The UMBC-led Goddard Earth Science Technology and Research (GESTAR) II center has been awarded a two-year, $47 million extension to continue its cooperative agreement with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

In fall 2021, NASA awarded $72 million for UMBC to establish GESTAR II in collaboration with primary partner Morgan State University and six other institutions. Since its launch, GESTAR II has employed more than 150 scientists who are distributed across nearly all of GSFC’s earth science division laboratories. GESTAR II scientists and engineers are currently working on active NASA earth science missions, such as the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite mission, which launched into orbit earlier this year. 

“Our scientists and engineers are continuing to contribute toward the advancement of earth science at NASA Goddard. We want to continue to do more of the same with this agreement extension,” said GESTAR II director Charles Ichoku. “With GSFC, we are making progress to keep our planet safe while continuing to make a lot of discoveries.” 

GESTAR II is one of three cooperative agreements that UMBC has with GSFC, a partnership that began nearly 30 years ago. Earlier this month, the university collaborated with GSFC to host the “NASA-UMBC Interaction Days,” an interactive, three-day event series (concluding on September 30) that takes a closer look into the center’s current research activity, with insight into how faculty and students can engage with Goddard scientists and engineers. 

In addition to contributions to NASA’s missions and earth science scholarship, GESTAR II also provides funding support for UMBC students with its undergraduate and graduate fellowships. The center also hosts a recurring seminar series for scientists. 

Learn more about the research happening at the Goddard Earth Science Technology and Research (GESTAR) II center.

UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) opened the new Center for Ethics and Values this semester. Through a series of campus, alumni, and community events, the center will foster thoughtful, informed, and nuanced discussions and exploration of pressing ethical issues across a wide range of fields including art, humanities, health care, science, and engineering.

Leading the charge is Jessica Pfeifer, associate professor of philosophy and former executive director of the Philosophy of Science Association. Pfeifer oversaw the development of the center and organized the Public Forum series with additional funding from the CAHSS Office of the Dean. The annual speaker series will feature leading experts on significant ethical issues faced by the campus community and society. Launching the series are experts on Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy, U.S. Presidential Elections, Neuroscience, Freewill, and Moral Responsibility, and more. 

“We all face ethical issues in nearly everything we do, from work to family life to our interactions with friends, to our role as citizens,” says Pfeifer. “The center will provide the campus community the opportunity to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of the ethical issues they face, as well as the relevance of ethical training for daily real-world decisions.”

Whitney Schwab, associate professor of philosophy, will lead the daily workings of the center as its inaugural director. “The Birth of Belief,” an article Schwab co-authored with Jessica Moss, professor of philosophy at New York University, received the 2019 Best Article Prize from the Board of Directors of the Journal of the History of Philosophy and was listed as one of the 10 best philosophy papers of 2019 by Philosopher’s Annual. Pfeifer notes that Schwab brings a wealth of knowledge about the history of philosophy, including the history of ethics, as well as his skills in public and student engagement to the position. “He is one of our most popular teachers,” says Pfeifer, “and is an excellent public speaker and discussant, who can hone in on central philosophical issues.”

The public forum kick-off event, Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy, on Thursday, September 26, includes Kim Yoshino, editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Banner, Melissa Block, longtime NPR host and correspondent, and Joe Saunders, associate professor of philosophy at Durham University, a public research university in Durham, England. UMBC’s Mike Nance, associate professor of philosophy, and a 2024 UMBC Dresher Center for the Humanities research fellow, will moderate the conversation.

In addition to establishing a new public forum series, the center will be home to UMBC’s Ethics Bowl team and a new host in the national line-up of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics regional competitions. This year’s Chesapeake Regional Ethics Bowl Tournament will be held on December 7, bringing teams from colleges throughout the Mid-Atlantic region to UMBC.

“Activities like the Ethics Bowl engage students to think more critically about their own values and decisions, and thereby be better able to engage with those whose views differ,” says Pfeifer. “This will make them better scientists, doctors, programmers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, parents, and citizens.”

