On November 7, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) gathered for the college’s second annual CNMS GradFest.
Prableen Chowdhary, Ph.D. ’24, biological sciences, currently a postdoc with Rachel Brewster, professor of biological sciences, and a member of the student-led planning committee, expressed hope that GradFest would “spark conversations and collaborations across disciplines.”
CNMS dean William LaCourse offered advice to attendees as the program kicked off. “Whatever you do in life, do it with all your heart. If you’re doing research, do it like you own it,” he said. “Live in the present and seize opportunities. Enjoy every moment, like this moment today. You can’t change yesterday; when I make mistakes, I’m grateful for grace and forgiveness. And you can plan for tomorrow, but you can’t control it.”
Prableen Chowdhary (left) and Hasan Al Banna, CNMS GradFest’s two emcees, welcome attendees to the event. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
“Part of our goal was to intentionally include graduate students with less presentation experience or early-stage projects,” shared Maria Cambraia, director for research and international affairs in CNMS, and lead staff member on the planning committee. “GradFest gives them a chance to practice in a friendly environment.”
Lightning talk presenters and CNMS GradFest planning committee members worked hard to make the event a success. Rear, left to right: Maria Cambraia, Lara Scott, Andrew Wolff, Sean Ravel, Peng Yan, Codi Hrynko, Jalil Ahmad. Front, left to right: Prableen Chowdhary, Lizbeth Joy Tan, Megha Pandya, Ronita Sequeira, Hasan Al Banna. Planning committee members not pictured: Ayo Ogunsanya, Elana Frazier, Jeanne Ngo. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Following the talks, the ballroom buzzed during two poster sessions, where dozens more students discussed their projects with peers, mentors, and guests. GradFest encouraged presentations of research at all stages of development.
Muhammad Jalil Ahmad, president of the Mathematics and Statistics Graduate Student Association and a planning committee member, presented a lightning talk and poster on mathematical modeling for complex phenomena like weather or disease spread.
Ahmad, a fourth-year applied mathematics Ph.D. candidate mentored by Animikh Biswas and Kathleen Hoffman, professors of mathematics, agreed. “Presenting at GradFest is useful before heading to a bigger stage, like a national meeting,” he said. “Even at a math conference, people are studying different topics, so it’s good to practice communicating with people outside your field.” He added that GradFest offers the opportunity to network with researchers using similar methods for different applications.
Muhammad Jalil Ahmad (left) and Lara Scott (right), Ph.D. students in mathematics, presented lightning talks at GradFest. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Ian Kirn ’23, physics, a second-year physics Ph.D. student, presented a poster on asteroseismology, which investigates earthquake-like phenomena on stars. Kirn chose to pursue his Ph.D. with Eileen Meyer, professor of physics, after doing undergraduate research with her. “It’s important for different disciplines to talk to each other, because they’re actually all related,” Kirn says. “This event encourages collaboration.”
Fidelia Asomani, a third-year biological sciences Ph.D. candidate working with Erin Green, associate professor of biological sciences, called GradFest “a good first opportunity to get my feet wet presenting.” Asomani studies yeast, which shares basic functions with complex organisms. “It’s important to invest in studying processes conserved across species,” she says, which can inform human disease treatment.
Ian Kirn (left) discussed his astroseismology research, and Fidelia Asomani (right) explains her research on protein regulation in yeast, with GradFest attendees. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
The humble heart of a scientist
LaCourse also encouraged embracing humility. “By remembering you won’t always be the best, humility helps you celebrate others’ successes and accept failure—and research involves a lot of failure,” he said. “Humility is a path you walk, not a trait you innately possess, and it leads to learning, growth, and respect.”
By late afternoon, GradFest had turned strangers into collaborators, boosted first-time presenters’ confidence, and made the ballroom a launchpad for breakthroughs. Attendees left with new contacts and the dean’s words in their hearts—proof that bold discoveries can begin with a humble “hello.”
Maggie Williams ’24, physics, is a second-year physics Ph.D. student, a Quantum Science Institute (QSI) Graduate Fellow, and an officer in the Physics Graduate Student Association (PGSA). In her research with Sebastian Deffner, associate professor of physics, she studies biological processes at a microscopic scale, where the physics of atomic interactions—including quantum effects—come into play. Outside the lab, Maggie enjoys playing guitar, listening to music, hiking, and reading.
On November 6, Maggie is giving an interactive live demo of quantum key distribution, where participants can experience firsthand how quantum physics makes eavesdropping detectable and secure communication possible. All are welcome. Take it away, Maggie!
Q: What brought you to UMBC for graduate school, and how did your path at UMBC begin?
A: I applied to graduate school because I wasn’t done learning. As a UMBC undergraduate, my first upper-level physics course was Thermal and Statistical Physics, taught by Dr. Deffner. It was very challenging, but it sparked my interest in statistical physics, and soon I began sitting in on Dr. Deffner’s research group meetings to learn more about the field and what research involves. Not long after, I completed a research project under his guidance and presented a poster at UMBC’s 2023 Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day.
Working with Dr. Deffner led me to begin reading current papers and graduate texts to better understand my work, which only made me want to learn more. Since I already knew about the strong, close-knit community at UMBC from my undergraduate experience, choosing UMBC for graduate school felt like the best option for my success.
Earning my bachelor’s degree was not without challenges, though. After struggling through classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt burned out and unsure about continuing my education, so I took a gap semester in spring 2022 to complete an internship at the tourism organization Visit Baltimore. After some time in the corporate world, I decided to finish my bachelor’s degree and returned to UMBC that fall. During my time away, UMBC advisors and faculty checked in and helped map out a clear path to graduating, which made my transition feel more manageable.
Q: Tell us about your current research and what fascinates you about it.
A: I study nonequilibrium statistical physics, which uses mathematics to model systems heavily affected by randomness. Right now, I’m finishing a project on small, active processes inside cells that are not in balance, with a particular focus on how cells copy information from DNA to RNA, and how tiny errors can build up as an organism ages. Because cells are so small, their behavior is naturally random, and events in the cell that are far apart in time barely affect each other.
That makes Markovian dynamics, which assumes the next step of a system depends only on its current state, a good framework for modeling these systems. This project also provides a simple testbed for future studies that aim to model microscopic biological processes.
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Graduate school is challenging, and I’ve had my own moments of discouragement and impostor syndrome. When that happens, I try to turn it into a chance to deepen my understanding, which has only fueled my curiosity about a subject.
Maggie Williams ’24, physics, and a second-year physics Ph.D. student
In my graduate work, the idea that mathematics, combined with physical intuition, can effectively model complex quantum systems continues to fascinate me. I plan to focus my Ph.D. research on quantum many-body systems, which are large groups of tiny particles (like electrons or atoms) that follow quantum rules (such as being able to act like waves or exist in multiple states at once) and whose behaviors are tightly interconnected, so you have to consider how they all influence each other at the quantum level.
Q: What do you love about UMBC’s physics program and the community that supports you?
A: One thing I love about my program is its small-but-mighty community, which makes it easy to reach professors or senior grad students for support, advice, or just a chat. My cohort has inspired me to push toward my goals and has been a steady support network when classes or work get overwhelming, so I’m genuinely grateful for my peers at UMBC.
Edgar Rueda, Sandra Cheng, Cassie Daniele, and Maggie Williams (left to right) enjoy an intense game of spikeball at a Physics Graduate Student Association event. (Courtesy of Williams)
Q: How is being part of QSI benefiting your Ph.D.?
