International Recognition for a New Filmmaking Technique

Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Eric Dyer ’95 received international recognition for his film “Copenhagen Cycles,” which uses an avant-garde approach of connecting age-old film techniques with digital technology. “Copenhagen Cycles” won the 2007 Director’s Choice Award at the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film and Video Festival and was also screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and festivals in Turkey, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and Germany.

An experimental animator who often uses computers to create his films, Dyer produced “Copenhagen Cycles” using a new filmmaking method that he developed, merging digital animation and a pre-cinema technique. Dyer compiled hundreds of photographs he took while bicycle riding around the streets of Denmark during his 2005 Fulbright Fellowship. First, Dyer printed and cut the sequences of the moving images and built about 25 zoetrope-like paper sculptures, then spun the sculptures and recaptured the collaged movements with a fast-shutter digital video camera. The art installation version of “Copenhagen Cycles” includes the bicycle wheel-sized zoetropes and a video demonstration of the unique filmmaking process.

In his animation courses at UMBC, Dyer is teaching his students to use his new method of filmmaking. “By using this experimental process, my students learn the value of mixing hands-on and digital techniques. They discover pathways or tangents they wouldn’t normally take when using only a computer. In the end, they surprise themselves and grow as artists,” he said.

Dyer is collaborating with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center for his next project, which will use 3D animation and 3D printing technologies to create zoetropes for a new film and installation. He hopes to complete the project in early 2008.

(4/10/07)

© 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

International Recognition for a New Filmmaking Technique

Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Eric Dyer ’95 received international recognition for his film “Copenhagen Cycles,” which uses an avant-garde approach of connecting age-old film techniques with digital technology. “Copenhagen Cycles” won the 2007 Director’s Choice Award at the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film and Video Festival and was also screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and festivals in Turkey, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and Germany.

An experimental animator who often uses computers to create his films, Dyer produced “Copenhagen Cycles” using a new filmmaking method that he developed, merging digital animation and a pre-cinema technique. Dyer compiled hundreds of photographs he took while bicycle riding around the streets of Denmark during his 2005 Fulbright Fellowship. First, Dyer printed and cut the sequences of the moving images and built about 25 zoetrope-like paper sculptures, then spun the sculptures and recaptured the collaged movements with a fast-shutter digital video camera. The art installation version of “Copenhagen Cycles” includes the bicycle wheel-sized zoetropes and a video demonstration of the unique filmmaking process.

In his animation courses at UMBC, Dyer is teaching his students to use his new method of filmmaking. “By using this experimental process, my students learn the value of mixing hands-on and digital techniques. They discover pathways or tangents they wouldn’t normally take when using only a computer. In the end, they surprise themselves and grow as artists,” he said.

Dyer is collaborating with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center for his next project, which will use 3D animation and 3D printing technologies to create zoetropes for a new film and installation. He hopes to complete the project in early 2008.

(4/10/07)

© 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

International Recognition for a New Filmmaking Technique

Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Eric Dyer ’95 received international recognition for his film “Copenhagen Cycles,” which uses an avant-garde approach of connecting age-old film techniques with digital technology. “Copenhagen Cycles” won the 2007 Director’s Choice Award at the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film and Video Festival and was also screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and festivals in Turkey, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and Germany.

An experimental animator who often uses computers to create his films, Dyer produced “Copenhagen Cycles” using a new filmmaking method that he developed, merging digital animation and a pre-cinema technique. Dyer compiled hundreds of photographs he took while bicycle riding around the streets of Denmark during his 2005 Fulbright Fellowship. First, Dyer printed and cut the sequences of the moving images and built about 25 zoetrope-like paper sculptures, then spun the sculptures and recaptured the collaged movements with a fast-shutter digital video camera. The art installation version of “Copenhagen Cycles” includes the bicycle wheel-sized zoetropes and a video demonstration of the unique filmmaking process.

In his animation courses at UMBC, Dyer is teaching his students to use his new method of filmmaking. “By using this experimental process, my students learn the value of mixing hands-on and digital techniques. They discover pathways or tangents they wouldn’t normally take when using only a computer. In the end, they surprise themselves and grow as artists,” he said.

Dyer is collaborating with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center for his next project, which will use 3D animation and 3D printing technologies to create zoetropes for a new film and installation. He hopes to complete the project in early 2008.

(4/10/07)

© 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

Anne Spence, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, received the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award at the 2007 FIRST Chesapeake Regional, held March 15-17, 2007 at the United States Naval Academy.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international non-profit organization that creates accessible, innovative programs that build self confidence, knowledge and life skills in young people while motivating them to pursue a future in science, technology, and engineering.

Spence was recognized in front of thousands of students, mentors, families and VIP's for her work on the Chesapeake Regional Planning Committee, as Lead Pit Administrator at the Regional for the past 3 years, as the FIRST LEGO League Affiliate Partner for Maryland and for her other volunteer and mentorship work with Project Lead the Way and students at UMBC.