Pre-register for the Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy public forum.

Learn more about a major, minor, or certificate in philosophy and the philosophy honors program.

UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) opened the new Center for Ethics and Values this semester. Through a series of campus, alumni, and community events, the center will foster thoughtful, informed, and nuanced discussions and exploration of pressing ethical issues across a wide range of fields including art, humanities, health care, science, and engineering.

Leading the charge is Jessica Pfeifer, associate professor of philosophy and former executive director of the Philosophy of Science Association. Pfeifer oversaw the development of the center and organized the Public Forum series with additional funding from the CAHSS Office of the Dean. The annual speaker series will feature leading experts on significant ethical issues faced by the campus community and society. Launching the series are experts on Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy, U.S. Presidential Elections, Neuroscience, Freewill, and Moral Responsibility, and more. 

“We all face ethical issues in nearly everything we do, from work to family life to our interactions with friends, to our role as citizens,” says Pfeifer. “The center will provide the campus community the opportunity to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of the ethical issues they face, as well as the relevance of ethical training for daily real-world decisions.”

Whitney Schwab, associate professor of philosophy, will lead the daily workings of the center as its inaugural director. “The Birth of Belief,” an article Schwab co-authored with Jessica Moss, professor of philosophy at New York University, received the 2019 Best Article Prize from the Board of Directors of the Journal of the History of Philosophy and was listed as one of the 10 best philosophy papers of 2019 by Philosopher’s Annual. Pfeifer notes that Schwab brings a wealth of knowledge about the history of philosophy, including the history of ethics, as well as his skills in public and student engagement to the position. “He is one of our most popular teachers,” says Pfeifer, “and is an excellent public speaker and discussant, who can hone in on central philosophical issues.”

The public forum kick-off event, Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy, on Thursday, September 26, includes Kim Yoshino, editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Banner, Melissa Block, longtime NPR host and correspondent, and Joe Saunders, associate professor of philosophy at Durham University, a public research university in Durham, England. UMBC’s Mike Nance, associate professor of philosophy, and a 2024 UMBC Dresher Center for the Humanities research fellow, will moderate the conversation.

In addition to establishing a new public forum series, the center will be home to UMBC’s Ethics Bowl team and a new host in the national line-up of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics regional competitions. This year’s Chesapeake Regional Ethics Bowl Tournament will be held on December 7, bringing teams from colleges throughout the Mid-Atlantic region to UMBC.

“Activities like the Ethics Bowl engage students to think more critically about their own values and decisions, and thereby be better able to engage with those whose views differ,” says Pfeifer. “This will make them better scientists, doctors, programmers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, parents, and citizens.”

Pre-register for the Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy public forum.

Learn more about a major, minor, or certificate in philosophy and the philosophy honors program.

On September 12, UMBC’s Upal Ghosh, from the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering, was sworn in as a member of the Washington, D.C., mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River (LCCAR). The council consists of 25 high-level government officials, community leaders, and environmental experts who support the vision of a swimmable and fishable Anacostia River. The members meet quarterly to advise the D.C. government on ongoing restoration projects. 

The Anacostia River, which runs from Prince George’s County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., before joining the Potomac River and ultimately flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, has historically suffered from high levels of industrial pollution and contamination from sewage overflow. In recent years, government officials have been making concerted efforts to clean up the river. UMBC was invited to sit on the council, with Ghosh as the representative, based on the university’s key contributions to these clean-up efforts. 

Since 2016, Ghosh and his UMBC colleagues and students have developed innovative methods of measuring contaminants in the river and created models to elucidate where the contaminants come from and how they travel through and accumulate in the water, sediment, and aquatic life, such as fish. Nathalie Lombard, a research assistant professor at UMBC who has played a significant role in the projects, will serve as the alternate representative on the LLCAR when Ghosh cannot attend. 

