Mathematics Professor Manil Suri has been in the news recently, as his latest novel, “The City of Devi,” hits bookstore shelves.

On Wednesday, February 6, the Baltimore City Paper published a review of the book, saying that it “is “streamlined and cinematically purified… by narrowing his focus and heightening the emotional tenor of the city, he manages to give it a mythological quality.”

Suri also spoke with the Baltimore Sun for a February 3 interview entitled “UMBC mathematician Manil Suri publishes his third novel.”  This novel completes a trilogy about hindu dieties that Suri began with his 2001 book, “The Death of Vishnu.”  Speaking of this book, Suri said, “When I first started thinking about the trilogy, I always had an arc in my mind of the past, the present and the future… But my book about the future was an evolution. It took me 12 years to write. Even when I got to the midpoint, I didn’t know if it was going to be about Brahma or about Devi. Every story needs a creator. As the most well-known, Brahma was the most logical face to put there. But when you dig deeper, the true Hindu trinity really is Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, who represent the three different strands of Hinduism. Brahma was a later addition. He came in during the post-Vedic period, when people tried to tie those strands together. Because Devi has nine incarnations, she can be anything: the destroyer, the creator and the symbol of art. But, Brahma’s mythology is such that he doesn’t get activated until you’re at the end of a cycle. If I had been writing a post-apocalyptic novel, he might have been the right person.”

Suri also spoke to NPR’s Weekend Edition, where he talked about how leaving India has affected his writing about the country. “I grew up in like one room of a large apartment, and we were kind of the only Hindu family in an apartment that had three families of Muslims, so you know, that’s why I think the Hindu-Muslim thing keeps coming up in my novels. I don’t think I would have had the space or the quiet to actually concentrate on fiction. I do think that coming here I can sort of see the country much more — much more like a globe, like you would see the moon from the Earth or vice versa. And I think especially with this novel, I can see these relations like, OK, [India is] sitting there next to Pakistan and China, you know, all three of which are armed with nuclear weapons. So that’s one of the advantages,” he said.

Finally, on February 6, Suri spoke with WYPR’s “Maryland Morning” for a segment called “When a Mathematician Turns Novelist.”  Host Tom Hall pointed out that the theme of a trinity appears often throughout the book, and Suri admitted that even he didn’t pick up on the theme until late in his writing process. “I actually gave up this novel, and I started a new novel, and I told my agent ‘This is not going to work.’ I even had a mathematical proof that this novel could not be completed. .. and then when I saw the number three, I realized that these three characters have to somehow come together,” Suri said.

Thanks to all the volunteers and supporters joining us tonight at 7 at RAC in Black to kick off Recyclemania from trivia and prizes in the lobby, to a halftime game, to waste station attendents. Special thanks to ReSET, Sustainability Interns, and SEA!

UMBC KICKS OF RECYCLEMANIA

By Stefanie Rapp

Many students and staff may have seen the RecyleMania posters plastered throughout campus, but what exactly is RecyleMania?
RecyleMania is a competition held every spring at college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. The competition officially begins on February 3 and will continue for eight weeks.

As a member of RecyleMania’s competition division, UMBC will be ranked among other schools based on the weight of its trash and recycling each week. If enough recycling is collected, UMBC could be nationally recognized as an environmentally conscious campus.

In addition to committing to recycling, UMBC has also promised to work on using reusable plates and utensils in the dining hall, creating incentives for reusable cups, reusing envelopes, using compostable dinnerware and setting up compost bins.

In reference to this year’s campaign, Stephanie Bertran, a junior English literature major, said, “The competition part is interesting because from what I’ve seen, college students tend to like to compete and, [RecycleMania] helps create some school spirit.”

While adhering to all of these measures will better our campus’ chances of winning this competition and bolster its spirit, these choices will also have major positive impacts on the environment.

This begs a question: What can members of the UMBC community do to help? The answer is simple: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Students are encouraged to not only recycle, but also to reduce the amount of waste that they throw away. Taking just one napkin instead of a handful or recycling a coffee cup are just a few of the small ways that the UMBC community can reduce it’s impact and succeed in the competition.

However, efforts don’t have to stop there. Commuting students can try carpooling or taking one of UMBC’s buses to campus. Or to stay active while moving around campus, utilize the trails and bike racks to travel with ease while cutting down on the use of fuels that pollute the air.

Nick Springer, junior and music technology major, also suggested considering your diet’s effects on the environment. Talking about the food on campus, he said “Supporting the dining hall’s local food displays can reduce the strain of big industry agriculture on the environment.”

RecycleMania is an exciting competition for UMBC to take part in, but the efforts put forth have greater implications. While winning this contest could improve our already environmentally-friendly campus, by working hard to excel as competitors in RecyleMania, the UMBC community can also benefit the environment on a larger scale.

Cambridge, Mass.- UMBC senior guard Brian Neller has been named America East Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for games ending Feb. 3, 2013.

Neller netted a heavily-contested 25-footer with 0.5 seconds to play to propel the Retrievers to a thrilling 68-67 victory over Maine at the RAC Arena on Sat., Feb. 2.

He shook off a difficult first half and hit 3-of-6 from behind the arc in the second half to finish with 12 points. On Wednesday, Neller scored a season-high 18 points, hitting 6-of-13 from behind the arc in the Retrievers’ 61-58 victory at Binghamton on Wed., Jan. 30.

Neller, who moved into fifth place on UMBC’s all-time 3-point field goal list (now 228) with six at Binghamton on Wednesday, has 25 treys in his last six outings. He needs four more treys to move past Skip Saunders (1990-94) and into fourth place. He leads America East in treys per game (now 3.6) in league play and is fifth in 3-point percentage at 39.5.