Testimony, February 19, 2004, Office of the President, University of Maryland

Highlights of the Year:

In the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report, the University climbed to 17th among public universities after breaking into the top 20 for the first time last year. This year, 50 programs and units are ranked in the top 15 by U.S. News & World Report, up from 5 programs eight years ago.
The most sophisticated Research Greenhouse Building in the Americas was officially opened this past October. This visionary state-of-the-art research space gives UM and State enterprises major advantages in approaching complex, global issues such as effects of changing environmental conditions on plant development, environmental management and pest management. The new facility allows us to partner with industry in new ways, and it is a major building block for our development in life sciences.
The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University signed a unique overarching agreement to expand research collaborations and professional linkages between the two institutions. The agreement will foster cooperative work in science and technology areas, and it expands the asset base of university programs and provides greatly enriched opportunities for the campus. Discussions are already under way on a new nanotechnology group called the Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology and Manufacturing Alliance. Other joint research projects are a Joint Center for Applications of Coherent Quantum Phenomena and a project in fire protection engineering.
The University created its new 128-acre research park, the University of Maryland Enterprise Campus--known as "M Square." The Park is located on University property at the College Park/University of Maryland Metro station. The State of Maryland joined in partnership with the campus and the private sector with a $5 million commitment from its Sunny Day Fund. It was the first Sunny Day Fund award given in Prince George's County and the largest in the history of the fund.
One of the first tenants of M Square is our Center for the Advanced Study of Language (CASL), a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) under the joint sponsorship of the University and the Department of Defense. It is destined to become the largest center for language study in the world. In support of the nation's critical need for increased language capabilities, this Center will focus on language acquisition, contextual analysis of language, and human-computer interaction and computer translation. CASL has now leased 128,000 sq. ft. of available space in the former Litton building that is in M Square.
In October we were certified as a StormReady community by the National Weather Service, thanks to careful work by our Public Safety Department on disaster communication and planning. The University is now one of only four universities in the nation certified in this program that, according to the Weather Service, "can help communities save lives."
The National Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maryland School of Music joined forces in the first formal residency program between the National Symphony Orchestra and an academic institution. The residency in November culminated with side-by-side concerts at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and the Kennedy Center by musicians from the NSO and students in the School of Music.
A virtual groundbreaking was held last spring for the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, whose state-of-the-art resources will make possible new research in communications, smart small systems, microelectronics and nanotechnology.
The groundbreaking for the much-needed Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, the first campus footprint for alumni, which is being paid for entirely by non State funds, was celebrated this past fall. The Center construction is located in front of Byrd Stadium.
Since 1987, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) has recognized more than 35 programs throughout the United States for their progressive and innovative advancements on behalf of women faculty, staff or students. The 2003 AAUW Progress in Equity Award was given to the STAND program in the College of Mathematical, Physical, and Computer Sciences. The STAND program addresses the longstanding national need to increase the number of underrepresented groups, including Black, Latino/a, Native American and women in the computer, Earth, mathematical and physical sciences.
Last May, a team of students from the Department of Aerospace Engineering was awarded first place in the NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts--Academic Linkage competition for their design of the Space Construction and Orbital Utility Transport, or SCOUT. NASA has requested the team's design models and documentation, as they believe the SCOUT concept both identifies and fills a "gaping hole" in their advanced space operations architecture.
In the 2003 American Helicopter Society Annual Student Design Competition, the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center design team won first place for the sixth consecutive time. The project this year, UM911-Aeneas, is a disaster rescue vehicle.
Thanks to a football team with lots of heart and determination, the Terps went to their third football bowl game in three years and scored their second consecutive bowl victory in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day.

>>Measuring Up

Office of the President, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742