Kudos

UMBC Alumni Named Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholars
Matthew Loftus ’07 and Hadi Gharabaghi ’07 were each recently awarded Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarships, which provides up to $50,000 a year for up to six years of graduate or professional study in any field. Loftus and Gharabaghi have captured two of the 34 awards given nationally by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
Loftus, who majored in chemistry, will attend the University of Maryland School of Medicine this fall at the age of 20. He aspires to become a physician practicing in the third world, and he is presently working in Yemen. Loftus is an accomplished guitarist, very active in campus organizations and strongly committed to service here and abroad.
Gharabaghi, who earned a degree in visual arts, will pursue an M.A. in Cinema Studies at New York University’s (NYU) renowned Tisch School of the Arts. Upon completing his master’s program, he hopes to begin doctoral study at NYU. Gharabaghi’s has exhibited his artwork, much of which deals with the immigrant experience, in UMBC’s galleries and in many other venues.
Loftus and Gharabaghi are both featured in UMBC’s Class of 2007 Web site.
http://www.umbc.edu/classof2007
Michael Summers, HHMI and Chemistry and Biochemistry, Receives Patent
The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent (#7,183,300) to Michael Summers, principal investigator of UMBC’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute Laboratory and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, for his work, “Inhibitors of HIV-1 Capsid Formation: Substituted Aryl Aminomethyl Thiazole Ureas and Analogues Thereof.” Inhibitors of viral capsid formation, such as the capsids formed by retroviruses including HIV viruses, as well as the HIV-1 virus, are provided in the patent. To view it in its entirety, visit http://www.uspto.gov, and click on Patents. For more information on patents, copyrights or startup companies, visit the Office of Technology Development’s Web site at http://www.umbc.edu/otd.
Techcenter@UMBC Companies Receive Honors at ICOY Awards
Three techcenter@UMBC companies were among the 18 finalists for the 7th annual Maryland Incubator Company of the Year (ICOY) Awards. The awards recognized the achievements of current and graduate companies within Maryland’s incubators. Award recipients from six categories were announced at an evening ceremony on June 19.
Lentigen Corporation and Amulet Pharmaceuticals, Inc., were in the same category – Best Life Science Company. Lentigen won the award.
BDMetrics, Inc. topped the finalists in the Best Graduate Company category.
For more information about the ICOY awards, including a full list of finalists, please visit the Web site at http://www.mdincubatoraward.com/2007/2007finalists.html.
June 15, 2007
Amulet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Receives Phase I SBIR Award
Amulet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award, which provides $367,554, for one year. The award money will fund Amulet Pharmaceuticals’ research in developing an innovative treatment for diabetic gastroparesis. Read more about the award at http://www.umbc.edu/techcenter/news/060707.htm.
Collaborative Project With Retirement Living TV, UMBC and Charlestown Retirement Community Wins Bronze Telly Award for Outstanding Video Production
A unique and groundbreaking digital storytelling project that involved Retirement Living Television (RLTV), UMBC and Charlestown Retirement Community in Baltimore, Md., has won a Bronze Telly Award. Telly awards honor the world’s best in local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, as well as among the finest in video and film production. Funded by RLTV, Digital Stories from Charlestown is also the nation’s first three-way partnership between a media company, a university and a retirement community.
Using hands-on media technology, undergraduate students partnered with Charlestown residents, who provided autobiographical stories and narratives, to produce 2 to 3 minute video stories. The stories combined narration, animation and photography based on the life experiences of the residents.
The award-winning digital stories can be viewed at : http://www.umbc.edu/oit/newmedia/studio/digitalstories/ctds.php?movie=CT_digitalstoriesatCT.flv or at www.rl.tv/Community/Digital Stories
Kristin Drabyn Wins America East Sportmanship Award
Kristin Drabyn, a member of UMBC’s Women’s basketball team, earned the America East Conference Sportsmanship Award as the conference honored its top team and individual accomplishments at the conference’s annual awards dinner. http://www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/wbball/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3496
Aris Kalivretenos, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Issued U.S. Patent
The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Aris Kalivretenos a patent (#7,229,835) for his work entitled “Amine Detection Method and Materials.” This invention provides a flow-through device for the one-step modification of proteins, peptides and amino groups via acylation reactions. To view this patent in its entirety, 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.
