ONE FEMALE ONLY! PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION BEFORE CONTACTING! Looking for TWO FEMALE roommates for a furnished bedroom including linens in a Maiden Choice/Arbutus area private single-family home. The house will be shared with two female UMBC students/professionals and the landlord couple. We're looking for a kind person that respects diversity that are either a UMBC/UMB Ph.D., Graduate, or Junior/Senior Undergraduate student that are a non-smoker within the home, non-drug user, pet-free, and a tidy person to share a large open concept newly renovated 4 bedroom and 3.5 bathrooms on a dead-end quiet street. If you have a medical support animal; no cats or shedding animals are allowed due to allergies, and you will need your updated documents from your physician and veterinarian. All medical and support animals must remain in the tenant’s bedroom and crate when not home or in their room, and you are responsible for cleaning up after your pet. You will have to submit proof of renter’s insurance. Other than medical support animals, absolutely no other animals are allowed. We currently have a non-shedding older friendly labradoodle that will not be cratered, will not run away if the door is left open, and the sole responsibility of the landlord. 

Why pay $1,304 per month for 9-12 months to live on-campus and have to bring everything to use in a kitchen and bathroom including your linens? Our house is less than 2 miles from the UMBC campus and close to two shopping centers with shuttle stops to both sites and walking distance to our house. The UMBC Shuttle and public transportation bus stop is located a short walk over to the next block. The UMBC Transit runs buses almost every 15 minutes from the Paradise-Purple Line during the week from 7am-12am. The first pickup at Leeds Avenue and Colchester Road bus stop is roughly around 7:25am during the week, again around 7:45am, and so on. The UMBC transit adds a third bus during the week around 10am. You can monitor the buses on the Transit Predictions (goswift.ly). The Purple-Paradise line is the most reliable of all the UMBC transit schedules. 

The rooms for rent are on the second floor, one is a shabby chic inspired, and the other is a costal vibe, with matching furniture and decor. Both bedrooms have a very large closet including hangers. There's a queen or a full bed, long dresser with mirror, armoire or a tall dresser, two nightstands or headboard shelf, desk with office chair, four matching lamps, rug, trash cans, smart TV, two sets of matching decor bedroom linens with curtains and bath towel sets. You will have your own large kitchen cupboard, locking cabinet in the bathroom, locking locker cubby in the laundry room, and your room has a key lock. You have access to a spacious open concept kitchen with everything you need to prepare meals including meal prep gadgets, ice maker, dishwasher and garbage disposal, laundry room, large front covered porch, living and dining rooms. All the bedrooms and living/sitting/dining/kitchen areas have Wi-Fi with streaming cable services. All utilities are included, water, gas, electric, and again the Wi-Fi with streaming cable services. The landlord is responsible for cutting the grass and landscaping. We are still doing renovations to the outside landscaping, sidewalks, and foundation border. There is street parking where we ask our tenants and their guests to be respectful to our neighbors and park directly in front of our house only. We have lease restrictions for overnight guests and shared cleaning responsibilities. The bedrooms will be available starting in August (we can accommodate as early as June 1st), that includes holidays, weekends, Spring and Winter Breaks and/or vacations. The monthly rent is $1,000 FIRM, and we prefer a 9 month or a month-to-month lease with a $500 deposit. We can discuss a longer lease and dates to move-in and out. We’re a private home and NOT an Airbnb, hotel, campus apartment or dorm. All you need to do is bring your personal belongings, toiletries with bathroom products, food, laptop, and books! If interested, call 410-999-4668, Monday-Friday, 6pm to 8pm, to discuss further and a time to show you the house.

Please join us in congratulating Chhaya on her successful dissertation defense. Chhaya successfully defended her PhD dissertation on Thursday, April 24, 2025. 

Chhaya has been an invaluable member of the iHARP and UMBC community. Starting Fall 2025, Chhaya will be joining the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Towson University as an Assistant Professor. We look forward to seeing Chhaya grow in her new role as a faculty member  and continue her passion for deep and meaningful research. 

