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University of Maryland Fearlessly Forward
UMIACS Interface a monthly newsletter highlighting interdisciplinary research and innovation at the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies
February 2025
eight researchers in lab with wearable technologies they designed

Using Technology to Change Bodies and Minds

Jun Nishida's Embodied Dynamics Laboratory is developing powerful wearable technologies to unlock the immense potential of human cognition, creativity and communication.

UMIACS Director

Director's Message



“Let's go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday.” —Steve Jobs

headshots of two women: Justyna and Zohreh

QuICS Researchers Receive PECASE Awards

Justyna Zwolak and Zohreh Davoudi were honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for their work involving machine learning and quantum physics.

headshot of Soheil wearing blue in glasses

Feizi Receives PECASE Award

Soheil Feizi, a renowned expert in reliable and trustworthy AI, was also honored with the Presidential Early Career Award, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government for early-career researchers.

man and woman posing in suits

QuICS Researchers Receive 2024 NIST Bronze Medal Award

Jacob Taylor and Justyna Zwolak were recognized for their research that uses machine learning to automate the calibration of semiconductor quantum devices for quantum computing.

AI generated collage on watermarking competition

UMIACS Researchers Organize Competition to Improve AI Watermarks

Furong Huang and Tom Goldstein led an international AI watermark-removal competition to assess the effectiveness of watermarking techniques for identifying AI-generated images.

blind person with guide dog and cane

Boosting Pedestrian Safety for Sight-Impaired People Navigating the Same Space as Autonomous Vehicles

Hernisa Kacorri is developing a dataset with real-world 3D motion-capture data and detailed descriptions that accurately capture what blind individuals encounter in an urban setting.

University of Maryland MPowering the State logo

Cummings and Pop Named MPower Professors

The prestigious honor recognizes, incentivizes and fosters collaborations between faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

pills in front of brain scan images

Examining Brain Processes Tied to Opioid Relapse

Supported by seed funding from UMD's Brain and Behavior Institute, Najib El-Sayed is studying the genetic and brain circuit changes that are linked to opioid relapse behaviors.

illustration of connection between two people's brains

Exploring Brain Processes that Drive Social Interactions

Philip Resnik has also received seed funding to develop a computational framework of how the brain learns about, dynamically updates, and communicates with a social partner.

Physician Assistant Students Train with Virtual Reality

Immersive technology developed in Amitabh Varshney's lab is now being used to train physician assistants at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

QIP 2025 logo

QuICS-Affiliated Researchers Active at QIP 2025

From quantum state designs to quantum advantage criteria, QuICS researchers had over a dozen accepted talks at the Quantum Information Processing Conference, plus a workshop tutorial.

artist's conception of quantum refrigerator

Novel ‘Quantum Refrigerator’ is Great at Erasing Quantum Computer’s Chalkboard

Nicole Yunger Halpern and her team developed a novel method to cool qubits to 22 mK, reducing errors and improving quantum computation reliability.

Alexey headshot

Quantum Physicist Alexey Gorshkov Tackles the Big Problems

He analyzes the complex interactions of thousands of quantum particles to gain insights into building quantum computers, with a focus on improving quantum communication, computation and simulations.

Daniel holding laptop with Reddit announcement

Gottesman Responds to Numerous Quantum Queries via Reddit AMA

The QuICS co-director recently participated in a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything, sharing insights on quantum computing, quantum information science, and his work in quantum error correction.

ominous figure in front of futuristic landscape

The Landscape of Cyber Risk and AI is Changing

In an op-ed for the Smith School, Lawrence Gordon advocates for his model that offers a cost-benefit framework to optimize cybersecurity investments, emphasizing AI's evolving, game-theoretic complexities.

two book covers

Two UMIACS Faculty Publish Books in Second Half of 2024

Daniel Abadi co-authored a textbook on data visualization and Joshua Weitz wrote a book on the asymptomatic spread of COVID-19.

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