Today, the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) announced UMBC as its newest member. The pioneering consortium of public research universities boosts student success through sharing and scaling approaches that work. UMBC and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) are the first two universities selected to join the network since its founding in 2014.

Increasing graduation rates

During President Barack Obama’s College Opportunity Summit in 2014, the UIA’s eleven founding institutions set a target of graduating 68,000 additional students over ten years, including half from low-income backgrounds. In just six years, they have already exceeded that goal. Together, they have graduated more than 73,000 additional students, increasing graduates from low-income backgrounds by 36 percent and graduates of color by 73 percent. 

Now, the UIA is on track to reach double its original goal by 2023. Supporting this increase will be fresh, data-driven ideas from UMBC and N.C. A&T. 

Both institutions have a long history of supporting students from underrepresented groups, including low-income and first-generation students and students of color. In ten years, UMBC increased its six-year graduation rate for full-time freshmen from 55.7% for the fall 2005 cohort to 69.2% for the fall 2014 cohort.

“We have seen very positive trends in UMBC’s student retention and graduation rates, but this is an important opportunity to dive deeper into our data, and to look at how we can better support students who are struggling,” says Katharine H. Cole, UMBC’s vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. “It’s our responsibility to understand the challenges students face at the most granular level possible, and to provide resources to help them reach their goals.”

Leaders in student support and achievement

In the next phase of its work, the UIA will focus on eliminating disparities in educational outcomes based on race and ethnicity, in addition to disparities by income, first-generation college student status, gender, and geography. The UIA has described the addition of “like-minded institutions” UMBC and N.C. A&T as core to this expanded focus.

UMBC opened in 1966 as the first public university in Maryland to include students of all races, and is federally designated as a minority-serving institution. The university prioritizes experiential learning opportunities, including internships, service-learning, and research. Eighty-seven percent of UMBC graduates head directly into a job, advanced degree, or both. A majority of those employed interned or worked for their employer as UMBC students. 

Yvette Mozie-Ross. Photo courtesy of Mozie-Ross.

“As a historically diverse institution that has had success in supporting and promoting underrepresented student achievement, we look forward to bringing our experiences and insight to this critical work as part of the UIA collaborative,” says Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, UMBC’s vice provost for Enrollment Management and Planning.

N.C. A&T is the nation’s largest public Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The university graduates large numbers of Black students in mathematics, statistics, engineering, and agriculture. 

U.S. News & World Report has named both UMBC and N.C A&T leaders in innovation and in undergraduate teaching. According to the National Science Foundation, UMBC and N.C. A&T are also the #1 and #2 universities in the nation, respectively, in producing Black graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences and engineering.

Sharing insights and tools

“When thinking about the next chapter of the UIA, we reviewed the outcomes and mission of every R1 and R2 institution in the country,” says UIA Executive Director Bridget Burns, referring to U.S. universities with top Carnegie Classifications for research activity. “A&T and UMBC immediately stood out for their leadership and demonstrated commitment to student success,” she notes.

Living out this commitment through the UIA will include sharing data on the efficacy of different approaches to supporting students. It will also include sustained focus to implement, test, and refine strategies to remove impediments to student success.

“I have long admired the ambitious work of the University Innovation Alliance,” says UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. “Over the last two decades we have worked tirelessly to create a culture that is committed to innovative teaching, relevant research, and creating a supportive community to help inspire students, and we are excited to share our insights and tools with the UIA community.” 

Featured image: Amanda Knapp and Katharine Cole speak with students in UMBC’s Academic Success Center, 2019. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 unless otherwise noted.

Helm, Roswell, and Izat in an undated photo.

Louise Goodrich Izat ’70 and Donna Helm ’70 met their first week of classes in 1966. As French majors, they enjoyed many classes together with May Roswell, a professor of French and German and a founder of UMBC’s modern languages department. “May Roswell was a wonderful professor,” remembers Izat. They remember her as a dedicated and inspiring teacher. Now, more than half a century later, the two friends who share a love of words, have come together to create the Childhood Literacy Scholarship Endowment in honor of Roswell.

Izat has been a volunteer at a reading camp in her community for six years. Her experience has made her aware of how many children need additional reading support to move beyond decoding to comprehension and develop a lifelong love of reading. Helm has always been proud that she comes from a family of avid readers and has seen the positive impact strong reading skills can have on a career. After learning what work UMBC faculty and students are doing in the work of childhood literacy, Izat and Helm decided to combine their love of the written word to support early literacy work. 

