This fall marks a major landmark for the UMBC's Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery and in UMBC's history: the addition of the one millionth book to UMBC's collections!

Members of the UMBC community are invited to nominate a book which the Library would acquire and add to the collection in a ceremony at UMBC's 40th anniversary celebration on Friday, October 20.

To qualify, this book should be nominated by October 1 and:

*Relate strongly to the mission and history of the campus

*Not be already owned by the Libeary; close to a million are disqualified

Please send your nominations to the Library Administrative Offices or email aok@umbc.edu.

Learn more about the 40th celebrations at www.umbc.edu/40th.

Warren Belasco, American Studies, in the Economist
“The Glories of Food,” an Aug. 10 Economist’s article, reviewed American Studies Professor Warren’s Belasco’s latest book, Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food. “It is a relief to turn to Warren Belasco's ingenious analysis of the way in which optimists and pessimists alike use food to illustrate their vision of the future,” wrote the article’s author.
http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SNSDDQJ
[Subscription Required]

Andrea Meredith ’94, in the Baltimore Sun
On Aug. 21, the Baltimore Sun published, “UM Scientist Sheds Light on Workings of Internal Clock” about the research of Andrea Meredith ’94, biological sciences. Meredith’s research on the human’s internal clock may help scientists better understand sleep disorders, depression and other problems relating to a person’s errant internal clock.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.circadian21aug21,0,4653375.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

Don Norris, Public Policy, in the Baltimore Sun
“In Cardin Skips Primary, Focuses on Steele,” an Aug. 19 Baltimore Sun article, Don Norris, professor of public policy and MIPAR director, said U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin can employ the political tactic of ignoring the primary and focusing on defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele because he is the current front runner for the Senate race. "The front-runner can always do it and get away with it. And Cardin is perceived to be the front-runner,” said Norris.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.campaign19aug19,0,3436958.story?coll=bal-mdpolitics-headlines

Norris discussed the findings of a campaign finance report on Howard County Executive candidates in the Aug. 16 Baltimore Sun’s “Pair Tops Campaign Cash.” Norris said the money a candidate raises can help in a tight race.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.campaign16aug16,0,3696745.story?coll=bal-local-howard

Christopher Corbett, English, in Baltimore Style Magazine
Christopher Corbett wrote “The Empty Nest,” his latest column for the Sept./Oct. 2006 Baltimore Style Magazine. In the column, Corbett recounts how he dodged the empty nest syndrome when his daughter went off to college.
http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/backpage/

CWIT in the Washington Business Journal
The Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) appeared in the Washington Business Journal for co-hosting a forum designed to support women-owned high-tech businesses in Maryland. CWIT partnered with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and the Maryland Technology Development Corp to host the day-long forum scheduled for Oct. 26 at the Columbia Sheraton. The article, “Women in Tech Focus of State-Hosted Forum,” was published on Aug. 23.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2006/08/21/daily35.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Maryland Voter Information Clearinghouse on NBC4. com (Washington, DC)
The Maryland Voter Information Clearinghouse, a new Web site operated by UMBC’s National Center for the Study of Elections, a research center within the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis & Research (MIPAR), serves as a new resource for Md. voters needing more information on political candidates. Don Norris, professor of public policy and director of MIPAR, said about the site: "It's the only publicly available, publicly accessible Web site in the state that provides voters and citizens with information about campaign finances and also allows people to look up their voter registration status." “New Web Site Aims To Help Maryland Voters” appeared on NBC4.com on Aug. 15.
http://www.nbc4.com/politics/9682677/detail.html

techcenter@UMBC in the Daily Record
The techcenter@UMBC is the new home of the University of Maryland Law School’s fourth Maryland Intellectual Property Legal Resource Center. Student attorneys will provide free legal services to businesses in Baltimore County. “… We’re not just talking about a free legal service, but we’re talking about experience for the students. We’re talking about two separate schools getting together to bring this resource to companies. … It’s blending government, academia and business,” said Tammi Thomas, director of marketing and business development at techcenter@UMBC.

