All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Spectrum

The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) presents “Spectrum: 2010 Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition.” The first exhibition in a new series, “Spectrum” is designed to give a look into the current research and studio practice of faculty members Dan Bailey, Steve Bradley, Cathy Cook, Vin Grabill, Calla Thompson and Fred Worden.

The moment visitors step into the exhibition space, they are immersed in the artists’ work. Soundtracks from the films of Cook, Grabill and Worden, screened in the darkened theatre, create an ethereal accompaniment to the contemporary visual work on display.

Sounds drift across the room from the loudspeakers connected to the interactive installation created by Steve Bradley. “’TAP’ utilizes architectural infrastructure to perform a live sonic composition determined by the sound frequencies of a building,” Bradley writes in the exhibition’s accompanying catalogue.
                 
Across from the installation hang prints of 360-degree spherical panoramas shot and digitally manipulated by Dan Bailey. His piece, “Retriever Planet,” gives observers a unique perspective on a familiar campus location. “For me, the process of creating an image was one of making or building. With the advent of digital photography, it was a seamless transition to build and make images on a computer,” he writes.

Calla Thompson created pigmented prints and collage-based work raises questions about power. “I am interested in the collapse of a good/evil dichotomy, and instead create a place where characters have the potential to be both the goodie and the baddie, at times simultaneously,” she writes.

Inside the screening room, Vin Grabill, collaborated with two sound artists for his film “Frontier.” He explains that he edits short audio clips and visual footage “to generate visually musical compositions.”

In her documentary, “Immortal Cupboard: In Search of Lorine Niedecker,” Cathy Cook, explores the life of a working artist. She writes, “’Immortal Cupboard’ encompasses many of the subjects that have been central to my work for a long time: nature, women’s roles, rural living, the intersection of personal memory and history and the mechanics of everyday life.”

Fred Worden, creates experimental films that challenge viewers “to make sense of stimuli coming, not from the natural world out in front of the eyes, but rather from a source behind the eyes, the conscious mind.”
                 
“Discernable in all the work is an investigative quality that continually tests the boundaries of technical processes and formats found within each artistic discipline,” writes Symmes Gardner, executive director of CADVC.

“Spectrum” is on view through December 13. Accompanying artist lectures take place at noon on the following dates:

October 27 – Steve Bradley
November 3 – Vin Grabill
November 8 – James Smalls
November 17 – Cathy Cook
December 1 – Calla Thompson

CADVC is located on the first floor of the Fine Arts building and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit the CADVC website or call ext. 5-3188.

(10/21/10)

Champions in the Water

From the very beginning, emphasis was on the team. In the first month of practice, Chad Cradock ‘97, head coach of the swimming and diving teams, called out the names of student athletes and had them  describe what the team meant to them. Students cited their determination, their sacrifice, their love of the sport and their support for each other. The men were hungry for another championship and the women were not about to let the men hog the spotlight. “It created such a positive environment,” Cradock said.

It looks as if that positive environment paid off. Both men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams clinched 2011 America East Championships, the eighth consecutive such victory for the Retriever men and the third crown won by the women since they joined the conference.

“The coaches and staff are really proud of our athletes for buying into the hard work,” said Cradock. “They’re not your average student athletes. They get up and swim at six in the morning, then come back in the afternoon to train again.”

There were several stand-out athletes at the championship, and some new records were set. Brad Reitz ’11 earned the “Male Coaches’ Award” with 223 points earned during his four years as a Retriever. At the championship, he broke both the school and pool record for the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:47.26.

Abbey McKenney ’12 earned the award for “Most Outstanding Female Swimmer.” Her 100-yard freestyle time of 49.66 seconds is a new record for both UMBC and the America East Championship.

Johan Rohtla ’14 was named “Most Outstanding Male Rookie,” after he won gold and set a school record in the men’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:46.80, breaking a record he had set earlier that day by 1.5 seconds.

