in this issue RESEARCH IN DOG EARS PG. 2 / LECTURER’S SUNNY OUTLOOK PG. 3 A. JAMES CLARK HALL OPENS PG. 6 / MORE MPOWER PG. 7
between the columns a newsletter for faculty & staff of the university of maryland NOVEMBER 2017
A. JAMES & ALICE B. CLARK FOUNDATION MAKES HISTORIC $219.5M INVESTMENT IN UMD
FIDO! F
IN DOG EARS
HESP Researchers Test How Racket Affects Canine Speech Recognition BY CHRIS CARROLL
sure, maybe your dog really is giving you the cold shoulder … taking a cue from a teenager or a cat, perhaps. But instead of ignoring you when you call his name, is your canine companion just too distracted by general clatter to notice? It’s a question that Rochelle Newman, professor and chair of the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, aims to answer with an ongoing study of how background noise affects dogs’ understanding of human language. “There’s a practical side to this that’s important for activities that involve working with service dogs or searchand-rescue dogs,” she says. “There’s also the aspect of what this could tell us about language, and how much of it is built on auditory abilities that aren’t just unique to humans.” The experiment, which includes University of Maryland Police Department dogs, measures how long dogs pay attention to a voice calling their names amid the babble of several other voices—similar to what one might hear in a
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busy café. It’s conducted with dogs and owners or handlers sitting in a testing room outfitted with speakers, and is designed to be fun for both. Newman and her students also run babies through the test, allowing them to compare how different species process language and cope with distractions. “Infants, like dogs, don’t have a rich vocabulary or welldeveloped understanding of how the language works, but maybe they have a generalized understanding of language that other species don’t,” she says. “Or we may find out that listening in noise isn’t about language ability, but the ability to pay attention—something still developing in infants.” Future tests will hone in on how different noise levels and kinds of cacophony, from traffic to industrial noise, affect understanding, she says. For now, Newman is looking for more service dogs and pets to test. Breed and age aren’t important, but they need to be old enough to know and respond to their names. To participate, email ldev@umd.edu.
ILLUSTRATION BY MATT LAUMANN
Weathering Your Fears 101 Retired TV Meteorologist Teaches Students the Art of Public Speaking BY SALA LEVIN ’10
LONGTIME TV WEATHERMAN TONY PAGNOTTI thinks of himself, above all else, as a communicator— a storyteller. For decades, the stories he told were about snowfall totals and flash floods, hurricane warnings and air-quality alerts, and sometimes, plain old sunny days. After 32 years of sharing the forecast in Baltimore, Pagnotti retired in August and this semester began focusing solely on his other fulltime job: teaching undergraduate students at the University of Maryland how to communicate better. “All these years I’ve communicated through the medium of TV, but no matter what field, students have to know, ‘How am I going to be the best at expressing what I know?’” says Pagnotti. Pagnotti got his start as a news anchor and reporter after graduating from Boston University in 1976, but harbored a desire to be a television meteorologist. “I was always fascinated as a kid by the weather,” he says. “I did a lot of my own research in school, and my science projects were always about weather.” Watching other TV meteorologists gave Pagnotti insight into what separated the good ones from the bad. “If you can’t, in three minutes or less, both entertain your audience and talk to them in terms just like any other subject, they’re not going to understand it.”
After taking trainings and workshops offered by the National Weather Service, Pagnotti landed a full-time weather position in Baltimore in 1985, first at WMAR ABC 2 and then at WBFF Fox 45. Pagnotti, known for his jovial disposition and—among his colleagues—for singing before taping his segments, covered community stories too, a combination that satisfied his interests in weather and human issues. “I’ve had my share of hurricanes and blizzards, but the highlights have been where I’ve had the opportunity to meet everyday people,” he says. He earned a master’s in contemporary communication at the College of Notre Dame in 2011, and a year later, Pagnotti joined Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) to teach oral communication, one of the university’s general education requirements. He juggled the course with a weekend position at Fox 45, working seven days a week to combine his twin passions, weather and teaching.
