UMBC students have rewritten the record books in 2018. With graduation around the corner, and our soon-to-be new Retriever alumni preparing for graduate school, careers, and research around the world, we reflect on all they have achieved.

UMBC celebrates two valedictorians for the Class of 2018. Valedictorian Kara Seidel ‘18, psychology, a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, discovered a particular passion for supporting families dealing with trauma through several intensive research and internship experiences. These include work at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in an HIV and addiction lab, a research internship at the American Psychological Association, and work as lead research assistant in the Trauma Lab of Christopher Murphy, professor and chair of psychology.

Seidel is particularly appreciative of the opportunities for hands-on learning that she accessed in her time at UMBC, as well as mentorship that paired high expectations with support. She says:

One of the best things about UMBC is how supportive professors and staff are. They tell you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it. They see potential in you and encourage you to take each mistake as a learning experience. Their ongoing support helped me feel confident about pursuing a wide range of opportunities.

Seidel will work as a behavioral therapist and researcher for the next year, before beginning a Ph.D. program in psychology, with a focus on supporting families experiencing trauma.

Valedictorian Eudorah Vital ‘18, biochemistry and molecular biology, is a Meyerhoff Scholar, MARC U*STAR Scholar, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholar. She pursued research from her earliest days as a freshman at UMBC, quickly advancing in Rachel Brewster’s developmental biology lab. She has already co-authored two papers in top-tier academic journals, and a third is coming soon.

Vital is also an advocate for community support, and shares that her professors and friends have been essential to her growth and success, saying, “I did not make it through alone.” In recognition of this support, she has become a mentor and tutor for undergraduates newer to her field. She shares:

UMBC prepares its students to be productive members of society, who strive to understand others and bring people together. I came to UMBC thinking I knew what I wanted to do, and I am leaving with a refined version of my goals, which reflect the values of inclusivity, support, and grit.

With a commitment to pursuing clinically relevant research, Vital will soon begin Emory University’s neurobiology M.D./Ph.D. program.

UMBC’s 2018 history-makers include the graduating Retrievers of the men’s basketball team.

K.J. Maura ‘18, sociology, took a few twists and turns in his college journey, as he found his path from Puerto Rico to UMBC. Once he put on the Retriever jersey, he got to work making a lasting impact, and by 2018 he was named the America East Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He helped lead the charge in UMBC’s NCAA round one victory of University of Virginia, 74-54. How does Maura think about his success? It’s all about reaching for greatness together, as a team, he says:

The chemistry and the friendships we have built helped us stay focused on our goals. I’m thankful for my teammates and coaching staff. Every single person on the team played a role to help us reach together and I’m proud to call them family.

When Joe Sherburne ‘18, financial economics, traveled from Wisconsin to Maryland to attend UMBC, he couldn’t have anticipated where that path would lead. He has skillfully balanced academics and athletics, becoming the first UMBC and first America East Conference men’s basketball player to ever be named to the Academic All-America Division I Basketball First Team. Sherburne served as a captain for the history-making 2017-18 men’s basketball team and still maintained his place on the President’s List each semester. After graduating, he will continue to play for UMBC while pursuing his master’s degree in data science.

Jourdan Grant ‘18, media and communication studies, holds the record for playing the most men’s basketball games in UMBC history. NCAA showcased his exuberance after dethroning no. one seed University of Virginia in this year’s “One Shining Moment” tournament highlights video. Reflecting on his college experience, Grant shares:

UMBC has prepared me in the way that the university has a standard in how you carry yourself and really embrace success.

Also a member of the Class of 2018 is UMBC’s first Rhodes Scholar, Naomi Mburu ‘18, chemical engineering, who will next pursue a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at Oxford. Mburu is a Meyerhoff Scholar, MARC U*STAR Scholar, and recipient of the highly prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, as well as president of UMBC’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.

Mburu has conducted notable research at UMBC and around the world. In the lab of Gymama Slaughter, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering, she worked to help develop a bioreactor to extend the viability of human organs awaiting transplant. She has also brought her passion for learning and creating new solutions to internships at Intel, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. She will soon travel to Europe to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, which invites the world’s top emerging scientists to meet with thirty Nobel laureates.

UMBC’s Class of 2018 includes thousands of phenomenal graduates.

In the arts, humanities, and social sciences, Shirley Basfield Dunlap, Ph.D. ‘18, language, literacy, and, culture, is finishing her doctorate at the age of 65 after steadfastly completing one course a semester for nearly a decade. She will apply her dissertation research on the history of African American stage directors to her work as coordinator of theatre arts at Morgan State University. Emmanuel Mones ‘18, visual arts, will launch a men’s streetwear brand and magazine designed to promote public dialog about gender, sexuality, and equality. Flora Kirk ‘18, ancient studies, has already traveled the world to study ancient coins, and will next research Roman coinage in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, as a Fulbright Scholar.

