The artificial intelligence startup RedShred—cofounded by two UMBC alumni and housed in the bwtech@UMBC incubator—has received a rare Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Award from the National Science Foundation to expand in a new direction, in collaboration with UMBC faculty and graduate students.

Jeehye Yun ‘97, computer science, and Jim Kukla ‘97, M.S ‘00, computer science, launched RedShred in 2014, with the support of a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer Award from NSF. For the past four years, RedShred has created software to help universities and other institutions sort through complex government listings in search of opportunities (requests for proposals, or RFPs) that meet their needs and expertise. The new Phase II award will support RedShred as they make their products available to companies in the commercial sector.

“At RedShred our mission is to help people read less and win more,” says Yun. “We’re excited about this Phase II grant, which allows us to commercialize our Phase I research and development, and develop new mechanisms to help people understand increasingly complicated documents.”

UMBC faculty and students have collaborated with RedShred to advance the technologies behind their products. Tim Finin, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, and several graduate students have worked with RedShred to better understand how large documents, such as RFPs, tend to be structured, even when each one is formatted differently and doesn’t follow a template. They describe this process as identifying the document’s semantic DNA.

By defining and identifying the core elements of each RFP, UMBC student researchers have been able to create “at-a-glance” summaries of these highly complex documents that provide all the necessary information and save the client the time of wading through levels of detail.

“Our collaboration with RedShred has given UMBC students great opportunities to participate in both basic and applied research focused on developing an innovative commercial product,” explains Finin. “This has involved both undergraduate and graduate students majoring in computing as well as the arts and humanities. For example, computer science graduate student Muhammad Rahman Ph.D. ‘18, computer science, developed a problem he encountered when working with RedShed into his Ph.D. dissertation, which he completed his summer.”

Each year, Maryland Incubator Company of the Year (ICOY) Awards recognize the achievements of current and past incubator companies in the state. In 2017, three bwtech@UMBCincubator companies at won their respective award categories, bringing bwtech@UMBC’s total ICOY winners to two twenty since the award program begin in 2002. The honorees, as well as several award nominees from bwtech@UMBC, were recognized at a special awards ceremony held at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

“We are thrilled that three of our bwtech@UMBC companies were recognized for their outstanding efforts by winning Incubator Company of the Year awards in their respective industry categories,” says Jennifer Reynolds, director of venture creation at bwtech@UMBC. “These awards represent the incredible effort and drive that our entrepreneurs have, and we are honored and humbled to play a part in their success.”

Fearless Solutions, a software company that primarily develops applications to presents content visually, won the award for best service/consulting company category. Delali Dzirasa ‘04, computer engineering, president and CEO of Fearless Solutions, headquartered in the Spark Coworking Space in Baltimore with additional office space in bwtech, reflected on how meaningful the award was for him, noting:

“We work hard to build software that has an impact on our community, partly because our community has helped so much in getting us to where we are today. It’s incredibly humbling to be recognized alongside so many other outstanding companies, and we’re really grateful for all of the support that we’ve received from both bwtech@UMBC and Spark—we wouldn’t be here without them!”

FZata, a company that develops therapeutic and preventive medicines using antibody technology, won the best life sciences company category. The company is currently developing a compound to fight against Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that disrupts normal, healthy colons and can be very challenging to treat, even in highly advanced medical care facilities. In the U.S., C. diff causes more than half a million infections, and nearly 30,000 deaths, each year.

Zhiyong Yang, co-founder and CEO of FZata, reflects, “Ever since the launch in bwtech@UMBC in November 2015, FZata has earned quite a few significant government grants, including a very recent $5.8M RO1 grant, which represents the recognition from our scientific peers. Now being selected as Best Life Sciences Company reflects the recognition from our business peers,” says Yang. “It is a great honor to us.”

