Recent Alumnus Earns Fulbright Scholarship

During his study abroad, former Humanities Scholar Jack Mullee ‘08 rode the Argentina subway like every other passenger. So, how did that lead him to a Fulbright Scholarship?

“I’m a people watcher,” Mullee said. “I spent hours watching groups of salesmen, wondering what their stories were and how these people acted in unison to create a culture.”

During the five months he was in Argentina, Mullee, who graduated with degrees in American studies and sociology, watched for patterns related to the informal economy on the subway. Searching for answers, he tried to connect with the people. He befriended a magician, bought tissues from a middle-aged woman and read political manifestos scribbled on walls. He rode the subway for hours, interviewing natives. But no one seemed to know who these people were.

“No one could offer me a definitive statement on who they were or what they were doing,” Mullee said. “Salespeople and performers were the most reliably present and yet most invisible group on the subway.”

And now his unanswered questions are taking him back toward Argentina. Mullee will return to Argentina in February 2009 on a Fulbright Scholarship and embark on a nine-month exploration. Through ethnographic interviews with salespeople working on the subways, he’ll examine Buenos Aires’ informal economy in hopes of understanding how this network operates and why.  

But a Fulbright was on his mind before his study abroad. Using advice from Asynith Palmer ’06, another Humanities Scholar, Mullee started working on his application before he left for Argentina, and his onsite research helped solidify his idea. He cites connections like these, along with individual attention, as some of the greatest benefits of the Humanities Scholars Program.

 “Being part of the program was a great experience,” he said. “Everyone is so nice and interested in you. It really affords you a sense of confidence.”

Mullee said he was inspired by the Humanities Scholars Program from the beginning of his freshman year at UMBC. Regular meetings held by the program and Study Abroad office helped prepare him not only for his trip to Argentina but the Fulbright application process. A year before his trip, he sat down with Study Abroad Assistant Director Brian Souders to discuss what university he would attend. Souders helped Mullee find the perfect fit not only academically but individually.

“I try to help students like Jack find an environment that meets not only their academic needs but personal interests,” Souders said. “During one of our meetings, I found that Jack was a big backpacker. To me that opened up Chile and Argentina as they both have easy access to the outdoors and cultures rich in natural beauty.”

Mullee also met with UMBC’s Fulbright Scholarship Committee who helped critique his personal statement, proposal and resume. The committee also held professional interviews with candidates to prepare them for the official Fulbright Committee Interview.  

Mullee is one of more than 1,450 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2008-09 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. When he returns from Argentina in November 2009, he hopes to continue his studies and work toward a Ph.D. in either anthropology or sociology.

To learn more about the Humanities Scholars Program, go to http://www.umbc.edu/dreshercenter/scholars_program.html.  To learn more about UMBC’s study abroad opportunities, go to http://www.umbc.edu/ies/studyabroad.html.

(9/22/08)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

Research Students Experience �Real World� at Summer Fellowship

Ten UMBC students attended the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 2008 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (NIST-SURF) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, making UMBC the second best-represented school at this year’s program.

The 12-week program, which accepts about 100 students each year, is geared toward students interested in science or engineering. Students spend their summers working with top researchers in one of the world’s leading research organizations, surrounded by their peers. Their ages range from freshmen just finishing their first year to recent graduates.

“Students are able to interact with 130 other engineers from throughout the country both in a personal and professional way,” said Teresa Viancour, associate vice provost for undergraduate education.

NIST-SURF allows students to see the possibilities of a potential career in science or engineering by providing real-world research opportunities, Viancour said. Students engage in research by working with mentors in specific labs and presenting their projects at a Colloquium at the end of the summer.

“It was real research I was doing, and it will be used as real research,” said sophomore computer science major Nadezhda Serova. “I was working in the real world on a smaller scale.”

Most UMBC students who attended the program said they’d apply again, just for experience in a different field.

With help from the Office of Undergraduate Education, students are not alone in the NIST-SURF application process. Services include editing and proofreading personal essays, helping build resumes and submitting applications for the students. The Office also hopes to work with the Writing Lab and possibly the Career Services Center in the future. Since the Office of Undergraduate Education has become involved with the process, the number of accepted students has gone from one to ten in three years. And numbers are expected to grow.

“There is a lot of research on the UMBC campus but not enough for everyone,” Viancour said. “Students may not be able to do it all in 12 weeks at the program, but they can see the possibilities and where a career in science or engineering could take them.”

For more information or to learn about other opportunities available through the Office of Undergraduate Education, visit www.umbc.edu/undergrad_ed/research/.

Learn more about the UMBC students who attended the 2008 NIST-SURF.

(9/18/08)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

Research Student Bios

Izath Aguilar

Academic Standing:
Senior
Major:
Biochemical Engineering
NIST Laboratory:
Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Talk Title:
“Molecular Electronic Devices”

Derek Fertig

Academic Standing:
Junior
Major:
Physics
NIST Laboratory:
Physics
Talk Title:
“Water Calorimetry and Heat Transport”

Brandi Jackson

Academic Standing:
1st year Graduate Student
Major:
Mechanical Engineering
NIST Laboratory:
Building and Fire Research
Talk Title:
“Characterization of Local Mechanical Properties in Epoxy Nanocomposites”

Jeong-O Jeong

Academic Standing:
Senior
Major:
Engineering
NIST Laboratory:
Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Talk Title:
“Development of Software Tools for Extracting Model Parameters of SiC Power Diodes”

Andrew �Avi� Schuldenfrei

Academic Standing:
Junior
Major:
Biological Sciences
NIST Laboratory:
Chemical Science and Technology
Talk Title:
“Observations of the Oxidation of Pentacene Thin Films in Air by Photoluminescence Spectroscopy”

