Arts Administration Opportunity:
Howard County Arts Council
Position: Visitor and Facility Services Assistant

The Howard County Arts Council (HoCo Arts), a multi-purpose non-profit arts agency, seeks a self-directed, outgoing individual for enty-level position in a small, fast-paced office environment. The Visitor and Facility Services Assistant is responsible for administering and coordinating space rentals, hospitality and facility services. This position reports to the Visitor and Facility Services Manager.

Finding new materials with useful properties is a primary goal for materials scientists, and it’s central to improving technology. One exciting area of current research is 2D materials—super-thin substances made of just a few layers of atoms, which could power the next generation of electronic devices. UMBC researchers have developed a new way to predict 2D materials that might transform electronics, and the results were published in Chemistry of Materials earlier in July.

Picture a sheet of paper so thin that it’s only a few atoms thick, and that’s what 2D materials are like. One might think they would be fragile—but these materials can actually be incredibly strong or conduct electricity in unique ways. They’re held together by weak forces called van der Waals bonds, which allow materials to slightly deform without breaking under stress. Stacked layers of these 2D materials can slide past each other, further reducing brittleness. 

The research team, led by Peng Yan, Ph.D. candidate in chemistry, and Joseph Bennett, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, focused on a type of 2D material called van der Waals layered phosphochalcogenides. Some of these materials are ferroelectric, meaning they can hold an electric charge in a particular direction, and then the direction can be reversed on command—sort of like tiny, reversible batteries. Some ferroelectric materials are also magnetic, behaving similarly when a magnetic field is applied. That combination makes them ideal for advanced electronics like memory devices and sensors.

“There’s only two known 2D van der Waals ferroelectric materials with this type of structure,” Bennett said, “so we were asking ourselves, where might others be hiding?” The new publication is their answer to that question.

A treasure map to new 2D materials

The researchers used a mix of data mining, computer modeling, and structural analysis (because only materials with certain shapes are conducive to use in electronics) to ferret out new material candidates. 

“We developed a set of chemical design rules to predict these materials, which could significantly accelerate the discovery of new functional materials,” Yan, the study’s first author, said.

Joshua Birenzvige ’23, chemistry, played a key role by developing a Python script that helped sort the potential materials based on their properties, speeding up the team’s progress. Mona Layegh, a Ph.D. candidate in Bennett’s group, is also a co-author on the new paper.

The researchers began by digging into the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database, a huge collection of known crystal structures. Then they used quantum structural diagrams—which map materials on a chart according to how they relate to each other, determined by their atomic traits—to find areas within the diagrams where promising new materials might be hiding.

“By analyzing basic parameters like differences in electronegativity and radius, we were able to separate materials that have the properties we want from those that don’t,” Bennett explained. Electronegativity measures how strongly an atom attracts electrons, and an atom’s radius is the distance from its center to the outer edge of its electron cloud.

“These quantum structural diagrams act like a treasure map,” Bennett said, “guiding us to regions of chemical space where new, stable 2D materials are likely to exist.”

Their results indicated 83 potential new materials that could be made and used in the tech industry, potentially increasing the number of known ferroelectric materials by an incredible margin. 

From the computer to the lab bench

After the computer-based analysis, the team took their work a step further. The UMBC researchers collaborated with Ryan Stadel, Peter Zavalij, and Efrain Rodriguez at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), who made and tested some of the predicted materials in the lab. Their work proved the UMBC predictions could be used to guide experiments with the predicted materials.

“Being able to predict which compositions are likely to form stable, functional materials gives us a huge head start in the lab,” Bennett said. “It’s like having a recipe book for materials that haven’t been made yet, which saves time and resources.”

These new materials could shine in real-world uses, substantially advancing the electronics industry. For example, they could help build memory devices that can store data after power is shut off, tiny sensors that detect minute amounts of particular substances, or low-power components that make your phone battery last longer. These properties are in high demand across the tech industry and the U.S. government—this work was funded by a substantial grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

An exciting future of discovery

“I’m excited because the work demonstrates a successful data-guided approach to discovering novel 2D materials with promising functional properties, potentially accelerating the design of next-generation electronic materials,” Yan said.

Next up, the team will use a complex computer simulation, called high-throughput density functional theory modeling, to explore these 83 materials in more depth. They’ll check their ferroic traits and how easily they can be made. Plus, they’ll continue their collaboration with the UMD to synthesize and study the materials in the lab, aiming to confirm their special properties and tweak them for specific applications.

