Name: Valerie Lee

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The National Aquarium in Baltimore

Position Title: Aquarist Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Biological Sciences

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

At the National Aquarium, I was responsible for the day-to-day tasks of maintaining 4 exhibit tanks and several backup tanks. These tasks included taking parameters of all tanks every morning, cleaning tanks, performing water changes, performing backwashes on filters, and preparing diets for my animals. I would also assist with small procedures on animals, such as debridement of a wound on one of the turtles. This is a procedure where essentially I would capture and hold her while the vets cleaned the wound.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I heard from the Career Center that the National Aquarium was looking for UMBC students to hire. So, I had my resume reviewed and learned how to write a cover letter for my application. After doing that, I submitted my application and did a phone interview before being offered a position.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization? 

I loved learning about the animals I was working with and how the systems they lived in functioned. Even the most mundane task was enjoyable for me. I'm actually still there as a volunteer currently and I'm looking at becoming an aquarist post-graduation. I'm about to take a class in the biology department on the physiology of marine animals to gain more insight into marine and estuarine animals to help with my career search.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I helped to maintain the exhibits that hundreds of visitors come to and appreciate every day. By doing this, I know that I was part of the public learning and appreciating our natural world as well as what animals need our help.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

Even if it's scary, go for it. I applied to the National Aquarium last summer and I wasn't offered a position, but I still applied this year. Because I took the chance, I was offered the position of a lifetime and a new career focus.

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Computer Science Professor

Two tenure-track, open rank positions

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) invites applications for two, open rank, tenured/tenure-track positions in Computer Science (CS) to begin in the Fall of 2020. Applicants should have or be completing a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline, have demonstrated the ability to pursue a research program, have a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching, and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence. Candidates will be expected to build and lead a team of student researchers, obtain external research support, and teach both graduate and undergraduate courses.

We welcome candidates in all areas of specialization in Computer Science. Some areas of interest for applicants include but are not limited to: information assurance and cybersecurity; mobile, wearable, and IoT systems; big data with an emphasis on machine learning, brain-inspired methods, and high-performance computing; knowledge and database systems; and graphics and visualization.

We are committed to inclusive excellence and innovation and welcome applications from women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. UMBC is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

The CSEE department is research-oriented and multi-disciplinary with programs in Computer Science (CS), Computer Engineering (CE), Electrical Engineering (EE), Data Science, and Cybersecurity. Our faculty (37 tenure-track, 16 teaching, and 18 research) enjoy collaboration, working across our specializations as well as with colleagues from other STEM, humanities and the arts departments, and external partners. We have more than 2,000 undergraduate CS and CE majors and more than 560 M.S. and Ph.D. students in our CS, CE, EE, Data Science, and Cybersecurity graduate programs. We have awarded 340 Ph.D. degrees since our establishment in 1986. Our research is supported by a growing and diverse portfolio from government and industrial sponsors with over $6M in yearly research expenditures. We work to help new colleagues be successful by providing competitive startup packages, reduced teaching loads, and active mentoring.

The College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) at UMBC crosses the boundaries of engineering, computing, and information disciplines to develop research and educational programs that engage faculty, students, and staff from all of the disciplines. COEIT is deeply committed to the success of all of our faculty. We have formal programs including “launch committees” to encourage regular and structured mentorship for faculty to start successfully, mentoring programs to provide support in the longer term, shared services for grant finance support, grant writing and editing support, monthly gatherings in which faculty share lunch and community, and we encourage all of our faculty to participate in the university’s eminent scholar mentor program to build relationships with leaders in the field beyond UMBC. You can read more about these programs and our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives on our website at https://coeit.umbc.edu.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) community redefines excellence in higher education through an inclusive culture that connects innovative teaching and learning, research across disciplines, and civic engagement. We advance knowledge, economic prosperity, and social justice by welcoming and inspiring inquisitive minds from all backgrounds (http://facultydiversity.umbc.edu). According to the 2020 US News and World Best Colleges Report, UMBC placed 9th in the Most Innovative Schools category and 12th in the Best Undergraduate Teaching category. To continue to support this goal, the Faculty Development Center leads the Nation in supporting and guiding faculty in their educational mission with regular workshops and pedagogical demonstrations. The 2018 Chronicle of Higher Education also named UMBC as a Great College to Work For, for the ninth year in a row.

UMBC is a research-intensive university that is leading the world in inclusive excellence in research and teaching. We are redefining how to teach, and we are one of the most innovative universities in the Nation, according to US News. Our research is bold, cross disciplinary, and leverages our location near to the hospitals in Baltimore, NIH, NASA, NSF, and the USGS. Inclusive excellence also means being a strong community partner in Baltimore, and the UMBC Shriver Center and Center for Democracy and Civil life help forge and maintain connections. Social justice is core to our role in Baltimore, Maryland, and beyond.

UMBC’s campus is located on 500 acres just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington DC, and less than 10 minutes from the BWI airport and Amtrak station. The campus includes the bwtech@UMBC research and technology park, which has special programs for startups focused on cybersecurity, clean energy, life sciences, and training. We are surrounded by one of the greatest concentrations of commercial, cultural, and scientific activity in the nation. Located at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore has all the advantages of modern, urban living, including professional sports, major art galleries, theaters, and a symphony orchestra. The city’s famous Inner Harbor area is an exciting center for entertainment and commerce. The nation’s capital, Washington, DC, is a great tourist attraction with its historical monuments and museums. Just ten minutes from downtown Baltimore and 30 from the D.C. Beltway, UMBC offers easy access to the region’s resources by car or public transportation.

Qualifications

Applicants should have or be completing a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline, have demonstrated the ability to pursue a research program, and have a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching. Candidates will be expected to build and lead a team of student researchers, obtain external research support, and teach both graduate and undergraduate courses.