UMBC Legal Resource Center in the Baltimore Sun
UMBC’s Legal Resource Center appeared in the Baltimore Sun’s “Baltimore County Daybook” on Aug. 23. The press conference announcing the opening of the Center was held on Aug. 24 at the techcenter. See techcenter@UMBC in the Daily Record for more information.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.datebook23aug23,0,4367133.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Shriver Center in the Gazette
On Aug. 23, the Gazette’s “Blue Collar vs. White: What’s the Better Payoff?” quoted the Shriver Center’s Christine Routzahn, associate director for professional practice. The article focused on the preferences many college students have when seeking jobs or internships.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/082306/silvnew181504_31945.shtml

August 18, 2006

Amulet Pharmaceuticals Inc., techcenter@UMBC, in the Baltimore Business Journal
The Baltimore Business Journal featured Amulet Pharmaceuticals Inc., a techcenter@UMBC incubator company, in its Aug. 11 “Amulet Raises $850k; Looking for $1M More.” The three-person biotechnology firm is working on technology that will “spread out the release of nitric oxide over time and to particular parts of the body.”
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/08/14/story10.html?t=printable

Brian Bailey, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun’s “Evading Link with Sudan” quoted Brian Bailey, a senior political science major and chairman of the University System of Maryland’s Student Council, in the Aug. 14 article. The University System of Maryland Foundation recently vowed to end its investments with four companies that help the Sudanese government commit genocide in the country’s Darfur region. "I believe [this] is a respectable course of action for the USM Foundation. The members of the USM Student Council are very proud of their actions,” said Bailey.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.sudan14aug14,0,6017794.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Margie Burns, English, Writes for the Baltimore Sun
Adjunct English Instructor Margie Burns wrote, “Select Few Dodge Taxes Via Offshore 'Legal Black Box'” which appeared in the Baltimore Sun on Aug. 11. The article focused on a government-led investigation that exposed how wealthy individuals evade paying taxes to the U.S. Treasury by establishing offshore accounts.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.taxhavens11aug11,0,7525490.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

Duff Goldman ’97, in the Cincinnati Post
On Aug. 9, the Cincinnati Post’s “Extreme Chef is ‘Ace of Cakes’ ” reported on the Food Network’s newest show “Ace of Cakes,” a series that chronicles chef Duff Goldman ’97, philosophy and history, working in his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes. The show premiered on Aug. 17.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/LIFE/608090340/1005

Jeff Halverson, JCET and GES, on FoxNews.com
Jeff Halverson, research associate professor of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology and an affiliate research faculty member in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, appeared in the Aug. 14 FoxNews.com article, “Researchers Probe What Spawns Hurricanes.” Halverson is working with a team of researchers from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The group is studying how tropical systems develop into hurricanes.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug14/0,4670,HurricaneBreedingGround,00.html

Similar news reports appeared in:
USA Today’s “NASA, NOAA Researchers Try to Find Out What Makes Hurricanes Form”
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/research/2006-08-14-hurricane-study_x.htm

CNN.com’s “What Turns a Baby Hurricane into a Monster?”
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/14/nasa.hurricane.study.ap/index.html

Sandra Herbert, History, in the Baltimore Sun
Professor of History Sandra Herbert discussed the life and work of Charles Darwin in the Aug. 13 Baltimore Sun’s “Darwin Still Lives.” Herbert, an expert on Darwin, will travel to Cambridge’s Christ College in September to serve as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar for the 2006-2007 academic year. She will help plan for the 2009 celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-id.profile13aug13,0,4518635.story?coll=bal-health-headlines

Read more about Herbert’s preparation for Darwin’s 200th birthday celebration at
http://umbc.edu/.

