For the second year in a row, UMBC has been awarded an E2 Energy to Educate grant from Constellation. E2 Energy to Educate grants support learning-focused, team-oriented projects that yield specific results, reach at least 100 students, and align with one of three energy knowledge and innovation focus areas:

• Energy science: the science required to create new energy solutions
• Energy technology: how energy technology is making it to market
• Energy education: the interface of information technology and energy technology

Dr. Nimrayla Roy, Assistant Professor of Information Systems, leads the UMBC project team. A group of 200 information systems students are engaging in a project where wireless smart plugs are monitoring and compiling data on the power consumption of small to medium load appliances. The data will then be analyzed by the students who will build a web-based portal for visualizing detailed historic and real-time energy consumption. Ultimately, these systems will make energy consumption visible and actionable. The students will also investigate motivational practices to convince individual consumers to reduce their energy footprints.

UMBC thanks Constellation for their continued support!

Name: Drew Ballantine ‘14, information systems
Employer: Berkshire Associates Inc.

Have a story to share? Tell us about it.

Name: Drew Ballantine ‘14, information systems
Employer: Berkshire Associates Inc.

Q: Where are you from originally?
Glen Burnie, MD

Q: What’s your favorite UMBC memory?
Sledding with other members in the Pep Band in Hartford

Q: Why do you think it’s important to support UMBC?
I think it’s important to support UMBC because it’s a great school. It provides a lot of different opportunities for us, both in majors and extracurricular activities. It pushes us to really define ourselves and discover who we really are. And we should give back so that it can continue to do so to the younger generations.

Q: Do you have a favorite hobby or pastime?
My favorite hobby is to play the drums.

Q: If stuck on a desert island with a CD player and only one CD, which CD would that be?
They’re Only Chasing Safety by Underoath.

Have a story to share? Tell us about it.

Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re featuring Kirley Silva ‘15, information systems, who is an Esperanza Scholarship recipient. This scholarship is awarded to a student of Latino or Hispanic ancestry who demonstrates commitment to the advancement of minorities, especially of Latino or Hispanic descent.

Name: Kirley Silva
Major: Information systems
Scholarship(s): Esperanza Scholarship

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
As an honors university, I chose UMBC for its challenging and prestigious academics, as well as for its amazing support system and endless opportunities for technology students in Baltimore. Also, as a transfer student, UMBC accepted the majority of my credits and provided me with guidance and support through the whole process, making the transition between community college and university seamless and easy.

Q: What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
I discovered that although UMBC is a big university, there is a very strong community atmosphere which makes going here a very pleasurable and rewarding experience. I work closely with my classmates and we help each other learn together, while the faculty and staff are extremely knowledgeable and resourceful.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind.
I took a weekend adventure class for gym credit where I had to face many challenges and try new things out of my comfort zone. I learned the value of motivation, leadership, control, and courage. I gained appreciation for new things and pushed myself harder. As a result of this class, I appreciate the hard work and commitment needed to achieve a goal more than ever. This class and the values I took from it will serve as a driving factor as I continue my studies and become a professional.

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
As an immigrant and being the first in my family to attend college, there have been many challenges along the way. Also, working while being a full-time student makes the journey much more challenging. Being fortunate to receive the financial help of a scholarship provides immense relief and allows me to continue my education by focusing on my goals and the future.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?
As a woman in information technology and a Hispanic student, I am proud to represent the hardworking minority of our university and to enrich the school’s diversity. Being an Esperanza scholar allows me to be a role model to similar students, and well as give hope to those students.

Q: What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship?
Thank you for supporting and believing in me. Your help is not only valued but also empowering as I continue my education and reach my goals. Your support has made a world of difference and I will continue working hard to be the best that I can be and to help my community.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation?
Following graduation I plan to start a career in the fast growing technology sector of Baltimore as a database administrator. I also hope to, in the future, be able to attend officer candidate school and join the US Navy as an information warfare officer.

Support students like Kirley today!

From the start, Lisa (Dates) Price ’87, information systems and Dwayne Price ’87, information systems, ’87, seemed destined to become a couple.

They met on the first day of freshman orientation. Later, they were assigned to the same orientation team. And though they lived in different dorms freshman year (Dwayne in Patapsco; Lisa in in Susquehanna), they shared a circle of friends and a major.

Lisa acknowledges how her feelings for Dwayne began to change as she got to know him better that first semester. “Probably around October or November, I started to see Dwayne a little bit differently,” she recalls. “My relationship [with a former boyfriend] had gone the way most long distance relationships did. I started doing some reconnaissance to see what Dwayne’s situation might be.”

Though Dwayne was not in a committed relationship, Lisa waited some time before making her feelings known. She chose Valentine’s Day to make her move – sort of. A sorority on campus was selling homemade Valentine’s Cards, so she bought one and sent it to Dwayne, signing it, “Your Secret Admirer.”

Wayne was stumped. He asked his friends (including Lisa) who the secret admirer might be. She played dumb, for a while, but a month or so later, she confessed. That risky move turned out to be the turning point.

Their commitment was tested when Lisa received an opportunity to participate in a co-op through UMBC that extended from the summer through the following semester. It meant the two wouldn’t see each other regularly for several months. “It was part of us building the foundation for the rest of our lives,” Lisa says. (Dwayne later completed a co-op as part of his UMBC experience.)

To make up for lost time together, and lost credits, Lisa and Dwayne spent a summer together on campus, working and taking classes.

“You felt like you owned the campus,” Lisa recalls.

Dwayne concurs: “We had the whole campus to ourselves.”

Two years after graduation, they married. They also both decided to pursue master’s degrees in management information systems.

Over the years, the couple has remained highly involved in UMBC, serving on the alumni board in various capacities and offering advice to prospective students. Their two children – Devin, 20, and Layne, 18 – both attend UMBC.

“No one believes us, but we didn’t push them to go there. They could have gone anywhere they wanted, and they chose UMBC,” says Lisa.

Read the full issue of the Winter 2014 UMBC Magazine.

Information systems alumnus Douglas McCaw ‘99, a senior software engineer at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, is organizing Baltimore GiveCamp. The event, a weekend-long hack-a-thon, invites more than 230 software developers, designers and database administrators donate their time to help 30 nonprofit organizations with various technical projects. GiveCamp will take place at UMBC on October 18-20 and is sponsored by the Department of Information Systems.

From the event’s press release:

Projects include creating websites, redesigning websites, building databases, and applying technology to meet critical nonprofit needs. The 2013 GiveCamp will also feature a day of topics and tutorials that are open to any area nonprofit, known as “Seminar Saturday.” Technology, strategy, and marketing experts will share their knowledge and perspectives across many topics to help nonprofits better serve the community.

You can read more about the event here.

Dr. Michael Carlin, Associate VP and Deputy CIO at UMBC, has been named Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Carlin has been with UMBC since 1996, starting as a student employee and then hired full-time as a desktop support and help desk technician in 1997. Over the years, he’s taken on a variety of roles and projects: he oversaw DoIT’s continuity of operations following power outages, took the lead on support of the Columbus Center, served as the DoIT liaison for the 2010 IT Restructuring Report and led UMBC’s Google Apps deployment.

From the DoIT announcement about Carlin’s departure:

“Mike is also a UMBC success story. While working full-time he completed both his Masters and Ph.D. in Information Systems and ultimately married his UMBC Organic Chemistry Lab partner Cherisse Carlin (Lewis), who also completed her Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture.”

Read more at the UMBC DoIT website.