Among UMBC’s impressive STEM scholars, men’s club lacrosse team captain Greg Huxtable ‘18, physics and mathematics, will build on his high-level research in quantum computing through a Ph.D. at UC Irvine. Arissa Falat ‘18, biochemistry and molecular biology, an award-winning professional figure skater, will pursue a Pharm.D./J.D. at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. After multiple internships with Google, CWIT Scholar Katherine Dillon ‘18, computer science, will soon work as a software engineer at the company’s San Francisco campus.

To learn about these students and more from across the university, see UMBC’s Class of 2018 profiles:

Summer Akhtar, political science and financial economics
Mohammad Arif Ul Alam, Ph.D., information systems
Janae Baptiste, Ph.D., chemistry
Mollye Bendell, M.F.A., intermedia and digital arts
Morgan Chadderton, modern languages, linguistics and intercultural communication
Ciara Christian, M.A., applied sociology
Kaylin Corsiatto, psychology
Todd Cox, financial economics
Adrian Davey, chemical engineering
Andrea Davis, sociology
Katherine Dillon, computer science
Shirley Basfield Dunlap, Ph.D., language, literacy, and culture
Richard Elliott, American studies and political science
Soheila Escobar, information systems
Arissa Falat, biochemistry and molecular biology
Jourdan Grant, media and communication studies
Ke He, Ph.D., chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering
Stormy Hill, applied statistics
Greg Huxtable, physics and mathematics
Flora Kirk, ancient studies
Sophia Lopresti, global studies
Joshua Massey, computer engineering
K.J. Maura, sociology
Naomi Mburu, chemical engineering
Emmanuel Mones, visual arts
Daniel Morris, biochemistry and molecular biology
Marie Pessagno, social work and gender and women’s studies
Max Poole, computer science, mathematics, and economics
Priyanka Ranade, information systems
Kourtney Rutkowski, mechanical engineering
Maia Schechter, dance
Marc Schultz, political science and global studies
Kara Seidel, psychology
Jamshaid Shahir, mathematics and statistics
Joe Sherburne, financial economics
Adaku Uchendu, mathematics
Bryan Vanek, computer science
Manisha Vepa, economics and global studies
Eudorah Vital, biochemistry and molecular biology
Doopashika Welikala, biological sciences and anthropology
Jonathan Werner, bioinformatics and computational biology
Noah Zazanis, psychology
Morgan Zepp, English and global studies

Top image: Orientation Peer Advisors cheer for UMBC in the Commons, Spring 2018. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded prestigious Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF) to 10 UMBC-affiliated STEM students, including eight alumni and two seniors who will soon begin their graduate studies. Their awards include a $34,000 stipend and $12,000 toward tuition and fees for each of three years.

NSF also recognized three UMBC students and five alumni with honorable mentions. Of the 17 UMBC students and alumni honored, 13 are Meyerhoff or MARC U*STAR Scholars. These programs aim to increase the number of first-generation college students, students from low-income families, and underrepresented minorities in STEM.

This large number of honorees “shows the quality of student we have here at UMBC and what they’re doing,” says Keith Harmon, director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. “It also shows the quality of their research experiences at UMBC, and the commitment of the faculty to mentoring these students as undergraduates.”

Randi Williams ’16, M24, computer engineering, received a fellowship for her work as a master’s student in the personal robots group at the MIT Media Lab. She studies children’s interactions with artificial intelligence and is developing a curriculum to help young children learn about AI by building, programming, and training their own autonomous robots. “I was drawn to this research because of my interest in developing a platform that helps decrease the technology gap for low-income and underrepresented communities in tech,” she says.

Williams finds the work rewarding because it combines her aptitude for engineering with her passion for education and social justice. “The greatest thing about receiving the fellowship is support and validation for my diverse research interests,” she shares. “I’m looking forward to chasing my dreams and being a bridge between disciplines.”

Jonathan Werner ’18, M26, bioinformatics and computational biology, has been conducting research with Rachel Brewster, professor of biological sciences, since his freshman year. By studying zebrafish development, “we aim to provide the basic research necessary for the future clinical treatment of neural tube birth defects, the most common birth defects in humans,” he says.

Werner’s interests span computer science and traditional experimental biology. “In graduate school, I’m hoping to join both a computational lab and an experimental lab to further train as an interdisciplinary scientist,” he says, “and winning the NSF GRF gives me the freedom to do so. It’s going to allow me to be as creative as I want when designing my graduate research projects, which I’m really looking forward to.”

