Three current undergraduate students and one recent alumna have received highly competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Awards for 2017.

Daniel Ocasio ‘17, chemical engineering; Matthew Landen ‘17, computer science; Brandon Enriquez ‘17, economics and mathematics; and Hollie Adejumo ‘16, chemical engineering, all received fellowships.                 

“UMBC is proud to have four of our undergraduate students and alumni chosen for this nationally competitive award — selected from over 13,000 applicants– to support their graduate study that will lead to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in science and engineering,” said April Householder, director of undergraduate research and nationally competitive scholarships. “Daniel, Matthew, Brandon, and Hollie affirm UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of undergraduate research and a distinctive undergraduate experience, and we look forward to what they will accomplish in graduate school and their careers.” 

Ocasio will use the fellowship funding to support a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He will study chemical contaminants in different kinds of water sources, and will develop technologies to treat the chemicals in the water for reuse applications. His work will include research with graywater, which is water from bathroom sinks, tubs, showers and washing machines. Repurposing both wastewater and graywater for drinking and other uses can help areas affected by water shortages manage water resources effectively.

“Being selected for the NSF GRFP, to me, is reassurance that I am prepared to excel in my graduate studies,” Ocasio said. “This opportunity will afford me freedom in my graduate research to pursue topics that may not otherwise get attention.”

In addition to the NSF GRF, Ocasio received the Ford Foundation Fellowship from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Ford Foundation Fellowships aim to increase faculty diversity at institutions across the United States. Ocasio also received the National GEM Consortium Fellowship, which enables underrepresented minority students to pursue graduate education in science and engineering.

Landen will pursue his Ph.D. in computer science, with a focus on security and privacy issues, at Georgia Tech in the fall.

“By joining this community of scholars, I know I would have the ability to excel in a scientific environment by engaging in collaboration with fellows of diverse experiences to create novel discoveries,” Landen said.

Enriquez will pursue his Ph.D. in economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his time at UMBC, he particularly values “how I am pushed by mentors to be innovative and creative,” he explains.

Beginning in fall 2017, Adejumo will pursue her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. Her research will focus on environmental biotechnology and water quality.

“I am both very humbled and honored to receive the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship,” she said. “This award will provide me with the flexibility and support that I need to pursue my interests and develop my research skillset.”

Adejumo also thanked her research collaborators and mentors, particularly Lee Blaney assistant professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering. “I attribute my success to their support,” she says.

This year’s range of NSF Graduate Research Fellowship awards continues a strong trend for UMBC. In 2016, six UMBC students and alumni from a diverse set of majors received the fellowship to pursue graduate study at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine, among other leading institutions.

Dr. Fred Huemmrich is a beacon of hope for every undergraduate student who is unsure of their professional future. In some ways, Huemmrich is just an average Joe. He enjoys the outdoors: canoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, bird watching and the like. His co-worker, Dr. Peyta Campbell, remarked that he is “kind, positive, a good speaker and comes up with ideas how to explain difficult issues and propose good practical solutions. He works consistently and enthusiastically and this is very motivating for others.”

Huemmrich is currently a research professor for UMBC’s Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology department. He gathers and studies remotely-sensed data to understand ecosystems. More specifically, he studies the detection and description of plant stress across the globe. In his most recent research, he analyzed data collected from two spectrometer devices attached to NASA satellites to study plant stress in evergreens. He is a “soft money” scientist which means that he funds his research by applying for grants from government agencies like NASA.

“Field work has probably been my favorite part of my job over the years,” Huemmrich said. “Just last week, I worked in Puerto Rico. I have worked on field campaigns in Kansas grasslands, boreal forests in the arctic tundra, deserts, and now tropical forests.”

Huemmrich has loved studying nature since he joined a student chapter of the Audubon Society at his high school in Pittsburgh. There, he spent a lot of time in the woods caring for a local wildlife preserve. He then attended Carnegie Mellon University, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics. Shortly after he graduated, the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland hired him as a computer programmer.

At Goddard, he worked with the spacecraft attitude of NASA satellite — how the satellites point and move in space. Huemmrich was able to hone his already proficient programming skills at Goddard, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to become a full-time programmer. So, he enrolled in the graduate program to study geography at the University of Maryland, College Park and earned a Ph.D in 1995.

While continuing to work at Goddard, Huemmrich programmed equipment as part of a team that used microwave sensing to map the decline of sea ice using satellite data. “Back in those days, we were just starting to learn how to create those maps of declining that you see all the time nowadays,” he said.

With this job, Huemmrich found himself at a crossroad that would lead to his professional happy place. Did he want to become a full-time programmer, or a scientist? While programming promised an exciting and lucrative career future, he chose to follow the profession that he adored since his years in high school. “I chose to be a scientist.” Laughing, he said, “that definitely wasn’t the more profitable decision!”

