Marjoleine Kars and Kate Brown win prominent fellowship
This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Max Cole.

Marjoleine Kars and Kate Brown, both professors in UMBC’s history department, have been awarded prestigious fellowships to study at the European University Institute (EUI) in Italy for fall 2016.
Kars and Brown are recipients of the Fernand Braduel Senior Fellowships, which “provide a framework for established academics with an international reputation to pursue their research at the EUI. Fellowships last for up to ten months in one of the EUI’s four Departments which in turn invite fellows to participate in departmental activities (seminars, workshops, colloquia, etc.),” according to a description on the EUI website.

During her fellowship, Kars will finish her writing her current book project Freedom Marooned: An Atlantic Slave Rebellion in the Early Modern Dutch Caribbean. She is in the midst of finishing a ten-year research project about a little known but immense eighteenth-century slave rebellion in a Dutch colony in South America (now the Republic of Guyana). Kars has previously written a book about a farmers’ rebellion in pre-revolutionary North Carolina: “Breaking Loose Together”: The Regulator Rebellion in Pre-Revolutionary North Carolina (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002), and she was a Dresher Center fellow in spring 2015. Read more about her work in the EUI’s announcement of her fellowship.

For her Fernand Braduel Fellowship, Kate Brown will work on her research project Circumnavigation: History’s Renovation in the Age of the Anthropocene. Brown is currently working on a research project about the communities circling the Chernobyl Zone. Earlier this year, Brown was named a 2016 Andrew Carnegie Fellow and she has received significant recognition for her 2013 book Plutopia: Nuclear Families in Atomic Cities and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford 2013). Read more about Brown’s work and research in the EUI announcement.

As part of their residencies, Kars and Brown will also participate in the EUI’s Summer School in Comparative and Transnational History: Theories, Methodology and Case Studies. Kars will present Caribbean Slave Rebellions, Transnational History, and Nationalism and Brown’s talk is titled Soft Bodies: the child centered communities at ground zero of American and Soviet nuclear complexes. 


Learn more about the European University Institute and its prestigious fellowships and research programs on the EUI website.

Images: Marjoleine Kars and Kate Brown. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. 

]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Max Cole. Marjoleine Kars and Kate Brown, both professors in UMBC’s history department, have been awarded prestigious fellowships... Photo https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/1504fb2ecb0a6010b9314e0479563675/69f2dfc3/news/000/061/798/cfa3cd042a8f3e4fef1c323e4496c7d9/KateBrown-email.jpg?1472513099 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61798/guest@my.umbc.edu/2807e73678a8d3ed7da283ce575d1626/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/xxlarge.jpg?1472513070 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/xlarge.jpg?1472513070 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/large.jpg?1472513070 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/medium.jpg?1472513070 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/small.jpg?1472513070 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/xsmall.jpg?1472513070 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/798/91314a51d50fb5660ac010d5ad6e8b6e/xxsmall.jpg?1472513070 2 0 true Mon, 29 Aug 2016 19:35:22 -0400 Mon, 29 Aug 2016 19:36:13 -0400 Rick Forno on preventing cyber attacks to election tech
This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Megan Hanks.

With the presidential election just a few months away, and a recent hack against the Democratic National Committee making headlines worldwide, many are asking tough questions about the security of the U.S. election infrastructure.

Rick Forno, assistant director of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity and director of the Cybersecurity Graduate Program at UMBC, explains how electronic ballot boxes are vulnerable to attacks, and some tactics that the U.S. can use to secure the voting machines and protect the data it collects, in The Conversation (also published by Salon and U.S. News).

“One of the most obvious, direct ways to affect a country’s election is to interfere with the way citizens actually cast votes,” Forno writes.

The U.S. electronic voting network is spread out across the country, with many points of potential entry, which heightens the vulnerabilities of the system. Increasing risk of a hack to impact an election, one factor that has changed recently  “is the ability of individuals, governments, militaries and criminal or terrorist organizations to use internet-based tools—commonly called cyberweapons—not only to gather information but also to generate influence within a target group,” says Forno.” But implementing best practices for cybersecurity, data collection, and information access can make it “more difficult for adversaries to conduct cyber mischief,” he suggests.

