Hello everyone!

Retriever Essentials will be closed today for our Earth Day Free Farmers Market event. Be sure to stop by!

Start your morning the UMBC commuter way.

Join us for breakfast with fellow commuters and connect with helpful on-campus resources. There's no better way to kick off your day!

Good Morning Commuters (GMC) takes place every Tuesday from 8:30–11:00 AM *except one a month when Good afternoon Commuters (GAC) is held* and is complimentary with your Commuter Gold Card.

Gold Cards are a one-time purchase per academic year and can be bought at any GMC event (cash only):

• $5 for Commuter Students

• $10 for Residential & Graduate Students

We can't wait to see you there!

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/ocss/events/149342

The UMBC Graduate Experiences, Achievements, and Research Successes (GEARS) Research Symposium showcases our students’ creativity, collaboration, and scholarly excellence. The annual event brings together faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate students from across disciplines to discuss research, engage in meaningful dialogue, and celebrate innovation and real-world impact.

The 2026 symposium was held on April 7, 2026. 

Best of COEIT award 

A highlight of the symposium is the presentation of awards across four categories, including the “Best of COEIT Award,” which was presented this year by COEIT Dean Jeanne van Briesen.

This distinction is reserved for students who demonstrate not only technical mastery but also the ability to articulate the real-world impact of their work.

This year, the Best of COEIT Award was presented to Dharani Nadendla, a master’s student in data science, for her presentation of research conducted with Dong Li, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, “ULTRASOUND WATERMARK: Real-time Acoustic Watermarking for Voice Scam Protection on Smartphones.”

The other awards presented at the ceremony were:

• Best of CNMS – Kushani Mendis, Ph.D. student in chemistry
• Best of CAHSS – Kaitlin Worzalla; B.A./M.S. in Geography and Environmental Systems
• People's Choice Award - Francheska Burrola; B.S. in Biological Sciences
• Provost's Choice Award - Aeon Kaplowitz, B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

Why GEARS matters

The GEARS Symposium also offers all UMBC students the opportunity to engage with campus leadership, expand professional networks, and gain recognition for their scholarly contributions. The primary goal of GEARS is to shine a spotlight on the commitment and dedication of graduate students, who often spend years working behind the scenes in laboratories and research environments.Photo: Chaturya Yarradoddi stands in front of her poster presentation: "Analysing the impact of  Financial Aid and Academic Pathways Preparation on Graduation using AI" (Photo courtesy of Yarradoddi)

Among this year’s participants, Chaturya Yarradoddi, a master’s student in data science, showcased a predictive AI model designed to analyze financial aid strategies and identify reliable predictors of student success. Reflecting on her experience, Yaradoddi shared:

“This project has taught me as much about myself as it has about data science. From merging messy datasets to deploying a live dashboard, I’m proud of the rigor we brought to the process and the conversations it sparked with fellow researchers."

From posing an initial research question to developing a functioning learning system, Yarradoddi’s research journey highlights the process of translating complex problems into informed decision-making tools that was on display through the GEARS Research Symposium. The event underscores the converging roles of technical analysis and human-centered inquiry in advancing scholarly development and meaningful societal impact.

Hey SACNAS fam!!

Tired from school or work? Come destress at our Canvas Painting event today in ILSB 201 from 12–1 PM. Bring yourself, your friends, and some positive vibes!
Supplies will be provided.
We hope to see you there!

Studio available for Summer June 1 -Aug 15. Private entrance, parking and bath within walking distance to campus. Prefer female grad student. Includes laundry and utilities. Privately owned owner occupied home.

Monthly rent $800 and a security deposit of $400.00 due prior to move in.

Text 443-690-0992 to arrange an appointment.

Dear UMBC Community,

What an absolute delight it was recently to help welcome 200 sixth graders from Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie for a special performance of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Many of you know that it is a dream of mine that every middle schooler in Maryland will visit our campus. Seeing the Corkran students arrive (on four school buses!) and fill the Proscenium Theatre was a beautiful thing. Even more so was watching them enjoy this brilliant Theatre Department production and engage in a lively Q&A with our students afterward. In their questions, I knew they were imagining that they could do the things they saw our UMBC students doing, whether on stage or behind the scenes.

