Meet Cheli. She is a Chemical Engineering major and her research explores the microscopic world of Filamentous fungi. She hopes to hypothesize that hyphal branching is, in part, regulated by autophagy; a cellular-level recycling process that occurs in a wide range of species from fungi to humans.

How did you find your mentor for year research project?
During my first semester at UMBC I received an email from my ENES 101 instructor saying that Dr. Marten was looking for new undergraduate researchers. I sent him my resume and high school transcript (I did not yet have a UMBC transcript), and I was accepted a couple weeks later, and have been there ever since.

How much time do you put into it?
I generally put in 12-15 hours a week for research but it varies depending on the experiment I am conducting.

How did you hear about the Undergraduate Research Award (URA) program?
My predecessor in the lab was a URA scholar, so my research mentor suggested I should apply as well.

Was the application difficult to do?
The application was straightforward. I would say that the most difficult part was making sure it did not exceed the page limit.

How much did your mentor help you with the application?
My mentor was the last person to review my application before it was submitted.

What has been the hardest part about your research?
The hardest part about my research has been trying to understand unexpected results. Often, in research, you can reach a road block and the difficult part is trying to figure out if this is the result of human error, an error in theory, or an error in the hypothesis.

What was the most unexpected thing?
Although I was told communication is a key component of research, I was surprised at how much time I spend using this skill. The importance of spending time to communicate results has become increasingly clear, whether it is explaining individual experiments in lab notebooks and weekly reports or developing larger-scale presentations for team members or conferences.

How does your research relate to your work in other classes?
As a chemical engineering major, I have to take classes in a wide variety of fields, and the work inside the lab has really helped me understand the importance of interdisciplinary studies. Genetics, Cell Biology, Statistics and Organic chemistry are all directly related to my field of research, and help me to fully understand the theory behind my research. On the other hand, the work I have done in the lab has given me skills in experimental design (a crucial component of ENCH 225) that I would not have had otherwise.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?
Find your personal motivation to do research and talk to people who are currently involved in your field of interest. Once you have done that, make sure you can find the time in your schedule. This is often the most difficult thing to do, but with the right motivation, it is usually possible. Find research that gets you excited and apply to work in that laboratory. It is always possible to find time to devote to doing something you love.

Read more about her research here.

UMBC Relationship Violence Prevention Advocates

Position Description (Fall, 2014)

(applications  accepted on a rolling basis from April 18 through August 8)

The UMBC Relationship Violence Prevention Advocates program is a comprehensive program funded by a grant from Verizon.  The program changes each year and is designed to educate the UMBC Community on specific relationship violence prevention information.  The goals of the program are to systematically raise awareness and support for a campus to be without relationship violence and create an environment that encourages healthy relationships and the victims of relationship violence to come forward and receive support. Specific components of the program include:

·         Relationship violence prevention education and training for volunteer students, faculty and staff advocates who represent various groups and populations on campus. These advocates will help to educate the campus community about relationship violence prevention through their networks,  and serve as referral sources for those who have experienced or are impacted by relationship abuse/violence or have questions about unhealthy relationships.

·         Training for UMBC athletic coaches

·         Relationship Skills Program via the UMBC Counseling Center

·         Awareness, Education and Resources through www.umbc.edu/rvap

·         Bystander Intervention training through the Green Dot program (VP Student Affairs Office)

General Description:

UMBC Relationship Violence Prevention Advocates are UMBC community members who: a)  are able to provide relationship/dating/intimate partner violence prevention information to their community networks, b) observe the UMBC community and take notice of and report  community issues related to relationship violence to advocate trainers, c) encourage bystander intervention techniques within UMBC community network, d) make appropriate referrals, e) provide helpful resource information to their UMBC community network and individuals, f) support violence prevention efforts on campus, and g) volunteer to staff events (tabling, etc).

1.      Must attend training on August 25, 2014 from 9:30am-4pm

2.      Must attend the following Friday meetings at noon- August 29; September 5, 12, 19; October 3, 17, 31; November 14; December 5

3.      Must share educational information with your network of friends, colleagues, student organizations, team members, and at campus events

4.      Must utilize skills to make referrals, provide resources, intervene safely when necessary using bystander intervention skills.

