Natural dust particles and pollutants in the atmosphere affect Earth’s overall energy budget in nuanced ways. A new project will study how dust, pollutants, and water vapor in the atmosphere interact, to increase understanding of their overall effects on the global climate. Continue Reading UMBC’s Zhibo Zhang to clarify atmospheric dust’s role in climate with NSF grant
With Jess Presuel ’23, biological sciences, an international student from Mexico Jess Presuel’s route to UMBC was not a direct flight from Mérida, Yucatán—her home state in Mexico—to UMBC. She originally arrived in Maryland in 2015 as an au pair to a family with five children. There, she immediately felt accepted and as she cared for the children, they helped her learn English. Over time, Presuel realized she was ready to pursue her dream of becoming a surgeon, starting in fall 2021 working toward a degree in biological science. At UMBC, Presuel knew that she wasn’t just on campus to… Continue Reading How to Bridge Your Two Homes
UMBC volleyball continued their hot streak, capturing their third-consecutive America East championship title. “Throughout the season, we had to get better on the fly,” said head coach Kacey Crider, “and even as things got tough, we didn’t flinch.” Continue Reading UMBC volleyball wins third-consecutive America East championship
An eye protein called melanopsin can affect everything from our mood, to our sleeping and eating patterns, to our ability to adapt to time zone and seasonal changes. Robinson’s new work will focus on how certain modifications to melanopsin affect its function. “We’re looking at this cool molecule that affects our light-dependent behaviors in ways we’re not conscious of,” Robinson says. “It’s really exciting stuff within our field.” Continue Reading Vision beyond sight: UMBC’s Phyllis Robinson to advance study of critical eye protein with $2.5M NIH grant
Amid a bustling day filled with Homecoming excitement, GRIT-X returned to UMBC this month for its sixth year, delivering a wide-ranging lineup of Retriever excellence in action. Held in the Fine Arts Recital Hall, this year’s GRIT-X was the first for new UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby. Enjoying one engaging talk after another, she deemed the event “the essence of UMBC.” Continue Reading GRIT-X 2022 brings to life the “essence” of UMBC research and creative achievement
Maurice Roots and Kylie Hoffman, UMBC Ph.D. students in atmospheric physics, have received competitive Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) awards that will support the remainder of their graduate studies. Roots’s research project will focus on air pollution and Hoffman will target thunderstorms, both using remote sensing techniques. Continue Reading Ozone and thunderstorms: Two UMBC Ph.D. students receive prestigious NASA grants, mentor undergraduates
The HARP cubesat, in orbit from November 2019 to April 22, was just the beginning of UMBC researchers’ efforts to increase understanding of how particles in the atmosphere affect climate and air quality. This month, HARP2 will be delivered to NASA for inclusion in a new mission. Continue Reading UMBC researchers build next-gen satellite tech to examine Earth’s atmosphere
Meet Emily Faber, a first generation college student who is pursuing a Ph.D. in atmospheric physics and who is also very involved as a student leader in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. Continue Reading Meet a Retriever – Emily Faber, Ph.D. student in atmospheric physics
A virus’s ability to sense its environment, including elements produced by its host, adds “another layer of complexity to the viral-host interaction,” says Ivan Erill. Right now, viruses are exploiting that ability to their benefit. But in the future, he says, “we could exploit it to their detriment.” Continue Reading New UMBC research finds that viruses may have “eyes and ears” on us
The grant will enable the universities to hire a group of four faculty members at UMBC and six at UMSOM, each of whom will have cross-campus appointments at both institutions. “Faculty hired under UM-FIRST will advance our teaching and research missions and serve as leaders for institutional change as we pursue our vision of a diverse professoriate,” says William LaCourse. Continue Reading UMBC and University of Maryland School of Medicine receive $13.7M NIH FIRST grant to increase faculty diversity
Bats as biomonitors, community connections to the zero-waste movement, and oyster aquaculture are just a few of the topics that students in UMBC’s Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) master’s program are exploring through Baltimore-centered community-engaged research. As the first cohort in the program heads into their second and final year, they are excited about their work and looking ahead to becoming the next generation of environmental science leaders. Continue Reading Students in UMBC’s ICARE program connect scientific research with community
There’s more to virus biology than meets the eye. Viruses that infect bacteria can listen for key cellular signals to help them make decisions. Even worse, they can use the cell’s own “ears” to do the listening for them. Continue Reading Viruses may be ‘watching’ you – some microbes lie in wait until their hosts unknowingly give them the signal to start multiplying and kill them