Congratulations to Chhaya on all of her hard work!!! iHARP wishes her great success in her next adventure!

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Dissertation Title: Multi-Contextual Learning in Spatiotemporal Neighborhoods

Committee:

• Dr. Vandana Janeja (UMBC), Chair

• Dr. Jianwu Wang (UMBC)

• Dr. Karuna Joshi (UMBC)

• Dr. Bayu Adhi Tama (UMBC/iHARP)

• Dr. Nicole Schlegel (NOAA)

Abstract:

This dissertation presents a multi-contextual learning framework within spatiotemporal neighborhoods to tackle analytical challenges in Earth observation data. The rapid rise in the amount of environmental data —as demonstrated by the European Space Agency's Copernicus program expanding from 2 to 20 petabytes per year and NASA's Earth Observing System producing 16 terabytes per day—poses difficulties to conventional analytical methods for managing multi-source data fusion, cross-scale pattern recognition, and spatial autocorrelation.

The work develops a context-aware spatiotemporal data analysis approach with a neighborhood-based spatiotemporal framework at its foundation. The framework employs Voronoi tessellation for micro-neighborhood generation and attribute-based grouping for macro-neighborhood generation. By incorporating contextual information from spatial proximity and attribute similarity, the approach captures nuanced patterns that traditional methods tend to ignore.

This multi-contextual learning framework is validated through two complementary application domains that serve as case studies. The Greenland Ice Sheet case demonstrates how the application of neighborhood analysis successfully encapsulates intricate melt behavior, accounting for local variability and interactions between temperature, albedo, and other variables. Digital twin simulations form a second test case by demonstrating that the same neighborhood-based approach is capable of delineating areas with analogous variance structures within high-resolution atmospheric data.

The methodological contributions of the dissertation are: (1) multi-contextual learning for spatiotemporal neighborhood formation; (2) Graph Deviation Networks for multivariate anomaly detection in such neighborhoods; (3) a comparative framework for the validity verification of data sources; and (4) spatial clustering for variance analysis. Each component tackles intrinsic challenges in spatiotemporal data analysis while offering practical solutions for environmental monitoring application scenarios. Results indicate that multi-contextual learning in spatiotemporal neighborhoods substantially enhances detection and interpretation capability for complex Earth observation data, with immediate implications for environmental monitoring, modeling, and satellite-based observational systems.ralize for multiple downstream tasks and can be extended to other domains beyond Earth Science.

We’re excited to share that Dr. Jeremy Rubin from University of Maryland College Park, a former undergraduate Mu Sigma Rho student from our department, will be giving a STAT colloquium talk tomorrow!

• Date: Friday, May 2nd, 2025
• Location & Time: MP401 from 11AM-12PM
• Details: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/mathweb/events/142346

This is a great opportunity to hear from one of our accomplished alumni. All students are encouraged to attend!

Cookout Celebration of Graduates

Join us for a fun and festive cookout as we celebrate the incredible achievements of our graduates! This laid-back gathering is a chance to honor all of your hard work, dedication, and accomplishments. Bring your appetite and your best celebratory vibes—we’ll have delicious food, music, and plenty of great company. All are welcome. Let’s give our grads the send-off and encouragement they deserve!

Date: Friday, May 2nd 
Time: 2 - 1:50 PM lunch and 2:00 PM Picture
Location: Commons 329
Who's Invited: Graduates, friends, and the community!

Written by David L. Di Maria, vice provost for Global Engagement, UMBC

In early April 2025, the Trump administration terminated the immigration statuses of thousands of international students listed in a government database, meaning they no longer had legal permission to be in the country. Some students self-deported instead of facing deportation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced that it would reverse the terminations after courts across the country determined they did not have merit.

These moves come as the White House seeks to enhance vetting and screening of all foreign nationals.

