COEIT

Common sense on social media can guard against identity theft, but it’s no guarantee, says UMBC cybersecurity expert

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December is National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month, and it is a reminder to consumers to be vigilant about the security of personal information. Precautionary measures often considered to be “common sense” are some of the best ways for individuals to protect their identity, says Rick Forno, director of UMBC’s graduate program in cybersecurity and assistant director of UMBC Center for Cybersecurity, in an article on WalletHub. Destroying unneeded documents that contain personal information, such as old medical records and tax returns, rather than simply throwing the documents in the trash, can help individuals protect their identity. However, Forno… Continue Reading Common sense on social media can guard against identity theft, but it’s no guarantee, says UMBC cybersecurity expert

Inaugural Inventors’ Luncheon honors UMBC faculty innovators across disciplines

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UMBC’s inaugural Innovators Luncheon, held November 30, 2015, celebrated faculty innovators from across the university who are forging new paths in their fields. Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of Technology Development (OTD), Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA), and bwtech@UMBC, the event acknowledged accomplishments of UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund (TCF) and Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) awardees. In addition to recognizing the TCF and MII awardees, five UMBC faculty were presented with awards for outstanding initiatives in disclosing their inventions. Christopher Geddes, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Institute of Fluorescence (IOF); Fow-Sen… Continue Reading Inaugural Inventors’ Luncheon honors UMBC faculty innovators across disciplines

Hassan Omar becomes UMBC’s first cross country All-American

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UMBC’S Hassan Omar ’16, mechanical engineering, concluded a phenomenal cross country career with the Retrievers by finishing 27th at the NCAA Championships on Saturday,  November 21. Omar is an exemplary scholar-athlete — a Meyerhoff Scholar recognized as an All-Academic runner, who is now UMBC’s first cross country runner to be named an All-American. UMBC Athletics reports that Omar completed the 10k course in a time of 30:16, besting his NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals time by 31 seconds. His NCAA Championship time is a new UMBC record, breaking the previous record Omar set in 2013. This achievement is the latest in a long list of accomplishments throughout his cross… Continue Reading Hassan Omar becomes UMBC’s first cross country All-American

Marie desJardins argues ultra-competitive hackathon culture may discourage women in cybersecurity

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There is a high demand for fresh talent in information security, but the industry has struggled to hire and retain professionals from an essential portion of their potential talent pool: women. Just 10 percent of people working in information security are women, and in a new Slate article UMBC’s Marie desJardins suggests the emphasis that recruiters and people in the industry place on competitive extracurricular activities, such as hackathons, may be dampening women’s interest in the field. Activities such as hackathons—events where coders compete to build a new product or service, working continuously over a set period of hours or… Continue Reading Marie desJardins argues ultra-competitive hackathon culture may discourage women in cybersecurity

UMBC students help veterans with PTSD combat insomnia with new app

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UMBC students Damola Adediran ‘17, computer science, and Sarah Kirby ‘16, computer science, were members of a standout team at the 2015 HackDC Hackathon that won top prize in the “Best Mobile Application for Clinicians” category, for their app “myBivy.” This year’s HackDC Hackathon challenged competitors to build a mobile app to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) deal with insomnia, which is common within this population. The myBivy app tracks veteran’s heartbeat and movements to detect night terrors, and over time works to help prevent them. The app allows veterans to observe their sleep patterns and to share… Continue Reading UMBC students help veterans with PTSD combat insomnia with new app

Lee Blaney explains how technology can transform pollutants in chicken manure into a valuable product

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While manure is often used as fertilizer for crops, regulations designed to protect the environment do not allow farmers to use untreated manure on fields that already saturated with elements like phosphorus. Lee Blaney, assistant professor in the department of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, is developing new technologies in his lab to remove phosphorus from agricultural waste, such as chicken litter, to transform it into two highly valuable products: processed animal litter that can be used as fertilizer and chemicals that can be sold to farmers with land that is deficient in rather than saturated with particular nutrients. Blaney… Continue Reading Lee Blaney explains how technology can transform pollutants in chicken manure into a valuable product

