UMBC is continuing its commitment to diversifying Maryland’s biomedical and life sciences ecosystem through its latest collaborative effort with the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) to develop a new life sciences accelerator program focused on faculty development and research commercialization efforts. 

UMBC and UMB were jointly awarded a four-year, $4 million Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (REACH) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance the biomedical entrepreneurship and innovation economy in the Baltimore region. This grant will be used to build on the work that began when UMBC and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) received a $13 million NIH Common Fund Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) grant in 2022 to enhance recruitment and training of junior faculty from groups underrepresented in biomedical science.

“We have a long-term commitment to enhance the diversity of the faculty on our two campuses in the biomedical and life sciences,” says Karl V. Steiner, UMBC’s vice president of research and creative achievement and co-principal investigator of the new REACH grant. “We are pleased to further strengthen the close partnership with our colleagues at UMB and beyond with this next initiative.”

Building a life sciences accelerator program

The REACH grant will fund up to 44 early-career faculty and students from UMBC and UMB (11 each year) with up to $100,000 each to develop and test commercially-promising biomedical and life science technologies. Additionally, UMB will use a portion of the grant funding to create the University of Maryland, Baltimore Life Science Discovery (UM-BILD) Accelerator Program’s “proof-of-concept” hub that will be housed at the University of Maryland BioPark and at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. The UM-BILD hub, set to launch next year, is one of only five REACH hubs awarded funding across the nation. 

Aaron Miscenich, executive director of bwtech@UMBC, explains that bwtech@UMBC has done extensive work in developing a strong community centered around entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. 

“UMBC’s partnership with UMB to create this technology commercialization hub will [further] enhance our work and bring additional support to UMBC’s research community,” Miscenich says. “It’s a great opportunity to bring together UMBC faculty and students with resources that can help further develop promising technologies and help them to grow into thriving businesses.”

UMSOM’s Jason Rose, principal investigator of the REACH grant, shared how both institutions plan to support the biotech entrepreneurs who take part in the accelerator program. 

“We recognize that to create our own unique cohort of newly trained biotech entrepreneurs here in Baltimore, our accelerator will need to provide them with both research support and funding, as well as guidance through the process of commercialization and technology development,” Rose said in a UMSOM press release. “We will be providing mentoring and educational programs from a diverse set of successful life science innovators and leaders to help distill their broad experiences—from navigating FDA regulatory pathways to financing new companies—to all of those who interact with the hub.” 

This initiative, Steiner adds, aims to increase the number of Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in the biomedical and life sciences.

“As we look at the makeup of entrepreneurs across our communities, it’s obvious that we are under-serving those underserved communities. This will be yet another building block in our joint commitment to ensure that we focus on and benefit from the breadth of entrepreneurial talent in Maryland,” says Steiner. “We’re looking to bring in more individuals from underrepresented communities into the faculty ranks and actively help them develop a strong network of peers and mentors to allow them to successfully build their careers and their businesses in Maryland, with support from UMBC with bwtech and support from UMB.”

UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby shares that “we are excited to work together to create opportunities for everyone to benefit from and contribute to this innovation ecosystem, staying true to our long-held commitment to inclusive excellence.” 

Commercialization efforts at UMBC

Wendy Martin, director of UMBC’s Office of Technology Development, will assist in selecting and managing the projects that will be funded through the REACH grant. Martin has worked closely with faculty in all aspects of intellectual property protection and commercialization, including helping faculty to receive internal and external funding to develop new products. Those funding opportunities have included UMBC’s long-standing partnership with TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), which will also be a collaborator of the UM-BILD accelerator along with the University of Maryland, College Park, Morgan State University, and Blackbird Laboratories.

Since launching in 2012, MII has supported 39 UMBC faculty in their commercialization pursuits, including the development of bendable zinc-based batteries and vibration-powered sensor technology for wind turbines. 

“I’m excited that we can bring everyone to the table. UMBC provides a continuum of support for these commercialization projects,” says Martin. “We’re building on enhancing things that we’re already doing. It’s great that we will have these additional resources to keep it going and to do it better.”

Meet Basil Udo ’22, biochemistry and molecular biology, an entrepreneur and technologist in the third cohort of bwtech@UMBC’s Maryland New Venture Fellowship for Cybersecurity program, where teams work together to create the commercially viable solutions the nation needs to secure physical and virtual infrastructures. Basil walks us through the timeline of creating his business venture as an undergraduate, support from campus leaders to help finesse his vision, his entrepreneurial award, and how he made the most of his UMBC connections to find a job in his area of industry. 

Q: How did you get involved with bwtech@UMBC?

A: In Spring 2022, I gained access to bwtech@UMBC’s CyberHive via the Student Idea Lab for my venture, Xeddy. At Xeddy, we are innovating the punch card experience with digital loyalty programs for restaurants and cafes. What I enjoy most about this work is the potential to impact many lives in a net positive way. In October, I was awarded a 2022 Student Entrepreneur Award at bwtech@UMBC’s Cyber & Tech Awards. 

