Join us at our next social!  Free food!  

Meet other Black Male Transfer Students and chat with Staff and Faculty. 

Questions? Contact Silas@umbc.edu

Transfer Engagement & Achievement Mentoring program

Do You Identify as a Black Male Transfer Student?

If so, the T.E.A.M Program can provide you with...

• Learning how to navigate your new campus
• Pairing with a supportive member
• Exclusive events interacting with other transferring peers
• Direct access to network of faculty and staff
• Answer your unanswered questions
• Friendly faces you know and can approach

We hope THE T.E.A.M is the place for YOU!

RSVP at the link below. 

Election Day was Nov. 6, and all across America, voters took to the polls to have their political voices heard. While the evening drew on and polls were staring to close, Main Street in the Commons was turned into a viewing site for the results. Chairs were placed out with a large projector showing live coverage of the election results while more than 250 students were served pizza, drinks and had the chance to win big-ticket prizes through games. Cheers were heard occasionally throughout the Main Street area as students were pleased with some of the candidates that they were hoping would win. The event, called Election Night Extravaganza, was sponsored by the Student Government Association, which is led by President Collin Sullivan, a senior studying information systems and economics.

“One of the things [that] we talk a lot about in SGA is that we don’t have a lot of traditions on campus [since UMBC is only 52 years old],” Sullivan said. Election Night Extravaganza, which started in 2004, is not only an ongoing tradition at UMBC, but also a motivation for people to to vote and be civically involved.

The organization even provided transportation for students during the early voting time period. The Sullivan also added, “[We partner] with other student orgs [such as] College Republicans and College Democrats and Student Events Board so that we are balanced and our own ideological views don’t come out.”

Election Night Extravaganza is usually held every four years for presidential election. In 2016 they put on the event for the Presidential Election in which Donald Trump was voted as America’s 45^th President. Sullivan recalled that, while the event went off without a hitch, the Extravaganza had a sour note added to it at the end because the Presidential Nominee then “wasn’t the result that we were expecting.”

More recently though, after a Coffee and Conversation meeting this semester, Student Government got the idea to host another Election Night Extravaganza — this time for the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Sullivan added that this specific election could have had very historic consequences, such as America possibly having its very first African-American female governor in Stacey Abrams.

At the event itself, many members of the UMBC community were passionate about the election and voiced why the midterms were important to them. “The people I love are members of groups that have [historically been] politically disadvantaged,” stated Ralph Aquino, a third-year student studying computer science. “I vote to preserve their dignity [and] fight ignorant stereotypes.”

Chukwudi Onwuka, a senior majoring in biological sciences, noted, “[Voting] gives us the opportunity to … make real changes happen in our lifetime. It’s truly … a gift that we need to take full advantage of.”

As of now, The New York Times reports that while the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives, voters have allowed the “Republicans [to retain] their control of the Senate.” The Times also mentioned that now both the Republican and Democratic parties will rule in Washington D.C., instead of just one controlling both the Senate and House.

Computer coding challenges, free food, information technology workshops and … dogs?! Computer science enthusiasts from all over the region flocked to the UMBC Engineering and ITE buildings for 24 non-stop hours of teamwork to compete in programming-based challenges. The event, entitled HackUMBC, enabled discussions of coding along with real-life applications of computer science knowledge.

“We began in 2013,” said the president of HackUMBC, Aman Chaklader. He described how initially only ten people attended; now, five years later, the event organizer approximates that about 1,000 hackers come to campus annually to participate in the weekend-long challenge. Not only do people from UMBC attend, but also students hailing from different campuses around Maryland.

Chaklader explained that hackathon attendees have, “24 hours to code whatever they want … a new website or app … we give them the tools necessary to create it.” He also emphasized how important it was that various companies sponsor the event, not only for funding but also to “see students apply skills in real-world applications.”

During the 24 hour period, hackers gathered into small teams to create the best computer applications possible, hoping to win various computer accessories such as headphones or gaming keyboards. “We’re trying to make an app [that] looks at the stats of basketball players by using an algorithm to rank them,” said Justin Mullins. He and his teammate Haroon Wardak were visiting from the University of Maryland, College Park. “The goal is to create a lineup so that betters can make the most possible amount of money.”

The event also ensured that attendees could gain notable experience in programming. Whether one was a newcomer in information technology or a seasoned computer scientist, workshops were available throughout the whole day to provide insight in order to sharpen one’s skills. Beginner Workshop: Intro to Web Design taught programming beginners the basics of designing a website, giving tips for using fonts, colors and simple layouts to captivate internet users.

Aside from having creators develop the best computer applications possible in only a day’s worth of time, organizers of HackUMBC ensure that programmers had downtime from competing during the event. This year, the hackathon featured dogs happily greeting attendees, a trivia night session, free meals/midnight snacks and even a cup stacking challenge. Various companies who sponsor the event set up vendors to not only provide resources for competitors but to spread awareness about internships and job opportunities in the field of information technology.

The actual coding ended around 1 p.m. on Sunday, when the event concluded with an exposition allowing the teams to proudly display their new creations to one other. Afterward, a final ceremony wrapped up the hackathon by presenting awards to those who created the best new piece of software or hardware.

Chaklader is hopeful about the future for HackUMBC. “We plan to do fundraising to raise more money in the future,” the president of the event said, in the hopes that the event will get bigger and better. After a long weekend, hackers left UMBC with both fun memories of creating something new and of the priceless experience they gained towards their computer science careers.

CSEE Professor Tinoosh Mohsenin in her laboratory

 

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty Positions in CS and CE

Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

UMBC’s Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering invites applications for multiple, open rank, tenured/tenure-track positions in Computer Science (CS) and Computer Engineering (CE) to begin in the Fall of 2019. Applicants should have or be completing a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline, have demonstrated the ability to pursue a research program, and have a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate teaching.

We welcome candidates in all areas of specialization. Some areas of interest for CS applicants include but are not limited to: information assurance and cybersecurity; mobile, wearable, and IoT systems; big data with an emphasis on machine learning, data science, brain-inspired methods, and high-performance computing; knowledge and database systems; visualization.

Some areas of interest for CE applicants include but are not limited to: hardware focused applicants in Digital, Analog, Mixed-mode VLSI design and test, integrated sensors and processing, SoC, new and emerging design technologies, hardware implementations for neuroscience and health-related wearables, cyber physical systems, hardware security and assurance.

The CSEE department is research-oriented and multi-disciplinary, with programs in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, and Cybersecurity. Our faculty (33 tenure-track, 10 teaching and 18 research) enjoy collaboration, working across our specializations as well as with colleagues from other STEM, humanities and the arts departments and external partners. We have more than 2000 undergraduate and 560 M.S. and Ph.D. students in our programs.

UMBC is a dynamic public research university integrating teaching, research and service. The 2018 US News and World Report Best Colleges report placed UMBC 7th in the Most Innovative National Universities category and 13th in Best Undergraduate Teaching, National Universities. Our strategic location in the Baltimore-Washington corridor is close to many federal laboratories and agencies and high-tech companies, facilitating interactions, collaboration, and opportunities for sabbaticals and visiting appointments.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, statement of teaching and research experience and interests, CV, and three letters of recommendation at http://apply.interfolio.com/57564. Candidates who are under consideration for an on-campus interview will be required to submit a commitment to inclusive excellence statement, which can be submitted as part of the initial application. For full consideration submit application materials by December 15, 2018. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Send questions to *protected email* and see http://csee.umbc.edu/jobs for more information. UMBC is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

The post UMBC CS & CE tenured/tenure track faculty positions for 2019 appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.