Our advising offices are located in ITE 202-206. Email and telephone contact information is available here.
The new academic year is quickly approaching and Parking Services is preparing to process the new permits for employees enrolled in parking payroll deduction. Permits will not be processed for employees with an outstanding fine on their account.
Please log into your Parking Account Management before August 14 to review your account for outstanding fines and update your vehicles if needed.
The last day for summer crossover parking is August 29, 2017.
We recognize the challenges transfer students have in transitioning into a new culture, but also celebrate the unique experiences you bring to our academic community.
We encourage all transfer students to enroll in one of our TRS courses: these one or two-credit courses are designed to assist in the successful transition of transfer students from their previous college or university to UMBC.
Our classes focuses on developing and understanding the skills needed and the academic expectations to achieve success at an Honors University. The materials covered will complement the work that is being done in upper-level courses in the major, and it will contain academic material selected by the Department that has been identified as a barrier to the success of transfer students in that particular major.
Transfer Student Seminar are open to all students during their first year at UMBC.
Our advising offices are located in ITE 202-206. Email and telephone contact information is available here.
Kavita Krishnaswamy ’07, computer science and mathematics, Ph.D. ’18, computer science, has been named both a 2017 Microsoft Fellow and recipient of the Google Lime Scholarship. These prestigious honors recognize emerging scholars in computing who are dedicated to increasing diversity in the field, and Krishnawamy’s awards will support her Ph.D. research on “Smart Algorithms via Knowledge Management of Safe Physical Human-Robotic Care.”
“I am very humbled, honored, and grateful to Google Lime and Microsoft for providing me with this enriching experience and lifetime opportunity to serve society by advancing the field of human-robot interaction,” Krishnaswamy says.
The Google Lime Scholarship seeks to promote greater access to knowledge for people with visible and invisible disabilities. It was established through a partnership between Google and Lime Connect, a nonprofit focused on breaking stereotypes about disability and encouraging companies to recognize the importance and value of employing people with disabilities.
Kavita Krishnaswamy. Photo by Sarah Safir for Google
The program encourages students with
disabilities to pursue their passions in computing and technology, and
to become leaders in those fields. As part of the fellowship program,
Krishnaswamy will receive scholarship funding and will participate in
the 2017 Google Scholars’ Retreat.
Through the Microsoft Fellowship, Krishnaswamy will receive funding to support her Ph.D. research and will participate in the Microsoft Research workshop held in fall 2017. Her research currently focuses on building a teleoperated mobile robotic prototype, in addition to creating an accessible robotic interface, that seniors and people with disabilities will be able to control by repositioning their arms and legs. Tim Oates, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, is Krishnaswamy’s Ph.D. advisor.
“Our goal is to explore the intersection between providing physical care and robotics, and how it is possible to translate safe patient handling and mobility guidelines into smart human-robotic interaction algorithms,” Krishnaswamy explains. “As assistive robotics become more mainstream, these best practices can improve safety in direct physical care in the process of repositioning the human body with a mobile robotic arm.”
Krishnaswamy is excited about the possible new directions her research can now explore, thanks to support from these awards. “The resources will provide me with a solid and steady foundation to cultivate new technical expertise and professional skills to successfully continue my dissertation research in robotics, and to broaden my knowledge in the field,” she says.
Krishnaswamy has been recognized internationally as an emerging leader in robotics and accessibility design throughout her graduate studies. She is a former Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. In 2015, she was named to Robohub’s “25 Women in Robotics You Need to Know About” list.
Banner image: Kavita Krishnaswamy.
Kavita Krishnaswamy ’07, computer science and mathematics, Ph.D. ’18, computer science, has been named both a 2017 Microsoft Fellow and recipient of the Google Lime Scholarship. These prestigious honors recognize emerging scholars in computing who are dedicated to increasing diversity in the field, and Krishnawamy’s awards will support her Ph.D. research on “Smart Algorithms via Knowledge Management of Safe Physical Human-Robotic Care.”
“I am very humbled, honored, and grateful to Google Lime and Microsoft for providing me with this enriching experience and lifetime opportunity to serve society by advancing the field of human-robot interaction,” Krishnaswamy says.
The Google Lime Scholarship seeks to promote greater access to knowledge for people with visible and invisible disabilities. It was established through a partnership between Google and Lime Connect, a nonprofit focused on breaking stereotypes about disability and encouraging companies to recognize the importance and value of employing people with disabilities.
