All posts by: UMBC News Staff

John Rennie Short (School of Public Policy) and Luis Mauricio Pinet-Peralta (HAPP) Featured in UN Chronicle

John Rennie ShortThe work of two researchers at UMBC was cited in the most recent issue of UN Chronicle, the magazine of the United Nations. A paper by John Rennie Short, professor, School of Public Policy, and Luis Mauricio Pinet-Peralta, associate director of the health administration and policy program, “No Accident: Traffic and Pedestrians in the Modern City,” Mobilities, vol. 5, pp. 41-59 was cited in the April 2015 issue of the Chronicle in a discussion of how cities are important for achieving sustainable development goals.

Luis Pinet-PeraltaTheir paper examined the causes behind the increase in traffic accidents in cities in the global South and discussed solutions. To read the full article “Cities will play an important role in achieving the SDGs, click here.

Baltimore Traces: Communities in Transition (6/2)

Sparrows Point

Join the Baltimore Traces project team for an event focusing on two Baltimore communities and their shared legacies of industrial development: Brooklyn-Curtis Bay and Sparrows Point. The event will feature Mapping Baybrook, a media-based documentation of projects in Brooklyn-Curtis Bay and a film screening of Mill Stories: Remembering Sparrows Point Steel Mill. Members of the Sparrows Point and Brooklyn-Curtis Bay communities will also discuss the challenges they face and possible futures. (Note: this event is rescheduled from April 28.) 

Tuesday, June 2, 2015
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Chesapeake Arts Center
194 Hammonds Lane Brooklyn Park, MD

This is a free event. Parking is available.

For more information visit baltimoretraces.org

This is event is funded in part through the UMBC BreakingGround initiative
and the Hrabowski Innovation Fund.

Manil Suri, Mathematics, Writes New York Times Op-Ed on Math’s Application to the Maryland Blue Crab Population

manil suriPublished in the Sunday edition of the New York Times on May 3, Mathematics Professor Manil Suri wrote his third column since being named contributing opinion writer on the application of math to predict Maryland’s blue crab population. He examined the complexities and various factors that can go into a mathematical formula to predict the population.

“Fecundity and survival rates — so innocuous as algebraic symbols — can be difficult to estimate. For instance, it was long believed that a blue crab’s maximum life expectancy was eight years. This estimate was used, indirectly, to calculate crab mortality from fishing. Derided by watermen, the life expectancy turned out to be much too high; this had resulted in too many crab deaths being attributed to harvesting, thereby supporting charges of overfishing,” Suri wrote.

In his column, Suri further discusses the difficulty in finding an accurate quantitative formula to calculate the blue crab population, which depends on a number of factors that are not easy to predict.

“In some sense, that might be the wrong goal anyway. Randomness is built into biological processes, so predicting a population is never going to be like calculating the interest on a bank account. The best we can do is use available science to make educated guesses about various outcomes,” he wrote.

To read the full column titled “Mathematicians and Blue Crabs,” click here.

Nancy Kusmaul, Social Work, Selected for 2015 Hartford Change AGEnts Policy Institute

Nancy Kusmaul, an assistant professor of social work, was recently selected to participate in the 2015 Hartford Change AGEnts Policy Institute. She is one of 18 scholars to be selected from a nationwide pool of highly qualified candidates. The institute takes place from June 7-9 in Washington, D.C.

As part of the program, Kusmaul will be analyzing policy issues in a collaborative environment and will work to develop strategies to leverage stakeholder support through coalitions and grassroots efforts. Topics at the institute range from federal policy and regulatory change to state and local policy work.

Nancy KusmaulDuring the institute experience, participants will go to Capitol Hill and to other federal regulatory offices to meet with representatives. Kusmaul will be discussing improvements to nursing home regulations to make nursing home care more person-centered. She hopes to meet with Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings and Senator Barbara Mikluski while on the Hill.

“I am passionate about improving nursing home care for older adults in this country. This institute allows me to shape the policies that impact the day to day lives of the people I have worked with as a nursing home social worker and continue to work with as a social work researcher,” Kusmaul shares.

The Policy Institute is one of many opportunities offered by the interprofessional Hartford Change AGEnts Initiative. The Initiative leverages the John. A. Hartford Foundation’s powerful community—helping its scholars and grantees learn from and support one another while they adopt, evaluate, and sustain changes in practice and service delivery that improve the health of older Americans and their families.

The Hartford Change AGEnts Grant is operated out of The Gerontological Society of America. The Society is a national organization of professionals in the field of aging and is dedicated to the promotion of scientific study. It is designed to encourage exchanges among researchers and practitioners and to foster the use of gerontological research in forming public policy.

