“Many people in the antiviral field had been pushing for many years, warning people that this kind of viral pandemic could happen,” says Katherine Seley-Radtke. Thankfully, her decades of work put her in a strong position to contribute to a new surge of antiviral research.
Articles on The Conversation offer context to current events, explain natural phenomena, introduce new research in an accessible way, and more. “The Conversation helps us contribute to our public service mission as a public university,” says Vice President for Research Karl Steiner. “This milestone underscores the importance of academic researchers actively participating in the public discourse of complex issues.”
A protein produced by viral DNA is orchestrating the critical “SOS response” in a large group of bacterial species, according to a new study in Nucleic Acids Research. “It’s the SOS response because if the bacteria or virus doesn’t get it right, they die,” Ivan Erill says.
Eight members of the UMBC community, including faculty and alumni, spoke about their work, providing online and in-person audiences a glimpse of UMBC’s local, national, and global impact.
Students from across all three UMBC colleges are graduating this week having taken advantage of the unique undergraduate research opportunities and supportive mentorship UMBC offers. They’re poised to take their research to the next level and move on to new challenges through graduate school and careers.
The past pandemic year saw arts communities unable to connect with audiences in traditional ways. Usually reliant on people gathering together to experience their work, creators and performers were thrust online. Some artistic experiences were rendered impossible, but the challenging situation didn’t slow the creative efforts of visual and performing artists of UMBC’s Class of 2021.
Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic has named Faith Davis a 2021 Newman Civic Fellow. “My greatest hope for this fellowship is to connect with a large network of change-makers who I can learn from and be inspired by throughout my life,” says Davis. “I hope to eventually work together to create a better world.”
Four UMBC students have been named 2021-2022 Goldwater Scholars, setting a new university record for the most Retrievers to earn this prestigious undergraduate award in a single year. “The impact that these students will have in their respective fields is immense, and they are ready for the challenge,” says April Householder, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships.
Due to the constraints of COVID, student researchers have become even more creative in using technology not just to display their research, but to pursue their research at a time when in-person interviews, fieldwork, and traditional performances aren’t possible. Students learned to do interviews online and navigated lab research within physical distancing guidelines. They also responded to the pandemic by examining the changes in society and in themselves.
The connections UMBC students make on campus often lead to strong relationships that impact career and life goals. Meet three students who utilized these networks during their academic careers.
This month Karla Gonzalez ‘20, social work, will become the first in her family to graduate from college, at age 34. For much of her life, college didn’t really seem like a possibility. “I never saw myself as a leader,” she says, “but at UMBC I learned that I was one.”
Four UMBC student groups vied for the top prize in the finals of this year’s Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition (CBIC), held entirely online for the first time on April 30. Their projects ranged across industries, from fashion to artificial intelligence.
