Endoreversible Otto Engines at Maximal Power

Decreased residential hall capacity, hybrid teaching plans and a “dynamic process” punctuated the new fall planning document that the University of Maryland, Baltimore County released moments ago. The document comes in the midst of the Fall Planning Committee’s workgroup meetings, where deans, students and faculty members have been discussing via Zoom and Webex calls the details of a logistical return to campus. 

UMBC is planning “as early as mid-June” to begin a phased reopening of research labs and facilities. In Fall of 2020, selected courses will be either “full or partial in-person delivery” and the remaining courses will be offered virtually. 

UMBC’s plan follows the announcement from Chancellor Jay Perman who stated that all universities in the University System of Maryland must “comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.”

Most staff and faculty members will continue to work remotely. Faculty members will be supported with furthered virtual learning training as a part of the collaboration between the Faculty Development Center, the Division of Information Technology, and the colleges.

In residential halls, the density of students will be decreased. Those students who otherwise would not be able to complete courses required for continued progress toward their degrees will be prioritized for residential housing.

University Health and Counseling will still be providing services remotely in “telehealth mode” but will also be providing on-campus presence to support the emergency needs of those students living on campus. 

According to the document, part of UMBC’s plan includes Intercollegiate Athletics slowly returning to campus, “with guidance from the NCAA and the America East Conference.”

The “Backup Scenario” or “Plan B,” which would be triggered by a COVID-19 outbreak affecting the campus or surrounding areas, looks very different, with Residence Halls only open for students with “special needs” and instruction for courses being fully remote. 

The workgroups that came up with this roadmap, are separated into five major groups that contribute to the college experience: Academics, Students, Health and Well-Being, Research and Creative Achievement, Events and Community Engagement and Operations. In the Academic workgroup, which The Retriever was permitted to sit in on, conversation surrounded many of the issues that may pose challenges to students and faculty members. 

Faculty members in each department were required to list which courses had to be taught in-person and make a compelling case. Faculty will then be asked to fill out a risk assessment sheet, and there were discussions of the process of reviewing those risk assessments. 

Some hypotheticals included what would happen if a student was to contract COVID-19 while enrolled in an in-person course. Yvette Mozie-Ross, the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Planning expressed explicitly that faculty had to “minimize [face-to-face] as much as possible.” 

Dana Bradley, the Dean of The Erickson School, expressed concern about an “evolving target,” in which faculty members might be shifting online because of the complications of in-person teaching.

Bradley also shared that due to the vulnerability factor of age, some faculty members might feel that they need to “self-identify” as an at-risk individual, which complicates the process of pedagogy.

In the “Students, Health and Well-Being” group, many members also shared concerns about who would have the responsibility of monitoring social distancing orders. 

The questions of specific logistics to keep students, faculty and staff safe within the different workgroups will continue to be the focus of discussion over the next several months as UMBC continues to watch the evolving situation at hand.

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Here’s a picture of my work-from-home reality.  Communicating with others through social media and web meetings.  Watching online commencement ceremonies.  Catching up with family via Zoom or Webex. 

It’s hard to be upbeat given the current events in our country, but I did want to take this opportunity to congratulate our newest Phi Kappa Phi members, and celebrate our 2020 graduates.  I’m pleased to say that we welcomed approximately 150 new members to Chapter 22 UMB-UMBC this year, and although we were unable to hold our initiation due to COVID -19 restrictions, we look forward to sharing information about the chapter in the near future. 

Due to the timing of mailings from the National Office, as well as our own work-from-home situation, the mailing of certificates, pins and medallions will be delayed until later this summer.  The National Office has indicated that it will be mailing membership cards directly to members in the coming weeks as well. 

These are unsettling times, clearly affecting our personal and professional lives, and the lives of those we love.  Please take care, mind and body.  Let the love of learning rule humanity.

All the best,

Connie

By Rakaia Kenney ’21, research assistant, UMBC; Kayla Lemons ’20, research assistant UMBC, and Weihong Lin, professor, Biological Sciences, UMBC

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What makes something smell bad or good? – Taylor, Atlanta, Georgia

Pee-yew! Your old socks smell soooo bad.

But why?

Maybe you’ve learned to dislike the smell. Maybe your socks are full of gross bacteria. Or maybe, it’s both. Our team studies the brain and sense of smell – it’s one of our favorite topics. But first, how do you smell?

What is that smell?

The air is filled with many small odor molecules which are released from “smelly” things like perfume or food. Your nose has the astonishing ability to smell thousands of different scents because in your nose are millions of smell receptors – cells that can recognize odor molecules. When you sniff the air, these special cells are alerted.

These receptor cells then send a signal to your brain. Your brain recognizes many scents when different types of odors enter your nose. The smell of baking cookies, for instance, is composed of many odor molecules. Your brain can piece together all this information and let you know there are cookies baking in the oven.

