Two Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery Exhibits Named Baltimore City Paper Critic’s Pick
“Celebrating Samuel Beckett at 100” and “Photographs of the Athenian Acropolis: The Restoration Project,” two exhibits at the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery have been selected as Baltimore City Paper Critic’s Pick. “Celebrating Samuel Beckett at 100” will be on display from Jan. 29-March 24 and “Photographs of the Athenian Acropolis will run from Jan. 29-March 4.

http://www.citypaper.com/calendar/event.asp?whatID=85733

http://www.citypaper.com/calendar/event.asp?whatID=85732

Tom Schaller in the News
Schaller and his latest book Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South, took the national stage on Jan.22 as a guest on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” To watch the video, visit http://www.umbc.edu/NewsEvents/releases//archives/2007/01/umbc_political.html.

On Jan. 19, Schaller was quoted in Time magazine’s “The Democrats' New Western Stars” about the newly elected Democratic state officials in Colorado.
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1580387,00.html

On Jan. 19, Schaller wrote “Is Harold Ford Built for the Road Ahead?” for Salon.com which discusses the appointment of former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford as chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/19/harold_ford/index.html

techcenter@UMBC in Digital Harbor Online
Two techcenter@UMBC stories appeared in Digital Harbor Online on Jan. 22. The first news brief announced that two biotech firms, Tradezyme and Biomedica Management, will join the techcenter@UMBC as its newest tenants. Tradezyme, formerly known as GeneTrade, is developing a registry and exchange for plasmids, which are specially designed pieces of DNA used in scientific research. Biomedica, which helps scientific investigators obtain and manage funding, pursue patents and market the commercialization, will relocate from its Michigan-based facilities.

The final news brief announced the selection of David J. Fink, Ph.D., as director of entrepreneurial services at UMBC’s techcenter@UMBC. In his role, Fink will mentor many of the companies in the center.

Two UMBC Alumni in the Baltimore City Paper
Emily Hunter ’06, American studies and visual arts, and Arthur Soontornsaratool ’05, photography, appeared in the Baltimore City Paper’s Jan. 24 “Pressing On.” Hunter and Soontornsaratool are the founders of Locus magazine (www.locusartmagazine.org), a publication that focuses on emerging Baltimore artists. Also, working for the magazine are Emily Hauver ‘06, visual arts, who works as the acting curator of exhibitions at the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, and Neil Cotterill ’04, visual arts.
http://www.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=13168

Erickson’s Retirement Living TV in the Baltimore Examiner
Baltimore Examiner profiled the relocation of the Retirement Living Television studio to UMBC. “Retirement TV Reaches Viewers with UMBC,” was published on Jan. 25. Retirement Living Television, owned by Erickson Retirement Communities, broadcasts programming for people over 55 years of age and reaches more than 25 million homes five days a week.
http://www.examiner.com/a-527637~Retirement_TV_reaches_viewers_with_UMBC.html

January 26, 2007

Brian Hodges, Men’s Basketball, in the Baltimore Sun
On Jan. 18, the Baltimore Sun profiled junior guard Brian Hodges in “A Quick Study at UMBC.” Hodges, a financial economics major, averages 16.2 points a game, making him the lead scorer on the men’s basketball team although he rarely starts a game. In the article, UMBC coach Randy Monroe said the team depends on Hodge’s scoring ability.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/bal-sp.hodges18jan18,0,2374569.story?coll=bal-college-mbasketball

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski in the News
UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski gave the keynote address for a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast in Huntsville, Ala on Jan. 15.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1168769843138810.xml&coll=1

On Jan. 14, the Indianapolis Star published, “Diversity Can Help Overcome Disparities,” a Q and A with Hrabowski, who discussed the need to increase minority representation in the medical, scientific and mathematical fields. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070114/OPINION03/701140347/-1/ZONES04

