Two UMBC Students Named 2006 Goldwater Scholars

 

Two UMBC students are among the 323 sophomores and juniors who have been named 2006 Goldwater Scholars. The prestigious scholarship program honors outstanding students majoring in science, mathematics and engineering who are committed to pursuing careers as research scientists.

Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, a junior with a 3.95 cumulative GPA, is one of several UMBC students conducting research in UMBC’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Smalls-Mantey, from Upper Marlboro, Md., has worked in the lab since her freshman year. Her research involves improving the mechanics of gene therapy by focusing on the Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus (MMLV). She has participated in the Gene Search Program at Catholic University where she first learned basic lab principles. She also conducted research at Howard University and participated in the Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Gateways to the Laboratory Program, the first in the country designed exclusively to train undergraduate students to become successful MD-Ph.D applicants.

“This award will help support my goal not only financially, but it also provides me with the resources and networking opportunities as a scholar and researcher,” said Smalls-Mantey.

Smalls-Mantey is a trainee for the M inority Access to Research Careers (MARC), Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research Program, UMBC’s preeminent undergraduate scholarship program that aims to increase the number of persons from underrepresented groups who pursue Ph.D. degrees and careers in biomedical research or mathematics. A Meyerhoff and HHMI Scholar, Smalls-Mantey is a member of the Honors College and Golden Key International Honor Society. This year, she helped establish Fellowship Under God’s Influence, a student organization based on Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. Off campus, she is the deputy director of Pathfinder, a Christian scouting organization for children at her church.

Smalls-Mantey expects to graduate in spring 2007 and plans to pursue a M.D./Ph.D degree, specializing in immunology.

Devin Burns, Mechanical Engineering

Devin Burns, a sophomore with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, has great aspirations of obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a focus on renewable energy systems and starting his own research lab.

For several years, Burns has worked as a research intern in the College Qualified Science and Engineering Apprentice Program at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. There he investigated mathematical tools to help detect and analyze deceptive activities by opposing forces. He also taught science and math to students in grades 8-11 as part of an outreach program at ARL.

Currently, Burns conducts research in the lab of Marc Zupan, UMBC assistant professor of mechanical engineering. He is studying the advanced materials of mechanical properties. Burns, from Smithsburg, Md., studied abroad in China and Vietnam during Winter Session 2006. He is a Meyerhoff Scholar, a member of the Golden Key International Honors Society and will soon be inducted in Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society. He also enjoys intramural sports at UMBC and is a member of the Running Club.

For additional information about the types of prestigious scholarships available, how to apply for them or to read about previous winners, visit www.umbc.edu/prestige.

Below are updates on UMBC’s 2005 Goldwater Scholars. All three students have maintained a 4.0 cumulative GPA.

Michael Aaron is a junior pursuing dual degrees in mechanical engineering and biological sciences with a minor in writing. Aaron recently went on his first international rugby tour. He accompanied the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Rugby Team to Paris, France where they faced off against Institut National d’Agronomie de Paris Grignon and won 24-7.  He met the team this past summer while conducting cellular mechanics research as part of the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) in biology.  He has worked in labs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and at Case Western Reserve University.  A MARC, Meyerhoff and McNair Scholar, Aaron is the captain of UMBC’s Rugby Team, an active member in Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, and a Learning Resource  Center tutor. 

Andrew Kohlway is a senior MARC and Meyerhoff Scholar who has had outstanding summer lab experiences at a consortium of research universities in Pittsburgh and at Yale University. He is majoring in bioinformatics with a minor in mathematics. After graduating from UMBC in May, he will enter Yale University’s Ph.D. program in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. He recently received an honorable mention from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship competition. He will present some of the research that he has conducted in the lab of Daniele Fabris, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, at the UMBC Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day on April 26.

Stephanie Nunez is a junior biochemistry and molecular biology major with a minor in modern languages and linguistics. In January 2006, she studied abroad in Granada, Spain. She currently interns with Anandarup Gupta, assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Dental School. She will present her research at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day. Nunez is a MARC, Meyerhoff and HHMI Schoar. She recently was awarded the Alumni Association Outstanding Student Award in Biochemistry. A member of UMBC’s Honors College, Nunez also serves as an officer in the Golden Key International Honor Society. For the past three years, she has played the bass clarinet for the UMBC Chamber Players. This summer she will be interning at Stanford University for the second time.

