All over campus you see reminders that we should cook and eat healthy meals throughout the day. But with busy academic and social schedules, it can seem impossible to cook healthy meals that are also cheap and tasty.

That’s where I come in. My main goal is to not only provide a healthy recipe for a delicious meal, but a recipe that can be adjusted for almost all budgets. Plus, I have made sure that all of the ingredients for this dish are able to be cooked in the microwave, so even students without a kitchen (or just with a tiny one) can make and enjoy this dish.
Shakshuka (or Shakshouka) is a tomato-based stew that is simple to make but will also impress any first date. It originated in the Ottoman empire and, like most ancient foods, adapted and changed depending on what culture came into contact with it. While the recipe below is one that I like the best, this is really a dish to make yours: make it spicier by adding cayenne, or more flavorful with smoked paprika and coriander; add other vegetables like potatoes and artichokes, or even add meat like ground beef or lamb. With that in mind, let’s get cookin’.

Shakshuka with Feta
(Adapted from the New York Times)
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil ($2-4 for 16 oz bottle)
1 large onion ($1)
1 large green bell pepper ($0.75)
3 garlic cloves ($.50 per head)
1 teaspoon cumin ($3 for 5 oz container)
1 teaspoon cumin ($3 for 1.5 oz)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne ($3 for 5 oz)
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes ($2)
¾ teaspoon salt*
¼ teaspoon black pepper*
5 ounces crumbled feta cheese ($2)
6 large eggs ($1 for 6, $2.50 for dozen)
Brown rice ($2 for 2lb bag)
Hot sauce (optional)
(Total: ~$22.25 for about 6 servings, based on average prices at Shoppers.*I did not price the salt and pepper as packets can be found throughout campus, but if not, add $1 for a set)

Tools and utensils:
Sharp kitchen knife for dicing vegetables
A cutting board
Measuring spoons
Can opener (I recommend getting a good one!)
Spatula
Oven mitt (or thick towel)
1 large skillet
1 oven safe dish (at least 1 inch deep)
1 medium sauce pan

For microwave-only cooking:
2 large microwave safe bowls, and 1 medium size microwave safe bowl.
(You can buy all of these at a dollar store or the grocery store.)
Instructions:
Start by chopping your vegetables. Peel and then dice the onion, then set it aside. Next, rinse the bell pepper, remove the insides, dice it and set aside. Finally, peel and mince three cloves of garlic.

If you are cooking in a kitchen:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Then, on your stove top, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion and bell pepper until very soft (about 20 minutes). Add the minced garlic and cook until tender, which is another 1-2 minutes.
Stir in cumin, paprika, cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the canned chopped tomatoes and season with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until tomatoes have thickened (about 10 minutes). Stir in crumbled feta.
Gently crack eggs into the skillet over the tomatoes; do not break the eggs on the edge of the counter, but flat on the counter, so that the shell does not get into the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the skillet to oven and bake until eggs are set, or about 7-10 minutes. When you remove the skillet from the oven, use oven mitts or a folded towel, and be careful not to get burned. Serve with optional hot sauce and side of rice.

Brown Rice (on the stove):
Add 1 cup of rice into saucepan with 2 cups of water. Boil on stove top until water boils. Once it is boiling, simmer at lowest temperature for about 20 minutes, or until tender. If the water evaporates before rice is done, you can add an additional cup of water. Make sure to stir the rice while it is cooking so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. (White rice, like Jasmine, follows the same guidelines and takes less time to cook but it is not as healthy as brown rice.)

For microwave-only cooking:
Dice onions, green peppers and garlic. Place in a microwave safe container. Lightly coat with olive oil and mix. Cover the microwave-safe dish with its lid and microwave the mixture on high for 5 to 7 minutes. Mix them again and cook uncovered for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are tender and soft. Stir in cumin, paprika, cayenne. Combine the canned chopped tomatoes and season with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ pepper.
In a separate bowl, gently crack 4 eggs into it. Pour in ⅔ cups of water. Cover the bowl or mug with a microwave-safe plate. Place in the microwave and cook on 80 percent power for 60 seconds. Check the egg. If it is not done yet, return to microwave and cook on 80 percent power in 20 second bursts.
Carefully add the eggs to the top of the tomato dish with a spoon or spatula. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve with the brown rice.

