The Winter Dissertation House is coming to UMBC (January 17-20, 2017). Graduate students who plan to participate should follow the application procedures on the application webpage for the Dissertation House (below). Open application period: November 29, 2016– January 13, 2017. (Please note that there are only 12 to 15 slots for this event, consider applying early). Applications received after January 6, 2016 will be considered for the DH waiting list.

Event: Winter 2017 Dissertation House

Dates: January 17, 2017 – January 20, 2017

Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM each day

Location: University of Maryland Baltimore County, Commons 328 and Commons 329

Registration: Please login to MyUMBC (http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/45501), click “I can attend” below, *AND* follow the application procedures on the main website for the Dissertation House: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/. Application period to apply to attend the Dissertation House: Nov. 29, 2016 – Dec. 30, 2016

Event Details: 

• The Dissertation House runs from 9 AM – 5PM, for four days, Tuesday, January 17 through Friday, January 20.
• Students must plan to attend the full session, for each of the 4 days. 
• Daily schedule includes 2 mini-lectures, and 5 hours of writing per day.
• Breakfast, Lunch, and a snack will be served daily.
• The Dissertation House is free for UMBC’s graduate students.
• There are 15 to 18 spaces available for the Dissertation House. 
• Details regarding eligibility can be found on the application page of the website for the Dissertation House.

Read about The Dissertation House in UMBC’s Alumni Magazine: Byrne, R.  (2011, Fall) “The Write Stuff”, UMBC Magazine. p. 12. More information about the DissertationHouse: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/about/

Dissertation House Application Procedures

Both the on-campus setting and the retreat setting provide Dissertation House participants with productive and rewarding scholastic engagement.  Students who participate in this program will spend each day thinking, writing, and sharing ideas about their doctoral dissertations.  Students will learn effective time-management skills; learn how to set small manageable goals, and will meet with a dissertation coach in one-on-one consultations to discuss and address obstacles that might prevent them completing their degrees.

The Dissertation House period can span either a Tuesday – Friday (9 a.m. – 5 p.m., non-residential) or a Friday – Sunday weekend (includes evening sessions) commitment to focus on the doctoral dissertation.  The Dissertation House activities focus on areas where students typically have difficulty: conceptualizing a topic, writing a literature review, transitioning from a proposal to a dissertation, analyzing data, writing the last chapter, and editing.
Students may apply to attend the next Dissertation House during open application enrollment, by submitting two parts of an application.

PART I:

I. Submit a brief description (maximum 2 pages, font size 11-12 point 1 inch margins) that describes the project that you wish to accomplish during the Dissertation Houseperiod.  Applications will neither be reviewed nor accepted outside of the application enrollment period.

PART II:

II. Please use the following guidelines  for the application:

(1) Summary of the project, including research question(s), data or texts, and method

(2) Amount completed on the project to date

(3) Any obstacles that you are encountering that hinder completion of the dissertation.

(4) Include the following header information with the description:

• Name
• Address
• Telephone numbers (home, office, and fax)
• E-mail address
• Academic Program and Year in the program

Dates/Location: January 19 to 22th (Tuesday – Friday), 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Dissertation House will be held in COMM 329 (for Dissertation House) and COMM 332 (for one-on-one sessions).

Application Enrollment Period: Application can be submitted within a designated 2-week period, usually scheduled 1-2 months prior to the next Dissertation House session.  Email applications to promisestaff@gmail.com.  Please use the words “Dissertation House” in the subject line of your email.

Selection Process: Eighteen participants will be selected for participation in the Dissertation House.  The following applicants will have priority:  (1) Applicants who plan to finish the Ph.D. within the next 6 months; (2) Individuals who are working on dissertations and theses rather than a proposal; (3) Applicants who submit earliest; and (4) Individuals who appear most able to benefit from the services offered at the Dissertation House.

