News from NMTC

Northeastern Maryland Technology Council (NMTC) Presents the 2019 “Bravura Women in STEM Scholarships”, totaling $20,000

Four qualifying young Marylander’s were honored with $5,000 STEM scholarships, March 12, at Bravura Information Technology Systems (Bravura)) head quarter’s location, Aberdeen, MD

A select group of Marylanders received the prestigious Bravura Women in STEM scholarship on March 12, 2019, by standing out, among 30 other applicants, maintaining a high GPA, presenting a history of STEM related activities that demonstrated a true commitment to the pursuit of a STEM college track, supported by  a written essay describing why the scholarship is important to applicant.

This scholarship was established through the generosity of Ms Claudine Adams, president and Founder of Bravura, to recognize outstanding full-time female high school seniors pursuing a STEM career in college, who achieved positive academic records and demonstrated extra-curricular activities in the pursuit of their chosen STEM field.

The Scholarships are open to all female STEM high school seniors in Harford and Cecil Counties and to family members of NMTC.  They are awarded based on their meeting the criteria of the Bravura/NMTC scholarship selection committee. 

Ms. Claudine Adams presented the scholarships to each awardee. Assisting her were members of her senior management team at Bravura and NMTC’s board of directors.

The 2019 Bravura Outstanding Women in STEM Scholarship awardees are.

Sage Leone, Bohemia Manor HS, pursuing a degree in Computer science

Emma Klepitch, Perryville HS, (NMTC member; her mother works for W. L. Gore), pursuing a degree in biochemistry

Vivienne Auvil, Harford Tech, pursuing a degree in computer science

Hannah Yamagata, Fallston HS, pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering

Northeastern Maryland Technology Council (NMTC) Honors Visionary Awardees for 2019

Thirteen Marylander’s honored at February 28, 2019 Ceremony, at the Richlin Ballroom, Edgewood

Havre d Grace, MD ― A select group of Marylanders received the prestigious Visionary Award on February 28, 2019, for their contributions in building our STEM educated workforce, and advancing technology and innovation to grow our economy and protect national security. The ceremony is the largest of its kind in Maryland, held at the Richlin Ballroom in Edgewood, MD, and now in its eight year. It was attended by almost 200 leaders in industry, government, and education.

“We honor remarkable people who continue to play key roles in moving our region forward in the areas of STEM education and technology,” said NMTC Board Chair, Michael Janus and VP/GM Battelle. “These are individuals who selflessly donate their time and talents to make a difference in our community.”

Highlights of the night were the unique use of trading cards of each honoree (and the two keynote speakers) that encouraged networking by having trade cards to get a complete set – the winner awarded $100 by the creator of both these cards and the STEM Illustrated yearbook, Marco Ciavolino of enktesis.com.

An additional highlight is the much looked forward to tradition of our keynote speakers be the students themselves and why this awards celebration exists. This year we had what we called ‘Bookends’; two students with one representing their beginning journey in STEM and the other well on their way to a career in STEM.

They are:

Lila Dobry is a 7th grade student at Perry Hall Middle School. Outside of school, Lila helps design and build robots as a member of a FIRST Tech Challenge team that is heading to the Maryland State Championships. This past year, Lila was very excited to get her first paid programming job with Empower Mats, helping write sample programs in a new programming language to help blind and visually impaired students participate in FIRST Lego League. She is not sure yet which direction she wants to focus on; but is currently excited about the “Intro to Biomedical Sciences” camp this summer.

Sarah Patrick is a first-year student at the University of Maryland – College Park studying Information Science. She graduated from the Science and Mathematics Academy at Aberdeen High School this past May Sarah also completed an internship with the Project Management Institute (PMI) where she built a speaker database using SharePoint, PowerApps, Forms, and Flow for their annual events. She is currently speaking about her experience with the applications at various technical conferences such as SharePoint Saturday and Philly Code Camp.

Visionary Award honorees are:

Visionary  Claudine Adams, President, Bravura Information Technology Systems
Leader  Kathleen Kirk, DSA, Inc. – Senior Vice President, Strategic Solutions Group
Leader  Susan Manning, Freedom Federal Credit Union – Community Liaison
Leader  Jamie Gurganus Ph. D.,  University of MD, Baltimore County – Associate Director Engineering Education and Instructor, Mechanical Engineering
Innovator  Martha Barwick Ed. D., Harford County Public Schools – Coordinator of Instructional Technology
Innovator Charles Nietubicz, U.S. Army Research Lab (Ret.) – Director of the ARL Supercomputing Resource Center
Mentor   Tracey Schreiner, DSA, Inc. – Training Lead
Mentor   Frank Mayer, Harford Community College – Adjunct Faculty Cybersecurity
Mentor   Wilbert Moultrie, U.S. Army Public Health Center – STEM Coordinator
Mentor   Carrie Kauffman, Battelle – Principal Research Scientist
Rising Star  Matthew Kiefert, U.S. Army Research Laboratory – Outreach Office Coordinator
Rising Star Caitlyn Byrne, MITRE Corp – Lead Information Systems Engineer
Rising Star Gina Fugate, MD School for the Blind – Lead Technology Teacher

“We are grateful to these individuals for helping our region grow to the next level. Baltimore, Cecil and Harford Counties economic infrastructure is increasingly dependent on the economic development driven by newly emerging and complex technology,” said John Casner, executive director of NMTC. “These are the individuals who understand this technology and are sharing their knowledge to create the workforce for the future of our region.” They join the prestigious, Academy of Visionary Awards, now over 100 members.

