We hope your summer has been going well! If you haven't submitted your semester requests for Summer Session II yet, now is the time to do so. Please log in to Accommodate to submit your requests as soon as possible. Submitting early ensures your accommodation letters are sent to your faculty in advance of classes, providing timely support.

While you're there, we would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few moments to complete our "Student Survey: Spring 2026" in Accommodate. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve our services and better meet your needs.

Thank you for your time and for being a part of our SDS community. If you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to us.

A furnished room is available for a female student in Arbutus starting in August.

The room is on the second floor. It is a 2-minute walk to the shuttle stop and a 20-minute walk to campus. The bathroom will be shared with two other tenants.

Parking is available, in-house laundry is included.

Rent: $500 per month ( Utilities included )

Contact Cindy: (443) 851-0475

As many veteran grant applicants can tell you, it can be tedious (and sometimes confusing) work to keep a CV up to date. But for federal sponsors like the NIH, NSF, and NASA, Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support documents remove the guesswork by streamlining a researcher's CV into a concise and standardized format; these documents help reviewers to determine an investigator's preparedness to undertake their proposed project, as well as to mark potential conflicts of interest. Take a moment to read our tips and tricks about NIH, NSF, and NASA Biosketch formats to make sure your application doesn't stand out for the wrong reasons!

NIH 

NIH proposals require the use of the NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form, which contains three major sections. These include Professional Preparation and Training; Appointments and Positions; and finally, Products Most Closely Related to the Proposed Project. Within the same form, there is also a required Supplement that includes a personal statement; up to 15 honors or awards; and a description of your Contributions to Science.  Use this link for detailed instructions.

The NIH's Current and Pending (Other Support) Common Form will require you to create a list of all proposals and currently active grants, which will give reviewers a comprehensive profile of sources of support, including nonfinancial support. This will include not only your previous proposals and awards from the NIH, but currently pending and active awards/proposals for any source of support. Additionally, you should list any sources of in-kind support with an estimated dollar value of $5,000 or more, and require a commitment of your time. (This could include office or laboratory space; data sets; goods and services; or employee or student resources.)

To create these documents, you must use the online tool ScienCV. UMBC's library has provided instructions about how to use this tool to generate your Biosketch, which you can access here. For more from the NIH, see their FAQ.

Don't forget...

• Unless specified by the NOFO, you will NOT provide your Current and Pending document at the time of application, but rather as part of the Just-In-Time (JIT) process as you are being awarded.
• Tip: to make sure your documents are valid, check the expiration date on the upper right hand corner of the first page.

NSF
The NSF’s Biosketch format is similar to the first half of the NIH common Form. It contains four sections: Professional Preparation; Appointments and Positions; and Products (with up to 5 publications closely related to the proposed project and up to 5 additional publications significant to the applicant.)

Unlike the NIH’s system, NSF requires the Current, Pending, and Other Support form at the time of proposal. It also requires the applicant to list all proposals and currently active grants from any funder; you should also list all in-kind contributions that are estimated at a value of $5,000 or higher and commit the investigator’s time. (This could include office or laboratory space; data sets; goods and services; or employee or student resources.)

Don’t forget…

• For the NSF, Biosketches and CPOS documents are only 2 of the 4 required documents that all Senior/Key Personnel must provide at the time of proposal. (The others are the Collaborators and Other Affiliates and Synergistic Activities documents.)
• While the NSF does not cap salary, it does cap NSF-funded effort at a total of 2 person months across all awards. The NSF uses the CPOS document to check whether investigators are under this threshold, so please be sure to document your effort accurately.
• While Biosketches are likely to remain stable across multiple proposal submissions, your CPOS will change with each proposal. Please ensure that only the current proposal is marked “this proposal” in the Statement of Potential Overlap and that all recent submissions are included as pending.

NASA

Of the three agencies covered in this post, NASA is the only one that requires a Biosketch and Current and Pending format that is generated from a word document template, and signed and certified using Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word or a similar signature software, or by providing a wet signature and scanning.

