Alumni

Career Q&A: George Derek Musgrove ’97, Historian, Author, and UMBC Professor

/ 5 minutes of reading

Every so often, we chat with an alum about what they do now and how they got there. Today’s guest, George Derek Musgrove ’97, history, is an alum-turned-faculty member whose latest book, Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital, explores Washington, D.C.’s relationship to race over the last four centuries. We caught up with him ahead of the book’s November public launch. NAME: George Derek Musgrove MAJOR: History GRAD YEAR: 1997 CURRENT JOB TITLE: Associate Professor of History, UMBC What made you decide to study post-WWII U.S. history, and what specifically led you to the… Continue Reading Career Q&A: George Derek Musgrove ’97, Historian, Author, and UMBC Professor

Noemi Petra first UMBC graduate to receive NSF Career Award in Mathematics

/ 4 minutes of reading

Noemi Petra, Ph.D. ’10, M.S. ’07, applied mathematics, has always been a hard worker. In her dissertation research at UMBC, she forayed into engineering applications, mathematical theory, and computational techniques to answer questions about sensors that detect trace gases, such as carbon monoxide. “Most math students delve into one of these three general areas of research during their Ph.D.,” explains one of her mentors, John Zweck, former UMBC faculty member in mathematics and statistics. Petra tackled all three. Petra’s grit has paid off. The National Science Foundation has recognized her ongoing research success with the NSF Career Award, intended to… Continue Reading Noemi Petra first UMBC graduate to receive NSF Career Award in Mathematics

Picture Perfect

/ 3 minutes of reading

Patrick Rife ’10, visual arts As an undergraduate student of art history at UMBC, Patrick Rife ’10, visual arts, paid homage to obsolescent technology by building a sculpture out of 9,000 vinyl records. Today, as the co-founder of Baltimore-based Pixilated, Rife spends his days figuring out the key to staying on the cutting edge of a technology that calls to another throwback technology – photo booths. If you’ve been to a major party in Baltimore in the last few years, you’ve probably seen the heavy rotation of guests posing in front of one of Pixilated’s trademark photo boxes. But Rife’s… Continue Reading Picture Perfect

Fearless Entrepreneur

/ 3 minutes of reading

Delali Dzirasa ’04, computer engineering With two Retriever brothers before him, UMBC was the last place Delali Dzirasa wanted to be during college. But it turned out to be a key part of his future as president and founder of Fearless Solutions, a shining star in Baltimore’s software scene, not to mention the place where he met his wife, an officer in their company. “There’s always going to be a connection between me, Fearless, and UMBC. UMBC’s part of the story, right?” says Dzirasa. Earlier this year, Fearless was named Maryland Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year by the U.S.… Continue Reading Fearless Entrepreneur

Shared Strengths

/ 3 minutes of reading

Carol Anne Huff ’93, economics, and Julie A. Gillespie ’93, economics On a rainy day in Chicago, the sisters cross town to meet up for lunch. They greet each other, laughing, and proceed to order their food with similar cadence and tastes. When the plates come, they split the dishes – an octopus salad, a crab cake – with the precision that comes from a lifetime of practice and shared biology. Let’s get the obvious points about Carol Anne Huff and Julie A. Gillespie (both formerly Sennello) out of the way. Yes, they are identical twins. Yes, they often finish… Continue Reading Shared Strengths

A Second Chance at Life

/ 3 minutes of reading

Chuck Watson ’12, social work, is a leader in the fight against substance abuse. In addition to co-owning two Riverside Treatment Centers in Maryland, Watson is president of the Maryland Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence. There’s a reason Watson has dedicated his life to helping those struggling with opioid addiction. He knows what his clients are going through because, more than 12 years ago, Watson was going through it himself. Watson began experimenting with drinking alcohol and smoking pot in middle school and high school. It was recreational, he says, until he lost interest in activities he previously… Continue Reading A Second Chance at Life