A: QSI fosters a welcoming community across disciplines that has helped me learn about fields I might not otherwise have the chance to explore. It also provides practical support, from funding for research materials and supplementary textbooks to travel support for conferences and meetings, and it offers chances to lead academic seminars!
Q: How are you involved on campus, and what do you enjoy about it?
A: I serve on the PGSA council. It’s a great way to boost morale among first- and second-year students, encourage socializing outside of class and work, and help us get to know each other. I also enjoy the event-planning side—it’s an opportunity to get creative and come up with fun group activities. The other council members are supportive and kind, and it’s been a great experience so far.
Q: What advice would you give to a high schooler or undergraduate interested in physics and/or quantum science?
A: Don’t hesitate to reach out to teachers and mentors: Ask questions, introduce yourself, and start conversations. Networking matters in every field, and it’s especially important in academia. I’d also encourage them not to dwell on setbacks. Graduate school is challenging, and I’ve had my own moments of discouragement and impostor syndrome. When that happens, I try to turn it into a chance to deepen my understanding, which has only fueled my curiosity about a subject.
In the end, a genuine interest in learning and the drive to keep pursuing knowledge are the most important ingredients. I believe these things have brought me to where I am today, and I’m excited to see where my journey through graduate school takes me. This is only the beginning!
UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.
In the crisp autumn air, Jackie King laces up her running shoes, her white cane—affectionately named Amigo—tucked nearby. The UMBC alumna is training for the New York City Marathon. The effort underscores a life shaped by triumphs and relationships, rather than her gradual loss of sight.
After years of misdiagnosis, in 2017, King finally learned she had retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition causing progressive vision loss. Today, King is legally blind—and yet she radiates resilience and positivity. “I have chosen this,” she says firmly. “I could choose to be like, ‘Oh man, this sucks,’ every day, all day. But I’ve chosen not to.”
In her early 20s, King built a graphic design business in Baltimore, mixing paints and hand-lettering signs when she could still see clearly. But by age 30, dark flecks were regularly drifting across her field of vision, making night driving and dim spaces like movie theaters challenging.
As her vision faltered, a recurring dream of a college campus spurred her to enroll at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) as an art history major, but she shifted to psychology after a professor’s nudge. “I fell in love,” she recalls. “Studying behaviors and people—it seemed so natural.” King arrived at UMBC in 2002 as a Ph.D. student in human services psychology.
The vision to see others’ potential
Jackie King (center) trains with Achilles International every Saturday. (Image courtesy of King)
King’s dissertation evaluated Baltimore’s Sisters Circle mentoring program for middle and high school girls, revealing that unstructured, long-term relationships boosted self-esteem and academic drive—and the benefits often extended to mentees’ families. Earning her Ph.D. in 2009, King joined UMBC as assistant director of the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program, and today she is the associate director of the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE), which replaced MARC. In that role, she applies her research, guiding hundreds of students through graduate school applications and academic and personal challenges.
“I often see so much more in them than they see in themselves,” King says. “Seeing their potential is my gift—and then I get to let them in on the secret.” Sharing her own struggles with students builds trust, modeling that seeking help is a strength.
Phyllis Robinson, U-RISE director and a professor of biological sciences, praises King as “the linchpin that makes the program run smoothly.” Robinson supports King’s pursuits on and off the road, admiring her “compassionate and caring approach” amid her vision challenges.
Adapting hasn’t been easy for King, though. She hasn’t driven in a decade, and reading text on paper is now impossible. Adopting the cane 18 months ago, she admits, was “the hardest hurdle.” Yet she reframes her loss: “I would not be as compassionate or empathetic without this journey. It could have been otherwise—but the fact that it isn’t? I’m making the best of it.”
A healthy mix of challenge and community
Jackie King (left) and her daughter, Demirise King, celebrate after racing in the Baltimore Running Festival’s half marathon on October 18, 2025. (Image courtesy of King)
Running anchored King. At age 45, she trained on UMBC’s 1.8-mile loop for her first marathon. She ran the Baltimore race with Team in Training, fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. As running alone grew riskier, she was thrilled when Achilles International, a nonprofit that supports athletes with disabilities, launched a Baltimore chapter in April 2024. Now, 15 to 30 athletes—visually impaired, neurodivergent, amputees, stroke survivors, and more—and their volunteer guides gather each Saturday in Patterson Park to train.
“I came for the challenge; I’ve stayed for the community,” King says. “No one’s judging your pace—6 minutes or 17. There’s a place for you with Achilles.”
After seeing how much the organization has meant to her mom, King’s daughter, Demerise King, is fundraising for Achilles International as she also trains for NYC this fall.
“I’ve watched my mom navigate her vision loss for as long as I can remember,” she shares. “She’s given me a gift by illustrating what it looks like to push past obstacles. Knowing that she is safe while running with the Achilles community gives me a sense of peace.”
King’s forthcoming memoir reflects her reluctant embrace of her condition. “I did not want to be here, but I am,” she says. As King tapers for NYC, she takes a spiritual approach to her situation, affirming that “I’m preparing for what’s been prepared for me.” As her vision dims, she runs with an illuminated heart, lighting the path for hundreds of UMBC students and others along the way.
The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences is home to high-tech scientific instrumentation alongside traditional infrastructure like water pipes and HVAC systems, all of which UMBC researchers and students rely on. That equipment also requires regular maintenance and occasional upgrades, and it’s the often-invisible work of UMBC’s skilled and experienced building managers that keeps things humming. Four CNMS building managers welcomed us into their world, sharing everything from what it takes to succeed in their roles to the hidden gems found in their buildings.
Erik Crowe brought five years of hands-on expertise as a laboratory specialist in the UMBC physics department and prior experience at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to his current role as physics department building manager, which he assumed in 2019. Today he supports faculty, staff, and students in physics—including the Earth and Space Institute and Quantum Science Institute—overseeing everything from HVAC systems to lab renovations. Crowe thrives on the blend of technical innovation, educational support, and collaborative spirit he gets to practice in his role.
Erik Crowe works in the Physics Building’s basement machine shop, where he fabricates custom instrument parts for researchers and trains students to do the same. Crowe built 35 parts for AirHARP, a critical precursor to UMBC’s HARP2, which is currently orbiting Earth on NASA’s PACE mission. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What do you enjoy about your role?
A: I appreciate that every day presents new challenges to problem-solve and support occupants of the Physics Building. My position allows me to leverage my technical background in facilities management and in educating students, staff, and faculty about prototyping and precision machine operations in the machine shop. I also appreciate my collaboration with my colleagues. We have a wonderful staff team in physics, and I couldn’t be successful in my position without their support. The faculty, staff, and students are always finding new ways to push me to expand my skill set.
Q: What brought you to UMBC?
A: I started my career as a process engineer developing and fabricating cryogenic detectors, devices that use ultra-low temperatures to very sensitively detect particles, for the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. I thoroughly enjoyed the work, but working in a cleanroom is grueling, and I was looking for something new. Encouraged by my former college advisor, I applied for the lab specialist position at UMBC and was hired in December 2014. It was the change that I needed. I have grown both professionally and personally over the last decade, hitting career goals and growing my family.
Q: What are some of your proudest moments?
A: I am particularly proud of collaborating with the structural maintenance department in facilities management (FM) to renovate approximately 40 spaces in the building over the course of a year and a half. These included research labs, office spaces, and our graduate student wing. It is a tremendous amount of work to plan, organize, and facilitate a project of that size, but we were able to do it with minimal interruption and impact to the building occupants.
