University of Maryland – College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

You still have time to shop our pop-up and show off your #ScienceTerp pride! Open until Sunday, October 20, our shop offers long-sleeve and short-sleeve T-shirts, Under Armour polos, quarter-zips, hats, baby onesies and magnets! Order your custom apparel today: https://lnkd.in/er9YCU9k #PopUpShop #CustomApparel #SchoolPride #GoTerps #UMD

Congratulations to #ScienceTerp Willie E. Dr. May (Ph.D. '77, chemistry) on being appointed to the National Science Board (NSB)! In addition to this appointment, Willie serves as the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University. #Chemistry #Alumni #Leadership #Appointment #BoardMember #UMD University of Maryland Alumni Association, UMD Chemistry and Biochemistry

Congratulations to Physics Assistant Professor Sasha Philippov on receiving a 2024 Packard Fellowship! Only six other UMD faculty members have received this competitive, $875,000 award since the fellowship's launch in 1988. The funding will enable Sasha, a computational astrophysicist, to develop new codes capable of running on the world's biggest supercomputers. These new?simulations will shed light on “how plasma shines around black holes,” as well as the nature of mysterious fast radio bursts. go.umd.edu/packard24 #PackardFellow #Astrophysics #Physics #Fellowship #Funding #Supercomputer #BlackHoles #UMD

Akshaya Anand (B.S. '19,?computer science; B.S. '19,?biological sciences; M.P.S. '23, machine learning) took first place at the?Hult Prize?challenge as co-founder of?Korion Health! Korion Health is creating an electronic stethoscope and guided user interface to reliably record heart and lung sounds without help from a clinician. With $1 million from the Hult Prize, Akshaya and co-founder Anna Li's next step is navigating the FDA's medical device approval process and planning for manufacturing. go.umd.edu/korion #ScienceTerp #HeartHealth #PatientCare #ComputerScience #Biology #Startup #HultPrize #UMD Department of Computer Science, UMD

Astronomy's Quanzhi Ye teamed up with researchers from Poolesville High School,?University of Western Ontario and the University of Washington, to investigate?a stream of space debris known to drift near Earth called the Taurid swarm.?This region has long intrigued astronomers due to its potential for harboring hidden, dangerous asteroids, but researchers could not confirm or disprove the existence of such hazards—until now. “We took advantage of a rare opportunity when this swarm of asteroids passed closer to Earth, allowing us to more efficiently search for objects that could pose a threat to our planet,” Quanzhi said. “Our findings suggest that the risk of being hit by a large asteroid in the Taurid swarm is much lower than we believed, which is great news for planetary defense.” Quanzhi?announced their findings at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division for Planetary Sciences annual meeting yesterday. #Asteroids #PlanetaryDefense #Astronomy #Research #DPS2024 #UMD

Are you heading to #GHC24 or in Philly this week? Don’t miss our Terps in Tech event on October 9 at 6:30 p.m.! Connect with fellow Terps in tech and enjoy free drinks and hors d’oeuvres. #WomenInTech #GoTerps #UMDAlumni Register now: go.umd.edu/umd-ghc

Biology Postdoctoral Researcher Dawei Han and Professor Catherine Carr discovered an auditory "sixth sense" in geckos. Using a part of the brain that's usually associated with balance, geckos can detect faint vibrations that help them hear and feel the environment around them. “The ear, as we know it, hears airborne sound. But this ancient inner pathway, which is typically linked to balance, helps geckos detect vibrations that travel through mediums like the ground or water,” said Catherine, who co-authored the study in Current Biology. “Our findings shed light on how the auditory system evolved from what you see in fish to what you see in land animals including humans.” #Biology #Gecko #Balance #Hearing #Evolution #Published #UMD

Join Smithsonian Associates for Biology Professor Sean B. Carroll's virtual lecture next Tuesday, October 8! Sean will share how groundbreaking discoveries of pioneering scientists—whose work is known as the “Serengeti Rules”—can be used as a guide to heal an ailing planet. Sean published a book by this title in 2017 explaining how these important discoveries matter for our health and the health of the planet we depend upon: https://lnkd.in/eU4CPp7H #Ecosystem #Lecture #Smithsonian #SciComm #Faculty #UMD

It has been a priviledge to work for more than 31 years in the University of Maryland – College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.??I was deeply honored be awarded the 2024 Presidents Medal, the highest honor that the University bestows, at the Faculty and Staff Convocation a few weeks ago.?It was a wonderful celebration of the best things that univerisites are about, and it was terrific to share it with colleagues, friends, and family. It has been lovely to receive greetings from former students and colleagues since this recognition was announced – with emails/notes from four continents!?I am so fortunate to love what I do, to get paid to do it, and to be honored with such recognition – WOW! Several of you have asked about my remarks.?The University has now posted a video of the entire convocation.??My part of the festivities begins at 1:22:30 https://lnkd.in/eN_qaDrM #UMD #terps #ScienceTerps #B1G10 University of Maryland University of San Diego alum College of Natural Sciences at UMass Amherst alum

NASA plans to launch a new $1 billion space probe in 2032—and our astronomy faculty members are leading the charge. Today, NASA selected two proposals led by Christopher Reynolds, Alb-erto Bolatto and Jason Glenn to move forward in the mission selection process. “It's a huge achievement for three of our astronomy faculty members to be leading the charge on missions that will explore the cosmos in an entirely new way,” said Dean Amitabh Varshney. Read the full announcement: go.umd.edu/probes #Astronomy #SpaceExploration #NASA #ResearchGrant #UMD NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory