With Dan Eiskant ’19, media and communication studies

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a singlebound! It’s…a Mama’s Boy? 

Most of us are guilty of saying “I could do that” while watching feats of strength on TV from the comfort of the couch (possibly with a snack in hand). But Dan Eiskant ’19, media and communication studies, took the challenge head-on and started his journey to become the next American Ninja Warrior. 

American Ninja Warrior is a competition where athletes race against the clock to conquer various obstacles. At each qualifying stage, the playing field is whittled down and competitors (often with larger-than-life personas) advance as they complete increasingly grueling courses. The pinnacle for any American Ninja Warrior is making it the final stage—a rope climb. But this is not your gym class rope climb. Competitors must claw their way to the top of a 75-foot rope within 30 seconds to take home the cash prize and bragging rights. So how do you even begin to train for something like this? We decided to ask the expert. 

Tools of the Trade
    
    1. Determination and humility 
    2. Several gym memberships
    3. Ability to rest
    4. Vocal fans to cheer you on
    5. Camera to capture these gravity-defying feats 
    
    
 

Step 1 – Find someone who will catch you when you fall

Even though American Ninja Warrior is a solo competition, it’s impossible to do well without support from the sidelines. “It’s important to surround yourself with friends who will encourage you and push you to be your very best,” says Eiskant, whose entourage includes some pint-sized fans and  campus crooners. 

Eiskant works at a local Ninja gym teaching school-aged kids the ropes…and jumps…and climbs. “When I came back after the episode aired, I had a bunch of my students coming up saying they watched me on TV and they were so excited,” he says. “I love helping them develop these techniques early on because they’re good at it! They have no fear.” 

In addition to this legion of little fans, Eiskant relies heavily the friends he made as part of UMBC’s all-male a capella group, the Mama’s Boys. On air, the group joined Eiskant at the starting line, sending him off with their own rendition of “Danny Boy.”

“I actually had stage fright before I joined the group and they helped me get over that, so getting to sing with them like we normally do, but at the starting line of the qualifiers, just helped me get rid of all of my nerves,” says Eiskant.

Step 2 – Make the world your jungle gym

A lot of hard work goes a little way when it comes to training for American Ninja Warrior. Eiskant is in the gym up to six days a week training and the end result is running a course that sometimes is the length of a commercial break. But you still have to give it your all to get there, and that means thinking outside the box for fitness.

“More so than grip strength and finger strength, it’s a mental game,” explains Eiskant. “Rock climbing provides a lot of real-time problem solving skills that you don’t get in other workouts. It helps when you’re tackling a course you’re not familiar with.”

Since competitors don’t see the course until they get to qualifying, Eiskant suggests that ANW-hopefuls check out different gyms, pursue other athletic hobbies, and familiarize themselves with various challenges to improve their odds on the ever-changing course. 

Step 3 – Sing for your supper

Now that you have the skills to run up a nearly vertical Warped Wall and propel your body up a Salmon Ladder, what do you do with them? Time to put it all in action and apply for American Ninja Warrior. 

Eiskant has been a fan of the show since he was 15, but the rules require all contestants to be a certain age. He took his cues and started working out with an eye toward landing on a spot. He started rock climbing with a group and, once he turned 21, he felt like he was ready to compete. 

It’s a highly selective process to be chosen to run on American Ninja Warrior. All hopefuls have to fill out an extensive questionnaire and submit a video showing their personality and what sets them apart. Eiskant kept it in the family and leaned on the Mama’s Boys to help out. 

“I focused on my music and singing and being part of the Mama’s Boys. You have to be interesting and engaging and be sure you have a story to tell.”

Step 4 – Don’t let the odds deter you

Anyone applying for American Ninja Warrior has to be prepared for failure. Only a handful of athletes advance each during the final stage and only two have walked away with the million dollar prize. 

Eiskant was one of the lucky ones selected the very first year he submitted in 2018 to run in Philadelphia. Even though he was eliminated, he tried out again and had his run featured in our own Baltimore backyard in 2019. He advanced to city finals and fell short but hasn’t let that discourage him.

“Watching everyone compete, you realize this person is no better than me just because they can do that. Anything can happen, you just have to keep pushing at it,” he reflects.

The Ninja community is a supportive one and Eiskant emphasizes that, even though it’s a competition, “it’s more like a family environment. Everyone is just helping each other be better versions of themselves.”

