To honor Dr. Cedric Herring’s life and work, the following memorials are being held this month:

Texas Memorial Service and Burial     May 5th

Dr. Cedric Herring will be memorialized at a service on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 1:00 pm at the El Campo Heritage Center, 803 Fahrenthold Street, El Campo, Texas 77437.  The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations in memory of Dr. Cedric Herring may be made to the UMBC Foundation, and designated to the Language, Literacy & Culture Program. 

Any flowers should be sent so that they can be delivered to the El Campo Heritage Center between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Saturday.

UMBC On-Campus Memorial        May 21st

The Language, Literacy, and Culture Doctoral Program with the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the President’s and Provost’s Offices invite you to join them at a Memorial on May 21, 2018 from 3 to 5 pm on the Kuhn Library’s 7^th Floor.

Sympathy Cards for his family

The LLC Program (Sherman Hall, Room 421) and the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Health Administration and Policy (Public Policy Building, Room 252) are collecting cards and notes for Dr. Herring’s family.

Please share your photos of Dr. Herring with Liz Steenrod at esteenrod@umbc.edu, or call her with any questions at (410) 455-2376.

The focus is Thwaites Glacier, which is roughly the size of Florida and sits on the western edge of Antarctica.

Ice melting on Thwaites accounts for 4 percent of global sea level rise, an amount that’s nearly doubled since the 1990s. Scientists in the new five-year research collaboration hope to determine how much more, and how fast, the glacier will melt as the world continues to warm.

Today, projections for sea level rise vary widely, from about a foot of sea level rise to six feet by century’s end. Some of that uncertainty is tied to questions regarding how Antarctica, and specifically the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (home to Thwaites) will react to warmer air and water temperatures.  

Computer modeling shows Thwaites is unstable, and could start collapsing within decades.

"Some versions of that model give us very little change in the glacier … Equally reasonable-sounding versions of that model will give us almost complete collapse of the glacier, which would lead to .8 meters or 1 meter (2.6 to 3.2 feet) of sea level rise,” says the British Antarctic Survey’s Keith Nicholls, who is co-leading a research project to study the ocean ice interface of the glacier.

“What we’re trying to do is work out which of those equally plausible versions of the model is correct."

The UK Natural Environment Research Council and the US National Science Foundation is organizing the effort, which involves about 100 scientists from seven different countries and has been years in the making.

“Really the whole program is about understanding that extra uncertainty attached to sea level rise and doing what we can to remove it, allowing people to protect their coastal environments and to prepare property to protect their populations,” said David Vaughan, director of Science at British Antarctic Survey, at a press conference announcing the research in Cambridge, England on Monday.

The first scientist set foot on Thwaites back in the 1950s, but only a few dozen researchers have been back since. That’s partly because Thwaites sits roughly 1,000 miles away from the nearest permanent research station, and the weather conditions are particularly bracing.

“Logistics make this science extremely difficult,” says David Holland from New York University, Nicholls’ collaborator and one of the researchers who has previously worked on Thwaites. “The window of opportunity to do research is small, basically December to January. Before that it's too cold, after that it's too cold.”

Eight teams in total will research the glacier itself, the Antarctic climate surrounding it, and the water underneath it and at its edge. One team will sample the bedrock beneath the ice sheet for clues as to whether the glacier has retreated in the past, and if so, how it recovered. Radar and seismic analysis will examine what controls Thwaites’ width and speed.

Another research project, co-led by Erin Pettit from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will look at how both the ocean below the glacier and the atmosphere above it are affecting the ice.  

Glaciers can destabilize when meltwater on the surface cause fractures that deepen over time. But they can also be eaten away by warming ocean waters circulating underneath. Researchers have recently discovered that's starting to happen in Antarctica. 

“[Thwaites], we think is being affected more by what's happening on the underside, so the heat that's being brought in from the ocean, from the circumpolar deep water,” Pettit said.  

Pettit’s team will use hot-water drills to insert sensors into the glacier, and deploy unmanned subs — including the now-famous Boaty McBoatface — to measure ocean temperatures underneath the glacier.

They’re even attaching sensors to seals expand their view of conditions in the Amundsen Sea.

“[Seals] dive up and down and around, and they go all over the place, they basically can provide this spatial and temporal picture of what the ocean properties are,” Pettit said.  

The logistics of the research will be complex, even by Antarctic standards. Some researchers will fly from British and American research bases. Once on site at their research locations, they'll set up camp for weeks at a time in tents on the ice. Others will reach the glacier’s face on ice-breakers.

The research effort should give scientists insight into the future of not just Thwaites, but a larger piece of Antarctica.