When citizens go to the polls to vote, they expect that the equipment, process, and people involved to be secure and trustworthy, as a cornerstone of the democratic system. “That trust must not be broken by complacency, lack of resources, or the intentional actions of a foreign power,” Forno writes.

Read the full article “How vulnerable to hacking is the US election cyber infrastructure?,” in The Conversation. He also did an interview with BYU Radio about the possibility of the voting systems in the U.S. being hacked. Listen to the full interview “Hacked Voting Machines, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Fitness,” on BYU Radio.

Image: Rick Forno. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.
]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Megan Hanks. With the presidential election just a few months away, and a recent hack against the Democratic National Committee... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61797/guest@my.umbc.edu/990c6869fd09bbf55a61ab28623f54dd/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/xxlarge.jpg?1472512807 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/xlarge.jpg?1472512807 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/large.jpg?1472512807 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/medium.jpg?1472512807 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/small.jpg?1472512807 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/xsmall.jpg?1472512807 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/797/3ce3e3a5f3a52edee8bcf787af3394db/xxsmall.jpg?1472512807 1 0 true Mon, 29 Aug 2016 19:20:31 -0400 Jeffrey Halverson called on to explain Ellicott City flood The Washington Post and WAMU radio turn to this UMBC expert
This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen.

The devastating flash flood that hit Ellicott City, Maryland, last Saturday night was so severe that meteorologists called it a once-in-a-thousand-years event. What conditions colluded to transform a quaint main street into a torrent of water in a matter of minutes? The Washington Post and WAMU radio both turned to Jeffrey Halverson, professor of geography and environmental systems, to explain.

Air currents from across the region converged over Ellicott City “in a manner that would literally squeeze moisture out of the atmosphere,” wrote Halverson in the Post. The extremely high humidity meant there was plenty to squeeze out. But what made it even worse was the large amount of buoyant energy feeding updraft currents. The more energy, “the more water vapor is lofted into the clouds and processed as rain,” says Halverson.

On top of that, a process called “back-building convection” resulted in several storm cells moving through the area, creating a much longer-lasting event than the traditional summer thunderstorm.

Perhaps the scariest part, though, is that even the most sophisticated computer models cannot predict the exact location of these events. “It becomes a ‘now-casting’ exercise,” says Halverson, “and there is almost never any lead time.”

But it’s not only the meteorological conditions that are to blame for the devastation Saturday night. “The flood was as much about the nature of the underlying land surface as it was about the large amount of rain falling from the sky,” Halverson told WAMU. The narrow streets, large amount of pavement, and valley geography of Old Ellicott City make it especially vulnerable to a flash flood.

“Ellicott City happened to be ground zero for a process that had very laser-like focus,” Halverson explained. “Humble rain, often gentle, is life-sustaining, nourishing, and thus benign 99 percent of the time,” he says. “But what we take for granted sometimes quickly turns deadly.”

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and Provost Philip Rous reached out to the UMBC community following the storm, expressing condolences to the families of two individuals who lost their lives, one of whom was an employee at University of Baltimore. Pres. Hrabowski also called on campus experts, like Halverson, to “share their knowledge and resources to help address issues to reduce future flood risk in the area.”

Recovery is a major, long-term process, but one that the area’s residents are already supporting through donations and volunteer service. As Pres. Hrabowski shared, “Ellicott City is a part of us.”

Image: Damage in Ellicott City following the July 31 flash flood; Brian Krista, Baltimore Sun Media Group
]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen. The devastating flash flood that hit Ellicott City, Maryland, last Saturday night was so severe that meteorologists... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61796/guest@my.umbc.edu/92bc50bf5f0dd78ea1557c0de5353d55/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/xxlarge.jpg?1472511920 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/xlarge.jpg?1472511920 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/large.jpg?1472511920 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/medium.jpg?1472511920 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/small.jpg?1472511920 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/xsmall.jpg?1472511920 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/796/5d31f9d069c5629848d4af1c3a31d9af/xxsmall.jpg?1472511920 1 0 true Mon, 29 Aug 2016 19:06:39 -0400 Manil Suri awarded residency from The Rockefeller Foundation This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Max Cole.

