Virtual Course, Summer Program Taught by UMD Faculty Give Prince George’s Students Free College Math Experience.

Savannah Grooms ’27 hated math in middle school and stewed over the C she got in her seventh-grade introduction to algebra. But just a few years later, she found herself on the other side of the desk, tutoring students who had similarly struggled with the subject at her alma mater—and a University of Maryland program was a big factor in her turnabout.

As a rising senior at Bowie High School, Grooms enrolled in a virtual summer program and calculus course taught by University of Maryland math professors and coordinated by College of Education faculty. Launched in 2020 and funded by the Office of the President, the collaboration with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) has allowed more than 100 students from demographically diverse high schools—some of which don’t consistently offer calculus—to get a leg up on their math education for free.

“It’s a way to allow students to get a sneak peek to what studying at Maryland is like,” said Francesca Henderson, a UMD Ph.D. candidate in mathematics education who’s helped coordinate the program for three years. “For a lot of people, getting some college credit while you’re still in high school makes college less of a financial burden.”

Since the partnership began, students at 16 PGCPS schools have accessed the course, including this past year at Charles Herbert Flowers, Northwestern, Chesapeake Math and IT South, and Oxon Hill high schools. Students must have at least a 3.5 GPA to enroll in the three-credit class on Zoom three days a week; UMD teaching assistants hold discussions and office hours during the same time slot on the other two days.

While the program initially taught Calculus I (MATH 140), it now instead eases students into the subject with Elementary Calculus I (MATH 120), which is “more accessible for students at different math levels,” Henderson said. It’s similar to what’s taught in AP Calculus AB, but students taking the UMD-taught course need to pass the class, not a national exam, for college credit.

For the past two years, the program has also incorporated a summer component, where enrollees get a college algebra and precalculus refresher, also taught free of charge by UMD faculty.

“If you’re going into engineering, physics or chemistry, calculus is sort of a gateway. Having some exposure to it before you get to college is very valuable,” said Professor Larry Washington, associate chair for undergraduate studies in the Department of Mathematics, who’s also helping to coordinate the course. “We’re taking the most talented students and trying to keep them going and giving them a push. And maybe some of them find out, ‘This is not what I want,’ but it’s good to find out (in high school).”

For Grooms, the class inspired her to become a tutor and minor in math at UMD, and the skills she learned also translate to her journalism major, she said.

“I learned the rigor of college early on. I know I have to go to office hours, become close with my teacher and ask questions,” she said. “I also built relationships with the people in the class. We all still remain friends. We all had our own study sessions. That really is also what happens in college.”

The program has evolved into a partnership with UMD’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Henderson said. Most students who take the course apply to the university, and they receive support throughout the application process.

Partners from both UMD and PGCPS hope to build on the program’s success in helping open doors to college, STEM fields and beyond.

“The constant collaboration and conversation between the university and the school system has really created a model that works,” said Olivia Pearson, PGCPS college readiness supervisor.

Spring Awards 2024 

Congratulations to the faculty, students, and staff on their outstanding achievements and well-deserved awards! Their dedication, hard work, and excellence have not only brought pride to the Math Department but have also set a remarkable example for others to follow. We celebrate their success and look forward to witnessing their continued contributions and accomplishments.

Faculty

• Alfio Quarteroni receives the Blaise Pascal Medal in Mathematics

• Archana Khurana - Donna B Hamilton Award, Provost Do Good Innovator, Deans Outstanding Lecturer Award

• Nirajan Ramachandran - Deans Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Yanir Rubinstien - Do Good Campus Fund

• Maria Cameron 2024 MURI Award

• Tamas Darvas, Adam Langowski, and Yanir Rubinstien named Simons Fellows

• Doron Levy - Class of 2024 It is AMS Fellow

Graduate Students

Summer Research Fellowship (Grad School)

• Aditi Sen

Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship

• Vlasios Mastrantonis
• Jiaqi Wang

Ivo & Renata Babuska Award

• Lucas Bouck

Monroe Martin Spotlight Award

• Revati Jadhav
• Brandon Kolstoe

Seymour Goldberg Spotlight Award

• Soyoung Park
• Luis Suarez
• Mark E Lachtman
• Vlasios Mastrantonis
• Shuo Yan
• Keith Mills
• Yuxiang Ji

Patrick & Marguerite Sung Fellowship in Mathematics

• Morgan Bryant
• Prakhar Gupta

Ralph P. Pass Award

• Zhiming Li
• Chengze Duan

Aziz/Osborn Gold Medal in Teaching Excellence

• Nicholas Forman
• Isabelle Stepler
• Leah White
• Ben Goldschlager
• Oscar Copploa
• Mohammand Sharifi Kiasari

Hauptman Summer Award

• Maeve Wildes
• Marco Bornstein
• Soyoung Park
• Spencer Durham
• Brandon Kolstoe

Ruth Davis Math & Physics Award

• Ran Tao

Monroe Martin Math & Physics Award

• Yong Cui
• Sanghoon Na
• Shashank Sule

Janine Tucker & Ira Schwartz Endowed Graduate Award

• Meenakshi Krishnan

Hauptman Summer Award

• Qihang Li
• Shenghao Li
• Shaoyang Zhou
• Chenzi Jin
• Valerie Wray
• Charles Dziedzic
• Amandeep Chanda
• Vasanth Pidaparthy
• Philip Charles
• Ian Teixeira
• Shin Eui Song
• Nicholas McConnell
• Zezheng Song
• Zhirui Li
• Sze Hong Kwong
• Wen-Tai Hsu