The scholarship is awarded through The Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities (the Sherman Center). “With this Childhood Literacy Scholarship, our goal is to provide financial aid to promising undergraduate students committed to early childhood literacy development,” says Izat. Izat and Helm’s $25,000 endowment will support a different UMBC student each year with a scholarship of $1,000 or more for educational and research expenses. 

Supporting the next generation of educators

By focusing on childhood literacy, Helm and Izat’s endowment will help a burgeoning education professional continue to focus on their research and community-engaged work.

Ayodélé La Veau ’21, psychology and theatre, the first recipient of the scholarship, has been an active volunteer in the Sherman Center’s Literacy Fellows Program at Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City. The program pairs college students with a Baltimore City elementary school. Fellows visit a classroom and work with a teacher throughout the semester, helping students develop reading and writing skills. 

Headshot courtesy of La Veau.

La Veau was able to be a part of a transition period with Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School when they opened their new building. She saw how the combination of entering into a new building and having a more equipped teacher in their new learning environment made students more willing to learn and excitement to improve their literacy skills. “I believe in the impact of showing children the possibility and importance of their growth and development,” shares La Veau. “Not only through verbal affirmation but through proper guidance and access to resources.”

In 2020, La Veau earned a UMBC Undergraduate Research Award to study the use of the creative process as a means to teach and explore social-emotional learning using data from public secondary schools and creative arts programs within Baltimore City. The pandemic did not permit her to begin the research. Instead, she shifted her attention to supporting local communities digitally.

In addition to the academic and mental health needs of young people, La Veau is equally adamant about food equity and its impact on both. She currently serves as the vice president of the board of directors for The Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm which grows healthy food to help feed people facing food insecurity in Baltimore.

“My work allows me to witness the effects of investing in children’s lives through healthy and safe learning environments,” shared La Veau. “The Childhood Literacy Scholarship is so wonderful and has been a major blessing for me.” La Veau’s zeal is not an exception but an example of the various committed students the Sherman Center supports. 

Part of the solution

Izat and Helm are excited that the scholarship will help La Veau continue her work with young children and her research. “We want to support students who will become part of the solution to the childhood literacy problem in our country,” share the two donors. “We are delighted that Ayodélé La Veau is our first recipient. She has a lot of energy, is an amazing young woman, and her work will have a positive impact on the lives of children.”

Sherman Center Director Mavis Sanders, in yellow, at the 2018 Teacher Summer Institute, which provides early childhood educators with information, resources, and collaborative planning time. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Izat and Helm’s endowment supports the mission of the Sherman Center “to build a strong foundation for lifelong learning among young children in Baltimore City and develop best early childhood education practices for urban schools.” Now in its third year, the Sherman Center has become the hub of early childhood education, research, and practices, not only for Baltimore City but also for Maryland. 

“There is something special about UMBC students, past and present, and it is great when they meet around shared commitments,” says Mavis Sanders, professor of education and the inaugural director of the Sherman Center. “I am grateful to be a part of the Childhood Literacy Scholarship and assist alumni, like Louise Izat and Donna Helm, to support Retrievers who share their passion for helping children discover the joy and power of reading.”

*****

Header image provided by Donna Helm and Louise Izat.

As children, Andy Stack and his older brother Dan listened to Miles Davis as they fell asleep each night in their Catonsville home. His brother had an affinity for Sketches of Spain on repeat, and Stack ’10, music, listened with the hopes of being a great jazz composer like Davis. He started to play any available instrument—steel drums, saxophone, guitar, piano—each one telling a different story; that’s what Stack loved.

The musical layering that fascinated Stack at such a young age found ground to flourish in “the old Fine Arts building,” says Stack, who, after a brief time at the Berklee College of Music, shifted away from jazz composition and returned to Catonsville to finish his degree in music technology at UMBC. “The recording program at UMBC proved to be a really powerful tool to develop my interest and springboard my career.”

In Wye Oak, Stack provides drums, keyboards, and backup vocals. Photos courtesy of Stack, unless otherwise noted.

At UMBC in 2007, Stack began collaborating with high school friend and fellow Retriever Jenn Wasner to form Wye Oak, an indie rock/dream pop duo whose name pays homage to Maryland’s state tree. The duo found praise and a national audience early on. Reviewing their first album, If Children—produced at UMBC—Pitchfork lauded the 2007 debut, “Vocals trade between Wasner and Stack; her voice bears more sweetness, but the light variety is a palette cleanser. Their total defiance of novelty is almost minimalistic; it’s a reminder that someone who understands food can make a good dish with three or four ingredients.”

Reaching a wider audience

“Wye Oak is really a recording project,” Stack says. Using foundational theory he learned at Berklee and the music technology skills from UMBC, Stack and Wasner find a lot of their excitement in the recording process and on-stage experimentation. During their 2010 NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Wasner opens with the title song from Civilian, their third album,and says that it came up in the studio with all the tools at their fingertips. “We just figured out how to do it live,” Stack says of the result.

Wasner and Stack started collaborating musically in high school. Photo by Lissa Gotwals.

Since the days in Fine Arts, the band has played around the world. They’ve also collaborated with groups like the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Future Islands, and Wasner has been touring with Bon Iver. Their music has been used in films and TV shows like Gossip Girl and The Walking Dead. 

Stack and Wasner recorded their first two albums (If Children and The Knot) using student resources available to them on campus. Keeping connected to his Retriever lineage The Knot, which served as Stack’s senior thesis project, featured a cover image that Stack’s father had taken as a photography student at UMBC in the 1970s.

Catonsville connections

Rooted is the word that begins to describe Stack’s connection with UMBC. Every member of the immediate Stack family attended UMBC, including his brother, Dan Stack ’10, visual arts, his sister-in-law, and more than several cousins. Stack credits a lot of his success to his parents, William Stewart Stack ’78, interdisciplinary studies, and Anne Brant Stack ’72, English, for their support and involvement in the Baltimore film community—the family runs Serious Grip & Electric, a local user friendly grip and lighting rental house.

Stack with members of his immediate and extended family, all fellow Retrievers (or future Retrievers).

While still at UMBC, Wye Oak’s work found its record label home in Merge Records. This didn’t change a lot of things for Wasner and Stack, but it did mean more tours in places like New York, Philly, and Boston. Stack says his professors in the music department were supportive of the touring and worked with him to make sure he was able to finish course work.

Alan Wonneberger, director of the recording and music technology program at UMBC, remember enjoying Stack’s contribution to all his classes. “He was a great student, and is a wonderful musician. He excelled at music technology, where he used his musicianship to great advantage,” says Wonneberger.

Still telling stories

Both members have solo projects of their own that add strength to their collaboration. Alongside Wye Oak, Stack tours with bands around the world, and in 2019, he released solo work under the name Joyero.

In a recent song, “AEIOU,” Wye Oak collaborated with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. In the song the chorus is at the forefront with quiet, small voices beatboxing or scatting A-E-I-O-U throughout. The song is majestic and sprawling, using musical tools and techniques to evoke emotion and story, building on what Stack had begun to explore listening to Sketches of Spain to fall asleep.

— Imani Spence ’16

*****

Header photo by Kendall Atwater.

With Zaynub Siddiqui ’21, psychology

Last November, Zaynub Siddiqui ’21, psychology, set out to paint the town red—and yellow, green, pink, and black. Jumping at the chance to contribute creatively to OCA Mocha—the community-centered UMBC-affiliated coffee shop in neighboring Arbutus—the UMBC senior took a drab wall and transformed it over the course of her 20th birthday weekend. So, how exactly does one tackle a 150-square-foot blank space? For Siddiqui, it took vision, daring, and multiple iced matchas. But in the end she left local coffee lovers a floral feast for the eyes.

Tools of the Trade:

Headshot courtesy of Siddiqui.

• A projector, a scaffold, and no fear of heights—To translate a design from the page to the side of a building, it helps to use an Epson 4K projector.
  
• Shoe coverings—“Paint gets everywhere,” says Siddiqui. 
  
• A passion for the subject matter—“I love plants, I have a whole bunch. I love gardening,” she says. 
  
• A favorite coffee shop drink—“I really love an iced matcha,” says Siddiqui.
  
• Advil—because that’s a LOT of standing.

Step 1: Find a Wall

In Siddiqui’s case, the wall found her. The people behind OCA Mocha put out a call for artists to decorate the wall adjacent to their outdoor patio and parking lot. Even though she is a psychology major (with a sociology minor), the notice caught her eye. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of UMBC’s art scene,” she says. “I would see their art building and their exhibit areas and think, I want to do that.”

As such, armed with a love of arts and crafts and her experience helping out with collective murals at the college she attended briefly before transferring to UMBC, Siddiqui submitted her ideas for consideration, and was excited to be chosen.

Step 2: Create a Design and a Plan

Siddiqui’s vision started with the idea of a steaming cup of coffee and adding her own spin with lots of florals. “Nature really inspires my artwork,” she says. She also wanted to create a space where people could easily snap fun photos of themselves. After a series of meetings and emails with OCA Mocha staff, they settled on a design.

Photo of her favorite drink in front of her mural, courtesy of Siddiqui.

