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Douglas Oard, a noted expert in information retrieval, has been at the University of Maryland since 1996 and has been an active member of UMIACS since 1998.
UMIACS: New Interim Dean Maintains Strong Ties to UMIACS
August 27, 2025 | UMD | UMIACS StaffDouglas Oard, longtime INFO professor, named interim dean, emphasizes INFO–UMIACS collaboration driving interdisciplinary research
Photo via Baltimore Community Foundation
Baltimore Community Foundation: Leveraging Student Talent to Tackle Nonprofit Challenges: BCF’s Collaboration with UMD’s iConsultancy
August 27, 2025 | Baltimore Community FoundationUMD iConsultancy students help BCF strengthen website management, enhance workflows, and reduce costs
From leveraging AI for pedestrian safety to creating better touchscreen kiosks, the Maryland Initiative for Digital Accessibility brings together scientists across campus to transform existing and emerging tech for people with disabilities. (Illustration by iStock) Photo via Maryland Today.
Maryland Today: Making Tech Accessible—With Benefits for All
August 20, 2025 | Maryland Today Staff | UMD | Karen Shih ’09INFO faculty lead groundbreaking research to make kiosks, PDFs, AI, and everyday technologies accessible for all
Photo licensed by Adobe Stock via Chanelle Malambo/peopleimages.com.
Turning Hand-Planted Seeds into Data-Driven Harvests
August 13, 2025 | Laurie RobinsonAn iConsultancy partnership with Roots Africa helps the organization maximize their data
A UMD student became the first to digitize a little-known letter between Founding Fathers George Mason, left, and George Washington, while working as a digital archives fellow at Gunston Hall. Letters courtesy of the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall; portraits via Wikimedia Commons. Photo via Maryland Today.
Maryland Today: A New Page in U.S. History
August 6, 2025 | Sala Levin | Maryland Today | UMDMLIS grad student, Nicholas Gentry, digitizes a forgotten 1768 letter between George Mason and George Washington
Led by the University of Maryland, TRAILS was launched in May 2023 with a $20 million award from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The institute is focused on developing, building and modeling participatory research that—over time—will increase trust in AI. Illustration courtesy of TRAILS. Image via Maryland Today.
Maryland Today: $750K in Seed Grants Awarded by UMD-Led Coalition on Trustworthy AI
July 23, 2025 | Tom Ventsias | Maryland Today | UMDSix INFO faculty are among researchers awarded $750K+ in TRAILS funding to advance trustworthy, human-centered AI innovation
Working in the Small Artifacts (SMART) Lab, Assistant Professor of computer science Huaishu Peng (left) and doctoral students Zining Zhang (center) and Jiasheng Li discuss technology that can assist sight-impaired people. Photo by Mike Morgan Photography. Photo via Maryland Today.
Maryland Today: Blind People Struggle With Nonverbal Cues, A UMD-Cornell AI Project Could Help
July 21, 2025 | Melissa Brachfeld | Maryland Today Staff | UMDINFO's Ge Gao is helping develop AI to assist blind professionals interpret nonverbal workplace cues
Douglas Oard, a noted expert in information retrieval, has been at the University of Maryland since 1996 and has been an active member of UMIACS since 1998.
University of Maryland College of Information Appoints Douglas W. Oard as Interim Dean
July 1, 2025 | INFO StaffDouglas W. Oard named Interim Dean of UMD’s College of Information, bringing decades of leadership and research expertise
A lack of access to solid information has bred cynicism, depression and willingness to bend rules among the estimated 400 million people nationwide battling long COVID, according to new UMD research. Illustration by Adobe Stock via Maryland Today.
Maryland Today: COVID ‘Long-Haulers’ Lack Reliable Information, UMD Study Shows
June 18, 2025 | John Tucker | Maryland Today Staff | UMDINFO's Beth St. Jean finds long COVID patients face info gaps, fueling distrust and risky decisions