Two faculty in UMBC’s College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) have received special honors, at the national level, in recognition of their contributions as teachers and mentors.

The Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Foundation recognized Lee Blaney, associate professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, with the AEESP Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science during the organization’s annual AEESP conference, held June 22. Each year, the award is presented to one professor of environmental engineering or environmental science to recognize their particularly meaningful contributions as an educator in the field.

“I was absolutely thrilled to receive the 2017 AEESP Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science. As this is the premier teaching award for environmental engineering, I was immensely honored and humbled to be chosen,” Blaney says. “In putting together the documentation for the award package, I was able to reflect not only on teaching traditional courses, but also mentoring students in my laboratory and working with students to complete humanitarian service projects.”

In addition to his teaching, international infrastructure development work, research on water contaminants of emerging concern, and mentoring students in the field and in the lab, Blaney is now focusing on growing collaboration opportunities in Baltimore. As part of his recent NSF CAREER Award, he is developing and launching a citizen science program in Baltimore City. The program will help community members become more connected with their environment, and increase their scientific and environmental literacy, while valuing their contributions to the study of local water safety.

“The common thread in all of these activities is the hardworking, positive, and diverse UMBC student body. I am grateful to those students that have taken my classes, worked in my laboratory, and dedicated their time and effort to ensuring that others have clean water and safe sanitation,” he says. “They are my motivation, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in the coming years.”

Blaney also presented during the annual AEESP meeting. Using data from the American Society of Engineering Education, he discussed the demographics of students and faculty in the field, and and the importance of workplace diversity in engineering. Diversity in STEM fields is an area that both Blaney and UMBC are working to address in numerous ways. He says that supporting students from underrepresented groups as they pursue undergraduate degrees in environmental engineering plays a crucial role in encouraging their future success in graduate school, as researchers, and as educators.

Marie desJardins, COEIT associate dean and professor of computer science and electrical engineering, has been named the recipient of the A. Richard Newton Education ABIE Award from the Anita Borg Institute. The award “recognizes educators for developing innovative teaching practices and approaches that attract girls and women to computing, engineering, and math in K-12 or undergraduate education.” The Anita Borg Institute will formally honor desJardins with the award during the upcoming Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, an annual conference that desJardins describes as “the heart of the movement to increase gender diversity in computing.”

Increasing gender diversity in computing has become both a professional focus and personal commitment for desJardins over the course of her career. “It’s part of a broader equity issue — for everyone to be able to envision themselves as creators of technology, and for the future of technology to be created by a diverse community of scientists and engineers,” she says.

This summer, desJardins shared her passion for encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in computing with nearly 150 elementary and middle school girls who attend the Mind, Body, Coding camp at UMBC. “Seeing these young girls whose lives could be transformed by greater access to computing is incredibly inspiring,” she says. “It’s a big part of what gets me energized every day to do the work that I do, from supporting diversity in K-12 computing education to mentoring junior female faculty who will train the next generation of computer scientists.”

Banner image: Lee Blaney, left, works with a student in his lab. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

This award is given annually to recognize an environmental engineering or science professor who is making outstanding contributions to the teaching of environmental engineering, both at the individual's home institution and beyond. A cash award of $500 is presented to the recipient. Previous winners are ineligible for this award.

This award recognizes excellence in classroom performance and related activities. Specifically, nomination packages should demonstrate that the nominee:

• Possesses and is able to communicate interest in and breadth and depth in subject area knowledge;
• Designs classroom, laboratory, field-based or other learning activities that challenge and motivate students and demand thinking and learning; and/or
• Is committed to professional mentoring and academic advising of students.

Although open to nomination at any rank, the award is intended primarily to recognize a demonstrated commitment to teaching early in a person's career. Therefore, preference is usually given to nominees who are at the assistant or associate level and have demonstrated excellence in teaching undergraduate courses.

