Lorraine Remer, JCET, Honored as American Geophysical Union Fellow

Aug 4, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Lorraine Remer, research professor of physics and at the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, will become an American Geophysical Union (AGU) fellow at their Fall Meeting in San Francisco. AGU is an international scientific society of geophysicists. This is a tremendously prestigious honor, as only .1% of members are elected as AGU fellows. Fellowships are given to AGU members who have made exceptional contributions to Earth and space sciences. Remer is the only 2015 fellow from Maryland and will be honored at the AGU Fall Meeting in December. “Election to AGU Fellow is a tremendous and unexpected honor,” Remer said.… Continue Reading Lorraine Remer, JCET, Honored as American Geophysical Union Fellow

CWIT Bits and Bytes Program on CNN

Jul 31, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

In an article about the AMC drama “Halt and Catch Fire,” CNN explored the dearth of women in computing fields and efforts made by universities to encourage women in computer science. The article discusses UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology’s Bits and Bytes program, which introduces girls in their junior year of high school to engineering and information technology majors. The article cites a recent National Science Foundation study that found that only 18% of computer science majors were female. “In the ’80s, there were more women getting degrees in computer technology than there are now, which is mind-blowing,” actress… Continue Reading CWIT Bits and Bytes Program on CNN

Alycia Marshall ’95, Mathematics, Wins National STEM Award

Jul 31, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Alycia Marshall ’95, mathematics, was named one of 100 Inspiring Women in STEM by Insight into Diversity for her work with the Engineering Scholars Program at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). Marshall drew on her experience working with Meyerhoff Scholars at UMBC to start the Engineering Scholars Program at AACC with help from a National Science Foundation grant. As the principal investigator for the program, Marshall was instrumental in connecting underrepresented students with scholarships, mentoring, and support services. Read “AACC professor selected for national STEM award” on Eye on Annapolis.

Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Awarded Distinguished Scientist Fellowship

Jul 20, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Michael Summers, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was awarded a Distinguished Scientist fellowship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). CAS is the national academy for natural sciences in China and offers the President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), which gives highly-qualified scientists from around the world the opportunity to work, study, and collaborate with Chinese institutions and researchers. Summers was one of 30 scientists worldwide awarded a 2015 Distinguished Scientist fellowship by CAS and will conduct a lecture tour in China next month. Distinguished Scientists are internationally recognized for their research and are chosen… Continue Reading Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Awarded Distinguished Scientist Fellowship

Mehdi Benna, CSST, Discusses Importance of New Horizons Pluto Mission in the Baltimore Sun

Jul 16, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

As images were released from NASA’s historic New Horizons mission to Pluto, Mehdi Benna was quoted in a Baltimore Sun story and described the significance of the event. He said the science of the mission is most important and determining how Pluto’s history fits in the story of the formation of the solar system. “By completing the flyby of Pluto, we will have visited all the nine planets of the traditional solar system — the way we know it, the way we were taught it in school,” said Benna, a Center for Space Science and Technology (CSST) planetary scientist. Benna told the… Continue Reading Mehdi Benna, CSST, Discusses Importance of New Horizons Pluto Mission in the Baltimore Sun

UMBC Biological Sciences Faculty Explain Benefits of Active Learning in Nature News

Jul 16, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Several UMBC biological sciences faculty and staff were featured in a Nature article on July 15 about the benefits of active learning in science courses. Neuroscientist Sarah Leupen was quoted in the story and described a question that spurs interesting discussion in her introductory physiology class: You’re innocently walking down the street when aliens zap away the sensory neurons in your legs. What happens? “We usually get lots of vigorous debate on this one,” said Leupen, who spends most of her class time firing such questions at her students. “It’s lovely to experience.” Leupen said the students grapple with the material… Continue Reading UMBC Biological Sciences Faculty Explain Benefits of Active Learning in Nature News

Amy Hurst, Information Systems, Featured on National Science Foundation Website For Assistive Tech Research

