Every morning this summer, junior biological sciences major Magdalen Ruth made her way to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda—a dense hub of biomedical research. There, at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, she helped investigate a genetic mutation in a patient with a rare form of juvenile arthritis known as Still’s disease, connecting her UMBC training to work that could improve patients’ lives. She is one of four CNMS students whose recent internships at Maryland-based companies and agencies show how local opportunities are helping Retrievers build skills, find mentors, and advance discoveries that matter here and beyond.

“I feel like I’m doing really important work,” Ruth, a Meyerhoff and U-RISE scholar, says. “Getting to know the patient’s diagnosis and being able to see that what I’m working on is affecting an actual person in real time has been awesome.” The internship has confirmed her interest in pursuing a career in pharmacology. It’s also stretched her communication skills. While familiar with presenting her work to colleagues in Deepak Koirala’s lab group at UMBC, communicating her research to a mix of researchers and clinicians—who don’t all share the same jargon and expertise—taught her the nuance of communicating with technical and non-technical audiences. 

The Meyerhoff community helped make the opportunity possible. “I would not be in the place I am without Meyerhoff,” she notes. On campus, Ruth balances research and leadership as vice president of the STEM Ph.D. Society, a student-run organization designed to help students connect with scholarships, internships, graduate schools, and more. She also takes dance classes, is pursuing a music minor, and volunteers at her family’s Catholic parish—nurturing connections that ground her amid rigorous academic work.

Protecting lives, growing a career

Mark Harrison, a senior biological sciences major who started in chemical engineering, is in his third summer at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), a U.S. Army installation in Aberdeen, Maryland. His work involves designing and testing gas masks, bridging his early engineering training and his understanding of physiology. “I’m able to bring an understanding of what a warfighter may be experiencing in their body while wearing a gas mask in a way that others at APG may not,” Harrison says. 

His mentors at APG, Jon Sampson ’03, mechanical engineering, and Edward Parshley ’06, chemical engineering, value the perspective Harrison brings and have supported his growth. “They made it clear that they want to reach back and offer opportunities to those coming behind them,” he says. They are making good on that commitment: Harrison will stay on board at APG this fall, and the plan is to transition him into a full-time position after he graduates in December. “They were always asking me what I wanted to learn and then giving me related opportunities,” Harrison says. “I could ask anyone how something worked, and they’d take the time to explain it to me. I’m so grateful for the way they’ve invested in me.” 

Interning in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary environment has also changed how Harrison operates in the classroom. “I learned how to learn at APG,” he says. “Now I don’t have to spend as much time studying, because when I leave class I already have a good understanding of the material. I’m connecting the dots so much better than before.” For Harrison, the work has taken on personal meaning, as well. “I’m fighting right now to try to protect American lives—that’s why I’m here.”

Translating discovery into treatment

Zainab Idowu, a senior biochemistry and molecular biology major and a Meyerhoff Scholar, interned at pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, Maryland, joining a robust group of Retrievers who’ve grown their skills there. Her project involved testing flow cytometers, which count and characterize individual cells and are used in manufacturing cell therapy treatments. Her goal was to determine the instrument and protocols that would be simplest and most effective for manufacturing teams to implement. The experience shifted Idowu’s focus toward translational medicine and reinforced her plans for an M.D./Ph.D. after UMBC. But the people around her made the biggest impression.

“I love everyone on my team,” Idowu says. “My managers, Ashley Ruddy and Jen Fox, were really insightful—giving me advice on what I want to do post-grad and what I should do my senior year to make sure I’m well-positioned for after graduation.” And when she had questions, the collaborative atmosphere showed her how scientists work together. “They were able to give recommendations and point me to scientific literature to help me along,” she says.

Opportunities through Meyerhoff gave her the chance to connect with AstraZeneca staff, which helped her secure the internship. “I was able to talk to them about my passions for research,” she says. Roles with UMBC’s chapters of the Society of Women Engineers, the international professional medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the African Students Association have also enriched her UMBC experience. These organizations, she says, offered “a place to be ourselves, find new friends, and really build a home here at UMBC.”

The benefit of seeing both sides

Saeed Damadi recently defended his Ph.D. thesis in applied mathematics after beginning in electrical engineering. This summer at the FDA, he developed a mathematical model for how illicit drugs taken during pregnancy transfer to the developing baby through the placenta—increasing important understanding in a situation where human testing would be profoundly unethical.

