GESTAR II Seminar Series, Thursday, March 12th, 11:00am
Join us for a virtual seminar by
Dr. Fadji Maina, GESTAR II Associate Research Scientist, UMBC/617. Her talk is titled "Advancing Hydrological Estimates Through Multivariate Data Assimilation."
Date and Time: Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 11:00am EST
Abstract:
"Understanding water availability is essential for societies facing natural variability, growing demand, and competing water uses. However, accurate modeling and prediction remain challenging due to limited hydrological observations, the complexity of the water cycle, and human influences such as land use change, groundwater extraction, and irrigation. To address these challenges, satellite observations are increasingly integrated with hydrological and land surface models through data assimilation frameworks, reducing uncertainties and improving water resource estimates. In High Mountain Asia, a critical source region for major rivers, this approach has improved understanding of processes such as rain-on-snow events and helped reveal how natural variability and water use influence vegetation dynamics and streamflow. In South America, it has clarified how interactions between precipitation and vegetation can moderate the impacts of extreme heat and dry conditions. Despite these advances, further progress is needed to better represent the coupled water-energy cycle and fully capture hydrological processes across scales. Emerging tools such as ParFlow-LIS, an advanced land surface-hydrologic modeling framework that explicitly simulates surface, subsurface, and groundwater processes, and NLDAS-3, a high-resolution, multi-source dataset integrating satellites, gauges, and reanalyses, are paving the way for more accurate and spatially detailed water assessments. Collectively, these advances provide actionable tools to reduce uncertainty, strengthen hazard preparedness, and support sustainable water management."
Biography: Dr. Fadji Maina is an Associate Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her work integrates advanced hydrological modeling with satellite-derived observations to better understand how natural variability and human activities shape water systems. Through this approach, her research improves knowledge of water availability and extremes across diverse regions, including North America, Europe, High Mountain Asia, South America, and the Sahel. Her contributions to science and public service have been widely recognized: she was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and selected among the “100 Most Influential Africans of 2020” by New African Magazine. She is also a recipient of the
NASA GSFC Center Director’s Award and a three-time recipient of the NASA Goddard Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics Peer Award for Scientific Achievement. Dr. Maina holds a Ph.D. in Hydrology and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from University of Strasbourg, and a B.S. in Geological Engineering from University of Fes.
For more information on the GESTAR II Seminar Series, click
here.
Dear UMBC Community,
You may have noticed that new banners, featuring ways UMBC is different and the theme “Different Makes a Difference,” are being hung on light poles throughout campus today. You will be seeing more refreshed signage in the coming weeks, including:
- The banner on our silo as your enter campus from UMBC Boulevard;
- A banner on the side of 900 Walker Avenue, at the Walker Avenue entrance off Wilkens Avenue;
- Welcome signs wrapping light poles as you enter campus from the traffic circle in front of the Administration Building;
- Banners and wall signage in The Commons and University Center; and
- Banners replacing the existing signage on the fences at the Sherman Center construction site on Academic Row.
All of this signage will feature words and images from our Different Makes a Difference undergraduate enrollment campaign, which was applied across all enrollment materials, including our viewbook, brochures, and postcards, and digitally on the homepage of our website, our digital advertising, and in our emails to undergraduate prospective students. The theme has contributed to increases in applications, visitors to admission events, website visits, and click-throughs to our site from our digital advertising.
As a result of these positive outcomes, we chose to extend the theme to campus signage. We will continue to use Different Makes a Difference until we work with our campus community in the coming months to develop our refreshed UMBC brand, which we aim to introduce in the year following the rollout of the new UMBC strategic plan.
If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback, please feel free to email me at
lisav1@umbc.edu.
Warmest regards,
Lisa K. Van Riper
Vice President for University Communications and Marketing
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Dear UMBC Community, You may have noticed that new banners, featuring ways UMBC is different and the theme “Different Makes a Difference,” are being hung on light poles throughout campus...
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Announcements - Campus
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Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:44:34 -0400
ACM Distinguished Speaker Talk: American Self-Defense in Cyberspace
11am - 12:30pm, Thursday, March 12; ITE325 and online
ACM Distinguished Speaker Talk: American Self-Defense in Cyberspace
Dr. Josiah Dykstra
11am-12:30pm, Thursday, March 12
UMBC ITE 325b and online; Lunch provided!
The United States is a major consumer, contributor, and target in cyberspace. This talk will describe cyber threats, roles and responsibilities, technology, and policy considerations for achieving American self-defense in cyber. We will discuss options for defending against cyberattack, achieving deterrence, and the interplay between offense and defense. We will consider various perspectives from computer science and engineering, political science, and economics.