Further information about the Hartford Change AGEnts Initiative and the Policy Institute is available here.

V-LINC Honors Department of Mechanical Engineering for “Partnership of the Year”

Rothman Award

On April 30, V-LINC honored UMBC’s department of mechanical engineering at their annual volunteer recognition event at the Cylburn Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. V-LINC is a Baltimore-based non-profit organization that connects engineers and people with disabilities to create technological solutions to improve participants’ independence and quality of life.

The mechanical engineering department received V-LINC’s “Partnership of the Year” honor. Professor of the Practice Neil Rothman, mechanical engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the department. Rothman has worked with student teams to design innovative solutions for V-LINC clients, including an adaptive swing, interchangeable tool, squeeze machine, and elliptical machine.

UMBC was one of several organizations honored by V-LINC at their volunteer recognition event. Other awardees included Johns Hopkins University’s department of bio-medical engineering and the Baltimore chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. UMBC has enjoyed a long history of partnership with V-LINC. Dean Drake, associate vice-president for research, serves on V-LINC’s board of directors and David Salkever, public policy, was one of the co-founders of LINC, a predecessor organization.

Cynthia Matuszek, CSEE, Describes Image Search Research on CBC Radio

cynthiamatuzsekCynthia Matuszek, CSEE, was interviewed on Spark about her research on gender representation on Google Image Search. Spark is a show on CBC radio that explores the topics of technology and trends.

Matuszek described what inspired her and colleagues at the University of Washington to study gender representation across various professions on Google Images and discussed the study’s results. Matuszek found women are often underrepresented in images search results for different professions and portrayed in stereotypical ways.

Click here to listen to Matuzsek’s interview on CBC Radio.

Matuzsek’s research was also referenced in an article about a Google search result for jokes. Click here to read “Something Truly Unfunny Happened When You Googled the Word ‘Joke'” on Mic.

Pres. Hrabowski Featured in SmartCEO Magazine

hrabowskiSmartCEO’s May issue features a cover story about President Hrabowski’s leadership at UMBC with STEM education and entrepreneurship. SmartCEO publishes a bimonthly magazine about leading businesses in four major markets: Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. The story highlights Dr. Hrabowski’s leadership at UMBC and the university’s transformation into “an innovation hub and national education powerhouse.” Dr. Hrabowski also shares ideas for collaborative leadership, drawing on his experiences working with UMBC’s faculty senate, as well as corporate and government partnerships. “The more people see that what you say you’re going to do, you do, and the more you consult with people and get their points of view, the more trust and respect you build,” he said. Several students, alumni, and faculty members shared how Dr. Hrabowski’s vision and leadership has inspired them. CEO of Potomac Photonics Mike Adelstein ’96, biochemistry and molecular biology, told SmartCEO why he moved his company to bwtech@UMBC, saying “The way that [Hrabowski] was building UMBC was the way that we wanted to build our company. He doesn’t judge a book by its cover. If a person is willing to work hard and has shown that he has an interest and a passion for what he’s doing, he will be given the opportunity. That is the way we have done things here at Potomac.” The article concludes with Dr. Hrabowski describing UMBC’s goals. “We want UMBC to be a caring environment, a nurturing environment where we know the students, know their strengths, but also know their challenges, have a sense of their backgrounds,” he said. “We enjoy telling students that if they can succeed here, they can succeed anywhere in the world.” Read “How Freeman Hrabowski transformed UMBC into an innovation hub and national education powerhouse” in SmartCEO here. SmartCEO also published an article by Dr. Hrabowski about his love for Baltimore City. Dr. Hrabowski names diversity and a spirit of entrepreneurship as reasons why Baltimore is a vibrant community for all of its citizens. Read “Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President, UMBC: Why I love Baltimore” here.

Alums in the News: Whitehead, Michael, and Loftus

In the weeks following the death of Freddie Gray and the protests in Baltimore, members of the UMBC community have sought to engage in thoughtful reflection, dialogue, and service around the complex social and economic challenges facing our Baltimore community—and communities across the nation. Here are a few recent contributions from some of our alumni.

WhiteheadKaye Whitehead ’09 Ph.D., language, literacy, and culture, has been a key voice in conversations about Freddie Gray’s death, the Black Lives Matter movement, and police brutality. In an article on PROMISE, Dr. Whitehead discusses her experience at the front lines of the peaceful protests in Baltimore and provides primary accounts from the people living the “Baltimore Uprising” on a daily basis. She has also been working on a book entitled Letters to My Black Sons: Raising Boys in a Post-Racial America. She was interviewed by WYPR about Freddie Grey and how his death fits into police brutality.

