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Graduate Commencement 5/24 Event Arena

Retriever Achievers!

Location

Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena

Date & Time

May 24, 2023, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Description

UMBC Graduate Commencement takes place tomorrow, May 24 at 10 AM in the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. Those interested in cheering graduates on from online can attend the livestream available at the start of the ceremony at this link which also provides more details about the ceremony. GES will hold a breakfast before commencement at 8 AM in Sondheim 210.

Congratulations graduates on the hard work you have invested in achieving this milestone!

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Climate Calling Forum

Talk Climate Action w/ MD Gov Wes Morgan's Administration

Location

University Center : Ballroom

Date & Time

May 10, 2023, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Description

Register here to join us in UMBC's University Center Ballroom for Climate Calling: A Community Conversation. This forum is jointly hosted by Maryland Matters and UMBC. It is a great opportunity for UMBC students to connect with new leaders in Governor Wes Moore’s administration on climate policies!

Congratulations to our own GES Acting Department Chair Dr. Maggie Holland and UMBC's Vice President for Government Relations and Community Affairs Candace Dodson-Reed who coauthored this timely article, which highlights the importance of such forums by discussing the role of universities in MD's climate change action!

The forum will include:

  • Informal conversations with members of Governor Wes Moore’s administration about Maryland’s climate future.
  • Opportunities to connect with UMBC student organizations and faculty and student researchers who are working to address issues affecting our climate and environment.
  • The following members of the Moore administration are scheduled to participate; please check back for updates.
Leaders will include:

  • Kevin Anderson, Secretary of Commerce
  • Rebecca Flora, Secretary of Planning
  • Serena McIlwain, Secretary of the Environment
  • Paul Pinsky, Director, Maryland Energy Administration
  • Paul Wiedefeld, Secretary of Transportation

Snacks will be available!

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Seminar: Dr. Rosemary Knight on Geophysical Imaging

Recharging California’s Groundwater

Location

Online

Date & Time

May 10, 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Description

The GES Department and CUERE cordially invite you to a jointly hosted upcoming seminar on WebEx.

Topic: Harnessing the Power of Geophysical Imaging to Recharge California’s Groundwater

Speaker: Dr. Rosemary Knight

Abstract: California’s past has involved cycles of floods and droughts, and this is predicted to continue, with more extreme floods and more extreme droughts due to climate change. There is great interest now in flood-MAR – managed aquifer recharge – where flood water is captured and used for recharge to recover from the last drought and prepare for the next. Identifying the optimal site for groundwater recharge requires considering many factors, one of which is the subsurface geology. If the recharge operation involves spreading of water on the surface, and the objective is to maximize the volume and rate of recharge, an ideal site will have “fast paths” of coarse-grained materials from the surface to the water table. Geophysical imaging is an efficient way of searching for these fast paths. We are working with data (25,000 km) acquired using the airborne electromagnetic (AEM) method and data acquired using a ground-based towed EM method, mapping out fast paths in California’s Central Valley.

Speaker Bio: Rosemary Knight, Professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, has worked for more than 30 years on the challenge of using geophysical methods for groundwater science and management. In 2008, Knight founded the Center for Groundwater Evaluation and Management with the vision of advancing and promoting the use of geophysical methods through the development of partnerships. Collaboration with local and state agencies, moving “knowledge into action”, has been and remains central to Knight’s work. Over the past seven years, Knight’s research group has collaborated with others to advance the adoption of the airborne electromagnetic method to support the sustainable management of groundwater in California.



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GES 50th Anniversary Trivia Night

Location

Sondheim Hall : 001

Date & Time

May 5, 2023, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Description

Join us on Friday, May 5th at 4:30pm, as we celebrate the GES Department's 50th Anniversary with a Geography and Environmental Systems Trivia Night, hosted by GES Graduate Students!

Form a team and join the fun in Sondheim Hall basement, room 001.
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GES 50th Anniversary Alumni Panel

Location

Sondheim Hall : 001

Date & Time

May 5, 2023, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Description

Join us on Friday, May 5th at 3:30pm, as we celebrate the GES Department's 50th Anniversary for a Q&A with a panel GES Alumni.

Panelists include:

  • L. Delta Merner, PhD – Union of Concerned Scientist
  • Cameron Walkup – EarthJustice
  • Labeeb Ahmed – Chesapeake Bay Program
The panel will be held in the Sondheim basement, room 001.
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GES 50th Anniversary CERA Walk

Location

Retriever Activities Center (RAC)

Date & Time

May 5, 2023, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Description

Join us on Friday, May 5th at 1pm, as we celebrate the GES Department's 50th Anniversary with a walk through CERA.

Established in 1997, the Conservation and Environmental Research Areas (CERA) of UMBC, was created to support environmental education and conservation at UMBC. At present, CERA covers about 50 acres of the UMBC landscape

Meet between Sondheim and the RAC by the True Grit statue.

