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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

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

Photo licensed by Adobe Stock via InfiniteFlow
INFO Students Partner with Nonprofit to Overhaul Accessibility and Make a Bigger Impact
June 16, 2025 | Laurie RobinsonHCIM students gain real-world UX design experience working with the American Occupational Therapy Foundation on a website redesign

Reimagining Information Access: How INFO Is Centering Immigrant Voices in Tech, Policy & Archives
May 27, 2025 | Laurie RobinsonThe Immigration and International Information Research Alliance (i3r) flips traditional scholarship on its head, treating immigrants as …

ALA Lecture Series: “What Comes Next: Libraries, Advocacy, and Public Policy—A Conversation with ALA President-Elect Sam Helmick”
May 13, 2025 | INFO StaffALA President-Elect Sam Helmick discussed 2025 library challenges and tools for change

(Video) Search Mastery Speaker Series: “Central Roles of Public Libraries in Supporting Their Communities’ Needs for Information and Beyond During the 1918 Influenza and COVID-19 Pandemics”
April 30, 2025 | INFO StaffDr. Beth St. Jean explores how public libraries fight infodemics

Instead of regulators playing catch-up, AI developers could help create safer systems if market-based incentives were put in place, UMD researchers say. Illustration by iStock.
Maryland Today: UMD Research Sends AI Safety to Market (ft. Abdirisak Mohamed)
March 27, 2025 | Maryland Today Staff | UMDINFO’s Abdirisak Mohamed joins UMD researchers in designing a market-driven approach to AI safety

This 1900 image of the Carlisle Indian School football team includes one of Assistant Professor Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner's ancestors. She said this and the photo of her great-great-great grandmother Joaquina Nahwilet (image at bottom) is a rare example of good photo metadata; improving the tools in archival research is a primary goal of the new Indigenous archives project she's co-leading. Photo by John N. Choate/Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections
Maryland Today: UMD Awarded $3.6M Mellon Foundation Grant to Advance Indigenous Archives
February 4, 2025 | Laurie Robinson & Jessica WeissProject co-led by INFO and ARHU will develop tools, standards, and reparative practices to restore indigenous histories