UMD Science

Come be my colleague! Two Faculty positions opening now at @umdentomology.bsky.social @umdscience.bsky.social! #UMD Our department is awesome. Very collegial. Supportive. Welcoming. Friendly. This is truly a bit of a hidden gem. 💎 Get in touch if you have questions! Happy to answer questions!

It's (belated) paper day! Emeline Fromont (Ph.D student @umdscience.bsky.social) simulated the atmospheric dynamics and cloud microphysics of WASP-43b, finding that nightside-only clouds provide a good fit to both the HST and MIRI spectra as well as the MIRI phase curve: arxiv.org/abs/2610.30243.

A #UMD-@uniofexeternews.bsky.social study discovered continual co-migration of parasites and hosts, even without coevolutionary adaptations. Understanding this mechanism is a step toward treating stubborn infections ➡️ go.umd.edu/bacteria-migration #EvoSky

If you build an app, how do you connect with people who want to use it? That challenge inspired Phil Crosby (B.S. ’06, computer science; B.A. ’06, economics) to co-found Liftoff Mobile, which now supports 167,000+ apps in 200 countries ➡️ go.umd.edu/crosby

Last week we held our George and Rosalind Helz Distinguished Lecture In Geology series featuring Dr. Barbara Romanowicz from @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social. In this lecture, she looks back on the development of seismic networks and the scientific benefits. youtu.be/yUk57zb9tn4

Tomorrow (10/16), MEES Ph.D. student Hannah Claggett (B.S. '24, environmental science & policy) is taking over our Instagram story! See how Hannah is helping protect the waters she grew up swimming in on the Eastern Shore by studying seagrass restoration: instagram.com/umdscience

Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Professor Ning Zeng's team developed hardware and algorithms for commercial atmospheric sensors to collect actionable, research-grade environmental data. "We want to see how we can solve #ClimateChange with low-cost and practical technology," Ning said. #ClimateSky

“How can we help families capture both the financial and emotional value of the things their loved ones leave behind?” To answer that question, #ScienceTerp Jacqueline Deprey (B.S. ’20) co-founded Perpetua, a digital toolkit designed to simplify the estate settlement process ➡️ go.umd.edu/deprey

Biological sciences Ph.D. student Wesley DeMontigny won the Award for Most Accurate Prediction in the International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition! Learn how he leveraged techniques he mastered while studying genomics at #UMD to win this award ⤵️🌸

2026-2027 UMD postdoc application thread. First up is the Hartree QI fellowship. umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMCP/j... @umdscience.bsky.social @umdphysics.bsky.social

#UMD physicists played an essential role in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of high-energy cosmic neutrinos: go.umd.edu/neutrinos They helped design the IceCube Neutrino Observatory’s data storage, analysis and alert systems, and they play a big role in observatory operations and data analysis.

Computer Science Professor Heng Huang and his colleagues are developing a wearable #AI vitals-monitoring device and an AI-enabled medical imaging dashboard. Learn how an NIH-NSF grant and FDA contract will support their most innovative AI-enabled advances ⤵️

#ScienceTerp Krisztina Zsebo (B.S. '77, biochemistry) has spent over four decades working at the forefront of therapeutic discovery. Read about Krisztina's biotech career bringing life-changing drugs to patients who need them ⤵️

The #ScienceTerps Pop-Up Shop is back! Order from a new selection of T-shirts, quarter-zips, thermals and more! Open until October 11: go.umd.edu/cmns-shop In addition to CMNS apparel, some of our units (computer science, mathematics and neuroscience) have merch too!

Jared Wolinsky (B.S. '09, computer science) is living out his childhood dream of working in tech, business and entrepreneurship. Learn why Jared credits his experience at #UMD and the QUEST Honors Program with preparing him for success in his #SoftwareEngineering career ⤵️

Join us on Monday (10/5) for a Science on Tap lecture featuring CBMG's Norberto González-Juarbe ➡️ go.umd.edu/sot1026 He'll discuss how his metagenomics and DNA analysis research is uncovering the histories of cultural heritage objects linked to #DaVinci 🧬🖥️

If you use a quantum computer today, you probably have Hanhee Paik (M.S. '05, Ph.D. '07, @umdphysics.bsky.social) to thank. This #ScienceTerp helped pioneer the transmon—a superconducting qubit that many #QuantumComputing companies use today—and built IBM's first 16-qubit quantum computer.