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GES 50th Anniversary Mapathon

Location

Sondheim Hall : 001

Date & Time

May 4, 2023, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Description

Join us on Thursday, May 4th, as we celebrate the GES Department's 50th Anniversary with a Mapathon. Help us contribute to open-source and humanitarian projects around the world while learning about mapping!

Pizza and refreshments will be served.

Sondheim basement, Cart/GIS labs (including Rm 001).

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Seminar: Dr. Kurt Stephenson, Dr. Denice Wardrop on the Bay

Chesapeake Bay Response to Water Quality Efforts

Location

Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building (ILSB) : 101

Date & Time

May 3, 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Description

The GES Department cordially invites you to join us for the next seminar of Spring 2023.

Topic: Comprehensive Evaluation of Chesapeake Bay Response to Water Quality Efforts: Gaps, Uncertainties, and Policy Implications

Speakers: 
Dr. Kurt Stephenson, Professor, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Virginia Tech

Dr. Denice Wardrop, Executive Director, Chesapeake Research Consortium, Research Professor of Geography and Ecology, Penn State University

Emails: 
Dr. Kurt Stephenson

Dr. Denice Wardrop 


Abstract:
Over four decades, improving water quality has been a center piece of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. Despite some notable successes in reducing nutrient loads, only about a third of the Bay has attained water quality standards (up from 26% in the mid-1980s). This presentation describes a four-year effort by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) to evaluate why water quality improvements appear to lag behind expectations and to suggest opportunities that can improve water quality and living resource responses to management efforts.


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Seminar: Dr. Charles Ichoku on "In Search of Lake Chad"

Africa’s Great Lake

Location

Sondheim Hall : 001

Date & Time

April 26, 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Description

The GES Department cordially invites you to join us for the next seminar of Spring 2023.

Topic: In Search of Lake Chad: Africa’s Great Lake

Speaker: Dr. Charles Ichoku, Professor, GES and Director, GESTAR II, UMBC


Abstract:  Lake Chad, located near the center of Africa, is shared by four countries and is the main source of water supply and livelihood for more than 30 million inhabitants. Because of severe droughts along the African Sahel in the 1970s and 1980s, the lake’s surface water coverage went down by more than 90%. Scientists have been studying this phenomenon to understand its causes and predict the lake’s future, in order to recommend possible scientific approaches to mitigate any adverse impacts on the population that depends on it for survival. In this presentation, I will share: (1) some of the research we have conducted on this topic over the last decade using mostly satellite and ground-based observational datasets; and (2) some of the potential solutions proposed to mitigate the hardships suffered by the communities that depend on Lake Chad.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Charles Ichoku is a Professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Systems at UMBC and Director of GESTAR II, a research consortium between UMBC, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and multiple other universities and organizations. Dr. Ichoku came to GESTAR II from concurrent roles as Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Howard University and as the Distinguished Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M). Prior to that, he served at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland for 20 years in various research and management roles. He earned his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris, France, after earning both his M.S. in Remote Sensing and his B.S. in Surveying from the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.

 

Dr. Ichoku’s research program focuses on applying remote sensing—collecting data from a significant distance, most often from satellites orbiting Earth—and other data to study large-scale processes that affect the environment on land, weather, and air quality. His work is influenced by his youth in West Africa, and focuses on phenomena that especially affect that region. For example, frequent agricultural fires send various particles into the atmosphere, which can affect air quality, precipitation, and more. A few years ago, Ichoku joined with colleagues to initiate the U.S.-West African Coastal Resilience Research Consortium (CRRC). In addition, he recently played an important role  in the inauguration of the African Meteorological Society (AfMS), where he serves as chair of the Diaspora and Friends of Africa Committee. The committee involves a significant number of colleagues who are similarly passionate about the advancement of scientific research and applications in Africa – including GESTAR II’s inaugural director, Belay Demoz, whose research is similarly inspired by experiences with drought, displacement, and resulting conflict during his youth in East Africa.

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Memorandum of Understanding Ceremonial Signing Event

Linking UMBC Academics, Environmental Federal Agencies

Location

On Campus

Date & Time

April 21, 2023, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Description

UMBC is hosting a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony symbolizing increased collaboration between its academic programs and environmentally focused federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The signing itself will take place partway through a series of events happening over the course of the afternoon across a couple locations, as outlined below:

1:30 – 2:30 PM USGS Science Talks and Lab Tour Main Conference Room, 5522
Research Park Dr, Catonsville, MD 21228

2:30 – 3:15 PM Refreshments and Poster Gallery Main Conference Room, 5522 Research Park Dr, Catonsville, MD 21228

3:30 – 4:00 PM MOU Signing Event UMBC, Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery ground floor, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250

For more details, please see the attached schedule.

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