I am also proud of the ongoing work to improve the HVAC system within the Physics Building. Over the last decade, we’ve gathered data and addressed the underlying issues, so completing the HVAC study last year was a huge milestone for me. We have a lot of work left to do, but we are moving in the right direction every day.
Crowe operates a lathe, which is useful for creating complex shapes in various materials. The lathe is the only instrument Crowe does not train others to use due to the risk of injury; he takes safety in the shop very seriously and is proud of the space’s safety record. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What does it take to be a successful building manager?
A: It takes large doses of patience, persistence, organization, and communication skills to be a successful building manager. You have to prioritize different issues that arise on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. There are emergencies where a building system might go down or malfunction. In those situations, you have to stay calm, gather data, run through your contact list, formulate a plan, communicate the impact, and follow up to make sure all aspects of an issue are addressed. You also have to be prepared to pivot when things don’t go smoothly.
I submit work orders every day to keep the building running. There are small maintenance and renovation projects where I meet with the FM shops to discuss our approach, there are large-scale projects that can significantly impact occupants and their academic and research activities, and everything in between. My day is never the same and the requests I receive ebb and flow.
Q: What are some of your favorite spaces or hidden gems in the building?
A: The machine shop is my favorite space in the building. Over the last decade, I have built the shop to match the department’s needs. I am proud of the resource it has become and my interactions with students, staff, and faculty to help them develop their technical skills. I am excited about the future of the space, and how we can continue to grow its capabilities and educational programming. It’s a lean facility, but it packs a punch.
Not all of our research activities are performed inside the building. We installed a dedicated research platform on the roof in 2018, which gathers data for atmospheric physics and astrophysics research. But the roof doesn’t just house equipment—it also provides some of the best views on campus of the Baltimore skyline.
Erik Crowe maintains the Physics Building’s machine shop (left) and instrumentation on the building’s roof (right). (Photos by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Dennis Cuddy Senior Facilities Manager, Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building and beyond
Dennis Cuddy, administrator of the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building (ILSB) and senior facilities manager in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, is in his 26th year at UMBC and his sixth in his current role. Cuddy’s career exemplifies innovative problem-solving and dedication to UMBC’s scientific ecosystem, from orchestrating the renovation of the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building to managing dozens of classrooms, labs, and core facilities that support hundreds of students and researchers.
Dennis Cuddy maintains research equipment in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, which opened in 2019. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What do you appreciate about your role?
A: UMBC has allowed me to use my strengths in organization, scheduling, and operations while exposing me to skills like web development, event planning, and major construction operations—above and beyond what I could offer when I was hired. Now, I handle building operations across colleges and consult for administrative departments I’ve worked with over the years. It’s fulfilling to be asked your opinion about how things can run better.
Q: What brought you to UMBC?
A: I answered an ad in the Baltimore Sun for a chemist, which listed managerial duties similar to what I was doing at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. I still have the ad somewhere at home.
Q: What are some of your proudest moments?
A: I oversaw the renovation of the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building from 2002 to 2005. When we needed additional funds to finish the project, I wrote a construction grant to the National Center for Research Resources that was awarded. Being tasked with reporting the research activities going on in the renovated space for 20 years after the fact was the price I paid, but it was worth it.
The ILSB sports a green roof, which reduces cooling costs but also complicates building maintenance. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What does it take to be a successful building manager?
A: It takes patience, good communication, organization, and being proactive when needed (and knowing when that is). You have to be a representative of the university and a good steward of state-appropriated funds. Helping colleagues when needed is essential, because even buildings with dedicated facility managers often lack backups.
Q: What are some of your favorite spaces or surprising facts about the building?
A: The lobby by the third floor elevators is pretty amazing, with the green roof and double helix staircase to the fourth floor, but I find that sitting in the main lobby, anonymously taking in the beauty of the space and the energy of the students, is the most rewarding. Most people don’t know that the ILSB sits on a redirected creek bed, and even during the driest times, the water table is only eight feet beneath the basement floor.
The ILSB houses several active learning classrooms with extensive audio visual equipment that Cuddy also oversees. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Brian Moravec Building Manager, Meyerhoff Chemistry Building
Brian Moravec honed his skills through two decades in USDA molecular biology labs. For the last six years, he has ensured that research and teaching go smoothly in the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building as its building manager. Moravec coordinates repairs and maintenance, manages inventories, and supervises the department’s glassblower and teaching lab manager—turning potential disruptions into opportunities for safety and efficiency.
Brian Moravec will do anything to keep his building spic and span, including stopping to straighten a poster during a tour of the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What do you enjoy about your role?
A: I like that my responsibilities change from day to day. One day I may spend most of my time in the office completing administrative tasks, and the next day I might respond to an urgent water leak. I also like that my colleagues in the department, college, and facilities management all have the same goal: Keep things running safely and smoothly to serve our community’s education and research needs.
Q: What brought you to UMBC?
A: I worked in a molecular biology lab at the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland for 20 years. Near the end of that time, I was able to take temporary work as a facility operations specialist at the National Agricultural Library and the National Arboretum. These temporary jobs boosted my interest in the field of building management and operations. When I saw an opening at UMBC in a STEM field, I decided to make a switch.
Brian Moravec maintains the behind-the-scenes systems that keep the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building running. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What are some of your proudest moments?
A: I am proud of the water damage mitigation I helped with during the 2022 Christmas flood. Our building was damaged, but we didn’t lose any scientific equipment because I had prepared some items in advance, just in case we needed to divert water around million-dollar instruments. I am also proud of the safety record in both the teaching and research labs in the building. Our building can be dangerous, with flammable and toxic materials, but the safety training and equipment we provide helps keep what can be a dangerous place very safe.
Q: What is something you want people to know about the building or your role?
A: People should know that sometimes the building smells—it’s old! There are a lot of different chemicals in use, but a strange odor by itself is not dangerous. Also, I consider myself a problem solver. People come to me with all sorts of difficulties and issues. I may not be able to fix them all, but I can almost certainly find someone that can help.
Brian Moravec manages and distributes keys for all spaces in his building, and there are a lot of them! (Photos by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Sam Williams ’99 Building Manager, Biological Sciences Building and Schwartz Hall
Sam Williams ’99, history, has dedicated 24 years to UMBC, serving the last 11 as building manager for the Biological Sciences Building after 13 years as assistant athletics director for facilities and operations. His role spans routine maintenance, crisis response, vendor coordination, budget oversight, and safety compliance.
Sam Williams maintains the many freezers that store experimental samples in the Biological Sciences Building. Some are as cold as -80 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Q: What do you enjoy about your role?
A: I appreciate the fact that no day is ever the same. I feel like we have a great department, from the students to the faculty and staff, which makes coming to work a lot easier.
Q: What are some of your proudest moments?
A: I’ve been a part of two major events: COVID and the great flood in December of 2022. Both of these events brought their own set of challenges. However, the biggest goal for both was making sure that research continued and building occupants were able to work in a safe environment. I have a lot of memories from both.
Q: What does it take to be a successful building manager?
A: I feel like you need patience and the ability to adapt. Things can change by the minute, so being prepared and prioritizing is an essential skill. I would also say that problem-solving is one of the best skills I’ve learned. Having a good working relationship with building occupants and FM makes my life a lot easier, too.
Sam Williams helped coordinate repair of the Biological Sciences Building’s mural (pictured), which was damaged in a flood in 2022. (Photo by Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Rishi Nixon, a senior biological sciences major and member of the Honors College, brings a kaleidoscope of interests and skills to his time at UMBC after transferring from Montgomery College. He’s been a performing storyteller for more than 10 years, originally with his 4-H youth club and now independently. Nixon conducts research on Parkinson’s disease at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and plans to pursue a medical degree after UMBC.