First, visit NASA’s Grant Operations Management website and scroll to the Regulations, Guidance, and Forms section. Under Grant Forms, you can download the NASA templates for the Biosketch and Current and Pending Support (CPS). Once you have finished filling out the appropriate entries on each of these forms, you must digitally sign each of these forms to fulfill the certification and signature requirement. NASA has provided these instructions about using digital signature software to sign the forms.

Don’t forget…

• Some programs may only accept certain types of signatures, so check the RFP carefully to ensure that your documents meet the program’s specific requirements, if any.
• You MUST include your ORCID or other Persistent Digital Identifier.
• Although these documents are formatted as word documents, modifying the standard language on the templates is not allowed.

We are looking for two faculty members willing to serve on the Academic Affairs Compliance Workgroup. The charge is attached below. This group typically meets on the last Monday of each month, with the flexibility to adjust the meeting time to accommodate schedules. Please email me at jmatamcm@umbc.edu if you are able and willing to serve.

Each plant, whether a small wild buttercup or a massive oak tree, starts out as seed—packed with potential to grow well beyond its original size. By this logic, The Garden’s new Little Seed Library—co-sponsored by Retriever Essentials and the Office of Sustainability and installed by Facilities Management—is seeded with infinite potential. 

Based on the now-familiar concept of Little Free Libraries that spread access to the love of reading, the Little Seed Library, down the sidewalk from UMBC Police, is set up for people to donate seeds (perhaps harvested from the adjacent garden) and those who want to put their green thumb to the test can take what they need to get started.

The idea stemmed from conversations Michael Berardi, assistant director of Retriever Essentials, was having with folks on campus about tangible ways to grow interest in the community garden while wanting to grow awareness of where our food actually comes from. “We want to help campus engage with our food in a more deep and meaningful way,” says Berardi ’19, M.P.S. ’25, who was also a co-founder of the campus-adjacent coffee shop, OCA Mocha. 

Andrew Eisenhardt ’21 was one of the people talking to Berardi. He remembers: “We were hiking in the woods of Patapsco State Park brainstorming some ideas for Retriever Essentials. I had recently seen a YouTube video where a community put up seed libraries and people could go to get new seeds and donate their excess. I figured it could be cool to have something like that at UMBC.” Eisenhardt, who already graduated with a double major in geography and environmental systems and media and communication studies and is currently pursuing another bachelor’s in computer engineering, started working in The Garden during his first time at UMBC when he needed a break from doing homework and wanted to see what opportunities were on-campus to get outside and work with nature. “The Little Seed Library serves as a great starting point for community members to participate in and learn about this work,” he says. “Just get a seed, throw it in some soil and see what happens! Worst case scenario, your seed never germinates. Either way you’ll learn something about plants and you might even make some friends along the way who are trying to grow a better future.”

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Jessica Graziano, who has been tending a plot in The Garden for several years, only foresees fruitful outcomes for the Little Seed Library. Eventually, in addition to seeds and instructions for planting, Graziano would like to see folks donate gardening tools and horticultural resources. Graziano, the current president of The Garden club, says her favorite thing to grow is perennials. “My current favorite is False Indigo, which I’ve had growing in my plot at The Garden for about two and a half years,” she shares. Recently recognized with a UMBC Community Impact award at SGA’s 2025 – 2026 CelebratingOrgs event, The Garden is lush with promise. 

Nicole Wolf, UMBC’s sustainability coordinator, says that the Office of Sustainability has some nutrient rich ideas coming up in connection with the other organizations that help support The Garden. But in the meantime, “access to free seeds and gardening space removes the barrier of not knowing where to start, or even having to leave campus if they choose to use the community plots,” says Wolf. “We will continue to foster this culture by hosting regular ‘seed save collection’ events on our campus to keep the library stocked while teaching attendees about native plants and how to harvest ethically as we go.” 

