Winter 2006

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Why You Should Love Polymers

Where There's Spark

Falling for Shelburne Falls

Where Are They Now?

Lessons in the Sand

Exchange: To and from the editors

Inbox Letters in Print

Architecture Appreciation I want to compliment Kirin Makker ’08, author of the article “In Praise of Concrete,” (page 80, Fall 2005). I entered UMass Amherst in ’76 as a nontraditional student (28 years old). I took advantage of the Five Colleges Program, and thoroughly enjoyed my experiences at Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith colleges. However, I totally agree with Kirin that if UMass is “not funky and on the edge of what’s possible, then what are we?” The Fine Arts Center was just completed when I enrolled, and I totally loved being in and about its cool and commanding architecture. It inspired me to join the chorus and take music theory while studying journalism. The new-age cubes in front of the Campus Center conjured futuristic possibilities for many of us. Mostly it was the contrast between some of our “ivy halls,” and the modern designs that made the campus exciting. UMass Amherst has a wonderful history, but also continues to be a vanguard into the future. Thanks, Kirin, for your delightful take on the “state of the art.” C. Veronica Guerra-Varno ’80 Stonington, Conn. What of the Biomass Feasibility Study? We enjoyed many articles in the fall issue of the UMass Amherst magazine, most notably “Never Mind the Weather?” (page 24, Fall 2005) by Eric Goldscheider. The excellent scientific research by scientists Ray Bradley, Steve Burns, and Francisco Da Cruz is a significant contribution to the international consensus that global warming is occurring and to understanding its relationship to our overuse of fossil fuels. Global warming threatens the ability of the planet to support life, and this important work is a credit to UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth, and our country. We feel that UMass has a great opportunity to do something locally to combat these increased greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Recently UMass Amherst magazine ran an article on the new state-of-the-art power plant, which is a gas/oil-fired plant replacing the present coal plant. Gas supplies, however, are declining, and this year alone gas prices have doubled (Boston Globe 10/4/05). While switching the campus from coal to natural gas provides a significant reduction in greenhouse gases, the campus can do better. Purchasing oil and gas means we send serious money outside the Commonwealth. We understand also that to address this economic issue and also the concerns with the use of fossil fuels, the UMass Amherst physical plant conducted a feasibility study looking at firing one of four boilers with biomass, a locally abundant and renewable fuel that generates no net greenhouse gases. We applaud this decision to look at biomass as an energy source, and feel it is a good choice both environmentally and economically for the campus and the western Massachusetts economy. We wonder about the status of the biomass feasibility study and whether UMass Amherst will lead the Commonwealth on a sustainable future. Bruce A. Spencer ’64, ’67G Gordon Boyce ’82 Dwayne Breger ’94G Over the Top This is my first letter to UMass Amherst magazine, but I’m all excited about the Fall 2005 issue. I’ve been a faithful reader ever since I graduated in 1957, but this issue tops them all. I was delighted by the wealth of material about so many UMass Amherst grads. All of the articles you highlighted from page 21 through page 57 were especially informative. Keep up the good work. I, incidentally, was a public relations writer for companies like IBM, The Prudential Insurance, and others. I retired six years ago. I hope that some of my Theta Chi fraternity brothers will see this letter and take the time to write to me at 24 Astor Way, So. Yarmouth, 02664. Dick Sexton, ’57 So. Yarmouth, Mass. Not So Brainy Your article, “A Very Grey Matter” (page 9, Fall 2005) contains a minor error: Brian Burrell ’85G is a lecturer in the Department of Math and Statistics. Joseph Horowitz, Professor Emeritus Department of Math and Statistics, UMass Amherst

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