Richard Forno, principal lecturer in computer science and electrical engineering at UMBC explains the Chinese state-sponsored hacker group Volt Typhoon. Continue Reading What is Volt Typhoon? A cybersecurity expert explains the Chinese hackers targeting US critical infrastructure Constantine Nomikos Vaporis, professor of history, a historian of Japan who specializes in the history of the Tokugawa, or early modern era – a period from 1603 to 1868, during which the bulk of the action in FX’s new television miniseries“Shōgun” takes place. “American viewers today apparently don’t need to be slowly introduced to Japanese culture by a European guide,” says Vaporis. Continue Reading James Clavell’s ‘Shōgun’ is reimagined for a new generation of TV viewers Misty Copeland is a ballerina on a mission—and last week she brought that mission to UMBC. Renowned for both her ethereality and powerful muscularity, as well as her activism in diversifying a white-dominant field, in 2015 Copeland became the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, a top U.S. ballet company. On March 6, Copeland spent a day on campus—meeting with dance majors in the Dance Cube, speaking one-on-one with alumni and young dancers at a reception, watching student dancers perform, and participating in UMBC’s first annual Artful Conversations, a public Q&A in Linehan Concert Hall. Here, Maddy Pollack shares the many ways she is involved on campus and why she values all of her sources of support at UMBC, including the Humanities Scholars Program and the Honors College. Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Madelyn “Maddy” Pollack ’24, Humanities Scholar and Honors College member Meet Kisha Parker ’00. Kisha is a dual-degree alumna with a B.S. in biological sciences and a B.A. in psychology, and an active member of the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving as Chair of the Public Relations Committee. As a student, she was very active, taking leadership roles in several organizations, including the Student Government Association (SGA) as the director of state and national affairs, and the Lambda Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., as president. UMBC is also where Kisha found love–meeting her future husband, Kevin Parker ’99, mechanical engineering, who was also involved in… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Kisha Parker ’00, Alumni Association PR Committee Chair UMBC’s Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems, explains the Anthropocene and the vote of the Subcommission on Quarterly Stratigraphy rejected that proposal to mark the Anthropocene as an epoch, with 12 of 18 members voting no. These are the scientists most expert at reconstructing Earth’s history from the evidence in rocks. They determined that adding an Anthropocene Epoch – and terminating the Holocene Epoch – was not supported by the standards used to define epochs. Continue Reading The Anthropocene is not an epoch − but the age of humans is most definitely underway Meet Lisa Nissley ‘01, political science. Lisa is a legislative liaison at the Department of General Services, as well as the chair of the mominating committee on the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors. In her spare time, you can find her at the ice rink (her two children are involved in figure skating and ice hockey), the pool (swim team), or the lacrosse field. Lisa also enjoys reading, cooking (when it’s not required), walking, and being creative. Take it away, Lisa! Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Lisa Nissley ’01, Alumni Association Nominating Committee Chair There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. Meet Nathan Wooddell ’23, computer science. Nathan is a member of UMBC’s CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service cohort, and is getting his master’s in cybersecurity as a graduate researcher at the National Nuclear Security Agency. Nathan attributes much of his success to the connections he’s made with the staff and faculty at UMBC who have helped him to discover his true passions. During his time as an undergraduate at UMBC, Nathan also completed a Russian language certificate, and has found a way to combine his interests of both cybersecurity and the Russian language in the professional world. Take it away, Nathan. … Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Nathan Wooddell ’23, graduate student specializing in Russian and cybersecurity Brian Van Wyck, assistant professor of history at UMBC, explains the origins of the history of migration between Turkey and Germany and the goals both governments pursued by bringing Turkish imams to work in German mosques. Continue Reading Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques – here’s why this matters After over a decade of concerted effort, full of setbacks and recoveries, UMBC’s HARP team celebrated as the instrument they designed and built launched on PACE, a major NASA mission set to study Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Continue Reading UMBC scientists and engineers celebrate launch of HARP2 instrument on NASA’s PACE mission Meet Monique Jones Cephas ‘92, information systems management. Monique is the Deputy Associate Commissioner for the Office of Electronic Services and Systems Integration at the Social Security Administration and the current Scholarship Committee Chair of the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors. Monique credits her time at UMBC and participation in the university’s cooperative education program—along with a lot of hard work, perseverance, and dedication—for her career success. “Each one, reach one” is one of Monique’s favorite mantras. This is why she gives back to UMBC as an active member of the Alumni Association. Take it away, Monique! Q: What’s… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Monique Cephas ’92, Alumni Association scholarship committee chair
What is Volt Typhoon? A cybersecurity expert explains the Chinese hackers targeting US critical infrastructure
James Clavell’s ‘Shōgun’ is reimagined for a new generation of TV viewers
Ballet dancer Misty Copeland shares personal mission in visit with students at UMBC
On March 6, Copeland spent a day on campus—meeting with dance majors in the Dance Cube, speaking one-on-one with alumni and young dancers at a reception, watching student dancers perform, and participating in UMBC’s first annual Artful Conversations. Continue Reading Ballet dancer Misty Copeland shares personal mission in visit with students at UMBC
Meet a Retriever—Madelyn “Maddy” Pollack ’24, Humanities Scholar and Honors College member
Meet a Retriever—Kisha Parker ’00, Alumni Association PR Committee Chair
The Anthropocene is not an epoch − but the age of humans is most definitely underway
Meet a Retriever—Lisa Nissley ’01, Alumni Association Nominating Committee Chair
Protected: Meet a Retriever—Michael Ogunsanya ’22, economics, start-up co-founder
Meet a Retriever—Nathan Wooddell ’23, graduate student specializing in Russian and cybersecurity
Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques – here’s why this matters
UMBC scientists and engineers celebrate launch of HARP2 instrument on NASA’s PACE mission
Meet a Retriever—Monique Cephas ’92, Alumni Association scholarship committee chair