Kavita Krishnaswamy. Photo by Sarah Safir for Google
The program encourages students with disabilities to pursue their passions in computing and technology, and to become leaders in those fields. As part of the fellowship program, Krishnaswamy will receive scholarship funding and will participate in the 2017 Google Scholars’ Retreat.
Through the Microsoft Fellowship, Krishnaswamy will receive funding to support her Ph.D. research and will participate in the Microsoft Research workshop held in fall 2017. Her research currently focuses on building a teleoperated mobile robotic prototype, in addition to creating an accessible robotic interface, that seniors and people with disabilities will be able to control by repositioning their arms and legs. Tim Oates, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, is Krishnaswamy’s Ph.D. advisor.
“Our goal is to explore the intersection between providing physical care and robotics, and how it is possible to translate safe patient handling and mobility guidelines into smart human-robotic interaction algorithms,” Krishnaswamy explains. “As assistive robotics become more mainstream, these best practices can improve safety in direct physical care in the process of repositioning the human body with a mobile robotic arm.”
Krishnaswamy is excited about the possible new directions her research can now explore, thanks to support from these awards. “The resources will provide me with a solid and steady foundation to cultivate new technical expertise and professional skills to successfully continue my dissertation research in robotics, and to broaden my knowledge in the field,” she says.
Krishnaswamy has been recognized internationally as an emerging leader in robotics and accessibility design throughout her graduate studies. She is a former Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. In 2015, she was named to Robohub’s “25 Women in Robotics You Need to Know About” list.
Read The Baltimore Sun article to learn more about Krishnaswamy’s research. The article was also published in The Washington Post.
Banner image: Photo of Kavita Krishnaswamy, exploring UMBC via robot, by Britney Clause ’11.
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UMBC Athletics Director Tim Hall has been named the new president of the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (ADA) for the 2017 – 18 academic year, beginning this month. Hall is entering his fifth year as the Retrievers’ athletics director. He previously served as ADA 1st vice president in 2016-17, and his elevation to president was confirmed by a unanimous vote at the 2017 NACDA Conference in Orlando, Florida.
This position continues Hall’s national leadership in collegiate athletics. He currently serves on the NCAA volleyball rules committee and previously served on the NACDA Division I-AAA Executive Committee. He was also chair of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) for fall 2014, after serving on that committee since 2011, and previously chaired the Disability Subcommittee of the CWA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, 2012 – 14.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure on the executive committee and leadership group of the I-AAA ADA and am thrilled to be chosen as its president for the upcoming year,” said Hall. “There are so many critical issues that athletic directors face in today’s climate and this group has always put the student-athlete in the center of its bulls-eye. I am anxious to get started guiding this committed group of leaders.”
The Division I-AAA ADA is a professional organization that includes Division I athletics directors from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, specifically from institutions that do not sponsor football. It is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which includes more than 12,500 individual members from more than 1,600 institutions.
“Tim Hall’s appointment as president of the I-AAA Athletic Director’s Association is a recognition not only of his role as a leader in intercollegiate athletics, but also of the value he places on collaboration,” said UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. “I know he will work hard over the next year to advance initiatives critical to all of the association’s institutions.”
Under Hall’s stewardship, the Retrievers have experienced unparalleled success in women’s and men’s soccer, multiple consecutive conference titles in men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and America East titles in men’s cross country (2013) and baseball (2017). He has hired new head coaches in men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse, Ryan Odom and Ryan Moran, who have led their teams through strong initial campaigns.
For additional details on Hall’s new role, UMBC Athletics during Hall’s tenure, and the NACDA, see the announcement at UMBC Athletics.
Photo of AD Tim Hall by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
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GAITHERSBURG, Md. and BALTIMORE, July 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lentigen Technology Inc., a subsidiary of Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, announced today its acquisition of immunotherapy start-up Living Pharma, Inc. Eduardo Davila, PhD, Living Pharma Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, who is also a faculty member of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), along with Koji Tamada, MD, PhD, UMSOM, invented Living Pharma’s anti-tag-chimeric antigen receptor (AT-CAR™) technology.
Current CAR-T cell therapies detect only a single tumor-associated antigen, thus requiring multiple CAR-T products for treating an individual’s cancer. Living Pharma’s solution, AT-CAR, recognizes a specific “tag” that is part of a tumor-targeting molecule. By adding or withdrawing the tumor-targeting molecule, CAR activity can be regulated. For example, CAR activity could be removed once the therapy has had its anti-tumor effect. The Living Pharma technology also endows a single AT-CAR T-cell product with the adaptability to target and destroy multiple cancer types and the potential to sequentially or simultaneously target a panel of tumor antigens.
