Walk In Advising Hours May 25th-29th

Monday, May 25th
None - Memorial Day - Campus Closed

Tuesday, May 26th
10am-11:30am

Wednesday, May 27th
1:30pm-3pm

Thursday, May 28th
1:30pm-3pm

Friday, May 29th
10am-11:30am

Advisors are also available by appointment. Our advising offices are located in ITE 202-206.

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today we’re talking with Mark Jarzynski ’11, computer science, about his work as Technical Director of Software Development here at UMBC’s Imaging Research Center (IRC).

Name: Mark Jarzynski
Job Title: Technical Director of Software Development
Major/Minor: Computer Science/Game Development
Grad year: 2011

Q: What drew you to UMBC for your studies?

When I was in high school, I was really interested in making video games. I had heard that UMBC had a game development track within Computer Science so I went for it.

Q: You now work at the university in the IRC. Could you tell us how you got the position and talk a bit about what you do there?

I had a job as a student working for CSEE. I maintained their servers and I developed their website. When I graduated in 2011, the IRC was looking for someone with my skillset, and my boss, Geoff, encouraged me to apply.
At the IRC I maintain all of our desktops and servers,  I’m the lead programmer on our projects, and I am currently supervising six programming students. I can be working on 4-5 projects at any given time.

Q: Is there a particular professor or class at UMBC that really inspired you?

I had quite a few professors that inspired me throughout my time as a student such as Don Miner and Dr. Olano. I think the class that inspired me the most was CMSC 313, “Computer Organization and Assembly Language,” with Dennis Frey. One of my favorite projects for that class was a “bomb” program. When the program was run, it would ‘explode’ by sending an email to Professor Frey. We had to disassemble the program and use the debugger GDC to disarm the bomb so when the program ran it didn’t explode and send an email to Professor Frey saying that we’ve failed.

Q: How goes the video game design? Are you working on anything right now?

I have a license for Unity Pro and Unreal Engine. I dabble with them every once in while on my free time.

Q: What games have had the most lasting impact on you?

Warcraft III. I started playing this game back in high school and it is what got me really interested in game development. It had a map editor which I would spend an enormous amount of time creating custom maps in.

Q: What advice would you give to students considering UMBC?

Follow your passion wherever it takes you.

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today we’re talking with Mark Jarzynski ’11, computer science, about his work as Technical Director of Software Development here at UMBC’s Imaging Research Center (IRC).
Name: Mark Jarzynski
Job Title: Technical Director of Software Development
Major/Minor: Computer Science/Game Development
Grad year: 2011
Q: What drew you to UMBC for your studies?
When I was in high school, I was really interested in making video games. I had heard that UMBC had a game development track within Computer Science so I went for it.
Q: You now work at the university in the IRC. Could you tell us how you got the position and talk a bit about what you do there?
I had a job as a student working for CSEE. I maintained their servers and I developed their website. When I graduated in 2011, the IRC was looking for someone with my skillset, and my boss, Geoff, encouraged me to apply.
At the IRC I maintain all of our desktops and servers,  I’m the lead programmer on our projects, and I am currently supervising six programming students. I can be working on 4-5 projects at any given time.
Q: Is there a particular professor or class at UMBC that really inspired you?
I had quite a few professors that inspired me throughout my time as a student such as Don Miner and Dr. Olano. I think the class that inspired me the most was CMSC 313, “Computer Organization and Assembly Language,” with Dennis Frey. One of my favorite projects for that class was a “bomb” program. When the program was run, it would ‘explode’ by sending an email to Professor Frey. We had to disassemble the program and use the debugger GDC to disarm the bomb so when the program ran it didn’t explode and send an email to Professor Frey saying that we’ve failed.
Q: How goes the video game design? Are you working on anything right now?
I have a license for Unity Pro and Unreal Engine. I dabble with them every once in while on my free time.
Q: What games have had the most lasting impact on you?
Warcraft III. I started playing this game back in high school and it is what got me really interested in game development. It had a map editor which I would spend an enormous amount of time creating custom maps in.
Q: What advice would you give to students considering UMBC?

Follow your passion wherever it takes you.

Everyman Theatre is a professional theatre that celebrates the actor, with a resident company of artists from the Baltimore/Washington DC area. We seek emotional truth in performance through a diverse range of human experiences found in a mix of dramas and comedies – from timeless classics to world premieres. We strive to engage, inspire and transform artists, audiences and our community through theatre of the highest artistic standards and make it affordable and accessible to everyone. We are committed to embodying the promise of our name, Everyman Theatre.

Marc Olano, computer science and electrical engineering, invited video game professionals to provide feedback to UMBC class that launched two new video games. Both games were funded using grant money from UMBC's Hrabowski Fund for Innovation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Students from each team will continue to work on their projects this summer to make improvements to the team projects.