For more than 40 years, UMBC’s student-run radio station, WMBC, has been a reliable source of news and entertainment for our campus, as well as an incubator for our students’ creative talents. As times have changed – the station is now broadcasting completely online, and has recently pivoted to livestreaming – so have the station’s equipment needs. With this in mind, WMBC officers started a fundraiser on UMBC’s brand-new crowdfunding platform, Gritstarter…and with just three days left, they’re already more than halfway to their $3,000 goal!

Click here to read more about WMBC, and to make your gift heard (you can also check out their Facebook page here.) To learn more about the dozens of other student-run projects on campus, and to give to the cause closest to you, head to our Gritstarter site.

The projects are presented to the class at the beginning of each semester by Neil Rothman, professor of practice of mechanical engineering, and come from a variety of places, including private companies, local nonprofit organizations, and some UMBC-affiliated teams and groups. Throughout the semester, students work in groups of three or four to design, create, test and deliver nearly a dozen high quality products – everything from a calming swing for a boy with disabilities, to a GPS-guided robot, to a machine that automatically shuffles and deals a deck of cards.

Rothman hopes the course helps students recognize how little they know, and encourages them to seek guidance from experienced engineers. “The more times you design engineer something, the better you get,” he says.

Olusola Jegede ’17, mechanical engineering, makes modifications to the tricycle that his capstone group designed and built for Calvin, a young boy with curvature of the joints and mobility challenges.

Several projects, including a swing for a boy named Brennon’s happened through a collaboration with V-LINC, a Baltimore-based organization that creates customized technological solutions for people with disabilities. Brennon, a young boy who has Type 1 lissencephaly, which causes developmental delays, seizures, and abnormal muscle tone, is calmed by the swinging motion. Swinging also helps reduce the frequency of the seizures that he experiences.

Many students face challenges and setbacks throughout the semester, including some groups who simply run out of time to complete the project. Brennon’s swing, for instance, is still in progress as of press time, so the group continues to put the final touches on the swing so that it will meet the needs of their client. Rothman says that “the design engineer’s best friend is experience.”

Ciara Davis ’17, mechanical engineering, who worked on Brennon’s swing, knew that she wanted to work on a V-LINC project. “I liked that the project we would be doing would be going to someone to help them in some way,” she says.

For Danny Joh ’17, mechanical engineering, who worked with Davis, meeting Brennon was a pivotal moment. “Every single thing I did, I had to think about Brennon. A single thing I did wrong could affect his life,” he says.

Another group developed a GPS-guided robot for the Aberdeen Test Center. The project was proposed to Jay Gordon ’17, mechanical engineering, who interned at the Aberdeen Test Center, and combined mechanical engineering with software engineering skills. The goal of the project is for the robot to be able to follow a soldier in a field and maneuver itself around obstacles, and stop and start at specific points in the field. One requirement was that the robot needs be waterproof so that it can be used outside.

Emily Casto ’17, mechanical engineering, one of the group members, explains that the project allowed her to participate in experiences that helped her grow as an engineer. “I think from this project specifically, I think the biggest takeaway is that being pushed out of your comfort zone is really scary, but it really pushes you to learn and to understand something new,” she says. “This is what engineering is. It’s never the same thing over and over again.”

You've probably heard about the wage gap. You know, the part where men and women often get paid differently for doing the same job? The gap is even bigger for people of color and people with disabilities. What can you do, besides wringing your hands and hoping you don't fall in?

Learn to negotiate your salary, that's what! Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL) is bringing another edition of Start Smart to UMBC. We will learn how to ask for what we're worth, even in this tight job market, and help all of us avoid one of the most common pitfalls for new employees: failing to negotiate that starting salary. Don't let this happen to you!

The workshop will be held on Monday, November 6 at 12:00 PM in the Women's Center located in The Commons, Ground Floor.  Lunch will be provided. Invest in your future today!