Grand Challenges Events

2024

January 5, 2024
Addressing Climate Challenges for a Sustainable Earth
Science Serving Communities: Advancing Climate Resilience in Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

January 16, 2024
Microbiome Sciences
Symposium on Microbiome Research at the Interface of Environment, Health, and Agriculture
Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

January 19, 2024
Global FEWture Alliance
Inaugural Global FEWture Alliance Annual Symposium
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

February 27, 2024
ATLAS Day Conference
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

March 12, 2024
Urban Equity Collaborative
Studying Gentrification on One Block in DC: The Many Problems of Following People Around  
Tuesday, March 12th @ 2:00 pm, Hybrid Workshop (In-Person / Zoom)
Preinkert Hall, Suite 1221, 7840 Preinkert Drive College Park, MD 20740  
The University of Maryland’s Humanities Initiative is hosting a lecture with Dr. Johanna Bockman, Associate Professor of Global Affairs at George Mason University. Dr. Bockman’s lecture explores her research on multiple globalizations and gentrification in Washington, DC. This event is co-sponsored by the UEC. Register

March 26, 2024
Urban Equity Collaborative
Building Narrative Power for Racial and Social Justice
12:00 pm, Hybrid Workshop (In-Person / Zoom)
Preinkert Hall, Suite 1221, 7840   Preinkert Drive College Park, MD 20740   
Dr. Richard Hofrichter, former Senior Director for Health Equity at NACCHO, explores the relevance of building narrative power to advance health equity and social justice by transforming culture, with examples from public health and urban planning. This talk will explain how narratives work and shape collective consciousness, focusing on four intersecting harmful dominant narratives, (white supremacy, the free market and capitalist ideology, anti-democratic rhetoric and practice, and individualism).  Register

March 29, 2024
Pandemic Readiness Initiative
Webinar: Lab and Field Experiments for Communicating Viral Exposure Risk  
3:00 PM (Zoom)
Alyssa (Allie) Sinclair is the Joan Bossert Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is jointly affiliated with the Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media and the Communication Neuroscience Lab within the Annenberg School for Communication. 
For information on how to participate in the webinar, contact Cynthia Baur at cbaur@umd.edu.

April 29, 2024
ATLAS Monthly Speaker Series: Free African Language Resources
Connie DiJohnson and Bryan Anderson, both from the NFLC (ARHU), are our featured speakers.
Learn about the NFLC-UMD's free resources for African language learning and maintenance with Connie DiJohnson and Bryan Anderson. The NFLC-UMD's portal has over 1,000 language learning materials and self-assessments in African languages. Join us for a tour of the portal and share your language learning needs.
Attendees must register to receive a Zoom link. 

May 9, 2024
Urban Equity Collaborative
Workshop: Building Interdisciplinary Research Teams
2:15 pm, Zoom or In-Person at Preinkert Hall, Suite 1221, 7840 Preinkert Dr, College Park, MD
The Urban Equity Collaborative is hosting a hybrid workshop titled  Building Interdisciplinary Research Teams with Kate Clancy, Ph.D.
Register Here

May 22, 2024
Urban Equity Collaborative
Community Fellows Final Presentation and Celebration
3:00pm
The inaugural cohort of the UEC Community Fellows Program — Ms. Jourgette Reid-Sillah of ONEDC, Jenn Tran of Viet Place Collective, and Reverend Roosevelt Toussaint of The Haitian Development Center — will present on their projects with the UEC and answer questions.
Register Here

June 13, 2024
Evaluating Climate-Ready Urban Street Trees In Historically Redlined Neighborhoods
Baltimore Ecosystem Study Symposium on Urban Heat
1:00-4:00 pm
5200 Westland Blvd., Arbutus, Maryland

September 4, 2024
Global FEWture Alliance
International Seminar Series, 9:00-10:00 am EST
Metagenomics and Sampling Methods to Establish the Fitness of Environmental Resources
Speaker: Dr. Ryan Blaustein, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland

September 21, 2024
Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity (MILE)
Family Literacy Day, Morgan State University's Banneker Hall
MILE is proud to introduce Family Literacy Day, co-sponsored by the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). MILE and NCEED will offer a program focused on ways parents and caregivers can capitalize on their home literacy practices to strengthen school-based literacies. Family Literacy Day will teach parents how to advocate for their children, especially when regarding unexpected outcomes or when their home literacy efforts are undervalued.

October 2, 2024
International Webinar Series: Upcycled Food Opportunities and Consumer Acceptance
Speaker: Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC, Professor and Vice Chair of Health Sciences, Drexel University
9:00-10:00AM EST

October 7, 2024
ATLAS Monthly Speaker Series: 
Global Research Resilience: Navigating Social Unrest - Insights from Africa, 11am - 12pm 
A panel of risk and security experts from the U.S. Department of State and faculty from UMD share perspectives, experiences, and recommendations for navigating challenges and opportunities inherent in conducting academic research and field work in international environments, particularly within the context of Africa. 
Register here

October 8, 2024 
Pandemic Readiness Initiative | Health Literacy in Action
Join us in exploring innovative approaches for improving health literacy!  Learn more about how to integrate health literacy into your work. Leaders in the health literacy field bring you a day of learning and participation. This conference will be held virtually. Register here.