Siddiqui was excited that the timing of the mural aligned with her senior year. “Since this is my last year at UMBC, I’d sort of leave off with a bang,” she says. Siddiqui also appreciated being able to paint it on her birthday, showing growth artistically and personally. “Entering my 20s by doing this was something really exciting for me,” she says.

Step 3: Scale Up Your Art Supplies

Got paint brushes? Get bigger ones. Siddiqui also ditched regular art trays for mixing in favor of big foil trays usually used for food. For paint, you’ll need something a lot more durable than the stuff in your everyday art kit. Buy exterior primer for the base and exterior flat finish for the design.

And, don’t forget about clean-up. With a mural, paint splashes up, down, and all around, so Siddiqui suggests being prepared to cover up and wash up. “You think you’re not going to touch something…and then you’ll find it,” she says. “I had paint on myself a week and a half after. I’d say, ‘I thought I scrubbed my arms!’”

Step 4:  Be Prepared to Grow Your Art

When the time came to start painting, the huge wall size came as something of a surprise to Siddiqui once it was right in front of her. Undeterred, she painted flowers and more flowers, and then added more until the space was full. The end result? A burst of color (and coffee) that explodes into an otherwise humdrum parking lot.

Florals often find their way into Siddiqui’s work. As such, she packed it with some of her favorites, including a peony and roses. She also made sure to include flora and fauna that are special to the area. There is a monarch butterfly, native to the region, as well as plenty of Maryland’s state flower, the Black-Eyed Susan. Siddiqui even included a White Oak leaf in an homage to the famous Arbutus White Oak that fell in 2019.

Step 5:  Go and Dream Bigger Dreams

The mural may be done, but Siddiqui’s work is far from over. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology and possibly mix her love of art with her love of how the mind works.

“They both provide different insights to people and how they think and their emotions,” she says. Eventually she’d like to possibly get into art therapy—but the scaffold sitting in her house now proves murals are still in her life. “I would love to have a mural in New York City or Los Angeles or Amsterdam…something that people would be able to take pictures of and remind them of nature.” Ultimately, she thinks that “just to put a smile on someone’s face would be really fun.”

— Karen Stysley

*****

All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11, unless otherwise noted.

As a first-generation college student from southeast Baltimore, Sondheim Scholar Stefanie Mavronis ’12, political science and media & communication studies, was initially hesitant to talk openly about her past. As she made a home—and a name for herself as an organizer—on campus, Mavronis realized that she could bring her whole self to UMBC. Now deputy director of communication for Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott, Mavronis channels her hometown pride and Retriever confidence to tackle connecting with constituents during a pandemic and what feels like an all-time low of public trust in government. 

In 2000, all eyes were on the presidential election—mine included—except I was fixated on winning the highest office of fifth grade. 

My teacher must have seen something in me, and she encouraged me to run for class president and generally explore things that I didn’t know were possible. It turns out that I naturally gravitate to these opportunities, whenever I’m in a new space or a new school or a new class—I end up organizing the people around me and working to make change.

All photos courtesy of Stefanie Mavronis. Portrait by Egan Jimenez, Princeton University.

Despite that, it wasn’t until my senior year at UMBC that I would explicitly share with people that I was from Dundalk. When people heard that about me first, there were stereotypes and assumptions about what I was capable of achieving and who I was.

Learning local history through my coursework at UMBC, reading books like Not in My Neighborhood, and having opportunities to explore and embed myself in the Baltimore community, where I was from became something that I wasn’t ashamed of. I wasn’t ashamed to be a first-generation college student—I was proud of it, and I started to see some of the unique leadership skills and insights that I brought as someone who came from that experience in Baltimore. UMBC was a safe and supportive space for my development as a young person and ultimately brought me to the position in the Mayor’s Office I have today.

Actively creating culture

At UMBC, I was always bursting at the seams with ideas and motivated to change the culture on campus. I have gratitude for my professors and mentors, who not only made time for me, but helped point me in new directions. In a big way, they were my support system. Delana Gregg, M.S. ’04, instructional development systems, Ph.D. ’19, language, literacy, and culture, who co-led the Sondheim Scholars program; Jodi Kelber-Kaye and Simon Stacey in the Honors College; Lisa Akchin in Institutional Advancement; Jason Loviglio in media and communication studies—I’m sure in his office alone, I probably spent tens of hours. 

• Mavronis served as vice president and design and marketing director for the Student Events Board (seb) while a student at UMBC.
• 

When I came to campus at UMBC, I fully intended to be part of the Student Government Association (SGA) but instead got involved with another student leadership organization in my first semester: the students events board (seb). When it came to the people on campus who I saw actively shaping and creating campus culture—taking the reputation that the school had at that time as a “commuter school”—I was really interested in being one of the students making campus culture more inclusive and just, and helping incoming students find their place. 