Nadezhda Serova

Academic Standing:
Sophomore
Major:
Computer Science
NIST Laboratory:
Materials Science and Engineering
Talk Title:
“Non-Linear Polymer Film Thickness Gradients Through Flow Coating”

Kimberly Shurupoff

Academic Standing:
Senior
Major:
Mathematics & Psychology
NIST Laboratory:
Building and Fire Research
Talk Title:
“Large Building Evacuation”

Christopher Simms

Academic Standing:
1st year Graduate Student
Major:
Chemistry
NIST Laboratory:
Chemical Science and Technology
Talk Title:
“Fundamental Interaction Mechanisms of Engineered Nanomaterials with DNA”

Julian Spiegler

Academic Standing:
1st year Graduate Student
Major:
Mechanical Engineering
NIST Laboratory:
Building and Fire Research
Talk Title:
“An Energy Model of the IAQVG Test House”

Malcolm Taylor

Academic Standing:
Senior
Major:
Engineering
NIST Laboratory:
Information Technology
Talk Title:
“Parallel Covering Array Generation: The Future of Combinatorial Testing”

(9/18/08)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

New Media Studio Captures Leadership Award for Digital Storytelling Efforts

UMBC’s New Media Studio has won a Centers of Excellence Award from the New Media Consortium (NMC), the highest honor bestowed by the NMC. Given annually, the Studio received the award for “leadership in capturing and disseminating digital stories across the institution.” Studio Director Bill Shewbridge, Video Producer Paul Iwancio and Multimedia Designer Aaron Weidele accepted the award at NMC’s 2008 Summer Conference at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

“We are very honored,” Shewbridge said. “We look at the NMC as our peers. We go there for inspiration and to forge collaborations.”

This year, UMBC joined the Rochester Institute of Technology as 2008 recipients. Modeled after the MacArthur “Genius Grants,” the Centers of Excellence Award involves an anonymous nomination process with no predefined categories of awards.

Although the award process is secretive, Shewbridge noted the Studio was specifically cited for its work with the Charlestown Digital Story Project workshop, an effort that paired UMBC students and staff with residents from the Charlestown Retirement Community. Funded by Retirement Living TV, the Charlestown Project won the Telly Award in 2007 and has produced more than 30 digital stories from personal photos, artifacts and memories. In fact, some stories may air on Retirement Living TV in the future.

“The process has become as rewarding as the outcome,” Shewbridge said. “It’s intergenerational, and real bonds are formed. It’s a personal experience being communicated.”

Some UMBC students who worked specifically with the Charlestown project went on to work at the Maryland Film Office, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and non-profit associations throughout the area, Shewbridge said.

In addition to its work with students, the Studio hopes to host more workshops for faculty and staff, similar to the “Train the Trainer” workshop in Summer 2008. This workshop was hosted in partnership with the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) in Berkeley, California, and held just a few days before the Studio won the Centers of Excellence award.

The Studio will also host a booth at Homecoming 2008 for all attendees.

“We’re going to have a story booth where participants can make their own digital stories,” Shewbridge said.

To learn more about the video projects produced by the New Media Studio, go to www.umbc.edu/studio/.

(9/12/08)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

UMBC�s Political Correspondent at the Convention

UMBC’s nationally recognized politic analyst Tom Schaller had a front-row seat at the Democratic National Convention as a correspondent for Salon.com.

Schaller, associate professor of political science, was in Denver, Colorado, August 25-29 covering the presumptive nomination of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for president.

Follow Schaller’s reports from Salon.com’s political War Room.

Author of Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South, Schaller predicts a tight race that will focus on pivotal swing states in the Southwest and upper Midwest.

“The candidate who gets the lion’s share of the vote in the Midwest and the Southwest will be the 44th president,” Schaller said.

Below, Schaller previews what to expect during the final stretch of the 2008 presidential election:

A twice-monthly political columnist for the Baltimore Sun and contributing writer for Salon, Schaller has published commentaries in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The New York Daily News, The American Prospect and The New Republic and has appeared on ABC News, The Colbert Report, MSNBC, National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered“ and “Talk of the Nation” programs, The Tavis Smiley Show and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. Schaller has given lectures on American politics in Brazil, India, Italy, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

(9/2/08)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �

Alumni Mentor UMBC Interns in the Workplace

When UMBC students stepped out of the classroom this summer to begin their internships, many had the University’s alumni looking out for them.  For mechanical engineering major Yehuda Baumer, that someone was Zozscha Bomhardt ’94, who served as a mentor in her role as an engineering quality leader at GE Healthcare. 

Working alongside an alumni mentor in the workplace offers students the opportunity to learn from a member of the UMBC community while on the job. Students grasp the link between theory and practice and gain valuable job-related habits and skills. “Learning how the corporate world works and being able to incorporate what I’ve learned in my studies into the workplace has been invaluable,” said Baumer. 

While alumni provide an important contribution to their alma mater by connecting with and mentoring current students, the relationships can benefit them as well. Many find student interns to be outstanding potential new employees offering fresh insights into the job. “Interns provide us with a fresh perspective on technical issues,” explained Bomhardt. 

Over the past 15 years, The Shriver Center at UMBC has coordinated nearly 18,000 quality internship, cooperative education and service-learning arrangements for UMBC students.  According to Christine Routzahn, associate director of internships and co-ops, “UMBC alumni are outstanding advocates for our students, and both students and alumni find internship arrangements to be worthwhile and fulfilling. By complementing classroom instruction and research with internship and co-op experiences, we can better prepare our students to be tomorrow’s leaders.”

Click here to read about other UMBC students and alumni working together through internship opportunities coordinated by The Shriver Center.

(9/2/08)

© 2007-08 University of Maryland, Baltimore County � 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 � 410-455-1000 