Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today we’re talking with Roberta Sabin ‘90 Ph.D., computer science, about her career as a professor and her recent teaching excursion to Malawi on a Fulbright Scholar grant.

Name: Roberta Sabin ’90 Ph.D., computer science
Job Title: Professor Emerita of Computer Science at Loyola; Fulbright Scholar

Q: You were the first woman to graduate from UMBC with a Ph.D. in computer science. What did that feel like?

A: It was great, and it’s something I’m really proud of. It was an effort of myself and my family.

I feel like it was a quality degree that I’ve really been able to build on – the beginning of my research career was in the same area my dissertation was in and I was able to attend conferences and meet people from around the world.

Q: What is your favorite memory of UMBC?

A: My dissertation defense was pretty vivid. I spent many many many hours here working on my proposal and the final defense, and I remember the faculty – especially Dr. Samuel Lomonaco – being very supportive and helpful. I also remember that before I presented, I was puttering around and someone asked me about the coffee, because I was the only woman. It was a public defense so not all the people knew me. It was a definite indication of the time.

Q: How did it feel to be awarded the Fulbright? Why Malawi?

A: My motto is “try and try again.” I had tried in 2004 for a Fulbright to Vietnam and got close. I’ve had a lifelong interest in Africa, so I thought applying again for a Fulbright to Africa would be a good way to use my time after retiring from Loyola.

Q: What was your time like in Malawi?

A: We were there for one semester, from September of 2013 through February of 2014. It is truly a different world. It’s rich in many ways, especially regarding the quality of the people – they’re friendly, hardworking, and peace-loving – but it lacks natural resources like oil, coal, etc. so it’s very poor. College is a privilege and the students take it very seriously.

I’ve kept in touch with a number of the students since I left – I’ve heard from about 15 or 20. It’s wonderful to be able to continue a relationship and I’d love to go back.

Q: As you reflect on your career, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself and why UMBC was your school of choice?

A: I’m a native Baltimorean and a product of an all-women education (secondary school and college). I was always interested in math and politics, and at one time thought I might be president. I got a lot of encouragement [growing up] – there was an assumption that women could do anything, and that underlined my whole education.

I taught secondary level mathematics for about 15 years. During that time I took a course in programming that was offered by the school system and was bitten by the excitement of programming. I also realized there was a tremendous need for instructors in computer science (this was about 1980), so I enrolled at Hopkins for a Master’s in just that. At that time I was teaching at Coppin State with Dr. Hrabowski – he was my dean, he hired me, so I saw him regularly. I completed my Master’s at Hopkins and was then recruited, in a sense, by Loyola to teach computer science. The big deciding factor to come to UMBC was Loyola offering to support me while I got my Ph.D.

Non-traditional students like me were welcomed [at UMBC]; they made my time here as smooth as possible. It was a stressful time for me – by then I was married and had two children under the age of six.

Q: What advice would you give to UMBC students now?

A: Computer science and teaching make an unbeatable combination. There are continuous changes and intellectual challenges [in computer science], and it’s a lively and active professional group. Plus, technology is so needed. People who are interested in communicating about technology are needed and that’s what teaching is all about. Especially if you’re female – students need to see young women who are excited about that.

Have a story of your own to share? Tell us about it!

During the past school year, several UMBC students traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to partake in the first-ever Women in Cybersecurity Conference.

Thanks to our wonderful donors, Emily Scheerer ’14, computer science; Christina Malliakos ’14, computer science; Emily McMurray ’14, computer science; and Ruth Coradin ’16, computer science and applied linguistics, were able to receive supplementary funding for their trip out west. The money was raised through a crowd-funded project undertaken by the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT). When the need for additional funding arose, CWIT reached out to its alumni and friends and rallied community support to ensure that the students would be able to attend the conference.

At workshops on subjects such as cryptography and technical industry, the Retrievers were able to network both themselves and their skills to others in the computer science industry. “I think it is great to be in a place where everyone has the same types of goals as you. The focus of the conference was so specific, it was great to know that other students are going through the same experiences as me, and the professionals have made it through the journey that I am on my professional career,” said Malliakos about her experience at the Women in Cybersecurity Conference. Guests included Emily Shen of the MIT Lincoln Lab and the director of NSA’s training division.