Alumnus Ian M. Ralby Receives Prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Ian M. Ralby, UMBC’s 2002 Valedictorian, will enter the M.Phil. program in International Relations at Cambridge University with funding provided by the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, considered one of the world’s most selective academic awards.

“President Hrabowski and UMBC helped me to become a Gates Cambridge Scholar,” said Ralby, who graduated with a B.A. in Modern Languages and Linguistics and a M.A. in Intercultural Communication. “UMBC nurtured my intellectual curiosity. My work in modern languages and linguistics and intercultural communication helped solidify my passion for international affairs. Through study abroad in Switzerland–made possible by my Humanities Scholarship–I discovered the field of international conflict resolution. UMBC has continued to support me throughout my time in law school and in the practice of law. President Hrabowski remains an important mentor and role model for me. His support has been instrumental in helping me get to where I am today.”

While completing his J.D. at the College of William and Mary in 2005, Ralby was part of a legal team that worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to provide legal research and support for the Iraqi High Tribunal as it prepared its legal case against Saddam Hussein.

When Ralby begins his studies at Cambridge in fall 2007, he plans to focus on means of establishing the rule of law in post-conflict societies, examining how post-conflict justice processes could be better used to facilitate reconstruction. He intends to continue studying for a Ph.D. in International Relations. Ultimately, Ralby plans to devote his career toward assisting failed states as they attempt to recover from collapse.

Since earning admission to the Virginia state bar, Ralby has served as an associate in the Norfolk, Va., office of Hunton & Williams, an international law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Beijing and Brussels.

Read the full news release.

(3/5/07)

© 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

UMBC Draws Top-Seeded Connecticut in NCAA Tournament

Indianapolis-The America East champion UMBC women’s basketball (16-16) team has garnered the No. 16 seed in the Fresno Regional and will take on top-seed Connecticut (29-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 9 p.m. at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn. The game can be seen live on ESPN2.

After becoming the first team in conference history to defeat the one, two and three seeds en route to the title, the Retrievers are making their first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. UMBC becomes the fourth America East team to play as the 16th seed, and these squads are 0-3 all-time, including Maine’s 1995 loss to Connecticut. Overall, America East teams are 0-2 in the NCAA tournament against the Huskies.

The Retrievers have never played Connecticut, ranked third in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. UMBC is one of nine teams making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, while the storied Huskies are 58-13 in 18 all-time appearances since 1989, with five national titles and eight Final Four appearances.

Harvard was the only No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, taking down Stanford in 1998. If the Retrievers defeat Connecticut on Sunday, they will face the winner of the first round game between No. 8 New Mexico and No. 9 Wisconsin-Green Bay on Tuesday, March 20.

(3/12/07) © 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

‘Beauty Myth’ Author to Discuss “The Changemakers: Ethical Leadership & Real Power” at UMBC Humanities Forum on March 14

Best –selling author Naomi Wolf will give a lecture on ethics and leadership on Wednesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. at UMBC as part of the University’s annual Humanities Forum speaker series. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Wolf has written essays for The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, Glamour and The New York Times. She is the author of a number of best-selling books including "The Beauty Myth" (1991), which was named one of the most important books of the 20th century by The New York Times.

The lessons Wolf passionately shares raise awareness of society's pervasive inequities and encourage her audiences to voice their concerns, and enact change. In her lecture, Wolf will address ethics and leadership, drawing on models using courage, justice, compassion, and a respect for all to change the world for the better. Her talk will spell out how we can be ethical leaders and make a monumental difference.

Wolf is co-founder of The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, an organization that teaches young women how to become leaders and agents of change in the 21st century.

Wolf will speak Wednesday, March 14, at 7:00 p.m. in Lecture Hall VII, on the first floor of UMBC’s Information Technology and Engineering (ITE) Building. The event is sponsored by the UMBC Center for the Humanities.

UMBC Student and Faculty Entrepreneurs

Look for more information on entrepreneurship at UMBC, and faculty and student entrepreneurs, on the UMBC Web site and myUMBC portal throughout the semester.

Melissa Amor
Senior, Political Science
Amor came to UMBC with plans for a career in law, but in her freshman year she took a class in The Practice of Management and became inspired by the idea of entrepreneurship. Now, she is a finalist in the Most Promising Campus CEO contest, founded by Randal Pinkett and is also interviewing at such prestigious graduate schools as Harvard, Notre Dame and Georgetown.

Amor’s Most Promising Campus CEO contest entry grew out of a class project with students Natalie Collings, Jessica Most and Johnny Tseng ’05, economics, to start a mobile salon. Amor expanded on the group’s ideas by creating a franchising plan for the salon, and hopes the group will reunite to develop the business regardless of the contest’s outcome.

In the 2006 MoshPit Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Committee, Amor was part of a team that finished in second place against approximately 174 other entrepreneur student-led teams/companies from the Baltimore area. She also helped UMBC alumni Wan His Yuan and Jason Servary, founders of Openposting.com, market the first online classified community for college students.

