ACTiVATE in the Baltimore Sun
Since its 2005 inception, the ACTiVATE program at UMBC has produced 12 start-up companies. The Baltimore Sun said ACTiVATE “gives women access to technology and research created by the region’s laboratories and universities with a goal of commercializing… homegrown innovations.” The story, “Helping Women Start Tech Firms,” appeared on Dec. 13.
www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.activate13dec13,0,3456217.story
bwtech@UMBC in Business Monthly
Business Monthly profiled the sustained pattern of growth and success at bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. The recently re-named research park offers a “designation (that) melds the minds of the tech and real estate communities with those from academia in an effort to produce the technologies of tomorrow,” the monthly business newspaper reported. The article, “Business Brimming at bwtech@UMBC Research & Technology Park,” appeared in the December issue.
www.bizmonthly.com/12_2007_focus/f_4.shtml
Men’s Basketball in Press Box
A combination of returning players and transfers has helped the UMBC men’s basketball team beat three teams from the powerful Atlantic 10 Athletic Conference. The Retrievers won seven of their first nine games. The team and head coach Randy Monroe are featured in the cover story of Press Box, a weekly sports magazine. The article, “UMBC: A Sleeping Giant Stirs,” appeared in the Dec. 13 issue.
www.pressboxonline.com/story.cfm?id=3048
Tim Brennan, Public Policy, Economics, in the Telecommunications Report Daily
Professor of Public Policy and Economics Tim Brennan discussed the Net Neutrality Act in the Telecommunications Report Daily. Proponents of the Net Neutrality Act do not want broadband operators to charge content providers extra fees for premium placement or delivery, or be permitted to prioritize or discriminate against content.
Donald Norris, Public Policy, in the Baltimore Sun
The Maryland Board of Education gave state schools superintendent Nancy Grasmick a new four-year contract that would keep her in the post until after the 2010 gubernatorial election. “She’s been very politically savvy. She’s played both sides of the aisle and now she’s played probably the last card that’s available to her,” Donald Norris, professor of public policy, told the Baltimore Sun. The newspaper reported that the “card” is her political alliance with former Gov. Robert Ehrlich, whose appointees still constitute a majority on the state school board. The article, “Despite Critics, New Deal for Grasmick,” ran on Dec. 12.
www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.grasmick12dec12,0,2331966.story
Tom Schaller, Political Science, in Salon.com
Associate Professor of Political Science Tom Schaller profiled Oprah Winfrey’s high-profile public appearance on the South Carolina campaign trail in support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “The South Carolina event … hints at what might await (Hillary) Clinton in South Carolina, where blacks will cast more than half of all ballots in the Jan. 26 Democratic primary. A statewide poll released before the event showed that Clinton’s lead over Obama had already shrunk to just three points,” Schaller wrote for Salon.com. The article, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” ran on Dec. 10.
www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/12/10/obama_oprah/index.html
An unholy trinity of issues – abortion, immigration and his messy personal life – could hurt Republican presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani’s chances with his key constituency, Catholic voters. “Catholics, who cast almost a quarter of all votes nationally, and higher shares in swing states like Ohio, are one of the most important voting blocs in the American electorate,” Schaller wrote. His analysis, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Rudy,” appeared on Dec. 10.
www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/12/10/rudy_catholics/
Manil Suri, Mathematics, in the Baltimore Sun
Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, is preparing for the publication in February 2008 of his second novel, The Age of Shiva. Suri’s achievements as a novelist were cited in the “Digest” of the Baltimore Sun “Lifestyle” section on Dec. 9.
www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-al.bk.almanac09dec09,0,573947.story
Tommy Tittsworth ’04 in the Baltimore Sun
Tommy Tittsworth ’04, history, began his teaching career in special education this fall at Mount Hebron High School, his alma mater, joining 17 former graduates who have returned to teach or work there. A member of the UMBC varsity lacrosse team, he was part of an outreach program in which lacrosse players take developmentally disabled children on horse rides. A Baltimore Sun feature on Tittsworth and other Mount Hebron alumni, “Hebron Alumni Can Go Home Again,” appeared on Nov. 28.
www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.hebron28nov28,0,760253.story
Theatre, Music in the Howard County Times
The Howard County Times profiled the production of The Threepenny Opera, a performance produced jointly by the Departments of Theater and Music. The groundbreaking work of musical theater was performed at UMBC on several occasions through Dec. 9.
http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=573
UMBC in Inside Higher Education
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has chosen UMBC and 11 other institutions to participate in a previously announced collaborative effort to create a national genomics course directed toward freshmen. This network of schools will teach from a centralized set of materials with a common goal of immersing students in scientific inquiry and research. The news item, “12 Colleges in Genomics Experiment,” was part of the InsideHigherEd.com “Quick Takes” summary on Dec. 13.
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/12/13/qt