Although the conference was only two days, the experience has had a lasting impact on Scheerer, Malliakos, and Coradin. “I am truly thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such a rewarding experience. I have stayed in touch with both mentors and peers that I met at the conference,” says Coradin.

Thanks again to all of our donors involved in this endeavor!

Learn more about our other student projects here!

Congratulations to these UMBC alums whose accomplishments have been recognized both inside and outside of UMBC. Take a moment to read what they have been up to!

The Kennedy Center recently hosted a benefit performance called “After the Storm” in support of the survivors of typhoon Haiyan, the strongest recorded typhoon to ever hit the Philippines. Gretchen Quipeles ‘14, health administration and public policy, attended the event and praised its success. “It’s exciting to see the Filipino community come together in that one room seeing a great act, raising money for typhoon Haiyan,” she told Inquirer.net. Read the full story here.

While Prince George’s county may not be known for academic success, Dr. Hrabowski and Donald Richardson ‘14, mathematics, discussed how engaging students in a cooperative community provides a supportive background for black students. “[UMBC] was a big transition from public school, where everybody was trying to make it on their own,” said Richardson to The Washington Post. Find more here.

Kyla McMullen ‘05, computer science, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in computer science, knew there was something missing from a Business Insider list of the 50 sexiest scientists when she noticed no African-American women were featured. “If the current generation is going to be engaged in scientific careers, we need to dispel the stereotypical image of a scientist as being a white, glasses wearing, socially-inept nerd,” said McMullen in one of her articles. “Business Insider went one step in this direction, but not far enough.” She decided to fill this void by creating her own list of sexy, black, female scientists. You can find it on her website.

After an operation left a friend’s dad $40,000 in debt, Ethan Steininger ‘14, health administration and policy, started a website called Compared Care. It allows users to compare the prices of medical professionals based on what the patient is looking for before having the exam or operation. “You don’t know what you’re getting [charged] until after you get it,” said Steininger to Technical.ly Baltimore, and his website is made to help users find the best medical attention they can afford. Read more here.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• UMBC Swimming and Diving’s Andrew McKissick Featured in Sports Illustrated
• Casey Cathrall Named UMBC’s New Director of Strength and Conditioning
• Lemuel Sun ’15, Computer Science, in U.S. News
• UMBC and Japan’s Kyushu University Establish Partnership

Read more great news about the UMBC community here!

For most of us, sitting down to dinner with our family is an expected and even enjoyable part of everyday life. The idea of sitting down next to them in the classroom, however, is probably something we’d find a bit more foreign — perhaps in some cases, even cringe-inducing. But that scenario is one that alumni and professors Jon Squire ‘96, M.S., Computer Science, and Shawn Squire ‘12, Computer Science, have experienced — and enjoyed — time and again here on UMBC’s campus. That’s because, for the Squire family, education is as much a family affair as the evening meal.

That love of learning and shared passion for the computer sciences led both Jon and Shawn to learn and teach at UMBC. Jon got his start in programming in 1958, and his 34-year career at Northrop Grumman and Ph.D. made him a natural choice to teach and conduct research at UMBC. While Jon has  written more than one million lines of code in at least 14 different coding languages since 1958, his grandson Shawn may be a bit newer to the field, but he’s no less passionate than his grandfather. The 23-year-old is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Computer Science at UMBC, and his natural aptitude for the material led to the invitation to teach.

Of course, teaching and studying on the same campus has led to some atypical encounters for the Squires. In fact, Jon once unknowingly signed up for the same class as another family member — his son, Shawn’s father. And Shawn knew he’d inevitably wind up as a student in Jon’s classes, which are required courses for Shawn’s degree. Though his classmates joked that his grandpa probably showed him favoritism in class, Shawn explains, “if anything, it was probably the opposite of that,” because Jon expected his grandson to do well on his own. Though they are careful to keep their on-campus relationship professional — both admit it’s odd when Shawn has to choose between addressing Jon as “Grandpa” or “Professor Squire” — the duo does take it in stride. For them, it’s just another day on campus.

