The 21st Annual Meeting of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) Long-Term Ecological Research Program took place on Wednesday and Thursday, 23-24 October in Baltimore, MD at the University of Baltimore. The Research Conference shared updates and results of project investigations with all BES collaborators, interested researchers, educators, local, state and federal agency representatives, media, and community members. 

Two of Dr. Claire Welty's students  presented at the conference: 

• Joey Mowery (Chemical Engineering  '21, Environmental Engineering and Sustainability Track) presented his first poster at the BES Annual Meeting. His poster was titled: 'Developing a workflow for stormwater modeling in older cities having missing asset data'. 
• Mahdad Talebpour (Environmental Engineering Ph.D. Candidate) gave a talk on part of his PhD research, titled 'Development and testing an urban hyper-resolution fully-coupled subsurface-land surface-atmosphere model'. #UrbanHydrometeorology

Emily Godfrey is a Dance major with a minor in Psychology, who will graduate in May, 2020. She is a URA Scholar and a Linehan Artists Scholar. She performed her piece, "stoP ActiNg hysterICal” at last year's URCAD, and will present again this year.

Title of your research project:
Contemporary Choreographic Perspectives

Describe your project:
My project is to research performance and choreographic techniques from various contemporary/modern companies and utilizes that information to create my Senior Capstone Work, a twelve-minute dance performed by four dancers. Over the summer, I studied with the Paul Taylor Modern Dance Company (founded in 1954) and the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company (founded in 1984). This winter, I will be studying abroad with Ann Sofie Clemmensen to Denmark to research international contemporary techniques.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project?
Professor Carol Hess is the chair of the dance department and has mentored me throughout my university experience, offering guidance from course work to compositional ideas. I have a very trusting relationship with her and I really value her advice and input.

How did you become interested in this project?
I wanted to gather as much research and experience in the process of creating my senior capstone work. I wanted to continue my dance technique training while jumping in to a company lifestyle to gain a better understanding of the career I was pursuing. I learned of the Paul Taylor Modern Dance Company through a UMBC faculty member, Constance Dinapoli, and I discovered the work of the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company when a UMBC alumni became an apprentice there.
Those companies, though vastly different in style, carry choreographic ideas and themes that captured my attention.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher?
A natural change in creating a new choreographic work is translating my artistic vision to my dancers while allowing their own artistry and interpretation. All the dancers I am working with are inexperienced learning movement created by a student choreographer and performing in the modern-contemporary genre. During the process of creating the work, I had to take my time and have patience explaining the different movement styles because what was natural to me was foreign to them. Another challenge, while expected was nevertheless difficult, was working within a constrained amount of time, to complete and premier the work.

What has been the most rewarding part?
The work premiered November 8th and 9th, and when I was able to watch the piece in full performance mode, I felt fulfilled. I had been focusing on tiny (but important) details and giving my cast reminders right before the show, unsure if they would be able to embody everything. Watching the piece and hearing the audiences reaction, everyone taking their own meaning but the movement still resonating within them, was the most rewarding.

How will you disseminate your research?
I plan to present my research at URCAD 2020 by premiering my senior capstone piece again. Prior to the next performance, I plan to look over the piece and discuss with my mentor any changes or adjustments I can make.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?
Research derives from your passion(s), the need to explore, discover, and create. The work is never quite done, but that is what makes the research thrilling. For myself, dance is forever evolving and changing, and I know that there will always be new inspiration and the need to share my creative outlook.

What are your career goals?
After I graduate in Spring 2020, I plan to work with a professional dance company under contract while still creating pieces to gain a choreographic fellowship.

The 14th Annual Winter Student Leadership Retreat (WSLR) will be held January 25-26, 2020.  The purpose of the retreat is to provide an opportunity for underrepresented minority (URM) students majoring in engineering and computer science to build their career, professional, and leadership skills; as well as to network with corporations and student leaders from 4-year colleges/universities and 2-year community colleges in the Washington-Baltimore-Annapolis area.

There is no cost to students who are selected to participate.  Representatives from the retreat sponsors listed below  will facilitate workshops during the retreat. Two tracks of workshops will be provided, one for 1st time attendees and another for returning attendees.  On Sunday, a third track for students who are currently enrolled at a community college will be facilitated.  Workshops to be presented include: career development (resume writing, interview tips, mock interviews), leadership development, professional development, personal development, graduate school, and a corporate information fair.  Transportation is provided to student from the Baltimore-Washington DC area.  

Approximately 4-5 students from each college or university will be selected to participate through an application review process.  The application will open November 1, 2019 and the application is available until November 22, 2019.  Persons who are selected to participate will be notified no later than December 10, 2019.

The retreat sponsors this year are: 

• Lockheed Martin
• Northrop Grumman
• W. L. Gore
• Amazon
• Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)