It began as an idea for ensuring that middle school students—especially from underprivileged backgrounds—would have access to hands-on STEM learning opportunities while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now the popular Get Out And Learn (GOAL) Engineering Kits program, spearheaded by Maryland’s Women in Engineering Program in collaboration with engineering faculty, is entering its third year. The idea turned out to have benefits that transcended the pandemic.
Nii O. Attoh-Okine, Professor in the University of Delaware’s civil and environmental engineering department and an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Fellow, will be the University of Maryland’s new department chair for civil and environmental engineering. He will take up his new role on September 1, 2022.
Ion Storage Systems, Inc. (ION) announced the closing of its Series A funding round, exceeding its original target of $30 million. Founded in 2015, ION has developed a groundbreaking 3D ceramic electrolyte architecture that addresses the key issues hindering the growth of solid-state batteries — namely durability and the ability to manufacture at scale.
The University of Maryland and other organizations involved in development of Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, are this year’s recipients of the Vertical Flight Society’s Howard Hughes award, given in recognition of an outstanding improvement in fundamental vertical flight technology. Ingenuity completed the first powered flight on another planet in April 2021. Since then, the helicopter has completed more than 28 successful flights.
Assistant Professor You Zhou is the recipient of a 2022 Early Career Award offered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The program is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during crucial early career years. Zhou uses optical and electrical probes to study how electrons and holes crystalize and melt in structures made of atomically thin semiconductors.