Don Norris, Public Policy, in the Baltimore Sun
Don Norris, professor of public policy and director of MIPAR, appeared in “In 3rd, A Name Could be the Edge,” a Baltimore Sun article printed on Aug. 16. The article discusses the good fortune John P. Sarbanes and Peter L. Beilenson may experience in Anne Arundel County’s 3rd District congressional race because of their famous political fathers, Sen. Paul Sarbanes and Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson, a California Democrat. "If his name weren't John P. Sarbanes, and his dad wasn't Paul Sarbanes, the senator, he wouldn't be a contender," said Norris.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.third16aug16,0,1924753.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
On August 13, in the Press & Sun Bulletin’s “Hillary: Just Her Name Stirs Passion,” Tom Schaller, associate professor of political science, inferred that political opponents of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton may likely have more of an issue with her gender than her politics. “Normally, ambition is considered a positive quality, particularly for a potential presidential candidate. But when you mix it with gender, "it suddenly becomes like something unholy," especially in Clinton's case. "A lot of people have a certain issue with a strong, accomplished woman," said Schaller.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060813/NEWS01/608130325/1006

On Aug.11, Schaller appeared in a CQ Politics.com article, “MD Senate: Race to Replace Sarbanes Still in Low Gear.” Schaller said, Kweisi Mfume’s $172,000 in campaign money creates difficulty for the senate-hopeful. “There are state Senate candidates that have more money than that,” Schaller said. “He’s not going to run any kind of paid media campaign.”
http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/08/md_senate_race_to_replace_sarb.html

On Aug. 10, the Buffalo News included Schaller as a source in “Lieberman's Loss is Rife With Anti-war Repercussions.” Schaller said the defeat of Sen. Joseph Lieberman in the Connecticut primary proves that there is a large contingent of voters against the Iraq war. "This just strips away the whole canard that it's just a radical fringe that opposes the war," Schaller said.
http://buffalonews.com/editorial/20060810/1024313.asp

In the Aug. 10 Las Vegas Sun, Schaller cites additional reasons for Lieberman’s defeat against Ned Lamont.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/aug/10/566617687.html

“Democrats Look to Western States for New Base,” a July 24 Seattle Post Intelligencer article mentioned Schaller’s forthcoming book, Whistling Past Dixie, which provides an analysis of why Democrats should focus on building their political base in Western states.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/278619_demswest24.html

UMBC’s Maryland Voter Information Clearinghouse in the News
The debut of the Maryland Voter Information Clearinghouse (http://mdelections.umbc.edu/), a project of the National Center for the Study of Elections, a research center within the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis & Research at UMBC, appeared in several news publications. The Clearinghouse, which also is a joint project with the Maryland State Board of Elections, helps voters in Maryland access information that will help them make decisions about voting in the 2006 Primary and General Elections. Visitors to the site can search the state’s campaign finance database, verify voter registration, find out where to vote and look up information on candidates for statewide office.

WJLA ABC 7 News in Washington, DC published the Aug. 15 article, “Searchable Political Database for Md. Starts Operation.”
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0806/352980.html

On Aug. 16, the Washington Post printed, “New Web Site a Clearinghouse for Voter Information.” Don Norris, professor of public policy and director of MIPAR, mentioned: “We're not making public anything by law that's not already publicly available in Maryland."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081501184.html

Carla Valenzuela, Meyerhoff Scholar, in Time Magazine
Carla Valenzuela, a Meyerhoff scholar and a biochemistry and molecular biology major, appeared in Time magazine’s “Who Needs Harvard?” about perspective college students opting for a less-expensive and more intimate undergraduate experience with the ultimate goal of selecting a “world-class” research university for graduate school.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1226150-4,00.html
[Requires Subscription]

August 11, 2006

Warren R. DeVries, Engineering and Information Technology, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun mentioned Warren R. DeVries, the new dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, in its Aug. 5 “Md. Schools Announce New Hires.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.deans05aug05,0,5724756.story?coll=bal-education-top

Duff Goldman ’97, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun prominently featured Duff Goldman ’97, philosophy and history, in “Enjoying the Sweet Life of Charm City Cakes” on Aug. 6. Goldman, the owner of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, will host the Food Network’s newest show “Ace of Cakes,” set to premiere at 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 17.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/custom/modernlife/bal-ml.drink06aug06,0,5956066.story?coll=bal-modernlife-headlines

