UMBC Receives IBM Shared University Research (SUR) AwardUMBC was one of 27 universities selected world-wide by IBM to receive a Shared University Research award, granted to institutions that are doing innovative research to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

The distribution of the SUR awards was also mentioned in Market Wire.

UMBC's Mini Baja Team Takes Third at West Virginia Invitational
The UMBC Mini Baja team placed third (with on a one-lap separation of second place) at the West Virginia Invitational Race on October 2. Many of the top schools, including Virginia Tech, Akron and West Virginia, were in attendance. The team is in the design phase of its new vehicle, and is planning to enter two vehicles in the upcoming competition this spring in Ohio.

Tom Beck, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, Reappointed to Advisory Board
Tom Beck, chief curator and director of the Center for Biological Sciences Archives, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, has been reappointed by Governor Erlich to the Maryland Advisory Board of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. He was originally appointed to the board by former Governor Glendening.

Warren Belasco, American Studies, Senior Editor of Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
Warren Belasco, professor of American studies, is senior editor of the just-released Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. To celebrate the launch of this two-volume compendium of food scholarship, Belasco moderated a panel discussion of "What's American about American Food?" at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Belasco is also the editor-in-chief of a new academic journal, Food, Culture and Society, whose first issue appeared this past summer. UMBC visual arts professor Guenet Abraham designed the issue. More information about the journal is available online.

Christopher Corbett, English, to Speak at The Smithsonian (11/6)
Christopher Corbett, English instructor and faculty advisor to the Retriever Weekly, will discuss his book, Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express, at the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum. The reading and book signing will be held Saturday, November 6 from 1 to 2 p.m. (2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E. in Washington, D.C.) More information is online or call (202) 633-5555.

Corbett's book, originally published in September 2003 by Broadway Books, is now available in paperback. It is available at the UMBC Bookstore.

UMBC Faculty in Link
The ninth issue of Link: A Critical Journal on the Arts includes articles by Mark Alice Durant, visual arts, and Linda Dusman, music, as well as poetry by Piotr Gwiazda, English. Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences Kathy O'Dell is a Link founding editor and current president of its Board of Directors, while Durant and Cindy Rehm, visual and performing arts, are on the Editorial Board. Link 9: Musae, which explores music, museums and muses, includes an audio CD of Baltimore-based music and is available at the UMBC Bookstore. For more information, visit www.baltolink.org/.

Morris Faierstein, Judaic Studies, Contributes Articles to YIVO Encyclopedia
Rabbi Morris Faierstein, who has taught classes on Jewish mysticism in the Judaic studies program, will contribute articles on Hasidic figures and schools of thought to the YIVO Encyclopedia, to be produced by the Institute for Jewish Research in 2008. Faierstein, author of All is in the Hands of Heaven: The Teachings of Rabbi Mordecai Joseph Leiner of Izbica, serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force.

Jim Mathias Re-elected Mayor of Ocean City, Maryland
Jim Mathias "74 was re-elected mayor of Ocean City, Maryland for his fifth term on October 19.

Joan Rosenfield, GEST, Named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society
Joan Rosenfield, senior research scientist in UMBC's Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center (GEST), has been elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. As noted with GEST's previously announced Fellow, the American Meteorological Society is widely respected as the leading professional society in the Atmospheric Sciences. Rosenfield's election as an AMS Fellow recognizes her significant record of research directed to understanding the current and future state of the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer.

Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College/Visual Arts, is a Panelist at New York's Jewish Museum (11/4)
Honors Professor of Visual Arts Ellen Handler Spitz is a panelist on "Relentless Re-Invention: Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, Bauhaus Artist and Terezin Teacher? at The Jewish Museum in New York City. The panel, presented in conjunction with the Museum's exhibition of Dicker-Brandeis' work, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on November 4. For more information, visit www.thejewishmuseum.org.

Alumnus Bradford Engel Named Maryland Teacher of the Year
A social studies teacher at Kent Island High School in Queen Anne's County and UMBC alumnus, Engel '89 was awarded Maryland's Teacher of the Year award and qualifies for the national competition. Watch Insights and the UMBC homepage for more information.

Robert Schiffer, GEST, Elected Fellow of American Meteorological Society
Robert Schiffer, chief scientist of UMBC's Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center (GEST), has been elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. The American Meteorological Society is widely respected as the leading professional society in the Atmospheric Sciences. The Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. Schiffer's election as an AMS Fellow recognizes his significant record of international leadership in the atmospheric and hydrologic sciences.

UMBC Cross Country Teams Sweep First Place at Maryland State Cross Country Championships
The UMBC men's and women's cross country teams swept both meets to take home first place at the Maryland State Cross Country Championships held at Hagerstown Community College. Cara Wettlaufer captured first place in the women's 3.3 mile meet and Izudin Mehmedovic took first place in the men's 8K run as all-five Retrievers scores on the women's and men's side placed in the top 10 overall.Read more about the championships in Insights Online.

Bruce Walz, Emergency Health Services, Elected Treasurer of Advocates for EMS
Bruce J. Walz, associate professor and chair, Department of Emergency Health Services, has been elected treasurer of Advocates for EMS. Walz is currently a member of the Advocates' board representing the National Association of EMS Educators.

Advocates for EMS was founded as a not-for-profit organization by the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors to promote emergency medical services (EMS), educate elected and appointed officials and the public on issues of importance to EMS, monitor and influence EMS legislation and regulatory activity, and raise awareness among decision-makers on issues of importance to EMS.

UMBC Police Department received the 2004 Chief's Challenge Award
The UMBC Police Department received the 2004 Chief's Challenge Award, presented by the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, Maryland Committee for Safety Belt Use, Inc. and the Maryland State Highway Safety Office. The award is presented to an agency from one of three groups for their new, continued, or expanded programs to promote the use of safety belt and child safety seats. There were three award groups representing law enforcement throughout the State. UMBC received the award for the Federal, State and University Police Agencies category. The other groups were the Maryland State Police and Municipal police and Sheriffs' Departments.

The award was presented at the annual Chief's Challenge luncheon on September 27, at the Inner Harbor Marriott Hotel in Baltimore. Maryland is one of the states leading the nation in the use of occupant restraints with an 89 percent compliance rate. UMBC students, faculty and staff had a combined compliance rate of 96 percent when driving on campus. The UMBC Police extends their thanks to the UMBC community for their cooperation with campus traffic safety.