Smells that make memories

Your brain is very good at memorizing good and bad experiences and associating particular smells with them. Scientists call these “olfaction-associated memories.”

One example of this is when you smell a favorite meal. It might remind you of someone who makes it for you, which triggers your brain to release chemicals that make you feel good and comforted.

Of course, smell can also be associated with unpleasant experiences. You have probably eaten some food that went bad, and you might find that you hate that food now. This is your brain associating getting sick with a certain smell, which stops you from eating something that could be bad for you. Memories linked to smells can form because of good and bad feelings.

Smells to warn you

But what about things that you know smell good or bad even if you’ve never experienced them? Scientists have found that although a lot of the smells people like come from past experiences, instincts play a big role.

Skunks are cute, but wow, that smell! Bryan Padron/Unsplash

Scent tells you a lot about your environment, and your instincts help to decide what is safe or dangerous. For example, blood has been shown to repel humans and many prey species, like deer, but attract predators, like wolves. This guides people away from predators that might want to eat us, but lets the predator get its meal.

Smell can warn you when something could make you sick. When eggs rot, bacteria multiply like crazy inside them, breaking down proteins that release a toxic chemical called hydrogen sulfide. This produces a stench that makes you want to stay far away, stopping you from eating the egg and becoming ill.

As for your socks… if they smell bad now, don’t wait. Wash them with soap and water! The bacteria growing on your socks will be killed, which will stop that nasty smell.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

Rakaia Kenney, Research Assistant, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Kayla Lemons, Research Associate, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Weihong Lin, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Header image by Jennifer Pallian/Unsplash

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Athletic Department hired 1986 alum Richard Franchak as its first Associate Athletic Director for Business and Finance in early May. Franchak will be responsible for the financial oversight and management of the Athletic Department’s budget, reporting the state of athletic finances to the department, and other tasks related to athletic funds.

Franchak’s hiring comes after news of a significant reduction in universities’ funding from the National Collegiate Athletic Association due to the cancellation of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Many universities already took steps to decrease budget demands. The University of Akron announced on May 14 the cutting of the men’s cross country, men’s golf and women’s tennis teams and that East Carolina University cut four teams, including men and women’s swim and dive, to balance their athletic budgets.

“Resources are going to be challenged,” Franchak said.

In addition to less money from the NCAA, UMBC and Franchak will face smaller funds from the state due to the pandemic’s impact on Maryland’s tax revenues. Maryland is estimated to lose around 2.8 billion dollars, or fifteen percent, of Maryland’s annual general fund in the 2020 fiscal year because of the pandemic. Further, University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay Perman warned that USM will have a shortfall of up to 240 million dollars this semester.

Despite the uncertain state of the Athletic Department’s finances for the 2020-2021 school year, Franchak is positive the department and the university will pull through.

“One thing I’m confident of is that UMBC is going to be in a better place once this is done,” Franchak said.

Franchak’s confidence comes from both trust in the university and his own professional experience. Since graduating from UMBC, Franchak has gained over 30 years of experience in collegiate athletics. His first job in athletics was as a student assistant coach to UMBC’s men’s basketball then Division II team in 1986. 

“It really solidified my desire to want to work in athletics,” Franchak said.

Franchak credits his work as a student assistant coach as the reason why he was hired as the Assistant Business Manager for the Naval Academy, his first professional position in athletics, a few years after he graduated. 

After the Naval Academy, Franchak worked at the University of Akron as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Business. He then worked at the University of Wisconsin as the Associate Director of the Badger Fund and Assistant Athletic Director for Business, at Xavier University as Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Athletic Director at Ohio University.  

“I intentionally branched into other areas. I always sought to be the best athletics financial person I could be,” Franchak said. “In order to do that, I had really hands-on experience in other areas that would help me in to become that.”

With financial experience ranging from fundraising to budgeting, Franchak believes his background will help guide him and the Athletic Department through the pandemic. 

UMBC Athletic Director Brian Barrio values Franchak’s breadth of experience and believes it will be invaluable as UMBC Athletics’ determines its course of action amidst the pandemic. 

“Rich brings a track record of integrity and resourcefulness to a position that will be vitally important to Retriever Athletics as we navigate a complex fiscal environment impacted by current world circumstances,” Barrio said in an email press release. “In these times, more than ever we value the judgment and acumen that Rich will add to our senior team.”

While Franchak admits he has never navigated an athletic department through a pandemic before, he believes that adaptability, creativity and discipline will be some of the things that help UMBC Athletics pull through the difficult financial situation.

“This is an extraordinary institution,” Franchak said. “With our leadership, Dr. Hrabowski and the senior team, I have no doubt that the university will come through this in a good position or a better position for the long run.”

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