Q: Tell us about someone in the UMBC community who has inspired or supported you.
A: Meeting Kendyl Walker, my honors college advisor, on my first day of classes made UMBC feel like home. Especially coming into this new environment after leaving my community college—she met me where I was on day one and continues to make me feel supported every time we meet.
Q: Tell us about what you love about your academic program or an organization you’re involved in.
A: My honors college seminar on race, poverty, and gender in Baltimore, taught by Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye (“Dr. K.”) opened my eyes to issues facing the city and was one of my most impactful UMBC courses. It helped cut through the ways the city is sometimes talked about in Maryland politics, emphasizing the importance of funding programs that help lift up Baltimore.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to complete a second seminar with Dr. K: an applied community service experience at a nonprofit organization in the city called Moveable Feast, which helps deliver medically-tailored meals to Baltimore residents experiencing food insecurity.
In August 2025, I engaged with the city for the first time in my capacity as a performing storyteller. I performed at the Irvington Peace Park for an annual summer camp organized by Cynthia Wagner, teaching professor in biological sciences, for youth who live in her West Baltimore community. The peace park—a beautiful space built by community members from clearing a vacant lot—was a magical site for the camp, and the kids were a wonderful audience.
Photo right: Rishi Nixon at the National Storytelling Conference in Georgia with the vice chair and vice chair-elect of the board of the National Storytelling Network.
Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about it?
A: Something Dr. K. said once sums it up: “UMBC is a small town.” I see UMBC as a really welcoming place for students who are comfortable leaning on their advisors, mentors, and supporters. It’s very comforting to see faces you recognize each day all over “town.”
Q: What brought you to UMBC?
Rishi Nixon sits at his lab bench at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he conducts Parkinson’s research.
A: I came to UMBC because of its excellent reputation for undergraduate teaching and scientific research opportunities, but also to maintain the small-town feeling and one-on-one learning I received at Montgomery College.
Now that I’m here, UMBC’s research reputation has proven true. I’ve conducted research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and also in my coursework. At UMSOM, I study a neuron protein called proSAAS that helps unclump misfolded proteins in the brain that are responsible for neuron death in Parkinson’s disease.
And in my Experimental Biology Lab course, taught by Dr. Tracy Smith, associate teaching professor in biological sciences, I got to participate in ecological research. We visited on-campus sections of the West Branch of Herbert Run to measure the diversity of macroinvertebrates (e.g. fly larvae, water beetles, etc.). We collected them from the stream bed, logged their abundance and the number of types of organisms, and drew a conclusion about the stream’s overall health and pollution levels based on an index of biodiversity levels associated with different degrees of stream health.
Our calculations determined that the stream is very healthy, which is probably a result of UMBC and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund investing in restoring the streams. In fact, the most abundant species of macroinvertebrate we found (damselfly larvae), are actually sensitive to pollutants, yet they were thriving in campus streams when we surveyed in September 2025.
Q: How has UMBC supported your “why”?
A: UMBC’s Honors College has been core to supporting my “why.” They have been huge supporters in connecting me with opportunities for research, and their seminars are excellent for deep one-on-one learning in very niche areas (e.g., Dr. K. and Baltimore). It’s hard for me to imagine my UMBC experience without the Honors College. Its staff and programming helped deepen my existing interests, including pursuing service in Baltimore after my coursework on the city and taking a seminar in neuroscience after conducting research in neurobiology.
Q: What would you tell other transfer students about UMBC?
A: I would encourage other transfer students to apply to the Honors College—I think the small class sizes and the one-on-one advising preserve a similar experience at community colleges. I am also very grateful that UMBC is able to provide generous merit scholarships to support transfer students coming from honors programs at Maryland community colleges.
“I have been in your shoes.” Erwin Cabrera ’10, biological sciences, often finds himself sharing these words during monthly meetings for Stony Brook University’s Simons STEM Scholars. Some of the bright-eyed students in front of him are the first in their family to attend college. Others may be nervous about upcoming exams or graduate school application deadlines. All are striving toward careers in STEM within the program’s supportive community—and these “family meetings” are one element of that support.
As the program’s inaugural executive director, Cabrera isn’t just leading a replication of UMBC’s renowned Meyerhoff Scholars Program: He’s channeling the same cohort spirit, rigorous support, and unyielding belief in students’ potential that transformed him from a self-described “rough around the edges” undergrad into a champion for emerging scientists from all backgrounds. On October 29, Cabrera will receive a 2025 Outstanding Alumni Award from UMBC’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Erwin Cabrera gets to know students “through and through” in order to support them better. (Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University)
Cabrera’s journey began in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Cabrera initially resisted considering UMBC, despite his older brother, Ramon Cabrera ’09, a Meyerhoff Scholar, already thriving there. At Meyerhoff selection weekend, two days of activities for students offered admission, he changed his mind. Amid UMBC’s nerdy reputation, Cabrera saw peers who looked like him, dreamed like him, and supported one another fiercely. “I could see myself there,” he says.
Achievement grounded in love
Cabrera dove into research with Phyllis Robinson, professor of biological sciences. She “gave me a lot of grace” as he stumbled early on, Cabrera recalls, recognizing his potential before he had smoothed some of his edges. He balanced lab work with the UMBC’s Major Definition hip-hop dance team with mixed success—at his request, an advisor once showed up at rehearsal to remind him of study time. Later in his UMBC career, Cabrera, an M18 (the shorthand Meyerhoffs use to designate their cohort), served as a Meyerhoff Summer Bridge counselor and peer mentor for younger cohorts. “This is a lot of emotional labor, but super fun,” he remembers thinking of those roles, which would anticipate his career.
After UMBC, Cabrera earned a Ph.D. in neurobiology and neuroscience at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, followed by a postdoc. Yet his heart was in administration. “I love science, but what I loved the most was teaching people in the lab and the impact it could have on folks’ lives,” he says. In 2019, he became director of the Research Aligned Mentorship (RAM) Program at Farmingdale State College, which is loosely inspired by Meyerhoff principles. It integrates research as an undergraduate retention tool, drawing economics and business students alongside STEM majors.
In October 2022, Cabrera made his next big career move, becoming the first Meyerhoff alumnus to helm a full replication. A $2.5 million Simons Foundation grant to UMBC seeded the adaptation at Stony Brook, located on Long Island, and later Stony Brook received its own major grant from Simons to fully develop its program. Now in its third year, the program mirrors Meyerhoff’s core—cohort-based community, intensive mentoring, Summer Bridge, and research immersion—while adapting for the local context.
Alongside Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith (second from right), Erwin Cabrera (second from left) speaks with Simons STEM Scholars following a recent “family meeting” for the program, an important mechanism for building community among the scholars. (Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University)
“New York students are very different. They’re highly independent; some of them are regularly traveling three hours on the subway,” Cabrera notes. Early challenges included combating “hyper independence,” where some scholars struggled to trust that program leaders had their best interests at heart. His solution? “I just upped that love factor,” Cabrera says. He gets to know students “through and through,” offering tough love rooted in consent: “Do you need me to show up?” he asks, while also encouraging ownership. “This is yours at the end of the day,” he reminds students.
From UMBC to New York and beyond
At Stony Brook, Cabrera wears two hats: He’s a research professor in neurobiology and behavior, teaching honors courses and advising juniors through grad school applications. He also interfaces with program funders, manages the budget and staff, and more. Somehow he also travels to Kenya and Switzerland to support study abroad partnerships.