As I got close to graduation, I realized one of the reasons why UMBC people stick together. We are collectively coming out of an institution that has gone to great lengths to not cushion us but help us find our individual paths, forge our unique lanes, and identify our strengths in a way that was very supportive. 

Mavronis in her office at City Hall. Photo by Mark Dennis.

The shift into the “real world” can be challenging. For me, it felt like I was being asked to fit myself into a box after being embraced for my whole, multifaceted self. I’m so grateful for my mentors and friends who sent me the message that they didn’t want me to change, who supported me in finding ways to communicate my strengths to the outside world.

Supporting a homegrown leader

In my last year of college, I applied for a mayoral fellowship which I ultimately did not get. Brandon Scott, a councilmember at the time, was part of my interview panel. I developed a proposal for how to address Baltimore’s vacant housing crisis over a summer, leveraging public-private partnerships in a different kind of community-based way. It was a wild plan, but Brandon recognized my passion, big ideas, and hometown pride.

In December 2020, Mavronis accompanies Mayor Brandon Scott to talk to Baltimore residents about the city’s COVID response. Photo by Mark Dennis.

Brandon was a frequent guest on the Marc Steiner Show on WEAA 88.9-FM, where I worked as a producer for several years. Even back then Brandon often spoke about the need for local control of our police force and holistic strategies to combat gun violence. When I left to attend Princeton for graduate school, one of the ways I stayed connected to Baltimore was working with Brandon on the development of his strategy as the public safety chair of the City Council. After getting my master’s, I returned to Baltimore and landed a job at City Hall in Councilmember Zeke Cohen’s office.

After Brandon won his bid for council president in 2019, I was tapped to serve as his Communication Director. I was energized to work for a homegrown leader, someone who has a keen sense of what Baltimore needs and unconditional love for the people of the city in a way that I have not always seen or felt from leaders in the past.

Calling all visionaries 

If you don’t like the way that things are, play an active role in changing them. There’s a lot of people who have made me feel like that’s possible throughout history and in my own life, from my successful bid for  fifth grade class president to running a more competitive race in high school to represent southeast Baltimore County at a county-wide level in student government. 

Mavronis working alongside Mayor Scott and Press Secretary Sydney Burns in the Mayor’s Office at City Hall. 

I never expected to work in local government, but am so glad I landed here. And now being here, I often wish there were even more people in this space with visionary ideas who aren’t deterred by boundaries, willing to try new things. Confronting the legacy of redlining and inequitable systems is not overnight work—but I now see how it takes people finding new ways to work together inside and outside of government to make transformative change and rebuild the trust that’s eroded over time. 

I’m excited to be tasked with the opportunity and responsibility to be part of shaping this administration and bringing more people into this project of building a stronger Baltimore City, one that’s more equitable and accountable and that works better for people.

*****

Header image: Mavronis, in yellow coat, accompanies Mayor Brandon Scott to a UMBC co-sponsored vaccination pop-up event for the Lakeland community in southeast Baltimore. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

From surveillance tools to autonomous machines, countries around the world are ramping up their military artificial intelligence (AI) assets. Such robust technologies are necessary to protect the United States from surprise attacks, which occur these days not only on the ground, but also on the cloud.

Advancing AI-based autonomous systems for military use will be the goal for a team of UMBC researchers that has recently been awarded a $20-million subcontract. UMBC will partner with the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), and the DEVCOM Army Research Lab (ARL) on the $68-million, five-year endeavor, which ARL is funding. The goal is to strengthen Army AI technology so it is able to meet the demands of today’s national defense.

“The question we’re trying to solve is: Can we design and develop tools, techniques, algorithms, software, and hardware that can work autonomously and make their own decisions, but also collectively, interfacing with human decision makers?” says UMBC’s principal investigator Aryya Gangopadhyay, professor of information systems. “The landscape of war is changing, and we must build systems that can make human-like decisions in real time and under real-world pressure.”

Secure, effective, and resilient

The project, AI and Autonomy for Multi-Agent Systems (ArtIAMAS), aims to advance science and technology around three core research areas: collaborative autonomy; harnessing the data revolution; and human-machine teaming. UMBC’s role in the project will center on the second and third research thrusts. 

More specifically, the UMBC team will develop solutions for AI-based networking, sensing, and edge computing — which brings data storage and computation closer to a location — for battlefield Internet of Things (IoT). This will allow them to deliver secure, effective, and resilient U.S. Army assets including AI systems related to search-and-rescue, surveillance, robots and machinery, and augmenting humans in performing decision-making tasks. 