Certainly, there are also benefits to working and learning together — their shared passion means Shawn and Jon have a unique connection. When the opportunity arose for Shawn to teach, he welcomed it, but adds that seeing his grandfather at work in the classroom made him even more confident in his decision. “I liked seeing my grandfather at work and enjoying what he did,” Shawn explains.  And it’s clear that they both share a love of the classroom. One of the aspects of teaching they both enjoy are those “ah-hah” moments the students have when they understand the material. “You start to see all those light bulbs going on,” says Jon, and that alone makes teaching worthwhile.

Sharing knowledge with others, especially those who are eager to learn, is a gift. It’s the reason Jon has been teaching for so many years, and it makes Shawn certain he’ll continue on in his new teaching career.  And if they can teach on the same campus, well, that’s just icing on the cake.

–By Jessie Orsburn

A Computational Biologist and Dartmouth professor, Alumnus Gevorg Grigoryan says his undergraduate research at UMBC was crucial to his success.

Kids typically see college as a chance to get away from their parents. That wasn’t the case with alumnus Gevorg Grigoryan ’02, Computer Science and Biochemistry, who did research with his dad in UMBC’s Computational Photonics Lab as an undergraduate. In 2000, the pair co-authored a paper proposing a new visualization technique for wave transmissions that uses color to represent amplitude and phase information.

Now an assistant professor of Computer Science and an adjunct assistant professor of Biology at Dartmouth College, Grigoryan stresses the importance of doing research early on. As an undergraduate, he worked in not one, but three, different research labs at UMBC: the Computational Photonics Lab, the VANGOGH Lab, and Dr. Daniel Fabris’ Mass Spectrometry lab.

“It was very easy for an undergrad to get involved in research [at UMBC],” says Grigoryan. “It’s not like that everywhere.”

Working in labs gave Grigoryan essential experience that shaped his career path. When it was time to pick a major, he knew that he wanted to do research like his dad, Vladimir Grigoryan, a Physicist who was working as a Research Scientist at UMBC at the time.

Grigoryan switched from Physics to an ambitious double major in Computer Science and Biochemistry when a professor told him about the emerging, interdisciplinary field of Computational Biology. Combining the principles of biology with computing techniques, the new field dealt with simulating and studying biological systems on the computer.

After graduating from UMBC in 2002, Grigoryan went to MIT for his Ph.D. in Computational Biology under Dr. Amy E. Keating. Later he completed his Post Doc at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School under William DeGrado. His research has focused on examining proteins in order to 1) understand their structure, and to 2) use that understanding to design new proteins that can do things like cure disease.

The analysis and design of proteins is what’s being done in Grigoryan’s research lab at Dartmouth. Specifically, Grigoryan and his students are looking at how protein structure dictates protein-protein recognition and the structural mechanisms of information transformation by allostery. In an interesting twist, Grigoryan now has undergraduate research assistants of his own.

As for collaborations with his dad, Grigoryan says that these days, formal collaborations are hard because of distance; Grigoryan works on molding minds in New Hampshire while his dad works at Ciena Corporation in Maryland. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop them from having heated scientific discussions over the phone, he says.

This story first appeared on UMBC’s Computer Science and Electrical Engineering department website.