(4/17/06)

 

 

 

 

Education, Exposure, Experience

 

While entrepreneurship may sound like a concept only studied in business school, at UMBC it is an important part of the university’s mission. “Faculty and students pushing the envelope in science and technology, breaking new ground in the creative arts or crafting new solutions to society’s problems can all be entrepreneurs,” said Vivian Armor, director of UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and a UMBC alumna. “There are many ways you can help prepare yourself for entrepreneurship. You can study it, you can learn from other’s experiences and you can jump in and try it yourself. Our Center initiatives focus on all three of these key areas: education, exposure and experience.”

The Center, founded in 2000 through a generous gift of $1 million from The Alex. Brown Foundation, is infusing the entire university with the thinking and attitude, activities and ideas that inspire entrepreneurial accomplishment. During Entrepreneurship Week, which runs through April 7, it offers events that highlight programs available to both the UMBC and Baltimore business communities. The week kicks off at 12 p.m. Monday, April 3 with a lecture by two successful UMBC alumni entrepreneurs, Eli Eisenberg, founder and principal, Video Production Consulting, Inc., and Frank Taylor, president, The First Choice.

Many UMBC students are not waiting until graduation to start their own businesses. Supported by entrepreneurship courses, internships and other programs, as well as the student-run CEO Club, they are already achieving success. CEO Club members Wan His Yuan, a graduate student in information systems, and Jason Servary, a senior in financial economics, have created OpenPosting.com, the first online classified community for college students. The site now has 1500 registered users and receives about 4,000 page views per day. While they look for funding, Yuan and Servary are participating in the Alex. Brown Center’s IdeaLab at techcenter@UMBC, which offers support for faculty and students engaged in the start-up phase of high-technology companies by providing business advisement, mentoring and space.

Servary and Yuan recently won the UMBC Business Plan Competition and are currently one of 40 finalists (out of 174 entries) to participate in the annual Mosh Pit Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Center. During Entrepreneurship Week, Servary, Yuan and other CEO Club business owners will pass on their skills and experience to fellow students in UMBC’s residence halls.

William LaCourse, professor of analytical chemistry and CEO Club advisor, believes that programs like the CEO Club support students across the disciplines. “Every great invention, movement, or accomplishment begins with a single idea that someone had the courage to put into action,” he said. “Entrepreneurism empowers an individual to act upon their idea, organize and manage its implementation, and carry it through even in the face of adversity.

“We all have within us the power to change the world, and the CEO Club is a much needed venue for students to meet and share ideas, hopes and aspirations. Members connect with successful entrepreneurs, practice the tools of success, and learn the art of invention. Whether a fledgling art gallery or an up-and-coming biotech start-up, the CEO Club allows our students to achieve their dreams,” LaCourse added.

One of the Center’s programs for UMBC faculty is a summer entrepreneurship institute that will focus on a different discipline each year. This summer, the Center will work with visual and performing arts departments to incorporate entrepreneurship into the curriculum, from designing new courses to adding new modules to existing classes. To set the stage for creative thinking, the Center and the Departments of Music and Theatre will host a lecture Thursday, April 6 by Michael Gelb, an internationally recognized pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, accelerated learning and innovative leadership. Gelb’s lecture, open to the entire UMBC community and the general public, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. On Friday, April 7, Anne Bogart, associate professor at Columbia University and director of the Saratoga International Theatre Institute, will speak at 8 p.m. in the UMBC Theatre. (For more information, call 410-455-2917.)

Creating and supporting entrepreneurship in the region is another important part of the Center’s mission. In addition to offering classes and seminars, the Center is one of the University’s partners in the ACTiVATE program, funded by the National Science Foundation and designed to address the unique needs of women interested in starting technology companies. ACTiVATE is now in its second year and four women in the program are now heading up their own tech companies, including Mona S. Jhaveri Brown, whose Foligo LCC recently took up residence at techcenter@UMBC.

For more information on the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, visit www.umbc.edu/entrepreneurship.

(4/3/06)

 

 

 

 

'Preparing Minority Scientists, Engineers' Appears in Science Magazine

President Freeman Hrabowski and Dr. Michael Summers of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), have published an article in the March 31 issue of Science Magazine, "Preparing Minority Scientists and Engineers," that examines successful strategies for educating minority scientists and engineers in college and fostering their pursuit of doctorates and medical degrees.

The authors begin by noting that well-prepared minority students are originally interested in pursuing scientific or engineering careers, but far too few of those students actually graduate with degrees in those subjects. Students who entered UMBC's Meyerhoff Program, for example, were twice as likely to earn a science or engineering bachelor's degree and 5.3 times more likely to enroll in post-graduate study, when compared to those who were accepted to UMBC's Meyerhoff Program but attended other institutions.