While the math was familiar, Damadi welcomed the new challenge of jumping into biology. “I learned so many things, and I am still learning,” he says. Yet he found that his interest in how to describe randomness mathematically, which led him to complete a master’s in statistics on the way to his Ph.D., was highly relevant to studying the quirks of the human body. Looking ahead, he wants to continue work at the interface of biology and mathematics. 

“Hopefully in the future I can make a contribution by bridging fields,” Damadi says, “because you can computationally simulate millions of parameters and patients at once, which makes the rate of iteration and discovery much faster.” The work Damadi and colleagues do with simulations can help effectively target limited resources for expensive and lengthy clinical studies, he explains. 

Damadi and his wife, Sepideh Hematian, M.S. ’23, data science, and a former data scientist at the Maryland Department of Human Services, are planning to build their lives in California. They are both thriving, but “sometimes I get emotional thinking about UMBC,” Damadi says, “because after I arrived nine years ago from Iran, it became like a home to me and my wife.”  

Damadi has given back through his teaching. As an engineer, “I just learned how to use the mathematical tools without understanding what was going on behind the scenes,” he says. Whereas, in math, “you learn the origins of all the theorems and how they work, but not necessarily how to apply them. I feel super lucky to get to see both sides.” So, in undergraduate calculus and linear algebra courses, “I just wanted to explain to my students, ‘Why do you need these equations? Why are they important?’ and give them a feeling of gratitude.”

Gratitude threads through all four of these journeys—for mentors who reach back, for teams that invest in their members, for communities that feel like home, and for the chance to do work that matters. As Magdalen Ruth at NIH puts it, “I’ve just found myself in a great spot with UMBC. I feel really blessed to have had all the opportunities I’ve had. Being able to do these internships has seriously been great.”

Izabella Maria Marzano, a senior biological sciences major who transferred to UMBC from Anne Arundel Community College, was one of more than 120 undergraduate and high school student presenters who packed the University Center Ballroom on August 5 for UMBC’s 29th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF). Marzano was presenting work she completed with Diana Elizondo, assistant professor of biological sciences, on certain enzymes involved in metabolic dysfunction resulting from a poor diet. The experience had been transformative.

“In the short time I’ve been here, Dr. Elizondo has shown more faith in what I can achieve and given me more confidence than anyone else ever has, and I’m incredibly grateful,” Marzano says. She was one of four undergraduates from Elizondo’s research group who presented their summer work at SURF, which included two poster sessions and six short oral presentations.

Marzano joined the lab after taking Elizondo’s cell biology course, drawn to the group by the far-reaching impact of diabetes research, Elizondo’s approachability, and her desire to gain research experience to support her goal of becoming an orthodontist. In addition to Elizondo, Marzano says graduate students Marveline Akinola and Benjamin Cole have supported her growth.

Supported independence

Across the room, junior biochemistry and molecular biology major Zaira Ahmed, who began at UMBC this spring after transferring from Prince George’s Community College (PGCC), presented findings on how diet-induced obesity alters the composition of fat tissue’s extracellular matrix—a complex network of proteins, sugars, and other molecules surrounding cells. Ahmed first conducted research at PGCC, and she sought out Elizondo’s lab after taking the same cell biology course as Marzano, motivated in part by family members living with diabetes. 

“Dr. Elizondo has been an amazing mentor. She explains everything so clearly and has been hands-on in teaching me different laboratory techniques,” Ahmed says. “But then once she sees I’ve got it, she lets me move forward independently.”

Irene Teye, a junior biological sciences major who started in Elizondo’s lab in January 2025, focused on the three-dimensional structural changes that obesity drives in the extracellular matrix. She worked with Tagide deCarvalho, manager of the Keith R. Porter Imaging Facility at UMBC, to generate and digitally analyze microscopy images of the matrix. 

“It took three weeks to analyze the microscopy data to get just two images for my research poster, but it felt like such an accomplishment when I finished,” Teye says. She’s found a home in the Elizondo group, sharing that given how close the members are, “You’d think we’re all related.” 

Dzifa Ameko, a junior biological sciences major, began with Elizondo in March 2025 after another faculty member recommended the lab based on Ameko’s interests. Long intrigued by endocrinology and gynecology, she investigated the role of neuropeptide Y, a small signaling molecule released by neurons, in an understudied hormonal and metabolic disorder that affects up to 170 million women worldwide. 

