purple quantum ion trap
The University of Maryland will launch a new business development arm to nurture quantum-focused startups, President Darryll J. Pines announced at an event honoring the institution’s inventions, startup, mentor, and student entrepreneurs of the year.

The Quantum Startup Foundry will support new businesses in the quantum technology field, which Pines said stands “poised to disrupt everything from cybersecurity and energy, to medical discoveries and the financial field.” It will be created through an initial $25 million investment from the university’s newly established Discovery Fund, with key funding from the state of Maryland.
Worldwide aviation is growing at a fast pace, with many more planes in the sky expected over the coming decades. And that means an increased need to rein in emissions. A team led by UMD professors Christopher Cadou and Eric Wachsman is developing a hybrid gas turbine/fuel cell system that can be used to power the large aircraft (like the Boeing 737) that are responsible for more than 85% of aviation emissions globally.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering launched the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA), a national collaborative designed to help determine future engineering research priorities to meet the country’s emerging needs. The University of Maryland is a founding ERVA partner through the Big Ten Academic Alliance, and UMD President Darryll J. Pines serves on the advisory board.
The Bachelor of Science in Embedded Systems and the Internet of Things (ESIOT) offered by University of Maryland welcomed its first cohort in Fall 2020. The program’s curriculum is a combination of relevant topics from electrical and computer engineering, computer science, and networking, designed and developed by University of Maryland faculty members, in collaboration with experts in industry.
Six University of Maryland Department of Aerospace Engineering graduate students have won 2021 Vertical Flight Society's (VFS) Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarships. VFS awarded 27 total scholarships this year in recognition of the world’s most talented engineering students interested in vertical flight. They will be recognized at the VFS Grand Awards Ceremony during the Vertical Flight Society’s 77th Annual Forum & Technology Display taking place May 10-14, 2021.
AquaLith Advanced Materials has exclusively licensed a portfolio of lithium-ion battery patents from the University of Maryland. The technology, which was awarded the UMD's Invention of the Year Award, is based on the work of Professor Chunsheng Wang, the Robert Franklin and Frances Riggs Wright Distinguished Chair in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at UMD, in collaboration with Kang Xu, the ARL Fellow at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.