A. James Clark School of Engineering

What a joy it was to work with Nane Manukyan on a photoshoot for our latest feature story! In April, we met up with the B.S.–M.D. student in Baltimore, and she stuck with us for 70+ takes, multiple locations, and several costume changes.

Manukyan is one of seven students in our elite, new B.S.–M.D. program. Each will earn an undergraduate STEM degree from University of Maryland in College Park (Manukyan is studying bioengineering.), and then proceed straight to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore for a graduate degree.

We're proud to partner with the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences - Univ. of Maryland and the University of Maryland School of Medicine for this program, which is among the first to specifically target engineering, computer science, and math majors.

Read the story:
https://eng.umd.edu/future-forecast-engineering-maryland/your-next-doctor-engineer

📸 1-6: By Maximilian Franz in April for our Future Forecast feature story. (We went with #6 for the story.)

📸 7-8: By Tom Jenski in October for the B.S.–M.D. launch event.

Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland

Is it cold brew season? For the best cup of coffee, you may want to turn to a chemical engineer. Esohe Fawole, to be exact. Fawole is a lecturer in the Maryland Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the instructor of the course “Coffee BEANS: Brewing Engineering and Analysis for Nurturing Sustainability.”

“I did not like coffee at all when I started as a T.A. [of a similar course at UC Davis],” said Fawole. “I realize now it’s because the way it’s processed and brewed impacts the sensory qualities of that coffee. I didn’t realize you could make coffee taste like blueberry muffins.”

Fawole received a UMD Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant last year to develop the class, helping them to purchase coffee-making equipment as well as shape the course to help non-STEM students think about engineering “in a way that’s quite literally digestible,” they said. The course will be offered again in the fall.

Learn more about the course:
https://today.umd.edu/take-this-class-brewing-curiosity-about-engineering
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In the first image, Jemma Wood '26 (left) and Madeleine Reynoso '26 roast fresh coffee beans in an air roaster.

Step aside, Benedict Cumberbatch: Tim Koeth is standing on the shoulders of Alan Turing.

When he's not studying materials in extreme radiation, this Maryland Department of Materials Science and Engineering faculty member restores and uses cipher machines for the National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Md.

He became interested in the machines when they were declassified in the 1980s, and his restoration hobby began decades later when a friend asked Koeth to restore an Enigma machine he had purchased.

Learn about Koeth's hobby and the five code machines in this photo:
https://terp.umd.edu/keeper-of-the-codes

To drive growth in the future, the Maryland Department of Commerce is making a strategic investment in a Maryland Engineering startup.

Last week, Governor Wes Moore announced that a Build Our Future Grant was being awarded to Alchemity, a company founded by Eric Wachsman with University of Maryland patents.

Moore writes, “Building a stronger, more competitive Maryland economy requires strategic investment in the businesses and industries that will drive growth in the coming years. Once again, we’re deploying Build Our Future grants to support advances in clean energy, biotechnology, medtech, aerospace, robotics and more. This is an important part of how Maryland will win the decade.”

Alchemity is receiving $200K to support the development of systems to transform waste biogas into sustainable liquid fuels while demonstrating emissions reductions, fuel quality, and operational reliability.

Learn more:
https://eng.umd.edu/news/story/alchemity-receives-build-our-future-award-from-governor-moore

Next week, University of Maryland engineers and computer scientists head to the Michigan International Speedway to compete in the Formula SAE Electric. They'll be taking the most promising car yet invented in Terps Racing EV's history.

Zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. Top speed of 76 mph. “I was the first driver ever to press the accelerator pedal on the car and make it move,” said Jeff Vedrin (B.S. ’26, aerospace engineering), president of Terps Racing EV.

Next week, 30 students will travel 500 miles to compete on the world stage. Wish them the best!

Learn more about the car and team...
Read: https://eng.umd.edu/news/story/the-future-of-terps-racing-is-electric
Watch: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZYWeUcCcOo/

Congratulations to Lin Cheng for receiving a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award! The five year, $550,000 grant will support Cheng's ceramics research.

