Immer Cook, Ali Masoumzadeh, Allison Morones, Maya August Palm er, MITRAAVRS, Sarah Valinezhad, and Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting, drawing, ceramics, digital me dia, and site-specific installation. Art and Design Studios: Dartmouth Tow ne Center Plaza, 458 State Rd. North Dartmouth, MA 02747 Exhibition Dates: April 16 – May 9, 2026 Closing Reception: Thursday, May 7, 4-6 PM Galle ry Hours: Daily 9 AM to 6 PM Free and open to the public. This year, the M FA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios, Art and Design Studios, and The New Bedford Art Museum. Each student exhi bits different pieces of their work in each location.\nEvent page: https:/ /www.umassd.edu/events/cms/art-and-design-studios-mfa-thesis-exhibition-1. php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing th e artwork of graduating Master of Fine Arts students from the College of V isual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman\, Arghavan Booyeh\, Immer Cook\, Ali Masoumzadeh \, Allison Morones\, Maya August Palmer\, MITRAAVRS\, Sarah Valinezhad\, a nd Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting\, drawing\, ceramics\, digital media\, and site-specific install ation.
\nArt and Design Studios:
\nDartmouth Towne Center Plaz a\, 458 State Rd. North Dartmouth\, MA 02747
\nExhibition Dates: Apr il 16 – May 9\, 2026
\nClosing Reception: Thursday\, May 7\, 4-6 P M
\nGallery Hours: Daily 9 AM to 6 PM
\nFree and open to the p ublic.
\nThis year\, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios\, Art and Design Studios\, and The New Bed ford Art Museum. Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in e ach location.
Event page: https://www.umassd.ed u/events/cms/art-and-design-studios-mfa-thesis-exhibition-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260416T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260509T235900 LOCATION:Art and Design Studios SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Art and Design Studios MFA Thesis Exhibition UID:fe8c8fa9bb0ec1ca22b983a8d58de955@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing the artwork of graduating Master o f Fine Arts students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman, Argha van Booyeh, Immer Cook, Ali Masoumzadeh, Allison Morones, Maya August Palm er, MITRAAVRS, Sarah Valinezhad, and Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting, drawing, ceramics, digital me dia, and site-specific installation. This year, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios, Art and Design Studi os, The New Bedford Art Museum. Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in each location. Hatch Street Studios (Studio 215) 88 Hatch Street, New Bedford, MA 02745 Exhibition Dates: April 17 – May 14, 2026 Gallery Hours: Tue. and Thur. 12-4 PM; Fri. and Sat. 2-6 PM Reception: Sat urday, April 18, 5-7 PM, welcome remarks 5:30 PM Hatch Street Open Studios : Saturday, May 9, 10 AM to 6 PM Free and open to the public.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/hatch-street-studios-mfa-thesis-exhibit ion-1.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing th e artwork of graduating Master of Fine Arts students from the College of V isual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman\, Arghavan Booyeh\, Immer Cook\, Ali Masoumzadeh \, Allison Morones\, Maya August Palmer\, MITRAAVRS\, Sarah Valinezhad\, a nd Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting\, drawing\, ceramics\, digital media\, and site-specific install ation.
\nThis year\, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios\, Art and Design Studios\, The New Bedford Art Museum. Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in each location.
\nHatch Street Studios (Studio 215)
\n88 Hatch Str eet\, New Bedford\, MA 02745
\nExhibition Dates: April 17 – May 14 \, 2026
\nGallery Hours: Tue. and Thur. 12-4 PM\; Fri. and Sat. 2-6 PM
\nReception: Saturday\, April 18\, 5-7 PM\, welcome remarks 5:30 PM
\nHatch Street Open Studios: Saturday\, May 9\, 10 AM to 6 PM
\nFree and open to the public.
Event page: htt ps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/hatch-street-studios-mfa-thesis-exhibition- 1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260417T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T235900 LOCATION:Hatch Street Studios (Studio 215) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Hatch Street Studios MFA Thesis Exhibition UID:dd1852dc8108e6e767cc1aabaccf03d7@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Career Center,Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:It takes Little to be Big. With youth across the South Coast waiting, there has never been a better time to volunteer as a mentor. The experience is fun and rewarding, and our professionally trained staff will be there to support you every step of the way. Our program meets at the UMD Campus on two Wednesday's a month from 4:30-7pm. This volunteer oppor tunity matches students with youth, age 7-12, in group mentoring relations hips where the main focus is having fun on campus together and growing a c onnection! There are other unique opportunities to volunteer off campus as well. We are looking for students from all majors to learn more about men toring with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Make a difference in the life of a local child, today.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/employ er-of-the-day-big-brother-big-sister-of-eastern-ma.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It takes Little to be Big.
\nWith youth across the South Coast waiting\, there has never been a b etter time to volunteer as a mentor. The experience is fun and rewarding\, and our professionally trained staff will be there to support you every s tep of the way.
\nOur program meets at the UMD Campus on two Wedne sday's a month from 4:30-7pm. This volunteer opportunity matches students with youth\, age 7-12\, in group mentoring relationships where the main fo cus is having fun on campus together and growing a connection! There are o ther unique opportunities to volunteer off campus as well. We are looking for students from all majors to learn more about mentoring with Big Brothe rs Big Sisters.
\nMake a difference in the life of a local child\, today.
Event page: https://www.umass d.edu/events/cms/employer-of-the-day-big-brother-big-sister-of-eastern-ma. php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T113000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T143000 LOCATION:Library Living Room Lobby SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Employer of the Day: Big Brother Big Sister of Easte rn MA UID:e3a9fc274886c0187bff6fc67391c2c4@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Kimberly L ester Title: Enhancing Nursing Staff Knowledge Through Fall Prevention Edu cation Focused on Patients with Dementia Date: 4/21/2026 Time: 12:00PM ZOO M: Please contact dhoffman@umassd.edu for link Committee Members: Project Faculty Mentor: Martha M. Whitfield, PhD Second Reader: Kristin Magan, PhD Site Mentor: Joanne Roque, BSN, MS Abstract: Dementia can increase the ri sks of falls leading to physical and psychological injuries. This quality improvement project was held at a long-term care facility in Southeastern Massachusetts with Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses and Certif ied Nursing Assistants. The goals of this project were to increase nursing staff knowledge around fall prevention focused on residents with dementia and reduce falls in this population. A fall prevention intervention focus ed on residents with dementia that included a slide presentation, fall haz ard and dementia perspective exercises. The intervention was based on an A HRQ Improving Patient Safety in Long Term Care toolkit. Fall data was coll ected three months prior to the intervention in one-month intervals and on e month after the intervention. While the sample size did not meet power a nd there was no demonstrated significance between pre- and post-fall knowl edge scores (p=.449), the intervention was well received, with positive an ecdotal reports from participating staff. Fall data collected one month po st intervention showed a 14% improvement. However, results should be inter preted with caution given the relatively short timeframe.\nEvent page: htt ps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences-dnp- defense---kimberly-lester.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:College of Nursing and Health S ciences DNP Defense - Kimberly Lester
\nTitle: Enhancing Nursing Sta ff Knowledge Through Fall Prevention Education Focused on Patients with De mentia
\nDate: 4/21/2026
\nTime: 12:00PM
\nZOOM: Please contact dhoffman@umassd.edu for link
\nCommittee Members:
\nPr oject Faculty Mentor: Martha M. Whitfield\, PhD
\nSecond Reader: Kri stin Magan\, PhD
\nSite Mentor: Joanne Roque\, BSN\, MS
\nAbst ract:
\nDementia can increase the risks of falls leading to physical and psychological injuries. This quality improvement project was held at a long-term care facility in Southeastern Massachusetts with Registered Nu rses\, Licensed Practical Nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants. The goa ls of this project were to increase nursing staff knowledge around fall pr evention focused on residents with dementia and reduce falls in this popul ation. A fall prevention intervention focused on residents with dementia t hat included a slide presentation\, fall hazard and dementia perspective e xercises. The intervention was based on an AHRQ Improving Patient Safety i n Long Term Care toolkit. Fall data was collected three months prior to th e intervention in one-month intervals and one month after the intervention . While the sample size did not meet power and there was no demonstrated s ignificance between pre- and post-fall knowledge scores (p=.449)\, the int ervention was well received\, with positive anecdotal reports from partici pating staff. Fall data collected one month post intervention showed a 14% improvement. However\, results should be interpreted with caution given t he relatively short timeframe.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college-of-nursing-and -health-sciences-dnp-defense---kimberly-lester.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T130000 LOCATION:ZOOM SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Kimberly Lester UID:942b885cc5bac528f8ae0a6198b2da17@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Study Abroad DESCRIPTION:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question a bout the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Stop by the International Programs Office’s virtual advising session! Studen ts will be seen on a first come, first served basis. Email intl_programs @umassd.edu for the zoom link. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/study-abroad-virtual-advising.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question about the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Stop by the International Programs Office’s vir tual advising session! Students will be seen on a first come\, first se rved basis. Email intl_programs@umassd.edu for the zoom link.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/study-abroad-virtua l-advising.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T153000 LOCATION:Zoom; Contact intl_programs@umassd.edu for link SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Study Abroad Virtual Advising UID:56a773931522f8130331375377b0df7b@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Dr. Wei-Shun Chang Committee members: Dr. Shuowei Cai, Dr. Milana Vasudev Abstract: Characterizing the chirality of plasmonic na nostructures at the single-particle level is crucial to reveal structure –optochirality relationships. Single-particle dark-field scattering spec troscopy is commonly used to measure circular differential scattering (CDS ) owing to its high throughput, ease of implementation, and high spectrosc opic resolution. However, conventional CDS measurement setups suffer from linear dichroism artifacts, limiting measurement accuracy and leading to s ignificant uncertainty in detecting weak chirality. To address these limit ations, this work aims to develop a modified CDS configuration that simult aneously detects left- and right-handed circularly polarized components, a long with a dual-measurement correction scheme to eliminate linear dichroi sm artifacts. Building on this platform, the project will investigate plas mon-coupled circular dichroism (PCCD) in DNA-functionalized gold nanorods at the single-particle level, to elucidate how molecular structure‚ orie ntation‚ and position influence chiroptical responses beyond ensemble-av eraged measurements․ Additionally, the study will also explore plexciton ic chirality in the systems composed of chiral helical plasmonic nanorods and J-aggregate excitons and understand the mechanism of strong coupling i n this chiral hybrid system. These advances will provide deep insight for the understanding of nanoscale chirality in the application of chiral sens ing, optical communication, and nanophotonics. Meeting ID: 955 2466 7221 P assword: 715764\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/phd-dissert ation-proposal-defense-by-angel-rose-thomas.php\nEvent link: https://umass d.zoom.us/j/95524667221?pwd=EGg0bjjvwlh5GvSbzpKW9LD8RbZrES.1 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Dr. Wei-Shun Chang
\nCommittee members: Dr. Shuowei Cai\, Dr. Milana Vasudev
\nAbstr act: Characterizing the chirality of plasmonic nanostructures at the singl e-particle level is crucial to reveal structure–optochirality relationsh ips. Single-particle dark-field scattering spectroscopy is commonly used t o measure circular differential scattering (CDS) owing to its high through put\, ease of implementation\, and high spectroscopic resolution. However\ , conventional CDS measurement setups suffer from linear dichroism artifac ts\, limiting measurement accuracy and leading to significant uncertainty in detecting weak chirality. To address these limitations\, this work aims to develop a modified CDS configuration that simultaneously detects left- and right-handed circularly polarized components\, along with a dual-meas urement correction scheme to eliminate linear dichroism artifacts. Buildin g on this platform\, the project will investigate plasmon-coupled circular dichroism (PCCD) in DNA-functionalized gold nanorods at the single-partic le level\, to elucidate how molecular structure‚ orientation‚ and posi tion influence chiroptical responses beyond ensemble-averaged measurements ․ Additionally\, the study will also explore plexcitonic chirality in th e systems composed of chiral helical plasmonic nanorods and J-aggregate ex citons and understand the mechanism of strong coupling in this chiral hybr id system. These advances will provide deep insight for the understanding of nanoscale chirality in the application of chiral sensing\, optical comm unication\, and nanophotonics.
\nMeeting ID: 955 2466 7221
\nP assword: 715764
Event page: https://www
.umassd.edu/events/cms/phd-dissertation-proposal-defense-by-angel-rose-tho
mas.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/95524667221?
pwd=EGg0bjjvwlh5GvSbzpKW9LD8RbZrES.1
This presentation explores the foundations of tr aditional icon painting\, its salience\, meaning\, and the value of icons in a post-modern world\, as well as a look at contemporary icon artists.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T200000 LOCATION:Reflection Room - Campus Center 2nd Floor SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Contemporary Byzantine Iconography: The Influences a nd Relevance of Byzantine Painting UID:efa59195cb9a3c638b5ddec1345e148d@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:The Unity House wants to help reduce your physical and mental s tress by providing students with this unique service. Every Wednesday and Thursday, 10am-2pm. Please see Mandy for the sign-up sheets every Monday i n her office at the Unity House.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/professional-chair-massage-therapist-1.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Unity House wants to help r educe your physical and mental stress by providing students with this uniq ue service. Every Wednesday and Thursday\, 10am-2pm. Please see Mandy for the sign-up sheets every Monday in her office at the Unity House.
Ev ent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/professional-chai r-massage-therapist-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T140000 LOCATION:Frederick Douglass Unity House (*located ground floor Marketplace) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Professional Chair Massage Therapist UID:0ea830fd77282800e2a28bef59b1008e@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Oyenike Og unmekan, PMHN Improving Medication Reconciliation Process in an Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project Date: 4/22/2026 Time: 10:00 AM ZOOM: email dhoffman@umassd.edu for link Committee: Martha M. Wh itfield, PhD, Faculty Mentor Maryellen Brisbois, PhD, Second Reder Francis ca Nebe, Clinical Site Mentor, DNP, APRN, MHNP-BC, FNP-BC Abstract: Medica tion reconciliation (MedRec) is a critical patient safety practice designe d to ensure that patients’ medication lists are accurate and complete du ring healthcare encounters. In outpatient psychiatric settings, patients f requently receive prescriptions from multiple providers, increasing the ri sk of medication discrepancies, duplicate therapies, and adverse drug even ts. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve staff k nowledge, confidence, and adherence to medication reconciliation processes in an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Texas. A multi-part intervention b ased on the Medication at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) Toolki t was implemented to improve medication reconciliation workflow and docume ntation practices. Changes were made to patient messaging to remind pati ents to bring medication bottles/list to their appointments. The clinical and front office staff all participated in an educational session that emp hasized the importance of medication reconciliation, standardized document ation procedures, and workflow expectations. Baseline data were obtained t hrough chart audits and staff surveys to assess existing medication reconc iliation practices and staff knowledge. Following the intervention, medica tion reconciliation knowledge and confidence improved following the educat ional intervention (p = .006 and p = .005, respectively), with chart compl etion rates increasing from 40% to 55% after two weeks. Findings are con gruent with the literature which suggests that structured educational inte rventions and workflow standardization can improve medication reconciliati on practices, enhance medication accuracy, support continuity of care, red uce medication discrepancies, and promote patient safety in mental health care environments.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college- of-nursing-and-health-sciences-dnp-defense---oyenike-ogunmekan-pmhn.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:College of Nursing and Health S ciences DNP Defense - Oyenike Ogunmekan\, PMHN
\nImproving Medicatio n Reconciliation Process in an Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic:
\nA Quality Improvement Project
\nDate: 4/22/2026
\nTime: 10:00 AM
\nZOOM: email dhoffman@umassd.edu for link
\nCommittee:
\nMartha M. Whitfield\, PhD\, Faculty Mentor
\nMaryellen Brisbois\, PhD\, Second Reder
\nFrancisca Nebe\, Clinical Site Mentor\, DNP\, APRN\, MHNP-BC\, FNP-BC
\nAbstract:
\nMedication reconciliatio n (MedRec) is a critical patient safety practice designed to ensure that p atients’ medication lists are accurate and complete during healthcare en counters. In outpatient psychiatric settings\, patients frequently receive prescriptions from multiple providers\, increasing the risk of medication discrepancies\, duplicate therapies\, and adverse drug events. The purpos e of this quality improvement project was to improve staff knowledge\, con fidence\, and adherence to medication reconciliation processes in an outpa tient psychiatric clinic in Texas. A multi-part intervention based on the Medication at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) Toolkit was implem ented to improve medication reconciliation workflow and documentation prac tices. Changes were made to patient messaging to remind patients to brin g medication bottles/list to their appointments. The clinical and front of fice staff all participated in an educational session that emphasized the importance of medication reconciliation\, standardized documentation proce dures\, and workflow expectations. Baseline data were obtained through cha rt audits and staff surveys to assess existing medication reconciliation p ractices and staff knowledge. Following the intervention\, medication reco nciliation knowledge and confidence improved following the educational int ervention (p = .006 and p = .005\, respectively)\, with chart completion r ates increasing from 40% to 55% after two weeks. Findings are congruent with the literature which suggests that structured educational interventio ns and workflow standardization can improve medication reconciliation prac tices\, enhance medication accuracy\, support continuity of care\, reduce medication discrepancies\, and promote patient safety in mental health car e environments.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T110000 LOCATION:ZOOM SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Oyenike Ogunmekan, PMHN UID:09eadbf7dc3dee1747913be703781dbd@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Sustainability Office,Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:Join the Office of Campus Sustainability on the main quad to ce lebrate the earth, with a focus on making your voice matter. What to expec t: Live music provided by the Pearly Baker Band, The UMass Dartmouth Socia l Justice Choir and a student DJ. Community partners attending to offer vo lunteering opportunities and other ways to make your voice matter, such as helping you to register to vote. Merch giveaways including our sustainabi lity water bottles and Earth Day stickers. Among many other fun and impact ful activities.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/earth-day-- -your-voice-matters.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Join the Office of Campus Susta inability on the main quad to celebrate the earth\, with a focus on making your voice matter.
\nWhat to expect:
\nLive music provided by the Pearly Baker Band\, The UMass Dartmouth Social Justice Choir and a st udent DJ.
\nCommunity partners attending to offer volunteering oppor tunities and other ways to make your voice matter\, such as helping you to register to vote.
\nMerch giveaways including our sustainability wa ter bottles and Earth Day stickers.
\nAmong many other fun and impac tful activities.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/ earth-day---your-voice-matters.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T140000 LOCATION:Main Quad SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Earth Day - Your Voice Matters UID:49d19c9578ae31e00d1b581bc3b02827@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Dining DESCRIPTION:Celebrate Earth Day in The Grove with local produce and tasty c uisines! Questions? Email us at dining@umassd.edu\nEvent page: https://ww w.umassd.edu/events/cms/earth-day.php\nEvent link: https://dineoncampus.co m/umassd/events/69c6ce67925a4d4f68938d97 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Celebrate Earth Day in The Grov e with local produce and tasty cuisines! Questions? Email u s at dining@umassd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/earth-da
y.php
Event link: https://dineoncampus.com/umassd/events/69c6ce6792
5a4d4f68938d97
The Marine Science Students Ass ociation (MaSSA) is hosting the first Alumni Seminar Takeover!
\nJoi n us for an afternoon of talks from SMAST Alumni featuring cutting edge re search.
\nWednesday\, April 22\, 2026
12:00 - 4:00 pm
SMAS
T E 101-103 and via Zoom
12pm R efreshments
\n12:15pm Introduction by Kyle Cassidy\, SMAST Assista nt Dean for Operations
\n12:30pm DEOS Keynote by Grace Jensen\, MIT- WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering
\n1:30pm Intermission
\n1:40pm Plenary Talks
\n2:50pm Intermission
\n3:00pm DFO Keynote by Megan Winton\, Atlant ic White Shark Conservancy
\nhttps://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270
\nNote: Meeting ID and passcode required\, email contact to obtain.
\nFor more information\, including lecture title and abstracts\, alumn i profiles\, and zoom information\, please contact Callie Rumbut a c.rumbut@umassd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/smast-seminar-deosdfo-alumni-t
akeover.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270
This two-day poster exhibition (formerly the Sigma Xi Research Exhibit) showcases the research being done by undergraduate andgraduate students. Students working on independent research projects will present their posters from 1 pm until 3 pm on Wedne sday afternoon (April 22) and from 10 am until 12 noon on Thursday (April 23) in the Claire T. Carney Library Livingroom. All members of the Univers ity community are invited to the exhibition to see the research activities of our colleagues.
Event page: https://www.umassd
.edu/events/cms/2026-umd-spring-student-research-symposium-.php
Eve
nt link: https://www.umassd.edu/
sigmaxi/
On the Mathematical Properties
of Some Multi-Scale Traffic Models
by Xiaoqian Gong (Amherst College
)
Abstract: In this talk\, we examine the mathematical propertie s of traffic flow models across microscopic\, mesoscopic\, and macroscopic scales. At the microscopic level\, we analyze the well-posedness of the c lassical Bando Follow-the-Leader (Bando-FtL) model\, as well as its time-d elayed and nonlocal extensions. As an application of the microscopic car-f ollowing models\, we also discuss optimal cruise control strategies for tr affic smoothing. From a mesoscopic viewpoint\, we rigorously derive the me an-field limit of a finite-dimensional hybrid system that captures multi-l ane\, multi-class traffic dynamics involving both human-driven and autonom ous vehicles. At the macroscopic scale\, we briefly address the well-posed ness of a nonlocal GARZ model. Numerical simulations and field experiment results will also be presented.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/cscdr-sem
inar-on-the-mathematical-properties-of-some-multi-scale-traffic-models-.ph
p
Event link: https
://www.cscdr.umassd.edu/seminars
Joint Data and Computer Science Seminar Series
\nAbstract: In this talk\, we will explore the inter section between robust high-dimensional statistics and non-convex optimiza tion. We will show that standard optimization methods such as gradient des cent can efficiently solve various robust estimation tasks\, and conversel y\, robust estimation algorithms can be used to develop robust algorithms for various tractable non-convex problems. Our results could lead to more practical and provably robust algorithms for many statistical and machine learning tasks\, and shed light on the broader connections between robust estimation and non-convex optimization.
\nThis talk is based on join t work with Ilias Diakonikolas\, Jelena Diakonikolas\, Haichen Dong\, Rong Ge\, Shivam Gupta\, Daniel Kane\, Shuyao Li\, Alessio Mazzetto\, Mahdi So ltanolkotabi\, and Stephen Wright.
\nShort Bio: Yu Cheng is an Assis tant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Brown University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. Before joining Brown University\, he was a postdoc at Duke Uni versity\, a visiting member at the Institute for Advanced Study\, and an A ssistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His main rese arch interests include machine learning\, optimization\, and game theory.< /p>\n
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Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/bridgi ng-high-dimensional-robust-statistics-and-non-convex-optimization.php< /a>
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T143000 LOCATION:DION 311 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Bridging High-Dimensional Robust Statistics and Non- Convex Optimization UID:1cae83c072c5de54687d4493596ecacf@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Study Abroad DESCRIPTION:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question a bout the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Have q uestions about scholarships available to support your study abroad experie nce? Stop by the International Programs Office (IPO) in the Library 233! Students will be seen on a first come, first served basis. \nEvent pa ge: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/study-abroad-walk-in-advising.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question about the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Have questions about scholarships available to support your study abroad experience? Stop by the International Programs Office (IPO) in the Library 233! Students will be seen on a first come\, first served basis.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/study-abroad-walk-in-advising.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T170000 LOCATION:Library 233 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Study Abroad Walk-in Advising UID:c97e5f94b1bab7e69db5ca84f1b2ab7c@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Title: The Exploration of Patient Readiness to Discharge in Adu lts Undergoing Colonic Ostomy Creation Student: Michelle Martinis, MSN, RN , AGACNP-BC, CWCN-AP Committee: Faculty Mentor: Mark Adelung, PhD, RN, CPH Committee Member: Ouida Dowd, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN Clinical Site Mentor : Elizabeth Henderson, PhD, RN Abstract: Background: Patients undergoing s urgical ostomy creation are experiencing adaptation challenges in psychoso cial aspects, self-care management, coping abilities, and health knowledge . This rapid adjustment can cause discharge readiness deficits, leading to increased complication rates and higher readmission rates. Purpose: The p urpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement projec t was to evaluate readiness for discharge among patients with a new ostomy within 24 hours of transitioning home at a moderate-sized community hospi tal in southeastern Massachusetts. Methods: A mixed-methods design was use d. Adult patients undergoing new ostomy creation completed the 21-item Rea diness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS) and a brief five-question open- ended interview within 24 hours of discharge. Quantitative data were analy zed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha reliability testing, and a one-sample t-test comparing RHDS scores to published benchmark value s. Qualitative interview responses were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’ s thematic analysis. Results: Ten participants completed the RHDS survey, and seven participated in interviews. The overall RHDS mean score was 4.02 (SD = 0.92), significantly lower than published benchmark scores (p\nEven t page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college-of-nursing-and-health-sc iences-dnp-defense---michelle-martinis-msnrnagacnp-bc-cwcn-ap.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Title: The Exploration of Patie nt Readiness to Discharge in Adults Undergoing Colonic Ostomy Creation
\nStudent: Michelle Martinis\, MSN\, RN\, AGACNP-BC\, CWCN-AP
\nC ommittee:
\nFaculty Mentor: Mark Adelung\, PhD\, RN\, CPH
\nCo mmittee Member: Ouida Dowd\, PhD\, RN\, ACNS-BC\, CCRN
\nClinical Si te Mentor: Elizabeth Henderson\, PhD\, RN
\nAbstract:
\nBackgr ound: Patients undergoing surgical ostomy creation are experiencing adapta tion challenges in psychosocial aspects\, self-care management\, coping ab ilities\, and health knowledge. This rapid adjustment can cause discharge readiness deficits\, leading to increased complication rates and higher re admission rates.
\nPurpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Pr actice (DNP) quality improvement project was to evaluate readiness for dis charge among patients with a new ostomy within 24 hours of transitioning h ome at a moderate-sized community hospital in southeastern Massachusetts.< /p>\n
Methods: A mixed-methods design was used. Adult patients undergoin g new ostomy creation completed the 21-item Readiness for Hospital Dischar ge Scale (RHDS) and a brief five-question open-ended interview within 24 h ours of discharge. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive stati stics\, Cronbach’s alpha reliability testing\, and a one-sample t-test c omparing RHDS scores to published benchmark values. Qualitative interview responses were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.
\ nResults: Ten participants completed the RHDS survey\, and seven partic ipated in interviews. The overall RHDS mean score was 4.02 (SD = 0.92)\, s ignificantly lower than published benchmark scores (p<.001). The knowledge domain demonstrated the lowest scores\, followed by psychosocial readines s\, while expected support scored the highest. Qualitative findings suppor ted these results\, identifying themes related to education gaps\, anxiety regarding ostomy self-management\, and the need for structured discharge teaching.
\nConclusion: These findings suggested that patients wit h new ostomies may be discharged before achieving optimal readiness for se lf-care. Implementing standardized discharge readiness assessments and enh anced ostomy education may improve patient preparedness and reduce postope rative complications and readmissions.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T150000 LOCATION:ZOOM SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Michelle Martinis, MSN,RN,AGACNP-BC, CWCN-AP UID:1ffdfd3d86ad47c49b7b49105afc5372@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Financial Aid DESCRIPTION:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 Financial Aid Service s wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Ser vices for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid.Particip ants must bring their own laptop.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109-1.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs i n SENG 109
\nFinancial Aid Services wants to remind all students to
file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG
109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and le
arning more about financial aid.
Participants must bring thei
r own laptop.
Event page: https://www.uma ssd.edu/events/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T160000 LOCATION:SENG 109 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 UID:65b63e44711723eff285b1e8e6c2e8ef@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense – Stephani e Bettencourt Title: The Impact of an Educational Intervention on Psychiat ric Nurse Practitioners’ and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists’ K nowledge and Confidence to Prescribe Esketamine DNP Student: Stephanie Bet tencourt Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Time: 3:00PM ZOOM: dhoffman@umass d.edu Committee: Dr. Christine Saba Rezendes, DNP, AGCNP-BC, ACNS-BC Dr. V alerie Seney, PhD, MA, LMHC, PMHNP-BC Dr. Gulcan Bagcivan, PhD, RN Abstrac t Recurrent depressive episodes and suicidality remain a major issue in th e psychiatric field, despite current treatment options. Suicide remains th e tenth leading cause of death in ages fifteen to thirty-four in the Unite d States (Mann, J.J., et al., 2021). Oral medications can often be ineffec tive, leading to Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) (U.S.N.L.M., 2024). A relatively new N-methyl-D-asparte (NMDA) receptor antagonist, esketamine , has demonstrated an ability to rapidly reduce symptoms with minimal side effects, and produce faster recovery periods in those with TRD (Hannan & Kennedy, 2022; Mann, J. J., et al., 2021). This DNP scholarly project aims to address the lack of knowledge and confidence regarding esketamine, by implementing an online educational intervention regarding the NDMA recepto r antagonist esketamine. The educational intervention was provided to a co nvenience sampling of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners and Psychiatric Clin ical Nurse Specialists with full prescriptive authority in New England. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test comparison was used to analyze pre and post inte rvention self-rated levels of knowledge and confidence collected from pre and post surveys after completion of recorded educational intervention. Se lf-rated pre-intervention knowledge levels (Mdn= 2.00, M=2.87) were noted as significantly lower than self-rated post-intervention knowledge levels (Mdn= 5.00, M=5.73). Self-rated pre-intervention confidence levels (Mdn= 1 .00, M=2.27) were noted as significantly lower than self-rated post-interv ention knowledge levels (Mdn= 5.00, M=4.73). Results obtained illustrate a positive effect from implementation of an educational intervention regard ing increasing knowledge and confidence of esketamine and potential increa se in future treatment utilization.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/ev ents/cms/college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences-dnp--defense---stephanie-b ettencourt.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:College of Nursing and Health S ciences DNP Defense – Stephanie Bettencourt
\nTitle: The Impact of an Educational Intervention on Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners’ and Psy chiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists’ Knowledge and Confidence to Prescri be Esketamine
\nDNP Student: Stephanie Bettencourt
\nDate: Wed nesday\, April 22\, 2026
\nTime: 3:00PM
\nZOOM: dhoffman@umassd.edu
\nCommittee:
\nDr. Christine Saba Rezendes\, DNP\, AGCNP-BC\, ACNS-BC
\nDr. Valerie Seney\, PhD\, MA\, LMHC\, PMHNP-BC
\nDr. Gulcan Bagcivan\, PhD\, RN
\nAbstract
\nRecurrent depressive episodes and suicidality re main a major issue in the psychiatric field\, despite current treatment op tions. Suicide remains the tenth leading cause of death in ages fifteen to thirty-four in the United States (Mann\, J.J.\, et al.\, 2021). Oral medi cations can often be ineffective\, leading to Treatment Resistant Depressi on (TRD) (U.S.N.L.M.\, 2024). A relatively new N-methyl-D-asparte (NMDA) r eceptor antagonist\, esketamine\, has demonstrated an ability to rapidly r educe symptoms with minimal side effects\, and produce faster recovery per iods in those with TRD (Hannan & Kennedy\, 2022\; Mann\, J. J.\, et al.\, 2021). This DNP scholarly project aims to address the lack of knowledge an d confidence regarding esketamine\, by implementing an online educational intervention regarding the NDMA receptor antagonist esketamine. The educat ional intervention was provided to a convenience sampling of Psychiatric N urse Practitioners and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists with full pr escriptive authority in New England. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test compariso n was used to analyze pre and post intervention self-rated levels of knowl edge and confidence collected from pre and post surveys after completion o f recorded educational intervention. Self-rated pre-intervention knowledge levels (Mdn= 2.00\, M=2.87) were noted as significantly lower than self-r ated post-intervention knowledge levels (Mdn= 5.00\, M=5.73). Self-rated p re-intervention confidence levels (Mdn= 1.00\, M=2.27) were noted as signi ficantly lower than self-rated post-intervention knowledge levels (Mdn= 5. 00\, M=4.73). Results obtained illustrate a positive effect from implement ation of an educational intervention regarding increasing knowledge and co nfidence of esketamine and potential increase in future treatment utilizat ion.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T160000 LOCATION:ZOOM SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Stephanie Bettencourt UID:8f1a1998180543c0ae0baa7596ec6969@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Graduate Studies DESCRIPTION:April 22 at 3:00 to 4:00 PM in Library 207, The Graduate Studen t Senate (GSS) is hosting a seminar as part of Research Celebration Week. Two graduate students will speak about their research journey in UMassD, t heir work and there will be a brief Q&A session. All members of the Univer sity community are cordially invited. Light refreshment will be provided.\ nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/gss-research-seminar.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:April 22 at 3:00 to 4:00 PM in Library 207\, The Graduate Student Senate (GSS) is hosting a seminar as pa rt of Research Celebration Week. Two graduate students will speak about th eir research journey in UMassD\, their work and there will be a brief Q&A session. All members of the University community are cordially invited. Li ght refreshment will be provided.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/gss-research-seminar.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T163000 LOCATION:Library 207 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:GSS Research Seminar UID:2c18318f535373fb6b773471ab83025a@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences DESCRIPTION:Join Professor Ben Saunders, Department of English, University of Oregon, for an exciting talk that addresses the weird prevalence of bon dage imagery in the old Wonder Woman comics and the psycho-sexual theories of William Moulton Marston, the creator of the character. Marston was one of the most interesting people to work in the early comic book industry. He was a professor of psychology fascinated by theories of dominance and s ubmission, a public intellectual, the self-styled "inventor of the lie det ector," and a practicing polyamorist. His fascinating life has even been the subject of a movie (Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, 2017). But how exactly did Marston’s “scientific” theories influence his Wo nder Woman comics, and with what literary, historical, and cultural implic ations? Addressing these questions requires the intellectual perspectives, methodologies, and curiosities of a wide range of disciplines from the hu manities, social sciences, and sciences. Professor Saunders, who is the fo under of the world’s first undergraduate minor in Comics Studies, will a dopt such an interdisciplinary focus in what promises to be a highly engag ing and relevant talk. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/br idging-the-disciplines---wonder-woman-bondage-and-liberation.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Join Professor Ben Saunders\, D epartment of English\, University of Oregon\, for an exciting talk that ad dresses the weird prevalence of bondage imagery in the old Wonder Woman co mics and the psycho-sexual theories of William Moulton Marston\, the creat or of the character. Marston was one of the most interesting people to wor k in the early comic book industry. He was a professor of psychology fasci nated by theories of dominance and submission\, a public intellectual\, th e self-styled "inventor of the lie detector\," and a practicing polyamoris t. His fascinating life has even been the subject of a movie (Professor Marston and the Wonder Women\, 2017).
\nBut how exactly did Marsto n’s “scientific” theories influence his Wonder Woman comics\, and wi th what literary\, historical\, and cultural implications? Addressing thes e questions requires the intellectual perspectives\, methodologies\, and c uriosities of a wide range of disciplines from the humanities\, social sci ences\, and sciences. Professor Saunders\, who is the founder of the world ’s first undergraduate minor in Comics Studies\, will adopt such an inte rdisciplinary focus in what promises to be a highly engaging and relevant talk.
Event page: https://www .umassd.edu/events/cms/bridging-the-disciplines---wonder-woman-bondage-and -liberation.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T180000 LOCATION:The Marketplace SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Bridging the Disciplines - Wonder Woman: Bondage and Liberation UID:31bdbe5b2950400bdae669d1c4b1403c@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences DESCRIPTION:In 2019, 2023 and again this past March, UMD Honors students jo ined Professor Santow for a civil rights spring break trip to Georgia and Alabama. The students are all enrolled in a course that explores the bla ck Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 60s. For each destination (Atlanta GA, Birmingham AL, Montgomery AL, Selma AL) they visited historic sites, m useums, parks, and monuments, and met veterans of civil rights campaigns o f the 1960s — often in their own homes. History can feel abstract -- just a huge list of names, dates, and places. The trip allowed students to step outside the formal academic setting and gain an emotional understand ing of the movement and the obstacles it faced to enhance and inform their intellectual understanding. Meeting ‘foot soldiers’ of the Movement, for example, reveals the psychological and moral pain that so many young b lack people experienced in the 1950s and 1960s under the oppressive system of Jim Crow – and that people of all races endured in their non-violent efforts to change that system. It also shows them what courage looks like , and just how much our democratic way of life sometimes depends upon it.\ nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/nothing-can-be-changed-unti l-it-is-faced-a-umassd-civil-rights-trip-to-alabama.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In 2019\, 2023 and again this p ast March\, UMD Honors students joined Professor Santow for a civil rights spring break trip to Georgia and Alabama. The students are all enrolled in a course that explores the black Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 60s . For each destination (Atlanta GA\, Birmingham AL\, Montgomery AL\, Sel ma AL) they visited historic sites\, museums\, parks\, and monuments\, and met veterans of civil rights campaigns of the 1960s — often in their ow n homes. History can feel abstract -- just a huge list of names\, dates \, and places. The trip allowed students to step outside the formal academ ic setting and gain an emotional understanding of the movement and the obs tacles it faced to enhance and inform their intellectual understanding. Me eting ‘foot soldiers’ of the Movement\, for example\, reveals the psyc hological and moral pain that so many young black people experienced in th e 1950s and 1960s under the oppressive system of Jim Crow – and that peo ple of all races endured in their non-violent efforts to change that syste m. It also shows them what courage looks like\, and just how much our demo cratic way of life sometimes depends upon it.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260422T180000 LOCATION:MacLean Campus Center 007 (Blue & Gold Room) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Nothing Can Be Changed Until It Is Faced: A UM assD Civil Rights trip to Alabama UID:356bc9537db57e41ec4ae725af78b9bb@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:The Unity House wants to help reduce your physical and mental s tress by providing students with this unique service. Every Wednesday and Thursday, 10am-2pm. Please see Mandy for the sign-up sheets every Monday i n her office at the Unity House.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/professional-chair-massage-therapist.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Unity House wants to help r educe your physical and mental stress by providing students with this uniq ue service. Every Wednesday and Thursday\, 10am-2pm. Please see Mandy for the sign-up sheets every Monday in her office at the Unity House.
Ev ent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/professional-chair- massage-therapist.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T140000 LOCATION:Frederick Douglass Unity House (*located ground floor Marketplace) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Professional Chair Massage Therapist UID:3a9914900cb66db4a6682526aa1a4328@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:Come and join Health Services for an informative, fun activity in the Grove! We will be fishing for facts about healthy drinking habits a nd the harmful effects of alcohol. Prizes and snacks provided! \nEvent pa ge: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/think-before-you-drink.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Come and join Health Services f or an informative\, fun activity in the Grove! We will be fishing for fact s about healthy drinking habits and the harmful effects of alcohol. Prizes and snacks provided!
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/t hink-before-you-drink.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T130000 LOCATION:2nd Floor of the Grove SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Think Before You Drink UID:a5907adb1dabbacb327e9137fc444d19@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Title: "Predicting Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion Sever ity from Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Using Interpretable Machin e Learning" by Raksha Mohan Thesis Advisor: Maricris Mayes, Associate Prof essor, Chemistry & Biochemistry Thesis Committee:Firas Khatib, Associate P rofessor, Computer & Information ScienceDonghui Yan, Associate Professor, Mathematics Abstract: Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) account s for an estimated 20-30% of global corrosion losses, yet reliable quantit ative prediction of MIC severity remains unsolved. Electrochemical measure ments combined with interpretable machine learning provide a promising fra mework for addressing this challenge. MIC depends on coupled microbial, bi ofilm, and interfacial electrochemical processes, and charge-transfer resi stance (Rct) is a useful proxy for corrosion severity, as expressed in log ₁₀(Rct) from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). However, ph ysically interpretable predictive models for MIC remain limited. Here, we show that machine learning regressors can predict log₁₀(Rct) in MIC sy stems involving Pseudomonas and Vibrio across varying environmental condit ions. A dataset of 116 EIS and 83 potentiodynamic polarization observation s was compiled from ten peer-reviewed sources. Random forest and Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) regressors were compared using stratified five-fold cross-validation, and Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) were used to i nterpret model behavior in physically meaningful terms. GBM outperformed R andom Forest, achieving a higher cross-validated R². SHAP analysis identi fied double-layer CPE admittance as the dominant predictor of corrosion se verity, consistent with its role as a reporter of biofilm-induced interfac ial disorder, while genomic species descriptors contributed modest but int erpretable signals consistent with known difference in metabolic versatili ty between the two organisms. This work establishes a reproducible and int erpretable baseline for quantitative MIC prediction and, to our knowledge, provides the first application of SHAP analysis to EIS-derived features i n MIC while demonstrating the value of integrating genomic descriptors wit h electrochemical features for corrosion modeling. Zoom Meeting ID: 922 35 04 5299Passcode: 941562\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/dat a-science-ms-thesis-defense-by-raksha-mohan.php\nEvent link: https://umass d.zoom.us/j/92235045299?pwd=gOpd6QBNGaNhrJaTwjQXCEkGjk8iSb.1 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Title: "Predicting Microbiologi cally Influenced Corrosion Severity from Electrochemical Impedance Spectro scopy Using Interpretable Machine Learning"
\nby Raksha Mohan
\n< p>Thesis Advisor: Maricris Mayes\, Associate Professor\, Chemistry & Bioch emistry\nThesis Committee:
Firas Khatib\, Associate Professor\
, Computer & Information Science
Donghui Yan\, Associate Professor\,
Mathematics
Abstract:
\nMicrobiologically influenced corrosi on (MIC) accounts for an estimated 20-30% of global corrosion losses\, yet reliable quantitative prediction of MIC severity remains unsolved. Electr ochemical measurements combined with interpretable machine learning provid e a promising framework for addressing this challenge. MIC depends on coup led microbial\, biofilm\, and interfacial electrochemical processes\, and charge-transfer resistance (Rct) is a useful proxy for corrosion severity\ , as expressed in log₁₀(Rct) from electrochemical impedance spectrosco py (EIS). However\, physically interpretable predictive models for MIC rem ain limited. Here\, we show that machine learning regressors can predict l og₁₀(Rct) in MIC systems involving Pseudomonas and Vibrio across varyi ng environmental conditions.
\nA dataset of 116 EIS and 83 potentiod ynamic polarization observations was compiled from ten peer-reviewed sourc es. Random forest and Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) regressors were comp ared using stratified five-fold cross-validation\, and Shapley additive ex planations (SHAP) were used to interpret model behavior in physically mean ingful terms. GBM outperformed Random Forest\, achieving a higher cross-va lidated R². SHAP analysis identified double-layer CPE admittance as the d ominant predictor of corrosion severity\, consistent with its role as a re porter of biofilm-induced interfacial disorder\, while genomic species des criptors contributed modest but interpretable signals consistent with know n difference in metabolic versatility between the two organisms.
\nT his work establishes a reproducible and interpretable baseline for quantit ative MIC prediction and\, to our knowledge\, provides the first applicati on of SHAP analysis to EIS-derived features in MIC while demonstrating the value of integrating genomic descriptors with electrochemical features fo r corrosion modeling.
\nZoom Meeting ID: 922 3504 5299
Passcode
: 941562
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/eve
nts/cms/data-science-ms-thesis-defense-by-raksha-mohan.php
Event li
nk: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/92235045299?pwd=gOpd6QBNGaNhrJaTwjQ
XCEkGjk8iSb.1
Umang Panchal's topic: Comparis on of Plastron Longevity on Gas-Permeale and Non-Gas-Permeable Hydrophobic Surfaces.
\nNicholas Sardinha's topic: Investigating Uni-Axial Rein forced Polyurethane Composite Hose Under Combined Hydrostatic and Tensile Loading.
\nFor the abstract\, please contact: mrahman15@umassd.edu or scunha@umassd.edu.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/mechanical-engineering-s eminar-by-umang-panchal-and-nicholas-sardinha.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T150000 LOCATION:SENG-116 (Mechanical Engineering Conference Room) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Mechanical Engineering Seminar by Umang Panchal and Nicholas Sardinha UID:a4bbed2921a64503ee63b67008ee8ba6@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Black History 4 Seasons,Office of Civil Rights DESCRIPTION:A historical overview of traditions of community organizing, mu tual aid, collective care – and how we continue to support one another t oday. Presented by Mwalim (Prof. MJ Peters), English and Black Studies, UM ass Dartmouth and the New Bedford Historical Society.\nEvent page: https:/ /www.umassd.edu/events/cms/back-when-we-were-a-community.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A historical overview of tradit ions of community organizing\, mutual aid\, collective care – and how we continue to support one another today. Presented by Mwalim (Prof. MJ Pete rs)\, English and Black Studies\, UMass Dartmouth and the New Bedford Hist orical Society.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/ba ck-when-we-were-a-community.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T193000 LOCATION:Main Branch Library SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Back When We Were A Community UID:55ce76a9ec1071ffdc847f06a387b681@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:Come one, come all!!! Free jazz concert on Thursday, April 23rd , at 7 pm in the UMass Dartmouth CVPA Building, Performance Hall, Room #15 3. This recital is performed in partial fulfillment of the requirements fo r the Bachelor of Arts in Music at the University of Massachusetts Dartmou th.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/jupe-box-jazz.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Come one\, come all!!! Free jaz z concert on Thursday\, April 23rd\, at 7 pm in the UMass Dartmouth CVPA B uilding\, Performance Hall\, Room #153. This recital is performed in parti al fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Music at th e University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/jupe-box-jazz.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T203000 LOCATION:CVPA SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:JUPE BOX JAZZ UID:9fd307838a91b3c2ac78a995374a4955@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor - Dr Christopher Clinton Committee members - Dr. Denise Baxter, Dr Mark Paige Abstract - This autoethnographic dissertation argue s that the absence of art education from Pakistan’s formal education pol icies is not an oversight but a durable governance architecture rooted in colonial epistemology and reproduced through curriculum, examinations, and teacher credentialing. Since 1947, art education is positioned as cultura l symbolism rather than state-accountable knowledge—rarely mandated, exa mined, or resourced at scale. Integrating analytic autoethnography with in terpretive policy analysis and a bounded South Asian regional comparison, the study introduces Disciplined Liminal Otherhood (DLO), a framework for analyzing how colonial institutional design, postcolonial policy absence, neoliberal market logics, and digital platform dependencies converge to pr oduce learners who are credentialed within Western frameworks yet epistemi cally displaced from indigenous knowledge systems. Analysis of Punjab’s federal-to-provincial policy pipeline identifies a three-stage curricular mechanism—compulsory installation, elective containment, and bureaucrati c erasure—rendering art education structurally invisible in curriculum, examinations, and teacher preparation. Pakistan’s 2024 National Educatio n Policy Draft Framework devotes eighty-seven pages to educational reform without mentioning art education once. The dissertation proposes a graduat ed decolonial intervention model, arguing that decolonization requires epi stemological transformation rather than institutional reform alone.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/phd-dissertation-defense-by-aneek a-ehsan-cheema-.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor - Dr Christopher Clinto n
\nCommittee members - Dr. Denise Baxter\, Dr Mark Paige
\nAb stract - This autoethnographic dissertation argues that the absence of art education from Pakistan’s formal education policies is not an oversight but a durable governance architecture rooted in colonial epistemology and reproduced through curriculum\, examinations\, and teacher credentialing. Since 1947\, art education is positioned as cultural symbolism rather tha n state-accountable knowledge—rarely mandated\, examined\, or resourced at scale. Integrating analytic autoethnography with interpretive policy an alysis and a bounded South Asian regional comparison\, the study introduce s Disciplined Liminal Otherhood (DLO)\, a framework for analyzing how colo nial institutional design\, postcolonial policy absence\, neoliberal marke t logics\, and digital platform dependencies converge to produce learners who are credentialed within Western frameworks yet epistemically displaced from indigenous knowledge systems. Analysis of Punjab’s federal-to-prov incial policy pipeline identifies a three-stage curricular mechanism—com pulsory installation\, elective containment\, and bureaucratic erasure—r endering art education structurally invisible in curriculum\, examinations \, and teacher preparation. Pakistan’s 2024 National Education Policy Dr aft Framework devotes eighty-seven pages to educational reform without men tioning art education once. The dissertation proposes a graduated decoloni al intervention model\, arguing that decolonization requires epistemologic al transformation rather than institutional reform alone.