In fact, Eiskant has been so encouraging and determined, he’s even inspired someone very close to him to try out next year—his dad. 

*****

If you missed it, catch Dan’s episode online now or check out the teaser clip below!

https://www.facebook.com/umbcpage/videos/447351479163646/

All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 unless otherwise noted.

Please see below for a curated list of upcoming funding opportunities. The Center for Social Science Scholarship and the Maryland Institute for Policy, Analysis, and Research (MIPAR) assist faculty members and departments in finding funding opportunities and in providing researchers with pre-award and post-grant management assistance. To set up an appointment, email socialscience@umbc.edu. 

Via our partnership with Hanover Research, also please open this link for a grants calendar that provides a list of upcoming funding opportunities, especially geared for early career researchers.

Sloan Fellowship on Aging (Harvard) 
Deadline: December 2, 2019 

The Sloan Fellowship on Aging and Work is a two-year, interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship that addresses the challenges of aging societies and labor force participation in the U.S. The HCPDS is able to offer this program thanks to generous funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
For more information. 

NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Science Technology Integration (OSTI)
Deadline: December 6, 2019 

NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI) is soliciting research proposals to support NOAA’s development of the community-based, coupled, comprehensive earth modeling system, the Unified Forecast System. The UFS is designed to provide more accurate forecast guidance through operational numerical weather prediction applications. These applications span local and global domains, and predictive time scales from sub-hourly to seasonal.
For more information. 

Humanities Center Fellowship (University of Rochester)  
Deadline: December 10, 2019 

Applicants’ proposals must address the theme of "Translation and Transformation." Projects might address:  the meanings and uses arising from the communication of a written text in a language or format other than the one it which it originated; the theory and politics of translation in its cultural and social dimensions, including issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and religion; art, film, dance, and music in relation to literary works and historical events; the popularization of science and humanistic thought; the role of the translator; the publication and marketing of translated texts; the transformative nature of digital media; the adaptation or persistence of beliefs and practices as a consequence of cultural encounters; and similar matters. Applicants may be in any field of humanistic study, including anthropology, art and art history, classics, English, history, modern languages and cultures, music, philosophy, or religion.
For more information. 

U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires PAS Annual Program (State Department)
Deadline: December 31, 2019 

The U.S. Embassy Argentina Public Affairs Section (PAS) announces the availability of funding through its Public Diplomacy Grants Program. This Annual Program Statement outlines funding priorities, strategic themes, and procedures for submitting requests for funding.The Grants Program supports projects proposed by U.S. and Argentine academic, cultural, educational, and other non-profit organizations and/or individuals that fulfill U.S. Embassy goals and objectives: to promote economic prosperity and security through academic and cultural initiatives seeking to increase understanding between U.S. and Argentine people and institutions. 
For more information. 

Environmental Education (EPA) 
Deadline: January 6, 2020 

Under the Environmental Education Grants Program, EPA seeks grant applications from eligible applicants to support environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment. This grant program provides financial support for projects that design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques.
For more information. 

ACLS American Council of Learned Societies Digital Extension Grants
Deadline: January 8, 2020 

ACLS invites applications for ACLS Digital Extension Grants, which are made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This program supports digitally based research projects in all disciplines of the humanities and related social sciences. It is hoped that these grants will help advance humanistic scholarship by enhancing established digital projects, extending their reach to new communities of users, and supporting teams of scholars at all career stages as they participate in digital research projects.
For more information. 

Campus Cyberinfrastructure (NSF)
Deadline: January 21, 2020 

The Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*) program invests in coordinated campus-level networking and cyberinfrastructure improvements, innovation, integration, and engineering for science applications and distributed research projects. Learning and workforce development in cyberinfrastructure is explicitly addressed in the program. Science-driven requirements are the primary motivation for any proposed activity.
For more information. 