October 10, 2024  
Living Democracy Symposium
A day of learning, engagement, and dialogue. This event is organized by UMD Libraries, with support from the Maryland Democracy Initiative (MDI) and will feature MDI’s Sarah Oates, who will be speaking about the First Amendment and "the Fourth Estate."

October 10, 2024
Faculty Forum on Digital Accessibility
Virtual Event via Zoom, 12:00-1:00 pm
The Faculty Forum on Digital Accessibility offers a valuable opportunity to stay updated on the latest ADA regulations and explore best practices for digital accessibility. Join us to gain actionable insights and resources for digital accessibility in both teaching and research and contribute to creating a more inclusive digital experience for all.

October 15, 2024
MicroSocial Seminar Series
"Multimodal Inference of Virus-microbe Infection Networks and Microbial Interactions from Population Dynamics," Speaker: Raunak Dey, Ph.D student, Physics  
"A Comparison of Daidzein-Metabolizing Phenotypes and its Relationship to Cardiovascular Disease Risk," Speaker: Holly Childs, Ph.D student, Nutrition & Food Science  
This monthly series takes place on Tuesdays from 4:00–5:00 p.m. Location: ESJ 1224  
The MicroSocial Seminar Series aims to facilitate scientific exchange and community building across UMD's microbiome research community. Seminars will feature short talks by students and faculty, followed by 30 minutes of informal socializing over coffee and snacks. 

October 29, 2024
Preventing Climate Displacement With Community Resilience Hubs with Dennis Chestnut and Justin Lini from the Ward 7 Resilience Hub Community Coalition, 12:00-2:00 pm
This session will explain what Resilience Hubs are, where DC’s program came from, and how they can prevent climate displacement by investing in community-serving organizations to create platforms for resilience and recovery. Location: Preinkert Hall, Suite 1221, 7840 Preinkert Drive College Park, MD 20740, and virtually on Zoom. Light refreshments will be provided for all in-person participants! Register Here

November 8, 2024 
Pandemic Readiness Initiative Public Research Seminar
11:15 AM to 12:45 PM, Friedgen Lounge (Room 2236), School of Public Health
Learn more about COVID-19 and other public health crises from a team of UMD researchers. This research seminar is an in-person event and will be held in the Friedgen Lounge on November 8th from 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM. Please RSVP here. Contact Dr. Cynthia Baur (cbaur@umd.edu) for any questions. Hope to see you there!

November 12, 2024
MicroSocial Seminar Series
4:00 p.m.,  Location: ESJ 1224  
Talk: "Electrochemical Detection of Gastrointestinal Serotonin Toward Understanding the Gut Brain Axis," Sydney Overton, Ph.D. student, electrical engineering               
Talk: "Exploration of the Upper Respiratory Tract Microbiome and Probiotic Interventions In Chickens," Madhusudan Timilsina, Ph.D. student, veterinary medicine  

November 13, 2024
Urban Equity Collaborative Workshop: Internal Climate Migration in the United States
Kelly Leilani Main, Executive Director and Founder of Buy-In Community Planning, a national 501c3 organization providing equitable and accessible voluntary relocation services for communities on the front lines of irreversible climate impacts. This workshop will take place virtually from 12:00-2:00pm. Register here.

November 14, 2024
ATLAS Monthly Speaker Series: 
Language, Power, and Identity: Black Languages as Tools of Liberation and Expression, 11am-12pm
This panel explores the dynamic relationship between language, power, and identity within Black diasporic communities, focusing on Black languages as powerful tools of liberation and cultural expression.
Register here

November 20, 2024
Climate Resilience Network
Department of Geographical Sciences High School Hub: GIS Day
High school students are invited to join the Geography department to enjoy a variety of activities in commemoration of Geographical Information Systems Day. 
Click here for more details.

November 20 - 22, 2024 
National Student Vote Summit 
The Maryland Democracy Initiative (MDI) is once again co-sponsoring and co-hosting this event with partners Terps Vote and the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. Hundreds of students, faculty, campus staff, administrators, and non-profit leaders are expected to attend from across the country. The summit aims to build connections within the nonpartisan student democratic engagement space, share valuable lessons learned, provide comprehensive training and resources, and ignite a shared momentum toward our collective goals for 2025.
 

2025

January 8-9, 2025 
Climate Resilience Network  
Science Serving Communities: Community Workshop Advancing Climate Resilience in Maryland  
Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, University of Maryland, 7801 Alumni Drive, College Park, MD 20742
A forum for regional stakeholders and University of Maryland researchers to work collaboratively to mitigate climate and weather related community impacts, vulnerabilities, risks and build sustainable futures. More information on how to register at: https://climate.umd.edu/scientists-serving-communities/

February 27 – March 1, 2025 
ATLAS Annual Conference 
University of Maryland, College Park Campus 
ATLAS invites proposals for panel presentations, roundtable sessions, and a poster session. The proposal submission deadline is Monday, November 11, 2024. Accept/decline notifications will be sent in early December. Learn more here.

March 21, 2025
Microbiome Symposium
The Microbiome Sciences initiative is holding its second annual one-day symposium at the University of Baltimore. The team is looking for student, postdoc, and/or faculty volunteers to help with organizing the symposium. Please contact Gabi Steinbach or Mihai Pop to indicate interest.

April 23-24, 2025
Global FEWture Alliance 
Global FEWture Alliance Symposium
Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park, MD