The UMBC ACM student chapter is glad to announce the first meetup of Baltimore Software Craftsmanship User Group. This meetup is for the students and software developers in the Baltimore, MD area that care about the quality of their work and want to practice and improve their programming skills, share what they know and learn new things from others.

Please RSVP for the event by completing the form. More details can be read on the form or below.

Note: Registration for this initial meetup is limited to only twelve people from the UMBC community. If you are UMBC Student or Faculty please don't RSVP on the meetup site. Use the above form only.

Event Details

This is a HANDS-ON coding user group with no presentations. Each meeting will be a dojo where we will go through a challenging software craftsmanship exercise that focuses on clean code, test-driven development, design patterns, and refactoring. We will pair up and practice on a kata in order to learn and apply the values, principles, and disciplines of software craftsmanship. Come with your LAPTOP equipped with your favorite programming and automated unit testing environment. If you don't have a laptop COME ANYWAY, we will need only one laptop for every two people. Be prepared to pair up, learn, share and have fun!

The event is open to all UMBC students, however programming ability is REQUIRED. Interested Faculty members can join in too! This can also be a good opportunity to network with professionals from various companies and get yourself noticed for any job opportunities that exist.

Questions or Suggestions? Send email to Primal Pappachan (primal1 at umbc.edu) or Vladimir Korolev (vkorol1 at umbc.edu).

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society. UMBC has an active ACM student chapter that is open to all UMBC undergraduate and graduate students of any major.

This year the chapter is planning to organize various events where faculty members, ACM distinguished speakers, and local tech companies will talk about various interesting topics. The first event of the year is the Welcome Back Picnic which be held from 11:30am to 1:30pm on September 18th in the Engineering Atrium. Other activities like Hi-Tea competitions, Code Craftsmanship, Reading groups and Peer mentorship are also in the works. Suggestions on speakers or other events are welcome and can be sent to Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address.

While you do not need to join ACM to be a part of the local chapter, the annual membership dues for students is only $19, heavily discounted from the non-student rate. See the ACM site for more information on student membership and its benefits.

Please stop by for these events for which we will send out detail as they get confirmed. Sign up for the UMBC ACM mailing list to become a part of the local chapter and receive updates and news of its activities and events. You can also follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook to keep track of chapter’s events.

If you are a senior planning to apply to a graduate program next year or a current graduate student early in your program of study, you should consider applying for a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

NSF has opened the application for the 2014 Graduate Research Fellowship Program. These Fellowships give three years of funding to students in research based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics master’s and doctoral programs.

Funds are awarded to the student and can be used in any appropriate program. If you will be applying to graduate programs for next year, you only need describe the insititutions that you plan to apply to.

NSF's Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate is looking for strong applicants in this year’s program. The deadline for submission is November 4, 2013 and the application can be found here.  If you are interested, you should start by talking with your advisor and or other faculty members about the program and how to submit a strong application.

Two UMBC students were among the 18 fellows selected by Code 2040 for a unique fellowship program that places high performing Black and Latino/a software engineering students in internships with top technology companies and startups in the San Francisco Bay area and supports them with mentorship, leadership training, and network development.

Perry Ogwuche, a rising senior majoring in computer science and mathematics, will spend the summer working at Redbeacon, a startup in Foster City, CA that connects qualified home-service professionals with exclusive job requests from homeowners. Perry is a member of the Phi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honorary Society, and has served as a Resident Assistant, Student Government Association member and as a math tutor to student athletes.

Randi Williams, a rising sophomore majoring in computer engineering, will spend her summer as an intern at Jawbone, a San Francisco company known for its noise eliminating Bluetooth headsets and portable speakers. Randi is a Meyerhoff scholar and Center for Women In Technology (CWIT) affiliate and coach in UMBC's Math Gym.

CODE2040 is a non-profit organization that aims to close the achievement, wealth, and skills gaps for Blacks and Latinos in the United States by creating access, awareness, and opportunities in technology and engineering. Its summer fellowship program brings high performing Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students to Silicon Valley for a comprehensive summer internship program that includes a paid internship with a top startup, mentoring, a speaker series, company visits, interactive workshops, executive coaching, and more. The program began last year with five students and has expanded to 18 this summer.

Students who are interested in the program can get more information on it and find out how to apply for the 2014 CODE 2040 fellows program at their web site.

The UMBC Review is a journal for undergraduate research done at UMBC. CMSC and CMPE majors who have recently finished a research project or paper or plan to do so before the fall should consider submitting it for volume 15, which will be published next April. The Review publishes papers in all disciplines, including the computing sciences.

Papers may be submitted at any time between now and 13 September 2013 for consideration in the next volume. Students graduating this spring or summer are eligible to submit papers on work completed as an undergraduate. See the table of contents of the current issue to get an idea of the range and length of published papers.

If you are interested, fill out this online form to get additional information.

The CSEE Department will hold a "town hall" meeting for undergraduate COmputer Science (CMSC) majors, minors and other interested students in ITE 456 from 12:00 to 2:00 on Thursday, April 18.

This is an opportunity to interact with your department chair, Professor Gary Carter, the CMSC undergraduate program director Professor Marc Olano and other faculty members. During the meeting you will hear about recent developments in the department and CMSC program, and have opportunities to express opinions, raise issues, make suggestions, ask questions and discuss how to make the CMSC program better. There will also be pizza and drinks.

If you plan on attending, please send an email message to Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. so we can be sure to order enough food. If you have any questions or topics that you would like to raise in advance, send them to Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. We look forward to a lively and useful event where the communication flows both ways.

