This past weekend, PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP celebrated the anniversary of the PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI). This was actually the 12th Annual SSI. The first PROMISE conference was called “SUCCESS 2003.” We named the program the Summer Success Institute (SSI) in 2004.

The program from the 2014 SSI can be found here:

Click here for the: PDF of the 2014 SSI program booklet, Click here for the conference website.

Here, we share some of the 300+ (public) responses that were posted within two days from our #PROMISEagep social media presence for the SSI (Note: Posts from private Twitter and Facebook accounts where users have opened posts to members of PROMISE, but have not opened posts to the general public are not featured.) 

Some Facebook comments:

Wonderfully invigorating time at the PROMISE AGEP SSI Dissertation House / SSI this weekend ! From the panelists talks to the breakout sessions , I found myself being ‘re-engaged in my PhD process. Thanks to ALL who shared this experience with me. – K.G.

Find more comments on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with the hashtag: #PROMISEagep

The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences hosted the 17th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) on Wednesday, August 6.

Over 200 students gave oral and poster presentations, explaining the results of their summer research projects. Many of the students participated in specialized programs to complete their research, including with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), High Performance Computing (HPC) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at UMBC, Summer Biomedical Training Program, and MARC U*STAR program. SURF also featured a workshop to help more undergraduates gain interest in pursuing research opportunities.

SURF concluded by recognizing the commitment of the faculty, staff and graduate student mentors who supported the undergraduate research projects.

The 2015 event will be held August 5, 2015. For more information go to, surf.umbc.edu

Attention all UMBC student employees!

What could be better than having an on-campus job?

Having an on-campus job and getting a notation on your transcript that tells employers you made the effort to enhance your professional development!

Make your campus experience count! Enroll in PRAC 102 Building Skills for Career Success TODAY!

Enrollment is limited to the first 100 student employees. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

Click HERE to enroll in this zero credit practicum.  Also, obtain the Syllabus below (SEE DOCUMENT DOWNLOAD).

Open to all levels and majors.

Must be a UMBC student employee working at least eight hours per week on campus.

Supervisor endorsement will be requested.

QUESTIONS, please contact Caroline Bodnar at the Career Services Center at carolc@umbc.edu or (410) 455-2216.

Congratulations to these UMBC alums whose accomplishments have been recognized both inside and outside of UMBC. Take a moment to see what they have been up to!

Recently, Corey Fleischer ’05, ’08 M.S., mechanical engineering, was featured in the Baltimore Sun. The paper noted that Fleischer, co-founder of the Baltimore Foundery, partnered with Gene Shirokobrod, doctor of physical therapy, to create the ARC, a product to relieve back and neck pain and retrain muscle.

The two developed a prototype of the ARC, a half-circle made of plastic that sits between the user and a chair or can sit underneath someone’s neck while they are lying down, using a blend of the latest hot entrepreneurial strategies — 3-D printing, crowdfunding, and the makerspace.

Read the full article.

Dr. Elliot Lasson ’87, psychology, was recently profiled by the Baltimore’s CBS affiliate. In the interview, they discuss Lasson’s work as the executive director of Joblink – a non-profit organization tasked with the exciting feat of employing Baltimoreans. They also discuss his involvement at UMBC as a psychology professor and his work as a member of Governor O’Malley’s Workforce Investment Board.

Read the interview.

Michael Kettelberger ’10, political science, recently joined WBOC16/FOX21 in Salisbury, MD, as a news producer. According to the article, Kettelberger has spent a lot of time on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and is looking forward to calling it home.

Micheal graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland in May of 2014. While at Maryland, he was a member of Capital News Service as a reporter, anchor, and producer. Micheal also spent a semester studying abroad at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

While at Maryland, Micheal was a founding member of the National Press Photographers Association chapter at the University of Maryland, and at UMBC he served as President of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Read the announcement.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwOa8EmVuOU&w=560&h=315]

As Psychology Professor Robert Provine puts it, “yawning may have the dubious distinction of being the least understood, common human behavior.” A recent in depth story published in BBC Future attempts to answer the baffling question of why we yawn, and Provine, one of the leading experts in the field and author of Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond, is quoted extensively in the story.

In the article, Provine discusses how contagious yawning is: “Around 50% of people who observe a yawn will yawn in response,” Provine said. “It is so contagious that anything associated with it will trigger one…seeing or hearing another person, or even reading about yawning.” He also discussed how audiences frequently yawn as he is giving presentations: “It makes a very effective lecture,” he said. “You talk and then the audience starts yawning. And then you can ask people to experiment on their yawns – like closing the lips, or inhaling through clenched teeth, or trying to yawn with the nose pinched closed.”

To read the full article in BBC Future titled, “One of science’s most baffling questions? Why we yawn,” click here.