Microwave Brown Rice:
In a microwave-safe baking dish or medium bowl, combine 1 cup long-grain white rice, 2 cups water, and ½ teaspoon salt. Microwave, uncovered, on high (power level 10) until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 18 minutes.

This story was written by Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque and first appeared on news.umbc.edu

“The term ‘medieval’ is used to mean something bad and backward—a period where travel was mostly viewed through the exploits of male merchants, pirates, sailors, soldiers, and clergy, not a period to help us gain insight into restrictive laws and gender roles,” explains UMBC’s Susan McDonough, associate professor of history. She’s just earned a 2019-20 National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to further research that is more inclusive of women’s experiences in the medieval Mediterranean.

“I want to look into the lives of medieval prostitutes to help us understand the gendered and political influences that fostered their roles as businesswomen and community members,” says McDonough.

Susan McDonough. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

McDonough initially learned about the important role of female prostitution, a legal practice in the medieval Mediterranean, while researching her first book about witness testimony and civil court records in late medieval Marseille, France. “There aren’t many criminal court records that are still left from that period,” she notes. “I have one court record from 1380 and almost twenty percent of the cases deal with prostitution.”

McDonough explains, “Prostitutes are not twenty percent of the criminals or of the population, yet they’re overrepresented.” This fact piqued her curiosity about the benefits prostitutes might have gained by using the court system.

Defying municipal statutes

As she continued to investigate, McDonough found that prostitutes were going to court not because men had accused them of stealing or “respectable” women charged them with wrongdoing, but because of accusations and slander by other prostitutes. Beyond protecting their reputation, it seems they were using the court system as a way to access barred spaces.

Mediterranean view, from Marseille. Photo by Susan McDonough.

“In Marseille, the criminal courts are outside and are next to an important church,” describes McDonough. “The statues for the city of Marseille say that prostitutes aren’t allowed to be in the spaces near churches. By going to criminal courts they are defying municipal statutes.”

Understanding migration

Beyond the deliberate choice of using the court system to maneuver around restrictive laws, there is also a question of migration. McDonough noted that despite the fact that most prostitutes were working in port cities around the Mediterranean Sea, they were not locals but had migrated from other places.

“The notion of migration inspired more questions about the reasons these women move. Is it out of choice or because they don’t have strong family ties? Are they going to port cities because they feel there is an economic benefit to being in a port city?,” asks McDonough. “I want to know more about what it means to travel in a body that is gendered female in the middle Mediterranean.”

Connecting the medieval Mediterranean to the classroom

The fellowship will give McDonough an opportunity to complete a year of archival research in Barcelona, Marseille, and other Mediterranean port cities, which will be the foundation for a book.

McDonough is also equally excited about bringing the research back to the classroom. “It is hard for me to leave for a year because I love teaching,” she says. “But this story will resonate with students because of how it informs us about how reputation and stereotypes affect the way people move through society and bear challenges and burdens because of them.”

Banner Image: Archive Latin manuscript about a case of a prostitute named Moneta de Nicia, from Archives Départementales du Bouches-du-Rhône 3B96 fol. 32r. Photo by Susan McDonough.

This story was written by Sarah Hansen and first appeared on news.umbc.edu

A single leaf dropping into a stream has just a tiny impact, but, together, the billions of leaves that drop into waterways every year help keep global ecosystems going. How this works and why it’s so important are two questions addressed in a massive, new study in Science Advances co-authored by UMBC’s Chris Swan and over 150 researchers across all seven continents.

