Research Highlights

Our faculty, alumni, and partners contribute to a broad range of exciting discoveries and research. Our mission is to advance research and innovation to discover new knowledge. The spotlights below are a few examples of our research collaborations, TEDx style talks, and video spotlights that showcase innovation and excellence. UMBC and COEIT is a diverse and inclusive environment where we produce graduates who are highly valued and in demand, poised to deliver solutions to global challenges and responsive to the region and beyond.

UMBC is designated by Carnegie Classifications as a Doctoral University with Very High Research Activity (R1). UMBC also ranks in the top 100 public universities to receive federal research funding. Explore additional fast facts about UMBC, including rankings and research highlights.

Are you looking for a research collaborator or an expert on a topic in the news? Use this searchable database to find faculty members by department or keywords.

UMBC News Research Spotlights

UMBC teams with the Navy and the University of Arizona to develop new capabilities for hypersonic flight

Two people look at model plane in lab space.
Parham Oveissi (left) and Ankit Goel (right) discuss a model plane in the lab. The plane is used in other research projects. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Ankit Goel, assistant professor of mechanical engineering leads a team of researchers who will research the challenges of hypersonic flight, from the stresses on materials to struggle to control the aircraft. Goel recently received more than $850,000 in funding from the Office of Naval Research to further the investigations. Over the next three years he will partner with Kyle Hanquist at the University of Arizona and researchers from the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) to develop improved engine control strategies and assess their performance in ground experiments conducted at the NAWC facility at China Lake, California.

Read more about Ankit Goel’s research in UMBC News.

Five people stand in front of brick building and smile at camera.
Faculty who will be part of Centaνr. From left to right: Fow-Sen Choa, Tinoosh Mohsenin, Curtis Menyuk, Gary Carter, and Ergun Simsek. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

The university recently received almost $2 million in initial funding from the Department of Defense (DOD) to further this important research. UMBC will collaborate with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Adelphi, Maryland, and other members of a national consortium, managed by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS). UMBC will conduct fundamental research to develop the knowledge base that is needed to design, test, and build clocks and communication protocols that could deliver critical information in the event of a disruption to GPS service.

Read more about this DoD research partnership and Center in UMBC News.

nursing home resident receiving COVID-19 vaccine in 2020
Photo by Patrick Siebert/Wikimedia Commons.

Assessing the quality of nursing home care has historically been a challenging and complex process that considers only a portion of the factors involved—generally, clinical indicators reported by the nursing homes themselves. UMBC researchers are collaborating on a new measure of nursing home quality that combines care experiences with clinical data. And they are doing it with funding from a new UMBC program designed to support novel research across different teams.

Read more about the CIDER program in UMBC News.

iHARP team outside
Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11/UMBC.

A team of researchers at UMBC are using data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze enormous volumes of climate data, and Arctic and Antarctic observations in ways that could help populations prepare for and respond to these risks.

Read more about this climate-focused research institute  in UMBC News.

researchers outside ITE building
Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11/UMBC.

UMBC will partner with the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), and the DEVCOM Army Research Lab (ARL) on the $68-million, five-year endeavor, which ARL is funding. The goal is to strengthen Army AI technology so it is able to meet the demands of today’s national defense.

Read more about this research partnership and Center in UMBC News.

researchers in field
Photo by Victor Fulda/UMBC.

A new program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has funded Urban Integrated Field Laboratories in three American cities (including Baltimore) to generate resilience-enhancing solutions to urban climate challenges in collaboration with community organizations. The Baltimore-centered consortium, named the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC), will receive $24.5 million through the program. UMBC will receive $2.3 million of this larger grant. Leading UMBC’s work on the project is Claire Welty, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE).

Read more about Claire Welty’s research in UMBC News.

Read more UMBC News.

Video Spotlights – GRIT-X 2022

UMBC’s GRIT-X talks during Homecoming 2022 highlighted research with a public impact. Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research and creative achievement, was the master of ceremonies for GRIT-X 2022. Moderators included: Keith J Bowman, dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology; Kimberly R. Moffitt, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; and William R. LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.


Delali Dzirasa ‘04, computer engineering, opened this year’s GRIT-X event with a presentation detailing how his company, Fearless, led the development of the Searchable Museum to complement the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition.

Vandana Janeja, professor and chair of information systems, discussed the research she’s leading as the director of the NSF HDR Institute for Harnessing Data and Model Revolution in the Polar Regions, or iHARP.

Watch more UMBC Grit-X Presentations.

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