The State Wellness Program aims to motivate, inspire, and educate employees through monthly wellness webinars (live and on-demand), healthy challenges, guided meditations, wellness coaching, and much more.
This summer, make yourself a priority! "Summer of Self-Care" is all about slowing down, recharging, and embracing what makes you feel good. Whether it’s safely indulging in sun-soaked relaxation, nourishing your body with fresh seasonal flavors, or cultivating inner peace through mindfulness, this is your moment to thrive. Dive into this season filled with self-love, wellness, and joy - you deserve it! Remember, the Wellness Program is here to support you and your family in every season of your 2025 Thrive Journey.
Monday, July 21, 11:00 am - 11:30 am: Happy Heart
A happy heart isn't just a fleeting emotion—it's a way of embracing life with warmth, resilience, and joy, even in the face of challenges. Discover simple yet powerful techniques to nurture this inner happiness and immerse yourself in a guided meditation designed to awaken your natural smile and lift your spirit.
Monday, July 28, 11:00 am - 11:30 am: Emotions and Your Heart
The unspoken dialogue between your heart and brain is a quiet yet powerful force shaping your emotions, thoughts, and well-being. Dive deeper into the fascinating heart-brain connection and explore how your emotions impact your entire body, then enjoy a guided meditation designed to restore balance, ease tension, and bring clarity to your inner world.
Register for 7/28 Emotions and Your Heart
Tuesday, July 22, 11:00 am - 11:45 am: Lettuce Wraps with Homemade Hoisin
Who needs takeout when you can create irresistible lettuce wraps at home? This class teaches you how to build crisp, flavor-packed wraps with savory filling. You'll add a scratch-made sauce that includes a homemade hoisin sauce for a crunchy, saucy, and totally satisfying meal!
Register for 7/22 Lettuce Wraps with Homemade Hoisin
Tuesday, July 29, 11:00 am - 11:45 am: Key Lime Pie
Get ready to pucker up and swoon! Chef Sandra will teach you how to make a refreshingly tart and creamy Key lime pie with a made-from-scratch buttery graham cracker crust. You'll experience sunshine in every bite!
Register for 7/29 Key Lime Pie
Wednesday, July 23, 11:00 am - 11:45 am: Seasonal Produce - Summer Edition
Maryland’s summer harvest is bursting with vibrant flavors, ripe for your next kitchen adventure! Whether it’s juicy peaches, plump tomatoes, or crisp cucumbers, this season brings a wealth of fresh produce waiting to be transformed into something extraordinary. So, get inspired with creative, mouthwatering recipes that highlight the best of summer’s bounty. These ingredients make every bite more delicious, and they also pack a powerful punch in reducing inflammation and supporting overall health.
Register for 7/23 Seasonal Produce - Summer Edition
Wednesday, July 30, 11:00 am - 11:45 am: Don't Sugarcoat Your Summer!
Summer wouldn’t be
the same without indulging in these sweet treats: caramel corn and fudge on the
boardwalk, creamy ice cream, and the cool refreshment of Rita’s Italian
Ice and Dippin’ Dots. But what if you could keep all the joy without the sugar
overload? Get ready to discover crave-worthy, wholesome alternatives that pack
in flavor, fun, and all the summer vibes. No guilt required!
Register for 7/30
Don't Sugarcoat Your Summer!
Thursday, July 24, 11:00 am - 11:30 am: Chair Yoga
Give yourself the gift of relaxation and renewal with restorative chair yoga! This gentle practice helps you stretch and lengthen your spine, release built-up muscle tension, and boost circulation, all while staying comfortably seated. Perfect for all fitness levels, chair yoga will leave you feeling refreshed, invigorated, and ready to take on the day!
Thursday, July 31, 11:00 am - 11:45 am: Managing Summer Allergies
Sunshine and fresh air should feel like pure bliss - but not when summer allergies turn every breath into a battle! Sniffles, sneezes, and itchy eyes don’t have to ruin your warm-weather fun. Discover easy, effective self-care strategies to keep those pesky allergy symptoms in check and reclaim your summer joy.
Register for 7/31 Managing Summer Allergies
Friday, July 18, 11:00 am - 11:15 am: Experience Your Mind Like an Ocean
Deep in the ocean beneath the surface, it's calm and clear. In this guided meditation, you will be able to access the depth and stillness of your mind, like an ocean, to experience and access calmness and clarity.
