Lee Blaney receives NSF CAREER Award to address contaminants of emerging concern in urban streams

March 28, 2017 12:38 pm Megan Hanks

Lee Blaney, assistant professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, has received a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance his research on contaminants of emerging concern and their effects on the environment. The grant, totaling $500,000 over five years, will support Blaney’s research on pharmaceuticals, hormones, and personal care products in the local Gwynns Falls watershed.

“We congratulate Dr. Blaney on his NSF CAREER Award, a recognition of his commitment to impacting and engaging the UMBC and greater Baltimore communities through his research and teaching,” said Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research.

Contaminants of emerging concern include pharmaceuticals and personal care products, such as antibiotics, hormones, sunscreens, and fragrances. Sewer leaks can introduce these everyday chemicals to urban streams, contaminating the environment. Recently, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave wastewater systems in the U.S. a grade of “D.” Blaney explains that it is crucial for these systems to be upgraded to maintain water quality and protect the environment.

Blaney will work alongside the Baltimore Department of Public Works and other stakeholders in the Gwynns Falls watershed to complete his research and put his findings into action. He explains, “This project has a strong potential for broader impacts. It will provide a wealth of information on the occurrence and effects of contaminants of emerging concern in our local environment that can be extrapolated to other urban systems around the world.”

Blaney will use screening tools that identify the presence of wastewater in urban streams to locate sewer leaks that may be adversely affecting streamwater quality and that require repair. In waterways affected by wastewater, contaminants of emerging concern have already been detected in the tissue of both vertebrates and invertebrates, highlighting potential concerns to human and ecological health through antibiotic resistance, endocrine disruption, and other toxicity mechanisms.

This CAREER award also recognizes Blaney’s commitment to increasing the number of women and underrepresented minority students in environmental engineering research through collaboration with UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology, Meyerhoff Scholars Program, STEM BUILD Program, and programs supporting community college alumni completing their undergraduate degrees at UMBC. In addition, Blaney will develop and launch a citizen science program in Baltimore City to increase opportunities for community members to connect with their environment, collect important environmental data, and increase their scientific literacy.

“I cherish the role of teacher-scholar, and I am honored to receive the CAREER Award,” Blaney says. “This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication that I bring to work everyday. The CAREER Award reinforces my approach and will allow me to continue to integrate my research and teaching programs in new and exciting ways.”

UMBC faculty have received 34 NSF CAREER awards since 1995 across a number of fields, including engineering, physics, information systems, and computer science.

UMBC celebrates launch of Hill-Lopes Scholars Program focused on supporting women in STEM

Barbara Hill and Ancelmo Lopes were drawn to UMBC by the university’s commitment to providing holistic support for students from all backgrounds. On January 13, 2017, UMBC celebrated the launch of the new Hill-Lopes Scholars Program to support high-potential women in specific STEM majors where women remain underrepresented, with a reception for the first cohort of students, their families, and their faculty mentors.

The new scholars program, made possible through a generous gift from Hill and Lopes, draws inspiration from the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, nationally-lauded as the “gold-standard” for supporting underrepresented minority students in STEM. To support students’ persistence and success, the Hill-Lopes Scholars Program provides financial assistance and connects participating scholars with faculty mentors and campus services that can propel them toward their degrees.

The six UMBC students selected as the first class of Hill-Lopes Scholars have a broad range of intellectual interests, but all have their eye on advanced degrees and careers in highly competitive STEM fields.

Heather Frank ’17, biochemistry and molecular biology, conducts research in the lab of University Distinguished Professor Michael Summers and just published a first-author paper in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Karla Negrete ’19, mechanical engineering, began her work in research as a high school student and has focused on finding and creating opportunities to progress toward a career in bioengineering. Her next step will be an internship with BGE this summer.

Jada Damond ’19, environmental engineering, will soon travel to Nicaragua to work on a water quality project. She is also particularly interested in alternative energy sources.

Johanna Tsang ‘18, mechanical engineering, will intern at Northrop Grumman this summer in the Calibration and Quality Engineering division.

Blair Landon ’19, chemical engineering, plans to pursue graduate school in biochemical or biomedical engineering and, at UMBC, she is already a learning assistant for general chemistry.

Stormy Hill ’17, statistics, plans to pursue a career as an actuary with a focus on large-scale risk analysis. “This program is exceptional because it goes above and beyond to help its scholars,” Hill says, “beyond college, into our internships and careers.”

Faculty mentors Jennie Leach, chemical engineering; Anne Spence, mechanical engineering; Elsa Garcin, chemistry and biochemistry; and Anindya Roy, mathematics and statistics, will play a key role in the program.

“Being smart is not enough” to achieve success, UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski reflected. “There needs to be someone to say, ‘Give this person a chance.’” He described how faculty in the program will not only mentor the students, but also advocate for them.

