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On today's episode we hear a rebroadcast of the a 2024 Social Sciences Forum (SSF) lecture delivered by Dr. Joshua Sharfstein.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein is Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Sharfstein is also the Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, and a Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management.
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Retrieving the Social Sciences is a production of the UMBC Center for Social Science Scholarship. Our podcast host is Dr. Ian Anson, our director is Dr. Christine Mallinson, our associate director is Dr. Felipe Filomeno, and our production intern is Jean Kim. Our theme music was composed and recorded by D'Juan Moreland. Special thanks to Amy Barnes and Myriam Ralston for production assistance. Make sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where you can find full video recordings of recent UMBC events.
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UMBC Professor Houbing Herbert Song, in collaboration with Dr. Jiawei Yuan of UMass Dartmouth, will offer an online course on applying AI and high-performance computing knowledge and skills to solve cybersecurity challenges.
The 12-week course starts on May 20, 2024. It consists of instruction in AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity, supported by teaching assistants. It is followed by faculty-guided research projects in multidisciplinary teams of participants from each area.
The pilot course is available to junior or senior undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, or early-career faculty and researchers in related disciplines in a US institute at the time of participation. Those interested in participating can apply online by March 31, 2024. The course is free, and participants who successfully complete the training course will receive a $1,000 stipend.
The development of this pilot course is supported by collaborative NSF grants OAC-2309760 and OAC-2229976.
William Gao, a senior at Centennial High School in Howard County, Maryland, has been selected as one of 40 finalists in the 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search. Yi Huang, associate professor of mathematics and statistics, has served as his research mentor for the past three years.
The Regeneron competition is one of the oldest and most prestigious youth science competitions in the country, and past finalists now include 13 Nobel Prize winners and 22 MacArthur Fellows. Judges select finalists whose projects demonstrate scientific rigor and who they believe have the potential to become world-changing scientific leaders. The 2024 finalists were selected from among nearly 2,000 entrants nationwide, and each received $25,000 to be used for their education.
Gao and Huang’s research led to the development of a mobile diagnostic system to identify cancerous regions in tumor samples, which they hope will eventually benefit patients in remote areas. The system applies modern data science technology, including artificial intelligence, to a prominent healthcare challenge. The findings were published in Cancer Informatics.
“I am beyond humbled and grateful to be a finalist in Regeneron’s Science Talent Search this year. I have always loved all things science and technology, and I have felt enormously lucky to grow as a young researcher under the guidance of Dr. Yi Huang,” Gao shares. “In the future, I plan to pursue a career that bridges my interests in technological innovation, research, and policy. Wherever I land, I hope to emulate Dr. Huang’s passion as a mentor and pay it forward.”
The finalists will participate in a week-long competition in March in Washington, D.C., where they will compete for more than $1.8 million in awards. The comprehensive judging process will not only test the students’ knowledge of their own projects, but also the depth of their understanding across multiple scientific disciplines.
“Serving the community and helping talented minds from various backgrounds get a boost from research early on has always been a core part of my career in education,” Huang says. “Since the start of his research journey in 2020, William has not only shown an impressive intellectual curiosity and resilience, and maturity in dealing with research challenges, but has also demonstrated exceptional initiative and independence. What sets William apart is his ability to bridge technological innovation with real-world problem solving, always considering the ethical and humanistic implications and the broad social impact of his research in the healthcare system.”
]]>Request for Qualifications: Research Fellowship: Religious Diversity in Maryland
PURPOSE
The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) is seeking qualified candidates for a short-term research fellowship on the subject of the history of religious diversity in Maryland and how it can play an active role in present-day democracy in the United States.
]]>University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) received the Green Grounds Certificationat the Bronze Level, awarded by advocacy group Re:wild Your Campus. This new certification recognizes campuses that are eliminating the use of toxic pesticides, increasing organic land care, fostering biodiversity and promoting soil health.
"We created the Green Grounds Certification to incentivize schools to protect both the workers and student populations and highlight their commitment to biodiversity, proving that managing grounds without chemicals is practical and achievable," said Mackenzie Feldman, project director of Re:wild Your Campus. "We are working with schools across the nation to close the knowledge gap that exists when it comes to organic land care principles and implementation. This certification will help us recognize the work being done on these campuses and beyond to ditch the toxins and go organic."
Currently 62% of the UMBC campus is managed without toxic pesticides like glyphosate. Instead, the campus is working to implement an integrated pest management program, encourage biodiversity, promote soil health, and use organic fertilizers.
"We are extremely proud to be recognized for the great work being done on our campus to support local ecosystem services. It is a testament to our fantastic landscaping team, and the important work they are doing to manage our grounds in an environmentally conscious way" said Taylor Smith, Assistant Director of Sustainability at UMBC. "Our students have shared their aspirations for the UMBC campus to be a healthy ecosystem in the Arbutus community. This certification is an important first step, but we plan to continue enhancing the native environments on our campus through expansion of our tree canopy, wild areas, and restored streams."
The Green Grounds Certification has four levels. To receive certification, Bronze level schools must manage 50% of the campus managed area without synthetic pesticides, Silver level schools must manage 70% of the campus managed area without synthetic pesticides, and Gold level schools must manage 90% of the campus managed area without synthetic pesticides. Platinum level schools must manage 100% of the campus managed area without synthetic pesticides. Campuses must also meet other requirements which include submitting pesticide usage reports, notifying the campus community when pesticides are used and replacing fossil fuel-powered campus maintenance equipment with electric ones. The certification is currently available for institutions of education, including k-12 schools, but Re:wild Your Campus plans to expand into certifying hospitals, corporate campuses, hotels, places of worship, and beyond.