This fall, hundreds of students from across the East Coast gathered to present their research and compete for awards at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences (URS). Fifty-two of the student scientists attend UMBC and participate in a program designed to provide research opportunities to a broad range of students in STEM and boost their confidence, increase the likelihood they pursue STEM graduate degrees, and set them on a path to success.

The program is UMBC STEM Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD).  Eight BUILD students won awards, which is a good sign for the effectiveness of this relative newcomer among UMBC’s cohort programs. UMBC is one of 10 lead institutions on the STEM BUILD initiative nationwide and received $18 million from the National Institutes of Health to launch it in 2014 with the goal to “create a national model of comprehensive support to expand and increase the success of students in STEM.”

“The BUILD participants at URS exemplify the objectives of the program,” says Laura Ott, STEM BUILD active learning coordinator and director of UMBC’s Science Education Research Unit. All BUILD participants complete summer research, either in opportunities they arrange themselves or in small groups on campus organized by the program. BUILD students also receive financial support and extensive academic advising.

STEM BUILD is also a scientific study, so participants’ progress is carefully tracked to try to tease out which supports have the biggest impact on student success. “By participating in the BUILD program, they’re helping us explore novel strategies to increase participation in undergraduate research for all students,” Ott says.

Teodora (“Roxie”) Danaila ’20, biological sciences, Arjun Sharma ’20, biological sciences, and Amber Thompson ’20, biochemistry and molecular biology and mathematics, worked together to characterize antibiotic resistance genes present in local freshwater samples. Their team won second place in their biochemical and molecular biology group at URS. Mohammed Arafat ‘20, psychology; Yasmin Khan ‘20, biological sciences; and Sharanja Mathyvannan ‘20, pre-mechanical engineering, completed a similar project and won second place in their group.

Caitlin Kowalewski ’14, biological sciences, M.S. ’15, applied molecular biology, and now research coordinator for the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Josh Wilhide, M.S. ’10, chemistry, and manager of UMBC’s Molecular Characterization and Analysis Complex; and their assistants, Dave Varisco and Tim Cain ’18, chemistry education, mentored the students in the on-campus, three-week “Summer Bridge” experience.

“Ms. Kowalewski was able to get me to step my game up and allowed me to see what I was capable of,” Arafat shares. “If you ever had questions or were having trouble,” Danaila says, “they were there.” The mentors “allowed us to relay ideas back and forth with people who had much more experience and knowledge than us,” adds Sharma.

Presenting at the symposium had benefits, too. “It allowed me to explore fields of research that may interest me, and also helped me improve my presentation and research methods,” Sharma says. Thompson appreciated the opportunity to speak with students from other schools. “I was interested in how they got into their labs and what it was like for them in a different lab environment,” she shared.

“I felt that my role in mentoring the students was not only to teach them the laboratory skills, but to help them grow as scientists and researchers,” Kowalewski says. She was impressed by their rapid progress in the content-intensive program. “The fact that they were able to understand the information and present it well enough to win an award at URS was a testament to all of their hard work,” she says. Overall, the summer experience under Kowalewski’s tutelage is intended to build the students’ proficiency in a wide range of scientific techniques and prepare them for independent research opportunities.

Temiloluwa Okusolubo ’19, biological sciences, and Ifeoma (“Fefe”) Azinge ’19, biological sciences, are in their second year of BUILD participation and both earned first place in their biochemical and molecular biology groups at URS for independent research. Okusolubo studied the folding of serpin proteins, which are implicated in various diseases related to lung function, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Azinge’s research at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore focused on calcium transport in sweat glands, which is critical for temperature regulation.

Okusolubo and Azinge’s successes are the kind of outcomes that UMBC STEM BUILD hopes to facilitate, using systems that other schools can eventually adopt. Ott is proud of the students in the program, she says, “and I have high hopes for where they’ll go in the future.”

Image: Students and faculty at the 2017 UMBC Undergraduate Research Symposium. Photo by Mohammed Arafat ’20.

Qatar, Israel and Pakistan number among the countries whose flags hang in the Commons. However, adherents of the majority religions in these countries have tremendous difficulty finding food to eat in that same building.

Observant Jews and Muslims adhere to religious dietary restrictions that complicate on campus dining. If religious students live on campus, they are sometimes forced to compromise their religious principles. A school truly dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive community needs to create an accessible campus space where students can comfortably practice their religion.

Yusra Ahmed, a sophomore biology and psychology major, is the secretary of the Muslim Student Association. Last year, Yusra had to modify her stance on halal foods to maintain a nutritious diet.

“I was living on campus as a student when I first came here last year,” says Yusra, “I was trying to eat [halal] but it was very difficult so I changed. I now eat chicken and beef.”

Even students who only eat halal meat have difficulty knowing whether their food is actually halal. At a meeting between MSA and dining services, MSA President Ahmed Wadi reported that several Muslim students saw Commons employees using utensils that have touched non-halal meat to prepare halal food.

When Muslim students need to remind staff to change their gloves or use clean utensils, it shatters the trust between the Muslim community and UMBC dining. Students cannot always verify that employees are properly separating food when there is no student there to remind them.

Jewish students also have a difficult time finding food because the only kosher options on campus are prepackaged foods from Outtakes and the Kosher Korner in True Grit’s, which is only open from dinner on Sunday through lunch on Friday.