Dr. Josiah Dykstra is a senior researcher at RTX BBN Technologies. He solves ambitious problems by blending high-end security research with a real-world attacker mentality to fortify the code powering the world's most critical organizations and devices.
Dr. Dykstra previously worked for 19 years at the National Security Agency (NSA) where he advised leadership and employees on technical matters for integrated cybersecurity operations and provided technical direction on projects and programs that enabled high impact operational effects. He held a variety of technical and leadership positions including as a senior researcher within NSA's Research Directorate studying computer network operations. His work has also included penetration testing, digital forensics, and malware analysis.
Dykstra is a Lifetime and Distinguished Member of ACM. He attended the 2nd Heidelberg Laureate Forum as a Young Researcher in 2014, which motivated his commitment to ACM. He is passionate about developing and empowering the next generation of interdisciplinary computing professionals, particularly in cybersecurity. Dykstra remains an active collaborator with academic, industry, and government researchers around the country. He has received numerous noteworthy awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). He is one of eight people in the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) Hall of Fame.
Josiah received a B.S. in computer science and B.A. in music from Hope College (Holland, MI), M.S in information assurance from Iowa State University, and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His doctoral research explored new technical and legal mechanisms to support digital forensics for cloud computing environments. Dr. Dykstra is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
Dr. Dykstra is the author of the book Essential Cybersecurity Science (2016), a guide for practitioners and discusses key considerations for conducting scientific experiments in cybersecurity, including domain-specific insights including digital forensics and malware analysis. He is also co-author of the book Cybersecurity Myths and Misconceptions (2023). An experienced presenter and lecturer, he has spoken at major security events including Black Hat USA and RSA Conference.
Name: Devarsh Wali
Pronouns: He/Him
Semester of Internship: Fall 2025
Major: Engineering Management
Current Class Level: Master's Student
This semester I completed a(n)...: Internship
Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name): Presence
Location of the Organization (City, State): New York City, NY
Title of position: MBA Fellow (Strategy & Operations)
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities:
During my MBA Fellow (Strategy and Operations) internship at Presence, my day-to-day work focused on using raw data to support executive decision-making and improve cross-functional execution. I partnered closely with the Chief Financial Officer, the finance team, and product stakeholders to build automated reporting and dashboards, analyze trends, and surface insights that highlighted the highest-impact areas to prioritize. I also gathered stakeholder pain points through working sessions, translated them into clear problem statements and proposed solutions, and drove alignment by creating a standardized KPI glossary so teams used consistent definitions. Across the 10-week internship, I balanced four projects in parallel, delivered weekly updates to leadership, and kept execution moving by unblocking dependencies and clarifying requirements with each team.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I found the MBA Fellow (Strategy and Operations) role at Presence through my LinkedIn network while actively tracking high-growth startups. I first heard about the opportunity in early August 2025 and submitted my application shortly after, within the same week. After applying, I received the interview call in mid September and received the offer by late September to start my internship in early October 2025.
What resources did you use to find your current experience?
LinkedIn or other social media
What have you enjoyed the most about your position and organization?
What I enjoyed most was having a great mentor and getting to work directly with executive leadership at a high-growth startup. Being trusted with real problems, moving fast, and collaborating closely across finance and product made the work both challenging and genuinely rewarding.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I made impact by turning raw data and stakeholder pain points into automation and decision-ready insights for leadership. I partnered closely with the Chief Financial Officer, finance, and product teams to streamline reporting and prioritize the highest-impact areas, delivering four projects in a 10-week internship. My proposed automation solutions were estimated to save about 200 hours per week, and I reduced cross-functional conflicts by establishing a standard KPI glossary that made definitions visible and consistent across teams.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
My advice would be to tailor your resume for every role and treat the search like a consistent funnel, not a one-time push. Apply early, keep your applications high-quality, and pair them with daily outreach to alumni or team members using one specific reason you fit. For interviews, use SAR-M for product and analytics questions (Situation, Action, Result, with the Metric you helped improve) to show structured thinking and measurable impact, and use STAR for general behavioral questions to keep stories clear and credible. As a weekly target, aim for 20–25 tailored applications and 10–15 tailored outreach messages per day, with 6–8 reusable stories ready to go.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.
What I liked most about my MBA Fellow role at Presence was working with raw data to automate reporting, surface clear insights, and help executive leadership, especially the Chief Financial Officer, focus on the highest-impact priorities. UMBC's Career Center supported me with practical resume and interview tips, which helped me land the internship and deliver across four projects in 10 weeks.
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Name: Devarsh Wali Pronouns: He/Him Semester of Internship: Fall 2025 Major: Engineering Management Current Class Level: Master's Student This semester I completed a(n)...: Internship...
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Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:52:48 -0400