If your application is accepted, you will receive an acceptance notice via email and additional details about the Dissertation House.  All students, including those who have not applied or those who are not selected, have the option to participate in the next online challenge, a virtual version of the Dissertation House: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/winter-2016-challenge/

CHMPR Distinguished Lecturers Series

The Need for Speed

Dr. Phyllis A. Schneck

Deputy Under Secretary of Cybersecurity
Department of Homeland Security

3:30pm Thursday, 1 December 2016, UC 310
3:00pm Coffee, tea, and cookies

As computers get faster, they change the world. Processors get smaller, the number of devices with processors gets bigger, and the amount of information that can be produced and transported grows exponentially. Everything on the planet, unless one can eat it, is likely to have electronic logic within – and, most recently, to be connected to other devices. Our way of life and critical infrastructures, from power and water to finance is enabled by this ability to process light, and transport information at that speed. The speed of computing is enabling new conveniences and capabilities, and furthering science in directions never before imagined from DNA studies to particle physics. This amazingly connected world, however, introduces new vulnerabilities as many connected devices were not designed to be safe from unauthorized access and use. We must pay special attention to protecting infrastructure components such as information and the intricate signaling systems that generate and distribute electricity. This requires specialized algorithms to mine the masses of data to recognize normal internet activity from potential threat indicators. The goal is to create a more self-healing network, accomplishing with information what nature does with biological responses – creating an electronic immune system. Cognitive computing can provide groundbreaking results in data mining and analysis that will enhance the Cybersecurity to protect the other applications such as genomic and physics research. Software and hardware developers need to work together to create the algorithms and custom hardware to minimize heat, maximize computation and, finally, create a secure design.

We can use the speed of computing to enhance Cybersecurity as well – thus the paradox of the need for speed to protect itself.

Dr. Phyllis Schneck is the Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity & Communications with the Department of Homeland Security, where she is also the Chief Cybersecurity Official. Previously held positions include Chief Technology Officer for Global Public Sector, McAfee, Inc.; VP of Enterprise Services, eCommSecurity; and VP of Corporate Strategy for SecureWorks, Inc. Schneck earned her Ph.D. in computer science from Georgia Tech and pioneered the field of info security and security-based high-performance computing at Georgia Tech. She holds seven information security patents and has six research publications in the areas of info security, real-time systems, telecom and software engineering.

If you plan on attending, please RSVP to Michelle Bobovych at *protected email* to ensure we have a sufficient number of chairs.

The post talk: Dr. Phyllis Schneck (DHS) on The Need for Speed in Cybersecurity appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

The Winter Dissertation House is coming to UMBC (January 17-20, 2017). Graduate students who plan to participate should follow the application procedures on the application webpage for the Dissertation House (below). Open application period: December 9, 2016– January 6, 2017. (Please note that there are only 12 to 15 slots for this event, consider applying early). Applications received after January 6, 2016 will be considered for the DH waiting list.

Event: Winter 2017 Dissertation House

Dates: January 17, 2017 – January 20, 2017

Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM each day

Location: University of Maryland Baltimore County, Commons 328 and Commons 329

Registration: Please login to MyUMBC (http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/45501), click “I can attend” below, *AND* follow the application procedures on the main website for the Dissertation House: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/. Application period to apply to attend the Dissertation House: Nov. 29, 2016 – Dec. 30, 2016

Event Details: 

• The Dissertation House runs from 9 AM – 5PM, for four days, Tuesday, January 17 through Friday, January 20.
• Students must plan to attend the full session, for each of the 4 days. 
• Daily schedule includes 2 mini-lectures, and 5 hours of writing per day.
• Breakfast, Lunch, and a snack will be served daily.
• The Dissertation House is free for UMBC’s graduate students.
• There are 15 to 18 spaces available for the Dissertation House. 
• Details regarding eligibility can be found on the application page of the website for the Dissertation House.

Read about The Dissertation House in UMBC’s Alumni Magazine: Byrne, R.  (2011, Fall) “The Write Stuff”, UMBC Magazine. p. 12. More information about the DissertationHouse: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/about/

Dissertation House Application Procedures

Both the on-campus setting and the retreat setting provide Dissertation House participants with productive and rewarding scholastic engagement.  Students who participate in this program will spend each day thinking, writing, and sharing ideas about their doctoral dissertations.  Students will learn effective time-management skills; learn how to set small manageable goals, and will meet with a dissertation coach in one-on-one consultations to discuss and address obstacles that might prevent them completing their degrees.

