Omar Bukhari ’13, biochemistry and EHS, will soon begin his junior year at UMBC, but for the last several weeks he’s been hard at work for another cause. Bukhari just finished a 4,000 mile bike ride from Baltimore to San Francisco through 4K for Cancer, fundraising and meeting cancer patients and their families across the country. Working as a volunteer EMT in Baltimore and hearing patients’ stories about cancer, as well as researching anti-cancer compounds as an intern, motivated Bukhari to become involved with 4K for Cancer. He documented his journey at omar4k.tumblr.com and since returning home has been featured in the Gazette. There, he discussed an inspiring conversation with one young cancer patient, Jenny, whom he met during his trip.

The UMBC men’s soccer team has garnered votes in two national preseason soccer rankings and has been tabbed as the second choice amongst America East Conference coaches in the league’s preseason poll.

UMBC was the only America East squad to earn votes in the NSCAA Division I national rankings and College Soccer News’ 2011 Pre-Season Top 30 poll. The NSCAA rankings included 25 teams, plus 14 teams which received votes, while CSN’s poll included 12 squads receiving votes.

The Retrievers open the 2011 campaign at home on Saturday, August 27, against local rival Mount St. Mary’s.

Read the full press release here.

Energizing Maryland�s Workforce

UMBC students were out in full force at top Maryland companies and research labs this summer. Their work as interns not only supported their career skills development; it also contributed to Maryland’s economic success. Each year Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 employers like Constellation Energy, SAIC, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Stanley Black & Decker, Booz Allen Hamilton and T. Rowe Price actively recruit interns through UMBC.
           
“Internships provide employers with an opportunity to attract and train talent early in their careers,” says Christine Routzahn, director of professional practice for UMBC’s Shriver Center. “Curious, hard-working interns with fresh perspectives enable companies to remain innovative in extremely competitive fields.”

This summer, over 700 graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the Shriver Center’s internship, co-op and research practicums. Around Maryland, in Washington, D.C., and across the country, these UMBC students linked theory to practice in solving real-world problems. Their experiences enabled them to develop technical expertise and project portfolios as well as cultivate essential soft skills. Additionally, nearly 70% were paid, at an average rate of $14.93 per hour.

Employers like Joe Domiano, operations manager for Siemens Industry, praise the level of talent coming from UMBC. “Siemens has been very fortunate to have a relationship with UMBC,” says Domiano. “Many of our student interns have been hired by Siemens full-time and have contributed to our success.”

Beyond accessing employment opportunities, interns get a realistic glimpse of possible career paths and connect with senior mentors in their fields. Student evaluations show that 89% experienced an increase in self-confidence as a direct result of their placement; 88% indicated an increase in the clarity of their career goals.

In return for supporting their growth, companies, government agencies and research centers benefit from the fresh energy and ideas that young scholars, eager to contribute, bring to their internship sites. Here we feature a few examples of UMBC student interns energizing Maryland workplaces.

Piotr Gwiazda, associate professor of English, has published a review in the Times Literary Supplement.

Gwiazda says that in his new book, “Unseen Hand” (translated by Clare Cavanagh), Polish poet Adam Zagajewski “shares his fascination with transience and metamorphosis” and “celebrate[s] the twofold pleasures of recollection and meditation”

“Now in his sixties, [Zagajewski] finds solace in the world’s capacity for self-renewal,” Gwiazda writes, noting that “realm, often epitomized by the change of seasons or images of birds and trees, serves as the gateway to epiphany.”

Councilman William Cole argues that the Grand Prix will change how people view Baltimore and Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, hopes it will draw 100,000 visitors to the city, but Dennis Coates, professor of economics, suggests the economic benefits of the event are far from certain. “If you think the goal of government is to convince people that they live in a quote-unquote world-class city—whatever that means—then it will probably be a success,” he told the AP. “Will people have a good time? No doubt about it. But in terms of actually creating jobs, creating a better business environment? No.” In the past, similar events have under-delivered, he noted, calling into question organizers’ estimate that the Baltimore Grand Prix will have a $70 million impact on the region.

“Fear-inspired hyperbole about the so-called ‘debt crisis’ and ‘explosion of government spending’ has twisted the public discourse about fiscal policy,” argues David Salkever, professor of public policy, in the New York Times. “The upshot is a feeling that our long-range fiscal problems must be solved today, lest we descend into ‘ruin’ (as Jeffrey Manns warned in an August 10 Op-Ed article).”

Salkever has been a health policy researcher for three decades, focusing on determinants and regulation of hospital cost inflation, access to health care for the urban poor, economic impacts of children’s disabilities and public benefit activities of non-profit hospitals. His New York Times letter suggests that approaching changes to Medicare and Social Security from a perspective of extreme urgency could have negative repercussions. He writes, “It’s too bad that we’re in the midst of a ‘crisis’ and cannot address these problems in a more thoughtful way.”

Composer Will Redman ’98, music, was profiled by Tim Smith in the Baltimore Sun.

He went to University of Maryland, Baltimore County to study percussion with notable composer and percussionist Stuart Saunders Smith, who encouraged his student to listen to recordings of jazz pioneer John Coltrane and pathbreaking 20th-century classical composer Luciano Berio.

“I didn’t know anything about avant-garde music or free jazz,” Redman said. “I decided I needed to do both things. I thought of free jazz as sort of like the punk-rock of jazz.”

You are invited to join us in the culmination of new student orientation at the 2011 UMBC Convocation Ceremony. This annual event includes remarks from President Hrabowski, Interim Provost Rous, faculty awardees and student leaders.

The ceremony will be held in the RAC Arena, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 30. Immediately following the ceremony, there will be a campus-wide community picnic on the Quad.

If you have any questions, contact Lin Guba at ext. 5-5656 or lguba@umbc.edu.

You can find more information on Welcome Week activities here.

We look forward to seeing you at Convocation!

From the Baltimore Sun:

It takes a little time to unroll “Scroll,” a composition by Baltimore composer Will Redman, since it’s on paper that measures 8 feet long, 8 inches wide. It takes even longer to digest.

Although there are four distinct lines of music on the elongated page, indicating at least four players, there’s no specification of instruments.

So how do you perform such a piece? Ask Redman and he’ll just say: “That’s up to you.”

Read the full story.

Via the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina:

“Julia Rugg has joined WINGS for Kids Inc. as chief program officer. She is a former attorney. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.”

See the original announcement.