Tomorrow is the day! Our Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition finalists have been working hard this semester on their business plans to pitch to real investors--the Baltimore Angels. Come watch UMBC's version of Shark Tank tomorrow, April 26 from 7 pm to 9 pm, in the Library Gallery, as your peers compete for up to $3,000. It's sure to be eventful and we can't wait to spend the evening with you! 

What is the CBIC?
The CBIC is an opportunity for UMBC students who are serious about starting a business.

Who Should Participate?
Any UMBC student (full or part time, graduate or undergraduate) with a dream of launching their own business soon.

Why Participate?
The CIBC will give you "real world" experience.  You'll be paired with a business mentor and you'll get helpful feedback and guidance.  You'll also get connected to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Winners also get: 

·         Free legal services

·         Accounting advice

·         Membership at the award winning Betamore campus in Federal Hill

·         Fundraising advice and Pitch practice with members of Betamore Angels. 

1ST PRIZE = $3,000

2ND PRIZE = $2,000

3RD PRIZE = $1,000 

Additional $2,000 available after 6 months. 

Up and down essentially describes the 2017 UMBC baseball season so far. This past week of April 10 bared similar results, as the Retrievers struggled early before rattling off a couple of wins on Saturday, April 15.

The Retrievers (11-16, 5-4 in America East Conference) opened their week against the George Washington University Colonials on Tuesday. After the Colonials (18-18, 4-5 in Atlantic 10) struck first in the bottom of the first on Bobby Campbell’s RBI double, UMBC responded with a two run double off the bat of senior catcher/infielder Hunter Dolshun to give them a 2-1 lead after 3 innings.

The Retrievers bats went silent after that, mustering two hits for the remaining five innings. As the Retrievers struggled to get a hit, George Washington tied the game in the fourth on junior infielder Robbie Metz’s RBI single and took the lead for good in the eighth on a fielders choice by junior catcher Brandon Chapman.

UMBC’s woes continued against the Coppin State University Eagles and conference foe, the University of Hartford Hawks. The Retrievers used seven pitchers against Coppin State (8-22, 6-8 in MEAC), giving up seven walks. Consecutive three run innings in the fifth and sixth innings allowed Coppin State to pull away and win 10-4 despite getting only five hits.

In the first of a three game set against Hartford (11-18, 3-6 in AEC), the pitching struggled once again down the stretch in route to a 16-7 loss. The Retrievers held a 2-1 lead going into the fourth inning before the Hawks put up crooked numbers in the final five frames, including a trio of three run innings and a four run sixth inning.

The Retrievers bounced back in their double header on Saturday. In the afternoon game, UMBC received a solid effort on the mound from junior Matt Chanin and redshirt senior Michael Austin. The two combined to allow three runs through seven innings of work. The offense took it from there, scoring three of of Dolshun’s homer and junior outfielder Collin Stack’s RBI single to give the Retrievers the lead for good. They added four in the seventh to take the first game 7-3.

In the nightcap, both teams’ bats lit up the field. The Retrievers hammered Hawks freshman pitchers Nathan Florence and Drew Farkas in the top of the third, tagging them for ten runs on seven hits and three walks. Hartford chipped away inning by inning, including a five run effort in the eighth, but ultimately fell short. On the strength of six free passes, two doubles and three home runs, the Retrievers took the final game as well, along with the series 13-12.

UMBC returns to the friendly confines of Alumni Park this weekend when they host the University of Massachusetts Lowell. After that, the Retrievers will spend the next month away on the road, where they have a 5-9 record. Several of the games are within the Maryland/D.C. Area, with matchups against Georgetown University, Towson University, The Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland.

The post UMBC baseball starts slow, ends week with impressive wins appeared first on The Retriever.

The 2017 Graduate Research Conference (GRC) at UMBC delivered on its theme, “diversity across disciplines,” with research talks, posters, and keynote speakers in areas from history to atmospheric physics. The event also celebrated and encouraged interdisciplinary research and creative achievement.

“The boundaries between traditional disciplines are dissolving as our human curiosity leads us to understand much more complex issues,” shared Provost Philip Rous. He pointed to UMBC’s emphasis on inclusion as a boon toward that end. “Advancing our research mission,” he said to the attendees, “is inextricably linked to our ability to bring together students, faculty, and staff of diverse backgrounds to work together on the most challenging social, scientific, and humanitarian problems we face today.”

That’s exactly what happened at the GRC on March 29. In a panel highlighting work related to climate change, Marshall Washick, emergency health services, presented his proposed research on the relationship between tuberculosis and air pollution in South Africa, Alexandra St. Pé, geography and environmental systems, discussed her work on the under-performance of offshore wind farms, and Michael Battaglia, Jr., chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, addressed how urban heat islands affect the chemistry of tiny particles in the air.

In another panel, Shawntay Stocks, language, literacy, and culture, described research utilizing critical race theory just before Chrissie Reilly, media and communication studies, discussed how the film Jiro Dreams of Sushi demonstrates complex relationships with consumption, with both talks touching on the session’s “media manipulation” theme.

“Mechanical engineers and historians are here in the same room talking to one another,” said Dean Scott Casper, of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “That is what is really exciting about today.” Casper encouraged students to use the opportunity to hone their communications skills, both by presenting their own work and observing techniques others use to share complex ideas in different fields.

