Congratulations to Dr. Jamie Gurganus on being selected for the Diane M. Lee Teaching award for AY 20-2021!

The review committee was very impressed with Dr. Gurganus’ application and the comments shared by her students and colleagues. Dr. Gurganus’ approach to her own professional development and how that enhanced her creativity in working with her students is truly unique. She has given herself permission to explore teaching and learning through multiple phases of a student’s educational experience, and, as a result, she has developed and allowed for multiple ways of learning on the part of the students. That creativity and innovation supports them in learning who they are and what they can accomplish. It also makes room for every student to create a space for learning that is uniquely their own.

"Dr. Gurganus, or more affectionately named Prof G by many students, is the type of instructor that teaches with care and mattering. She is a professor that cares about you as a whole person and your success in and out of the classroom. She truly listens to students and explains concepts in a way that is straightforward, giving students the resources and support they need in order to be successful. She emulates and teaches what it means to be an engineer and the importance of professional skills, thinking critically, and being the best you can be. She has been a huge mentor and inspiration for me throughout my career, both personally and professionally, and I am so glad I could assist in the recognition she rightfully deserves." Shannon Clancy ’19, PhD Pre-candidate at University of Michigan, NSF Graduate Research Fellow

This is the inaugural year for this award; Dr. Diane Lee served as Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and is now, in her retirement, serving as the Director of the Wisdom Institute at UMBC.

Dr. TseHuai Wu, Professor of the Practice,  and his students attended the Autonomous vehicle showcase held by MAGIC in Westminster. The team comprised Allison Dietz, Alexander Levanduski, Aidan Atkinson, Hamza Umar, and Mikee Ibayan presented InforMobile, the app they created for MAGIC's Hackathon.

InforMobile is a ridesharing safety app for autonomous vehicles. It's a brand new idea created by the students. MAGIC liked this concept a lot and decides to invite the team to the autonomous corridor showcase on May 20. It was a half-day event for autonomous vehicle tech companies exhibiting and demonstrating their systems. Students had a booth and presented their work there!

Congratulations to Dr. Wu and to our students!

By Tom Penniston, original post here.

UMBC’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program, apply by May 3

virtual informational session 5:00 pm, Wednesday, April 28

UMBC’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program is designed for students from all majors who are interested in solving important societal problems. The program fosters a vibrant interdisciplinary community to help tackle the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) Grand Challenges and gives students experiences and skills to create solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.

The Grand Challenges are 14 broad problems in the areas of sustainability, health, security, and knowledge. Solutions to these issues require interdisciplinary teamwork and years of sustained effort.

The program aims to recruit a cohort of 20 undergraduates from a diverse pool of disciplines for Fall semester 2021. Ideal candidates are students starting their junior year in order to complete the requirements of the program during their last two years at UMBC. Although there is no financial support provided, the students will have the opportunity to incorporate five experiences into their undergraduate studies that will give them valuable interdisciplinary experiences they can bring to the workplace or graduate school, as well as recognition from the National Academy of Engineering upon successful completion of the program.

Read more about the program and find out how to join at the UMBC GCSP site and via a virtual informational session at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, April 28.

The post UMBC’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program, apply by May 3 appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

The attached paper published in the Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology has been selected for the JMST Best Paper Award 2019.

Title: Piezoelectric energy harvester utilizing mandibular deformation to power implantable biosystems: A feasibility study

Authors: Richard Fan, Soobum Lee, Hyunjun Jung, Mary Anne Melo and Radi Masri

Vol. 33 No. 8

The award will be given during a virtual ceremony on December 17, 2020 at Kangwon Land Convention Center, Korea, during the 2020 Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers Annual Conference.

Congratulations to the authors!

by CATALINA SOFIA DANSBERGER DUQUE

Ten recent UMBC alumni are recipients of 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards, including seven from UMBC’s Class of 2020. Each year over 11,000 students apply and just over 2,000 are selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. The award secures funding for U.S. students to pursue international graduate study, research, internships, or teaching.

While COVID-19 has presented a range of challenges and uncertainties for Fulbright recipients, UMBC is proud to celebrate their hard work and achievements. 

