News - Spring 2015

Sustainabiltiy Fund Application 2015-2016

August 11, 2015

We are excited to inform you that the University Sustainability Fund has approximately $470,000 available this year for funding projects that promote environmental sustainability and positively impact the student experience at UMD. The priority deadline for applications is Thursday, October 15 with a final deadline of Friday, January 15. Apply now.
To learn more click here

Robel Tesfay and Public Health Without Borders!

August 10, 2015

Six undergraduate students from Public Health Without Borders (PHWB) traveled to Ethiopia from June 4 to June 27. Among this group of students was our very own Robel Tesfay, a rising junior double majoring in general biology and public health science and a member of Team STRIDE! The goal of this trip was to develop a curriculum designed to improve nutrition and health in a rural community located north of Addis Ababa. While there they successfully piloted a nutrition education program at a local primary school, conudcted nutrition evaluations on students and teachers, and collaborated with faculty and administrators. To learn more about their project and goals, click here

Apply for the E-Team Grant Program! $25K Grant Opportunity!

July 27, 2015

Hey Gemstone teams! If you're part of a university-based, student-led team developing an innovative technology that solves an important problem and want to move it into the market, consider applying to our E-Team Grant Program today. The E-Team Program provides early-stage funding, training, coaching, and investment.
The application opens in mid-August, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
Click here for more information.

Welcome Class of 2019! Register for Gems Camp 2015!

June 29, 2015

Hey Gemstone Class of 2019- Have you registered for Gems Camp 2015 yet? Gems Camp is our two-night, off-campus orientation program for all incoming students, where you have the opportunity to meet other Gemstone students, learn more about Gemstone, and move into Ellicott Hall early! Gems Camp 2015 will be from Tuesday, August 25th-Thursday, August 27th. For more information click here.
**To register for Gems Camp, please visit http://ter.ps/gemscampform. The registration deadline is August 3, 2015.**
Questions? Email gemscamp@umd.edu!

Click image to enlarge

Gemstone Students Travel to New Zealand to Present their Research!

June 23, 2015

Gemstone students, Julia Wainger (Team BASIC, 2016)and Pradip Ramamurti (Team MTB, 2017) will travel to the University of Auckland in New Zealand to attend the 2015 Universitas 21 Undergraduate Research Conference: Peoples and Places on July 6-10.
Wainger and Ramamurti will be joined by Dr. Zhengguo Xiao, mentor of Team BASIC and Associate Professor of Animal and Avian Sciences in the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources.
The conference, organized by a different university and on a different topic each year, fosters early international networking and showcases innovative student research. The three delegates’ participation in this event is funded through the Office of International Affairs
For more information, click here.

Congratulations to Alice Kunin!

June 16, 2015

Congratulations to Alice Kunin (Team RITALIN, '14) on receipt of the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship to study at the University of California, Berkeley!
For more information, click here.

Congratulations to Dr. Bao Yang, mentor to team PIEZO!

May 28, 2015

Congratulations to Dr. Bao Yang, co-principal investigator of an over $5 million grant to improve power plan cooling awarded by the U.S. Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) For more information, visit http://enme.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=9074 .

Gemstone Class of 2019 Family Receptions

May 20, 2015

To kick off the Summer, we invite you and your family to attend one of our Summer Family Receptions. At the receptions, you will be able to meet the Gemstone staff and some current Gemstone students to answer your questions and share your excitement about becoming a part of the Gemstone family. We will be sharing helpful information about the program prior to move-in this August. To RSVP for one of our summer receptions, please visit: ter.ps/gemsrecept.

Robert Tesfay and Public Health Without Borders!

August 10, 2015

Six undergraduate students from Public Health Without Borders (PHWB) traveled to Ethiopia from June 4 to June 27. Among this group of students was our very own Robert Tesfay, a rising junior double majoring in general biology and public health science and a member of Team STRIDE!
The goal of this trip was to develop a curriculum designed to improve nutrition and health in a rural community located north of Addis Ababa. While there they successfully piloted a nutrition education program at a local primary school, conudcted nutrition evaluations on students and teachers, and collaborated with faculty and administrators.
To learn more about their project and goals, click here

Apply for the E-Team Grant Program! $25K Grant Opportunity!

July 27, 2015

Hey Gemstone teams! If you're part of a university-based, student-led team developing an innovative technology that solves an important problem and want to move it into the market, consider applying to our E-Team Grant Program today. The E-Team Program provides early-stage funding, training, coaching, and investment.
The application opens in mid-August, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
Click here for more information.

Welcome Class of 2019! Register for Gems Camp 2015!

June 29, 2015

Hey Gemstone Class of 2019- Have you registered for Gems Camp 2015 yet? Gems Camp is our two-night, off-campus orientation program for all incoming students, where you have the opportunity to meet other Gemstone students, learn more about Gemstone, and move into Ellicott Hall early! Gems Camp 2015 will be from Tuesday, August 25th-Thursday, August 27th. For more information click here.
**To register for Gems Camp, please visit http://ter.ps/gemscampform. The registration deadline is August 3, 2015.**
Questions? Email gemscamp@umd.edu!

Click image to enlarge

Gemstone Students Travel to New Zealand to Present their Research!