Leaves are mostly made of carbon, a primary building block for all living things. As leaves fall, organisms that live in or near rivers and streams are “supported by this pulse of carbon,” either directly or indirectly, says Swan, professor of geography and environmental systems.

“At any one point in time there’s not a lot of carbon there,” Swan explains, “but rivers serve as the plumbing system of the planet when it comes to how much carbon flows through.” So what factors drive how all that carbon is processed?

The new landmark study reveals how environmental factors drive the flow of carbon through the world’s waterways. “The study looked across the globe to learn what drives the rate of carbon decay in rivers and streams,” Swan says. “How is it transformed into energy as it travels up through the food web or transported downstream?”

Shifting patterns

The researchers first determined the overall carbon flow in waterways “across all continents and across a serious range of latitudes,” Swan says. They found that temperature was the biggest driver of carbon flow.

“That’s important because of climate change,” Swan says. “This study suggests that if temperature goes up, the rate at which carbon degrades will also go up.” This means that temperature change could reshape how carbon flows “either up the food chain or downstream.”

For example, bacteria, fungi, and aquatic invertebrates (like crayfish) are all responsible for breaking down some of the carbon in rivers. With climate change, “Bacteria and fungi that consume carbon are probably going to be more responsible for degrading it than invertebrates, because invertebrates aren’t able to evolve as fast” to adapt to the changing temperature, Swan explains. As some species succeed and others struggle, that could eventually lead to shifts in the makeup of aquatic ecosystems.

Chris Swan checks on plants at the UMBC greenhouses for use in restoration projects. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Development and dead zones

Increasing human development near waterways may also play an important role in carbon flow. Development “snips off” the smallest streams, but it’s at those abundant small streams where there’s an “intimate connection between streams and the forest,” Swan says. Those small streams are “part of the water purification process,” he explains.

Without as many small streams to break down the carbon, it ends up on pavement and runs off into larger streams and rivers. That creates higher than normal carbon concentrations, which can lead to low-oxygen “dead zones” in those larger waterways that are dangerous, even lethal, to aquatic life.

The value of partnership

The results of this study provide an important baseline for research on carbon flow in waterways moving forward. The experimental design at each site was simple, “but to manage and deploy it across the globe to all seven continents was a Herculean task that could only be done with a network of colleagues,” says Swan. “The key here is true partnerships and global coverage.”

To come to their conclusions, the scientists all used the same protocol: They each placed identical cotton squares provided by the lead author, Scott Tiegs at Oakland University, in a nearby stream. Then they carefully measured variables like the temperature, chemical makeup, flow rate, and width of the stream, plus the percentage canopy cover (how shaded the stream is). Everyone sent their cotton squares back to Tiegs, and he measured the cotton’s integrity at the end of the experiment.

Leaf chemistry can play a significant role in how quickly leaves decay—oak leaves are very slow, and ash leaves are fast, for example. But by using the cotton squares instead of real leaves, “we held all of that leaf chemistry constant and just looked at the environmental drivers,” Swan says.

“What I’m most proud about is being part of a group that was able to document the patterns on such a large scale using a consistent approach,” Swan says. Because of its extensive scope and scale, Swan expects the paper to be used in classrooms for a long time to come. As a benchmark study, it could teach generations of ecology students the fundamentals of carbon processing in waterways.

“The study is a lesson in stream ecology,” Swan says, “but the bigger lesson is that if you have partnerships you can do big things, and come up with big patterns.”

Image: Chris Swan. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

This story was written by Megan Hanks and first appeared on news.umbc.edu

When Kevin Tran ‘12, chemical engineering, was a student at UMBC, he took a course on sensors that made him realize the best high tech solution is sometimes a low tech solution.

Govind Rao, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, and director of the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST) asked Tran and his classmates to explore a problem that could be solved by sensors, but to not lose sight of factors beyond the technology. The team began work on a low-cost infant incubator. After years of refinement in the lab, the invention has now earned the 2019 Global Health Research Award from the Academic Pediatric Association. Rao and co-authors will be recognized at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in Baltimore, April 27–30.

