Spiders, robots, climate change, Vaudevillian history, and more—this year’s GRIT-X event had something for inquiring minds of all kinds, with explorations into elements of the past, our collective present, and possibilities for the future. Continue Reading GRIT-X 2023 explores wide range of UMBC’s research and creative achievement around campus and beyond
Meet Aysia Miller, a senior on the America East championship women’s volleyball team at UMBC. Originally from Mililani, Hawaii, Aysia is majoring in biology and minoring in bioinformatics. As a student-athlete and scholarship recipient, Aysia says she’s found a community at UMBC that lets her dive deep into the STEM fields that interest her while supporting her on and off the volleyball court. Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here? A: UMBC has people that can fit you perfectly. There will always be someone that… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Aysia Miller ’24, volleyball player and biology major
Ivan Erill and colleagues discovered a new kind of relationship between viruses, where a satellite virus that needs its “helper” virus to replicate attaches to the helper’s neck to make sure they enter the host cell at the same time. Continue Reading Vampire viruses prey on other viruses to replicate themselves − and may hold the key to new antiviral therapies
On the stage of the 35th annual Alumni Awards, awardees and their nominators repeated a shared theme: the freedom and flexibility to grow at UMBC—not alone—but in community. Presented by the Alumni Association Board of Directors, the event recognizes inspiring alumni in a range of fields, as well as a rising star and an outstanding faculty and staff member. Rehana Shafi, recipient of the inaugural staff award, emphasized that she was only able to do so much “with so many.” Shafi, director emerita of the Sherman Teacher Scholars Program, said: “This work, this way, isn’t an individual endeavor….Impact happens inside… Continue Reading Alumni Awards 2023—Making impact through relationships
Pairs of viruses where one needs the other to reproduce are well documented, but no one has ever see one virus directly attached to another. “I can’t believe this,” Tagide deCarvalho remembers thinking when she first saw it under the microscope. The work opens up the possibility of finding more examples of this kind of interaction. Continue Reading UMBC team makes first-ever observation of a virus attaching to another virus
A new study finds that species from amoebas to humans demonstrate similar patterns of movement. These results have implications for robotics development, because robots must be programmed to make the same kinds of decisions animals do to move safely and efficiently through unpredictable environments. Continue Reading UMBC mathematician Kathleen Hoffman contributes to research on animal decision-making, with robotics applications
The research team collected data at about 50 sties in each of 12 tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. With an array of management practices in use and a wide range of salinity and other environmental conditions, “We’re really fortunate that Chesapeake Bay is such a great place to do this research,” says UMBC’s Allison Tracy. Continue Reading Underwater cameras facilitate large-scale study of oyster reef habitat in Chesapeake Bay
Retriever Essentials, represented by student volunteers Nhi Nguyen ’25, biochemistry and bioinformatics, and Ben Bhattarai ’23, biology and psychology, is a second place finalist in the 2023 Wilbur Ellis Innovation Award. Announced at the end of September, the honorable mention award—given to only four schools—recognizes the student teams with the most innovative strategies for providing food for a growing world population. Continue Reading Retriever Essentials student team is runner-up in a nationwide competition to address world hunger
With a Department of Energy fellowship, Jessica Novak will pursue better understanding of Cellvibrio japonicus, a bacterium with biofuels potential. Novak’s time at NREL “will also train me in some of the biochemical analyses that I’m going to do back at UMBC,” she says. “I think the results we’re going to get from this fellowship will spark new ideas.” Continue Reading Ph.D. candidate Jessica Novak to study biofuels at National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Protein misfolding “underlies a lot of diseases and aging,” says Erin Green. Her new line of research hopes to uncover how different cellular pathways contribute to maintaining a healthy balance of proteins in our cells. Continue Reading Erin Green receives $1.2 million NIH grant to study cellular pathways involved in cancer, neurodegeneration
At UMBC, we celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni community year round, but our annual Athletics Hall of Fame induction and Alumni Awards ceremony and reception give us a chance to cheer extra loud for the outstanding Retrievers among us. Stanyell Odom, director of alumni engagement, says it best about the incoming class of awardees: “These award winners embody so many of the characteristics that make UMBC such a special place. They are leaders in their professions and fields—innovative teachers, educators, and scientists—and are engaged and proud members of this UMBC community.” The 23rd Hall of Fame induction Coming up… Continue Reading Standing Ovation for Outstanding Retrievers
Inioluwa Oluseyi has wanted to be a neurosurgeon as long as she can remember. She didn’t anticipate how much fly husbandry would play a role in her reaching her goal. Summer research with Fernando Vonhoff, funded by a new scholarship, has given her opportunities to excel. Continue Reading First Roth Research Award recipient broadens horizons after summer research experience