Several other Retrievers earned medals and contributed to their teams’ victories. Pierre De Waal ’11 earned gold in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle, Eric Jones ’11 won silver in the men’s 100-yard freestyle and John Mendenhall ’12 brought home the silver medal in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke.

In the women’s 200-yard butterfly, Tara Morrissette ’13 earned silver and Jennifer Kotonias ’13 brought home bronze. Amy Fay ’13 won bronze in the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle and set the second-fastest time in school history.

UMBC also brought home the award for “Men’s Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.” Cradock said they earned the award “solely on the performance of our men.”

Elsewhere in what was a busy weekend for UMBC athletics, the men’s track and field team took fourth place and the Retriever women took sixth at the America East Indoor Championships, earning three gold medals in the process. Read more about track and field here.

(2/22/11)

Celebrating Resilience

Huguens Jean, ’03, ’11, Ph.D., electrical engineering, and Clifford Muse, ’11, information systems, returned to Haiti in March 2010, after the devastating January earthquake, to fulfill their grandfather’s last request of them. As he was dying of cancer, he asked that at his funeral they celebrate his life and “find the joy.” “I had no idea what that meant until we encountered these people in Haiti,” said Jean, “These images of life continuing on.”

The brothers missed their grandfather’s funeral when the earthquake made travel to Port-au-Prince impossible, but they resolved to find a way to honor his memory. The new documentary film “Lift Up,” co-directed by Jean and UMBC alumnus Phillip Knowlton, records their journey back home.

“Lift Up” tells a story of people who have faced profound obstacles with resilience and courage. It also contests overly simplistic representations of Haiti that the filmmakers argue have too often dominated the media. Now reporters have a different story to tell.

In their grandfather’s honor, Jean and Muse built a kite like those they had flown together as children in Port-au-Prince, which they then flew in the 2010 Smithsonian Kite Festival in Washington, D.C. In some ways, however, it is this film that is the memorial, rather than the kite alone. As their grandfather wished, through this film Jean and Muse find the joy of life even at a moment of profound national suffering.

“Lift Up” has captured the public’s interest, appearing in the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post, as well as on WYPR’s Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast. “The brothers hope the film will introduce American viewers to another side of Haiti,” notes Sun reporter Childs Walker. “Growing up in Port-au-Prince, they saw the dark side of humanity but also reveled in warm households packed with extended family…and a rich tradition of passing stories from one generation to the next.”

Following a December preview screening at the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C. and a benefit screening in Los Angeles on January 12, the film will be shown during Welcome Week at UMBC on January 27, 8:00 p.m., in the Skylight room on the top floor of the Commons. The campus is invited to attend the free event, which will also include a talk with the filmmakers.

(1/20/2011)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County • 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 • 410-455-1000 •

Exploring New Territory

UMBC organizes international contemporary music festival.

Contemporary musicians from around the globe come to UMBC October 27-30 for Livewire, a festival of 21st century music. Through dozens of concerts, lecture-recitals and presentations, performers and attendees will explore new musical territory and bold new compositions. Musicians will premiere, perform and discuss new works from around the world.

“This is a celebration of the vast creative force that has emerged in the last decade,” said Linda Dusman, professor of music and Livewire organizer.

The festival program is a representation of the depth and variety of that creative force. Featured performers include the Ruckus ensemble, the Damocles Trio, the Hoffmann/Goldstein Duo, the Synchronous Trio and UMBC faculty Matthew Belzer, Lisa Cella, Tom Goldstein, Gita Ladd, Maria Lambros, E. Michael Richards and Airi Yoshioka.

Livewire begins with a student concert, Wedneday, October 27, at noon in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. “UMBC students are very involved in contemporary music-making,” said Dusman.

The International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) Annual Concert, Thursday, October 28, 6 p.m. in Fine Arts 508, is a showcase of women composers from Australia, Poland, Ireland, France, Norway, Italy and the U.S., many of the pieces making their U.S. debut at Livewire.

Following the IAWM Annual Concert, Ruckus, the faculty contemporary ensemble at UMBC, will perform a variety of contemporary pieces at 8:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.