Leverage, a software company that specializes in developing new technologies that can impact society, won the best software company category. Eric Conn ‘85, computer science, co-founder and CEO of Leverage, says that the support from bwtech@UMBC has played a large part in the success of the company, and he calls the ICOY award “validation of the hard work that our entire team has put in for nearly three years now.”

“Our Internet of Things (IoT) software platform and companion educational website ‘IoT For All’ are quickly becoming the preferred tools for IoT projects large and small,” says Conn. “Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are already having a large impact on people’s lives and we hope to strike the right balance between the efficiencies that technology can bring and the preservation of satisfying, high-paying jobs for future generations.”

Since 2002, more than a dozen incubator companies at bwtech@UMBC had won awards at the Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Awards.

In June, Mike Wagner ‘97, information systems management, ‘98, computer science, vice president of WaveStrike, was recently recognized by Ernst & Young at the annual Entrepreneur of the Year Maryland Awards. He was recognized as an entrepreneur in the technology services category for WaveStrike, a software engineering company that develops systems that protect national security.

Read “These startups won Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Awards” in Technical.ly Baltimore, and “EY honors Entrepreneur of the Year Maryland winners” in Baltimore Business Journal. 

The bwtech@UMBC research and technology park has officially launched the iCyberCenter@bwtech to support companies from the United Kingdom and other nations as they establish themselves in Maryland. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan initially announced plans for the iCyberCenter@bwtech, as a collaboration of UMBC and the Maryland Department of Commerce, during a trade mission to the United Kingdom in mid-June, prior to the formal U.S. launch event on July 6, 2017, at bwtech@UMBC.

The iCyberCenter@bwtech will offer an intensive training program for the executives of select international companies seeking to connect with the U.S. market. The first executive training session will be held September 11 – 15, 2017, and organizers anticipate running three such sessions annually, with each including 6-8 entrepreneurs. Through the program, participants will increase their understanding of the U.S. cyber market and develop custom market entry plans for their businesses.

Companies accepted into the program will also benefit from the 12-month U.S. Market Entry Incubator Program, which will offer support while they launch their U.S. operations. Participants in the year-long support program will have access to mentorship from industry experts, and will engage in trainings, events, and networking opportunities.

Jennifer Reynolds, bwtech’s director of venture creation, and Andy Williams, most recently the United Kingdom’s first cyber trade envoy to the U.S., will lead the iCyberCenter, with Williams serving as CEO. Reynolds is focused on developing the right supports to meet the needs of incoming companies, noting, “There is not a one-size-fits-all for getting into the U.S. market in cybersecurity.” Williams sees his role as educating people about why “there is no better place for an overseas company to develop a U.S. presence than Maryland.”

Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of bwtech@UMBC, sees the iCyberCenter as an economic development engine. She notes that, in addition to helping to create at least 100 permanent jobs over the next several years, it “will support Maryland’s desire to increase foreign direct investment in the state” by boosting the state’s international visibility as a home for cybersecurity leaders. “We believe the economic impact of the iCyberCenter will be significant…and secure Maryland’s place in cybersecurity innovation in the world,” she explained at the launch event.

“The creation of the iCyberCenter@bwtech will further develop UMBC’s cybersecurity ecosystem, and will continue to build Maryland’s reputation as a leader in the cyber industry,” said UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski in an early announcement about the iCyberCenter@bwtech. At the launch, he further emphasized the tremendous potential he sees in the new center, noting, “The opportunities for business development are limitless when thinking about this industry and international partnerships.”

Quite simply, Maryland Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill told the crowd, “this is a big deal” as an economic development opportunity, and as a chance to show the international business and tech communities that UMBC “stands for excellence, innovation, and grit.”

When it comes down to it, said Williams, “We have a hunger here to get things done, but we also have a community.” He sees UMBC’s combination of support, talent, knowledge, and drive as essential to the success of the iCyberCenter@bwtech itself.

Read more coverage of the iCyberCenter@bwtech in The Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore Business Journal, Technical.ly Baltimore, and Southern Maryland Online. Another article appeared in The Baltimore Sun in October 2017.