National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes, Accelerating Research, Transforming Society, and Growing the American Workforce (NSF)
Deadline: January 28, 2020 

Artificial Intelligence has advanced tremendously and today promises personalized healthcare; enhanced national security; improved transportation; and more effective education, to name just a few benefits. Increased computing power, the availability of large datasets and streaming data, and algorithmic advances in machine learning have made it possible for AI development to create new sectors of the economy and revitalize industries. Continued advancement, enabled by sustained federal investment and channeled toward issues of national importance, holds the potential for further economic impact and quality-of-life improvements. To support this research area, the NSF is funding two tracks. (1) The Planning Track will support planning grants for durations of up to two years, and for up to a total of $500,000 to enable teams to develop communities and capacity for full Institute operations through diverse and sustained activities. (2) The Institute Track will support cooperative agreements of between $16 million and $20 million for between four and five years (up to $4 million per year). Institute proposals must convey clear and concrete plans for foundational AI research, use-inspired motivation and technology transition opportunities, the education and workforce development activities to be undertaken, and plans for multidisciplinary research community building appropriate to the proposed Institute's vision and mission. NSF plans to make 1-6 Institute Awards and approximately 8 Planning Grants.
For more information. 

Butler-Williams Scholars Program for Faculty (NIH) 
Deadline: February 14, 2020 

The 2020 Butler-Williams Scholars Program (formerly the Summer Institute on Aging Research) includes lectures, seminars, and small group discussions in research design relative to aging, including issues relevant to aging of ethnic and racial minorities. Lectures will cover topics in research on aging, including: the biology of aging; genetics and Alzheimer's disease; and health, behavior, and aging. Discussion sessions will focus on methodological approaches and interventions. The program also will include consultation on the development of research interests and advice on preparing and submitting research grant applications to NIA.
For more information. 

Building Capacity in STEM Education (NSF)
Deadline: June 5, 2020 

ECR’s Building Capacity for STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) solicitation supports projects that build individuals’ capacity to carry out high quality STEM education research that will enhance the nation’s STEM education enterprise and broaden the pool of researchers that can conduct fundamental research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development. Specifically, ECR: BCSER supports activities that enable early and mid-career researchers to acquire the requisite expertise and skills to conduct rigorous fundamental research in STEM education. ECR: BCSER seeks to fund research career development activities on topics that are relevant to qualitative and quantitative research methods and design, including the collection and analysis of new qualitative or quantitative data, secondary analyses using extant datasets, or meta-analyses.
For more information. 

Evidence for Action (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) 
Deadline: April 2, 2019 

Evidence for Action (E4A), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), funds research that expands the evidence needed to build a Culture of Health. A Culture of Health is broadly defined as one in which good health and well-being flourish across geographic, demographic, and social sectors; public and private decision-making is guided by the goal of fostering equitable communities; and everyone has the opportunity to make choices that lead to healthy lifestyles. RWJF’s Culture of Health Action Framework, which was developed to catalyze a national movement toward improved health, well-being, and equity, guides E4A’s program strategy.
For more information. 

And please don't miss out on these Internal Opportunities:  

Translational Research with UMBC-ICTR
UMBC is pleased to announce a joint funding opportunity in partnership with the University of Maryland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR).
The Accelerated Translational Incubator Pilot (ATIP) Grant Program provides starter funds for projects specifically focused on innovative, translational research that involves faculty from the UMB Schools, UMBC, and collaborative partners.

• A Letter of Intent(LOI) is due on Monday, December 23, 2019 by 5:00 pm

• The Application Deadline is Monday, January 6, 2020 by 5:00 pm

• Budget - up to $50,000 in direct cost.

• The Funding Period will be for 12 months from May 1, 2020 to April 31, 2021

  • Awardees will be announced in April 2020

  • No-cost extensions or carry-overs are not permitted.

• UMBC applicants must have a UMB Co-PI collaborator

For further details on this funding opportunity please see the Call for Proposals.

Strategic Awards for Research Transitions (START)
Deadline: Friday, February 14, 2020 at 11:59pm

Competed annually, UMBC's START awards provide up to $25,000 in research funding for faculty members who will use these funds to better position themselves for further scholarly work that is not internally funded. To that end, priority is given to untenured, tenure track faculty members still establishing themselves, to tenured faculty members who are re-establishing themselves after interruptions, and to tenured faculty members entering new areas dependent on interdisciplinary collaboration.

Summer Research Faculty Fellowship (SURFF)
Deadline: Friday, February 21, 2020 at 11:59pm

Also competed annually, the SURFF program provides $6,000 in summer salary to early-career faculty members who would benefit from the opportunityto focus on establishing their scholarly independence.

Please email any questions related to these programs to Dr. Don Engel, Assistant Vice President for Research, at donengel@umbc.edu.