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August 07, 2008 8:10 PM |
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UM Wins International Robot Competition UM's Fall Semester to Focus on All Aspects Of War Anthrax /Bio-Chem Attacks Rare, Records Show 1925 Recording Makes National Archives Registry |
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Highlighted News Items, August 7
Building a More Responsible B-School
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Maryland Moments, March, 2003
University Inititatives
(Events, New Programs)
Two-hundred members of the university community--from staff and students to President C.D. Mote Jr. and Basketball Coach Gary Williams, from legislators and faculty members to Senate President Mike Miller and Testudo--lobbied for support in Annapolis as the state budget for next year was being legislated. The annual trip became part of an overall campus drive to avert more budget reductions.
The Black Saga competition, directed by Charles Christian, professor of geography, involved students from 52 elementary and middle schools in Maryland. Students competed for the right to display their knowledge of black history by participating in months of studying and intense quizzing for the March 22 championship.
A security briefing was held at the National Press Club, hosted by the University of Maryland and University of Maryland School of Medicine and Medical Center. Print and electronic media heard the "the likelihood of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida targeting chemical facilities and nuclear power plants is far greater than their ability to unleash weapons of mass destruction...� Campus experts came from the School of Public Affairs, Merrill College of Journalism, College of Life Sciences and the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute.
Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. announced a commission will study how to create affordable housing, a dire problem statewide. The governor plans to hold a Governor's Conference on Housing at the university in October.
Campus space was at a premium, so when Cole Field House ceased to be the home of Maryland atheletics, others at the university received much appreciated room in the 48 year-old structure. Approximately 20 departments moved in as the result of requests for space to the Council of Deans. Cole continued its campus service at a "very modest amount," which was agreed to by the administration and the Department of Academic Affairs. Preinkert Gynmasium, former home of Terrapin women's athletics, was also given over to general campus needs.
The Maryland Small Business Development Center, administered by the office of research and graduate studies, helped form a resource center for small business owners in Prince George's County. The Prince George's Financial Services Corp.and the Port Towns Community Development Corp were partners in forming the Bladensburg center.
Science & Technology
Last spring, NASA appointed Maryland a NASA University Research, Engineering and Technology Institute to work on �3rd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicles.� Now Maryland and its research partner, the University of Florida, have about 40 professors, 120 graduate students and hundreds of undergraduate students in aerospace engineering working on the research. Mark Lewis, professor of aerospce engineering in the Clark School, heads the Reusable Launch Vehicle Institute.
Raymond Miller, professor emeritus of computer science, won the Association for Computing Machinery's Distinguished Service Award. Miller is the founding and current director of the Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Science at NASA�s Goddard Space Flight Center; edited the Journal of the ACM for 14 years; was a founding member of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board; and he helped transform the Computer Research Association into a group that influences computer science research.
Cole Miller, assistant professor of astronomy, conducted research finding evidence that there are mid-size black holes in space--not too large, not too small, but intermediate in mass. Miller and his collegues also discovered that these elusive objects may be stranger than anyone had imagined.
Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory took a snapshot of the adolescent universe from about five billion years ago when the familiar web-like structure of galaxy chains and voids first emerged. Yuxan Yang, doctoral candidate in astronomy who was a co-researcher on the discovery, said science is gathering a photo album of the Universe through the ages.
John Baras, professor of electrical and computer engineering, received a prestigious award from the Department of Defense to finance equipment for current or future research on "high-speed modeling and simulation testbed for networked systems."
Robert Walker, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received a $40,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, �awarded annually to recognize and support young scientists and scholars in seven fields: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neursoscience and physics.�
Society & Culture
A Middle East poll revealing deep dislike of the U.S. taken by Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, resonated around the world as war broke out. Steven Kull and the Program for International Policy Attiudes released a poll earlier in the month that revealed deep divisions within individuals poll, whether they were for or against the war.
The Merrill School of Journalism inaugurated The Batten Awards for media who use technology in innovative ways to engage people in important issues. Named for the former CEO of Knight-Ridder, the award includes a $10,000 first prize, and is funded by the John and James Knight Foundation.
Maryland is celebrating 50 years of being one of six schools to receive American Psychology Association accreditation every year since it began the process in 1952. Besides Maryland, the schools are the University of Missouri, Columbia University, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University and the University of Texas.
Peter Morici, professor of international business, issued a report commissioned by the American Iron & Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association concerning steel tariffs imposed a year ago by President Bush. �After one year, the results have been solidly positive. The industry has already undergone substantial consolidation, and is beginning the process of restructuring and rationalizing production. However, the process has just started.�
James Gimpel, professor of government and politics, published research showing that if goverment takes the time to make it easier for the voter to vote, participation increases greatly. Gimple focused on Montgomery, Howard and Frederick counties.
Cheryl LaRoche, a graduate student in American Studies, is communicating the seminal notion that the north ran slave plantations. She earned attention with an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story early in the month and was interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition, which asked, "How is this not in the history books?" LaRoche's efforts publicize history swept under the rug, such as slave plantations in New York and Massachusetts.
Paul Shackel, professor of anthropology and director of the master's of applied anthropology program, is a project director for an archaelogical dig in New Philadelphia, Ill., which was undertaken by UM, the University of Illinois Springfield, Illinois College and Hannibal-LaGrange College. New Philadelphia was settled as a black community in 1836 by a former slave.
The Guarneri String Quartet, the School of Music's quartet-in-residence, opened the Taiwan International Music Festival with a Night of Chamber Music at the Hsinehu Performance Hall.
Serhii Morozov, graduate assistant at the School of Music, won the Byrd Young Artists Competition in Flint, Mich. The competition was grueling: 28 semi-finalists competed in all day preliminary competition and five played in the evening's final round. Morozov �made the most of every opportunity to demonstrate his affinity with the music.� He received $5,000 and a return trip for a concert with the Flint Symphony.
More Maryland Moments in March
The leader of the University of Maryland's business incubator is the new president of the Maryland Business Incubation Association. Edward Sybert, director of the Technology Advancement Program at UM, replaces Ann Lansinger, executive director of the Emerging Technology Center in Baltimore.
Five senior landscape architecture students designed recommendations for a more pedestrian-friendly West Hyattsville, presenting their plans to residents, property owners and town officials.
In a collaboration between the university and Prince George's County Public Schools, the Academy of Leadership's Team Maryland connected Maryland students with children from William Wirt Middle School and Bladensburg High School. The effort's goal is to build leadership and to engage students from both sides in civic repsonsibility.
Thomas Fretz, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Eddie Draper, manager of the university's Wye Angus Program, traveled to Cuba as part of LEAD Maryland, a program designed to identify and develop leadership for agriculture and rural communities.
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