“Dr. Elizondo’s door is always open,” Ameko said. “I can also always send her a Slack message and she is so responsive, whether it’s about research or a personal challenge.”

Students at the heart of research

Elizondo, who joined the UMBC faculty in January 2025, sees supporting student researchers as the heart of her work. “One of the most rewarding parts of starting my lab has been watching these students grow in confidence and independence,” she said. “Many of them joined with little or no prior research experience, and it has been incredibly exciting to see them develop into scientists who can think critically, troubleshoot experiments, and communicate their work so effectively. I strongly believe that the best way to learn science is by doing science. My goal is to create an environment where students are genuine contributors to the research, not just assistants.”

SURF gave those contributions a public stage. Outgoing dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, William R. LaCourse, welcomed participants to the event, highlighting the mix of student researchers from UMBC, regional community colleges, and other institutions. “SURF is one of the highlights of summer each year, because it celebrates the curiosity, perseverance, and excellence of our students and the faculty who guide them,” he said. 

For transfer students like Marzano and Ahmed, and for first-time researchers across the university, the combination of hands-on projects, responsive mentoring, and a forum like SURF turns their motivation and potential into tangible results. 

“You are ending this summer more knowledgeable, more experienced, more skilled, and a better scientist. Remember that the full benefits of your research may never be known to you. Science is not for those who seek glory—it’s not for me today, it’s for others tomorrow,” LaCourse reflected in his opening remarks. “Your spirit is an inspiration to us all. We hope that UMBC will always be a part of you.” 

A common saying is “Health is wealth.” Its meaning—that good health gives people the vitality to succeed in life—is found in stories and phrases across cultures and times. Dong Li, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, has long nurtured an interest in helping people stay in good health, from his early childhood interest in becoming a doctor to his current research focusing on developing cost-effective and widely accessible health monitoring technologies. 

As the founder and director of the Future Sensing and Interaction Lab, Li studies how affordable devices, such as smartphones and watches, can monitor general health indicators, vital signs, and physical activities. Li also explores how to build innovative computer-human interfaces to deliver an intuitive user experience. His goal is to use the advanced sensing technologies on many smart devices to help people improve their well-being. 

“I am a tech believer,” Li says. “Technology has enormous potential to make change, and that’s why I have devoted my efforts and my time to try to develop applications of technology that benefit society.”

Li shares here about his work, its challenges, and his hopes for a world where healthcare is both affordable and accessible. 

Q: What are your main areas of research? 

A: My main area of research is what we usually call mobile health, or mHealth. The goal is to make health intelligence more accessible by using everyday devices that people already have, such as smartphones, earphones, smartwatches, and even smart rings. 

For example, in several projects in my lab, we’re exploring ways to measure things like blood pressure and skin stiffness using a smartphone. One way to think about it is this: as human beings, we have eyes, ears, and a nose that help us sense the world around us. So what if we could use our smartphones as an additional sensing tool—not just to understand our environment, but to sense what’s happening inside our own bodies, such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and other physiological signals?

The second part of my research focuses on AI. We’re interested in building AI models that can use data collected from these everyday devices to detect signs of disease at an early stage. Large language models like ChatGPT, for example, are trained on huge amounts of language data. In a similar way, we can train health-related AI models on large amounts of physiological data collected from devices people use in their daily lives. The question is whether the model can learn subtle patterns in that data that may indicate the early stages of disease.

The third part of my research is about security and privacy. If we’re collecting sensitive health information, we need to make sure both the AI model and the overall system are secure, and that people’s private information is protected. 

Q: What motivated you to get involved in these areas of research?

To be honest, when I was in primary school, my dream was to become a doctor. But somehow, I ended up choosing computer science as my major.

After I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and joined UMBC as a faculty member, I learned about opportunities for internal research funding and collaboration between UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which has long-established professional schools in areas such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing.

When I heard about those opportunities, I immediately thought, “Okay, this is my chance to reconnect with that childhood dream.” I realized I could combine my background in computer science with healthcare and work on interdisciplinary research that could have a real impact on people’s health.

So in a way, I didn’t become a doctor, but I found another path that allows me to contribute to medicine through technology. That’s really what motivated me to move into this area of research. 

Q: How do you hope the research will impact ordinary people’s lives down the road?

Our long-term vision is to make health monitoring more accessible and affordable for everyone. Right now, if we want to monitor certain aspects of our health, we often have to go to a doctor for regular examinations or use specialized medical equipment, which can be expensive and may not be easily available to everyone.