Friday will be a full day of contemporary music, starting at 9 a.m. with a series of lectures. Evening music includes a variety of solo performances, a concert by the Hoffman/Goldstein Duo and Livewire Latenight, an improv session at 10:30 p.m. with Jesse Stewart on waterphone with UMBC students.

The festival wraps up with another full day of events on Saturday. The Synchronous Trio will perform in the Fine Arts Recital Hall at 5 p.m., followed by the Damocles Trio at 8 p.m. and a question-and-answer session with composers and performers.

“I think people who enjoy going to contemporary music concerts go for the surprises. You will always be surprised by something, and to be surprised by a concert can be a really rejuvenating experience,” Dusman said.

Livewire is presented by the UMBC Department of Music. For the complete schedule of events, visit www.umbc.edu/blogs/music/livewire/.

General admission to the concerts is $10, $5 for seniors or free with a student ID or UMBC ID. For more information, call 410-455-2942 or visit www.umbc.edu/arts.

Listen to Linda Dusman talk about the Livewire festival here.

(10/25/10)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County • 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 • 410-455-1000 •

Renaissance Man

James Grubb, professor of history, has been named the Lipitz Professor of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2010-2011 academic year. Grubb is an expert on Renaissance Italy.

“Jim Grubb is not only one of the foremost scholars internationally of the Renaissance, but is a talented, dedicated and selfless teacher and member of the UMBC community. He richly deserves being honored as this year’s Lipitz Professor,” said John Jeffries, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Grubb’s work has earned him several grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and his books include Firstborn of Venice: Vicenza in the Early Renaissance State and Provincial Families in the Renaissance: Private and Public Life in the Veneto. The latter book won the 1997 American Historical Association’s Marraro prize for the best book in Italian history.

The Lipitz professorship was established by Roger C. Lipitz and his family to “provide funds to recognize and support innovative and distinguished teaching and/or research.”  The professorship comes with about $15,000 in funds.

Grubb plans to divide his stipend into two parts. About two-thirds of the funding will be used to provide scholarships for graduate students in the M.A. in Historical Studies program. “There’s lots of scholarship money for undergrads and almost none for M.A. students,” he said. “We have a lot of students who are mature, they’re out working, they’ve got families, and if we can provide the tuition, it will allow them to go through much faster.”

The rest of the funding will be put towards a research trip that he plans to take early next summer. Grubb will travel to several European cities to view original sources as part of research for a book about the social history of Venice. “I’m totally dependent upon archival sources, and there are manuscripts are scattered all over the world,” he said.

Grubb’s book focuses on how such a small city became so influential. “Venice is about the size of the UMBC campus, and yet was the most powerful economic engine of its time,” he said.

Grubb was chosen for the professorship by a six-person committee of tenured faculty in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. To apply for the fellowship, he submitted a proposal for how he would use the funds.

At the end of the academic year, he will deliver the annual Lipitz lecture, for which he will draw from the research he completes during his professorship.

Grubb has been a professor at UMBC since 1983, and was named the Presidential Research Professor for 2004-2007. He said that he has seen the history department develop, and believes that the award is as much a recognition as the work done in the department than by him alone.

Past Lipitz professors include Thomas Field, professor of modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication; John Sturgeon, professor of visual arts; and Carlo DiClemente, professor of psychology.

9/10/10

Winning Season

After competing in three international Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) events this year, UMBC finished in second place for the 2010 season. The UMBC Baja team is the number one team in the U.S. (first place went to Ecole de Technologie Superieure (ETS) of Montreal.).

“We finished in the top ten in all three events. Only seven other teams in the history of Baja have done this,” said Steve Storck, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and captain of the Baja team. As a long- time member, this is a long-awaited achievement.

In April the UMBC Baja team traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, to compete in the first SAE Baja race of the year. Along with 100 international teams, they competed in five dynamic events: acceleration, towing, suspension and traction and maneuverability. There were also static events such as design and cost. Impressively, UMBC placed 15th in the design category, and took the number one place for most cost-effective vehicle. In the end, UMBC placed sixth in the overall competition, the highest ranking in the history of the program.