“It’s all-encompassing,” he admits. Yet the success of the program keeps him going. Last summer, three Simons Scholars interned at Harvard and two at Stanford. “As a Meyerhoff from UMBC, I know the legacy of the program,” Cabrera says. “It’s my job to provide that vision here at Stony Brook, when this program did not exist three years ago. To see it coming to fruition is overwhelming in the best way possible.”
“Everyone’s watching. It’s pressure because I’m the first,” Cabrera confesses. But amplifying UMBC’s ripple effect feels like a privilege. Since 1988, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program has supported over 1,800 undergraduates. Alumni have earned 488 Ph.D.s—including 80 M.D./Ph.D.s—making UMBC the nation’s top baccalaureate origin for African American M.D./Ph.D. recipients. Over 70 Meyerhoff alumni hold faculty posts at elite institutions like Harvard and Duke; more than 200 are in grad programs. Meyerhoff participants are 5.3 times more likely to pursue STEM Ph.D.s than students offered admission who decline.
Erwin Cabrera with the third cohort of Simons STEM Scholars during their Summer Bridge experience. (John Griffin/Stony Brook University)
This success has sparked over a dozen replications nationwide. HHMI’s 2013 – 2018 Meyerhoff Adaptation Project tailored the model for Penn State and UNC Chapel Hill. Howard University’s Karsh STEM Scholars and Stony Brook’s Simons initiative build on key elements like research engagement. International efforts at the University of Toronto Mississauga and University of the Philippines Los Baños adapt for local contexts, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative founded programs at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego. Collectively, these efforts have empowered thousands of students, turning UMBC’s vision into a movement. “I am guided by the quote, ‘To whom much is given, much is required,'” Cabrera says, highlighting his passion for his work.
Cabrera has kept in touch with Meyerhoff staff Keith Harmon and Mitsue Wiggs, who occasionally connect him with current UMBC students for mentoring, and remembers the influence of the late LaMont Toliver, an early director of the Meyerhoff program, fondly. He also stays connected through UMBC’s Filipino American Student Association and Alumni Advisory Board.
In the midst of the demands of his role, Cabrera preaches and models balance. This fall, he vacationed in Japan with his spouse. “You need to see me take a break—we’re not robots,” he says, reminding his students not to obsess over performance. “You don’t have to be perfect; I want you to be a college student, and learn about who you are,” he tells them. In doing so, Cabrera serves his scholars as whole people—ensuring UMBC’s legacy of inclusive excellence endures, one resilient scholar at a time.
Train delays can cascade into stalled commutes, economic losses, and vacation snags. Scheduling trains is computationally complex, though: It can take hours or days to solve large transportation networks on traditional computers, when disruptions like train breakdowns or traffic accidents demand much quicker solutions. A new study led by UMBC researchers—and focused on Baltimore’s Light RailLink, a hybrid tram-rail network sharing roads with cars inside Baltimore City—harnesses quantum computing to address this challenge, using an approach that blends physics, computer science, and mathematics.
In their new paper, Sebastian Deffner, associate professor of physics; postdoctoral fellow Emery Doucet; doctoral candidate Reece Robertson; and collaborators Krzysztof Domino and Bartłomiej Gardas at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Informatics in the Polish Academy of Sciences tested whether quantum devices could manage train schedules under real-world conditions. The team leveraged the “noise” inherent in quantum computers—random, unwanted disturbances that cause an effect similar to radio static—to model unpredictable train travel times.
Their results suggest that quantum computers can solve transportation scheduling problems, but more advanced hardware is needed to make using quantum devices practical, especially for larger networks.
Randomness on the rails
Doucet and Robertson discussed the work at Baltimore’s Camden Yards Light RailLink Station, while Orioles baseball fans unloaded from trains at regular intervals and delivery trucks rumbled by. Their enthusiasm cut through the urban din, their voices rising over the clatter and clank of passing Baltimore Light RailLink cars.
Baltimore’s Light RailLink is a good example of a complex system that would benefit from a way to address disruptions quickly and efficiently. As hardware improves, new research suggests quantum computers could help. (Elijah Davis, M.F.A. ’21/UMBC)
“How long it takes you to get between two stations where you have a lot of shared infrastructure in between—you can’t really predict that precisely,” Doucet says, gesturing toward the tracks and their intersection with a nearby stoplight. This randomness complicates scheduling, but the team’s diverse expertise—spanning theoretical physics, algorithm design, and quantum hardware—facilitated creative solutions.
Noisy doesn’t have to be bad
Current quantum computers are classified as “NISQ,” or “noisy intermediate-scale quantum,” pronounced “nisk.” That means they’re error-prone with only moderate power. Rather than fighting the noise, though, the researchers used it to mimic everyday randomness, like traffic delays.
“The ‘N’ in NISQ stands for ‘noisy,’ but that doesn’t mean that the noise has to always be deleterious,” Doucet explains. “We wondered if maybe we could use the noise that the device is subject to as a tool to model the chaos and randomness.”
Sebastian Deffner leads the research group that published the new paper. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
The team tested their approach on two different quantum computers, one made by IonQ, which is headquartered in Maryland, and the other by D-Wave. Each company’s quantum devices use quantum bits, or qubits, slightly differently to process information. The research team was able to solve scheduling problems with up to 12 trains on D-Wave’s system, which contains thousands of qubits, and only two trains on IonQ’s 25-qubit system.
This proof-of-principle work demonstrates that quantum computers can tackle concrete problems, though they’re not yet faster or cheaper than classical supercomputers for large networks—the experiments cost about $65,000.
“What we’ve shown is that with the currently available hardware, you can already solve practical problems,” Deffner, senior author on the new paper, says. The study highlights the need for larger, less noisy quantum systems to handle bigger networks.
Merging expertise, expanding possibilities
The potential impact is significant; rapid rescheduling could prevent network-wide disruptions.
“If you have an issue on a train network, everything has to stop until you reschedule, at least in that region—and the longer it takes you to come up with a new schedule, the more disruptive the original problem becomes,” Doucet noted, as a train coasted noisily into the platform.
The bustling Baltimore Light RailLink operates as a train outside Baltimore City, and as a tram subject to traffic within the city limits, making it an interesting challenge for scheduling. (Elijah Davis, M.F.A. ’21/UMBC)
Robertson, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science, added, “Within the next few generations of quantum technology, the problems we could address will get larger, approaching problems that are intractable on current hardware.”
Robertson’s computer science background complements the team’s physics expertise.
“Someone else might be able to help me with physics intuition, and then I can help them by suggesting an algorithm we could use to test their idea, or by applying some computational intuition that we could use in designing our quantum solution.”
“Quantum information science is truly interdisciplinary,” adds Deffner, who is also affiliated with the UMBC computer science and electrical engineering department and has master’s level math training.
Beyond trains
This interdisciplinary, quantum-based approach could eventually optimize logistics, financial portfolios, or drug discovery—fields with complex, random variables. The study, funded through Deffner’s fellowship at the National Quantum Laboratory, involved coding, theoretical modeling, and experiments on real quantum devices—a departure for Deffner’s typically theory-focused research group.
Working on the Baltimore system was a fun challenge, Deffner says, because the Light RailLink transitions from operating as a train unaffected by traffic outside the city to a tram navigating city streets and stopping at traffic lights inside Baltimore. “Because of its unusual characteristics, it was just a unique problem. And of course, it’s cool to work on a local system,” Deffner says.
By uniting diverse expertise, UMBC’s team is turning quantum noise into a strength, paving the way for efficient solutions to real-world problems.
