Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Awarded Distinguished Scientist Fellowship

Jul 20, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

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

Jul 16, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

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

Jun 22, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

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”

Jun 2, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

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

May 22, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

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

May 12, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

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

Apr 13, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

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

Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Their Legacy for Today (4/21)

Apr 10, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Author Lecture and Book Signing, Organic Refreshments Tuesday, April 21, 4-6 p.m. Albin O. Kuhn Library, 7th floor As part of Earth Week at UMBC, Dr. Robert K. Musil will present a talk on his book Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment (Rutgers University Press, 2014). Dr. Musil is president of the Rachel Carson Council, senior fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University, and former CEO of Physicians for Social Responsibility. In the book, Dr. Musil tells the story of Rachel Carson, who is credited with advancing the global environment movement. The… Continue Reading Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Their Legacy for Today (4/21)

Vanderlei Martins on the Value of Cube Satellites

Feb 23, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Vanderlei Martins, a professor of physics and researcher with the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) joined Sheilah Kast on Maryland Morning to discuss his cube satellite or CubeSat project. Martins is working with students, other professors and NASA scientists to build the backpack-sized satellite. Martins plans to use his tiny satellite to study the role of aerosols, particles in the atmosphere, in cloud formation. Aerosols, he says, are essential for forming clouds. If there weren’t any aerosols there wouldn’t be any clouds. Listen to the program

Biology and Batteries

Feb 17, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

In the quest to make a better battery Evgenia Barannikova, a graduate student at UMBC in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, has isolated a peptide, a small sequence of amino acids, which binds to lithium manganese nickel oxide (LMNO), a material that can be used to make high performance batteries. “Biology provides several tools for us to solve important problems,” said Evgenia Barannikova, a graduate student at UMBC. Barannikova works in the lab of Mark Allen and studies how biological molecules in general can improve the properties of inorganic materials in batteries. “By mimicking biological processes we can find the better… Continue Reading Biology and Batteries

U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, Visits UMBC

Dec 18, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

Last week the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, visited UMBC to meet with President Hrabowski, faculty and students. WBAL’s Tim Tooten covered the visit. Tooten reported that Moniz explained that there was a growing need for underrepresented minorities to help fill the energy-related jobs of the future. Moniz first met with a group of students from UMBC’s prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars program. Students said that Moniz’s remarks made a big impact on them. “I think I am going to go and look more into what energy can do and what I can do in research for energy,” Aida Berhane ’17,… Continue Reading U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, Visits UMBC

UMBC Undergraduate Research Conference a Success

Nov 2, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

UMBC held its 17th annual undergraduate research symposium on October 25. This event was open to students from outside UMBC, with participants coming from Maryland universities and colleges, as well as participants coming from as far away as Massachusetts and Alabama. The conference was by all accounts a tremendous success with 500 participants from 16 states.

CNMS

Search UMBC.edu