Event page : https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/phd-dissertatio n-defense-by-aneeka-ehsan-cheema-.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T120000 LOCATION:CVPA 107 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:PhD Dissertation Defense by Aneeka Ehsan Cheema UID:5a9871cd0354911ba6f7770892a44dbb@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Financial Aid DESCRIPTION:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 Financial Aid Service s wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Ser vices for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid.Partcipa nts must bring their own laptop.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs i n SENG 109
\nFinancial Aid Services wants to remind all students to
file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG
109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and le
arning more about financial aid.
Partcipants must bring their
own laptop.
Event page: https://www.umassd .edu/events/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109.php
< /body> DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T160000 LOCATION:SENG 109 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 UID:70797978c08e714ea79a1409d46bf915@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Portia Adj ei Donker Title: Educating Healthcare Providers on the Use of Screening Tools for Mood Disorders. Date: Friday April 24, 2026Time: 3pmZOOM: Plea se contact dhoffman@umassd.edu for link Committee:Christine Bell, PhD, RN Kristen Sethares, PhD, RN, CNE, FAHA, FHFSA, FAANErin D'avella, NP A bstract:Mood disorders such as bipolar disorder and depression are prevale nt and often debilitating mental health conditions that affect the quality of life of individuals and are among the leading causes of disability wor ldwide, affecting global health outcomes. These disorders adversely affect individuals' productivity, relationships, and overall well-being. Mood di sorders can be difficult and costly to manage. Screening tools, such as th e Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), can aid in the screening and early detection of mood disorders. However, effective implementation of these tools depends on educating heal thcare providers with the essential knowledge and skills needed to use and implement these screening tools effectively. This scholarly project sough t to educate health care providers on the use of screening tools for mood disorders, specifically PHQ-9 and MDQ. Six community healthcare providers participated in the project. The educational intervention included a prete st-posttest survey, qualitative questions, and program evaluation. A 30-mi nute educational session included a PowerPoint presentation and a question -and-answer segment. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the resul ts. The findings indicated the educational intervention improved healthcar e provider knowledge of the use of both screening tools, PHQ-9 and MDQ. Im provements in MDQ scores were statistically significant. PHQ-9 scores sh owed positive gains, though results were not significant. The education pr ogram was well-received and provided important information to support prof essional practice. All participants rated the program's overall quality as excellent. By educating healthcare providers on the use of screening tool s specifically MDQ and PHQ-9, the project supports ongoing initiatives to enhance early detection of mood disorders in clinical practice, ultimately improving patient outcomes and the quality of care. Keywords: “Mood Dis order Questionnaires," "PHQ-9," "healthcare provider training," and "mood disorder screening. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/colle ge-of-nursing-and-health-sciences-dnp--defense---portia-adjei-donker.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:College of Nursing and Health S
ciences DNP Defense - Portia Adjei Donker
Title: Educating
Healthcare Providers on the Use of Screening Tools for Mood Disorders.
Date: Friday April 24\, 2026
Time: 3pm
ZOOM: Please co
ntact dhoffman@umassd.edu for link
Committee:
Christine
Bell\, PhD\, RN
Kristen Sethares\, PhD\, RN\, CNE\, FAHA\, FHFSA\, FA
AN
Erin D'avella\, NP
Abstract:
Mood disorders
such as bipolar disorder and depression are prevalent and often debilitat
ing mental health conditions that affect the quality of life of individual
s and are among the leading causes of disability worldwide\, affecting glo
bal health outcomes. These disorders adversely affect individuals' product
ivity\, relationships\, and overall well-being. Mood disorders can be diff
icult and costly to manage. Screening tools\, such as the Mood Disorder Qu
estionnaire (MDQ) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)\, can aid
in the screening and early detection of mood disorders. However\, effecti
ve implementation of these tools depends on educating healthcare providers
with the essential knowledge and skills needed to use and implement these
screening tools effectively. This scholarly project sought to educate hea
lth care providers on the use of screening tools for mood disorders\, spec
ifically PHQ-9 and MDQ.
Six community healthcare providers partici pated in the project. The educational intervention included a pretest-post test survey\, qualitative questions\, and program evaluation. A 30-minute educational session included a PowerPoint presentation and a question-and- answer segment. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results. T he findings indicated the educational intervention improved healthcare pro vider knowledge of the use of both screening tools\, PHQ-9 and MDQ. Improv ements in MDQ scores were statistically significant. PHQ-9 scores showed positive gains\, though results were not significant. The education progr am was well-received and provided important information to support profess ional practice. All participants rated the program's overall quality as ex cellent. By educating healthcare providers on the use of screening tools s pecifically MDQ and PHQ-9\, the project supports ongoing initiatives to en hance early detection of mood disorders in clinical practice\, ultimately improving patient outcomes and the quality of care.
\nKeywords: “M ood Disorder Questionnaires\," "PHQ-9\," "healthcare provider training\," and "mood disorder screening.
< /body> DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T160000 LOCATION:ZOOM SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Portia Adjei Donker UID:4d00da2788ea5cf12a36fca5d8ecaee4@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering DESCRIPTION:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Open House First Quarter Moon\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/hirshfeld-dowd-observatory-open-h ouse.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Open House
\nFirst Quarter Moon
Event page: https://ww w.umassd.edu/events/cms/hirshfeld-dowd-observatory-open-house.php< /p> DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260424T220000 LOCATION:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Field SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Open House UID:7cf130de2d2fd859be3b8416c88c1c76@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:CVPA presents a night on the runway showcasing the creative wor k of UMass Dartmouth Fashion Design students. Experience bold, innovative designs and the next generation of fashion talent. Following the runway, I lluminance transforms the lobby into a gallery of lighting vignettes, desi gned by Interior Architecture + Design students to complement the fashion collections. Keep the night going by exploring the Interactive Media Festi val in the Campus Center—a dynamic showcase of cutting-edge digital art and media experiences.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/ligh t--fashion.php\nEvent link: https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice /umassdartmouth/L2VtYmVkL2V2ZW50LzE2NQ== X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
CVPA presents a night on the ru nway showcasing the creative work of UMass Dartmouth Fashion Design studen ts. Experience bold\, innovative designs and the next generation of fashio n talent.
\nFollowing the runway\, Illuminance transforms t he lobby into a gallery of lighting vignettes\, designed by Interior Archi tecture + Design students to complement the fashion collections.
\nK eep the night going by exploring the Interactive Media Festival in the Cam pus Center—a dynamic showcase of cutting-edge digital art and media expe riences.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/light--fashion.phpEvent link: https://events.hometownticketing.com/ boxoffice/umassdartmouth/L2VtYmVkL2V2ZW50LzE2NQ==
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T063000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T213000 LOCATION:Campus Center Theater SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Light + Fashion UID:bf5ade7667505a743f6f9d3955b3dc7c@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences DESCRIPTION:We will meet in front of the Campus Center at 9am on April 25th where we will be collecting a $5 donation to help support the Make-A-Wish Foundation in continuing their goal of supporting children with cancer.\n Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/walks-for-wishes.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:We will meet in front of the Ca mpus Center at 9am on April 25th where we will be collecting a $5 donation to help support the Make-A-Wish Foundation in continuing their goal of su pporting children with cancer.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/ walks-for-wishes.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T110000 LOCATION:Campus Center SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Walks For Wishes UID:330cbaa3a19b8177d3d60af3e6213b84@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:An evening of Light and Fashion featuring runway collections by UMass Dartmouth Fashion Design students, and Illuminance, an experiential lighting exhibition by Interior Architecture + Design students, followed by the Interactive Media Festival. General Admission (Free) RSVP with link Doors open at 6:00 PMReception to followMacLean Campus Center, Main Audito rium Illuminance 8:00pm – 9:00pmFeaturing illuminated displays by Interi or Architecture + Design students. Interactive Media Festival 8:00pm – 9 :30pmA dynamic celebration of innovation, creativity, and hands-on explora tion\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/light--design-runway-s how-.php\nEvent link: https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/umass dartmouth/L2VtYmVkL2V2ZW50LzE2NQ== X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:An evening of Light and Fashion featuring runway collections by UMass Dartmouth Fashion Design students\, and Illuminance\, an experiential lighting exhibition by Interior Archite cture + Design students\, followed by the Interactive Media Festival.
\ nGeneral Admission (Free) RSVP with link
Doors open at 6:00 PM
Reception to follow
MacLean Campus Center\, Main Auditorium
Illuminance 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Featuring illuminated displays by Inte
rior Architecture + Design students.
Interactive Media Festival 8:
00pm – 9:30pm
A dynamic celebration of innovation\, creativity\, an
d hands-on exploration
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cm
s/light--design-runway-show-.php
Event link: https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/umassdartmouth/L2VtYmVkL2V
2ZW50LzE2NQ==
As we continue to celebrate the diversity and global perspectives that enrich our campus community\, we a re pleased to invite you to Global Fusion 2.0\, UMass Dartmouth’s signat ure multicultural showcase. Global Fusion 2.0 brings together the rich cul tural traditions\, artistic expressions\, and global stories that make our UMass Dartmouth community so vibrant.
\nThe program this year featu res an exciting lineup of professional and student performances\, includin g:
\nWe wo uld be honored to have you as we celebrate diversity\, creativity\, and co mmunity at UMass Dartmouth. Your support and engagement mean a great deal to our students and community members who are eager to share their heritag e\, creativity\, and pride. Global Fusion 2.0 reflects our shared commitme nt to fostering an inclusive and globally engaged campus environment.
\ nThank you for your continued dedication to supporting an inclusive and globally connected university community. We look forward to welcoming you to an unforgettable evening of culture\, connection\, and celebration.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/global-fusion-20.php
Event
link: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=DWyNM
i8PdkuTEJdiuhw-LQAmtDxhefJElsuth7K4El9UM0ZBTk1TMTZKQUEzN1E1RDVWRUExMkdYNi4
u&\;route=shorturl
Department of Fisheries Oceanog raphy
\nPhD Dissertation Defense
"Handling uncertainty in fishe
ries management: Developing tools in support of Management Strategy Evalua
tion"
By: Amanda R. Hart
Advisor
Dr. Gavin Fay (UMass Da
rtmouth)
Committee Members
\nDr. Steven X. Cadrin (UMass Dar tmouth)\, Dr. Lauran Brewster (UMass Dartmouth)\, Dr. Geret DePiper (Texas A&M University Corpus Christi)\, and Dr. Allan Hicks (International Pacif ic Halibut Commission)
\nMonday April 27\, 2026
1:30 PM
SM
AST East 101-103
836 S. Rodney French Blvd\, New Bedford
and via
Zoom
Abstract:
\nSustainable fisheries management requires an understanding of interactions between fish\, marine environments\, fish ing activities\, and fisheries governance. Managing with imperfect informa tion about these interactions can result in undesirable differences betwee n the expected and realized management outcomes. Management Strategy Evalu ation (MSE) is a model simulation method that rigorously tests management alternatives before they are implemented to help align expected and realiz ed management outcomes. Tests can be conducted in the context of natural v ariability\, uncertain stock status\, and imperfect management implementat ion to assess potential trade-offs between management alternatives and ide ntify alternatives that are robust to these uncertainties. The goal of thi s dissertation is to develop tools that support the integration of MSE int o existing management processes\, using three case studies from the Northe ast U.S. as examples.
\nChapter 1 demonstrates the viability of stat istical tree analysis to synthesize MSE results for an Ecosystem-Based Fis heries Management (EBFM) case study. Chapter 2 expands the realism of this MSE framework to include technical interactions for multi-species groundf ish fisheries and assess their impact on EBFM performance. Chapter 3 devel ops a novel visualization tool to communicate MSE outcomes for Atlantic he rring. These studies highlight opportunities to advance MSE applications t o support both scientific and regulatory decision making by improving work flow reproducibility\, streamlining results communication and leveraging s ynchronicity between MSE and EBFM to advance modeling.
\nJoin Meetin
g
https://umassd.zoom.
us/j/94634734564
Note: Meeting ID and passcode required\, email c
ontact to obtain
For additional information\, please contact Callie R
umbut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/-handling-uncertainty-in-fisheri
es-management-developing-tools-in-support-of-management-strategy-evaluatio
n-presented-by-amanda-r-hart.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/94634734564
Advisor: Dr. Haiping Xu
Co
mmittee Members: Dr. Adnan El-Nasan and Dr. Joshua Carberry
A
bstract: Storms remain among the most serious hazards in maritime environm
ents\, where rapidly changing weather conditions can threaten human life a
nd disrupt vessel operations. Existing storm detection and forecasting met
hods often rely on satellite observations and large-scale numerical weathe
r models\, both of which require substantial computational resources and s
table communication links that may be unavailable at sea. In addition\, ma
ny machine learning approaches depend on large labeled datasets and predef
ined storm categories\, limiting their ability to detect rare\, rapidly de
veloping\, or previously unseen events. This thesis presents an unsupervis
ed\, sensor-based framework for early storm formation detection using mult
ivariate meteorological time-series data collected from onboard instrument
s. The proposed approach uses directly measurable variables\, including su
rface pressure\, wind speed\, sea surface temperature\, near-surface air t
emperature\, and dew point temperature\, without relying on external data
sources. A temporal autoencoder is trained exclusively on fair-weather obs
ervations to learn the normal temporal behavior of atmospheric conditions.
During real-time operation\, deviations from this learned baseline are qu
antified through reconstruction error\, enabling the system to identify an
omalous patterns associated with early storm development. To improve relia
bility in practical deployment\, the framework incorporates persistence-ba
sed alerting and statistically derived anomaly thresholds based on fair-we
ather variability. The system is evaluated using both synthetic storm scen
arios and real storm events derived from historical storm archives. Result
s demonstrate that the proposed method consistently detects storm formatio
n with reasonable lead times and provides meaningful early warnings in pra
ctice\, making it a practical and robust solution for enhancing maritime s
afety in remote or resource-limited environments.
All CIS gra
duate students are encouraged to attend. For further information please co
ntact Dr. Haiping Xu at hxu@umassd.edu
Join the Leduc Center for Civic Engagement at the 2026 Celebration of service on Monday\, April 27th from 6:00PM – 7:30PM at the Claire T. Carney Library\, Grand Reading Room. F eaturing presentations from the current Claire T. Carney Leader Cohort\, i ntroductions to the next Cohort\, and a service recognition ceremony celeb rating: AmeriCorps Members\, America Reads Leaders\, and students qualifyi ng for a cord/stole for graduation.
\nRSVP on CorsairEngage: https:/ /givepul.se/m2umuk
Event page: http
s://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/leduc-center-for-civic-engagement-celebratio
n-of-service.php
Event link: ht
tps://givepul.se/m2umuk
Abstract:
\nType Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are common luminous astrophysical transients. SNe I a are thought to originate from the thermonuclear runaway of a mass accret ing white dwarf (WD) in binary systems. While SNe Ia have demonstrated the ir importance in measuring the expansion rate of the universe and the chem ical evolution of galaxies\, key questions about their progenitors and exp losion mechanisms are still open. In recent years\, the helium-ignited bin ary WD merger has emerged as a robust channel leading to normal SNe Ia. In this channel\, two unequal mass WDs with thin surface helium layers begin mass transfer (accretion) from the lower mass (secondary) WD onto the hig her mass (primary) WD. During this accretion\, the surface helium layer de tonation on the primary can trigger another detonation near its core\, whi ch leads to complete disruption of the primary WD. The secondary WD is imp acted by the ejected material and potentially also triggers helium and cor e detonations.
\nThis Ph.D. thesis aims to investigate the end-to-en d evolution of the helium-ignited binary WD merger channel–from the gene ration of physically consistent initial conditions of the binary systems t o the supernova remnant phase of the ejecta. We will employ the FLASH-X hy drodynamical simulation framework to capture the full 3D evolution of the binary WD system. For accurate modeling of these systems\, our ongoing eff orts focus on improving the existing gravity solvers by implementing flux- conservative numerical approaches for angular momentum and total energy co nservation in the framework of FLASH-X. With these new developments\, the resulting models will be post-processed with radiation transport codes (Su perNu\, Sedona) to generate synthetic spectra. The systematic comparison b etween models and observations of SNe Ia will help constrain progenitor sc enarios and improve our understanding of the explosion physics of these ev ents.
\nADVISOR(s): Dr. Robert Fisher\, Department of Physics (Rober t.fisher@umassd.edu)
\nCOMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dr. Sigal Gottlieb\, Depar tment of Mathematics Dr. Vijay Varma\, Department of Mathematics
Eve nt page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms /eas-doctoral-proposal-defense--by-vrutant-vikasbhai-mehta.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T153000 LOCATION:TXT 105 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:EAS Doctoral Proposal Defense by Vrutant Vikasbhai Mehta UID:1de0ea9b23299c8e366361e22a67a62f@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Study Abroad DESCRIPTION:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question a bout the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Stop by the International Programs Office’s virtual advising session! Studen ts will be seen on a first come, first served basis. Email intl_programs @umassd.edu for the zoom link. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/study-abroad-virtual-advising.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question about the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Stop by the International Programs Office’s vir tual advising session! Students will be seen on a first come\, first se rved basis. Email intl_programs@umassd.edu for the zoom link.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/study-abroad-virtua l-advising.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T153000 LOCATION:Zoom; Contact intl_programs@umassd.edu for link SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Study Abroad Virtual Advising UID:a634324f42dcb989fafeb819f7b87295@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Lectures and Seminars,The sis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Title: Enhancing Staff Knowledge and Confidence in the Manageme nt of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD): A Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative Student: Jonadab Erhahon, MSN, RN, PMHNP Facul ty Mentor: Mark Adelung, PhD, RN, CPH Committee Member: Kristopher Jackson , PhD, MPH, AGACNP-BC, CNE, FAANP Clinical Site Mentor: Katina Herron, MSN , NP-C Date: 4/29/2026 Time: 9:00AM Zoom: Please contact dhoffman@umassd.e du for link. Abstract Background: Behavioral and psychological symptoms o f dementia (BPSD), including agitation, aggression, anxiety, and wandering , are prevalent among nursing home residents and pose significant care cha llenges. Although nonpharmacological interventions are recommended as firs t-line management, antipsychotic medications remain widely used despite as sociated risks. At Victory Nursing Home, reliance on these medications hig hlighted the need to strengthen staff competency in nonpharmacological app roaches. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project wa s to evaluate whether a structured educational intervention could improve nursing home staff knowledge and confidence in the nonpharmacological mana gement of BPSD. Methods: A single-group pretest–posttest design was use d with 34 nursing home staff (RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and activities personnel). Participants completed the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool (DKAT) and t he Confidence in Dementia (CODE) scale before and after an educational pro gram focused on communication strategies, environmental modifications, and person-centered care. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests, with qualitative feedback analyzed using content analysis. Results: Statistically significant improvements were observed i n both knowledge and confidence following the intervention. Mean DKAT scor es increased from 15.29 to 18.56 (p < .001), and CODE scores increased fro m 34.21 to 41.50 (p < .001). Qualitative findings indicated increased conf idence in applying strategies such as validation, redirection, and environ mental modification, while also identifying barriers including staffing co nstraints and limited time. Conclusion: A structured educational interven tion effectively improved staff knowledge and confidence in nonpharmacolog ical management of BPSD. Strengthening staff competency in person-centered dementia care may help reduce reliance on antipsychotic medications and i mprove resident outcomes. Continued organizational support is needed to su stain practice change.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/coll ege-of-nursing-and-health-sciences-dnp--defense---jonadab-erhahon-msn-rn-p mhnp.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Title: Enhancing Staff Knowledg e and Confidence in the Management of Behavioral and Psychological Symptom s of Dementia (BPSD): A Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative
\nStuden t: Jonadab Erhahon\, MSN\, RN\, PMHNP
\nFaculty Mentor: Mark Adelung \, PhD\, RN\, CPH
\nCommittee Member: Kristopher Jackson\, PhD\, MPH \, AGACNP-BC\, CNE\, FAANP
\nClinical Site Mentor: Katina Herron\, M SN\, NP-C
\nDate: 4/29/2026
\nTime: 9:00AM
\nZoom: Pleas e contact dhoffman@umassd.edu< /a> for link.
\nAbstract
\nBackground: Behavioral and psychol ogical symptoms of dementia (BPSD)\, including agitation\, aggression\, an xiety\, and wandering\, are prevalent among nursing home residents and pos e significant care challenges. Although nonpharmacological interventions a re recommended as first-line management\, antipsychotic medications remain widely used despite associated risks. At Victory Nursing Home\, reliance on these medications highlighted the need to strengthen staff competency i n nonpharmacological approaches.
\nPurpose: The purpose of this qua lity improvement (QI) project was to evaluate whether a structured educati onal intervention could improve nursing home staff knowledge and confidenc e in the nonpharmacological management of BPSD.
\nMethods: A single -group pretest–posttest design was used with 34 nursing home staff (RNs\ , LPNs\, CNAs\, and activities personnel). Participants completed the Deme ntia Knowledge Assessment Tool (DKAT) and the Confidence in Dementia (CODE ) scale before and after an educational program focused on communication s trategies\, environmental modifications\, and person-centered care. Data w ere analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests\, wit h qualitative feedback analyzed using content analysis.
\nResults: Statistically significant improvements were observed in both knowledge and confidence following the intervention. Mean DKAT scores increased from 15 .29 to 18.56 (p < .001)\, and CODE scores increased from 34.21 to 41.50 (p < .001). Qualitative findings indicated increased confidence in applying strategies such as validation\, redirection\, and environmental modificati on\, while also identifying barriers including staffing constraints and li mited time.
\nConclusion: A structured educational intervention eff ectively improved staff knowledge and confidence in nonpharmacological man agement of BPSD. Strengthening staff competency in person-centered dementi a care may help reduce reliance on antipsychotic medications and improve r esident outcomes. Continued organizational support is needed to sustain pr actice change.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T100000 LOCATION:Zoom SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - Jonadab Erhahon, MSN, RN, PMHNP UID:9ad86aa66aa93711604f1474a7dc97fd@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Lectures and Seminars,The sis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Title: An Evidence-Based Training Program to Improve Communicat ion and De-escalation Skills in Medical-Surgical Nurses Student: David Hee ps, BS, ADN, RN Faculty Mentor: Mark Adelung, PhD, RN, CPH Committee Membe r: Michelle Glowny, PhD, RN, CNE Clinical Site Mentor: Carolyn Harding, DN P, RN Date: April 29, 2026 Time: 10:00AM Zoom: Please contact dhoffman@ umassd.edu for link. Abstract Background: Medical-surgical nurses frequ ently care for patients with mental health conditions yet often feel unpre pared to manage escalating behaviors, which can contribute to decreased co nfidence, increased workplace violence, and poorer patient outcomes. The p urpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to implement a nd evaluate a brief, evidence-based educational intervention focused on co mmunication and verbal de-escalation skills to improve nurses’ mental he alth knowledge and perceived competence in managing escalating behavioral health events. Methods: This project used a quantitative, quasi-experiment al one-group pretest–posttest design with a qualitative component. Medic al-surgical nurses (N = 11) participated in an online, asynchronous, narra ted PowerPoint training module. Outcomes were measured using the validated Behavioral Health Care Competency (BHCC) survey before and after the inte rvention. Data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and effect sizes . Results: Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall BHCC scores, with a 16.7% increase from pretest to posttest (p = .005) and a large effect size (d = 1.10). Significant improvements were al so observed across all four subscales, with the greatest improvement in pr actice/intervention competency (d = 1.24). Qualitative feedback supported these findings, with participants reporting increased confidence, improved ability to recognize early signs of agitation, and greater use of de-esca lation strategies. Participants also identified ongoing educational needs, particularly related to psychotropic medications and managing delirium. C onclusions: Despite limitations such as a small sample size, single-site d esign, and short-term evaluation, findings suggest that a brief educationa l intervention can meaningfully improve nurses’ behavioral health knowle dge and confidence. This project supports integrating structured communica tion and de-escalation training into orientation and ongoing education for medical-surgical nurses to support safer patient care and reduce workplac e risk.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college-of-nursing- and-health-sciences-dnp--defense---david-heeps-bs-adn-rn.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Title: An Evidence-Based Traini ng Program to Improve Communication and De-escalation Skills in Medical-Su rgical Nurses
\nStudent: David Heeps\, BS\, ADN\, RN
\nFaculty Mentor: Mark Adelung\, PhD\, RN\, CPH
\nCommittee Member: Michelle Glowny\, PhD\, RN\, CNE
\nClinical Site Mentor: Carolyn Harding\, DN P\, RN
\n\n
Date: April 29\, 2026
\nTime: 10:00AM
\ nZoom: Please contact dhoff man@umassd.edu for link.
