Research

$21M Sherman Family Foundation gift supports UMBC’s bold commitment to PreK-12 research, teaching, and learning

/ 8 minutes of reading

The largest gift in the history of UMBC—a $21 million donation from the Sherman Family Foundation—will dramatically expand the reach and impact of the university’s K-12 and early childhood education work. The transformational gift will provide funding to launch the Betsy & George Sherman Center as a national model to advance excellence in urban schools. Continue Reading $21M Sherman Family Foundation gift supports UMBC’s bold commitment to PreK-12 research, teaching, and learning

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UMBC ascends to the nation’s highest level as a research university

/ 5 minutes of reading

UMBC has officially reached the nation’s highest level of research performance. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education today announced that UMBC has been placed into the category of doctoral universities with very high research activity, popularly known as Research 1 (or R1). “This is an amazing accomplishment by faculty, staff, and administrative leaders who have built a research culture that nurtures undergraduate and graduate students,” says President Freeman Hrabowski. “This milestone reflects our commitment to excellence across the disciplines, from the humanities to the sciences.” Continue Reading UMBC ascends to the nation’s highest level as a research university

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Smithsonian features Erle Ellis’s research on how humans have shaped ecology over millennia as a top discovery of 2021

/ 2 minutes of reading

“Our work shows that most areas depicted as ‘untouched,’ ‘wild,’ and ‘natural’ are actually areas with long histories of human inhabitation and use,” Ellis previously shared with UMBC News. They might be interpreted like this, he suggests, because in these areas, “societies used their landscapes in ways that sustained most of their native biodiversity and even increased their biodiversity, productivity, and resilience.”  Continue Reading Smithsonian features Erle Ellis’s research on how humans have shaped ecology over millennia as a top discovery of 2021

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As spiritualism’s popularity grows, photographer Shannon Taggart takes viewers inside the world of séances, mediums and orbs

/ 7 minutes of reading

Taggart’s images offer a lens through which to examine the role of spirituality in modern life. In an era defined by a global pandemic, heightened political division and the planetary threat of climate change is spiritualism due for a major resurgence? Continue Reading As spiritualism’s popularity grows, photographer Shannon Taggart takes viewers inside the world of séances, mediums and orbs

UMBC research group tackles ongoing hurdles to efficient solar power tech

/ 6 minutes of reading

Two new papers from Can Ataca’s research group at UMBC set the stage for further advances in solar power and other renewable energy technologies. Graduate students Daniel Wines and Gracie Chaney led the projects. Ataca’s group’s work is theory- and computation-based, but these projects took advantage of collaboration with experimental researchers. As work in this field develops from theory to implementation in devices, “There’s a need for both kinds of research at every stage,” Wines says. Continue Reading UMBC research group tackles ongoing hurdles to efficient solar power tech

Tahir Hemphill merges hip-hop, computing, and cultural analysis as UMBC’s first postdoctoral fellow in the visual arts

/ 4 minutes of reading

Tahir Hemphill is a creative technologist, multimedia artist, and design researcher who uses a hip-hop framework to develop new ways for people to engage with data and culture. Hemphill is one of two Postdoctoral Fellows for Faculty Diversity to join UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences this fall. Continue Reading Tahir Hemphill merges hip-hop, computing, and cultural analysis as UMBC’s first postdoctoral fellow in the visual arts

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UMBC’s Fernando Tormos-Aponte is named an Early Career Faculty Innovator for research on energy inequality

/ 4 minutes of reading

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has named Fernando Tormos-Aponte, assistant professor of public policy and political science, an Early Career Faculty Innovator–one of 12 across the nation. He will partner with NCAR scientists to examine energy inequality in the wake of disasters, incorporating measures of social vulnerability. Continue Reading UMBC’s Fernando Tormos-Aponte is named an Early Career Faculty Innovator for research on energy inequality

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A new approach to environmental research may improve global management of common pool resources

/ 4 minutes of reading

“Monitoring a natural resource or an institution can generate valuable information that will improve governance, but it is necessary to engage decision-makers and the community,” says UMBC’s Maria Bernedo Del Carpio, assistant professor of economics. She and colleagues at other research institutions have conducted a field experiment to isolate one feature of local common pool resource governance: externally supported, technology-facilitated community monitoring. Continue Reading A new approach to environmental research may improve global management of common pool resources

UMBC and Israeli Ministry of Agriculture establish aquaculture research partnership

/ 5 minutes of reading

The partnership will center on addressing challenges to the aquaculture industry that, once overcome, will make aquaculture more efficient and sustainable, and expand it to more seafood species. “There is an urgent need to promote agriculture in a sustainable way in the U.S.,” said Russell Hill, “and we hope to contribute as much as possible to that effort.” Continue Reading UMBC and Israeli Ministry of Agriculture establish aquaculture research partnership

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