In May, the team, comprised of 11 UMBC mechanical engineering students, competed in the second SAE event of the year in Bellingham, Washington. UMBC went up against over 100 international teams and for the first time the team took second place overall in the design event. They were one of 34 teams to finish the maneuverability course, and went home with an eighth place title, another top ten finish.

In June the team traveled to Rochester, New York for the last SAE event. For the first time, the UMBC Baja team competed in a race that required water maneuverability. The system the team put together was built only days before the race, and finished 31st in that event. Once again, UMBC took first place for cost effectiveness.

After all three events had passed, UMBC held the title of second place overall, and number one in the U.S.

“We were told we were doing things that no other team had ever done,” said Caroline Scheck, who is the only female member and project manager of the UMBC Baja team. She is entering her second semester as a master’s student this year.

The innovation of the UMBC team’s design came from the need to budget and find new ways to improve on the vehicle without compromising cost effectiveness. The challenges they faced — and the long hours spent coming up with inexpensive alternatives and reinventing parts — paid off.

“The program really pushes the envelope in terms of hands-on experience you can’t get in class. Many of our team members get offers from top companies,” said Storck. One of the companies is their sponsor, Lockheed Martin, which supports the team financially along with the mechanical engineering department. One member, Sam Markkula, is currently an employee there.

“We learn everything from budgeting, to shipping, to building a gear box from scratch,” explained Storck.

Scheck, who has redesigned the gear box that will be used in the upcoming racing season, said the Baja team has provided her with an in-depth, hands-on engineering experience that would have been tough to get inside a classroom.

Building the gear box was just one of many challenges for the Baja team. They earned their number one spot with some innovative thinking after being faced with a tight budget and the struggle to find people interested enough to dedicate early mornings and late nights to developing the vehicles.

As team members graduate or get tied up by other obligations, the team worries who will keep UMBC Baja speeding along. Not only is it difficult to keep new undergraduates who show up to meetings interested in the program, but it’s also tricky generating attention for the team.

“The win this year will help generate interest. But getting someone to a race, that will hook them. It’s addicting,” says Storck. “You don’t need to know anything about vehicle design to be a part of the team — the demands of Baja competition cut across majors from mechanical engineering to business to art. But getting people to that first race, that’s the challenge.”

Team members Caroline Scheck, Steve Storck, Chuck Herbert, Sal Nimer, Dave Outen, Rich Glendening, Eric Meyer, Justin Jones, Pete Mech, James Clerkin and Sam Markkula are enjoying their title and look forward to events for 2011, and redesigning and improving the car.

(8/20/10)

Learning Through Experience

Students from North Bend Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore have a better grasp on their potential careers, thanks to a program called Learning Through Experience (LTE) offered by the Shriver Center at UMBC. LTE is a component of the year-long Adventures in College and Career Exploration in STEM (ACCES) program, funded by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Cherry Hill Elementary/Middle School also serves as an ACCES partner. 

The LTE program promotes learning by increasing awareness of a variety of careers, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math, and encourages students to work to achieve their lifetime goals. For many of these students, certain careers may feel out of reach.

“The world that these children have been exposed to has created a hyper culture in which almost everything that they are taught stresses automatic success,” said Eugene Stovall, the primary teacher liaison at North Bend. “We take ordinary adolescents and show them extraordinary careers through hands-on training.”

The three-week career and college building experience, which ran late June through mid-July, gave students an in-depth look at the professional world through guest speakers and field trips to Baltimore businesses and organizations. In addition, students had the opportunity to experience life on a college campus with an overnight stay at UMBC.

“It was similar to a career day but expanded into three weeks,” said Lori Hardesty, Shriver Center program coordinator of service-learning, K-16 partnerships. “Students had the opportunity to directly interact with professionals, hearing what inspired them to pursue their chosen careers as well as some of the challenges they overcame to get there.”

