Hi Scholars!

Due to the inclement weather this week, our February community event: Shriver Center and Undergraduate Research Info. session has been post-pone to Monday, February 18, 2019 from 12pm-1.

If you are interested in service learning and wondering how to get involved in undergraduate research, this is the session for you!

RSVP here:

Drawing from his own experience as a classroom educator, Prof. Curran explains how classroom experience is invaluable for those entering the education policy and research field. 

Prof. Curran describes how the structure of The School of Public Policy at UMBC particularly caters to current education professionals, bridging the gap between educators and policymakers and researchers. More than 3/4 of the graduate students in UMBC's public policy masters and Ph.D. programs attend part time and continue to work full time, sometimes in schools as teachers or administrators.

ARBUTUS ACHIEVERS (Tuesdays/Thursdays, 2:15pm - 4:00pm)*

Tutor middle school students to prepare for high school and college readiness. Create and lead activities that encourage leadership development.

CREATIVE CODERS (Tuesdays/Thursdays, 2:15pm - 4:00pm)*

Calling all Coders! Creative Coders teaches students the basics of computer science through game programming in Scratch.  Work with middle school students to instill in them a love of programming for years to come.

COLLEGE GARDENS (Tuesdays or Thursdays, 2:45pm - 5:15pm)

Tutor children from grades K-6 in academics.  Develop stimulating activities for either indoor or outdoor recreation--including artistic, physical, and mental tasks.

MS SWIM PROGRAM (Fridays or Sundays, 1 - 4pm)

Students will assist Multiple Sclerosis clients with their water-based physical therapy (aquatic exercises), as well as a chance to develop relationship-building skills.  A great opportunity for anyone interested in a healthcare career! 

READING PARTNERS (Various Days)

Tutor an elementary school student one-on-one to strengthen their reading abilities using a structured and easy-to-follow curriculum.

RICA (Wednesdays, 11:30am - 3:00pm)

Assist students, ages 12 -18 with emotional disturbance disorders on schoolwork and behavior in a therapeutic environment.

SHERMAN CENTER EARLY LITERACY PROGRAM (Days/Times Vary)

Build young children's literacy and language skills as a classroom tutor, grades K-3 (ages 5 - 8).  Tasks include reading with students and assisting them with writing/vocabulary activities and assignments.

SWES (Southwest Emergency Services) (limited spaces available)

Assist in sorting clothes, food, medical supplies, etc. to keep this thrift store organized and manageable.  In walking distance of UMBC.

Transportation is provided for all sites except Reading Partners.
*Must be able to attend both days; sites are within walking distance

For more information, please contact the Shriver Center at (410) 455-2493 to schedule an appointment with a Program Coordinator.

The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program is working to increase faculty diversity in the southern region of the US, including Maryland. It aims to support minority Ph.D. students who seek careers as faculty on college campuses.

The program provides multiple layers of support: financial assistance, research funding, career counseling, job postings and a scholar directory for networking and recruiting. Mentoring and advocacy for scholars is crucial, and support continues into early careers as graduates become faculty members.

Follow the link below to find out more and to apply.

Download attached flyer for more information.

Join us tomorrow at 12:00pm in ITE 241 for the first event of Cybersecurity Month, a Wednesday Crash Course with Dr. Richard Forno! During the event, Dr. Forno will discuss the foundations of modern cyber defense, the current threats that governments and independent organizations face, and career prospects within the world of cybersecurity. Find us in ITE 241 from 12:00-12:50pm tomorrow and don't miss out!

If you haven't already, check out our Spring '19 Events Calendar as well- keep tabs on it as we update it throughout the semester!

Until then,

~Your ISCOM Executive Board

Title of your research project: Alternative Theatrical Lighting Control System 

Describe your project: I am researching a lighting control system called GrandMA2. The GrandMA2 is mostly used to program lights for concerts and other live performances, rather than Theatre. 

My mentor for my project is Mr. Adam Mendelson, Lecturer in Lighting and Sound Design, Theatre. I have had classes with my mentor previously. I chose him, because he understands the technical aspects of lighting systems. He is also hands-on with his students and takes interest in their development and projects. I knew he would be committed to my project, inspire me, push me to work harder, and be able to give quality feedback on my progress.

My interest for lighting has existed my entire life. In 5th grade I wrote to myself that "I want to do light shows for a living". I have been in pursuit of my childhood dream since. Once I found out about the GrandMA2 system, I knew I had to learn it to advance my dreams to the next stage.

I have had a lot trouble estimating how long things will take. By its nature research is doing something you have never done before. I would plan for something to take 2 hours, for example, but in reality, it would take 6. This would be difficult when I would try to plan my schedule. As a researcher, I did not expect the overwhelming support I would receive. Many times, I received support from people and companies, only through sharing that I am researcher. The best example was I shared with an usher at a Cirque Du Soleil that I am doing research on lighting and she moved my seat from the last row in the building, to the closest section. 

My research took me to different places, one being a lighting conference in Las Vegas. At this conference I was able to sit in on presentations of professionals in the industry who are doing extremely innovative things. This sparked my inspiration and made me want to explore the boundaries of existing technology, and imagine what/ who will be the things/ones to break those boundaries. I also was able to see shows that feature the highest level of lighting design. These sparked my interest and were extremely rewarding to spectate.

I will be sharing my research on February 15th. I am hosting a public light show, as well as programming lights for a live band. This exercises two different strengths this system has over others. The console has the ability to easily program to music in "timecode" while also being able to be used for live playback with a band "busking". After the show I am hosting a master class about my research and the GrandMA2 for other interested students, or members of the public.

The best advice I could give to interested students is to just start. I will process information in my head for a long time, but it wasn't until I started to ask questions and find people who share my interests that my research began to take off. Everyone's research will be different in many ways, and in my case I had many challenges. Every obstacle has the potential to be another triumph, but you will never know unless you start. I found that setting deadlines would require me to get started on things promptly. I broke my research into many incremental deadlines, the times I stuck to the deadlines I was successful; the times I wasn't my research was less fruitful.

I plan to take the information I received from my research and apply it to my career. I now have a level of proficiency in a lighting system that is incredibly popular, but specialized. The skills I received from my research are in high demand and I have many different ways that I can use those skills in my future work. 

 ** Come see Scott's light show on Friday, February 15th, 2019 Proscenium Theater in PAHB - Please no food/ drink in the Theater Doors will open at 6:50pm Light show will start promptly at 7:00pm with doors closing Fayo and The Rollup Collective will perform following the programmed light show.

All are welcome and invited to stay after; He will be hosting a master class about his research on the GrandMA2 lighting system concluding at 9:00pm. Tickets are not needed, and seating will be given on a first come first serve basis.

 

Here is the link to the public Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/396070837863911/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22dashboard%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_tab_event%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22dashboard_filter%5C%22%3A%5C%22upcoming%5C%22%7D%22%7D]%2C%22ref%22%3A2%2C%22source%22%3A2%7D