Natalie Morningstar, a junior majoring in Computer Engineering, has been awarded a Charlotte Newcombe Foundation Scholarship. The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation is an independent foundation begun in 1979 by the estate of Mrs. Newcombe, a Philadelphia philanthropist.  Since 1981, the Foundation has provided scholarship funding for mature women students at UMBC.

This fall, Natalie will participate in the "Returning Women Mentor Program," which is a peer mentoring initiative that the Women’s Center at UMBC is introducing to better facilitate productive and ongoing connections among the scholars in their programs.

Natalie is also a CWIT Affiliate and part of the first cohort of Transfer Scholars in IT and Engineering (T-SITE). T-SITE is funded by an NSF-funded S-STEM grant and will serve 30 transfer students as part of the larger CWIT Scholar and Affiliates community through 2017.

When asked how she came to choose computer engineering as a major, Natalie said "Before transferring to UMBC I studied a mix of motion picture film, digital multimedia production and computer science. Both classroom and work experiences helped to expose me to a number of theories and applications, which ultimately lead me to my interest in computer engineering."

With such a broad range of interests, she will have many options for what to do after finishing her computer engineering degree. "Right now I have a broad interest", she reports, "and have not decided which specific field I want to pursue. I really enjoyed my work in signal processing at my summer computer engineering internship at Ventura Solutions, Inc. and I hope to gain exposure to other fields as well so I can narrow my focus."

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD.

The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers.

These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world today.

So for a few moments, take a break from your daily routine, have a laugh and enjoy these funny cartoons.

Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below as well as any related stories of your own…

New hosts

Call it what you will

My photo is updated

Can you relate to these situations? Please share your funny stories and comments below…

Jollycons! 400 Fun Hand-Drawn Vector Icons – only $14!

We always try our best to challenge your artistic abilities and produce some interesting, beautiful and creative artwork. And as designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration. As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered the best one—desktop wallpapers that are a little more distinctive than the usual crowd.

This creativity mission has been going on for over five years now, and we are very thankful to all the designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing each month. This post features free desktop wallpapers created by artists across the globe for September 2013. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free. It’s time to freshen up your wallpaper!

Please note that:

• All images can be clicked on and lead to the preview of the wallpaper,
• You can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our Desktop Wallpaper Calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

The Books That You Will Love

“We hope you love reading our printed books and eBooks as much as we do!” — Designed by The Smashing Team from Germany.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 640×960, 1366×768, 1600×1050, 2880×1800
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 640×960, 1366×768, 1600×1050, 2880×1800

The Road To School

“Bring your most playful costume to raise your energy and vitality for the new shoolyear.” — Designed by Ly Gia Phu from Vietnam.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

It’s Just A Job

“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well.” — Designed by Davide Vicariotto from Italy.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×960, 1024×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2048×2048, 2560×1440, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×960, 1024×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2048×2048, 2560×1440, 2560×1600

Big Bad Wolf

“Even the worst baddies were children.” — Designed by Elise Vanoorbeek from Belgium.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

“A simple wallpaper to brighten up your day.” — Designed by Tetyana Kovyrina from Canada.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2048×1536, 1600×1000, 1600×900
• without calendar: 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2048×1536, 1600×1000, 1600×900

Miss, My Dragon Burnt My Homework!

“We all know the saying ‘Miss, my dog ate my homework!’ Well, not everyone has a dog, so here’s a wallpaper to inspire your next excuse at school ;)” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Brazil.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 640×960, 1366×768, 1600×1050, 2880×1800
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 640×960, 1366×768, 1600×1050, 2880×1800

Back-To-School Apples

“September always reminds me of going back to school (in my early years) after a long summer break, there would be a few apples in our lunch boxes, not that I was teachers’ pet.” — Designed by Kelly from Ireland.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×480, 1024×768, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 800×480, 1024×768, 2560×1440

Number 9

“The evolution of the glyph (number 9)” — Designed by Erik Kuipers from The Netherlands.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Dream Big!

“It’s time to cool off after the summer, and time to kick those big dreams into gear!” — Designed by Sasha Endoh from Canada.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Colors Of September

“I love September. Its colors and smells” — Designed by Juliagav from Ukraine.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

When Summer Falls…

“September means the end of the summer and beginning of the fall. This means the summer falls and the fall rises. I used this little pun and stressed it with the colors orange and green in both the tree and the title.” — Designed by Niels Vanhorenbeeck from Belgium.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 1920×1080, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 2560×1440

Rain In The City

“Rain in the city. September shares with us the end of summer. Autumn is coming, the entire city is full of orange shades and the rain is coming in town, and all we can do is singing in the rain !” — Designed by Laboratorio Creativo from Romania.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440, 2880×1800, 2240×1400, 1600×1000, 2560×1600, 1600×900
• without calendar: 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440, 2880×1800, 2240×1400, 1600×1000, 2560×1600, 1600×900

Meet The Bulbs!