Rao and his students sought to develop an incubator to support premature babies in communities with limited resources, and in remote areas that do not have access to medical facilities. The incubators they developed are made from cardboard, and can be easily disposed of after each use. The materials used to construct them are fairly easy to find, making them inexpensive and accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries.

Govind Rao, center, explaining the cardboard incubator that he and his collaborators have developed to Maryland Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Seeing the challenge firsthand

Tran recalls that, from the very beginning, the project stretched his mind and allowed him to think of creative solutions to a significant real-world challenge. “The scope of the project was much broader than just the sensor itself,” and Rao emphasized the need to look at social and economic factors, recalls Tran. “Rather than just trying to make an efficient and low-cost sensor, our design would also be heavily influenced by which target population we were trying to reach.”

After completing the course, Tran joined CAST for the summer to continue working on the project alongside the professor. Tran and several other student researchers joined Rao on a trip to India to see, firsthand, how local medical facilities used incubators for premature infants.

Govind Rao, third from left, with UMBC students and research partners, during a trip to India. Photo courtesy of Kevin Tran.

The facilities they visited had some access to incubators, but the situation was far from ideal. “We learned that incubators that broke were not able to be serviced at hospitals or primary health care facilities,” explains Tran. “Since many [incubators] were donated…no one know how to go about repairing them.”

Eventually, the collaboration included funding from the Food and Drug Administration to support collaborations with the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research and Phoenix Medical Systems to conduct clinical trials, which resulted in the award winning work.

Some incubator development team members during a trip to India. Photo courtesy of Kevin Tran.

Thinking outside the box

The research project has evolved over time to better account for the particular needs of communities that would use this incubator technology. Heating systems are common for incubators in air conditioned facilities, and a heating system for the incubator is currently in a clinical trial in India. But what about incubators used in warm environments without air conditioning?

In these contexts, a cooling system can be just as important to help infants maintain a steady body temperature. Plus, both the heating and cooling systems must be highly reliable and cost-effective.

Elizabeth Tan ‘19, chemical engineering, has worked in CAST for about two years, and is conducting research to develop a cooling system. She is collaborating with Deepika Sagar to develop the system, and she says that working a student in another major has allowed her to learn new skills, from computer-aided design to soldering.

“It’s great to put what you learned into play,” Tan says. She adds, “It’s nothing like what I expected.”

Tan has enjoyed learning about the broader process of how a product is designed, tested, and launched, and all of the factors that go into making it successful. It’s also opened her eyes to the opportunities she has to make an impact on how medical care is delivered in communities with limited resources. “You realize the need” for these kinds of solutions, says Tan. That’s affected how she understands the project and how she envisions her career.

In the future, the team envisions the device being modified at a local level to fit the needs of people in different areas. After all, says Tran, providing care for premature babies is a problem faced by all communities, “not just one country or certain population.”

“The dream is to be able to shift paradigms” throughout the world, he explains, so all communities can access this life-saving technology.

Banner image: An infant’s hand. Photo by Limor Zellermayer on Unsplash.com. 

The office of Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) seeks motivated, passionate, hardworking, and ethical transfer students to employ as Transfer Student Network Leaders (TSN Leaders) for the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters.

TSN Leaders will serve as advocates for transfer students on the UMBC campus, and they will assist with the retention of these students through the planning and implementation of intentional and impactful programs and events. TSN Leaders will also assist with administrative work within the OCSS office, and serve as peer mentors for our Transfer Mentor Program.