Q: Tell us about your primary WHY, and how it led you to UMBC.

A: I came to UMBC because of a 2018 summer research experience with the Build a Bridge to STEM program. My team conducted research with Jeffrey Gardner, associate professor in biological sciences, where we developed and rendered designs for biomass containment devices and tested their efficiency in measuring the degradation of polysaccharides. Later that summer, my research team and I went on to present our findings at UMBC’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fest. Ultimately, this experience was an inflection point in my feelings of self-efficacy and interest in new information. 

Who is someone in the community who has supported you, and how?

Udo in front of bwtech@UMBC North, February 2023;. Photo courtesy of Alina Momin.

A: In 2021, I was actively practicing my elevator pitch around Xeddy and when the opportunity presented itself to share it with an audience, I did. It was the first day of my Introduction to Entrepreneurship class, and this led to me connecting with my professor, Scott Weber, outside of class. He introduced me to more resources on campus, specifically Kevin Fulmer, the director of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, where I received foundational support to materialize my ideas and tighten my pitch.

How have you taken your entrepreneurial skills to the next level?

A: I am a technologist in the third cohort of bwtech@UMBC’s Maryland New Venture Fellowship for Cybersecurity. Every week, we are introduced to new resources and left with actionable steps to take that further our internal company missions. This greatly appreciated added layer of accountability encourages myself and my team to strategically look past our launch.

Tell us about the people who helped you grow at UMBC, and why their HOW made such a difference to you.

A: In my last semester at UMBC, I virtually met with a science career advisor, Susan Hindle. She helped me rework my résumé and highlight my strongest attributes. A few weeks later, I grabbed lunch with a leader in bwtech’s community, and he suggested that I learn more about a company called Catalent Pharma Solutions.

Another few weeks went by, and I was passing by a Catalent information booth near the bookstore in The Commons. I recall making the conscious decision to return after my class to connect with the team of recruiters. Upon my arrival at the booth, I saw (and met for the first time in person) my career advisor, who then gave me a lovely introduction to the recruiters. In November, I received my offer letter to get started!

I am now a manufacturing associate at Catalent. Every day I learn something new and it provides me with a way to support and enrich myself as I pursue my personal endeavors with Xeddy. Additionally, the exposure to corporate systems has introduced a new perspective on logistical efficiency, which makes me better at facilitating direction as a founder. 

What’s your favorite part of Retriever Nation?

A: Since I spend a lot of my time at the Research & Technology Park, I enjoy heading over to UMBC’s main campus to get involved with entrepreneurial affairs run by the Alex. Brown Center and volunteer events such as HackUMBC. Exploring these opportunities from an alumnus perspective has given me an added appreciation for the resources and support that are active and growing in our community.

What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: The entrepreneurial community at UMBC is growing and innovating each year. If you intentionally want to start a venture, UMBC will avidly support you. Starting with resources like the Alex. Brown Center, HackUMBC, and entrepreneurship classes will provide someone unsure of how to start with direction, potential cofounders, and info on the entrepreneurial mindset.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

Kiaron Bailey will soon become the very first graduate of UMBC’s new master’s degree program in community leadership, a path she hadn’t envisioned for herself while working in finance just a few years ago. “From a very young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of giving back. I just didn’t realize that I could pursue that passion and actually sustain myself,” Bailey says. In deciding to make the career shift, “I kind of had a heart-to-heart with myself,” and she realized that entrepreneurship and community impact can go hand in hand.

Bailey learned about the program when she connected with Sonya Crosby at her place of worship. Today, Crosby is assistant vice provost for applied and off-campus programs, but at the time she was director of the Office of Professional Programs, which offered the new master’s degree. Crosby told Bailey about the practical emphasis of the program—how it combined coursework community-based service-learning—and Bailey knew it was what she was looking for.

Appreciating the nuances

As someone who studied finance as an undergraduate—where one plus one equals two—Bailey found the nuanced world of community leadership a bit shocking, she says, laughing. She particularly enjoyed connecting with nonprofits in Baltimore City, using her skills to support their missions while learning more about running community-based organizations. 

Next One Up helps Black male youth in their academics, including preparing for the SATs and other college prep. The nonprofit did not yet have a physical space, and Bailey researched possible locations, preparing them to strengthen their services and community connections post-pandemic.

She also worked with The Lazarus Rite, which helps formerly incarcerated people prepare for jobs, obtain gainful employment, learn about budgeting, and develop soft skills to support their success. Bailey developed a survey to help the organization prepare to apply for a grant, and analyzed the survey data. 

