Warren Cohen, History, Wins Award
Distinguished University Professor of History Warren Cohen was given the Norman and Laura Graebner Prize of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, which "is awarded biennially to a senior historian of United States foreign relations in recognition of significant contributions to the development of the field, through excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, over his or her career." Cohen is only the ninth person to win this award, the pre-eminent distinction in his field.

Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Renewed as Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
Michael Summers, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, was renewed as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. Summers' appointment now runs through August 31, 2009; he continues to be the only HHMI at a public university in Maryland.

Undergraduate Olusegun Williams Wins First Place in Research Competition
Undergrad biochemistry major Olusegun Williams won first place in the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers' (NOBCCHe) undergraduate research competition in San Diego, California. Williams is a Meyerhoff Scholar and MARC student with a 4.0 GPA; he was nominated for the research competition by his research mentor, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry Veronika Szalai.

NSBE Chapter Wins Awards at National Convention
UMBC's chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) won several awards at the organization's recent national convention. The awards included: Medium Chapter of the Year Award, the Region 2 President of the Year award to Nicole Onyeneho, Region 2 Public Relations Chair of the Year Award to Aimee L. Strang, and a second place award in the Undergraduate Students in Technical Research competition to Seth Miller.

techcenter@UMBC Companies Among Finalists for State Award
Three techcenter@UMBC companies, Fluorometrix (a company headed by UMBC professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Govind Rao), Cybergroup, Inc., and BD Metrics, were among the 18 finalists chosen in 6 categories for the fourth annual Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Awards. The awards recognize the achievements of current and graduate companies within Maryland's incubators. Winners from each category will be announced at a reception on Wednesday, June 16 at The Center Club in Baltimore. American Express Tax and Business Services, the Maryland Business Incubation Association (MBIA), the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) and Saul Ewing, LLP sponsor the awards. For more information, visit www.mdincubatoraward.com.

Five Retrievers Win All America East Honors in Men's Lacrosse
Five UMBC men's lacrosse players received All America East Conference honors, as the two All-League teams and All-Rookie team were announced on May 6. Sophomore attackman Brendan Mundorf and senior midfielders Franklin Berry and Pat Muston earned First Team All America East honors, senior defender Brad Preisinger was a Second Team selection, and freshman attackman Drew Westervelt earned a spot on the All Rookie Team.

UMBC Crew Shines at Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Crew Championships
UMBC Crew had an outstanding performance at the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Crew Championships, held May 2 in Occoquan, VA. The women's four boat won a gold medal, beating Johns Hopkins University, Lasalle University, and University of Maryland, College Park with a winning time of 8:08 for 2000 meters. Karyn Lowery, Becca Cluster, Ruthanne Doetzer, and Liz Humphries made up the crew of the boat.

Also at the MACCCS, Amanda Miracle, who set a world record for distance on the ergometer earlier this year, won a third place medal in the women's heavyweight 2000 meter single sculls competition.

UMBC Honors Student-Athletes
UMBC honored its student-athletes at the Varsity Sports Awards, held May 10 at the RAC Arena.

Senior swimmer Astrid Sperling and junior soccer standout Derek McElligott were named Outstanding Female and Male Athletes respectively. Sperling capped a sterling career by becoming the America East Champion in the 200 backstroke. She is the current school record-holder in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events and is part of the 200 and 400 medley relay teams that hold UMBC records. McElligott earned his third straight First Team all league honor this fall, and was a Second Team All South Atlantic striker for the second straight year. He finished seventh in the nation in 2003 with 15 goals scored, and has already climbed to third place on UMBC's all-time scoring chart with 39 career goals and 85 points.

Jen Dragoni and Brad Green were named Outstanding Senior Female and Male Athletes. Dragoni amassed 123 goals, 63 assists, and 186 points in her four-year career with the women's lacrosse program. The 63 assists is a school record, while the 186 points is fourth on UMBC's all-time list. She was a First Team America East selection as a senior, after earning Northeast Conference Player of the Year honors last season. Green led the men's swimming and diving teams to a 12-1 record and UMBC's first America East title. He was named the conference's Most Outstanding Swimmer after capturing four gold and one silver medal at the league championships, and went on to win the 50 yard freestyle at the ECAC Championships, also earning Swimmer of the Meet honors. His best 50 yard freestyle time of 44.82 broke a 12-year old school record.

A pair of tennis standouts, Lana Khvalina and Josef Novotny won the Matt Skalsky Outstanding Scholar Athlete awards. Khvalina, who will earn her undergraduate degree in three years and attend law school at William & Mary next fall, was the lone sophomore in the country last season to earn First Team Women's At-Large Verizon Academic All America honors. The 4.0 student studying political science finished her singles career with a record of 62-20 and was a two-time all conference performer. Novotny has become UMBC's best men's tennis player, climbing to #4 in the Northeast regional rankings. He was 25-5 at #1 singles this season and posted a career mark of 75-17. The two-time Cornell Invitational champion has a 3.58 grade-point average in the major of Visual Arts.

Retriever Club Scholarship Awards were presented to juniors Cecile Banas and Meghan Polek of the field hockey team and junior Mike Orlando of the baseball team. Seniors Lauren Guilfoyle, founder and coach of the tumbling team, and Nancy Nguyen, student-trainer and SAAC President, earned the Leon Upshur Memorial Award, symbolic of outstanding contributions to the Athletic Department outside of the field of play.

Amanda Bile, Softball, Named to American East All-Conference Second Team
Junior outfielder Amanda Bile was selected to the America East Softball All-Conference Second Team. Bile batted .308 with 57 hits, including ten doubles, three triples and six homeruns. As the leadoff batter, she led the team in runs scored with 44, and in stolen bases with eight. In addition, Bile drove in 17 runs and committed just four errors as a starting outfielder.