Manil Suri is one of just 15 leading experts worldwide awarded a prestigious academic residency for September 2016 at the The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy. During the upcoming residency, Suri, a professor of mathematics, will work on his current book project, The Godfather of Numbers.

As an arts and literary arts resident, Suri is now part of a 56-year legacy that includes Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, artists, social entrepreneurs, and activists and the selection is recognition of his ability to promote the well-being of humanity around the world.

The residency program is made up of leading academics, artists, thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners who have been recognized for their bold thinking and promise to further change the world for the better.

“The Foundation’s Bellagio Residency Program has a track record for supporting the generation of important new knowledge addressing some of the most complex issues facing our world, and innovative new works of art that inspire reflection and understanding of global and social issues,” according to a description about the program on the Rockefeller Foundation’s website.

In a short biography announcing September’s Bellagio residents, the foundation states: “Suri’s The Godfather of Numbers is a novel that aims to posit mathematics as the basis of all creation with The Godfather of Numbers as the narrator who initiates a mathematical big bang to create the counting numbers out of nothingness. His foremost objective for the book is to create a compelling piece of fiction and to allow readers an entry into the world of mathematics which does not assume mathematical expertise. While bringing out mathematics’ playful aspects for a wide target audience, he also wants to provide insight into how it works invisibly in so much of the universe. Mathematics is a much-maligned and poorly understood subject, and he hopes the book is a step towards reducing the anxiety surrounding it.”

Read more about residency program on The Rockefeller Foundation’s  website. For more on Manil Suri’s previous books, visit his author  website and to learn more about his teaching and research, visit his UMBC website.

Image: Manil Suri. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. 

]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Max Cole. Manil Suri is one of just 15 leading experts worldwide awarded a prestigious academic residency for September 2016 at the... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61795/guest@my.umbc.edu/f11977028fc54549ef7b8f972858a423/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/xxlarge.jpg?1472503210 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/xlarge.jpg?1472503210 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/large.jpg?1472503210 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/medium.jpg?1472503210 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/small.jpg?1472503210 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/xsmall.jpg?1472503210 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/795/646709d0ce8fec7d0c6734a04bb676b0/xxsmall.jpg?1472503210 2 0 true Mon, 29 Aug 2016 16:55:11 -0400 Mon, 29 Aug 2016 16:58:21 -0400 UMBC Faculty visit Carderock Naval Surface Warfare Center On Wednesday, July 20th, a group of professors from UMBC visited the Carderock Naval Surface Warfare Center to discuss research collaborations in additive manufacturing and in cybersecurity.

Carderock is located in Potomac, Maryland and consists of more than three thousand Navy researchers focused on research areas including:
  • Environmental Quality Systems;
  • Hull Forms & Propulsors;
  • Ship Design & Integration;
  • Signatures,
  • Silencing Systems,
  • Structures and Materials;
  • Susceptibility.
Carerock is home to unique testing facilities which align with the research goals of many members of the UMBC community. Participating in the visit were professors from the Department of Information Systems (IS), Department of Physics, Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME), and Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE), including (from left to right) Zhiyuan Chen (IS), Don Engel (Asst. VP for Research, CSEE, Physics), Mark Henriksen (Physics), Anupam Joshi (CSEE), Dhananjay Phatak (CSEE), Ryan Robucci (CSEE), Sue Plitt (Career Services), Chuck Eggleton (ME), Mohamed Younis (CSEE), and Karl Steiner (VP for Research, ME), as well as Soobum Lee (ME, not pictured).