FIRST LEGO Competition, Anne Spence in the Baltimore Sun
“Students Compete by Learning to Think Small,” a feature story on the Maryland FIRST LEGO League competition, which will be held on Jan. 20 at UMBC, was published in the Baltimore Sun on Jan. 19. The competition, a partnership between LEGO Group and For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is designed to inspire young children to think more about math and science. Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Anne Spence was quoted in the article.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.lego19jan19,0,4271674.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
On Jan. 13, the Washington Post cited Associate Professor of Political Science Tom Schaller and his book Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South in “West Is Going in Democrats' Direction” about the Democrats’ decision to host the 2008 nomination convention in Denver. The selected location reflects the changing political demographics - from Republican to Democrat - in the mountain states.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011201927.html

Hotline, the National Journal’s daily briefing on politics, mentioned Schaller’s Whistling Past Dixie in its Jan. 12 article "HRH Extra: Southern Comfort".
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/01/hrh_extra_south.html

UMBC Chess Program in the Record (N.J.)
On Jan. 13 in “Chess Starts Early in North Jersey,” the Record (N.J.) mentioned UMBC as one of the colleges or universities in the nation to offer chess scholarships to top chess players. The article featured students in the International Chess Academy, a New Jersey-based program that trains young, aspiring chess champions.
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDU2Mjk5

January 12, 2007

Warren Belasco, American Studies, on Two NPR Shows
American Studies Professor Warren Belasco was a guest on two National Public Radio shows, WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show in Washington, D.C. and KPCC’s Larry Mantle Show in Los Angeles, to discuss his new book, Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food.

Kojo Nnamdi Show
http://www.wamu.org/programs/kn/07/01/08.php#12852

Larry Mantle Show
http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/listings/2006/12/airtalk_20061211.shtml

Margie Burns, English, Writes for Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal
Margie Burns, an adjunct faculty member in English, wrote "Jane Austen and Birthdays," which was published in Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal, published annually by the Jane Austen Society (http://www.jasna.org). The article appears in Volume 28 in April.

Kristin Drabyn, Women’s Basketball, in the Baltimore Examiner
Junior Kristin Drabyn, a guard on UMBC’s Women’s basketball team, was featured in the Baltimore Examiner’s “Sharpshooter Sparks Retrievers” on Jan. 5. According to the article, Drabyn is the most improved player in the America East Conference. Women’s Basketball Head coach Phil Stern was quoted in the article about Drabyn’s performance.
http://www.examiner.com/a-491626~Sharpshooter_sparks_Retrievers.html

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski in the News
UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski will be a guest speaker during Indiana University School of Medicine’s fifth annual Diversity Week from Jan. 15-19. Dr. Hrabowski will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 16 and will lecture on “Beating the Odds: Preparing Minorities for Medical and Bio-Medical Research Careers.”
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070108/LOCAL/70108037/1195/CUSTOMPUB21

On Jan. 27, Hrabowski will also participate in an Anne Arundel County public school system high school panel discussion on "Defining A High-Performing School."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-ar.ednotes07jan07,0,2571068.story?coll=bal-education-top

Matt Mainen, Political Science, in the News
On January 8, the Baltimore Sun published junior political science major Matt Mainen’s “Condemn the Arab League's Stance on Somalia.” Mainen claims the Arab League’s blatant disrespect of Somalia’s national sovereignty should prompt the international community to express disapproval of the Arab League.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.somalia08jan08,0,2257246.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

Mainen wrote the editorial, “Wahhabism in America,” which appeared in the Washington Times. Mainen discusses the dangers of Wahhabism in America. “A fringe Islamic sect created more than 1,000 years after the time of Muhammad,” Wahhabism is reportedly responsible for advancing terrorism and is significantly supported by Saudi Arabia.
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20060214-102148-7766r.htm

U.S. allies for the war on terror should be chosen by the way a country treats its women according to Mainen in his column, “A Test For US Allies: How They Treat Women,” which was published in the Christian Science Monitor on Jan. 3. Mainen said Pakistan, unlike Saudi Arabia, earns the distinction of being called a U.S. ally.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p09s01-coop.html

Mainen also did an audio interview on the Christian Science Monitor to discuss this article.
http://podcast.830wcco.com/wcco/58678.mp3