Ceramics have come a long way in the past 30,000 years. Already, they are integral to the aerospace and nuclear energy industries. Cheng is attempting to advance ceramics further by researching manufacturing techniques that reduce the risk of cracking.

This grant will support his fundamental research into a single-step additive manufacturing process that utilizes laser-triggered flash sintering (LTFS).

Learn about the progress Cheng has already made and what the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland researcher is looking to do next:
https://me.umd.edu/news/story/cheng-receives-nsf-career-award-for-ceramics-research

He conducted his first scientific research as a student at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City, Md. Now, as a senior at University of Maryland, Joshua Mathew has been awarded a 2026 Astronaut Scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, just months after winning a scholarship from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Foundation.

As a freshman, Mathew joined Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland Professor Li-Qun Zhang’s lab, where he worked on a wearable robotic hand that measures nerve and muscle activity.

We congratulate Joshua Mathew for his tremendous scholarship and look forward to seeing what great things come next for this student of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland.

Read more about Mathew:
https://eng.umd.edu/news/story/umd-senior-joshua-mathew-wins-2026-astronaut-scholarship
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UMD’s participation in the Astronaut Scholarship program, a by-institution-invitation-only award competition, is led by the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Eligibility extends across all STEM fields.

What if preventing a common surgical complication was as simple as applying a spray?

University of Maryland researchers have developed a new sprayable material designed to help prevent surgical adhesions—bands of scar tissue that can form after abdominal surgery and, in some cases, lead to serious health complications.

Created in the lab of Professor Peter Kofinas, with work by doctoral candidates Tejaswi Nori and Robert Morris, the material forms a protective barrier that stays in place while tissue heals and then it safely biodegrades over time.

The research team hopes the technology could one day provide surgeons with a more effective way to support healing and improve patient outcomes after surgery.

Learn more about the research: https://eng.umd.edu/news/story/chemical-engineers-develop-treatments-for-common-postoperative-abdominal-complication

Remember the orange skies that blanketed much of the East Coast during the 2023 Canadian wildfires?

University of Maryland researchers have discovered that the smoke may have carried more than the byproducts of burning trees.

A new study led by Akua Asa-Awuku, in found evidence of aeruginosin—a toxin associated with harmful algal blooms—in wildfire smoke for the first time.

The team detected the compound in air samples collected in College Park, Md. during the June 2023 air quality event, providing new insights into how wildfire emissions can change as they travel long distances and what that may mean for public health.

“It was surreal how the sky looked, so it’s important to understand what drives it and what’s actually in the air when these things happen,” said Asa-Awuku, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and associate dean in the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

Learn more about their findings: https://eng.umd.edu/news/story/air-quality-study-on-2023-canadian-wildfires-reports-new-bacterial-toxin-spread-throughout-us-east

An engineer by day. A dog walker by... also day. 🐕

University of Maryland alum Coby Goodhart '20 (Maryland Department of Materials Science and Engineering) was featured by People for balancing a full-time engineering career with a thriving dog-walking business in Lower Manhattan.

What started as a way to spend more time with dogs has grown into Goodhart Dog Co., a luxury dog-walking service that now serves clients across New York City.

“I'm up early for morning walks before my engineering job starts. I squeeze in walks on my lunch break, then back out in the evenings after work," he said. "My walker handles midday walks while I'm on the clock. Weekends are fuller, with walks, training sessions and client check-ins. It's a lot, but I genuinely love it."

Proof that engineering skills can take you just about anywhere—even if the path includes a few extra leash miles.

Read more: https://people.com/man-makes-six-figures-luxury-dog-walking-business-nyc-exclusive-11972547

Full-Time Engineer Starts ‘Luxury’ Dog Walking Business in N.Y.C., Reveals Surprising Amount of Money He's Now Making (Exclusive) Coby Goodhart shares how he built Goodhart Dog Co. in Lower Manhattan while working full time as an engineer, with the business bringing in six figures.