Header image features Andy Williams speaking at the iCyberCenter launch. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

The bwtech@UMBC research and technology park has formally received Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise (RISE) Zone designation from the Maryland Department of Commerce. This designation supports existing companies, new companies, and UMBC faculty interested in commercializing their work. The RISE Zone program provides tax credits for qualifying businesses in specific geographic areas with strong connections to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations affiliated federal agencies, and regional higher education centers.

UMBC’s Greg Simmons, vice president of institutional advancement, told Technical.ly Baltimore that the program will enable the university to consider expanding the bwtech@UMBC research park, which could help grow the cyber and life sciences companies. “I think it’s really clear that the state is trying to provide resources to universities and entrepreneurs to really strengthen and grow the economy,” Simmons told reporter Stephen Babcock.

President Freeman Hrabowski explained, “a RISE Zone designation will allow us to continue to attract partners to assist with additional research park development.” He described the designation as “a critical asset in the university’s technology commercialization efforts.”

bwtech@UMBC will maintain the RISE Zone designation for five years, and at that time will be eligible to apply to renew the designation for an additional five years. Based on current legislation, each county and municipality in Maryland can have three RISE Zones at any given time.

Read more coverage of the RISE Zone designation in Technical.ly Baltimore, the Baltimore Business Journal, The Baltimore Sun, and The Daily Record.

Image: the entrance to bwtech@UMBC. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. 

The UMBC community gathered in the Linehan Concert Hall on October 6 for a moving ceremony to honor the profound impacts and achievements of nine outstanding Retrievers at the 2016 UMBC Alumni Awards.

“This year’s awardees truly capture the depth of our community,” said John Becker ’01, president of the alumni association. Irina Vishnevetsky ’99, chair of the alumni awards committee, shared, “Each year the number of submitted nominations grows, and each year I am amazed by the incredible accomplishments of UMBC alumni.”

Tulay Adlai, electrical engineering, introduced awardee Vincent Calhoun ’02, Ph.D. electrical engineering, as an excellent teacher and mentor, cutting-edge brain researcher, and “a truly genuine human being.”

Today, Calhoun serves as one of the youngest distinguished professors at the University of New Mexico. His primary appointment is in electrical and computer engineering, and, known for his interdisciplinary work, he maintains affiliate appointments with biology, computer science, neuroscience, and psychiatry. In accepting the award, Calhoun emphasized the importance of imagination in scientific research and told the students in the audience, “honesty and integrity in your work will make it endure over the long term.”

Award recipient Ian Ralby ’02, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication (MLLI) and M.A. intercultural communication, was a Humanities Scholar and varsity diver at UMBC, and graduated as valedictorian. He went on to earn a law degree at the College of William and Mary and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Cambridge, before founding I.R. Consilium, a consultancy that advises governments on international law and policy.

Ralby credits his UMBC humanities education for much of his success in international negotiation, remarking, “I learned to pick up on the subtleties of human interaction, in my own culture and across cultures.” He noted that those skills have “frequently been the deciding factor in whether my work has been merely technically proficient or truly successful.” Thomas Field, MLLI, presented Ralby’s remarks, as he was in Finland at an international maritime security conference and unable to return to the U.S. for the ceremony.

Philip Farabaugh, biological sciences, introduced natural sciences awardee Henry Baker ’78, Ph.D. ’84, biological sciences, who serves as Hazel Kitzman Professor of Genetics, professor of surgery, and chair of molecular genetics and microbiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and associate director of the University of Florida Genetics Institute. Farabaugh praised Baker for making the “courageous decision” to change the course of his research when “he recognized the clue to understanding human disease lay in determining how people’s genes change during disease.”

Baker, a Catonsville native, has been proud to watch UMBC grow over the years. “UMBC has truly excelled since its beginning in 1966 up to today, and is headed on to an even higher trajectory,” he shared. “From UMBC, you can get anywhere.”