“This summer we have seen lighting come to the forefront of design once again, with the light bulb front and center, no longer being hidden by lampshades or covers. Many different bulbs have been featured by interior designers including vintage bulbs, and oddly shaped energy-saving bulbs. We captured the personality of a variety of different bulbs in this wallpaper featuring the Bulb family.” — Designed by Carla Genovesio from USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Adventurous Summer Schooling

“This wallpaper was inspired by the many happy kids going back to school. With the help of Illustrator, I created this wallpaper of a boy who is thinking of doing new exciting things in September 2013.” — Designed by Rahul Bhadauria from India.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Back To The Grind…

“What does your desk look like?” — Designed by Nicola Thomas from Manchester, UK.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

One September Morning

“A ever wonderful poem by Jalal al-Din Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks. And a most minimalistic wallpaper.” — Designed by Aydin Demircioglu from Germany.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600
• without calendar: 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600

Beyond The Clouds

“As the sunny days of summer start to fade, it’s good to remember that, even on the most cloudy day, there’s always sunshine beyond the clouds.” — Designed by Christine Jordan from Canada.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Costa De Los Pinos

“The summer ends, another beautiful season is starting, warm colors and fuzzy atmosphere are replacing the crowd on the beaches.

Jerome ;o}” Designed by Jerome Cuenin ;o} from Switzerland / USA.

• preview
• with calendar:
  640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar:
  640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Colors In The Garden

“These are the colors in the garden, in the sunny morning.” — Designed by Philippe Brouard from France.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×1024, 1440×1050, 1600×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×720, 1280×1024, 1440×1050, 1600×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

World Bat Night

“In the night from 20 to 21 September in the world has one of the most unusual environmental events – Night of the bats. Its main purpose – to draw public attention to the problems of bats and their protection, as well as to debunk the myths surrounding the animals, before which many people experience unjustified superstitious fear, considering them vampires.” — Designed by cheloveche.ru from Russia.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

“September 19th is “International Talk Like a Pirate Day,” so I wanted to capture the spirit of the day with something that was a little more aesthetically pleasing than your average pirate-themed design. I dedicate this design to my Mom for her birthday!” — Designed by Chelsea Parker from North Carolina, United States.

• preview
• with calendar: 1280×720, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1280×720, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

School Chalkboard

“With kids returning to school I was reminded of my time stuck writing on the chalkboard as punishment.” — Designed by Bryan Taylor from Georgia, USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×480, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 800×480, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1600×1200, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Looking Outward

“This quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry immediately came to mind after I saw how my photo turned out. It was taken on the top of Mt. Greylock in the Berkshires.” — Designed by Monica Barron from New Jersey, USA.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×480, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 800×480, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Laughing In Flowers

“A colorful wallpaper to brighten up your day.” — Designed by Shavaughn Haack from South Africa.

• preview
• with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×720, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×720, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

Tsukimi

“The moon will become the roundest in mid-autumn and Japanese will eat Dango (sweet rice dumpling) while admiring the moon.” — Designed by Evangeline Neo from Japan.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

Join In Next Month!

Please note that we respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience throughout their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

A big thank you to all the designers for their participation. Join in next month!

What’s Your Favorite?

What’s your favorite theme or wallpaper for this month? Please let us know in the comment section below.

© The Smashing Editorial for Smashing Magazine, 2013.

Mindfulness with Middle School Students!

Our research team is studying whether a mindfulness and yoga program promotes positive outcomes for middle school students. This three-year study in 6 Baltimore City public schools is assessing whether a mindfulness and yoga program helps students cope with stress and reduces their use of alcohol and drugs. We are now in the final year of the study and are collecting data from 7th and 8th graders.

We are looking for individuals to join our research team and help us conduct assessments. Assessments include surveys for students and teachers, brief cognitive tests for students, and physiological measures from students, including blood pressure and lung capacity.

No prior training is required.

Study activities will occur October – December 2013. We are looking for:

• A minimum commitment of 5 hours per week
• Morning availability--most assessments will occur between 8-noon. It would be ideal if you were free Monday, Tuesday, and/or Thursday between 7:30-1.

Several research staff members will travel to schools together to conduct assessments. It’s not necessary to have a car but this would be a big help to the project.

This is a terrific experience if you like working with kids and are interested in yoga/mindfulness or school-based research. You will get training in how to obtain informed consent and how to conduct assessments with urban youth and will receive ongoing supervision and guidance.

IF INTERESTED IN THIS VOLUNTEER RESEARCH INTERNSHIP, APPLY VIA UMBCworks ASAP.  Position 9260367

Directions on how to add your resume to UMBCworks, can be found here.