Nonetheless, his current profession allows him to combine his love for nature with the programming and technical skills that he mastered throughout his college and early professional years. “My job is a very happy place where I can study ecosystems using my knowledge of physics to understand the technological systems that we use,” Huemmrich said. He could not be more satisfied with his current career. “I’m way more passionate about my current job than any of my previous jobs,” he said.

Huemmrich points out that he did not reach his professional happy place instantaneously. “When I was an undergraduate student, not only did I not know what I wanted to do – I didn’t even know that what I’d end up doing even existed,” he said.

After years of work and discovery, Huemmrich takes pride in his accomplishments. “It is just amazing how much our understanding of the planet has changed in the past 30 years since I was an undergraduate,” he said. “Admittedly, I’ve been just a tiny cog in all of it, but it has been a very exciting time.”

The post Fred Huemmrich finds his happy place at JCET appeared first on The Retriever.

Machine Gun Kelly came to Baltimore Soundstage last Friday gave a fantastic performance. The show would have been perfect if not for the one and a half hour wait that fans had to endure to see him. MGK’s show was billed to start at 8:00 with doors opening at 7:00.

Arriving to Soundstage at 6:30, there was already a line of devoted fans waiting to get in. Shortly after seven, the line started moving and fans were allowed into the venue. Within thirty minutes there was already a belligerent drunk yelling who was removed by security after a lengthy twenty minutes only to reappear just ten minutes later only slightly more calm than before.

Eight o’ clock came and went and still no music. Fans became more and more unhappy as time went by and finally at around 8:30, someone took the stage. It was not MGK. In fact, I don’t know who it was. I still don’t know who it was. This mystery performer was nothing to get excited about and the only thing that I remember about him is that he kept promoting his project “Smoking in Public” (a google search of this title does not yield any results about a rapper or an album but just yields news articles about smoking bans in public housing.)

After his thirty minute set, this performer left the stage and the wait for MGK started again. Finally at about nine thirty he took the stage and began what turned out to be an amazing performance. After performing a song, MGK addressed the audience making light of his hour and a half delay and essentially calling anyone who complained a bitch because it was only 9:30.

The energy in the performance more than made up for any lateness. MGK has tremendous stage presence and made use of the entire stage throughout his set, constantly moving around, never seeming to get tired.  This was even more impressive as he made the news only a few days earlier when he was forced to cancel shows due to a broken sternum.

What also made the show so amazing was that, unlike many hip-hop artists, MGK was backed by a band with the majority of the music being played live rather than being played off a recording or mixed by a DJ. MGK also did a lot more than sing. For a number of songs he joined the band on guitar even playing one of his songs acoustic undeniably proving his versatility as a musician.

Speaking of versatility, the show included a fair share of rock – something that would not be surprising to many fans as MGK has stated he has been influenced by the genre. His overall skill as a musician was proven further when he slowed the show down for songs such as “Let You Go.”

With a new album, bloom, slated to come out on May 12, one would wonder if the large amount of the show dedicated to his rock roots rather than hip-hop means that this album will feature MGK venturing into a different genre. No matter what he does, if he brings the same energy that was seen in his performance it will without a doubt be a must-listen for anyone interested in the artist. His blending of rock and hip-hop as well as his ability to seamlessly transition between different styles of music made for an unforgettable performance and left local fans excited for when he returns to Baltimore.

The post Machine Gun Kelly: Good things come to those that wait appeared first on The Retriever.

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Hebrews 12:1-2a (NIV) - “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

About a week ago, there was an attempt by Nike with three elite runners to see if one could run a marathon under two hours, an impossible feat as shown by the 2:00:25 time by the top finisher. Among many strategies in place for this epic trial, one was the unique pacing structure. There would be, “a blockading diamond of six pacers to shield the runner from wind, which has been tested in wind tunnels to be the most advantageous to a following runner.” Now how much did Nike spend to figure out what the Bible already has pointed out to us? Running with others makes the race a whole lot easier. And the race we are running is not to make history, to break a world record, or to market running shoes, our race is forward towards Jesus - it is a guaranteed, victorious finish in him, we’re going to be #Breaking2.

Therefore, it matters that we see the other runners, not once in a while, but often, as much as we can, and not just those presently running, but to also remember those who have already run and gone before us. When we see the other runners it reminds us and helps us to throw off the hindrances and to not get entangled in sin. We have a race to run, we can’t let those things slow us down, get in the way, stop our progress. When one of us falls, we’ll pick you up and run together, if you can’t run, we’ll carry you. And we’ll look together towards the finish, not where a line of tape awaits us, no, our Lord awaits us, our eyes are on him.

Let us pray today picturing those who worship alongside of us. Who normally sits to the left, right, behind, in front of you on any given Sunday? Pray for those brothers and sisters, your fellow runners in the guaranteed #Breaking2 race we were entered into upon saying yes to Jesus. Pray we would run a persevering race as we fix our eyes on Jesus.

-AK

Single Carrot Theatre seeks a qualified CREW DRIVER for our upcoming production of Promenade: Baltimore! If you have a car and are interested in working on a groundbreaking theatrical project, this job is for you!

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