Social and behavioral sciences awardee Ruby Lu ’94, economics, traveled from Beijing to attend the awards ceremony. After earning a master’s degree in international economics from Johns Hopkins, she co-founded DCM China, a Beijing-based venture capital firm. She has been named one of the top 50 venture capitalists in China by Forbes magazine, 2011–15. Her approach to venture capital is “to invest in companies she thinks will use technology to bring about positive change to society,” shared her nominator, David Mitch, professor and chair of economics. Lu, who came to study at UMBC from China, was a member of the university’s first class of McNair Scholars and reflected on how faculty profoundly impacted her life as teachers, mentors, and friends, at a time when she was far from home and working hard to learn English while preparing for a career.

LaMar Davis, director of The Choice Program at UMBC, referred to this year’s alumni award winner in social work as “a legend.” “If you don’t know who Joe Jones is,” he said, “you’re likely from out of town.”

Joseph Jones, Jr., ’06, social work, founded the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore City in 1999. The organization has served more than 26,000 Baltimore residents through workforce development and other initiatives, and has placed more than 6,400 in full-time jobs. Jones didn’t intend to get a college degree, but that changed when he met President Hrabowski. At UMBC, Jones shared, he developed “the ability to think about how do we create institutions, how do we move systems forward, how do we agitate in a way that creates change?” That reflection has dramatically benefited the people of Baltimore, shard Davis, noting that through his “steadfast belief and unrelenting drive” Jones has “transformed tens of thousands of lives with impacts that will be felt for generations.”

Tiffany Holmes, MFA ’99, this year’s awardee in visual and performing arts, is now the dean of undergraduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Holmes began her career as a middle school art teacher in Baltimore City and brought her students to tour UMBC’s Imaging Research Center. There, she recalled, “I quickly realized that I was interested in using technology to make art.” After over a decade in the field, she has made a “permanent mark on the canon of this once marginalized and little-understood discipline” and she is known for her “commitment to art that poses unique social challenges,” shared her nominator, Lisa Moren, professor of visual arts.

Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of bwtech@UMBC, was thrilled to introduce Tom Sadowski ’89, political science, as the 2016 Distinguished Service awardee. Sadowski, vice chancellor for economic development for the University System of Maryland, “has always valued relationships and supported partnerships, and has a knack for bringing people together and making things happen,” says Hemmerly. “I believe with Tom at the helm, UMBC and other system campuses will lead the nation in supporting innovation and creating knowledge jobs of the future.”

Accepting his award, Sadowski shared that he’s “just a guy who likes to…help solve problems, help people work as a team and achieve collective goals, or simply help people find that better part of themselves and grow.” Sadowski said that he’s particularly valued his relationship with the university over the past three decades because “UMBC leads its students to believe in themselves, and further, to believe there is nothing they cannot accomplish within themselves and within their communities by working together, with passion, and a deep, heartfelt purpose.”

Judah Ronch, dean of the Erickson School, introduced Galina Madjaroff ’08, psychology, M.A. ’11, aging studies, as the Rising Star awardee. Madjaroff serves as undergraduate program director and clinical assistant professor in the Erickson School, whose undergraduate program has grown from almost 400 in 2011 to almost 1,900 today. Ronch noted, “This is really due to the passion, hard work, leadership, and vision that Galina has brought to the program.” In particular, “Her passion is to help society and our students understand the major issues in cybersecurity and tech use for older people,” which has led her to pursue a Ph.D. in human-centered computing at UMBC. Madjaroff says UMBC is special because of the “faculty who are so nurturing, who reach out and take that extra step,” and she is driven to be that supportive mentor to current and future students.

The alumni association honored Kimberly Moffitt, professor of American studies, with the outstanding faculty award for 2016. “Everyone deserves a Dr. Moffitt—someone who shows them the goodness of the world while asking essential follow-up questions to ensure that they never get complacent,” shared her student, Ngeri Nnachi ’11, American studies. “I consider myself blessed to have such a strong, gifted, beautiful woman as my role model.” Accepting her award, Moffit emphasized, “I want to make sure my students know they have voice. And no matter what space they walk into, their voice matters. They matter.”