Jewish students cannot live comfortably or healthily with these limited options. Additionally, MSA representatives articulated that they are alienated by a dearth of authentic Middle Eastern food.

Inclusive kosher and halal dining options must include food that people can enjoy. Asking a group of students to exclusively subsist on cold-cuts for two days a week or completely Americanized halal food is not inclusive.

Rabbi Jeremy Fierstien, the Executive Director of UMBC Hillel, insists that poor meal offerings have practical repercussions.

“The problem is that if we can’t offer a comfortable Jewish communal life, the national Jewish community is not going to take this place seriously,” says Fierstien.

The Muslim community has been able to effect some change through student voices. Conversations between the MSA and Dining Services yielded several food truck collaborations. Soon colored utensils will be used to decrease the chance of cross contamination with non-halal foods. In the meantime, however, Muslim students choose to live off-campus or compromise their morals to maintain a healthy diet.

The picture for UMBC Jews is even grimmer. Due to scant kosher offerings, religious Jews do not have the option of living on campus. Consequently, there are few student voices demanding more kosher options at UMBC.

According to the Chartwells Resident District Manager Tom DeLuca, despite ongoing talks, the current kosher dining options are not expected to provide observant Jews a comprehensive meal plan. This effectively renders it impossible for observant Jews to live on campus.

“Seven meals a week 3 meals a day … [our kosher program] is not at the moment currently designed for that,” says DeLuca.

A diverse, inclusive school should not force religious minorities to violate their principles or choose other universities because of limited options. True inclusivity requires UMBC to design kosher and halal preparation spaces into future infrastructure so that all UMBC students can enjoy a healthy and happy campus life while practicing their religion.

With hate crimes against Jews and Islamophobia on the rise, it is critical to send a clear message now.

UMBC’s Chapter of Young Alumni made a difference in our community this month, volunteering at two locations — and having a blast doing so together.

The Walters Art Museum has a full time opening for a dynamic and energetic individual to work in the Museum Advancement Division as the Development Coordinator. The Development Coordinator manages and expands the pool of donors ($1,000 and above), institutional donors, and committee and governance prospects through comprehensive and proactive research. Reporting to the Development Manager, this position provides ongoing donor stewardship and cultivation support across the Development Department through the use of prospect research and moves management.

Attention ECON, FEIC, BTA, and Accounting December Grads

Student Affairs Business Services Center is seeking TWO Accounting Associates.

FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES CAN BE FOUND HERE

Closing Date:     Best consideration by December 3, 2017
Salary:    Pay Range 9 (Starting at $35,728) based on the University System of Maryland Pay Program

DUTIES:  Provides full-performance level of business management services work requiring a working knowledge of, and the ability to apply, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and skill in applying basic analytical skills to review revenues, prepare forecasts, and reconcile accounts.    Specific duties include:  coordinate the Accounts Receivable function for multiple departments to include Events and Conference Services, Commonvision, Flat Tuesdays, Game Room, Transportation Services, University Health Services, Career Center, and others as needed; supervise all cash handling by employees in the Division of Student Affairs; oversee the accurate preparation of complex deposit transmital documentation; supervise the on-line ticketing revenue process and other specialized revenue programs for the Division of Student Affairs; analyze all revenue generation in the Division of Student Affairs to propose improvements in procedures and processes; prepare monthly reports on revenue generation using multiple data sources and include explanations of budget variances; manage internal control policies and procedures for the Division of Student Affairs; and perform other duties as assigned.

A UMBC faculty member and a UMBC alumnus were recognized by the Maryland Science Center for their outstanding work in engineering and science. Lee Blaney, associate professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, was one of two people to receive the 2017 Outstanding Young Engineer Award, and Phillip Graff ’08, physics, was awarded one of two 2017 Outstanding Young Scientist Awards. The ceremony, hosted annually by the Maryland Science Center and the Maryland Academy of Sciences, highlights the work being done by young scientists and engineers in Maryland to advance the fields.

In his work, Blaney develops technology used to recover nutrients, such as phosphorus, from poultry litter. The phosphorus found in poultry litter often saturates the soil on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, making the water that runs off into the Chesapeake Bay a hazard for aquatic life. The technology he is testing in his lab could reduce the amount of phosphorus that ends up in the Chesapeake Bay from manure by about 90 percent.

Earlier this year, Blaney received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to address contaminants of emerging concern, from personal care products and pharmaceuticals, found in the Gwynns Falls watershed.

“Dr. Blaney is a dedicated professor with unique and innovative research ideas. He is a great mentor who encourages his students to think about research problems from multiple angles and asks tough questions to push us to reach for the best solution,” says Mamatha Hopanna, Ph.D. ‘22, environmental engineering, who works in Blaney’s lab.

Blaney is the faculty advisor of the UMBC’s Engineers Without Borders student organization. He has led several trips to Kenya, where he and his students developed a clean-water supply for a village with a population of 500.

Graff currently works as a data scientist and astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore. He has industry experience in many fields including cybersecurity. Previously, he worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and helped develop an algorithm for the Laser Interferometry Gravitational Wave Observatory. He has also developed algorithms to protect the nation’s computer networks for the Department of Homeland Security National Cyber Protection System.

Banner image: Lee Blaney. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. Videos courtesy of the Maryland Science Center.