UMBC’s GRIT-X: 10th-Anniversary Celebration

You are invited to celebrate ten years of groundbreaking innovation, creative achievement, and community impact at GRIT-X. This landmark 10th-anniversary milestone brings together visionary alumni and faculty to showcase how their transformative research and scholarship continue to shape our world.

Event Details:

• Date: October 17, 2026
• Time: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (networking reception with light refreshments to follow)
• Location: Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall (Performing Arts & Humanities Building)
• Registration: Register Here (tickets are free!)

Featured Speakers:

• Mimi Dietrich ('70, American Studies) – "Retrieving History - Collective Memories of UMBC's Founding Four Classes"
• Karuna Pande Joshi (M.S. '99, Ph.D. '12, Computer Science) – "The Silicon Scientist - How Digital Twins are Accelerating Science"
• Soobum Lee (Mechanical Engineering) – "AI Designing Physical AI - Deep Learning to Create Smarter Sensors and Electronics"
• Eric Millikin (Visual Arts) – "It's Alive!? - The Fine Art of (Re)Animated Bodies and Artificial Brains"
• Nancy Chiles Shaffer ('09, Biological Sciences) – "Defying the Odds of Government Exclusion - Inclusive Excellence is Here to Stay"
• Michael Summers (Chemistry & Biochemistry) – "Magnetic Moments - Using Powerful Magnets to Uncover HIV's Secrets"
• Allison Tracy (Marine Biotechnology) – "Their World is an Oyster - The Impact of Microbes and Parasites on Shellfish Health"
• Ramana Vinjamuri (Computer Science & Electrical Engineering) – "The Language of Human Movement - A Dance Between Minds and Machines"
• John Williams ('04, Economics) – "The Spirituality of Ice Cream - Lessons from the Road Less Traveled"

For more information, visit the GRIT-X Website. Thank you for your support in spreading the word!
--
Jess Wyatt (she/her/hers) Director, Campus & Community Engagement, Institutional Advancement