The Synapse

The March issue of The Synapse highlights the upcoming Celebration of Science week, which begins on Pi Day, and pop-up classes at LNDL scheduled for Spring 2025. We also showcase student and faculty opportunities on campus and beyond. The month of March is also when we celebrate International Women's Day.

"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ― Albert Einstein

Share your news, photos, inspiring stories, and upcoming events for a future issue. Please send any feature suggestions to sciences@loyola.edu.

On March 14, 2025, the STEM Academic Excellence event will be marking the start of Science Week (March 14-21). This special event will honor five groups of outstanding graduating STEM scholars: Choudhury Sarkar-Dey Medal finalists, Hauber Fellows, Haig Scholars, Hyman Science Scholars (formerly CPaMS Scholars), and Health Outreach Baltimore (HOB) Fellows. The 2025 NAS Alumni Awardee will also be recognized.

The University President, Provost, and Dean of LCAS will be attending. We encourage NAS students, student organizations, and departments to actively participate in the festivities. For more details about the Celebration of Science Week events, including the STEM Academic Excellence event, please contact Julieta Guerra or Bahram Roughani.

Let's come together to celebrate the achievements and contributions of our STEM community!

We are excited to announce that Loyola University will host the 2025 STEM Research Symposium on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Organized by The Ingenuity Project and the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute AP Capstone Program, this event will welcome many talented high school STEM students to our campus as part of the second annual STEM Student Leadership Conference (following the inaugural event at Morgan State University in 2024).

Approximately 300 highly motivated, college-bound students (grades 9-11, ages 15-17) from across Baltimore City, all engaged in advanced math, science, and research courses, will attend and participate. This year’s conference theme is "Failing Forward: Turning Setbacks into STEM Success."

How to Get Involved: Faculty members interested in participating are invited to submit proposals for 40-minute sessions that may be repeated once or twice for different student groups. To apply, please use the following link: : Session Proposal Application. The deadline to submit a proposal is March 19, 2025.

Opportunities for involvement beyond the May 21 Symposium: faculty interested in further support for STEM education led by the Ingenuity Project and Poly beyond the symposium may decide to get involved beyond the May 21 symposium by volunteering to serve in various capacities such s advising students, mentoring, presenting guest lectures, serving as a board member, or joining the Ethics Review Board. To explore these opportunities, please visit the following link to complete the application: Volunteer Sign-Up Form

Organic Chemistry Lab Career Exploration Workshops: Jesse More, an LCAS Career Faculty Fellow, partnered with chemistry faculty members Nicky McDougal and John Hendrix to bring all five sections of the Organic Chemistry Lab to the Rizzo Career Center for a specialized Career Exploration Workshop for Science Majors. Held during class time from January 27-30, the workshops engaged 106 students, who provided highly positive feedback on the experience.

Visit to Hopkins Applied Physics Lab: On February 19, twelve Greyhound Chemistry students joined faculty members Heather Schmidt and Kyle Lunsford for a tour of the Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. The visit featured in-depth discussions on mass spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, spectroscopy, and quantum computing. Students also met with the APL recruitment team to explore internship and full-time job opportunities.

(See picture below, including Holli Walker, College Internship Program Specialist, and Eileen Hiebler, Career Services.)

Students in Professor Robey’s Practical Meteorology course organized a donation drive for those impacted by recent wildfires in California. The students collected physically goods for a drive through Metro Baltimore as well as for a local YMCA in L.A. The drive ran from Jan. 27-Feb. 2. While packing up boxes, students included QR codes to a website they created, so those impacted could review information about wildfires and messages of hope.

Read more

Learn more.

The Donnelly Science Center has been the hub for Loyola’s science programs since 1978. As part of the University’s strategic plan Together We Rise: Loyola University Maryland's Strategic Plan for 2030, we aim at enhancing our STEM offerings, thus, university is making significant investments to strengthen STEM and health programs including extensive renovation and expansion of Donnelly Science Center.

More info and to view the Donnelly Science Center Addition & Construction Livestream.

Interested to support our Growth: To learn about making a gift to the Donnelly Science Center project, contact Mary Lineburger, '99, assistant vice president for major gifts, at mlmazzuca@loyola.edu or 410-617-2797.

The LOYOLA READY INTERNSHIP & JOB FAIR 2025 will host employers from a variety of concentrations, including Business/Industry, Government/Policy, Marketing/Media, Nonprofit/Fine Arts, and STEM on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

This is a terrific opportunity for students to meet with reputable employers eager to hire Loyola students and learn about current full-time, part-time, and internship opportunities. Career Fairs are a place to learn about different types of employers, broaden your network, practice your personal pitch, and learn about job and internship opportunities.