Hrabowski and Summers then identify several factors necessary for minority student success, such as involving the students in scientific research projects as early as possible.

The Meyerhoff Program (named after its founders, Baltimore philanthropists Robert and his late wife Jane Meyerhoff), focuses on producing bachelor's degree recipients, particularly African-Americans, who go on to doctoral programs in science and engineering. UMBC is leading the nation as a producer of minority scientists who have gone on to earn Ph.D.s and medical degrees. Meyerhoff students with completed advanced degrees now number 44 with Ph.Ds or M.D.-Ph.Ds, 72 with master's degrees and 32 with medical degrees.

Meyerhoff Program alumni include a clinical fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Harvard Medical School, a post-doctoral fellow in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins Medical School and a research and development scientist at Eastman Kodak.

Dr. Michael Summers, professor of chemistry/biochemistry and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at UMBC, has worked closely with Meyerhoff Scholars in the course of his research on the application of nuclear magnetic resonance to studies of the structure and function of proteins.

Hrabowski and Summers identify five elements in achieving positive outcomes in retention and development of minority scientists and engineers. Those elements are recruiting a substantial body of high-achieving minority students with interests in math and science; offering merit-based financial support; providing an orientation program for freshman; recruitment of active research faculty to work with the students; and involvement of students in scientific research projects early in their undergraduate careers.

Living Learning Communities Create Rewarding Connections

 

When Tony Harris, a sophomore transfer student from Hofstra University, and Amanda Schwenk, a freshman computer science major, applied to UMBC, they had one question in mind: What is the best way to make new friends at UMBC? They both found their answer while researching UMBC’s Web site, although it wasn’t the traditional suggestion to join an organization or club. The solution was UMBC’s Living Learning Communities (LLC), where residents share common academic interests.

“I knew I would be able to make connections with people from other countries while also being around people who speak my targeted language,” said Harris, a modern languages and linguistics major studying Spanish and a resident of the Intercultural Living Exchange floor, a for-credit language immersion and intercultural communication program.

“We [students on the floor] go to dinner together and take classes at the Retriever Activities Center,” said Schwenk, a Center for Women & Information Technology (CWIT) Scholar, who lives on CWIT’s LLC floor.

However, residents of these communities gain more than friendships by living on one of the nine LLC floors. Students gain academic support with ready-made study groups and have more outside classroom interactions with faculty than non-LLCs residents, according to Kim Leisey, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of residential education. They also have the possibility of taking classes together, participating in community service projects, planning on-campus events or visiting the many Baltimore-Washington attractions.

These are all advantages that Jill Randles, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education, expects residents in the new Exploratory Majors Living Learning Community will experience. Opening this fall, this LLC will offer valuable support to the segment of UMBC students who hope to narrow their talents and interests into a defined major.

“We want to help the students identify their best academic fit at UMBC, and hopefully, by becoming engaged through our programmatic efforts, they will feel connected,” said Randles.

Each LLC offers unique experiences and lessons for residents. For example, students on the Visual and Performing Arts floor grow in their specific artistic area by being exposed to their classmates’ work, having late-night jam sessions and participating in engaging conversations about the arts, said Anna Rubin, associate professor of music, director of the floor and the Linehan Artists Scholars Program. Meanwhile, CWIT residents, particularly the male students, learn how to encourage their female counterparts pursuing careers in the male-dominated science and technology fields, said Bria McElroy, director of university initiatives for CWIT.

In all, LLC residents and their advisors agree these Communities embody UMBC’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness — gaining a sense of belonging and understanding of various cultures and viewpoints.

Below is a list of Communities for the 2006-2007 academic year:

• Center for Women and Information Technology
• Emergency Health Services
• Exploratory Majors
• Honors College
• Humanities Floor
• Intercultural Living Exchange
• Shriver Living Learning Center
• Visual and Performing Arts Floor
• Women Involved in Learning and Leadership

For more information, or to download an application, visit the Living Learning Communities Web site.

(3/27/06)

 

 

 

 

Award-Winning Designer to Lead Hundreds of Middle School Girls, Parents,
in Day of Hands-on, High-Tech Fun: Computer Mania Day, May 6

If there’s one sure way to get more girls interested in
technology careers, just show them how computers help design some of the
world’s most glamorous clothes.

Cynthia Rowley, one of America’s most honored fashion designers, will
show hundreds of middle school girls, parents and teachers from across
Maryland how high technology helps create high fashion clothes worn by
supermodels as she headlines Computer Mania Day at UMBC on Saturday, May 6.