The research is a major step forward, paving the way for materials that could change how engineers build electronics—from sensors for the military to longer-lasting laptops and tablets for students on the go.

The Maryland State Employees Supplemental Retirement Plans (MSRP) will be moving from their current Plan Administrator, Nationwide, to a new Plan Administrator, Empower, effective September 18, 2025.

No action is required from employees. Their accounts will transfer automatically.

What can you expect?

• Seamless account transition – Employees will not be required to take any action to move their account balances and selection. Employee retirement account(s) will automatically be transferred to Empower. After the transition in September, employees will be invited to register their account online to view their account, make changes, or just explore the new features.
• A clearer financial picture – With a single login, employees can access all their accounts to track, manage, and plan their savings at the convenience of a mobile app.
• Personalized guidance – Employees can receive personalized, straightforward guidance tailored to their retirement goals.

Want to learn more about Empower? Watch this video!

As we learn more from MSRP, we will let the campus know!

This action will only affect employees with Nationwide as their vendor. Employees enrolled in Supplemental Retirement Accounts with TIAA and Fidelity will not be affected.

Questions? Reach out to HRBenefits@umbc.edu

UPDATE:  The room is rented!

ONE FEMALE ONLY! PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION BEFORE CONTACTING! Looking for ONE FEMALE roommate for a furnished bedroom including linens in a Maiden Choice/Arbutus area private single-family home. The house will be shared with two female UMBC students/professional and the landlord couple. We're looking for a kind person that respects diversity that are either a UMBC/UMB Ph.D., Graduate, or Junior/Senior Undergraduate student that are a non-smoker within the home, non-drug user, pet-free, and a tidy person to share a large open concept newly renovated 4 bedroom and 3.5 bathrooms on a dead-end quiet street. If you have a medical support animal; no cats or shedding animals are allowed due to allergies, and you will need your updated documents from your physician and veterinarian. All medical and support animals must remain in the tenant’s bedroom and crated when not home or in their room, and you are responsible for cleaning up after your pet. You will have to submit proof of renter’s insurance. Other than medical support animals, absolutely no other animals are allowed. We currently have a non-shedding older friendly labradoodle that will not be crated, will not run away if the door is left open, and the sole responsibility of the landlord. 

The house is less than 2 miles from the UMBC campus and close to two shopping centers with shuttle stops to both sites and walking distance to our house. The UMBC Shuttle and public transportation bus stop is located a very short walk over to the next block. The UMBC Transit runs buses almost every 15 minutes from the Paradise-Purple Line during the week from 7am-12am. The first pickup at Leeds Avenue and Colchester Road bus stop is roughly around 7:25am during the week, again around 7:45am, and so on. The UMBC transit adds a third bus during the week around 10am. You can monitor the buses on the Transit Predictions (goswift.ly). The Purple-Paradise line is the most reliable of all the UMBC transit schedules. 

The room for rent is a second-floor large bedroom with a large closet including hangers and a hamper. There's a queen bed, matching long dresser with mirror, armoire, two nightstands, desk with chair, smart TV, two sets of new bedroom linens and new bath towel sets. You will have your own large kitchen cupboard and a locker cubby in the laundry room. You have access to a spacious open concept kitchen with everything you need to prepare meals including meal prep gadgets, icemaker, dishwasher and garbage disposal, laundry room, large front covered porch, living and dining rooms. All the bedrooms and living/sitting/dining/kitchen areas have Wi-Fi with streaming cable services. All utilities are included, water, gas, electric, and again the Wi-Fi with streaming cable services. The landlord is responsible for cutting the grass and landscaping. We are still doing renovations to the outside landscaping, sidewalks, and foundation border. There is street parking where we ask our tenants and their guests to be respectful to our neighbors and park directly in front of our house only. We have lease restrictions for overnight guests and shared cleaning responsibilities. The bedroom suite is available starting around August 23rd or before and ending around May 25th, that includes holidays, weekends, Spring and Winter Breaks and/or vacations. The monthly rent is $1,000 FIRM, and we prefer a 9 month or a month-to-month lease with a $500 deposit. We’re a private home and NOT an Airbnb, hotel, campus apartment or dorm. All you need to do is bring your personal belongings, toiletries with bathroom care, food, laptop, and books! If interested, call 410-999-4668, Monday-Friday, 6pm to 8pm, to discuss further and a time to show you the house.