The State Department in March announced plans to use artificial intelligence to review international students’ social media accounts.

As an administrator and scholar who specializes in international higher education, I know that international students in the United States have long been subjected to a high level of vetting, screening and monitoring.

Inserting additional bureaucracy into current processes could make the U.S. a less attractive study destination. I believe this would ultimately hamper the Trump administration’s ability to achieve its “America First” priorities related to the economy, science and technology, and national security.

International students in the US

The U.S. has long been the global leader in attracting international students. But competition for these students is increasing as other countries, such as Germany and South Korea, enact strategies for attracting international education.

The U.S. hosts 16% of all students studying outside of their home country, down from 22% in 2014 and 28% in 2001, according to the Institute of International Education. Of the more than 1 million international students who were present in the U.S. during the 2023-2024 academic year, 54% came from just two countries, China and India.

Most international students pursue graduate degrees in STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. And, according to the National Science Foundation, international students make up a significant portion of enrollment at the master’s and doctoral levels.

How international students are screened

International students in the U.S. are already subjected to intense screening and continuous monitoring. These measures include:

• Vetting the student’s school. Before they can apply for a visa, international students must be admitted to a school authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to enroll people on student visas.

• Vetting at the embassy. As part of the visa application process, international students are subjected to national security reviews carried out by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies. In some cases, such as when a U.S. consular officer in their home country decides that more information is required from external sources to determine visa eligibility, additional screenings occur. That is done through a process known as administrative processing.

• Vetting upon arrival. When they arrive in the U.S., international students are again screened by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. If the officer is unable to verify any information, the student is sent to secondary inspection, a secure interview area where the student waits while officers complete additional assessment. The student is then either admitted to the U.S. or forced to depart the country.

• Ongoing monitoring while in the U.S. If permitted to enter the country, students must enroll full time, earn good grades and notify their school within 10 days of substantive changes to their circumstances.

Examples include a change to their address, academic major or financial sponsor. And school officials are required to report this information to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s National Security Investigations Division.

Students participating in temporary, postgraduation training programs must continue to comply with reporting requirements. And certain STEM graduates, and their employers, are subject to additional requirements. They include certification of training plans, annual evaluations and site visits.

Most international students prefer to study in the U.S., recent research shows. But they are willing to change their preferences as other countries introduce friendlier visa policies, such as more flexible post-study work opportunities and lower visa costs.

Given the current level of screening and monitoring already imposed on international students in the U.S., it is unclear how additional measures would add value.

Critical to an America First agenda

President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda aims to grow the U.S. economy.

It also intends to maintain U.S. leadership in science and technology and enhance national security.

Trump administration officials have underlined the importance of recruiting top global talent. And Trump has said that international students who graduate from U.S. colleges should be awarded a green card with their degree.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, international students contributed US$43.8 billion to the U.S. economy through tuition and living expenses, which supported an estimated 378,175 U.S. jobs.

Their contributions don’t end following graduation, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Many go on to launch successful startups at a rate that is eight to nine times higher than their domestic peers. In fact, 25% of billion-dollar companies in the U.S. were founded by a former international student.

Such companies include Eventbrite, Grammarly, Moderna, OpenAI, Robinhood and SpaceX.

International students also help the U.S. maintain global leadership in STEM.

Consider that 45% of STEM workers in the U.S. holding a doctoral degree were born outside the U.S.

A 2024 report cautions that the U.S. is failing to develop domestic STEM talent at all levels of the education system. Just 3.2% of U.S. high school graduates are estimated to enter the STEM workforce.

Moreover, the country’s ability to attract and retain international STEM talent is decreasing due to immigration restrictions and increased global competition.

Finally, international students are critical to establishing global networks and promoting soft power diplomacy. This is evidenced by the U.S. having graduated more world leaders than any other nation.

Further restricting the ability of international students to study in the U.S. will ultimately redirect talent to other countries, allies and adversaries alike.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.