Justin received the award from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on January 23, 2014, and he will be recognized by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House later this month. Continue Reading Justin Jacobs, Statistics Ph.D. student, receives Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering
Despite the popularity of seafood, fish farming is not a common practice in the United States due to concerns about waste and disease. However, recent technological innovations could offer solutions to those problems. Yonathan Zohar, marine biotechnology, was interviewed by NPR about his work with the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology. Zohar has found a way to farm fish without the risk of disease or need for antibiotics, explaining, “The idea is to have the entire life cycle in completely clean and controlled conditions that are disease-free, so you don’t introduce anything from the outside.” Zohar is also working… Continue Reading Yonathan Zohar, Marine Biotechnology, on NPR’s The Salt
What’s the Absurd Creature of the Week in WIRED science? Why it’s none other than one of biologist Tom Cronin’s favorite sea critters, the mantis shrimp. And the eyes of these creatures are Cronin’s specialty and that’s where he comes into the article. “As with bees or flies or crabs, they are compound eyes, but unlike those creatures, mantis shrimp “have a very unusual adaptation in that multiple parts of the same eye view the same point in space,” said biologist Tom Cronin of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, “which is sort of like having multiple eyes in one, in… Continue Reading Tom Cronin, Biology, in WIRED
In a Washington Post op-ed titled, “Court ruling ignores India’s rich heritage of diversity,” UMBC mathematics professor Manil Suri critically examines the Indian Supreme Court’s recent decision to reinstate a 19th-century law criminalizing homosexual acts (Section 377), a law which had been repealed by a lower-court decision in 2009. In his analysis, Suri draws attention to how the ruling “criticized previous judges for relying too much on foreign precedents in their ‘anxiety to protect the so-called rights of LGBT persons.’” Suri argues that the foreign imposition in this case is actually the statute itself. He notes: “The statute was passed… Continue Reading Manil Suri, Mathematics, Writes Washington Post Op-Ed
Susan Hoban made the, National, in a story about a science fair in the UAE. Dr Susan Hoban, associate professor of physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, introduced students to the wonder of Nasa’s Mars Rover, before allowing them to build their own, albeit smaller, versions. “We want to use Mars as an inspiration to show the students that engineering is a career that they should choose, especially for girls, who maybe do not think that it is something they can do,” she said. “My hats off to the organisers because it is a great undertaking. We hope that kids… Continue Reading Susan Hoban Brings the Mars Rover to the UAE
Manil Suri was featured in a “Math and Fashion” episode on the Scholastic website. This is their first episode with the specific aim of popularizing mathematics among school kids by tying it to a popular theme. Tim Gunn, the super host of the hit TV series “Project Runway” introduced Suri, where he talked about math for about 90 seconds right near the beginning of the 26 minute show. The famous fashion designer, Diane von Furstenberg, also talks about how math is useful in her line of work. Watch the video
UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former governor of Michigan John Engler and U.S. Manufacturing Council’s Mary Isbister to discuss the role of higher education in preparing the U.S. workforce for global competitiveness in a panel discussion at NBC News’ fourth annual Education Nation Summit. The segment, What It Takes: Keeping Up with the Competition, Part II – Our Workforce, moderated by NBC News “TODAY” co-anchor Matt Lauer, revolves around the recently released Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) report, which compares the skills and competencies of the adult workforce in 23 countries. According… Continue Reading President Hrabowski speaks about education and U.S. workforce on Education Nation panel
Yonanthan Zohar talks about the Aquaculture Research Center at the Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology. Zohar spoke to WJZ about over fishing the world’s oceans. “In the 70s when I started, I knew that we are going to run out,” said Dr. Yonathan Zohar. “That sparked Zohar and a group of scientists to create the aquaculture research center. It’s a fish farm that is completely green and self-sustaining,” said WJZ reporter, Gigi Barnett. “All the solid waste that is produced by the fish is removed, collected and converted to bio-fuel,” Zohar said.
Yi Huang, in the department of mathematics and statistics, was first author in a recent paper in JAMA Pediatrics. In a press release put out by the University of Virginia, Huang was quoted, “Our study provides strong evidence that bedsharing promotes breastfeeding by increasing breastfeeding duration using survival analysis, with the greatest effect found among frequent bedsharers,” said Yi Huang, a biostatistician at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She noted that this is “one of the very few nationwide studies with a high response rate for extensive postnatal measurements on this issue and a sample large enough that under-represented… Continue Reading Yi Huang, Mathematics and Statistics, In JAMA Pediatrics
Mathematics professor Manil Suri has made quite an impact with a fresh New York Times op-ed ed that re-introduces readers to mathematics through an approach based in the humanities. In “How to Fall in Love with Math” Suri writes, “Despite what most people suppose, many profound mathematical ideas don’t require advanced skills to appreciate.” One idea that he finds often intrigues people is the origin of numbers. He writes, “Think of it as a magic trick: harnessing emptiness to create the number zero, then demonstrating how from any whole number, one can create its successor. One from zero, two from… Continue Reading Manil Suri, Mathematics, in The New York Times and on Public Radio
Kimberly Moffitt, writer and professor of American Studies, will join other prominent leaders in higher education in a two-hour panel discussion on race equality, civil rights and policy change at Tufts University’s National Dialogue on Race Day. Inspired by recent events such as the supreme court ruling on voting rights and the civil rights demonstrations following the verdict of the George Zimmerman case, the all-day conference, held in Boston, Mass. on Sept. 12, will focus on three broad themes and questions: 50 Years after the March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom: How Far Have we Progressed as a Nation… Continue Reading Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, to sit on panel at Tufts University National Dialogue on Race Day event (9/12)
UMBC was ranked #6 on U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges Guide’s list of schools with the “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” along with such universities as William and Mary, Berkeley, Princeton, and Brown. UMBC has also again been named the top national university for “promising and innovative changes.” This is the 5th consecutive year that UMBC has topped this “Up-and-Coming” list. “I’m encouraged that our colleagues around the country continue to recognize the quality of our academic program. Our faculty and staff are consistently looking for creative ways to strengthen teaching and learning on our campus, and we are proud… Continue Reading Once again, UMBC has been named one of the top national universities “where the faculty has an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching”