Measles is making a comeback. How bad can it get? In a state that might lift a key vaccination requirement, it could get epidemically bad, according to #UMD mathematicians Abba Gumel and Alice Oveson. #MathSky

NASA has selected PRIMA, a space probe co-developed by #UMD astronomers, to advance to the next stage of development: go.umd.edu/PRIMA PRIMA will measure far-infrared radiation with unprecedented sensitivity, unlocking secrets of planet formation, #BlackHole evolution and more. 🔭

🎉 Congrats to @umdphysics.bsky.social's Zohreh Davoudi, named a 2026 Schmidt Polymath ➡️ go.umd.edu/schmidt-polymath She's one of 8 researchers worldwide selected for this prestigious award, receiving up to $2.5M to advance her research in #QuantumComputing, sensing, cosmology and beyond.

🎉 Happy National #Postdoc Appreciation Week! Behind so many breakthrough papers and discoveries is a community of dedicated postdoctoral scholars working behind the scenes. Check out this roundup of some of the high-impact research being led by postdocs at #UMD ⤵️ #NPAW

Our computer science undergraduate program ranks No. 17 overall in @usnews.com's 2027 Best Colleges—ranking in the top 20 for the 7th consecutive year! The program ranks in the Top 10 among public institutions and in the specialties of #AI and cybersecurity ➡️ go.umd.edu/csrankings26

Computer Science Professor Mihai Pop uses computational tools to map the microbiome (the trillions of microbes in our bodies and environment). Submit a question to Mihai and CS postdoc Marcus Fedarko, and they will answer it during tomorrow's #RedditAMA: redd.it/1wmp6cs #MicrobiomeSky

How can you keep fruit flies out of the kitchen? @umdentomology.bsky.social's Kelly Hamby and Mike Raupp spoke with Martha Stewart Magazine to help shed some light on the answer. #BugSky

Explore the "weird" world of #QuantumPhysics next Thursday (9/24) at Science on Tap, featuring @umdphysics.bsky.social's Steve Rolston! RSVP: go.umd.edu/sot0926 In this lecture, Steve will cover the unusual features of quantum theory and describe how we can use them to make devices.

Marcie Occhi (B.S. '09, M.S. '11, @umdgeology.bsky.social) is studying and mapping the ancient geology of Virginia ➡️ go.umd.edu/occhi Marcie's work in the Virginia Department of Energy informs the state's efforts to develop resources, mitigate erosion, predict natural hazards and more. #EnergySky

John Biddle (Ph.D. '13, @umdphysics.bsky.social) wants to answer the question: How do you locate, identify or inspect something that you can't actually see? At Spectrohm, John is developing smart sensing tech to detect potential threats ⤵️

A study led by Astronomy Associate Research Scientist Marc Neveu simulated crashes on icy moons and found that the oceans are surprisingly resilient. The findings could help guide where NASA and other space agencies look next in the search for life beyond Earth. 🔭

Cole Miller's (B.S. '24, mathematics) lifelong passion for mathematics and sports helped him score an "awesome" job as a scouting assistant with the Cleveland Browns. Read about this #ScienceTerp's journey from #UMD to the NFL 🏈 go.umd.edu/cmiller

The start of the NFL season means the start of band season for these two #ScienceTerps 🎷💜 Charlotte Norris (B.S. '24, @umdgeology.bsky.social) and Andrea Zeppuhar (Ph.D. '21, chemistry) are members of Baltimore's Marching Ravens and play at home games ➡️ go.umd.edu/marching-ravens

After graduating from #UMD, Julian Dumayas (B.S. '26, biological sciences) joined #NIH to research ways to treat HIV by cutting viral DNA out of chromosomes. For him, it's a stepping stone toward his career goal of becoming a physician-scientist ➡️ go.umd.edu/dumayas