This focus on impact, commitment, and connection emerged again and again throughout the evening, and for good reason, shared President Freeman Hrabowski. “One measures the impact of a university by the research it produces, the questions it asks, the people who are graduates, and what they do,” Hrabowski said. “People you see on this stage are not just amazingly talented, they are good people who have done great work. I can’t think of anything an educator would want more than that: People who care about others, who strive for excellence, and who never, never, never give up.”

Banner image: From left to right: Freeman Hrabowski, Joseph Jones, Tiffany Holmes, Ruby Lu, Tom Sadowski, Galina Madjaroff, Vince Calhoun, Henry Baker, Kimberly Moffitt, John Becker; all photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Tech transfer is growing rapidly at UMBC, fueled in part by the university’s notable success in securing Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) grants designed to promote the commercialization of research.

“UMBC’s success in the MII program has been consistently growing over the course of the 3.5 years since the program started,” says Jennifer Hammaker, MII director at Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). In that time, UMBC researchers have received $2.38 million to develop their ideas into commercial applications, with an impressive success rate of 50 percent (50 applications yielding 25 awards).

The MII program is a powerful collaboration between the state of Maryland and five Maryland institutions: Johns Hopkins University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, College Park; Morgan State University and UMBC.  UMBC has one of the highest success rates for MII awards among these institutions. The most recent round of grants for UMBC includes projects in four distinct areas: interactive arts performances, biomedical technology, space weather forecasting, and biofuel production.

The Awards

Linda Dusman, professor of music, and Eric Smallwood, assistant professor of visual arts, will use their phase III award to scale up a prototype of their mobile app, Octava, to make it available to a larger slice of the public. Octava provides real-time program notes during performances such as classical music, dance, and theatre, offering audiences details about the artists and other information that can enrich their experience of the performance and, as Dusman put it, “do real-time education.”

Previous MII grants helped Dusman and Smallwood generate the prototype and conduct a market research study. The phase III grant will enable the team to respond to feedback from phase II, including connecting the app to social media.

Chris Geddes, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Institute of Fluorescence, won a phase III award in this round for Lyse-it, a company that produces a low-cost portable device that breaks open cells and chops up their DNA to prescribed fragment sizes, a step required in many sample-preparation procedures in the biomedical research and health care industries. The phase III funding will facilitate production of a large inventory of the Lyse-it product and support development of a rapid marketing strategy.

Neel Savani, a researcher at UMBC’s Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute (GPHI), is developing a system that can forecast solar storms up to 24 hours in advance, a huge improvement over the current ability to give a one-hour warning. His team’s phase I MII grant will allow them to “get a handle and statistical understanding of how good of an improvement this forecast will be,” Savani explains, “If I can validate how much the improvement will be, then I can convert that into a sales pitch.”

“It’s great to see the state of MD take the lead in supporting space technology,” Savani adds, “I’m seeing venture capitalists looking to invest in the space industry.”

Jeffrey Gardner, assistant professor of biological sciences, received a phase I award for a technology that will support the biofuels industry. His group “will develop a set of small porous filters that enables real-time measurement of microbial growth during biofuel production,” he explains. Bacterial cells used for biofuel production break down large molecules to obtain nutrients, and then use those nutrients to either grow more cells or produce biofuel. By measuring how many cells are growing in real time, researchers can tell if the bacterial cells are “spending more energy than they should making more cells instead of making biofuel.”

Learning Curve

The MII grant process can be a huge learning opportunity for research faculty, many of whom have never tackled a business venture. David Fink, a “site miner” at UMBC, seeks out faculty research that could lead to successful commercial products and supports faculty through the process from start to finish. Don Engel, assistant vice president for research, also encourages faculty to pursue commercialization when he thinks their work is a good fit.