In addition to his work on the Anacostia, Ghosh and his students have studied and contributed to the cleanup of the waterways throughout Maryland, Delaware, and across the country.  “Students learn a lot from being out in the field,” Ghosh says. “They learn how the science and engineering we do helps guide major decisions. Our ultimate goal is making a positive difference in the health of the river, lake, or bay. That gives me a lot of excitement, and it really motivates the students too.”

UMBC’s Faculty Development Center has announced the projects selected to receive grants in the 2023 – 2024 rounds of the Hrabowski Fund for Innovation competition. The Fund supports initiatives to enhance teaching and learning at UMBC, with specific emphasis on innovative approaches to increase student success. 

“These high-profile awards emphasize the university’s ongoing commitment to support faculty and staff efforts in innovation in teaching and learning,” says Kerrie Kephart, interim director, Faculty Development Center. “Projects funded from the Hrabowski Fund are often catalysts for the broader adoption of innovative teaching and student success initiatives across campus.”

Proposals for the next round are due by October 25, 2024. For more information and to apply, visit UMBC’s Faculty Development Center website. Many awardees will be sharing their work during the poster/demo session at the Eighth Annual Provost’s Teaching and Learning Symposium (PT&LS) on Friday, September 27. Please see the PT&LS myUMBC post for more information and to register for the symposium.

An animated short co-directed by UMBC’s Robin Corbet, senior research scientist in the Center for Space Sciences and Technology, and Laurence Arcadias, an animation professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art, will screen at the Iron Mule Film Festival—a short comedy film fest—in New York City on October 7. Corbet and Arcadias will attend the screening and take questions from the audience about science, art, and how they can complement each other. 

The playful and zany short film features animations representing the 2024 total eclipse. The soundtrack showcases a delightful and scientifically accurate track, “The Sun Song,” performed by The Chromatics, an a cappella group consisting primarily of NASA scientists.

A large group of astronomy researchers attending a meeting of the American Astronomical Society took part in a collaborative art and science workshop where they developed the animations just before viewing the eclipse. 

The final product “uses the first film ever made of an eclipse, produced by magician Nevil Maskelyne in 1900, as a basis,” Corbet explains, “but the astronomers and artists added quite a few of their own wild embellishments.” 

The eclipse workshop was a project of AstroAnimation, an ongoing collaboration led by Corbet and Arcadias. AstroAnimation brings together art students at MICA and NASA scientists to produce animations based on cutting-edge science. The eclipse film represents AstroAnimation’s effort to expand its impact beyond the classroom.  

UMBC’s Division of Research and Creative Achievement recently announced the recipients of the 2025 Strategic Awards for Research Transitions (START) award,and the 2024 Summer Research Faculty Fellowship (SURFF) award—two of the university’s internal funding opportunities that support faculty research and creative scholarship. 

For fiscal year 2025, 13 faculty members across all of UMBC’s colleges and researchers with the university’s research centers were individually awarded up to $25,000 in START funding to advance their research and creative achievement endeavors. The award assists recipients in competing more effectively for external support and pursuing new areas of inquiry.

In summer 2024, 14 faculty members received a SURFF award. The SURFF award supports non-tenured, tenure-track faculty members in pursuing research and creative achievement projects during the summer. Recipients are awarded up to $8,000 in funding. 

View the full list of this year’s START and SURFF recipients.

UMBC has been selected to participate in the Quantum Photonics Integrated Design Center (QuPIDC), which is led by Purdue University and also includes Los Alamos National Laboratory, Stanford University, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech. The collaboration is one of 10 new Frontiers in Energy Research Centers recently funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The centers support top-tier interdisciplinary teams as they pursue transformative basic research that will advance energy technologies. The quantum optics center will receive $13.9 million overall, and UMBC will receive $570,000.

QuPIDC aims to develop ways to generate states of light and matter with the property of “entanglement,” a unique phenomenon that was the subject of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics. The goal is to simultaneously entangle many photons and/or many electrons, which enables technologies like extremely precise measurement, faster-than-ever communication and computing, and much more. 

