Education 10.12 - Flipbook - Page 5
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 12, 2025 5
Innovation, arts and AI: expanding opportunities for students
Loyola, Stevenson University and Capitol Tech have each invested in new spaces
and initiatives designed to spark creativity, foster collaboration and connect
learning to the real world
By Megan Weeden, Contributing Writer
rtificial intelligence is rapidly
transforming every aspect
of society, from health care
to transportation to national
security.
Capitol
Technology
University, known for its strong
programs in engineering, computer
science and cybersecurity – and
for being the first in Maryland to
offer a bachelor degree in artificial
intelligence, launched the Capitol AI
Learning & Innovation Environment
(CAILIE) earlier this year.
Funded by an historic $3 million
donation from alumnus Ed Sealing,
CAILIE is now the
university’s
flagship platform for artificial
intelligence research, development
and education. Designed to support
the university’s strategic expansion
into AI, CAILIE serves as a highperformance computing ecosystem
where students and faculty can train
models, build intelligent agents and
A
conduct interdisciplinary research.
“It is equipped with cuttingedge infrastructure, including 24
Nvidia H200 GPUs, 400Gbps RoCE
networking and 200TB of NVMe
storage,” says William Butler, DSc,
vice president, cyber science
outreach and partnerships. “It’s one
of the most advanced academic AI
environments in the region.
The platform is deeply integrated
into Capitol Tech’s academic
ecosystem,
supporting
new
graduate programs in applied AI,
computer science and engineering.
Students use the platform to explore
real-world applications such as
threat detection, predictive analytics
and autonomous decision-making.
Its Kubernetes-based orchestration
allows for scalable experimentation,
while remote access ensures
continuity for hybrid learners and
research teams.
“CAILIE is particularly wellsuited for projects in generative
AI, cybersecurity automation,
biomedical modeling and intelligent
systems integration,” says Butler.
“CAILIE prepares students for realworld AI careers by immersing
them in enterprise-grade tools and
workflows used across defense,
health care and infrastructure
sectors.”
Through hands-on learning,
interdisciplinary collaboration and
access to industry partnerships like
Sealing Tech and Parsons, students
gain the technical fluency and
strategic insight needed to lead in
tomorrow’s AI-powered landscape.
While Capitol Tech is pushing
the boundaries of AI, Stevenson
University is expanding opportunities
for creativity and performance with
the construction of the Sandra
and Malcolm Berman Family
Performing Arts Center (seen at
right). Scheduled to open in spring
2026, the 38,000-square-foot facility
is being made possible through a
generous gift from the late Malcolm
and Sandra Berman.
The Berman Family Performing
Arts Center will be located on
Stevenson’s North Campus
– also home to the Kevin J.
Manning Academic Center,
the school of design, art,
and communication, and
the Philip A. Zaffere Library
– and will complete the new
North Campus Quadrangle,
creating a dynamic hub for
academics and the arts.
The facility will be two
premier
performance
venues: The Samuelson
Foundation Theater, a 250-seat
black box theater with flexible stage
and seating arrangements, and The
Phyllis Cole Friedman Concert Hall,
a 400-seat concert hall designed
for music, dance, and large
performances.
“The Samuelson Foundation
Theater is a flexible black box
facility that can be configured in
a multitude of different stage and
audience arrangements,” says Chris
Crostic, professor and technical
director in Stevenson’s theatre and
media performance program. “Our
students will have the opportunity
to work with the latest LED stage
lighting and sound technologies in
the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust
Lighting and Audio Control Room.
A full tension-mesh grid above the
theater makes accessing lighting
safe and efficient, while an adjacent
scene shop provides ample space
for set design, construction, and
storage.”
The new center will support
Stevenson’s academic programs
in theater and media performance;
fashion design and merchandising;
film and moving image and graphic
design. It will also provide space
for co-curricular and extracurricular
programming in music, dance,
and student-led cultural activities,
including the Stevenson Singers,
Concert Band, and Greenspring
Valley Orchestra.
