Events from the AJ Clark School of Engineering http://eng.umd.edu/events/ Mon, 09 Mar 2020 11:30:08 EDT http://eng.umd.edu/images/clark_logo_4email.gif http://eng.umd.edu/events/ Wednesday, April 08, 2020 3:00 PM, 1103 Bioscience Research Building, Speaker: Dr. Nenad Sestan (Yale) Title: Building the Human Neocortex: The Molecular and Cellular Logic of Neural Circuit Formation and Evolution Abstract: The question of what makes us human has fascinated humankind throughout modern history. Today, we view the brain as the core component of human identity, and an understanding of this organ is consequently essential for answering why we as a species are what we are. What distinguishes humans from other species is largely thought to reside in the unique features of brain development, especially in the wiring of the immensely complex neural circuits that underlie our remarkable cognitive and motor abilities. However, the unique innovations driving the formation of these intricate neural circuits may also increase our susceptibility to certain neurological and psychiatric disorders. In my presentation, I will describe some of our recent efforts to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the connections between neurons are formed within the developing cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that processes senses, commands motor activity, and underlies higher-order cognitive functions. I will also present evidence on how this complex developmental process may have evolved and become compromised in human disorders. About: Nenad Sestan is a professor of neuroscience, of comparative medicine, of genetics and of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and a member of the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience. He obtained his M.D. from the University of Zagreb and his Ph.D. in neurobiology from Yale University. Dr. Sestan is a leading expert studying the genetic specification of human cortical development. His team has published recent high-profile studies investigating the transcriptomic and epigenetic programs contributing to human brain evolution and the emergence of neuropsychiatric disorders. In separate research, his group has pioneered technologies for maintaining brain function ex-vivo post-mortem—this latter work establishes a new experimental paradigm for analyzing brain development and function and raises important ethical questions for researchers and the public at large. To honor his group's accomplishments, Dr. Sestan was recently named the Harvey and Cate Cushing Professor of Neuroscience at Yale, was awarded the 2019 Constance Lieber Prize for Innovation in Developmental Neuroscience, and was named one of "Nature's 10" people who have had an important impact on science in 2019. http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15028 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15028 Tuesday, March 24, 2020 7:00 PM, 2236 School of Public Health Building, Speaker: Rebecca Barnstaple (York U.) Title: Mobile EEG and Dance: complementary techniques and new applications Abstract: Techniques such as Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) have opened new frontiers in the study of complex naturalistic behavior, a prime example of which is research involving dance. Dance offers unique access to processes involved in action and perception, visuo-motor transformations, learning and expertise; dancing involves the production of complex motor sequences synchronized with external cues, and can provide insight on broader questions in neuroscience relating to memory, timing, and spatial orientation. As a rehabilitative activity, dance demonstrates potential to slow neurodegeneration and foster neuroplasticity. Dance-based interventions, most notably for conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, have been the subject of numerous studies over the last decade, with reported benefits including physical, cognitive, and affective improvements. This talk introduces a neurobiological model for dance and looks at how specific elements distinguishing dance from exercise or passive observation are conducive to fostering adaptive plasticity. I will present data from research conducted by our group at Canada's National Ballet School with expert dancers and people with PD, and outline my doctoral research project which uses mobile EEG synced with motion capture to investigate what is happening in the brain while people are learning dance. About: Rebecca Barnstaple is a PhD candidate in Dance Studies and the Neuroscience Graduate Program at York University in Toronto. A graduate of the National Centre for Dance Therapy at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (Montreal, 2015), she provides dance-based programs for people with chronic pain and Parkinson's disease through Chigamik Community Health Centre in Ontario. Rebecca holds a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier fellowship, and is a member of the steering committee of Dance Movement Therapy Ontario, the Research and Practice committee of the American Dance Therapy association, and the Groupe d'intérêt scientifique of the National Centre for Dance Therapy. http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15027 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15027 Monday, March 30, 2020 1:00 PM, , Meeting Room A.James Clark Hall, AJC 1101University of Maryland, College Park, 20742 MD, USA Directions https://www.google.com/maps/dir/39.1118848,-77.152256/A.