Winter 2013

Behind the Mask

Brendan Mundorf ’07 is one of the world’s best (and toughest) lacrosse players. Now he’s bouncing back from an injury to pursue a professional championship. By Jeff Seidel ’85 Brendan Mundorf ’07, sociology, still smiles when he remembers his first lacrosse stick: a beautiful blue STX Hi-Wall. The stick was a gift from his grandmother, given to the two-year-old Mundorf after a trip to see his Uncle Matt play for Mount St. Mary’s lacrosse team. He used it practically non-stop in all kinds of weather, shooting balls at a goal or the side of his grandparents’ shed. The future UMBC… Continue Reading Behind the Mask

A Volume Business – Eduard Berlin ’70, Political Science

The books may sit quietly on their shelves, but the rest of The Ivy Bookshop buzzes with the activity of book selling. In the back of the Baltimore shop on this particular early evening, employees race to load Bill Clinton biographies onto a cart in time to sell at a symposium downtown later that night. And near the reading nook, UMBC professor Robert Provine prepares for a reading and Q&A in the bookshop about his new book on the psychology of hiccups. At the center of the commotion in his favorite leather reading chair sits Eduard Berlin ’70, political science… Continue Reading A Volume Business – Eduard Berlin ’70, Political Science

Young Fresh Fellow – Matthew Sherman ’08, INDS

Getting healthy is an American obsession. And Matthew Sherman ’08, interdisciplinary studies, is at the forefront of a growing movement that may help make that arduous task easier and more efficient. It’s all in the juice. But not just any juice. Cold-pressed juices with exotic names like Vamos Green, Goji Lemonade and Coco Verde. At JugoFresh, Sherman’s burgeoning Miamiarea business, these juices are created with fresh fruits and vegetables in an extraction process that emphasizes quality and care over speed and pasteurization. The process is time-intensive, but the result is a dizzying array of healthy and flavorful drinks that fly… Continue Reading Young Fresh Fellow – Matthew Sherman ’08, INDS

Up On the Roof – Winter 2013

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, takes your questions. Q. With the many tools needed for success as president of a university, what’s that one thing you wish you’d known before you became UMBC’s leader? — Israel Cross ’04, biological sciences, and Ph.D. ’10, gerontology A. In the early years, I didn’t know as much about how to work effectively with public officials and the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to get support for the university. In the early 1990s, we were still at a disadvantage when we were talking to the state legislature, partly because… Continue Reading Up On the Roof – Winter 2013

To You – Winter 2013

UMBC boasts an amazing faculty, and one of the great pleasures of editing this magazine is getting to know many of them and bring the work they do to a much wider audience of alumni and other university stakeholders. In the Winter 2013 issue of UMBC Magazine, the rich diversity of our faculty’s activities in the arts, social sciences, humanities, mathematics and sciences is on full display. In our “Discovery” section, you can read how UMBC faculty members are working to attract students to the field of psychology, make our lawns cleaner and greener, create new opportunities for composers to… Continue Reading To You – Winter 2013

The Power of Tri – Randianne Leyshon ’09, MLL

Studying a language not only expands your mind, but it expands your circle of friends to far-flung lands and even closer to home, as alumna Randianne Leyshon ’09, modern languages and linguistics, and two other friends discovered as they studied Russian at UMBC. Fate plays a fundamental role in Russian literature. Unexpected tragedies, reversals of fortune, missed connections. Somewhere Annushka’s always buying and spilling the sunflower oil – an unremarkable event which leads to a horrible death and sets off the fantastical plot of Mikhail Bulgakov’s magical realist masterpiece The Master and Margarita. It was fate – in the form… Continue Reading The Power of Tri – Randianne Leyshon ’09, MLL

The News – Winter 2013

TEACHING THE FUTURE October 6 was a special night at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, when 900 guests filled the main ballroom for “A Celebration of Leadership + Innovation” that honored UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, on his 20 years as the university’s leader and inaugurated the Hrabowski Fund for Innovation to sustain and extend advances in teaching. The celebratory buzz hadn’t yet died down when Provost Philip Rous and a committee selected to administer the fund were already at work identifying the next wave of academic innovators at UMBC. In January, the committee announced the Hrabowski Fund’s first awards.… Continue Reading The News – Winter 2013

Space Invaders – Tanner Almon ’02 and Vicki Yasuoka-Almon ’03

When Tanner Almon ’02, visual and performing arts, and Vicki Yasuoka-Almon ’03, visual arts, collect photos of their life together, you can bet it won’t be your average family album. You’ll most likely encounter the husband-and-wife team’s work on a series of popular blogs, which feature photos of themselves sporting giant fuzzy hats or frolicking at an abandoned amusement park. And, sometimes, reviews of the work from Tanner’s mom. The duo has been making art together since they met at UMBC in 2001. They first became acquainted through classes, but it was a film project that cemented them together as… Continue Reading Space Invaders – Tanner Almon ’02 and Vicki Yasuoka-Almon ’03

Net Achievements

When the number-one seed Denver Outlaws met the second-seed Chesapeake Bayhawks at Harvard University in the Major League Lacrosse championship game in August 2012, there was a Retriever reunion of sorts between the lines. Denver Outlaws player and league MVP Brendan Mundorf ’07, sociology, is perhaps the best-known UMBC men’s lacrosse player today, but two of his Outlaws teammates – Peet Poillon ’10, interdisciplinary studies, and Terry Kimener ’09, American studies – also played their lacrosse at UMBC. And lining up against that Retriever trio for the Chesapeake Bayhawks? Former UMBC standout Drew Westervelt ’09, economics. (Westervelt also plays professional… Continue Reading Net Achievements

How To Get Your Motor Runnin’

With Steven Storck ’08, M.S. ’09, mechanical engineering, UMBC Racing Co-Captain by Jenny O’Grady The call of the open road. The rev of the engine. Wind rushing through your hair. There’s simply nothing like it. Whatever comes your way. But is it possible to properly head out on the highway without appreciating the vehicle that carries you? For UMBC’s Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) racing team, that’s no problem at all. Every year, the student-run team builds a new offroad vehicle from scratch, and every year they outmaneuver the competition in tests of endurance, speed and safety. (Last year… Continue Reading How To Get Your Motor Runnin’

Discovery – Winter 2013

PLAYING ITS PARTICLE Sixty-four million tons of dust and pollution blow across the oceans to North America each year – and our continent itself produces about the same amount on its own. Tracking those particles could prove crucial in assessing changes in the earth’s climate, but scientists have found it difficult to locate and quantify them accurately. Researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, however, have devised a way to do so using two satellites to draw a three-dimensional picture of airborne particles. In a paper published in Science magazine, the team of researchers asserted that most of what travels… Continue Reading Discovery – Winter 2013

Back Story – Winter 2013

Public universities have a tradition of commitment to social responsibility. The UMBC community has taken a giant leap forward in addressing social challenges through a new movement called BreakingGround which debuted in Fall 2012. UMBC Student Government Association President Kaylesh Ramu ’13, political science, and David Hoffman, assistant director of student life for civic agency, are at the forefront of this effort to empower campus stakeholders to tackle issues that matter to them through innovative courses and co-curricular programs. Where did the idea for BreakingGround originate? Hoffman: UMBC has been participating for eight or ten years in national conversations about… Continue Reading Back Story – Winter 2013

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