UMBC’s community leadership program, “definitely helped me get a holistic perspective of what it actually takes to run an organization and the type of tenacity and creativity you need,” she says. Bailey currently works for the Interagency Commission on School Construction for the State of Maryland, and also serves as an administrator of programs and finance, and the liaison for the Maryland Board of Education. She plans to continue that while starting to build a nonprofit supporting physical, mental, and financial wellness.

Creative problem solver

When Princess Sara Njemanze ‘21, chemical engineering, came to UMBC as a freshman, she knew that she wanted to find opportunities to build and to support communities. She started by joining the Shriver Center’s Living Learning Community, a residential floor bringing together students focused on meaningful social change. The experience proved so significant that she remained connected to the group for four years, transitioning through roles as a peer mentor and then as a resident assistant. “It’s my life,” she says, smiling.

As she explored possibilities for her degree and career paths, Njemanze knew she enjoyed fixing problems through science and engineering and that she loved connecting with people. After meeting Vivian Armor ‘73, American studies, director of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, Njemanze decided to register for an entrepreneurship class. There, she got a chance to partner with students from all different majors and to come up with a product to pitch for a Shark Tank-style presentation. Before long, she added minors in both computer science and entrepreneurship to her degree.

As a France-Merrick Fellow, Njemanze worked with a group of her peers to create initiatives that work to address challenges in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. “Something that I’m really proud of that we worked on and saw the fruits was hosting a leadership program for high school students at Lansdowne High School,” she explains, adding that they asked the students to envision their ideal communities. 

The high school students came to UMBC for a day-long leadership training and created art that was displayed at OCA Mocha, a coffee shop and community gathering space in downtown Arbutus. Njemanze says the opportunity to connect with younger students was meaningful to her and impacted her UMBC experience.

During her time at UMBC, Njemanze interned at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, where she was offered a job that will begin after graduation, combining her passion for engineering and creative problem solving. Her long-term vision is creating a nonprofit to support underserved communities gain access to knowledge and skills such as financial literacy, college readiness, and leadership development. 

Supporting mental health through tech

Tristan King ‘21, individualized studies, created his own path at UMBC after transferring from Howard Community College (HCC), where he earned an associates degree in computer science. While King was at HCC, he met Joshua Massey ‘14, individualized studies, who was teaching an entrepreneurship course. By talking with Massey during his office hours King learned that at UMBC he could design his own major, and he began to explore the possibilities.

King shares that his personal mental health struggles led him to create a major at UMBC that focused on how technology could support mental health and wellbeing. Through an emerging field called digital therapeutics, he explains, some health care providers are prescribing apps and websites to provide support and resources to people with depression and other mental health challenges. 

At UMBC, King began learning more about tech and accessibility. He worked with Ravi Kuber, associate professor of information systems, on creating obstacle-detection tools so that blind runners could complete their runs independently and safely (research supported by Toyota). King also worked with Lee Boot, director of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center, on data visualization research. 

In 2020, he participated in UMBC’s annual Idea Competition through the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. His team earned second place for the Sproutful System, which includes a plant container outfitted with sensors that transmit to a phone app, helping the user know what their plant needs to thrive. The app also features daily guided meditations. The idea is that a person will care for themselves and their plant in a daily meditative practice that is both relaxing and rewarding. 

King’s senior capstone project uses virtual reality to translate metaphor therapy to an immersive environment. “It looks at how people describe depression and anxiety, and sort of visualizes it,” he says. The project combined what he learned through health psychology coursework with his computer science skills, interest in supporting mental health, creativity, and ingenuity to yield a thought-provoking tool.

Energy and commitment

When Amina Mahmood ‘21, computer science, was younger, she would routinely get viruses on her family’s desktop computer while playing online games. Her computing skill set has certainly grown and changed over the years, but her passion for the field remains the same. 

As she was applying to colleges, Mahmood focused on institutions with strong resources for students pursuing computer science. She felt elated when offered a spot in UMBC’s Cyber Scholars program, housed within the Center for Women in Technology. She wanted to make the most of each and every opportunity that came her way.

That is how Mahmood, as a new freshman at UMBC, found herself at the UMBC Career Center’s campus career fair, 10 copies of her resume in hand. She didn’t yet have work experience in computing, and wasn’t quite sure of the protocol, but she committed to handing out each one of those resumes before she left. 

Before the end of the day, Mahmood connected with Huntress Labs, a start-up company based in bwtech@UMBC. Huntress Labs offered her an internship, and she worked there part-time through her sophomore year.

She also went on to complete internships at Parsons, a company that develops digital solutions in the security, defense, and infrastructure industries; Systems and Tech Research; and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. There, she will soon begin a full-time job as a cyber engineer, where she will focus on reverse engineering, one of her computing-related passions.

A world of opportunities

While completing her courses and interning, Mahmood took advantage of unique learning opportunities. She received a scholarship to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest gathering of women in technology. She also studied abroad in the United Kingdom in spring 2020, traveling to Paris and London before the program ended early due to the emergence of COVID-19. 