For over 500 days, the Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter 2 (HARP2), a high-tech instrument built by UMBC researchers and students, has been orbiting Earth on NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, capturing stunning data about our planet’s atmosphere, surface, and oceans. UMBC celebrated this milestone with lab tours, a poster session showcasing student research, and talks from the PACE instrument and science teams and university leadership, highlighting the instrument’s success and the hands-on role students play in this NASA mission.
“There is palpable pride on our campus in UMBC’s contributions to the PACE mission,” shares Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research and creative achievement. “Because much of the HARP2 instrument was created with strong involvement from both undergraduate and graduate students, this mission truly combines the best of our research and education missions. HARP2 is clearly a milestone in our 30-plus year partnership with NASA Goddard.’’
Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research and creative achievement, commended the HARP2 team at the celebration. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
HARP2’s story builds on UMBC’s earlier work with the original HARP, a pint-sized CubeSatlaunched in 2019 that earned the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ SmallSat Mission of the Year award in 2021. That tiny satellite showed the world how capturing data from many angles could reveal a more complete picture of the atmospheric composition, including the roles of clouds, dust, and smoke.
HARP2, launched in February 2024, takes HARP’s work further, collecting detailed data from a survey of the entire globe every two days. HARP2 collects in half a day the same amount of data collected by HARP in its entire two-year flight. Researchers have also enhanced data analysis methods, allowing scientists to glean even more accurate and detailed information from the raw data transmitted from space. Alongside PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), HARP2 is helping scientists study everything from air quality to climate patterns, and painting a fuller picture of Earth’s systems.
Left: Physics Ph.D. student Emily Faber presents her research on climate modeling at the 500 Days of HARP poster session. Right: Physics Ph.D. student Greema Regmi discusses her work on atmospheric dust with her mentors, Reed Espinosa (left) and Vanderlei Martins (right) at the event. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
What sets HARP2 apart is its ability to see the atmosphere in 3D-like detail, thanks to its unique “hyper-angular” views. “The instrument is working, it’s producing great data, and the community is starting to use it,” shares Vanderlei Martins, director of the Earth and Space Institute (ESI) at UMBC and the HARP team lead. Scientists across the U.S. and beyond are tapping into HARP2’s data to track pollution, measure cloud droplet properties, and more. Unlike other satellites, HARP2 can distinguish whether particles in the air are smoke, dust, or pollution, offering clues that help us understand air quality and climate impacts.
To ground-truth the data coming from HARP2, some members of the team traveled to Bolivia. They flew drones over high-altitude Lake Titicaca and the Salar de Uyuni salt flat to collect data that complements HARP2’s space-based views. With less atmosphere above them, these sites offer a clearer match to satellite observations, helping refine the science.
An “explosion” of science
Students at UMBC are deeply involved, from building and calibrating HARP2 to digging into its data. Graduate students in the atmospheric physics program work closely with faculty and NASA engineers, even on the most sensitive elements of the project.
During testing for HARP2, “I was given the opportunity not only to see the initial calibration process, but then to see the team respond to a catastrophic failure, and then come back from it,” recalls Rachel Smith, an atmospheric physics Ph.D. student. “To watch them come together in support of the project and not miss a beat putting it back together was really incredible to see.” Early in her time with the group, Smith got to hold the instrument. “It’s a cool feeling, that I picked up and worked on this thing that’s now in space,” she says.
Lab tours in the UMBC Physics Building led by faculty and student researchers were a highlight of the celebration event. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Nirandi Jayasinghe, another atmospheric physics Ph.D. student, recalls the earliest data coming in. “We were all here—graduate students, scientists, and engineers—in this very room, doing stuff piece by piece to visualize ‘first light’ from HARP2,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve seen this much synergy between people anywhere else.”
Over time, the team has grown to meet the rising demands of the project. “I’ve seen how the group has gone from just me, Dominik [Cieslak], Roberto [Borda], and a couple of other engineers to now three, four, five grad students at once tackling different and interesting science questions,” shares Brent McBride ’14, physics, Ph.D. ’22, atmospheric physics, who today is an instrument scientist with the ESI. “It’s been an explosion of not only the capacity of the group, but the science that we’re capable of doing.”
“There’s huge power there”
“Because of its hyper-angular capability, there are things we can see with HARP2 that we have never seen before,” Martins explains. This includes new insights into cloud properties and aerosol types, which are critical for understanding climate and pollution. HARP2 also helps OCI see past atmospheric haze, boosting studies over land and water.
Left to right: Vanderlei Martins, Roberto Borda, and Dominik Cieslak have been core members of the HARP team since its earliest days. Here they stand with the HARP cubesat, the precursor to HARP2. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
HARP2 has been rock-steady since launch, with no major issues. It even uses the moon for monthly calibration checks to keep its data sharp. Designed for at least three years but with fuel for potentially a decade, it’s poised to keep delivering. The data is freely available, sparking discoveries worldwide.
“HARP2 is helping us monitor and understand Earth’s systems and come up with ways to improve life,” Martins says.“We can study everything from fires to red tides and even floods, all the way from natural disasters to the effect of pollution on nature in general. There’s huge power there.”
As the team celebrates HARP2’s more than 500 days in orbit, its steady stream of data continues to fuel discoveries that deepen our understanding of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. From its roots as a small CubeSat to its role in NASA’s PACE mission, UMBC’s HARP2 showcases the power of collaboration among students, scientists, and NASA, driving science that informs everything from air quality forecasts to climate solutions. With years of potential ahead, HARP2’s impact is only beginning to unfold, inspiring new questions and innovations from UMBC’s campus to the global scientific community.
Attendees enjoyed a festive cake at the 500 Days of HARP2 celebration. (Brad Zielger/UMBC)
Every biological sciences graduate student at UMBC knows “the face”—Tom Cronin’s signature scowl, which, contrary to appearances, signals rapt attention rather than disapproval. At a day-long symposium honoring Cronin’s remarkable career, alumni handed out life-sized cutouts of “the face” on sticks, which attendees waved playfully during talks, setting the tone for a joyful, family reunion-like event filled with laughter, affection, and mutual respect.
Cronin began his 43-year tenure at UMBC as an assistant professor at the young university. Over time, he became a giant in the field of visual ecology, primarily studying the enigmatic mantis shrimp. His work has helped unravel the mysteries of mantis shrimp eyes—biological marvels that still hold scientific secrets.
On the eve of his retirement, dozens of Cronin’s colleagues and alumni traveled from all over the world to attend the symposium, and still others attended virtually or sent pre-recorded messages. Chuan-Chin Ciao, Ph.D. ’00, biological sciences, may have come the farthest, visiting from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. Symposium talks spanned bumblebees, fanworms, deep-sea fish, and more, showcasing the breadth of Cronin’s network.
“The face” is infamous among UMBC graduate students. Symposium organizers printed out copies for attendees to magnify its effect during the symposium. (Photo by Michelle Starz-Gaiano)
“You taught us how to be scientists”
Cronin’s mentees, many now leading their own labs around the world, shared how he had influenced their lives. Megan Porter, a former postdoctoral fellow in Cronin’s lab, thanked him for expanding her expertise in molecular biology and genetics to visual ecology. “When I came in, I had a Ph.D.; I thought I knew stuff. But at the first lab meeting, I realized I knew nothing about visual ecology,” Porter recalls. “I can’t thank him enough for bringing me into this community and giving me such a broad foundation.” Now she strives to do the same for her students as a professor at the University of Hawai’i.