\n\n
Abstract
\nBackgroun d: Medical-surgical nurses frequently care for patients with mental health conditions yet often feel unprepared to manage escalating behaviors\, whi ch can contribute to decreased confidence\, increased workplace violence\, and poorer patient outcomes. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practi ce (DNP) project was to implement and evaluate a brief\, evidence-based ed ucational intervention focused on communication and verbal de-escalation s kills to improve nurses’ mental health knowledge and perceived competenc e in managing escalating behavioral health events.
\nMethods: This p roject used a quantitative\, quasi-experimental one-group pretest–postte st design with a qualitative component. Medical-surgical nurses (N = 11) p articipated in an online\, asynchronous\, narrated PowerPoint training mod ule. Outcomes were measured using the validated Behavioral Health Care Com petency (BHCC) survey before and after the intervention. Data were analyze d using paired samples t-tests and effect sizes.
\nResults: Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall BHCC score s\, with a 16.7% increase from pretest to posttest (p = .005) and a large effect size (d = 1.10). Significant improvements were also observed across all four subscales\, with the greatest improvement in practice/interventi on competency (d = 1.24). Qualitative feedback supported these findings\, with participants reporting increased confidence\, improved ability to rec ognize early signs of agitation\, and greater use of de-escalation strateg ies. Participants also identified ongoing educational needs\, particularly related to psychotropic medications and managing delirium.
\nConclu sions: Despite limitations such as a small sample size\, single-site desig n\, and short-term evaluation\, findings suggest that a brief educational intervention can meaningfully improve nurses’ behavioral health knowledg e and confidence. This project supports integrating structured communicati on and de-escalation training into orientation and ongoing education for m edical-surgical nurses to support safer patient care and reduce workplace risk.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T110000 LOCATION:Zoom SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - David Heeps, BS, ADN, RN UID:b342aa15ee2d84ac3585b4a95e2fd73c@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Dr. Donghui Yan Committee Members: Dr. Yuchou Chang, Computer and Information Science Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dr. Long Jiao, Computer and Information Science Department, Univ ersity of Massachusetts Dartmouth Abstract: Cryptocurrency markets are non -stationary, making price forecasting inherently unreliable over time. Thi s study examines whether the choice of target variable has more impact on forecast stability than the choice of model architecture. Five models are evaluated across two target formulations: raw Bitcoin price and 1-hour per centage change. The models tested are Naive Forecast, ARIMA, LSTM, Bidirec tional LSTM, and GRU, each trained and assessed over a 27-day test window using live data collected at 5-minute intervals across a rolling six-week period. Drift detection using the Wasserstein distance confirmed that raw price exhibits significantly greater distributional shift than percentage change over the same timeframe. Models trained on raw price produced direc tional accuracy below 50% across all learned architectures, with visible d egradation over the test window. The Naive Forecast outperformed all learn ed models on both RMSE ($110.34) and MAE ($66.08). Models trained on perce ntage change maintained substantially higher accuracy: LSTM achieved 74.7% directional accuracy, while BiLSTM and GRU both reached 72.8%, with no co mparable decay observed. The results indicate that model decay in Bitcoin forecasting is driven primarily by data drift in the target variable rathe r than by limitations in the predicting architecture. When the target is s tationary, all models tested retain their accuracy across the full evaluat ion window.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/data-science-ms -thesis-defense-by-adithi-madduluri.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Dr. Donghui Yan
\ nCommittee Members:
\nDr. Yuchou Chang\, Computer and Information Science Department\, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
\nDr. Lo ng Jiao\, Computer and Information Science Department\, University of Mass achusetts Dartmouth
\nAbstract:
\nCryptocurrency markets are n on-stationary\, making price forecasting inherently unreliable over time. This study examines whether the choice of target variable has more impact on forecast stability than the choice of model architecture. Five models a re evaluated across two target formulations: raw Bitcoin price and 1-hour percentage change. The models tested are Naive Forecast\, ARIMA\, LSTM\, B idirectional LSTM\, and GRU\, each trained and assessed over a 27-day test window using live data collected at 5-minute intervals across a rolling s ix-week period. Drift detection using the Wasserstein distance confirmed t hat raw price exhibits significantly greater distributional shift than per centage change over the same timeframe. Models trained on raw price produc ed directional accuracy below 50% across all learned architectures\, with visible degradation over the test window. The Naive Forecast outperformed all learned models on both RMSE ($110.34) and MAE ($66.08). Models trained on percentage change maintained substantially higher accuracy: LSTM achie ved 74.7% directional accuracy\, while BiLSTM and GRU both reached 72.8%\, with no comparable decay observed. The results indicate that model decay in Bitcoin forecasting is driven primarily by data drift in the target var iable rather than by limitations in the predicting architecture. When the target is stationary\, all models tested retain their accuracy across the full evaluation window.
Event page: https:/ /www.umassd.edu/events/cms/data-science-ms-thesis-defense-by-adithi-maddul uri.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T113000 LOCATION:Virtual SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Data Science MS Thesis Defense by Adithi Madduluri UID:713b1ba36bb2a4d4c58034a66ab46663@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:College of EngineeringData Science Master's Thesis Defense "Ev aluating the Impact of Data Drift on Deep Learning Models for Bitcoin Pric e Forecasting" By Adithi Madduluri Advisor: Dr. Donghui Yan, Mathemati cs, UMass Dartmouth Committee Members:Dr. Yuchou Chang, Computer and Info rmation Science Department, UMass DartmouthDr. Long Jiao, Computer and Inf ormation Science Department, UMass Dartmouth Thursday, April 29, 202610:3 0 am to 11:30 am Via Zoom: Please contact Adithi Madduluri (amadduluri@um assd.edu) or Dr. Yan (dyan@umassd.edu) for the zoom link and passcode A bstract: Cryptocurrency markets are non-stationary, making price forecasti ng inherently unreliable over time. This study examines whether the choice of target variable has more impact on forecast stability than the choice of model architecture. Five models are evaluated across two target formula tions: raw Bitcoin price and 1-hour percentage change. The models tested a re Naive Forecast, ARIMA, LSTM, Bidirectional LSTM, and GRU, each trained and assessed over a 27-day test window using live data collected at 5-minu te intervals across a rolling six-week period. Drift detection using the W asserstein distance confirmed that raw price exhibits significantly greate r distributional shift than percentage change over the same timeframe. Mod els trained on raw price produced directional accuracy below 50% across al l learned architectures, with visible degradation over the test window. Th e Naive Forecast outperformed all learned models on both RMSE ($110.34) an d MAE ($66.08). Models trained on percentage change maintained substantial ly higher accuracy: LSTM achieved 74.7% directional accuracy, while BiLSTM and GRU both reached 72.8%, with no comparable decay observed. The result s indicate that model decay in Bitcoin forecasting is driven primarily by data drift in the target variable rather than by limitations in the predic ting architecture. When the target is stationary, all models tested retain their accuracy across the full evaluation window. All Data Science and C omputer Science Graduate Students are encouraged to attend. For more info rmation, please contact Dr. Donghui Yan at dyan@umassd.edu.\nEvent page: h ttps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/evaluating-the-impact-of-data-drift-on-de ep-learning-models-for-bitcoin-price-forecasting.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:College of Engineering
Dat
a Science Master's Thesis Defense
"Evaluating the Impact of D
ata Drift on Deep Learning Models for Bitcoin Price Forecasting"
By Adithi Madduluri
Advisor:
Dr. Donghui Yan\, Ma
thematics\, UMass Dartmouth
Committee Members:
Dr. Yucho
u Chang\, Computer and Information Science Department\, UMass Dartmouth
Dr. Long Jiao\, Computer and Information Science Department\, UMass Dar
tmouth
Thursday\, April 29\, 2026
10:30 am to 11:30 am
Via Zoom: Please contact Adithi Madduluri (amadduluri@umassd.e
du) or Dr. Yan (dyan@umassd.edu) for the zoom link and passcode
<
br />Abstract: Cryptocurrency markets are non-stationary\, making price fo
recasting inherently unreliable over time. This study examines whether the
choice of target variable has more impact on forecast stability than the
choice of model architecture. Five models are evaluated across two target
formulations: raw Bitcoin price and 1-hour percentage change. The models t
ested are Naive Forecast\, ARIMA\, LSTM\, Bidirectional LSTM\, and GRU\, e
ach trained and assessed over a 27-day test window using live data collect
ed at 5-minute intervals across a rolling six-week period. Drift detection
using the Wasserstein distance confirmed that raw price exhibits signific
antly greater distributional shift than percentage change over the same ti
meframe. Models trained on raw price produced directional accuracy below 5
0% across all learned architectures\, with visible degradation over the te
st window. The Naive Forecast outperformed all learned models on both RMSE
($110.34) and MAE ($66.08). Models trained on percentage change maintaine
d substantially higher accuracy: LSTM achieved 74.7% directional accuracy\
, while BiLSTM and GRU both reached 72.8%\, with no comparable decay obser
ved. The results indicate that model decay in Bitcoin forecasting is drive
n primarily by data drift in the target variable rather than by limitation
s in the predicting architecture. When the target is stationary\, all mode
ls tested retain their accuracy across the full evaluation window.
All Data Science and Computer Science Graduate Students are encourag
ed to attend.
For more information\, please contact Dr. Dongh
ui Yan at dyan@umassd.edu.
Topic: Spectral Projection Mode l for Electromagnetic Scattering from Conducting Objects
\nAbstract: Electromagnetic analysis for many years has depended on both analytical a nd numerical methods. Analytical methods could provide accurate solutions\ , but they could only be used for basic shapes like circular cylinders and spheres. As electromagnetics became more demanding\, there have been situ ations with shapes that are irregular and asymmetrical\, where analytical techniques are not easily applicable. For this reason\, numerical techniqu es such as the Method of Moments (MoM) have become widely used\, although they can be computationally expensive\, especially for large-scale problem s. The objective of this study was to test the validity of the alternative techniques developed at UMassD known as the Spectral Projection Model (SP M) by systematically comparing its results with those obtained using the M ethod of Moments (MoM) when applied to scattering form circular and ellipt ical cylinders. The MoM technique is used to solve integral equations by d iscretizing them and converting it into a system of linear equations. The key idea behind SPM is to exploit the addition theorem of Hankel functions \, which allows Green’s function to be decomposed into a series of angul ar modes. Each mode represents a global wave pattern that wraps around the object. Rather than computing interactions between individual surface ele ments\, the problem is reformulated in terms of determining the amplitude of each angular mode. Both methods were implemented and tested under ident ical conditions\, and their results were analyzed in terms of accuracy\, c onvergence\, and computational efficiency. The SPM produced good agreeme nt with Method of Moments techniques. This work aims to determine whether SPM can serve as a reliable and efficient alternative to conventional nume rical methods in the analysis of electromagnetic scattering.
\nAdvis or(s): Dr. Dayalan P. Kasilingam\, Professor\, Dept. of Electrical & Compu ter Engineering\, UMASS Dartmouth
\nCommittee Members: Dr. David A. Brown\, Professor\, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering\, UMASS Dar tmouth\; Dr. Paul J. Gendron\, Professor\, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering\, UMASS Dartmouth
\nNOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend. All interested parties are invited to attend. Open t o the public.
\n*For further information\, please contact Dr. Dayala n Kasilingam via email at dkasilingam@umassd.edu.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T150000 LOCATION:Lester W. Cory Conference Room, Science & Engineering Building (SENG), Room 213A SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:ELEE Research Component of PhD Qualifier Exam by Tem egni Ulrich Bertaud UID:75b86fcf1b84ebdde0da55c64c1456ef@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Office of Student Engagement & Leadership (OSEL),Center for Wome n, Gender, and Sexuality,Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:Join millions of people across the world that will wear jeans w ith a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence. Learn more at denimday.org \nEvent page: ht tps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/denim-day-photo-booth.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Join millions of people across the world that will wear jeans with a purpose\, support survivors\, and ed ucate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence. Learn more at denimday.org
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/denim-d ay-photo-booth.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T160000 LOCATION:Campus Center SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Denim Day Photo Booth UID:4f8ee437bff6d38be0a4597279f90a85@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Study Abroad DESCRIPTION:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question a bout the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Have q uestions about scholarships available to support your study abroad experie nce? Stop by the International Programs Office (IPO) in the Library 233! Students will be seen on a first come, first served basis. \nEvent pa ge: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/study-abroad-walk-in-advising.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question about the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Have questions about scholarships available to support your study abroad experience? Stop by the International Programs Office (IPO) in the Library 233! Students will be seen on a first come\, first served basis.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/study-abroad-walk-in-advising.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T170000 LOCATION:Library 233 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Study Abroad Walk-in Advising UID:f777612809fc729de7741044c1dfb48a@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Financial Aid DESCRIPTION:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 Financial Aid Service s wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Ser vices for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid.Particip ants must bring their own laptop.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109-1.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs i n SENG 109
\nFinancial Aid Services wants to remind all students to
file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG
109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and le
arning more about financial aid.
Participants must bring thei
r own laptop.
Event page: https://www.uma ssd.edu/events/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T160000 LOCATION:SENG 109 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 UID:d243137dd6f311e011cc9a5a5cae8f63@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences,College of Engineering,Graduate Stu dies,Lectures and Seminars,SMAST,STEM,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Department of Fisheries Oceanography PhD Dissertation Defense " Beyond the observer's gaze: an integrated approach to detection, estimatio n, and mitigation of observer and deployment effects in fisheries monitori ng" By: Debra Duarte AdvisorSteven X. Cadrin (UMass Dartmouth) Committee M embers Pingguo He (UMass Dartmouth), Gavin Fay (UMass Dartmouth), Geret De Piper (Texas A&M), and Anna Malak Mercer (NOAA) Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00 PM SMAST East 102-103 836 S. Rodney French Blvd, New Bedford and via Zoom Abstract: Observers are deployed on commercial fishing trips to colle ct representative samples of discard rates. However, fishers may change th eir fishing behavior when an observer is onboard (i.e., “observer effect ”) or observer programs may over- or under-sample portions of the fleet (i.e., “deployment effect”). If the extent of these effects is substan tial, observer data will not be representative of unobserved trips, potent ially biasing the estimation of discards. This sampling bias can impact ca tch monitoring, stock assessments, and fishery management. The goal of thi s dissertation was to evaluate how well we can detect these types of effec ts, understand their impacts on catch and discard estimates, and explore m itigation strategies. The New England multispecies groundfish fishery was used as a test case throughout. Chapter 1 examined the performance of seve ral published methods for detecting an observer effect using a simulation of observer and deployment effects at varying sampling ratios (i.e., obser ver coverage) for several sample statistics. The simplest methods (t-test and F-test for difference of means and variances) provided an accurate but imprecise estimate of the observer effect size and only when there were n o deployment effects. A generalized linear mixed effects model (GLMM) was also not reliable for detecting small bias but was not confounded by deplo yment effects and was relatively robust to changing coverage rates. The mo st complicated tests involved comparing differences in trip characteristic s between subsequent trips for observed-unobserved and unobserved-unobserv ed pairs. These tests were able to detect smaller observer effects and wer e not confounded by deployment effects but were unreliable at high coverag e rates (>60%), producing both high false positive and false negative rate s. Sensitivity tests also showed differing detection accuracy as the distr ibution of the metric of interest changed. No single method was reliable a cross all conditions, indicating that the choice of method should depend o n the specific characteristics of the fishery. Chapter 2 compared the impa ct of observer and deployment effects on catch and discard estimates from multiple methods: stratified ratios, generalized additive models, generali zed linear models, and random forest models. Several methods were robust t o the impact of deployment effects, but the preferred model differed by sp ecies, and variability between iterations was high for some species. When an observer effect reduced only the proportion of catch discarded, models for estimating total catch were relatively unaffected, but discard estimat es were underestimated in all models. In contrast, when the observer effec t altered fishing behavior (e.g., fishing location or gear configuration), model estimates were biased for both catch and discards. Chapter 3 create d a framework for determining observer coverage needs to meet precision ta rgets for science and management. This framework was used to evaluate trad eoffs between observer coverage and integration of reference fleets with h igh fidelity data and fewer incentives to change behavior on observed trip s, such as electronic monitoring or cooperative research study fleets. The design of the program with respect to observer coverage (equal or unequal for reference fleet participants vs. non-participants) and discard estima tion (stratified or unstratified) was critical for accurate estimates, eve n in the absence of observer effects. A cohesive program must consider tra deoffs of data precision, logistics, quality, cost, and safety. These find ings underscore the importance of representative sampling, appropriate est imation models, and thoughtful design to produce accurate estimates for sc ience and management. Observer and deployment effects may be an inescapabl e outcome of deploying observers on a subset of fishing vessels, but there are viable options for dealing with them. Detection, estimation, and miti gation must be considered together rather than in isolation to avoid biase d estimates, which could lead to inaccurate assessments and errors in stoc k management. Join Meeting https://umassd.zoom.us/j/95408579777 Note: Meet ing ID and passcode required. Email contact to obtain For additional infor mation, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/dfo-phd-dissertation-defense-beyond-the- observers-gaze-.php\nEvent link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/95408579777 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Department of Fisheries Oceanog raphy
\nPhD Dissertation Defense
\n"Beyond the observer's gaze : an integrated approach to detection\, estimation\, and mitigation of obs erver and deployment effects in fisheries monitoring"
\nBy: Debra Du arte
\nAdvisor
Steven X. Cadrin (UMass Dartmouth)
Commi ttee Members
\nPingguo He (UMass Dartmouth)\, Gavin Fay (UMass Dartm outh)\, Geret DePiper (Texas A&M)\, and Anna Malak Mercer (NOAA)
\nThursday April 30\, 2026
\n1:00 PM
\nSMAST East 102-103
\n836 S. Rodney French Blvd\, New Bedford
\nand via Zoom
\nAb stract:
\nObservers are deployed on commercial fishing trips to coll ect representative samples of discard rates. However\, fishers may change their fishing behavior when an observer is onboard (i.e.\, “observer eff ect”) or observer programs may over- or under-sample portions of the fle et (i.e.\, “deployment effect”). If the extent of these effects is sub stantial\, observer data will not be representative of unobserved trips\, potentially biasing the estimation of discards. This sampling bias can imp act catch monitoring\, stock assessments\, and fishery management. The goa l of this dissertation was to evaluate how well we can detect these types of effects\, understand their impacts on catch and discard estimates\, and explore mitigation strategies. The New England multispecies groundfish fi shery was used as a test case throughout.
\nChapter 1 examined the p erformance of several published methods for detecting an observer effect u sing a simulation of observer and deployment effects at varying sampling r atios (i.e.\, observer coverage) for several sample statistics. The simple st methods (t-test and F-test for difference of means and variances) provi ded an accurate but imprecise estimate of the observer effect size and onl y when there were no deployment effects. A generalized linear mixed effect s model (GLMM) was also not reliable for detecting small bias but was not confounded by deployment effects and was relatively robust to changing cov erage rates. The most complicated tests involved comparing differences in trip characteristics between subsequent trips for observed-unobserved and unobserved-unobserved pairs. These tests were able to detect smaller obser ver effects and were not confounded by deployment effects but were unrelia ble at high coverage rates (>60%)\, producing both high false positive and false negative rates. Sensitivity tests also showed differing detection a ccuracy as the distribution of the metric of interest changed. No single m ethod was reliable across all conditions\, indicating that the choice of m ethod should depend on the specific characteristics of the fishery.
\n< p>Chapter 2 compared the impact of observer and deployment effects on catc h and discard estimates from multiple methods: stratified ratios\, general ized additive models\, generalized linear models\, and random forest model s. Several methods were robust to the impact of deployment effects\, but t he preferred model differed by species\, and variability between iteration s was high for some species. When an observer effect reduced only the prop ortion of catch discarded\, models for estimating total catch were relativ ely unaffected\, but discard estimates were underestimated in all models. In contrast\, when the observer effect altered fishing behavior (e.g.\, fi shing location or gear configuration)\, model estimates were biased for bo th catch and discards.\nChapter 3 created a framework for determini ng observer coverage needs to meet precision targets for science and manag ement. This framework was used to evaluate tradeoffs between observer cove rage and integration of reference fleets with high fidelity data and fewer incentives to change behavior on observed trips\, such as electronic moni toring or cooperative research study fleets. The design of the program wit h respect to observer coverage (equal or unequal for reference fleet parti cipants vs. non-participants) and discard estimation (stratified or unstra tified) was critical for accurate estimates\, even in the absence of obser ver effects. A cohesive program must consider tradeoffs of data precision\ , logistics\, quality\, cost\, and safety. These findings underscore the i mportance of representative sampling\, appropriate estimation models\, and thoughtful design to produce accurate estimates for science and managemen t. Observer and deployment effects may be an inescapable outcome of deploy ing observers on a subset of fishing vessels\, but there are viable option s for dealing with them. Detection\, estimation\, and mitigation must be c onsidered together rather than in isolation to avoid biased estimates\, wh ich could lead to inaccurate assessments and errors in stock management.\n
Join Meeting
\nhttps://umassd.zoom.us/j/95408579777
\nNote: Meeting ID and passcode required. Email contact to obtain
\ nFor additional information\, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbu t@umassd.edu
Event page: https://w
ww.umassd.edu/events/cms/dfo-phd-dissertation-defense-beyond-the-observers
-gaze-.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/95408579777
Advisor: Rebecca Hutchinson
\nSubject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Immer Mowry Cook
\ nTopic: Found and Made: Ceramics in Integrated Compositional Systems
\nDate: May 1st\, 2026
\nTime: 10:00am
\nLocation: ADS\, 4 58 State Rd. North Dartmouth Towne Center\, North Dartmouth\, MA. 02747
\nAbstract:
\nI create temporary systems of structural dependenc y that use hybrid forms and improvised supports to convey a spectrum of st ability and precariousness. I explore the relationship of natural growth a nd constructed fragments in temporary ecosystems that question how bodies and structure adapt\, lean and persist in unstable environments. Through i teration and experimentation\, I position myself as a student of the mater ials and objects I work with. I prioritize their intrinsic properties and the ways they can fit together to form larger structures\, rather than the ir intended uses.
\nMy sculptures combine lushly glazed\, highly cra fted ceramic forms with other materials to explore the relationship betwee n organic form\, structural support\, and material tension. I combine biom orphic shapes with industrial and found materials to create systems that a ppear to lean\, balance\, and rely on one another. Soft\, bodily forms int eract with rigid frameworks\, suggesting both growth and constraint while emphasizing the physical forces of weight\, gravity\, and balance.
\nThis work draws inspiration from the material experimentation and express ive surfaces of Arlene Shechet\, the careful attention to structure and cr aft found in the sculpture of Martin Puryear\, and the transformative asse mblage of industrial materials associated with John Chamberlain. While the se influences inform my practice\, my sculptures emphasize provisional con struction and visible support systems\, presenting sculpture as an evolvin g structure where organic forms and built frameworks coexist in unstable b ut generative balance.
