From June 16 to 23, UMBC’s Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall will host an ambitious new annual event, Festival Baltimore, featuring performances of major classical chamber music works by Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Shostakovich, Paul Creston and George Walker. Produced in partnership between UMBC’s department of music and non-profit organization Music for Minds, the festival’s concerts are unusual opportunities to hear complete cycles of works — for example, all of the Brahms piano quartets or all of the Beethoven cello sonatas — in a single evening.

“Each concert is dedicated to a composer’s complete works for a certain genre or instrumentation,” explains festival director and pianist Asiya Korepanova. “They bring back the atmosphere of the magical old times of 19th century, when two symphonies could be premiered on the same evening — after two hours of other music! — when audiences were just soaked in music, limitlessly absorbing it, when time flew by differently, and people couldn’t wait to hear premieres and then discuss their impressions.”

The festival offers “a distinctive twist on programming,” said Tim Smith of The Baltimore Sun on May 31, “in UMBC’s impressive Linehan Concert Hall.” Read his article about Festival Baltimore here.

UMBC faculty, staff and students are among the festival’s highlights. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the extraordinary musicians in Festival Baltimore to bring the joy of summer chamber music to the Baltimore region,” says Linda Dusman, chair of music. “Audiences will delight in the amazing beauty and acoustics of the Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall, which brings every nuance of the performance to every seat in the house.”

Gita Ladd, cellist and UMBC affiliate artist, will perform on the festival’s finale on Friday, June 23, in a program presenting the complete Beethoven cello sonatas. Four UMBC student musicians — cellist Michael Bradshaw, violinist Morgan Dice, pianist Jackie Smedley, and pianist Junghoon Park (all class of ’18) — have received scholarships to the Festival Baltimore Academy (read more here), and with nine other academy attendees will perform the complete Brahms piano quartets on Friday, June 23.

Alan Wonneberger, director of recording for the department of music, will oversee the festival’s recording sessions, assisted by two UMBC students — Stephen Johnson and Nicholas Spears — who will intern during the festival to gain hands-on recording experience. “Festival Baltimore provides opportunities for the UMBC community and the community at large to connect with world class musicians,” he notes. “For the interns, the festival provides opportunities to record concerts with varying instrumentation performed by superb artists.”

The festival opens on Friday, June 16, with Korepanova’s performance of Franz Liszt’s complete 24 etudes for solo piano. “I admire these etudes because they are among very few examples in the piano repertoire when a 5-minute piano piece can sound like a symphonic poem,” she says. “I’ve played the 12 transcendental etudes as a set since I was 19 and always enjoyed the challenge and grandeur of this cycle. Learning that cycle felt like taming a wild animal, and now, with another 12 etudes added, it feels that way even more.”

On Saturday, June 17, the Firebird Duo (saxophonist Matthew Evan Taylor and pianist Asiya Korepanova) performs Paul Creston’s complete works for saxophone and piano. “It has been fun to trace Paul Creston’s evolution in writing for solo alto saxophone and piano,” shares Taylor. “I’ve really enjoyed experiencing the difference between Creston’s early style, in which he is fitting his various influences together, and his mature style, which is elegant and assured.”

On Sunday, June 18, violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and pianist Asiya Korepanova perform the complete Brahms and Shostakovich viola sonatas, and on Wednesday, June 21, pianist Redi Llupa performs the complete piano sonatas by George Walker. Thursday, June 22, features the duo of violinist Netanel Draiblate and pianist Lura Johnson, who will perform the complete Brahms violin sonatas.

Friday, June 23, hosts two concerts. First, college musicians attending the Festival Baltimore Academy will perform the complete piano quartets by Brahms. Capping off the festival in the evening, Ladd and Korepanova will perform the complete cello sonatas by Beethoven.

“Gita and I met at the Endless Mountain Music Festival in 2013 but hadn’t played as a duo until 2015, when, due to a mistake by the festival, I wasn’t told that I was to perform with her, and it was three days before the concert,” remembers Korepanova. “So, I had three days to learn the Prokofiev Cello Sonata, the Chopin Polonaise and some other challenging works, and we could rehearse only twice. The surprise was when we got together and played the entire program as if we had played with one another other for decades! It was insane, as if we didn’t need to rehearse anything — we both knew what the other was about to do.”

