In early August, 124 students from seven states and the District of Columbia participated in UMBC’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF), sponsored by the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS). The students came from UMBC and other universities, community colleges, and three high schools, and they presented 106 posters and gave six “lightning talks” about research projects they completed over the summer. Almost all participants had completed their research under the mentorship of UMBC faculty.

CNMS Dean William R. LaCourse encouraged the students to carry their experience at UMBC with them after the summer ends. 

“I hope this summer has lit a flame of passion that will drive you to greater undertakings, accomplishments, and accolades. I hope that you did it all with joy and wonderment,” LaCourse said in his opening remarks at SURF. “It has been our privilege to host you here at UMBC—your spirit is an inspiration to us all. We hope that UMBC will always be a part of you.”

A grand scholarly community

SURF included student researchers involved in 14 different programs, such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute HHMI Scholars Program, Beckman Scholars Program, National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and National Institutes of Health-funded research opportunities such as the U-RISE program and the National Institute on Drug Abuse internship.

Student projects included research on cancer biology, neuroscience, alternative energy, machine learning, and so much more. In addition to the presenters, their mentors, and members of the UMBC community at large, CNMS invited faculty members at other institutions affiliated with UMBC’s Build a Bridge to STEM Internship program to bring their students to SURF. Prince George’s Community College brought 15 students to observe, learn, and be inspired.

The student research on display at SURF impressed Provost Manfred H.M. van Dulmen. “I truly enjoyed learning more about all the research being conducted on campus this summer, including how experimental research with flies can improve people’s lives,” van Dulmen shared after his first experience with SURF. “I loved talking to several students and learning about how their research experience plays a critical role in their education and prepares them for their future journey.”

Preparing students for their next steps is exactly what LaCourse hopes summer research and SURF will accomplish. “This event defines the summer STEM experience, where the focus is on high-quality STEM classes, opportunities for research and applied learning experiences, and building a strong scholarly STEM community,” he says. “By practicing and applying the skills of performing research this summer, you follow in the footsteps of great scientists and researchers—making you part of a grand scholarly community, and a community of support.”

“What did you say?” is the phrase most likely to be heard when you’re walking the halls at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) and the answer is most likely drowned out by a cacophony of barks, meows, and even some bird chirps. But Liz Willman wouldn’t have it any other way. 

As most animal lovers do at some point in childhood, Willman decided she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. But unlike most kids, it wasn’t just a phase for this rising senior. That passion for pets brought her to UMBC—where she’s pursuing a major in biological sciences on the pre-vet track—and she’s honed her animal care skills as far as Scotland and as close as BARCS, just a few miles down the road from UMBC.

Dog days of summer

After starting as a volunteer dog walker at BARCS in fall of 2022, Willman accrued experience and staff there asked her to consider moving to the next level of volunteering. But she countered with the request to find an internship opportunity working with their medical professionals. They accepted, and in January 2023, Willman was able to start getting  hands-on experience in her field. For the last several months, Willman has been continuing her work with BARCS medical staff with one short break to  to work with animals across the pond as well. 

“The best part for me is getting to see an animal come for intake on their first day, and then seeing the progress they make,” she says. 

Left: Willman takes a minute to give Ovenmitts (with her extra thumbs!) some love. Right: Willman reviews daily medication and the animal schedules with a BARCS staff member. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Each day, Willman performs a variety of tasks, including distributing medication, checking weights, collecting samples, and more. The staff at BARCS have been especially supportive, taking care to seek out Willman and offer opportunities for hands-on learning. 

“Any time they see something that might interest me, they come find me,” she says. “They know I plan to go on to veterinary school, so they’ve been taking the time to teach me how to do a lot of things vet techs struggle with.” 

Taking to the sky

In addition to her classroom education and work at BARCS, Willman spent six weeks this summer interning with the Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Center. When Willman originally approached UMBC’s education abroad office, trying to find summer trips with a pre-vet focus there wasn’t an existing program, but the office worked with her to find one that would fulfill her requirements. 

Photos of Willman with the animals she worked with in Scotland, courtesy of Willman.

During this time abroad, Willman worked to rehabilitate birds that were injured or abandoned by their parents when they were still too young to care for themselves, performing daily exams and helping to build their strength to prepare them to return to the wild. This experience abroad was one with several firsts for Willman, including her first time leaving the country and her first foray into working with wildlife. 

“It wasn’t only a new experience for me to be working with wildlife, but it was also wildlife that you don’t see in the U.S., like finches native to the United Kingdom,” she says. 

Returning to Maryland this summer, Willman had both her work at BARCS and her own family zoo waiting for her. It’s no surprise an interest in caring for animals hits close to home for her—especially considering her family home in the outskirts of Frederick County has goats, sheeps, dogs, pigs, chickens, and even a registered emotional support turtle named Rumpelstiltskin who accompanies Willman to campus. But her internship experiences added an extra boost in confidence.

“It has just really reaffirmed that I’m not just trying to live out my childhood dream,” says Willman. “I’m meant to do this.” 

Ancient-Greek contributions to the development and advancement of democracy, drama, philosophy, historiography, biology, medicine, astronomy, architecture — among other elements of culture — are common knowledge. Less well known is the ancient Greek role in the evolution of the novel and other forms of imaginative prose fiction in half-millennium from the first century bce to the fourth century ce. 

Early novels are mainly romances in which love conquers all — but only after the lovers endure excruciating dislocations and twists of fate — captivity, slavery, torture, live burial, attempted suicide, crucifixion. Pirates and brigands operate virtually unchecked; government is non-existent, ineffective, or part of the problem. These narratives span a wide geographic range, from Nubia (ancient Aethiopia) and Egypt to the Levant (Phoenicia and Syria), Anatolia, and the Near East, and across to Greece, Italy, and Sicily. Employing tropes of tragedy, new comedy, pastoral, tales of physical transformation (metamorphosis), and historical fiction (including science fiction), these works are often imbued with a unique religiosity focused on the Egyptian goddess Isis.

We will read six works in English translation: four romances, a novella of a man’s unfortunate transformation into an ass (he had wanted to become a bird) and his crazy misadventures, and a fantasy travelogue of excursions to such places as the moon and the Islands of the Blessed in the Underworld. 

This course has no prerequisites and assumes no prior knowledge of the subject.

The Board of Directors of The Peale, Baltimore’s Community Museum, seeks an Executive Director. We will select from candidates who most closely demonstrate the following skills and personal characteristics. This is an unparalleled opportunity to do things you’ve never been able to do anywhere else at the first museum built in the Americas!

Compensation: $75,000 to $105,000 + medical insurance and retirement benefits
Start date: January 2025
Full-time | Hybrid work schedule