Is there life beyond Earth? @umdgeology.bsky.social's Ricardo Arevalo was awarded a 3-year, $1.1M NASA grant to help answer that question. His team will develop a tool that could help future space missions identify signs of life on other worlds more effectively and efficiently than ever before. 🔭

Mathematics Professor Yanir Rubinstein's sports analytics course trains students for professional sports careers ⚾️ Jason Lott (B.S. '25, computer science and mathematics) uses skills from the class "every day" in his role as junior #SoftwareEngineer in the @orioles.com's analytics department.

Growing up, Kylie Dan loved to watch the night sky. Now she's an astronomy Ph.D. student mapping how supermassive #BlackHoles shape entire galaxies. Using the Keck Observatory, Kylie discovered a wind of ionized gas launched by the black hole at the center of one of the most studied galaxies 🔭

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope successfully launched today, with the help of 10+ #ScienceTerps! Read about Jackie Townsend's (B.S. '94, @umdphysics.bsky.social) experience as program manager for this "groundbreaking, Earth-shattering, universe-defining mission: go.umd.edu/townsend

#ScienceTerp Richard Isaacson (Ph.D. '67) is supporting the next generation of #GravitationalPhysics students at UMD with a generous gift that honors the memory of his mentor, @umdphysics.bsky.social' Charles Misner. #MarylandForward

One more from last night's #Eclipse. Was major challenge to capture color and not "blow out" the part of the Moon not in Earth's shadow. #Science

Some really cool work by my cohort mate Marron McConnell and fellow BEES member Gayatri Anand!!!

Once declared functionally extinct, the scimitar-horned oryx is back on the African savannah—one of conservation's biggest comebacks. Can an animal relearn to be wild? Research from Biology Professor Bill Fagan's lab is working to answer that question ➡️ go.umd.edu/oryx #wildlife

The U.S. National Science Foundation renewed funding for the UMD-led NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation! The award—expected to total $37.5M—reflects our university's commitment to advancing #QuantumComputing and a new era of scientific and economic development.

#ScienceTerp staff traveled to Columbia, Maryland, to deliver a life-changing surprise! Watch incoming freshman neuroscience major Leah Boka react to winning the Siegall Scholarship—an award that covers four years of tuition, room and board, books and fees.

Microbes hitching a ride to space with astronauts could survive in the moon’s shady south pole region, according to NASA and #UMD researchers. Their findings have implications for space missions—explorers who discover microbial life on the moon need to know if they carried it there themselves. 🔭

Meet Mary Keen—a junior @umdphysics.bsky.social major and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intern who is working on licensing for nuclear waste storage and transportation. Read how Mary got her start in #NuclearSafety here at #UMD: go.umd.edu/mkeen

It's impossible to measure the most powerful lasers because their beams destroy most instruments they're pointed at. Physicist Wendell T. Hill III is leading #UMD's role in a $4.5 million NSF program building the measurement tools this field has been missing ⤵️

Senior chemistry major Mallory Striplin hopes to treat patients facing medical inequities and advocate for them through the law. One reason she chose #UMD was its reputation as a top research institution. Read about her nanotechnology research and more ➡️ go.umd.edu/striplin

July was the hottest month ever in the Lower 48 States, breaking a record last set during the Dust Bowl. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science's Maria Molina spoke with @cbssundaymorning.bsky.social about how changes in our climate are increasing the frequency of #SevereWeather events. #ClimateSky

Practice makes perfect—but not always forever. Research published in @pnas.org from Melissa Caras' lab found that scaffolding around brain cells loosens and knits back together between learning sessions to control when a brain is open to change 🧠

What does it take to spot neutrinos bursting in from space? A very big observatory called @icecubeneutrino.bsky.social that lies under the ice sheet at the #SouthPole. @umdphysics.bsky.social Ph.D. student Rachel Procter-Murphy was one of the lucky few to see it in action ⤵️