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UMBC joins National STEM Collaborative supporting opportunities for underrepresented girls and women

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Responding to the underrepresentation of minority women in STEM fields, UMBC has joined a new national collaborative committed to supporting educational opportunities for girls and women of color in STEM. The White House Council for Women and Girls announced the formation of the National STEM Collaborative at a special event at the White House on September 15, 2015 (watch video). In addition to UMBC, the consortium, led by Arizona State University, consists of 19 institutions of higher education and nonprofit partners, including Amherst College, City College of New York, Diné College, Maricopa Community Colleges, Spelman College, University of Alabama, University of California-Riverside,… Continue Reading UMBC joins National STEM Collaborative supporting opportunities for underrepresented girls and women

Sarah Jewett, STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, Discusses Workforce Prep on WalletHub

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In a ranking of the nation’s community colleges, WalletHub asked experts about changes in the higher education landscape. Sarah Jewett, executive director of the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, spoke about whether community colleges should focus on preparing students for the workforce or a four-year institution. “Both community colleges and universities can benefit from collaborative inter-institutional partnerships in which everyone shares the responsibility for helping students to develop a robust and realistic set of academic and career options,” Jewett said. “Early exploration of majors and fields, active participation in experiential learning opportunities, sustained development of  goals and plans, and transitional… Continue Reading Sarah Jewett, STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, Discusses Workforce Prep on WalletHub

Mehdi Benna, CSST, Confirms Presence of Neon in Moon’s Exosphere

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Mehdi Benna, a Center for Space Science and Technology planetary scientist, is the lead author of a paper confirming the presence of neon in the Moon’s exosphere. The paper was published in Geophysical Research Letters and has received widespread international media attention. In the paper, Benna describes observations from NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, known as LADEE. Though many have suspected that the Moon’s exosphere contained neon, Benna’s paper is the first to confirm its presence. “The presence of neon in the exosphere of the moon has been a subject of speculation since the Apollo missions, but no… Continue Reading Mehdi Benna, CSST, Confirms Presence of Neon in Moon’s Exosphere

Lorraine Remer, JCET, Honored as American Geophysical Union Fellow

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Lorraine Remer, research professor of physics and at the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, will become an American Geophysical Union (AGU) fellow at their Fall Meeting in San Francisco. AGU is an international scientific society of geophysicists. This is a tremendously prestigious honor, as only .1% of members are elected as AGU fellows. Fellowships are given to AGU members who have made exceptional contributions to Earth and space sciences. Remer is the only 2015 fellow from Maryland and will be honored at the AGU Fall Meeting in December. “Election to AGU Fellow is a tremendous and unexpected honor,” Remer said.… Continue Reading Lorraine Remer, JCET, Honored as American Geophysical Union Fellow

Alycia Marshall ’95, Mathematics, Wins National STEM Award

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Alycia Marshall ’95, mathematics, was named one of 100 Inspiring Women in STEM by Insight into Diversity for her work with the Engineering Scholars Program at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). Marshall drew on her experience working with Meyerhoff Scholars at UMBC to start the Engineering Scholars Program at AACC with help from a National Science Foundation grant. As the principal investigator for the program, Marshall was instrumental in connecting underrepresented students with scholarships, mentoring, and support services. Read “AACC professor selected for national STEM award” on Eye on Annapolis.

Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Awarded Distinguished Scientist Fellowship

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Michael Summers, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was awarded a Distinguished Scientist fellowship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). CAS is the national academy for natural sciences in China and offers the President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), which gives highly-qualified scientists from around the world the opportunity to work, study, and collaborate with Chinese institutions and researchers. Summers was one of 30 scientists worldwide awarded a 2015 Distinguished Scientist fellowship by CAS and will conduct a lecture tour in China next month. Distinguished Scientists are internationally recognized for their research and are chosen… Continue Reading Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Awarded Distinguished Scientist Fellowship

UMBC Biological Sciences Faculty Explain Benefits of Active Learning in Nature News