Event page: http s://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-immer- mowry-cook.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T110000 LOCATION:UMass Dartmouth Art & Design Studio SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by Immer Mowry Co ok UID:f93ed4493107722456bbaabcab283dbc@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts,Lectures and Seminars,Thes is/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Rebecca Hutchinson Subject: Master of Thesis Defense b y: Yaren Yildiz Topic: From Drawing to Clay: Layering, Pressure, and Densi ty as Material Strategies for Articulating the Body as Visceral and in Flu x Date: May 1st, 2026 Time: 11: 00 AM Location: UMass Dartmouth CVPA Art & Design Studio Abstract: This thesis explores the body as sensation rather than representation through ceramic sculpture and drawing. Grounded in a drawing-based practice, the work approaches clay as a responsive and trans formative material that records touch, pressure, and time. Rather than dep icting the human figure, the sculptures evoke bodily states through fragme nted, organic forms that suggest tension, movement, and instability. The c onceptual framework of the thesis is informed by Francis Bacon’s emphasi s on sensation over representation, as discussed in his conversations with David Sylvester and in Gilles Deleuze’s The Logic of Sensation. Additio nal influences include the films of David Cronenberg, particularly their d epiction of bodies that appear strangely alive, as well as the drawings of Hans Bellmer, whose intense line quality and physical immediacy resonate with clay’s material behavior. Drawing functions alongside ceramics as a parallel site of inquiry, informing the buildup, density, and surface log ic of the sculptural work. Through variations in scale and physical presen ce, the work emphasizes embodiment as a relational and experiential condit ion. By prioritizing material intensity and transformation, this thesis po sitions ceramics and drawing as interconnected practices that engage the b ody through sensation rather than visual representation.\nEvent page: http s://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-yaren- yildiz.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Rebecca Hutchinson
\nSubject: Master of Thesis Defense by: Yaren Yildiz
\nTopic: Fro m Drawing to Clay: Layering\, Pressure\, and Density as Material Strategie s for Articulating the Body as Visceral and in Flux
\nDate: May 1st\ , 2026
\nTime: 11: 00 AM
\nLocation: UMass Dartmouth CVPA Art & Design Studio
\nAbstract:
\nThis thesis explores the body as sensation rather than representation through ceramic sculpture and drawin g. Grounded in a drawing-based practice\, the work approaches clay as a re sponsive and transformative material that records touch\, pressure\, and t ime. Rather than depicting the human figure\, the sculptures evoke bodily states through fragmented\, organic forms that suggest tension\, movement\ , and instability.
\nThe conceptual framework of the thesis is infor med by Francis Bacon’s emphasis on sensation over representation\, as di scussed in his conversations with David Sylvester and in Gilles Deleuze’ s The Logic of Sensation. Additional influences include the films of David Cronenberg\, particularly their depiction of bodies that appear strangely alive\, as well as the drawings of Hans Bellmer\, whose intense line qual ity and physical immediacy resonate with clay’s material behavior. Drawi ng functions alongside ceramics as a parallel site of inquiry\, informing the buildup\, density\, and surface logic of the sculptural work.
\nThrough variations in scale and physical presence\, the work emphasizes em bodiment as a relational and experiential condition. By prioritizing mater ial intensity and transformation\, this thesis positions ceramics and draw ing as interconnected practices that engage the body through sensation rat her than visual representation.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-y aren-yildiz.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T120000 LOCATION:UMass Dartmouth CVPA Art & Design Studio SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by Yaren Yildiz UID:f01cf6a015c2535669ddb8a6bda0e3f4@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts,Lectures and Seminars,Thes is/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Paula Becker Subject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Def ense by: Allison Morones Topic: Wild Cactus: an original puppet show ab out the American southwest Date: May 1st, 2026 Time: 11:15am Location: UMass Dartmouth Art and Design Studios, North Dartmouth, MA Ab stract: Theatrical storytelling is an inherent part of human culture and the driving force behind my art practice; my new play is a hero’s epic journey through physical trials and emotional isolation; akin to Dante tru dging through an indifferent Inferno. Mixing my understanding of fiber art s and theatrical storytelling, as a theatre costume designer and fabricato r, I’ve worked to recreate natural textures with unnatural materials usi ng old techniques that predate the technological advances of the 1900’s: a 23-yard-long moving panorama to change background locations, an origina l score, and a mix of handmade marionette and rod puppets. With these too ls, the audience recaptures the full body experience of childhood wonder as they watch a puppet show about the trials of youth. \nEvent page: ht tps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-alli son-morones.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Paula Becker
\nSubject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Allison Morones
\nTopic: Wild Cactus: an original puppet show about the American southwest
\nDate: May 1st\, 2026
\nTime: 11:15am
\nL ocation: UMass Dartmouth Art and Design Studios\, North Dartmouth\, MA \n
Abstract:
\nTheatrical storytelling is an inherent part of human culture and the driving force behind my art practice\; my new play i s a hero’s epic journey through physical trials and emotional isolation\ ; akin to Dante trudging through an indifferent Inferno. Mixing my underst anding of fiber arts and theatrical storytelling\, as a theatre costume de signer and fabricator\, I’ve worked to recreate natural textures with un natural materials using old techniques that predate the technological adva nces of the 1900’s: a 23-yard-long moving panorama to change background locations\, an original score\, and a mix of handmade marionette and rod p uppets. With these tools\, the audience recaptures the full body experie nce of childhood wonder as they watch a puppet show about the trials of yo uth.
Event page: https://www.umassd. edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-allison-morones.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T111500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T121500 LOCATION:UMass Dartmouth Art and Design Studios, North Dartmouth, MA SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Allison Moron es UID:71d6d1c3a9adde5c02c261ab7d8bc74a@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:SMAST,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences MS Thesis Defense "O ptical Characterization of Particle Size Distributions and Their Relations hip to Phytoplankton Pigment Composition in the Northern Gulf of Mexico" B y: Kara Falvey Advisor Steven Lohrenz (UMass Dartmouth) Committee Member s Geoffrey Cowles (UMass Dartmouth), and Jefferson Turner (UMass Dartmouth ), Friday May 1, 2026 12:00 PM SMAST East 102-103 836 S. Rodney French Blv d, New Bedford and via Zoom Abstract: Optical characterization of particle size distributions, particle volumes, and particle number concentrations was conducted and compared to phytoplankton size classes as inferred from phytoplankton pigment composition in the region of the northern Gulf of Me xico (nGOM) influenced by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River systems. U sing a Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer (LISST 100X), we acqui red vertical profiles of particle concentration and size from nearshore es tuarine regions to open ocean waters. Profiles of spectral beam attenuatio n using an underwater absorption and attenuation spectrometer (AC-9) were acquired alongside the LISST measurements. These optical observations were compared to phytoplankton size classes as inferred from phytoplankton pig ment composition. Strong spatial gradients in particle volume and number c oncentration were observed in conjunction with variations in the magnitude of beam attenuation, with higher values in the estuary and inner shelf wa ters. The observed relationship between the spectral slope of the beam att enuation, γ, corrected for colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorp tion, and the slope of the LISST-derived particle size distribution, ξ, f ollowed general theoretical expectations, although there were notable devi ations, particularly at estuary and inner shelf stations. The near-surface particle number and volume concentrations were examined in relation to wa ter mass type as well as in relation to phytoplankton composition and size class as inferred from high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment analyses. Near-surface particle volume and number concentration were high est in estuary waters as compared to outer shelf waters. The median fracti on of total chlorophyll associated with the microphytoplankton size fracti on (20 – 200 μm) was lower for mid-shelf stations compared to estuary a nd inner shelf stations. The median total volume fraction of larger partic les in the size range (20 – 200 μm) for inner and mid-shelf stations wa s significantly lower than for estuary stations. Outer shelf stations demo nstrated relatively large variability in chlorophyll fractions associated with the different size classes. Subsurface peaks were evident in vertical profiles of particle volume and number concentration and coincided with d istinct in phytoplankton pigment composition, providing insight about vert ical variations in community composition in relation to physical gradients . These findings provide novel information about particle characteristics and their relationship to phytoplankton composition in the nGOM. Join Meet ing https://umassd.zoom.us/j/92975455209 Note: Meeting ID and passcode req uired, email contact to obtain. For additional information, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/ events/cms/optical-characterization-of-particle-size-distributions-and-the ir-relationship-to-phytoplankton-pigment-composition-in-the-northern-gulf- of-mexico-by-kara-falvey.php\nEvent link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/9297545 5209 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Department of Estuarine and Oce an Sciences
\nMS Thesis Defense
\n"Optical Characterization of Particle Size Distributions and Their Relationship to Phytoplankton Pigme nt Composition in the Northern Gulf of Mexico"
\nBy: Kara Falvey\n
Advisor
\nSteven Lohrenz (UMass Dartmouth)
\nCommittee Members
\nGeoffrey Cowles (UMass Dartmouth)\, and Jefferson Turner ( UMass Dartmouth)\,
\nFriday May 1\, 2026
\n12:00 PM
\nSM AST East 102-103
\n836 S. Rodney French Blvd\, New Bedford
\na nd via Zoom
\nAbstract:
\nOptical characterization of particle size distributions\, particle volumes\, and particle number concentration s was conducted and compared to phytoplankton size classes as inferred fro m phytoplankton pigment composition in the region of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) influenced by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River systems. Using a Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer (LISST 100X)\, we ac quired vertical profiles of particle concentration and size from nearshore estuarine regions to open ocean waters. Profiles of spectral beam attenua tion using an underwater absorption and attenuation spectrometer (AC-9) we re acquired alongside the LISST measurements. These optical observations w ere compared to phytoplankton size classes as inferred from phytoplankton pigment composition. Strong spatial gradients in particle volume and numbe r concentration were observed in conjunction with variations in the magnit ude of beam attenuation\, with higher values in the estuary and inner shel f waters. The observed relationship between the spectral slope of the beam attenuation\, γ\, corrected for colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption\, and the slope of the LISST-derived particle size distribution \, ξ\, followed general theoretical expectations\, although there were no table deviations\, particularly at estuary and inner shelf stations. The n ear-surface particle number and volume concentrations were examined in rel ation to water mass type as well as in relation to phytoplankton compositi on and size class as inferred from high-pressure liquid chromatography (HP LC) pigment analyses. Near-surface particle volume and number concentratio n were highest in estuary waters as compared to outer shelf waters. The me dian fraction of total chlorophyll associated with the microphytoplankton size fraction (20 – 200 μm) was lower for mid-shelf stations compared t o estuary and inner shelf stations. The median total volume fraction of la rger particles in the size range (20 – 200 μm) for inner and mid-shelf stations was significantly lower than for estuary stations. Outer shelf st ations demonstrated relatively large variability in chlorophyll fractions associated with the different size classes. Subsurface peaks were evident in vertical profiles of particle volume and number concentration and coinc ided with distinct in phytoplankton pigment composition\, providing insigh t about vertical variations in community composition in relation to physic al gradients. These findings provide novel information about particle char acteristics and their relationship to phytoplankton composition in the nGO M.
\nJoin Meeting
\nhttps://umassd.zoom.us/j/92975455209
\nNote: Meeting ID and passcode required\, email contact to obtain.
\nFor additional information\, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@u massd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/optical-characterization
-of-particle-size-distributions-and-their-relationship-to-phytoplankton-pi
gment-composition-in-the-northern-gulf-of-mexico-by-kara-falvey.php
Event link: https://umassd
.zoom.us/j/92975455209
Advisor: Rebecca Hutchinson \n
Subject: Master of Thesis Defense by: Alison Bergman
\nTop ic: Layered Explorations: Weaving a World of Wonder
\nDate: Ma y 1st\, 2026
\nTime: 12: 00 AM
\nLocation: UMass Dartmouth CVPA Art & Design Studio
\nAbstract:
\nThrough a hybrid p ractice that merges sculpture\, painting\, printmaking\, fiber\, and insta llation\, I use space as a medium to create a wondrous environment\, where endless points of view emerge out of my exploratory artistic process with vibrant colors\, lines\, and shapes. Printed clay forms\, woven forms and painted and collaged walls interact\, emphasizing lightness and playfu l possibility. My ceramics practice seeks to transform moments of imperf ection into opportunities for renewal\, creating sculptures where repair a nd readjustment become generative and where the possibility for joy can fu nction with deliberate intention. Individual ceramic elements are assemb led\, rearranged\, and placed in dialogue with painted walls\, allowing co lor and pattern to move between surface and object\, offering observers sa turated views. This fluid relationship between wall\, sculpture\, and spac e reflects an ongoing process of improvisation and reconstruction. The s pace is cared for but not fussy\, as I actively reject the prevalence of p erfectionism in favor of acceptance and joy.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-t hesis-defense-by-alison-bergman-.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T130000 LOCATION:UMass Dartmouth CVPA Art & Design Studio SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by Alison Bergman UID:55419394e8b07d601d7aa9e57c5d4f25@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts,Lectures and Seminars,Thes is/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Paula Becker Subject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defen se by: Arghavan Booyeh Topic: Woven Courage Date: May 1, 2026 Time: 2:00 P M Location: Hatch Street Studios Abstract: Woven Courage explores fiber ar t as a site where cultural heritage and storytelling intersect, expressing the duality of women’s experiences as both delicate and resilient, soft yet powerful. Drawing on a background in law, the work engages themes of human rights and women’s resistance in Iran, using symbols such as the C ypress (Sarv) and paisley (Botteh) to embody transformation, grief, and en during hope. Through maximalist sculptural forms, the thesis reveals the p aradox of women’s extraordinary strength alongside the unsustainable bur dens they carry, positioning each woven thread as an act of protest, memor y, and collective resilience.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/c ms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-arghavan-booyeh.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Paula Becker
\nS ubject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Arghavan Booyeh
\nTop ic: Woven Courage
\nDate: May 1\, 2026
\nTime: 2:00 PM
\nLocation: Hatch Street Studios
\nAbstract:
\nWoven Courage explores fiber art as a site where cultural heritage and storytelling intersect\, expressing the duality of w omen’s experiences as both delicate and resilient\, soft yet powerful. D rawing on a background in law\, the work engages themes of human rights an d women’s resistance in Iran\, using symbols such as the Cypress (Sarv) and paisley (Botteh) to embody transformation\, grief\, and enduring hope. Through maximalist sculptural forms\, the thesis reveals the paradox of w omen’s extraordinary strength alongside the unsustainable burdens they c arry\, positioning each woven thread as an act of protest\, memory\, and c ollective resilience.
Event page: https: //www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-arghavan -booyeh.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T150000 LOCATION:Hatch Street Studios SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Arghavan Booy eh UID:d2b228a532fb04e65bcae150e4e45e46@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts,Lectures and Seminars,Thes is/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Elena Peteva Subject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defen se by: Maya August Palmer Topic: Microlandscapes and the Ordinary: An Expl oration in Space and Belonging Committee: Elena Peteva, Serra Victoria Fel ls, Suzy Schireson, Jess Worby Date: May 1, 2026 Time: 2:00 PM Location: N ew Bedford Art Museum Abstract Due to the evolution and expansion of human society and infrastructure, the ecosystem where the human and non-human r eside has become a novel, constantly shifting landscape. This thesis appro aches painting as an ecological encounter at ground level, where insects, soil, plant matter, and human discard gather in quiet, unplanned relations hips. Informed by a background in biology and neuroscience, the work recon textualizes traditions of scientific illustration, still life, and Dutch t rompe l’oeil to attend to interaction, decay, and the extended life cycl es of objects beyond human intention or use. Rendered on translucent Dura- Lar plastic and placed directly on the floor, the paintings inhabit the vi ewer’s space rather than remaining distant, asking for bodily awareness, patience, and care. These constructed micro-worlds depict semi-urban ecos ystems in which organic and inorganic matter coexist without hierarchy, gr anting insects, trash, soil, and infrastructure a shared dignity and agenc y. Influenced by Object-Oriented Ontology and materialist philosophy, the work resists anthropocentric narratives in favor of networks of relation, material persistence, and recontextualization over time. Contemporary arti st inspirations include Ellen Altfest, Josephine Halvorson, and Antonio Lo pez Garcia. Through meticulous rendering, site-responsive placement, and t he subtle uncanniness of simulation, this body of work invites viewers to slow down, crouch close, and encounter the overlooked not as symbol or met aphor, but as a living presence within contemporary ecological landscapes. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis -defense-by-maya-august-palmer.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Elena Peteva
\nS ubject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Maya August Palmer
\nTopic: Microlandscapes and the Ordinary: An Exploration in Space and Belon ging
\nCommittee: Elena Peteva\, Serra Victoria Fells\, Suzy Schires on\, Jess Worby
\nDate: May 1\, 2026
\nTime: 2:00 PM
\nL ocation: New Bedford Art Museum
\nAbstract
\nDue to the evolut ion and expansion of human society and infrastructure\, the ecosystem wher e the human and non-human reside has become a novel\, constantly shifting landscape. This thesis approaches painting as an ecological encounter at g round level\, where insects\, soil\, plant matter\, and human discard gath er in quiet\, unplanned relationships. Informed by a background in biology and neuroscience\, the work recontextualizes traditions of scientific ill ustration\, still life\, and Dutch trompe l’oeil to attend to interactio n\, decay\, and the extended life cycles of objects beyond human intention or use. Rendered on translucent Dura-Lar plastic and placed directly on t he floor\, the paintings inhabit the viewer’s space rather than remainin g distant\, asking for bodily awareness\, patience\, and care. These const ructed micro-worlds depict semi-urban ecosystems in which organic and inor ganic matter coexist without hierarchy\, granting insects\, trash\, soil\, and infrastructure a shared dignity and agency. Influenced by Object-Orie nted Ontology and materialist philosophy\, the work resists anthropocentri c narratives in favor of networks of relation\, material persistence\, and recontextualization over time. Contemporary artist inspirations include E llen Altfest\, Josephine Halvorson\, and Antonio Lopez Garcia. Through met iculous rendering\, site-responsive placement\, and the subtle uncanniness of simulation\, this body of work invites viewers to slow down\, crouch c lose\, and encounter the overlooked not as symbol or metaphor\, but as a l iving presence within contemporary ecological landscapes.
Event page : https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master- of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-maya-august-palmer.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T150000 LOCATION:New Bedford Art Museum SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by Maya August Pa lmer UID:4bcf259162c887786dac0a878edb0ed8@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Financial Aid DESCRIPTION:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 Financial Aid Service s wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Ser vices for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid.Partcipa nts must bring their own laptop.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs i n SENG 109
\nFinancial Aid Services wants to remind all students to
file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG
109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and le
arning more about financial aid.
Partcipants must bring their
own laptop.
Event page: https://www.umassd .edu/events/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109.php
< /body> DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T160000 LOCATION:SENG 109 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 UID:d4f222448b4ef0be2227b90ceeabb753@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts,Lectures and Seminars,Thes is/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Jess Worby Subject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Mitra Ponthan Topic: Narrating Instability: Hypertext and the Fragmen ted Self Date: May 1, 2026 Time: 3:30 PM Location: Hatch St. Studios Abstr act: We live through digital systems that reshape how we understand identi ty, memory, and selfhood. Hello – It’s You is an interactive, web-base d project that explores this condition through a nonlinear, hypertext-driv en interface. Combining illustration, text, animation, and code, the work takes the form of a desktop-like environment where users navigate a digita l mind that is fragmented and unstable. Rather than presenting a single na rrative, the project invites viewers to piece together meaning through exp loration. As they move through different pathways, they encounter multiple versions of the self – past, present, and imagined – existing simulta neously within the system. This experience reflects the instability of ide ntity, especially in this digital age, where memory is selective and the s elf is continuously reconstructed. Drawing on concepts from ergodic litera ture, cultural theory, postmodernism, and hauntology, this thesis frames f ragmentation as a deliberate methodological approach, one that mirrors how identity is formed: through constructed narratives that are repeated, rev ised, and reinterpreted over time. By slowing down navigation and making t he process of discovery visible, Hello – It’s You encourages viewers t o reflect on how they construct their own identities – and how those ide ntities continue to evolve.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms /master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-mitra-ponthan.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Jess Worby
\nSub ject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Mitra Ponthan
\nTopic: Narrating Instability: Hypertext and the Fragmented Self
\nDate: May 1\, 2026
\nTime: 3:30 PM
\nLocation: Hatch St. Studios
\n< p>Abstract:\nWe live through digital systems that reshape how we un derstand identity\, memory\, and selfhood. Hello – It’s You is an interactive\, web-based project that explores this condition through a nonlinear\, hypertext-driven interface. Combining illustration\, text\, animation\, and code\, the work takes the form of a desktop-like environment where users navigate a digital mind tha t is fragmented and unstable.
\nRather than presenting a single narr ative\, the project invites viewers to piece together meaning through expl oration. As they move through different pathways\, they encounter multiple versions of the self – past\, present\, and imagined – existing simul taneously within the system. This experience reflects the instability of i dentity\, especially in this digital age\, where memory is selective and t he self is continuously reconstructed.
\nDrawing on concepts from er godic literature\, cultural theory\, postmodernism\, and hauntology\, this thesis frames fragmentation as a deliberate methodological approach\, one that mirrors how identity is formed: through constructed narratives that are repeated\, revised\, and reinterpreted over time.
\nBy slowing d own navigation and making the process of discovery visible\, Hello – It’s You encourages viewers to r eflect on how they construct their own identities – and how those identi ties continue to evolve.
Event page: https ://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-mitra-p onthan.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T163000 LOCATION:Hatch Street Studios SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by Mitra Ponthan UID:d48c9417ab87cfe52cbc237275d66d1f@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts,Lectures and Seminars,Thes is/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Jess Worby Subject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Sarah Valinezhad Topic: The Women of Pomegranate Garden: Visual Expre ssions of Memory, Womanhood, and Resistance Date: May 1, 2026 Time: 4:30 P M Location: Hatch St. Studios Abstract: This thesis centers on my painting practice as an exploration of memory, displacement, and endurance within the interior lives of women. Rooted in feminist thought and informed by Ir anian cultural history, the work treats domestic space as emotional archit ecture, rooms shaped by silence, care, restriction, and resilience. Throug h figurative painting, patterned interiors, and a palette grounded in pome granate red, I construct psychological spaces where beauty and danger coex ist. Drawing from Persian visual traditions such as carpet weaving and orn ament, pattern functions as a carrier of memory rather than decoration, si multaneously sheltering and enclosing the figure. Influenced by feminist a rt and artists including Arghavan Khosravi, Hung Liu, Louise Bourgeois, Re mbrandt, and Salman Toor, the work emphasizes atmosphere over narrative an d emotional truth over representation. These paintings operate as acts of remembrance and quiet resistance, translating silenced histories into visi ble form while holding fragility and strength in balance.\nEvent page: htt ps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defense-by-sarah -valinezhad.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Advisor: Jess Worby
\nSub ject: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by: Sarah Valinezhad
\nTopi c: The Women of Pomegranate Garden: Visual Expressions of Memory\, Womanho od\, and Resistance
\nDate: May 1\, 2026
\nTime: 4:30 PM
\nLocation: Hatch St. Studios
\nAbstract:
\nThis thesis cente rs on my painting practice as an exploration of memory\, displacement\, an d endurance within the interior lives of women. Rooted in feminist thought and informed by Iranian cultural history\, the work treats domestic space as emotional architecture\, rooms shaped by silence\, care\, restriction\ , and resilience. Through figurative painting\, patterned interiors\, and a palette grounded in pomegranate red\, I construct psychological spaces w here beauty and danger coexist.
\nDrawing from Persian visual tradit ions such as carpet weaving and ornament\, pattern functions as a carrier of memory rather than decoration\, simultaneously sheltering and enclosing the figure. Influenced by feminist art and artists including Arghavan Kho sravi\, Hung Liu\, Louise Bourgeois\, Rembrandt\, and Salman Toor\, the wo rk emphasizes atmosphere over narrative and emotional truth over represent ation.
\nThese paintings operate as acts of remembrance and quiet re sistance\, translating silenced histories into visible form while holding fragility and strength in balance.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/master-of-fine-arts-thesis-defen se-by-sarah-valinezhad.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T163000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T173000 LOCATION:Hatch St. Studios SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Master of Fine Arts Thesis Defense by Sarah Valinezh ad UID:f5253afe76511d7887badef150abe02a@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering DESCRIPTION:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Open House Full Moon\nEvent page: ht tps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/hirshfeld-dowd-observatory-open-house-1.ph p X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Open House
\nFull Moon
Event page: https://www.umass d.edu/events/cms/hirshfeld-dowd-observatory-open-house-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260502T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260502T220000 LOCATION:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Field SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Hirshfeld-Dowd Observatory Open House UID:48eb64f4928f4d86f9f0485df4afb6dd@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Training DESCRIPTION:Open to Faculty and Staff.Learn how to look up Budget Balances, Revenue and Expense Details, Open Encumbrances and Transaction Detail usi ng the Department Management dashboard for financials. Please registe r. Email jschlesinger@umassd.edu to sign up and receive location/zoom details. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/summit-fina ncial-reporting-101.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Open to Faculty and Staff.
Learn how to look up Budget Balances\, Revenue and Expense Det
ails\, Open Encumbrances and Transaction Detail using the Department Manag
ement dashboard for financials.