2017-2018 PSS Action Plan

Advocate for hiring and retaining a diverse professional staff throughout UMBC

• Increase awareness of campus affinity groups and partner with interested groups to host discussions and events
• Monitor the implementation of PageUp and act as a resource for feedback for Human Resources
• Enhance and clarify procedures around the exit interview process with Human Resources
• Obtain detailed data from Human Resources that can be used to shape the direction of future action items

Advocate for career-life balance issues for professional staff

• Hold several professional development sessions in conjunction with Human Resources to help educate staff and supervisors on how to successfully approach alternative work arrangement agreements so they are perceived positively by staff and supervisors
• Engage with campus leadership to continue the conversation around the benefits of alternative work arrangement
• Meet with career-life balance professionals at local colleges/universities to learn how our peers are approaching career-life balance on their campuses
• Profile staff using alternative work arrangements through many mediums to market career-life balance successes
• Develop a campaign to encourage career-life balance discussions during PMP conversations

Better define the role of staff in the Strategic Plan implementation process

• Discuss the role of staff in the strategic plan implementation process with campus leadership and advocate for deliberate staff involvement
• Monitor the implementation tracking infrastructure once developed to proactively engage and update staff

Promote healthy office environments and campus communities

• Request PSS representation on UMBC’s Wellness Initiative Team and/or the Healthy Retrievers Initiative Team
• Collaborate with Human Resources and other campus groups (i.e. Campus Climate Committee) to
  

• offer trainings and resources aiming to empower employees and managers to have civil conversations and manage macroaggressions
• increase the understanding of campus report/response processes through diversifying campus communications

• Partner with Human Relations Office and encourage an annual senate presentation

The latest special section on education in The Baltimore Sun highlights several UMBC programs that prepare students to succeed in careers in rapidly growing and already high-demand industries. The Sun highlights how the flexibility of these programs makes them particularly accessible and valuable to students, allowing students to tailor their pathway to match specific areas of interest.

Marc Olano, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering and director of the game development track in computer science, described UMBC’s multiple pathways for learning game development. “We created two programs, the game development track in computer science and the animation and interactive media concentration in visual arts,” he explained. “In both cases, the students get a degree in the primary discipline, a B.S. in computer science or a B.A. or B.F.A. in visual arts,” he noted. The “track” system helps students focus their electives specifically on skills “that are used in the games industry.”

Jacqueline Wojcik ‘17, visual arts, who completed a concentration in animation and interactive media and a minor in computer science, shared her experience as a member of UMBC’s Game Developers Club. Collaborating with other students in the club helped her apply skills she learned in the classroom to other creative opportunities. For the coming year, Wojcik has received a Fulbright research grant to complete an innovative project in Oslo, Norway. “I will create digital models from two Viking Age ship burials and then place in interactive, game-like environments so that people can see how the artifacts would have used in the lives of their owners,” she told the Sun. “The project will explore the intersection of games, learning and archeological visualization.”

The education section also highlighted UMBC programs in health information technology and cybersecurity.  

The health IT program prepares professionals with backgrounds in computer science, information systems, and health care for growing opportunities in work to prevent medical errors, improve care delivery, and address other major health care challenges through technology. “Not only does it provide students with technical information technology skills, but it also provides a pragmatic understanding of the health care system, which has its own terminology,” explains Krystl Haerian ‘99, biological science, an instructor in the program.

Laura Humber ‘16, health administration and policy, a current student in the health IT master’s program, says that she didn’t think she would end up pursuing an advanced degree in such a technical-sounding field, but she came to realize it could help her take the next steps in a research career focused on addressing opioid addiction. “People think when you say, ‘IT’ that you’re dealing with computers, but it’s making computers work for you and get you the information you need,” Humber explained.

Rick Forno, assistant director of UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity and director of the graduate cybersecurity program, described in the Sun how UMBC’s cybersecurity graduate programs are also designed work across fields and to connect students with skills that will help them advance their careers. He noted that at UMBC, studying cybersecurity can include courses in economics, public policy, and biotechnology. “Pick a field or major, and cybersecurity applies to it,” he said. “It really is interdisciplinary.”

Students are encouraged to tailor the program to their interests, and gain experience through research and internship opportunities, so they can explore the full range of career opportunities available to them.“You can go to grad school and get a degree and get a job,” Forno reflected. “But we want you to be a professional. You can do more than just your degree. There’s depth to what we offer.”

Read the full education section in The Baltimore Sun. 

Banner image: The game developers club display in House of Grit at UMBC’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Photo by freelance photographer.