As I told them, my hope is that their visit to our campus helps them imagine their futures and that one day they may come back to this place as UMBC students. Kudos to our talented students, staff, and faculty for their outstanding creative work and for inspiring so many young minds!

Sincerely,

President Valerie Sheares Ashby

April 21

BookMarkIt ~ 11 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Library Plaza
Letterpress printing, pamphlet stitching, a book arts display, wrapped mystery books and giveaways, zinemaking and zine swaps, a book drive supporting the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, the Baltimore County Bookmobile, bookish swag, and more!

One Maryland, One Book ~ 5:00–6:30 p.m., 312 University Center
In collaboration with Maryland Humanities’ One Maryland, One Book program, BookFest will welcome Lawrence Burney, the author of the 2026 OMOB selection No Sense in Wishing. Burney will be in conversation with writer Chris Terry (assistant professor of English) about his essay collection. Refreshments will be served!

April 23

WORKSHOP: Understanding Attacks on Libraries ~ 12:00-1:00 p.m., AOK Library Room 259. Registration is required: REGISTER HERE. What should you know about the current assaults on authors, readers, libraries, and librarians? Join Allison Jennings-Roche (UMBC Alum and Associate Director of Digital Initiatives and Collections at The University of Baltimore Library & Archives) for a lunch-and-learn. Lunch will be served. Register today to secure your spot! 

Freedom to Read: Libraries and Our Democracy ~ 5:00–6:30 p.m. — AOK Library Gallery
What can we do to protect the right to read and to ensure access to our nation’s library services? Maryland State Librarian Morgan Lehr Miller will be joined by some of Maryland's most distinguished librarians and advocates for a panel discussion on protecting our rights. Refreshments will be served!

GIVE! Throughout BookFest, we will be raising funds for Friends of the Maryland Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (LBPD), a non-profit that supports the LBPD in its mission to make reading and all library services accessible to Marylanders!

We hope to see you there and please spread the word! 

The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab presents

The Effects of Privacy Regulation on the Market for Stolen Data

Dr. Anderson Frailey, Economics Department, UMBC

12-1 pm ET Friday, April 24, 2026; online

Individuals are constantly generating streams of data collected by businesses, educational institutions, data brokers, and many other organizations. These organizations are regularly targeted by cyber criminals attempting to steal that data to exploit or sell it in online markets. I propose a model of the stolen data economy to show how privacy regulations may affect this market. I then introduce a novel dataset of data breaches to study the effects of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the quantity of data available in the illicit market. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find that the GDPR caused a 60 percent reduction in the number of data breaches traded, but no reduction in the aggregate amount of data available. At the individual breach level, I find an over 60 percent increase in the amount of data they contain. These results are consistent with the model’s prediction that higher-value targets will make up a larger portion of post-GDPR data breaches due to changes in their relative value.

Dr. Anderson Frailey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at UMBC. He received his PhD and MA in economics from the University of Virginia and his BA in economics from the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on the economics of privacy, information, and cybercrime. Occasionally, he will also dabble in baseball analytics.

Support for this event was provided in part by the NSF under SFS grants DGE-1753681 and 2438185. Host: Dr. Alan T. Sherman, sherman@umbc.edu

Welcome to the 2026 National Volunteer Week! We have a week packed with daily activities for all our members. Be sure to plug in and get involved with each event!

Our last GBM is tomorrow! Come join us for our final forum and closing ceremony final GBM on Monday, April 20, 2026 in Mathematics/Psychology : 102!

Interested in showcasing your music/wips? Share your song here in this Google form and drop by the forum!:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIch5BWYZ0PwwXKW_hvG4ISk4Ftxdt8cu9_j-D1kGjXeBg7w/viewform?usp=preview

We'd love to hear what you've made!

Also... we have a grand surprise prepared for the end... 🛸