“Students have a certain respect for him because he has been a practitioner,” says Glori Hyman, IAA director. “He’s not just a theoretical researcher.” Pagnotti told The Baltimore Sun in July that he learned last year that his weather position was going to be shifted to full time on weekdays. “That helped me make my decision easy to leave since I love teaching college students,” he said. In class at the beginning of the semester, Pagnotti started off by acknowledging the elephant in the room: fear of public speaking. “If you’re not anxious, you might not have a pulse,” he told students. He tried to take the edge off by emphasizing his goal to “take the fear out and put the fun in.” His aim, he says later, is to translate his oncamera experience into helpful advice for students. “At the end of the semester, students tell me they now feel more confident in their communicating abilities. That’s what makes it all worth it for me,” Pagnotti says.
MARYLAND CHARITIES CAMPAIGN University of Maryland employees, more than 9,000 strong, have the collective power to make a big impact in our region. The 2017 Faculty/Staff Campaign, running through Dec. 1, focuses on four Maryland charities that help feed families, support sick children, promote animal welfare and save the bay where terrapins roam:
1
Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland
2
Casey Cares Foundation
3
PCA/Humane Society S of Prince George’s County
4
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
You can participate in the UMD Faculty/Staff Community Campaign through Dec. 1 via payroll deduction or credit card on the Maryland Charities Campaign website: mcc.maryland.gov. Or give by payroll deduction by completing the pledge form at go.umd.edu/mcc and returning it to your unit’s campaign captain or via campus mail to Sharren Sears, 3116B Riggs Alumni Center. For more information, visit facultystaff.umd.edu.
PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
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BUILDING TOGETHER
A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation Makes Historic Investment in UMD
a. james clark ’50 knew the transformative power of a scholarship. The one he earned to attend the University of Maryland allowed him to pursue an education in civil engineering, hitchhiking daily from his parents’ Bethesda home. He used that degree to land a job at a modest local firm and over the next 60 years, Clark grew it into one of the nation’s largest construction companies, Clark Construction. Now just imagine how an unprecedented new investment from his family’s foundation will transform this university. The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation announced on Oct. 4 that it will give $219,486,000 to a stunning array of university priorities: New scholarships for incoming and transfer students that increase college affordability and access. Graduate fellowships and expanded scholarships for generations of promising UMD students. Funding to recruit high-level faculty across campus who will pursue research opening new frontiers. New facilities that will cement the A. James Clark School of Engineering’s stature among the world’s finest. The largest gift ever given to a Washington-area public institution, “Building Together: An Investment for Maryland” celebrates the legacy of Clark, the noted philanthropist and a builder of modern Washington, D.C., and his belief in the ability of education to change lives. “The University of Maryland played an unparalleled role in my dad’s academic preparation and his success as a business leader,” said Courtney Clark Pastrick, board chair, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. “This gift is symbolic of his profound gratitude and commitment to ensuring the best education is accessible and affordable to all with the will to work hard.”
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“This investment is historic in scope and transformational in impact, and I do not say this lightly,” UMD President Wallace D. Loh said. “Access to higher education is essential, if we are to solve urgent national problems. Creating this path for the most promising students in engineering and other fields may well prove to be Mr. Clark’s greatest legacy.” As both a philanthropist and the former president and CEO of the Clark Construction Group, A. James Clark invested heavily in his alma mater: He donated millions in his lifetime to grow and strengthen the college that bears his name. The Foundation named for him and his wife is guided by the Clark family’s belief in the value of hard work and their desire to create immediate impact, backing projects focused on engineering, D.C. education and community, and veteran support. This monumental new investment from the Clark Foundation will enhance the university’s role as a bold leader sparking new innovations that solve today’s problems. “Thousands of University of Maryland students already wake up in dorms or study in academic halls that bear the mark of the Clark name,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said at the announcement event. “Today, the Clark spirit of generosity is on full display yet again. With this new investment in STEM education, the Clark family and the Clark Foundation are ensuring that this university continues to be a national and global leader, where the next fearless idea is developed.”
PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
“
I knew that being a full-time engineering student and working parttime was asking for trouble. I planned to live very frugally on my savings from my years in the workforce and hoped for scholarships. When I got the email telling me I’d been awarded a Clark Opportunity Scholarship, I was with my mom and we just went crazy. It was an amazing opportunity.” nina uchida ’19
“
I’m very appreciative of the (Clark) scholarship—it allowed me to go to Maryland and really engulf myself in my academics, and I was able to pursue something I didn’t think was possible with walking onto the Maryland football team.” allen corbin ’17
“
Mr. Clark embodies everything we can possibly imagine about a great alum, a person who gives back, a person who started from nothing and turned himself into something huge. We owe it to him at the Clark School of Engineering to take to heart one of his famous quotes, ‘We must solve today’s problems.’” darryll pines, Clark School dean and Farvardin professor of engineering
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INVESTMENT INCLUDE: The Clark Challenge for Maryland Promise: A campus-wide matching program that will provide need-based scholarships to hundreds of students every year from all majors. If fully matched by gifts from other donors, this program will establish a $100 million fund to support students with financial need. A. James Clark Scholars Program: A new program providing scholarships to 40 high-performing engineering undergraduates. Reflecting the Clarks’ commitment to the local community, priority will be given to in-state students. Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholars Program: The endowment of a pilot program that will provide need-based scholarships to 40 engineering majors coming from Maryland community colleges. Clark Distinguished Chairs: The creation of eight faculty chairs for stellar engineering researchers that directly address engineering’s most critical research areas, such as additive and advanced manufacturing, autonomy and robotics, and energy and sustainability. Clark Leadership Chairs: The establishment and endowment of five faculty chairs throughout
the campus in interdisciplinary fields that are critical to the knowledge-based economy of the future, such as data analytics, neuroscience, virtual and augmented reality, and cybersecurity. Clark Doctoral Fellows Program: An endowment supporting 30 additional first-year doctoral fellowships, allowing the Clark School to increase research productivity and graduate more outstanding Ph.D.s every year. New engineering building: A new space that secures the university’s stronghold in engineering innovation by helping recruit and retain world-class faculty and facilitating collaborations between disciplines with institutional and business partners. IDEA Factory: An expansion of the Clark School’s signature Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building that will foster innovation with new cutting-edge labs, startup space and areas dedicated to cross-disciplinary research. Mpact: Also known as the 125th Anniversary Fearless Ideas Mpact Challenge, the A. James Clark School of Engineering’s “moonshot” engineering program to spur innovative engineering research.
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BIOENGINEERING BUILDING COMES TO LIFE a. james clark hall was dedicated nov. 10 as not only the hightech new home for bioengineering at the university, but as an incubator for biomedical innovation and a regional hub for collaboration. The 184,000-square-foot building features nearly 40,000 square feet of world-class lab space, facilities for student projects, flexible classrooms and an innovation lab. Research will focus on critical areas such as new cancer vaccines, surgical robotics, bioimaging and drug delivery systems. Three floors will be occupied by the Fischell Department of Bioengineering, home of the university’s fastest-growing undergraduate program, as well as the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices. Clark Hall serves as a hub for new partnerships across the region, bringing students and faculty together with experts from venture firms, research labs, technology companies and federal agencies, to inspire new technologies and improve human health. “Clark Hall embodies the future of multidisciplinary engineering with human impact,” said Darryll J. Pines, dean of the Clark School and Farvardin professor of engineering. “These state-of-the-art facilities will create
The lobby of A. James Clark Hall features a large model of the expandable coronary stent invented by Clark School benefactor Robert E. Fischell, his son, David Fischell, and fellow innovator David Majercak.
the next generation of engineers who will advance human health worldwide, transforming millions of lives.” The facility was made possible by the generosity and vision of the late A. James Clark ’50, a noted builder (see pages 4–5), and biomedical pioneer Fischell M.S. ’53. “My father once said that having the School of Engineering named after him was the most meaningful honor he would ever receive,” said Courtney Clark Pastrick, board chair of the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. “I think he would be equally honored to see his name on a building that will truly transform the future of education and health in our world—two of his greatest passions.”
A. James Clark Hall will see up to 6,000 students a day in spaces including:
240-seat innovation lab
200-seat
forum for seminars and events
40,000
square feet of lab space
5 meeting rooms for student startups 3 bioimaging labs 2 large “flex” classrooms 1 café
RAISE THE ROOF FOR ENERGY-SAVING GARAGES Facilities Management, with the help of WGL Energy and the Maryland Energy Administration, recently installed more than 7,000 solar panels on the roofs of the Regents Drive, Terrapin Trail and Mowatt Lane parking garages. The new canopies help the university make progress on its Climate Action Plan goals of 100 percent renewable purchased electricity by 2020 and of carbon neutrality by 2050.
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PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
UMB, UMCP Expand MPower Programs UMD AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE recently announced five new programs as part of the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State. “This partnership is changing lives across the state, and these new collaborations will extend that impact,” said UMD President Wallace D. Loh.
