This afternoon, Dissertation House co-founders Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale and Dr. Renetta Tull joined Oregon State University Physicist Dr. Rubin Landau, and Dr. Phoebe Lenear from the Empowering Leadership Alliance at Rice University to lead a webinar on “The Dissertation Proposal.”   The next webinar will discuss “The Final Defense.” If you want to join, here are the instructions:

*The Final Defense: Thursday, August 30, 10 AM Pacific, 12 PM Central, 1 PM Eastern.  Sign up for this session here by Wednesday, August 29, 2012.  If you previously signed up for the webinar, it is not necessary to register again.  

This webinar is sponsored by the Empowering Leadership Alliance and is open to any graduate student, from any school.  About the Empowering Leadership Alliance:

The Empowering Leadership Alliance (ELA) is a program that was launched in 2007 and is funded by NSF. The program’s director and PI is Professor Richard Tapia at Rice University, and engages underrepresented minority students in computing disciplines at research institutions in a nationwide network composed of dozens of leading universities, professional societies, laboratories, research centers, and corporations.  Read the original press release here.   

This afternoon, Dissertation House co-founders Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale and Dr. Renetta Tull joined Oregon State University Physicist Dr. Rubin Landau, and Dr. Phoebe Lenear from the Empowering Leadership Alliance at Rice University to lead a webinar on “The Dissertation Proposal.”   The next webinar will discuss “The Final Defense.” If you want to join, here are the instructions:

*The Final Defense: Thursday, August 30, 10 AM Pacific, 12 PM Central, 1 PM Eastern.  Sign up for this session here by Wednesday, August 29, 2012.  If you previously signed up for the webinar, it is not necessary to register again.  

This webinar is sponsored by the Empowering Leadership Alliance and is open to any graduate student, from any school.  About the Empowering Leadership Alliance:

The Empowering Leadership Alliance (ELA) is a program that was launched in 2007 and is funded by NSF. The program’s director and PI is Professor Richard Tapia at Rice University, and engages underrepresented minority students in computing disciplines at research institutions in a nationwide network composed of dozens of leading universities, professional societies, laboratories, research centers, and corporations.  Read the original press release here.   

The UMBC Alumni Association will honor six alumni and UMBC president Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, at the annual Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards ceremony this October.

The following alumni will receive awards:

Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in Humanities
Greg Cangialosi ’96, English
Co-founder, Betamore
After graduating from UMBC in 1996, Greg Cangialosi launched Baltimore-based email service provider Blue Sky Factory, a company that in 2011 marked a ten-year successful track record and a global reach. In 2010, the company was named a Future 50 company by Baltimore SmartCEO magazine, an award which recognizes the 50 fastest-growing companies in the Greater Baltimore area based on employee and revenue growth. The company also made the INC 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the United States for four consecutive years. In 2011, Cangialosi sold Blue Sky Factory to Atlanta-based company WhatCounts. Most recently, Cangialosi co-founded Betamore, an 8,000 square foot “urban campus for entrepreneurship and technology, focused on three main areas, education, community and incubation.” Cangialosi has served as a longtime leader and member of the UMBC Alumni Association and Board, and he was a member of the University’s “2016 Committee.” He has served as a frequent speaker at the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, and he has also been a judge for the Center’s Idea Competition. At UMBC’s 2012 Career Week, Greg was keynote speaker at a networking event for students and alumni.

Outstanding Alumni in Engineering & Information Technology
Stephanie C. Hill ’86, computer science and economics
President, Information Systems and Global Solutions-Civil, Lockheed Martin Corporation
In a guest essay published this year in the Washington Post’s “College Inc.” blog, Stephanie Hill made a strong argument in favor of educating a new generation of female engineers. In her position at Lockheed Martin, Hill is an excellent example of how a woman can excel in this field. Hill began her career in 1987 with Lockheed Martin as a software engineer. Over the years she has assumed positions of increasing responsibility including Systems Engineering Manager and Director of Quality and Mission Success; Director of Technical Operations; Vice President and General Manager of the Electronic Systems-Mission Systems & Sensors Baltimore site; and, most recently, President for Information Systems and Global Solutions-Civil, which delivers IT systems and services to various U.S. government agencies, international governments and regulated commercial industries, such as energy, health care and transportation. Hill was named one of the Top 100 Women of Maryland in May 2006, Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) Alumni in 2006; Lockheed Martin’s Engineer of the Year in 1999 and was named Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) Most Promising Engineer in 1993. Hill also lends her expertise to the Governor’s P-20 Leadership Council (STEM Task Force) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Baltimore Committee. She has steadily supported UMBC as a willing volunteer and a mentor to students.