Jeffrey Halverson, JCET, GES, in the Washington Post
On Aug. 7, the Washington Post quoted Jeffrey Halverson, research associate professor of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology and an affiliate research faculty member in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, in “Research Team Seeking Clues to a Hurricane's Birth.” Halverson is part of a team of researchers from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is studying the formation of hurricanes. "These waves are pretty innocuous — lines of heavy rain with some thunderstorms, but about 10 percent change character as they move to sea and get rotations and start building up power. That's the big mystery: Where does the spin come from,” said Halverson.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/06/AR2006080600514.html

In Vitro Technologies Inc., techcenter@UMBC, in the Daily Record
The Daily Record reported the $30 million acquisition of In Vitro Technologies Inc. by an international life sciences company. Celsis International plc, a London-based company, purchased the techcenter@UMBC company and will possibly pay an additional $5 million for In Vitro. In Vitro will remain in its current location. Paul Silber, president of In Vitro, and Tammi Thomas, director of business development and marketing for the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park, were quoted in the Aug. 9 “Catonsville Firm Sold for $30M; Jobs to Stay.”
http://www.umbc.edu/techcenter/pdf/ivtsold.pdf

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
Tom Schaller, associate professor of political science, wrote “Sore Loserman,” which the American Prospect published on Aug. 9. Schaller offers several political lessons based on the Connecticut Senate Primary, when longtime Sen. Joe Lieberman lost the primary by four points to Ned Lamont.
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=11827

In the Aug. 7 Laurel Leader’s “Meade Expansion Shapes Arundel Council Contest,” Schaller analyzed the involvement of Republicans in the race for Anne Arundel County Council District 4 seat.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=810&NewsID=737510&CategoryID=5845&show=localnews&om=1

On Aug. 7, the Baltimore Sun included Schaller in “Jewish Vote is Critical in Race to Replace Cardin.” According to the article, the Jewish vote will heavily influence the outcome of the 3rd Congressional District seat, in which U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, is stepping down from. “The Jewish community has always been the ground zero of that district. It plays a very big role in a Democratic primary because these are high-turnout voters,” said Schaller.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.third07aug07,0,1793681.story?page=1

On Aug. 6, the Baltimore Sun quoted Schaller in “Edge from a Wedge,” about tactics Democrats are using to push Republicans over the edge and out of office. “It's hard to wedge Republicans because their base in this state is very small, and they've been so starved in a Democrat-dominated state for so long that they're harder to divide," said Schaller.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-id.wedge06aug06,0,6212381.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Michael Tully ’97, in Filmmaker Magazine
Michael Tully ’97, visual and performing arts, appeared in Filmmaker magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film 2006.” Tully’s independent film, “Cocaine Angels,” is about Jacksonville, Florida’s drug culture. Tully also recorded music under the name EncoprEsis and writes a well known film/music blog, Boredom At Its Boredest (http://blogs.indiewire.com/tully/).
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/summer2006/features/25_faces16-20.php

August 4, 2006

Chris Gunther, Nancy Young, Residential Life, in the Catonsville Times
Chris Gunther, assistant director of residential life, and Nancy Young, assistant vice president for housing operations, appeared in the July 27 Catonsville Times’ “UMBC Upgrading its Residence Halls and Reputation.” The article mentioned that the upgrades are part of the University’s focus to change the perception that UMBC is a commuter campus.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=351&NewsID=735963&CategoryID=11091&on=1

