Did You Know?

UNH is the first university in the nation to earn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR rating for residence halls. It ranks in the top 5 percent for energy efficiency among similar colleges and universities around the country, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

UNH is the first land-grant university in the country to have an organic dairy research farm. The dairy provides much needed research to organic dairy farmers and educates the next generation of farmers interested in sustainable agriculture.

UNH Professor Emeritus Charles Simic is the 2007 U.S. Poet Laureate.

UNH graduates serving in the Peace Corps rank 17th in the nation on the list of the top 25 medium-sized schools with alumni serving as volunteers.

The University of New Hampshire’s Space Science Center has been involved with mission design for NASA for more than 50 years. Two alumni are in the ranks of NASA astronauts.

The university’s International Research Opportunities Program (IROP) was the first of its kind. It serves as a model for others nationwide.

New Hampshire Sea Grant is one of only two programs in the country to have received a perfect score from a national panel of marine experts during a 2006 program review.

UNH is the first New England land-grant university to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, adding UNH to the leadership circle of more than 60 colleges and universities committed to climate neutrality, significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and education and research on climate change.

UNH has the longest-standing endowed sustainability program at an institution of higher education in the United States.

One of nine Land, Space & Sea Grant universities in the country to receive substantial federal research funds; the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, UNH’s largest research enterprise, garners more than $32 million each year in research support from NASA, NOAA, NSF and other federal agencies.

UNH’s nationally ranked men’s hockey team, the Wildcats, have played in the Frozen Four several times. The fans have adopted the practice of throwing a fish on the ice after the team scores its first goal of a game.

The technology for hands-free communication in police cruisers—the first in the nation-- was developed at UNH.

UNH, in cooperation with Waste Management of New Hampshire, Inc., has launched EcoLine, a landfill gas project that will pipe enriched and purified gas from Waste Management’s landfill in Rochester to the Durham campus. The renewable, carbon-neutral landfill gas will replace commercial natural gas as the primary fuel in UNH’s cogeneration plant, enabling UNH to receive 80-85 percent of its energy from a renewable source.

The Carsey Institute conducts research and analysis on the challenges facing rural families and communities in New Hampshire, New England, and the nation, and documents trends and conditions affecting families and communities, providing valuable information and analysis to policymakers, practitioners, the media, and the general public.

The annual UNH Undergraduate Research Conference highlights the research and scholarship of undergraduates from all of UNH’s schools and colleges, showcasing student work from history and music, to engineering, microbiology, and beyond.

In October 2006, UNH senior and Wildcats’ wide receiver David Ball broke Jerry Rice's all-time NCAA I-AA record of 50 touchdowns. The Wildcats made the NCAA quarter finals for the third consecutive year.
The UNH Family Research Laboratory is an independent research unit devoted to the study of understanding family violence and the impact of violence in families.

During the 2006-2007 academic year UNH received $116.7 million in research money.

For the second consecutive year, the UNH women’s hockey team hosted the first-round game in the NCAA tournament and the women’s gymnastic team made the NCAA regionals for the 26 consecutive year.