All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Curtis Menyuk, CSEE, Wins Humboldt Research Award

CURTISmenyukCurtis Menyuk, computer science and electrical engineering, won the prestigious Humboldt Research Award. The award is granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to scholars who have made a significant contributions to their discipline and plan to continue cutting-edge research. Menyuk’s research concentrates on optical and photonic systems, including optical fiber communications and switching, solid state device simulations, and nonlinear optics. In 2013, he received the IEEE Photonics Society Streifer AWard, another major international award. Menyuk said, “I was delighted and very honored receive this award.  It is really a tribute to UMBC and the members of my research group, past and present, since the award recognizes the 30 years of work that my group has carried out at UMBC.  The link that this award will create between UMBC and the Max-Planck Institute for Light in Erlangen, Germany — one of the world’s leading institutes in optics and photonics — will be of great benefit to UMBC’s students and other researchers.”

Round Up: UMBC In the News 04/10

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.

Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Their Legacy for Today (4/21)

Rachel CarsonAuthor Lecture and Book Signing, Organic Refreshments
Tuesday, April 21, 4-6 p.m.
Albin O. Kuhn Library, 7th floor

As part of Earth Week at UMBC, Dr. Robert K. Musil will present a talk on his book Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment (Rutgers University Press, 2014). Dr. Musil is president of the Rachel Carson Council, senior fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University, and former CEO of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

In the book, Dr. Musil tells the story of Rachel Carson, who is credited with advancing the global environment movement. The following description of the book is posted on its website: “In Rachel Carson and Her Sisters, Robert K. Musil redefines the achievements and legacy of environmental pioneer and scientist Rachel Carson, linking her work to a wide network of American women activists and writers and introducing her to a new, contemporary audience. Rachel Carson was the first American to combine two longstanding, but separate strands of American environmentalism—the love of nature and a concern for human health. Widely known for her 1962 best-seller, Silent Spring, Carson is today often perceived as a solitary ‘great woman,’ whose work single-handedly launched a modern environmental movement.”

The event is sponsored by several groups on campus, including The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Biological Sciences Department, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Education Department, Gender and Women’s Studies Department, Geography and Environmental Systems Department, History Department, Honors College, Interdisciplinary Studies Program, Sustainability Matters, and Women in Science and Engineering Group.

Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, and Donald Snyder, Media and Communication Studies, on The Marc Steiner Show

Kimberly MoffittOn March 31, Kimberly Moffitt, an associate professor of American studies, guest hosted The Marc Steiner Show on WEAA Radio. During the program, Moffitt led a cultural roundtable segment on youth and social media and Confederate flags on license plates. Donald Snyder, senior lecturer of media and communication studies who developed and teaches a course entitled Social Media: Networking and Mobility, participated in the engaging discussion and reflected on the meaning of social media for today’s youth.

Donald Snyder“People made questionable decisions before social media. The key distinction is that social media creates a sort of permanence to those bad decisions,” Snyder said. “And in thinking about that issue, the point becomes in terms of the young people, is making sure they are understanding the implications of the decisions they make.”

Other panelists included Catalina Byrd, media consultant, political strategist, and co-host of “No Hooks for the Hip-Hop Chronicles” on WEAA and Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, assistant professor of communication and affiliate assistant professor of African and African American studies at Loyola University Maryland. To listen to the segment in its entirety, click here.

Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes his 48th Book

robertdelutyRobert Deluty, associate dean of the graduate school, has published a new volume of poetry “Worthy of Consideration.” In his review, Ronald Pies writes: “Robert Deluty’s excellent new collection of short poems presents us with an intriguing dialectic, partly inspired by epigrams from the writer Hermann Hesse. On the one hand, for Hesse, ‘. . . every man’s story is important, eternal, sacred.’ On the other hand, Hesse tells us that his own story is ‘not sweet and harmonious’ but is filled with ‘folly and bewilderment’ – even madness. Deluty’s poems vibrate with this dynamic tension: sometimes evoking the eternal and sacred; sometimes reflecting human folly and bewilderment – and sometimes, both, as in ‘fundamentalists/ blasting Christian rock music/ at their Sikh neighbors.’ What allows Deluty’s poems to ‘work’ is his deep sympathy and understanding of the paradoxes of the human condition.”

