Don Engel, assistant vice president for research, was interviewed in the August issue of Communications of the ACM, the primary journal for the field of computer science. Engel spoke about his participation in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) “Shredder Challenge.” Engel was half of the two-person team “Schroddon,” which was earned second place.
All posts by: UMBC News Staff
SUCCESS Serves Students with Intellectual Disabilities
Marking the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), yesterday Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the launch of SUCCESS, a four-year post-secondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities. The Maryland Department of Disabilities and UMBC partnered to develop the program (press release).
An AP report on the announcement, which appeared in The Washington Post and on WBFF FOX45, noted that although students will not receive college credit, they will take a seminar with degree-seeking students, lead a service learning project, and intern at departments on UMBC’s campus.
The Baltimore Sun added that SUCCESS will begin with 6-8 students this fall and will be housed in UMBC’s Shriver Center, named for Peace Corps founder Sargent Shriver and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Continue reading “SUCCESS Serves Students with Intellectual Disabilities”
The Hilltop Institute in Local Media
News outlets across the state are reporting on a compelling finding from The Hilltop Institute at UMBC: Maryland’s economy will get a notable boost from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
A Baltimore Business Journal article on the announcement cites Hilltop’s finding that 26,000 new jobs will be created in Maryland by 2020 as a result of implementing the federal law’s provisions. The ACA will also bring in $237 million in tax revenues and generate savings of $672 million by transferring costs to federal programs. Additional coverage appeared in The Gazette, Maryland Reporter and Washington Examiner.
These findings were generated through the Hilltop Health Care Reform Simulation Model, which projects the costs and savings to states as they implement the provisions of the ACA. This dynamic tool can account for changes in data, conditions and policy over time. The Hilltop Institute at UMBC is a non-partisan health research organization—with an expertise in Medicaid and in improving publicly financed health care systems—dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations.
Sarah Shin, Education, On WBAL
On July 24, WBAL-TV interviewed education professor Sarah Shin as part of a story on the Peyton family of Harford County, who are blending their American and Costa Rican heritage by raising their children bilingual.
Reporter Sarah Caldwell spoke with Shin, who is the author of the book Bilingualism in Schools and Society: Language, Identity, and Policy, about raising bilingual children. Shin told Caldwell that it’s best to start early. “The fact that children are not able to really put together coherent sentences does not mean that they aren’t processing language,” she said. Shin also said the creation of opportunities for children to interact with speakers of a second language could be beneficial, such as a bilingual babysitter, playgroup, or nursery or preschool.
President Obama Appoints UMBC President as Chair of National Education Commission
President Obama Appoints UMBC President as Chair of National Education Commission
President Obama has named UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski chair of the newly created President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
In addition to advising President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the commission will work closely with the newly-formed White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, which is charged with coordinating federal agencies around this critical issue and identifying best practices nationwide. The commission also will lead a national dialogue – engaging the business, philanthropic, nonprofit and education communities – on African American achievement from early childhood through adulthood.
“The nation’s future will depend heavily on the extent to which we educate all of our nation’s children. This commission will work to ensure that increasing numbers of African Americans excel academically,” President Hrabowski said.
“The work of my colleagues at UMBC has demonstrated that education in America can be both inclusive and excellent,” he said. “Our African American students study with people from all over the world and achieve at the highest levels. I am delighted that the President is again committing to the success of all students.”
The President has set the goal for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. This new White House initiative and commission will work toward that ambitious goal, complementing an existing initiative that strengthens the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
President Hrabowski has worked extensively on national education issues, including chairing a National Academy of Sciences committee that examined minority participation in the sciences. In its final report, that committee concluded that, to remain competitive, the United States needs to significantly increase its investment in young people of all races interested in science, technology, engineering and math.
You can read more about President Hrabowski here. To learn more about the role of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans, please visit the White House website.
(7/26/12)
Matthew Panunto ’12, M.S. GES, Wins Poster Competition
Alumnus Matthew Panunto ’12, M.S. geography and environmental systems (GES), has won the 2012 American Water Resources Association (AWRA) National Conference Student Poster Competition for his submission “Effects of valley segment sequencing on floodplain hydroperiods.”
According to the abstract, Panunto and co-authors Philippe Vidon, Pierre-André Jacinthe, and GES professor Matthew Baker’s piece used “numerical simulations of… hypothetical hydraulic constraints and empirical characterizations of valley segments and flood hydrographs in central Indiana’s White River valley” in order to understand more about the impact of “valley sequencing” on floodplain hydroperiods, or when a region is waterlogged. Along with a certificate and monetary award from AWRA, Panunto will be featured on the organization’s website, as well as in an upcoming issue of IMPACT magazine.
