• UMBCUnderground Week in a nutshell: 28th February - 6th March, 2010
  Posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 in Uncategorized by admin
  Here’s a quick rundown of the past weeks postsThird Eye Blind to Play at Quadmania 2010Posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 in Campus Life by SparkyI have just stumbled across a facebook event advertising Third Eye Blind as part of SEB’s Quadmania this April 16-18.
• The 2010 Census!
  Posted on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 in Academics by IBeCheerful
  The time is upon us for the second decennial U.S. Census of the 21st century, and I for one am excited. It is the first time in many of our lives that we will have a chance to participate in the single largest population enumeration event conducted by our nation.

The time is upon us for the second decennial U.S. Census of the 21st century, and I for one am excited. It is the first time in many of our lives that we will have a chance to participate in the single largest population enumeration event conducted by our nation. The Census is important in defining population boundaries and determining residency densities, as well as in allocating proper resources to localities. Further, social scientists, statisticians, geographers, and other academics analyze census data regularly in their research endeavors. I know it’s nerdy, but the ability to analyze data conducted on such a large scale makes my heart race.

To ensure valid data is gathered, any illegal activities or residency recorded by Census enumerators can not in turn be reported to legal authorities, under penalty of law. Also, while the tendency may be to goof off while completing questionnaires and surveys (my sophomore roommate agreement indicated that disputes would be resolved through gladiator battles), it is important to be honest and accurate while filling out the census forms. For example, a critical issue is to ensure you are not double counted; if you will be completing the Census form, give your parents/guardians a call and tell them not to count you as a resident.

Enjoy your spring break, don’t drink and drive, and please help ensure that the 2010 Census is as accurate as possible!

Lucky Number Seven

The UMBC men’s swimming and diving team has won its seventh consecutive America East Championship and 13th straight conference title overall after finishing with 926.5 points Sunday, February 28, in Boston. The women finished second for the second year in a row, scoring 681 points.

“We are very proud of our men and women. They performed with confidence and pride,” said Head Coach Chad Craddock ’97, who took over at the helm of the swimming and diving teams in 2001. “Our men were the clear underdogs going into the meet and came out proving they are champions.  Our women’s determination made for a great competition. “

Senior Matt Mattingly broke the school record in the men’s 200 breast and earned silver in a time of 2:00.90, over four and a half seconds faster than his prelim time.

Junior Brad Reitz won the gold in the men’s 200 fly in an NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 1:47.81. Freshman Sandy Haibel earned the silver in a time of 1:51.94.

Sophomore Abbey McKenney broke the school record and earned gold in the women’s 100 free in an NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 50.17.

In their final events for UMBC, senior Tina Cantwell earned silver in the women’s 200 breast in 2:17.09, while fellow senior Tereza Kaplanova touched third in 2:18.74.

The Women’s Most Outstanding Rookie of the meet was awarded to Morrissette, who earned bronze in both the 200 and 400 IM and fourth in the 200 fly. UMBC’s coaching staff was named Co-Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year.

More information about the championships is online.

(3/1/10)

Science from the Start

An interest in science began early for Benyam Kinde ’10.

As a child, he spent weekends with his father, a veterinarian and microbiologist, performing necropsies (animal autopsies) in a lab. When his mother, dean of mathematics at San Bernardino College, couldn’t find a babysitter – she brought him into the classroom, and he performed basic math problems in the back. These moments had a considerable amount of influence on his career choice, said Kinde, but his experience afterward – specifically with UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program – transformed his early fascination into a research career. 

“Coming to UMBC was the best decision I could have made for a career as a reseacher,” said Kinde.

Born and raised in Southern California, Kinde learned about the Meyerhoff Program, which was established to increase diversity among future leaders in science, technology, engineering and related fields, from his brother Isaac Kinde ‘05, now a 5th year M.D./Ph.D. student at the Johns Hopkins University.

Since enrolling in the program, Benyam Kinde has been able to pursue research opportunities he hadn’t imagined – which are now leading him to Germany. This summer, he will attend the 60th Interdisciplinary Meeting of Nobel Laureates. Selected from a pool of more than 20,000, he’ll join 500 young researchers and network with leading scientists in the fields of medicine or physiology, physics and chemistry. Kinde was nominated to attend by Peter Agre, a medical doctor, professor and molecular biologist at Hopkins who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and received an honorary degree from UMBC in 2009.

“I’m excited to have been selected for such intellectual fellowship. This honor is a testament of the research opportunities and academic preparation available for UMBC students,” he said.

Kinde’s experience with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has provided a solid background for his research. Under the guidance of Michael Summers, HHMI investigator and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Kinde is conducting leading research on HIV, developing protocols that allow for the elicitation (drawing out) from large RNAs (similar to DNA, a molecule called ribonucleic acid). This research provides insight into the life cycle of the virus and an understanding about where the virus spreads.

“Dr. Summers is more than just a powerhouse in the field of NMR spectroscopy; he also finds the time to be a fantastic mentor to his students with an office door that is essentially always open,” Kinde said.

In addition to his research at HHMI, Kinde performs research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where he studies neurophysiology and the importance of circadian rhythm – which allows us to wake and sleep. He will continue his work deciding between combined-degree M.D./Ph.D. programs and leaning toward Johns Hopkins. Kinde plans to specialize in neurology and continue to conduct research in the field of neuroscience.

Active on the UMBC campus, Kinde belongs to the Golden Key International Honor Society (serving as president), Minority Access to Research Careers Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (MARC U STAR) and Getting Everyone to Unleash Potential (GET UP! – founding member). He also volunteers, tutoring genetics in the Department of Biological Sciences, among other activities.

(3/12/10)