Claudia Morrell, CWIT, Participates in Conference of Women Leaders in Science, Technology, and Engineering
Claudia Morrell, executive director of the Center for Women and Information Technology, was among several U.S. professionals who served as speakers, panelists, moderators or workshop leaders for the Conference of Women Leaders in Science, Technology and Engineering in Kuwait from January 8-10. Women from 20 majority-Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa attended the conference to foster stronger relationships with their U.S. counterparts and to build their skills as leaders in science, technology and engineering.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/78465.htm

Tom Schaller in the News
Tom Schaller and his book, Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South, which advises Democrats to abandon Southern states and target Western voters, were prominently featured in columnist Froma Harrop’s editorial “John Edwards and the Non-Southern Strategy.” Published on Creators.com, Harrop discussed Southern Democrat John Edwards’ bid for President in the 2008 election.
http://www.creators.com/opinion/froma-harrop/john-edwards-and-the-non-southern-strategy.html

The Houston Chronicle carried this column on Jan. 7 with the headline “Resolved: Not to Obsess Over 2008 Campaign — Yet.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4453160.html

In his Jan. 5 Washington Examiner column, “Dem Rookies McCaskill, Tester Have Pivotal Roles,” Schaller interviewed, the night before they were sworn-in, two Democratic rookie U.S. senators, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Jon Tester of Montana, about the war in Iraq and working across party lines on key issues.
http://www.examiner.com/a-491656~Thomas_Schaller__Dem_rookies_McCaskill__Tester_have_pivotal_roles.html

UMBC Men’s Basketball in the Baltimore Examiner
On Jan. 11, the Baltimore Examiner published, “Retrievers on the Rise in AEC,” about the UMBC men’s basketball team’s successful wins on the road. The previous week, the team defeated Binghamton, 73-71, and Stony Brook, 72-53. Coach Randy Monroe was quoted in the article, which also featured junior guard Brian Hodges and freshman forward Justin Fry.
http://www.examiner.com/a-502518~Retrievers_on_the_rise_in_AEC.html

January 5, 2007

Junior Jon Aumann in the Baltimore Sun
On Dec. 20 in “It Pays to be a Geek,” the Baltimore Sun published a career profile on Jon Aumann, a junior computer engineering major, who for two years has worked as a member of Best Buy’s Geek Squad, computer technicians that repair or upgrade customers’ computers.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/careers/bal-bz.wk.atwork20dec20,0,5860594.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

Senior Brian Bailey in the Baltimore Examiner
Senior political science major Brian Bailey was quoted in the Dec. 29 Baltimore Examiner’s “Supporters of Edwards Getting an Early Start.” Bailey, who is the new vice chair of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee, supports John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee, who is one of three democrats currently running in the 2008 Presidential elections.
http://www.examiner.com/a-480048~Supporters_of_Edwards_getting_an_early_start.html

Computer Science Doctoral Students in the Monterey County Herald
On Dec. 27, the Monterey County Herald published, “ 'Recommender' Sought By Netflix,” an article that featured Marc Pickett and Sandor Dornbush, both computer science doctoral students, who are creating computer programs that can recommend specific products to internet shoppers based on their tastes or mood. Pickett is part of a UMBC team working on improving a “recommender,” a computer program that deciphers a person’s cinematic tastes. The team is competing to win a $1 million prize offered by Netflix for the program that increases the accuracy of its current recommender by 10 percent. Dornbush’s research was also mentioned. He is working on an XPOD, an MP3 player that chooses songs based on a person’s mood.
This article first appeared in the Baltimore Sun on Dec. 10.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/business/16326562.htm

Christopher Corbett, English, in the Baltimore Style Magazine
Christopher Corbett, interim chair of the Department of English, wrote “For Better or Verse” in the January/February 2007 edition of Baltimore Style magazine about the not-so-easy task of finding an appropriate marriage poem to recite at the wedding of his friend’s daughter.
http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/backpage/

Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher in Harvard Magazine
“Where the Eyeballs Are,” an article in Harvard Magazine, profiled cartoonist Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, an artist-in-residence for the UMBC Imaging Research Center (IRC). Kallaugher, with the assistance of researchers from the IRC, created an animated three-dimensional caricature of President George Bush. Kallaugher sees his research project as the next phase for political cartoonists who have lost their voices and readers as a result of declining newspaper sales and readership.
http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/010776.html