+James+clark+Hall+University+of+Maryland/@39.0652401,-77.1849303,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m1!4e1!1m5!1m1!1s0x89b7c6a3cffe5aa5:0x7bce72fca34605df!2m2!1d-76.9377482!2d38.9917615 Event Description This workshop, to be held from Monday, March 30 to Friday, April 3, 2020, is a part of the University of Maryland Year of Data Science initiative. It aims at providing a venue for discussion among scientists and practitioners that are working with information from multiple structured and unstructured databases to answer relevant societal questions. The multidisciplinary program is relevant for all those interested in combining information from multiple databases and in developing reliable inferences at granular levels. The workshop is structured to facilitate interaction and will serve as a bridge among statisticians, survey methodologists, engineers, mathematicians, computer scientists, economists, social scientists and others. Attendees wishing to provide their input or contribution are welcome to participate actively during the discussion sessions.Organizers Partha Lahiri, Joint Program in Survey Methodology & Department of Mathematics, plahiri@umd.edu Cinzia Cirillo, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ccirillo@umd.edu Contact Connie Tang   ctang12@umd.edu, ++1. 301 405 2057 ProgramClick here for a tentative program. Registration We have limited seats available.  We will accept registration until the capacity of the meeting room is full.  We will not accept registration after March 23rd, 2020. The event is complimentary for University of Maryland Faculties/Students and workshop speakers/discussion leaders. Please register here:  https://umdcee.wufoo.com/forms/x5b5487064y1qi/ The registration fee for non-UMD attendees is $160; it includes reception, lunches and coffee breaks f https://uatquikpayasp.com/umd/commerce_manager/payer.do?orderType=NTCYodsWorkshop  Sponsors Office of the Provost, University of Maryland College Park Maryland Transportation Institute (MTI), University of Maryland College Park Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland College Park Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific Researchers from the following external agencies, organizations and universities will actively participate in the workshop: University of Maryland, College Park Baanda Inc., Los Angeles BPS-Statistics, Indonesia Census Bureau Department of Energy  Bureau of Labor Statistics General Statistics Office of Vietnam HydroQuebec, Canada Indian Statistical Institute Italian National Institute of Statistics   IREQ, Science des donnees and calcul haute performance, Varennes, Canada Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Qatar Computing Researfch The National Center for Health Statistics National Cancer Institute National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) University of Montreal, Canada University of Pisa, Italy University of Trier, Germany The World Bank   Westat Those interested to learn more about the Small Area Estimation methods are welcome to join the “SAE2020: Conference on Big Data for Small Area Estimation” Naples, Italy, July 6-8, 2020 (www.sae2020.org) Parking Information Click here for information.   http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14897 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14897 Thursday, April 02, 2020 9:30 PM, Zupnik Forum (Room 1101), A. James Clark Hall, The Whiting-Turner Lecture Series celebrates the fearlessness of entrepreneurship and brings leading technology enterprise thinkers who deal with the real-world challenges of a fast-paced, global economy to campus. Guest Speaker:Anuja Sonalker (Ph.D. '06), Founder and CEO, STEER Tech If you have the seed for a disruptive idea—and you know it takes more than ideas to build trendsetting paths and successful companies—join us to hear what it takes to game plan and execute the rest of the journey. Where are the potential pitfalls? What does it take to galvanize an industry, trade, or even consumers to follow along with you? And last but not least, how do you maintain your lead? Dr. Sonalker, who has a history of building innovative technologies that set the trend and movement deliberately, will share her battle scars, iterative feedback loop methodology, and how to lay out a strong strategy map from the get go. Dr. Sonalker is a serial entrepreneur with years of experience breaking the mold and blazing the trail in multiple industries. Most recently, Dr. Sonalker is the founder and CEO of STEER Tech. STEER is focused on developing secure self-driving technologies that will massively enable situationally aware, cyber robust automated driving applications. http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14872 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14872 Thursday, March 12, 2020 6:00 AM, The Stamp - Atrium (Room 1107), Can apps and technology make your life easier? Learn about resources from the Division of IT and tech companies through hands-on activities and demonstrations (and get free ice cream!). Special Guests: * Apple * Dell * Microsoft * LinkedIn Learning * Cisco * Safeware * and more! Prize Drawing -- Visit the expo, and you can enter to win a set of Airpods! https://facebook.com/events/2497813670535664/ http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15011 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15011 Friday, March 13, 2020 6:00 PM, 2110 Chem/Nuc Building, UMD College Park, Speaker: Li Na Quan, University of California Berkeley Title: Reduced Dimensional Solution-Processed Energy Materials Abstract: Metal halide perovskites are promising solution-processed materials for use in photovoltaics and light emitting diodes (LEDs) in view of their excellent semiconducting properties, the broad spectral range of light absorption, and narrow bandwidth emission. In this talk, I will present how we use the low dimensional perovskite to increase material stability, concentrate charge, improve light emission property, and create optical sources. I will discuss the approaches to improve the stability of the materials, light emitting properties and device performance by tuning the dimensionality and create the mixed-perovskite material with tunable electronic bandgap. At an applied level, I will demonstrate how we achieve the perovskite materials that exhibit near-perfect