What we hope to do is bring some of that monitoring capability into the everyday devices people already use, such as smartphones, earphones, smartwatches, or even smart glasses. Instead of relying only on specialized equipment, people could potentially use these familiar devices to better understand and monitor their health in their daily lives.

If our research is successful, we hope it can give people a simple and convenient way to keep track of their health, identify potential problems earlier, and make more informed decisions about when to seek medical care. Ultimately, the goal is to use technology to help people live healthier lives.

Q: What are the biggest challenges that the research will need to overcome to reach these goals?

The most challenging part is not technical. What I realized when I talked to the clinical doctors from UMB School of Medicine is that the challenge is how to make people aware of this development. The challenge is assuring people of data security.  People ask questions like, “What about privacy? How can you make sure you don’t leak our private information?” I think that’s the biggest challenge we will have if we want to make this a product that everybody can benefit from: How can we communicate about the technology so that people can understand it and are willing to use our product in the future?

Q: Do you have any recent results that you are especially excited about?

Yes. We are doing the clinical trials for our blood pressure monitoring project. We have collected data, I believe, from 30 healthy subjects right now, and we are in the process of collecting data from hypertensive patients at the hospital. The data we have right now shows very promising results, and I’m very excited to see if our prototype can work for those hypertensive patients. If it does, I think our next step is that we could do a wider deployment to verify our system. I attended the Maryland NEW VENTURE program [an intensive 12-week accelerator run by bwtech@UMBC that helps early-stage technology founders]. I shared this story with a lot of our investors, and they are super excited about this product. Maybe sometime next year, we will establish a startup company to make it a real product to benefit ordinary people.

Written by: Ramya Bommakanti, a senior information systems major and communications intern in the COEIT Dean’s office.

Meet ASM Mobarak Hossain (Sajib). He recently graduated from UMBC with an M.S. in information systems and joined IBM as a Senior Developer and AI Specialist. Sajib has spent more than a decade working in technology. What excites him most is using what he knows to build solutions that make a difference in people’s lives. At UMBC, he put that passion to work helping to develop MyPath, a Google Maps–style app that uses AI, remote sensing measurements, and crowd-sourced data to guide wheelchair users to accessible routes.

This May, the work was recognized when Sajib was selected as one of two recipients for the inaugural COEIT Computing for Social Good Award, made possible by a generous donation from alumnus Akshay Java, M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’08, computer science. Awardees were selected in a competitive review process by COEIT faculty reviewers and departmental leadership. Sajib was selected for his project “A Multi-Modal Agentic Framework for Auditing Wheelchair Accessibility.” Take it away, Sajib!

Q: What brought you to UMBC?

A: After spending many years working in software engineering and technology leadership, I wanted to keep growing and challenge myself in a new way. I came to UMBC to deepen my knowledge, explore AI and research, and connect my industry experience with problems that could have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

Q: What did you enjoy most about UMBC?

A: What I enjoyed most about UMBC was being able to connect what I learned in class with real problems. My research gave me the chance to use AI and software engineering to work on wheelchair accessibility, which made the experience much more meaningful to me than simply learning technology.

Q: Who in the UMBC community inspired you or supported you?

A: I found support at UMBC through the people who were willing to listen to my ideas and help me develop them. My advisor, Md Osman Gani, has been one of the most supportive people during my time at UMBC. He encouraged me to think beyond the technical side of a problem and focus on how our research could actually help people. That support helped turn my interest in accessibility into research that became a very meaningful part of my UMBC experience.

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: I would tell them that at UMBC you don’t have to figure everything out by yourself. I found professors and researchers who were willing to listen to my ideas, guide me, and give me room to explore. That support helped me turn an idea into research with a real purpose.

Q: Can you tell us about your current job and how UMBC helped prepare you for your career?

A: I’m currently working at IBM as a Senior Developer and AI Specialist. What I enjoy most is the opportunity to work on challenging technology problems and continue learning. I especially enjoy using my software engineering background together with AI to build solutions that can solve real-world problems.

UMBC helped me look at technology from a different perspective. I already had many years of industry experience, but my time at UMBC gave me the opportunity to become more involved in research, explore AI more deeply, and think about how technology can be used to address real human needs. That experience has been valuable as I move into the next stage of my career.

