News Archive
Hover over an article title to see the full content.2011
"You Want to Track Me? Here You Go, FBI"
Watch DCC Director and Professor Hasan Elahi's talk at TEDGlobal 2011.
DCC student, Victoria Lai, presents her work at the international Modeling Social Media Workshop
Honors College (DCC) student, Victoria Lai, presents her work on "Comparing Social Tags to Microblogs" at the international Modeling Social Media Workshop in Boston in October 2011. Her original research compared Amazon tags and tweets about music albums
and found that with sufficient Twitter activity about an album, social tags do represent the most frequent conversations about the album on
Twitter. The abstract and full paper are available online.
The Winding Banister Review is open for business, so check it
out!
To inquire about staff positions (science reader; art editor; general readers; editor-in-chief, and web designer), please send letter and resume to:
sibbie@umd.edu
TXTual Healing
The Digital Cultures and Creativity Honors program hosted Chicago-based artist Paul Notzold, who presented one of his projects, titled TXTual Healing. Students were able to text their own messages and have them displayed on the east side of the Art-Sociology building with the help of Notzold's laptop and projector. —Text by Lauren Redding, Photo by Charlie DeBoyace -Diamondbackonline.com
Banneker/Key Scholar Miriam Brand Quoted by the New York Times
Honors College student and Banneker/Key Scholar Miriam Brand, a spokesperson for students with chronic medical conditions on Capitol Hill (she has type I diabetes), was quoted by the New York Timesabout health insurance for young adults.
Honors College student, Ryan Elza, founds Health Leads chapter at Maryland
Apply to be an RA!
Resident Assistant selection for the 2012-13 academic year is beginning. Information is available here today; more details will soon be available at www.resnet.umd.edu/RAposition. Applications will be available online on Thursday, September 29 and are due online by Wednesday, October 12 by 11:59PM local time.
New DCC Director, Professor Hasan Elahi, speaking at TEDGlobal 2011
When Hasan Elahi's name was added (by mistake) to the US government's watch list, he fought the assault on his privacy by turning his life inside-out for all the world to see. And as if to prove his point that "the best way to protect privacy is to give it away," Elahi – while still being watched by the authorities, according to server records – hasn't been bothered since.
Congratulations to our National Scholarship Winners in Spring 2011
A record-breaking number of Honors College students are winning nationally-competitive scholarships to further their learning as researchers, teachers, and scholars! The awards for Honors College students continue to grow as our amazing students are taking full advantage of the resources of the National Scholarships Office at University of Maryland! (read more)
Honors student MengMeng Xu wins Daily Record's Circle of Excellence Scholarship & Award
Honors College - Gemstone student and Banneker/Key Scholar, Ms. MengMeng Xu, has been selected as the State of Maryland's 2011 Circle of Excellence winner! Ms. Xu, a dual biochemistry and economics major, will be publicly honored at a ceremony on Monday, May 9th at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
8th Annual Rajpat Lecture Featuring Dr. Bonnie Bassler
How Bacteria Talk To Each Other
Wed., April 6, 4:30 PM, Ulrich Recital Hall, Tawes Building
Bonnie Bassler's research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for intercellular communication, known as "quorum sensing." This research is paving the way toward the development of novel therapies in combating bacteria. Dr. Bassler has been a featured speaker at the popular TED conference and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Congratulations to Two Honors College students who won the nationally competitive Goldwater Scholarships in 2011!
Apoorv Gupta is a Chemical Engineering and Cell Biology & Molecular genetics double major who was mentored in research by Dr. Bill Bentley in Fischell Dept. of Bioengineering. Matthew Smarte is a Chemistry major who was mentored in research by Dr. Amy Mullin in the Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The Honors College presents "How it Works: Practical Knowledge for Life After College"
The world beyond college is less intimidating when you know how it works. Don’t let terminology such as “401(K)" and “deductible” throw you for a loop. Attend one or all of the "How it Works" Spring 2011 series of talks to begin understanding the world beyond college and how it effects you.
University of Maryland Stock Market Challenge
The University of Maryland’s College of Behavioral
and Social Sciences and the Honors College are proud to announce the Stock
Market Challenge. Designed for all skill levels, this exciting new learning
opportunity is modeled after a successful stock market trading simulation
currently used by Dr. Eric Wish in his stock market courses.
Honors Student Ethan Schaler named 2011-12 Churchill Scholar
Ethan Schaler, a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering
and a member of GEMSTONE Team: Cogeneration Technology and the Honors
College, has just been awarded one of only fourteen 2011-12 Churchill
Scholarships to the University of Cambridge, UK.
