CUERE Seminar Series presents Dr. Chris Hennigan with UMBC’s Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering Department and his talk on “Sources and Processes Affecting Particulate Matter in Denver, CO during DISCOVER-AQ.” Friday, April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm in the TRC Building room 206.
Upal Ghosh, chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, has been named as an editor for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry is a journal from the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing and solving environmental problems. Ghosh will be one of several editors and will focus on papers relating to environmental remediation and pollutant bioavailability.
Celebrating 20 Years of JCET Climate Research: Climate affects all residents of the Earth but we all have different perspectives and ways of talking about it. The UMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology and the UMBC Sustainability Working Group invite the campus community to a symposium focused on communicating the results of scientific climate investigations. A panel of noted climate researchers will contribute their knowledge of Earth’s climate a discussion prompted by questions from the broader UMBC audience. This Communicating Climate symposium also celebrates the integration of art and science with renowned musician and composer Kenji Williams who will… Continue Reading Communicating Climate (4/20)
The Washington Post reported on a new partnership between Northrop Grumman and UMBC that explores using cybersecurity tools to analyze health data. Yelena Yesha, computer science and electrical engineering, is leading the project and commented on the partnership, saying that they plan to evaluate millions of patient records. Tools originally developed to examine cyberthreats and security risks will be used to go through the data. This will allow the researchers to examine a large amount of data to see trends in conditions such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Click here to read “Northrop Grumman, UMBC team to study health… Continue Reading Yelena Yesha, CSEE, Discusses Northrop Grumman Partnership in The Washington Post
Cynthia Matuszek, computer science and electrical engineering, co-authored a study that found that Google image search results underrepresent female professionals, use stereotypes, and influence gender bias. Matuszek recently came to UMBC from the University of Washington, where her coauthors are based. The researchers analyzed top Google image search results for over 40 professions and found that women were underrepresented when compared to data from the Bureau of Labor statistics. They also found that the image results affected perceptions of female representation in those occupations. “It’s part of a cycle: How people perceive things affects the search results, which affect how… Continue Reading Cynthia Matuszek, CSEE, Co-Authors Study on Google Image Searches, Professions, and Gender
On Friday, April 10, the College of Engineering and Information Technology and College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences hosted a “Communicating Science” workshop for STEM faculty, organized through UMBC’s Office of Institutional Advancement. Over 40 faculty registered for the day-long event. Speaker Linda Hosler from the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) presented strategies for communicating scientific research to public audiences and media. Faculty honed concise, accessible messages about their scientific research and practiced presentations on camera and in an interview setting. The workshop also helped researchers identify pathways and… Continue Reading COEIT and CNMS Host AAAS “Communicating Science” Faculty Workshop
Curtis Menyuk, computer science and electrical engineering, won the prestigious Humboldt Research Award. The award is granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to scholars who have made a significant contributions to their discipline and plan to continue cutting-edge research. Menyuk’s research concentrates on optical and photonic systems, including optical fiber communications and switching, solid state device simulations, and nonlinear optics. In 2013, he received the IEEE Photonics Society Streifer AWard, another major international award. Menyuk said, “I was delighted and very honored receive this award. It is really a tribute to UMBC and the members of my research group,… Continue Reading Curtis Menyuk, CSEE, Wins Humboldt Research Award
Author Lecture and Book Signing, Organic Refreshments Tuesday, April 21, 4-6 p.m. Albin O. Kuhn Library, 7th floor As part of Earth Week at UMBC, Dr. Robert K. Musil will present a talk on his book Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment (Rutgers University Press, 2014). Dr. Musil is president of the Rachel Carson Council, senior fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University, and former CEO of Physicians for Social Responsibility. In the book, Dr. Musil tells the story of Rachel Carson, who is credited with advancing the global environment movement. The… Continue Reading Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Their Legacy for Today (4/21)
CUERE Seminar presents Dr. Stephanie Lansing with the Environmental Science and Technology Department at University of Maryland College Park. Her talk will be on “Turning our Waste into Energy: Anaerobic Digestion and Microbial Fuel Cells.” Friday, April 17, 2015 at 2:00 pm in TRC Building room 206.
In response to new research from Johns Hopkins University, Psychology Research Professor and Professor Emeritus Robert Provine was interviewed for an article in the Baltimore Sun discussing his research on human social behavior and attractiveness. The Johns Hopkins study found that human perception of attractiveness may be fluid, contagious, and often influenced by what is generally considered attractive by others. In the article, Provine said that it is fashion that is shifting constantly, rather than an evolutionary standard of beauty in culture. He noted that people don’t realize they are frequently pushed to like something new and different. “We are not always captain… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, in the Baltimore Sun
Erle Ellis, geography and environmental systems, co-authored a recent article in Science about the beginning of the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene refers to the part of the world’s history where humans significantly impact earth systems. The article reviews differing views on how to ascertain the beginning of the Anthropocene, with some claiming that the epoch started in the 1700s and others favoring a 1945 start date. The authors address the debate and recommend using the term informally in order to identify specific time periods within the larger epoch. “In this way, we could avoid the confinement imposed by a single formal… Continue Reading Erle Ellis, GES, Co-Authors Article on the Anthropocene in Science
UMBC-ADVANCE is pleased to announce our 2015 ADVANCE Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA. On Monday, April 13, 2015, from 4:30-5:30pm in the AOK Library Gallery, Dr. Volkow will deliver her talk, “The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction: What Do We Know? The talk is open to the entire campus community with a reception to follow.
