Recent News & Accomplishments
2026
Manan Suri’s Frames2LoRA project aims to make video AI more efficient through zero-token video understanding for summarization, question answering and real-time decision-making.
As artificial intelligence systems take on larger tasks, the amount of information they process has become a practical concern. More tokens can mean higher costs for users, slower responses and greater demand for computing infrastructure, including data centers. Video adds another layer to that issue because a few seconds can contain hundreds or thousands of visual details that a model must process before answering a question or making a decision. Manan Suri , a Ph.D. student in the University of Maryland Department of Computer Science, is studying ways to help AI systems handle video with... read more
What can bees teach us about artificial intelligence? Quite a bit, according to University of Maryland researchers developing the next generation of autonomous robots. Yiannis Aloimonos , a professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), recently shared how insects are shaping the future of miniature drones in an interview with CGTN America. By studying how bees and other insects navigate, communicate and move through complex environments, researchers are designing drones that can fly more efficiently and adapt... read more
When learning a new language, one of the biggest challenges is training the ear to recognize unfamiliar sounds. A subtle shift in a vowel or an unfamiliar consonant blend can completely change a word's meaning, yet those distinctions can be difficult for non-native speakers to perceive. University of Maryland doctoral student Annika Shankwitz is working to understand why. Using machine learning and computational modeling, she is developing models that predict how people perceive non-native speech sounds, helping researchers better understand the relationship between artificial intelligence... read more
Alan Zaoxing Liu, Christopher Kauffman, Mario Alvarenga, Segev Elisha-Cliff Elazar Mittelman and Amrit Magesh were recognized for teaching and instructional support during the 2025–26 academic year.
The University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science announced its 2025–26 teaching award recipients, recognizing faculty members, teaching assistants and a student-led course facilitator for their work in undergraduate education. This year’s awardees are Assistant Professor Alan Zaoxing Liu , who received Best Professor; Senior Lecturer Christopher Kauffman , who received Best Lecturer; Mario Alvarenga , who received Best Undergraduate TA; Segev Elisha-Cliff Elazar Mittelman , who received Best Graduate TA; and Amrit Magesh , who received Best STIC Facilitator. The department presents... read more
Computer Science Professor David Jacobs was named director of the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), effective September 6, 2026. Jacobs, who has been a faculty member at UMD since 2002, will take over from Andrew Childs, who served as interim director for the past year. “David Jacobs has been a valued member of the University of Maryland faculty for nearly 25 years,” said Amitabh Varshney , dean of UMD’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS). “His record of collaboration across disciplines, combined with his leadership experience... read more
The 2026 promotions recognize faculty members whose work spans artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, computational biology and other areas of computing.
The University of Maryland Department of Computer Science announced 11 faculty promotions, recognizing faculty members whose work spans artificial intelligence, systems, computational biology, human-computer interaction, security, programming languages, computer vision and computer science education. The promotions, effective July 1, 2026, include four faculty members promoted to professor, five to associate professor, one to principal lecturer and one to senior lecturer. The faculty members teach and conduct research in areas that support the department’s academic programs and research... read more
New majors aim to ethically advance AI tech, prepare students to address Its societal impact.
The University of Maryland will launch two new undergraduate degrees in artificial intelligence (AI), including one of the nation’s first interdisciplinary majors focused on the impact of AI on humans, with courses spanning philosophy, ethics, public policy and more. And with a second degree focused on computational structures for AI systems, UMD will continue to build on its more than 60-year history developing the foundations of AI technology, plus a No. 9 ranking among public institutions in AI. Together, these degrees further strengthen UMD’s role in preparing the next generation of AI... read more
The senior computer science and music double major never performed publicly before coming to UMD. Now, she’s eyeing a career as a professional opera singer.
Unlike most music majors at the University of Maryland, Yasmine Tajeddin had never performed in front of a crowd before arriving on campus. She never had vocal lessons, took a music class in high school or sang in a choir. That’s because in Iran, where she grew up, women can’t sing in public. “If I wanted to major in something like music, I would need to go outside my country,” she said. So, during her senior year of high school, she decided to audition for the UMD School of Music . One reason Tajeddin was drawn to Maryland was family support—her aunt lives in the state. The other reason was... read more
Jordan Boyd-Graber uses a fast-paced trivia competition to study how people decide when to trust AI and when to rely on their own judgment.
Artificial intelligence has rapidly transformed from a novelty into a powerful tool capable of outperforming even expert humans in some knowledge-based tasks. In “Can AI and People Play Nice?,” Terp explores how University of Maryland computer science professor Jordan Boyd-Graber is using the fast-paced trivia game quizbowl to better understand the evolving relationship between people and AI. Boyd-Graber, who has an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) , has spent more than a decade developing QANTA, an AI system designed to answer... read more
Computer science Ph.D. student Simge Tekin led the study, which analyzed more than 750,000 container images and found gaps that can leave cloud systems exposed.
A software patch may be available, but that doesn't mean it's protecting the systems that need it. A new study from the University of Maryland and Google Research reveals that critical security updates often become trapped in the software supply chains that power modern cloud computing, leaving known vulnerabilities exposed for weeks—or even permanently. The research team analyzed more than 750,000 software container images—the standardized digital packages used to deploy modern applications—over six years to understand how security fixes move through the cloud ecosystem. Their findings... read more