Sandor Dornbush,
Ph.D. Student, Computer Science
Dornbush has found entrepreneurial ideas in things that bug him – being stuck in traffic and his dislike for making playlists for his iPod.

Dornbush is part of a research group led by one of his mentors — computer science professor Zary Segall-which specializes in human aware computing-making computers wearable, ubiquitous and most importantly, able to sense and adjust to a user’s mood, surroundings and social situation.

Last year, with the help of visual arts professor David Yager and the encouragement of Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship Director Vivian Armor, Dornbush took his idea StreetSmart Traffic to the Greater Baltimore Technology Council’s “Mosh Pit” business plan competition and placed third overall. The idea uses peer-to-peer wireless communication to boost a standard GPS driving aid.

More recently, Dornbush expanded on an idea for a smart MP3 player developed by Segall. The “XPod” learns the type of music its owner likes best and automatically plays the perfect song for studying in the library, working out in the gym or chilling out at home. The project was the source of a widely cited research paper, which led to media coverage in Electronic Musician, Newsday, the Baltimore Sun and others.

“The Mosh Pit competition was very fun and I learned a lot about how to develop and pitch a business plan,” said Dornbush. “I was kind of amazed by the support and attention that I got from the University when I did as well as I did. I would strongly recommend anybody with novel ideas that have market potential to pitch their idea.”

Doug Hamby
Associate Professor, Dance
After participating in the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship’s Faculty Summer Institute, Hamby created a Dance and Entrepreneurship class, which he is teaching during the spring 2007 semester. Students in the class have formed a dance company, and will be creating new dances and promoting the new company’s concert (12 p.m., April 27, Fine Arts 317). They spend two hours per week developing the new work and two hours learning about marketing and promotion.

Hamby said the class evolved out of years of talking with students about how to use their degree in dance. “They have to find their niche, they have to learn how to brand themselves and they have to be professional in how they go about this. Artists have to be entrepreneurial, to think in a creative way, to look for opportunities in order to get work,” he explained.

“I’ve founded my own company and produced many concerts, so I want to share my experience in a more formal setting with students,” Hamby added. “I think learning how to be an artist-entrepreneur changes them. It helps them prepare more while they are in school for life after graduation. They concentrate more on what they need to do in order to have the kind of career they want.”

Kriste Lindenmeyer
Professor and Chair, History
“Humanities and social science scholars have always been entrepreneurs – they just don’t know it,” said Lindenmeyer. “They are creating new fields of research and finding new ways to look at old problems. Entrepreneurship is about finding innovative solutions from a variety of perspectives.”

Lindenmeyer’s exposure to entrepreneurship began when she became a volunteer email list editor for Humanities Net (H-Net), an international consortium of scholars and teachers pioneering new communication technology in order to advance teaching and research in the arts, humanities and social sciences. “H-Net took the latest technological opportunity that scientists and engineers were using and adapted it to our own fields of interest,” Lindenmeyer said.

At UMBC, Lindenmeyer says she sees many examples of entrepreneurship, including collaborative projects across disciplines. She serves as a consultant for a National Institutes of Health-funded project led by principal investigator Lee Boot, associate director of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center, entitled The Fieldtrip Project. UMBC faculty from a wide range of disciplines are developing an online community designed to stimulate discourse among teens concerning issues affecting their orientation toward school and learning. The community will include an episodic reality show, online role-playing game and discussion forums, among other media. Co-investigators for The Fieldtrip Project are Susan Sonnenschein, psychology, Linda Baker, psychology and Dongsong Zhang, mechanical engineering. In addition to Lindenmeyer, the consultants are Wayne Lutters, information systems and David Mitch, economics. Information systems Ph.D. student David Gurzick is the project’s graduate assistant.

Antonio “Tony” Moreira
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Professor, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
With over 25 years of experience working with the biotechnology industry, Moreira has turned his expertise into a company with global reach. In 2000, he partnered with a European consulting firm to form SPI USA, Inc., which specializes in training and consulting services that help biotech clients comply with US Food and Drug Administration regulations and maintain best processes and practices for manufacturing.

What began as a corporate training CD-ROM has since expanded into a global business beyond biotech connecting UMBC and Maryland to the world. “We currently have projects in India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Portugal, Albania and the U.S.,” said Moreira. Located in bwtech@UMBC research park, SPI USA has also hired many student interns from UMBC’s Shriver Center, some of whom have been assigned to positions in SPI’s European offices.

Moreira brings lessons learned from business back to classes he teaches at UMBC. “We often invite speakers from industry and the FDA to be guest lecturers to give current experience to the classroom,” he said. “And we use case studies on ongoing issues in industry in lectures and class discussions.”

The collaboration also benefits the research of faculty and graduate students. “We are very focused on the biotech industry’s real needs,” Moreira said. “We now have a major collaboration with the FDA which involves other chemical engineering faculty and has resulted in very significant scholarly publications and invitations for our faculty and students to present at major research conferences.”

(2/19/07)

© 2006-07 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