June 23, 2015

Gemstone students, Julia Wainger (Team BASIC, 2016)and Pradip Ramamurti (Team MTB, 2017) will travel to the University of Auckland in New Zealand to attend the 2015 Universitas 21 Undergraduate Research Conference: Peoples and Places on July 6-10.
Wainger and Ramamurti will be joined by Dr. Zhengguo Xiao, mentor of Team BASIC and Associate Professor of Animal and Avian Sciences in the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources.
The conference, organized by a different university and on a different topic each year, fosters early international networking and showcases innovative student research. The three delegates’ participation in this event is funded through the Office of International Affairs
For more information, click here.

Congratulations to Alice Kunin!

June 16, 2015

Congratulations to Alice Kunin (Team RITALIN, '14) on receipt of the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship to study at the University of California, Berkeley!
For more information, click here.

Congratulations to Dr. Bao Yang, mentor to team PIEZO!

May 28, 2015

Congratulations to Dr. Bao Yang, co-principal investigator of an over $5 million grant to improve power plan cooling awarded by the U.S. Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) For more information, visit http://enme.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=9074 .

Gemstone Class of 2019 Family Receptions

May 20, 2015

To kick off the Summer, we invite you and your family to attend one of our Summer Family Receptions. At the receptions, you will be able to meet the Gemstone staff and some current Gemstone students to answer your questions and share your excitement about becoming a part of the Gemstone family. We will be sharing helpful information about the program prior to move-in this August. To RSVP for one of our summer receptions, please visit: ter.ps/gemsrecept.

Congratulations to Emily Cheung!

April 28, 2015

Emily Cheung, a member of Team Virtual and a senior majoring in Chinese and Psychology, has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan for the 2015-16 academic year.

Gemstone Top Terps Awards Reception

April 23, 2015

Make sure to register for Top Terps! Monday, April 27th, 2015 from 5:30pm-7:00pm in the Special Events Room, McKeldin Library, the Gemstone Honors Program will recognize significant contributions from students, mentors, and librarians from all Gemstone cohorts.
* Light refreshments will be served *  

Congratulations to Arjun Adapa!

April 23, 2015

Arjun Adapa was recognized for his presentation, “Harnessing Nanotechnology to Design Liposomes to Combat Autoimmunity” at this year's UMD-JHU Undergraduate Research Fair. Read more.

Lauren Dorsey awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

April 23, 2015

Lauren Dorsey ’14, a member of Team PRESSURE has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, which are among the most prestigious academic awards in the nation, provide three years of support that may be used over a five-year period. Dorsey is a first year graduate student in the University of Delaware's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, where she works in Professor Wilfred Chen's protein engineering lab. Her current work focuses on engineering a synthetic consortial biofilm. Outside of the lab, she is an active member of the department’s Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Club. Read more.

Congratulations to Tori Monsaint-Queeney and Kelsey Malloy!

April 16, 2015

Tori Monsaint-Zueeney and Kelsey Mallow have been awarded the presigious National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship.

Thesis Conference 2015

April 9, 2015

Join us Friday, April 17th from 1:30-7:30pm in Riggs Alumni Center as our senior teams present and defend their Gemstone research in front of an audience, including a panel of experts. For more information and the full schedule, visit our Thesis Conference page.

Gemstone is Now a Gold Level Green Certified Office!

April 8, 2015

Gemstone is thrilled to announce that we are now a Gold level Green certified office! Learn more about our sustainability efforts.

Seeking Award Nominations for 2015 Gemstone Top Terps Awards Reception!

April 1, 2015

The Gemstone Program will recognize significant contributions from members of the Gemstone community at our 3rd Annual Gemstone Top Terps Awards Receptions (invitation to follow). This year's reception will be on Monday, April 27th, from 5:30-7pm in the Special Events Room at McKeldin Library. More details and RSVP information will be coming soon!

For a full description of all awards. please click here.

To submit an award nomination for any of the above awards, please visit the following link: ter.ps/topterpsnom. Feel free to nominate several individuals from any cohort or category, but you must fill out a different form each time you nominate an individual.

All nominations are due by Monday, April 6th, 2015 by 5pm.

If you have any questions about the reception of the nomination proc ess, please contact Jessica Lee, Coordinator for Student Engagement, at jlee1021@umd.edu.

Congratulations to Michael Sikorski and Winston Liu!

March 31, 2015

Michael Sikorski and Winston Liu are Maryland Medallion Society winners and finalists for the Byrd/Elkins awards at the University Awards at the end of April.

Additionally, Michael Sikorski is the recipient of a Fullbright grant. He plans to defer medical school for a year, while he conducts research in Spain. Read More.

Apply to be a CONNECT Mentor

March 13, 2015

CONNECT Mentor applications are now live! The deadline to apply is Wednesday, April 1st at 5:00pm. For more information click here.

Apply to be a Gems Camp Leader

March 12, 2015

Gems Camp Section Leader applications are now live! Applications are due Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 9am. For more information about becoming a Camp Leader click here.

Apply to be a GEMS 100 Section Leader!

January 15, 2015

Interested in co-teaching GEMS 100 next fall? The online application is open and must be submitted by Tuesday, February 10th by 9:00AM. Click here for more information about being and SL and the application process.

Dr. Hu Involved in Research to Boost Battery Capacity

January 8, 2015

Dr. Liangbing Hu, Team NATURE's mentor, is reasearching technicques for faster battery charging. Read more.

PIEZO and NATURE Mentors Receive Federal Funding for Energy Saving Research

January 5, 2015

Dr. Bao Yang (PIEZO) and Dr. Bing Hu (NATURE) are part of two research teams launching new federally-funded research projects designed to create personal technologies for keeping individuals comfortably cool or warm, while shrinking the energy needs of the buildings they occupy. Read More.