University of Maryland Research

University of Maryland Research Roundup: University of Maryland Research Roundup: Patent-Producing University, Exploring Tasmanian Gems, Salt Life, and More! ?? Read this week's edition of the Research Roundup at: https://lnkd.in/eHXTraz8 Don't forget to subscribe by giving us a follow or joining our mailing list at https://eepurl.com/gfgT6z

Check out some of the great work happening at the University of Maryland Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center on WMAR-TV!

Two University of Maryland research collaborations were selected for funding by KU Leuven, Belgium's largest and oldest university, which is celebrating its 600th anniversary this year. The projects are receiving support through KU Leuven’s?Global Seed Fund, a program designed to stimulate new or deepen ongoing collaborations with researchers from a limited list of priority partner institutions. The University of Maryland was one of 13 partner universities invited to submit applications. The Global Seed Fund fosters pilot projects in all disciplines that set the stage for joint applications for follow-up funding from prominent international programs. Take a look at the work of Jonathan Z Simon from University of Maryland - A. James Clark School of Engineering and Alexander Philippov from University of Maryland – College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences https://lnkd.in/gPWzQpRR

By combining robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI), Maryland Engineering researchers and students are building solutions that can help save lives, protect property and safeguard the environment. One such system,?RoboScout, the University of Maryland - A. James Clark School of Engineering?entry in a competition?run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),?would rapidly survey and assess injuries at sites of disasters or violence. The information RoboScout is designed to collect could help first responders prioritize medical care. The ambitious project, while in its early stages, is an innovative step toward autonomous systems to help as many people as possible survive such events. In the future, the researchers say,?autonomous rescue systems could make complex decisions based on data, observed injuries and medical resources; move victims to safety, which would also help protect first responders from hazardous conditions; and attach sensors to the injured to provide continuous updates on their condition. https://lnkd.in/eX_MYkyy

The University of Maryland has again earned a spot among the world's top academic institutions for turning research and discoveries into patents, according to a new?report?released Tuesday by the?National Academy of Inventors?(NAI). Together with other schools in the University System of Maryland (USM), the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) ranks eighth among U.S. public institutions—up one spot from the previous year—and 22nd in the world for patents awarded in 2024. According to the report, the?U.S. Patent and Trademark Office?last year granted a total of 114 patents to five USM institutions; of those, UMCP holds 71—up from 59 the year prior. "Patents empower universities to protect their innovations, foster collaboration, attract funding and turn research into real-world solutions, driving both academic advancement and economic impact,” said Ken Porter, the College Park executive director of UM Ventures. https://lnkd.in/ggE8fFcF

Sometimes, what seems like a fantastical or improbable chain of events is just another day at the office for a physicist. In a recent experiment by University of Maryland researchers at the?Laboratory for Physical Sciences, a scene played out that would be right at home in a science fiction movie. A tiny speck glinted faintly as it hovered far above a barren, glassy plain. Suddenly, an intense green light shone toward the ground and enveloped the speck, now a growing dark spot like a meteorite or UFO descending in the emerald beam. Once the object crashed into the ground, the light abruptly disappeared, and the flat landscape was left with a new landmark?and treasure for physicists to find: a chunk of gold rapidly cooling from a molten state. Joint Quantum Institute Fellow Bruce Kane?and?University of Maryland – College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences researcher Joyce Coppock?perform levitation experiments to?study tiny pieces of graphene, which are sheets of carbon atoms. And in their quest to develop new tools, they have also turned their attention to tiny gold beads. https://lnkd.in/e-7sX7bx

While children as young as 5 learn that raccoons and bats are active at night and giraffes and kangaroos like to romp around in the daytime, apparently, most animals haven’t been to kindergarten. A new study that included work by University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources researcher Travis Gallo found that more than half of mammals don’t adhere to “diel” classifications in accepted scientific literature about their activity at various times of the day. Many, it turns out, switch up their behavior based on environment and nearby human activity. https://lnkd.in/eJNK5gkv

The rebranded Max streaming service debuted in May 2023 with a burst of new series, new access to shows from Warner Bros and Discovery+, and the promise of a popular series’ finale a few days later. Some initial users, though, got a less pleasant “Succession”: log-in errors, glitches and crashes. In some mixed news for app managers, a recent study led by the University of Maryland found that consumers actually get more engaged after an app crashes once, due to their curiosity and need for closure. Only after experiencing repeated, concentrated crashes and getting frustrated do they give up. “People want to maybe see the weather forecast, finish a mobile game, watch the rest of a video or interact with friends on social media,” said Michel Wedel, Distinguished University Professor and PepsiCo Chair in Consumer Science at the University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business. “So they have a particular goal, and when a goal is interrupted there’s a?psychological tension?that builds up, and people have a bigger desire to complete that goal.” https://lnkd.in/eyNBJ5Ax

University of Maryland-affiliated (UMD) researchers have made important progress in developing an ingestible capsule with non-invasive bioimpedance sensing that can identify the "leaky gut" precursors of many gastrointestinal (GI) tract conditions. A new invited paper detailing the research, "An ingestible bioimpedance sensing device for wireless monitoring of epithelial barriers," has been published in the Feb. 7, 2025 edition of the Nature journal, Microsystems and Nanoengineering. The paper was written by Brian Holt,?Justin Stine,?Luke Beardslee, Hammed Ayansola,?Younggeon Jin,?Pankaj Pasricha, and?Reza Ghodssi. Stine is a UMD Assistant Research Scientist at the MATRIX and University of Maryland - A. James Clark School of Engineering, Beardslee is affiliated with the UMD Institute for Systems Research. Ayansola is a Ph.D. student and Jin is an assistant professor in University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ghodssi is a UMD professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland. https://lnkd.in/euQDXkcx

A recent research trip to Tasmania by two faculty members and two graduate students from the University of Maryland – College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences led them to traipse through mud to collect garnets from woods, mines and coastlines on the island south of the Australian mainland affectionately called “Tassie.” Garnets are a multicolored mineral widely used in jewelry and industry, but to geologists, they’re treasured time capsules containing secrets of Earth’s past. The team’s research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), aims to understand fluid flow during metamorphism, a process in which rocks are altered by heat and pressure. By analyzing the water content in garnets, Professor Sarah Penniston-Dorland and Assistant Professor Megan Newcombe are exploring how rocks have experienced long-term changes, as garnets form over extended periods and provide key insights into these transformations. https://lnkd.in/dQc_SEfY