The new programs, which seek to leverage the strengths of both campuses, are: The Maryland Blended Reality Center will capitalize on the growth of virtual and augmented reality and develop innovative new uses, combining the advanced computing, visual capture and display resources at UMD with the clinical data, biomedical and patient care at UMB. The Opioid Use Disorders project will combine both campuses’ expertise in preclinical, clinical and policy areas to address the opioid epidemic in the state and nation, with the goal to better understand opioid use, develop treatment strategies and recommend treatment research and education. The Health Informatics and Data Science partnership will develop a health informatics specialization within the Bachelor of Science in information science degree at UMD, and will explore other degrees and pathways to educate the next generation of health informatics professionals. The Center of Excellence in Cochlear Implants will provide educational training, clinical services and biomedical research on cochlear implants, and usher in an era of personalized hearing rehabilitation. The Policing Partnership will create an intercampus effort to improve relationships between local police departments and community residents; and expand research, business development and educational opportunities in the field. Other MPower programs include the S.A.F.E. Center for Human Trafficking Survivors, which provides social, basic medical and mental health, and legal services to victims of sex and labor trafficking, and the Center for Sports Medicine, Health and Human Performance in the new Cole Field House, which will be at the forefront of research tackling traumatic brain injury and recovery, and advancing the science of sport.
ACCOLADES RITA COLWELL, a Distinguished
University Professor in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, was named the 2017 laureate of the International Prize for Biology for her contributions to marine microbiology, bioinformatics and cholera prevention. Psychology Professor KAREN M. O’BRIEN received the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award, which recognizes academic faculty members who inspired former students to create an organization that makes a difference in their communities. Associate Professor HASAN ELAHI of the Department of Art won a First Amendment Award from the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation. His work explores issues in surveillance, privacy, migration, citizenship, technology and the challenges of borders. JOHN LAUB, Distinguished University Professor
of criminology and criminal justice, was awarded the 2017 Life-Time Achievement Award from the Division of Developmental and LifeCourse Criminology of the American Society of Criminology. ERIC WACHSMAN, director of the
Maryland Energy Innovation Institute and professor of material sciences and engineering and chemical engineering, was elected to the 2017 science class by the World Academy of Ceramics. Finance Professor ALBERTO ROSSI received the Crowell Prize from PanAgora Asset Management. It recognizes academic research that furthers the field of quantitative management.
UMD President Wallace Loh talks to U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), whose memoir, “March: Book Three,” is the 2017-18 First Year Book. Lewis and co-author Andrew Aydin spoke to students, faculty and staff on Oct. 12.
PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
FEARLESS IDEAS Every issue of Between the Columns features our students and faculty inspiring Terp pride. We’ll do the same in future issues on our efforts to transform the student experience, turn imagination into innovation, and discover new knowledge.
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A PERFECT UNION
Exhibit Explores Relationship Between Labor Movement and Social Justice Causes BY SALA LEVIN ’10
an eight-hour workday, better wages and safe working conditions are historically the bread-and-butter issues of labor unions. A new exhibit in Hornbake Library hopes to show another side of the labor movement: its involvement in social justice causes that remain lightning rods today. The exhibit, which debuted last month and will remain open until July 2018, explores the intersections of the labor movement and several social movements, such as civil rights, gender equality, immigrants’ rights and LGBTQ equality. In nine sections, items such as buttons, photographs, posters, pamphlets and video gathered from Hornbake’s
rich archives in labor history detail milestones, from the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union’s push for better conditions for women to the joint boycott of Coors by Teamsters and the LGBTQ community that forced the beer colossus to end hiring practices that discriminated against gay people. “In choosing the exhibit’s themes, we wanted to make them relevant to students interested in social justice today,” says Ben Blake, labor history archivist and exhibit curator. Hornbake Library’s holdings in this area are unusually large, comprising thousands of boxes of material dating back to the 19th century, including the national records of the AFL-CIO, Carpenters and Bakers unions. In addition to texts, there are thousands of photographs, audio tapes, films, videotapes and artifacts in the archives. “As researchers know, it takes a lot of work burrowing in to find really good material,” says Blake. “The exhibit shows the tip of the iceberg. These couple hundred items represent millions of documents and thousands of audiovisual items in the Labor History Archives.” PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
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