Amazon, one of the most innovative and fastest growing technology companies, will hold a technical talk and information session at 7:00pm this Thursday (2/23) for UMBC students interested in full-time positions or internships. The meeting will be in the Skylight Room of the Commons.

UMBC Alumna Akshaya Iyengar (MS CS '11) joined Amazon last year and will talk about what it's like to work at there as a software development engineer. Amazon recruiter Makenzie LaCount will talk about employment at Amazon and accept resumes from students interested in a full time position or internship.

Pre-registration is not required, but come early to enjoy the food and get an Amazon t-shirt.

As we are entering the second semester of the 2011-2012 academic year, we are preparing for changes and new opportunities. Associate Professor Brooke Stephens has retired and we are preparing to interview candidates for two open tenure track positions in Computer Science. CSEE has just received permission to search for a Professor of Practice in Computer Science. In addition to assisting our CS instruction, the Professor of Practice will be affiliated with our Cyber Security Program which is rapidly growing.

In the Kudos department: Professor Tim Finin was named UMBC Presidential Research Professor for 2012; Professor Anupam Joshi was recently appointed as the Oros Family Professor of Technology, a five year endowed professorship; UMBC’s 2012 Alumnus of the Year for Engineering and Information Technology is Ralph Semmel (’92 Ph.D., Computer Science).He is currently the Director of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has recognized CSEE Professor Marie desJardins as a Distinguished Member for her contributions to the field of computing; Professor Yelena Yesha was awarded the 2011 IBM Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) Faculty Fellow of the Year; the IEEE Signal Processing Society has named Professor Tulay Adali a Distinguished Lecturer.

CSEE was visited during Fall 2011 by ABET as part of the accreditation process for the Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs. Richard Chang, Tim Oates, Chuck LaBerge, and Mohammed Younis guided us through this process.

Have a great Spring Semester. Keep up to date by visiting www.csee.umbc.edu

-Gary

The Women's Center would like to share an exciting scholarship from Central Scholarship of Maryland!

Central Scholarship of Maryland has an exciting scholarship opportunity your student members may find beneficial.

See flyer for details!

The Marjorie Cook Scholars Program

Amount: Up to $5,000, renewable

Qualifications:

• Graduate female students in Maryland who intend to empower women through public action and advocacy/ intend to become lawyers or public-policy makers devoted to advancing women’s social and political status
• Women majoring in public policy or law on the graduate level
• Displayed passion for/commitment to women’s rights and equality
• (volunteerism, internships, research, prior work experience)
• 3.0 GPA or higher

EE Graduate Seminar

Physical Layer Wireless Network Modeling and Simulation
and my Technical Publishing Experience

Jon R. Ward
EE PhD Student, UMBC and
the Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory

11:30 – 12:45, Friday, 17 February 2012, ITE 237

Jon Ward, and coauthors Jack Burbank and Bill Kasch, recently wrote a book for IEEE Press/Wiley entitled "An Introduction to Network Modeling and Simulation for the Practicing Engineer." In this talk, Jon will provide a biographical summary of his UMBC research, the path that led to the book, and the technical publishing process. The talk will then transition to a technical discussion that highlights physical layer wireless network modeling and simulation from Chapter 3 of the book.

Jon R. Ward, PE graduated from NCSU in 2005 with an MSEE. He currently works at The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) on projects focusing on wireless network design and interference testing of standards-based wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.4, and IEEE 802.16. He has experience in wireless network modeling and simulation (M&S) and in test and evaluation (T&E) of commercial wireless equipment. He is currently a student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), pursuing a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering.

Host: Prof. Joel M. Morris

Are you an active member in the Women's Center community? Are you looking to contribute to the Center in new and exciting ways? If so, maybe the Women's Center Advisory Board is the next step for you!
Download your application today!

The Women’s Center Advisory Board is a collective of faculty, staff, and students (graduate and undergraduate) with an interest in the process associated with developing and maintaining the UMBC Women’s Center.

Board Members are asked to participate in a monthly board meeting, scheduled for the first Friday of each month during the academic year.  This forum allows the Director to share information about the Center and similarly allows the board members to share their knowledge, wisdom and unique perspectives.

In addition to advising the Director, Board Members help and give support in the planning, programming, and public relations of the Center via various sub-committees. These responsibilities would entail additional hours of commitment outside of the monthly board meetings.

Board members are appointed for two-year terms, with possibility of renewal.

The Women’s Center seeks to serve a diverse population of women, as well as men interested in gender and women’s issues.  As a result, a diverse board is sought to assure that varying needs and interests are represented.

DEADLINE: Friday, March 16, 2012

For additional information, please call the Women’s Center at x52714 or email womens.center@umbc.edu.

All Are Welcome So Long As They Respect Women’s Experiences, Stories & Potential

The Diversity Educator Interns are a mix of six, talented undergraduate and graduate students who work to fulfill the Mosaic Center's mission and vision. The DEIs co-facilitate cross-cultural and diversity awareness discussions and educational workshops for UMBC student, staff and faculty groups by request. Want to know more or want the DEIs to present to your class or group? Contact mosaic@umbc.edu.

Name: Chengcheng Zhou (Cici)

Major: This is my second semester in UMBC. I’m currently a graduate student in the Intercultural Communication Program.

Q: How is your major applicable to diversity education?

A: As you see, my major is Intercultural Communication. So, basically, what we learn in my program is applying concepts and skills of intercultural communication to different fields ranging from linguistics to politics.  The diversity education program contains a lot of cultural exchanges and contacts. It’s the best place that I can think of to apply what I have learned in class to practice.

Q: Why did you decide to apply for the Diversity Educator Internship?

A: For me, the name of Diversity Educator Internship itself is attractive. I think it could be a really good opportunity for me to apply what I’ve learned in class to all the activities in this program. It also opens the floor for me to draw on my previous experiences-- contacting and doing workshops with people from different cultural backgrounds--to help contribute a more respectful, civil and accepting campus.

Q: How would you define diversity?

A: Diversity, for me, is being aware of the differences among people and willing to embrace them with mindfulness.

Q: How does UMBC foster an appreciation for diversity?

A: First, the diversity can be presented in student population. We always can run into people from different culture backgrounds on campus, India, China, Spain, etc.. Second, there are a series of talks open to our campus that address a multitude of issues relevant to diversity.

Q: What are ways that students can participate in advocacy for diversity?

A: I think being a advocate, firstly, is being open-minded to everything that you come across in your daily life. Secondly, be mindful and respective to all those differences that you come across. Of course, participating different workshops and training about diversity is also a good way.

Q: After graduating how will you continue to be an advocate for diversity?

A: I definitely will bring what I’ve learned at UMBC to China. No matter what my career will be in the future, I will introduce the Intercultural Communication to my colleagues and friends.

Join us for a CWIT Affiliates lunch (Subway) and a fun activity! Meet other Affiliates and provide input into what the Affiliates Program should be!