The elections for both the IEEE Undergraduate Student Branch and IEEE Graduate Student Branch Executive Boards have been scheduled for Friday, April 19th, 4.00pm to 5.00pm, room TBA. This is our regular meeting time. Below you will find more information on the election process, including the procedure to run for an Officer position.

IEEE Undergraduate Student Branch Officer positions include the following.

• Chair: Will be responsible for leading the IEEE Undergraduate Student Branch overall. S/he will also be responsible for representing the IEEE USB in General Body meetings and Executive Board meetings, and delegating responsibilities for various task. Events and activities must be approved by the Chair before sent to committees and funds must be approved before being forwarded to the Treasurer.
• Vice-Chair: Will be responsible for assisting the Chair in leading the IEEE USB and helping to run the branch smoothly. If the Chair is not present, the VP will take upon her/his responsibilities.
• Secretary: Will be responsible for taking minutes at meetings, keeping track of undergraduate student attendance and reporting the activities to the branch. S/he will be the point person for external relationships.
• Treasurer: Will manage the accounts and funds for the IEEE USB. S/he’ll be responsible for attending the SGA treasurer training session, and working with the Executive Board to generate a budget plan.
• Member At Large: Will support the other executive board members by facilitating their responsibilities as well as managing member recruitment/retention, managing fundraising activities in cooperation with the Treasurer and developing and managing projects.

IEEE Graduate Student Branch Officer positions include the following.

• Chair: Will be responsible for leading the IEEE Graduate Student Branch overall. S/he will also be responsible for representing the GSO in the GSA Senate meetings and external events. Funds must be approved by the Chair before being forwarded to the Treasurer.
• Vice-Chair: Will be responsible for assisting the Chair in leading the IEEE GSB and helping her/him to run the branch smoothly.
• General Secretary: Will be responsible for reporting the activities to the IEEE SB GSA. S/he will be the point person for external relationships.
• Treasurer: Will manage the accounts and funds for the IEEE GSB. S/he’ll be responsible for the annual budget report along with the payments.

To run for one of the above positions you must be a grad/undergrad student in good academic status, be subscribed to our mailing list, and send me (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. ) a small description (no more than 100 words) about you and why should other members vote for you, no later than next Thursday, April 11th, by 12.00pm (noon). You can only run for one position.

These descriptions will be compiled and sent out to the entire mailing list no later than the following Friday, April 12th. Each candidate will be given two minutes during that Friday's meeting to make a brief speech.

The election process will be supervised by our advisor, Dr. Choa.

IMPORTANT

• if you win, you MUST be an official IEEE member or become one within a week after the election date.
• to vote, you must present your UMBC ID and the email that you used to subscribe to our mailing list.

Please come and vote on the 19th to ensure that your voice is heard, and consider running for one of the positions. If you have any concerns or questions about the election process, please let Jorge Teixeira (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. ) know ASAP.

On behalf of the UMBC IEEE GSB and UMBC IEEE USB Executive Boards,

UMBC IEEE Student Branch, Chair
Jorge Teixeira

UMCB CMSC alumnus Golois Mouelet is recruiting for software developers for RDA Corporation at 5pm-6:30pm on Tuesday, April 9th in troom 331 of the Commons.  He would like to meet with seniors and juniors.

RDA is launching a new software development center in Hunt Valley MD. They are looking for software developers who would like to expand their skills while learning from industry experts, and work on a variety of leading edge solutions (e.g. Web, Portal, Cloud, Mobile, and more) in a collaborative environment. They seek candidates with a strong desire to learn, a passion for technology, and a commitment to quality. Ideally, you will have a minimum of one year of development experience and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, but if you are excited about software development, have a go-getter personality, and skills you can demonstrate, they would like to meet you.

See this flier for more information: RDA information and recruiting

UMCB CMSC alumnus Golois Mouelet is recruiting for software developers for RDA Corporation at 5pm-6:30pm on Tuesday, April 9th in troom 331 of the Commons.  He would like to meet with seniors and juniors.

RDA is launching a new software development center in Hunt Valley MD. They are looking for software developers who would like to expand their skills while learning from industry experts, and work on a variety of leading edge solutions (e.g. Web, Portal, Cloud, Mobile, and more) in a collaborative environment. They seek candidates with a strong desire to learn, a passion for technology, and a commitment to quality. Ideally, you will have a minimum of one year of development experience and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, but if you are excited about software development, have a go-getter personality, and skills you can demonstrate, they would like to meet you.

See this flier for more information: RDA information and recruiting

Tresys Technology, a provider of technology and engineering services for customers with high-security requirements, announced the "Tresys Technology Scholarship" for UMBC students. The merit-based scholarship is intended to support incoming sophomore or junior computer science majors at UMBC with demonstrated financial need and who have obtained or transferred a grade point average of 3.0 or greater. There is a preference given to students interested in computer security. The scholarship, managed by the UMBC Foundation, may be renewed for a second year, contingent on the student’s academic performance and continued financial need. Scholarship recipients are also invited to apply for paid internship positions at Tresys.

Tresys also announced the first two recipients: UMBC Computer Science juniors Sven Rivera and Sean Hoover, who both received scholarship awards of $2,500. Sven transfered to UMBC after attending Carrol Community College and Howard Community College and Sean came to UMBC as a transfer student from New Mexico State University.

For more information or to apply for future awards of the Tresys Technology Scholarship scholarship, visit the COEIT scholarship page.