Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tech Citizenship

Cancer survivor addresses EMD Serono on Lung Cancer Awareness

By Mass High Tech staff

Rockland’s EMD Serono Inc. recently held a panel on the potentially devastating impact of lung cancer, as part of the company’s employee recognition of Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The panel featured a lung cancer survivor, Gayle Zinda, author of Pink Lemonade, as well as her radiation oncologist husband and EMD Serono researchers who are investigating a targeted immunotherapy to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The panelists discussed recent research progress in the understanding and treatment of lung cancer. Prior to the panel, Zinda spoke about her mission to bring hope to anyone touched by cancer. EMD Serono is conducting the START (Stimulating Targeted Antigenic Responses To NSCLC) trial, a Phase 3 clinical study assessing the efficacy and safety of its investigational therapeutic cancer vaccine BLP25 liposome, in patients with unresectable Stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer.
 

Oysters help clean Boston Harbor with help from Constellation Energy grant

Constellation Energy has delivered a $5,000 EcoStar Grant to the Massachusetts Oyster Project, which has put the funds to work by placing 80,000 oysters in Boston Harbor at the mouth of the Charles River. Mass Oyster is dedicated to restoring water-cleansing oysters to Boston Harbor after their being absent for decades. Each oyster can filter 30 gallons of water per day removing silt, nitrogen and bacteria from the water. They also add to biodiversity as 100 other species can live in an oyster reef. The presence of these smaller fish and shrimp in turn can triple the number of adult fish including desirable sport fish such as sea bass. The organization’s pilot has shown that oysters can survive and grow in Boston Harbor. It has not yet shown reproduction. 
 

Citizen Schools gets Google grant to promote STEM ed
Boston-based Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit education program, received a $250,000 grant from the Google-advised fund at the Tides Foundation to connect middle school students with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals, increasing the pipeline of traditionally underrepresented minorities and girls pursuing careers in STEM fields.  Professionals will teach apprenticeships where students learn directly from experts in the STEM fields. Over the past four years, nearly 200 Google employee volunteers in California, New York and Massachusetts have led more than 80 apprenticeship courses, focused primarily on the STEM fields, through Citizen Schools. This fall alone, more than 60 Google employees taught nearly 20 apprenticeships ranging from animation to computer game design. Google has representation on numerous Citizen Schools advisory boards.

First Wind expands scholarship program for 2011
Boston-based First Wind Holding Inc. has expanded and extended its scholarship program for 2011. Applications were opened Dec. 15 and available online for the 2011 First Wind Scholars program. The extension and expansion of the program will provide new scholarship opportunities for high school seniors attending school in communities where the company currently has projects in operation or in an advanced stage of development. In New England, those communities are: Maine, the towns of Eastbrook, Ellsworth, Hancock, Sullivan, Mars Hill, Dyer Brook, Oakfield, Burlington, Lincoln, Lee, Mattawamkeag, Winn and Danforth; Massachusetts, John D. O’Bryant School in Boston; and Vermont, the towns of Sheffield and Barton.

YWCA of Western Mass. goes green with new solar array
Solar installer Berkshire Photovoltaic Services helped the YWCA of Western Massachusetts install and start running a new 28.6-kilowatt solar array. The YWCA of Western Massachusetts nonprofit organization said that the solar installation, located at its Campus of Hope in Springfield, was switched on at the end of last month. The campus, which offers housing and support services to abused women and their families, will now be producing and using clean energy from the sun. By offsetting more than 19 tons of carbon emissions, the solar array will help the nonprofit save an estimated $5,000 each year on energy. Because its solar project was funded with state rebates and a grant, the YWCA said it was able to go solar at no cost.