Our Catonsville Nine 50th Events continue…Please come out tomorrow (Sat. May 12) for UMBC Alum, Joe Tropea’s “Activism and Art” exhibit opening and screening of Lynne Sachs’ short documentary Investigation of a Flame.    The exhibit is looking fabulous…artwork from C9 member Tom Lewis and great context pieces too…And Lynne Sachs (and others) will be there for documentary Q&A.  

Here’s the link where you can register for this FREE event at MDHS!   https://www.mdhs.org/activism-and-art 

Activism and Art

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION PANELISTS

On Thursday, May 24th starting at 2pm LDAP-Master and Webadmin will be taken down for system maintenance.  During this time account creations and password changes will be unavailable.  Account authentication and logins will not be affected during this downtime.  

The maintenance window will allow staff to apply needed security and application updates.  The outage window is expected to last two hours with services being restored by 4pm on Thursday, May 24th.

During the outage window account creations will be queued and then processed upon restoration of services.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Technology Support Center at x53838.

Every two years, IEEE Intelligent Systems celebrates 10 rising stars in the field of artificial intelligence as "AI's 10 to Watch." The 2018 group includes Cynthia Matuszek, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, who has been recognized for her work, which focuses on the intersection of robotics, natural language processing, machine learning, and the applications of human-robot interaction.

This recognition celebrates researchers who are early in their careers and have completed their doctoral work in the last five years. According to IEEE, Matuszek builds “robotic systems that nonspecialists can instruct, control, and interact with intuitively and naturally.”

Associate Dean of Computer Science Marie desJardins’s time at UMBC is coming to a close, but her legacy of making computer science more inclusive will never be forgotten. She will be leaving UMBC to become founding Dean of the College of Organizational, Computational and Information Sciences at Simmons College in Boston.

desJardins implemented numerous programs throughout her tenure at UMBC. One of her most well-known accomplishments was developing and launching UMBC’s Grand Challenge Scholar’s Program.

This initiative was based on the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges for Engineering. This program consists of forming interdisciplinary teams of students, which include students from life sciences, social sciences, mechanical engineering, and arts and humanities. These students seek to explore and brainstorm solutions to “Grand Challenges” through seminars, research and service. Students receive a formal designation for their work in the program upon graduation.

Additionally, desJardins worked with the Honors Colleges as an Honors Faculty Fellow. She taught a seminar called “Computation, Complexity, and Emergence,” which brought together student perspectives from many different majors regarding relevant interdisciplinary topics. She has also served as a chair of the Honors College Advisory Board during her tenure.

But desJardins’s work goes even further. She also works to increase access to computing education for K-12 students. She has furthered these endeavors by serving as lead principal investigator of CE21- Maryland. Her work was critical to the creation of How Girls Code, an after-school program and summer camp at UMBC where girls in elementary and middle school can develop their skills in the field of computer science.

As a larger goal, desJardins wishes to see a change in tech culture in regards to diversity. She said, “One of the things that I’ve been working on, particularly for the last eight to ten years, is increasing the diversity of the field of computing, particularly focusing on gender diversity. Computer science is one of the lowest percentages of women of any career.”

Tech culture’s hostility towards women has been well-documented. From the personal attacks on programming instructor and game developer Kathy Sierra by Andrew Auernheimer, to the infamous Google Memo released by James Damore, the tech world is still trying to figure how to become a more welcoming place for women.

Another aspect of concern for desJardins is the lack of racial diversity. She said, “There are significant issues with under-representation of racial minorities [in these fields], particularly black and African-American students and workers. Part of that is an equity issue: what is keeping those groups out of these fields and keeping them from accessing these really good careers?”

desJardins is particularly concerned with the long-term economic implications. In particular, she is concerned that we lack the necessary workforce for our technological future. She said, “There’s a real shortage of people going into these careers, and so if we don’t tap into these populations of women and racial minorities, we’re kind of missing out on a potential source of people.”

But while desJardins is moving on, she remains positive about her time spent at UMBC. She said, “It’s gonna be really hard to leave UMBC, I’ve been here for seventeen years. I loved it here. I loved the students. There are so many faculty and staff and friends that I have here.”

2018 Summer Horizons Program

• Friday, June 29, 2018
• The 2018 program will begin at 9:00 AM and will end at 11:30 AM. (Registration and Seating will begin at 8:30 AM)
• UMBC Commons Building, Floor 2, Game Room
• Light breakfast refreshments will be provided.
• This event is FREE to the public but (participants must register). 

Are you interested in pursuing graduate education in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) area? Do you have doubts about the application process, inquiries about next steps, or questions about deadlines?

Our Summer Horizons Program is for you!

• Directions and Parking: http://about.umbc.edu/visitors-guide/directions/
• Google maps link: UMBC Commons Driving Directions
• Parking: If you are not a UMBC student you will need to cover your own parking. Please use the pay to park stations around campus. The nearest one is in the Commons Drive garage, the first floor. Please see the rest of the stations marked with a “P ” letter (metered parking) in this map.

AGENDA

8:30 – 9:00 a.m

• Registration

9:00 a.m.

• Welcome
• Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Director of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP
• Sundiata “Sunji” Jangha, Director Upward Bound Mathematics and Science Center Academic Opportunity Programs, Co-PI, National Science Foundation’s LSAMP Program
• Justine M. Johnson, M.A., Associate Director, Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program (moderator)

9:10 a.m.

• Preparing for Graduate Study: Timelines and Choices
  • K. Jill Barr, J.D.,  Sr. Assistant Dean of Graduate Enrollment, The Graduate School
  • D. Michael Suica,  Manager, Recruitment and Admissions, The Graduate School

9:40 a.m.

• Elements of the Graduate School Application: GRE, Transcripts, Letters of Recommendation, Statement of Purpose
  • Renetta G. Tull, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Director of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP

10:00 a.m.

• Understanding Graduate School – Panel of Graduate Students

10:30 a.m.

• Introduction: Justine M. Johnson, M.A., Associate Director, Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program (moderator)
• Key Note Speaker:  Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Ph.D., President, UMBC

11:30 a.m. Evaluations and Adjourn

About our Keynote Speaker

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski III 

Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, President of UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since 1992, is a consultant on science and math education to national agencies, universities, and school systems. He was named by President Obama to chair the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He also chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the report, Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads (2011). His 2013 TED talk highlights the “Four Pillars of College Success in Science.”

Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME (2012) and one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report (2008), he also received TIAA-CREF’s Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence (2011), the Carnegie Corporation’s Academic Leadership Award (2011), and the Heinz Award (2012) for contributions to improving the “Human Condition.” UMBC has been recognized as a model for inclusive excellence by such publications as U.S. News, which the past eight years has recognized UMBC as a national leader in academic innovation and undergraduate teaching. Dr. Hrabowski’s most recent book, Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement, describes the events and experiences that played a central role in his development as an educator and leader.

Summer Horizons is co-sponsored by PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP, The Meyerhoff Graduate Biomedical Fellows Program, the USM Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, and The Graduate School at UMBC.

For additional resources, including access to funding opportunities: Please visit the Institute for Broadening Participation’s website,  “Pathways to Science,”  and fill out the form in the left corner:  http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/. The website has information on a variety of opportunities, which include as an example, a wealth of information on funding and internships through NASA:  http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/nasa.aspx. Our student participants have taken advantage of this resource in the past, and several have had offers for great opportunities. 

Related articles

• President Obama Appoints UMBC President as Chair of National Education Commission(baltimore.cbslocal.com)