Make sure to be LOYOLA READY for the fair:

• Prepare and review your resume
• Plan your business professional outfit
• Visit Handshake and research attending employers
• Work on your 30 second pitch and prepare questions
• Plan to visit at least 1-2 companies that are new to you

Need help preparing?

Visit the Rizzo Career Center during drop-in hours - Monday-Friday 12-3 or make an appointment through Handshake.

For questions, please contact Penelope Flury

This year's Symposium text is Amitav Ghosh's non-fiction work, The Great Derangement, which explores the climate crisis through multiple disciplinary lenses. In three short chapters: Stories, History, and Politics, which also address art, colonialism, and Laudato Si among other topics, Ghosh interweaves reflections on how we are constrained by our current modes of thinking and how we might find a way forward.

Register to attend

A panel from Baltimore Sections of Professional Engineering Societies ASME & IEEE will discuss the following themes:

• The Opportunity Cost of Ecosystems
• Era Centric Ethics and Morals
• Defense Technology Development

Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Cohn Hall

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served

Register to attend.

Reading is Retro: Needlepoint Bookmarks

Thursday, March 13th, 3:30-5 PM, Library IDEASpace

Learn how to make your own needlepoint bookmark at this vintage crafting session! No experience necessary, all materials provided. This class is capped at 10 students.

Reading is Tactile: Bookbinding

Thursday, March 20th, 7-8:30 PM

Learn how to hand-bind your own notebook! All materials provided. This class is capped at 10 students.

Reading is Dimensional: 3D Printing

Monday, March 24th, 4:30-6 PM, Library IDEASpace

Learn about the science of 3D printing and its applications in the world of engineering, then get certified to use the Library’s 3D printers! This class is capped at 10 students.

Reading is Dimensional: 3D Printing

Monday, March 24th, 4:30-6 PM, Library IDEASpace

Learn about the science of 3D printing and its applications in the world of engineering, then get certified to use the Library’s 3D printers! This class is capped at 10 students.

Reading is a Journey: Intro to ArcGIS Mapping

Thursday, April 10th, 4-5 PM, Zoom

Learn the basics behind ArcGIS, a digital mapping platform! This virtual class will be recorded.

Reading is DIY: Zinemaking

Thursday, April 24th, 5-6:30 PM, Library Instruction Lab B

Zines (pronounced “zeen”) are small-batch, self-published DIY works that anyone can make – including you! Learn about how zines came to be and how to become a zinester in this workshop with Access Services Librarian, Mallory Wareham. You’ll leave this pop-up with a brain full of zine knowledge, as well as your own “master flat” to photocopy and share with the world! No experience is required, but attendees are encouraged to come with big ideas and any paper art supplies.

Reading is Creative: Graduation Cap Decorating

Thursday, May 1st, 4-6 PM, Library IDEASpace

Graduating this semester? Drop in between 4 and 6 to decorate your graduation cap with supplies from the Messy Cart! Feel free to bring your own supplies, too.

Reading is Innovative: Sublimation Notebooks

Friday, May 2nd, 4-5:30 PM, Library IDEASpace

Learn about the science behind sublimation with a dry ice demonstration, then customize a notebook cover with a photo or drawing with the help of the sublimation printer and heat press in the Innovation Station. All materials provided! This class is capped at 10 students.

The 25th Undergraduate Student Research & Scholarship Colloquium will be held on campus on Friday, April 25, 2025, from 3 to 6 p.m. Undergraduate students wishing to present their research at the Colloquium should submit a brief proposal by Friday, March 21, 2025. Please see the Application tab or the FAQ tab for more info.

Join us for a lecture on Introduction to Statistical Meta-Analysis with an application by Professor Bimal Sinha, from the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 3:00 p.m., Knott Hall-309.

This talk will be accessible to students. Refreshments will be served.

For questions, please contact Dr. Sudeshna Basu.

Abstract:

Statistical Meta-Analysis (SMA) deals with developing valid statistical methods which can be used to combine results from several independent studies all with a common goal. Applications of SMA abound in the literature. In this talk, I will present a variety of scenarios requiring SMA and discuss one application in detail, which is the celebrated common mean problem based on samples from independent normal populations with unequal and unknown variances.

Join us for an upcoming information session to learn more about Loyola University Maryland's Online Graduate Data Science program. The academic program director and the director of program operations will be present to answer your questions regarding program formats, application requirements, and the admission process.

By attending any of our information sessions, you can save yourself from paying the $60 graduate application fee.

Join us and explore the opportunities that await you! Please register here.

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