Roy Meyers, Political Science, in USA Today

Dec 4, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Political Science Professor Roy Meyers was quoted in a recent USA Today article that analyzes a federal budget action in which the Obama administration moved nearly $4 million in health insurance subsidy payments from one Treasury account to another. The budget director described the transfer as a way to improve efficiency. In response, the House of Representatives filed a lawsuit last month calling for part of the Affordable Care Act to be struck down. Meyers was asked about the move by then Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell: “The Burwell change of the accounts is a very interesting strategy, and one that’s… Continue Reading Roy Meyers, Political Science, in USA Today

Christopher Swan, Geography and Environmental Systems, in the New York Times

Dec 4, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Christopher Swan, an associate professor of geography and environmental systems, was quoted in a recent New York Times article about an urban ecology study that found millions of tiny insects are consuming the equivalent of 60,000 frankfurters a year in Manhattan. The study concluded that street litter and discarded food is a major source of food for rats and other pests. In the article, Swan discussed the need for more urban ecology studies and how the recent study like the one conducted in New York City could serve as an example of how such research could be performed in the future. “We… Continue Reading Christopher Swan, Geography and Environmental Systems, in the New York Times

Robert Provine, Psychology, in Mashable

Dec 4, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

“Although our laughter may be as distinctive as our speech, laughter is not infinitely variable. If we all laughed differently, we could not identify a vocalization as laughter,” said Psychology Research Professor and Professor Emeritus Robert Provine in a recent Mashable article. The article, published December 1, examines why people have different laughs. Provine, who is author of Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccuping and Beyond, said “most classical laughs have a short, harmonic blast (‘ha’) of about one-fifteenth of a second duration, that repeats every one-fifth of a second. It’s hard to laugh in any other way. Try it. The result doesn’t sound very much like… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, in Mashable

Kate Brown, History, Named to Physics World 2014 Books of the Year List

Dec 4, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

History Professor Kate Brown has been named to the Physics World 2014 Books of the Year list for her book Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford University Press, 2013). Physics World is a publication issued by the United Kingdom’s Institute of Physics. Below is an excerpt describing the process for selecting the ten best books of the year: “As in previous years, the entries on our ‘Book of the Year’ shortlist are all well written, novel and scientifically interesting for a physics audience. They represent the best of the 57 books that Physics World reviewed in 2014, being highly commended by external… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Named to Physics World 2014 Books of the Year List

Films by Vin Grabill, Visual Arts, at the Guggenheim Museum

Dec 3, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Three films by Vin Grabill, associate professor and chair of Visual Arts, will be featured this month at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Produced in 1982, 1986, and 2010, the films — Otto Piene’s Sky Art, Otto Piene’s Sky Art Neon Rainbow, and Sky Kiss at Desert Sun/Desert Moon — will be screened as part of the “Zero: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-60s Film Program” and will play daily at 3 pm, December 5 – 30. “These programs featuring artist documentaries provide an expanded look at the ZERO network and the processes that the artists employed,” states the Guggenheim. The subject… Continue Reading Films by Vin Grabill, Visual Arts, at the Guggenheim Museum

UMBC Hosts Inaugural Research Forum on The Nexus of Social Sciences and Human Health

Dec 1, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

On Friday, November 21, UMBC hosted its inaugural Research Forum, the first event in a new, semi-annual series to bring together researchers and scientists from across UMBC and partner institutions to establish collaborations around common research themes. The first event was titled, “The Nexus of Social Sciences and Human Health Research,” and it was sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research. The forum aimed to advance intra-campus and inter-campus collaborations in the social and health sciences and to initiate conversations about the role of social sciences in basic and translational research.… Continue Reading UMBC Hosts Inaugural Research Forum on The Nexus of Social Sciences and Human Health

Dennis Coates, Economics, in City Paper

Nov 26, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Baltimore’s City Paper published an article on November 25 that examined the city’s current public construction boom, which by some estimates may exceed $10 billion, comparable to what was spent nationally by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Economics Professor Dennis Coates was interviewed for the article and explained that the public projects would likely increase the local economic growth rate by close to 15 percent. “It is certainly a construction jobs program, and I would contend it will affect growth positively, though precisely how much, especially in the short term, is questionable,” he said. “Avoiding broken water mains and the… Continue Reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in City Paper

Zane Berge, Education, Wins Prestigious Association for Educational Communications and Technology Awards

Nov 26, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Zane Berge, professor of education, has won two prestigious Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) awards. Berge was named the winner of the Distance Education Book Award, which is given for the outstanding book published within the last three years that describes important aspects of distance education, theory, or examples that can help others involved in distance education or research on an important aspect of distance education. The award-winning book Handbook of Mobile Learning (Routledge 2013) was co-edited by Berge and his colleague at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Lin Muilenburg. For more information, click here. Berge also received the Distance… Continue Reading Zane Berge, Education, Wins Prestigious Association for Educational Communications and Technology Awards

Sunil Dasgupta, Political Science, in International Relations and Security Network News

Nov 25, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Sunil Dasgupta, director of UMBC’s political science program at the Universities of Shady Grove, recently published an article in the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) digital library. In his article titled “What is Asia? A Security Debate between Alfred Mahan and Barry Buzan,” Dasgupta argued that Chinese and American security policies are making “one Asia” a more distinct reality. He compares the viewpoints of naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, who was a defender of national power, and Barry Buzan, the influential Canadian and British scholar of international relations, who was an advocate for the regional security complex. “Those who, like… Continue Reading Sunil Dasgupta, Political Science, in International Relations and Security Network News

Donald Norris, Public Policy, Writes Baltimore Sun Op-Ed

Nov 24, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

In advance of the UMBC public policy program 40th anniversary celebration, Donald Norris, professor and chair of the department, wrote an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun in which he defended the value of studying public policy to meet the growing demand for public servants who can improve government at all levels. In the column, Norris discussed the strength of the UMBC public policy program in educating students to make a strong, local impact after graduation: “Over the past 40 years, the public policy graduate program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has grown from 12 master’s students to 135 doctoral and… Continue Reading Donald Norris, Public Policy, Writes Baltimore Sun Op-Ed

Roy Meyers, Political Science, Inducted into National Academy of Public Administration Fellowship Program

Nov 24, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Earlier this month at the National Academy of Public Administration annual meeting, Political Science Professor Roy Meyers was inducted as a new fellow for the organization. The Academy is an independent, non-profit organization that assists government leaders to build more transparent, efficient, and effective organizations. The fellowship program includes prominent scholars, former members of Congress, cabinet officers, governors, business executives, and public administrators who provide valuable insight and support, guidance to the organization, and address emerging policy issues while contributing to intellectual and popular discourse on government. Meyers was formerly a principal analyst with the Budget Analysis Division in the… Continue Reading Roy Meyers, Political Science, Inducted into National Academy of Public Administration Fellowship Program

Lia Purpura, English, in The New Yorker, Orion Magazine

Nov 24, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

English Writer in Residence Lia Purpura is featured in the November 24 edition of The New Yorker. The magazine published her poem “Study with Melon.” You can read the poem in The New Yorker by clicking here. The full text of the poem is below: Study with Melon The stem end of a melon is weblike, form finding a pattern that’s thinking itself a density a concentration beginning a line then casting it out and moving on from, an order established, a gesture complete. Completion: how someone at a distance might see it. In addition, Purpura’s essay “In The Despoiled and Radiant Now” appears… Continue Reading Lia Purpura, English, in The New Yorker, Orion Magazine

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