When many people have some extra time to spare, they might think about collecting coins, painting model airplanes, or even trying to write the great American novel.
When Loren Siebert ’93, computer science, took up a hobby, though, he decided to learn one of the hardest languages around – Arabic.
The first UMBC graduate to earn the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, Siebert recently developed a software, LinguaStep, that will be used to aid in instruction of the Arabic language programs at over 30 different universities. Indeed, this San Francisco resident has made a very grand entrance into the world of software engineering.
A Model Student
As a high school student, Loren swam with the Retriever Aquatic Club. He also completed some computer science research with a faculty member at UMBC, thus making early ties with the school.
“To go to UMBC just seemed like a natural extension,” he said. “When I got to UMBC, I knew I was going to be doing computer science, so all that was left was finding other stuff to do.”
Aside from being an excellent student, Siebert competed on the swim team, and worked with the Shriver Center’s Choice Program at UMBC, which provides tutoring and mentoring for at-risk children.
The Big Success
Upon Siebert’s graduation in 1993, he was awarded the competitive Marshall Scholarship to complete his graduate studies in the U.K. Loren earned his master’s in computer science at the University of Manchester and did research on technology policy at the London School of Economics. His master’s research earned him a mention in The Economist and in New Scientist in the same week.
“All of a sudden I went from being a 23-year-old doing computer science research to having all these people in the world wanting to talk to me about how interesting my work was,” he said. “It had a very commercial aspect to it.”
And that’s exactly where his education took him. As a software engineer and entrepreneur for more than a dozen years, Siebert has helped develop a variety of software and web sites, including Quote.com, a site that tracks world financial markets.
The LinguaStep Evolution
After breaking his leg while training for a triathalon, Siebert decided he needed a new hobby to sink his teeth into. He always had an affinity for languages, so he decided that would be a natural route to take. He enrolled at UC Berkeley in 2005 to study the famously difficult language.
“If I’m going to learn a language, I want to learn one of the hard ones,” said Siebert, who said he was, at first, overwhelmed by the language, which shares only 15 characters with English.
He had been researching different techniques used in learning languages, and so developed a software to help himself study. The result was LinguaStep, which focuses on helping students accumulate and retain a large vocabulary, but not waste time re-learning already familiar words. Similar to flash cards, students using LinguaStep can learn at their own pace, and test their knowledge of vocabulary as they need it. As students prove they have learned certain words, the software removes those words from the testing cycle.
Within a year, Siebert received an offer from UC Berkeley to teach an Arabic class, however he left after two semesters to work full time on LinguaStep. The software officially launched in fall 2007, and already more than 30 universities have contacted Siebert with interest in using his software in their Arabic language programs. He is currently planning on designing LinguaStep for other languages – including Mandarin, Korean and Japanese – to address a wider population.
“I want to see how far I can take it,” he said. “I’m a really curious person, and I think that’s something that was instilled in me at UMBC. I’ll always have a constant desire to learn and explore new ideas.”
– Melissa Gilden ’10
Originally posted March 2008

When many people have some extra time to spare, they might think about collecting coins, painting model airplanes, or even trying to write the great American novel.

When Loren Siebert ’93, computer science, took up a hobby, though, he decided to learn one of the hardest languages around – Arabic.

The first UMBC graduate to earn the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, Siebert recently developed a software, LinguaStep, that will be used to aid in instruction of the Arabic language programs at over 30 different universities. Indeed, this San Francisco resident has made a very grand entrance into the world of software engineering.

A Model Student

As a high school student, Loren swam with the Retriever Aquatic Club. He also completed some computer science research with a faculty member at UMBC, thus making early ties with the school.

“To go to UMBC just seemed like a natural extension,” he said. “When I got to UMBC, I knew I was going to be doing computer science, so all that was left was finding other stuff to do.”

Aside from being an excellent student, Siebert competed on the swim team, and worked with the Shriver Center’s Choice Program at UMBC, which provides tutoring and mentoring for at-risk children.

The Big Success

Upon Siebert’s graduation in 1993, he was awarded the competitive Marshall Scholarship to complete his graduate studies in the U.K. Loren earned his master’s in computer science at the University of Manchester and did research on technology policy at the London School of Economics. His master’s research earned him a mention in The Economist and in New Scientist in the same week.

“All of a sudden I went from being a 23-year-old doing computer science research to having all these people in the world wanting to talk to me about how interesting my work was,” he said. “It had a very commercial aspect to it.”

And that’s exactly where his education took him. As a software engineer and entrepreneur for more than a dozen years, Siebert has helped develop a variety of software and web sites, including Quote.com, a site that tracks world financial markets.