]]> On Wednesday, July 20th, a group of professors from UMBC visited the Carderock Naval Surface Warfare Center to discuss research collaborations in additive manufacturing and in cybersecurity.... Photo https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/26fde6554192d6cb9851423a26ea7300/69f2dfc3/news/000/061/214/fba6c96d44ce830a1d5886fab5a15fa5/group.jpg?1469645172 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61214/guest@my.umbc.edu/58c5d16ca7b01f5af5bea8b262c17b52/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/xxlarge.jpg?1469644551 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/xlarge.jpg?1469644551 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/large.jpg?1469644551 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/medium.jpg?1469644551 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/small.jpg?1469644551 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/xsmall.jpg?1469644551 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/214/b0adc243ac16aa491677e1e8622f5f71/xxsmall.jpg?1469644551 1 0 true Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:46:24 -0400 NovaNext highlights Daniel Lobo’s work solving mysteries This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen.

Other scientists thought it couldn’t be done. One called it “ridiculously impossible.” But Michael Levin, a biology professor at Tufts University, disagreed. Levin hired Daniel Lobo, now an assistant professor of biology at UMBC, to help solve a biological mystery: How does a flatworm grow a head here and a tail there? How can it regenerate a complete body from less than one percent of its original form? What could explain the tiny creature’s amazing feats of regeneration?

Levin saw that Lobo had “the right combination of computer expertise and interest in biology” to tackle a challenge like this, writes Cynthia Graber in “Replicating Life in Code” on PBS.org. So Levin took Lobo on as a postdoc and he got to work.

First, Lobo had to turn all the existing scientific data about flatworm growth (more than 1,000 experiments) into a database that a computer could understand. “Lobo created a standardized language and a standardized mathematical approach that represents the shapes of the worm’s regions, its organs, and how they’re interconnected,” writes Graber. “The end result was a searchable database of results, which is now available to all flatworm biologists.”

Next, he wrote the simulation program, “a virtual worm on which candidate models would test their results,” writes Graber. To run the program, Lobo and Levin rented time on a supercomputer owned by the University of Texas. As the program runs, “the models receive scores based on how well they predict the outcomes seen in flesh-and-blood flatworms,” Graber explains. If a model more closely matches reality, the program allows it to “reproduce,” or recombine its characteristics with other models, just like in real-life evolution. Then the next generation of models is tested against the database. The process continues until the program generates a model that matches all the data.

After six billion simulated experiments and 26,727 generations, a model emerged that matched every real-life experiment. It predicted experiments that had never been done, so Lobo and team tested them and found the model had predicted the results accurately.

Lobo’s success led him to explore other applications for this type of modeling approach. A graduate student in Levin’s lab ran experiments to collect data about pigmentation in tadpoles (as a model for melanoma), and then Lobo created a program that evolved to model why some tadpoles develop cancer and others don’t. The winning model predicted the results of all but one existing scientific paper. The team reran that experiment and got a different result—one that agreed with the model.

In his UMBC lab, Lobo uses similar modeling methods to discover how bacteria produce certain compounds. Bacteria already produce some therapeutic compounds, such as insulin. If scientists could trigger bacteria to produce other compounds based on what we learn from computer models, the results could revolutionize drug development. Lobo is also now “trying to reverse-engineer cancer tumors to attempt to discover the best possible treatments to cause them to collapse,” writes Graber.

Lobo and Levin agree that using artificial intelligence in the form of evolving computer models to answer biological questions is a major field of growth with tremendous potential. Lobo is on the cutting edge of this work, where computer science and biology meet.

Read more in “Replicating Life in Code” by Cynthia Graber on pbs.org.

Image: Planaria, a variety of flatworm commonly used as a model organism in experiments; photo by Jennifer Connelly.
]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen. Other scientists thought it couldn’t be done. One called it “ridiculously impossible.” But Michael Levin, a biology... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61175/guest@my.umbc.edu/c33dd09fd16bf49a1f062fad1bda1eb8/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/xxlarge.jpg?1469484751 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/xlarge.jpg?1469484751 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/large.jpg?1469484751 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/medium.jpg?1469484751 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/small.jpg?1469484751 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/xsmall.jpg?1469484751 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/175/34b1162bfaf7e3ba45a59e8c22ac5c93/xxsmall.jpg?1469484751 2 0 true Mon, 25 Jul 2016 18:12:59 -0400 UMBC Ph.D student makes surprise discovery of system in fish This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen.