Smallwood shares, “Dave [Fink] has been indispensable, helping us understand the program and shape our ideas.” As UMBC’s first MII team in the arts, and only the second team of artists to receive an MII grant, he says, “We were coming from a different field than most of the applicants, so we had to reorient our brains to how we navigate this new world.”

For Dusman, a business venture “is like an octopus.” She often finds herself asking, “What do you mean there’s one more leg?”

UMBC resources also aided Savani as he grew his business skills. “As somebody who comes from a very research-centric background, I don’t necessarily know the correct lingo for commercialization,” he admits, “That was a tricky component for me to learn, with a steep learning curve.” He thanks Fink and Engel, as well as Paola Buitron and Wendy Martin in UMBC’s Office of Technology Development and Margo Young at GPHI, for his success with the MII program. “They were an absolute tremendous help. They were very patient and supportive.”

“This program is asking questions of faculty that most of them have never been asked,” says Hammaker. “It’s forcing them to think differently.”

She credits UMBC’s success receiving a particularly large number of grants to a combination of support from high-level administrators as well as site miners like Fink. She cites Dusman and Smallwood as an example of what that kind of support makes possible. “They’re closing sales all over the country,” Hammaker says, “That doesn’t happen without a support system.”

Some companies formed by UMBC faculty, as well as alumni and university partners, choose to create a home base at bwtech@UMBC, adjacent to campus. Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of bwtech@UMBC, explains that the research and technology park “provides a range of incubator services to help the companies grow and be successful.”

Geddes, one of the phase III grant recipients, is a veteran entrepreneur attuned to the business landscape. “We are seeing an increased amount of funding available to faculty to explore their ideas and inventions with regard to commercialization,” he says, “With more funding and opportunities materializing, we should expect to see many more companies being spun out from UMBC in the coming years.”

That fits with the culture of UMBC, says Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research. “When we talk about research at UMBC, we frequently use the phrase ‘Innovation that Matters’ to reflect the fact that many of our faculty and students are working on our current, most pressing issues,” he shares. “Our success with the TEDCO MII program is rooted deeply in this research culture of making a difference.”

Hammaker sees UMBC as an exemplar in this regard: “Exactly what’s happening at UMBC is what we’re looking for. UMBC is doing a great job of working with the faculty and getting them prepared to come through the program.” She says, “UMBC has a lot to be excited about.”

Image: Colleagues gather to sign UMBC technology patents into the new Lyse-it company. From left to right: Paola Buitron, Mildred Homa, Wendy Martin, Chris Geddes, Russell Hill, Dean Drake, Rosemary Jagus, David Fink. Photo by Mary Larkin.

Eight administrators and faculty members from the University of Kassel in central Germany visited UMBC from August 29 to September 2 to build on a thriving university partnership between the two schools by continuing to cultivate broader research collaborations and student exchange programs.

Both UMBC and Kassel are young, innovative institutions known for promoting interdisciplinary programs and with particular strengths in STEM fields and the arts. “This visit is very important for us, as Kassel recognizes UMBC to be an international partner of strategic importance,” shares David diFuccia, professor of chemistry education at Kassel, at a lunch celebrating the partnership. “I hope our cooperation will grow and deepen, and that with every meeting we will take a step further.”

The partnership began when Matthias Gobbert, professor of mathematics at UMBC and a Kassel native, spent his sabbatical at Kassel during the 2011–2012 academic year. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two universities’ math departments grew out of that visit, leading to fruitful exchanges of graduate students and faculty. In 2014, the MOU expanded to the university level, and undergraduate students have been studying abroad at each institution since fall 2015.

Karl Steiner, UMBC vice president for research, and Antonio Moreira, vice provost for academic affairs, have visited Kassel and discussed ways to grow the relationship, including development of a streamlined study abroad program. Now, Moreira says, “It’s truly expanding to the whole campus here at UMBC and at Kassel.”