Michael Bok, Ph.D. ’13, biological sciences, shared “Cronin wisdom,” such as “Work on something ridiculously cool,” “Surround yourself with great scientists and good friends,” and “Have patience and don’t give up”—ideas Bok has carried into his work as a researcher at the University of Lund in Sweden. Kathryn Feller, Ph.D. ’14, biological sciences, the John D. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Union College, displayed a pencil drawing of a tomcat, picked up at a thrift store and mounted in the lab for the last decade. Its inscription reads, “Tom is tough, but he’s your friend”—a sentiment that reflects Cronin’s mentorship style.
(l-r): Megan Porter, Michael Bok, Tom Cronin, and Kate Feller enjoy each other’s company after the symposium. (Photo by Michelle Starz-Gaiano)
Alex Kingston, Ph.D. ’15, biological sciences, now an assistant professor at the University of Tulsa, thanked him for supporting her growth. “Anyone can teach you how to do science, but you taught us how to be scientists,” Kingston shared. One of Cronin’s major lab instruments is moving to Kingston’s lab in Oklahoma to enrich her research program.
Cronin taught nearly 8,000 undergraduates over 86 semesters, valuing their diverse perspectives, and described UMBC as “a place you can really succeed as a young investigator.” He thanked the UMBC faculty and staff and his family for their enduring support, especially his wife, Ros. The symposium was a testament to Cronin’s legacy—a vibrant community built on curiosity, mentorship, and connection—the influence of which will ripple through generations of creative and humble scientists who are eager to enlarge our understanding of nature’s wonders.
Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences, has spent 25 years teaching and researching evolution. His new book, Understanding the Tree of Life, is the latest in the “Understanding Life” series published by Cambridge University Press. Omland’s contribution challenges what he views as an outdated understanding of evolution and celebrates the interconnectedness of all species. Below, Omland shares the inspiration behind the book, its surprising insights, and why everyone from nature lovers to seasoned biologists should seek it out.
Q: How did this book come about?
A: Cambridge University Press wanted a book diving into the history of life and how all species are connected. A few of my colleagues recommended me based on my prior work, including a 2007 article called Tree Thinking for All Biology from my sabbatical in Australia, and a chapter I wrote for The Princeton Guide to Evolution emphasizing how understanding evolutionary trees is central to understanding evolution. My research on bird plumage and birdsong has also given me a fresh perspective on evolution, so I was happy to accept the opportunity to write this book.
Kevin Omland (left) has authored the latest instance of the “Understanding Life” series published by Cambridge University Press. (Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Q: You’ve been teaching at UMBC since 2000—did that shape the book at all?
A: Absolutely. Teaching “Foundations of Biology: Ecology and Evolution” for 25 years at UMBC played a huge role. I’ve had so many smart students come in with big misconceptions about evolution—like thinking humans are the top of an evolutionary “ladder.” The book is packed with examples I’ve used in class to show that we’re all cousins, with no “higher” or “lower” organisms. I wouldn’t have been in a position to write this without all of those classroom conversations, so I want to thank my students for their indirect contributions to this book.
Q: Who is this book for, and why should they pick it up?
A: Anyone who finds evolution fascinating or loves nature should read it for a fresh angle on how every species on the planet is interconnected. It surveys the tree of life, including everything from primates to invertebrates, challenging outdated concepts like “primitive” species. Even biologists might find some ideas that challenge their understanding—I’d guess that up to half of them might be surprised by what they learn! Ultimately, it’s for general readers and scientists alike who want to think accurately about evolution as a branching tree, rather than a straight line toward ever-more complexity.
(l-r): Nathan Zekarias ’25, biological sciences; Michelle Moyer, Ph.D. ’24, biological sciences; Ellie Bare ’23, biochemistry and molecular biology; and Kevin Omland (left to right) on a field research trip to Puerto Rico. Omland creates numerous opportunities for his students to get field experience. (Image courtesy of Omland)
Q: What were you hoping to achieve with this book?
A: My main goal is to debunk misconceptions, like human superiority or labeling species as “old” or “living fossils.” Using DNA sequencing and modern genomics, we can now see evolution as continuous, with no clear start to any species, including humans. I want readers to move beyond ideas like the great white shark as ancient or humans as a recent arrival. The book emphasizes shared ancestry—we’re all cousins, from our fellow mammals, to trees, to bacteria—and encourages caring for our interconnected world.
Q: Can you give us an example from the book that flips a common evolution myth?
A: Sure—the platypus is my go-to. People call them “primitive” because they lay eggs, a trait inherited from our ancient tetrapod [four-legged] ancestors. But that’s biased and misleading—the platypus has many recent adaptations like its duck-shaped bill with electro-sensing organs to detect prey in muddy ponds, venomous spurs on males, and webbed feet for underwater swimming. Every organism mixes ancient traits with recent specialized ones matching its ecological niche. This challenges human-centered views: We lack the platypus’s senses, just as it lacks our thumbs or large brains.
Baby platypuses show off their electro-sensing bills, which are a more recent adaptation, countering assumptions that platypuses are “primitive” because they lay eggs. (Photo by NSW DPI, used under CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Q: How does this book tie into your other research?
A: It ties directly to all the work that my students and I have done on bird plumage and song evolution, which highlights gains and losses of traits; evolution isn’t just accumulation or increasing complexity. For example, tetrapods evolved legs, but many lineages, like snakes and whales, later lost them. Our research shows losses are common and as important as gains, countering dictionary definitions of evolution as “gradual accumulation.” The book extends this lens to the whole tree of life, using genomic insights to reframe how we understand shared ancestry and adaptation.
Q: Where and when can I get my copy?
A: It’s available now! You can order Understanding the Tree of Life from Cambridge University Press, major online retailers or your local bookstore—shops as far away as Norway and Brazil have it on their websites and shelves. Just search for it, as they say, “wherever books are sold.” I hope people enjoy reading it!
(l-r): Eriberto Osorio ’22, biological sciences; D’Juan Moreland ’24, biological sciences and music composition; and Kevin Omland in Puerto Rico for field research. (Image courtesy of Omland)
A glass knifefish darts back and forth in a short tube, its brain activity being recorded in real time. This small fish, alternating between swift bursts of sensing activity and slower, task-driven behaviors, is helping scientists understand how animals decide when to gather information about their environment versus act on it. A team of researchers is blending neuroscience, math, and engineering to decode these choices, with potential to guide robots in uncertain terrains or unlock secrets of the brain.
The team’s research has just been funded by the Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) program—a joint initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) that supports interdisciplinary research. Kathleen Hoffman, professor of mathematics and statistics, co-leads the grant.
The CRCNS program emphasizes collaborative efforts to advance understanding of nervous system functions through computational tools. With the lead investigator at Johns Hopkins University and additional collaborators at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and the University of Minnesota, the team for the newly funded project spans biology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science—a mix well-positioned to discover deeper insights into brain mechanisms.
Kathleen Hoffman is leading data analysis for the newly funded project. (Courtesy of Hoffman)
‘Explore’ or ‘exploit’?
The new project builds on the same team’s prior research, published in 2023 in Nature Machine Intelligence, which revealed similar decision-making patterns across species, from amoebas to humans. In that work, the team analyzed the behavior of glass knifefish—weakly electric fish that navigate dark waters using self-generated electric fields—in experiments run by Noah Cowan, the lead investigator for the new grant. Then they compared their findings to the behavior of other species as described in the scientific literature, uncovering similar patterns in 11 species, including bats, mice, moths, and humans.
