Pedaling for a Cause The summer’s rainstorms and blazing heat will not deter junior Mauria Uhlik and senior Peter Cailloux from climbing on their bikes for 4,000-mile cross-country journeys to raise money and bring awareness to two worthy causes. Uhlik, a psychology major with a concentration in biopsychology, is riding in Habitat for Humanity’s Habitat Bike Challenge (HBC), which seeks to help end housing poverty by raising proceeds to finance the construction of five homes for the Greater New Haven affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. More than 90 college students from schools across the country will raise $4,000 each for… Continue Reading Pedaling for a Cause
Serious Students, Ancient Drama While UMBC celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, a diverse group of talented students is doing its best to turn the clock back 2,500 years this weekend. On May 11, 12 and 13, the grassy hillside between the Fine Arts and Chemistry buildings will be transformed to an ancient Greek natural theatre as student members of UMBC’s Ancient Studies Club and Theatre Council of Majors present a free performance of Frogs, the classical comedy by Aristophanes. (Information about the rain location is at the end of this story.) The play, which starts at 4:30 p.m. each… Continue Reading Serious Students, Ancient Drama
Men’s Lacrosse Wins America East Title The UMBC men’s lacrosse program achieved what most lacrosse observers believed was impossible at the beginning of the 2006 season. They went through the regular season unscathed (5-0), and then the top-seeded Retrievers won their first America East Conference Tournament by defeating third-seeded University of Albany 19-10 at UMBC Stadium on Sunday. The winner of the America East Conference tournament earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I tournament. It is UMBC’s first berth in the tournament since 1999, when they made their second of back-to-back appearances in the championships. The top-seeded Retrievers… Continue Reading Men’s Lacrosse Wins America East Title
UMBC Students, Alumna Receive Fulbrights Three UMBC students and an alumna have received international recognition as Fulbright Scholars for their exceptional research and academic achievements. This latest honor marks a UMBC first, with the largest number of students receiving Fulbright awards since the University’s first Fulbright Scholar in 2002. (Tim Nohe, associate professor of visual arts, also received a Fulbright and will be profiled at a later date.) Administered by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program was created by Congress in 1946 as an educational and cultural exchange program. Each year, approximately 1,000 one-year grants are awarded to… Continue Reading UMBC Students, Alumna Receive Fulbrights
Celebrating Undergraduate & Graduate Research From opera to organic chemistry, this week puts UMBC’s core commitment to student research and creative activity on center stage for two full days. The Carnegie Foundation ranks UMBC in the category of Research Universities with high research activity, and this week 120 undergraduates and 95 graduate students will prove that as they share their original, interdisciplinary research findings through oral and poster presentations and free arts performances and exhibits open to the campus community and public. UMBC’s Tenth Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) on Wednesday, April 26, is the biggest in… Continue Reading Celebrating Undergraduate & Graduate Research
Two UMBC Students Named 2006 Goldwater Scholars Two UMBC students are among the 323 sophomores and juniors who have been named 2006 Goldwater Scholars. The prestigious scholarship program honors outstanding students majoring in science, mathematics and engineering who are committed to pursuing careers as research scientists. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, a junior with a 3.95 cumulative GPA, is one of several UMBC students conducting research in UMBC’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Smalls-Mantey, from Upper Marlboro, Md., has worked in the lab since her freshman year. Her research involves improving the mechanics of gene therapy… Continue Reading Two UMBC Students Named 2006 Goldwater Scholars
Education, Exposure, Experience While entrepreneurship may sound like a concept only studied in business school, at UMBC it is an important part of the university’s mission. “Faculty and students pushing the envelope in science and technology, breaking new ground in the creative arts or crafting new solutions to society’s problems can all be entrepreneurs,” said Vivian Armor, director of UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and a UMBC alumna. “There are many ways you can help prepare yourself for entrepreneurship. You can study it, you can learn from other’s experiences and you can jump in and try it yourself.… Continue Reading Education, Exposure, Experience
Living Learning Communities Create Rewarding Connections When Tony Harris, a sophomore transfer student from Hofstra University, and Amanda Schwenk, a freshman computer science major, applied to UMBC, they had one question in mind: What is the best way to make new friends at UMBC? They both found their answer while researching UMBC’s Web site, although it wasn’t the traditional suggestion to join an organization or club. The solution was UMBC’s Living Learning Communities (LLC), where residents share common academic interests. “I knew I would be able to make connections with people from other countries while also being around people… Continue Reading Living Learning Communities Create Rewarding Connections
A Hot Location for Collaboration bwtech@UMBC , the university’s on-campus research and technology park, is maturing into a hot location for research. This week, the park announced a multimillion dollar investment from the commercial real estate market at a time when the number of UMBC faculty, students and alumni working with the park’s tenant companies and organizations has grown to nearly 200 . The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has agreed to move its Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center to bwtech@UMBC. The move will bring to campus more than 60 scientists and support staff who monitor the ecosystems of… Continue Reading A Hot Location for Collaboration
One Career Choice Gets BetterEvery 10.9 Seconds Every 10.9 seconds another American turns 60, and by 2030, one in every five Americans will be over the age of 65. To prepare leaders to meet the needs of the growing baby boom population, UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies will launch an undergraduate major in Management of Aging Services this fall. It is the first program in the nation to integrate management science, public policy and the study of human aging. As U.S. demographics change, so do the demands on the workforce, creating career opportunities in such diverse areas as… Continue Reading One Career Choice Gets Better Every 10.9 Seconds
Strengthening History Education UMBC’s Center for History Education recently received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teaching American History Grant Program to invigorate the teaching of history in elementary, middle and high schools. This is the fourth grant the Center has received from the Department of Education. Over the next three years, the Center will collaborate with Baltimore County Public Schools to enable 30 elementary, middle and high school teachers of American history to become Master Teachers. Program partners also include the Maryland State Archives and the Maryland Historical Society. Participants will work with teams… Continue Reading Strengthening History Education
Recognizing Outstanding Alumni UMBC celebrated its success in forging leaders in a wide array of fields at the February 8 Alumni Awards ceremony in Annapolis. 2006 Outstanding Alumna in Engineering and Information Technology Donna Stevenson, 1987 Information Systems As head of Early Morning Software, Stevenson is one of only a few minority women CEOs of an IT company in the country. She remains an active volunteer at UMBC, most notably as a member of the Center for Women and Information Technology Advisory Board and a mentor-in-residence for the ACTiVATE program, which promotes entrepreneurship among women. 2006 Outstanding Alumnus in… Continue Reading Recognizing Outstanding Alumni