At the Loyola Notre Dame
Library, the Innovation Station
makerspace (seen at left) is a hub
where creativity, technology and
academic exploration intersect.
Faculty from across disciplines are
incorporating the space’s tools –
such as 3D printers, VR technology,
laser cutters, and sewing machines
– into their teaching and research,
helping students engage with course
material in hands-on, transformative
ways.
“We have a range of high-tech to
low-tech tools for people to use,”
says Kate Strain, technology services
librarian. “There’s 3D printers and
scanners, laser cutters, a recording
studio, Cricut and embroidery
machines. We have a button maker
and a laminator. There’s also a Messy
Cart – a rolling shelf that holds bins
of crafting materials.”
All equipment in the Innovation
Station is free for students, faculty
and staff to use, with training and
workshops offered by librarians
throughout the semester. Projects
range from the creative to the clinical.
Loyola philosophy professor
Meghan Page, for example,
has partnered with the library to
incorporate 3D-printed designs into
her philosophy course. She used
3D-printed models to teach thought
experiments such as the Ship of
Theseus – allowing students to
physically swap out interchangeable
ship parts as they wrestle with
questions of identity and continuity.
In collaboration with Notre Dame
of Maryland University’s Center
for Caring with Technology, library
staff have also 3D-printed IV bag
plugs for nursing students, providing
more realistic training aids than the
makeshift versions previously used
in labs. Faculty partnerships extend
into the arts and humanities as well.
Students in Noelle Dichiera’s
graphic design classes create
posters and promotional materials
for Loyola’s Humanities Symposium,
using the makerspace’s largeformat printer, button maker, and
sublimation tools and culminating in
an exhibition curated in collaboration
with the Library’s Archives & Special
Collections.
In Heather Braxton’s Book Arts
class, students have used the laser
cutter, embroidery machine, and
Cricut to craft original books.
“By using the tools and materials,
students learn to adapt and problemsolve,” says Strain. “It’s the process
of learning and not just the final
project.”
Students also embrace the
makerspace as a place for expression
and connection.
“I love it – it’s one of my favorite
parts of school,” says Ashiya
Tripline, a senior majoring in speech
language and hearing science with
a minor in special education. “I’m
very crafty and also a commuter, so
I come here in between classes. I
love the button maker and the t-shirt
printer. I go to a lot of concerts, so
I make things to wear – all I have to
do is buy a $5 t-shirt.”
Tripline also turns to the space
for her academic work. “I love using
the messy cart,” she says. “I had to
make a presentation for my science
class, and it had everything I needed.
It’s a great creative space to take a
break from schoolwork.”
‘What is your goal in using?’
“The brain is vulnerable during
adolescence and emerging adulthood.
We know through longitudinal
neuroimaging studies that the brain
continues to develop well into the
second decade of life. Given the
neurodevelopmental vulnerability of
the brain during adolescence and
emerging adulthood, exposure to
many substances, including THC, can
be problematic.
“Since messages of ‘just say no’
didn’t work, it’s more effective to tell
young people, ‘We’re not saying no,
we’re just saying not yet. You’re an
adult for a long time so why not give
your brain a chance to become fully
developed.”
Dr. Michael Young is the medical
director of The Retreat by Sheppard
Pratt, which offers residential
psychiatric rehabilitation to people
experiencing behavioral health issues
and a recent associate director of the
University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt
residency training program. He has
a special interest in treating mood,
anxiety and co-occurring substance
use disorders. Dr. Young values an
integrated approach to psychiatric and
medical care and believes in the mantra
“cura personalis,” which means, care
for the whole person.
“The developing brain matures
over a long period of time,” says
Young. “It continues to evolve through
adolescence and into the mid to late
20s. For the developing brain, cannabis
can be particularly harmful.
“There is accumulating evidence
that many of the cannabis products
today are much more potent and
therefore potentially more hazardous
compared to the marijuana in the past
that contained a much lower percentage
of
THC,
tetrahydrocannabinol.