Rowley, whose signature designs are found in Cynthia Rowley boutiques,
better department stores and specialty stores across the U.S. and globe,
has won multiple awards from The Council of Fashion Designers of
America. Her creations have been featured in Vogue, Elle, Glamour,
Harper’s Bazaar and The New York Times. She is also the co-author of a
best-selling series of books on personal and home style and an entrepreneur.

Computer Mania Day is an annual day of free, hands-on, high-tech, fun
activities for adults and kids sponsored by UMBC’s Center for Women and
Information Technology (CWIT). The half-day event helps to get girls
interested in technology and computing careers while helping parents and
teachers sharpen their own computer skills. While boys are welcome, the
focus is on girls because of their continuing under-representation in
science, technology, engineering and math.

Research shows that the information technology (IT) gender gap opens as
early as the middle school years, when girls are most image-conscious
and do not want to be labeled as “geeks” or “nerds.” Girls also make up
only 14 percent of Advanced Placement students in computer science, a
key to success in IT-related fields at the college level.

At Computer Mania Day, kids will get the chance to meet Rowley and
participate in workshops led by positive female role models from UMBC
along with business, government and education leaders.

Girls’ events highlights include “Hardware Rocks,” “Google of Opportunities,” digital art and imaging, and the physics of do-it-yourself hot air balloons. Adult workshop highlights include how to prepare your kids for college, “Computers 101,” and “Cyber Safety: Keeping Your Child Protected Online.” All attendees will have the chance to win great giveaways like the HP iPAQ, Dell USB Memory Key and Cisco Routers.

EVENT DETAILS:
Saturday, May 6, 2006.
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Check-in at
UC Ballroom, UMBC. FREE lunch included for students. All adult and student attendees MUST register ahead of time online at www.computer-mania.info. To sign up or for more information, visit www.computer-mania.info or call 410-455-8433.

A Hot Location for Collaboration

 

bwtech@UMBC , the university’s on-campus research and technology park, is maturing into a hot location for research.

This week, the park announced a multimillion dollar investment from the commercial real estate market at a time when the number of UMBC faculty, students and alumni working with the park’s tenant companies and organizations has grown to nearly 200 .

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has agreed to move its Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center to bwtech@UMBC. The move will bring to campus more than 60 scientists and support staff who monitor the ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the health of the region’s water supply, rivers and streams.

The USGS news comes as technology transfer and workforce development connections collaboration between UMBC, the research park and its nearby business incubator, techcenter@UMBC, areon the rise. Thirty-six UMBC faculty members collaborate on research and development with tenant companies. One hundred students are employed part-time or as interns and 54 alumni work or partner with the UMBC family of on-campus companies.

Research collaboration with UMBC’s core of water and environmental science expertise was the key factor in the USGS decision. The USGS has a longtime research partnership with UMBC’s Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE) and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, as well as the U.S. Forest Service and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study.

“Like many of my colleagues, I have worked with USGS or used their data for decades,” said Andy Miller, associate professor of geography and environmental systems. “In my view they are the premier science agency in the federal government.”

“This move gives the citizens of Maryland a unique, new resource in higher education as USGS scientists will work shoulder-to-shoulder with UMBC professors,” said Claire Welty, director of CUERE. “UMBC science and engineering students will receive an outstanding education that combines classroom training with hands-on research experience by simply walking across the street.”

According to Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of the UMBC Research Park Corporation, bwtech@UMBC’s growth depends on both human capital and bricks and mortar. “The entire UMBC community is buying into the value of the park, which makes us much more attractive to the market,” said Hemmerly.

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), one of the region’s largest suburban office companies, will build the USGS building, to be located at 5522 Research Park Drive. Ground breaking is slated for summer, and the completed facility is expected to open in spring 2007.

(3/14/06)

 

 

 

 

 

COPT to Develop Tech Park’s 3rd Building; Research Collaboration Drives Move of 60 Experts on Region’s Water, Environment

The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) announced today that it has signed an agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that will relocate the USGS Maryland-Delaware-DC Water Science Center to a new facility at bwtech@UMBC, the University’s on-campus research and technology park. Ground breaking is slated for summer, and the completed facility is expected to open in spring 2007 to more than 60 USGS scientists and support staff. The move is intended to strengthen collaborative work with UMBC and U.S. Forest Service scientists who monitor the ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the health of the region’s water supply, rivers and streams.