Kent Rogowski, '96, in the New York Times
A documentary co-produced by Kent Rogowski, '96, who majored in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in photography and anthropology, premiered Aug. 1 on PBS. A review of the documentary, “Al Otro Lado” (The Other Side), appeared in the Aug. 1 New York’s Times’ “‘Al Otro Lado,’ a PBS Documentary, Explores Songs About Poverty and Crime.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/01/arts/television/01lado.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Yvette Mozie-Ross, Enrollment Management, in the Baltimore Sun
The August 2 Baltimore Sun included Yvette Mozie-Ross, assistant provost for enrollment management, in “Goucher Housing Crunch,” about the College’s large influx of incoming freshmen and its attempt to find housing for some of its returning students. Spokespersons from regional universities provided details about their fall enrollment and housing situation.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.goucher02aug02,0,7556392.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Rick Martel ’80, in the Catonsville Times
The Catonsville Times profiled Rick Martel ’80, political science and economics, on August 2 in “It Took a While for Lawyer to Enter Politics.” Martel, a resident of Catonsville and an Arbutus-based attorney, recently filed as a Republican candidate for the 12th District state Senate seat.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=351&NewsID=737108&CategoryID=8381&show=localnews&om=1

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Democratic Strategist
Tom Schaller, associate professor of political science, wrote an article that appeared in the Democratic Strategist. In “OK, But Dems Could Benefit from Strategic Redistricting,” Schaller said white and minority Democrats need to unify in order to obtain or maintain a House majority. “A new alliance between white and minority Democrats must be forged, with the goal of redrawing the 2012 maps to enable Democrats to recapture—or, if already recaptured, retain—a House majority.”
http://www.thedemocraticstrategist.org/0607/schallera.php

Dan Fabris, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Receives NIH Grant
Dan Fabris, associate professor of chemistry, is one of just 14 researchers nationally to receive a National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources High-End Instrumentation grant.

The $1.5 million grant will fund the purchase of a 12 Tesla Q-FTICR, an extremely powerful, high-resolution instrument for analysis of nucleic acids and protein-nucleic acid complexes.

This will make UMBC one of just a handful of locations in the U.S. to have this type of instrument, greatly boosting our research on drug resistance by HIV-1 and other retroviruses, which could lead to the development of new and more effective inhibitor drugs for AIDS therapy.
For more information on research at UMBC, visit http://www.umbc.edu/research/.

Andrea Meredith '94, Publishes Study in Nature Neuroscience
Andrea Meredith ’94, biological sciences, published “BK Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels Regulate Circadian Behavioral Rhythms and Pacemaker Output” on July 16 in Nature Neuroscience. Meredith and the other researchers involved in this study identified the specific brain channel that regulates the circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that influences a body’s function such as the heart rate, body temperature and sleep cycle.
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v9/n8/full/nn1740.html

August 4, 2006

Christopher Corbett, English, Featured Speaker at Oregon-California Trails Association
Christopher Corbett, acting chair of the English department, was the featured keynote speaker Aug. 9 in St. Joseph, Missouri before some 500 participants at the annual convention of the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA).

Corbett’s talk, “Truth, Half-Truth and No Truth At All – the story of the Pony Express,” was the highlight of the 24th annual convention of OCTA, an national organization that commemorates the 19th century opening of the American West along the celebrated Oregon Trail. St. Joseph, Missouri – the eastern starting point for the Pony Express - was the major jumping-off point for tens of thousands of immigrants heading west in the mid-19th century.

Corbett authored Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express published by Random House/Broadway Books division.

August 4, 2006

Museums of Tomorrow Receives AAM Award
The American Association of Museum's 2006 Publication Design Competition awarded First Prize to Museums of Tomorrow: A Virtual Discussion in the category of Scholarly Journals.

Museums of Tomorrow: A Virtual Discussion is the eighth title published by the Center for Art and Visual Culture (CAVC). It is part of CAVC’s Issues in Cultural Theory series and the third publication produced by the CAVC in partnership with the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. All three publications have won First Prize in the category of Scholarly Journals.

Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo, associate professor and associate chair of visual arts, designed the book.

On August 3, UMBC is launching a new home page on the Web (www.umbc.edu) and myUMBC portal (http://my.umbc.edu). The strategy for the August 2006 launch and future phases is to refocus the UMBC homepage on the needs of external users, while making myUMBC more useful to internal users through richer content and self-service options.

