The Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE) welcomes  Dr. Chris Hennigan, Associate Professor of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering, as guest for the seminar “Closing the Gap on Missing Sources of Organic Aerosol in the Atmosphere” this Friday, October 26th.

The seminar is the latest for CUERE’s Fall 2012 Seminar Series, which has been held annually since 2003. It begins at 2 PM, and will be hosted in Room 206 of the Technology Research Center, and is free and open to the public.

An op-ed by George Derek Musgrove, assistant professor of history, recently appeared on The Root DC blog on the Washington Post website.

In the piece, Musgrove and co-author Chris Myers Asch discuss why current discussions of gentrification in the Washington D.C. region can be so heated.

“Simply put, people do not want to be gone or forgotten,” they write.

“Displacement and struggles over who “owns” the city have a long history in Washington. Ours is a city both Southern and transient, where the constant churn of newcomers has amplified the importance of place and rootedness.”

The authors conclude that “We must also help create the conditions in which a diverse population can flourish now and in the future.”

The story, “Not gone, not forgotten: Struggling over history in a gentrifying D.C.” appeared online on October 19.

Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship for Mature Women

Are you eligible for the Charlotte Newcombe Scholarship and the UMBC Scholarship for returning students? You must answer YES to the following questions to be eligible.

·         Are you a student 25 years old or older?

·         Are you working toward your first undergraduate degree?

·         Are you enrolled for fall and/or spring classes?

·         Have you earned at least 60 credits?

·         Do you have at least a 2.5 GPA?

·         Are you in financial need?

·         Are you willing to attend group meetings and/or contact meetings that are designed to help support you as a mature women?

If so... feel free to download an application. This application is only for the Spring 2013 semester and only for those who are currently not Newcombe Scholars. For questions, feel free to contact Jess in the Women's Center or at jessm@umbc.edu.

Deadline: Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Looking down from his perch on the edge of space, Felix Baumgartner remarked:

Sometimes you have to be really high,
to see how small you really are.

It turns out that this feeling is a well documented phenomena dubbed the Overview effect. When a person gazes upon Earth from outer space, they have a profound sense of perspective, a realization of fragility, that humanity and all life as we know it is completely dependent on a single planet and its thin atmosphere.

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.
— Neil Armstrong

So while the first astronauts to the moon went as technicians, they came back as humanitarians. In the words of William Anders, “We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”

The view of the Earth from the Moon fascinated me—a small disk, 240,000 miles away. It was hard to think that that little thing held so many problems, so many frustrations. Raging nationalistic interests, famines, wars, pestilence don’t show from that distance.
— Frank Borman, Apollo 8

As Voyager 1 was approaching the edge of our Solar System, Carl Sagan convinced the team at NASA to rotate the probe and send one last photograph back. A photograph portraying the earth as a tiny blue dot contrasted against the emptiness of space.

This photograph wasn’t taken for purely scientific reasons, but had a deeper significance which Sagan elaborated on in his book Pale Blue Dot:

There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.

Look again at that dot. That’s here, that’s home, that’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.

It’s no coincidence that the word small is endemic to experiences of space. In all these quotes from astronauts, the word comes up time and time again. Compared against the vastness of space, all our quarrels, conceits and concerns fade away into insignifiance.

It’s for this reason, the Overview effect, that I am extremely excited about the prospects of Space Tourism. With more people viewing the Earth from afar, perhaps the world will gain a little more perspective, and a better sense of proportion.

• Just got back from STRiVE, twas epic. 

• STRiVE is fun, energizing and, for many, life-changing.  I know it has been for me.

• Going to STRiVE was literally the best decision I've made since being in college. I met so many amazing people. :)

• My Tweet list is filled with tweets about Strive... #iwannagoback

• Learned the best lessons, made the best memories, and met the best friends #STRiVE2012

• Most amazing week at STRiVE. Miss you guys already. 

• This past week at STRiVE has been one of the most amazing in my life. I could not have imagined a more amazing, life changing experience! I love all my fellow STRiVErs!! 

• Such an amazing group of people in such a close proximity couldn't have been legal. STRiVE 2012 --> Spectacular 

• Had such a good time at Strive! Thankful for the people that I got to meet and just so happy that we became a community in just 5 days..Strive 2012 ♥ 

• Just got back from STRiVE! I would be lying if I said it wasn't one of the most profound experiences of my life 

• Strive was amazing... flat. 

• knows when #STRiVE2012 is banging when everyone is friending and tweeting after one of the BEST experience ever from complete strangers to having everyone to lean on. This is only the beginning everyone. 

• I LOVED STRiVE! Kept me busy, but it was worth it. 

• Had an excellent time at STRIVE, made memories that will last forever 

• Just got back today from an amazing week with 59 of my fellow UMBC students and staff members...now I can't wait to start getting more involved on campus and seeing some of the awesome ideas everyone came up with coming to fruition. Thanks to everyone for making it so great! 

• STRiVE 2012 was an incredible experience. Words cannot describe what had taken place and what was taken from those 5 days. Meeting new people, strengthening friendship bonds with old acquaintances, learning more about oneself and others, shedding tears and just plain old having fun. 

• This week was indescribable. I am changed, and absolutely for the better. 

• I now understand what everyone meant when they told me that STRiVE would be a life-changing experience. It was a sleep-deprived, introspective, crazy, wonderful experience and I can't believe that it's over. Thank you fellow STRiVErs for being a part of it, you are all truly inspiring and beautiful human beings♥

To learn more about STRiVE and complete the application, go here: http://tinyurl.com/UMBCSTRiVE2013.

You can also read my post-STRiVE reflections and check out some photos from STRiVE 2012 (here), STRiVE 2011 (here), STRiVE 2010 (here), and STRiVE 2009 (here).

The application is due by Thursday, November 15^th at 5:00 p.m. If you have questions about STRiVE, email Virginia Byrne: vbyrne@umbc.edu.

Co-Create UMBC is a blog for and about UMBC, written by David Hoffman and Craig Berger from the Office of Student Life. Join the Co-Create UMBC group on MyUMBC. Like Co-Create UMBC on Facebook. And follow David and Craig on Twitter. 

Entering its seventh year, the Amgen-UROP Scholars Program invites undergraduates to participate in faculty-mentored summer research at MIT in the science and biotechnology areas.

Students admitted to this program (known as “Amgen Scholars”) will have opportunities to conduct research, analyze data, present research results, network with other undergraduates with similar research interests, and develop working relationships with MIT faculty mentors and other research staff.

Participation has many benefits. Amgen Scholars learn how to collaborate effectively in research settings while investigating areas of research interest within a specific discipline and gaining practical skills and knowledge for both graduate study and post-graduation careers. Participants become fully integrated in MIT’s summer research community, interacting with faculty mentors and fellow undergraduates while participating in research seminars and other networking events. Most importantly, Amgen Scholars become involved in exciting research and contribute to the advancement of science in an area of interest.

The Program also offers a competitive compensation package. Amgen Scholars working 40 hours per week for the nine week period will earn $4,600, based on an hourly wage of $12.78. Housing in a designated MIT residence hall and a $800 food allowance will also be provided.

Space in the the Amgen-UROP Scholars Program is limited; up to 25 undergraduates will be admitted for Summer 2013.