Outstanding Alumni in Visual & Performing Arts
Deborah Randall ’94, theatre
Founder, Venus Theatre
Deborah Randall is the founder and visionary behind Venus Theatre. Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Prince George’s County, she began directing as a student and president of the Drama Club at Prince Georges Community College. Her first paid acting gig was at Wild World Theme Park in 1986. She later went on to graduate cum laude from UMBC under the guidance of Xerxes Mehta, Wendy Salkind, Sam McCready, Alan Kriezenbeck, and Alice Robinson. She was in Mehta’s Marat/Sade at UMBC with the Maryland Stage Company and in McCready’s Merry Wives of Windsor with Shakespeare on Wheels. After college, Randall worked as an actor regularly in Washington, DC, and then began performing her own monologues. She has performed four solo shows, written two, and had one published. She has also written and staged works for multiple casts. She began doing public staged readings of other living playwrights in 2002, which led to cultivating strong relationships with many writers. The works of Randall and Venus have been seen up and down the Eastern seaboard. Venus Theatre began in 1995 as an all female improv troupe called Venus Envy. Venus led Take Back the Night Marches and did improvisational games at the House of Ruth as well as other empowerment projects. In 2000, Randall founded Venus Theatre, known for immersion staging and award-winning world premiere work. In 2006 Venus dropped roots in the county where the founder grew up. Venus hopes to bring culture to the community that has given her so much.

Outstanding Alumna in Social Sciences
Elizabeth Rossman ’85, political science
Vice President-Government Relations, Honeywell International, Inc.
Rossman began her pursuit of a career in public service while still a student at UMBC, where she majored in political science and interned in the Baltimore City Mayor’s office. She received her master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and began work with the federal government in 1987 as a Presidential Management Intern, a prestigious program designed to bring bright young people into government service. She quickly moved from the General Services Administration to the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). After leaving the OMB for a brief stint with the Department of Interior’s Office of the Secretary as chief of the Budget Division, in 2001, she returned to OMB as Associate Director for Legislative Affairs, during which Rossman routinely engaged in negotiations with members of Congress and their staffs during the annual federal budget process. She had lead responsibility in the Executive Branch for the development of Statements of Administration Policy on appropriation bills, and she represented the White House, OMB, and agency officials in budget negotiations. Rossman contributed to the development of the legislative strategy that was central to the enactment of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund (ERF) omnibus spending bill to address immediate needs in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. After completing a stellar career with the federal government in 2005, Rossman was appointed by Honeywell International to her current role as vice president of Government Relations.

Outstanding Alumnus in Natural & Mathematical Sciences
Dr. Kimani A. Stancil ’94, physics and mathematics
Howard University, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Specialty Area – Soft Condensed Matter Physics
After receiving his degrees in physics and mathematics from UMBC in 1994, Dr. Kimani Stancil proceeded to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he obtained in 2002 his Ph.D. in Physics studying polymer gels. Before beginning a postdoctoral fellowship in 2004 in nanoscience at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at University of California Berkeley, he spent a little over a year teaching mathematics, science, and chess to grades 3 through 8 at Baltimore City’s Maarifa Elementary and Middle School; he later donated all his wages earned to the Maarifa School. After his postdoc in 2008, Dr. Stancil was appointed Assistant Professor of Physics at Howard University, where he currently teaches courses in calculus-based introductory physics – mechanics, electricity, and magnetism, and a course in graduate statistical mechanics. In his short career, Dr. Stancil has also produced one Physics PhD (Graduated Summer 2012), five publications (plus two recently submitted and three more in preparation), and has received external and internal research grants. He is a master level chess player and former Maryland High School Chess Champion, and has steadily found ways to combine his interests in math and science to attract students from under-represented groups to science. He is currently seeking external funding for his program, “AYA-All You can Aspire,” which combines physics and chess in an effort aimed to inspire youth and community. Dr. Stancil regularly serves as an unofficial mentor for students at UMBC – always giving back when possible. A member of the first cohort of Meyerhoff Scholars, he was the keynote speaker at the Meyerhoff Parent Association graduate reception this year. His speech included his original poetry written when he was a UMBC student.

Rising Star Award
Christopher Valentino ’02, M.S. ’06, information systems management
Director, Contract Research & Development, Northrop Grumman
Christopher Valentino is a Cyber Security expert and business leader who provides innovative technology solutions to a diverse set of U.S. Government customers. A recognized leader in developing enterprise cyber security and information assurance solutions for critical national systems, Valentino is responsible for managing contract research and development portfolios for Northrop Grumman’s Cyber Intelligence Division. Prior to his current assignment he led the Cyber Operations business area where he managed a team of more than 200 cyber security professionals providing research, development, testing and operations support to a variety of defense and intelligence customers. As a founding member of the former company Windermere, Valentino helped to develop and build a successful technology company that was acquired first by Essex Corporation and then Northrop Grumman. Throughout his career, Chris has demonstrated ongoing involvement and support of UMBC, its students and alumni. His achievements on behalf of UMBC include developing a UMBC / Northrop Grumman strategic partnership which includes technology incubation, research, recruiting, training education; and contributing to the development of the Cyber Security MPS Graduate Degree and Certificate program. Chris is also an active member of the UMBC Cyber Security External Advisory Board.