In the prior work, “We looked at velocity distributions, and we found that there were two modes of movement. We called them ‘explore’ and ‘exploit,’ but you could also describe them as ‘fast’ and ‘slow,’” Hoffman explains. During experiments in narrow tubes, the fish alternated between two modes: rapid, exploratory movements to sense their surroundings (“explore”) and slower, deliberate actions using the information they’d collected (“exploit”).
That research challenged robotics norms, showing that animals don’t constantly scan their environment, but rather burst into action when needed, a strategy the team showed is both more economical and more effective. The new project ramps up data collection—from 40 seconds per trial to 10 minutes—allowing the team to reveal subtler patterns, like burst lengths and correlations between the fish’s movement mode and its position in the tube.
This glass knifefish is participating in the team’s experiments, which involves measuring the velocity of the fish’s movements. (Courtesy of Noah Cowan)
Deciphering animal decisions
A primary goal is to uncover what prompts the mode switch. “How does it decide when to switch? And the hypothesis that we’re considering is that it’s based on some internal measure of uncertainty in the fish, meaning that if the fish isn’t sure if it’s inside the tube, it’s going to move so it can gather sensory information,” Hoffman says.
To test this, the team integrates several methods. At the University of Minnesota, engineers led by Andrew Lamperski will apply machine learning to map relationships between sensory inputs and behavioral outputs in the form of mathematical functions. Hoffman handles data analysis, starting with manual pattern-spotting before coding.
“I can’t wait to get my hands on the data,” Hoffman says. She’ll start by simply printing out the velocity and position results and poring over them visually. “I don’t think there’s anything better than the human brain to see patterns, and mathematics is the study of patterns,” she adds. After observing what looks like a pattern, she’ll bounce her ideas off the rest of the team, and eventually “go write a program to automatically go through all the data and see if that pattern recurs.”
A boon for the project comes from NJIT, where biologist Eric Fortune will record neural activity via electrodes inserted into the fish’s brains during the movement experiments—a technique unavailable in prior work. This will let the team compare brain signals with behavior in real time, and look for an underlying mechanism that drives the switch from “explore” to “exploit.”
A scientific ‘dream team’
This project’s power lies in its teamwork. Hoffman coordinates from UMBC, analyzing data from all the collaborators. Cowan oversees behavioral tests on fish without brain probes, which allows for more complex experimental setups. Fortune at NJIT is handling the neural recordings, while Lamperski at Minnesota focuses on machine learning models that reflect what the others are seeing in the lab.
“What I love about this project is that all the components are necessary to elucidate the mechanism,” Hoffman reflects. “Nobody could do this completely on their own.”
“I’m excited to have this dream team of mathematicians, engineers, and neuroscientists to assemble behind this problem,” Cowan said. “My lab at Hopkins has struggled to make sense of these movements for over a decade. This new team puts us on a path to finally decode the neural mechanisms animals use to switch gears between gathering task information, on the one hand, and getting the task done, on the other.”
Noah Cowan at Johns Hopkins University is the overall lead for the new project. (Courtesy of Cowan)
‘My favorite kind of science’
This research could eventually transform robotics.
“If you want to build a robot that is going to mimic the motion of animals that exhibit this explore/exploit pattern for incorporating sensory information, you have to know how the animals do it,” Hoffman says. “This grant is focused on figuring out what that mechanism is.”
A robot that mimics natural intermittent sensing might navigate uncertain spaces, like disaster zones, more efficiently than constant-scanning models. The shared explore-exploit pattern also suggests broader relevance for the research, potentially informing understanding of neurological disorders—though Hoffman stresses those possibilities are further down the road.
The grant will also open doors for students: Hoffman plans to involve undergraduates in data visualization and analysis, offering hands-on experience in interdisciplinary research that demonstrates how together, diverse minds can unlock secrets of the brain—with ripple effects in tech and health.
“The one thing I’m really excited about in this grant is that it’s completely multidisciplinary,” Hoffman says. “Everybody has a different perspective that helps us understand what’s going on. This is my favorite kind of science.”
As the fall 2025 semester takes off at UMBC, the campus hums with the energy of our largest-ever incoming class, reflecting a Retriever spirit that draws talent from near and far. With total undergraduate enrollment rising 2.6 percent, this fall UMBC welcomed 2,280 first-time, first-year students and over 870 new transfer students. In addition, an increased first-year retention rate shows UMBC’s supportive environment helps students thrive and stay the course toward their goals.
“We are thrilled to welcome another record-breaking first-year class,” shares Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, vice provost for enrollment management and planning. “What excites us most is this year’s geographically diverse student body, with more international, out-of-state, and Baltimore City undergraduates, fostering a vibrant campus community.”
The “Retriever Haul Stars” team of student volunteers helped their peers unload dorm supplies on move-in day. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Diving into community
Welcome, Retrievers kicked off on August 23 with the excitement of move-in day, where family, friends, faculty, and staff helped Retrievers settle into their home away from home. As new arrivals hauled storage bins, they bonded with roommates and volunteers through laughter and shared anticipation. Commuting students connected with each other at Commuter Welcome Day.
At Commuter Welcome Day, incoming students heard from experienced commuters and connected with each other. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Among the many activities that set the stage for the year ahead, Involvement Fest drew hundreds of students. Filling the Retriever Activities Center, more than 200 student organizations invited students to join academic clubs, sports, Greek life, service groups, and more. These activities give all students the chance to explore their interests and find new ones while developing lasting friendships.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and also spending time with my friends,” shared Annamarie Walther, a senior financial economics major, at Involvement Fest. As the communications lead for the Catholic Retrievers, “I’m excited to serve,” she added.
Students met with representatives from hundreds of student organizations at Involvement Fest, including (clockwise from top left) the Pokémon Fan Club, Japanese American Student Association, American Chemical Society, and Cubers Club. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
An institution where you belong
A few days earlier at UMBC’s Fall Opening Meeting, first-year student Andrew Whipple shared that attending college was never a given for him. “Being here at UMBC is about more than just academics,” Whipple, a visual arts major and a Linehan Artist Scholar, shared. “It’s about breaking barriers and creating a future for myself that I can be proud of.”
Andrew Whipple (left) and Archana Thakkar (right) spoke at Fall Opening Meeting, attended by hundreds of faculty and staff (center). (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)
Archana Thakkar, an incoming transfer student pursuing a degree in business technology administration, also shared hopes held by many students. “I am excited to join UMBC and become part of a community that thrives on collaboration and innovation. I look forward to building connections with professors and classmates, engaging in student organizations, and taking part in opportunities that encourage both personal and academic growth,” Thakkar says. “More than anything, I am eager to contribute to the vibrant spirit of UMBC while learning from the diverse perspectives that make this university so special.”
Convocation combined formal pomp and pep rally vibes, including remarks from President Valerie Sheares Ashby (center) and appearances by the Down and Dirty Dawg Band (left) and True Grit (right). (Kiirstn Pagan ’11/UMBC)
At Convocation, UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby officially ushered in the start of a new school year. She shared an uplifting message with students, faculty, and staff, promising all would be supported as they pursued their potential. “I want you to know that you have come to an institution that wants you here and that is sure that you belong and that you can be successful,” she said, “even if you are not so sure yourself yet.”
After Convocation, attendees spilled out of the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena and toward a lively cookout on the Quad. As conversation and lemonade flowed, strangers began to turn into friends, setting the tone for a year of achievement among community.
Students streamed out of the CEI Arena straight to a community-building cookout, complete with snoballs, the classic Maryland treat. (Kiirstn Pagan/UMBC)