The redesign, a collaborative effort between the Offices of Institutional Advancement (OIA) and Information Technology (OIT), reflects input gathered over the last three years during talks with prospective undergraduate and graduate students, and UMBC students, faculty and staff.

UMBC's enrollment goals play an important role in the homepage design. In order to attract prospective undergraduate and graduate students, it will be important to use the homepage as a marketing tool, promoting campus life and student success stories, for example. Site users and prospective students said that information on both the old homepage and portal was hard to find and the homepage did not give a sense of the campus or what it is like to attend UMBC.

The new design by Jim Lord '99, OIA's associate director of creative services, features an upgraded navigational scheme that highlights audience-specific resources (prospective students, parents, alumni, etc.), a collage of campus photos and more room for events and feature stories. The new homepage and portal will also highlight our 40th anniversary and upcoming capital campaign.

The new myUMBC was designed by UMBC's new campus portal architect B. Collier Jones in OIT. The redesign changes the look and feel of the campus' internal site, which provides access to tools and utilities faculty, staff and students need to do their work and live on campus. For now, most of those functions remain the same; the presentation, however, has changed.

For the fall 2006 launch, the new portal is particularly focused on the needs of students and will be a one-stop shop for news about what's happening on campus. The Start Page features announcements, information about upcoming events and news of interest to undergraduate and graduate students, such as student government, information about registration and commencement, residential life, arts and athletics.

In the next year, faculty and staff will have their own Start Pages, but the new portal currently features a front-page "dashboard" with access to most popular applications for faculty, staff and students - blackboard, e-mail and Oracle Calendar (for faculty and staff).

This facelift is just the beginning of plans to improve UMBC's Internet presence. The OIA and OIT Web team, collectively known as "Emedia," calls it "a down payment" on the future sites. In addition to Jones and Lord, the team includes John Fritz, director of instructional technology and new media and Jackie Ward, campus Web architect from OIT and Eleanor Lewis, associate director of internal and digital communications from OIA.

Read more about the new features on UMBC's homepage and portal and next steps for a site-wide redesign.

Please send your comments and suggestions on the new homepage and myUMBC to helpdesk@umbc.edu.

UMBC's upcoming arts and culture events are available at www.umbc.edu/arts.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded UMBC a $2.9 million grant to establish a new doctoral student training program in “Water in the Urban Environment.”

The NSF funding, part of a highly competitive and nationally prestigious Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program, will provide 20 Ph.D. students with annual stipends plus assistance with tuition and fees as UMBC recruits and trains teams of graduate students in the ecology, economics, engineering, public health and policy impacts of urbanization on the Chesapeake Bay region’s water resources.

The “Water in the Urban Environment” Ph.D. training program will involve 32 faculty members from nine UMBC departments and six partner institutions. Like all IGERT programs, the UMBC training will emphasize an interdisciplinary team approach for Ph.D. students. The program includes internships in industry, government, and non-governmental organizations.

“The NSF IGERT program is nationally recognized as a mark of academic excellence,” said Claire Welty, director of the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education at UMBC. “This grant puts UMBC’s environmental programs on the national map in graduate environmental education and offers Marylanders a superb environmental educational opportunity right in their own back yard.”

According to Welty, “We’ve already recruited four outstanding students for the Fall 2006 semester– from North Carolina, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia -- and will recruit an additional five for fall 2007,”

The program takes advantage of UMBC’s longtime research partnerships with public agencies, nonprofits, and private consultants in the field of urban environmental and hydrology studies, as well as the proximity of Baltimore to the Chesapeake Bay. UMBC is home of the field headquarters of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, one of two urban sites in the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research network. In June, UMBC broke ground for the US Geological Survey’s Maryland/Delaware/District of Columbia Water Science Center new home at bwtech@UMBC, the university’s on-campus research and technology park.

The UMBC program is one of approximately 20 new IGERT awards granted this year by the NSF. For more information on the NSF’s IGERT programs, visit www.igert.org.