Today there are products on the
market that can contain 20 to 25
percent THC, and occasionally much
higher concentrations. These high
concentrations of THC can be harmful,
especially for young people. Another
consideration is that ‘legalization’ of
cannabis products by many states
in recent years could be interpreted
as implying that the products are
safe, whereas for many people that
is just not true. Adolescents are
using pot recreationally, often due to
experimentation and peer pressure.
Others use cannabis products in
hopes of medical benefits for specific
conditions; however, research in
medicinal use of marijuana for some
uses still needs further development.
It is important for people to consider
any proposed medical benefits in the
context of the potential risks, and
this needs to be emphasized when a
person’s brain is still maturing.
“There is also epidemiologic
research showing an association
between cannabis use and the
development of short-term and even
more chronic symptoms of psychosis.
For those at risk of developing
these conditions, use at an earlier
age and more often show a stronger
association.”
Schizophrenia, a serious mental
health condition that affects how
people think, feel and behave, has also
been associated with cannabis use
in people who may be predisposed
to develop the illness. This condition
may result in hallucinations, delusions,
disorganized thinking and behavior,
and other debilitating symptoms,”
according to the Mayo Clinic.
Another
common
symptom
associated with cannabis use in certain
people is paranoia, “a way of thinking
that involves feelings of distrust and
suspicion about others without a good
reason,” according to the Cleveland
Clinic.
Ask Margit, from page 1
Staci Gruber, Ph.D., is the
director of the Cognitive and Clinical
Neuroimaging Core and the Marijuana
Investigations for Neuroscientific
Discovery (MIND) program at McLean
Hospital, a world leader in mental
health care, research and education.
She is an associate professor of
psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Her research focuses on the application
of neurocognitive models and
neuroimaging to better characterize
risk factors for substance misuse and
psychiatric conditions.
Her MIND program, started in
2014, is the first ever program of its
kind designed to clarify the long-term
impact of medical cannabis use, which
followed decades of her research on
the impact of recreational cannabis use
with a particular focus on those who
started early in life – prior to age 16
compared to those who started later.
The study was originally designed to
follow medical cannabis (MC) patients
for one year is now extended to follow
each patient for up to five years. And
what she thought might last a year is
now in its eleventh.
“If you have a young person using
cannabis, the age you start using,
what you use and how often will all
likely make a difference in your brain
and for your future,” she explains. “We
see more negative outcomes in those
who initiate use at younger ages and
in higher amounts. As an adolescent or
teenager, your brain is ‘half-baked,’ or
‘still under construction’ – an excellent
reason to delay using substances that
may have negative consequences.
“Most of the time conversations
with kids are one-sided. Allow them
agency: let them learn about what
they will be using. Cannabis is a
multi-compound plant, and most
of the elements in cannabis are not
intoxicating. Maybe it’s best to ask,
Why Now?
Why are these experts speaking
out about the potential risks related to
marijuana use in young people? For
many reasons. The main intoxicating
chemical in cannabis, THC, is related
to alterations in various parts of the
brain, including the frontal lobe. It’s the
last part of the brain to develop and
is responsible for a range of critical
behaviors, including impulse control
and executive function. Ironically, as
we age, it’s also among the first brain
regions to show signs of age-related
deterioration. The risks are incredibly
high, especially with the stronger
cannabis.
Recent studies show 30 percent of
high school students reported using
some form of cannabis in the last year.
We are already seeing an increase
in mental health issues, depression,
social anxiety and psychosis, driving
more potential for addiction. Most
people don’t think or realize marijuana
may also be addictive and while the
majority of recreational users don’t
develop patterns of problematic use,
it is possible to develop cannabis
use disorder which is particularly
concerning for youth.
Encourage teens to really learn the
facts. If they are going to use it, make
sure they know what they are using:
actual facts and actual data make
all the difference. Encourage use of
products that have lower levels of
THC and to consider non-intoxicating
products which may be just as helpful
for “taking the edge off.” If they are
driving, remind them that they can
be charged with impaired driving and
possibly lose their license.
You want them to live a long, healthy
life. Give them the tools to accomplish
that.
