Govind 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.”
All posts by: UMBC News Staff
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.
- Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, and Donald Snyder, Media and Communication Studies, on The Marc Steiner Show
- Curtis Menyuk, CSEE, Wins Humboldt Research Award
- Rebecca Boehling, History, Returns to UMBC in 2016
- Yelena Yesha, CSEE, Discusses Northrop Grumman Partnership in The Washington Post
- Dennis Coates, Economics, Provides Perspective on Economic Impact of the Baltimore Orioles
Read more at UMBC Insights!
CAHSS New Faculty Micro-Talks (4/21)
New 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
With 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
Charles 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
We 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)
CUERE 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
Upal 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
Congratulations 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
Dennis Coates, Economics, Provides Perspective on Economic Impact of the Baltimore Orioles
With buzz surrounding last week’s 2015 home opener for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, economics professor Dennis Coates was in the news discussing what the recent success of the team means for business.
In a Baltimore Sun article, Coates shared that if the team weren’t doing so well, money spent in and around Camden Yards would simply be spent in other areas of the city. “All we’ve really seen is a shift from one set of entertainment activities to another,” Coates said. “That’s not creating any big boost to the economy; it’s just moving around.”
Coates added that out of town visitors are what bring new tourism dollars to Baltimore and the team isn’t necessarily a draw to visitors. “The bottom line is it’s good for the Orioles, but it doesn’t do anything significant for the rest of the Baltimore economy,” he said.
In another Baltimore Sun article, Coates discussed the Hilton Baltimore convention center hotel losing $5.6 million last year despite the success of the nearby Orioles. “I don’t have a crystal ball to say whether it will always be a money-loser,” said Coates. “But it’s not a good sign if they can’t do well when the Orioles are doing well.”
To read all recent news coverage involving Coates, see below:
Orioles and sponsors look to ride 2014 success into a new season (Baltimore Sun)
City-owned Hilton lost $5.6 million last year (Baltimore Sun)
Why Baltimore is not likely to land new pro sports teams (Baltimore Business Journal)
Walker, Vos: City, county need to offer more for new arena (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
UMBC’s Psychology Training Clinic Featured in the Baltimore Sun’s April Education Section
In its April education section, the Baltimore Sun published an article on programs that prepare students to provide effective, evidence-based care for patients. UMBC’s Psychology Training Clinic, part of the Psychology Training, Research, and Services Center at the South Campus Research and Technology Park, was featured in the article. Rebecca Schacht, a clinical assistant professor of psychology and director of the clinic, was quoted extensively in the story and discussed the new clinic, which provides low-cost therapy for people struggling with anxiety, depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Graduate-level students provide care under supervision of licensed psychologists.
“This is really the standard for training,” Schacht said. While students also train in community outpatient clinics, “you don’t get as much oversight there. It allows us to have more contact with our students to train them in evidence-based treatment.” Patients at the clinic agree to be recorded, and then the professors review the tapes with the students. “It benefits the students and the patients because there’s a lot more focus,” Schacht added. “You really think more deeply about each person.”
Students at the clinic study the latest research which benefits patients and Schacht noted the training at the clinic will provide the field with effective practitioners. “One of the biggest determinants in whether people get better is the relationship with their therapist,” she said. For more information about the clinic, click here.
Christopher Corbett, English, in Vox
More than 150 years after the first mail was delivered via the Pony Express, Vox published an article examining the service that lasted for only 18 months. Christopher Corbett, professor of the practice in the English department, was quoted in the article. He is author of Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express.
“In the American memory, that man is still riding across the country,” said Corbett when reflecting on the Pony Express. He also discussed how the mail service’s business model played a major role in its undoing.
The business was always doomed. “It hemorrhaged money from the first day,” Corbett said. “It was a bit of a madcap idea from the get-go … the structure of the business was deeply flawed.”
In the article, he also described the legacy of the Pony Express in American memory: Corbett says the appeal of the Pony Express is obvious: it’s an American myth without American tragedy. The bloodshed, suffering, and seediness of the Wild West aren’t part of the myth of the short-lived delivery service. “It’s a benign memory of the Old West,” he says. “It’s a powerfully romantic figure on the back of a fast horse.”
To read the full article in Vox, click here.