Mahmood’s approach of taking on new challenges with energy and commitment extended to other aspects of her life at UMBC. When she found that UMBC offered limited on-campus halal dining options, she worked with the Student Dining Advisory Committee to expand those options. In her junior year her tenacity paid off. UMBC opened Halal Shack as a permanent halal dining option in The Commons, also popular with vegetarian and vegan diners.

Knowing the potential of her organizing to positively impact other people motivated Mahmood to push forward the work until it became a reality. “I’m the youngest in my family, but what if I have a daughter or a nephew and they come to UMBC, what would I want them to experience?” she asked herself. “I just want to use my skill set and whatever I can do to be beneficial to other people.”

Gaining confidence as entrepreneur

Jason Jozwiak, M.S. ‘21, information systems, came to UMBC with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, a decade working as a software developer, and two years teaching English in Ukraine through the Peace Corps. As a Peaceworker Fellow with UMBC’s Shriver Center, he had an opportunity to pursue his master’s degree in information systems while working part-time with Baltimore City’s Department of General Services, and completing a social change leadership program.

Jozwiak began working with the City of Baltimore before the COVID-19 pandemic began, developing software to help his department digitize records. During the pandemic, the City began using that same software to record COVID-19 data to support contact tracing efforts.

That experience broadened his sense of the kinds of community impacts he could have through a career in computing. After graduation, he plans to expand his software development work in partnership with another emerging entrepreneur. 

“UMBC helped open my eyes to the possibilities and opportunities that are available,” says Jozwiak. “Entrepreneurship is something that I’ve been interested in for a long time. There are inherent risks involved and it’s kind of scary trying to piece it together. But I learned that I know what I’m doing. It helped give me the confidence.” 

Finding community

Jameka Wiggins ‘21, chemical engineering, remembers when representatives from UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) visited her high school in Prince George’s County, Maryland. They offered a glimpse into the kind of experience she might have as a CWIT Scholar, including a tight-knit community of mutual support. She was accepted into the scholars program and says, simply, “CWIT was my community coming into UMBC. They always made sure we had a community of supporters, that we were engaged in the program, and that we felt welcome at the university.”

That community proved particularly important when Wiggins struggled with the transition to college life, worrying that she didn’t belong. Working through that challenging time motivated her to shift from focusing on lab research to engineering education itself as a career path.

During her sophomore year, Wiggins, who is also a member of the UMBC chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, decided that she wanted to gain research experience. She applied to the NSF’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, which supported her summer research on optimizing oleaginous yeast cell factories in UMBC’s chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering department. 

The next year she accessed a very different kind of experience as a Shattuck Fellow through the UMBC Career Center and as a participant in the Maryland Technology Internship Program for Entrepreneurship. These initiatives allowed her to intern multiple semesters for the start-up Athena Environmental Sciences, with Sheldon Broedel, associate director of UMBC’s master’s in professional studies in biotechnology program.

As she was exploring these opportunities, Wiggins realized that she was not the only student who would benefit from academic support outside of the classroom. She and a group of her peers worked with the UMBC Academic Success Center to provide tutors for upper-level engineering courses. And she also began looking at career pathways in engineering that were focused on community and belonging.

Change agent

In fall 2020, Wiggins, also a McNair Scholar, began working with Jamie Gurganus, associate director of engineering education, on a project that would shape her trajectory. They conducted research on the engineering mindset and experiences of Black first-year students, including those who are and are not in scholars programs.

Wiggins and Gurganus explored how to foster a sense of community among these students, which has been demonstrated to support resilience and degree attainment. Their study found that participants experienced particular challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as isolation and difficulty finding their footing in classes.

In addition to her interest in supporting college students, Wiggins committed time to supporting younger students as well. She volunteered for the Refugee Youth Project’s College Journey Upward Mentoring Program (College JUMP), where she mentored a high school student in Baltimore City and helped her with the college admissions process. This experience led Wiggins to become a leader in the program, creating curricula for students and supporting mentors. 

She also worked with some of her peers to create the LIFT Mentoring Program, which connects upper-level students with underclassmen in the same or similar majors to support informal mentorship and guidance outside of the classroom. 

And along the way, she took on other leadership roles through UMBC’s Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center and UMBC’s Inclusion Council.

These research, mentoring, and leadership experiences have inspired Wiggins to pursue a Ph.D. in engineering education. Her emphasis will be on developing undergraduate student support services to increase the retention and representation of underrepresented populations in engineering. “I will serve as a change agent,” she says.

Banner image: Kiaron Bailey, second from right, with her classmates in Baltimore. Photo courtesy of Bailey.