Read more from PROMISE here. Listen to the full interview here.

JoshMichaelJoshua Michael ’10, political science, helped prepare meals for students and clean up debris in the aftermath of the Baltimore riots. Michael teaches seventh grade math at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City. Recently, he talked with the Baltimore Sun about the importance of supporting the city’s children.

To read the full article, click here.

LoftusMatthew Loftus ’07, chemistry, argues that community leaders need more influence in what positive policing looks like in their neighborhoods. Loftus wrote an article for the American Conservative where he explores the role of police in Baltimore. He compares the perspective of the Baltimore police force from a plethora of sources to trace the trajectory of their reputation today.

Read the full article here.

 

Shared Services Center Work Groups Announcement

SSCThe Shared Services Center Work Groups have been making major progress over the last six months. We are excited to share some highlights below:

  • Phase I Shared Services Centers (SSCs) will begin a “soft launch” as of May 29, 2015.  The centers will serve Academic Affairs Other Units (AAOU) and the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS).
      • The SSCs will begin with 2-4 staff members each, and will be located in the Shared Services Centers space adjacent to the Dean’s Office in CNMS.  (AAOU will move to different space to be determined at a later date.)
      • With the assistance of DoIT, an RT system has been developed to facilitate communication between each SSC and the departments it serves.
      • Service Partnership Agreements will be established between each SSC, the departments it serves, and Central Administration.
      • AAOU will be posting a position for hire in the near future.  Look for the posting in early May.
    • The TAP website will “soft launch” on May 29th as well. Business Process Improvements not yet completed are scheduled over the next year.  Please visit the myUMBC “Shared Services Centers at UMBC” group for additional details.
    • Lessons learned from the initial Phase I launch will be incorporated into future Phase II SSCs.  No determination has been made as to where the Phase II SSCs will be established.  We are waiting until we have several months of experience with the Phase I centers so that lessons learned can be applied to Phase II.

Round Up: UMBC in the News 5/1

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.


Read more at UMBC Insights!

Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher: Where to Draw the Line: Cartooning in the Shadow of Charlie (5/5)

kal_cartoonInterdisciplinary
Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher: “Where to Draw the Line: Cartooning in the Shadow of Charlie”
Tuesday, May 5 | 4:00 p.m.
104 ITE Building

In celebration of his ten years as artist-in-residence at the Imaging Research Center, the celebrated political cartoonist Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher presents a lecture, “Where to Draw the Line: Cartooning in the Shadow of Charlie.” A reception will follow at 5:00 p.m. in the Imaging Research Center, 108 ITE Building.

The recent brutal massacre in Paris sparked by the publication of controversial cartoons in the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo shocked the world. It also launched an emotional debate over the value and limits of free speech in free societies. International award-winning editorial cartoonist Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher has navigated through the increasingly delicate minefield of visual satire for nearly four decades and reflects upon the current uncertain state of affairs and what it might mean for cartoonists and society.

Kal has been the political cartoonist for the Economist Magazine for the last 37 years and is also currently a special contributing cartoonist for the Baltimore Sun. This year he has received two prestigious awards: the 2015 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning, and the Grand Prix for the 2014 Cartoon of the Year in Europe. In addition to his political cartooning, Kal is also a sought after public speaker addressing audiences around the world on issues of current events, satire, cartoons and freedom of expression. Kal has presented TEDx talks in Warwick, England; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; as well as other talks at Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Duke, Stanford, Pixar Studios and Google headquarters.

The Grand Prix Press Cartoon Europe 2015 was won by KAL for the cartoon pictured, published in The Economist on the 18th of October 2014.

Kal’s Artist in Residency was supported, in part, by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation; the Office of Institutional Advancement; the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; the Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs; and the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program.

This event is co-sponsored by the Imaging Research Center; the Dresher Center for the Humanities; the Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts; the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research; the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program; and the Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Both the lecture and reception are free and open to the public. Parking information is available here.

Constantine Vaporis, History, To Serve as Smithsonian Journeys Expert in Japan

vaporisIn April 2014, Asian Studies Program Director Constantine Vaporis was selected as a Smithsonian expert for tours of Japan. Vaporis is leaving next week to deliver five formal lectures and will also be providing the informal educational component for the tour, Eternal Japan: From Tokyo to Kyoto. The formal lectures are as follows:

  1. From Edo to Tokyo
  2. The Countryside and Agriculture in Japan: Past and Present
  3. Sake: From Rice to Ritual
  4. Samurai and the Castle Towns of Tokugawa Japan
  5. Buddhism & Japan’s Ancient Capitals

To read a profile of Vaporis on the Smithsonian Journeys website, click here.

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