All Festival Baltimore performances will be held in UMBC’s Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall, and master classes throughout the week are open to the public. General information about each of the concerts is available on UMBC’s Arts and Culture calendar here, and tickets are available through the Festival Baltimore website here. UMBC faculty and staff receive a 50% discount on tickets; UMBC students and attendees under the age of 18 receive free admission.

Festival Baltimore’s logo was inspired by Forum by Thomas Sayre, the public artwork situated in front of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building.

Header image: UMBC’s Linehan Concert Hall. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Ahead of final exams this spring, nearly 200 students gathered at UMBC  for “Innovate Good,” a hackathon co-hosted by HackUMBC and The Shriver Center, UMBC’s hub for service-learning, civic engagement, and community-based service delivery. During the 24-hour tech innovation marathon, students collaborated to build mobile, web, and hardware projects focused on solving problems and creating positive social outcomes. Four overarching categories inspired participants in their tech development: health and environment, housing, legal and justice, and education.

Collaborating with The Shriver Center to host the hackathon was an exciting experience, says Celeste Wong ‘18, computer science, co-president of HackUMBC. “There were different aspects to the hackathon we had to think about and work through since we’ve never done a social good Hackathon,” she explained. “In the end it was very rewarding to see students who are passionate about different areas of social justice. Seeing the participants demo and explain their projects really showcased their passion and heart for others at our school and in our community.”

Rick Forno, assistant director for UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity and director of the Cybersecurity Graduate Program, serves as faculty advisor of the HackUMBC student organization. “Hackathons like HackUMBC are diverse, high-energy events that bring together novices, experts, and mentors to share and apply their knowledge, skills, and personal enthusiasm toward exploring the world of technology and/or developing innovative solutions with technology,” he says. He was delighted at the success of this first themed HackUMBC event in bringing together participants with diverse interests, experiences, and perspectives.

Hannah Schmitz, program coordinator of public service scholars programs in The Shriver Center, agreed, sharing,  “So often we see a divide between ‘techie’ and ‘non-techie’ students. The Shriver Center and HackUMBC designed ‘Innovate Good’ to bridge that divide, bringing students together to harness their skills and experiences to co-create interdisciplinary solutions to social challenges.” She explained, “Participants had a chance to collaborate with students with varying disciplinary perspectives, and had an opportunity to learn from, work with, and teach each other.”

An “expo” portion toward the end of the event gave participants an the opportunity to share the hacks that they developed with their peers and receive feedback from faculty judges.

“It’s our hope that each participant walked away with new skill sets and a deepened interest in using their talents to make an impact in their community,” says Schmitz.

For more information about upcoming hackathons at UMBC, visit the HackUMBC website.

Header image: Students presenting their hacks at the “expo” portion of the hackathon. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. 

This article was originally written here and written by Sarah Hansen.

The spring 2017 UMBC Research Forum focused on innovative research in aging and the life course—a notably far-reaching area of study that transcends a diverse range of fields. Speakers discussed aging research from the microscopic scale of genetic mutation to analysis of federal policy, and all emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in this complex area of study.

“Health, we know, is not cardiovascular, is not neurological, is not pathological. Those are completely artificial distinctions,” shared keynote speaker Luigi Ferrucci, director of science at the National Institute on Aging. “It’s become very, very clear that everything interconnects.”

Ferrucci focused his remarks on the complex relationship between nutrition and aging. “We know intuitively that nutrition affects the aging process dramatically, but it’s also an understudied area,” he said. For example, strict caloric restriction, which has resulted in lifespan extension across many species in scientific studies, seems to have a more nuanced effect on human health and lifespan.

Ferrucci also stressed the importance of analyzing how the body processes food after ingestion. His research suggests that people don’t absorb amino acids, the building blocks of muscles, into their muscles as well as they age. Also, age-related changes in mitochondria, which release energy for use by cells, result in reduced muscular strength.

