Kudos

Student Affairs Administrators Assume National Leadership Roles
Charles J. Fey, vice president for student affairs and Patty Perillo, assistant vice president for student affairs and director student life, have both been elected to national positions within the two leading student affairs professional associations.
Fey began his role as the Region II vice president for Student Affairs in Higher Education (NASPA) in April 2007. A long-time member of NASPA and Student Educators International (ACPA), Fey is interested in creating a more inclusive region and providing effective and innovative ways that more members can participate in the region. During his term as Region II vice president, Fey will focus on three areas: promoting diversity and inclusiveness; soliciting more professionals to volunteer to serve NASPA Region II/eliciting more member input on services and activities and positioning the profession for success.
Perillo will become the vice president for ACPA effective July 1. The three-year role includes the first year as vice president followed by a year as president and the last year as past president.
UMBC Student Entrepreneurs Competed in GBTC’s MoshPit Finals
UMBC student entrepreneurs were among several aspiring collegiate business owners that competed in the April 26 Mosh Pit finals, sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Council. Biblogg, the team from UMBC, created a community Web site for Christians worldwide to unite and interact. The team also placed second in UMBC’s Business Plan Competition.
The Maryland Daily Record covered the competition in “Tech Council’s MoshPit Mixes Student Inventors, Advisors.” One of Biblogg’s creators, Chiedozie Unachukwu, who is pursuing a master’s degree at UMBC, was quoted in the article.
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=1043&type=UTTM

UMBC Tennis Team Receives ITA National Team Sportsmanship Award
The UMBC men’s tennis team is the recipient of April’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Sportsmanship Award. According to the ITA’s Web site, the monthly award is presented to “one men’s and one women’s team that has exemplified outstanding sportsmanship, character and ethical conduct in the true spirit of competition and collegiate tennis.”
http://www.itatennis.com/Awards/sshipapril07.htm
April 20, 2007
Christopher Corbett Wins Award for Editorial Writing
Christopher Corbett, acting chair of the Department of English, received first place for editorial writing in 2006 by the Maryland Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists.
The award was for Corbett’s column in Baltimore Style magazine. A former editor with the Associated Press, Corbett has written The Back Page for Style since 1994 – the column has been twice awarded best column by the City and Regional Magazine Association.
Corbett’s most recent book was Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express (Random House/Broadway Books). He is writing another book on the 19th century American West.
The awards will be presented May 20 when the SPJ holds its annual meeting.
http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/backpage
Warren Belasco, American Studies, Speaks at European Commission International Conference
Warren Belasco, professor of American studies, spoke about the history of the future of food at the European Commission’s recent international conference, “Perspectives for Food 2030,” held in Brussels, Belgium April 17-18. For more information about this important meeting attended by top European agriculture and food ministers, technologists and manufacturers: http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2007/food2030/index_en.htm
The conference was streamed live, and Belasco was interviewed by Italian and French news media.
April 13, 2007
Appa Anjanappa, Mechanical Engineering, Receives Patent for Cell Sorting Invention
Congratulations to Appa Anjanappa, professor of mechanical engineering, for his issued U.S. patent #7,160,730, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Cell Sorting.” For an explanation of the invention, visit http:// www.uspto.gov, and click on Patents. If you would like more information on patents, copyrights or start up companies, visit the Office of Technology Development’s Web site at http://www.umbc.edu/otd.
Rebecca Boehling, History, Invited Lecturer for Annual King-Beauregard Lecture Series
Rebecca Boehling, associate professor of history, was the invited lecturer for the Second Annual King-Beauregard Lecture Series at the University of Dayton on March 28. She spoke on “The Use and Abuse of Historical Comparison: The American Occupations of Germany and Iraq.”
Weidong Zhu, Mechanical Engineering, to Serve on ASME Committee and as Associate Editor of ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics
Weidong Zhu, professor of mechanical engineering, will serve on the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound (TCVS) and as an associate editor of the ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics. Zhu is an NSF CAREER award recipient and is the principal investigator on multiple research grants sponsored by federal agencies and the industry. He is a leading internationally known expert in the area of dynamics of flexible structures, elevator dynamics and non-destructive damage detection in slender flexible structures.
April 6, 2007
ACTiVATE Participant Wins StartRight! Competition
Kris Appel of Newregen Inc., is the recipient of at $10,000 award from Rockville Economic Development Inc.’s (REDI) annual StartRight! Competition for developing technology that aids in stroke recovery. Appel is a participant in UMBC’s ACTiVATE program, which trains women with significant technical or business experience to be entrepreneurs.
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/03/26/daily41.html
Senior Issac Matthews Named 2007 Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar of the Year
Senior mechanical engineering major Issac Matthews is featured in Diverse’s “Shattering Stereotypes” about Matthews’ high-level of performance in the classroom and on the track. Matthews is the 2007 Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar of the Year. LaMont Toliver, director of the Meyerhoff Scholars program, and David Bobb, UMBC’s head track and field coach, were quoted.
http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_7182.shtml