"I will host my 21st Annual How to Pay for College Seminar on Monday, December 4, 2017 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Maryland Institute College of Art Brown Center located at 1301 West Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland.

The purpose of the How to Pay for College Seminar is to inform my constituents about educational opportunities and financial assistance programs to help them attain a college education. The seminar will allow students and parents to learn more about SAT preparation, the college admissions and financial aid processes, as well as scholarship opportunities.

Colleges, universities and scholarship organizations will exhibit in the Leidy Atrium and the financial aid seminar will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Falvey Hall. The event is free and open to the public."

Sincerely,

Elijah E. Cummings

Member of Congress

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Click the 'Visit Website' button below for more information and to RSVP! (Note: the Congressman's message has been shortened for brevity)

Important update! We still have spaces for Lightning Round and Poster Presentations.

USM PROMISE AGEP: Maryland Transformation is pleased to invite you to attend and participate in the 2018 University System of Maryland PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium and Professional Development Conference on February 16, 2018. This conference replaces the former PROMISE Research Symposium and adds a professional development component that will prepare graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for faculty positions in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM, which includes social sciences) disciplines. This year, PROMISE also invites undergraduate students to come to hear graduate students’ presentations, and to participate in workshops that will prepare them to be graduate students with an eye on becoming future faculty members.

This conference seeks to provide a venue that will allow students to present their work at any stage, receive feedback in preparation for presenting at larger venues, and provide training that will prepare participants for faculty careers.The event is free and meals are provided. Please apply to present at the conference using the rules in the “Call for Presentations” section below and save the date.

Event:  2018 USM PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium & Professional Development Conference

Location: University of Maryland College Park

Adele H. Stamp Student Union – Center for Campus Life

3972 Campus Dr

Colony Ballroom

College Park, MD 20742

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Attire: Business Casual

Transportation:

There will be free transportation from UMBC to UMD. Please send an email to promisestaff@gmail.com by Feb. 9, 2018, with the subject title, “2018 Research Symposium Bus,” with your name, school, and cell phone number. The bus departs from the UMBC Administration Circle at 7:20 AM. This location is in front of the administration building. The bus will depart from UMD at 4:15 PM and arrive at UMBC around 5:15 PM.

Parking:

If you choose to drive on your own, you may pay to park in the Union Lane Garage – located between the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Center for Campus Life and Cole Field House. Hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. In this garage, you park in a numbered spot, remember your number, and walk out toward the entrance to enter it into the machine, where you will pre-pay for a certain number of hours. Other parking lot information can be found here: http://cvs.umd.edu/visitors/parking.html.

• Presentation slots are limited to graduate students within the University System of Maryland.
• A custom webpage will be designed for each presenter. The presenter’s website will include a photo, bio, abstract, synopsis of research, and list of other relevant publications or presentations as applicable. Students who participated in 2015, 2016, and 2017 can update their current pages.
• Postdocs from universities and organizations outside of the University System of Maryland can participate as mentors and judges for poster sessions.
• All graduate students and postdocs are invited to participate as audience members and attend the professional development workshops.
• Undergraduate students are invited to attend to learn from the presentations and to participate in special workshops dedicated to preparing for graduate school, with a focus on thinking about becoming a professor in the future.
• Faculty from within the USM are invited to serve as judges to provide constructive feedback.

Join us! Registration is free. 

Register here:

Types of Presentations

This conference will feature STEM-based oral presentations, posters, and professional development seminars. Participants are invited to submit abstracts to participate in three oral categories and one poster category.

Oral Category 1: Traditional Research Presentations

[7 minutes presentation, 3 minutes critique, 2 minutes of questions, traditional PowerPoint presentation]

Oral Category 2: TED-Styled Talks

[5-minute talks + 5 minutes for critique/questions, PowerPoint presentation with images only – no text]

Oral Category 3: Lightning Round Talks

[2-minute talks with timer on the screen, no PowerPoints, no critique.]

Call for Presentations

If you are interested in presenting, please follow the schedule below:

Deadline extended: December 15th. We still have spaces for Lightning Round and Poster Presentations.

December 1, 2017: “Letter of Intent” to present. This very short email should include name, school, department, choice of oral category (1, 2, 3) or poster, and potential title of your presentation. Email to promisestaff@gmail.com with the title, “2018 USM PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium – Intent to Present.”

“TED-Styled” and “Lightning Round” titles must be tailored to appeal to a general audience.

Everyone who expressed an “Intent to Present” as of Dec. 1, 2017, will be in line with the presentation style of their choice. Those who did not specify a category will be given a space for a poster.

December 31, 2017: Abstracts and the information below is required for all presentations types. Email all materials from all four categories below to promisestaff@gmail.com, with the subject: “2018 USM PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium Presenter Information.”

1. Formal Abstract (250 words or less). Biographical Sketch (250 words or less)
   • Font: 12 Point, Times New Roman
   • Heading, Left-justified:
     • Title (Bold)
     • Name (Italicized)
     • Department (No abbreviations)
     • University (No abbreviations)
2. General Summary of Graduate Research (250 words or less)
3. High-Quality Photograph
4. Numbered List of up to 5 publications and or/presentations. Please give precedence to publications and conference proceedings as applicable.

All presenters must register.

Tentative Agenda

Colony Ballroom, Adele Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland College Park

2018 PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium & Professional Development Conference

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Arrival, Breakfast Refreshments, Registration, Poster Set-Up

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Opening Remarks, Traditional Oral Research Presentations

Welcome:

1. Host’s Opening and Welcome: Christopher Perez, Associate Director, Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion, and Coordinator for PROMISE at College Park.
2. Co-PI Remarks:
3. USM PROMISE AGEP Welcome: Dr. Renetta Tull, UMBC Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, and PROMISE AGEP Director for the University System of Maryland.

Oral Category 1: Traditional Research Presentations

1. Mary Yaa Sedegah Masterson, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Program, University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB). “Role of Vaccine-Induced IgG in Protection against Bordetella Pertussis.”
2. Marilyn Allen, Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). “Engineering immune cells via lipid-tailed biomolecules.”
3. Amanda Labuza, Physiology Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). “NOVA: Providing Graduate Students with Outreach Opportunities to Baltimore.”
4. BreAsia Deal, Applied Mathematics and Statistics Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). “Modeling The Effect of Glucose Intake on a System With Simple Oscillatory Conditions.”

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM: Networking Break

10:45 AM – 11:15 AM: “TED-Style” Talks

1. Maraki Negesse, Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). “The development of the forebrain in vertebrate embryos.”
2. Ashley Wayne Thomas, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). [title to be determined]
3. Omolola Taiwo, Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland College Park (UMD). “Creating a world where we are all active bystanders: Reducing sexual violence on campus.”

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM: Lightning Round Talks

12:00 PM – Buffet Lunch

12:45 PM – 1:30 PM: Poster Session and Dessert Reception

1. Mahdad Talebpour, Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
2. Elizabeth Noelia Williams, Nutrition and Food Science (NFSC) Department, University of Maryland College Park (UMD). “Use of Risk Assessment Modeling Techniques to Develop Quantitative Risk-Based Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (RB-HACCP) Plans.”
3. Jackline Joy Martín Lasola, Department of Microbiology and Immunology (School of Medicine), University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).
   “Immunomodulation of the Tumor Microenvironment with Interleukin-1 Receptor-Associated Kinases (IRAKs).”
4. [pending confirmation]
5. [pending confirmation]
6. [pending confirmation]
7. [pending confirmation]
8. [pending confirmation]

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Professional Development Workshops (graduate students and undergraduates)

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM: Closing Reception and Awards Ceremony