We welcome candidates in all areas of specialization. Candidates that have research interests in collaborative areas between CS, CE and Electrical Engineering are encouraged to apply.

Some areas of interest for CS applicants include but are not limited to: information assurance and cybersecurity; mobile, wearable, and IoT systems; big data with an emphasis on machine learning, data science, brain-inspired methods, and high-performance computing; knowledge and database systems; visualization.

Some areas of interest for CE applicants include but are not limited to: hardware focused applicants in Digital, Analog, Mixed-mode VLSI design and test, integrated sensors and processing, SoC, new and emerging design technologies, hardware implementations for neuroscience and health-related wearables, cyber physical systems, hardware security and assurance.

Application Instructions

Applicants should submit a cover letter, a statement of research experience and interests, a statement of teaching experience and interests, a statement of commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence, a CV, and three letters of recommendation via interfolio. For full consideration, please submit application materials by January 15th, 2020. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please send questions to *protected email* and see http://csee.umbc.edu/jobs for more information.

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Retriever Essentials will host its first seasonal Home for the Holiday Lunch on Thursday, November 28th, 2019, 12p-2p in the True Grits Dining Hall.

This lunch is a holiday-style potluck that will offer communal atmosphere to the UMBC members who can't travel back home or don't have families at the time of holidays. Participants can bring food items, holiday decorations, and will also have a chance to help to prepare some treats during the event. The event will also include activities such as board games, arts and craft table, karaoke, letter writing, and of course music and dancing! All UMBC members and their families are welcome.

Please see the attached flyer. To RSVP, please go to the link below:

For more details feel free to email retrieveressentials@umbc.edu

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance where we honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives we have lost to acts of anti-transgender violence.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death, and began an important tradition in raising public awareness of hate crimes committed against transgender people. 

According to an annual transgender violence report published by the Human Rights Campaign, at least 22 trans and gender-nonconforming people have been fatally shot or killed by other violent means. Most of those killed in 2019 were young, black women. We do not know the actual number of deaths because too often these stories go unreported – or misreported. 

On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we name, honor, remember and mourn the transgender people whose lives our country has lost to anti-transgender violence this year: 

Brianna “BB” Hill | Itali Marlowe | Ja’Leyah-Jamar | Bee Love Slater | Bailey Reeves | Tracy Single| Bubba Walker | Pebbles La Dime Doe | Kiki Fantroy | Denali Berries Stuckey | Brooklyn Lindsey | Zoe Spears | Chanel Scurlock | Chynal Lindsey | Paris Cameron| Michelle “Tamika” Washington | Muhlaysia Booker | Claire Legato| Ashanti Carmon| Jazzaline Ware | Dana Martin | Layleen Polanco | Johana “Joa” Medina Leon

Sources: GLAAD, HRC, NBC news, List of Transgender people killed around the world , Remembering Our Dead

If you've experienced or witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ violence, or are concerned about someone who has, you can call the Anti-Violence Project hotline 24/7 at 212-714-1141. All calls are confidential. You can also report violence anonymously or ask for a counselor to reach out to you online.

UMBC Cyber Dawgs are named CyberForce national champions

UMBC’s Cyber Defense Team, known as the Cyber Dawgs, has emerged the national champion team in the U.S. Department of Energy’s fifth annual CyberForce Competition. The Cyber Dawgs earned first place overall out of more than 100 teams from universities across the country.

Ten national laboratories hosted competing teams this year, November 15 – 16. UMBC competed at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, Illinois, while other teams traveled to sites like the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Competing teams hailed from a broad range of institutions, including Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The competition tasks students with defending critical energy infrastructure during simulated cyberattacks. The scenarios are designed to be realistic, focused on water and power systems and including real-world constraints, such as insufficient budget for system upkeep and limited information on system needs. During the competition, “red teams,” including industry professionals, attack the system, while the students work to ensure that the infrastructure is available to their customers, or “green teams,” who test system usability.

The teams receive points based on how successfully they address attacks, while still allowing users to access the infrastructure they need. The teams are also awarded points for innovative defense tactics and ideas. This year’s competition saw several leading teams with neck-and-neck scores until the final round, when UMBC’s Cyber Dawgs pulled ahead for the victory.

The competition offers students a unique opportunity to develop their cybersecurity skills in relation to critical infrastructure, and have hands-on experience in a realistic cyberattack situation.

“The CyberForce competition is the most unique of our annual events, allowing us to experiment with network configurations to defend an industrial control system against adversaries while playing the roles of an IT organization,” explains RJ Joyce ’18, M.S. ’20, computer science, a member of the winning team. “The hard work, dedication, and creativity that each member brought to the team lifted us from a regional win last year to a national win this year.”

In addition to Joyce, last weekend’s winning team included Anna Staats ’20, computer science; Drew Barrett ’20, computer science; Grant Spencer ’20, computer science; Cyrus Bonyadi, Ph.D. ’23, computer science; and Seamus Burke ’20, computer science.

“The team’s second national championship in three years shows the enthusiasm, grit, and tenacity of our students in demonstrating their technical cyber expertise in a competitive arena,” says Rick Forno, senior lecturer of computer science and assistant director of UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity.

Forno advises the Cyber Dawgs with Charles Nicholas, professor of computer science and electrical engineering. “It’s an awesome thing not just for the team and university,” he says, “but for each competitor individually, as they prepare to enter the cybersecurity workforce after graduation.”

UMBC students have a strong record in state and national competition. In 2018, UMBC computer science and information systems students won the top prize at the Maryland Cyber Challenge. A year earlier, the UMBC Cyber Dawgs won the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.

Adapted from a UMBC News article by Megan Hanks.

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