Jamshaid Shahir ’18, M26, mathematics and statistics, works with Hye-Won Kang, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, on mathematically modeling the dynamics of cell polarization—how cells develop distinct front and back ends. That process allows cells to move and transmit information. It is particularly important for wound healing, the immune system, and embryonic development.

“Winning the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is a powerful affirmation that I can both pursue and excel in a research career,” Shahir says. “I look forward to the freedom of pursuing questions that interest me, and growing as a researcher.”

All three students spoke to the impact of their UMBC experiences on their success. Williams includes UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski among her mentors and shares, “Honestly, I wouldn’t be at MIT pursuing a Ph.D. without UMBC.” Werner adds, “I reached out to a lot of professors here asking for advice, and every single one was more than happy to help.” He also shared his gratitude for UMBC alumni mentors Keisha John ’03, M12, biochemistry and molecular biology, and Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, chemical engineering. Shahir is particularly thankful for UMBC’s supportive culture, including guidance he received from Kang and John. “I believe UMBC promotes a healthy balance between cooperation and competition that has motivated me to push myself harder,” he shares, “allowing me to grow as both an aspiring scientist and as a young adult.”

The honorees are pursuing graduate study at top institutions across the nation, from UMBC and MIT to Duke and Georgia Tech. Whether students receive NSF fellowships or honorable mentions, Harmon describes this level of national recognition as very meaningful validation. “I think students are always questioning, even the most accomplished,” he says. “It’s nice for them to see yes, I can do this. Another affirmation that yes, I am on the right path. I have ability. I have something to offer. There is a place for me in STEM.”

2018 UMBC-affiliated NSF Graduate Research Fellows:

William Dean ’16, chemistry
Sarah Hemler ’15, mechanical engineering
Teisha King ’16, biological sciences
Rachael Knoblauch ’15, theatre, and current Ph.D. student in chemistry
Samantha McDonald ’16, information systems
Sean Najmi ’17, chemical engineering
Jamshaid Shahir ’18, mathematics
Gwenaëlle Thomas ’16, biochemistry and molecular biology
Jonathan Werner ’18, bioinformatics and computational biology
Randi Williams ’16, computer engineering
Jasmin Zarb ’16, biochemistry and molecular biology

2018 UMBC-affiliated NSF Graduate Research Fellow Program honorable mentions:

Roy Anderson ’16, mechanical engineering
Anya Byrd ’18, biological sciences
Adrian Davey ’18, chemical engineering
Skylar Fisher, ’16, biological sciences
Alvaro Fletcher ’16, mathematics
Kori McDonald ’16, chemistry
Theresa Sheets ’18, mathematics

Image from UMBC’s Keith Porter Imaging Facility, by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Jamshaid Shahir
B.S., Mathematics and Statistics
Magna Cum Laude
Hometown: Woodstock, Maryland
Plans: Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The mentorship and guidance I received from the Meyerhoff Scholars staff and my professors has been invaluable in clarifying my resolve to earn a Ph.D. and has opened many doors for me, such as presenting at conferences around the country, from Harvard to Hawaii.

Jamshaid Shahir, M26, is a Meyerhoff Scholar, MARC U*STAR Scholar, and member of the Honors College at UMBC. With his mentor Hye-Won Kang, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, Shahir has worked on mathematically modeling the process of cell polarization, a mechanism that enables the cell to move and transmit information. This mechanism is important for a broad range multicellular functions, such as wound healing and embryonic development. Understanding how cells polarize is a fundamental question in cell biology.

Shahir was named a 2018 NSF Graduate Research Fellow, which will fund his graduate work at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for three years. In 2017, he received an honorable mention for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. Shahir is also a member of several honor societies, including Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society; Mu Sigma Rho, the national statistics honor society; and the Golden Key International Honour Society, as well as a member of the American Statistical Association.

He has also supported fellow Meyerhoff Scholars by serving as a Meyerhoff Peer Advisor. “My time at UMBC has made me more resilient, learning from failure and overcoming it,” Shahir shares. “I believe UMBC promotes a healthy balance between cooperation and competition that has motivated me to push myself harder, allowing me to grow as an aspiring scientist and a young adult, with a strong and supportive network of peers and mentors that I believe will endure well beyond my time at UMBC.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Stormy Hill
B.S., Applied Statistics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Columbia, Maryland
Plans: Emerging Technologist Program, Nielsen Holdings

UMBC has been a transformative experience. I have made great friends and found inspirational mentors here that have shaped me as a person. UMBC has helped me find my passions and fulfill my goals, big and small.