Many of the LTE participants would like to attend college, but need guidance and support in navigating the college access process.  While at UMBC, Undergraduate Admissions Associate Director Tyson Brown met with the group, discussed the admissions process and answered numerous questions related to specific courses and entrance examinations.  LTE participants also received an extensive tour of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center (IRC), where they learned about several projects that combine interactive programming and art production techniques utilized within the video game industry. Many were excited by the opportunity to interact with the technology and ask questions about design and production.

Other visits included Bank of America where students gained practical knowledge about budgeting and credit card life cycles, and local Quest Diagnostics, where students toured a medical diagnostic laboratory with Jim Hong ’73, biological sciences.  Students were exposed to the disciplines of microbiology, hematology, cytology and chemistry.  Hong remarked that the students had “some of the most intelligent questions we have received on lab tours.”

“Students have begun a relationship with the career specialists they’ve met, which allows them to intern with companies and businesses in the future,” said Stovall. “Not only does it ensure an investment in the future for businesses and the success of these students, but it ensures that signs of a brighter economy and education in America are close at hand.”

LTE and ACCES are just two examples of The Shriver Center’s and UMBC’s commitment to service. These types of programs helped contribute to the University’s selection to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, announced this spring. 

For more information on Shriver Center programs, visit www. shrivercenter.umbc.edu.

(8/6/10)

Advancing Science

For their prestigious scholarship, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, and Michael Summers, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, were named fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS fellowship is an honor shared only by top leaders in science.

Provine is a neuroscientist engaged in studies of the development, evolution and neural mechanisms of behavior. His approaches are comparative and interdisciplinary, and, at various times, he has studied the neural basis of embryonic behavior, the development and evolution of bird flight and machine intelligence and control. His recent work, which has been highly praised in numerous international publications, is focused on laughter, yawning, tickling and behavior contagion in terms of long-term behavior development and evolution. His work has been mentioned in The New York Times, Time and Newsweek, among others.

“I believe in following the path of discovery – wherever that leads – regardless of discipline,” said Provine. “AAAS represents that same spirit as does their prestigious journal, Science.”

Summers is unraveling the internal architecture of HIV (the retrovirus that causes AIDS), striving to understand how it and other retroviruses assemble and how they package their genetic material so that they can infect other cells. He and his team have solved the three-dimensional structures of three proteins that make up the virus, and they are now using this information to decipher the way HIV proteins interact with each other and with the cells they infect. Recently, they have made discoveries in terms of understanding how parts of the virus get to proper sites in the cell. In addition, two of his National Institute of Health grants were competitively renewed.

“This means an enormous amount to me,” said Summers. “AAAS is one of the few national organizations that pays attention to issues of education and policy in the U.S. as they pertain to science.”

AAAS seeks to advance science, engineering and innovation throughout the world. Provine and Summers join the ranks of other well-distinguished UMBC researchers and educators who are AAAS Fellows including President Freeman Hrabowski; Sandra Herbert, professor emerita of history (and Darwin expert); Anthony Johnson, professor of physics; Thomas Cronin, professor of biological sciences; Govind Rao, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering; and G. Rickey Welch, dean emeritus.

Both Provine and Summers feel honored to the join the fellows. AAAS includes a variety of science disciplines and issues – something important to both Provine and Summers. They share their recognition with all undergraduate and graduate students, past and present, who have worked in their labs.  

“I look forward to contributing to AAAS,” said Summers, “and I hope to take information with me about what our students – what the young people in science do here – that can help the nation do the same.”

(7/30/10)

Going the Distance

UMBC students often take their learning experience out of the classroom by interning at local companies, discussing ideas with visiting scholars, or doing service in the community.  For some students, prestigious awards help them to take their studies even farther: across the globe as they pursue opportunities in other countries.

This year, three recent students were awarded Fulbright awards to research or teach in other countries, while two current students received Boren scholarships to study in countries that are important to U.S. security interests.