“Worthy of Consideration,” as well as all of Dr. Deluty’s other books, may be purchased at the UMBC Bookstore.

DoIT Seeks Campus Feedback Through IT User Survey

doitAs part of its annual assessment plan, the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) encourages the campus community to complete the annual survey of information technology services.

This brief (10 minute max), anonymous survey will help us in our planning for academic year 2015-16 and provides important feedback to understand what technology services are important to you and how well we are meeting your needs. The survey results are shared with our governance committees and used in our planning for the upcoming year.

Jean Fernandez, English, Presents at “Ten Chairs”

JeanFernandezJean Fernandez, English, delivered an invited talk on Reading Chairs as a panelist for the Baltimore Museum of Art’s exhibition event “Ten Chairs.”

The panel consisted of a cross-disciplinary group of thinkers who addressed one of the chairs in the collection as seen though the eyes of their discipline. Speakers included Bill Leslie, Johns Hopkins University, Madeline Dobie, Columbia University, Melanie Adley, University of Pennyslvania and Arthur Molella, Smithsonian Insititution.

Chelsea Moyer, Program Coordinator, Wins Outstanding Service to Students Award

ChelseaMoyerCongratulations to Chelsea Moyer, the 2015 Kendall Outstanding Service to Students Award recipient at The Universities at Shady Grove. Chelsea is currently a Program Coordinator for UMBC-Shady Grove, mainly working with prospective students and applicants for the four undergraduate programs offered in Rockville.

Nominated by her colleagues and UMBC students, this award is given to a staff member working at a partner institution at The Universities at Shady Grove with a minimum of two years of service. The recipient must demonstrate commitment to students through high quality student services, be an active participant in student life, and participate in professional/leadership development goals.

A colleague stated, “Chelsea sees leadership and potential in those who wouldn’t see it in themselves. Not only is she a valuable recruiter, coordinator, and advocate for our programs, she is also a wonderful friend, who truly cares about the students, faculty and staff at USG.” Student comments include, “She is a motivator and supporter. I have never met someone like her, without her help, I would not be where I am today.” “She is very passionate and enthusiastic about her job; you can tell she really loves what she does.”

As the Program Coordinator, Chelsea has been active in recruitment at the community colleges and in developing a strong and diverse marketing plan to attract students to UMBC. She has worked with UMBC’s Undergraduate Admissions staff and other departments to ensure our applicants have the best experience possible during the application process through orientation. Chelsea also developed and advises UMBC-Shady Grove’s Peer Advisory Team or “PAT”, a student organization that reaches out, serves and creates meaningful connections with prospective students through a variety of formal and informal recruitment and retention events. PAT members undergo extensive leadership development led by Chelsea, which has led to great student growth throughout their involvement. Prior to joining UMBC, Chelsea was a Counselor at Penn State’s Student Support Services Program at University Park and an Admissions Counselor at Penn State York. Chelsea is an alumna of The College of William and Mary and is currently enrolled in University of Maryland Baltimore’s MSW program.

Humanities Forum: An Artist’s Life at the Border: Critical Partnerships with Science, History, and the Community (4/16)

Liz LermanThursday, April 16 
5:30 – 7 PM
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery
Liz Lerman, choreographer, performer, writer and educator

What happens to our various fields of study and action when we collaborate across disciplines and domains? What research methods do we employ in concert and separately that lead to problem solving? How does sharing these creative research ideas sustain inquiry, innovation, and the emergence of new knowledge? In this talk, MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow choreographer, performer, writer, and educator Liz Lerman will investigate her partnerships with collaborators across disciplines and around the world. She will explore the ways these collaborations build productive new models for creative research, and discuss uses of the feedback process she calls “Critical Response.”