APPLY HERE- 

https://umbc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aWx63BLFZiQNAkB

Transfer Student Network Leader Duties:

 · Plan and implement workshops and programs that address the needs of transfer students
· Serve as a peer mentor to incoming transfer students (meet 1:1 with each mentee at least once a month, attend campus events with your mentees, etc.)
· Represent OCSS by sitting at the front desk and answering student, staff, and visitor questions
· Serve as a role model to UMBC students and develop a sense of community among transfer students
· Foster relationships with prospective students at surrounding community colleges and Shady Grove campus transfer students
· Assist with OCSS events as needed, including but not limited to, Welcome Week, Transfer Appreciation Week, and Commuter Week

TSN Leaders must be:

-Transfer Students

-Undergraduate Students

TSN Leaders must maintain a 2.5 GPA prior to and during employment with OCSS.

This application closes on Friday, March 29th at 11:59 PM.  A resume must be attached at the end of this application in a PDF file. 

Summer 2019 Job Openings

Residential Life accommodates approximately 3,000 summer conference guests at a given time in our suite-style halls and apartment communities. We are looking for key individuals to fill positions within Summer Conferences and Facilities. Students in these positions are front-line ambassadors and are integral in creating a welcoming environment for our guests and to the overall success of our summer program. These positions offer students an excellent opportunity to cultivate their customer service, management, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. 

Questions for summer conference staff should be directed to Jessica Williams, wjessica@umbc.edu or Matthew Wood, matt21@umbc.edu for facilities.

Please Note:

1. Below are job descriptions and requirements for all summer opportunities, please read each.
2. If you’re interested in more than one job please indicate that on your application.
3. To apply for summer conference employment click here.
4. In addition, students must submit 2 professional references. (1) choose your reference (2) confirm participation from each reference (3) email your reference the following link.
5. Best consideration date for applicants is February 28, 2019 with references due by March 11, 2019 all other applications will be reviewed, as needed.

Lead Conference Assistant_LCA

Conference Assistant_CA

Lead Maintenance Assistant _LMA

Maintenance Assistant_MA

Lead Project Assistant_LPA

Project Assistant_PA

This season has been another remarkable one for Retriever Nation. After a series of incredible nail-biter victories and another trip to the America East title game, the UMBC men’s basketball season has ended.

New faces joined the team this year, ensuring the Retrievers would continuing competing at a high level after last year’s historic season. This includes standouts like junior guard K.J. Jackson, sociology, and R.J. Eytle-Rock ‘22, psychology. Arkel Lamar ‘21, sociology, and Brandon Horvath ‘21, financial economics, returned with the same ferocity they brought to the historic 2017-2018 season.

Joe Sherburne ‘18, financial economics, ’19 data science, continued to amaze both on and off the court. Sherburne was named the 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for Division I men’s basketball, an honor bestowed to only one player out of the estimated 4,500 DI athletes. He completed his undergraduate degree in three years and managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA, even while spending over 4,000 minutes competing on the court during his career.

But even with all these statistics, the most important number of all may be 3,042. That’s how many fans showed up on March 12 to cheer the Retrievers on through a double overtime semifinal victory against Hartford.

The support from Retriever Nation has been invaluable for the team this season. Both the players and coaching staff wholeheartedly agree, with head coach Ryan Odom grabbing the microphone after last week’s game to thank the audience.

As the season comes to a close, UMBC recognizes #RetrieverNation—the fans who donned their best black and gold, screamed themselves hoarse, and never wavered in their support.

Event Center photos taken by Suzanne Kashnow for UMBC Magazine.

A delegation of UMBC Africana studies students recently joined teams from three continents for the 17th annual International Model African Union (MAU) Conference in Washington D.C., hosted by Howard University. Participants represented the 54 countries on the African continent in the simulation event, discussing economic, social, political, and security issues.

“The MAU is an important experiential learning exercise to study the role, structure, and activities of the African Union,” explains Gloria Chuku, professor and chair of the Africana studies, and the delegation’s faculty advisor. “As model representatives, students enhance their skills and understanding of global diplomacy and public speaking through simulations.”