UMBC leaves its mark on every student, but Stormy Hill’s time as a Retriever has been particularly transformative. Hill joined the UMBC community after two highly successful years at Howard Community College. At UMBC, Hill was selected to become a member of the inaugural cohort of Hill-Lopes Scholars, a program designed to support women in STEM, and her interest in statistics flourished.  

“Without a doubt, UMBC helped me achieve my career goals,” Hill says. “Through networking opportunities provided through the Hill-Lopes Scholarship Program, I found the most amazing internship with T. Rowe Price. Later, the wonderful Career Center was where I found my dream job with Nielsen, which will take me to Florida this summer.”

With a perfect GPA, Hill is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Sigma honor societies. When it comes to her academic achievements, she is thankful for the support of faculty who weren’t just excellent teachers in the classroom, but who also proactively reached out to her with praise for her work and encouraged her to pursue further study and opportunities. “This type of support gave me confidence in my ability to branch out of my comfort zone and learn new things,” she shares, “and even to consider jobs in areas I never would have considered otherwise.”

Hill also tutored children in math at Lakeland School in Baltimore through the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program. “I discovered a way I can give back to my community and make a positive difference in the lives of children,” she reflects. “I have enjoyed the experience so thoroughly that I intend to seek out opportunities to continue tutoring after moving to Florida.” A member of both the scuba diving and jujitsu clubs at UMBC, she also plans to continue her martial arts training after graduation.

Hill will soon begin work at Nielson Holdings through the data science track of their highly competitive Emerging Technologist Program.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Max Poole
B.S., Computer Science, B.S., Mathematics, B.A., Economics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Takoma Park, Maryland
Plans: Site Reliability Engineer, eBay

UMBC provides extensive opportunities and support for students to get engaged and involved in service beginning in their freshman year. The UMBC Shriver Center has been incredibly supportive of every service endeavor I wanted to do.

Max Poole wants to live in a society where everyone can access an education, is informed, is open to hearing new ideas, and is willing to work together to achieve great things. With this ideal in mind, he is completing three majors in three different colleges, which has enabled him to explore problems from a range of angles. He has also pursued collaborative service-learning opportunities through the Shriver Center since his freshman year, with a focus on promoting college with middle school students and boosting access to computer science education.

“The amount of students with access to computer science in middle school is minuscule,” says Poole. Knowing that computing skills will be important for many kinds of jobs of the future, he suggests, “If you can get kids interested, learning, engaged, and involved as early as possible it prepares them to be successful.”

Poole has been recognized for his commitment to service with the 2016 Newman Civic Fellowship. He is also a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and a member of the Honors College, with stellar academic achievements that have garnered him recognition through the national honor societies Pi Mu Epsilon and Phi Beta Kappa.

“I have this need inside of me that pushes me to always be improving the world and myself, to create and collaborate,” explains Poole. “I feel like service is deeply ingrained in my DNA. It is something I have to do.”

Beyond UMBC, Poole even pursued service opportunities while a summer intern at eBay. He looks forward to resuming those projects when he begins a full-time position with the company after graduation.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Adaku Uchendu
B.S., Mathematics
Cum Laude
Hometown: Beltsville, Maryland
Plans: Ph.D., Penn State University

A famous saying goes, ‘The sparkle depends on the flaws in a diamond.’ This means all my flaws and strengths make me who I am. Therefore, I can only shine brightly when I accept all of me. I learned this at UMBC.

Adaku Uchendu has had great success as a math major at UMBC, but she actually came to UMBC with the intention of studying biology. “Changing my major took a lot of courage,” she shares, because her love of mathematics did not always translate to high marks in her high school math courses. But her family and professors provided the support she needed to set challenging goals and achieve them, she says, including pursuing high-level mathematics research and competitive internships.

Uchendu joined the UMBC community after graduating from high school in Nigeria. She is a McNair Scholar and received an Undergraduate Research Award to pursue work with Bedrich Sousedik, associate professor of mathematics. She expanded on her research with Sousedik through an internship with the Federal Reserve Board, the central banking system of the United States. She has also joined Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society.

“My UMBC journey has been a success due to the support of my parents, the excellent math professors I had, the McNair program, and most of all God, who always has my back,” Uchendu says. She shares her gratitude for that support by paying it forward — tutoring in UMBC’s Math Lab and volunteering with REACH, a student-led group that encourages high school girls in Baltimore City to pursue STEM-related careers by providing mentorship and other resources.

