The Retriever Weekly is looking for writers for the News and Sports section, and for our new Technology section. Students who choose to join the staff will be paid for their contributions, and have the opportunity for promotions.

Writing for the News section, students will have the opportunity to report on the latest projects and initiatives of UMBC. As a Sports Writer, you will get to follow the UMBC athletic teams and write game recaps, player spotlights and team previews. Joining the Tech writing staff, you will have the opportunity to report and review the latest technology news, review the latest video games and more!

Students interested in applying or who have questions should email: eic@retrieverweekly.com.

As a member of the Amazon development team, you’ll be given the opportunity to have direct impact on the evolution of the Amazon e-commerce platform and lead mission critical projects early in your career. Your design, code and raw smarts will contribute to solving some of the most complex technical challenges in the areas of distributed systems, data mining, optimization, scalability, security and tweaking algorithms, just to name a few.

Innovation: Are you seeking an environment where you can drive innovation? Are you interested in finding the best intersection of features vs. performance? Are you up to the task of delivering innovative technology that offers millions of unique products to thousands of suppliers, to tens of millions of customers around the world? Many of the technical challenges Amazon encounters have never been dealt with before on this scale, if at all. Come help lead the way in e-commerce innovation.

Basic Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering or related technical discipline
• Must be currently enrolled in school or graduated within the last 12 months
• At least 2 years experience with object-oriented design and coding, to include academic experience and/or internships

Preferred Qualifications:
• Strong, object-oriented design and coding skills (C/C++ and/or Java preferably on a UNIX or Linux platform)
• Knowledge of Perl or other scripting languages a plus
• Experience with distributed (multi-tiered) systems, algorithms, and relational databases
• Experience in optimization mathematics (linear programming, nonlinear optimization)
• Ability to effectively articulate technical challenges and solutions
• Deal well with ambiguous/undefined problems; ability to think abstractly
• Previous technical internship(s) preferred
• Graduate degree a plus

In order to be considered, please apply through our website:
https://up-amazon.icims.com/jobs/122383/job?in_iframe=1

Amazon is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Amazon will also be hosting a Technical Talk/Information Session on February 23rd at 7pm on the UMBC campus.  More details can be found in UMBCworks.

The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program which is administered by the
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is officially accepting
applications for the 2012 Aeronautics Scholarship Program. It is expected
that approximately 20 undergraduates and 5 graduate scholarships will be
awarded annually to students pursuing aeronautical engineering and related
fields such as Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics and
Mathematics. Total allocated award amounts are up to $40,000 for
undergraduates and up to $125,000 for graduates. These funds will go towards
tuition and related costs, as well as to provide paid summer internship
opportunities at a NASA research center.

Competitive applicants interested in this amazing opportunity should begin
completing application materials immediately. A completed application will
consist of profile information, academic background (including transcripts),
a resume, an essay for undergraduates, a proposal for graduates, letters of
recommendations, and any test scores, such as GRE's, when appropriate.

The application deadline is January 17, 2012. We encourage students to still
apply.

To learn more about eligibility requirements, award benefits, application
instructions, and to apply online, visit https://nasa.asee.org, or contact
nasa.asp@asee.org with any questions regarding this program.

        The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (12/9, Olson) reports, "According to the Robinson-based company's poll of department heads at those schools, 37 percent gave their institutions a 'C' or lower grade for how well they retain and graduate black, Hispanic and Native American students. Twelve percent ranked majority male recruiting/graduating records as poor, and only 14 percent said the same regarding females." Among factors deterring minority students from pursuing STEM studies in college, according to the survey: "32 percent of faculty heads cited 'limited quality' college-prep in STEM fields; 17 percent cited a 'lack of role models'"; and "10 percent said 'their cultural background doesn't value science (and/or) the pursuit of science.'" Although 84 percent of the respondents "found minority and female recruiting and retention to be a key issue for their universities, only one-third of them said their universities had comprehensive plans to recruit and retain minority and female students in STEM studies."

        The State (WV) Journal (12/9, Bonnstetter) reports, "STEM chairs said the number of women in their STEM courses has stayed steady." The respondents "also said they believed women came to college most prepared to tackle STEM subjects, while minorities came the least prepared." Preparation aside, the Journal reports, "one-third of survey participants said they believed that minority students were less likely to graduate with a STEM degree than women or majority students. Women were considered as likely to graduate as their male counterparts."

        Pennsylvania's Essential Public Radio (12/9, Song) reports Dr. Mae Jemison, the first female African-American astronaut, "said that some schools are overcoming the obstacles to diversity by changing the introductory courses, by eliminating confidence-eroding situations, by exposing students to role models in their particular group, and by challenging stereotypes."

The 2nd Annual Spring Into Leadership event planning committe needs YOU!

Volunteer online at http://bit.ly/springintoleadershipcommittee.

The committee will meet twice a month in January and February and then weekly in March (excluding Spring Break).

This interactive event will have 100 attendees, include industry representatives, and build connections among women (and interested men) in engineering and IT majors at UMBC! 

Representatives from each of the major student organization in the College (ASME, NSBE, CWIT Student Council, SWE, Tau Beta Pi) are needed!!!

Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE)

Ranked as one of the best internships in the U.S. by the Princeton

Review, *WISE* (Washington Internships for Students of Engineering)

offers a unique opportunity to 3rd and 4th year engineering students to

spend the summer of 2012 in Washington, D.C., learning about the

interaction of technology and public policy. The dates of the 2012 WISE

program are June 4- August 3, 2012.

Selected from a nationwide competition, WISE Interns spend nine weeks

learning how government officials make decisions on complex

technological issues and how engineers can contribute to legislative and

regulatory public policy decisions. At the end of the nine weeks,

interns produce a public policy paper on a topic of interest, i.e.

alternate energy, and present their findings on Capitol Hill. In addition to 3rd and

4th year engineering students, recent graduates,

beginning study in an engineering policy-related Master’s program, will

also be considered. WISE interns are provided housing in a dormitory on

the campus of George Washington University in the heart of Washington,

D.C., and receive a stipend to assist with living and travel expenses.

ASME is now accepting applications for its 2012 WISE interns. The ASME application can be downloaded at http://www.wise-intern.org and this year’s application *deadline is December 31, 2011*. To see examples of previous year’s policy papers, please visit:

http://www.wise-intern.org/journal/2011/index.html

Summer 2012 research internships at the NASA
Langley Research Center located in Hampton, VA. Applications (on-line) can be made starting December 5, 2011. The deadline for applications is February 1, 2012.Information about NASA Langley's research internship opportunities and the on-line application can be found at <http://www.nianet.org/larss/>.

Please note that we encourage female students and under-represented minorities, first-generation college students, and students from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds to apply.

• Are those gifts still in the plastic bags behind the dining room table?  
• Do you dread having to track down supplies of paper, scissors, and tape?   
• Are you a procrastinating giftwrapper?