Joan Lewis Kennedy, Community and Governmental Relations, in the Baltimore Sun
On Dec. 27 in “Ulman Announces Choices as Legislative Director, Cable Chief,” the Baltimore Sun reported that Howard County Executive Ken Ulman selected Joan Lewis Kennedy, UMBC director of community and governmental relations, as the county’s new legislative director.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.appoint27dec27,0,4255515.story?coll=bal-local-howard

Kriste Lindenmeyer, History, in the Baltimore Sun
In “Ex-President's Death Reminds Nation of Betty Ford's Candor,” which appeared in the Baltimore Sun on Dec. 28, Kriste Lindenmeyer, professor and chair of history, talked about Betty Ford’s gregarious personality.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.bettyford28dec28,1,3772718.story

Robert Provine, Psychology, in Edge.Org
Psychology professor Robert Provine is among several famous thinkers from across the globe who contributed to Edge.Org’s 2007 The World Question Center. Each contributor responded to the question, “What Are You Optimistic About?” Provine’s “Things Could Always Be Worse” explains why this optimistic phrase is best “suited for everyday life.”
http://edge.org/q2007/q07_3.html#provine

Don Norris, Public Policy and MIPAR, in the Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education quoted Don Norris, professor of public policy and director of MIPAR, in its Jan. 5 article, “As Democrats Take Over More States, College Leaders Grow Optimistic,” about Gov. Martin J. O’Malley’s campaign promise to suppress college tuition increases.
[Requires Subscription.]
http://chronicle.com/free/v53/i18/18a01801.htm

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
Tom Schaller, associate professor of political science, appeared on Warren Olney's "To the Point,” which runs on many NPR stations across the nation, on Jan. 4 to talk about the 110th congress.
http://www.kcrw.com/news/programs/tp/tp070104bipartisanship_in_a_

In “Advice for Democrats: Look Away,” a Dec. 27 Baltimore Sun article, the author discussed the different political opinions concerning Schaller’s book, Whistling Past Dixie: How the Democrats Can Win Without the South, which advises Democrats to disregard Southern states and pursue Western voters.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.schaller27dec27,0,800385.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

“In Should U.S. Democrats Secede From the South?,” which was printed on Bloomberg.com on Dec. 27, Schaller discussed why the Democratic Party should ignore Southern voters.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_ferguson&sid=aLQv33nLP0E0

Brad Simpson, History, in the Christian Science Monitor
Brad Simpson, assistant professor of history and foreign relations, was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor’s “Report: Gerald Ford Disagreed With Bush's Iraq Policy” on Dec. 28. The article mentions a radio interview in which Simpson discussed former President Gerald Ford’s handling of the Indonesian/East Timor invasion in 1975.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1228/dailyUpdate.html

UMBC Chess Team in Regional and National Media
On Dec. 29 in “Comeuppance For the Ivies,” the Washington Post covered the Pan Am National Intercollegiate Chess tournament, which UMBC hosted in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 27-30. UMBC defeated the chess teams at Yale, Northwestern and Harvard. The team placed third in the competition, qualifying for the “Final Four of College Chess.” UMBC chess team member Chris Bechis and Alan Sherman, associate professor of chemistry and the team’s advisor, were quoted in the article.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/28/AR2006122801447.html?referrer=emailarticle

On Dec. 27, the New York Times’ “Good Opening Can Be a Scholarship” discussed the chess scholarship programs at universities such as UMBC, Texas Tech and the University of Texas at Dallas. UMBC’s scholarship program is the oldest in the nation. Alan Sherman was mentioned in the article as well as computer science major Katerina Rohonyan and information systems major Bruci Raul Lopez.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/education/27chess.html

“UMBC Looks To Retain Title at Chess Tournament,” a Dec. 28 WJLA.com news brief, reported on the chess team’s hope to win the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships.
“http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1206/383544.html

Coverage of the tournament and UMBC’s Chess program also appeared in the Baltimore Sun’s Dec. 28 editorial, “Board of Dreams.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.chess28dec28,0,584137.story?coll=bal-opinion-headlines

The Baltimore Sun also published on Dec. 28 “Plotting Their Move To Be A King.” Sherman and several UMBC team members were featured or quoted.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.chess28dec28,0,3924453.story

GEST Center's Assaf Anyamba Helps to Slow Deadly Fever in Kenya

Photo Caption: UMBC/NASA scientist Assaf Anyamba.