“The intellectual property behind AT-CAR technology is fundamental for the development of universal CAR-T cell therapeutics that couple a universal AT-CAR with tumor-targeting molecules, like an antibody, in the body. The potential of this technology is substantial and it could take CAR-T cell therapeutics to the next level,” said Boro Dropulić, Lentigen’s Chief Science Officer and General Manager. “Furthermore, with our operations in Gaithersburg, Maryland, it’s ideal for us to propel forward a technology developed right in our backyard and coming out of one of the State’s top institutions – the University of Maryland School of Medicine.”
“Leveraging the capabilities and resources of Lentigen and Miltenyi Biotec with Living Pharma’s universal CAR-T cell technology is a win-win for our companies and for individuals living with hard-to-treat cancers,” said Ronald P. Dudek, President and Co-Founder of Living Pharma, and former VP Commercial Strategy at Juno Therapeutics, Inc. “I look forward to joining the Lentigen and Miltenyi Biotec team to further develop the AT-CAR technology and to advance products for personalized cancer therapy into the clinic.”
Phil Robilotto, DO, UMB’s Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer and board representative for Living Pharma, added, “We are very excited by this acquisition as it enables the AT-CAR technology to receive benefits from both a global leader in Miltenyi and a growing local collaborator in Lentigen – while also further validating the University’s New Venture Initiative model, in general.”
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
About Lentigen Technology, Inc.
Lentigen Technology, Inc. (LTI; Gaithersburg, MD, US) a leader in the design, construction and manufacture of lentiviral vectors for clinical application, is a subsidiary of Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, a pioneer in developing innovative workflows, tools, and technologies for clinical cell and gene therapy applications. Miltenyi Biotec is dedicated to support customers to move from translational research into the clinic, and towards commercialization with its comprehensive portfolio of high quality, GMP compliant, state-of-the-art platforms, and technologies. Miltenyi’s GMP manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Germany meet both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) requirements for current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). For more information about Miltenyi Biotec or Lentigen, please visit http://www.miltenyibiotec.com or www.lentigen.com.
About Living Pharma, Inc.
Living Pharma develops Personalized CAR T Cell Therapy™. The company’s versatile Anti-Tag Chimeric Antigen Receptor (AT-CAR™) T cells can be tailored to the individual patient’s cancer and disease phenotype to enable immuno-oncology products optimized for each individual patient. The company is headquartered in Baltimore, MD, USA.
Living Pharma Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Eduardo Davila, PhD, associate professor, microbiology and immunology, UMSOM, and co-leader of the UM Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, along with Koji Tamada, MD, PhD, adjunct associate professor, otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery, UMSOM, invented Living Pharma’s anti-tag-chimeric antigen receptor (AT-CAR™) technology.
For more information, visit http://www.livingpharma.com.
Media contact: Juliette Bogus juliettebogus@presscommpr.com 410.980.5687 Media contact Miltenyi Biotec: Svea Luebcke sveal@miltenyibiotec.de +49 2204 8306-6683
Jul. 25, 2017 12:45 pm
Columbia-based cybersecurity startup Bricata closed an $8 million Series A round to continue growth.
The round was led by Princeton, N.J.-based Edison Partners, according to a company blog post.
The startup’s product looks for and detects potential threats inside a company’s firewall. It was built in part by commercializing open-source security engines Bro and Suricata.
“What the market should understand is that this is a growth round, which provides the capacity to scale our business even faster…Our product is already serving an established, but underappreciated market, and is deployed and working within about a dozen large and sophisticated enterprises,” the post states.
Bricata relocated to Maryland from Virginia in 2015. The company received funding through the InvestMaryland challenge, as well as a loan from Howard County. A new version of the product was released in May, and the company also integrated machine learning capabilities as part of a partnership with Cylance.
“With the number of cyber breaches growing exponentially, we’re excited to work closely with the Bricata team on their next phase of growth,” Lenard Marcus, a partner at Edison Partners who led the investment, said in a statement.
The company recently brought on cybersecurity executives Druce MacFarlane and Randy Fallis at the vice president level. As a result of the funding, the company will be able to “invest in and cultivate our engineering, sales and marketing talent,” CEO John Trauth said in a statement. The company has 20 employees, and is looking to hire to expand to 48 employees.
Bricata is also forming a board of directors with members that include Trauth, Marcus, former Sourcefire CEO John Becker, investor Ben Levitan and former Booz Allen Hamilton exec George Schu.