Panunto recently accepted a position at the USEPA in Athens, GA, where he is working on a term contract with the the Office of Research and Development’s National Exposure Research Laboratory Ecosystems Research Division. Panunto will help develop hydrologic and hydraulic watershed models and program applications for Geographic Information Systems for the EPA.
Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun
Political science professor Tom Schaller’s latest column for The Baltimore Sun was published on July 24th. “American should give up its role as lone superpower” dealt with the shifting paradigm in global relations, with nations such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Korea becoming major players in the international economy in the coming decades, while simultaneously there has been a decline in the United States’ ability to alter such currents.
Schaller suggested that rather than holding onto the idea of itself as the lone superpower, the U.S. should instead draw down its international dominance and focus more on domestic priorities. He also noted that, while such a decision may be unpopular with some, it could prove more beneficial in terms of life at home, and eventually bring a renewal of esteem for the United States and its ideals in the future.
“Chest-thumping nationalists may scream that American power is vital in a dangerous world,” wrote Schaller, “but the United States will never recede from the global scene entirely, nor shrink from future threats. Besides, a nation weak at home is doomed for weakness abroad. To lead the world anew we must lead ourselves first.”
UMBC Earns Maryland Charity Campaign Governor’s Cup Award
Over 1100 full-time employees contributed to the 2011 Maryland Charity Campaign, a participation rate of 70 percent, earning UMBC the Maryland Charity Campaign Governor’s Cup Award for Outstanding Performance for the fifth consecutive year.
John Jeffries, Shelly Graham and Terry Aylsworth presented the Cup to President Freeman Hrabowski.
UMBC Watch: Students, Faculty Recognized with Prestigious Awards
“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.
Christopher Corbett, English, on BackStory With the American History Guys
On July 20th, the Virginia radio program BackStory With the American History Guys tackled the history of postal delivery in America in an episode entitled “You’ve Got Mail: A History of the Post Office.” Among the guests who appeared was Christopher Corbett, professor and interim chair of English. Corbett is the author of Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legacy of the Pony Express, a history of the mid-19th Century mail carrier.
Associate producer Eric Mennel began the segment by quizzing his own mother on the history of the Pony Express. When he asked how long the Pony Express was in operation, Corbett responded, “Well, with no disrespect to your mother, no one ever gets that right. People guess ten years, twenty years, [or] twenty-five years. It more ore less operated for seventy-eight weeks.”
Corbett then discussed the truth of the Pony Express as opposed to the legend. “They were carrying government documents. They were carrying bank transfers. They were carrying important business matters. They were not carrying love letters, Chistmas cards, [or] junk mail, and they were not carrying packages… but other than that, Mom was right.”
Eugene Schaffer, Education, in the Catonsville Times
Eugene Schaffer, professor and chair of education, spoke with the Catonsville Times for a story on the performance of the county’s middle school students on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) tests.
With test scores on math showing a slight improvement and reading scores a slight decline, the results show an overall mixed record regarding students’ progress.
Schaffer said that subjects that used to be taught in high school are now taught in middle school, which might account for some of the decline. He also spoke of the difficulties facing many students during the middle school years. “It’s tough being in middle school because it’s a time of enormous growth, intellectually, physically,” he said. “Just growing up is an enormous challenge. You’re going through a lot of changes.”
The story, “Arbutus middle school students’ progress mixed on MSA test,” appeared on July 17.
Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes His 37th Book
Robert Deluty, associate dean of the graduate school, has published a new book of poetry, titled “Through Others’ Eyes.” In his review of the book, Dr. Ronald Pies states:
“If, as Marcel Proust wrote, the only true voyage of discovery is ‘to possess other eyes,’ then Robert Deluty envisions the world through the eyes of a multitude. This is best exemplified in his uncanny ability to enter into the world-view of the very young and the very old, as with ‘a fourth grader/ dreaming of statues sculpted/ in his honor’ and the ‘elderly chemist/ struggling to spell the word/ laboratory.’ As always, Deluty’s poetry does not judge–it appraises; his perceptions do not moralize–they empathize.”
Copies of “Through Others’ Eyes,” as well as of Deluty’s other books, are on sale at the UMBC Bookstore.