Recently, Assaf Anyamba, a research associate scientist at UMBC’s Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology (GEST) Center, got a first-hand look at how his research helped save lives.

Anyamba, an expert on using earth science satellite data to see the links between weather, disease and famine, was on personal travel in East Africa when an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever -- a deadly hemorrhagic disease -- began in Kenya. A similar outbreak the same time of year in 1997-1998 killed about 400 people.

But this time Anyamba and a team of earth science and public health colleagues from NASA, the Department of Defense and the USDA had seen the outbreak coming. Back in October, Anyamba and other scientists tracked satellite imaging data and weather forecasts predicting warmer ocean temperatures that would result in widespread and heavy rainfall and a spike in the mosquito population -- perfect conditions for Rift Valley Fever.

Photo Caption: Assaf Anyamba (right) surveys a typical breeding environment for Rift Valley Fever-carrying mosquitos northeast of Nairobi, Kenya. He is joined by Kenneth Linthicum (left) director of the USDA Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, and Elizabeth Kioko, a research entomologist with the DOD-Walter Reed Project, Kenya.

Thanks to their work, the Kenyan government partnered with international science and public health teams and had time to take preventative steps, such as outlawing the ritual sacrifice of cattle, sheep and goats during the Muslim Eid festival. These and other steps helped reduce human contact with likely animal carriers of the disease. This year's outbreak death toll was limited to 104 people so far.

Anyamba was tapped by the Department of Defense - Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (DoD-GEIS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor conditions associated with vector-borne disease outbreaks and provide early warning information to prevent and minimize the impacts of outbreaks such as the one in Kenya.

In recent months, he presented his findings on using earth science to prevent diseases like Rift Valley to various prestigious international health groups, including the WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the U.S. Rift Valley Fever Working Group. In February and March, he will be doing assessment fieldwork in Kenya to monitor the success of the disease prevention efforts.

Image Caption: A map produced by Anyamba's research team predicted the Kenyan outbreak of Rift Valley Fever.

Anyamba's work helping to contain the outbreak received international media attention from the Associated Press, The Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, New York Times and many other major news outlets.

"This is a culmination of 10 years of dedicated work," said Anyamba. "It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to translate scientific data and analysis results into products that benefit global public health."

Judah Ronch Named Professor of Practice for the Erickson School
Judah Ronch, vice president of Resident Life, Mental Health and Wellness in the Erickson Health System, has been selected as a professor of practice at the Erickson School at UMBC. Ronch founded and served as executive director of LifeSpan Developmental Systems, a mental health consulting company that provided services to the elderly.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-hs.names19jan19,0,4489821.story?coll=bal-health-headlines

Two Companies Join techcenter@UMBC
techcenter@UMBC recently added two new biotech companies, Tradezyme and Biomedica Management as tenants. Formerly known as GeneTrade, Tradezyme is developing a registry and exchange for plasmids, which are specially designed pieces of DNA used in scientific research. The company will also provide a gene-cloning service to biotech companies and academic labs. Biomedica, which will relocate from its facilities in Michigan, helps scientific investigators obtain and manage funding, pursue patents and market the commercialization.
http://www.umbc.edu/techcenter/news/index.html

January 19, 2007

Stephen Auvil, OTD and ACTiVATE, to Speak at FemStart Conference in Germany
Stephen Auvil, director of the Office of Technology Development and co-investigator for the ACTiVATE Program, will speak at the FemStart Conference in Stuttgart, Germany from Feb. 14-15. ACTiVATE (www.umbc.edu/activate) will be featured as a best practice for training women to commercialize technology out of universities.

