“The national recognition our students and faculty receive is a testament not only to their achievements, but also to how well this campus cultivates the life of the mind.”
-President Freeman A. Hrabowski III
The end of the academic year at UMBC brought a host of prestigious awards, recognizing the excellence of our students and faculty in fields as diverse as visual arts, political science and engineering. Just a few of their achievements:
Eric Dyer, associate professor of visual arts, was awarded a 2012 fellowship for creative arts by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation – one of the most prestigious awards for faculty in the arts and humanities. Professor Dyer is an artist, filmmaker, experimental animator and educator whose award-winning films have screened internationally at numerous festivals.
Two faculty members received 2012-13 Fulbright awards for scholars. Marc Zupan, associate professor of mechanical engineering, will teach and conduct research at the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto in Portugal. John Sturgeon, professor of Visual Arts, will serve as Distinguished Chair at the London College of Art. The appointment marks his second Fulbright Scholar award.
A record five UMBC students and recent alumni earned 2012-13 Fulbright awards for students. Vivian Ekey ’11, political science and modern languages and linguistics, will conduct research in Brazil; Ryan Max ’11, biochemistry, will teach English in Laos; David Anguish ’12, political science, will do research in Mexico; Achsah Joseph ’12, media and communication studies and interdisciplinary studies, will teach English in Malaysia; and Elena Mawyer ’12, modern languages and linguistics, will teach English in Spain.
Two recent graduates were invited to the 62nd Nobel Laureate Meeting, held this month in Lindau, Germany. Patrice Starck ’12 and Class of 2012 Salutatorian Robert Wardlow, both biochemistry and molecular biology, were among a few hundred young researchers invited to the conference to exchange ideas with Laureates. This is the third year in a row that UMBC students have been invited to the meeting.