“Nutrition cannot be resolved in terms of what you put in your stomach, but what happens to those molecules when they come into your body,” Ferrucci said. “Only by putting together the biology of aging will a nutritional intervention really be able to make a difference.”

It’s these connections across fields of research that have so much potential to reveal new insights in aging, said Karl Steiner, vice president for research, affirming that we “need to shine the light on these complex issues.”

John Schumacher, associate professor of sociology, anthropology, and health administration policy, kicked off the first panel by addressing his research on geriatric emergency departments. These senior-focused facilities have been popping up around the country over the last decade, but they can be quite different from one another, and much can still be done to improve the experiences of seniors who visit emergency departments, Schumacher said.

Sarah Chard, associate professor of anthropology, discussed her research on the subjective experiences of people with diabetes. She explained how doctors may label patients as “non-compliant” when they do not follow medical guidance, without recognizing “the presence of patients’ competing, yet very rational, health goals.” For example, if a person who would benefit from exercise is wary of leaving home, it would be more beneficial for a doctor to suggest at-home exercise options than to insist the patient walk or drive to an exercise facility. Chard explains, “Greater attention to the social dimensions of disease management is critically needed.”

Nancy Kusmaul, assistant professor of social work, talked about how some nursing homes are making systemic changes to give residents more autonomy, such as offering meals across wider time windows. However, institutions often make changes without considering the impact on employees, many of whom are living at or below the poverty line despite working full time. “How can staff care for residents when they’re not being cared for themselves by the organization?” Kusmaul asked.

In the second panel, Ravi Kuber, associate professor of human-centered computing, spoke about his work developing a tool that helps people maintain pace while walking. It provides cues in the form of vibrations at the hip, leaving eyes and ears available to take in the environment. Kuber’s research team is also learning more about how seniors interact with technology, such as tablets, with the goal of providing guidelines to interface developers.

Jeff Leips, professor of biological sciences, studies how aging affects traits in fruit flies. At the forum, he discussed work that looks at the immune response, lifespan, and endurance. Genes are highly conserved across flies and humans, making them an excellent study organism. One surprising finding from the lab has been that genes do not affect traits in the same way across the lifespan, Leips says. That might mean treatment for the same disease should look different depending on a patient’s age.

Nancy Miller, professor of public policy, talked about her research on the distribution of funding for long-term care services between institutional environments and home- and community-based care. She found that public funding for the latter increased following policy changes, especially in states that initially provided the least funding for these services. That suggests, she says, “there’s a continued role for policies to encourage states in this direction.”

In closing the event, President Freeman Hrabowski focused on the fact that those who are privileged tend to age more gracefully than those who are not, and that that inequality needs to change. Moving forward, he told the participating researchers, “the work that you do, and the research, the training, will be increasingly important for all of us.”

Banner image: Ravi Kuber, information systems; Jeff Leips, biological sciences; and Nancy Miller, public policy, take questions after giving short talks on their research. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

This article was originally published here and written by Megan Hanks.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Ting Zhu, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, its prestigious CAREER Award for his work to significantly improve the existing sensing capabilities of common technologies, such as cell phones. The five-year grant will total nearly $500,000. 

“We congratulate Dr. Zhu on his NSF CAREER Award, an important recognition of his inventive work and what it may mean for other fields,” said Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research. “Dr. Zhu’s recognition adds to our growing list of outstanding young faculty recognized by peers and national funding agencies for their potential to advance science and technology.”

Zhu’s research may have impacts on the daily lives of people who use their cell phones to track activities, like exercise and sleep. He finds that although many mobile phones have activity monitoring systems built in, these capabilities are often not used to their fullest potential.

“The purpose of my research is to enable Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to conduct accurate, efficient, and scalable N-way sensing,” explains Zhu. “This award will allow me to leverage sensing capabilities from different IoT devices to significantly improve people’s daily life for applications such as personal health monitoring, indoor localization, and smart home automation.”