Fields of study where UMBC and Kassel teams are already conducting complementary research and which are rife for collaboration include renewable energy, cybersecurity, nanoscience, remote sensing, and education. Other departments such as visual arts; economics; modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication (MLLI); and computer science are also exploring opportunities to partner.

Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park, discussed potential future business collaborations with the German guests. “We think global opportunities are really significant for companies,” she says, “so we’re always looking for natural ways to form partnerships.”

Both universities also see student academic exchange, beyond language classes, as a major priority in the partnership. Given course and lab research requirements, many students with majors in the hard sciences and engineering perceive study abroad as unrealistic—an option not truly available to them. However, UMBC and Kassel are committed to making it a clear and accessible process for students of any major. Julie Ross, dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, notes, “The things they’ll be working on in engineering and IT are global issues,” so it’s important for students to gain international exposure.

Susanne Sutton, coordinator of German in MLLI at UMBC, adds, “We have many STEM majors in our German classes. This is a tremendous opportunity for them to study abroad, as well as for students who are less familiar with the language and culture of Germany but have an interest in exploring it.”

Scott Casper, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, is particularly excited to see his global studies students and Humanities Scholars travel abroad. “The problems our students are tackling are not limited to the U.S.,” he says.

Students in UMBC’s teacher education program, including those in the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program, will also have opportunities to visit German schools and learn about teaching methods in Germany through collaboration with Kassel. In this digital age, “the students they will be teaching are global students,” says Casper, so it’s important teachers come to the classroom with a global perspective. The delegation also met with leaders of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, who see excellent opportunities for their students to study abroad at Kassel.

The next step for the burgeoning UMBC–Kassel relationship is to expand the undergraduate exchange component. Already, many courses at the German university are taught in English, expanding the number of UMBC students who are able to complete discipline-specific coursework through an international exchange experience.

UMBC and Kassel are growing their cooperation steadily in many directions, with over a dozen faculty and staff working to make productive international exchanges possible for faculty and students on each side of the Atlantic. “When something comes together and it seems effortless,” says UMBC Provost Philip Rous, “you know that means a tremendous amount of effort has gone into it.”

UMBC students interested in learning more about study abroad should attend a Study Abroad 101 seminar offered twice a week by the Study Abroad Office, 2^nd floor Administration building. Apply by October 10 to study abroad in the following spring semester.

Images: The University of Kassel delegation and UMBC representatives, August 30, 2016; students at UMBC’s Study Abroad Fair, September 2, 2016, interact with University of Kassel representatives. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) visited Amethyst Technologies at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park August 31. He met with Amethyst CEO Kimberly Brown and employees to discuss ongoing projects, the benefits of being part the bwtech@UMBC community, and how policymakers can most effectively support small businesses in the technology sphere.

Amethyst provides program development and compliance software and services to government agencies, private companies, and the U.S. military. Cardin was most impressed with Amethyst’s work in developing African nations, including support for disease prevention and diagnosis, clinical trials, and training programs in Tanzania, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, with a new project on the horizon in Ethiopia.

Brown and Cardin discussed funding opportunities for small businesses like Amethyst, which currently employs 20 people in the U.S. and 20 in Africa, with plans to bring on 20 more as part of an expansion to a new site in Frostburg, MD. The senator was excited to find ways to make receiving government support easier for technical companies through programs like the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Small Business Administration (SBA), and Small Business Innovation Research program.

“The work you’re doing is critically important,” said Cardin, “and the applications are so diverse. I recognize the importance of the small business community and the creativity you bring.”

Brown credits Amethyst’s success in part to her involvement with UMBC’s ACTiVATE program (Achieving the Commercialization of Technology in Ventures through Applied Training for Entrepreneurs), housed in UMBC’s Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. ACTiVATE supports women who want to start technology companies.

“UMBC was critical to our success,” Brown said. The university offered space in the life sciences incubator at bwtech@UMBC South, connected them with a qualified attorney and a business advisor, and assisted them with accessing high tech equipment.