How it Works: Intro to LinkedIn & Professional Networking workshop
Join Honors College staff member Allison Corbett on Thursday April 7 at 6:00 in the Anne Arundel lounge for pizza followed by a networking workshop, including effective use of the professional networking site LinkedIn. Reservation required, space is limited; register for this event today!
The Winding Banister Review is scheduled to debut in April 2011.
The Honors College’s new journal of ideas and creativity will showcase stellar student work. Content will be a mix of scholarly and personal essays, creative writing, art, reviews, cartoons and the eagerly awaited gallery of notebook doodles!
Davis Foundation Honors Summer Research Awards in 2011
Four Honors College students have been awarded the Davis Foundation Honors Summer Research Awards for 2011. Congratulations to Justine Dombroski, Kayleen Kulesza, Chiara Tanzi, and MariaSanta Mangione.
Professor Shibley Telhami and Honors student Sehar Sabir featured on WAMU.
Sehar Sabir, an Honors College senior and Arabic major, and Anwar Sadat Professor of Peace and Development Shibley Telhami, who is teaching HONR349F (America and the Middle East) in spring 2011, were featured on WAMU during NPR’s Morning Edition on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. They describe how this term’s seminar topics are changing every day as Professor Telhami and his students are eager to engage in reading and discussions related to the rapidly changing political and social changes in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East. WAMU Article
Entrepreneurship & Innovation Living-Learning Program A great place for women entrepreneurs!
According
to a report by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy:
Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Women-owned firms
employ 19.1 million workers and generate $2.5 trillion in sales. 30
great business and entrepreneurship blogs by women
Free iPads for Incoming DCC Students in
Fall 2011!
As part of its ongoing participation in the campus's
pioneering Mobility Initiative, the Digital Cultures and Creativity living-learning
program is pleased to announce that all students entering the program
in Fall 2011 will again receive Apple iPads. The iPad functions as a universal
platform for DCC to which all students and instructors have equal access,
and some students have gone on to develop applications for it as part
of this years' Mobility
Contest. Please be sure to stop by the Prospective
Students page.
Honors Digital Cultures & Creativity
Living-Learning Program
Graduate Assistant Megan Monroe develops and sells
a new app for the ipad! Read
More
Professor Ben Bederson's Interview on the Kojo Nnamdi
Show (2/8/11) A Revolution in Tech Jobs? The Murky World of Online Labor
Read
More
Professor Hasan Elahi - was taken into custody by
the FBI as a terrorist suspect in the United States by mistake, and ended
up living totally in public to protect himself from surveillance. Read
More
DAVIS FOUNDATION HONORS SUMMER SCHOLARS AWARDS
– Applications due February 14th, 2011
The Honors College is teaming with the Maryland Center for Undergraduate
Research to offer competitive research awards of $3000 for Honors College
students who will have completed 60 or more credits by end of spring 2011
and have at least a 3.4 GPA. When Honors College students apply for the
Maryland Summer
Scholars Program (MSS) by February 14th, they will automatically be
entered into the competition for the Davis Foundation Honors Summer Scholars
awards. into an independent study or honors thesis during their senior
year.
W.E.B. Du Bois National Honor Society
Inducts Charter Class
This year, sixteen students were inducted into the
W.E.B. Du Bois National Honor Society. Hosted by the Honors College but
open to all students, the Du Bois National Honor Society recognizes and
celebrates the scholastic achievement of African American collegiate students.
Visit our
website for more information about the Honor Society and the
Honors
College Gallery for photos of the Induction program.
2010
Molly Morris Awarded Spring 2011 Barbara L. Thorne Study Abroad Scholarship
Molly Morris is the recipient of the 2011 Barbara
L. Thorne Study Abroad Scholarship. Molly is a sophomore majoring in physiology
and neurobiology and planning on a career in physical therapy. She is
a member of Zeta Tau Alpha and the Primannum Honor Society. She is originally
from Fairfield County, Connecticut, and can't wait to spend next semester
exploring London and the rest of Europe. The Barbara L. Thorne Honors
Study Abroad Scholarship provides a partial scholarship to a University
Honors student who has demonstrated outstanding academic accomplishment,
and is studying abroad for the first time in the winter or spring term.
Dr. Thorne served as Director of the University Honors Program from 2004-2008.
When she stepped down to return to research and teaching in the Department
of Entomology, her staff and colleagues set up this scholarship to honor
Dr. Thorne’s vision that Honors students should have the opportunity to
excel in academics, gain an international perspective, and experience
adventure!