A Magical Run

/ 3 minutes of reading

The story of Christos FC and its unlikely ascent into the national U.S. Open soccer tournament in June is truly the stuff of fairy tales – especially considering the fact that the amateur team lacks a home field, and does not practice. And yet, the team – a third of which played for UMBC as students – not only blasted into the fourth round of the tournament, but gave the professional players of D.C. United quite a scare before ultimately losing 4-1. “The players were good on the team, but it was a men’s league team that really just got… Continue Reading A Magical Run

Alums in the News: September 22-28, 2017

/ 2 minutes of reading

Our alumni are making headlines…let’s see what they’ve been up to this week! Kavita Krishnaswamy ’07, mathematics and computer science, a current Ph.D. candidate at UMBC, has earned research funding through a Microsoft Fellowship and the Google Lime Scholarship, in addition to her grants from the Ford Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Krishnaswamy, who is paralyzed from the neck down due to spinal muscular atrophy and attends classes using a Beam telepresence robot, has focused her doctoral research on using robotics to aid people with disabilities and improve access. Henrietta Akintoye ’07, biochemistry and molecular biology, has joined the… Continue Reading Alums in the News: September 22-28, 2017

Alumni Awards 2017: Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D. ’06, Public Policy

/ 2 minutes of reading

In the weeks leading up to the Alumni Awards Ceremony, we’ll be profiling each honoree in more detail here on our blog. Today, meet Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D. ’06, public policy, the current Deputy Surgeon General of the United States and our Outstanding Alumna in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D. ’06, public policy, currently serves as the Deputy Surgeon General of the Unites States. She is a Rear Admiral (RADM) in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps. In her role as Deputy Surgeon General she advises and supports the Surgeon General regarding operations of the USPHS… Continue Reading Alumni Awards 2017: Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D. ’06, Public Policy

Alumni Awards 2017: Steven Storck ’08, Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics, M.S. ’09, Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. ’14, Mechanical Engineering

/ 2 minutes of reading

In the weeks leading up to the Alumni Awards Ceremony, we’ll be profiling each honoree in more detail here on our blog. Today, meet Steven Storck ’08, mechanical engineering, M.S. ’09, mechanical engineering, and Ph.D. ’14, mechanical engineering, additive manufacturing engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and this year’s Distinguished Service honoree. As a triple alumnus of UMBC, Steven Storck ’08, mechanical engineering and mathematics, M.S. ’09, mechanical engineering, and Ph.D. ’14, mechanical engineering, knows his way around campus, to say the least. In addition to his day job as an additive manufacturing application engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,… Continue Reading Alumni Awards 2017: Steven Storck ’08, Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics, M.S. ’09, Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. ’14, Mechanical Engineering

Alumni Awards 2017: Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, Chemical Engineering

/ 2 minutes of reading

In the weeks leading up to the Alumni Awards Ceremony, we’ll be profiling each honoree in more detail here on our blog. Today, meet Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, chemical engineering, associate professor at the Duke University School of Medicine and this year’s Outstanding Alumnus in Engineering and Information Technology. As an associate professor of psychiatry, behavioral science, neurobiology, and neurosurgery at the Duke University School of Medicine, Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, chemical engineering, has dedicated his career to creating a kind of “pacemaker for the brain,” a device that can effectively rewire neurological signals in patients with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and… Continue Reading Alumni Awards 2017: Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, Chemical Engineering

Alumni Awards 2017: Marc Zupan, Department of Mechanical Engineering

/ 2 minutes of reading

In the weeks leading up to the Alumni Awards Ceremony, we’ll be profiling each honoree in more detail here on our blog. Today, meet Marc Zupan, associate professor and graduate program director of UMBC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and this year’s Outstanding Faculty Award winner. In just over 14 years at UMBC, Marc Zupan, associate professor and graduate program director in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has become known as a connection-maker. He connects students with internships, job opportunities, and graduate programs. He’s made international connections with Portugal’s Universidade do Porto through the Global Engineering Program. And he’s made connections across… Continue Reading Alumni Awards 2017: Marc Zupan, Department of Mechanical Engineering

© UMBC: A University System of Maryland
Member Institution
Scroll to Top