Nicholas Schmidt, '24 Chemical Engineering - Traditional Track

When did you do your Research?

Summer 2023

Where was your Research?

Dr. Singh's lab, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UMBC.

What is the focus of your Research?

Solid crystal optical properties

What are you looking forward to the most about your Research? 

I am looking forward to attending and presenting a research poster at The Material Science and Technology conference during the first week of October. This should be a really good opportunity to see research going on across the country and to gain speaking experience in an academic setting.

What was the best part of your Research?

My favorite part about doing research was gaining hands-on experience with research equipment as well as working collaboratively with undergrads and grad students in the. 

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice is to ask around about opportunities -- talk to people -- especially your professors and your classmates who are already involved in research. You won't always get internships or research directly from the people you ask, but they might know of someone who has an opening or know of an opportunity.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

Navy ROTC, Tau Beta Pi

What are your goals after graduation?

After graduation, I will be commissioning into the US Navy, hopefully to become a submarine officer and learn about nuclear power. 

Learn more about Nicholas Schmidt: 

www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-schmidt-111b56265

PHD GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP IN MODELING OF URBAN HYDROLOGIC SYSTEMS

Description

The DOE-supported Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) Integrated Field Laboratory seeks applicants to the UMBC Ph.D. program in Environmental Engineering to carry out hydrologic modeling of urban groundwater-surface water systems at the watershed scale. A background in engineering or earth science that includes numerical analysis is required. Work will be carried out in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of co-PIs across eight institutions, spanning earth science and engineering disciplines. 

Benefits

The Ph.D. graduate assistantship appointment is through the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering in affiliation with the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education at UMBC. The Ph.D. graduate assistantship appointment includes a stipend plus tuition remission and health insurance. The Fall 2024 PhD stipend is $38,766.19/year.

Application

Interested applicants should contact Dr. Claire Welty with a statement of relevant background and career goals at weltyc@umbc.edu before applying to the program. Complete applications are due on January 7, 2024 for consideration for admission to the graduate program for fall 2024. The link to application materials can be found here: https://cbee.umbc.edu/academics/graduate-application/. Review of applications will begin on January 7, 2024.

UMBC is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

Last week, we reached out to the nine Student Government Association Finance Board representative candidates via email to get a sense of their campaign and their qualifications. We asked each candidate the same eight questions about themselves and their platform, but there were two questions that we felt were the most important.

1.How do you plan to allocate student org funding in an equitable way?

2.What do you feel Finance Board’s role is within campus life?

Since then two candidates have dropped out of the race. Five candidates responded with answers. Seven candidate positions are up for grabs. Pooja Patel and Achalefac Akem did not comment.

Aliyah Adegun. Photo courtesy of Aliyah Adegun.

Aliyah Adegun’s passion for student government comes from her involvement in her own high school SGA. A freshman health, administration and public policy major, Adegun is ready to “hear the concerns of clubs and see where they feel their needs and wants have and haven’t been satisfied,” she wrote.

Adegun feels that the Finance Board and student organizations have a very “symbiotic” relationship: “We wouldn’t need Finance Board without campus organizations, and without Finance Board we wouldn’t be able to have all the great activities clubs have for their members.”

In addition to her campaign for a Finance Board representative position, Adegun is also very passionate about voting and would like to potentially use her platform to encourage University of Maryland, Baltimore County students to register to vote and vote in the upcoming primaries and election.

Sierra Dubuque

Sierra Dubuque. Photo courtesy of Sierra Dubuque.

As a First Year Ambassador (FYA) within the SGA, Sierra Dubuque’s first placement was within the Finance Board. Dubuque, a freshman biochemistry major, credits this placement as giving her a “front row seat to how Finance Board works.”

During her placement, Dubuque was able to engage both in conversations and decision-making — though FYAs are not voting members of Finance Board — surrounding the budgetary process.

Dubuque plans to “maintain and uphold” the current allocation system, which requires student organizations to request funds one semester in advance. This is, according to Dubuque, the “most fair system available to Finance Board.”

While some may see Finance Board only as a source of student organization funding, Dubuque sees it as a means to provide the “power that students clubs and orgs have to create the UMBC culture,” she wrote.

Victor Kehinde

Victor Kehinde, a freshman biochemistry major, is also a FYA with a placement within the Finance Board.

He credits his time with the Finance Board as providing him with the knowledge he needs to be successful in a full representative position and currently plans to allocate funding in a way that is “fair to all student organizations” but also “benefit[s] the UMBC student community as a whole,” he wrote.

Rehman Liaqat

Rehman Liaqat. Photo courtesy of Rehman Liaqat.

Rehman Liaqat’s campaign is by the people and for the people. Though Liaqat has not held an SGA position before, he has held numerous positions as a member and executive board member for different student organizations around campus which he believes “give[s] me an insight as to how lack of adequate funding affects the events and activities that they implement,” he wrote.

Liaqat, a freshman global studies and political science double major, regards the opportunity to allocate $330,000 to student organizations as a “privilege” and wants to make sure that, if elected, the Finance Board understands each organization’s need for funding and the impact that funding will have on that organization and on campus life.

“Being a part of a group of leaders representing the student body is not about being unique but rather being able to recognize the privilege one holds when making such difficult and complex decisions that profusely affect the ability of students to make change and to stimulate events they find pivotal and essential to campus life,” Liaqat wrote.

Liam Von Alt

Liam Von Alt. Photo courtesy of Liam Von Alt.

For Liam Von Alt, the Finance Board is in “the ideal position to do the most good around campus.”

Von Alt, a sophomore information systems major, plans to allocate funding to student organizations in a “fair and unbiased manner,” he wrote, adding that Finance Board’s role on campus helps student organizations “put on their amazing program[s] and events throughout the year.”

While Von Alt has not served on SGA before, he has held treasurer positions in other capacities in the past, and he currently serves as the treasurer for the Guneukitschik Lodge of the Order of the Arrow for the Boy Scouts of America. Though he considered running for SGA treasurer, Von Alt felt that the skills he has acquired through these positions would be more “valuable” in the process of allocating funds.

Taylor Smith has joined UMBC as the university’s new Assistant Director of Sustainability. 

Taylor has previously worked in the private sector as an environmental engineer and sustainability consultant, supporting sustainable redevelopment, fleet electrification, and renewable energy projects.  Most recently, he supported nationwide sustainability initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He has a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Delaware, and recently earned his MBA through the University of Vermont’s sustainable innovation graduate program.  He is a LEED Accredited Professional (AP) and a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of Maryland. 

Taylor has extensive experience collaborating across regulatory agencies, engineering firms, contractors, and non-profit organizations.  He is hopeful his experience will help UMBC build on the strength of its environmental sustainability program while continuing to be a leader in education for the greater Baltimore community.

A life-long learner, Taylor is excited to grow in an academic institution that authentically supports sustainability and environmental stewardship.  Taylor was raised in Maryland and currently lives in Baltimore City.  Outside of his professional life, Taylor is an avid gardener, runner, and food enthusiast.

 

“I am passionate about finding solutions to the massive environmental challenges facing our communities.  Many of those solutions start with education and support for the next generation.  I'm honored to join UMBC's sustainability team, and I’m working to help us prepare for the future by promoting sustainability across our campus.”

-Taylor