To integrate research with education, Zhu will collaborate with his colleagues at UMBC to disseminate his research to local communities and recruit underrepresented groups. His work also has potential applications for enhancing the teaching of sensing technologies in classrooms, and his lab will provide opportunities for diverse UMBC students to complete hands-on research related to sensing technologies, as well as potentially exploring connections with virtual reality and 3D scanning. 

In the last two decades, UMBC faculty have received 34 NSF CAREER awards. Additional UMBC faculty honored with CAREER awards so far in 2017 include Lee Blaney, assistant professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, for his work on water contamination, and Tinoosh Mohsenin, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, for her work on energy efficient implementation of deep learning technologies and machine learning algorithms that are developed to function similarly to the brain.

Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Ahead of final exams this spring, nearly 200 students gathered at UMBC  for “Innovate Good,” a hackathon co-hosted by HackUMBC and The Shriver Center, UMBC’s hub for service-learning, civic engagement, and community-based service delivery. During the 24-hour tech innovation marathon, students collaborated to build mobile, web, and hardware projects focused on solving problems and creating positive social outcomes. Four overarching categories inspired participants in their tech development: health and environment, housing, legal and justice, and education.

Collaborating with The Shriver Center to host the hackathon was an exciting experience, says Celeste Wong ‘18, computer science, co-president of HackUMBC. “There were different aspects to the hackathon we had to think about and work through since we’ve never done a social good Hackathon,” she explained. “In the end it was very rewarding to see students who are passionate about different areas of social justice. Seeing the participants demo and explain their projects really showcased their passion and heart for others at our school and in our community.”

Rick Forno, assistant director for UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity and director of the Cybersecurity Graduate Program, serves as faculty advisor of the HackUMBC student organization. “Hackathons like HackUMBC are diverse, high-energy events that bring together novices, experts, and mentors to share and apply their knowledge, skills, and personal enthusiasm toward exploring the world of technology and/or developing innovative solutions with technology,” he says. He was delighted at the success of this first themed HackUMBC event in bringing together participants with diverse interests, experiences, and perspectives.

Hannah Schmitz, program coordinator of public service scholars programs in The Shriver Center, agreed, sharing,  “So often we see a divide between ‘techie’ and ‘non-techie’ students. The Shriver Center and HackUMBC designed ‘Innovate Good’ to bridge that divide, bringing students together to harness their skills and experiences to co-create interdisciplinary solutions to social challenges.” She explained, “Participants had a chance to collaborate with students with varying disciplinary perspectives, and had an opportunity to learn from, work with, and teach each other.”

An “expo” portion toward the end of the event gave participants an the opportunity to share the hacks that they developed with their peers and receive feedback from faculty judges.

“It’s our hope that each participant walked away with new skill sets and a deepened interest in using their talents to make an impact in their community,” says Schmitz.

For more information about upcoming hackathons at UMBC, visit the HackUMBC website.

The Choice Program at UMBC has received a $50,000 Collaborative Opportunity Grant to launch The Path Before Me, an initiative designed to increase the number of Baltimore City Public School students who are ready to enroll and succeed in college degree programs.

UMBC is one of 12 public institutions nationwide selected to receive such a grant from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU), supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These new grants support programs to boost student success through advancing university-community partnerships.

UMBC’s Choice Program has long been recognized as a national model in providing community-based, family-centered case management for youth. For nearly 30 years, the program has provided 24/7 wrap-around support and job training, reaching over 20,000 youth from Maryland’s highest risk communities. The Path Before Me seeks to build on this strength in community engagement to support greater community empowerment, with youth active in shaping the direction of the program in their own schools.

The project will work with a cohort of 40 students (20 juniors, 20 seniors) from Baltimore City high schools. So far, Ben Franklin High School and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute have joined in the partnership. It will provide exposure to the college experience, mentoring, SAT preparation, and support for the admissions and matriculation processes in a way that responds to how students express their own college readiness needs.

UMBC works with Baltimore City high school students through a number of different programs, including the Choice Program, based in UMBC’s Shriver Center, as well as more recently launched initiatives, like the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholar Program. Through these partnerships, a core group of high school students is emerging voicing an interest in expanding college access as a matter of both social justice and personal opportunity. In addition to supporting these students’ college preparedness, The Path Before Me will work to articulate and grow a culture of service-learning and social justice within partner high schools, taking the lead from students on what social justice means in their communities.