FemStart is an initiative funded by the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technology within the Science and Society Priority. It will initiate a public debate in European countries on how to motivate female scientists to start their own businesses after graduating from a university.

For more information about FemStart, visit www.femstart.eu.

Jordan Hadfield, SGA, Named Manager of Dundalk Main Street Project
The Dundalk Renaissance Corp. has named SGA president Jordan Hadfield as the manager of the Dundalk Main Street Project, an initiative that seeks to revitalize the town’s downtown business area. Hadfield will work part-time while completing his final semester at UMBC, where he is earning a dual degree in ancient studies and political science.
http://dundalkeagle.com/articles/2007/01/18/news/news02.txt

UMBC Visual Arts Faculty and IMDA Graduate Student in Creative Alliance’s Film Festival
Short films produced by UMBC’s Assistant Professors of Visual Arts Cathy Cook and Fred Worden will be featured at the Highlandtown Creative Alliance’s "Solo Cinema: Independent Visions in Film, Jan. 18-20. Also, imaging and digital arts graduate student Phil Davis curated a series of short films that will conclude the event on Saturday evening. For more information on the screenings, visit creativealliance.org.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/bal-to.moviecal12jan12,0,1784732.story

January 12, 2007

ACTiVATE Is Finalist for the Stevie Awards
UMBC’s ACTiVATE program is a finalist for the Stevie Awards in the "Women Helping Women" category for empowering women into high-tech entrepreneurship. The Stevie Awards were created to honor and generate public recognition of the efforts, accomplishments and positive contributions of companies and business people worldwide.
(http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/women/awards/282_1943_13636.cfm)

Fink Named techcenter@UMBC’s Director of Entrepreneurial Services

CONTACT:
Tammi L. Thomas
tammi@umbc.edu
410-455-6784

Jan. 18, 2007

Baltimore, Md. – David J. Fink, Ph.D., has been named the director of entrepreneurial services at UMBC’s techcenter@UMBC. With more than two decades of experience as an entrepreneur and officer in biotechnology start-ups, Fink will provide techcenter@UMBC companies with invaluable expertise and mentoring.

Fink is the first director of entrepreneurial services for techcenter@UMBC, UMBC’s on-campus tech incubator and accelerator, home to 16 start-up and 10 emerging high-tech and biomedical companies. Fink will coordinate business services, including identifying funding sources for companies and connecting them to UMBC’s academic resources.

“I enjoy working with dynamic entrepreneurs who are committed to their companies. In these technology-based businesses, situations can change rapidly,” said Fink. “It is exciting to think the resources provided by techcenter@UMBC, along with the support I can offer to these professionals, will make a difference in their success.”

Prior to accepting the new position, Fink was UMBC’s biotech entrepreneur-in-residence, vice president of business development for Osiris Therapeutics, a researcher and research manager at Battelle in Columbus, Ohio and an executive officer in six start-up biotech companies. Fink was trained in chemical engineering at the Universities of Cincinnati and Michigan and was a postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry at Purdue University.

In addition to Fink’s role as director of entrepreneurial services, he is an instructor for the ACTiVATE program and has been an active member of the techcenter@UMBC Business Advisory Board and the Baltimore Bioscience Consortium. He also serves as an adjunct professor in UMBC’s Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering.

“David is an exceptional asset to our strong management team,” said Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of UMBC Research Park Corporation. “Expanding UMBC research opportunities, facilitating technology transfer between the University and the private sector and creating jobs are important elements of the techcenter@UMBC and our research park, bwtech@UMBC.”

About techcenter@UMBC: UMBC's technology incubator, founded in 1989, was expanded in 1996 when UMBC purchased the 30-acre five-building Lockheed Martin Research Lab facility site and renamed it techcenter@UMBC. techcenter@UMBC is home to approximately 30 early stage and mature companies. For more information about the techcenter@UMBC visit the website at www.umbc.edu/techcenter.