Brown’s positive experiences with UMBC have led her to put down roots at bwtech@UMBC and continue to develop her relationship with the university. Since the company arrived in 2007, it has established an internship program for UMBC students and hired UMBC alumni.

“We are very pleased to have Amethyst Technologies as part of our bwtech community,” shares Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of bwtech@UMBC. “Dr. Brown is not only a great role model for our other entrepreneurs, but she also creates opportunities for both faculty and students at UMBC.”

Image: CEO Kimberly Brown and Senator Ben Cardin at Amethyst Technologies’ lab in the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park; photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC began with 750 students walking to class on paths of wooden planks connecting three buildings. There were no dorms. Most of the professors were fresh out of graduate school, and, like their students, brimming with enthusiasm and potential. The Commons, the telescope, green roofs, and the Performing Arts & Humanities Building hadn’t yet been envisioned.

A new article by The Daily Record’s Dan Leaderman traces the history of UMBC, from its roots as a university community defying definition to a “research powerhouse” known as a national leader in teaching and innovation.

“In the life of universities, 50 years is not that long, but UMBC has done a remarkable job emerging as a first-class research university,” USM Chancellor Robert Caret told the The Daily Record, noting that today UMBC is also a major player in the region’s economic development.

Drawing comparisons with a young MIT, the article dives into success of the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology park and of UMBC alumni becoming academic and research leaders worldwide, including as faculty at Harvard and director of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.

A companion interview with UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski also highlights UMBC as a hub for teaching and research in emerging fields, like cybersecurity; a dedicated partner to institutions like the University of Maryland, Baltimore; and a community committed to student success. This includes asking tough questions and testing novel approaches to see what will yield the best results for students.

“At UMBC,” Hrabowski said, “we have been rethinking the teaching and learning process across disciplines, from science and engineering to the arts and humanities and social sciences.”

Michael Summers, Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and University Distinguished Professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and member of the National Academy of Sciences, told The Daily Record that it goes back to the passion and dedication of UMBC students.

“I’ve come back [after] the university was shut down for snow storms and gotten in to work and the undergraduates had their sleeping bags here because they didn’t want to get trapped away from their experiments,” he shared.

As those students move on to promising careers, UMBC is preparing to welcome in a new class of Retrievers who have only known the university as the “powerhouse” of today.

Read “At age 50, UMBC just getting started” and the “Newsmakers” interview with President Hrabowski in The Daily Record [subscription required].

Images (top-bottom): (1) UMBC campus; (2) UMBC student during an Engineer’s Week event in the Commons; (3) UMBC Sherman Scholars working with students at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School; (4) Prof. Michael Summers (at left) with his students. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Potomac Photonics, a bwtech@UMBC-based micro-manufacturing company, uses lasers, 3D printers and other technologies to alter and develop products with extreme precision, to the scale of one micron, smaller than a particle of dust.

“We like to say that if you can see it, we didn’t do it,” says Mike Adelstein ‘96, biochemistry and molecular biology, and president and CEO of Potomac Photonics, in a recent article in The Baltimore Sun.

The company has used lasers to insert tiny holes into medical stitches so localized radiation can be delivered in small doses to patients with breast and prostate cancer. These sutures have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are now being used at hospitals, including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Potomac Photonics is also working with a company in Europe to create a device to identify early stage cancer cells in a new way.

With all of the advances that the company is making, Adelstein anticipates that the Baltimore County region “will become a hotbed for manufacturing technology.” He suggests facilities and programs at UMBC and the Community College of Baltimore County will contribute significantly to that surge.

“There’s really a lot of resources and investment that are going on in this area right here to develop new advanced manufacturing technologies,” said Adelstein. “I think there’s a great opportunity for this region to grow.”

Read the full article “Arbutus-based micro-manufacturing company doesn’t sweat the small stuff,” in The Baltimore Sun.

Image: The bwtech@UMBC entrance. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.