It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air, especially for Yogita Tailor ’05, M13, who just got engaged. Of course, every marriage proposal is special in its own way, but Tailor got an extra special surprise when her boyfriend Dhaval Desai asked her to marry him while they were standing in the crowd outside the “Good Morning America” studio in Times Square. From the GMA video:

“The past two years have been amazing and I want you to know how much I love you. Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you,” Desai, also 29, said on “GMA” today. “So as we stand here in the heart of New York City, in Times Square, on ‘Good Morning America,’ with all of our friends and family watching, there’s something I want to ask you. Baby, will you marry me?” “Oh, my gosh, yes,” she squealed, smiling.

All of us at UMBC send out heartfelt congratulations to Tailor and Desai!

Good Morning America has the full video and story.

–Do you have your own great news to share? Perhaps a new job, an engagement, or a big move? Send in a class note to let us know!

– Read more about UMBC alumni news and events on Retriever Net

miscellaneousmee:

UMBC memes facebook page LOL

https://www.facebook.com/pages/UMBC-Memes/207896509308291

FORREAL THO- WE HAVE EVENTS.

cyclingbum:

I’ve signed the Recyclemania pledge along with Dr. Hrabowski and Green Man, have you?

Check out “UMBC Green Man” on Facebook. Get you pic taken with him and submit it to his fan page to help spread his important message about sustainability stewardship.

The Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center led by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, will sponsor a Dissertation House for their students at the end of March.  The Dissertation House (DH) for the QoLT will be held in Pittsburgh, PA.  Funding for this DH is provided by QoLT’s National Science Foundation funding as a collaborative grant between PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP and the QoLT Center.    The collaboration between PROMISE and the QoLT began at a national NSF meeting for the ERCs in December 2010.  PROMISE was participating in the conference as part of a panel on under-representation in STEM, facilitated by the Mid-InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE) Engineering Research Center that includes UMBC,  Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Texas A&M University, and the City College of New York.

Graduate students who are already part of the QoLT will have the first opportunities to register for this DH.  The timing of this Dissertation House will connect to the start of the annual convention for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).  Since Pittsburgh is hosting the 2012 NSBE national convention that is expecting thousands of students and professionals, the QoLT will consider registrations from graduate students who attend their partner institutions and are planning to attend the mini Graduate School Conference (GSC) at the NSBE convention.

Dissertation House at the QoLT Main session: Monday, March 26 – Wednesday, March 28, 2012. 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.   Small group and individual coaching: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 9:00 AM – 12 PM.

Head Coach: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Facilitator: Dr. Renetta Tull. QoLT Graduate Assistants: Sossena Wood (Region II Chair for NSBE, Twitter: @R2Chair) and Portia Taylor.

Graduate students from the QoLT who plan to participate should follow the application procedures on the application webpage for the Dissertation House.  Students from other institutions must seek permission from  Shelly Brown, Outreach Coordinator for the QoLT Center at the Human Engineering Research Laboratory and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology:  srbrown@pitt.edu, (412) 822-3665 (email preferred).  Applications will be accepted for an extended enrollment period between February 20 and March 9.  Deadline: Friday, March 9, 2012. 

 Dissertation House Location:

Gates-Hillman Hall, Room 4405, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA  15213

Campus map:  http://www.cmu.edu/homeimages/campus-map/CMU_MapColor_8x11.pdf

Hotel for grad students at QoLT partner institutions:

(Students or QoLT Partner representatives from schools other than Carnegie Mellon or the University of Pittsburgh must obtain permission from Shelly Brown to participate, and must pay for hotel fees from their own funds.)

Marriott SpringHill Suites at Bakery Square, 134 Bakery Square Boulevard · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206

There is a free shuttle from the hotel to the campus.

The Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center led by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, will sponsor a Dissertation House for their students at the end of March.  The Dissertation House (DH) for the QoLT will be held in Pittsburgh, PA.  Funding for this DH is provided by QoLT’s National Science Foundation funding as a collaborative grant between PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP and the QoLT Center.    The collaboration between PROMISE and the QoLT began at a national NSF meeting for the ERCs in December 2010.  PROMISE was participating in the conference as part of a panel on under-representation in STEM, facilitated by the Mid-InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE) Engineering Research Center that includes UMBC,  Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Texas A&M University, and the City College of New York.

Graduate students who are already part of the QoLT will have the first opportunities to register for this DH.  The timing of this Dissertation House will connect to the start of the annual convention for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).  Since Pittsburgh is hosting the 2012 NSBE national convention that is expecting thousands of students and professionals, the QoLT will consider registrations from graduate students who attend their partner institutions and are planning to attend the mini Graduate School Conference (GSC) at the NSBE convention.

Dissertation House at the QoLT Main session: Monday, March 26 – Wednesday, March 28, 2012. 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.   Small group and individual coaching: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 9:00 AM – 12 PM.

Head Coach: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Facilitator: Dr. Renetta Tull. QoLT Graduate Assistants: Sossena Wood (Region II Chair for NSBE, Twitter: @R2Chair) and Portia Taylor.

Graduate students from the QoLT who plan to participate should follow the application procedures on the application webpage for the Dissertation House.  Students from other institutions must seek permission from  Shelly Brown, Outreach Coordinator for the QoLT Center at the Human Engineering Research Laboratory and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology:  srbrown@pitt.edu, (412) 822-3665 (email preferred).  Applications will be accepted for an extended enrollment period between February 20 and March 9.  Deadline: Friday, March 9, 2012. 

 Dissertation House Location:

Gates-Hillman Hall, Room 4405, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA  15213

Campus map:  http://www.cmu.edu/homeimages/campus-map/CMU_MapColor_8x11.pdf

Hotel for grad students at QoLT partner institutions:

(Students or QoLT Partner representatives from schools other than Carnegie Mellon or the University of Pittsburgh must obtain permission from Shelly Brown to participate, and must pay for hotel fees from their own funds.)

Marriott SpringHill Suites at Bakery Square, 134 Bakery Square Boulevard · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206

There is a free shuttle from the hotel to the campus.

A CNET article, W3C co-chair: Apple, Google power causing Open Web crisis, says that “The dominance of Apple and Google mobile browsers is leading to a situation that’s even worse for Web programming than the former dominance of Internet Explorer, a standards group leader warned today.”

The problem is that both the Safari and Chrome browsers, and their counterparts on Android, iPhone and iPad, use the WebKit layout engine. WebKit supports many non-standard CSS features and Web developers are building sites and pages that take advantage of them.

Daniel Glazman, co-chairman of the CSS Working Group, described it this way.

Not so long ago, IE6 was the over-dominant browser on the Web. Technically, the Web was full of works-only-in-IE6 web sites and the other browsers, the users were crying. IE6 is dead, this time is gone, and all browsers vendors including Microsoft itself rejoice. Gone? Not entirely… IE6 is gone, the problem is back.

WebKit, the rendering engine at the heart of Safari and Chrome, living in iPhones, iPads and Android devices, is now the over-dominant browser on the mobile Web and technically, the mobile Web is full of works-only-in-WebKit web sites while other browsers and their users are crying.

He issued a call to action that describes the steps that the web community of authors, designers and developers can take to support an open web based on standards.

I found this picture of you.