UMBC biologist Rachel M. Brewster received the nation’s top honor for promising young scientists, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which were recently announced at a White House ceremony.

The PECASE provides up to five years of financial support to the honored scientists for research and community outreach. Awardees must be nominated by a participating federal agency or department. Brewster was one of just three U.S. biologists nominated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) who were selected for the PECASE.

Brewster will use her PECASE funding to involve high school, undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds in her lab’s research. Brewster’s specialty is genetic analysis of zebrafish embryos to better understand the causes of birth defects of the brain and central nervous system, the most common of which is spina bifida, the leading cause of childhood paralysis in the United States.

“It's certainly an amazing honor to receive this award,” said Brewster. In her acceptance speech, Brewster thanked UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski as the catalyst for the University’s Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. The Meyerhoff Program has become known as a national model for drawing talented minority students into research careers that often begin under the mentorship of UMBC professors.

“I have been very fortunate to work with some of these students in my lab,” said Brewster. She singled out UMBC alumna and former Meyerhoff Scholar Keisha John, who now attends the Watson Graduate School of Biological Sciences, as instrumental in producing some key data that made the award nomination possible.

“This is a great honor for Rachel and the department,” said Lasse Lindahl, professor and chair of UMBC’s biological sciences department. “The award will make officials in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology and colleagues around the country more familiar with the quality of research at UMBC. We are very proud of Dr. Brewster and her accomplishments.”

“Rachel Brewster is a wonderful colleague, an inspiring role model and a dedicated mentor to many students at UMBC,” said Lynn Zimmerman, professor of biology and vice provost for academic initiatives at UMBC. “She is a tremendous asset to UMBC's biological sciences department and we are delighted to see her receive this well deserved recognition.”

Brewster, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UMBC, received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and did postdoctoral work at the New York University’s Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine and the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

The PECASE program recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge early in their careers. President Bush honored a total of 60 young scientists for their extensive research accomplishments and for their noteworthy educational contributions at the ceremony.

Warren R. DeVries, former National Science Foundation official and department chair of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University, is UMBC's new Dean of Engineering and Information Technology (IT).

DeVries is a leader in the national drive for excellence in engineering education and is also well known in his field for his pioneering research in manufacturing processes and systems. Since 2002, he has served as Division Director for the NSF’s Division of Design and Manufacturing Innovation, where he led a staff of 15 and managed an annual budget of $65 million.

DeVries said he believes that UMBC’s College of Engineering and Information Technology will thrive in the 21st century by developing diverse knowledge-enabled graduates, faculty and staff who advance the frontiers of scholarship and innovation to benefit society, and partnerships with government and industry to create new opportunities that have an impact beyond the bounds of the campus. He would like to use his experience to spur innovation through education, research and industry partnerships, especially with small or startup technology-based firms.

“I’d like to work with faculty and staff building on UMBC’s reputation for integration of education and research covering the whole spectrum of innovation, from discovery of new knowledge and creativity to that first commercial step of a small technology businesses,” DeVries said.

“This isn’t only important for the economic vitality of Maryland and the nation, but because knowledge and people are key to the research-education-innovation cycle its part of the University’s mission," he added. “Students benefit too, since according to NSF data, the largest fraction of science and engineering graduates today, about 36 percent, are employed by small technology-based firms.”

Another of DeVries’ priorities will be giving students a multidisciplinary education that prepares them to be competitive in today’s global economy. He pointed out that the College of Engineering and Information Technology’s name is indicative of the multidisciplinary opportunities in the College at UMBC.

“In order for our students to have a good life and career, we first need to provide a relevant and solid education,” DeVries said. “We’ll need a truly global view so that our graduates not only have good career opportunities, but also aspire to be leaders in their chosen fields.”

DeVries replaces Shlomo Carmi, who served as Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and Professor of mechanical engineering since 1996. Carmi will continue to serve UMBC as a member of the mechanical engineering faculty.

Read more about DeVries at UMBC's News Site.