UMBC is a leading public research university known for innovative teaching, relevant research across disciplines, and a supportive community that empowers and inspires inquisitive minds. UMBC serves 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and combines the learning opportunities of a liberal arts college with the creative intensity of a leading research university. At the same time, UMBC is one of the country’s most inclusive education communities. UMBC also contributes to Maryland through strong government and industry partnerships that advance K–16 education, entrepreneurship, workforce training, and technology commercialization.
Ben Marwick, University of Washington; Erle C. Ellis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Lucas Stephens, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, and Nicole Boivin, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Hundreds of archaeologists provided on-the-ground data from across the globe, providing a new view of the long and varied history of people transforming Earth’s environment.
The Supreme Court has issued what’s likely to be its final word on partisan gerrymandering, saying it’s a political issue, not a legal one. That means reform lies in the hands of voters.
There are many conversations these days around ‘successful dying.’ Two African American scholars argue why these conversations need to include race and how it impacts life span.
Stian Rice, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Since Reconstruction, states have leased prisoners to US industries. That diminished in the 20th century, but now it’s resurging, with prisoners leased to harvest food for American consumers.
The glue that gives spider webs their stickiness is a form of spider silk protein. Researchers can imagine cool uses for a synthetic version – but had to wait for the tricky glue gene to be sequenced.
Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Ransomware has crippled governments and companies around the world, encrypting data and demanding payment for the decryption key – though that’s no guarantee of recovering the information.
Researchers find promising results for two programs patterned after the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, a renowned initiative launched at UMBC in the 1980s and known to increase diversity in STEM.
Michelle R. Scott, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Earl Brooks, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
From spirituals about the trials of slavery to the fight for civil rights and the modern rhythms of swing music, Duke Ellington told a story about black life that was both beautiful and complex.
Japan’s 86-year-old Emperor Akihito abdicates on April 30 — an exceedingly rare event for this ancient monarchy. Can his son, Prince Naruhito, give Japan’s royal family a modern makeover?
Charles Betley, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
April 15 is not only a day to pay individual taxes to the IRS. It is also the day that tobacco companies must pay a penalty to help offset states’ costs for the treatment of tobacco-related diseases.
Manil Suri, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Karen Saxe, Macalester College
Supreme Court justices have previously called statistical methods of measuring partisan gerrymandering ‘sociological gobbledygook’ and ‘a bunch of baloney.’
Many nations are restoring degraded tropical forests to slow climate change, protect endangered species and improve rural life. But those forests often are cleared again soon afterward.
Amy Froide, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
While the film introduces viewers to women who were important political figures in British history, it doesn’t quite capture just how much power and influence these women actually wielded.
Zero tolerance policies in America’s schools are declining, but you might not be able to tell since so many practices get lumped under the ‘zero tolerance’ label, a school discipline expert says.
Preminda Jacob, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
A new piece of performance art features a lookalike Ivanka Trump vacuuming crumbs. Not only is it a cutting commentary on labor and gender, but it also highlights the complicity of the viewer.