UMBC's campus during the fall, shot in 2021

NSF awards $10M to UMBC to expand successful initiative developing underrepresented postdocs in STEM

Aug 5, 2022 Aug 8, 2022 / 5 min read

UMBC will expand its work boosting diversity in academia from Maryland to the national level through a new NSF INCLUDES Alliance: Re-Imagining STEM Equity Utilizing Postdoc Pathways (RISE UPP). The RISE UPP Alliance, anticipated to officially launch in fall 2022, is modeled after the PROMISE Academy, a high-impact initiative co-led by UMBC that supports faculty diversification in the biomedical sciences across University System of Maryland (USM) institutions.

UMBC students, educators, and researchers advance Maryland through innovative computing partnership

Aug 3, 2022 Aug 3, 2022 / 5 min read

The Maryland Institute for Innovative Computing “reflects Maryland’s dedication to ensuring our state agencies have the technical staffing and internal infrastructure they need,” says Annie Weinschenk, program director of workforce initiatives in the UMBC Career Center.

UMBC-led team generates first global map of cargo ship pollution, revealing effects of fuel regulations

Jul 27, 2022 Jul 27, 2022 / 5 min read

Cargo ship pollution causes problems for port cities. The pollutant particles also have a cooling effect on the planet when they interact with clouds. Tracking pollution from ships as regulations change can help scientists clarify the poorly-understood role of clouds in climate.

UMBC’s Eileen Meyer and team find strongest evidence yet of a black hole zooming away from its galaxy’s center

Jul 26, 2022 Aug 2, 2022 / 5 min read

“This is probably the most clear-cut case” illustrating this phenomenon that scientists are aware of, says Eileen Meyer. The black hole is zipping away from its galaxy’s center at more than 4.5 million miles per hour.

Five adults stand outside next to each other on a pathway. Fulbright.

UMBC’s 2022 Fulbright student scholars will travel the world to explore difficult questions

Jun 16, 2022 Jul 20, 2022 / 11 min read

Nine recent UMBC graduates and alumni will soon travel to the UK, El Salvador, Kuwait, France, Colombia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Germany as 2022 Fulbright U.S. Student scholars. They include emerging leaders in education, astrophysics, cybersecurity, human rights, and more, and they are excited to explore difficult questions through fresh perspectives.

group photo of five Meyerhoff Scholars in UMBC gear

Simons Foundation provides $2.5M to support UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars, plans New York replication

Jun 10, 2022 Jun 24, 2022 / 4 min read

UMBC and the Simons Foundation share the goal of diversifying the pipeline of STEM professionals. When Simons was looking for a partner to help them grow their work in that area, UMBC was the perfect fit.

Creating new antiviral drugs: Katherine Seley-Radtke’s innovative “fleximer” research to receive $3.5M from NIH

Jun 10, 2022 Jun 27, 2022 / 4 min read

“Many people in the antiviral field had been pushing for many years, warning people that this kind of viral pandemic could happen,” says Katherine Seley-Radtke. Thankfully, her decades of work put her in a strong position to contribute to a new surge of antiviral research.

As global travel expands, UMBC faculty and staff earn Fulbright awards for research, collaboration abroad

Jun 6, 2022 Jun 22, 2022 / 5 min read

Four UMBC faculty and staff members have received highly competitive Fulbright awards to conduct research and establish important connections around the world over the next year. UMBC’s new recipients of Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards are Shimei Pan, associate professor of information systems; Corrie Parks, assistant professor of visual arts; and Tiffany Thames Copeland, adjunct faculty in Africana studies. Nancy Young, vice president for Student Affairs, has received a Fulbright International Education Administrators Award. They will travel to Germany, Austria, Ghana, and France, respectively.

young trees planted in rows shade the forest floor

Beyond “plant trees!”: UMBC research finds tree plantations encroaching on essential ecosystems

Jun 6, 2022 Jun 13, 2022 / 6 min read

Trees supply a host of benefits for animals and people. However, new research led by Matthew Fagan finds that some trees planted in the tropics may be doing more harm than good. “Ecologists have been sounding the alarm on this for over a decade,” Fagan says. “But no one’s had a hard number about how much this is actually happening.”

man in suit and black and gold striped tie stands behind a podium with positive thoughtful expression

HHMI launches $1.5 billion Freeman Hrabowski Scholars program to support diversity, innovation in biomedical research

May 26, 2022 May 26, 2022 / 4 min read

HHMI is honoring President Hrabowski for his decades of leadership in growing and diversifying the pipeline of Ph.D.-level researchers. “We should all be encouraged by HHMI’s commitment to changing the face of science in America,” Hrabowski says.

UMBC’s student innovation competition winners share tips for aspiring entrepreneurs

May 25, 2022 Jun 7, 2022 / 4 min read

Student teams recently gathered at Betamore, a Baltimore-based entrepreneurship and coworking space, to battle in the final round of UMBC’s annual Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition. This year’s competition included two distinct tracks: technology and innovation, and social impact. The top three ideas in each track received funding to help move their ventures forward.

close up of gloved hands manipulating unseen item under a microscope

NIDA EDUCATE program develops the next generation of addiction researchers

May 24, 2022 Jun 6, 2022 / 5 min read

In 2021, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded UMBC more than $1 million over five years to create a program specifically for undergraduate scholars interested in research on substance abuse and addiction. A year after the program’s launch, it is thriving as students in fields as diverse as economics, computer science, and chemical engineering find ways to connect their interests to this important topic.