9255168 - iNet Animator - The Commons

9255165 - Office Assistant (Content Writer & Front Counter) - The Commons

9255164 - Office Assistant (Front Counter & Billing) - The Commons

9255208 - Student Report Writer - Division of Information Technology

by Craig Berger

So here's something to consider if you want to put aside papers and exams for a few minutes: What would you do if every electronic device became inoperable forever, and you were suddenly living without technology?

One Second After, a post-apocalyptic novel set in rural North Carolina, tells the story of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the United States and its effects on the small town of Black Mountain. To answer the question you're probably asking first: An EMP is simply a burst of electromagnetic radiation. In the book, the burst happened as a consequence of a nuclear device (or a few) detonating in the air over the United States. The sudden increase in electromagnetic radiation leads to surges in electric currents, frying and disabling all electronic devices. In the story, cars shut down on highways, leaving hundreds stranded, phone lines immediately went down, and no television or radio was available (if you've seen the show "Revolution" on NBC, you get the picture). The only operable device is a 1959 Ford Edsel, which doesn't have any electronic equipment and therefore was immune to the radiation. The characters living in Black Mountain struggle to survive after sharply moving from 21st Century conditions to life in a 19th Century reality. Governance, securing the community, treating disease, preserving and rationing food, living off the land, and even hand-washing clothes emerge as problems to tackle. In the novel, the community realizes that it is nowhere near prepared to take on these challenges.  

I couldn't help but think about my own existence should this, or something similar, happen. While I have been blessed with a strong sense of direction and could probably make do without Apple Maps on my phone, would I be able to trek 330 miles toward Ohio and my family, fending off other nomads, a lack of food/drink, and Mother Nature? Would my family even stay put, or would they be gone when I arrive? I realized that should this happen, I might regret spending all that time teaching my grandparents how to use their PC, e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, wishing instead that I had asked about canning or constructing an outhouse. It's interesting that the very skills, knowledge, or devices we discount and even mock as outdated and passe are things on which we'd need to rely. 

So where would I go and what would I do? It would depend on when it happened. If I was at UMBC, I'd most likely be helping to maintain some order in the short-term. If I had the fortune of being at home, I'd probably hunker down in my apartment and attempt to decipher what had happened. Luckily, my apartment itself is on the third floor and is fairly secure, so I think I'd be safe for at least a little while. My first stop after making the decision to venture out would most likely be the library, in search of old how-to books. Of course, I'd need to identify a way of getting inside the building if the doors weren't already unlocked--would I be too hesitant to break in and steal? Or would I already feel desperate enough to not give it thought? I would also need to consider my lack of transportation if I was able to gain access; I'd only be able to take so many books with me at once. And then food--while I could probably attempt to loot the nearest grocery store, a more long-term, sustainable solution would probably involve learning how to live off the land, including hunting and identifying a fresh supply of water.

What about you? Given what you know about your talents and skills, how might you proceed in a similar scenario? What would UMBC be like? Where would you go, and what's the first thing you'd do? What have I forgotten?

Co-Create UMBC is a blog for and about UMBC, written by David Hoffman and Craig Berger from the Office of Student Life. Join the Co-Create UMBC group on MyUMBC. Like Co-Create UMBC on Facebook. And follow David and Craig on Twitter. 

The Summer Institute at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology offers a unique opportunity for outstanding undergraduate college students considering a career in biomedical engineering and medical science. This highly competitive program offers a hands-on research experience in a scientific community internationally recognized for its leadership and commitment to excellence. Participants are supported by cutting-edge research facilities and expert mentors. 

 

Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, participating institutions include Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), i2b2 National Center for Biocomputing,and others. The Institute is part of an effort at MIT to help facilitate the involvement of talented students in engineering and science research--in particular, underrepresented minority students, first-generation college students, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

Participants become part of HST's accelerating effort to alleviate human suffering and disease through applied learning in a variety of biomedical research areas. There are two areas of study:

 

Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics, or the use of computer science techniques, such as electronic databases and three-dimensional modeling, to gather and analyze life sciences data; particularly information from genomics.

 

Biomedical Optics, or the use of lasers and light to develop new applications and modes of treatment in the areas of medicine and biology.

 

Students in both programs receive a stipend for the summer.

Services on the first floor of the Library will be relocated and, hopefully, not significantly disrupted, while contractors replace the carpet, beginning Thursday, January 3, and continuing through Friday, January 18, 2013. Computers will be removed from the area beginning January 2 but will continue to be available on floors 2-7 and in the RLC. Please watch for signs directing users to temporary service locations. All Library services will continue during the carpeting project.   Printing service will continue to be available in the RLC and on the 2nd and 7th floors. Scanning service will be available on the 2nd floor. The Technology Support Center will be located in room 216.

In preparation for the carpet installation, public computers on the 1st floor will be moved to the Gallery for storage beginning on Dec. 20.

The Library carpet was installed in 1995. Now 17 years old, it has survived longer than expected, especially considering the high traffic on the first floor. It will now be replaced with carpet tile of similar design and color to the carpet tile which was recently installed on the 7th floor.

For further information: aok@umbc.edu or 410-455-2356

Interested in learning more? Email touchstudy@gmail.com