Please register. Email jschlesinger@umassd.edu to sign u p and receive location/zoom details.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/summit-financial-reporting-101.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T111500 LOCATION:Zoom SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Summit Financial Reporting 101 UID:9d7ae985eb423fa8a22e1e08f6f4e706@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Women's and Gender Studies,Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:Stop by the Center for Women, Gender & Sexuality for some cooki es and condoms!\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/cookies--co ndoms.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Stop by the Center for Women\, Gender & Sexuality for some cookies and condoms!
Event page: https://www.umas sd.edu/events/cms/cookies--condoms.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T160000 LOCATION:Center for Women, Gender & Sexuality SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Cookies & Condoms UID:dd2ca7250c473f421feaa3561b2ed1ae@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Lectures and Seminars,Thesis/Dissertation s DESCRIPTION:Partial abstract: Microplastic pollution is a critical global e nvironmental challenge, impacting marine ecosystems, human health, and coa stal economies, particularly in vulnerable regions such as the Caribbean a nd developing countries. Defined as plastic particles smaller than 5mm, microplastics are difficult to remove and can easily enter food chains and water systems. For the entire abstract, advisor, and committee members, please contact: mrahman15@umassd.edu or scunha@umassd.edu.\nEvent page: h ttps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/mechanical-engineering--industrial-system s-engineering-ms-project-presentation-by-myriam-iralien.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Partial abstract: Microplastic pollution is a critical global environmental challenge\, impacting marine ecosystems\, human health\, and coastal economies\, particularly in vulner able regions such as the Caribbean and developing countries. Defined as plastic particles smaller than 5mm\, microplastics are difficult to remove and can easily enter food chains and water systems. For the entire abst ract\, advisor\, and committee members\, please contact: mrahman15@umassd.edu or scunha@umassd.edu.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T120000 LOCATION:ZOOM (for the Zoom link, Meeting ID, and Passcode, please contact: mrahman15@umassd.edu -or- scunha@umassd.edu SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Mechanical Engineering / Industrial Systems Engineer ing MS Project Presentation by Myriam Iralien UID:4b60b193c56d0483794c262da800f03d@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Study Abroad DESCRIPTION:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question a bout the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Stop by the International Programs Office’s virtual advising session! Studen ts will be seen on a first come, first served basis. Email intl_programs @umassd.edu for the zoom link. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/study-abroad-virtual-advising.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Interested in studying abroad? Do you have a quick question about the opportunities that are available or the overall process? Stop by the International Programs Office’s vir tual advising session! Students will be seen on a first come\, first se rved basis. Email intl_programs@umassd.edu for the zoom link.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/study-abroad-virtua l-advising.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T153000 LOCATION:Zoom; Contact intl_programs@umassd.edu for link SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Study Abroad Virtual Advising UID:9a23917dbf98fd34edb349f6fd764077@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Lectures and Seminars,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:In this project, Tameron Carter explores how writing assignment s are composed for accessibility. Writing instruction pedagogy has recentl y found an increasing need for interlocking accessibility research and sta ndards with course and material composition. As a result of this identifie d need, scholars have performed a great deal of research on accessibility standards and barriers measurable effects on diverse student bodies.This p roject builds on this research and utilizes the coding of a limited sample of college-level writing assignments with some degree of reflective compo nents, seeking to understand linguistic, cognitive, cultural, and educatio nal theories of accessibility in practice. The project analyzes a series o f ten assignments gathered from five different professors who spent some p art of their academic journey (as students and/or instructors) in the Engl ish and Communication Department at the University of Massachusetts Dartmo uth.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/carter-thesis-defense- accessibility-gaps--overlaps-in-college-level-writing-assignment-compositi on.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In this project\, Tameron Carte r explores how writing assignments are composed for accessibility. Writing instruction peda gogy has recently found an increasing need for interlocking accessibility research and standards with course and material composition. As a result o f this identified need\, scholars have performed a great deal of research on accessibility standards and barriers measurable effects on diverse stud ent bodies.This project builds on this research and utilizes the coding of a limited sample of college-level writing assignments with some degree of reflectiv e components\, seeking to understand linguistic\, cognitive\, cultural\, a nd educational theories of accessibility in practice. The project analyzes a series of ten assignments gathered from five different professors who s pent some part of their academic journey (as students and/or instructors) in the English and Communication Department at the University of Massachus etts Dartmouth.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T181500 LOCATION:Centennial Way Modular Building, M2 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Carter Thesis Defense: "Accessibility Gaps & ; Overlaps in College-Level Writing Assignment Composition" UID:855f8ccd2f99c8e962618fc3a5a95696@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Lectures and Seminars,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:In this project, Berlinguet explores what it means to design fo r online audiences. In today's world of technologies, we have created a ne w way to communicate and interact with audiences. This new community, a so cial community, has been created. Changing the way, we study design elemen ts and build connections with audiences forever. What does this new world look like, and how do we design it? Berlinguet presents her thesis portfol io which explores these issues.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events /cms/thesis-defense-designing-for-the-future.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In this project\, Berlinguet ex plores what it means to design for online audiences. In today's world of technologies\, we have created a new way to communicate and interact with audiences. This ne w community\, a social community\, has been created. Changing the way\, we study design elements and build connections with audiences forever. What does this new world look like\, and how do we design it? Berlinguet presen ts her thesis portfolio which explores these issues.
Event pa ge: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/thesis-defense-designi ng-for-the-future.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T181500 LOCATION:Centennial Way Modular Building, M2 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Thesis defense: "Designing for the Future" UID:b3a64ca7a0b3da8240cd947d3fd04c8e@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Lectures and Seminars,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:This portfolio displays the projects, research, and resources I have collected for communication strategies in early childhood education. I surveyed over 25 teacher resource websites, created 50+ original activi ties for K-5 students, and established a set of reference binders filled w ith games, STEM projects, and SEL strategies. Each resource I have collect ed is always free, easy to use, and adaptable to fit specific needs of stu dents. I have collected a set of communication strategies that develop cla ssroom community building, boost social emotional learning skills, and cre ate meaningful engagement. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events /cms/omeara-thesis-defense-communication-strategies-in-early-childhood-edu cation.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
Eve nt page: https://www.uma ssd.edu/events/cms/omeara-thesis-defense-communication-strategies-in-early -childhood-education.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260505T181500 LOCATION:Centennial Way Modular Building, M2 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:O'Meara Thesis Defense: "Communication Strategi es in Early Childhood Education" UID:5e3a905b5b4a6648d02378d7434b59d4@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:EAS Doctoral Dissertation Defense by by Guancheng Zhou Date: We dnesday May 6, 2026 Time: 10:30am Topic: Towards Diagnosis, Fairness, and interpretation of Machine Learning Algorithms Location: Library 314 Abstra ct: A number of machine learning algorithms have delivered superior empiri cal performance. However, the understanding of their mechanisms has been h ampered by the black-box nature of the algorithms. In this proposal, we ap proach the problem from two different lens. One is visualization, with a data-driven geometry following kernel—the rpf-kernel, which can extract complex and highly nonlinear patterns beyond the usual principal component analysis. The other is the diagnosis perspective. Specifically, we perfor m a diagnostic analysis to data points under a given algorithm and hope to use this as a proxy to understand the algorithm. Random Forests classific ation is used as an example algorithm for our study. We borrow two metrics , leverage and influence, from statistics regression to measure the import ance of data points, while extending their definition to a small neighborh ood of data points. Also studied is a related issue of fairness—whether the algorithm delivers a response that is fair in terms of some given metr ic, for example the gender of the associated subjects. K-means clustering is studied, and a computational efficient post-algorithm adjustment method is proposed. Experiments show that the proposed method is effective in i mproving the fairness while maintaining the clustering performance. Variab le importance is of major significance in the practice of statistical anal ysis and model interpretation. However, current methods do not consider th e correlation between variables, we proposed a method to solve this proble m and obtained a more reasonable variable importance. ADVISOR(S): Dr. Do nghui Yan, Department of Mathematics (dyan@umassd.edu) COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dr. Haiping Xu, Department of Computer& Information Science Dr. Hongkang Xu, Department of Accounting & Finance Dr. Long Jiao, Department of Comput er & Information Science NOTE: All EAS Students are ENCOURAGED to atten d.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/eas-doctoral-dissertatio n-defense-by-guancheng-zhou.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:EAS Doctoral Dissertation Defen se by
\nby Guancheng Zhou
\nDate: Wednesday May 6\, 2026
\nTime: 10:30am
\nTopic: Towards Diagnosis\, Fairness\, and interpr etation of Machine Learning Algorithms
\nLocation: Library 314
\nAbstract:
\nA number of machine learning algorithms have delivere d superior empirical performance. However\, the understanding of their mec hanisms has been hampered by the black-box nature of the algorithms. In th is proposal\, we approach the problem from two different lens. One is vis ualization\, with a data-driven geometry following kernel—the rpf-kernel \, which can extract complex and highly nonlinear patterns beyond the usua l principal component analysis. The other is the diagnosis perspective. Sp ecifically\, we perform a diagnostic analysis to data points under a given algorithm and hope to use this as a proxy to understand the algorithm. Ra ndom Forests classification is used as an example algorithm for our study. We borrow two metrics\, leverage and influence\, from statistics regressi on to measure the importance of data points\, while extending their defini tion to a small neighborhood of data points. Also studied is a related iss ue of fairness—whether the algorithm delivers a response that is fair in terms of some given metric\, for example the gender of the associated sub jects. K-means clustering is studied\, and a computational efficient post- algorithm adjustment method is proposed. Experiments show that the propose d method is effective in improving the fairness while maintaining the clu stering performance. Variable importance is of major significance in the p ractice of statistical analysis and model interpretation. However\, curren t methods do not consider the correlation between variables\, we proposed a method to solve this problem and obtained a more reasonable variable imp ortance.
\nADVISOR(S): Dr. Donghui Yan\, Department of Mathematics
\n(dyan@umassd.edu)
\nCOMMITTEE MEMBERS:
\nNOTE: All EAS Students are ENCOURAGED to attend.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/eas-doctoral-dissertation-defense-b y-guancheng-zhou.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T123000 LOCATION:LIB 314 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:EAS Doctoral Dissertation Defense by Guancheng Zhou UID:c32591cc02e8796019c0d5c8c6cbca86@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Graduate Studies,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Abstract: While the Internet of Things (IoT) is set to grow to 40 billion connected devices by 2030, developing an IoT product is still i ncredibly complex. The process of developing a single IoT product requires a person (or team) to have expertise spanning firmware development, hardw are development, and web development. Due to the complexity during the dev elopment process, IoT products are often single purpose, communicate using proprietary protocols to servers in unknown locations, and their function ality cannot be extended by a user after deployment. Research into creatin g frameworks that allow machine to machine (M2M) communication and simplif ied development, such as Firmata and ASIP, face limitations in efficiency, extensibility, and security. This thesis proposes ESMP, an Efficient and Secure Messaging Protocol. ESMP is designed for bi-directional M2M communi cation, where both the server and the microcontroller use a common languag e to communicate. To do this, ESMP is combining Google’s Protocol Buffer format, the MQTT protocol, and security at the transport-layer. ESMP mess ages use a “super message” design which wraps all sub-messages into a single schema to reduce the number of managed MQTT subscriptions. It compr ises a network architecture using MQTT where the embedded device shares th e same set of protocol buffer schemas with the MQTT broker. Security at th e application layer is approached using username/password authentication; unique client identification, and packet data is SSL-encrypted. Whereas re gular embedded firmware has predefined hardware behavior as part of its fi rmware, the ESMP client is a “blank slate” that receives commands from the ESMP broker. Using a RPC-like action mechanism, an ESMP client allows a ESMP broker to dynamically control its hardware. An open-source GUI too l allows users to visually construct and send protocol buffer messages to an ESMP client. An overhead evaluation of the payload showed ESMP’s prot ocol buffer schema produced the smallest payload size when compared to XML , JSON, and plain-text data encoding. The latency evaluation showed ESMP ’s RTT latency to be slower than the ASIP baseline, but with this trade- off justified because the device communicates over WiFI rather than wired Ethernet, allowing it to be deployed anywhere in the field. The viability of ESMP was proven by using ESMP to construct a real-world IoT application , a door sensor which sends its status to the ESMPbroker when it is open. Finally, the extensibility of ESMP was validated by adding new functionali ty to ESMP with minimal impact to device flash/RAM utilization. ESMP demon strates a viable solution for efficient and secure M2M communication for t he IoT. It presents a way to extend the functionality of an IoT product wi thout compromising security or data efficiency. The feasibility of this so lution has been validated by its adoption into Adafruit’s WipperSnapper firmware, an open source IoT firmware deployed on thousands of devices, en abling users to build IoT products and projects without programming.\nEven t page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/electrical-engineering-ms-thesis -defense-by-brent-rubell.php\nEvent link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/9328134 3753?pwd=UWd5TGsweFpyMC9ydWhzaWErZnlndz09 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Abstract:
\nWhile the Int ernet of Things (IoT) is set to grow to 40 billion connected devices by 20 30\, developing an IoT product is still incredibly complex. The process of developing a single IoT product requires a person (or team) to have exper tise spanning firmware development\, hardware development\, and web develo pment. Due to the complexity during the development process\, IoT products are often single purpose\, communicate using proprietary protocols to ser vers in unknown locations\, and their functionality cannot be extended by a user after deployment. Research into creating frameworks that allow mach ine to machine (M2M) communication and simplified development\, such as Fi rmata and ASIP\, face limitations in efficiency\, extensibility\, and secu rity.
\nThis thesis proposes ESMP\, an Efficient and Secure Messagin g Protocol. ESMP is designed for bi-directional M2M communication\, where both the server and the microcontroller use a common language to communica te. To do this\, ESMP is combining Google’s Protocol Buffer format\, the MQTT protocol\, and security at the transport-layer.
\nESMP message s use a “super message” design which wraps all sub-messages into a sin gle schema to reduce the number of managed MQTT subscriptions. It comprise s a network architecture using MQTT where the embedded device shares the s ame set of protocol buffer schemas with the MQTT broker. Security at the a pplication layer is approached using username/password authentication\; un ique client identification\, and packet data is SSL-encrypted. Whereas reg ular embedded firmware has predefined hardware behavior as part of its fir mware\, the ESMP client is a “blank slate” that receives commands from the ESMP broker. Using a RPC-like action mechanism\, an ESMP client allow s a ESMP broker to dynamically control its hardware. An open-source GUI to ol allows users to visually construct and send protocol buffer messages to an ESMP client.
\nAn overhead evaluation of the payload showed ESMP
’s protocol buffer schema produced the smallest payload size when compar
ed to XML\, JSON\, and plain-text data encoding. The latency evaluation sh
owed ESMP’s RTT latency to be slower than the ASIP baseline\, but with t
his trade-off justified because the device communicates over WiFI rather t
han wired Ethernet\, allowing it to be deployed anywhere in the field. The
viability of ESMP was proven by using ESMP to construct a real-world IoT
application\, a door sensor which sends its status to the ESMP
broker
when it is open. Finally\, the extensibility of ESMP was validated by add
ing new functionality to ESMP with minimal impact to device flash/RAM util
ization.
ESMP demonstrates a viable solution for efficient and sec ure M2M communication for the IoT. It presents a way to extend the functio nality of an IoT product without compromising security or data efficiency. The feasibility of this solution has been validated by its adoption into Adafruit’s WipperSnapper firmware\, an open source IoT firmware deployed on thousands of devices\, enabling users to build IoT products and projec ts without programming.
Event page: h
ttps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/electrical-engineering-ms-thesis-defense-
by-brent-rubell.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/
93281343753?pwd=UWd5TGsweFpyMC9ydWhzaWErZnlndz09
Title:
\nStories of Syn ergy: Collaborative Practices Between Special and Science Educators for In clusive Science Education
\nDisse
rtation Advisor:
Stephen B. Witzig (Education Department)
Co
mmittee Members:
Shakhnoza Kayumova (Education Department) and Matthe
w Taylor (Salve Regina University)
Abstract:
\nThis study employs Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) narrative inquiry framework to e xplore the lived school experiences of special education teachers and gene ral education science teachers in public inclusion elementary settings as they collaborate to support their shared students with exceptionalities wi thin the general education setting. This research centers around the parti cipants’ stories in situ as they unfolded across the three dimensions o f narrative inquiry: the temporality dimension\, personal/social dimension \, and the place or sequences of places dimension. Narrative threads revea l that participants story collaboration as a lived\, relational experience shaped by time\, institutional contexts\, and interpersonal relationships rather than as the implementation of formal co‑teaching models.
\nThe conceptual framework supports how Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) n arrative inquiry captures participants’ embodied stories across the thre e dimensions of the narrative inquiry space. Key substantive constructs th at guided the study include the storytellers’ preparedness to teach scie nce content to students with exceptionalities\, the affordances and challe nges of elementary science education in inclusion settings\, the partnersh ips needed to support students with exceptionalities’ access to rigorous science instruction\, and how participants negotiate their roles and resp onsibilities when creating and implementing curricular accommodations. The se constructs\, in conversation with the history of special education in t he United States and Massachusetts\, are present in the temporality and pl ace dimensions of narrative inquiry. This narrative inquiry aims to tell t he participants’ narratives of how they live collaboration in real time\ , including how collaborative practices evolve across sustained partnershi ps and are disrupted by shifting roles\, schedules\, and institutional con straints.
\nThree pairs of in‑service teachers were interviewed us ing semi‑structured narrative interviews in conjunction with observation of collaborative opportunities and artifact analyses of inclusion science lessons. Participants’ stories highlight how collaboration often occurs informally and “on the fly\,” shaped by limited planning time and the marginalization of elementary science relative to tested subject areas\, while simultaneously creating flexible\, inquiry‑based learning spaces t hat support multiple entry points for students with exceptionalities. Narr ative threads illuminated that teachers’ preparedness and collaborative roles are deeply influenced by institutional structures and professional h istories rather than individual willingness or expertise alone. Through th ese storied accounts\, collaboration emerges as uneven and continually neg otiated\, grounded in trust\, shared responsibility\, and moral commitment to students with exceptionalities.
\nThis qualitative study contrib utes a narrative account detailing in-service educators’ collaborative e fforts in inclusion settings\, reframing collaboration as lived relational work rather than a technical practice to be implemented. Through the thre e pairs of in-service educators’ stories\, five narrative threads emerge d: 1) collaboration between science and special educators is fluid\; 2) co llaboration between science and special educators is improvised in constra ined places\; 3) participants’ stories position science inclusive educat ion as marginalized\; 4) there is ongoing tension between participants’ aspirational views of collaboration and their enacted collaboration\; and 5) specific institutional structures continue to inhibit students with exc eptionalities’ access to science content within Massachusetts inclusion classrooms as highly contextual places. These storied experiences hold imp lications for educational policies\, in‑service professional development \, building‑based school schedules\, and pre‑service teacher education .
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/event
s/cms/melissa-cieto---stem-education-dissertation-defense.php
Event
link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/91802967143?pwd=tsflWJvunrvYP0y1
ducXPa6c25A2bV.1
Abstract:
\nQuar k confinement is a phenomenon observed in the strong interaction that cann ot be derived using conventional perturbative techniques and requires alte rnative approaches. Since the the-ory becomes strongly coupled in the infr ared regime\, perturbative methods fail to reproduce the hadron mass spect rum and the approximately linear Regge behavior observed experimentally.\n
This thesis investigates various approaches to quark confinement an d develops criteria to classify different families of potentials based on whether they can produce confinement. The study be-gins with the generaliz ed SU(3) framework developed by Dr. Hsu\, using the quadratic confining po tential that arises directly from generalized SU(3) symmetry. In this appr oach\, confinement is described purely from the boundary gauge theory by c onstructing an effective quark potential from generalized SU(3) transforma tions. The resulting energy spectrum is computed and compared with the exp erimental baryon mass spectrum to assess how well this framework captures confinement behavior.
\nTo further classify potentials capable of ex hibiting confinement and to filter out non-viable cases\, the AdS/QCD soft -wall model is considered\, in which confinement is encoded through a dila ton profile that vanishes at the boundary and produces a discrete spectrum through a Schr¨odinger-like equation. By fitting the radial nucleon traj ectory\, a holographic scale κ = 0.48 GeV is extracted\, consistent with phenomenological expectations for linear Regge behavior. However\, in this model confinement is introduced through the choice of background fields r ather than being derived dynamically from the spacetime geometry.
\nThe analysis is then extended to the Einstein–dilaton action\, where sol ving the coupled equa-tions of motion determines whether confinement emerg es self-consistently from gravity. In this framework\, I also study IHQCD- type potentials and impose swampland- and bootstrap-inspired constraints\, including conditions on RG flow monotonicity\, background smoothness\, sp ectral positivity and discreteness\, and stability under parameter variati ons\, in order to filter out the class of viable confining models.
\nThis analysis shows that only a restricted class of potentials satisfies all the imposed constraints\, leading to a progressive shrinking of the al lowed parameter space and providing a systematic way to identify viable co nfining models and reproduce linear Regge behavior.
\nAdvisor:
Dr. J.P. Hsu\, Department of Physics (jhsu@umassd.edu)
Committe M
embers:
Dr. David Kagan\, Department of Physics
Dr. Robert Fish
er\, Department of Physics
Note:
All PHY Graduate Students
are encouraged to attend.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/physics-master-of- science-thesis-defense-by-anudeep-davuluru.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T143000 LOCATION:SENG 201 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Physics Master of Science Thesis Defense by Anudeep Davuluru UID:9d937f1bf552c2a3ade74aa17f0e6bf2@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Academic Affairs,College of Arts and Sciences,College of Enginee ring,Graduate Studies,Lectures and Seminars,Research DESCRIPTION:Mitochondria of eukaryotic cells contain tubular networks that are critical to a cell’s energy production. Mitochondrial tubular netw orks overwhelmingly have nodes of only degree 1 or 3, with degree 3 predom inating (approx. 80%). An abstract mitochondrial graph is a graph with ve rtices of only degree 1 or 3. We describe recent work of Mostov, Lewis and Marshall showing via random graphs that combinatorial constraints alone, without additional biological considerations, predict that mitochondrial n etworks contain a large, connected component. We detail joint work with El isha Rogatch, in progress, on assessing synchronizability of connected abs tract mitochondrial graphs via the ratio R of the maximum eigenvalue of th e unnormalized Laplacian matrix of the graph (diagonal degree matrix – a djacency matrix) to the smallest non-zero eigenvalue of the Laplacian (Fie dler eigenvalue). We describe statistics of the values for R that indicate as the fraction of degree 1 vertices increases mitochondrial tubular netw orks become increasingly far from synchronizable for purely graph-theoreti c reasons. Reference: Mostov, R., Lewis, G. R., Das, M. & Marshall, W. F. (2026). Combinatorial constraints predict that mitochondrial networks cont ain a large component. bioRxiv, 2026-03.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd. edu/events/cms/joint-data-and-computational-science-seminar-series-graph-t heoretic-properties-of-mitochondrial-tubular-networks.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Mitochondria of eukaryotic cell s contain tubular networks that are critical to a cell’s energy producti on. Mitochondrial tubular networks overwhelmingly have nodes of only deg ree 1 or 3\, with degree 3 predominating (approx. 80%). An abstract mitoc hondrial graph is a graph with vertices of only degree 1 or 3. We describe recent work of Mostov\, Lewis and Marshall showing via random graphs that combinatorial constraints alone\, without additional biological considera tions\, predict that mitochondrial networks contain a large\, connected co mponent. We detail joint work with Elisha Rogatch\, in progress\, on asses sing synchronizability of connected abstract mitochondrial graphs via the ratio R of the maximum eigenvalue of the unnormalized Laplacian matrix of the graph (diagonal degree matrix – adjacency matrix) to the smallest no n-zero eigenvalue of the Laplacian (Fiedler eigenvalue). We describe stati stics of the values for R that indicate as the fraction of degree 1 vertic es increases mitochondrial tubular networks become increasingly far from s ynchronizable for purely graph-theoretic reasons.