What happens when a scientist gets a research result that flies in the face of their expectations? More research leading to new, compelling discoveries.

Yonathan Zohar’s lab at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology has been studying a particular reproductive hormone, gnrh3, in zebrafish for years. “We’ve constantly shown how important gnrh3 is for reproduction in fish,” says Olivia Spicer, a researcher in the lab who is completing her Ph.D. in marine, estuarine, and environmental sciences. Spicer was caught off-guard when, in her latest research, zebrafish without a speck of gnrh3 seemed to reproduce normally.

Spicer used a molecular technique known as TALENs to produce mutations specifically in the gnrh3 gene of her fish. “This is the first time gnrh3 has been mutated on purpose,” she says. The mutation rendered the gnrh3 protein non-functional.

Then Spicer bred the mutant fish together and painstakingly screened their offspring for individuals with two copies of the broken gene. These fish would be guaranteed to pass the broken gene on to the next generation, creating a steady supply of gnrh3-free fish, or gnrh3 “knockouts.”

When Spicer bred the completely gnrh3-free fish together, she was expecting interesting results, but, “Everything was normal. My heart sank a little,” she says. After all, this ran counter to previous research, where destroying cells that produce the hormone and reducing the amount of the hormone effectively hindered reproduction.

Spicer turned to the scientific literature for clues to explain what happened. As it turns out, “More studies are emerging where people are knocking out genes and expecting some big, flashy result and finding that everything is normal,” Spicer says.

So what’s going on?

Spicer suggests another gene might be compensating for the loss of gnrh3 by taking on the role it usually plays. Redundancy is common in biology. Particularly for a process as important as reproduction, it makes sense that “the animal will have a backup system,” says Spicer. The result suggests that the way genes and proteins function together in the brain is “not as cut and dried as we thought,” she says. “It’s more like a web of things interacting.”

The finding is especially exciting, because “this is the first time that a vertebrate species has been shown to possess biological redundancies to ensure reproduction happens, even in the absence of the key hormonal regulator,” says Zohar. “The fish find a way to produce the next generation.”

Curiously, mice and humans don’t have the same ability to compensate for loss of gnrh3. “Zebrafish seem to be far more flexible in their ability to compensate for the loss of important genes,” Spicer says. Also, the fish are only able to compensate for broken genes that function early in the reproductive hormone cascade. Knocking out genes farther downstream or knocking out gnrh3 after early development still results in reproductive changes. Learning why fish are more malleable than humans could inform our understanding of human brain development.

The next steps will be identifying the compensating gene and homing in on the time window and conditions when compensation occurs. For Spicer, who will defend her Ph.D. thesis in December, the search is on.

Citation for Spicer’s paper:
Spicer O., Wong T., Zmora N. & Zohar Y. (2016). Targeted Mutagenesis of the Hypophysiotropic Gnrh3 in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Reveals No Effects on Reproductive Performance. PLOS One, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0158141
]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen. What happens when a scientist gets a research result that flies in the face of their expectations? More research... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61174/guest@my.umbc.edu/387753a601b27df615cbc833e034b107/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/xxlarge.jpg?1469484225 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/xlarge.jpg?1469484225 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/large.jpg?1469484225 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/medium.jpg?1469484225 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/small.jpg?1469484225 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/xsmall.jpg?1469484225 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/174/07d832b156de608a6cbc98197ff070cf/xxsmall.jpg?1469484225 1 0 true Mon, 25 Jul 2016 18:04:49 -0400 UMB-UMBC Partnership Symposium celebrates collaborations This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen.

UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) celebrated new and recent recipients of UMB-UMBC Research and Innovation Partnership Grants at a symposium held last month on UMB’s downtown Baltimore campus.

