COEIT

A group of people sitting and standing around a laptop in a classroom. One woman s pointing to the laptop.

UMBC expands its next-generation tech analytics research with Phase II of the Center for Accelerated Real Time Analytics

UMBC’s Center for Accelerated Real Time Analytics (CARTA) team will advance its work in investigating data analytics using next-generation computing hardware with the launch of the next phase of the multi-institutional research collaboration.  Continue Reading UMBC expands its next-generation tech analytics research with Phase II of the Center for Accelerated Real Time Analytics

Man stands in front of poster with symbols of robots, trucks, computers and talks to group of seated students.

UMBC manufacturing research center gets boost from new partnership with U.S. Army

The Center for Research in Emergent Manufacturing (CREM) is launching a major new project with the U.S. Army and other partners this year. UMBC has received an initial amount of more than $3 million to fund the first year of the project, which will investigate ways to digitize the army’s supply chain. Continue Reading UMBC manufacturing research center gets boost from new partnership with U.S. Army

Before 3 amputations, Chandra Smith was already an accessibility-for-all advocate

By Jessie Newburn It’s 4 a.m. on a Wednesday—earlier than most people rise, though a preference for Chandra Smith, M.S. ’21, information systems. After saying her daily devotion, she begins to get ready for the day ahead: brushing her teeth, taking a shower, getting dressed and having some breakfast.  If she’s lucky, the day ahead is one where her employer’s “reasonable accommodations” for her disabilities allow her to work from home rather than having to schedule a Paratransit bus pickup near Baltimore, then get on the Marc train to D.C., then get picked up by another Paratransit bus to take… Continue Reading Before 3 amputations, Chandra Smith was already an accessibility-for-all advocate

A family dressed in saris poses together outside in a wooded area

Three sisters—all alums—share their family’s recipes for food and comfort

Aimee, Jamie, and Gina Joshua have a lot in common. All three went to UMBC as members of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. And the sisters all have great memories of growing up in a house filled with delicious food and love. So, when their mother’s YouTube channel focusing on Indian cooking techniques started to take off, the trio made it their mission to create a cookbook of family recipes that would honor their beloved parents. Our parents, Sara and Abraham Joshua, known to us as Mummy and Chacha, immigrated from India in their twenties separately to begin their careers and… Continue Reading Three sisters—all alums—share their family’s recipes for food and comfort

Smoky skies and an orange sun backdrop skyscrapers near a harbor.

As summer wildfire smoke choked Baltimore, UMBC air pollution researchers leapt into action

Starting this May, a series of wildfires in Eastern Canada sent enormous smoke clouds wafting into the U.S., triggering air quality warnings in cities from the Midwest to the Northeast. As a resident of the Baltimore area—which was blanketed with particularly bad smoke in both early and late June—UMBC Professor Chris Hennigan looked at the haze with dismay. But as an environmental engineer who studies air pollution, he had an additional thought: “We were looking at the air quality forecasts, and we thought ‘We have to gather data,’” he says. Continue Reading As summer wildfire smoke choked Baltimore, UMBC air pollution researchers leapt into action

group photo of five people in professional attire and conference lanyards, two wearing black stoles with red, green, and yellow accents.

UMBC chapter of National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) shines at regional conference

The UMBC NSBE team defeated Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University to win the Tech Bowl competition, a Jeopardy-style game that tests teams’ knowledge of fundamental engineering principles. UMBC also claimed first through third place in the research poster presentation contest, which involved a 10-minute technical research talk followed by questions from the judges and audience. “We are so proud of the UMBC NSBE Chapter,” Keith Harmon shares. “They do tremendous work supporting UMBC STEM majors and offering service impacting youth in the Baltimore-Washington corridor.” Continue Reading UMBC chapter of National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) shines at regional conference

headshot of a woman in front of a grassy lawn

From apples to army robots, curiosity and commitment define Priya Narayanan’s career

She didn’t exactly experience a Sir Isaac Newton-like epiphany after being conked by a falling apple, but Priya Narayanan, Ph.D. ’08, mechanical engineering, spent a lot of her time at UMBC interacting with the iconic red fruit.  For her Ph.D. thesis, Narayanan worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study whether a simple device made of a long, inclined track could reliably orient apples. The ultimate goal was to automate visual inspection of the fruit—using cameras to spot blemishes—and the cameras required the same view of the apple each time. Narayanan spent thousands of hours performing experiments with rolling… Continue Reading From apples to army robots, curiosity and commitment define Priya Narayanan’s career

A woman and a college student sit talking to each other across a conference table with lots of windows behind them during office hours

Office Hours 

Each week during her student-facing office hours, UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby meets with students to chat about their lives and experiences at UMBC. Today, she’s speaking with Okechukwu Tabugbo ’25, computer engineering, president of UMBC’s Black Men’s Society, a group that provides mentorship, skills training, and community to students while trying to eliminate negative narratives and stigma around what it means to be a Black man in America. Okechukwu Tabugbo: I found out about UMBC’s Black Men’s Society when I was in my first year. I knew Marvin Onwukwe, the club secretary at the time. He was always walking… Continue Reading Office Hours 

Illustration by Rebecca Bradley, featuring colorful overlapping hands grabbing for wine glasses and mugs over a green picnic blanket.

Grab a Seat at the Table

These days, it’s tempting to grow numb to the polarization of society and the breakdown in public discourse and to retreat into our silos of solidarity. But a liberal arts education has the potential to offer an antidote to these seemingly inevitable fates—through modeling and practicing empathy. At UMBC, students are invited to the table to share their stories and listen to their peers. These acts of educational hospitality help Retrievers find their why and pursue the public good. It’s the first day of class. You’re looking around, bright-eyed and a little nervous, and then your instructor smiles at the… Continue Reading Grab a Seat at the Table

GRIT-X 2023 presenters standing on stage

GRIT-X 2023 explores wide range of UMBC’s research and creative achievement around campus and beyond

Spiders, robots, climate change, Vaudevillian history, and more—this year’s GRIT-X event had something for inquiring minds of all kinds, with explorations into elements of the past, our collective present, and possibilities for the future. Continue Reading GRIT-X 2023 explores wide range of UMBC’s research and creative achievement around campus and beyond

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