Q: How does the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award make an impact on your education?

A: Receiving the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award directly bridges the gap between academic theory and real-world impact. It provides vital encouragement and support to continue leveraging computer science for positive social change, specifically through the MyPath project. Beyond the immediate recognition, it inspires me to stay focused on human-centered software design, seek out complex social challenges in my future coursework, and pursue career opportunities centered on technology for good.

Q: How did it feel to win the award?

A: Winning the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award was an immense honor and deeply validating. Developing MyPath required countless hours of hard work, continuous refinement, and a deep commitment to addressing a meaningful community need. Seeing that work recognized by COEIT was incredibly exciting and humbling—it gave me a strong sense of pride in what we’ve built and renewed enthusiasm for creating tools that deliver genuine social value.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

Deep in UMBC’s climate-controlled Special Collections are 750,000 prints, negatives, and transparencies from The Baltimore Sun dating from the 1930s through the 1980s. 

Before faculty and students can use the collection, archivists must create finding aids. These inventory documents describe a collection—its origins, number of pieces, types of materials, their quality, dates, number of archival boxes, box measurements, and more. It’s a road map guiding users through each piece of a collection.

Reese Finnigan, studying the history of the Soviet Union and learning Russian, developed these archival skills working on The Baltimore Sun collection during her first year in the Master of Arts in Public History program. This year, when looking for summer internship opportunities, Finnigan was excited to find that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center in Bowie, Maryland—a museum she had tried to secure a curatorial or research internship with for years—was seeking an intern with her exact skill set.

“In retrospect, this is the first year that I’ve had the skills and resume needed for this level of archival work,” says Finnigan, grateful that Maryland is home to such a prestigious research center with the largest concentration of Holocaust-related records in the United States, and to learn from archival experts with decades of experience. “The opportunities UMBC has given me to learn Russian, historical research, and archival skills dovetailed very nicely with the center’s Archival Affairs Division internship, which required knowledge of Eastern European history and languages.”

Needle in the digital stack

The finding aids for the Eastern European collection that Finnigan is working on do not always directly correspond to what is in the archive. Some materials are in the wrong order or are missing finding aids. Other times, some things aren’t listed in the original file but are actually in it. Finnigan also has to translate the words on the document, which could be a translation of the original language, depending on where the document was recovered from. It could be Russian, a Slavic language, or any language using the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used for various languages across Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Soviet Republics of Central Asia. 

She spends hours cross-checking inventories, documents, photos, descriptions, and creating new spreadsheets that reflect the latest information. She then hands it off to another archivist to double-check her work. It’s a cycle of verification and refinement to align the finding aids with the accurate collections. The maze of finding aids is the result of different archival processes carried out across borders, countries, and decades. “The researcher should be able to come in and find something quickly without ever having to think too much about it. The easier they can find things, the better,” says Finnigan. 

A note from the past

Some mysteries are beyond languages and locations, stumping even a team of experts and bringing them together to do serious detective work. That’s exactly what happened when Finnigan noticed a small symbol on some original photos in a Lithuanian KGB (national security and intelligence agency) collection placed by the original archives. She asked archivists Julie Schweitzer, her boss, and Alla Dvorkin, her direct supervisor, but they hadn’t seen it before either. The mystery quickly spread throughout the building, ensuing a string of emails with experts weighing in, hoping to reveal the meaning of what looked like a small bean. They found that the symbol was a mark used in some European archival systems to note the poor quality of the writing or the photography.

Finnigan showing the mysterious mark she came across in a set of photographs.

“People often imagine archival work as simply preserving historical materials. In reality, a surprising amount of the job involves acting as part historian, part detective, part translator, and occasionally part conspiracy theorist—until someone finds the answer,” Finnigan posted on LinkedIn. “It’s a reminder that expertise is often collective. No single person knew the answer. The solution emerged through conversations, institutional knowledge, and a network of colleagues willing to chase down an obscure question simply because it mattered.” 

To preserve and share

In the last few weeks of her internship, Finnigan received additional training from Adam Fielding, a processing archivist who works primarily with personal papers. Fielding, who has been at the center for 11 years, began by showing Finnigan the Rudolph Daniel Sichel papers, an example of what a finished collection can look like once the personal papers have been digitized and preserved in archival boxes.

(Top) Finnigan with Fielding, Dvorkin, and Schweitzer (center), reviewing Rudolph Daniel Sichel‘s military uniform and personal camera. (Bottom) The Sichel collection archival boxes and Sichel’s camera and camera case.