The Dissertation House period can span either a Tuesday – Friday (9 a.m. – 5 p.m., non-residential) or a Friday – Sunday weekend (includes evening sessions) commitment to focus on the doctoral dissertation.  The Dissertation House activities focus on areas where students typically have difficulty: conceptualizing a topic, writing a literature review, transitioning from a proposal to a dissertation, analyzing data, writing the last chapter, and editing.
Students may apply to attend the next Dissertation House during open application enrollment, by submitting two parts of an application.

PART I:

I. Submit a brief description (maximum 2 pages, font size 11-12 point 1 inch margins) that describes the project that you wish to accomplish during the Dissertation Houseperiod.  Applications will neither be reviewed nor accepted outside of the application enrollment period.

PART II:

II. Please use the following guidelines  for the application:

(1) Summary of the project, including research question(s), data or texts, and method

(2) Amount completed on the project to date

(3) Any obstacles that you are encountering that hinder completion of the dissertation.

(4) Include the following header information with the description:

• Name
• Address
• Telephone numbers (home, office, and fax)
• E-mail address
• Academic Program and Year in the program

Dates/Location: January 19 to 22th (Tuesday – Friday), 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Dissertation House will be held in COMM 329 (for Dissertation House) and COMM 332 (for one-on-one sessions).

Application Enrollment Period: Application can be submitted within a designated 2-week period, usually scheduled 1-2 months prior to the next Dissertation House session.  Email applications to promisestaff@gmail.com.  Please use the words “Dissertation House” in the subject line of your email.

Selection Process: Eighteen participants will be selected for participation in the Dissertation House.  The following applicants will have priority:  (1) Applicants who plan to finish the Ph.D. within the next 6 months; (2) Individuals who are working on dissertations and theses rather than a proposal; (3) Applicants who submit earliest; and (4) Individuals who appear most able to benefit from the services offered at the Dissertation House.

If your application is accepted, you will receive an acceptance notice via email and additional details about the Dissertation House.  All students, including those who have not applied or those who are not selected, have the option to participate in the next online challenge, a virtual version of the Dissertation House: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/winter-2016-challenge/

Writing Center Write-In

A write-in is an event that brings writers together and offers them snacks and support for their writing process. Write-Ins can alleviate the isolation of writing alone and help foster a campus writing community. 

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NLT)- “So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

“I began to see with horror how hate could destroy me - destroy me more devastatingly and suddenly than any destruction I could bring on those who had wronged me. I could try and fight back, as many of my brothers had done. But if I did, how would I be different from the whites who hate?

“And where would hating get me? Anyone can hate. This whole business of hating and hating back. Its what keeps the vicious circle of racism going. The Spirit of God worked on me as I lay in that bed [hospital bed]. An image formed in my mind. The image of the cross - Christ on the cross. It blotted out everything in my mind. This Jesus know what I had suffered. He understood. An He cared. Because He had experienced it all Himself…His enemies hated. But Jesus forgave. I couldn’t get away from that.

“The Spirit of God kept working on me and in me until I could say with Jesus, ‘I forgive them, too.’ I promised Him that I would ‘return good for evil,’ not evil for evil. And He gave me the love I knew I would need to fulfill His command to me of ‘love your enemy’…Because of Christ, God Himself me and healed my heart and mind with His love.

“The Spirit of God helped me to really believe what I had so often professed, that only in the love of Christ is there any hope for me, or for those I had worked so hard for. After that, God gave me the strength and motivation to rise up out of my bed and return to Mendenhall and spread a little more of His love around” [John M. Perkins, Let Justice Roll Down, p.194-195].

How differently we know him now! It is amazing that God loves us so much, that he would send Jesus to die for our sin and shame, and that he would give us his Spirit to keep this new life growing and active in the love of God. It is this reconciliation that we need daily in our own lives so that God can reveal the sin, our own hatred and prejudice, our laziness and pride - all ways the keep the distance from others and our deep need for reconciliation. Let’s ask the Lord to open our eyes to the hidden ways that have hindered our love and reconciliation with others. And let’s ask him to change us and transform us into the likeness of Christ. May the fierce love of God work deeply in us.

-TR