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A New Vision for Dance Carol Hess, associate professor and chair of dance, is the recipient of the 2008 Maryland Council for Dance Award for Outstanding Service to Dance in Maryland.  Associate Professor of Dance Elizabeth Walton praised Hess’ work in leading UMBC’s dance department, training future dance teachers and bringing dance into public schools. “Under Carol’s leadership as chair of the dance department, our enrollments have doubled. She instituted Project REACH, which brings dance into public elementary and middle schools and also provides an opportunity for UMBC students to perform and teach master classes. The Methods of Teaching Dance… Continue Reading A New Vision for Dance

UMBC Honors College Celebrates its 20th Anniversary For two decades, the UMBC Honors College has motivated students both academically and personally – and continues to do so. It has awarded over 1,000 Certificates of Honors to graduates, provided students the chance to study and travel abroad and promoted numerous service learning opportunities and internships as formal components of its curriculum. In its 20th year on campus, the Honors College has grown in member diversity and is in line with the diversity of the UMBC campus, something that is unusual compared to other national schools. The current membership is 68 percent… Continue Reading UMBC Honors College Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

Uncovering the History of the Gwynns Falls Trail Click here to view stops along the trail with commentary by Ed Orser. Baltimore’s well-known and diverse neighborhoods are linked by a lesser-known urban trail that is described by W. Edward Orser, UMBC professor of American studies, in his new book, The Gwynns Falls: Baltimore Greenway to the Chesapeake Bay. Orser’s book uncovers the environmental and human record of this 15-mile urban landscape that binds the city’s Westside, a path Orser refers to as “Baltimore’s string of pearls.” The trail follows the Gwynns Falls for most of its route, linking roughly 2,000… Continue Reading Uncovering the History of the Gwynns Falls Trail

Alumni Musicians Reunite at UMBC New Music. Experimental. Avant-garde. Contemporary. Their music has been described in many ways, and in November Jeff Arnal ‘97, John Dierker ‘88, Will Redman ’98, Jonathan Vincent ’97 and Marc Miller, former student, will combine their efforts as a cohesive group for the first time. The event, which promises to raise questions and welcome new discoveries, mirrors how the five musicians met – at UMBC, through music. “This particular group has never performed together before as a quintet, but we have worked together in other capacities,” said Redman, percussionist and organizer of the event. “Even… Continue Reading Alumni Musicians Reunite at UMBC

Using Innovation and Design to Advance Patient Care Designing for social change is something Distinguished Professor David Yager works toward as director and founder of the Innovation and Design Laboratory (IDL) and as executive director of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC). Now that Yager is the recipient of the University System of Maryland’s (USM) 2008 Wilson H. Elkins Professorship, he is one step closer. Working with the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) and Erickson School, Yager and the IDL team are constructing solutions to address the complex challenges in pediatric medicine. Under Yager’s leadership, the team… Continue Reading David Yager ~ Elkins Professorship

UMBC Incubator Firm Wins an Innovator of the Year Award Watch an interview with Frank Turano of Plant Sensory Systems. At Plant Sensory Systems, a husband-and-wife startup technology firm located at the bwtech@UMBC Incubator and Accelerator, the market for green technology is growing almost as fast as the genetically-modified plants in their lab. According to Chief Research Officer and Co-founder Frank Turano, the company is focused on two booming markets for plant-based technology: biofuels and agriculture. “We move genes into plants that increase their ability to grow,” said Turano. Since starting the company in 2007, Frank and Kathleen Turano have… Continue Reading A Growing Business

Recent Alumnus Earns Fulbright Scholarship During his study abroad, former Humanities Scholar Jack Mullee ‘08 rode the Argentina subway like every other passenger. So, how did that lead him to a Fulbright Scholarship? “I’m a people watcher,” Mullee said. “I spent hours watching groups of salesmen, wondering what their stories were and how these people acted in unison to create a culture.” During the five months he was in Argentina, Mullee, who graduated with degrees in American studies and sociology, watched for patterns related to the informal economy on the subway. Searching for answers, he tried to connect with the… Continue Reading Fulbright Scholarship

Research Students Experience “Real World” at Summer Fellowship Ten UMBC students attended the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 2008 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (NIST-SURF) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, making UMBC the second best-represented school at this year’s program. The 12-week program, which accepts about 100 students each year, is geared toward students interested in science or engineering. Students spend their summers working with top researchers in one of the world’s leading research organizations, surrounded by their peers. Their ages range from freshmen just finishing their first year to recent graduates. “Students are able to interact with 130 other engineers from… Continue Reading Research Students at NIST Summer Fellowship

Izath Aguilar Academic Standing:SeniorMajor:Biochemical EngineeringNIST Laboratory:Electronics and Electrical EngineeringTalk Title:“Molecular Electronic Devices” Derek Fertig Academic Standing:JuniorMajor:PhysicsNIST Laboratory:PhysicsTalk Title:“Water Calorimetry and Heat Transport” Brandi Jackson Academic Standing:1st year Graduate StudentMajor:Mechanical EngineeringNIST Laboratory:Building and Fire ResearchTalk Title:“Characterization of Local Mechanical Properties in Epoxy Nanocomposites” Jeong-O Jeong Academic Standing:SeniorMajor:EngineeringNIST Laboratory:Electronics and Electrical EngineeringTalk Title:“Development of Software Tools for Extracting Model Parameters of SiC Power Diodes” Andrew “Avi” Schuldenfrei Academic Standing:JuniorMajor:Biological SciencesNIST Laboratory:Chemical Science and TechnologyTalk Title:“Observations of the Oxidation of Pentacene Thin Films in Air by Photoluminescence Spectroscopy” Nadezhda Serova Academic Standing:SophomoreMajor:Computer ScienceNIST Laboratory:Materials Science and EngineeringTalk Title:“Non-Linear Polymer Film Thickness Gradients Through… Continue Reading Research Student Bios

New Media Studio Captures Leadership Award for Digital Storytelling Efforts UMBC’s New Media Studio has won a Centers of Excellence Award from the New Media Consortium (NMC), the highest honor bestowed by the NMC. Given annually, the Studio received the award for “leadership in capturing and disseminating digital stories across the institution.” Studio Director Bill Shewbridge, Video Producer Paul Iwancio and Multimedia Designer Aaron Weidele accepted the award at NMC’s 2008 Summer Conference at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. “We are very honored,” Shewbridge said. “We look at the NMC as our peers. We go there for inspiration and… Continue Reading Creating Digital Memories

UMBC’s Political Correspondent at the Convention UMBC’s nationally recognized politic analyst Tom Schaller had a front-row seat at the Democratic National Convention as a correspondent for Salon.com. Schaller, associate professor of political science, was in Denver, Colorado, August 25-29 covering the presumptive nomination of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for president. Follow Schaller’s reports from Salon.com’s political War Room. Author of Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South, Schaller predicts a tight race that will focus on pivotal swing states in the Southwest and upper Midwest. “The candidate who gets the lion’s share of the… Continue Reading UMBC’s Political Correspondent at the Convention

Alumni Mentor UMBC Interns in the Workplace When UMBC students stepped out of the classroom this summer to begin their internships, many had the University’s alumni looking out for them.  For mechanical engineering major Yehuda Baumer, that someone was Zozscha Bomhardt ’94, who served as a mentor in her role as an engineering quality leader at GE Healthcare.  Working alongside an alumni mentor in the workplace offers students the opportunity to learn from a member of the UMBC community while on the job. Students grasp the link between theory and practice and gain valuable job-related habits and skills. “Learning how… Continue Reading Alumni Mentor UMBC Interns