Phase II is bwtech@UMBC, a 41-acre research and technology community. bwtech@UMBC has a total development capacity of up to 350,000 square feet of office and laboratory space. The park will ultimately comprise five new state-of-the-art buildings occupied by research and technology firms. Both projects combined have over 40 tenants representing diverse technologies ranging from mechanical engineering to pharmaceutical research, from environmental sampling to biotechnology. For more information about the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park visit the website at www.bwtechumbc.com.

###

UMBC’s Inclement Weather Policy is posted at www.umbc.edu/facultystaff/snowpolicy.html.

Please note that you will find up-to-date information posted on the UMBC homepage and myUMBC. The campus hot line phone numbers (410-455-8881/8882/8883/8884/8885) will be updated during inclement weather events as well.

I also encourage you to sign up for E2Campus, an emergency alert text-messaging system that will permit the University to notify subscribers to any campus-related emergency (such as potential campus safety hazards or campus closures due to weather). It is compatible with mobile phones, Blackberries, “smart phones,” satellite phones, e-mail, wireless PDAs and pagers. Normal text-messaging rates apply. There are no additional charges. Sign up for this important service today at http://my.umbc.edu/notifications.

UMBC's ACTiVATE program is a finalist in the “Women Helping Women” category in the third annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The program’s entry, “Empowering Women into High-Tech Entrepreneurship,” was chosen for recognition from the more than 600 entries submitted across 40 categories. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in New York City in early March.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs and the companies they run – worldwide. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post .

ACTiVATE (Achieving the Commercialization of Technology in Ventures through Applied Training for Entrepreneurs) is an innovative, year-long program sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation to train women to become technology entrepreneurs. Since its inception, UMBC's ACTiVATE program has helped more than 50 mid-career women in the sciences and business take patented technology from university to market and three new technology-based start-up companies have been created.

“The mission of the ACTiVATE program, which is empowering women in entrepreneurship, is in perfect synch with the purpose of these awards,” said Julie Lenzer Kirk, the program’s lead instructor. “We have exceeded our 3-year goal for the number of new technology start-up companies midway through our second year. We are confident that we will continue that trend.”

Finalists were chosen by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging. Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staff select Stevie Award winners from the finalists during final judging.

Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of finalists in all categories are available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

www.umbcretrievers.com

UMBC was awarded a $2 million grant to build UMBC entrepreneurship programs across the campus, joining a select group of colleges and universities receiving funding for entrepreneurship endeavors through the Kauffman Campuses Initiative.

The Kauffman Foundation initiated the three-year-old Kauffman Campuses Initiative to catalyze entrepreneurship programs outside of business and engineering schools. The Kauffman Foundation grant complements two substantial commitments already received by UMBC to support its Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. The first commitment is $1 million from Constellation Energy Group. The second is $1 million from the Herbert Bearman Foundation to establish The Bearman Family Chair in Entrepreneurship at UMBC.

The Kauffman Foundation grant acknowledges the success and potential of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, created six years ago through a gift of $1 million from the Alex. Brown Foundation to develop a leading university entrepreneurship center for the Baltimore region.

UMBC has developed three broad strategies to make entrepreneurship education a common and accessible experience for students in all majors: exposure of students and faculty to entrepreneurs and their expertise, creation of formal education opportunities and development of programs to give students and faculty experience in entrepreneurial settings.

UMBC, recognized for its culture of entrepreneurship education despite the absence of a business school, joins a prestigious group of institutions selected by the Kauffman Foundation for funding. The others are Arizona State University, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, New York University, Purdue University, Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

UMBC learned of its selection after a campus delegation, led by President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, presented its proposal before an independent panel of judges at Kauffman Foundation headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., on December 12.

“This partnership gives UMBC the opportunity to take entrepreneurship programming to the next level,” says Vivian Armor, director of the Alex. Brown Center. “It will allow UMBC to expand course offerings for current undergraduates, graduate students and working professionals. It will improve programming that exposes students and faculty to important entrepreneurial concepts. Finally, the partnership will help develop systems to support individuals as they work to launch successful business ventures or address urgent challenges facing our communities through social entrepreneurship.”

The Alex. Brown Center supports the kind of entrepreneurial creativity and action exemplified by the creation of OpenPosting.com, the first online classified community for college students. Alumni Wan Hsi Yuan and Jason Servary created the site. It has 1,500 registered users and receives roughly 4,000 page views per day.