The LinguaStep Evolution

After breaking his leg while training for a triathalon, Siebert decided he needed a new hobby to sink his teeth into. He always had an affinity for languages, so he decided that would be a natural route to take. He enrolled at UC Berkeley in 2005 to study the famously difficult language.

“If I’m going to learn a language, I want to learn one of the hard ones,” said Siebert, who said he was, at first, overwhelmed by the language, which shares only 15 characters with English.

He had been researching different techniques used in learning languages, and so developed a software to help himself study. The result was LinguaStep, which focuses on helping students accumulate and retain a large vocabulary, but not waste time re-learning already familiar words. Similar to flash cards, students using LinguaStep can learn at their own pace, and test their knowledge of vocabulary as they need it. As students prove they have learned certain words, the software removes those words from the testing cycle.

Within a year, Siebert received an offer from UC Berkeley to teach an Arabic class, however he left after two semesters to work full time on LinguaStep. The software officially launched in fall 2007, and already more than 30 universities have contacted Siebert with interest in using his software in their Arabic language programs. He is currently planning on designing LinguaStep for other languages – including Mandarin, Korean and Japanese – to address a wider population.

“I want to see how far I can take it,” he said. “I’m a really curious person, and I think that’s something that was instilled in me at UMBC. I’ll always have a constant desire to learn and explore new ideas.”

– Melissa Gilden ’10
Originally posted March 2008

Eric Conn doesn’t exactly have a traditional career. Then again, he was never a traditional student.
Between switching majors several times and taking a few years off from college to play in a rock band, it took Conn nearly seven years to finish school. However, he has never regretted his decision to take a non-traditional path.
In fact, it is Conn’s adventurous edge that has allowed the 1985 computer science major to prosper as an inventor and entrepreneur.
His latest project, Cellblock.com – a social networking site that allows users to e-mail photos from their cell phones to a real-time online slideshow – will be on display at UMBC’s 40th Anniversary, Homecoming and Family Celebration this month.
The Rock Star Life
After high school, Conn chose UMBC for its reputation in the sciences as well as its proximity to home.
“I lived only 4 miles away in Catonsville, and since I didn’t have a car, my primary means of transportation was my feet.”
He started off as a pre-med major, however, the chance to make a living as a rock guitarist lured him from his studies.
“Since music, especially rock music in the early 80s, was a young person’s game, I decided to pursue that career path while I had the chance. After I had lived the rock star life (albeit on a local level) for a few years, I wanted to get back to school and challenge myself intellectually. My junior and senior years at UMBC were my favorite because I had scratched my musical itch and could really concentrate on academic activities,” he explains.
The Perfect Major
By this point, Conn had also finally found his perfect major. After trying out biology, chemistry, physics and math, he decided to study computer science.
“I ultimately selected computer science because I found it intriguing and it allowed me to solve many of the scientific problems that I had encountered in related disciplines more efficiently,” he said, adding, “There were also many jobs available in the local area and since I paid my own way through college, finding a job was a top priority.”
He credits his experiences at UMBC with teaching him self-confidence, discipline, and problem-solving skills. These skills went a long way to help him establish his career.
After graduating from UMBC, Conn worked as an engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for almost 10 years. During this time, he received a master’s degree in computer science. In 1996, he launched a software development company with several friends, which they sold in 2003. In April 2005, Conn started his new company, Gloto Corp.
“Gloto.com is our original concept for a mobile phone interface that enables social networking and remote directory services like maps and directions,” says Conn.
A Twist on the Traditional Slideshow
Gloto Corp. recently launched a new concept as part of its mobile phone interface. The new component, Cellblock, allows users to e-mail photos from their computers or camera phones to a shared photo album at Cellblock.com.
“The idea is simple; however, the implications are great,” said Conn. “Many people can contribute to a shared photo album using regular camera phones and the pictures can be displayed on a large screen as they arrive. This is ideal for public events like UMBC’s 40th Anniversary where anyone in attendance or at home can contribute and view pictures of the activities without any special software or advanced notice. It takes the traditional photo album concept and turns it into a social event that promotes communication between groups of people.”
Cellblock.com’s technology will be used extensively at UMBC during the 40th Anniversary weekend. Attendees will be able to email photos from their phones to a UMBC album (umbc@cellblock.com). The photos will be updated in real-time and appear in a slideshow projected at various points on campus.
In the future, Conn would love to see Gloto.com and Cellblock.com achieve the popularity of other social networking sites.
“We hope that consumers and businesses discover the uniqueness of Gloto.com and Cellblock.com and use it in imaginative ways for fun or for profit. We’d love to have millions of users visit the site each day and contribute content for everyone to enjoy.”
– Jennifer Matthews ’07
Originally posted October 2006

