All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Jean Fernandez, English, Presents at BMA and Everyman Theater

JeanFernandezOn April 11, Jean Fernandez, English, delivered a talk on Reading Chairs as a panelist for the Baltimore Museum of Art’s exhibition event “Ten Chairs.” The panel consists of a cross-disciplinary group of thinkers who addressed one of the chairs in the collection as seen though the eyes of their discipline. Other featured speakers came from Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and the Smithsonian Institution.

On the same day, Fernandez also participated as a panel member in a discussion of Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts,” as part of Everyman Theater’s World of the Play Series. The discussion was hosted by Marc Steiner and will be broadcast as part of The Marc Steiner Show.

Volunteers Needed for 2015 Baja SAE Maryland (5/7-5/10)

BajaSAEFor the first time, UMBC is hosting Baja SAE Maryland, the national Baja competition in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Design Series. One hundred teams of college students from the U.S. and eight foreign countries will attend the competition, held at Budds Creek Motocross in Mechanicsville, MD, May 7-10, 2015.

Baja SAE is a four-day engineering design competition where student teams will meet to present their off-road race cars to engineering and business professionals, undergo strict technical inspections, and compete solo and wheel-to-wheel for a chance to prove their engineering skills.

We need as many volunteers as possible to help with the event and give all of this year’s competitors the best possible setting to succeed. Experience with engineering, motorsports, or Baja SAE is particularly helpful, but there are plenty of track and event support roles to fill during the event.

Click here to sign up to volunteer.

Manil Suri, Mathematics, Writes New York Times Op-Ed on Recent Beef Ban in Parts of India

manil suriIn his second published column since being named a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, mathematics professor Manil Suri wrote about the recent ban of beef in some parts of India. Suri’s column, titled “A Ban on Beef in India is Not the Answer,” examines the political and historical motivations for the ban and its implications on personal freedoms and the economy.

“The laws have affected more than just restaurants. Thousands of butchers and vendors, their livelihood abruptly suspended, have protested in Mumbai. The leather industry is in turmoil. Beef is consumed not only by Indian Muslims and Christians, but also by many low-caste Hindus, for whom it is an essential source of affordable protein,” Suri wrote.

Suri also analyzed the recent beef ban in the context of the larger debate on equality in India: “Indian civilization has evolved over the centuries to include multiple diverse communities with competing interests. Despite its secular Constitution, India remains strikingly unequal. The government must make every effort to balance majority sentiments with minority needs. This is what the previous rules that restricted cow, but not bull, slaughter did,” Suri wrote, adding, “Imposing ideals from a mythic past is not the answer. The true lesson to take away from history is how utilitarian goals can shape religious custom. Hinduism has always been a pragmatic religion; what today’s India needs is accommodation.”

To read the full New York Times column, click here.

Govind Rao, CAST, Receives Grant from the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation

raoGovind Rao, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST), received a $50,000 grant from the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation to automate and miniaturize a non-invasive respiration monitor for premature newborns. The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation is funded by the Food and Drug Administration and led by the Children’s National Health System’s Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering. Rao presented the non-invasive respiration monitor at an event hosted by the University of Maryland, College Park in February and was one for five finalists to win an award from 31 original applicants. “What we’re trying to do is completely change the paradigm,” Rao said about the monitor. “Now the problem is how can I get this scaled up and out there.”

Round Up: UMBC in the News 04/17

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!

CAHSS New Faculty Micro-Talks (4/21)

Dresher logoNew Faculty Micro-Talks
Tuesday, April 21, 5:30-7 p.m. 
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery 

The Dresher Center for the Humanities, in partnership with The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, invites you to attend an afternoon of short talks by new faculty in the college. Please join us to meet tenure-stream faculty hired in the last two years and to learn about their research. A reception will follow.