“This year’s recipients have demonstrated great flexibility and maturity as they navigate the changes that our current global situation requires,” explains Brian Souders, M.A.‘19, TESOL and Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy and culture. He serves as associate director of global engagement opportunities in UMBC’s office of International Education Services. 

Souders, who is also UMBC’s Fulbright program advisor and scholar liaison, says that these hurdles have also not deterred UMBC faculty, students, and alumni from applying for the 2021 – 2022 Fulbright award.

Souders with Fulbright class of 2019 – 2021.

UMBC’s 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program award recipients

Middle East

• Kiplyn Jones, M.P.P. ’20, public policy, Jordan, English Teaching 

East Asia

Osia on campus.
Photo courtesy of Osia.

• Hannah Jang ’20, global studies, Korea, English Teaching Assistant
• Phillip McKnight, M.A. ’19, instructional systems design, Laos, English Teaching Assistant
• Samina Musa ’20, chemical engineering, Malaysia, English Teaching Assistant
• Uchenna Osia ’19, computer science, Malaysia, English Teaching Assistant

Europe and Eurasia

• Brandon Ables, M.F.A., ’20, intermedia and digital arts, Romania, English Teaching Assistant
• Alida Hartwell ’20, bioinformatics/computational biology, Latvia, English Teaching Assistant
• Matthew Linz ’20, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, Kazakhstan, English Teaching Assistant
• Jocelyn Wilkins ’20, mechanical engineering, University of Porto, Portugal, Master’s Program

Kashett in Costa Rica, where he previously studied abroad. Photo courtesy of Kashett.

Western Hemisphere

• Daniel Kashkett ’19, global studies, Mexico, Bilateral Internship Program

Top Fulbright producer

The Fulbright U.S. Student program is highly competitive, and recipients are chosen based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. UMBC’s ten 2020 – 2021 recipients include students from a broad range of majors. And they’ve been selected for a diverse range of experiences, as English teaching assistants, interns, and graduate students in Europe, East Asia, Western Hemisphere, and the Middle East. 

This success comes after UMBC was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for receiving fourteen Fulbright U.S. Student awards in 2019 – 2020. Only a small portion of institutions participating in the Fulbright program are designated as top producers each year, an honor granted by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Both the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program are designed to help build networks to support cross-cultural understanding. They connect people from the United States with people from around the world to dispel stereotypes and help each other reach common goals.

Faculty Fulbright for research in Southeast Asia

Beyond the student program, faculty are eligible to apply for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to further research on critical world problems in all disciplines. This year, UMBC’s John Rennie Short, professor of public policy, has received a Fulbright award to conduct research in Southeast Asia on the geopolitics of the South China Sea.

Rennie Short with local university students and staff in Nanchang, China.
Photo courtesy of Rennie Short.

The award will support Rennie Short’s research in Malaysia and the Philippines and allow him to visit Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. He will interview scholars and foreign policy analysts while at the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Centre for ASEAN Regionalism at the University of Malaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rennie Short also plans to give public lectures and seminars about U.S. public policy and other topics while in Southeast Asia.

Kuala Lampur, one of the places Rennie Short will visit for research.
Photo courtesy of Rennie Short.

This research will inform Rennie Short’s second book on East Asian maritime issues. “The book will widen our understanding of the complex and troubled geopolitics of the South China Sea,” he explains. “It will provide an Association of Southeast Asian Nations perspective to counter the dominant Chinese and U.S. narratives.” 

Rennie Short’s first book on East Asian geopolitical issues, Korea: A Cartographic History (2012, University of Chicago Press), tackled the East Sea versus Sea of Japan naming dispute between South Korea and Japan. He has also written “Troubled Waters: Conflict in the South China Sea Explained,” republished in U.S. News & World Report.

Other recent UMBC faculty recipients of Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards include Charissa Cheah, professor of psychology; Guenet Abraham, associate professor visual arts; Chuck Eggleton, professor and chair of mechanical engineering; and Marc Zupan, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

Abraham in Ethiopia as a Fulbright Scholar in 2018. Photo courtesy of Abraham.

Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 unless otherwise noted.