In addition, the Alumni Association will honor UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his 20 years of service to university as president.

The Alumni Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. To register for either event, please visit http://alumni.umbc.edu/homecoming.

The UMBC Alumni Association will honor six alumni and UMBC president Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, at the annual Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards ceremony this October.

The following alumni will receive awards:

Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in Humanities
Greg Cangialosi ’96, English, Co-founder, Betamore

Outstanding Alumna of the Year in Engineering & Information Technology
Stephanie C. Hill ’86, computer science and economics, President, Information Systems and Global Solutions-Civil, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Outstanding Alumna of the Year in Visual & Performing Arts
Deborah Randall ’94, theatre, Founder, Venus Theatre

Outstanding Alumna of the Year in the Social Sciences
Elizabeth Rossman ’85, political science, Vice President-Government Relations, Honeywell International, Inc.

Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in the Natural & Mathematical Sciences
Dr. Kimani A. Stancil ’94, physics and mathematics, Howard University, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Specialty Area – Soft Condensed Matter Physics

Rising Star Award
Christopher Valentino ’06, information systems, Director, Contract Research & Development, Northrop Grumman

In recognition of his outstanding leadership at UMBC and in celebration of his 20th anniversary as president of UMBC, the Alumni Association will present its Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III.

Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President, UMBC

The Alumni Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. To register for either event, please visit http://alumni.umbc.edu/homecoming.

Photo: Gracehopper.org

Facebook has announced that it will award scholarships to 25 women who wish to attend the upcoming Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference that will take place at the Baltimore Convention center October 3-6. This year's theme is "Are We There Yet?"

Applicants must be women studying Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field. Both full-time students and full-time working professionals within the same fields are eligible.

Scholarship recipients will receive free registration to the conference, free travel and lodgings, and a $200 food stipend. The lucky winners will also be treated to an all-expenses-paid visit to Facebook's New York City office from September 30 through October 2 that includes tech talks, mentoring sessions, and optional sightseeing. During the conference, the 25 recipients will be invited to a private reception with Jocelyn Goldfein, the director of engineering at Facebook.

If interested, you can apply for the scholarship through the Facebook Grace Hopper Scholarship application page by next Wednesday, September 5, 2012. Winners will be notified by September 14, 2012.

Local art gallery is seeking a dynamic assistant to join our team.

About The Gallery:
For over 25 years, we have been helping our clients create beautiful and unique collections. With three locations, we house the largest collection of art in the Mid-Atlantic region. We are dedicated to providing our clients with the highest standards of service and finest artwork and custom framing available.

Gallery Assistant Position:
To be successful in our busy fine art gallery, you must be detail orientated and self motivated with exceptional organizational skills. Ideal candidate must be a problem-solver, good with numbers and able to work well in a team atmosphere.

Responsibilities:
Assist gallery director and sales consultants
Assist clients as needed
Maintain gallery appearance
Data entry
Scheduling
Answer phones
Project assignments

Qualifications:
Exceptional organizational skills
Detail orientated
Great multitasking skills
Problem solver
Good with numbers
Work well in a fast-paced environment
Computer Savvy
Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite a plus

We offer benefits and a stimulating work environment. Must have your own transportation.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to: gallery1848@gmail.com

 Registration is open for the Big Ten+ Graduate School Expo September 23-24-2012.

Students will:

• Get an inside look at graduate school and the application process
• Receive advice about funding opportunities
• Network with representatives from more than 50 of the nation’s top graduate institutions
• Attend a premier graduate school fair

This two day mini-conference is especially designed for students interested in graduate education in:

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Mathematics
• Other science-related disciplines.

The Big Ten+ Graduate School Expo awarded more than $30,000 in travel scholarships last year.  All students, including women and members of underrepresented groups, are encouraged to attend.

An initial 20 event calendar for the first-ever Baltimore Innovation Week has just been released. Organized by local tech news site Technically Baltimore, the annual event, held from September 20-30, is a celebration of technology and innovation in Baltimore. Its goal is to encourage local innovation through programming focused on technology, collaboration, and improving the city, says the website.

Highlights include:

Startup Weekend (Sep. 28), a worldwide three-day frenzy where aspiring entrepreneurs gather to  pitch business proposals, create business models, and gather feedback from local entrepreneurial leaders. The Baltimore chapter takes place at Betamore, an urban campus for technology and entrepreneurship that opens in September.

DiversiTech #7 (Sep. 26), a meetup geared towards the needs of the minority tech entrepreneur. "The Meetups allow for unmatched networking opportunities and access to resources relevant to building diversity in the regional tech entrepreneurship space," explains the website. 

Open Source Hack Night (Sep. 25), a chance to break into groups to work on the hack project of your choice. Hackers of all skill levels are welcome.

Check out the full calendar of events.