News from the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
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IMET Open House brings in crowds
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IMET's third annual Open House was held on May 4, 2019 and was a great success! We had more than 550 attendees, who participated in science-based activities led by our faculty, students, and staff.
Visitors had the chance to climb aboard the Rachel Carson, a research vessel used by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and see dinoflagellates, tiny marine organisms, glow in the dark.
Kids looked under the microscope for a closer view of life in the Baltimore Harbor and saw a variety of fish, from rockfish to sharks, growing in our Aquaculture Research Center. We hope to see you next year, on May 2, 2020!
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How does a sea slug become toxic?
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IMET's Executive Director Dr. Hill and past IMET Ph.D. students Drs. Jindong Zan and Jeanette Davis were recently co-authors on a
publication in
Science
titled "A microbial factory for defensive kahalalides in a tripartite marine symbiosis.” Dr. Zan worked on this project while a postdoc at Princeton and Dr. Davis’s Ph.D. studies were on this system.
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Congratulations to REEF Class of 2018-2019!
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In May, REEF students, mentors, and fellows gathered to celebrate their achievements.
Lauren Jonas, who won the award for business most likely to have a positive environmental impact, pitched her proposed company Simple Sorter - an app that aims to make recycling easier and more efficient.
Suzan Shahrestani, who won the award for most invest-able product, pitched her company
Minnowtech
. Her business will help shrimp farmers instantly know the amount of shrimp in their ponds to help them optimize their harvests and management techniques.
Dan Fucich won the award for the product we're most likely to purchase. Unfortunately, he missed the annual celebration because he was pitching his company,
AlgenAir
, at a national competition.
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Welcoming Dr. Nina Lamba!
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In March, Dr. Nina Lamba joined IMET as Assistant Director. Her career has included academic and industrial research and co-founder/entrepreneur. Prior to joining IMET, Nina was part of the Biohealth and Life Sciences team at Maryland Department of Commerce. Welcome, Nina!
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Making sustainable
fabric dyes
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Daniela Tizabi, a REEF Fellow, pitched her idea for how to make fabric dyes more sustainable at the Under Armour Sustainability Challenge at the University of Maryland, College Park.
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FISH project serves a Mother's Day brunch with shrimp
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Shrimp were grown and harvested in IMET's Aquaculture Research Center by
Dr. Sook Chung
. On Mother's Day, tasty shrimp and grits were prepared using a recipe from McCormick's Flavor for Life and served for brunch at Baltimore's Franciscan Center! You can read about the event in
Patch.com
and
Technical.ly
. This is part of the Feeding Individuals to Support Health (FISH) project in partnership with United Way, McCormick, and JJ McDonnell.
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Inaugural CIRCA-IMET Artist-in-Residence, Lisa Moren
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This semester, we had the privilege of having UMBC Professor Lisa Moren as our first CIRCA-IMET Artist-in-Residence. This program is a partnership with the Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts at UMBC.
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Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week
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This month began with Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, from June 1-9. We're proud to support research on the Chesapeake Bay. Learn more about Eric Schott's research on our small slice of the Bay - Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
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Congratulations to our Graduates!
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Anya Byrd begins a Ph.D. at IMET
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Anya Byrd began her Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Sook Chung this January. A former Meyerhoff Scholar at UMBC, she is also the recipient of three fellowships: from the NSF-GRFP, NOAA-LMRCSC, and UMCES.
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High school intern, Eric Sibanda, earns accolades for his research
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Eric Sibanda is a high school intern in the Schott lab at IMET. He recently won first place for his research topic and an outstanding poster design at the Baltimore Science Fair. His project was titled, “Effect of Ethanol on Infectivity of a reo-virus in Blue Crabs,
Callinectes sapidus
.”
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Dive Deeper: More News From IMET
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- On July 3 at 9:30am, tune in to WYPR (88.1) or stream online to hear Dr. Helen Dooley speak with Sheilah Kast on On the Record about her work on shark immunology. If you miss it, don't worry. You can find recordings on the On the Record website.
- ICYMI: We released our 2018 IMET Annual Report. Read all about our accomplishments from the last year!
- Our students go on to a wide variety of careers. Read about alumnus Dr. Eric Wommack and his journey to becoming a Professor and Deputy Dean at the University of Delaware.
- Another IMET alum, Constantinos Mylonas, is using his training in the lab of Dr. Yonathan Zohar to increase aquaculture production in Greece. Find the article in the Chesapeake Quarterly print edition or click here.
- IMET's partner institution, UMCES, released the Chesapeake Bay Report Card. The takeaway? 2019 saw a decline in bay health, but there is an overall trend toward improved conditions.
- IMET students and REEF graduates Dan Fucich and Kelsey Abernathy win the award for Minimum Viable Product at UMB's GridPitch.
- UMBC-IMET collaboration leads to an innovative technique to reduce PCB contamination.
- How can shark blood help us fight human disease? Find out in Forbes online.
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IMET is partnering with the Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS) to bring science activities to Artscape. Mark your calendars for July 19-21! Also, save the date for IMET's fall lecture series on September 3, October 1, and November 5.
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Did you know?
If everyone in the United States tied their plastic bags together in a giant chain, then after just one year, the chain would reach around the earth 760 Times?
-Montgomery Township, NJ
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Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
701 E Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
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