“As one of the research institutions in the University System of Maryland, we are delighted with this exciting next step in our statewide partnership with our colleagues at UMD and at the Army Research Lab,” says Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research at UMBC. “Artificial intelligence is one of the key technologies in the ongoing transition to autonomous systems, both in the defense and civilian sectors, and it does take researchers from a variety of backgrounds to innovate and develop the most promising solutions. This alliance builds on the expertise and commitment of many of our colleagues.” 

Today’s conflict landscape 

In the battlefield, there are soldiers with body cameras, guns with sensors, as well as ground-based and airborne machines operating in rough and volatile terrains. Retrieving data and making decisions from these multi-model sources can be difficult, especially in challenging networking conditions. Understanding and developing adaptable cross-domain solutions for these environments will be at the forefront of the work of co-principal investigator Nirmalya Roy, associate professor in information systems. 

“There may not be time to send data to an army base or the cloud, so some of the processing, computing, and interference may be done on the devices themselves. How do you navigate the available computing resources in-hand and process data on the devices themselves to make an informed decision, and in real time? These are the concepts I’ll be working on,” Roy says.

With the work set to begin in mid-May 2021, the UMBC team will initially include more than eight researchers from the departments of information systems and computer science and electrical engineering, as well as scientists and engineers from the ARL. The Center for Real-time Distributed Sensing and Autonomy (CARDS) will lead the research being conducted by UMBC faculty.

Eventually, the team will grow to nearly 50 researchers, and future projects will include other University System of Maryland institutions. Together, the group will publish fundamental research and identify similar and cross-cutting research endeavors, improving collective information-sharing. 

“The cross-disciplinary nature of this project is well-suited to our College, which brings together computing, engineering, and information systems faculty and student researchers. The project team includes a significant number of the exceptional faculty we have recruited through recent hiring made possible through our state’s support,” says Keith J Bowman, dean of UMBC’s College of Engineering and Information Technology. 

Advancing AI research

While the work will undoubtedly improve military AI, it will also enhance AI research in other domains. A goal of the project is to establish a long-term center with a vision of advancing AI-based autonomy. 

“This is an opportunity for UMBC to bring together talented researchers from across departments to participate in fundamental, and potentially groundbreaking, research,” says Gangopadhyay. “To make a big impact in the research space, you need long-term, multi-institutional partnerships and collaborations. Working with the University of Maryland, College Park and the Army Research Lab will allow us to collectively advance AI in the military space.”

In addition to Gangopadhyay and Roy, the UMBC team also includes Anupam Joshi, Tinoosh Mohsenin, Dmitri Perkins, Sanjay Purushotham, Maryam Rahnemoonfar, Jianwu Wang, and Ting Zhu. The ArtIAMAS cooperative agreement is led by PI Derek Paley, director of UMD’s Maryland Robotics Center.

Written by B. Rose Huber for UMBC News.

Banner image: Nirmalya Roy, left, and Aryya Gangopadhyay. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Ramin Ayanzadeh, Ph.D. ’20, was awarded a spot in the selective Computing Innovation Fellows program, designed to help recent Ph.D. graduates continue research despite COVID-19.

Ayanzadeh received second place at the 2019 ACM Student Research Competition. Photo courtesy of Ayanzadeh.

When he began his Ph.D. studies in computer science in Iran, Ramin Ayanzadeh, Ph.D. ’20, computer science, never imagined that he’d travel more than 6,000 miles away from home to restart his doctoral program—losing his eyesight along the way—but never losing track of his ultimate goal to continue his research in quantum computing, which in Ayanzadeh’s words, helps solve problems that ordinary computers cannot solve. 

Quantum computing has applications in cybersecurity, quantum chemistry, machine learning, weather forecasting, and in the development of pharmaceuticals as it supports exponentially faster problem-solving. Ayanzadeh notes that quantum computers do not replace current computers, but rather complete more complex or time-consuming tasks.

Ayanzadeh—who was recently awarded a position in the selective 2020 National Science Foundation Computing Innovation Fellows postdoc program—began his UMBC degree as quantum computing was becoming increasingly popular. Two UMBC faculty researchers who are leaders in AI and high-performance computing took the new doctoral student under their wing.

Tim Finin, professor of computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE), and Milton Halem, research professor of CSEE, encouraged Ayanzadeh to combine research in artificial intelligence (AI) with quantum computing. His Ph.D research and dissertation focused on using AI to advance quantum computing and teach computers how to solve problems that supercomputers are not able to complete. 