“The aim of this grant fits perfectly with existing pathways we are creating between Baltimore City Schools and UMBC, and its potential impact is far reaching,” explains Eric Ford, director of operations for The Choice Program. “The success of social justice movements,” he suggests, “hinges on providing transformational experiences to young people from underserved communities.”

Beyond impacting the particular students involved in the program, The Path Before Me will also enable UMBC to critically examine university processes and services, working to ensure equitable and sustainable pathways for Baltimore City high school students to enroll in UMBC and successfully earn their degrees.

In awarding UMBC a Collaborative Opportunity Grant, the APLU and USU recognize the university’s deep and sustained commitment to Baltimore, and to creating innovative approaches to boosting student success.

“The public universities receiving these grants have undertaken efforts that represent a sea change in the way we think about student success,” says Shari Garmise, vice president of APLU’s Office of Urban Initiatives and Executive Director of USU. “For decades, institutions have applied a nearly singular focus on addressing academic hurdles students face once they’re enrolled. These institutions are saying that isn’t enough. We have to work with community partners to ensure students have the required resources to apply, the necessary instruction to be prepared for the rigor of college coursework, and the tools they need to thrive in the workforce and drive positive change in their communities.”

In July, representatives of all 12 universities awarded grants, including UMBC, will convene in Washington, D.C. to strategize and collaborate on their initiatives. As the programs move forward, USU and APLU will share key findings to expand their benefits to additional universities, in the form of new partnership models and best practices.

Update (6/27/2017):  

The Choice Program at UMBC has just received a three-year commitment of $40,000 annually in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency for volunteering and service programs. These funds will support the work of 50 AmeriCorps members through the Choice Community Service Learning Fellowship beginning this fall. UMBC’s 50 Choice AmeriCorps Fellows will also each be eligible to receive a $5,730 educational award at the end of each year of their service, for a total of $286,500 in educational awards granted to Choice fellows annually (up to $859,500 over three years). CNCS has invested in The Choice Program since its inception in 1994.

Additionally, The Annie E. Casey Foundation has selected The Choice Program to receive $150,000 in grant funding for work to support East Baltimore residents as they gain skills and credentials for employment. Choice is one of five nonprofit workforce initiatives to receive these funds, which total $700,000.

Header image: Choice Program participant Daesha Johnson at an event celebrating the launch of a new job training site for participants in The Choice Program. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

It is the end of another fiscal year. The current Bookstore authorization sheets will expire at the end of June. Please submit a form for the new fiscal year by the first week of July.

Please fill out the UMBC Bookstore Department Charge Authorization Sheet found on our webpage (http://bookstore.umbc.edu/SiteText.aspx?id=22144) to establish an account for the new fiscal year. On the authorization sheets, please write authorized individual chart strings in their entirety (fund, prog fin, dept, project, activity ID, resource type and analysis type). Limit one chart string per PS chart string line. Remember to have appropriate individuals sign the space provided. When you have completed your sheet(s), please return them to the Bookstore.

Any deletions or additions to the sheet over the course of the fiscal year must be sent in writing. Phone authorizations are not accepted. On all grant accounts, the Principal Investigator and Department Chair must sign the UMBC Bookstore Department Charge Authorization Sheet.

Also, please inform your department that they should know the chart string they would like to use for their purchase upon entering the Bookstore, as many departments have multiple chart strings.

One Time Authorization forms can also be found on our webpage, for occasions when someone other than the authorized individual needs to make a purchase. Remember, someone authorized must sign the form to make it effective.

As a reminder, the UMBC Bookstore staff is required to ask for a picture ID when faculty and staff are signing for department charges. This is a state mandated auditing procedure utilized to protect the UMBC community and to prevent illegal use of departmental accounts. It is mandatory that members of your department show their ID when making purchases.

Please return this to the Bookstore as soon as possible so we may continue to provide uninterrupted service.

Thank you for your support throughout the year.