UMBC’s partnership in the center leverages the university’s longstanding strength in quantum photonics and quantum information. In particular, Matthew Pelton, professor of physics and UMBC lead for the center, has expertise in developing quantum light sources and integrating them into photonic structures at the nanometer scale. 

In addition, UMBC is well known for including many undergraduates from a wide range of backgrounds in hands-on research. The new center will only increase the number of students who can participate in the groundbreaking field of quantum technology. 

“I’m very excited to have this opportunity to work with some of the world-leading researchers in quantum photonics,” Pelton says, “and I’m especially excited about the collaboration and networking opportunities that the center will provide for UMBC students.”

UMBC is strengthening the university’s research connection with the energy company Constellation, expanding on a partnership of more than 20 years with the Baltimore-based business. Constellation, the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy, funds scholarships and has endowed a professorship in mechanical engineering at UMBC, regularly recruits students for internships and jobs, and hosts its annual Youth Energy Summit on the UMBC campus.

In March, UMBC and Constellation signed a Master Research Agreement, which will facilitate greater research collaboration between the two organizations. In April, Constellation sent representatives to the College of Engineering and Information Technology’s (COEIT’s) inaugural Research Day to connect with UMBC faculty and students. And in June, research leaders from both organizations met to discuss potential areas of joint work, including carbon-free energy generation, environmental protection and pollution remediation, and efforts to make the power grid more resilient and secure. 

“The best research will happen as we grow this partnership organically,” says Anupam Joshi, acting dean of COEIT. “We are proud to be a Tier 1 university partner of Constellation Energy. The interactions of our faculty and students with Constellation’s representatives during Research Day have already led to initial ideas where we can work together. We are also actively pursuing collaborations in other areas of mutual interest and environmental importance.” 

“As part of our efforts to accelerate the nation’s clean energy future, it’s vital that we enhance our understanding of the emerging technologies being developed today,” said Uuganbayar “Ugi” Otgonbaatar, Constellation’s director of Technology Strategy, Grants, and Partnerships. “We are grateful for our longstanding partnership with a leading local institution in UMBC and look forward to continuing to explore its research portfolio as part of our broader collaboration.”

Susan McDonough, associate professor of history, received a 2024 – 2025 research membership to the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at the School of Historical Studies in Princeton, New Jersey. 

McDonough will join scholars from around the world in one of the leading centers for theoretical historical research. This includes research on the history of medieval, early modern, and modern Europe, the Islamic world, East Asian studies, art history, history of science, and musicology. McDonough will spend the year writing chapters of her forthcoming book about the lives of sex workers in the medieval Mediterranean and sharing her progress in weekly seminars with historians as well as mathematicians, natural scientists, philosophers, and social scientists.

“I am incredibly energized by this opportunity to immerse myself in the archival materials I’ve been gathering concerning sex workers and their communities in the medieval Mediterranean,” she shares. Previously, McDonough earned a 2019 – 2020 National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to conduct archival research at six Mediterranean Sea ports: Barcelona, Mallorca, and Valencia in Spain; Marseille, France; and Genoa and Palermo, Italy. 

“I tell a story of movement, of community, of connection, and of resistance. Sex workers lived under the threat of forced expulsion and were usually migrants to the towns in which they sold sex,” explains McDonough. “They worked, fought, competed against each other in brothels, and left each other precious belongings in their final wills and testaments.” 

Her research is developing a more inclusive understanding of women’s experiences during this period. “To have the freedom to refine and deepen my ideas in the company of some of the most exciting thinkers, writers, and scholars—many of whose ideas have already been foundational in my conceptualization of this book—is extraordinarily lucky.” 

McDonough is the second faculty member at UMBC to receive an IAS membership. Constantine Vaporis, professor of history, received a 2020 – 2021 IAS membership to work on his upcoming book, Sword and Brush: Portraits of Samurai in Early Modern Japan, 1600 – 1868.

Learn more about UMBC’s history department.