Determined to adjust 

When Ayanzadeh was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition that causes eyesight to deteriorate overtime, he left Iran to live with an uncle in Maryland. He was determined to continue his studies, so he began researching programs that would allow him to continue his Ph.D. in cognitive science. After meeting with Finin and learning about his research, Ayanzadeh decided to completely change his dissertation topic from machine intelligence to AI and quantum computing, which meant that he would have to restart his PhD. 

In fall 2013, Ayanzadeh was adjusting to new living arrangements and a new research topic, while facing a health challenge that required him to create adaptive tools and advocate for himself.

Ayanzadeh, who is now legally blind, says that his advisors and the CSEE department were supportive and helpful as he navigated the situation. He says that everyone wanted to help but they were not sure the best way to assist. As Ayanzadeh faced these challenges, he was very resourceful, says Finin, adding that he spent time finding solutions to meet his needs. 

Building a support network

“He worked diligently to continue his graduate education and made steady progress,” says Finin. “Ayanzadeh has been very resourceful in acquiring assistive technologies that help and in building up a support network within the university community and beyond. His optimism, drive, and resourcefulness are inspirational, both to his fellow students and our faculty.”

During his final semester at UMBC, Ayanzadeh developed and instructed a seminar on programming quantum computers. Finin says that he was impressed by Ayanzadeh’s ability to spearhead the course, adding that he will be well-prepared for a career in academia. 

Ayanzadeh accepts his award at the 2019 ACM Student Research Competition, sponsored by Microsoft. Photo courtesy of Ayanzadeh.

“Academia is the place for me, even though industry is [better] equipped to accommodate me,” Ayanzadeh explains. “I always swim against the water.”

Nipun Ramagiri, M.S. ’22, computer science—one of the 23 students that Ayanzadeh taught—says that Ayanzadeh encouraged students to be engaged with the discussions and ask questions. Ayanzadeh was always willing to meet with students individually outside of class time, says Ramagiri, to answer additional questions or review material.

Ramgiri appreciated that Ayanzadeh took the extra step of inviting industry experts to talk to the class about how the course’s topics were connected to work being done by companies. “This made me get more involved in the open-source contributions being done in the field, which ended up getting me an internship at IBM Quantum,” says Ramagiri.

Computing Innovation Fellows program

As Ayanzadeh was finishing his Ph.D., the COVID-19 pandemic was impacting institutions across the country, and many companies and institutions were delaying hiring. Ayanzadeh knew that he wanted to pursue a career in academia, and with the ripple effects of the pandemic, he was not sure what his next steps would be. While he considered pursuing a career in industry, Ayanzadeh says that he decided that academia was a better fit because of the resources available to people with disabilities. He found out about the highly selective National Science Foundation’s Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows) program from Finin. About 550 people applied to the CIFellows program, and 59 were accepted into the 2020 class.

Ayanzadeh with philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff, who founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. Photo courtesy of Ayanzadeh.

With less than two months until the CIFellow program application was due, Ayanzadeh still needed to find a mentor who was accepting post-docs in their lab. Eventually, his application to work with Moinuddin Qureshi, professor of computer science at Georgia Tech, was accepted by the CIFellows program—ensuring Ayanzadeh a position for the next few years. 

During his postdoc, Ayanzadeh plans to improve the accuracy and precision of near-term quantum computers. He will apply artificial intelligence to mitigate errors and enhance the performance of noisy quantum computers.

The CIFellows program, which is funded by the Computing Research Association and the Computing Community Consortium, was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to assist recent Ph.D. graduates facing unexpected challenges in securing research positions. Previously, the CIFellows program was open for applications between 2009 and 2011 when the economy was in a recession.

Like UMBC, most work at Georgia Tech is being conducted remotely, which impacts when Ayanzadeh will be able to begin conducting his research on campus. For now, he shares, he will be working remotely. When he is able to relocate to Georgia, Ayanzadeh says that he will likely face challenges navigating a new location, especially if he doesn’t have a strong support system like he has in Maryland. However, he says that he is eager to meet new people, and mentor undergraduate and graduate students when he is physically on campus.

Ayanzadeh received a Google Lime Scholarship in 2018, and participated in the Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program in 2019, which supported his research at UMBC for one year. 

“The CIFellows program is an excellent opportunity for me to network with experts in computer science, who are leading the program, and rising leaders who will define the future of computer science,” says Ayanzadeh. “I also think that by participating I will be well-prepared for an academic position.”