Nearly 100 industry experts and entrepreneurs gathered virtually for Cybertini 2020, hosted by bwtech@UMBC, UMBC’s research and technology park, on October 15. The annual event offers a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn from industry professionals and experts in academia, and this year focused on cybersecurity related to elections. This is the second of three Cybertini events scheduled for this year.

UMBC’s Rick Forno, assistant director of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity, joined Ron Gula, president of Gula Tech Adventures, and Sarah Lenti, executive director of the Lincoln Project, for the panel discussion. In the context of a highly contentious 2020 U.S. election season, panelists shared their perspectives on the particular cybersecurity challenges the U.S. electoral system faces today. 

Gula grounded the conversation with a key point: that elections are now considered to be part of critical infrastructure, but that challenges to its security are unique. Megan Wahler, director of entrepreneurial services at bwtech@UMBC, moderated the event. 

Continuous attention to security

Forno and Gula both argued that it’s important to continuously look at the security of information sharing broadly, rather than focusing on security when an election comes around. 

Rick Forno. Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

“I think you don’t look at it in the context of securing an election,” said Forno. “I think you need to look at it as securing an information ecosystem over time, not just every two or four years.” This means there will always be a need for expertise and innovations related to securing information, he noted. 

Gula similarly emphasized that it is important for leaders to take cyber hygiene and data security seriously in order to protect companies, governments, and elections from vulnerabilities in the long term. “If we can educate [people running for office] before they get into office, then they’re going to make better cyber policy decisions for all of us,” he said. 

Electronic voting and misinformation

The speakers also discussed how to ensure the security of future electronic voting platforms, a particularly hot-button issue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gula explained that it’s possible to develop a secure electronic voting system, but that this security might be dependent on maintaining a paper trail. Forno cautioned that the U.S. electoral system also poses particular challenges, given that each state and territory has its own process for running elections. 

Ron Gula. Photo courtesy of Gula.

Returning to the present election, Forno discussed how securing information shared on social media also plays a role in elections, even if people are still voting through traditional means. He suggested that social media companies must play a major role in identifying and preventing the spread of misinformation. By blocking inaccurate information from being posted or shared online, these companies can thwart efforts to bad actors to influence elections. UMBC faculty, students, and alumni are currently working on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity technologies to address these issues.

Sarah Lenti. Photo courtesy of Lenti.

Further discussing vulnerabilities of the current election, Lenti described her organization’s work to track voter suppression efforts, to hold leaders accountable to maintaining a secure and accessible electoral process. The Lincoln Project recently announced a partnership with See Say 2020, which allows people to report acts of voter suppression and election interference in real time. 

“The Lincoln Project’s role is to basically shine a light on these activities with the hopes of it leading to some remedy and creating a deterrent,” Lenti said.

Forno reflected that looking at the broad ways in which cybersecurity plays a role in current and future elections shows how “cyber touches every aspect of society.”

Banner image: The entrance to bwtech@UMBC. Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Imagine you’ve got an amazing idea—a piece of biotech or a cyber solution, for instance—with the potential to really help people in need.

Now, picture a community that helps you accomplish the steps to turn that idea into a successful business. Researchers and eager students to work out the kinks. The camaraderie of creative entrepreneurs to energize you. And partners with the business chops to help you take your idea to market.

Since launching 30 years ago as the first university research park in Maryland, bwtech@UMBC has nurtured more than 130 companies and their big ideas, bringing more than 1,800 jobs to Baltimore County and generating 4,500 direct and indirect jobs and $700 million in labor income and business sales for the state, according to an assessment by the Sage Policy Group in 2019.

As the world takes on the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, bwtech finds itself in the position to innovate in more ways than ever. Amid it all, bwtech’s new executive director Aaron Miscenich is ready to help bwtech make an even bigger impact in Maryland and beyond.

“We will emerge from this period strong, but with a new definition of ’normal,’” says Miscenich, who previously helped launch the New Orleans BioInnovation Center in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He notes that bwtech steadily added jobs through the 2008 recession and recovery years, and expects the community to remain strong. 

“Working with UMBC’s diverse research base, talented entrepreneurs, and strong partner organizations, bwtech has achieved fantastic results. I think we have the opportunity to bring our community closer together and to learn more about what we can do for one another.”

Building Bridges to Success

A wooden footpath links UMBC’s main campus to bwtech North, the second of bwtech’s two campuses. Winding past Pig Pen Pond, it’s a convenient link between two centers of creative energy, and also the perfect metaphor for the relationship between these two enterprises.

“University research can contain tremendous market potential but often needs someone to facilitate that commercialization process,” says Miscenich, who took over for longtime executive director Ellen Hemmerly after her retirement this spring.

“Many times you have researchers who are not experienced entrepreneurs, you have students looking for real-world experiences to complement their course studies, and you have alumni that are looking for ways to bring their talents back to the university,” he says. 

