Director's Message to UMIACS October 2026

When UMIACS began operations in 1985, the institute quickly established itself as a leader in emerging technologies and interdisciplinary approaches to computing. Early strengths in computer vision, human-computer interaction and parallel computing built that reputation, followed by groundbreaking work in computational linguistics, computational biology, cybersecurity and other fields.

Today, as artificial intelligence and quantum science advance rapidly and fields such as microbiome sciences open new avenues for computational research, UMIACS continues to evolve—and to make an impact well beyond our institute.

That impact starts with excellent research. When our faculty and students produce work that advances a field, addresses an important problem or opens a new direction of inquiry, recognition often follows. And that recognition—in the media, through professional honors or from the broader scientific community—extends the reach of our work and strengthens the reputation of UMIACS.

We see that clearly in this month’s newsletter. Philip Resnik’s research using large-scale data to better understand the experiences of people facing mental health challenges was recently featured on CBS News, bringing work by Philip and his collaborators in clinical psychology to a national audience.

Our faculty are also receiving significant professional recognition. Physicist Michael Gullans was selected for a 2026 Arthur S. Flemming Award for theoretical breakthroughs in quantum information science. Zohreh Davoudi was named a 2026 Schmidt Polymath and will receive up to $2.5 million to pursue ambitious research spanning quantum science, AI and other fields. And Min Wu received the 2026 IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award for her contributions to sensing forensics and analytics.

These accomplishments span very different fields, but they share something important: each expands the visibility and reach of the work taking place within UMIACS. Collectively, achievements like these create opportunities for new collaborations, attract talented students and researchers, strengthen relationships with partners, and demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary research.

I want us to build on that momentum. That means continuing to pursue ambitious research, mentor the next generation of scholars, develop new collaborations, compete for major awards and funding, and find new ways to share our expertise beyond our traditional academic communities.

Each of these efforts strengthens the institute as a whole. I encourage everyone across UMIACS—faculty, students and staff—to continue looking for opportunities to excel, collaborate and extend the reach of what we do. The stronger our work, the greater our opportunity to make an impact.

Sincerely,

David Jacobs
UMIACS Director