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), one of the region’s largest suburban office companies, is partnering with the UMBC Research Park Corporation to deliver the park’s next building. The one-story, 23,500 square-foot facility will be located at 5522 Research Park Drive. The total construction cost of the project is projected to be approximately $4,236,000. COPT’s plans include the opportunity to develop a second building of 110,000 square feet in a four-story multi-tenanted facility with specialized space for technology companies.

Research collaboration with UMBC’s core of water and environmental science expertise was the key factor in the USGS decision to move its Center to bwtech@UMBC from its previous location in White Marsh. The USGS has a longtime research partnership with UMBC’s Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, Center for Urban and Environmental Research and Education (CUERE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the U.S. Forest Service and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study.

James M. Gerhart, Director of the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center, said, "By co-locating on the UMBC campus and becoming part of the university research community, we expect to strengthen our existing collaboration with UMBC on water-related science. We’ll have easier access to student employees, labs, scientific instruments, and university researchers. The university will benefit from having USGS water science experts nearby to teach classes, work with student interns and lead field trips. All in all, I am confident that the move of USGS to UMBC will be a win-win situation.”

For UMBC environmental researchers, the move strengthens an already close relationship. “Like many of my colleagues, I have worked with USGS or used their data for decades,” said Andy Miller, professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at UMBC. “In my view they are the premier science agency in the federal government.”

“This move gives the citizens of Maryland a unique, new resource in higher education as USGS scientists will work shoulder-to-shoulder with UMBC professors,” said Claire Welty, director of CUERE at UMBC. “UMBC science and engineering students will receive an outstanding education that combines classroom training with hands-on research experience by simply walking across the street,” said Welty.

UMBC’s formal connection with USGS goes back to 1997, the beginning of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), a National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research Project whose field headquarters are located on the UMBC campus. BES, which was renewed for another 6-year term in 2004, makes Baltimore’s streams, rivers and water quality among the most highly monitored in the country thanks in large part to an extensive network of USGS equipment and personnel.

bwtech@UMBC was Maryland's first university research park and is the only research and development park in Baltimore County. The 41-acre park's first building, completed in 2001, is occupied by RWD Technologies. A second building, completed in 2004, is fully leased.

“We are very pleased to be selected as the developer to assist UMBC with their plans to expand the research park, but more importantly to have the opportunity to create a relationship with one of our local institutions.” said Randall M. Griffin, President and CEO of COPT.

The news from bwtech@UMBC comes as technology transfer and workforce development connections between UMBC, the research park and its nearby business incubator, techcenter@UMBC, are on the rise. Thirty-six UMBC faculty members collaborate on research and development with tenant companies. One hundred students are employed part-time or as interns and 54 alumni work or partner with the UMBC family of on-campus companies.

According to Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of the UMBC Research Park Corporation, the University is just as excited about the growth in human capital as it is about bricks and mortar. “The entire UMBC community is buying into the value of the park, which makes us much more attractive to the market,” said Hemmerly.

The COPT investment follows on the heels of the Dec. 23, 2005 sale of bwtech@UMBC’s first two buildings for $22.5 million to Merritt Properties, another top player in the Baltimore/Washington commercial real estate market. Merritt’s purchase from former developer Grosvenor included 123,000 square feet occupied by tenants including RWD Technologies, Invoke Systems, BD Metrics Inc. and the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center.

About The U.S. Geological Survey:
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the nation's largest natural-science agency and has served the U.S. and the world for 126 years. The USGS provides reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect the nation’s quality of life. The USGS Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center is one of many regional USGS science centers across the country.

About the USGS Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center:
The USGS Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center collects basic data and conducts scientific investigations on the region’s streams, springs, lakes, coastal bays and underground aquifer systems. USGS data on streamflow, ground-water levels, and water chemistry are used to define the quantity and quality of the region's water resources. Data on water use and consumption are also collected to determine human impact on the resource. Hydrologic research studies use these and other data to understand the vulnerability of water resources to over-use and contamination, and to learn how to preserve the resources in a sustainable manner for aquatic life and future human generations. Most of this work is done in cooperation with other federal, state and local government agencies, universities, and research centers.

About COPT:
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) is a fully integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on the ownership, management, leasing, acquisition and development of suburban office properties primarily in select Mid-Atlantic submarkets. The Company is among the largest owners of suburban office properties in the Greater Washington, DC region. COPT currently owns 182 office properties totaling 14.6 million rentable square feet, which includes 18 properties totaling 885,000 square feet held through joint ventures. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OFC. More information on Corporate Office Properties Trust can be found at www.copt.com.

