"Drivers in metro Washington, D.C. are experiencing the new realities of commuting in the U.S., and it’s not pretty: It cost drivers $40 to drive 10 miles on I-66, a main commuter route into the nation’s capital from the western suburbs in Northern Virginia, at one point this week.

Is this the future for private car owners across the U.S.? The answer is yes."

For the full op-ed article go to the website:

The Nebraska Summer Research Program is committed to quality mentoring and research projects. We limit our summer offerings to active research labs and projects led by faculty who have established themselves as excellent undergraduate student mentors. Since each program has several Summer Research Program scholars, you'll have peers and colleagues in which to share your educational experience with.

Programs

Zain is a Biological Sciences major who will graduate in 2018. He is President of the Golden Key International Honor Society, has made the Dean’s List and President’s List multiple times, and the recipient of President’s Scholarship Award.

Title of yourresearch project: Novel Reporter System To Quantify Missense Errors During Translation In Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Translation is the process by which information from DNA is used to make proteins. We are studying proteins responsible for accuracy of the process of Translation.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project? How did you find your mentor? Why did you choose them? My mentor is Kartikeya Joshi under the supervision of Philip Farabaugh, Department of Biological Sciences. Kartikeya Joshi was a grad TA in BIOL300L when I took it. After taking that lab, I became extremely interested in research and started asking different professors as well as friends who were working in labs. One of my friends was working under Kartikeya Joshi’s mentorship. After he graduated, he referred me to this lab. I also sent a formal request along with my resume, requesting Mr. Joshi and Dr. Farabaugh to allow me to give me the opportunity to work in the lab. After an interview I was accepted. I chose my mentor because I had already experienced his mentorship in BIOL300L as mentioned above. I was very impressed and wanted to learn more from him.

How did you become interested in this project? The processes that we are researching in this project are very important for the healthy development of human cells. Although mostly overlooked or taken for granted, the process of Translation is essential for the proper functioning of every system, organ and even every cell in our body. The idea that I can research and report something new about this vital process was very appealing to me. Additionally, I had studied about this process for many years in different courses. Being able to practically observe it and study it up close was really like a dream come true.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? The most unexpected thing about my research was the uncertainty of results. Research is dynamic process. While one method may work for researching one process in one organism, it may not work the same way for another process in another organism. The frequent application of “trial and Error” is something that was quite unexpected.

What has been the most rewarding part? There is an infinite amount of scientific knowledge available to us. The realization that my research was providing new knowledge, new facts and new insights into cellular processes that have never been known before has been most rewarding.

How will you disseminate your research? I have presented my research at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD), Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) and Undergraduate Research Symposium. We are trying to publish a paper next year reporting the research as well.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? I would advise students to get involved as early as possible, learn from your mistakes and never give up. Research is a long process that requires an amazing amount of patience and perseverance. But the results are just as rewarding, if not more.

What are your career goals? I hope to go to medical school and study Ophthalmology. I intend to practice as well as get involved with clinical research.

Have mentored research and want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week? Contact aprilh@umbc.edu.

Developing a course or courses that will help empower students, particularly those beginning at UMBC, by providing them with opportunities to take action on mitigating climate change, on-campus or off-campus.  With this base of activism, students can be directed towards complementary disciplines where they can pursue their interests with greater levels of specialization.

The Women's Center will be operating under reduced hours beginning study day and through the winter term. Please plan accordingly!

Position Description

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a full-time exempt position that reports to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and serves as the financial advisor to management on issues including budget; audit; revenue and expenditures; government and contracts management; internal and external financial risks. The CFO leads the customer service-oriented finance department that supports multiple departments and functions. Direct reports include the Director of Facilities, Contracts Administrator, and the Finance Executive Assistant.

CFO Responsibilities

Win and you’re in, that was the motto of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup qualifying round. This competition featured 28 amateur teams battling to reach USOC proper, the biggest and oldest soccer cup in the United States. Christos FC, the amateur team who stole the hearts of America during last year’s Open Cup, had just one game standing between them and the coveted first round birth. All that was standing in their way was the Phoenix Sports Club from Feasterville, PA, a team Christos could not take for granted.

