The Synapse
Updates from the Sciences at Loyola University Maryland
October 2024 | Issue 72
The October issue of The Synapse highlights NAS-related events such as the Grand Seminar and Hauber Fellows poster presentation. It also showcases Loyola's partnership with the Maryland Tech Council, 2024 Nobel Prize Winners, faculty accomplishments, and opportunities for faculty and students.
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Share your news, photos, inspiring stories, and upcoming events for a future issue. Please send any feature suggestions to sciences@loyola.edu.
HIGHLIGHTS & GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
2024 Grand Seminar: A Resounding Success
Loyola University Maryland’s academic division of Natural and Applied Sciences hosted the 2024 Grand Seminar on Tuesday, October 8, at 6 p.m. in McGuire Hall. This year’s event featured a keynote address by Dr. Sylvester James Gates, Jr., a renowned theoretical physicist from the University of Maryland.
Over 500 registered for this lecture, making the Grand Seminar a remarkable success. President Sawyer opened the event with a warm welcome, followed by Provost Moore-Thomas’s introduction of our distinguished speaker. The lecture was live-streamed via Zoom, and it was recorded and will soon be uploaded to our Grand Seminar YouTube Channel for those who wish to revisit the insights shared.(Grand Seminar Playlist.)
Prior to the lecture, attendees enjoyed a reception where Hauber Fellows showcased their summer 2024 research projects, providing an engaging opportunity to connect and learn. Thank you to everyone who participated in making this event a memorable experience!
President Sawyer
Provost Moore-Thomas
Sylvester James Gates, Jr.
Grand Seminar Reception and Hauber Posters Presentation
Professor Gates & Hauber Fellows
President Sawyer & Hauber Fellows
Professor Gate visiting Hauber Posters
Hauber poster session
President Sawyer & Hauber posters
Reception session & poster presentations
Meet and Greet with Loyola Students
Meet and Greet with Loyola Students
Presenting "Untold Truths" book to Professor Gates
Meet and Greet with Loyola Students
Expanding Collaboration: Loyola University Maryland and Maryland Tech Council
The MOU: We are excited to announce an expanded partnership between Loyola University Maryland and the Maryland Tech Council (MTC). In early October, the two institutions signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at providing enhanced educational opportunities for employees and member organizations of MTC. This MOU will facilitate access to various programs that lead to graduate credentials, certificates, and master’s degrees at Loyola, along with tuition reductions for eligible programs. The offerings include:
- Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS)
- Micro-Credential in Data Science
- Professional’s MBA (PMBA)
- Graduate Business Certificates
Press Release: For more details on this collaborative initiative with MTC, be sure to check out the joint press release by MTC and Loyola University.
CEO of MTC meeting Loyola students: Additionally, during the Bio Innovation Annual Conference on October 10, Kelly Schulz, CEO of the Maryland Tech Council, engaged with a group of Loyola students led by Professor Tangrea (Biology) while attending the event (see picture below). This was not only a chance for students to learn about Maryland's leading role in bio innovation but also an inspiring moment to connect with a prominent leader in the Maryland tech field.
The expanded collaboration with MTC provides a fantastic opportunity for many programs at Loyola including thriving fields of STEM and growing areas of interest in health and life sciences at Loyola University Maryland. It also provides connections that could benefit our students such as internship, experiential learning, and career opportunities.
2024 Nobel Prize Winners
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun "for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation".
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics to John J. Hopfield, Princeton University, NJ, USA, and Geoffrey E. Hinton, University of Toronto, Canada "for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks".
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 with one half to David Baker, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA “for computational protein design” and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind, London, UK and John M. Jumper, Google DeepMind, London, UK “for protein structure prediction”.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024 to Daron Acemoglu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA, Simon Johnson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA and James A. Robinson, University of Chicago, IL, USA “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2024, was awarded to the South Korean author Han Kang,
“for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again
Register for Climate Change and Environmental Justice Q&A!
This is a great opportunity to get your questions about the intersections between climate change and environmental justice answered and learn about the issues as we watch the effects of climate change unfold across the country and the world due to weather-related disasters. The event is being hosted by the Baltimore Environmental Film Series and co-hosted by the Environmental Action Club, Messina, and Environmental Studies.
Have a question you want answered? Send it to environmentalstudies@loyola.edu.
Special Colloquium
Dr. Aloka Chakravarty, FASA
VP, Head of Enterprise RWD Strategic Planning, Pfizer
October16, 2024, 3:00 PM, Knott Hall 309
Zoom link : https://loyola.zoom.us/j/81031149427
Meeting ID: Meeting ID: 810 3114 9427
Passcode: mathstat
Title : Pfireside Chat with a Practicing Statistician: How to Jumpstart your Quantitative Career in Healthcare
Abstract:
This is not going to be a didactic lecture on Statistics. Instead, the focus will be on courses that employers look for and the hard and soft skills they expect. I will first discuss my personal academic journey, then elaborate on my three decades at the US Food and Drug Administration as Head of Biostatistics and a Senior Statistical Advisor to the Commissioner during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, I will discuss my current position at Pfizer integrating clinical trial data with real world data in drug development. It will highlight the role quantitative scientists play in healthcare research. This discussion will be highly interactive, and relevant not only to aspiring statisticians and mathematicians but to students in Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science and other STEM disciplines. Come prepared to ask spirited questions!