This annual event seeks to actively support the growth of meaningful and sustainable research collaborations between the two universities. The June 2016 symposium highlighted the milestones of past partnership grant recipients and celebrated a new round of awardees: five teams of two, with faculty from all three colleges at UMBC as well as UMB’s School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, School of Dentistry, and School of Social Work.

In recognition of the power of collaborative research, Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research at UMBC, shared, “This is another brick in the pavement as we’re building a road between our two campuses.”

Aaron White, senior scientific advisor to the director at the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH-NIAAA), delivered a keynote focused on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol addiction. In addition to having a major negative impact on so many lives, White noted, alcohol addiction costs the U.S. nearly $250 billion dollars each year.

Following White’s remarks, the 2014-15 Research and Innovation Partnership Seed Grant teams each presented updates on their work, including goals for the upcoming year.


Toni Antalis, professor of physiology at the UMB School of Medicine; Rajabrata Sarkar, professor of surgery at UMB School of Medicine; and Zeev Rosenzweig, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMBC collaborated to develop a targeted therapy that increases blood flow to the limbs of patients with artery blockages resulting from diabetes, stroke, or other causes. With the prevalence of diabetes rising dramatically in this country, it’s critical to find ways to prevent the need for last-resort treatments like amputation.

When an artery experiences blockage, the nearby arteries expand to compensate, a process called “arteriogenesis.” When a specific protein called “p53” is deleted, the arteriogenesis response is stronger. However, p53 is also a critical tumor suppressor, so deleting it throughout the entire body or for an extended period of time is dangerous. The team is developing a new technique using nanoparticles to carry a drug that blocks p53 to carefully targeted immune cells, which pick up the particles and deliver the drug where it is needed. The team has shown that the new therapy effectively reduces p53 activity and increases arteriogenesis, which is maintained after treatment stops after 14 days.

Aryya Gangopadhyay, professor and chair of the department of information systems; Nirmalya Roy, assistant professor of information systems; and Elizabeth Galik, associate professor in UMB’s School of Nursing; have developed and implemented a smart health technology for people with Alzheimer’s or symptoms of the disease. The technology monitors the cognitive impairment of older adults to help them maintain independence. They worked with a senior community center to fit some residents with wearable sensors to assess cognitive function by monitoring everyday activities like making a sandwich, sweeping the floor, washing hands, and folding clothes.

Radi Masri, associate professor of endodontics, prosthodontics and operative dentistry at the UMB School of Dentistry; David Seminowicz, assistant professor of neural and pain sciences at the UMB School of Dentistry; and Raimi Quiton, assistant professor of psychology at UMBC, are working together to elucidate pain processing in migraines, the third most common cause of pain in the U.S. They hope to discover neural pathways that could be new targets for treatment, because current treatments are ineffective for a large percentage of migraine sufferers.

The team showed that a brain area known as the superior colliculus could be involved in processing migraine pain. The superior colliculus is known to integrate many types of sensory information, which might help explain symptoms such as sensitivity to light, sound, and touch. They also found that individuals who experience migraines have chronically high levels of a protein that is known to transmit pain signals. One next step for their research is to see how mice respond to pain stimuli if the neural signal is prevented from passing through the superior colliculus.

The final presentation examined how drugs are evaluated to develop a more effective way to test the effects of drugs on different cells simultaneously. To assess their new testing method, Ronghui Ma, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Liang Zhu, professor of mechanical engineering, and Hongbing Wong, professor in UMB’s School of Pharmacy, developed a specialized 3D-printed plate with multiple chambers.


The 2016-17 grant winners span several several departments and centers at UMBC and schools at UMB. On the “challenge track,” Xudong Ge, UMBC Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST), and Richard Pierson, UMB School of Medicine, will pursue development of a non-invasive respiratory status monitor. Chris Geddes, UMBC chemistry and biochemistry and Institute of Fluorescence, and Colin Stine, UMB School of Medicine, will work on the ultra-rapid and sensitive detection of cholera.