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Several UMBC biological sciences faculty and staff were featured in a Nature article on July 15 about the benefits of active learning in science courses. Neuroscientist Sarah Leupen was quoted in the story and described a question that spurs interesting discussion in her introductory physiology class: You’re innocently walking down the street when aliens zap away the sensory neurons in your legs. What happens? “We usually get lots of vigorous debate on this one,” said Leupen, who spends most of her class time firing such questions at her students. “It’s lovely to experience.” Leupen said the students grapple with the material… Continue Reading UMBC Biological Sciences Faculty Explain Benefits of Active Learning in Nature News

Bill LaCourse, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Describes STEM Retention Efforts in eCampus News

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A National Center for Education Statistics report found that 48% of undergraduate students who entered science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields in 2003-2009 left those majors by spring 2009, sparking discussions about how the U.S. can increase the number of qualified candidates in STEM fields. Bill LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, spoke to eCampus News this week about strategies used at UMBC to retain students in those majors. “Students come into college interested in STEM, but [schools] do a lot of things to push them away,” LaCourse said. He urged colleges to rethink the… Continue Reading Bill LaCourse, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Describes STEM Retention Efforts in eCampus News

Eileen Meyer and Markos Georganopoulos, Physics, Use Hubble Telescope to Observe Rare “Shock Collision”

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Eileen Meyer and Markos Georganopoulos, physics, published an article in Nature last week detailing their research on black holes. Meyer, the lead author of the paper, is completing a postdoctoral position at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore before beginning her professorship at UMBC. Using photographs taken with the Hubble Space Telescope over the past 25 years, Meyer and Georganopoulos observed a “shock collision” of plasma jets, indicating that plasma jets run into each other and gain energy in that manner. “Something like this has never been seen before in an extragalactic jet,” Meyer said. “This will allow us… Continue Reading Eileen Meyer and Markos Georganopoulos, Physics, Use Hubble Telescope to Observe Rare “Shock Collision”

Biological Sciences Faculty and Ph.D. Student Find Light-Sensitive Components in Cephalopod Skin

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Thomas Cronin, biological sciences, and Alexandra Kingston, Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, worked with scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts to find that squid and cuttlefish possess light-sensitive proteins called opsins on their skin. Their findings were published in the Journal of Experimental Biology last week and have received widespread media coverage. Their discovery suggests, but does not prove, that cephalopods might be able to sense light through their skin. “All the machinery is there for them to be light-sensitive but we can’t prove that,” Cronin told National Geographic. “We don’t know if they contribute to camouflage or… Continue Reading Biological Sciences Faculty and Ph.D. Student Find Light-Sensitive Components in Cephalopod Skin

Jeffrey Gardner Receives Dept. of Energy Early Career Award

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected UMBC’s Jeffrey Gardner, assistant professor of biological sciences, for a 2015 Early Career Research Program award. This program supports exceptional researchers early in their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work. The DOE award will provide five years of support for Dr. Gardner’s research into the use of plants as a renewable energy source. Most animals can’t use wood as an energy source because they are unable to digest plant cell walls. Termites are able to get energy from wood thanks to the help of bacteria that live in the termites’ digestive… Continue Reading Jeffrey Gardner Receives Dept. of Energy Early Career Award

COEIT and CNMS Host AAAS “Communicating Science” Faculty Workshop

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On Friday, April 10, the College of Engineering and Information Technology and College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences hosted a “Communicating Science” workshop for STEM faculty, organized through UMBC’s Office of Institutional Advancement. Over 40 faculty registered for the day-long event. Speaker Linda Hosler from the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) presented strategies for communicating scientific research to public audiences and media. Faculty honed concise, accessible messages about their scientific research and practiced presentations on camera and in an interview setting. The workshop also helped researchers identify pathways and… Continue Reading COEIT and CNMS Host AAAS “Communicating Science” Faculty Workshop

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