Cindy Kubiet Awarded Board of Regents’ USM Staff Award
Cindy Kubiet, director of sports medicine services, has been awarded the Board of Regents’ University System of Maryland Staff Award for her outstanding service to students in an academic or residential environment. The Staff Awards represent the highest honor bestowed by the Board of Regents for achievements of exempt and non-exempt employees from institutions of the University System of Maryland.
http://www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/news/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3497
Morgan Little ‘07 Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team
On June 7, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced that UMBC senior cross country and track and field athlete Morgan Little ’07 was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II Second Team.
Little, who recently graduated magna cum laude from UMBC with a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies while maintaining a 3.89 G.P.A., captained the cross country and track and field teams during her senior year and was most recently inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society.
http://www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/track/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=3493
June 8, 2007
Drew Westervelt Drafted by Denver Outlaws
UMBC attackman Drew Westervelt was the fourth player selected in the Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft, held in Stony Brook, N.Y. on May 31. Westervelt, an interdisciplinary studies major, was selected by the Denver Outlaws after that squad acquired that selection from the Long Island Lizards. The Third Team All American was the first attackman taken in the draft and 2006-07 UMBC Male Athlete of the Year will join former teammate Brendan Mundorf in the Mile High city.
Westervelt (35 goals, 36 assists) finished the 2007 season as the fifth-leading scorer in the country with 4.18 per game and placed third in assists with 2.12 per outing. He closed his four-year career with 206 points, which is third in school history.
Tim Nohe, Visual Arts, Presents New Works in Australia
On June 4, Tim Nohe, associate professor of visual arts, presented two new works, “Incised Lines” and “Ama :Story : Time,” at a concert organized by composer Warren Burt. The concert was held at the Illawarra Institute of Technology and included works by Warren Burt, Catherine Schieve, WANK and others. Nohe, a Fulbright Scholar, is currently conducting research in Australia’s Botany Bay. (http://www.umbc.edu/window/nohe.html)
“Incised Lines”
This work draws upon a new visual score produced for Percy Grainger’s “Electric Eye Tone Tool.” Nohe created graphite rubbings directly from chisel-cut sandstone in The Rocks district of Sydney. The “electric eyes” of the instrument read the differences between marked and unmarked areas in the rubbings, sensing the mallet and chisel blows of long dead convict masons, sounding their labor. Variations in the graphite rubbings of the score are translated to shifts in pitches, stereo placement and volume. For more information on “Incised Lines” and to see process photos, visit http://mtod.tumblr.com/.
“Ama : Story : Time”
In this collaborative work, Warren Burt and Nohe will improvise through a movement marked by a candle burning at both ends. Warren will perform invented instruments, and I will perform time processes that range from kitchen science experiments, to the nightly ritual of reading to my daughter Amalie.
He will post MP3 recordings of the concert at http://mtod.tumblr.com/ when they are mastered.
Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, to Speak at the Charles Theatre
On June 10, Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College professor of visual arts, will introduce “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” a new film by Pascale Ferran based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence. The event is part of the Charles Theatre’s Cinema Sundays.
http://www.cinemasundays.com/film.php
Work by Renee Van Der Stelt, Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, on Display at Maryland Art Place
Maryland Art Place (MAP) will display the works of several artists including Renee Van Der Stelt, projects coordinator for the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, June 12-July 21 as part of its exhibition Obsessive Aesthetics.
A gallery talk (6 p.m.) and reception (7 p.m.) will be held on June 22.
http://mdartplace.org/exhibitions/upcoming.html
June 1, 2007
UMBC’s National Residence Hall Honorary Announces Regional, National Winners
The UMBC chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary is proud to announce the following regional and national winners from UMBC for the month of April: Regional Community Service Program of the Month – Second Annual Gold Ribbon Charity Ball; Regional Student of the Month – Michael Aaron ’07, mechanical engineering and biological sciences; National First-Year Student of the Month – Katie Dix, a political science major. Regional winners were selected from schools in the region, which includes Maryland New Jersey, Ohio, District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. National winners were selected from schools across the United States.