UMD Bulldogs Win Division II National Football Championship

Defense does indeed win championships--and for UMD that meant claiming the top prize as the NCAA Division II National Football Champions. Playing in front of a crowd of 6,219 and a national television audience, the Bulldogs were buoyed by an outstanding defensive unit which had been nothing short of stifling all year long. They put an exclamation mark on the season by holding off No. 3 Northwest Missouri State University 21-14 in the NCAA II championship at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. With the historic win, UMD finished the year a perfect 15-0 -- one of only three NCAA II schools to ever reach that mark.   Read More Here

UMD Launches Civil Engineering Program—New Building Under Construction

Work is underway for the stunning new 15 million dollar Civil Engineering building being constructed on the North East corner of the UMD campus just off St. Marie Street. The state-of-the-art teaching/training center is designed to house the new Bachelor of Science degree program in Civil Engineering which admitted its first freshman students this fall. The structure will be the 6th new building constructed on the UMD campus since 2000. “The enormous potential of UMD’s new Civil Engineering program, along with this magnificent new building designed to house it, cannot be overestimated,” said Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin. “The demand for civil engineers in our area and our state is strong and growing stronger. And the field of Civil Engineering, with its emphasis on sustainability and environmental quality, will help lead our state, as well as our nation and our world, into a cleaner and safer 21st century.”   Read More Here

National Expert—Dr. Andrea Schokker Heads Up New Civil Engineering Program

James P. Riehl, Dean of the UMD Swenson College of Science and Engineering, has announced the appointment of nationally recognized expert Andrea J. Schokker as professor and head of the new Department of Civil Engineering. Professor Schokker has a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and has published widely in both academic and industry journals. She has a national reputation in the field of Civil Engineering with expertise in concrete and structures. She most recently taught at Pennsylvania State University where she was an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Protective Technology Center.   Read More Here

UMD Professor Awarded 935,000 Dollar Grant to Study and Prevent Adverse Drug Reactions

UMD Professor Ted Pedersen and his colleague U of M--Twin Cities Professor Serguei Pakhomov have been awarded a three-year 935,000 dollar research grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to study a major public health concern in the country today—that of dangerous adverse drug reactions. The NIH award will enable the team to develop computer-based advanced Natural Language Processing techniques that comb through medical records in order to more quickly detect widespread adverse drug reactions. Both men are experts in Natural Language Processing, a branch of Artificial Intelligence that is working towards making computers better able to use and understand human language.   Read More Here

UMD Voyageurs Performing Innovative Musical Programs to Thousands of School Children

The exciting and dynamic UMD VOYAGEURS have been singing and dancing their way through the Duluth Public Schools and Proctor Public Schools entertaining and educating elementary school students about important matters of Healthy Living and Intelligent/Safe Choices. The shows are getting rave reviews from students, teachers and principals alike.   Read More Here

UMD Grad Wins 275,000 Dollar Grand Prize in Google Developer Challenge

UMD alumnus Jeffrey Sharkey’s software application was selected as one of the top 10 applications in Google’s prestigious Android Developer Challenge. Sharkey was awarded a 275,000 dollar cash prize for his “CompareEverywhere” bar-code scanning program. Sharkey is a 2006 graduate of the UMD Swenson College of Science and Engineering. Android Developer Challenge is a contest designed to get software developers working on programs for Android, Google’s soon-to-be released cell phone operating system.   Read More Here