NMTC is Maryland’s fast-growing technology council, connecting collaborative leaders in Academia, Industry and the Federal Government to build a STEM educated workforce and advance innovation & technology to expand Maryland’s economy and protect our national security.   

The Board of Directors of the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council initiated its first Leader 2 Leader social to introduce community business, industry and commercial leaders to NMTC to NMTC and its board of directors, who are, individually, president of colleges and corporations, senior executives in our well-know businesses and former top senior leaders at APG

Asa  a membership organization we focus on building a growing economy, an expanding, smart workforce and the security that it will continue.

During the social, the NMTC is a diverse group of people with active programs in STEM education, advancing innovation and finding to new technologies – all strategies encouraging youth participation, asset building, and economic growth.

The  evening, meeting, with NMTC board members,  exchanged ideas, discussed areas of common interest and helped leaders get to know the NMTC.

We chose the Artist Emporium in Havre de Grace for our social, as the arts can illuminate possibilities in entirely different fields, from healthcare and transportation to agriculture and science. With the uniquely creative perspective the arts provide, we see a new angle we never before noticed, a new possibility when all options seemed closed, or a fresh outlook that bucks the trend of business as usual. 

Interestingly, it is very close to the NMTC mission of fostering new technologies, and our vision of “partnering to build a technology proficient community where businesses, people and opportunities thrive”.

The NMTC Board announced its annual membership renewal and Tech Directory Update for 2019. This package enables members to participate in the regions more successful business building activites, just to identify a few:

• Member Events, Member Speaker Series, Visionary Awards Gala, Growing Business Roundtable, NMTC Connects Networking all at free or discounted rates.
• Provide access to senior, influential leaders and experts responsible for $Billions in Defense spending, guiding major programs at APG and in the state. Valuable connections and beneficial introductions made possible at NMTC events.
• Expanded financial support and leadership for our nationally recognized STEM education effort; The STEM Forum, presenting science and technology in exciting ways to thousands of elementary school students, in 20+ schools in NE MD.
• Establishing afterschool science & tech programs aiding the building of your employee pipeline for the future.
• Investing in technology exchange processes among APG, industry, emerging tech companies and aspiring inventors for technology and economic growth.
• Expanded Tech Directory- 2014 edition now underway, to facilitate business development, advertising your business to your target audience and easily finding key connections

The renewal structure, based on number of employees in the region, remains unchanged from prior years and is a corporate membership where your employees may attend all NMTC events at either no-charge or reduced rate.

NMTC/ Bravura Information Technology Systems Announces 

$20,000 in Scholarships to Women In STEM 

The Northeastern Maryland Technology Council (NMTC), through the generosity and commitment of Bravura Information Technology Systems, and their founder Claudine Adams, announces scholarships for High School women graduating in 2019, and pursuing a post-secondary education in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) field.

This unique annual program of four $5000 scholarships, is open to women graduating from Harford and Cecil County Maryland public schools, pursuing a four-year degree in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM), are awarded scholarships as follows, based on a rigorous eligibility process:

• Two scholarships to graduating women from the Harford County public schools.
• One scholarship to a graduating woman from Cecil County public schools.
• One scholarship to a graduating woman whose parent is an NMTC member.

About our benefactor:

Bravura Information Technology Systems is a Woman-owned, minority owned, small disadvantaged business (WOSB, SDB) with a wealth of DoD, Army, and Intel community experience. They are headquartered just outside the gate at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Aberdeen, Maryland. Their founder, Claudine Adams, is the NMTC Visionary Awards 2019 Visionary of the Year Honoree, who receives this honor for:

Significant contributions to the well-being of our total community displayed as above and beyond personal commitment to building our STEM-educated workforce or advancing technology & innovation with demonstrated qualities of enlightened leadership to benefit many others, over a remarkable period. 

The 5th offering of our Tech-Start Workshops, Sep 25 – Oct 30, 2018, had 47 registrations for the five-part series

Sponsored by the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council with support from the Baltimore County Library System, the Towson University Incubator and MD Dept. of Commerce. 

The workshops brought experts in their field to share the steps necessary to turn your idea into cash. If your idea solves an annoying problem or improves the way we live or work, these workshops were for you. These five Tech-Start Workshops were organized for those having an idea for a business and needing help, and were collectively, a boot camp that is concise, to the point, facilitated by experts in their fields, that left attendees inspired, encouraged and motivated!

Workshop 1 – Have an Idea – What’s Next? John Casner, NMTC
An overview of the proven steps, other inventors and entrepreneurs have taken to move an idea from concept into cash.  You’ll also be introduced to the four subsequent programs.

Workshop 2 – Is Your Idea Good Enough? Doug Zeisel, Technology Commercialization Ventures
Here we get into sharing those valuable tips on what an inventor needs to know and do to determine if a concept is worth pursuing.  Topics will include identifying markets, customer discovery, and creating a value proposition.

Workshop 3 – Intellectual Property, Gianna Arnold, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Learn about the various ways you can protect your idea.  Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights are reviewed.

Workshop 4 – Funding Your Dream, Doug Zeisel, Technology Commercialization Ventures
Learn what sources of funding are appropriate for you and where to find money for your dream venture.

Workshop 5 – How to Write a Winning Business Plan, David Cross, Towson University Venture Creation at the Towson Incubator
The components of a winning business plan are discussed, and tips offered on how to make them sparkle.