Tinoosh Mohsenin receives NSF grant for wearable biomedical computing tech

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CSEE Professor Tinoosh Mohsenin received a $212,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a three-year project that will develop a heterogeneous ultra low-power accelerator for wearable biomedical computing. The work will be done in collaboration with researchers at George Mason University and students in the UMBC Energy Efficient High Performance Computing Lab. With the rapid advances in small, low-cost wearable computing technologies, there is a tremendous opportunity to develop personal health monitoring devices capable of continuous vigilant monitoring of physiological signals. Wearable biomedical devices have the potential to reduce the morbidity, mortality, and economic cost associated with many chronic… Continue Reading Tinoosh Mohsenin receives NSF grant for wearable biomedical computing tech

Helping kids with asthma breathe easier

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UMBC team to develop wearable system to track asthma triggers in pediatric patients. An innovative team of researchers working across engineering fields has received a nearly $2 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) PRISMS program to develop a comprehensive system to monitor critical environmental asthma triggers and physiological status indicators for pediatric asthma patients. Living with asthma, a chronic disease caused by the inflammation of the airway, can substantially impact a person’s well-being and, if not controlled, can be life threatening. Asthma prevalence has increased over the past decade to now impact 25.7 million adults and 7.1… Continue Reading Helping kids with asthma breathe easier

UMBC partnership inspires new CSEE advising website

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Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) is piloting a new advising website, supporting students in computer engineering, computer science, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. The new site was developed by students through the spring 2015 course “Principles of Programming Languages,” taught by CSEE lecturer Shawn Lupoli. Searching for a real-world project to focus on, the students identified a need to update the CSEE department’s advising sign-up process. Lupoli oversaw the development of the project and coordinated the implementation of the new advising sign-up system. Joe Popoloski of Next Century, a technology development company in Baltimore, provided feedback throughout the course… Continue Reading UMBC partnership inspires new CSEE advising website

Govind Rao discusses portable bioreactors developed to save lives on battlefields

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Soldiers on the battlefield and first-responders in conflict zones will soon be able to save lives by using a portable, briefcase-sized tool that rapidly manufactures medicines. Govind Rao, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST) at UMBC, leads the research team behind this innovation. At the recent Bioprocess International conference, he called the system “beyond revolutionary,” reports BioPharma. “Welcome to the Betty Crocker world of bioprocessing,” said Rao. “Within a few hours you are expressing a high quality protein.” The product emerged from concerns that current methods for getting pharmaceutical supplies… Continue Reading Govind Rao discusses portable bioreactors developed to save lives on battlefields

Marie desJardins discusses underrepresentation of women in artificial intelligence research

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In 2011, just 18% of undergraduate computer science degrees were received by women, according to data from the National Center for Education. In 1985, less than 30 years earlier, women received 37% of computer science degrees. This lack of diversity is particularly evident in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), UMBC’s Marie desJardins points out in Quartz. desJardins is associate dean in UMBC’s College of Engineering and Information Technology and a professor of computer science. She argues that outdated gender stereotypes in science are rooted in a lack of diverse perspectives contributing to scientific research, and the gender imbalance among… Continue Reading Marie desJardins discusses underrepresentation of women in artificial intelligence research

Ant Ozok explains challenges banks face in using social media to connect with customers

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As more banks use social media platforms, they are encouraging consumers to view social media as a way to access resources and to have their questions answered quickly. Banks and retailers alike use social media to connect with consumers. However, they use it in different ways and have varying degrees of success, says Ant Ozok, associate professor of information systems, in The Daily Record. Ozok notes that mortgage services and credit cards are difficult to effectively promote on social media due to their complexity, including the regulations surrounding them. Consumers are also more likely to have a negative reaction to… Continue Reading Ant Ozok explains challenges banks face in using social media to connect with customers

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