If you are a Division of Student Affairs professional or student staff member that does any type of assessment work, you are expected to review the DoSA Student and Professional Staff Employees Assessment Training Guide. This is a brand new onboarding resource that will be updated annually. 

As you go through the guide, please let Mary Ellen Wade, Director of Assessment and Planning, know if anything is unclear. There is a short, two question evaluation at the end to provide feedback. Page 12 of the guide has details on two CITI Trainings staff must complete (if you have not already done so within the past three years). 

Professional staff conducting assessment this year are expected to review this guide and complete the CITI Trainings by September 30, 2026. New members to the division conducting assessment will be expected to complete this on a rolling basis. Thanks for your understanding, reach out to Mary Ellen if you have any questions.

The Office of the Provost values broad participation. Diverse perspectives from faculty and staff across divisions, disciplines, roles, and levels of experience are sought for key committees and working groups connected to upcoming institutional initiatives and priorities.

Please take a moment to fill out the interest form as we create a repository of faculty and staff that the Office of the Provost may contact as opportunities for service arise throughout the academic year. Outreach will occur on an as-needed basis and may include opportunities connected to the university’s next Strategic Plan and emerging Provost Priorities.

Diverse viewpoints and collaborative engagement are essential to advancing institutional priorities and strengthening our campus community.

Potential areas of engagement may include, but are not limited to:

• Student Success

• Teaching and Learning

• Research and Creative Achievement

• Strengthening Maryland

• Organizational Vitality

While this form will remain open and can be completed on a rolling basis, please consider submitting your interest by Friday, July 3, 2026 for opportunities in the upcoming academic year. Members of the Office of the Provost will reach out directly as relevant opportunities become available.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the university community through service and collaboration.

🚴 Cycle is taking a short break, but we've got your lunchtime workout covered!

On June 24 and July 1, swap the bike for a quick, energizing Core & Cardio session with Alea 💪🔥

📍 RAC 144
🕛 12:00–12:30 p.m.

Name: Krishna Mihir Tatavarthi 

Pronouns: He/Him

Semester of Internship: Spring 2026

Major: Computer science 

Current Class Level: Master's Student

This semester I completed a(n)...:  Internship

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name):  VelocitiPM

Location of the Organization (City, State): Pheonix, Arizona

Title of position: Full Stack Engineer Intern 

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities:

As a Full Stack Engineer Intern at VelocitiPM, I work on VelocitiPM, a product management SaaS. My responsibilities include building and shipping features across the frontend (React/TypeScript) and backend (Supabase edge functions, Python), writing and testing APIs, managing local dev environments with Docker, and collaborating with senior engineers through code reviews and ticket-based workflows.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I found the position through LinkedIn and submitted my application in January 2026. After a technical interview focused on full stack development, I received and accepted an offer to join VelocitiPM as a Full Stack Engineer Intern.

What resources did you use to find your current experience?

LinkedIn or other social media

What have you enjoyed the most about your position and organization?

I've enjoyed working on a real product that's actively used shipping features end-to-end across the full stack has been genuinely rewarding. The team trusts interns with meaningful work, and getting feedback directly from a senior engineer has accelerated my growth a lot.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I've built and shipped features that directly improve the user experience on VelocitiPM, including automating parts of the product strategy workflow using AI. My contributions have gone into production, which means real users benefit from the work I do.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Get comfortable being uncomfortable you won't know everything on day one, and that's fine. Focus on understanding the codebase before writing code, ask questions early, and treat every ticket as a chance to learn the full system, not just fix one thing.

The MS in Artificial Intelligence program prepares students to lead in a field reshaping education, computing, energy, data analysis, information systems, and nearly every sector of the modern economy. Designed for students seeking to go beyond a general computing degree, the program offers a focused, rigorous pathway into AI research, development, and deployment, equipping graduates to drive innovation across industry, government, and academia. Apply by August 1 for the Fall 2026 program. Get more information here.