Entrepreneurship at UMBC also thrives via the Alex. Brown Center’s summer entrepreneurship institute. In summer, 2006, UMBC’s first Faculty Summer Institute was held for eight faculty members representing the departments of music, dance, theater and visual arts. The institute was created to broaden faculty exposure to concepts of entrepreneurship and integrate into their curricula career development skills, internships and mentoring relationships with established entrepreneurs.

Participation by faculty was determined based upon proposals that demonstrated interest in learning more about entrepreneurship. Winning proposals from faculty included the exploration of marketing and audience development initiatives, the development of courses to help students understand professional careers in the arts and arts and non-profit organization management.

The Center also serves as one of the University’s partners in the ACTiVATE program, funded by the National Science Foundation to address the unique needs of accomplished women interested in starting technology companies. Eight women in the ACTiVATE program, established two years ago, now lead their own tech companies.

The Alex. Brown Center’s activities are complemented by such other initiatives as techcenter@UMBC and bwtech@UMBC, which offer specialized support geared specifically toward research and technology businesses. Through UMBC’s Shriver Center, a national leader in promoting community-based service and internship programs, businesses are introduced to undergraduate and graduate students interested in internship experience in career-related fields.

“The Alex. Brown Center augments the excellent education UMBC offers by giving students the proper toolset to interface with business leaders in their field of choice,” said Greg Barnhill,” chair of the Alex. Brown Center Board of Visitors and partner and member of the board of Brown Advisory Securities. “We offer students guidance on how to deal with people on a daily basis, compose quality written communication and verbalize opinions effectively.”

The grant is awarded with the expectation that UMBC will raise an additional $8 million toward entrepreneurship programs during the next five years.

The Kauffman Campuses Initiative began in 2003 with $25 million in funding to eight schools that provided entrepreneurship education within liberal arts, engineering and other non-business programs.

Selection of this latest round of Kauffman Campuses schools was based on a series of criteria, including the ability to generate a partnership with other foundations and funders and the potential to create new representative models.

“Our initiative is creating a cultural change and making the entire university system more entrepreneurial,” said Kauffman CEO Carl Schramm. “We want all students, not just those in business schools, to see the value of thinking like entrepreneurs. We want them to be able to recognize and seize opportunity when it presents itself, no matter what field they find themselves in.”

UMBC's chess team qualified for the "Final Four of College Chess" by placing third in the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championships, “The World Series of College Chess," held in Washington, D.C. in December.

The top four U.S. teams at the Pan Am will advance to the Collegiate Final Four round-robin tournament to be held in Dallas on March 24 and 25, 2007. Other qualifying teams were UT-Dallas, the winner of the 2006 Pan-Am, along with Miami-Dade College and Duke University.

UMBC was the host for a successful 2006 Pan-Am tournament that drew media interest from around the nation and region, including the New York Times, an Op-Ed and feature in the Baltimore Sun and a Washington Post story.

Adithya Balasubramanian, a 10th grade player from Tabb High School in York County, Virginia, was the winner of the scholastic tournament at the Pan-Am. He is the top-rated junior player in Virginia and qualified for a four-year scholarship from UMBC with his victory.

More information online: www.umbc.edu/chess/Pan-Am2006

Matt Mainen ‘08, a senior policy analyst at the Institute for Gulf Affairs and a political science student at UMBC, recently has published several opinion articles on affairs in the Middle East.

Mainen’s op-ed article for the Baltimore Sun, “Condemn the Arab League’s Stance on Somalia,” ran on Jan. 8, 2007.

He also was published recently in the Christian Science Monitor (“A Test for U.S. Allies: How They Treat Women,” Jan. 3, 2007). The article led to an interview on a leading radio news station in Minneapolis, WCCO-850 AM.

In February, 2006, Mainen published an opinion piece in the Washington Times, “Wahhabism in America.”

The articles and radio interview can be found below:

Baltimore Sun

Christian Science Monitor

Washington Times

WCCO-850 AM, Minneapolis