The most challenging part about this research was creating my own reading list and preparing for the archaeological excavation. I plan to have a future career in archaeology and so the field work was the easy part for me, it was the reviewing and reading beforehand that was difficult because there would be times that I would not be sure if I was reading the best sources or understanding the core concepts of what I should be learning and how to connect it to the archaeology. Once I arrived in Romania and I ventured through the capital, Bucharest, I saw a great deal of Roman presence through archaeological artifacts in the Bucharest Museum and this was a pivotal moment for me when my readings and preparation fused with the Roman archaeology and it proved crucial for my own Mithraeum project.

Read about her research here...

Maryland Department of Planning
Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum

* * * NEWS RELEASE * * *

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Kate Dinnel, 410-586-8538                                                            March 31, 2014

Education

Discovering Archaeology Day at JPPM!

St. Leonard- April is Maryland Archaeology Month…how will you celebrate?  Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum's first event of the season is Discovering Archaeology Day, which is held on Saturday, April 19 from 10AM – 5PM.  This event is free and all ages are welcome.  JPPM is home to approximately 70 identified archaeological sites and is the site of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory or MAC Lab for short. 

The day will consist of tours of the MAC Lab and visits to the ongoing excavation of an 18^th century plantation.  Both the JPPM's FAQ Archaeology and War of 1812 exhibits will be open throughout the day.  Also enjoy displays, games and activities presented by professional archaeologists from throughout Maryland.  Ask questions, participate in hands on activities and learn about this exciting field! 

Ride our solar powered bus or take a walk to the Indian Village to enjoy demonstrations and activities.  Do you have a historical item you know little about?  Bring it to the Artifact ID table where a professional will look at it.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase. 

Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum, a state museum of archaeology and home to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, is a program of the Maryland Historical Trust, a division of the Maryland Department of Planning.  It is located on 560 scenic acres along the Patuxent River and the St. Leonard Creek in St. Leonard, Calvert County, Maryland.  For more information, call 410-586-8501 or visit www.jefpat.org.

DiscoveringArchaeologyDayatJPPM4.pdf

[Tune in every 2 weeks for Library Staff Highlights!]

Name: Sarah New

Hometown: Bel Air, MD, USA

Alma Mater: University of Virginia

Volunteers needed for research study.

The Role of Skin Color & Hair Politics

in Black Women’s College Experiences

Latasha Eley is a graduate student in the UMBC Language, Literacy, & Culture doctoral program conducting research to explore the ways in which Black, female, undergraduate students’ experiences are impacted by hair and skin hue politics within campus culture.  Please contact her (leley1@umbc.edu) for more information if you meet the following eligibility criteria and are interested in participating:

•       Black/African American

•       Female

•       18-25

•       Enrolled at UMBC full-time

You will be asked to share your on and off campus experiences, as they relate to hair and skin color, individually or in a small group setting of no more than twelve students for participation in a focus group.  Focus Group participants will receive a free pizza dinner.  Individual Interview participants will receive $20 cash.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Ebony Tongo, Chemical Engineering Major

President of UMBC's Society of Women Engineers

Meet Deborah. She is an Animation major. Her research explores the inner workings of the body through the medium of 3D animation. Typically, the only way the inside of the living body can be observed non-invasively is through the use of specialized medical equipment.

Who did you work with on this project?
I worked on it myself.

Was this your first independent research project?
Yes.

Do you get course credit for this work? How much time do you put into it?
Yes. Each art major is required to take a class in which they create their senior capstone project. This project has occupied most of my free time this semester.

What academic background did you have before you started?
I had been studying computer animation for about five years.

How did you learn what you needed to know to be successful in this project?
I studied anatomical books, drawings, and videos so that I could make my project as accurate as possible.

What was the hardest part about your research?
Making all parts of the model move together accurately.

Is this the first time you have applied to present at URCAD? How did you find out about applying to present your work? Are you excited?
This is my first time. The professor who teaches my senior projects class mentioned that, to fulfill one of our assignments, we could submit our projects to URCAD. I am very excited to have my work seen by people outside my department.

How does this research experience relate to your work in other classes?
Besides my animation classes, I have used knowledge from the computer science classes I have taken to write the code that controls the arm model in my project.

What are your career goals?
I would like to work as a computer animator for practical applications, such as the federal government, serious gaming, or medical visualization.

Read about her research here...