Kudos

Science, Math, Engineering Students and Alumni Win Prestigious Scholarships
Senior mechanical engineering major and Meyerhoff scholar Jason Reid of Columbia, Md. was awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, which will fund tuition, fees and living expenses for his pursuit of a Ph.D. at one of the nation’s top universities. Reid is weighing offers of admission from MIT, Stanford, Northwestern and the University of California at Berkeley. Also awarded the NSF Fellowship were 2005 UMBC graduates Oni Mapp and Chad McCormick. Mapp, who earned a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology, is studying life sciences at the University of Chicago. McCormick, who received dual degrees – a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology and a B.A. in philosophy – is studying biophysics at Yale. Finally, Johns Hopkins University graduate Patricia Ordonez will use her NSF Fellowship to study pervasive computing in UMBC’s Graduate School.
In the 2007 Goldwater Scholarship national competition for top sophomore and juniors aspiring to research careers in math, science and engineering, two UMBC students received Honorable Mention recognition. They are: Philip Graff, an Honors College student with a dual major in physics and math, and Silpa Poola-Kella, a Meyerhoff scholar majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology.
For more information, contact Nancy L. Miller, prestigious fellowships advisor, at ext. 5-6865.
National Residence Hall Honorary Inductees
The following students and staff were inducted into the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) on March 27. NRHH is a leadership honorary that recognizes the contributions of resident student leaders. Only 1 percent of the resident student population is eligible, in UMBC’s case that means that NRHH can be no larger than 39 students. NRHH is active in the resident student community and provides service to the UMBC community and beyond.
Congratulations to: Nicholas Boss; Peter Cailloux; Natalie Close; Savanna Grotz; Jason Kisser; Katrina Leitkowski; Kelli McDonough; Grace Pak; Lauren Palmer; and Clifford Workman
Honorary Members: Sharon Jacobs and Ali Shahegh
March 23, 2007
Hrabowski, Hemmerly Named 2007 Influential Marylanders
President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III and Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of the UMBC Research Park Corporation and special assistant to the vice president of Institutional Advancement, were among 50 leaders chosen by the Daily Record as Influential Marylanders for 2007. The honorees will be recognized on April 25 at an event held in the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Margaret Nowaczyk, EHS, Named Arbutus Volunteer EMS of the Year
Junior Emergency Health Services major Margaret Nowaczyk was named Volunteer EMS of the Year by the American Legion in Arbutus. She has served with the Arbutus Volunteers for two years.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=805&NewsID=791962&CategoryID=5768&show=localnews&om=1
Anne Spence, Mechanical Engineering, Honored by FIRST LEGO League of Maryland
Anne Spence, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, received the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award at the 2007 FIRST Chesapeake Regional, held March 15-17, 2007 at the United States Naval Academy.
http://www.umbc.edu/research/blog/2007/03/anne_spence_mechanical_enginee.html
Two techcenter@UMBC Companies Win GBC Bioscience Awards
Two techcenter@UMBC companies – Lentigen Corporation and Profectus Biosciences, Inc. – received Greater Baltimore Committee Bioscience Awards on March 14. Lentigen Corporation won the Best New Product or Process award and Profectus Biosciences, Inc. won the Best Academic/Industry Collaboration award.
Shira Kramer, president and founder of Sterilex Corporation, a former techcenter@UMBC business, won the Entrepreneurial Spirit award.
Details about the awards are online at http://www.gbc.org/news.aspx?id=422.
March 9, 2007
Mosh Pit! Selects Business Ideas from UMBC Students
A record number of 21 students/teams from UMBC submitted business ideas for the Greater Baltimore Tech Council’s Mosh Pit! competition. Eight of the students/teams were selected to compete at the next level of the competition:
Melissa Amor, senior, political science
Jocelyn Desmarais Goldblatt, senior, political science
Onkar Walavalkar, graduate student, computer science, and Amit Karandikar, graduate student, computer science
Sandor Dornbush, Ph.D. student, computer science, and Alark Joshi – Ph.D., computer science
Rad Balu, Ph.D. student, chemistry
Chiedozie Unachukwu, graduate student, information systems
Arthur Gould, senior, computer science, and Paul Oliver, junior, computer science
Wiktor Macura, senior, computer science
The Mosh Pit Finals will be held April 26. For more information, visit http://www.gbtechcouncil.org/events/mp/index.asp.
ACTiVATE Graduate Wins StartRight! Business Plan Competition
Kris Appel, a participant in last year’s ACTiVATE program, won 1st place ($10K) in the StartRight! Business Plan Competition. Kris is the CEO of Newregen, a company she formed as a result of ACTiVATE.
Two More Retrievers Selected in MISL’s Entry Draft
UMBC senior soccer players Kevin Mezzadra and David Feazell were both selected in the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Entry Draft, held on March 8 via a league conference call. Mezzadra was a first-round (territorial) selection of the Baltimore Blast, who had the seventh selection of the eight teams in the league. Feazell was a fifth-round selection of the Blast’s rival, the Milwaukee Wave.
http://www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/msoccer/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3296
March 2, 2007
1. Levendusky Named America East Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week
UMBC junior attack Ali Levendusky was named America East Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for the first week of the 2007 season, the conference announced Monday, Feb. 26.
http://www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/wlacrosse/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3268
2. UMBC Wins 1st Place in Regional College Bowl Tournament; Several Students Will Compete in Table Tennis and Billiard National Championships
From: Charlie Fey, Vice President of Student Affairs
The UMBC College Bowl Team won the Regional College Bowl Tournament, which was held at West Chester University in West Chester, Penn. The team came in first place out of 16 other universities and will be invited to the National Championship at the University of Southern California in May. The team consisted of the following students: seniors Brian Chan and Michael Pollard and sophomores Bryan Wilkinson and Michael Fasulo. College Bowl is the longest running academic competition in the country. The UMBC College Bowl program was sponsored by The Commons, SEB and SGA. This is the first time that UMBC has won the Regional College Bowl Tournament. At the National Championships, UMBC will face 15 other universities across the country including the University of Illinois, University of Minnesota and the University of Southern California .
Nine UMBC students also participated in the Regional Billiards and Table Tennis tournament, held at the University of Maryland, College Park. Over 75 students from 10 universities participated in four different events. Fey congratulates the following students that received invitations to participate in the Table Tennis and Billiards National Championships: Phillip Golden – 2nd place Men’s Table Tennis; Anna Yap – 3rd place Women’s Table Tennis; and Lai Li – 3rd place Women’s Billiards.