Honors College Students Win 2010 Spirit of Maryland Award
At halftime during the homecoming football game on October 30, President Loh presented Honors students Meng-Meng Xu and Kevin Ford with the 2010 Spirit of Maryland Award. Meng-Meng, a Biochemistry and Economics major, and Kevin, an English major and Philosophy minor, are both Honors Ambassadors and an active part of the Honors community. The Spirit of Maryland Award is presented annually in lieu of a traditional Homecoming King or Queen honoree. The Award is presented to a male and female member of the senior class who through their achievements has most exemplified the "spirit" of the University of Maryland. Criteria for the award include outstanding scholarship, leadership, campus involvement, community service, and communication skills. Honors congratulates these outstanding seniors for all of their hard work and dedication to the University.
Honors Student Team Coached by Honors Professor Win Fifth Annual Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl
The 3-student team representing the Honors College handily won the Fifth Annual Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl hosted by the University of Maryland on November 6th. The freshmen team consisting of Communications major Grace Lee, Government and Politics major Luis Rodriguez, and Business major Dillon Hagius were coached by Professor Susan Dwyer, Director of the Philosophy Department’s Honors Program. Professor Dwyer also teaches the Honors Seminar HONR258J: Supreme Law: The Constitution, Morality, and the Courts. Congratulations to the team and their coach on their outstanding performance!
Dr. Dorland Named a Winner of the 2010-11 Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award
Winners of the 2010
Distinguished Scholar-Teacher awards represent a broad range of academic
excellence. The program honors tenured faculty members who have demonstrated
outstanding accomplishments as educators. William Dorland is an internationally
renowned theoretical plasma physicist studying the behavior of hot, magnetized
plasma. Understanding this behavior is at the heart of long-term hopes
for attaining clean power from nuclear fusion.
Dr. Dorland also directs the University’s Honors College. He says that
participating in such a program was an important part of his student experience,
and he wants to give back something tangible. He co-developed and taught
a Marquee course on the global energy crisis, “Physics for Decision Makers,”
bringing his expertise to issues of prime social importance today. One
student reports that Dorland instilled in her “a passion for science,
policy, and the development of practical solutions to environmental problems”
and influenced her decision to pursue a career in environmental policy.
Other students describe him as an open, respectful, persistent mentor
who encourages their efforts to become independent researchers.
Gemstone
Research Leads to $880,000 Grant!
The Gemstone research team BREATHE (Bay Revitalization
Efforts Against the Hypoxic Environment)
has spent three years developing a local soil/flocculant mixture that can effectively
control a Microcystis aeruginosa harmful algal bloom. These blooms frequently
occur in the upper tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months,
and through their decomposition contribute to the formation of dead zones. The
promising results with clay flocculation and algal cell removal, submerged aquatic
vegetation (SAV) restoration, and the low cost of implementation, led to the
expansion of this project by a new research team, Mitigation of Microcystis
in the Chesapeake (MMIC), led by Dr. Allen Place and aided by Dr. Kevin Sellner,
Team BREATHE's mentor. Using preliminary results from BREATHE, the MMIC research
group applied and received funding through the government's new PCM HAB program.
Read More!
The Honors College and Education Abroad Passport
Day
On Friday, December 3rd the Honors College and Education
Abroad hosted Passport Day 2010. The United States Department of State Washington
Passport Agency was present to process passport applications for more than 140
students, faculty, and staff from across campus who registered for the event.
A photographer was also present to take and print passport photos for a nominal
fee. "Our goal is for every Honors student to have the opportunity to study
abroad before they graduate. So we came up with Passport Day, a one-stop-shop
to facilitate this process," said Traci Dula, assistant director of the Honors
College and Passport Day event coordinator. "We decided to extend the event
beyond the Honors College because it proved to be a great opportunity that we
wanted to share as a service to the entire campus community." “Right now, about
40 percent of Honors students study abroad before they graduate. We would like
to see that number double," said William Dorland, Honors College director.
Honors College New Online Journal
There is so much energy, intelligence and creativity! Honors is launching a new online journal of ideas and art to showcase original essays, art, editorials, creative writing, reviews, interviews, letters, cartoons, videos, and music – all created and produced by Honors students! Want to be involved? Contact faculty advisor Dr. Sibbie O’Sullivan (sibbie@umd.edu).
Honors College Annual Whitewater Raft Trip
The Honors College Raft Trip was September 24-25 and 25-26, 2010. The rafting was great...the buses, not so much!
Take Your Honors Professor to Lunch
This is a great opportunity to get to know your professor better! Honors will pay for your professor’s lunch at any of the Dining Services venues on campus.