This GEM GRAD Lab is free, but please register ASAP! 

See the highlighted link above. 

Huebotics developers Jasmin Martin, Erika Shumacher, Tad Cordle and Michael Leung

Technical.ly Baltimore reports that the HueBots robot-building game made by a four UMBC students has been added to the PC game platform Steam.

“HueBots is a deceptively challenging top-down puzzle game. You control a team of colorful robots that will only interact with objects that match their color; they will also keep moving in one direction until they collide with something that matches their color.”

You can try a demo version of Huebots at http://huebots.com/ and also download the demo version for use on a Mac or PC.  The release trailer will give you an idea of what it’s like.

The UMBC Entrepreneurs group reports that the student team that developed the game includes lead Michael Leung ’16, computer science; Tad Cordle ’16, computer engineering; and Erika Schumacher ’17; and Jasmine Martin ’15, both visual arts students with interactive media concentrations. This summer Graham Dolle ’18, computer science, contributed special visual effects.

CSEE Professor Marc Olano notes that it is the first game to go for sale to the larger public from UMBC’s Game Developer’s Club.

“The Steam greenlight process requires the game to get strong community feedback before it is approved, which it could only have gotten with wider interest than just UMBC,” Olando said in an email to Technical.ly.

The group has already sold about 100 copies of the game and has a mobile version that is waiting for approval from iOS and Android in the coming weeks.

University Health Services is providing flu shots to the students, staff and faculty of UMBC on Thursday, September 24, and Friday, September 25. The cost of the flu shot is $20.00. Payment can be made by cash, check, UMBC campus card, or billed to your insurance. UHS will provide the vaccines until supplies run out. Please bring your UMBC red ID campus card.

Thursday Sept. 24, 12 noon - 6 pm - The Commons Main Street

Friday Sept. 25, 10 am - 2 pm - The Commons Main Street

If you cannot make it to the clinic days, you are welcome to come to University Health Services to receive your flu shot.  University Health Services is openMonday - Friday from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm and located on the ground floor of Erickson Hall.  UHS also accepts credit/debit cards as a form of payment at the Health Center.

To make an appointment, for questions or concerns about individuals in high risk categories, and/or specific questions about health insurance, please contact University Health Services at (410) 455-2542.  

Name: Michael Wolfe

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Position Title: Attitude Control Systems Engineer

Major(s)/Minor(s): Physics, Math  

Expected Graduation Year: 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op,  or research opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I worked on the mission called NICER (Nuetron Star Interior Composition ExploreR). NICER is an x-ray timing and spectroscopy instrument that will launch to the International Space Station in 2016. NICER will resolve the nature of ultra-dense matter as well as demonstrate pulsar navigation by studying the dynamics of neutron stars. I'm on a team of attitude control engineers that develop and characterize the pointing system. Pointing the instrument within arcsecond accuracy is a challenge due to the vibrations of the ISS, stepper motor reaction torque, and thermal fluctuations in space. We run tests on the instrument that simulate a space like environment so we can tune its mechanical properties and software so it can perform properly despite the noisy environment. 

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I applied at NASA because of it’s groundbreaking developments in science and engineering. My faculty adviser told me that UMBC has a good reputation with the local Greenbelt campus. I also talked with people I knew in the field and they suggested this as one of the internships I should apply for. 

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

I enjoyed the opportunity to grow outside of my academic comfort zone. As a physics/math major, much of my time is spent on theory and calculating with ideal conditions. When working in an engineering field such as attitude control systems, you really have to learn how to work around the electro-mechanical limitations and imperfections of your spacecraft in order to optimize its performance. 

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

Calibrating and optimizing the optics and pointing system of the NICER instrument will allow it to properly collect x-rays emitted from neutron stars. This scientific data will help us understand and resolve ultra dense gravitation and lead to future pulsar navigation. 

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

Challenge yourself. Be determined. Get outside your comfort zone.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

University of Maryland School of Medicine is currently seeking an entry-level undergraduate research volunteer to assist with various laboratory operations and in doing so gain invaluable research experience for graduate/medical school application or work in the field of biological research. The Cheer Lab at the UM School of Medicine is a behavioral neuroscience laboratory specializing in the study of dopamine and endocannabinoids in motivated behaviors, please see our website for more details:http://www.cheerlab.org.

UMBCworks ID# 9277257

 A reflection written by Jess Myers, Women’s Center Director

The last time I passed by this wall was in February 2015. Before the murder of Freddie Gray. Before the Baltimore Uprisings. Before… I don’t remember what was on this wall, if anything. But walking down Greenmount Avenue yesterday afternoon on my way to visit the Monument Quilt‘s studio, I came to a full stop as the mural came to view.

It’s beautiful. And sad. And deeply powerful. It is activism. Baltimore Is Rising.

As we’ve been planning Critical Social Justice and immersing ourselves in its theme of Baltimore 365, I often come into the Women’s Center or to Critical Social Justice planning team meetings with more questions than I have answers. Will we do this right? Will we honor Baltimore in the way it needs to be? Will we respect its people in the way that they — we deserve? Knowing we can never cover all the issues, whose voice, whose experience, whose story will go untold?

I love Baltimore. Baltimore is my home. It is my heart. This city is my roots and the roots of my family.

But since the uprisings, I wonder if Baltimore is mine to claim? Who is Baltimore? Am I Baltimore?

While I only live 2.6 miles away from this location at the cross streets of Greenmount and Oliver, my home in Baltimore feels miles and miles away. My reality from the white gentrified neighborhood of Canton isn’t the reality of the Oliver neighborhood or Sandtown or Cherry Hill. I am only a guest in these neighborhoods. The issues and experiences of Baltimore are vast and segregated. Racial and socioeconomic injustice is real – I see it but it is not my lived experience.

I am Baltimore and I am not Baltimore. I’m seeking how to navigate this complicated reality. How do I use my voice? How do I use my privileged identities in a positive way? How will I demonstrate my love for Baltimore in a way that builds bridges with others in our community and is fundamentally invested in our mutual liberation?

I am eager to engage with the UMBC community as we delve into what Baltimore 365 means for us. I doubt all my questions will be answered but I am ready for the difficult dialogues, the chance to create brave spaces, and be in community together with others.

How will we speak out?