Register for 7/18 Experience Your Mind Like an Ocean
Friday, July 25, 11:00 am - 11:15 am: Feeling Your Mind and Body as a Lake
There are times when a lake is still and you can see trees and birds reflected on it, and times when a lake is choppy and has no reflections. This guided meditation will enable you to find the stillness that is always available to you no matter what "choppiness" you encounter.
Register for 7/25 Feeling Your Mind and Body as a Lake
Friday, July 18, 11:30 am - 11:45 am: Hydration and Healthy Beverages
An important component of summertime health is staying hydrated. Learn how water impacts the body in summer, five signs of dehydration and tips to prevent it, and how to make healthier hydration choices.
Register for 7/18 Hydration and Healthier Beverages
Friday, July 25, 11:30 am - 11:45 am: Healthier Dental Habits
Dental health is an important part of overall health in all seasons! Your oral health can impact your heart, digestion, and even your longevity. Explore the anatomy of the mouth, learn about gum disease, and hear healthy dental habits tips.
Register for 7/25 Healthier Dental Habits
]]>UMBC will host two research talks by visitors from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur on Monday, July 14, in ITE 325B and online via WebEx. Both speakers are experts in the broad areas of systems and control, networks, and motion planning.
Prof. Twinkle Tripathy, 10:45-11:45 on Leveraging Network Topology for Influence Modification in the Friedkin Johnsen Model
Prof. Bhargav Jha, 2:00-3:00 on Challenges in Motion Planning in Modern Scenarios
If you would like to meet with them in person, you can select a time on this sign-up sheet. Light refreshments will be provided. If you cannot attend the talks in person and want to join remotely, please do so by joining via this Webex link.
]]>The performance in June during the Movement, Music, and Brain Health NSF AccelNet meeting at UMBC was the brainchild of three UMBC faculty who have joined forces to explore whether and how dancing robots might offer humans new tools to improve their mental health. The research piggybacks off established practices of human-to-human dance/movement therapy, which can be used to treat some mental health challenges, such as schizophrenia, anxiety and depression.
The form that robotic dance therapy might take, and the range of mental health conditions it could treat, are still large open-ended questions for the team, which includes UMBC faculty Ramana Vinjamuri (CSEE), Andrea Kleinsmith (IS), and Ann Sofie Clemmensen (Dance).
Read more about this project in this article on UMBC News.
]]>UMBC Professor Eric Millikin’s film The Dance of the Nain Rouge has been selected for presentation at the Bali International AI Film Festival. The video, soundtrack, and voiceover were all created with custom artificial intelligence systems, programmed and trained on a hacked-up second-hand MacBook laptop to minimize environmental destruction and maximize class warfare. You can watch a short trailer here.
The film is based on the legend of the Nain Rouge (“Red Dwarf") of Detroit. According to folklore and urban legend, it is a shape-shifting native being who was brutally attacked by xenophobic colonists and has since been seen dancing as an omen of successful rebellions by the oppressed--reportedly manifesting before events such as the victory of Chief Pontiac at the Battle of Bloody Run in 1763 and the 1967 Detroit Rebellion.
Joseph M. Smith
Director | Human Research Protection Program
Division of Research | University of Maryland
Email: jsmith54@umd.edu | Ph office: 301-405-0678
Human Research Protection Office http://research.umd.edu/irb"
We’re currently seeking staff and faculty volunteers to help with multiple aspects of this program. Whether you’re staffing information tables, prepping materials, or just offering a friendly smile, your participation will make a real difference in helping our students feel at home from day one.
Volunteer shifts are available from 8/11 through 8/29, and you can sign up for one or more time slots based on your availability.
Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/XTUfjXO
This is a great way to connect with students, meet colleagues from across campus, and showcase the warm, inclusive spirit of the UMBC community.
Thank you in advance for considering this opportunity. Please feel free to send any questions to welcomeretrievers@umbc.edu
We’re currently seeking volunteers to help with multiple aspects of this program. Whether you’re staffing information tables, prepping materials, or just offering a friendly smile, your participation will make a real difference in helping our students feel at home from day one.
Volunteer shifts are available from 8/11 through 8/29, and you can sign up for one or more time slots based on your availability.
This is a great way to connect with students, meet colleagues from across campus, and showcase the warm, inclusive spirit of the UMBC community.
Thank you in advance for considering this opportunity. Please feel free to send any questions to welcomeretrievers@umbc.edu