All of the groups converge at bwtech, along with entrepreneurs from around the globe, and the research and technology community provides assets that help them meet their goals. A  recent beneficiary of this partnership is Soobum Lee, associate professor of mechanical engineering at UMBC, whose work with windmills and energy harvesting earned him a Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) grant. 

MII, a research commercialization project established by the state and five universities, including UMBC, opened up the opportunity for Lee to work with bwtech “site miners,” who help facilitate the application process for faculty inventors and accelerate their path to commercialization. As of this January, UMBC faculty have secured a total of 42 MII awards, valued at more than $4.4 million, resulting in 16 start-up companies.

bwtech also houses a number of UMBC alumni-owned businesses at its two campuses, many of which partner with professors and also bring in undergraduate and graduate students as interns.  Jeehye Yun ’97, computer science, founding CEO at RedShred on the bwtech north campus, notes that these relationships have paid off for her company. 

“As a part of the bwtech community, we’ve had the opportunity to develop long-standing relationships with UMBC faculty and students to advance our innovative research and impact,” she says.

The same is true for Mike Adelstein ’96, biochemistry and molecular biology, who sees a strong future for his company Potomac Photonics at his bwtech south campus location.

“Even though we’re growing, we want to keep our headquarters here [at bwtech] because it’s a great place to be,” he says. “bwtech’s environment spurs innovation and drives the success that we’re having right now.”

And by pairing new business with established ones, bwtech’s “Start here. Grow here. Stay here.” philosophy makes for a welcoming environment at any stage of growth.

“We can take these companies, introduce them to industry professionals, capital sources, and other groups that help reduce the risk of failure and increase the potential of the company’s products and services,” Miscenich says.

Challenging Times

As the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold earlier this spring, many in the bwtech community quickly began working on ways of creating solutions.

AthenaES switched from its regular work of protein manufacturing to instead focus on making hand sanitizer. Both New Horizons Diagnostics and Synaptic Research began working to develop rapid testing kits. And while Potomac Photonics normally focuses on microfabrication, Mike Adelstein quickly shifted gears to produce face shields for a hospital in the Bronx.

Miscenich, with his 15 years as president of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, understands the importance of close connections among partners during challenging times. Although he has not yet been able to work from his office on Research Park Drive due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, Miscenich is spending much of his time checking on his entrepreneurs from afar to make sure they have what they need to stay strong.

“We’re maintaining one-on-one contact through our facilities’ team and trying to maintain programming that will keep our entrepreneurs connected with the park,” he says. “We’ve been holding video ’socials,’ we’ve hosted speakers, and we’re reaching out to understand their individual needs. Our hope is that we can learn from this challenge and keep in place the mechanisms that allow us to work together as a community.”

Miscenich says bwtech companies have displayed a great ability to adapt to change and to step up to challenges. His role, he says, “is to help these companies to alter their course when necessary and to bring reliable resources for them to use. Our intent is to continue to use these resources to add value to our clients and support their ongoing growth.”

Community is Key

Another key element of bwtech’s success—and one that drew Miscenich from New Orleans—is the business community’s connections to Baltimore, Washington, and its next-door neighbors, Catonsville and Arbutus. Many of the companies’ 1,800-plus workers call these towns home.

The campus also lies just up the road from BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, Ft. George G. Meade, the National Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Institutes of Health, putting it in a perfect spot to create partnerships with groups in need of cybersecurity, life sciences, and engineering solutions.

“An innovation district, or research park, is not just a group of buildings that sit idle  throughout the day and night,” says Miscenich. That means encouraging true engagement between business and the surrounding communities. 

Matt Roberson, Director of SC&H Capital, and a member of the bwtech board, knows how important those local connections are. He is raising his family nearby in Catonsville, and is looking forward to great things at bwtech.

“bwtech is an important part of the UMBC story, and growth in the area,” he says. “I’d like to see it continue to grow and foster opportunities for students, Catonsville and Arbutus residents, and businesses, in general.”

Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski Jr., Ph.D. ’17, public policy, notes the important role bwtech has played in the state, calling it a “true Maryland success story.”

“For the last 30 years, bwtech has strengthened our economy by giving big ideas the room they need to grow. By bridging higher education and business, bwtech at UMBC positions Maryland as an economic powerhouse within the region,” he says. “I couldn’t be prouder of what this community brings to Baltimore County.”

Miscenich says he’s looking forward to learning more about  what the Greater Baltimore region has to offer. Even more, he looks ahead to continuing to build opportunities for the bwtech and UMBC communities.

“UMBC and bwtech have clearly worked very hard and have made incredible strides in building companies out of the university,” says Miscenich. 

“I look forward to bringing bwtech even closer to the programming and culture of the university, attracting more partners into the ecosystem that has been created by bwtech, and attracting more resources in the development of our infrastructure.”

For more information about bwtech@UMBC’s community of entrepreneurs, visit https://www.bwtechumbc.com/community/.