Next fall, Uchendu will begin a Ph.D. in information science and technology at Penn State University, pursuing interests in machine learning, data science, and cybersecurity.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC’s Songon An is on a quest to explain how enzymes direct sugar metabolism through research with implications for cancer treatment. Scientists already know a great deal about how individual enzymes work in a test tube, but “once we move into the living cell system, we barely know about the enzymes,” says An, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. With a new $1.5 million NIH grant, his lab is working to change that.

To explore how enzymes interact and form complex biochemical pathways in the body, An is using various biochemical and imaging techniques from biochemists and biophysicists. New, three-dimensional imaging techniques developed by Minjoung Kyoung, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will help examine the pathways at work inside living cells. A mathematical model developed by Hye-Won Kang, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, supports the project.

The research focuses on two processes related to glucose metabolism: One produces energy for the cell to use, and the other generates compounds that assist in building the components of proteins and DNA, supporting the organism’s growth and repair. These two processes start out with the same first steps, and then diverge to generate different small molecules referred to as “metabolites.”

“What decides the direction of the pathway flux?” An is asking. His hypothesis, which his lab will test with the new grant, has to do with the physical arrangement of the enzymes in living cells. The enzymes that catalyze glucose metabolism physically group together, forming complexes that An has dubbed “glucosomes.” Each glucosome contains at least four critical enzymes, and the glucosomes further group together in the cell, forming glucosome clusters.

An hypothesizes that the enzymes present within the clusters and communication among the enzymes determines which metabolic process a given region in the cell favors at a given time. Interestingly, the size of the glucosome clusters also appears to play a role in determining which metabolic pathway dominates, and An intends to test that idea as well. Preliminary data suggest that single-enzyme concentrations (separate from the glucosomes) promote energy production, and multi-enzyme glucosome clusters favor churning out building blocks to grow the organism.

“Eventually, what I’d like to do, if technology allows, is to pinpoint individual clusters in the live cell, and put in some sort of probe to measure the level of the metabolites,” An says. “Then, if this hypothesis is correct, we will see different concentrations of metabolites in clusters of different sizes.”

Most imaging techniques only allow a researcher to detect where an enzyme is, not how much of a given metabolite a reaction is producing. An is hoping to use a more refined technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to examine cells’ metabolite concentrations. This technique has been successfully applied to detect lipids on the surface of cells, but never metabolites inside cells or related to glucose metabolism. In addition to incorporating Kyoung’s imaging expertise, An is collaborating with researchers outside UMBC who have experience with this challenging, new technique.

Beyond gaining a more complete understanding of the fundamental regulation of glucose metabolism, An seeks to contribute to cancer treatment. Preliminary data suggest that the largest glucosome clusters appear only in cancerous cells, and An is applying for another grant to further test that hypothesis. Patients who donated cancerous cells also donated healthy ones, so An’s team will be able to look for differences between them.

If An’s hypotheses are confirmed, the next challenge will be translating the new knowledge into a treatment that will break up the large clusters without interrupting the function of individual enzymes. “If small molecules inhibit the enzyme activity in diseased cells, they will inhibit the same enzymes in healthy ones as well,” An explains. “So what we’re trying to find is a small molecule that will simply dissociate the cancer-relevant large clusters, without inhibiting the enzyme activity.”

This new area of research is the reason An came to UMBC in 2011. “I’m hoping that in the future many people will be working in this area of cellular biochemistry, studying many metabolic enzymes in living cells,” and, eventually, “connecting the cellular level to the animal level, so we don’t have a scientific gap of understanding metabolism from a test tube to the human body,” he says.

By using fresh imaging techniques in new ways and employing mathematical modeling, An is moving past assumptions of what biochemistry can be, and he’s excited about the possible breakthroughs ahead. “We are opening up a new chapter for biochemistry in the cell,” he says. “This is the next stage of biochemistry.”

Image: Songon An, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Danielle Schmitt, Ph.D. ’17, biochemistry, working in the lab; photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Cybersecurity is regularly a headliner in the news, especially when personal information stored online has been compromised, whether through a breach, hack, or threat. On Thursday, December 7, UMBC hosted experts from industry and academia at the National Press Club to discuss the cyber challenges professionals face, and how those groups can work together to prepare future generations of cybersecurity professionals.

Scott Shane, a reporter with The New York Times, led the discussion with five panelists representing industry, small business, and higher education. “I think it’s fair to say the internet was built without adequate attention to security,” stated Shane, who writes about cyber and information attacks regularly. “It’s almost like somebody who starts a bank with branches all over the world, and after it’s up and running and has millions of account holders, suddenly starts to think about safes, locks on the doors and bulletproof glass. I think that’s sort of the stage that we’re at right now.”