Prior to the match, things were not going well for Christos. A few of their starters got stuck on their way to the contest, and the team ended up having to start a couple of substitutes in their places. However, this did not stop the team from going into full attack after the first whistle sounded. After a peppering of shots at the Phoenix SC keeper, Christos finally broke the tie 30 minutes into the game off a free kick from Tyler Rudy.

Rudy’s goal opened up the flood gates for Christos and they never looked back. Seven minutes later, Danny Baxter scored a goal off build up from UMD alumnus Cody Albrecht. Albrecht intercepted the ball at midfield and passed it off before making a run down the right wing, where he crossed in the ball for Baxter to send past the Phoenix goalkeeper to put Christos FC up 2-0.

“Once we get going, we all tend to get going,” said Elton Joe. The first half finished with that 2-0 score line, and it would only be the beginning.

The second half began with a chippy start. Phoenix SC received two yellow cards in seven minutes for hard challenges, and that’s where Elton Joe was brought into the game. Joe was the enforcer of the team. His objective was to shut the chippy play down, and preserve the win. Joe was able to start plays with his speed up the left wing which allowed him to burst by his defender and get open space for clean crosses. Halfway through the second half, Albrecht sent a ball out to Joe, who cut in from the wing and ripped a beautiful ball into the upper right corner of the net to make the score 3-0.

Goalkeeper and UMBC alumnus Phil Saunders had a solid day. The first half was somewhat quiet with just a few saves that he controlled well. Unfortunately for him, a shot did get by him during the final 30 minutes that diminished the clean sheet.

With the final score of the game at 5-1, Christos FC will be moving on to the first round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. They will be one of 14 amateur sides in the competition, and in their second consecutive year in, they will want to repeat the same magic that led them to be the last amateur team in the cup.

GM of the club, Jody Haislip, should be lauded for keeping the momentum alive from last year’s success. The first round of the cup will be in either late April or early May, and it will be up to him and his coach Larry Sancomb, to continue the fantastic play with a five month break waiting for the squad.

“I am just super happy that we have another shot to repeat what we did last year, and to continue building on our success and Cinderella story,” said Haislip.

Christos FC will be playing the waiting game now, with the draw for the 2018 US Open Cup first round being held on Wednesday, April 4, and then their first game of the cup being played Wednesday, May 9.

Bike racks on a college campus are often essential to student life. At UMBC, bike racks are few and far between. Unfortunately, the lack of bike racks may be preventing students from riding their bikes to classes. Leaving a bike unattended or chained up to anything besides an official bike rack is against UMBC’s rules and such bikes are subject to removal by the staff.  To promote bike usage, UMBC should increase the bike racks around campus for students who could potentially use them.

Adding to the current bike racks would most likely specifically affect on-campus students and students who live in one of the surrounding neighborhoods near the campus. Commuters who have to drive would mostly be unaffected if this change was implemented. Some parking may free up if those who commute from one of the neighborhoods decide to ride their bikes certain days instead of driving.

Roughly 35 percent of undergraduate students, which is a little less than 4,000, live on campus and could benefit if there were more bike racks. If these bike racks were also advertised and their usage encouraged, it would be a great help in getting to classes on time and moving quickly around campus whenever the weather permits.

Skateboards are fairly popular on campus, however not everyone knows how to ride one, or is comfortable using one. Bikes are almost universal since many people already know how to ride a bike and have access to one they can bring to campus.

There has been a growth in avid, as well as casual, cyclists and bikers between 2012 to 2017, from 51 to currently 66 million bikers. This is not surprising since biking has many benefits. From being environmentally friendly to having advantageous effects on health, doing something as simple as adding bike racks in strategic areas around campus can have a positive impact.

Alternatively, there are some commuters who live right outside of UMBC and still have to drive their car to school, as walking would take too long. If bike racks were advertised and multiplied on campus, perhaps on days without snow, rain or ice, these commuters could ride their bikes instead of driving to school. This may free up some parking on days when the weather is agreeable.

In terms of cost, bike racks seem to be between 200 to 500 dollars not including installation. As these racks do not necessarily need much upkeep or cleaning, they are a very low maintenance and comparatively low-cost option. Overall, the supplement of bike racks would be a practical addition to campus life, especially for those who live on campus or commute from one of the neighborhoods surrounding UMBC.