James C. Alexander Prize for Graduate Research in Mathematics

• Luke Evans
• Rachel Lee

Hauptman Summer Fellowship 2024

• Shitao Fan
• Junaid Aftab
• Yilin Zhang
• Zhangchi Xu

Undergraduate Students

Goldwater Scholar - Yash Anand and Jerry Shen 

2023 Putnam Team - Vincent Trang, Daniel Yuan, Omar Habibullah, and Andrew Parker 

Antman Undergraduate Award

• Maria Nikolaitchik

Aziz Mathematics Scholarship

• Svetlana Semenova

Outstanding Senior Award

• John Brownfield,

Higginbotham Award

• Adam Melrod

Abramowitz Award

• Ezra Ayalaian,
• Emerson Hemley,
• Liron Karpati,
• Daniel Levy,
• George Li,
• Samuel Lidz
• Turner McLaurin
• Karthik Sellakumaran Latha
• Matthew Schneider

Konter Scholarship

• Sydney Gravel
• Lauren Sherr
• Grace Tao

Strauss Scholarship

• Noah Kupinsky
• Dan Shanks Award
• Uma Tikekar

Daniel Sweet Undergraduate Research Fellowship

• David Koralov
• Quentin Ludet

Strauss Teaching Assistant

• Kevin Flanary
• Linsen Liu
• Quentin Ludet
• Dongxing He
• Noelle Mitchell
• Gary Peng
• David Koralov

Honors and High Honors 

• Anh Cao
• John Brownfield
• Daniel Levy
• Ezra Ayalaian
• Turner McLaurin
• Emerson Hemley
• Karthik Sellakumaran Latha
• George Li
• Uma Tikekar

Matthew Tremba

Staff

Dedicated Staff Award

• Trystan Denhard
• Jemma Natanson
• Ayala Nuriely
• Victoria Villafranco

Provost’s Do Good Innovator Award

• Jacqueline Dwyer-Xec

RISE Grant Progressive Terp

• Jessica Sadler

Institute Will Support Interdisciplinary Research and Education That Promote Responsible Use of AI and Prepare Future Workforce for AI-Infused World

The University of Maryland on Tuesday announced the launch of a new institute dedicated to developing the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) education, technology and leaders.

The Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM) will be a collaborative hub for AI, supporting faculty research, offering innovative and experiential learning opportunities, and focusing on responsible and ethical AI technology to advance the public good across industry, government and society.

“Establishing the AI Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland is a pioneering step in AI research and education,” said University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines. “Artificial intelligence continues to grow exponentially, creating opportunities to solve the grand challenges of our time. With this institute, our experts will work together to globally lead responsible AI development that spurs economic growth and promotes human well-being. We’re not just adapting to the AI age but shaping its future.”

The University of Maryland and the state of Maryland have long maintained a steadfast commitment to responsible advancement of AI technology. The new institute builds upon the university’s existing AI expertise, research and centers, including the Center for Machine Learning, the National Science Foundation-funded Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS), the Value-Centered AI Initiative and the Social Data Science Center. Centers like these will be an instrumental part of AIM, as will faculty members across campus who teach and study AI.

“From the start, interdisciplinary collaboration across fields will drive our AI institute’s success,” said UMD Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice. “We’re fortunate to have AI leaders in fields ranging from computer science and engineering to journalism, education, social sciences, business and the arts—a unique breadth of expertise that Maryland brings to the table. By uniting our efforts under one institute, we will not only become a magnet for ethical AI development and research but a global leader in preparing students and the workforce for an AI-infused world.”

Through AIM, UMD students across all majors will learn the principles of AI and how they apply to their fields of study, preparing them for a technology-rich workforce. The institute will coordinate:

• New AI majors and minors
• AI certificates, graduate degrees and workforce development programs
• Expanded AI undergraduate courses, including an AI4ALL course focused on developing AI literacy and critical thinking skills
• AI government and industry partnerships and community events
• A new high-performance computing cluster tailored for AI’s complex computational challenges
• Financial support to promote interdisciplinary AI research
• Chaired professorships and postdoctoral fellowships

In addition to the existing, 100-plus faculty members who study and teach AI, the university expects to hire additional faculty in foundational and interdisciplinary AI, and staff to work within the institute. Hal Daumé III, a Volpi-Cupal Family Endowed Professor in the Department of Computer Science, will serve as AIM’s inaugural director. The university has also appointed Neda Atanasoski as associate director of education and Sheena Erete as associate director of research.

“AI-infused systems have the potential to enhance human capacity and creativity, mitigate complex society challenges and foster innovation. Achieving this requires a joint effort between those pushing the boundaries of new AI technologies, those who innovate AI applications, and those who study human values and how people and society interact with AI,” said Daumé. “The University of Maryland is drawing together faculty experts, researchers and students from across campus to lead the responsible development and implementation of this world-changing technology.”

The vision for AIM came about through the efforts of a multidisciplinary work group, and was refined through a collaborative process with the deans of all 12 colleges and schools. It aligns with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s recent executive order to catalyze responsible and productive use of artificial intelligence by state agencies, and President Joe Biden’s executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence. It also supports the work of Pines’ AI commission, which examines how AI can be harnessed operationally in teaching, learning, student recruitment, enrollment and more.

The institute will be funded through the university, research grants, philanthropic gifts and industry partnerships.

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