"Thwaites is the 800-pound gorilla, just because of how big and wide and deep into West Antarctica this particular outlet glacier goes,” says Chris Shuman, a University of Maryland Baltimore County professor working at the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and who is unaffiliated with the project. “So understanding it will greatly improve our ability to understand the response of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet."

If the whole West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to collapse, that could raise sea levels by up to 13 feet.  

The new research represents a large investment by US and UK polar research groups, and signals how important they believe the fate of Thwaites will be to millions of coastal residents of both countries.  

UMBC’s University Health Services partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to host Out of the Darkness, a campus walk intended to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Several student organizations and over 150 students participated in the event. Volunteers handed out materials that listed resources for students who are struggling with mental health issues, painted rocks with positive statements on them and distributed color-coded bead necklaces used as a display of solidarity.

According to the AFSP, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, with over 44,000 Americans completing suicides each year. For every completed suicide, there are 25 attempts. Additionally, the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment has found that nearly 30 percent of college students are dealing with depression, which often precedes suicidal ideation and attempts.

College life can include many potential stressors, such as large workloads, relationship issues, juggling school with jobs and family, being away from home or financial difficulties. Furthermore, suicides often go underreported due to the social stigma surrounding it. Individuals who are struggling often feel isolated.

Resources for mental health have also become more commonplace. Most colleges, including UMBC, offer low-to-no-cost mental health services. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is one of the most well-known organizations to specifically deal with mental health issues, and many others exist as well. With the benefits of modern communication, finding a supportive voice is far easier than before.

Organizations like ASFP help to provide resources for people dealing with suicidal ideation or thoughts as well as provide resources for those who want to assist their loved ones. Several national hotlines exist, with many of them having text options for those with phone anxiety. There are even hotlines for specific demographics such as the Trans Lifeline for the transgender community.

While suicide is a difficult and somber topic, the overall atmosphere of the walk and of the people participating in it was hopeful and optimistic.  In fact, support for the walk and the cause surrounding it has been stronger than ever. Assistant director for health promotion Samantha Smith said, “What was unique to this year’s walk was that, this year, we had lots of student organizations on campus who are committed to wellness come out and support students … raising awareness all throughout the academic year, especially in the month of April.”

This year’s event, according to Smith, was a tremendous success. She said, “This year we tripled the number of registrants for the walk.” The funds raised go back to the AFSP, who help provide resources such as screening programs, education programs, materials and connections regarding the issue of suicide.

Fortunately, other students are offering support for their peers. Hulon Morgan, a psychology senior and volunteer for the event said, “No one deserves to feel alone to the point where they see no way out of their situation. If I can provide any sort of light or hope for anyone, I’m gonna do it.”

The American Association of Immunologists has selected Greg Szeto, assistant professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, as one of just ten scientists nationwide to participate in its prestigious Public Policy Fellows Program (PPFP). During the 2018-2019 year, Szeto will work to better understand how national policies impact biomedical research, and how he can use this knowledge to inform his future work.

Each year the AAI, selects a small group of junior scientists who are emerging as leaders in biomedical research to take a deep dive into understanding how public policy intersects with their work. Fellows also explore the role of the president of the United States, the president’s administration, the U.S. Congress, and the National Institutes of Health in creating and implementing policies that shape biomedical studies today. The program culminates with a multi-day visit to Capitol Hill in 2019 with AAI public policy committee members, fellows, and legislators.

Szeto’s research focuses on using engineering approaches to discover basic immunology and develop immunotherapy and drug delivery platforms. In 2017, he received funding from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to develop experimental tests and computational models that could assist physicians in more accurately predicting how individual patients with multiple myeloma will respond to immunotherapy. The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation currently funds work in Szeto’s lab on rapid cell engineering for cancer immunotherapy.

As a public policy fellow, Szeto looks forward to attending AAI meetings and training sessions, participating in events on Capitol Hill, and meeting with members of Congress to advocate for increased funding to support the advancement of biomedical research.

“It is a core responsibility for all scientists to advocate for science. For those of us who are lucky enough to also be training future scientists, we must have a refined understanding of the broader context that shapes the science and careers of our labs and our trainees,” says Szeto. “The knowledge and experience I acquire from the PPFP will be translated into sustained regional and national advocacy for the rest of my career.”

Several UMBC faculty have taken advantage of the university’s proximity to the nation’s capital to complete policy-oriented fellowship programs in Washington, D.C. Most recently, Christy Ford Chapin, associate professor of history, participated in the prestigious Kluge  Fellowship at the U.S. Library of Congress, and Diana Parr, adjunct instructor for the cybersecurity graduate program, participated in the Brookings Legis Congressional Fellows Program.

Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.