Application Deadline: February 15, 2021

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) is celebrating its 25th anniversary! Due to the COVID-related campus closure, URCAD XXV will be held online again this spring. You will be able to view presentations, watch films, see video of dance and music performances, view artwork, and interact with presenters during the asynchronous event.

Last April, 251 students presented their research and creative work, and thousands of visitors logged on the URCAD online via an interactive platform called VoiceThread. Nothing can compare to being together to be able to celebrate all of the research, scholarship, and creative work of our talented UMBC undergraduate students. Experiencing the live dance performances, being able to talk face to face with students about their research, or being able to take a ride on a kinetic sculpture are things that are meant to be experienced in person, and the energy of hosting URCAD on campus is irreplaceable. But last year’s online event provided a unique experience for visitors to explore the presentations and to interact with presenters in really meaningful ways. The online format also expanded URCAD to a global event- visitors logged on from as far away as Korea and the U.K. 

Mark your calendars for the week of April 19-23, 2021 for URCAD XXV Online!

You can still view the presentations form 2020 here: https://urcad.umbc.edu/departments/

We will host several workshop to help students prepare their online presentations.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 300 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated.This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

All current undergraduates who have conducted research, scholarship or creative work in the last year may apply to present their results at URCAD. Mentors, fellow students, friends, family members, high school teachers and students, graduate school recruiters, and the general public are invited to attend.

URCAD 2021 Alumni Keynote Speaker

Klaudine Wakasa

Green Economy Advisor to International Governments

’08 B.S. Financial Economics, UMBC
’10 M.Sc. Gender Development and Globalisation, London School of Economics

Klaudine is a Strategy Advisor who has spent her professional career working with government, multilateral/bilateral organizations, and private sectors across the African continent – first as an Advisor within KPMG’s International Development Advisory Service; later as a Strategy Consultant with Dalberg Global Development Advisors; and currently as the Regional lead for the Government of Canada’s effort to build Clean Technology ecosystems in Africa, and for the United Kingdom’s goal of mainstreaming a ‘Green Economy’ approach into its work in Africa. 
(Read more about Klaudine here.)

Questions? Email aprilh@umbc.edu

There are times in life when one experiences so many emotions at once, they become impossible to distinguish.  It’s like mixing all of the colors in art class, only to find a dark puddle of paint, no longer discernible as a particular hue, just darkness. 

I started the day on January 6^th pretty upbeat.  I was getting back into the flow of work.  I had a great holiday season, all things considered.  Things were good. And then, just before 3:00, the texts started rolling in.  “Are you watching this?” “ I can’t believe this.” “Yo this is crazy!” Confused I turned on the news to find something I never thought I’d see… armed insurrectionists breaching the U.S. Capitol.  And a U.S. President, like the scene in The Princess Bride, telling them to have fun storming the castle.  As I watched the events unfold, I had several thoughts. The first and most prevailing and persistent was how different this would play out if the Black and Brown people started a protest that turned into a riot that led to attempting to invade the Capitol.  I shudder to think of the carnage that would have ensued.  The longer it went on, the more I wondered, how is this possible?  How, in the epicenter of freedom and the citadel of democracy, can armed thugs, domestic terrorists gallivant around the Capitol building unchecked and undeterred?  How, in 2021, are we seeing a confederate flag being paraded through the rotunda? The answer is simple, white privilege. 

“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” – Franklin Leonard

Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. We see privilege but we’re told there is nothing to see here.  We feel that privilege but we are told that we are being too sensitive or playing the race card.  We are asked to choose to ignore what is obvious, what is clear.  The rules are different.  The system has been designed and perpetuated to greatly advantage some while it significantly disadvantages others.  That has always been true in America, America was founded on that principle and built on its benefits.  We have been told that the world is post-racial, but it is hard to unsee the realities that lay in stark contrast to that narrative.  So now what?  Many of you are asking yourselves the fundamental question, what do we do about it? More specifically, what can I do now?  It would be easy to say I don’t know; I don’t have all of the answers; you have to figure it out for you; or some other platitude that absolves me from any responsibility to help guide you as you grow.  I choose not to.  While I cannot give you the right answer for yourself, I can give you some ways to get to it. 

1.     Find your Purpose and your Passion. It doesn’t have to be what you are pursuing to make your living; it does have to be what makes you feel alive.  Own it. Commit to it. Work at it.

2.     Help others. There are people that can use your help, in ways big and small.  Seek them out and offer your time or talents or treasure or all of the above.  I am not asking you to sacrifice everything for the cause or for the culture. But the time has passed to sit idly by. Life is not a spectator sport, that’s not me its Jackie Robinson.

3.     Build and Strengthen your community.  Whatever that community is or looks like for you.  You need support and to support others.

4.     Galvanize and Organize your efforts.  There is strength in numbers and power in different points of view.  Find people or organizations that align with your aforementioned passion and purpose and build with them.  Or start your own and build from there. 

5.     Take care of YOU.  This is a lot on top of a lot coming behind a lot.  It may seem never ending, but it is not.  A new normal will emerge.  The world will reopen.  Between now and then, take care of yourself in real and tangible ways.  If you need help, get help.  If you need help finding the help, just say something, we are here for you.

6.     Take care of Business.  You are here to get your degree.  You have persevered through pandemic, campus closure, zoom, all of it.  You may not be doing as well as you hoped you would, but you are still doing.  Keep showing that Grit and get this done.  The world needs to see the brilliance you have to offer.

