Three Goddard teams were recipients of a 2024 Blue Marble Award, among them the NASA Disasters Response Coordination System Team of which Robert Emberson (617/UMBC) is a member. The team was a “recipient in the category of Resilience or Climate Change Adaptation for outstanding contribution to science-based disaster response and resiliency planning.” Created in 2006, the Blue Marble Award recognizes personnel who demonstrate environmental leadership in carrying out the agency’s mission. The award ceremony was held October 8, 2024, at the NASA 2024 Environmental Operational Meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Congratulations!

We asked Dr. Emberson for more information on the Disasters Program and the Disaster Response Coordination System: “I am one of the Associate Program Managers for the Disasters Program at NASA HQ, which supports both funded research projects as well as a range of agencies to inform decisions relating to Disaster response. I’ve been involved in various capacities in the disaster response support work for the past 5 years, but this year the program has formalized these activities into the Disaster Response Coordination System, an expanded way to leverage NASA assets to support our partners.” Read about the launch of the new system in this June 2024 NASA news feature.

The Disasters Program provides resources via Earth observing data to aid and inform emergency management decision-makers; most recently, they’ve been activated in response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The DRCS is featured in this article on nasa.gov regarding the devastation from Hurricane Milton and how NASA is providing FEMA and state agencies with resources. The DRCS team also utilizes the NASA Disasters Portal, which “provides access to a range of data sources for our response activities.” Read more about current and previous disaster activations here.

Asian Studies Students,

I'm happy to inform you that applications for the Japan-America Student Conference are now open. The conference will take place next summer in Japan! Scholarships are available. UMBC has not sent a student in a number of years, so the time is ripe. See Dr. Vaporis, Founding and Interim Director of Asian Studies, (vaporis@umbc.edu) for more details. Here below is the official announcement from the organization.

Greetings from the Executive Committee of the 77th Japan-America Student Conference!

We are contacting you about a unique conference opportunity in the summer of 2025: The 77th Japan-America Student Conference!  We are excited to announce that JASC 77 applications are now open!  We would greatly appreciate it if you could share the enclosed information with your students at University of Maryland Baltimore Country!

What is JASC?:  The Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) is a student-led exchange program, initiated in 1934 by university students concerned by the breakdown of bilateral relations prior to the Second World War. Today, an equal number of students from the U.S. and Japan are competitively selected each year to spend three weeks together, studying and analyzing Japan-U.S. relations while visiting three to four diverse regions in the host country. JASC alternates its host country every year, emphasizing the personal connections between two distinct cultures gathered together in one place.

Where Will JASC77 Take Place?: This year is JASC’s Japan year. We will be visiting the following sites: Osaka, Kyoto, Kumamoto, and Tokyo.

When: July 31 to August 21, 2025

Who can Apply?: 36 American and 36 Japanese undergraduate and graduate university students enrolled at any accredited university who are 18 years old or older at the start of the conference. All majors of study are accepted. Japanese language is not required.

JASC 77 Application:https://iscdc.org/jasc/77th-jasc-applications/

Hello Pre-Pharmers!

We have an exciting opportunity coming up! The Homecoming Retriever Dawg Race is scheduled for Saturday, October 26th, from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM, and we're looking for volunteers from the Pre-Pharmacy Society to help out.

If you're interested in volunteering, please sign up using the link below. Volunteers who stay for the entire event will receive a Homecoming Carnival wristband and 10 carnival game tickets as a thank you!

Volunteer Sign-Up Form

Be sure to sign up before Wednesday, October 23rd at 11:59 PM. Additional details will be sent out soon, but most information is already available in the sign-up form.

Wishing you all a great October!

UMBC Pre-Pharmacy Society