Images by Marlayna Demond ’11 or Corey Jennings ’10 for UMBC unless otherwise noted.

One wall in Ellen Hemmerly’s office in bwtech@UMBC North is home to a large aerial photo of UMBC’s campus before bwtech was built in 1989; next to it is an image taken from a similar angle that shows the completed research park just outside the campus loop. 

On a conference call, Hemmerly efficiently works through a document with her team, making notes on a folded sheet of paper and delegating tasks to the group. As the executive director of bwtech, Hemmerly is responsible for every facet of the research park’s success and requires the ability to switch between tasks at a moment’s notice. She does so exuding patience, a sense of calm, and intentionality. 

For more than two decades, Hemmerly has led UMBC’s technology park—the first-university-affiliated research park in Maryland—as it has grown and expanded to encompass start-up companies in industries including cybersecurity, the life sciences, information technology, and clean energy. Over the years, she has accumulated dozens of awards for her leadership and business acumen. At the end of June, Hemmerly will retire as executive director, leaving a healthy outlook for the park and a lasting legacy on Maryland’s economy.

“Ellen has set the standard for what it means to be an economic development professional,” says Greg Simmons, M.P.P. ’04, vice president for institutional advancement at UMBC. “She has that rare balance of vision and pragmatism that has allowed her to see the big picture vision for bwtech and UMBC, while using her considerable expertise to focus on the myriad of details required to build a park, engage partners, negotiate leases, host industry leaders, and build an innovation community.”

History of bwtech@UMBC

bwtech@UMBC is unique because it is both a department within the university and a 501c3 organization, which speaks to the impact that entrepreneurship and innovation has had on the university. “It has been a wonderful and rewarding experience leading bwtech and witnessing its growth and success,” says Hemmerly of her time at UMBC. “The interactions with colleagues from UMBC and the local entrepreneurial community have been especially fulfilling.” 

Among those partnerships are the businesses Hemmerly helped build from the ground up. A few years after Delali Dzirasa ’04, computer engineering, graduated from UMBC, he was accepted into one of bwtech’s incubators to grow his software company Fearless Solutions. With support and mentorship from Hemmerly, the company took off.

“Ellen has shown us the importance of being friendly and, most importantly, being fearless. She’s taught us that kindness and business should go hand in hand; that businesses are most successful when you build strong relationships and partnerships along the way,” shares Dzirasa. “Ellen is unassuming and deeply generous, and she’s been there to give us help every single time we’ve needed it. And we’ll always be grateful to her for that.”

Today, Fearless Solutions employs nearly 75 people. Dzirasa says that Hemmerly has influenced how he leads his company. “Ellen has been instrumental to Fearless’ success since we first got started in our cube as a company of one. She’s been there for us in every stage of our growth, and she has always been resourceful and gracious in getting us the help we need,” Dzirasa explains. “Beyond general business guidance, she also supported our growth through networking and connections. Ellen regularly introduced us to potential customers, partners, and mentors, and we could always count on her to be our cheerleader.”

Currently, bwtech@UMBC is home to about 130 companies in its north and south research parks. These incubator companies and incubator-affiliated companies have nearly 1,800 employees, significantly contributing to economic development in the state of Maryland. Through programming, networking, and resources, businesses at bwtech are able connect with other companies, researchers, academic institutions, and potential investors to foster collaborations. They are also able to take advantage of the university’s resources, and bwtech’s affiliation with UMBC has helped boost its reputation as UMBC’s name is shared, explains Hemmerly.  

Growing Maryland businesses 

Under Hemmerly’s leadership, bwtech has helped drive economic growth in the Baltimore region and across the state of Maryland. bwtech@UMBC has supported hundreds of companies in growing their businesses by providing access to professional opportunities and mentors.

In 2018, bwtech@UMBC supported more than 3,200 jobs and contributed $700 million in labor income and business sales. Additionally, bwtech@UMBC contributed $5.5 million in taxes to Greater Baltimore and $12.4 million in taxes to Maryland in 2018. Like Fearless, many of the companies that have graduated from bwtech’s incubators have remained in the state, says Hemmerly, and she’s proud that more than half of the companies in bwtech are owned and operated by either women or underrepresented minorities, contributing to increased diversity within tech companies in the region. 

Hemmerly has played a crucial role in helping the leaders of companies make connections across the state, and in promoting initiatives and programs at bwtech@UMBC. “I am most proud of the success of the many companies which have been part of bwtech and the increased visibility over time of bwtech’s brand,” Hemmerly says. “bwtech is considered an important asset to UMBC, the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and our regional economic development partners.”

The research park at bwtech is currently at capacity, and the demand for space continues to increase. UMBC and bwtech leaders are working with local and state officials to identify and explore possible expansion opportunities, Hemmerly explains. 

