Jack Suess, CIO, Discusses Data Management and Efficiency in EvoLLLution

Oct 29, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Colleges and universities are increasingly searching for better, more cost effective ways to manage large amounts of data. Jack Suess, Chief Information Officer, spoke to EvoLLLution about UMBC’s experiences in becoming a more data-driven campus and shared tips on how to encourage institution-wide improvements. Suess emphasized that becoming a data-driven university requires changing the institution’s culture, calling on IT leaders to highlight how data can support institutional goals. “Whether that’s in building faculty research, in student success, in rethinking teaching and learning through learning analytics, data is going to be essential if you’re going to do things differently,” he said.… Continue Reading Jack Suess, CIO, Discusses Data Management and Efficiency in EvoLLLution

“UMBC AIRS Team” has won a NASA Group Achievement Award

Oct 17, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

The award from the NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, was presented to our team Larrabee Strow, Scott Hannon, Sergio De-Souza Machado, Howard Motteler, and Breno Imbiriba at the AIRS Science Team Meeting last week in Greenbelt, MD. Read more about the award.

New York Times Suggests Silicon Valley Recruit Tech Talent From Universities Like UMBC

Oct 6, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

A recent editorial in The New York Times examined the lack of diversity at technology companies in Silicon Valley. Technology giants, such as Google, Facebook and Apple, have admitted to having low numbers of women and minority employees and are now working to improve diversity in the workplace. The editorial suggests that one way to address the problem is to recruit employees from universities that focus on helping women and minorities graduate with degrees in technical fields. President Hrabowski discussed how UMBC helps underrepresented groups excel in science and engineering. “[UMBC] produces many women and minority graduates in science and… Continue Reading New York Times Suggests Silicon Valley Recruit Tech Talent From Universities Like UMBC

Information Systems Ph.D. Student is Co-Developer of an iPhone App in iOS8 Package

Oct 6, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Brian Frey, UMBC Ph.D. student in information systems, has been collaborating for the past several years with colleagues at Georgia Tech University on a very simple concept: How can one infuse braille communication with the iPhone? Over these past few years the team has been refining their Braille Touch App in support of that concept. Their efforts were validated with the recent release of the Apple’s new mobile operating system, iOS8. Of the millions of apps that Apple has approved for release in the App Store since the release of the first generation iPhone, only a select few have been… Continue Reading Information Systems Ph.D. Student is Co-Developer of an iPhone App in iOS8 Package

UMBC Team Participates in White House Game Jam

Sep 26, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

For three days beginning September 6 the White House Educational Game Jam invited a select set of professional game developers and academics to create innovative educational game prototypes over single weekend, with the resulting games presented at the White House Executive Office Building. There were 23 teams and about 100 participants. The team sizes ranged from 1 to 9, with most around 4-5. It was a mix of major companies and schools. Examples of large companies were: Ubisoft, Sony and Rovio. Small companies were: BrainPop, GlassLab and RocketMind. Academic teams included the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Melon University, American University, University… Continue Reading UMBC Team Participates in White House Game Jam

Tom Cronin, Biology, Washington Post on Camouflage

Sep 24, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

In a recent story the Washington Post wrote about what animals, specifically octopus, cuttlefish, and squid otherwise known as cephalopods can teach us about camouflage. The ability of humans to camouflage themselves is very important in military applications. UMBC biology professor, Tom Cronin, is quoted as saying: Military applications will come first, predicts Thomas Cronin, a biologist at the University of Maryland Baltimore County who is part of the research community with octopus-to-gadget ambitions. “When a machine or person moves to a different environment or background, these camouflage systems could automatically reduce the level of detectability to any imaging system,”… Continue Reading Tom Cronin, Biology, Washington Post on Camouflage

UMBC hosts White House College Opportunity Initiative workshop to improve STEM education nationwide

Sep 18, 2014 / 3 minutes of reading

“What is UMBC’s special sauce?” That’s what Susan Singer, director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education, pondered aloud when she took the stage on September 16, 2014, at an education workshop co-hosted by the White House and UMBC. How has UMBC so successfully supported students from all backgrounds, while many other universities struggle with lagging retention rates and achievement gaps, particularly in the sciences, technology, engineering and math (STEM)? Later that morning, Dean Bill LaCourse revealed the UMBC recipe. We’ve succeeded, he shared, through a commitment to inclusion, community of support, stable leadership, recognition of the diverse… Continue Reading UMBC hosts White House College Opportunity Initiative workshop to improve STEM education nationwide

Renetta Tull: Equity in STEM

Sep 16, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

Renetta Tull, Associate Vice Provost of Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, is seeking equity in STEM for all. Tull was recently the lead author on an article for peerReview titled, “The Jessica Effect: Valuing Cultural and Familial Connections to Broaden Success in Academe.” The article begins: Jessica Soto-Pérez, daughter of Antonio Israel Soto and Luz N. Pérez, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. She was a promising chemical engineering graduate student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and peer mentor for its National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Alliance for Graduate Education and the… Continue Reading Renetta Tull: Equity in STEM

Carlos Romero-Talamas Receives DARPA Young Faculty Award

Sep 12, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Carlos Romero-Talamas, a professor in the UMBC Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been recognized with a DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) for his research in computational models of nuclear fusion technology. Read more about the research

Julia Ross, Dean of the College of Engineering and IT, receives $3 million grant for engineering education

Sep 10, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Julia Ross, Dean of the College of Engineering and Information and Technology along with her colleagues: Jon Singer and Chris Rakes from the Department of Education at UMBC and Richard Weisenhoff from Baltimore County Public Schools, received an NSF $3 million grant for engineering education. In this study UMBC will partner with the Baltimore County Public School System to implement a professional development model that incorporates engineering curriculum in high school biology and technology classrooms.

CNMS Welcomes Jacinta D. Kelly as Assistant Dean of Financial Management

Aug 21, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacinta D. Kelly as Assistant Dean of Financial Management effective July 28, 2014. Kelly comes from the National Labor College (Silver Spring, MD), where she served as the Director of Finance. Previously, she held the positions of Senior Budget Analyst at The George Washington University and Associate Fiscal Officer at the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to her financial management expertise and experience, Kelly has a Master of Public Administration (Southeastern University), Master of Forensic Sciences (The George Washington University), and a Bachelor of Arts,… Continue Reading CNMS Welcomes Jacinta D. Kelly as Assistant Dean of Financial Management

CNMS Hosts 17th Annual SURF

Aug 15, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences hosted the 17th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) on Wednesday, August 6. Over 200 students gave oral and poster presentations, explaining the results of their summer research projects. Many of the students participated in specialized programs to complete their research, including with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), High Performance Computing (HPC) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at UMBC, Summer Biomedical Training Program, and MARC U*STAR program. SURF also featured a workshop to help more undergraduates gain interest in pursuing research opportunities. SURF concluded by recognizing the commitment of the faculty,… Continue Reading CNMS Hosts 17th Annual SURF