Stories

Arbutus ♥ UMBC UMBC is a community that is surrounded by two other communities – Arbutus and Catonsville. But many who work and study at the university don’t know much about their neighbors. In August, Arbutus did its part to change that dynamic by welcoming UMBC back to campus with snazzy black-and-gold “Retriever Believer” banners, emblazoned with the names of local businesses and hung along the town’s main drag. Arbutus’ Hollywood Theater even put the welcome up on its marquee. The initiative was spearheaded by Terrence Nolan ’82, political science, president of the Arbutus Business and Professional Association. “UMBC represents… Continue Reading The News – Winter 2010

Wanna be a celebrity culinary entrepreneur like Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman ’97? UMBC’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in the Humanities for 2009 offers a few hints: Don’t sweat the numbers. Don’t get complacent. And prepare for some hard knocks. By Ana Marie Cox Images courtesy of Charm City Cakes Look at the numbers and Jeffrey “Duff”Goldman ’97, history, is a business whiz of the first order – a thriving entrepreneur whose successful cake making business was launched into the stratosphere by a hit reality show. But as any viewer of Food Network’s Ace of Cakes can tell… Continue Reading The (Business) World According to Duff

With Dr. Timmie Topoleski, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Back in 1958, when the late Japanese food magnate Momofuku Ando developed his first package of ramen – a dried noodle requiring boiling water and a simple flavor packet to deliciously “activate” in your lunch bowl – little did he know he had created what would become a staple of college culinary life. He probably also didn’t realize the wavy bricks held yet another potential use: noodle bridge. In honor of UMBC Magazine’s very first food issue, we asked UMBC mechanical engineering professor Dr. Timmie Topoleski to consider ramen as a legitimate… Continue Reading How to Build a Ramen Bridge

UMBC alumnus Father Leo Patalinghug ’92 finds the divine in cuisine and competition. His quest may yet make him one of America’s best-known Catholic priests. By B. Rose Huber Images courtesy of Grace Before Meals Rev. Leo Patalinghug ’92, political science, says he never gets nervous when he hosts his popular online cooking show, Grace Before Meals. But even he might confess to having a bit of anxiety at a taping of his show that was also filmed by the Food Network last June. As a rule, Patalinghug concentrates intensely on whatever task is at hand. He often grows impatient,… Continue Reading Break Bread. Break Boards. Break Dance.

UMBC American studies professor Warren Belasco has pioneered food studies’ explosive growth in the classroom and the larger culture. By Phoebe Connelly “You did not go into food as an academic in 1972,”  Warren Belasco told an audience of fellow scholars in Oxford, Mississippi this past October with a smile. “That was not something you did.” So how did a professor of American studies at UMBC who did so end up as one of this country’s most prominent researchers on food and culture? In his 30 years at UMBC, Belasco has not just pioneered a discipline that has now captured… Continue Reading The Scholar at the Supermarket

Food is not only a means of individual sustenance. The act of sharing a meal helps to form and sustain communities as well. UMBC is no exception. Whether it’s a student and a professor discussing a term paper over a cup of coffee from Au Bon Pain or an off-campus expedition to a restaurant in Arbutus, Catonsville or Ellicott City, food and drink help cement the university community together. And as 2010 dawns, almost anyone would agree that today’s UMBC students, faculty and staff are luckier than ever in their choice of eateries. The Commons boasts sushi, pizza and barbecue.… Continue Reading Edible UMBC

A Date with Darwin Forgive Sandra Herbert if she’s a bit exhausted as 2009 comes to a close. Herbert, a professor emerita of history, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the work of Charles Darwin, whose theorizing on natural selection and evolution revolutionized the course of scientific thought. And 2009 held not one but two significant Darwinian anniversaries: the 200th anniversary of his birth (on the same date, February 12, 1809, that Abraham Lincoln was born) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his classic text, On the Origin of Species. The “Darwin Year” saw Herbert giving… Continue Reading Discovery – Winter 2010

Gael Force Catonsville’s a long, long way from Tipperary, but a local band with a strong UMBC connection is bringing Ireland and other musical ports of call a lot closer with their music. Five of the six members of fiddlin’ around (yes, the name is lower case) call UMBC their alma mater or their workplace. Tara Ebersole ’08, Ph.D., public policy, Dave Aylsworth ’74, American Studies and Sarah Moreland ’97, M.S. electrical engineering, are alumni. Eric Ebersole is a lecturer in UMBC’s sociology department, and Terry Aylsworth is the executive administrative assistant in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social… Continue Reading At Play – Winter 2010