\nReference: Mosto v\, R.\, Lewis\, G. R.\, Das\, M. & Marshall\, W. F. (2026). Combinatorial constraints predict that mitochondrial networks contain a large component . bioRxiv\, 2026-03.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T143000 LOCATION:TXT105A SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Joint Data and Computational Science Seminar Series: Graph-theoretic properties of mitochondrial tubular networks UID:b45236a01b38792a6a6a6dfb2286ce9b@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Training DESCRIPTION:Learn how to look up budget balances and run monthly Revenue an d Expense, Open Encumbrance and Transaction Detail reports in PeopleSoft F inance. Open to Faculty and Staff. Please register via email to receive zoom link and room details. email: jschlesinger@umassd.edu \nEvent page : https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/peoplesoft-financial-reporting-and-bud get-inquiry-training--.php\nEvent link: https://www.umassd.edu/peoplesoftf inance/training/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Learn how to look up budget balances and run monthly Revenue and Expe nse\, Open Encumbrance and Transaction Detail reports in PeopleSoft Financ e.
\nOpen to Faculty and Staff. Please register via email to receive zoom link and room details. email: jschlesinger@umassd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/peoplesoft-financi
al-reporting-and-budget-inquiry-training--.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.ed
u/peoplesoftfinance/training/
Abstract:
\nType Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are among the most common types of luminous astrop hysical transients. They are thought to arise from the thermonuclear explo sion of mass-accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in binary systems. Due to their consistent peak luminosities\, SNe Ia are used as standardizable candles t o measure the expansion rate of the universe. A subluminous subclass of th ese events\, known as Type Iax supernovae\, is believed to be the result o f a failed or partial detonation of WDs. Pa 30 has recently been identifi ed as the remnant of the historical supernova SN 1181\, which reveals an u nusual filamentary morphology with a WD at its center. Recent studies ind icate that SN 1181 was likely a sub-luminous event\, classified as a Type Iax supernova\, possibly originating from a merger between carbon-oxygen (C/O) and oxygen-neon (O/Ne) WDs.
\nIn this thesis\, we investigate failed detonations of Type Iax supernovae within the context of the double -degenerate merger channel. Specifically\, we consider a binary system co nsisting of a C/O WD and an O/Ne WD. In this scenario\, the secondary C/O WD is tidally disrupted and merges with the O/Ne WD\, forming an accretion disk around the primary. Due to instabilities within the disk\, a carbon detonation is triggered on the surface of the primary\, while leaving it l argely intact. The total nuclear energy released in this event is lower th an that of a normal SNe Ia\, consistent with the properties of the SNe Iax . We further explore the detonation mechanism\, the characteristics of the resulting remnant\, and the broader implications of this model for unders tanding the physics of Type Iax supernovae.
\nAdvisor:
Dr. Robe
rt Fisher\, Department of Physics (Robert.fisher@umassd.edu)
Commi
ttee members:
Dr. David Kagan\, Department of Physics
Dr. Renuka Rajapkse\, Department of Physics
\n
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/eve nts/cms/physics-master-of-science-thesis-defense--by-chackochan-joji.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T144500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T161500 LOCATION:SENG 201 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Physics Master of Science Thesis Defense by Chackoc han Joji UID:51bde3576414b4151e4934f0cbe1a5ce@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Financial Aid DESCRIPTION:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 Financial Aid Service s wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Ser vices for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid.Particip ants must bring their own laptop.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/even ts/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109-1.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs i n SENG 109
\nFinancial Aid Services wants to remind all students to
file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in SENG
109 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and le
arning more about financial aid.
Participants must bring thei
r own laptop.
Event page: https://www.uma ssd.edu/events/cms/financial-aid-fafsa-help-labs-in-seng-109-1.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260506T160000 LOCATION:SENG 109 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Financial Aid FAFSA Help Labs in SENG 109 UID:3ded14139078e46233fb34351458155d@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Dining DESCRIPTION:A special late-night breakfast, join us for fun festivities, ra ffles, and giveaways! Questions? Email us at dining@umassd.edu First seat ing: 9:30-10:30pm Second seating: 11:00-midnight\nEvent page: https://www. umassd.edu/events/cms/moonlight-breakfast.php\nEvent link: https://dineonc ampus.com/umassd/events X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A special late-night breakfast\, join us for fun festivities\, raffles\, and giveawa ys! Questions? Email us at dining@umassd.edu
\nFirst seating: 9:30-10:30pm
\nSecond seating: 11:00-midnight
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/moonlight-breakfast.php<
/a>
Event link: https:
//dineoncampus.com/umassd/events
Abstract:
\nIn the emergi ng field of gravitational wave astronomy\, the data collected by gravitati onal-wave (GW) observatories is key to understanding the universe. However \, in addition to astrophysical signals\, the data consists of non-station ary detector noise and transient bursts of noise known as glitches. These glitches impact the ability to both observe and characterize incoming grav itational-wave signals. Thus\, it is imperative that we study these glitch populations to improve our sensitivity to real signals and provide feedba ck to instrumentalists. Current glitch mitigation pipelines use glitch spe ctrogram images\, which have been used to train many state-of-the-art glit ch analysis tools. While this approach has proven to be effective\, many a spects of the glitch\, such as phase information\, short-glitch events\, a nd time localization\, are lost. Due to these limitations of frequency-dom ain analysis\, there is a need for glitch analysis tools that operate in t he time domain. In this work\, we present the first large- scale glitch ti me-domain model reconstruction analysis on glitch data from LIGO’s third observation run. We introduce a machine-learning based tool to assess the quality of glitch time-domain reconstructions by utilizing non-Gaussianit y tests to analyze glitch residuals and enabling the optimization of time- series models for various LIGO glitch classes. Using this framework\, we d emonstrate how large-scale time-domain datasets of real\, noise-free detec tor glitches can be rapidly produced and assessed\, paving the way for imp roved glitch population studies and future developments in classification and simulation tools.
\nAdvisor:
Dr. Sarah Caudill\, Departmen
t of Physics (scaudill@umassd.edu)
Note:
All PHY Graduate St
udents are encouraged to attend.
Event p age: https://www.umassd.edu/events/c ms/physics-master-of-science-project-presentation-by-bhaskar-verma.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T104500 LOCATION:SENG 201 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Physics Master of Science Project Presentation by Bh askar Verma UID:95498c4919fa851e9311a77b602cbdb9@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Lectures and Seminars,Thesis/Dissertation s DESCRIPTION:Pathway to Type Iax Supernovae: 3D Hydrodynamical Sim. of Oxyge n-Neon and Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarfby Chackochan Joji Abstract: Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are among the most common types of luminous as trophysical transients. They are thought to arise from the thermonuclear e xplosion of mass-accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in binary systems. Due to th eir consistent peak luminosities, SNe Ia are used as standardizable candle s to measure the expansion rate of the universe. A subluminous subclass of these events, known as Type Iax supernovae, is believed to be the result of a failed or partial detonation of WDs. Pa 30 has recently been identi fied as the remnant of the historical supernova SN 1181, which reveals an unusual filamentary morphology with a WD at its center. Recent studies i ndicate that SN 1181 was likely a sub-luminous event, classified as a Typ e Iax supernova, possibly originating from a merger between carbon-oxygen (C/O) and oxygen-neon (O/Ne) WDs. In this thesis, we investigate failed de tonations of Type Iax supernovae within the context of the double-degenera te merger channel. Specifically, we consider a binary system consisting o f a C/O WD and an O/Ne WD. In this scenario, the secondary C/O WD is tidal ly disrupted and merges with the O/Ne WD, forming an accretion disk around the primary. Due to instabilities within the disk, a carbon detonation is triggered on the surface of the primary, while leaving it largely intact. The total nuclear energy released in this event is lower than that of a n ormal SNe Ia, consistent with the properties of the SNe Iax. We further ex plore the detonation mechanism, the characteristics of the resulting remna nt, and the broader implications of this model for understanding the physi cs of Type Iax supernovae. Advisor: Dr. Robert Fisher, Department of Physi cs (Robert.fisher@umassd.edu) Committee Members: Dr. David K agan, Department of PhysicsDr. Renuka Rajapkse, Department of Physics Note : All PHY Graduate Students are encouraged to attend.\nEvent page: https:/ /www.umassd.edu/events/cms/physics-master-of-science-thesis-defense-by-cha ckochan-joji.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Pathway to Type Iax Supernovae:
3D Hydrodynamical Sim. of Oxygen-Neon and Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
by Chackochan Joji
Abstract:
\nType Ia supernovae ( SNe Ia) are among the most common types of luminous astrophysical transien ts. They are thought to arise from the thermonuclear explosion of mass-acc reting white dwarfs (WDs) in binary systems. Due to their consistent peak luminosities\, SNe Ia are used as standardizable candles to measure the ex pansion rate of the universe. A subluminous subclass of these events\, kno wn as Type Iax supernovae\, is believed to be the result of a failed or pa rtial detonation of WDs. Pa 30 has recently been identified as the remnan t of the historical supernova SN 1181\, which reveals an unusual filament ary morphology with a WD at its center. Recent studies indicate that SN 11 81 was likely a sub-luminous event\, classified as a Type Iax supernova\, possibly originating from a merger between carbon-oxygen (C/O) and oxygen -neon (O/Ne) WDs.
\nIn this thesis\, we investigate failed detonatio ns of Type Iax supernovae within the context of the double-degenerate merg er channel. Specifically\, we consider a binary system consisting of a C/ O WD and an O/Ne WD. In this scenario\, the secondary C/O WD is tidally di srupted and merges with the O/Ne WD\, forming an accretion disk around the primary. Due to instabilities within the disk\, a carbon detonation is tr iggered on the surface of the primary\, while leaving it largely intact. T he total nuclear energy released in this event is lower than that of a nor mal SNe Ia\, consistent with the properties of the SNe Iax. We further exp lore the detonation mechanism\, the characteristics of the resulting remna nt\, and the broader implications of this model for understanding the phys ics of Type Iax supernovae.
\nAdvisor:
Dr. Robert Fisher\, Dep
artment of Physics (Robert.fisher@umassd.edu)
Committee Members:
Dr. David Kagan\, Department of Physics
Dr. Renuka
Rajapkse\, Department of Physics
Note:
All PHY Graduate Stu
dents are encouraged to attend.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/physics-maste r-of-science-thesis-defense-by-chackochan-joji.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T093000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T110000 LOCATION:SENG 201 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Physics Master of Science Thesis Defense by Chackoch an Joji UID:e9db267d45659cd1e8a42f24ff6ef982@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT: Micro-nano robots represent an exciting area in robot ics research, involving tiny devices capable of navigating and interacting within the nano-scale world. For the complete ABSTRACT and more informa tion, please contact: kihan.park@umassd.edu -or- scunha@umassd.edu. AD VISOR: Dr. Kihan Park, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UMas s Dartmouth College of Engineering. COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dr. Wenzhen Huang , Professor, and Dr. Hangjian Ling, Associate Professor; both of the UMass Dartmouth Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering. Op en to the public. All MNE students are encouraged to attend. \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/mechanical-engineering-ms-thesis-d efense-by-mr-menaka-konara.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:ABSTRACT: Micro-nano robots rep resent an exciting area in robotics research\, involving tiny devices capa ble of navigating and interacting within the nano-scale world.
\nF or the complete ABSTRACT and more information\, please contact: kihan.pa rk@umassd.edu -or- scunha@umassd.edu. ADVISOR: Dr. Kihan Park\, Assistan t Professor of Mechanical Engineering\, UMass Dartmouth College of Enginee ring.
\nCOMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dr. Wenzhen Huang\, Professor\, and Dr. Hangjian Ling\, Associate Professor\; both of the UMass Dartmouth Mechani cal Engineering Department\, College of Engineering.
\nOpen to the public. All MNE students are encouraged to attend.
Event page : https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/mec hanical-engineering-ms-thesis-defense-by-mr-menaka-konara.php
< /body> DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T120000 LOCATION:SENG-110 (Science & Engineering Building, Room 110 / Materials Science Lab) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Mechanical Engineering MS Thesis Defense by Mr. Mena ka Konara UID:3eb0a9766d2d2316a510b82020b0dc50@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Graduate Studies,Lectures and Seminars,Th esis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Self-gravity plays a crucial role in the a strophysics of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Understanding the extreme phys ics of these events demands accurate hydrodynamical simulations enabled by multiphysics frameworks such as FLASH. In these simulations, direct pairw ise gravitational interactions scale as N2, which can quickly become expan sive for large scale simulations. To reduce the computational cost, FLASH employs approximation methods, including fast multipole and BHTree solvers , where the computational cost scales linearly with the system. Within thi s framework, FLASH uses an operator-split approach to couple separately ev olved hydrodynamics and gravity at each timestep. My thesis focuses on the BHTree solver and quantifies its suitability for SNe Ia applications thro ugh targeted verification and performance studies. I evaluate force accura cy and conservation behaviour across test problems, and compare BHTree aga inst other gravity solvers to characterize the relevant accuracy-cost trad eoff for production simulations. The resulting methodology is intended to guide solver selection and simulation setup for large self-gravitating cal culations, and to support the broader goal of reliable, scalable computati onal tools for stellar explosions and related astrophysical fluid systems. Advisor: Dr. Robert Fisher, Department of Physics, (Robert.fisher@umassd. edu) Committee members: Dr. Renuka Rajapakse, Department of PhysicsD r. Janyi Wang, Department of Physics Note: All PHY Graduate Students a re encouraged to attend.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/tr ee-based-gravity-solver-for-3d-hydrodynamical-simulations-of-binary-white- dwarfs-merger-type-ia-supernovae.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Abstract:
\nSe lf-gravity plays a crucial role in the astrophysics of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Understanding the extreme physics of these events demands accura te hydrodynamical simulations enabled by multiphysics frameworks such as F LASH. In these simulations\, direct pairwise gravitational interactions sc ale as N2\, which can quickly become expansive for large scale simulations . To reduce the computational cost\, FLASH employs approximation methods\, including fast multipole and BHTree solvers\, where the computational cos t scales linearly with the system. Within this framework\, FLASH uses an o perator-split approach to couple separately evolved hydrodynamics and grav ity at each timestep.
\nMy thesis focuses on the BHTree solver and q uantifies its suitability for SNe Ia applications through targeted verific ation and performance studies. I evaluate force accuracy and conservation behaviour across test problems\, and compare BHTree against other gravity solvers to characterize the relevant accuracy-cost tradeoff for production simulations. The resulting methodology is intended to guide solver select ion and simulation setup for large self-gravitating calculations\, and to support the broader goal of reliable\, scalable computational tools for st ellar explosions and related astrophysical fluid systems.
\nAdvisor:
Dr. Robert Fisher\, Department of Physics\, (Robert.fisher@umassd.e
du)
Committee members:
Dr. Renuka Rajapakse\, Departme
nt of Physics
Dr. Janyi Wang\, Department of Physics
Note: All PHY Graduate Students are encouraged to attend.
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T104500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T114500 LOCATION:SENG 201 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Tree based gravity solver for 3D hydrodynamical simu lations of binary white dwarfs merger type Ia supernovae UID:5d6b83f77d2f25a873981c404f7d55ca@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing the artwork of graduating Master o f Fine Arts students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman, Argha van Booyeh, Immer Cook, Ali Masoumzadeh, Allison Morones, Maya August Palm er, MITRAAVRS, Sarah Valinezhad, and Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting, drawing, ceramics, digital me dia, and site-specific installation. Please join us for the closing recept ion at the Art and Design Studios on Thursday, May 7th, at 4 PM. Free and open to the public. This year, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in th ree locations: Hatch Street Studios, Art and Design Studios, and The New B edford Art Museum. Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in each location. Art and Design Studios: Dartmouth Towne Center Plaza, 45 8 State Rd. North Dartmouth, MA 02747 Exhibition Dates: April 16 – May 9 , 2026 Closing Reception: Thursday, May 7, 4-6 PM Gallery Hours: Daily 9 A M to 6 PM Free and open to the public.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu /events/cms/art-and-design-studios-mfa-thesis-exhibition.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing th e artwork of graduating Master of Fine Arts students from the College of V isual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman\, Arghavan Booyeh\, Immer Cook\, Ali Masoumzadeh \, Allison Morones\, Maya August Palmer\, MITRAAVRS\, Sarah Valinezhad\, a nd Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting\, drawing\, ceramics\, digital media\, and site-specific install ation.
\nPlease join us for the closing reception at the Art and Des ign Studios on Thursday\, May 7th\, at 4 PM. Free and open to the public.< /p>\n
This year\, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locatio ns: Hatch Street Studios\, Art and Design Studios\, and The New Bedford Ar t Museum. Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in each loc ation.
\nArt and Design Studios:
\nDartmouth Towne Center Pl aza\, 458 State Rd. North Dartmouth\, MA 02747
\nExhibition Dates: A pril 16 – May 9\, 2026
\nClosing Reception: Thursday\, May 7\, 4-6 PM
\nGallery Hours: Daily 9 AM to 6 PM
\nFree and open to the public.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/art-and-design-studios-mfa-thesis-exhibition.php
< /html> DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260507T180000 LOCATION:Art and Design Studios SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Art and Design Studios MFA Thesis Exhibition UID:cdadc211999b98cdfe222ca76ea01ab7@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:TOPIC: Study on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TIG Weldments of Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys and Optimization Using Grey Relat ed Analysis (GRA). ADVISOR: Dr. Wenzhen Huang, Professor, Department of Me chanical Engineering, UMass Dartmouth. COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dr. Md Habibor R ahman, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMass Da rtmouth and Dr. Hamed Samandari, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMass Dartmouth. For the ABSTRACT and ZOOM link /Meeting ID/Passcode, please contact scunha@umassd.edu. Thank you!\nEven t page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/mechanical-engineering--ise-ms-p roject-presentation-by-mr-sanath-kosuru-padmanabha-raju-sanath-k-p.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:TOPIC: Study on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TIG Weldments of Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys a nd Optimization Using Grey Related Analysis (GRA).
\nADVISOR: Dr. We nzhen Huang\, Professor\, Department of Mechanical Engineering\, UMass Dar tmouth.
\nCOMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dr. Md Habibor Rahman\, Assistant Profe ssor\, Department of Mechanical Engineering\, UMass Dartmouth and Dr. Hame d Samandari\, Associate Teaching Professor\, Department of Mechanical Engi neering\, UMass Dartmouth.
\nFor the ABSTRACT and ZOOM link/Meeting ID/Passcode\, please contact scunha@umassd.edu. Thank you!
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T120000 LOCATION:ZOOM SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Mechanical Engineering / ISE MS Project Presentation by Mr. Sanath Kosuru Padmanabha Raju (Sanath K P) UID:36252f3a43f91dda7d2f417db030b68d@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences,College of Engineering,Graduate Stu dies,Lectures and Seminars,SMAST,STEM,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Department of Fisheries Oceanography MS Thesis Defense"Sink or Source? The attraction versus production theory at an offshore wind farm u sing black sea bass as a case study"By: Andie Painten AdvisorDr. Kevin Sto kesbury (UMass Dartmouth) Committee MembersDr. Geoffrey Cowles (UMass Dart mouth), Dr. Sam Truesdell (NOAA) Friday May 8, 202610:00 AMSMAST East 101- 103836 S. Rodney French Blvd, New Bedfordand via Zoom Abstract: Offshore w ind farms introduce complex habitat into historically sandy areas, potenti ally attracting structure-seeking species. This habitat may provide favora ble conditions for food and shelter to support complete life cycles, poten tially increasing local abundance or establishing new populations. This pr oject evaluated the suitability of the Vineyard Wind 1 development area fo r each life-history stage of black sea bass (Centropristis striata) using data from a suite of fisheries monitoring surveys and available life histo ry literature. Spatial and temporal trends in distribution, derived from c atch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) estimates for larval, juvenile, and adult blac k sea bass, revealed an absence of larvae and only a transient presence of juveniles and adults. Analyses of diet, sex, and maturity were consistent with existing literature, including feeding patterns and lack of spawning in the study area. Results further suggest that the introduction of compl ex habitat will provide suitable spawning habitat and increased available food sources; these strong attractants may result in the increased occurre nce of black sea bass to turbines. If turbines are used as spawning habita t this may alter larval dispersal. Larval distribution may also be affecte d by changing hydrodynamic conditions in the windfarm area. This research constitutes the baseline information required to determine if windfarms wi ll act as a population sink (attracting but not producing new black sea ba ss populations) or source (completing the life cycle in a new area resulti ng in population expansion). Join Meetinghttps://umassd.zoom.us/j/98953871 07Note: Meeting ID and passcode required, please email contact to obtain. For additional information, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umass d.edu\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/dfo-ms-thesis-defense -sink-or-source-by-andie-painten.php\nEvent link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j /9895387107 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Department of Fisheries Oceanog raphy
\nMS Thesis Defense
"Sink or Source? The attraction versu
s production theory at an offshore wind farm using black sea bass as a cas
e study"
By: Andie Painten
Advisor
Dr. Kevin Stokesbury
(UMass Dartmouth)
Committee Members
Dr. Geoffrey Cowles (UMas
s Dartmouth)\, Dr. Sam Truesdell (NOAA)
Friday May 8\, 2026
1
0:00 AM
SMAST East 101-103
836 S. Rodney French Blvd\, New Bedfo
rd
and via Zoom
Abstract:
\nOffshore wind farms introdu ce complex habitat into historically sandy areas\, potentially attracting structure-seeking species. This habitat may provide favorable conditions f or food and shelter to support complete life cycles\, potentially increasi ng local abundance or establishing new populations. This project evaluated the suitability of the Vineyard Wind 1 development area for each life-his tory stage of black sea bass (Centropristis striata) using data from a sui te of fisheries monitoring surveys and available life history literature. Spatial and temporal trends in distribution\, derived from catch-per-unit- effort (CPUE) estimates for larval\, juvenile\, and adult black sea bass\, revealed an absence of larvae and only a transient presence of juveniles and adults. Analyses of diet\, sex\, and maturity were consistent with exi sting literature\, including feeding patterns and lack of spawning in the study area. Results further suggest that the introduction of complex habit at will provide suitable spawning habitat and increased available food sou rces\; these strong attractants may result in the increased occurrence of black sea bass to turbines. If turbines are used as spawning habitat this may alter larval dispersal. Larval distribution may also be affected by ch anging hydrodynamic conditions in the windfarm area. This research constit utes the baseline information required to determine if windfarms will act as a population sink (attracting but not producing new black sea bass popu lations) or source (completing the life cycle in a new area resulting in p opulation expansion).
\nJoin Meeting
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/9895387107
Note: Mee
ting ID and passcode required\, please email contact to obtain.
Fo r additional information\, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumbut@umassd .edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/ events/cms/dfo-ms-thesis-defense-sink-or-source-by-andie-painten.phpEvent link: https://umassd .zoom.us/j/9895387107
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T110000 LOCATION:SMAST East 101-103 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:DFO MS Thesis Defense: Sink or Source? by Andie Pain ten UID:fff22068f131c77243a360ea6418b3dc@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences,Lectures and Seminars,Thesis/Disser tations DESCRIPTION:PhD Advisor: Dr. Michael Sheriff Committee Members: Dr. Eri n Bromage (UMass Dartmouth), Dr. Robert Gegear (UMass Dartmouth), and Dr. Jaqueline Blundell (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada). Abstract : Free-living animals encounter a wide range of ecological and environmen tal stressors throughout their lifetime, which can shape both cognitive pe rformance and neural function. While cognitive abilities, particularly lea rning and memory, are critical for responding effectively to these stresso rs, evidence suggests that stress exposure –in particular glucocorticoid hormones – can, in turn, affect cognition. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these bidirectional interactions remain poorly unde rstood, especially in wild systems. Thus, in this dissertation, I investig ated how chronic predation risk and glucocorticoid hormones influence cogn ition in wild white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). I further examined the effects of predation risk on the relationship between neuronal activat ion patterns and cognitive performance. In Chapter 2, I show that chronic predation risk did not impair learning but had a small effect on short-ter m memory, it may be that altered exploration strategies help animals maint ain learning performance under chronic predation risk conditions. In Chapt er 3, I show that glucocorticoids had no effect on associative learning an d short-term memory, but did affect spatial learning and short-term memory , and the opposite pattern was true for long-term memory. Finally, in Chap ter 4, I show how predation risk reduced neuronal activation patterns in t he hippocampus and alters the relationship between neuronal activation pat terns and cognitive performance. Overall, this work provides novel insight into how predation risk and stress hormones shape cognition and brain fun ction in wild animals. These findings highlight the importance of studying neurobiological mechanisms in ecologically relevant contexts to better un derstand how animals maintain adaptive function under chronic environmenta l stress.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/biology-phd-disse rtation-defense-by-carolina-c-ganci.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:PhD Advisor: Dr. Michael Sheriff
\nCommittee Members: Dr. Eri n Bromage (UMass Dartmouth)\, Dr. Robert Gegear (UMass Dartmouth)\, and Dr . Jaqueline Blundell (Memorial University of Newfoundland\, Canada).