The Sichel papers, donated by Rudolph’s children, consist of seven boxes with documents dating from 1903 to 1978, many of which connect Sichel to Maryland. Sichel was a “Ritchie Boy,” one of thousands of Jewish refugees who immigrated to the U.S., enlisted in the army, and trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie near Cascade, Maryland, a little over an hour north of UMBC. 

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The additonal training gave Finnigan the techniques to work with non-digital items that require special care, like the folder Fielding tasked her with, full of primarily prewar family photographs related to the Kugelman family from Bedzin, Poland, dating between 1930 – 1942.

While putting these skills to use was exciting, the greater reward was seeing the impact of the team’s work. Finnigan’s interest in archival work is not only about preserving history but also making archives accessible to the public, which are two of the center’s priorities.

“There is no point in preserving all of this history if the public can’t access it. We want to preserve the history and make it easily accessible, whether through exhibitions, digital archives, or physical collections. Good archival work should essentially be invisible,” says Finnigan. This includes special handling and storage methods, like cold storage (35°F to 50°F) and cool storage (55°F to 65°F) to dramatically slow chemical decay, stop pest activity, and extend the lifespan of sensitive artifact and media collections.

“The collections at the Shapell Center are evidence of atrocities, of war crimes, of survival,” says Finnigan. “If the items are damaged, they can’t be replaced, and then that piece of history is lost.”

Learn more about internship opportunities at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s archives.

David Mountain, Ph.D. ’17, computer engineering, can’t tell you much about his job. It still sounds exciting. As a researcher at the National Security Agency (NSA)—sometimes jokingly called the “No Such Agency” because of its top secret signal intelligence and cybersecurity work—Mountain worked to develop groundbreaking computing technology over a career spanning more than four decades. 

“The most fun projects started with an operational organization [within NSA] asking us, ‘Can you do this [perhaps wild-sounding] thing?’ and ended with them telling us they fielded the devices we built and they are working great,” he says.

Pop culture often portrays the NSA as a shadowy spy agency. From Mountain’s perspective, his job was not the thrilling escapades of James Bond, but had a certain resemblance to the high-tech wizardry of Q, who supplies Bond with his cool gadgets. Mountain’s colleagues were curious people who loved tackling hard science, math, and engineering problems. Add to that the mission of protecting U.S. national security and it equaled a fulfilling work environment. 

Looking back, Mountain splits his career into two approximately 15-year blocks, the first spent “doing really hardcore technical stuff,” from which he earned numerous patents, and the second half coordinating the work of technical teams and mentoring the next generation of researchers. Along the way, he also spent multiple years taking advantage of NSA internship and development programs.

Sometimes Mountain’s work did see public light, such as his research into building flexible electronics, with applications in “smart” clothing, autonomous vehicles, solar panels, and more. The research was shared with industry through the NSA’s Technology Transfer Program. 

Now (mostly) retired, Mountain says the best part of his job was the opportunity to constantly explore new topics and take on new challenges. 

“The government was really good about education and developing people, and I took full advantage of that,” Mountain says. “I got paid to learn new things, and that was great.”

Imagining a new type of computer hardware

It was the love of learning that brought Mountain late in his career to UMBC as a Ph.D. student. He had already made use of NSA programs to earn his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and to take research sabbaticals. After enrolling as a UMBC student in 2014, Mountain worked with his advisor Anupam Joshi, a computer science and electrical engineering professor and now the university’s chief A.I. officer, on a Ph.D. dissertation exploring a concept called neuromorphic computing.

In neuromorphic computing, researchers take inspiration from the human brain to reimagine traditional computing hardware. While traditional computers perform data processing and memory operations in physically separate units, neuromorphic systems merge the functions at artificial “synapses.” Neuromorphic systems also generally trigger calculations when they receive an input signal, rather than performing operations at regular, clock-based intervals. These changes improve computers’ energy efficiency and adaptability when applied to most AI tasks today, such as image and speech recognition.

For his Ph.D., Mountain analyzed a new type of electrical circuit building block, called a memristor, that shows promise in neuromorphic computing. Mountain explored how arrays of memristors divided into small chunks, or “tiles,” could be flexibly combined to handle a variety of tasks, including recognizing hand-written digits and detecting malware. The conclusion, Mountain says, was that with additional hardware improvements it should be possible to build a general purpose neuromorphic computer—similar to our general purpose personal computers of today—that could handle a wide variety of tasks with both high performance and energy efficiency. 

