Entrepreneurial technologies at UMBC eligible to receive backing from MD tech fund

College campuses are naturally places of innovation and creativity. It only makes sense that there should be a fund available for faculty members and their research teams to support such innovation. This is where the Technology Catalyst Fund comes in.

The Office of Technology Development describes the TCF as a fund “for UMBC faculty to advance their scholarly and research endeavors into commercially viable technologies,” according to the Office of the Vice President of Research website. The fund is available to qualifying UMBC members who have disclosed the technology to UMBC’s Office of Technology Development.

The money in the TCF comes from the Maryland Innovation Initiative. OTD Director Wendy Martin said, “The state is supporting anything that involves entrepreneurial activity.” Having a marketable technology is a crucial part of qualifying to receive funding through this grant.

In fact, MII is sponsored by Technology Development Corporation.  TEDCO sponsors are involved in a number of state and federal initiatives, funds, organizations and partnerships.

Recently, the TCF has awarded a number of researchers at UMBC to fund the development of technology that has potential for commercial introduction. One such technology comes from Assistant Professors of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Ryan Robucci and Nilanjan Banerjee as well as professor of CSEE, Chintan Patel.

The three person team was awarded the grant for their distracted driving detector, a sensor that detects proximity of different body parts in order to detect distracted driving. The detector aims to prevent accidents. It also allows those who are in charge of fleets of vehicles to decide which drivers they should or shouldn’t hire, or who may be at high risk for accidents based on their data.

Other labs at UMBC have received the TCF grant including Biological Sciences Professor Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg and her three person graduate team for coming up with “BiTES,” a cancer treatment that aims to stop the shutdown of immune cells in the body.

The process heavily involves UMBC members with principle investigator status. If a student could find a PI on campus, they could approach them with their ideas and partner with that particular lab. Without a centralized system however, there simply is no way for students to submit their own ideas for consideration.

A new open submission system could allow many student ideas to come to fruition without the hassle of the current system. Erika Lipford, a freshman biology major said, “If there was a simple, easy to use system that allowed students to submit their ideas and develop them further, it would be an incredible step forward. Having a network that is able to let students pursue their ideas would be an amazing thing.”

The TCF is a great way for UMBC faculty to continue conducting great research and designing the tech of tomorrow, showcasing the talent from professors and students coming together to create innovative solutions.

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

 Indie game experiments with world exploration and note gathering

Though incredibly short and lacking conflict, The Old City: Leviathan is an incredibly beautiful and peaceful game. Published by indie game company PostMod Softworks as an experiment, the game focuses more on exploration and reading than action and combat. What the game lacks in action, it more than makes up for in atmosphere.

The game features a stunning amount of detail. The entire plot takes place in the ruins of civilization, with hints as to what happened scattered about in various notes and books. It’s implied an apocalyptic event occurred, resulting in humans attempting to rebuild society and eventually collapsing through war and bloodshed, leaving behind corpses.

The primary protagonist is left ambiguous. Referred to occasionally as a Minotaur, or perhaps Jonah, he is the only character in the entire game. His sometimes casual, philosophical observations of his surroundings are the only company for the player as they explore the carcass of the broken world. Though he often refers to a creature called Leviathan, it is unclear whether or not Leviathan is real or a construct of the protagonist’s subconscious.

The protagonist refers to the world around him as a labyrinth, with the final destination being the belly of Leviathan. The labyrinth nature of the world and the dreamlike quality of the objects inhabiting it make the setting absolutely fascinating and worthy of exploration.

Objects both familiar and foreign are littered throughout the layout of the game. It can be difficult to navigate, however getting lost only results in more visually stunning landscapes. The player will explore hollowed-out warehouses, empty subway stations, old abandoned houses and grand palaces, among many other places.

It is clear from the get-go that there is something off about the player’s surroundings, though nothing truly out of the ordinary happens until later in. Certain chapters involve bizarre physics, such as floating statues and buildings or walking underwater and finding a lost city. All the while the protagonist will comment on his surroundings, often entering into lengthy monologues presumably to fill the silence.

One of the best aspects of the game is the music. At times haunting and often dreamlike in quality, the soundtrack provides the perfect ambiance for the game, which deals primarily with differentiating dreams from reality.

Though the game is certainly beautiful, it is very short and consists entirely of moving the character around, opening doors and reading various notes. There is little else to do but explore. Considering the expansiveness of the world and all of the strange things put into it, exploring is actually quite rewarding. However, to truly appreciate the game and understand what is happening in it, the player will have to read all of the notes found in the game, which is quite a lot.

Despite the game’s simple mechanics, the story is incredibly thoughtful. The entire premise is about one man coming to terms with the major ideologies of his dilapidated world and ultimately avoiding them altogether. It is the type of game that requires a lot of heavy, philosophical thinking.

The Old City: Leviathan could easily be called both a walking simulator and an existential experience. Ultimately, this game is short but intriguing and worthy of multiple plays.

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

You can now purchase a copy on Amazon. The book features PROMISE SSI programs from 2003-2013!

Purchase here: http://www.amazon.com/Promise-AGEP-Professional-Development-Workshops/dp/1503321770/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428803526&sr=1-1

Dr. Rick Forno, CSEE’s Cybersecurity Graduate Program Director, was a presenter at the inaugural BSides Charm City technical security conference held at Howard County Community College in Columbia, MD over the weekend of 11-12 April 2015. His talk described what is needed to develop and operate viable high school and college student cyber-competition teams and framed around what he called the ‘POTS process’ — People, Organization, Technology, and Sustainability.

Several lessons learned from his four years overseeing the Maryland Cyber Challenge (MDC3) served as the basis for his presentation remarks, including the need to foster greater diversity and acceptance within cyber-competition teams — and by extension, the cybersecurity industry itself.

First the companies are ranked from Do Good to Do Well. To “do good” means to give back to the community while “do well” means making profits. Non-profits rely on memberships and donations in order to stay afloat and give back to the community (example- YMCA). An example of a missions based company is Sevenly. Sevenly sells goods from underdeveloped countries and sells those goods in other parts of the world. They then give the profits back to the underdeveloped country. These first who companies are considered social enterprises. An example of a company that shares profits or directly benefits the planet is Toms. Finally a CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is a company that gives back as a corporate citizen like Pepsi.

People: There are five engines or motivations for entrepreneurs to get involved with social change. These include fear, fortune, fame, frustration, and freedom.

Purpose: There are five reasons or purposes that people get involved with social entrepreneurship. These include profit, people, planted, peace and prosperity, and creativity/learning/fun.

The combination of these two things lead to thriveability.

What matters to you?

First the companies are ranked from Do Good to Do Well. To “do good” means to give back to the community while “do well” means making profits. Non-profits rely on memberships and donations in order to stay afloat and give back to the community (example- YMCA). An example of a missions based company is Sevenly. Sevenly sells goods from underdeveloped countries and sells those goods in other parts of the world. They then give the profits back to the underdeveloped country. These first who companies are considered social enterprises. An example of a company that shares profits or directly benefits the planet is Toms. Finally a CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is a company that gives back as a corporate citizen like Pepsi.

People: There are five engines or motivations for entrepreneurs to get involved with social change. These include fear, fortune, fame, frustration, and freedom.

Purpose: There are five reasons or purposes that people get involved with social entrepreneurship. These include profit, people, planted, peace and prosperity, and creativity/learning/fun.

The combination of these two things lead to thriveability.

What matters to you?