“Seed track” winners include Elsa Garcin, UMBC chemistry and biochemistry, with Patrick Wintrode, UMB School of Pharmacy; Soobum Lee, UMBC mechanical engineering, with Mary Melo, UMB School of Dentistry; and Christine Mair, UMBC sociology and anthropology, with Amanda Lehning, UMB School of Social Work.

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and UMB Chief Academic and Research Officer Bruce Jarrell offered closing remarks focused on their shared commitment to building a close relationship between the two universities for years to come. UMB and UMBC have complementary strengths, Pres. Hrabowski explained. Programs like the UMB-UMBC Partnership Grants, he said, help both universities fulfill their potential as national leaders in innovative research and teaching.

Header image: 2016-17 UMB-UMBC Partnership Grant winners, from left to right: Amanda Lehning, Christine Mair, Chris Geddes, Colin Stine, Mary Melo, Soobum Lee, Xudong Ge. Top image: Andrew White gives his keynote address. Bottom image: Karl Steiner (left) and Bruce Jarrell introduce the program. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen. UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) celebrated new and recent recipients of UMB-UMBC Research and... Photo https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/f714b3b424d493c311e037227ba0c254/69f2dfc3/news/000/061/030/0b025724175e671bc969bdaca29ddc46/umb-umbc-partnership-keynote-e1467993099417-768x424.jpg?1468624853 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/61030/guest@my.umbc.edu/084124241893478eea8561cd830c199a/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/xxlarge.jpg?1468703622 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/xlarge.jpg?1468703622 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/large.jpg?1468703622 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/medium.jpg?1468703622 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/small.jpg?1468703622 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/xsmall.jpg?1468703622 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/061/030/fea76b7ab660fd8591d5b3c6002add88/xxsmall.jpg?1468703622 2 0 true Fri, 15 Jul 2016 19:27:49 -0400 Sat, 16 Jul 2016 17:13:55 -0400 FY17 Technology Catalyst Fund - Request for Proposals NEED SUPPORT TO ADVANCE YOUR IDEA? NEED SUPPORT TO ADVANCE YOUR IDEA?


UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund - Request for Proposals

Announcement Date - July 8, 2016

Background: The UMBC Office of Technology Development (OTD), under the Office of the Vice President for Research, is continually seeking ways to help bridge the funding gap – support that can be difficult to obtain from traditional funding sources. With support provided by the State of Maryland, we are happy to announce a new initiative, the UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund, which is designed to advance innovations originating from UMBC research to more commercially viable technologies. Additional proof-of-concept studies, extending data collection and prototype development are examples of the essential steps needed to demonstrate commercial potential.

A total of $100,000 is available annually for this initiative. UMBC plans to make several awards up to $25,000. Projects will be funded at the level deemed necessary to achieve the goals outlined in the proposal. Awards will be for a six- to twelve- month period and only proposals that can demonstrate achievable milestones within that time period will be selected for funding.  One-time, no-cost extensions may be granted, subject to approval by the review committee. No overhead will apply.

Requirements: All UMBC members with Principal Investigator status are eligible to apply as long as the technology to be developed has been previously disclosed to OTD. We welcome projects from all disciplines and encourage interdisciplinary collaborations.

Criteria:  All proposals will be reviewed by a committee comprised of faculty, administrative research personnel and outside reviewers from the business community, and will be held confidential. PI’s whose proposals are selected to continue onto the final round of evaluation will be notified, and the PI will be invited to give a presentation to the Review Committee. Finalists must be available to present their proposals to the review committee on Wednesday, November 16th, 2016.

The evaluation criteria will include factors such as:

· Significance of the market need and opportunity to impact the public.

· Competitive advantage the technology presents over current solutions.

· Probability that the project will result in additional funding or licensing.

· Probability that the research results will strengthen the patent position.

·       Probability of reaching milestones within the time frame and budget.