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and Anupam Joshi, professor and chair of computer science and electrical engineering, and director of the Center for Cybersecurity at UMBC, were joined by alumni and partners who have been working together on the urgent need to build the cybersecurity workforce. Hrabowski explained that there are currently about 350,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs, and that number is expected to continue to grow. By 2021, it is anticipated that there will be approximately three million job openings in cyber-related fields.

Over the course of his professional career, Nigel Faulkner, chief technology officer at T. Rowe Price, has experienced the emergence of technology and many changes. “As the CTO of a medium-large company, cyber is a defensive investment for us. The best thing that can happen is nothing happens,” Faulkner said, adding that he is always thinking about whether the company is investing enough, doing the right thing, and making the right connections in the industry to keep clients’ information safe.

As president and founder of TCecure, LLC, and cybersecurity academic innovation officer for University System of Maryland (USM), Tina Williams ’02, computer science, shared the importance of building security into technology from the beginning, rather than adding these features on at the “tail end of a development cycle.” Not only does her company handle security, they also monitor threats and risks that can compromise the technology’s health. In her role at USM, Williams represents the system as a whole to integrate academia and academic research, relationships, and resources into what’s taking place nationally, at the Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

As head of UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity, Joshi explained that UMBC is combating these national challenges by partnering with industry and government leaders to conduct research that addresses specific real-world needs that benefit both. Collaborative relationships, such as UMBC’s work with Northrop Grumman and T. Rowe Price, is one way that UMBC is working to cultivate the next generation of cybersecurity talent.

As an alumna of UMBC and a current employee at Northrop Grumman, Lauren Mazzoli ’15, computer science and mathematics, M.S. ’17, computer science, a systems engineer in the Future Technical Leaders Program at Northrop Grumman, discussed her experience in the Cyber Scholars Program. The Cyber Scholars Program works to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the field. Mazzoli explained that her experience at UMBC, in the Cyber Scholars Program, and working alongside mentors on and off-campus led her to be involved with continuing to encourage women to pursue careers in cybersecurity. “For me it’s been a product of the relationship between academia and industry, that have allowed me to find my own career path, and at the same time help others find theirs,” she explained, noting her passion for helping students consider careers in cybersecurity and related fields.

“We know there’s a huge workforce that we need and we can’t fill that pipeline. So yes, we need more women, yes, we need students of all backgrounds, but we need diversity of thought, experience, education, and problem-solving skills,” said Mazzoli, adding that it is important for students to know from a young age that cybersecurity is a field they can pursue.

Banner image: Tina Williams, center, talking with Anupam Joshi, left, audience members during the Cyber Press Event at the National Press Club. Photo by Abnet Shiferaw ’11, visual arts. 

The National Science Foundation recently awarded UMBC a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award totaling more than $550,000 to expand the university’s High Performance Computing Facility (HPCF). The funding will go toward upgraded hardware and increased computing speeds for the interdisciplinary core facility, which supports scientific computing and other complex, data-intensive research across disciplines, university-wide. As part of the NSF grant, UMBC is required to contribute 30 percent of the amount that NSF is providing to further support the project, meaning a total new investment of more than $780,000 in UMBC’s High Performance Community Facility.

Meilin Yu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is the principal investigator on the grant. He replaced Matthias Gobbert, professor of mathematics, who served as principal investigator on previous grants for the core facility in 2008, 2012 and 2017 on behalf of the 51 faculty investigators from academic departments and research centers across all three colleges.

“The MRI grant will allow us to upgrade the UMBC HPCF with state-of-the-art computing nodes and networks,” explains Yu. “It will boost sustained growth in research and education relating to computational science and engineering, including but not limited to, high performance computing, cybersecurity and big data, atmospheric physics, environmental science and engineering, and life sciences.”

Through the facility, researchers can run simulations with a range of applications, including industrial designs and weather prediction. UMBC faculty will utilize the upgraded system to complete simulations and modeling tasks significantly faster than the current system allows, explain Yu and Gobbert. The updated technology includes accelerated graphics processing units that, in addition to speeding up calculations, will “improve the quality of digital visualization,” says Yu.

The HPCF governance committee is working with UMBC’s Division of Information Technology to purchase and implement the upgraded hardware, including central processing units, which completes computing tasks, graphics processing units, which manages the visual displays on computers, and cores. “We hope to have at least 72 nodes in service to the UMBC community by spring 2018, with 16 core Central Processing Units, Graphics Processing Units suitable for integer/single-precision and double-precision arithmetic, and cutting-edge many-core Intel Xeon Phi KNL processors with 68 cores,” Gobbert explains, adding that by increasing the number of nodes, UMBC’s HPCF is worth more than $2 million.

