The BEYA STEM Conference sponsored by Career Communications Group will be held February 8-10, 2018 as part of this large annual conference, representatives from several major corporations and universities will be on hand to meet with students pursuing careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields as well as Business, Finance, and Marketing.  Why you should attend:

• FREE Career Fair
• Career exhibits
• 50 + seminars and workshops
• On the spot job offers
• Networking with recruiters
• Job readiness certification for college students.

The Career Fair portion of the conference, on Saturday, is free of charge for UMBC students and alumni with an active UMBC email address. All students are welcome to attend. Dress to impress and bring plenty of updated resumes!

Registration is required.

To register and for additional information, go to:

http://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beya2018.php

Deadline to pre-register is Feb. 5 (Career Fair) and Feb. 2 for the entire Conference

Contact Diane Crump-Fogle (crump@umbc.edu) or Chrisi Giannakaris (chrisig@umbc.edu) of the UMBC Career Center for additional information.

Free Shuttle Bus

There will be a free shuttle bus to transport students to and from the career fair on Saturday. If you will need transportation, be sure to complete the shuttle bus registration form at the bottom of the BEYA registration page: http://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beyabus.php. Please note that the free shuttle bus is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The free shuttle will run only on Saturday between 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Transportation to and from other conference events (such as the BEYA Gala held Saturday evening) is on your own.

The Nebraska Summer Research Program is committed to quality mentoring and research projects. We limit our summer offerings to active research labs and projects led by faculty who have established themselves as excellent undergraduate student mentors. Since each program has several Summer Research Program scholars, you'll have peers and colleagues in which to share your educational experience with.

Programs

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY
IN MATHEMATICS, THE NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING

Students interested in a research career in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering are invited to apply to the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program. Established by Congress in 1986, Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation operates an educational scholarship program designed to provide opportunities for outstanding U.S. students with excellent academic records and demonstrated interest in, and potential for, research careers in STEM fields.

Scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit to students who are sophomores or juniors during the current academic year and who have excellent academic records and demonstrated interest in and potential for research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. The scholarship covers undergraduate eligible expenses for tuition, fees, books, and room and board to a maximum of $7,500 per academic year.

ELIGIBILITY

To be considered for nomination, a student must:

• Have one or two years of undergraduate
• study left and be pursuing a bachelor’s degree on a full-time basis. (A current sophomore student in a two-year college who plans to transfer to a baccalaureate program may be nominated.)
• Have an average of at least B or the equivalent.
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Have a demonstrated interest in a research career in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering.
• Be nominated by his or her college or university on the official online nomination application provided by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

Scholarship recipients nominated as sophomores can expect to receive a maximum of two years of scholarship support.

Scholarship recipients nominated as juniors are eligible for a maximum of one year of scholarship support.

HOW TO APPLY

Colleges and universities nominate students for Goldwater Scholarships. Information may be obtained from the designated Goldwater Scholarship Campus Representative* (Dr. April Householder) at your institution.

SELECTION

A distinguished committee of educators; deans; and mathematics, natural science, and engineering faculty members will review the nominee’s credentials and recommend a pool of qualified individuals to the Board of Trustees of the Goldwater Foundation. The Trustees will make the final approval.

Interested students should contact Dr. April Householder, Director of Undergraduate Research and Nationally Competitive Scholarships.

Attend the Goldwater application workshop on: Wednesday, 11/22 at 12:00pm in 003 Sherman Hall (Meyerhoff Conference Room).

Kevin is a Biology major who will graduate in 2019. The major focus of his work is to explore issues at the interface between development and human disease, with a view towards identifying novel points of therapeutic intervention. He works in Dr. Charles Bieberich's lab on the ongoing question of homeobox gene function in mouse development intersected with human prostate cancer with the discovery of the mouse Nkx3.1 gene.

How did you find you mentor? I work with Dr. Charles Bieberich in the Biological Sciences department. I originally came to hear of his research through searches for researching professors in cancer biology at UMBC. I then emailed him and checked by his office persistently until I was able to schedule a time to meet with him.I began researching in cancer biology during a biophysics high school summer internship at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in radiation dosimetry. I was enthralled by cancer research ever since and knew after meeting Dr. Bieberich that his research in prostate cancer would be a perfect fit for me.

Is this your first independent research? This is my second independent research project with the first being my radiation dosimetry project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

How much time do you put into it? I spend about 15 hours an academic week in the laboratory with a 35-hour week during academic breaks and vacations.

How did you hear about the Undergraduate Research Award (URA) program? I heard about the Undergraduate Research Award from my mentors in the Honors College. I am currently preparing my application for the 2018-19 award.

What has been the hardest part about your research? The hardest part of conducting my research is that since I work with mice, I must be available at any given hour during the day to check on the mice and handle any circumstances that may arise from working within a murine model. It becomes difficult at times to manage working in the laboratory and working on schoolwork.

What was the most unexpected thing? The most unexpected thing to occur from working in Dr. Bieberich’s prostate cancer laboratory is that after two years of working in the laboratory, I would be working on proposing a dietary study that involves the surprising link between prostate cancer, diabetes, and obesity. I never thought that diabetes could actually decrease prostate cancer risk.

How does your research relate to your work in other classes? My work in the laboratory relates to many of the laboratory procedures that I learned about in BIOL141, BIOL302, and BIOL303. My newest research in the effects of diet on prostate cancer relate to my Honors College seminar on the science of obesity.

What else are you involved in on campus? I am Treasurer of the Honors College Council, a Red Cross Volunteer, and Student Brand Ambassador for Kaplan Test Prep.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? My advice to other student about getting involved research is to never be too shy to approach a mentor about their research. Mentors are busy and may seem cold at first, but they genuinely do want to teach students about research and inspire students to become involved in research.

What are your career goals? My career goal is to become a professor in cancer biology researching the effects of macromolecule receptors and microtubule stabilizing proteins on cancer progression.

Want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week?
Email aprilh@umbc.edu

Seven students, faculty, and staff from UMBC attended the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference in Salt Lake City October 17 - 21, 2017. The students participated in various activities throughout the conference such as the GEM GRADLab, and culturally-relevant science discussions with mentors. The Maryland delegation included students from LSAMP and the board from the new SACNAS chapter on campus as well as mentors.

Participants will be attending the SACNAS 2017 conference in Salt Lake City, October 19-21, 2017 and will tweet about their experiences.

SACNAS Website: SACNAS Conference 2017

Conference Hotel:

Hilton Salt Lake City Center: Hilton Salt Lake City Hotel

Specific Items of interest for Participants/travelers:

• Be sure that you have checked your email and followed all instructions from Yarazeth Medina regarding travel forms, travel allowance, etc.
• Departures for Delta Airlines: All participant must arrive 2 hours in advance to the airport. General Delta Airline procedure includes checking in online within 24 hours of the flight.
• Please remember to save the date for our Pre-departure meeting on Friday, October 13. 
• Attire for the conference: Business

Salt Lake City, Utah

• Weather for the week: 49 degrees
• Time Zone: UTC/GMT -6, No daylight savings time, 2 hours BEHIND Maryland.

Program

Twitter activity is obligatory. Please engage, and use in your tweets:

#ThinkBigDiversity #GEMGRADLab #SACNAS2017

• Tuesday, October 17: Arrival (casual clothing)
• Wednesday, October 18  –  Attire: Business casual
  • Registration 1 PM
  • Modern Math Workshop 12 PM – 5 PM or
  • GEM Getting Ready for Advanced Degree Laboratory (GRAD Lab) 2 PM – 6 PM –
• Thursday, October 19: ALL DAY SESSIONS – Attire: Business/ business casual
  • 8:45 AM – 10:15 AM Funding Opportunities for Graduate School and Beyond
  • 10:30 AM – 12 PM Experiences of Latinx STEM Graduate Students / Imposters, Resilience, and Academy Training / Insights to Success: Real-Life Adventures of SACNAS Scientists
  • 12 PM – 1:45 PM Plenary
  • 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM Student Poster Presentations
  • 5 PM – 6:30 PM Conversations with Scientists
  • 6:15 PM – 8 PM Plenary
• Friday, October 20: ALL DAY SESSIONS – Attire: Business/business casual
  • 8:45 AM – 10:15 AM Graduate School Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint / Imposter Syndrome / Intersectionality / Interview Success!
  • 10:30 AM Success in STEM Goes Beyond Traditional Practices
  • 11:30 AM Plenary
  • 1:45 PM Student Poster Presentation
  • 4 PM Graduate Oral presentations
  • 5:30 PM Plenary
  • 8 PM – 10:30 PM Annual SACNAS Pow Wow (Cultural, networking)
• Saturday, October 21: Return (casual clothing)

Twitter

Students who travel with the Maryland delegation will be expected to participate in a daily twitting exercise that will start on October 17, 2017, and end on October 21, 2017. All participants will tweet daily for the duration of the trip in Salt Lake City and will respond to questions that are posted about the conference sessions and experiences, using the hashtags #ThinkBigDiversity and #SACNAS2017.