In describing the power of mentorship, Pres. Hrabowski cited the success of UMBC’s ADVANCE program, which works to increase the number of women faculty at UMBC, particularly in STEM areas. Since that program’s inception in 2003, the number of female tenure-track faculty at UMBC has increased 73.3% – a boost in representation beneficial for UMBC’s new Hill-Lopes Scholars.

Speaking directly to the scholars at the inaugural reception, Pres. Hrabowski encouraged them to learn from their mentors by listening to their personal stories, “and then, imagine how, in time, you can help other people.”

By Connected World Staff | 11/30/2016

Empowering the IoT

One of the areas that has benefitted immensely from the IoT (Internet of Things) is healthcare, because the technology has revolutionized the way patients are monitored and taken care of by doctors. Considering the huge strides already taken, Professor Govind Rao wants to take it even further by ensuring patients aren’t just given the right medicine or treatment, but are left with a feeling of empowerment.

Govind Rao professor of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County

As part of Rao’s career that has spanned 35 years and 35 patents in manufacturing and environmental solutions, the past eight years have been dedicated to positively disrupting the personal healthcare space. As a professor of biochemistry and engineering at theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County, Rao’s research is aimed at giving patients better control over their personal health and enabling solutions that are specific to patients’ needs.

Normally when patients are evaluated on things like blood pressure or heart rate, these results are typically compared to the average mean statistic of the population. Since the individual profile and body type of the patient may differ than the average person, the aforementioned technique does not always accurately demonstrate where a patient needs to be in terms of his or her results. To accommodate for this, Gao and his research team have developed next-generation sensors that assess oxygen, pH, and pCO2, as well as glucose and glutamine to get better readings that will allow for more personalized treatments.

Rao is also working to ensure the latest solutions in healthcare reach the widest population possible, rather than being restricted to those who have the means to afford them. His work in non-invasive sensor technology for neonatal monitoring and the CAST initiative to deliver devices that operate in low-resource settings saves patients in rural areas time and money when getting the healthcare they need. In addition, Rao does not shy away from challenging the industry to address privacy and confidentiality problems that hinder patient empowerment.

“Much of the information tends to be firewalled, so there needs to be a way where you can access big data after stripping off personal identifies, as that will allow better decisionmaking to take place,” says Rao. “There has to be a balance; it’s great to encourage connectivity and this amazing interconnected cloud-to-reality space, but if it’s not done with security in mind, then potentially every note becomes a weak link.”

Though he has been part of the system for many years, Rao also challenges the paradigm of education. He makes it his job to encourage students to be flexible and to familiarize themselves with other industries, as they may never know where their research will be needed in the future. By exposing his students to research and development, Rao allows them to get the experience they need, while also supporting future innovation.

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From Professors to IoT Pioneers, Connected World 2017 Honorees

Carol Stream, Ill (PRWEB) December 06, 2016

The IoT (Internet of Things) biggest trailblazers are setting out to help a new generation navigate the road from the classroom to a connected society across the globe.

That is why, Connected World magazine is pleased to name the 2017 Pioneers Award winners, celebrating the leaders in research and education who are responsible for laying down the foundation to some of today’s greatest breakthroughs in IoT and M2M.

These 10 scholars, selected by the editorial staff of Connected World magazine, are heading up groundbreaking labs and organizations at some of the country’s most prestigious universities, yet their determination to push the limits of the IoT extends far beyond any university or college campus. Whether they are collaborating with big business on the latest platforms or devices, undertaking years’ worth of research, or simply extending guidance to a young student, each one of this year’s pioneers aims to enrich the lives and the world around them.

“This year’s pioneers are a great representation of where the IoT started and where it is headed,” says Peggy Smedley, editorial director, Connected World magazine. “Each one of these individuals brings his or her unique level of sincerity, creativity, and tutelage that will make their contributions to the IoT shine for years to come.”

The 10 recipients of the 2017 Pioneers Award are:

• Ted Herman, University of Iowa
• Behrokh Khoshnevis, University of Southern California
• Chandra Krintz, UC Santa Barbara
• Vivian Loftness, CMU
• Govind Rao, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Carlo Ratti, SENSEable City Lab, MIT
• Sanjay Sarma, MIT
• Sabine Seymour, Parsons, The New School
• Joshua Smith, University of Washington
• Greg Thomas, University of Kansas

The list, along with an in depth analysis of this year’s honorees, is featured in the December 2016 issue of Connected World.

About Connected World magazine
Connected World is the business and technology publication that provides the intelligence industry titans need and the guidance consumers crave. It’s all about M2M and IoT. connectedworld.com

James Sanders, who is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering, placed 2^nd at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Trainee poster competition at the 50^th Anniversary Celebration of the NIEHS

He accepted the award in Durham, North Carolina, at the NIEHS trainee reception on Monday, Dec 5th, 2106.