Jul 9, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

On July 6, the National Science Foundation (NSF) published an article in its “Discoveries” section featuring Amy Hurst’s assistive technology research. Hurst, an assistant professor of information systems, has published research with collaborators that found little use of assistive technologies in the maker community. “No one else was reflectively studying what’s happening in the Maker space,” Hurst said in the NSF article. In her research, Hurst found that assistive technologies have a low adoption rate and almost one-third of them go unused because they don’t meet people’s needs. She also found that maker tools offered unmatched opportunities for individuals with special… Continue Reading Amy Hurst, Information Systems, Featured on National Science Foundation Website For Assistive Tech Research

Govind Rao, CBEE, Describes Medicines on Demand Research to Bioprocess Online

Jun 30, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

When the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Battlefield Medicine site found that soldiers posted overseas can sometimes go months without biopharmaceuticals, they looked for a way to quickly produce pharmaceuticals on demand for wartime and disaster situations by seeking out research teams to address the problem. Govind Rao, chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, is the principal investigator of one such research team focused on creating medicines on demand. He spoke to Bioprocess Online, a leading source of biotherapeutic industry and technical information, about his cutting edge research. Rao was initially skeptical about the feasibility of the project, but reached… Continue Reading Govind Rao, CBEE, Describes Medicines on Demand Research to Bioprocess Online

Robert Provine, Psychology, Explains Why We Yawn in Wired Magazine

Jun 26, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

In a Wired article published on June 23, Psychology Research Professor and Professor Emeritus Robert Provine shared insight into why humans yawn when they do. Provine has done extensive research on the topic and is author of Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond. In the article, Provine noted that we tend to yawn when we are tired: “Right after waking and before bedtime,” he said, “which is consistent with yawning’s role in facilitating state changes: sleep to wakefulness, wakefulness to sleep, arousal to de-arousal, or vice versa.” When further examining the reasons for yawning beyond physiological state changes, Provine shared that, “Nervous people will definitely yawn… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, Explains Why We Yawn in Wired Magazine

Meyerhoff Scholars Program Featured in NSTA Reports

Jun 25, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recently released its Summer 2015 edition of NSTA Reports, which included a feature on UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program (MSP). NSTA Reports is an organizational newspaper which covers national science education news. The article, titled “Creating Communities of STEM Scholars,” describes the different components of the Meyerhoff program and how it has inspired similar programs around the country. “The Meyerhoff program is a community of scholars, and students are working to support one another,” MSP director Keith Harmon told NSTA Reports. “What we try to convey is the idea that working together, you can do… Continue Reading Meyerhoff Scholars Program Featured in NSTA Reports

UMBC/HHMI Meyerhoff Video Wins Telly Award

Jun 22, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

The inspiring video “Strength in Numbers: Inside the Meyerhoff Scholars Program” has won a 2015 Telly Award. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) created this video for a feature article in The HHMI Bulletin focused on the supportive community at the heart of UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program. “Strength in Numbers” was filmed at the UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars retreat in the fall of 2013 and featured several scholars speaking about how the program has helped them. It is available to view through the HHMI website. Blossom Tewelde ’14, biochemistry and molecular biology, spoke to The HHMI Bulletin about the importance of diversity in the sciences.… Continue Reading UMBC/HHMI Meyerhoff Video Wins Telly Award

Bill LaCourse, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Describes STEM Retention Efforts in eCampus News

Jun 22, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

A National Center for Education Statistics report found that 48% of undergraduate students who entered science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields in 2003-2009 left those majors by spring 2009, sparking discussions about how the U.S. can increase the number of qualified candidates in STEM fields. Bill LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, spoke to eCampus News this week about strategies used at UMBC to retain students in those majors. “Students come into college interested in STEM, but [schools] do a lot of things to push them away,” LaCourse said. He urged colleges to rethink the… Continue Reading Bill LaCourse, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Describes STEM Retention Efforts in eCampus News