Mountain was drawn to UMBC for his Ph.D. in part because of its close proximity to where he worked in the Advanced Computing Systems group of the NSA’s Laboratory for Physical Sciences, located at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. The Laboratory for Physical Sciences is a partnership that the government runs with industry and university partners to advance research in communication, sensing, and computer technologies. Prior to beginning his Ph.D. work, Mountain had developed many positive relationships with UMBC faculty and students, including collaborating with Matthias Gobbert, a professor of mathematics and statistics at UMBC, on several high-performance computing research projects for undergraduate students, funded by the National Science Foundation. 

During his Ph.D. research, Mountain took numerous UMBC graduate courses, and credits computer science and electrical engineering professor Fow-Sen Choa and associate professor Ryan Robucci with providing valuable guidance and support that shaped his research. 

“I was a non-traditional student and everyone supported me in that,” Mountain says. 

“David is super smart and well respected,” Joshi says. Joshi’s own Ph.D. thesis explored how computers might learn like biological brains, specifically examining how a type of machine learning approach called neural networks could be organized in a similar way to the early stages of human’s visual processing system. “With David, the research came full circle,” Joshi says. “I looked at how biology could be emulated in software. David was looking at how to create the hardware.” 

Staying connected and giving back

Mountain lives in the southwest Baltimore neighborhood of Ten Hills, a 10-minute drive from the UMBC campus. Since graduating with his Ph.D., he has served on the advisory board for the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, networked with students at various career-focused events, and developed and taught a graduate level quantum computing course, designed to help build the quantum workforce by providing computer scientists and engineers with an accessible introduction to core quantum computing concepts.

On May 28, Mountain served as an expert panelist at an event organized by the Hilltop Society exploring how AI can create a healthier, safer, and more efficient future. He was joined by Jennifer Sleeman, Ph.D. ’17, computer science, a senior AI research scientist at The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and Chris Valentino ’02, M.S. ’06, information systems, the vice president of cyber and information solutions at Northrop Grumman.

Enjoying semi-retirement with his wife, Diane, with whom he raised four children, Mountain now regularly travels, visits the theatre and museums, and takes the occasional consulting gig. “My wife and I joke that we have become wise asses on the hill,” he says. He’s happy to dispense opinions on the future of computing and AI, the prospects of data centers in space, and more. Just don’t ask him too much about what he did for a living. 

Meet Rishav Gupta. After spending five years as a mobile engineer, he decided to pursue his Ph.D. in computer science at UMBC to deepen his expertise and choose projects with the clear objective of improving people’s lives. Rishav is working in the Future Sensing and Interaction Lab of professor Dong Li on a project to use everyday smartphones as affordable and accessible blood pressure monitors.

This May, the work was recognized when Rishav was selected as one of two recipients for the inaugural COEIT Computing for Social Good Award, made possible by a generous donation from alumnus Akshay Java, M.S. ’03, computer science, Ph.D. ’08, computer science. Awardees were selected in a competitive review process by COEIT faculty reviewers and departmental leadership. Rishav was choosen for his project “Enabling Affordable and Accessible Blood Pressure Monitoring Using Only a Commodity Smartphone.” Take it away, Rishav!

Q: What brought you to UMBC?

A: As an international student from India, I left a comfortable career to come here. After five years as a mobile engineer in industry, I was a generalist who could build things, but I wanted to understand them, to master a domain and create research that genuinely gives back to the community and helps people. UMBC’s work in health sensing was exactly that chance.

UMBC’s welcoming and inclusive environment made the transition less daunting. From peers who’d walked the same path to a community that genuinely wants your feedback to others considering it: you won’t be figuring things out alone here.

Q: What do you love about UMBC?

A: Beyond my research, I serve on the Graduate Assistant Advisory Committee, helping improve the experience for graduate assistants across campus. From clarifying appointment expectations to shaping GA orientation, it’s shown me a side of UMBC that genuinely listens to students and works to actually affect people’s day-to-day lives. What I enjoy most is being a bridge: carrying real student concerns to people who can actually act on them.

Q: Who in the community inspired you or supported you?

A: My advisor, Dong Li, pushes me to aim high and take ownership of my research, trusting me to drive my own ideas. That independence has stretched me. I’ve also leaned on senior students in the department, whose willingness to share what they’ve learned has made navigating the early Ph.D. years far less daunting. 