UMBC faculty are able to use the facility for their research at no charge, and they receive technical support from graduate assistants as well as staff in UMBC’s Division of Information Technology. The upgraded facility will support projects from researchers in more than a dozen academic departments across all three colleges at UMBC. Gobbert shares that he expects this community of scholars will expand further as the core facility continues to grow. “I am most proud of the fact that such a large number of faculty total put their trust in me to lead the writing and management of this proposal,” he said. “Our success at the NSF validates that the strong interdisciplinary cooperation of many researchers from across the campus is valued there.”

The HPCF was established in 2008 in response to a university-wide need for technology to support high-performance computing. The initial system had 35 nodes, and was funded by UMBC’s Division of Information Technology, the Office of the Vice President for Research and faculty contributions. Over the past nine years, the HCPF has grown to include over 300 nodes, and has been used by more than 400 researchers and students for their work. The facility has led to more than 250 publications, including 100 in peer-reviewed journals, in addition to 30 theses. The recent funding will support the expansion of the facility to include 84 nodes, which individually communicate with each other, and cutting-edge processors. The oldest portion of the HPCF will be replaced with with more powerful nodes.

Banner image: High-performance computing equipment. Photo by Andrew Hart via Flickr, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The UMBC community gathered for the 2017 UMBC Alumni Awards on October 5 in the Linehan Concert Hall to celebrate individuals who have made impressive contributions to society through their work. The UMBC Alumni Awards are held annually as part of Homecoming week, which welcomes alumni and members of the community back to campus for a range of events. This year, eight awards were presented to alumni and members of the community across all Colleges and from a range of disciplines.

“I’m thrilled that the legacy of excellence embodied by these amazing individuals can be shared this evening and for many years to come,” said John Becker ’01, information systems management, president of the Alumni Association board.

“Tonight you will hear from people from a range of disciplines. You will get a sense of people who are already at the top of their fields and others who are rising stars,” shared President Freeman Hrabowski. “Across these disciplines you will see UMBC graduates, from undergraduates to Ph.D graduates, doing very well. Tonight we get a chance to celebrate a lot of grit, a lot of hard work, and wonderful moments of greatness.”

Mark Marten, professor and chair of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, introduced Kafui Dzirasa ’01, M8, chemical engineering, calling him a “powerhouse,” mentor, teacher, motivator and life coach. “Our honoree is recognized not only for his research and scientific expertise but also for his compassion for his patients, and his determination to pay it forward to the next generation of young scientists,” said Marten.

Today, Dzirasa is an associate professor of psychiatry, behavioral science, neurobiology, and neurosurgery at Duke University School of Medicine. He explains how he grew up in a family that was always “competing with integrity,” which helped shape him into the leader and person he is today. K. Dzirasa, who received the Outstanding Alumnus, Engineering and Information Technology Award, inspired the audience to “see one, do one, teach many.” Dzirasa’s two brothers also graduated from UMBC, including Delali Dzirasa ‘04, computer engineering, who received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the UMBC Alumni Association.

Kate Laskowski ’06, biological sciences and chemistry, the recipient of the Outstanding Alumna, Natural and Mathematical Sciences award was introduced by Jeff Leips, professor of biological sciences. Laskowski is a scientist in the department of biology and ecology of fishes at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Germany. She explained that her love of science began during the introductory biology course that focused on ecology and evolution that Leips taught, which she guest taught during her time on campus for the Alumni Awards. “Standing in the front of the classroom telling the students about the research that I now do, in the class that actually excited my interest in research was totally surreal,” she said. “It was one of these things that came full circle.”

Laskowski stood out in a class of 350 students, recalled Leips. “She stood out as someone who was very engaged. Her curiosity, her need to know really stood out as an undergraduate,” Leips said. Because of this curiosity, Laskowski was one of the first undergraduate students to work in Leips’ lab, and she laid the groundwork for several Ph.D. and master’s students who came after her.

Kimberly Moffitt, associate professor of American studies, introduced Dennis Williams II ’14, American studies, who received the Outstanding Alumnus, Humanities award. Williams is the head of content marketing for Skillshare, is an Oculus Content Fellow, and was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in 2016. Moffitt said that Williams has “made a career out of storytelling.” Williams uses film to tell compelling stories about his life. “I found myself inspired by his determination, drive, and optimism,” Moffitt shared.

Williams talked about the unknown in life, and how people can thrive during uncertain times by looking inward and building their own paths. “We rarely know what the next step is and we rarely have it all figured out,” he said. “That was the epitome of my time at UMBC. I didn’t have it figured out when I got here.”

