Members of UMBC’s Chess Team and Advisor Alan Sherman (bottom row, left) The Undisputed Kings of College Chess   UMBC has won titles at the “World Series, and the “Final Four” and has now completed the “Grand Slam” Â… of college chess that is. UMBCÂ’s chess team is well-known as one of the most powerful in the nation, as it has won six Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championships (The World Series of College Chess) in the past seven years and, in early April, took its first-ever PresidentÂ’s Cup title (The Final Four of College Chess).  They completed their victory… Continue Reading The Undisputed Kings of College Chess
 UMBC Presidential Teaching Professor Robert Deluty is a clinical psychologist and published poet. The Poetry of Experience  As a clinical psychologist, Presidential Teaching Professor Robert Deluty has devoted his adult life to exploring the workings of the human psyche. Recent years, however, have seen his work take a more creative turn. In addition to being a researcher, psychotherapist, and award-winning mentor, Deluty is also a poet whose work has appeared in publications such as The Baltimore Evening Sun and The Wall Street Journal. Psychology is DelutyÂ’s first passion and his research interests have ranged widely throughout the course… Continue Reading The Poetry of Experience
 UMBC Psychology chair Carlo DiClemente’s work has revolutionized treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse. The Psychology of Conquering Addiction  Psychology professor and department chair Carlo DiClemente began studying addiction among smokers while completing his dissertation at the University of Rhode Island. Now, more than twenty years later, his research has revolutionized how health professionals treat alcoholism and drug abuse. In October, 2002, DiClemente’s work was recognized nationally when he received one of five Innovators Combating Substance Abuse awards from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). “I was first drawn to studying smoking because it was a behavior that… Continue Reading UMBC’s 2002 Distinguished Alumnus
 Men’s Lacrosse Coach Don Zimmerman was recently inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. A Classroom with Goals  Don Zimmerman is a teacher. You may know him as the head coach of the menÂ’s lacrosse program at UMBC, but for over two decades he has taught the game to All Americans and beginners with the same basic principles. On January 25, Zimmerman was inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the United States Lacrosse Hall of Fame. UMBC standout defenseman Gary Clipp ‘77 joined him as an inductee during the gala affair… Continue Reading A Classroom with Goals
 Policy Sciences PhD graduate Keith Elder’s studies how race impacts America’s health care system. Inquiries and Inequities in managed Care    In a time when health care is one of the most urgent issues in the U.S. political spectrum, Keith Elder, Ph.D. graduate from the UMBC Policy Sciences (POSI) Graduate Program, is examining the tough questions surrounding our nation’s health care system. Elder’s dissertation examines the racial disparities in managed care between majority and minority physicians. Specifically, it looks at health care contracts between physicians and organizations (such as HMOs) and attempts to determine if there is any… Continue Reading Building a Future
 Ronald Holzloehner (right) celebrates his successful Ph.D. defense with his mentor, Prof. Curtis Menyuk. A Global Education in Telecommunications  Berlin, Germany native Ronald Holzloehner will receive his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMBC this month, after traveling the world while winning international acclaim for his research on how to make fiber optics communications faster and more reliable. Holzloehner came to UMBC after receiving his master’s degree from the Technical University of Berlin and spending a year at UC Santa Barbara on a Fulbright scholarship. In late 1998 he came to UMBC and joined Dr. Curtis MenyukÂ’s… Continue Reading A Global Education in Telecommunications
 UMBC’s Ram Hosmane is the 2002 Maryland Chemist of the Year Maryland Chemist of the Year  UMBC chemistry professor Ramachandra “Ram” Hosmane was named the Maryland Chemist of the Year by the Maryland division of the American Chemical Society in a ceremony on December 11 in Towson. Hosmane, a faculty member at UMBC for 20 years, was honored for his career contributions to biomedical research, including the development of anti-cancer and anti-viral drugs as well as for creation of a powdered, artificial blood mix for use in emergency transfusions. Hosmane is the third UMBC chemist to be named… Continue Reading Making Engineering Exciting
 Jim Bembry is an associate professor of social work. Teaching from Experience  As if nearly 20 years of teaching and scholarship werenÂ’t enough, Jim Bembry brings a lifetime of experience to future social workers in his classroom. Bembry, an associate professor of social work, now realizes that his interest in the field began during his own childhood growing up in a tough Philadelphia neighborhood. “At one point, I got into enough trouble to be sent away for over a year,” he says, “During that time, I met a teacher who gave me a lot of wise advice and… Continue Reading Teaching from Experience
Nurturing Engineering Talent A few months into her new job as a chemical engineer, Heather Couvillon Rhodes, a May 2002 UMBC graduate, easily sums up her enthusiasm for her new profession: “Engineers have the opportunity to take knowledge and apply it to real-world problems.” Rhodes is employed by the Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground. In fact, Rhodes began applying the knowledge she learned in favorite subjects such as math and science to real-world problems long before graduation. As a co-op student at the Indian Head Naval Surface War Center, she worked to design rockets, warheads and rocket launchers… Continue Reading Nurturing Engineering Talent
 Ilse Schweitzer spent a year in Scotland studying Medieval Scottish literature. She will present her research at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day. A New Perspective on a Legend   Ilse Schweitzer, a Humanities Scholar with a double major in English and history, spent a year in Scotland studying the Scot Gaelic language and Medieval Scottish literature at the University of Aberdeen. “I was fascinated with what I was learning,” says Schweitzer, who is also a student in UMBCÂ’s Honors College. “My study abroad experience sparked my interest for going to graduate school and was the starting point… Continue Reading A New Perspective on a Legend
On a Mission to Support Women and Minority Graduate Students On December 5, UMBC was honored by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) for its efforts to build a comprehensive, supportive environment for women and minority graduate students“There has been a 50 percent rate of attrition for doctoral students at U.S. graduate schools over the past 20 years—and among minority students, this figure is even higher,” said Scott Bass, dean of the UMBC Graduate School, as he accepted the CGS/PetersonÂ’s Award for Innovation in Promoting an Inclusive Graduate Community at the CouncilÂ’s annual meeting in Washington, DC.“We must diversify and support… Continue Reading Making Engineering Exciting
/b> to address the longstanding issues surrounding the gender gap in IT. CWIT Advisory Board Member Anne Spence, a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, understands the challenges of being a woman in a technical field. “One of my college professors told me that women should not be engineers, so I got the highest grade in the class to prove him wrong,” she says. “When I graduated with my degree I had six job offers. I did encounter initial resistance as an engineer at Bell Helicopter, but I was always able to get… Continue Reading Closing the IT Gender Gap
