The UMass iCons Program is thrilled to share that an interdisciplinary team of ICONS 289H Integrated Scientific Communication (Sustainable Energy & Materials track) students was recognized as one of five winners of the 2026 UMass Amherst Libraries Undergraduate Sustainability Research Award.
The UMass Amherst iCons program is thrilled to welcome back recent graduate Anna Paolillo [December 2025] as a program assistant. In this role, Anna is responsible for organizational and administrative tasks to ensure the smooth evolution of the rapidly growing program. Specifically, she is responsible for advising close to 100 current iCons students, organizing and inventorying the iCons lab space, and event planning.
Milo Van Mooy '26 (Physics), an iCons senior on the Sustainable Energy & Materials track, was recently named as one of seven Spring 2026 Rising Researchers in recognition of his outstanding research, scholarship, and creative activity.
The UMass iCons Program proudly welcomes its largest cohort to date, as 144 students join the undergraduate certificate program as the “Sweet 16” cohort. Representing 42 different primary majors across eight schools and colleges, this cohort reflects the growing impact of iCons in shaping the next generation of problem solvers.
Margaret Dreishspoon ’20 (Microbiology, Renewable Energy Track) has been named the 2025–2026 recipient of the Mahoney Alumni Award for the Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Awarded annually, the Mahoney Alumni Award honors an iCons graduate who has effectively applied the interdisciplinary knowledge and problem-solving skills developed in the program to their academic or professional path, while continuing to support and engage with the iCons community beyond graduation.
We are excited to announce the 2025 recipients of the Crowley-Nowick Award for iCons Student Leadership and Philanthropy: Hannah Steinbrecher ’26 (Environmental Science and Honors) and Adriana Caraeni ’27 (Computer Science, Mathematics, and Honors).
On Wednesday, October 22, UMass iCons students, alumni, aspiring applicants, and other guests gathered for the annual Idea Slam. The Idea Slam is an opportunity to collaborate on potential solutions to real-world issues. This year, students explored the problem of unsustainable construction under the guise of the burning question: could the concept of “designing for deconstruction” help minimize cost?
The Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) Program has announced that Saint-Gobain, a 47-billion-euro company based in Paris, has joined the iCons Industry Consortium, a 13-year-old collaboration that brings top-notch student talent from UMass Amherst to consortium members.
Meet Milo from Falmouth, Massachusetts. He’s a senior physics major and math minor, earning a certificate as part of the Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) program.
Milo joined the iCons program as a freshman. “I'm on the renewable energy path, and through this, have built an appreciation for systems thinking. No global problem can be solved by just one type of person. Collaboration between the sciences, humanities, and business are the only way to enact real-world change.”