In his featured talk, Casper discussed specific techniques to improve one’s presentation, such as knowing your audience and catering to what they want to get out of the experience. No matter how excited researchers are about their work, he said, it’s “translating that enthusiasm into a form that people who are not as immersed in the work as you will understand, appreciate, and enjoy that is really the key to great presentations.”

In addition to the panels and microtalks, four students tested their communication skills by competing in the international Three Minute Thesis competition, where each presented a summary of her graduate thesis in three minutes. Janae Baptiste, chemistry and biochemistry, won second place from the judges and first place from the audience for her presentation on research in Michael Summers’ lab on Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, the cat version of HIV. Denise Williams, chemistry and biochemistry, took first place for her talk on the toxicity of quantum dots—luminescent nanomaterials with a wide range of potential applications—based on her research in Zeev Rosenzweig’s lab. She will represent UMBC at the Council of Southern Graduate Schools regional competition. Both Baptiste and Williams are Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows.

Onimi Jademi, vice president of the UMBC Graduate Student Association, chair of the GRC planning committee, and a Ph.D. student in information systems, shares, “The GRC provides a platform for all graduate students, across all disciplines and at all levels and stages of research, to discuss and exchange ideas.” Interactions with faculty, staff, and students from every corner of the university are a major advantage of the event, she explains, offering unique feedback to developing researchers, artists, and scholars.

“GRC is not just a melting pot,” Jademi says, it’s an opportunity for graduate students to try out, retest, and “mold ideas and communication styles” that will help them connect with fellow researchers and the public throughout their careers.

Banner image: Alexandra St. Pé answers a question about her research on wind turbines during a panel discussion. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Hosted every five years by the UMBC Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni (CBLA), the Legends of Excellence Awards Brunch honors the achievements and contributions of faculty and staff who have made a significant impact on the lives of UMBC’s black and Latino students. In the weeks leading up to this year’s event, we’ll be profiling each of this year’s honorees here on our blog. Read on for today’s bio…

Earnestine Baker, known affectionately to her colleagues as “Ernie,” was first hired as UMBC’s Coordinator for Minority Recruitment in 1983. In 1992, she became the first Program Director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, and was promoted to Assistant to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in 2002. Under her direction, the Meyerhoff program became an integral part of campus life and culture, and achieved a sterling reputation for preparing minority students for graduate and professional programs in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Mrs. Baker presented the program as one of the blue ribbon reports to Congress in 2003, and in 2009, the program was recognized by Science, the nation’s leading journal of scientific research, news, and commentary, for having “what it takes” to help more minority students earn science degrees.

Since its inception in 1993, the Meyerhoff program has graduated over 1,200 students, and counts 231 Ph.D. graduates, including 45 M.D./Ph.D.s, among its alumni. Mrs. Baker was instrumental in increasing its cachet among institutions of higher learning, and has represented UMBC on both the national and international stages, from participating at the 2012 College Completion Symposium with then-U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, to accompanying a delegation of University Members to Beijing, China, Cape Town, South Africa, Seville, Spain, and Bali, Indonesia.

Mrs. Baker is remembered by those who worked for and with her for her steely resolve in the face of challenges, especially in the early days of the program, and for the values she instilled in her students and staff. In many instances, the connections Mrs. Baker forged with her students stayed intact long after they left UMBC, as she continued to offer them guidance and network on their behalf as they pursued graduate study. In 2008, she received the University System of Maryland Board of Regents’ Award for Extraordinary Public Service to the University or the Greater Community for her dedication to the Meyerhoff Scholars Program and the students it served. Since her retirement in 2013, Mrs. Baker has continued to serve on several STEM advisory boards, and is currently serving as a contractual worker at UMBC.

“While growing up, I had a community who inspired me to work hard and to be the best that I could be,” she writes. “I knew that I wanted to [and needed to] give back and help others in the manner that I had experienced.” With the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in the place it is today, both within the UMBC community and in the national sphere, Mrs. Baker has more than paid it forward.

Register NOW for the Legends of Excellence Awards Brunch on Saturday, May 6!

Monday, May 1, 2017 · 10 AM - 5 PM

Join us for a day of celebration of our immigrant communities!

May 1^st has been historically linked to international workers’ rights. More recently, May Day has served as a national day of action to raise awareness about immigration rights and the need to keep families together as they fight for a better life.

On this May Day, let’s come together as a community to recognize the contributions immigrants make every day to UMBC and our nation.

Students, Staff, Faculty, Service Workers, Administrators: Join us on May 1st, 2017 for a day-long celebration in the plaza in front of the UC.

Come when you can!

Regardless of where we were born, how we look or the language we speak, let’s pledge support to a strong, inclusive, safe UMBC for all.

We will create and share the many ways immigrants contribute to UMBC (and the U.S.).

Action Items:

• Wear red to identify as part of (or in solidarity with) our community of immigrants.
• Bring quotes, art, photos, texts—by immigrants or celebrating immigration—to display on our celebration wall.

• Sign up for a 15-minute time slot to read—a poem, short story or excerpt by your favorite immigrant author;  sing;  play an instrument;  perform—spoken word, monologue, play;  or to share your own immigration stories.  Additional creative celebratory ideas are welcome too!   http://doodle.com/poll/6ubf9qfvc2xvcgd8

• Use #UMBCimmigrants to document and celebrate immigrants’ contributions to our community.
• Participate, celebrate, and experience the beauty of our immigrant communities at UMBC by showing up, bringing your classes, inviting your friends.

Come one, come all. Wear red!

Show your support on the MLLI myUMBC post.