UMBC’s team included Damarius Johnson ’19, Africana studies; Maurice Cates ’21, Mahlet Gebre-Egziabher ’21, and Marion Sillah ’22, political science; Kemi Biaou ’21, biological sciences; and Enzo Walker ’20, computer science. The group represented the southwestern island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Johnson served as head delegate and member of the simulation’s Committee on Pan Africanism and Continental Unity. In preparation for the event, he led the independent study group in researching the country’s history and current status. This advance preparation proved essential for drafting policy proposals to present to parliament during the simulation.

Understanding Africa’s core policy issues

Participants started the conference at the African Union (AU) Representational Mission in Georgetown. A panel of scholars of  Africana and African diaspora studies, including professor Chuku, and a member from the African Union Representation Mission led a question and answer session on significant topics discussed by African policymakers today, a half-century after independence. The session included discussion of economic development, youth employment, female genital mutilation (FGM), LGBTQ civil rights, collaboration with countries in the African diaspora, and the emigration of high-skilled African professionals to other continents.

“The world seems small when we stay in one place, but when we travel we come to understand issues beyond our own culture,” Silla shares. Silla moved to the U.S. from Sierra Leone four years ago and, during the simulation, she served on the Committee on Democracy, Governance and Human Rights. She says, “Broadening my point of view made me think about where I stand as a woman, a black woman, a Muslim woman, and an immigrant on a global scale.”

Simulating the Pan-African Parliament

Over a four day-period, committees presented their proposals during a simulated session of the Pan-African Parliament. They followed parliamentary procedure, led by a student chair, parliamentarian, rapporteur, and vice chair. Committees presented, debated, amended, and adopted, their proposals during the moderated caucus, before moving on to negotiations and proposal revision. They then submitted the revised proposals for a final vote leading to a resolution.

“I learned that compromise is an integral process of diplomacy,” Johnson reflects. “You must listen and engage with fellow delegates in ways that demonstrate the value of their interests and their needs.”

In addition to the committee proposals, the event also included a simulated crisis situation, managed through the African Union’s Executive Council. This year’s crisis was a contested election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with allegations of voter fraud.

Cates, a member of the Executive Council, helped decide what course the AU would take. “We deliberated on whether to send AU troops and make it an international matter. This meant discussing how to manage refugees,” he explained. “It was not a simple process. Governments are often challenged to choose between peace and democracy.”

Common vision for a prosperous Africa

The simulation proved to be a pivotal moment of inspiration for the UMBC delegation. They were excited to live out their aspirations as leaders in supporting the development of a stable and prosperous Africa.

Cates hopes to become a lobbyist and Johnson will soon head to a Ph.D. program in history at The Ohio State University. As African American students who see themselves as part of the African diaspora, but have not had an opportunity to travel to Africa, they particularly valued the chance to speak with African representatives who were at the event. “It was a unique opportunity to discuss issues like pan-Africanism and current affairs in African countries with Africans who have an investment in their countries,” shares Cates.

Biaou, a member of the simulation’s Peace and Security Committee, and Walker, part of the Economic Matters Committee, are immigrants from Benin and Liberia, respectively. “My parents left their engineering and business careers to be in a country that grants me a great deal of privilege,” explains Biaou. “The MAU helped confirm my desire to use my professional skills to be part of a thriving Africa.”

Both Biaou and Walker aim to eventually return to West Africa to contribute, as professionals, through STEM, business, and education initiatives.

Gebre-Egziabner and Sillah, originally from Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, plan to pursue careers as diplomats focusing on women’s issues. “The official African Union is located in my home city of Addis Ababa,” says Gebre-Egziabner. “It excited me to think of what I can do when I return.”

Sillah, who left Sierra Leone for the United States to avoid FGM, hopes to address FGM and economic issues facing women in Africa. She sees her UMBC experience as giving her a strong foundation for that future work.

“That is something UMBC has done for me. It makes me interact with different people and different ideas every day,” Silla says. “Every day is a learning experience.”

Banner image: [L to R] Biaou, Walker, Sillah, Chuku, Johnson, Gebre-Egziabher, and Cates holding their certificates of completion. Photo courtesy of Chuku.