passivation, with their photoluminescence quantum yields closely approaching unity. They are bright, stable, efficient and easily solution-processible, which renders them useful for light emitting applications. These materials can also be a good platform to design and synthesis of the infra-red (IR) emitting materials and devices. Beyond the material development, I will describe how the electronic excitation of the materials are couple to the lattice vibration and deformation using advanced time-resolved spectroscopy. The unique soft nature of the perovskite lattice gives rise to dynamic fluctuations in the electronic bandgap, which distinguishes hybrid perovskites from traditional inorganic semiconductors. http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15030 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15030 Thursday, April 30, 2020 9:30 PM, Zupnik Forum (Room 1101), A. James Clark Hall, The Whiting-Turner Lecture Series celebrates the fearlessness of entrepreneurship and brings leading technology enterprise thinkers who deal with the real-world challenges of a fast-paced, global economy to campus. Guest Speaker:Joseph Sciamanna ('18), President and Owner, Heliostatix This lecture will highlight Joseph Sciamanna's experience starting a biotech company as an undergraduate student in the A. James Clark School of Engineering's Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, highlighting his story, lessons learned, and insights gleaned on barriers to entry, time constraints, and startup funding. The goal of this lecture is to convince students that starting a business early is not only possible, but also advantageous. Mr. Sciamanna is the owner of Heliostatix Biotechnology and graduate of the University of Maryland. He started his business while a junior at UMD using research on drug delivery he had performed. Within a year of graduating from UMD, he built a multi-million dollar business using what he had learned over his college career at the Clark School. http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14829 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14829 Thursday, April 02, 2020 2:00 PM, Kim Engineering Building Rotunda, UMD Campus, College Park, This year, the UMD Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering will host its first official Student Showcase, featuring senior design projects as well as undergraduate and graduate research highlighting the talents and creativity of ChBE students. Select groups will present during a morning session, and all other groups will present during the afternoon poster session.The Showcase features teams of senior-level students in the Process Engineering Economics and Design II Course who will present designs solving selected industrial engineering problems. Both undergraduate and graduate students will present innovative research in leading areas of chemical and biomolecular engineering. Projects will be judged by alumni and industry representatives based on technical criteria.When: April 2, 2020, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.Location: Kim Engineering Building Rotunda, UMD Campus, College Park Follow this link to the ChBE Student Showcase webpage for more information.   http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14978 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14978 Saturday, March 28, 2020 6:30 PM, School of Public Health SPH 1312, The National Weather Service is coming to campus to teach a free class on the basics of storm spotting and severe weather safety.  The class covers severe weather such as thunderstorms and tornadoes, what to do in a weather emergency, and what to report to the National Weather Service. At the end of the class, you will have the option of signing up to become a storm spotter as a Skywarn volunteer.  If you want to attend, then please register online for the Skywarn Basic class at UMD on March 28 at https://www.weather.gov/lwx/skywarn http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14966 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=14966 Tuesday, April 21, 2020 4:00 PM, 2110 Chem/Nuc Building, UMD College Park, Speaker: Arvind Balijepalli, Mechanical Engineer, Physical Measurement LabNational Istitute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Title: Sensitive Electronic Devices for Multi-Scale Biological Measurements Abstract: The detection and characterization of biomolecules at low copy number in multi-component solutions has the potential to unlock numerous applications in personalized healthcare from diagnostics to drug discovery. However, such measurements remain challenging to realize with existing techniques due to constraints associated with sensitivity and cost. I will discuss ongoing work that seeks to realize chip-based measurements of biomarkers and biomolecule interactions at spatial scales ranging from cells to single molecules. In particular, I will present our work that employs label-free electronic biomarker measurements within small ensembles and up to the single-molecule limit. A key focus of our work is to develop technologies that are sensitive, selective, rapid, and portable to allow cost-effective measurements at the point of care. Biography: Dr. Arvind Balijepalli is a Mechanical Engineer in the Physical Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He received his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2011. After completing a joint National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship between NIST and the National Institutes of Health, he joined NIST in 2014. At NIST, he develops new chip-scale sensing techniques to enable measurements of fundamental biophysical phenomenon at multiple scales ranging from biomolecular interactions to dynamics in cell and tissue mimics.     Bio: http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15010 http://www.keystone.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=15010