Linda Dusman, professor and chair of music, nominated Alejandro Cremaschi ’93, music, for the Outstanding Alumnus, Visual and Performing Arts award. She explained that while Cremaschi was not one of her students, she enjoyed his performance at UMBC earlier in the semester that highlighted Latin American composers, and is inspired by his teaching style. “It was wonderful to see the artistry and pedagogical brilliance of this alumnus,” Dusman said.

He recalls coming to UMBC as an international student from Argentina, and says that he “was very fortunate to find a lot of loving people and friends” at UMBC.

Nancy Miller, professor of public policy, introduced Sylvia Trent-Adams Ph.D. ’06, public policy, saying she is “committed to public service, research, and improving the quality of healthcare for the most vulnerable populations.” Trent-Adams, who received this year’s award for Outstanding Alumna, Social and Behavioral Sciences, currently serves as the Deputy Surgeon General for the United States, and is a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Earlier this year, she served as the acting U.S. Surgeon General.

Trent-Adams said that her passion for helping people, particularly those who are underserved, was one of the reasons that she became a nurse. By working with researchers and individuals in the public health industry, she explained that she has grown and pushed herself past the limits she thought she had, and that UMBC provided a framework to think outside the box. “What UMBC prepared me to do was stretch my knowledge, to put on a different thinking cap about what was possible for a nurse and for a young woman who came from a family with low educational attainment,” she said.

As a student, Steven Storck ’08, mechanical engineering and mathematics, M.S. ’09, mechanical engineering, Ph.D. ’14, mechanical engineering, was very involved with UMBC’s Baja SAE team, serving as team captain. Since graduating, he has led UMBC’s Baja SAE alumni association, said Neil Rothman, professor of practice of mechanical engineering and faculty advisor of the team. Storck, who received the Distinguished Service award, organized the 2015 Baja SAE Maryland event, which brought more than 1,500 students from around the world together in Mechanicsville, Maryland. “His work raised the profile of our university and of our mechanical engineering program, and has given students countless opportunities to develop and showcase their skills,” explained Rothman.

Storck, an additive manufacturing application engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, explained how UMBC enables innovation and how people at UMBC are willing to help make your vision a reality. “UMBC is an environment where each individual can leave their fingerprint on the culture, and really change it and shape it and make it their own,” he said.

Lauren Mazzoli ’15, computer science and mathematics, M.S. ’17, computer science, was in the first cohort of UMBC’s Cyber Scholars program and received the 2017 Rising Star award. Cindy Greenwood, assistant director for the Center for Women in Technology, said that Mazzoli is “a role model for our current students in the Cyber Scholars program, and other women in the field.” As the liaison between CWIT programs and Northrop Grumman, Mazzoli has helped coordinate a range of events to strengthen the relationship between UMBC and Northrop Grumman, explained Greenwood.

Mazzoli’s passion is educating women and children of all backgrounds about the field of cybersecurity. Her work at Northrop Grumman has allowed her to pursue her passion while giving back to UMBC. “UMBC is the house of grit, which means you’re going to work hard,” said Mazzoli. “These faculty members are going to give you a lot of work and they have high standards. It also means that when you find something that you are really passionate about you will have the courage, strive, and strength of character to pursue it.”

The 2017 Outstanding Faculty award was presented to Marc Zupan, associate professor of mechanical engineering. Asynith Palmer ’06, English, who has worked with Zupan to secure funding and design curriculum for the Global Engineering Program, and to infuse elements of the humanities into engineering courses, said she has seen the lengths that Zupan will go to connect students with industry professionals.

“It’s amazing to me how confidently UMBC alumni go around knowing that the world will be changed by their example,” Zupan said. “When you were admitted to UMBC it was because of one simple idiom. You showed promise. As I continue to interact and speak with UMBC alumni, I see that they have promise. You always have promise, you never lose that promise.”

Six current undergraduate students received scholarships from the UMBC Alumni Association. The scholarships will support Melanie Biddinger ’17, psychology; Matthew Bleakney ’18, mechanical engineering; Jeffrey Carr ’19, interdisciplinary studies; Daniel Gallagher, III ’18, information systems and music technology; Hannah Kiesel ’18, computer science; and Iman Said ’18, psychology, as they pursue internships, research opportunities and a range of courses.  

Each award recipient shared how they use their passions to give back to the UMBC community. “You see this great cadre of people who represent the best of our university, the best of our country and the best of humankind. They are solving the problems of humankind,” said Hrabowski. “This is by far the best of UMBC.”

Banner image: The 2017 Alumni Award recipients. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.