Thursday, April 16th was UMBC’s 3rd Annual Take Back The Night speak-out and march. We had an amazing turn out and we couldn’t have done it without everyone’s hard work and support!

We had signs that were made by community members, staff, student organizations, and Greek life!

Jess and Megan setting up our TBTN Banner!

Setting up T-shirts for the mini Clothesline Project Display

Right before the Speak-Out

Staff member, Yoo-Jin Kang and Peer Health Educator, Kayla Smith, were the student emcees and march leaders this year!

Community listening to the Speak-Out

The march made a huge impact on campus.         We were even invited to march through the dining hall!

After the Speak-out, the community was invited to hang out together, craft for a cause, and enjoy some lemonade and cookies before leaving the event.

What an awesome night!

Just a reminder for those who might not have been able to attend, there are many resources available to you, both on and off campus.

Here are some links: 

Voices Against Violence

UMBC Counseling Center

UMBC’s Relationship Violence Response and Prevention Program (RVAP)

UMBC’s Title IX Coordinator and Info

Women’s Center at UMBC

Dominick DiMercurio will be presenting his research on Drosophila melanogaster to identify highly conserved genes important in cell migration. His presentation will be held in UC 310 at 2:15 p.m.

Kelsey Donnellan will be presenting her research at URCAD this year! She conducted a study with four different groups that either had contact with The Garden or did not and either received a nutrition guide or did not.

Her poster presentation at URCAD April 22 will be held in the UC Ballroom from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Come check it out!!!

"The inspiration behind Future Children can be traced to one simple question that I began to hear frequently, “What are you?”. After noticing that I, myself, have never asked a person this and that I was being asked this before being asked my name, I ventured deeper behind the underlying messages of the question."  - Emily Eaglin

CSEE Professor Charles LaBerge, director of UMBC’s undergraduate Computer Engineering program, is being recognized at the 2015 Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics Annual Symposium in Washington, D.C. on June 3 for significant work on aviation safety standards.

The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) is a not-for-profit association that collaborates with government agencies to achieve improvements in the safety and efficiency of the air transportation system.

Professor LaBerge was chosen to be honored by RTCA for his work on the “Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Avionics Supporting Next Generation Satellite Systems”. His research focuses on aeronautical navigation and communication applications, as well as digital signal processing, coding theory, and radio frequency interference.

Dr. Laberge's work was cited in a recent article in the RTCA digest, Spotlight on Volunteers: Communications Expert Advances Aviation Safety, for his leadership and contributions to standards for aviation communication. "Chuck has been invaluable to RTCA's work for many years – we could not have accomplished what we have without his expertise and the long hours he has spent advancing aviation safety," said RTCA President Margaret Jenny.

"Chuck LaBerge serves as Chair of RTCA’s SC-222, Inmarsat AMS(R)S, which has been working since October 2008 to produce several guidance documents focused on satellite systems capability. Chuck is known industry-wide for his expertise in radio signal processes and interference and brings a wealth of knowledge to the Committee's work. Chuck has a long and active history of contributing to RTCA products and first became involved with RTCA in the late 70s, helping to produce DO-177, a MOPS document focusing on Microwave Landing System (MLS) Airborne Receiving Equipment. He has made substantial contributions to 20 RTCA documents, not including document updates."

Dr. LaBerge describes the the work of the RTCA Special Committee 222 as defining the standards for satellite communication services that allow aircraft passengers to place telephone calls and access the Internet while in flight, especially in oceanic airspace. His previous RTCA work had focused on the special constraints that support pilot and controller communications related to the safety and regularity of flight along national and international air routes.

Professor LaBerge began working on RTCA standards at the Honeywell Aerospace Research & Technology Center, where he worked from from 1975 to 2008, achieving the position of Senior Fellow. While there, he completed a PhD in Electrical Engineering at UMBC in 2003. In 2008, he joined UMBC as Professor of the Practice, where he currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in computer engineering, helps teach the popular Introduction to Engineering class (ENES 101) and directs the undergraduate computer engineering program.

A reflection written by Women’s Center student staff member Bria Hamlet

I’ve got a gap in my front teeth,
I make a mess when I eat,
I’m always late,
I’m hard to date,
I think Eminem is my soulmate

I rock an afro with piercings,
I exaggerate my feelings,
I watch YouTube instead of TV,
I choose to stray from normativity

You’ve just read my spin on Mary Lambert’s song “Secrets.” The melody has been stuck in my head for hours now. She sings about herself, throwing out the good, the obvious, the hidden, and the complicated. She tells us that she doesn’t care how the world perceives her and what they have to say about who she allegedly is.

Girl, I feel that.

I am really, really getting comfortable with no longer explaining myself to everyone. If I didn’t personally harm or wrong you, you get no explanation. I am giving myself permission to wear red lipstick to work, listen to Nickelback and then the Roots on the way, all while sporting a tailored skirt and Converse. Let me live.

As a Black American woman, I am subjected to harmful and negative stereotypes constantly. If someone isn’t policing my blackness, they’ve surely fixated on my hair. The next target is my complexion, followed by my clothing, and their personal favorite, my diction. I can’t just be Bria, I must be whoever you all think Bria is supposed to be. I am really tired of making everyone else comfortable. I don’t have to make “figuring me out” easy. I’m not easy.

And you, stop being lazy.

The Telling Our Stories project has given the members of the UMBC Women of Color Coalition (myself included) the opportunity to reclaim narratives that were written without them. It has challenged us to think critically about labels and microaggressions. We’ve discussed where these stereotypes come from and then participated in workshops to unearth the true natures of who we are. We are sisters, artists, intellectuals, comedians, introverts, extroverts, and progressives. We are ourselves.

I will now and forever continue to be unapologetically myself.

The following is a press release from Northrop Grumman and UMBC.

Smart Distribution Systems

Dr. Karen Butler-Purry
Texas A&M University

11:00-12:00 Wednesday, 22 April 2015, ITE 325b

Smart Grid refers to the computerizing of the grid via the addition of monitoring, analysis, control, and communication capabilities to improve its reliability, efficiency, and security. Smart meter devices, that include sensors to gather data and two-way digital communication between the smart meters in the field and the utility's grid operations center, are associated with the grid. The smart grid can take advantage of new technologies, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, various forms of renewable and conventional distributed generation, lighting management systems, automation technology that lets the utility adjust and control each individual device or millions of devices from a central location, and many more. This presentation will discuss some of the current research projects being investigated by Butler-Purry's group on smart distributions systems, in grid or island operation. One project investigates the impact of cyber attacks on the operation of smart distribution systems. The second project developed two new approaches to enhance the protection of smart distribution systems. One approach uses smart meters during distribution planning to improve selectivity of protection, and the other approach uses smart meters during operation to improve the sensitivity of protection.

Karen L. Butler-Purry, PhD, PE, is Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University where she has served on the faculty since 1994. She received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1985 from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was awarded a M.S. degree in 1987 from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1994 from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her research interests are in the areas of protection and control of distribution systems and isolated power systems such as all electric power systems for ships, mobile grids, and microgrids; cybersecurity protection; and intelligent systems for equipment deterioration and fault diagnosis.

Host: Prof. Gymama Slaughter, Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address.

Karen Butler-Purry flyer