Bio:
Liz Lerman is a choreographer, performer, writer, educator and speaker, and the recipient of numerous honors, including a 2002 MacArthur Genius Grant Fellowship and a 2011 United States Artists Ford Fellowship in Dance. A key aspect of Lerman’s artistry is opening her process to various publics from shipbuilders to physicists, construction workers to ballerinas, resulting in both research and outcomes that are participatory, relevant, urgent, and usable by others. She founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 1976 and cultivated the company’s unique multi-generational ensemble into a leading force in contemporary dance until 2011. She was an artist-in-residence and visiting lecturer at Harvard University in fall of 2011, and continues to teach nationally and internationally. Current projects involve Healing Wars, an investigation of the impact of war on medicine set to premiere at Arena Stage in 2014, the genre-twisting work Blood Muscle Bone with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Urban Bush Women, work in London with Sadler’s Wells Theatre and the London Sinfonietta, comic book structures as applied to narration in performance, and an online project called “The Treadmill Tapes: Ideas on the Move.” Her collection of essays, Hiking the Horizontal: Field Notes from a Choreographer, was published in 2011 by Wesleyan University Press and in paperback in 2014.

Sponsored by the Dresher Center for the Humanities; the Imaging Research Center; and the Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts.

Volunteers Needed for Spring Commencement Ceremonies (5/20 & 5/21)

11824560134_4c44bb3b31_zIt’s the time of the year when we ask for your help with May Commencements!  This year, the Undergraduate ceremony at the Royal Farms Arena (previously the Baltimore Arena) will be held on Thursday, May 21.

To volunteer, click here, select “Undergraduate Ceremony” and register.  You will see a brief description of the jobs available and the number of staff needed. If you prefer a particular job, sign up now before they are filled. You will receive a confirmation e-mail after you submit your selection.

Volunteer training for the undergraduate ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19  at 2:00 pm in the RAC. Transportation will be provided to the Arena on the day of commencement with the bus leaving Commons Drive Circle at 9:30 a.m. and returning 30 minutes after the ceremony.

Volunteers are also needed to help with the Graduate School Ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 at 10:00 am in the RAC.  You may use the same link as above and just select “Graduate Ceremony”.

If you have questions regarding the Undergraduate ceremony, contact Erin Johnson at ejohnso@umbc.edu or ext. 5-5897.  For questions regarding the Graduate School ceremony, contact Lisa Portis Morgan at limorgan@umbc.edu or ext. 5-8142.

To celebrate your efforts, we will once again host a Commencement Volunteer Thank You in January for those of you who assist with the May and/or December ceremony.  Look for further information in the late Fall.

Staying in the Loop – Darren “Jazz” Stevens ’95, Economics

Staying in the Loop is a new post series from the Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni (CBLA) that seeks to create connections between alumni, faculty, staff, and other supporters of UMBC and CBLA. Click here for more information about CBLA.

Name: Darren “Jazz” Stevens 
Major: Economics
Grad year: 1995

Q: What do/did you enjoy most about being a part of the UMBC community?

UMBC became home, and working with my UMBC family making my home what we wanted it to be was, and is, what drives me.

Q: UMBC is approaching its 50th anniversary (2016) and certainly the campus has come a long way – from a small commuter school to the nation’s #1 “up-and-coming” university – in such a relatively short period of time. What, in your opinion, makes UMBC so unique/special? What’s your most memorable experience/moment at UMBC?

The faculty prioritizes the success of the students, instead of accepting the failure of students, making it unique in the world of collegiate education. “One of” my most memorable experiences was the demonstration at the 1994 Board of Regents meeting. Students demanded their voice be heard, and we were provided the platform to express our voice.

Q: If you could meet one person in the world who would it be and why?

John Madden. I would want to take a cross country tour on the Madden Cruiser watching football films from the 60s through the new millennium, breaking down game film.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve received?

The best advice I ever received was a quote, “True power is the ability to tell someone to go to Hell, and make them feel happy that they are on their way!”

Q: What is one book you think everyone should read?

Monster by Sanyika Shakkur. The lesson to learn: Sometimes the ends justify the means, regardless of the ramification.

Q: What is one thing you can’t live without?

Football season.

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