February 9, 2016

by Megan Hanks

New blood-clotting agent shows promise for soldiers in combat zones with extreme temperatures

When soldiers suffer traumatic battle wounds in combat, there is a window of just around 10 minutes for medics to apply blood-clotting agents before they will likely lose too much blood to survive. The U.S. military has relied on injectable blood-clotting agents to save soldiers’ lives for years, but many are unstable at extreme temperatures. This is where the Lavik Lab comes in.

Erin Lavik, professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering (CBEE) and a new faculty member at UMBC, has developed nanoparticles that “act like bridges between platelets to make clots form faster.” The have effectively stimulated platelet aggregation in cell culture, remained stable temperatures, and performed well in animal testing. Her team’s research, including a recent successful phase of testing in rats with traumatic liver injury, was featured in Chemical & Engineering News.

To test their ability to remain effective after storage at high temperatures, similar to those found in many combat zones, the nanoparticles were heated to 122 degrees Fahrenheit for one week. Lavik found that the agents performed just as well as in earlier tests. Further tests will determine if this blood-clotting agent could be applied clinically, to serve as a more stable and less expensive alternative to current drugs.

Read more about Lavik’s work in “Artificial Clotting Agent Could Treat Internal Bleeding in Combat Zones,” in Chemical & Engineering News.

The Women’s Center Advisory Board is a collective of faculty, staff, and students with an interest in supporting and cultivating the work of the Women’s Center at UMBC and advancing gender equity and social justice on UMBC’s campus.

Board members participate in monthly board meetings, scheduled for the first Friday of each month during the academic year. This forum allows Women’s Center staff to share information about the Center and similarly allows the board members to share their knowledge, wisdom and unique perspectives to advance the mission of the Women’s Center. 

In addition to advising the Director and Assistant Director of the Women’s Center, board members provide support in the planning, programming, and advocacy of the Women’s Center. Board members are encouraged to attend Women’s Center events when possible and volunteer at larger events such as Critical Social Justice or the returning women students networking event. These responsibilities may entail additional hours of commitment outside of the monthly board meetings.

Board members are appointed for two-year terms, with the possibility of renewal.

The Women’s Center seeks to serve a diverse community of people interested in women’s, gender, and social justice issues.  We seek a diverse board to assure that varying needs and interests are represented.
For more on the Women’s Center mission, guiding principles, and priorities, visit womenscenter.umbc.edu

DEADLINE: Monday, April 24, 2017

For additional information, please call the Women’s Center at x52714 or email womens.center@umbc.edu. 

All Are Welcome So Long As They Respect Women’s Experiences, Stories & Potential

Research Assistantship
Department of Africana Studies
Work Study students are strongly encouraged to apply
Department: Africana Studies
Position: Research Assistantship
Positions Available: 1-2

Duties: To provide research support for Dr. King-Meadows.
Main Job Tasks and Responsibilities: data entry; finding assigned journal articles, newspaper articles, and books; preparing typed summaries of journal articles, newspaper articles, and books; running errands to AOK library and to other units on campus; photocopying, scanning and faxing, sending emails, preparing outgoing mail; typing documents; making phone calls; compiling documents and correspondence; attendance at weekly project meetings and participation in library research training; preparation and submission of final research report on activities; work on special projects and perform other duties as assigned.

Required skills: Research skill would be helpful, but will train. Ability to work independently on assigned tasks, familiar with Excel and Microsoft Word. General office experience required. Key Competencies include organizing and planning, prioritizing, attention to detail and accuracy, problem-solving, adaptability, teamwork, and written and oral communication skills.

Duration: 11 weeks
Hours per week: 8
Pay range: $8.50

Supervisor: Dr. Tyson King-Meadows

End Date: May 6, 2016

To Apply: Follow this link - https://umbc-csm.symplicity.com/students/?mode=form&id=68b6b624bbe469b970c3814393889484&s=jobs&ss=jobs

Read More and Apply via UMBCworks:

This year, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) hosted a Student Video Competition.  The theme of the 2015-16 competition was “Environmental Engineers Protect Public and Ecological Health.”

The AEESP Student Video Competition sought to highlight environmental engineering and science to increase awareness about the field and encourage young people to learn more about stewardship of water, land, air, mineral, and energy resources.  The competition was open to undergraduate and graduate students studying environmental engineering and science worldwide.

Ten teams from around the country submitted videos on a diverse set of topics.  Judging was conducted by a panel of environmental engineering and science faculty, as well as K-12 science educators.  Videos were evaluated based on originality and creativity, content accuracy, and potential to motivate middle and high school students to pursue a career in environmental engineering and science.

The top three videos, which include prizes of $1,000, $750, and $500, respectively, were:

1. UMBC, “What do Environmental Engineers do?”
2. Virginia Tech, “The Flint Water Study Team (Virginia Tech) | An ode to Environmental Engineers and their field”
3. Yale University, “The Work of an Environmental Engineer”

In addition, three honorable mentions were awarded:

• Stanford University, “The world without environmental engineers”
• University of California Riverside, “The Salton Sea: Obstacles and Opportunities in Environmental Engineering and Science”
• University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, “Environmental Engineers: Heroes of Our Future”

We hope that you enjoy these videos and share them widely to promote the general public’s understanding of environmental engineering and science.  They have also been uploaded to AEESP's YouTube Page.

AEESP Membership and Demographics Committee

Retaining Engineers Through Research Entrepreneurship and Advanced-materials Training (RETREAT)

The High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI) at the Florida State University is hosting a summer training program in Nanomaterials and Processing Engineering. The Diversity in Research and Engineering of Advanced Materials (DREAM) Training program, sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab Munitions Directorate (AFRL RW) at Eglin Air Force Base, will provide provide undergraduate and GRADUATE U.S. citizens from the under-represented groups in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, the opportunity to enhance their research experience in Science and Engineering.