On Thursday, July 16, Michele Osherow, associate professor of English, and Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, were guests on WYPR’s Humanities Connection to discuss their play “The Mathematics of Being Human,” which debuted at UMBC last fall. The play explores how mathematics and the humanities offer valuable perspectives on what it means to be human, perspectives that at first glance are highly distinct, but that create entry points for conversation and shared understanding over time.

“The idea of pairing mathematics with humanities subjects like literature may seem odd. But, we found that there are many exciting opportunities for joint exploration. The humanities can help put mathematical inquiry into a human, accessible context and allow people to relate to a subject that too often seems obscure,” Osherow explained.

“For example, creative works like film and literature can generate real curiosity about mathematical ideas. Movies like Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, plays like Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and books like Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time expose non-mathematicians to the mystery and complex beauty of mathematics,” Suri added.

Suri was also recently interviewed by SPAN Magazine about the play, which is scheduled to be performed at the Bridges Conference in Baltimore on July 29. Suri and Osherow have previously performed the play in New York City and San Antonio, with plans to bring the production to Mumbai and New Delhi early next year in partnership with the U.S. Embassy. Read “From STEM to STEAM” in SPAN Magazine.  

Kate Brown, a professor of history, was recently interviewed by Process, the blog of the Organization of American Historians (OAH), the Journal of American History (JAH), and The American Historian (TAH), about her award-winning book Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford University Press, 2013).

The posted interview is in Q&A format and Process asked Prof. Brown about her inspiration, research process, and difficulties in writing the book: “…it was difficult to integrate labor, urban, cultural and environmental history with the history of science and medicine, and to do so in the context of two national histories. I worried initially that I was missing a lot, making major mistakes in this or that historical subfield, and that generally I was trespassing where I did not belong.

And then I stopped worrying about it. I have long believed that histories written to define or protect professional expertise manage only to distance historians from their audience, but in researching Plutopia, I was also was well aware that the compartmentalization of knowledge into discrete fields caused many of the environmental and health problems at both plants.”

Brown received several awards for Plutopia, including the American Historical Association’s 2014 Albert J. Beveridge Award. Read Kate Brown’s complete interview in Process.

Donald Norris, professor and director of the School of Public Policy, recently shared insight into the future of eGovernment with Citizen 2015, a new blog that explores how citizens interact and engage with government. In the interview, Norris discussed how the local eGovernment revolution has yet to reach its stated claims of more open, efficient, and effective governments. According to Norris, a chief reason is limited citizen demand: “Citizen participation, under the best of circumstances, is very difficult to achieve.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyGX50CGcs0&w=560&h=315]

Norris was also recently in the news in the Washington Post and WJZ-TV commenting on Gov. Hogan’s political strategy in Baltimore and the potential head-to-head Baltimore mayoral race between current Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and former Mayor Sheila Dixon. To read and view complete coverage, see below.

EGovernment Revolution? Not Quite Yet. (Citizen 2015)
Gov. Hogan’s decisions cause rift with Baltimore leaders (Washington Post)
Former mayor Slams Rawlings-Blake after violence spike (WJZ-TV)

Liz Saloka (UMBC 2017, CompE) is “interning at Innovate Our World, in creating video games." She is a semi-finalist in a Wet Seal model contest. She hopes to impact and inspire young girls in the STEM fields by showing them "smart IS sexy.”

If you haven't submitted a photo for the SWEet Summer Photo, it's not too late we still have a little over a month of Summer left. Simply, take a picture showing us what YOU are doing in the Summer, as a STEM major. Please look at our previous post for the questions. It's SWEet and short, it'll take you only a few minutes!

->Please email all submissions to umbcswe@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook @umbc_swe

Savannah Steinly (UMBC '18 Chemical Engineering, Environmental Track) This summer, she is "participating in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program in Seattle, WA! For eight weeks, I will explore the city and surrounding areas while learning about conservation, diversity, identity, and about how to become an environmental change-agent. I am so grateful to be able to pursue my passions for both travel and environmental conservation! I am also taking an online Poetry and Fiction course, which will count for my minor in English on the Creative Writing track. I aspire to someday publish my work (and in the ear future, in UMBC’s Bartleby Creative Journal)." She hopes "to combine my interests in technology, sustainability, and creativity by becoming an environmental engineer. I want to devise creative solutions to environmental issues, especially those connected to renewable energy. This program will be a great stepping-stone to do so in terms of gaining knowledge that will alter my perspectives, a network of people with similar passions, and personal and professional mentorship. Moreover, the class will provide me with a structured outlet to develop my creativity and writing skills."

If you haven't submitted a photo for the SWEet Summer Photo, it's not too late we still have a little over a month of Summer left. Simply, take a picture showing us what YOU are doing in the Summer, as a STEM major. Please look at our previous post for the questions. It's SWEet and short, it'll take you only a few minutes!

->Please email all submissions to umbcswe@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook @umbc_swe

 Tulsi Shukla (UMBC '17, ChemE, Bio Track) is celebrating fourth of July with her family and friends. Other than that, Tulsi "goes straight into building a rope system for aerial practice after her interview with a chemical R&D company and before tutoring a neighbor in math." One tip she gives is "to never give up! Just as the saying goes, 'if you didn't succeed the first time, try try again until you do'".

If you haven't submitted a photo for the SWEet Summer Photo, it's not too late we still have a little over a month of Summer left. Simply, take a picture showing us what YOU are doing in the Summer, as a STEM major. Please look at our previous post for the questions. It's SWEet and short, it'll take you only a few minutes!

->Please email all submissions to umbcswe@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook @umbc_swe

Gloria Opoku-Boateng (UMBC, PhD Student, IS) is “interning with Google as UX researcher on one of the software engineering for photos. She hopes that her experience will help her better understand that technology affects billions of lives. She dreams to be a UX researcher working on Healthcare technologies.”

If you haven't submitted a photo for the SWEet Summer Photo, it's not too late we still have a little over a month of Summer left. Simply, take a picture showing us what YOU are doing in the Summer, as a STEM major. Please look at our previous post for the questions. It's SWEet and short, it'll take you only a few minutes!

->Please email all inquiries to umbcswe@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook @umbc_swe