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Header image: Ramin Ayanzadeh, seated left, in 2018 with other members of the Center for Accelerated Real Time Analytics (CARTA), a National Science Foundation-funded partnership to develop next-generation computing hardware to solve major infrastructure challenges. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

“Baltimore has so much amazing energy and people in it, doing good for it,” says Robbin Lee ’13, visual arts and media and communication studies. “It’s a shame that people don’t know more about that side of it.” 

As executive director of Baltimore Homecoming, Lee gives back to the city that shaped her college years and has come to be her community. Launched in 2017 as an “alumni network” for Baltimore City, the organization brings back former Baltimoreans to spark connections with people currently doing work to better the city. The nonprofit has connected alumni like Food Network chef (and Retriever) Duff Goldman ’97, history, and WNBA All-star Angel McCoughtry with community leaders like Pastor Heber Brown of the Black Church Food Security Network and Founder and Executive Director of ¡Adelante Latina! Leonor Blum. 

Keep moving forward

Lee working an event in Baltimore. Photo courtesy of Lee.

As a student at UMBC, Lee didn’t foresee herself helping direct a non-profit organization. Focusing on her passion for graphic design and art history, Lee expected to work in galleries and museums. So she began her career as the executive assistant for Maryland Art Place (MAP) after graduating.

However, after a cut to city arts funding forced MAP to let her go and she was struck by a car while riding her bike to her second job, Lee says she hit rock bottom. She turned to UMBC Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences  Preminda Jacob for guidance on how to pick herself back up. Jacob gave Lee advice she still lives by today: keep moving forward, whatever moving forward means to you at that moment. 

“I vividly recall Robbin’s keen focus, her bright mind and her unswerving determination to work hard and succeed,” says Jacob, associate professor of art history and museum studies. 

Jacob and Jason Loviglio, founding chair and associate professor of media and communication studies, emphasized Lee’s work ethic and success at UMBC in a 2019 recommendation letter. The pair called Lee “one of the most impressive and tireless advocates for the city of Baltimore and for UMBC that we have had the honor to know” and that she “epitomizes the very best of what a UMBC education means.”

Strengthening her identity

It was Lee’s UMBC experience that led her to her community-centered work at Baltimore Homecoming. After her experience at a small town high school in Montgomery County, Maryland, UMBC was the first time Lee experienced a diverse community with different perspectives

“That’s when I actually started to care about my own Asian identity,” says Lee, a board member of UMBC’s Alumni Association. “So, I took that into how I build community around myself now.”

Lee with Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson at the 2019 Baltimore Homecoming. Photo by Brian O’Doherty.

Lee further strengthened her ties to her identity through her senior capstone project on contemporary Chinese art produced by Millennial Chinese artists. This research won Lee the Undergraduate Research Award and allowed her to further her research studying abroad in Nanjing, China.

Besides strengthening her own identity, Lee’s time at UMBC fostered her connection with Baltimore City. While captaining and playing on the UMBC women’s volleyball team, Lee picked up shifts at the Inner Harbor’s Cheesecake Factory, where her relationship with Baltimore started.

Baltimore bound

Headshot by Perri Brierley-Bowers.

Following Jacob’s advice to keep moving forward, in 2014 Lee took on the position of event director for Emporiyum, a food market that features local chefs, artisans, and more in D.C. and Baltimore. Then, she joined Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID), one of only two BIDs in D.C. to manage festival grounds within its jurisdiction. 

Lee enjoyed her work but felt like it was becoming unsustainable—in 2017 alone, she planned and ran around 300 events. During this time, the co-founders of Baltimore Homecoming launched the nonprofit and asked Lee to join as deputy director. Lee jumped at the opportunity to return to Baltimore full time. 

“I took it as a homecoming for myself,” says Lee. “I wanted to give back to the city that shaped me.”

Returning to Baltimore in 2017, Lee searched for a community of her peers like the ones she fostered at UMBC, both in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and Black and brown communities. This search led her to become an advisor to the Baltimore Legacy Builders Collective, a Thread volunteer, and an organizing member of the Chinatown Collective. The collective holds events like the Charm City Night Market that highlight Baltimore’s AAPI’s voices through art, food, and education programs. Lee also became a founding member of the Baltimore Chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals, a nonprofit that uplifts and empowers Baltimore’s AAPI communities. 

She sees this work as only increasing in importance with the rise in hate speech and hate crimes directed towards the AAPI community in the United States.

“It’s really strengthened my resolve to do the things I do both in work and outside of work,” says Lee. “People constantly tell me to take a break or to take a nap and I say ‘No!’ because I’m busy doing the things I want to be doing.”

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Header image: Lee (center) with the other founders of the Chinatown Collective / Charm City Night Market. Photo by Perri Brierley-Bowers.