The BMA is seeking a Director of Interpretation to spearhead the development, implementation, and evaluation of all aspects of in-gallery interpretation. The Director of Inter­­­­pretation will create engaging interpretive content that will invite visitors to make relevant connections between the BMA’s exhibitions and collections and their own lived experience. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a commitment to fostering socially, intellectually, and physically accessible and inclusive visitor experiences.

The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) seeks to fill the position of Director of Exhibitions and Program Alignment. This position provides leadership and management for the cross-departmental and cross-divisional development of a comprehensive exhibition and programming plan for institutional mission-driven and earned revenue generating initiatives. This position facilitates collaborative working processes and effective communication among colleagues to develop schedules, work plans, evaluation metrics, and budgets that achieve BMA strategic goals.

Join the Department of History on Tuesday, September 4th from 11:00am - 1:00pm for pizza and drinks.

Come see your classmates and professors--

Find out about the History major and minor--

and welcome back Professors Kate Brown and Christy Chapin who have been on leave!

Location: the lobby of Fine Arts North, 5th Floor, pond side of bldg.

UMBC’s University Center ballroom was standing-room only earlier this week as visitors gathered to learn about new student research on topics from HIV replication to enhancing art conservation through wireless temperature monitoring.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) presenters were high school students and undergraduates from UMBC and other colleges who chose to spend their summers conducting research at UMBC. In all, 126 students participated in the event, which included two poster sessions and an awards ceremony following the presentations. More than 30 faculty members across five departments and two colleges at UMBC guided the students in their research.

“The experience helped us to think like scientists,” says Olufolake Majekodunmi ’21, biological sciences and psychology. She and her research partner, Avantika Krishna ’21, biochemistry, conducted research for a new project on e-cigarette flavorings with neurobiologist Weihong Lin. As participants in the UMBC STEM BUILD Training Program, they have also received training in writing personal statements, analyzing academic journal articles, constructing their résumés, and more.

“The internship prepared us for giving oral presentations and applying to the workforce or grad school,” says Krishna. Both Krishna and Majekodunmi plan to continue their work with Lin this fall.

For some students, the summer offered a chance to step outside their comfort zones. Sarah Carpe ‘20, environmental science, who transferred to UMBC from Baltimore City Community College, worked with biologist Steve Miller through an NSF Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) award. Her project seeks to enhance algal biofuels by manipulating algae genetics. This stretched her beyond her typical focus areas, but she sees it as very relevant to her passion for the environment because of its potential to help the planet, she says.

Ewnet Sisay ‘20, mechanical engineering, studied zebrafish embryos with developmental biologist Rachel Brewster. “I hope to go for a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, so I wanted to try biology before committing to a Ph.D,” Sisay says. The result? “I really love it.”

On the other hand, Rakan El-Mayta ‘18, chemical engineering and biological sciences, has been conducting research with biochemical engineer Erin Lavik for two years. This summer, El-Mayta continued work on a project to generate a 3D model of the human colon that will make testing new therapies more efficient. The work has confirmed his enthusiasm for engineering. “Everything is so applicable,” El-Mayta says, “and I get to work with my hands and really think like an engineer.”

Sahle Gebremichael, a student at Baltimore City Community College, spent time in Steve Miller’s lab this summer through the NSF REM program. He intends to transfer to UMBC next year. “I think getting research experience here will help me make the transition to UMBC,” he says.

In addition to sharing the benefits of their experiences, the student also spoke to how research can sometimes be an emotional rollercoaster, peppered with challenges and failures. But by working through those issues, they came to see failures as growth opportunities, rather than setbacks.

“I’ve hit a couple roadblocks along the way,” says Carpe, “which has helped me understand the project better because I have to really think to solve the problem.”

Brett Lucht, a student at Marist College and recipient of an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates award, also found a way to see the positive in the challenges he faced while working with physical chemist Lisa Kelly. “Failures are a part of research,” he says, “and we’ve learned from them, so they were good failures.”

Bill LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, which organized the event, took a moment at the research festival to tell the students that although they are still early in their scientific careers, working to answer questions no one has ever answered before is a noble and exciting challenge. He shared his hope that their time as UMBC researchers “lights a flame of passion that will drive you to greater undertakings…with joy and wonderment.”

“It has been our privilege to host you here at UMBC,” said LaCourse. “Your spirit is an inspiration to us all.”

Image: Students explain their research to attendees at SURF 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

The Office of Sponsored Programs and the Office of the Vice President of Research has finalized a new pre-award account request procedure.    This procedure will allow a unit to request the creation of a new pre-award account so that charges that need to be incurred prior to UMBC receiving an award.

This procedure will allow the university to assess the risk when spending on an award is expected to arrive within the next 90 days, but has not been received yet.  The department requesting pre-award accounts will be required to provide chartstrings which will be able to cover the charges in the case an award is not received.

The new procedure and request form can be found along with all other OSP forms you may need at:

https://research.umbc.edu/forms-for-grants-contracts/

Thank you for visiting this event’s information page. We also ask that you CREATE a profile on The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Leadership (CIRTL) website: https://www.cirtl.net so that you can access materials that are part of the national center.

Please RSVP in the following link at myUMBC if you are UMBC affiliated by clicking the “I can attend” button at the bottom: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/61224.

If you do not have a UMBC account, please email promisestaff@gmail.com with the following items:

Subject line: T&L Seminar

The body of the email with the following information: Full name, Campus, and Department

Continental breakfast and lunch will be served.

Topics include:

• $2000 “Professors in Training” (PROF-it) Opportunities at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) – UMBC/CCBC Teaching Fellows Program
• Teaching Undergraduates Through the “Introduction to an Honors University (IHU)” Program
• The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Leadership (CIRTL) – UMBC’s Role in the national center, and available resources
• “Teaching Disciplinary Thinking” 
• Instructional Technologies (Including Blackboard, Bb screencasting, and Bb Collaborate for virtual office hours.)  
• Conflict Resolution: What Every TA Needs to Know
• Assisting Students with Disabilities
• Counseling Center
• Panels of experienced TAs and instructors in Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines, and for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.