Jessica Sadler ’09, English, Anna Gitterman ’10, biological sciences, and Michele Ko ’10, music, were awarded Fulbright fellowships for the 2010-2011 academic year.  Sadler and Gitterman will be teaching English, Sadler in Thailand and Gitterman in Argentina.  Ko will be going to Italy to study an obscure period of flute performance.

“Without a Fulbright Scholarship, working in another country would be a lot harder and less secure,” said Sadler.

“UMBC students are very competitive for Fulbright awards,” said Brian Souders, associate director of study abroad in the office of international education services.  Across the country, only about one in four students who apply for a Fulbright award receives one.  This year, three of UMBC’s four applicants were awarded the prestigious scholarship.

“When I found out I had received the Fulbright, I was at a part-time job, driving around in a golf cart. I almost drove into a lake when my mom told me over the phone,” said Ko. Her research goal is to resurrect the flute concertos of the Neapolitan Period.

Gitterman hopes that her experience in Argentina will improve her Spanish language fluency. “I am currently applying to medical schools and believe that understanding Spanish is an incredible skill as a physician. During a shadowing experience at a local hospital I witnessed the devastating effect a language barrier has on the relationship between a physician and patient,” she said.

In addition to UMBC’s Fulbright awards, two students were awarded Boren scholarships. The purpose of the Boren scholarship is to help fund language-intensive study abroad experiences for undergraduates in countries that are strategically important to national security.

“It helps students to study and become more familiar with languages in non-traditional study abroad areas,” said Souders.

Vivian Ekey, ’11, political science and modern languages and linguistics, will be studying Portuguese in Brazil and working on an independent research project on Afro-Brazilian Politics. “I’ve always been fascinated by Brazilian culture and how it is marked by a confluence of cultural influence,” she said.

Priyanka Oza, ’11, health administration and public policy, will be studying Hindi in India.  She hopes that studying in the country will help her to explore her Indian heritage, and while there she will be doing an internship and directed research project related to public health issues.

“India and the United States share similar health care concerns,” she said. “By studying such issues in India, I will be better prepared to deal with health care issues in the U.S.”

(7/23/10)

22 Yards

For many players on the UMBC Cricket Club, the sport runs in their blood. That passion, combined with the team’s motivation and strength, has helped them achieve a ranking of third in the nation by American College Cricket.

“It feels great to know that the hard work we have put in as a group over the years has finally paid off,” said President Anand Patel ’10 M.S., mechanical engineering. 

The UMBC Cricket Club, also known as 22 Yards, was formed by cricket enthusiasts in 2004 and now has nearly 150 members. The game, which first originated in southern England in the 16th century, is similar to baseball with each team consisting of 11 players using a bat-and-ball method. UMBC’s team was recognized by the Sports Club Council in 2005 and is now a member of the Washington Metropolitan Cricket Board (WMCB), an organized Cricket League that follows standards set by the Marylebone Cricket Club.

“The team took some time to build and has grown stronger every season,” said Vice President Chirag Vani ’10 M.S., computer science. “UMBC is now considered a strong team in the league and starts most of its matches as favorites to win the game.”

The team is currently placed in the Division I of the WMCB league. They won the 2008 Round Robin Championship for Division I, the 2009 Board of Directors T20 Championship and finished third in the 2010 All America College Cricket Championship organized by American College Cricket.

Many on the team credit this success to the group’s collaborative spirit.

“The guys on the team are passionate about the sport and are willing to go that extra mile,” said Vani. “It has always been a team effort. The team owes its ranking and success to team spirit and the respect each member has for his peers.”
Although each player on the team has different experiences with the sport, many have been playing since childhood.
“Being born and raised in India, Cricket runs in my blood. I grew up playing cricket almost everyday with friends and was a part of my high school’s cricket team,” said Patel.

The 2010 season for the Cricket Club is now underway, and the team is holding strong – defeating some of the strongest teams in the 2010 All American College Cricket Championship. 

To learn more about the Cricket club, click here.

(7/3/10)