Alumni

By day, Sheg Aranmolate is finishing his medical degree at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. By night, he has written two books — the latter of which, a novel entitled Bountiful Famine, recently was nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. We recently asked the native Nigerian, who graduated from UMBC in 2005 with a bachelor’s in biochemistry and molecular biology, and 2006 with a master’s in applied molecular biology, a few questions about his UMBC experiences and what it’s like juggling a writing career with the challenges of medical school. Q:  Can you tell us a… Continue Reading Aranmolate ’05, M.S. ’06, Nominated for Book Award

Dan Marohl ’01, geography and environmental systems, has been chosen as a captain and co-captain of Baltimore Bombers lacrosse by his teammates, the Baltimore Sun reports. Read the Baltimore Sun story here. Marohl, who plays forward for the Bombers, previously played with the Ottawa Rebel and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, as well as the Minnesota Swarm, the Sun writes. Formed in 2012, the Baltimore Bombers will compete this year as part of the North American Lacrosse League. A member of UMBC’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Marohl was a two-time All American for UMBC in 1999 and… Continue Reading Marohl ’01, Geog, to Captain Baltimore Bombers

When Michael Stovall ’04, Ph.D., public policy, came to UMBC as a graduate student in 1996, he wasn’t just looking for a change of pace. He was ready to change his life. A recent article in the Frederick News-Post chronicles Stovall’s second career as chair of the Business & Social  Sciences Department at Carroll Community College, where he helped develop an Aging Studies program that has lead to a number of transfers to UMBC’s Aging Services program, he said. Read the Frederick News-Post’s story, “Teacher Thankful for a Chance at a Second Act” here. Stovall came to UMBC to study public… Continue Reading News-Post Profiles Second-Career Educator Stovall ’04, Ph.D., PubPol

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, we’re talking with Dr. Melanie D. Harrison ’11, Ph.D., Marine and Estuarine Environmental Science, who works as a water quality specialist with NOAA, and who recently was elected by the membership of the American Geophysical Union, the premier professional organization in the earth sciences, as one of two Early Career Scientists on the AGU Council. Name: Dr. Melanie D. Harrison Current title: Water Quality Specialist Employer: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NOAA Fisheries Q: What path brought you… Continue Reading Career Q&A: Dr. Melanie D. Harrison ’11, Ph.D., MEES

Isaac Kinde ’05, biological sciences, has been named to Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30: The Rising Stars Transforming Science And Health” list, a group of young scientists who “reflect the way that the health care landscape is transforming for the better, opening up to revolutionary new ideas and new approaches.” Kinde is currently an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at the Johns Hopkins University. Forbes reports that: “Kinde is developing techniques to improve the accuracy of DNA sequencing technology and demonstrating that it might be used to detect cancers arising from the colon, pancreas, and ovaries in a simple, noninvasive manner. Already, several… Continue Reading Kinde ’05, BioSci, on Forbes “30 Under 30” List for Transforming Health & Science

UMBC Computer Science Alumni Donald Miner ’06, Ph.D. ’10, and Adam Shook ’09 (M.S. expected ’13) have written a book on the popular MapReduce paradigm that has revolutionized the way collections of computers are used to process large amounts of data in parallel. Their book, MapReduce Design Patterns Building Effective Algorithms and Analytics for Hadoop and Other Systems, was published by O’Reilly Media in December. “Adam and I were teaching Hadoop classes and we saw a gap: students would pick up on how hadoop worked mechanically, but struggled to understand how to solve problems with it,” explains Donald, who now… Continue Reading CSEE Alums Miner ’06, Ph.D. ’10, and Shook ’09, Publish Book

The David Mikow Art Gallery — which opened this fall in the Catonsville home of UMBC political science professor Carolyn Forestiere — will feature an array of “Images in Print,” all created by UMBC alumni and students. The show is co-curated by visual art professors Calvin Custen and Irene Chan, and opens this Friday, December 7, 5-7 p.m. The work of the following alumni will be shown (all visual arts majors, unless noted): Sandy Chiang ’11, Elizabeth Guidara ’11, polisci, Erin Johnson ’12, Boram Lee ’12, Ka Lai Lou ’11, Brittney Nichols ’12, Sohee Oh ’11, Pat Sedlander ’12, Jenna… Continue Reading Catonsville Gallery to Feature Alumni and Student Printmakers

Nearly 90 current students and UMBC alumni talked life after college at the annual “Sweeten Up Your Network” speed networking event on November 28. Sponsored by the Student Alumni Association, the event allowed alumni from a variety of backgrounds to share their real-world expertise with students looking to hone their networking skills. “The SAA students and I are very happy with the outcome of Sweeten Up Your Network this year,” said Cindy Greenwood, alumni programming coordinator.  “The event grew from about 50 attendees last year to nearly 90 this year and we have received great feedback about the conversations that… Continue Reading Alums Help Current Students “Sweeten Up” Their Networks