About bwtech@UMBC:
bwtech@UMBC is a 41-acre research and technology community at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). bwtech@UMBC has a total development capacity of up to 330,000 square feet of office and laboratory space. The USGS building will be the third of five planned state-of-the-art buildings containing over 300,000 square feet of office and wet lab space. The park’s 62,000 square-foot first building has been leased by the information technology firm RWD Technologies since 2001. The second building, a 60,000-square-foot multi-tenant building, is fully leased with tenants including The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, software maker BD Metrics Inc., healthcare communications and technology firm Physicians Practice, Inc., the Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC, the engineering/design firm Edwards & Kelcey, and UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship.

UMBC began planning for a new research and technology park in the early 1990s, based on the success of other U.S. parks and the vision of the late Michael Hooker, UMBC president from 1986-1992. To date, UMBC’s research park and technology incubator have received public and private sector funding from the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, the U.S. Department of Commerce, The Abell Foundation, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO.) bwtech@UMBC is part of Baltimore County's Southwest Enterprise Zone, making companies moving to the park eligible for credits on real property and income taxes, as well as credits for job creation.

One Career Choice Gets Better
Every 10.9 Seconds

 

Every 10.9 seconds another American turns 60, and by 2030, one in every five Americans will be over the age of 65. To prepare leaders to meet the needs of the growing baby boom population, UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies will launch an undergraduate major in Management of Aging Services this fall. It is the first program in the nation to integrate management science, public policy and the study of human aging.

As U.S. demographics change, so do the demands on the workforce, creating career opportunities in such diverse areas as finance, healthcare, marketing and product design, social services, and public advocacy.

“When today’s students hear the word ‘aging,’ they should think of the diverse and plentiful career choices they’ll have when they graduate,” said J. Kevin Eckert, dean of the Erickson School. “The multidisciplinary curriculum that the management in aging services major provides will give students the edge in a rapidly changing workplace.”

The Management of Aging Services major will include intensive individual advising, generous merit-based scholarships, internships and service learning opportunities, career counseling and job placement, in addition to courses taught by some of the nation’s leading researchers in the field, including UMBC professors in public policy, aging and health services. In addition, all declared Management of Aging Studies majors will be eligible for $1000 of financial assistance for fall 2006.

The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC was established in April 2004 with a $5 million commitment from John Erickson, founder and CEO of Erickson, the Baltimore-based developer of residential communities for middle-income people over 62. The School’s goal is to educate leaders and build new knowledge to improve society for mid-life and older adults. In addition to the new bachelor’s degree, the School offers a graduate certificate as well as executive education courses.

For more information, visit www.erickson.umbc.edu.

 

2/27/06

 

 

 

 

 

Strengthening History Education

 

UMBC’s Center for History Education recently received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teaching American History Grant Program to invigorate the teaching of history in elementary, middle and high schools. This is the fourth grant the Center has received from the Department of Education.

Over the next three years, the Center will collaborate with Baltimore County Public Schools to enable 30 elementary, middle and high school teachers of American history to become Master Teachers. Program partners also include the Maryland State Archives and the Maryland Historical Society. Participants will work with teams of historians, resource teachers and archivists to increase their own knowledge, develop effective strategies for teaching history and acquire new historical materials for their students.

Teachers will attend Summer Institutes and school-year workshops taught by UMBC’s distinguished history faculty on such topics as the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. John Jeffries, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and a professor of history, and Kriste Lindenmeyer, associate professor and chair of history, will be among the faculty at the 2006 Summer Institute.

“The UMBC history department has a long tradition of providing support to teachers of history at all levels, and the Center was born of this commitment,” said Daniel Ritschel, associate professor of history and director of the Center for History Education. “We seek not only to help teachers strengthen their knowledge of history, but also to develop instructional techniques best suited for the history classroom.”

The Center collaborates UMBC’s Martha Ross Center for Oral History (MRCOH) to offer teachers and students opportunities to study community history and create their own oral history projects. Barry Lanman, MRCOH director, has worked with teachers to develop local history projects at schools in Arbutus, Dundalk, Glen Burnie, Halethorpe, Lutherville and Timonium, among others.

The Center also is a resource for educators throughout Maryland and beyond: an online library of lesson plans, created by program participants, can be accessed by teachers across the country. In addition, the Center is planning a conference to bring together prominent educators, policy makers and foundations to discuss access to quality education and suggest policies to strengthen history education.

(2/20/06)