Recent News & Accomplishments
2026
We are conditioned to look for subtle cues—a professional tone, steady confidence, and outward politeness—to decide if a stranger is trustworthy. But when that “stranger” is an AI chatbot, these deeply ingrained social instincts can backfire. This is the mechanism behind the “charisma trap,” a psychological blind spot where the sheer competence of a machine’s delivery masks the potential unreliability of its data. This phenomenon is at the heart of a research project led by Michelle Mazurek , an associate professor of computer science who serves as director of the Maryland Cybersecurity... read more
The event featured ventures focused on mindfulness, financial access, property monitoring and AI-supported research.
University of Maryland students and recent alumni developing startups through the Mokhtarzada Hatchery program presented their work on May 4, 2026, during the initiative’s fifth annual Demo Day. Established in 2021 by UMD alumni Haroon Mokhtarzada (B.A. ’01, economics), Idris Mokhtarzada (B.S. ’10, computer science) and Zeki Mokhtarzada (B.S. ’01, computer science), the Hatchery supports early-stage student ventures with funding, guidance and workspace in the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering. The program selects up to four teams each year and provides mentorship from... read more
Her research focuses on helping intermittent computing platforms operate correctly when harvested energy causes repeated shutdowns.
Milijana Surbatovich , an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Maryland, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award to advance research on intermittent computing platforms, a class of devices designed to operate without batteries by harvesting energy from their surroundings. Surbatovich, who also has appointments in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the Maryland Cybersecurity Center , is the principal investigator on the award, which is expected to total about $680,000... read more
Department of Computer Science faculty and affiliates were among those recognized for national academy memberships.
University of Maryland leadership on Friday celebrated faculty members whose scholarship, research and innovation have earned them elections to some of the nation’s most prestigious academic and professional organizations. Collectively, UMD faculty members hold more than 110 national academy memberships. Department of Computer Science faculty and affiliates Ming Lin , Dinesh Manocha , Uzi Vishkin , and John Baras were among those recognized. “Being elected to a national academy is a true confirmation of the legacy each of you has created through your groundbreaking scholarship and innovation... read more
Department of Computer Science faculty members were among those honored.
The University of Maryland's College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) celebrated its 2026 employee award recipients at an awards ceremony on May 1, 2026. This year's awardees, who include Department of Computer Science Faculty members, were selected from hundreds of nominations submitted by the Science Terp community. Congratulations to all! CMNS Board of Visitors Distinguished Faculty Award Thomas Goldstein , Professor, Department of Computer Science Honors a faculty member actively involved in a solid research program that has gained significant national and... read more
Rajveer Singh, Ananth Sriram and Neel Mokaria took first place with an AI-powered dashboard that identifies safety risks in construction footage.
Construction sites generate large amounts of video from body cameras, mounted cameras and other tools used to document work as it happens. For three University of Maryland computer science students, that footage became the foundation of a 36-hour project focused on turning raw visual data into actionable safety insight. That approach earned Rajveer Singh , Ananth Sriram and Neel Mokaria first place at the Ironsite Hackathon, a 36-hour event centered on a key question: Can a machine be taught to understand the physical world? The team won $10,000 for developing a construction safety assistant... read more
The three courses will give students hands-on experience with autonomous systems, embodied AI and AI-assisted software development.
Faculty in the University of Maryland Department of Computer Science are involved in three of the 15 new courses announced by the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland as part of its 2026-27 course development grant program. The AIM grants, valued at $10,000 each, support courses that address societal challenges in an AI-driven world. The courses will be developed by the end of 2026 and presented at an AI education symposium at UMD in spring 2027. The three courses involving computer science faculty are: Autonomy/AI Fundamentals for the Development, Test and... read more
Ming Lin and Dinesh Manocha were recognized for multi-agent navigation research with lasting impact.
Nearly two decades after its publication, a research paper on how moving systems avoid collisions continues to influence fields ranging from robotics to computer-aided design to digital gaming. That work by Ming Lin , Distinguished University Professor of computer science, and Dinesh Manocha , Distinguished University Professor of computer science with an appointment in electrical and computer engineering , along with their jointly advised postdoctoral researcher Jur van den Berg , has received a major award in the robotics community. Their paper, “Reciprocal Velocity Obstacles for Real-Time... read more
CS Ph.D. student Julio Poveda studies how AI tools can be tested and designed to better protect survivors from technology-facilitated abuse.
As AI becomes deeply integrated into our daily lives—offering everything from productivity hacks to emotional support—a critical challenge has emerged: ensuring these tools do not become weapons for abuse. At the University of Maryland, Julio Poveda, a fifth-year computer science doctoral student, is closing the gap between traditional cybersecurity and the lived experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV)—abuse that occurs within a close relationship, such as between current or former spouses and partners. His research addresses a threat Silicon Valley often overlooks: the “... read more
Sisters Aydina and Sufyana Johnson used skills developed through UMD’s CompSciConnect to build a native plants app that gained recognition across Maryland.
On any given day, Aydina and Sufyana Johnson might be reading, baking, hiking, riding horses or heading to karate class or choir. Like many middle and high school students, they have days shaped by school and a range of activities outside it. Over time, though, another interest began to take hold: programming, which gave both sisters a new way to channel their curiosity. That interest found a more formal outlet through the University of Maryland’s CompSciConnect , a three-year program that introduces middle-school students to programming and related computing concepts. For the Johnson sisters... read more