My better angel made a great point this morning.  In the movie Monsters Inc., the system is set up to be powered by fear.  They traffic in it, they power their lives with it, they refine their methods to extract it, they are even willing to break rules and laws to gather it.  And yet, (spoiler alert) in the end, they find out that laughter is 10X more powerful than fear.  What is true in the wonderful world of Disney is true for us too.  As you wrestle with your resolutions for the coming year, make one above all, if you haven’t, choose Joy.   

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

-- Helen Keller

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” 

-- Nhat Hanh

Save the Date: April 19-25, 2021

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 300 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated.This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

All current undergraduates who have conducted research, scholarship or creative work in the last year may apply to present their results at URCAD. Mentors, fellow students, friends, family members, high school teachers and students, graduate school recruiters, and the general public are invited to attend.

Apply Now!!

Remember.... YOU ARE research!

ur.umbc.edu

URCAD XXV Online

 April 19- 25, 2021

Present your research, scholarship, or creative work this spring at URCAD XXV!

Applications will open next week, and you can find the form online at:

URCAD.umbc.edu

200-word abstract and mentor approval required to apply. Deadline to apply: Feb. 15, 2021.

You can still view the presentations from URCAD 2020. The technology is easy to use- visit last year’s online event archive to familiarize yourself with the VoiceThread format: https://urcad.umbc.edu/departments/

Alumni Keynote Speaker: Klaudine Wakasa Makokha (’08), Trade Commissioner of Clean Technologies, Government of Canada.

Mark your calendars for the week of April 19-25, 2021 for URCAD XXV Online at URCAD.umbc.edu!

Questions? 

Email: aprilh@umbc.edu

Title: The Effect of Neuronal Network Plasticity and Refinement in Drosophila melanogaster

Nociceptors are sensory neurons that fire in response to sharp pain or heat, but unstimulating firing has also been observed in developing drosophila neuronal networks. We are investigating whether the frequency of this firing could play a role in signaling a synapse to be pruned.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project?
My mentor is Dr. Fernando Vonhoff from the Biology Department. I used to study in the lab break room with some friends who worked on that floor of the Biology Building. I knew some people who were familiar with Dr. Vonhoff’s work and the projects lined up quite well with my interests. The same friends told me how Dr. Vonhoff provided excellent guidance and freedom to those working under him and so I asked if there was anything I could do for the lab.

How did you become interested in this project?
I had previously done some neuroscience research and this project allowed me to not only work on investigating pruning at the scale of a single synapse but also more macro topics such as refinement of a developing neuronal network as a whole.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher?
The hardest part of this project has been the day to day collection of data. It can be repetitive, but it takes a long time to investigate something substantial.

What has been the most rewarding part?
The most rewarding part has been learning new skills and being able to use them to further the project. There is a real feeling of being a part of the neuroscience community when you can perform an experiment that you’ve read in a paper and then actually use that data. 

How will you disseminate your research?
Hopefully, we will have something to publish soon and I plan to present at the Spring URCAD event.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?
I would tell them to read around a good bit to make sure you are interested in the work that you’ll be doing. It is also equally, if not more, important that you find a mentor who you will enjoy working with and who has the time to guide you. As far as getting into a lab, simply send out as many emails as it takes for someone to invite you in for an interview. It might take a month or two but there are so many opportunities on campus to get involved in research.

What are your career goals?
I hope to become a physician.

For the second time in UMBC’s history, Samuel Patterson has earned the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Naomi Mburu (’18 Chemical Engineering) won the award in 2017. Established in 1902, the Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious international scholarship program in the world, enabling outstanding young people from around the world to undertake full-time postgraduate study at the University of Oxford, (ranked first internationally in the Times Higher Education rankings for 2017 and 2018). Sam was one of only thirty-two students selected from nearly 1,000 applicants, for his outstanding scholarly achievements, his outstanding character, his commitment to others and to the common good, and for his potential for leadership in his academic field. 

At UMBC, Sam is earning a triple degree in Economics, Mathematics, and Statistics. He is a member of the Honors College and a Meyerhoff Scholar. He has participated in three high-level internship experiences: one, with the Harvard Leadership Alliance; another at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business; and most recently at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he evaluated the COVID-induced changes with regard to public transportation usage trends in cities such as New York, resulting in a forthcoming publication. He has consistently been named to the Dean’s and President’s lists at UMBC. His research interests include transportation economics, and bringing together those doing advocacy work and those doing research, introducing new ideas to government leaders and creating real change by providing opportunities for people to escape poverty. His work asks questions about how people access their jobs, schools, hospitals, food, election polls, cultural institutions, via public transportation, and how that access can be improved.

If that isn’t enough, Sam is a dedicated musician who plays multiple instruments and produces music, avidly collects funk music records, and performs locally with his bands. Sam is from Marietta, Georgia, but quickly made Arbutus his home. As the Music Director of the Retriever Music Society, he has performed at OCA Mocha, the UMBC-owned, student-run coffee shop in Arbutus. He has also worked as a volunteer for Creative Coders, an after-school program at Arbutus Middle School, teaching public school children computer coding skills, and he even made efforts to save Mike’s pizza shop in Arbutus when it was going out of business as a result of the COVID pandemic.

The Rhodes Scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for exceptional young people with the potential to make a difference for good in the world. Sam has that rare mixture of grit and excellence that is the best of what UMBC represents. His experience in the U.K. will enrich not only his academic path, but also his personal journey in so many profound ways. We can’t wait to see what he can accomplish with the support he will receive from this scholarship.

See the full UMBC News story here:

https://news.umbc.edu/sam-patterson-umbcs-newest-rhodes-scholar-plans-to-transform-transportation/