Eric Conn doesn’t exactly have a traditional career. Then again, he was never a traditional student.

Between switching majors several times and taking a few years off from college to play in a rock band, it took Conn nearly seven years to finish school. However, he has never regretted his decision to take a non-traditional path.

In fact, it is Conn’s adventurous edge that has allowed the 1985 computer science major to prosper as an inventor and entrepreneur.

His latest project, Cellblock.com – a social networking site that allows users to e-mail photos from their cell phones to a real-time online slideshow – will be on display at UMBC’s 40th Anniversary, Homecoming and Family Celebration this month.

The Rock Star Life

After high school, Conn chose UMBC for its reputation in the sciences as well as its proximity to home.

“I lived only 4 miles away in Catonsville, and since I didn’t have a car, my primary means of transportation was my feet.”

He started off as a pre-med major, however, the chance to make a living as a rock guitarist lured him from his studies.

“Since music, especially rock music in the early 80s, was a young person’s game, I decided to pursue that career path while I had the chance. After I had lived the rock star life (albeit on a local level) for a few years, I wanted to get back to school and challenge myself intellectually. My junior and senior years at UMBC were my favorite because I had scratched my musical itch and could really concentrate on academic activities,” he explains.

The Perfect Major

By this point, Conn had also finally found his perfect major. After trying out biology, chemistry, physics and math, he decided to study computer science.

“I ultimately selected computer science because I found it intriguing and it allowed me to solve many of the scientific problems that I had encountered in related disciplines more efficiently,” he said, adding, “There were also many jobs available in the local area and since I paid my own way through college, finding a job was a top priority.”

He credits his experiences at UMBC with teaching him self-confidence, discipline, and problem-solving skills. These skills went a long way to help him establish his career.

After graduating from UMBC, Conn worked as an engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for almost 10 years. During this time, he received a master’s degree in computer science. In 1996, he launched a software development company with several friends, which they sold in 2003. In April 2005, Conn started his new company, Gloto Corp.

“Gloto.com is our original concept for a mobile phone interface that enables social networking and remote directory services like maps and directions,” says Conn.

A Twist on the Traditional Slideshow

Gloto Corp. recently launched a new concept as part of its mobile phone interface. The new component, Cellblock, allows users to e-mail photos from their computers or camera phones to a shared photo album at Cellblock.com.

“The idea is simple; however, the implications are great,” said Conn. “Many people can contribute to a shared photo album using regular camera phones and the pictures can be displayed on a large screen as they arrive. This is ideal for public events like UMBC’s 40th Anniversary where anyone in attendance or at home can contribute and view pictures of the activities without any special software or advanced notice. It takes the traditional photo album concept and turns it into a social event that promotes communication between groups of people.”

Cellblock.com’s technology will be used extensively at UMBC during the 40th Anniversary weekend. Attendees will be able to email photos from their phones to a UMBC album (umbc@cellblock.com). The photos will be updated in real-time and appear in a slideshow projected at various points on campus.

In the future, Conn would love to see Gloto.com and Cellblock.com achieve the popularity of other social networking sites.

“We hope that consumers and businesses discover the uniqueness of Gloto.com and Cellblock.com and use it in imaginative ways for fun or for profit. We’d love to have millions of users visit the site each day and contribute content for everyone to enjoy.”

– Jennifer Matthews ’07
Originally posted October 2006