Schedule of speakers:

Maleda Belilgne, Assistant Professor, Africana Studies and English
Steph Cesaro, Assistant Professor, English
Erin Hogan, Assistant Professor, Modern Languages, Linguistics & Intercultural Communications
Michael Lane, Assistant Professor, Ancient Studies
Kathy Marmor, Associate Professor, Visual Arts
Gary Rozanc, Assistant Professor, Visual Arts
Dena Smith, Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
Colin Studds, Assistant Professor, Geography & Environmental Systems

Anne Rubin, History, in the Baltimore Sun

Anne RubinWith news coverage this week surrounding the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s death, the Baltimore Sun published a story examining Catonsville’s connection to Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. The article looked at Booth’s time as a student at St. Timothy’s Hall preparatory school in Catonsville.

Anne Rubin, an associate professor of history and author of Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory (UNC Press 2014) is quoted in the article and provided perspective on the environment that Booth studied in.

“The thing about Maryland was that it was very divided,” said Rubin. The article also states: “Throughout his adolescence, Rubin said, Booth was far from alone in his support for the Confederacy. There was a large contingent of people living in Maryland at the time Booth was growing up who sympathized with the Southern cause and who, during the war, operated various underground networks to smuggle supplies to the southern states.”

To read the full article titled “Catonsville’s connection to Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth,” click here.

Charles LaBerge, CSEE, to be Recognized at RTCA’s 2015 Annual Symposium Awards

EFCL-Head-150-x-150-2010Charles LaBerge, computer science and electrical engineering, has been selected to be recognized at the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) 2015 annual Symposium Awards Luncheon in Washington, D.C. on June 3. RTCA is a not-for-profit association that wroks to develop recommendations about air transportation for the Federal government.

LaBerge was chosen to be honored by RTCA for his work on the “Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Avionics Supporting Next Generation Satellite Systems.” His research focuses on aeronautical navigation and communication applications, as well as digital signal processing, coding theory, and radio frequency interference.

Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement Award

UMBCWe are pleased to announce the new Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement Award. This award is supported by an endowment created by Dr. Marilyn Demorest, Professor Emerita of Psychology and former Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs, to “support the advancement of all UMBC faculty members in their academic careers; to facilitate their professional development; and to recognize their contributions to faculty advancement and success at UMBC.” This fund will be awarded annually to faculty who mentor and/or advise faculty and colleagues in their field.

  • The Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement Award is conferred annually for a term of one year upon a UMBC faculty member.
  • Nominations (including self-nominations) for the 2014-2015 Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement are due to the Provost Office no later than April 30.
  • The nomination should include a letter of recommendation (or self-nomination), a current curriculum vitae of the nominee, and an indication of how the nominee would spend the year as the Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement Awardee. The letter should make clear the faculty member’s contribution to mentoring and advising faculty.
  • The Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement Award will be appointed by the Provost, based upon the recommendations of the Honors and Awards Committee of the Faculty Senate.
  • The award will allocate $1,000 to stipend and $500 to a discretionary expense account to draw upon for a variety of purposes (sponsoring workshops, conferences, travel, mentoring activity).

CUERE Seminar: Sources and Processes Affecting Particulate Matter (4/24)

cuereCUERE Seminar Series presents Dr. Chris Hennigan with UMBC’s Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering Department and his talk on “Sources and Processes Affecting Particulate Matter in Denver, CO during DISCOVER-AQ.” Friday, April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm in the TRC Building room 206.

Upal Ghosh, CBEE, Named Editor for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

ghoshUpal Ghosh, chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, has been named as an editor for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry is a journal from the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing and solving environmental problems.

Ghosh will be one of several editors and will focus on papers relating to environmental remediation and pollutant bioavailability.

Nazi Paikidze ’16, Information Systems, Places 2nd at U.S. Women’s Chess Championship

nazichessCongratulations to International Master Nazi Paikidze ’16, information systems, who recently finished in second place at the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

Nazi went undefeated through eleven rounds, finishing with seven draws and four wins, including one against the seven-time and defending champion, Grandmaster, Irina Krush.

The full article can be found on the UMBC Chess Program Blog at http://umbcchess.tumblr.com

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