Thomas Blass, Psychology, Releases New Book
Thomas Blass, professor of psychology, has authored the first-ever biography of one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, Stanley Milgram. Titled The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram (Basic Books), it is a comprehensive biography, presenting both Milgram's life and his scientific achievements.

Milgram was best known for his controversial experiments on obedience to authority, which demonstrated the surprising degree of readiness of normal individuals to obey destructive orders, even when those orders were in conflict with one's moral principles. The ethical controversy stirred up by this research, together with a handful of other studies, led to the governmental regulation of research with human subjects, in the form of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Milgram and his work are more widely known today for his studies on the small-world phenomenon, popularly known as "six degrees of separation." A photograph of the book can be seen on Blass's Web site on Milgram's life and work.

Ramachandra Hosmane, Chemistry, Issued Patent
Ramachandra Hosmane, professor of chemistry, was issued a patent entitled "Ring-Expanded Nucleosides and Nucleotides," patent number US 6,677,310 B1, on January 13, 2004. This invention relates to compositions comprising analogues of purine nucleosides containing a ring-expanded heterocyclic ring, in place of purine, and an unmodified or modified sugar residue, pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives of such compositions, as well as methods of use thereof. The patent can be viewed it its entirety on the US Patent and Trademark Office's web site. If you would like more information about patents, trademarks, or copyrights, please call the Office of Technology Development at ext. 5-1414 or visit us in our new location, ECS329.

Lou Cantori, Political Science, Teaches Graduate Seminar at School for Islamic Studies
Lou Cantori, Political Science, taught a graduate seminar titled "Non-liberal Democracy" over Spring Break at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, VA. The school, which primarily educates scholars, educators and clerics, is the first Muslim-governed, campus-based institution of Islamic graduate education in the United States.

Alan Price, Visual Arts, Receives Second Prize at Film Festival
Alan Price, associate professor of visual arts, was awarded Jury's Citation Award, second prize, at the 2004 Black Maria Film and Video Festival for his animation, "Overpass."

Jill Johnston-Price, Visual Arts, Receives First Prize at Film Festival
Jill Johnston-Price, adjunct assistant professor of visual arts, was awarded the Grand Jury Award for Best Animation at the 2004 D.C. Independent Film Festival for her animation, "Bludren."

English Faculty to Participate in Enoch Pratt's CityLit Festival
Several faculty members from UMBC's Department of English will be among those reading at the first ever CityLit Festival, to be held on April 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Central Branch on Cathedral Street. Instructor Michael Fallon, who is author of the collection History of the Color Black, will read from his poetry in the Poe Room at 10:30 a.m. Piotr Gwiazda, assistant professor, will read from his poetry in the Poe Room at 1:30 p.m. Instructor Rosemary Klein, author of Dark Smoke Burning, will read from her poetry in the Poe Room at 1:40. Chris Corbett, lecturer and faculty advisor for The Retriever Weekly, will read from his award-winning book, Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legacy of the Pony Express, in the Poe Room at 2 p.m.

Play Written by UMBC Undergraduate to Be Performed in May
The Spectator, a play written by UMBC student R. Eric Thomas, an undergraduate majoring in interdisciplinary studies, will be running at Baltimore's new Run of the Mill Theater from May 7-30. At times hilarious and at times tragic, the play focuses on a modern day, 98% white, suburban school, Meadowview, that is dealing with pressure to diversify its curriculum and its community. The diversity committee at the school decides to put on an original musical to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The musical--a subject of much ballyhoo months before its premiere--features a cast of singing, dancing high school students. There's only one problem: there are no black students at Meadowview. As the school administrators are divided by the event, scenes from the musical play out in the background--all while two black spectators watch from the audience, and are slowly drawn into the action. The Spectator examines how we view and represent each other as races, and what, if anything, has changed in the last fifty years. For show times and ticket information, please visit the Web site of the Run of the Mill Theater Company.