Over the years, bwtech has launched several initiatives to expand its impact across the region, country, and abroad, including the iCyberCenter@bwtech which supports companies from around the world, including the United Kingdom, as they establish themselves in Maryland. bwtech has received Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise (RISE) Zone designation from the Maryland Department of Commerce, a designation that supports existing companies, new companies, and UMBC faculty interested in commercializing their work.

A legacy of loyal leadership 

Detail person that she is, Hemmerly is quick to share how she is approaching the transition out of the role that she has long held. To ensure that nothing falls through the cracks, Hemmerly is working with her team to turn over projects that will need to continue after she retires, and to tie up loose ends, renew leases and contracts, and set next year’s budget. Her calendar may not be as packed as it has been in the past, but Hemmerly says that it is a positive change. 

“It’s nice to be able to think proactively about what needs to be done,” she explains, smiling.

Hemmerly is proud of what she has helped build, and how bwtech@UMBC has significantly impacted the Maryland economy, as well as helped put Maryland on the map as a cybersecurity hub. Simmons notes that these accomplishments wouldn’t have happened without such a strong leader at the helm.

“She has led with grace and integrity, and UMBC couldn’t be more appreciative of all she has accomplished,” he says. 

Learn more about bwtech’s partnerships and projects.

*****

All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for the UMBC Magazine.

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.

• Kimberly Moffitt, American studies, appeared on WEAA-FM’s The Marc Steiner Show on Monday to discuss the Freddie Gray case, Maryland political happenings, and the recent shooting at a Planned Parenthood location in Colorado.
• Ellen Hemmerly, bwtech@UMBC, penned an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun on the city’s future as a cybersecurity hub, citing its proximity to the federal government and to defense and intelligence contractors, its preponderance of cybersecurity firms, and its potential to attract even more startups in the coming years.
• Christopher Shuman, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, confirmed findings from NASA’s Operation IceBridge that both the north and south polar ice caps have decreased dramatically in height, saying this is “not at all surprising given what we have observed with other sensors.”
• Jason Loviglio, media & communication studies, called for more diversity in the podcasting world after attending the 2015 Podcast Movement in Texas earlier this year.

For more on these stories, and for even more UMBC updates, head to our brand-new news website!

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.

• Dr. Hrabowski appeared on Comcast Newsmakers to stress the importance of inclusiveness in STEM fields.
• Erle Ellis, geography and environmental systems, told The Guardian that all human activity, even our conservation efforts, has an impact on how species evolve.
• Thomas Schaller, political science, discussed the Republican party’s shift towards the right in The Week.
• Marie DesJardins, computer science, tells us how we can integrate computer science education into the nationwide K-12 curriculum, providing more opportunities for female and minority students in the process.
• Patricia Joseph, former special assistant to the Provost, along with her husband Mark, have promised a $3 million gift to the Baltimore Museum of Art to help pay some of the costs of the museum’s new center for education and creativity.
• Light Point Security, a cybersecurity company founded by former NSA employees and based at bwtech@UMBC, is profiled in the Baltimore Sun.
• Women’s volleyball beat Hartford 3-0 on Sunday, while women’s soccer scored a 2-0 victory over New Hampshire for their Senior Day game.

For more newsmaking moments and campus updates, check out UMBC Insights!

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.

• Dennis Coates and Brad Humphries, economics, have found that sports stadiums depress local wages for workers in other entertainment-related fields.
• The play Kerrmoor, written by Susan McCully, theatre, directed by Eve Muson, theatre, and produced by Baltimore’s own Interrobang and Strand Theatre Companies, will premiere as part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival on October 29.
• Rebecca Adelman, media & communication studies, comments on the now-iconic image of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned off the coast of Turkey, and examines why this particular image from the crisis in Syria invoked such a visceral response where others did not.
• John Rennie Short, public policy, argues that our fire policies are “worsening the damage and increasing the cost” of the wildfires in the Western United States.
• Technical.ly writes on Baltimore’s burgeoning startup culture, and profiles two bwtech@UMBC companies, Fearless Solutions and PaRaBal, that plan to move downtown from the research park later this year.
• UMBC Men’s Soccer edged out a 3-2 win over George Washington.

Mike Adelstein ’96, biochemistry & molecular biology, CEO of Potomac Photonics, recently moved the 31-year-old tech company to bwtech@UMBC. Potomac specializes in microfabrication and can machine a variety of materials at a size that cannot be achieved using conventional processes (think smaller than a hair follicle).
According to the Baltimore Business Journal, the move is expected to be good for both the company and the UMBC campus community:

Adelstein […] sees the move as a potential recruiting tool. Potomac will be utilizing interns as well as graduate students for some of its work, he said. It will give Potomac a good way to try the students out and see if it would like to bring them on as full-time employees.

View the Potomac Photonics press release or read the article from the Baltimore Business Journal.