\nAbstract: Free-living animals encounter a wide range of ecological and environmental stressors throughout their lifetime\, whic h can shape both cognitive performance and neural function. While cognitiv e abilities\, particularly learning and memory\, are critical for respondi ng effectively to these stressors\, evidence suggests that stress exposure –in particular glucocorticoid hormones – can\, in turn\, affect cogni tion. However\, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these bidirectio nal interactions remain poorly understood\, especially in wild systems. Th us\, in this dissertation\, I investigated how chronic predation risk and glucocorticoid hormones influence cognition in wild white-footed mice (Per omyscus leucopus). I further examined the effects of predation risk on the relationship between neuronal activation patterns and cognitive performan ce. In Chapter 2\, I show that chronic predation risk did not impair learn ing but had a small effect on short-term memory\, it may be that altered e xploration strategies help animals maintain learning performance under chr onic predation risk conditions. In Chapter 3\, I show that glucocorticoids had no effect on associative learning and short-term memory\, but did aff ect spatial learning and short-term memory\, and the opposite pattern was true for long-term memory. Finally\, in Chapter 4\, I show how predation r isk reduced neuronal activation patterns in the hippocampus and alters the relationship between neuronal activation patterns and cognitive performan ce. Overall\, this work provides novel insight into how predation risk and stress hormones shape cognition and brain function in wild animals. These findings highlight the importance of studying neurobiological mechanisms in ecologically relevant contexts to better understand how animals maintai n adaptive function under chronic environmental stress.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/biology-phd-d issertation-defense-by-carolina-c-ganci.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T130000 LOCATION:SENG Bldg., Room# 305 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Biology PhD Dissertation Defense by Carolina C. Ganc i UID:30a18a3c00c05b8d2d37f9dec26a9d3f@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Visual and Performing Arts DESCRIPTION:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing the artwork of graduating Master o f Fine Arts students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman, Argha van Booyeh, Immer Cook, Ali Masoumzadeh, Allison Morones, Maya August Palm er, MITRAAVRS, Sarah Valinezhad, and Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting, drawing, ceramics, digital me dia, and site-specific installation. Please join us for Open Studios at Ha tch Street Studios, 88 Hatch Street, New Bedford, MA 02745 on Saturday, Ma y 9th, 10 AM-6 PM. This event, featuring over 75 New Bedford artists, prov ides a unique opportunity to see behind the scenes, meet the artists, and support the local creative community. Free and open to the public. This ye ar, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios, Art and Design Studios, and The New Bedford Art Museum. Each stu dent exhibits different pieces of their work in each location. \nEvent pa ge: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/hatch-street-studios-mfa-thesis-exhi bition.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing th e artwork of graduating Master of Fine Arts students from the College of V isual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman\, Arghavan Booyeh\, Immer Cook\, Ali Masoumzadeh \, Allison Morones\, Maya August Palmer\, MITRAAVRS\, Sarah Valinezhad\, a nd Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting\, drawing\, ceramics\, digital media\, and site-specific install ation.
\nPlease join us for Open Studios at Hatch Street Studios\, 8 8 Hatch Street\, New Bedford\, MA 02745 on Saturday\, May 9th\, 10 AM-6 PM . This event\, featuring over 75 New Bedford artists\, provides a unique o pportunity to see behind the scenes\, meet the artists\, and support the l ocal creative community. Free and open to the public.
\nThis year\, the MFA Thesis Exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Stu dios\, Art and Design Studios\, and The New Bedford Art Museum. Each stude nt exhibits different pieces of their work in each location.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/hatch-street-stu dios-mfa-thesis-exhibition.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260509T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260509T180000 LOCATION:Hatch Street Studios SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Hatch Street Studios MFA Thesis Exhibition UID:b9d2b1cb82695e0ceaf5aeee94631ecc@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Graduate Studies,Lectures and Seminars,Th esis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Title: Evaluation of extracellular vesicles released by 3D sphe roids and 2D conventional cell culture of the SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell li ne Abstract: Cancer cells communicate with the surrounding tumor microenvi ronment and establish a metastatic niche through the secretion of small ex tracellular vesicles (sEVs), which are referred to as exosomes. These exos omes play a critical role in cancer progression by transferring bioactive cargo, including proteins, lipids, mRNAs, miRNAs, and DNA fragments, to he althy cells, thereby enabling distant organ colonization and metastasis. S KOV3, a widely used human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line, is traditional ly cultured under anchorage-dependent (2D monolayer) conditions; however, suspension culture more faithfully mimics the three-dimensional, non-adher ent microenvironment encountered in vivo, giving rise to altered cell sign alling, spheroid formation, and distinct exosome release profiles. This st udy compares the characteristics of exosomes secreted by SKOV3 cells under 2D and 3D conditions, isolated through ultrafiltration and Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC). Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), D ynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Raman spectroscopy, and Flow Cytometry were used for the characterization. Multivariate analysis across FastGrow and McCoy's media as exosome collection media identified the principal compone nts governing exosome physical properties, while optimized SEC runs demons trated how Sepharose 2B and 6B columns yield exosomal fractions. Additiona l investigations included spheroid growth analysis, refractive index analy sis, storage effects, Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS), and BCA pr otein estimation in exosomal fractions. This study presents an accessible and reproducible isolation protocol that lowers the technical barrier acro ss laboratory settings, laying the groundwork for non-invasive exosome-bas ed cancer screening.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/bmebt- ms-thesis-defense-by-shrimathi-venugopalakrishnan.php\nEvent link: https:/ /umassd.zoom.us/j/96638190702?pwd=SYKURVzk7JtCHoW0zM4UvgNJCbHVc7.1 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Title:
\nEvaluation of ex tracellular vesicles released by 3D spheroids and 2D conventional cell cul ture of the SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell line
\nAbstract:
\nCance r cells communicate with the surrounding tumor microenvironment and establ ish a metastatic niche through the secretion of small extracellular vesicl es (sEVs)\, which are referred to as exosomes. These exosomes play a criti cal role in cancer progression by transferring bioactive cargo\, including proteins\, lipids\, mRNAs\, miRNAs\, and DNA fragments\, to healthy cells \, thereby enabling distant organ colonization and metastasis. SKOV3\, a w idely used human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line\, is traditionally cultu red under anchorage-dependent (2D monolayer) conditions\; however\, suspen sion culture more faithfully mimics the three-dimensional\, non-adherent m icroenvironment encountered in vivo\, giving rise to altered cell signalli ng\, spheroid formation\, and distinct exosome release profiles. This stud y compares the characteristics of exosomes secreted by SKOV3 cells under 2 D and 3D conditions\, isolated through ultrafiltration and Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC). Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM)\, D ynamic Light Scattering (DLS)\, Raman spectroscopy\, and Flow Cytometry we re used for the characterization. Multivariate analysis across FastGrow an d McCoy's media as exosome collection media identified the principal compo nents governing exosome physical properties\, while optimized SEC runs dem onstrated how Sepharose 2B and 6B columns yield exosomal fractions. Additi onal investigations included spheroid growth analysis\, refractive index a nalysis\, storage effects\, Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)\, and BCA protein estimation in exosomal fractions. This study presents an acce ssible and reproducible isolation protocol that lowers the technical barri er across laboratory settings\, laying the groundwork for non-invasive exo some-based cancer screening.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/bmebt-ms-thesis-defense-by-shrimathi-
venugopalakrishnan.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us
/j/96638190702?pwd=SYKURVzk7JtCHoW0zM4UvgNJCbHVc7.1
Partial abstract: Small manufac turing facilities frequently face challenges stemming from disorganized la youts\, inadequate management practices\, and reactive maintenance procedu res. These conditions generate operational waste and create bottlenecks that reduce production efficiency... For the full abstract\, advisor and committee members please contact Sue Cunha (scunha@umassd.edu). Thank y ou!
Event page: https://ww w.umassd.edu/events/cms/mechanical-engineering-ms-project-presentation-by- mr-joshua-letizia.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T120000 LOCATION:SENG-110 (Materials Science Lab) -and- on ZOOM (for Zoom info, ple ase contact: scunha@umassd.edu) SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Mechanical Engineering MS Project Presentation by Mr . Joshua Letizia UID:35eb11b70ccbdf6f556888b2c3aee30d@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Committee Members:Dr. Firas Khatib, Computer and Information Sc ience Department, University of Massachusetts DartmouthDr. Christopher Hix enbaugh, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Date & Time: 05/14/2026 (Thursday), 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Eastern Time)Room: DION 311 Abstract: The second-g eneration Neural Networks have evolved in recent years, which have become more complex architectures such as spiking neural networks and quantum neu ral networks. However, the computational resource restriction of neural ne tworks on edge devices is still challenging. The thesis investigates stabl e learning and compute-resource efficiency on spiking neural networks and quantum neural networks. Other common qualities like high performance (e.g ., high accuracy, high reward), robustness, convergence, predictability, a nd fast running times were also considered in one or more studies. The con tributions of the thesis have several folds. The first study was using aud io data; one reason was to verify if a trend called temporal information c oncentration is present in the spiking neural network. We also gathered ot her findings, such as dataset complexity impacting Fisher Information, rel ated to temporal information dynamics. The second study on multimodal spik ing neural networks explored the effects of audio and image noise. The res ults show the multimodal model outperformed its unimodal counterparts, but certain configurations of image noises, audio noises, and noise levels pe rformed better than others. A third study on spiking neural networks revea led that temporal information concentration was not present in quantizatio n-aware-training variants, but an increase in Fisher Information was found in those variants. In one of the quantum neural network studies with rein forcement learning, we found faster initial convergence, longer decreasing in standard deviation and policy entropy, and a few correlations as well related to average reward and policy entropy. In the second study on quant um neural networks, structured pruning is found to sharpen decisiveness an d reveal bad pruning paths, while overparameterization can help exploratio n. All these studies try to address maintaining or improving stable learni ng, if the models are computation-resource efficient enough to be realisti c. All CIS and Data Science Graduate Students are encouraged to attend. Fo r further questions please contact Dr. Yuchou Chang at ychang1@umassd.edu\ nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/stable-and-compute-resource -efficient-learning-with-spiking-and-quantum-neural-networks-methods-and-i nsights.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Committee Members:
Dr. Fir
as Khatib\, Computer and Information Science Department\, University of Ma
ssachusetts Dartmouth
Dr. Christopher Hixenbaugh\, Naval Undersea War
fare Center
Date & Time: 05/14/2026 (Thursday)\, 10:30 AM - 11:30
AM (Eastern Time)
Room: DION 311
Abstract:
\nThe seco nd-generation Neural Networks have evolved in recent years\, which have be come more complex architectures such as spiking neural networks and quantu m neural networks. However\, the computational resource restriction of neu ral networks on edge devices is still challenging. The thesis investigates stable learning and compute-resource efficiency on spiking neural network s and quantum neural networks. Other common qualities like high performanc e (e.g.\, high accuracy\, high reward)\, robustness\, convergence\, predic tability\, and fast running times were also considered in one or more stud ies. The contributions of the thesis have several folds. The first study w as using audio data\; one reason was to verify if a trend called temporal information concentration is present in the spiking neural network. We als o gathered other findings\, such as dataset complexity impacting Fisher In formation\, related to temporal information dynamics. The second study on multimodal spiking neural networks explored the effects of audio and image noise. The results show the multimodal model outperformed its unimodal co unterparts\, but certain configurations of image noises\, audio noises\, a nd noise levels performed better than others. A third study on spiking neu ral networks revealed that temporal information concentration was not pres ent in quantization-aware-training variants\, but an increase in Fisher In formation was found in those variants. In one of the quantum neural networ k studies with reinforcement learning\, we found faster initial convergenc e\, longer decreasing in standard deviation and policy entropy\, and a few correlations as well related to average reward and policy entropy. In the second study on quantum neural networks\, structured pruning is found to sharpen decisiveness and reveal bad pruning paths\, while overparameteriza tion can help exploration. All these studies try to address maintaining or improving stable learning\, if the models are computation-resource effici ent enough to be realistic.
\nAll CIS and Data Science Graduate Stud ents are encouraged to attend.
\nFor further questions please contac t Dr. Yuchou Chang at ychang1@umassd.edu
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T113000 LOCATION:Dion 311 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Stable and Compute-Resource Efficient Learning with Spiking and Quantum Neural Networks: Methods and Insights UID:c28a93665a0cd88d3498b18f89a76e98@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Provost's Office DESCRIPTION:Please join the Faculty Senate for its May meeting where we dis cuss issues concerned with academic matters and matters relating to the in tellectual life of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The Faculty Senate meeting is open to the public; however, only elected Senators may v ote on issues presented to the Senate. For your information, If you misse d any of our meetings or want to refresh your memory, the Faculty Senate h as been recording its meetings, \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/may-faculty-senate-meeting.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Please join the Faculty Senate for its May meeting where we discuss issues concerned with academic matter s and matters relating to the intellectual life of the University of Massa chusetts Dartmouth.
\nThe Faculty Senate meeting is open to the publ ic\; however\, only elected Senators may vote on issues presented to the S enate. For your information\,
\nIf you missed any of our meetings o r want to refresh your memory\, the Faculty Senate has been recording its meetings\,
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/may-facul ty-senate-meeting.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T170000 LOCATION:Grand Reading Room SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:May Faculty Senate Meeting UID:b5af1cef0980da4d0286b5a81c75b9f2@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality,Student Affairs DESCRIPTION:UMass Dartmouth is so proud of our queer scholars graduating th is May!Are you a queer student graduating this May? Join us for Lavender C elebration, an afternoon of queer joy!Cash bar.RSVP by May 1st2026 Lavende r Celebration Registration\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/ lavender-celebration.php\nEvent link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ ResponsePage.aspx?id=DWyNMi8PdkuTEJdiuhw-LVqPznbXmBhGis4ct0TlqZNUN1g3SDQ3W FJBVTkyQjcxUk0xMjdJNlVNQS4u&origin=QRCode X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:UMass Dartmouth is so proud of
our queer scholars graduating this May!
Are you a queer student
graduating this May? Join us for Lavender Celebration\, an afternoon of q
ueer joy!
Cash bar.
RSVP by May 1st
2026 Lavender Celebration Registration
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/lavender-celebration.php<
/a>
Event link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Respo
nsePage.aspx?id=DWyNMi8PdkuTEJdiuhw-LVqPznbXmBhGis4ct0TlqZNUN1g3SDQ3WFJBVT
kyQjcxUk0xMjdJNlVNQS4u&\;origin=QRCode
The UMass Dartmouth MFA Thesis Exhibition is a much-anticipated and celebrated annual event showcasing th e artwork of graduating Master of Fine Arts students from the College of V isual and Performing Arts. This year’s exhibition celebrates the work of graduates Alison Bergman\, Arghavan Booyeh\, Immer Cook\, Ali Masoumzadeh \, Allison Morones\, Maya August Palmer\, MITRAAVRS\, Sarah Valinezhad\, a nd Yaren Yıldız. The creative work of these graduating students includes painting\, drawing\, ceramics\, digital media\, and site-specific install ation.
\nThis year\, the exhibition takes place in three locations: Hatch Street Studios\, Art and Design Studios\, The New Bedford Art Museum . Each student exhibits different pieces of their work in each location. P lease join us for the second round of ArtTALKS on Thursday\, May 14th\, at 6 PM.
\nExhibition Dates: April 9 – May 14\, 2026
\nAHA! Night Reception with ArtTALKS: Thursday\, May 14 at 6 PM
\nNon-AHA! Night Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday: 9 AM to 5 PM\; free entrance wit h UMassD ID
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/e vents/cms/new-bedford-art-museum-mfa-thesis-exhibtion.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T200000 LOCATION:New Bedford Art Museum SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:New Bedford Art Museum MFA Thesis Exhibtion UID:2de49f01ddd67525c32932af218155c8@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Black History 4 Seasons,Frederick Douglass Unity House,Student A ffairs DESCRIPTION:ALANA is a celebration of success for ALANA – African / Afric an American / Black; Latino / Latina / Hispanic; Asian / Pacific Islan der; Native American / Indigenous / First nation – students. This event culminates with the presentation of traditional Ghanaian Kente cloth gradu ation stoles. The Kente stole signifies students’ “rite of passage” and the commencing of their leadership in the world. Graduates will wear t he Kente stoles at their respective university graduations. This is a prou d moment for our students and their loved ones. We look forward to seeing the next class of students collect their stoles and proudly represent thei r excellence.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/alana-celebra tion-and-kente-stole-presentation.php\nEvent link: https://www.umassd.edu/ events/alana/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:ALANA is a celebration of succe ss for ALANA – African / African American / Black\; Latino / Latina / Hispanic\; Asian / Pacific Islander\; Native American / Indigenous / Fir st nation – students. This event culminates with the presentation of tra ditional Ghanaian Kente cloth graduation stoles. The Kente stole signifies students’ “rite of passage” and the commencing of their leadership in the world. Graduates will wear the Kente stoles at their respective uni versity graduations. This is a proud moment for our students and their lov ed ones. We look forward to seeing the next class of students collect thei r stoles and proudly represent their excellence.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/alana-celebration-and-kent
e-stole-presentation.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.edu/events/alana/
Undergraduate & Graduat e Student Ceremony I
\nCressy Field at 10 a.m. on Thursday\ , May 21\, 2026 - Add t o Calendar.
\nFor students from the:
\nTentative Schedule:
\ n
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/
events/cms/undergraduate--graduate-student-commencement-ceremony-i.php
Event link: https://www
.umassd.edu/commencement/
Doctoral Ceremony
\nMain Auditorium at 4 p.m. on Thursday\, May 21\, 2026 - Add to Calendar.
\nTentative Sc hedule:
\nEvent page: https://www.umass
d.edu/events/cms/doctoral-commencement-ceremony.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.edu/commenc
ement/
Undergraduate & Graduat e Student Ceremony II
\nCressy Field at 10 a.m. on Friday\, May 22\, 2026 - Add to Calendar.
\nFor students from th e:
\nTentative Schedule:
\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/undergraduate--graduate-student-comm
encement-ceremony-ii.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.edu/commencement/
School of Law Ceremony< /strong>
\nMain Auditorium at 3:30 p.m. on Friday\, May 22\, 2026 - Add to Calendar.
\nTentative Schedule:
\nEvent pa
ge: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/school-of-law-commencement
-ceremony.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.edu/law/commencement/
Scientist Stories is a live\, participatory event that brings together early career scientists at UMass Dartmouth and community members to share and hear stories about s cience\, the environment\, and our human connection to it. Featuring live storytellers telling short 5–8-minute stories in New Bedford\, MA\, this is a unique opportunity for storytellers to share their stories of hope w ith the community in a relatable\, entertaining and engaging way to a larg e and diverse audience.
\nStorytellers will be selected from a ran ge of backgrounds and experiences and will receive support and 1 on 1 coac hing to craft compelling\, heartfelt stories —whether through moments of resilience in the face of environmental challenges\, surprising connectio ns between people and place\, or personal journeys sparked by science. Whe ther funny\, poignant\, or powerful\, each story will shine a light on the personal connections of scientists to their science.
\nCa ll for storytellers: We are looking for 7-8 storytellers who can spin a gr eat yarn about their connections to their science. Obviously\, it's a pret ty broad theme.
\nStorytellers may be students\, staff\, and early career faculty at UMass Dartmouth with a science-relate d story to tell. We define “science” very broadly\, and include social \, natural\, physical\, and related sciences.
\nS torytellers are expected to speak for less than eight minutes each and wil l not use notes or visual aids. Send a 200-word pitch to Emma Pimentel (e pimentel2@umassd.edu) before April 20 to be considered!
E vent page: https://www.umassd.edu/event s/cms/umass-dartmouth-scientist-stories-a-live-storytelling-event-.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T210000 LOCATION:New Bedford, MA SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:UMass Dartmouth Scientist Stories: A Live Storytelli ng Event UID:7f78208d9495ce44b4739bb3503e26e4@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Training DESCRIPTION:Learn how to look up budget balances and run monthly Revenue an d Expense, Open Encumbrance and Transaction Detail reports in PeopleSoft F inance. Open to Faculty and Staff. Please register via email to receive zoom link and room details. email: jschlesinger@umassd.edu \nEvent page : https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/peoplesoft-financial-reporting-and-bud get-inquiry-training--.php\nEvent link: https://www.umassd.edu/peoplesoftf inance/training/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Learn how to look up budget balances and run monthly Revenue and Expe nse\, Open Encumbrance and Transaction Detail reports in PeopleSoft Financ e.
\nOpen to Faculty and Staff. Please register via email to receive zoom link and room details. email: jschlesinger@umassd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/peoplesoft-financi
al-reporting-and-budget-inquiry-training--.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.ed
u/peoplesoftfinance/training/
Open to Faculty and Staff.
Learn how to look up Budget Balances\, Revenue and Expense Det
ails\, Open Encumbrances and Transaction Detail using the Department Manag
ement dashboard for financials.
Please register. Email jschlesinger@umassd.edu to sign u p and receive location/zoom details.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/summit-financial-reporting-101.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260604T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260604T151500 LOCATION:Zoom SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Summit Financial Reporting 101 UID:716b54556439d57507028fe7a36cd6eb@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Black History 4 Seasons DESCRIPTION:The NAACP New Bedford Chapter’s annual Freedom Fund Breakfast is a longstanding community tradition that honors local leaders, celebrat es civil rights advocacy, and raises funds to support scholarships and ong oing equity work across the region. The event brings together students, ed ucators, activists, and community partners for a morning of recognition, r eflection, and inspiration, highlighting award recipients whose service an d leadership advance justice and strengthen the New Bedford community.\nEv ent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/naacp-new-bedford-freedom-fund -breakfast.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The NAACP New Bedford Chapter ’s annual Freedom Fund Breakfast is a longstanding community tradition t hat honors local leaders\, celebrates civil rights advocacy\, and raises f unds to support scholarships and ongoing equity work across the region. Th e event brings together students\, educators\, activists\, and community p artners for a morning of recognition\, reflection\, and inspiration\, high lighting award recipients whose service and leadership advance justice and strengthen the New Bedford community.
Event page: ht tps://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/naacp-new-bedford-freedom-fund-breakfast.p hp
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T110000 LOCATION:Century House, Acushnet MA SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:NAACP New Bedford Freedom Fund Breakfast UID:8e4bb23efc21cc591b50b8473bd2a1b6@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:Training DESCRIPTION:Learn how to look up budget balances and run monthly Revenue an d Expense, Open Encumbrance and Transaction Detail reports in PeopleSoft F inance. Open to Faculty and Staff. Please register via email to receive zoom link and room details. email: jschlesinger@umassd.edu \nEvent page : https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/peoplesoft-financial-reporting-and-bud get-inquiry-training--.php\nEvent link: https://www.umassd.edu/peoplesoftf inance/training/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Learn how to look up budget balances and run monthly Revenue and Expe nse\, Open Encumbrance and Transaction Detail reports in PeopleSoft Financ e.
\nOpen to Faculty and Staff. Please register via email to receive zoom link and room details. email: jschlesinger@umassd.edu
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/peoplesoft-financi
al-reporting-and-budget-inquiry-training--.php
Event link: https://www.umassd.ed
u/peoplesoftfinance/training/
Open to Faculty and Staff.
Learn how to look up Budget Balances\, Revenue and Expense Det
ails\, Open Encumbrances and Transaction Detail using the Department Manag
ement dashboard for financials.
Please register. Email jschlesinger@umassd.edu to sign u p and receive location/zoom details.
Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/summit-financial-reporting-101.php
DTSTAMP:20260420T214454 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260716T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260716T151500 LOCATION:Zoom SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Summit Financial Reporting 101 UID:ab4108d2f0004d8dbdd621bf6348a327@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR