Biotech, Pharma, NASA, and NSA Execs to Advise College, Build Connections

UMBC announced today the appointment of 12 leaders selected from the Mid-Atlantic region’s business and scientific community to serve on the Dean’s Advisory Board for UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

The Board will help expand awareness of the College’s programs, research and resources and strengthen partnerships with public and private research laboratories, key industry leaders and policymakers. Board members, who will serve three-year renewable terms, will advise the Dean on critical issues including workforce education and training; academic program and curriculum development; faculty recruitment; collaborative research funding; and opportunities for students and alumni.

“UMBC is fortunate to have the counsel of such a diverse group of outstanding scientists and businesspeople,” said Geoffrey Summers, Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at UMBC. “The Board will strengthen the College’s connections with top researchers in bioscience, medicine, homeland security and environmental and space science — fields vital to economic growth, innovation and opportunity in Maryland and beyond.”

The Board will be chaired by biotech entrepreneur and UMBC alumnus Sheldon Broedel, Ph.D. Broedel is a co-founder and CEO/CSO of AthenaES, a biotechnology products and services firm located at the University’s on-campus business incubator, techcenter@UMBC. Broedel, who received his doctoral and master's degrees in Microbial and Molecular Genetics from UMBC, has 19 years of industrial experience, holds three issued patents and has designed and launched 68 products. He also serves on the Science Advisor Board for Villa Julie College and is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine’s department of Microbiology and Immunology.

“It is an honor to serve my alma mater alongside a team of exceptional minds from government and business,” said Broedel. “Like me, they know from experience that UMBC is a place committed to scientific excellence, with talented faculty and students eager to share their skills with industry.”

The other Board members announced today are:

Ron Baker, Manager, Cosmetic Claim Development & Support, Procter & Gamble;

Paul Behrens, Director of Physiology, Martek Biosciences;

April Brys, Manager, Biosciences, Battelle;

Stacey Franklin, Vice President, BioTech Primer;

Peter Hughes, Chief Technologist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center;

Peter Kiener, Senior Vice President of Research, MedImmune;

Alvin LaVoie, Director, Emerging Technologies, Rohm and Haas;

Jerry Skotnicki, Director, Chemical and Screening Sciences, Wyeth Research;

Terry Turpin, Chief Scientist, Essex Corp;

Nancy Welker, Chief Technical Officer, National Security Agency;

George Young, VP, Business Development, GRACE Davison.

UMBC’S College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences includes the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics. The College has more than 100 full time faculty members, and includes approximately 1500 majors in 7 undergraduate programs and 280 graduate students in 13 graduate programs. These four departments administer close to half of the Ph.D. programs at UMBC. Research expenditures currently are nearly $13M per year. More information online at http://www.umbc.edu/CNMS/