Deadlines: An initial draft proposal must be submitted by Wednesday, September 28, 2016.  The final deadline for proposal submissions is Wednesday, October 19, 2016. Please be advised that several preliminary steps must be completed prior to final submission and applicants are advised to contact OTD at least 3 weeks in advance of the deadline. Awards will be announced in the fall with an anticipated starting date of January 1, 2017.

Contact: Interested applicants should contact Paola Buitron, Technology Manager, OTD at pbuitron@umbc.edu or call 443.543.5598 to request the Proposal Process, Executive Summary Checklist, and the Cover Form.

]]> NEED SUPPORT TO ADVANCE YOUR IDEA? UMBC Technology Catalyst Fund - Request for Proposals Announcement Date - July 8, 2016 Background: The UMBC Office of Technology Development (OTD), under the... http://research.umbc.edu/catalyst-fund/ https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/60981/guest@my.umbc.edu/32887bbcee6aad0cd60bc511ac181060/api/pixel funding invention research technology Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research 1 0 true Tue, 12 Jul 2016 11:53:40 -0400 Chris Swan to analyze data on biodiversity in major study This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen.

Scientists and the public have long known that ecosystems like coral reefs and rainforests harbor an impressive array of species, from algae to armadillos. How biodiversity changes over time, however, is much less understood.

Chris Swan, professor of geography and environmental systems, and colleagues will tackle that question with a new research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The team hopes to reveal how changes in biodiversity might relate to environmental disturbances such as hurricanes, intense drought, or the introduction of invasive species.

Understanding the relationship between biodiversity and environmental change could inform conservation efforts, and there are numerous uses for this knowledge beyond preserving biodiversity for its own sake.

“Biodiversity is the foundation for ecosystem services,” says Swan, “so biodiversity is important to prevent loss of those services.” “Ecosystem services” include pollination of crops by insects and birds, carbon sequestration by vegetation, and water filtration by oysters and mussels. By highlighting these connections between biodiversity and areas like food production, energy, and water quality, Swan explains, he and fellow researchers “hope to elevate people’s understanding of the importance of biodiversity.”

Rather than collecting new data, the team is “synthesizing reams and reams and reams of data” that already exist, Swan says. He expects this large-scale analysis to reveal themes indicating how biodiversity shifts in response to environmental changes over time.

The team includes Swan, two additional principal investigators, and 12 more researchers. They will synthesize 37 data sets that include anywhere from 12 to 37 years of data each. The data come from Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network sites, and include locations all over North America as well as the Antarctic and Arctic. Sites cover every type of ecosystem and focus on different kinds of organisms, from plants to worms to fish to mammals.

The project will consolidate the datasets into a single large-scale searchable database accessible to the public. Other researchers will have access to the computer code the team will develop to analyze the data, which they can apply to other datasets in future research.

The team will conduct its analyses at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), located at the University of California, Santa Barbara. NCEAS offers massive computing power, meeting space, and IT staff free of charge to research groups selected in a competitive process. Swan’s proposal was one of only three selected nationwide in the last round. The NSF funding will support the researchers’ travel to Santa Barbara for several working group sessions over the next two years.

This is UMBC’s first opportunity to use NCEAS resources. By analyzing so much data, Swan plans to answer “some very big questions…about what’s happening over time” in Earth’s complex ecosystems.

Image: One of Chris Swan’s research sites in MD; by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
]]> This story first appeared on news.umbc.edu and was written by Sarah Hansen. Scientists and the public have long known that ecosystems like coral reefs and rainforests harbor an impressive... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/60943/guest@my.umbc.edu/94b480a208e1d7e324ee9723469febcd/api/pixel ovpr-news-2016 Archived RCA News https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/research https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368 Office of the Vice President for Research https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/xxlarge.jpg?1468018771 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/xlarge.jpg?1468018771 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/large.jpg?1468018771 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/medium.jpg?1468018771 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/small.jpg?1468018771 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/xsmall.jpg?1468018771 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/060/943/e39b9a755406bbf9251a823de002c82d/xxsmall.jpg?1468018771 0 0 true Fri, 08 Jul 2016 18:59:58 -0400