This talk is geared towards students. Refreshments will be served.
FACULTY AND STUDENTS OPPORTUNITIES
Explore the LNDL fall semester pop-up classes below! Click each class title to register, and check out each instructor’s book recommendation!
Reading is Innovative: Bookplate Sticker Making
Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 3:30-5 PM
In Person at LNDL Makerspace
Instructor: Youlanda Halterman
Learn to use Cricut's Print Then Cut Function and Innovation Station equipment to create bookplate stickers. Cricut certification required, get certified here. Capped at 12 participants. Youlanda's book recommendation: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Reading is Virtual: Intro to WordPress
Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 4-5 PM
Online via Zoom
Instructor: Clara Love
Learn how to get started using WordPress for digital scholarship projects, blogs, and more with this online class. Clara's book recommendation: Index, a History of the by Dennis Duncan
Reading is Tactile: Bookbinding
Thursday, November 7, 2024, 7-10 PM
In Person at LNDL Idea Space
Instructor: Heather Braxton
Learn about basic bookbinding techniques and create a hand-bound notebook of your own. Capped at 10 participants. Heather's book recommendation: Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas
Reading is Data Literacy: Visualizing Data
Monday, November 18, 2024, 4:30-5:30 PM
In Person at LNDL Idea Space
Instructor: Suzanne Keilson
Learn about how to turn quantitative data into engaging visuals! Suzanne's book recommendation: TBD, stay tuned.
Reading is Transformative: Sublimation Notebooks
Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 4-5 PM
In Person at LNDL IDEAspace
Instructors: Nicky McDougal and Youlanda Halterman
Learn about sublimation with a dry-ice demo, then customize your own bookmark and/or notebook with a photo or artwork. Capped at 12 participants. Nicky's book recommendation: Chemistry for Breakfast: The Amazing Science of Everyday Life by Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim
Mark Your Calendar
Important Application Deadlines for NAS Programs
Mark your calendars! The deadlines for the following prestigious science programs are set for the third Friday of the Spring Semester:
- 2025 Hauber Summer Research Applications
- 2025 Haig Scholars Applications
Stay tuned - More updates about these programs application process coming soon!
Expanded Mathematics and Statistics Support at The Study!
This year, tutors at The Study will hold sessions at several times during the semester meant to coincide with student needs at appropriate times in their introductory courses. Tutors will review and preview relevant topics and provide instruction as needed. The sessions are drop-in and no advance registration is required.
Research Resources for Loyola students, faculty, staff, and administrators!
The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) announces its upcoming opportunities, events, and deadlines. The mission of the CUR is to support and promote high-quality mentored undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry. It also provides support and professional development opportunities for faculty, staff, administrators, and students.
Please check the CUR's calendar of events for more information.
NCUR 2025 is Now Accepting Abstract Submissions!
It's that time of the year! The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2025 to be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 7-9, 2025, is now accepting abstract submissions from students and faculty.
Postbaccalaureate Research Education Programs Expo for STEM students!
The Office of Undergraduate Research at Morgan State University is hosting a virtual PREP Expo on Thursday, October 24 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (ET).
This event is in partnership with The Leadership Alliance (TLA) Executive Office. Undergraduate STEM students are invited to engage with various TLA member institutions as well as other colleges and universities from around the nation to learn more information about biomedical postbaccalaureate training opportunities/programs that'll help prepare them for graduate and/.or professional school.
The registration details will be provided by early October.
FACULTY SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES
Sudeshna Basu, Ph.D., Mathematics and Statistics Department
Dr. Sudeshna Basu, an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Mathematics and Statistics department has delivered lectures on Small Diameter Properties in Banach Spaces at various universities in India.
Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore, August 8, 2024
Indian Institute of Sciences Bangalore, August 9, 2024
Jadavpur University Kolkata, August 21, 2024
Shiv Nadar University Delhi, August 27, 2024
Register for the MS Data Science Virtual Info Session on Wednesday, November 20th!
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.
Reminders & Resources
The Bridge
Visit The Bridge for upcoming campus meetings and events.
Training and Development Opportunities for Employees and Students
Academic Calendar
Coronavirus Resources
- Loyola Coronavirus Updates - General university information for all students, faculty, staff including reopening plans, COVID-19 dashboard, FAQs, policies, and resources
Student Support Resources
Employee Support Resources