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: What surprised me most is how many people quietly have your back. A student who walked me through a rough patch, a staff member who actually wanted my feedback and acted on it, and peers who share hard lessons so I don’t struggle alone are just a few examples. The support is every day and practical.

On left, Gupta receives an award for best poster from computer science and electrical engineering assistant professor Roberto Yus on CSEE Research Day in April 2026. On right, Gupta and his team receive a first place award from The Maryland NEW VENTURE program in May 2026. (Photos courtesy of Gupta)

Q: What are your goals after graduation and how is UMBC helping you?

A: My goal is a research career with significant meaningful work, ideally a faculty position at a strong university, where I can keep pushing on affordable health-sensing technology and train the next generation of researchers. I’m early in the journey, but that’s the direction I’m building toward.

UMBC has pushed me toward independence by owning my research direction, presenting my work at top venues, and building the depth I came here for. Serving on a graduate committee has also grown skills I didn’t expect to develop: representing others, navigating institutions, and turning feedback into real change.

Q: How has the Computing for Social Good Award impacted your education?

A: The COEIT Computing for Social Good Award directly supports my research to make blood pressure monitoring affordable and accessible using only a commodity smartphone, with no specialized hardware and no clinic visit required. Beyond the tangible support, being recognized specifically for the social good of the work, rather than only its technical side, has shaped how I choose research problems: it pushes me to keep asking who my work actually helps, and to keep people who can’t easily access conventional care at the center of what I build.

Q: How did it feel to win this award?

A: Receiving the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award felt meaningful in a way I didn’t expect. I came to UMBC from a career in industry because I wanted my work to matter beyond a product. Being recognized for the research’s social impact felt like confirmation that I’d chosen the right path. It was also humbling as a reminder that affordable health technology isn’t an abstract goal but something real people are rooting for, and it left me more motivated to deliver on the promise the award recognizes.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

Meet Rishav Gupta. After spending five years as a mobile engineer, he decided to pursue his Ph.D. in computer science at UMBC to deepen his expertise and choose projects with the clear objective of improving people’s lives. Rishav is working in the Future Sensing and Interaction Lab of professor Dong Li on a project to use everyday smartphones as affordable and accessible blood pressure monitors.

This May, the work was recognized when Rishav was selected as one of two recipients for the inaugural COEIT Computing for Social Good Award, made possible by a generous donation from alumnus Akshay Java, M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’08, computer science. Awardees were selected in a competitive review process by COEIT faculty reviewers and departmental leadership. Rishav was choosen for his project “Enabling Affordable and Accessible Blood Pressure Monitoring Using Only a Commodity Smartphone.” Take it away, Rishav!

Q: What brought you to UMBC?

A: As an international student from India, I left a comfortable career to come here. After five years as a mobile engineer in industry, I was a generalist who could build things, but I wanted to understand them, to master a domain and create research that genuinely gives back to the community and helps people. UMBC’s work in health sensing was exactly that chance.

UMBC’s welcoming and inclusive environment made the transition less daunting. From peers who’d walked the same path to a community that genuinely wants your feedback to others considering it: you won’t be figuring things out alone here.

Q: What do you love about UMBC?

A: Beyond my research, I serve on the Graduate Assistant Advisory Committee, helping improve the experience for graduate assistants across campus. From clarifying appointment expectations to shaping GA orientation, it’s shown me a side of UMBC that genuinely listens to students and works to actually affect people’s day-to-day lives. What I enjoy most is being a bridge: carrying real student concerns to people who can actually act on them.

Q: Who in the community inspired you or supported you?

A: My advisor, Dong Li, pushes me to aim high and take ownership of my research, trusting me to drive my own ideas. That independence has stretched me. I’ve also leaned on senior students in the department, whose willingness to share what they’ve learned has made navigating the early Ph.D. years far less daunting. 

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: What surprised me most is how many people quietly have your back. A student who walked me through a rough patch, a staff member who actually wanted my feedback and acted on it, and peers who share hard lessons so I don’t struggle alone are just a few examples. The support is every day and practical.

On left, Gupta receives an award for best poster from computer science and electrical engineering assistant professor Roberto Yus on CSEE Research Day in April 2026. On right, Gupta and his team receive a first place award from The Maryland NEW VENTURE program in May 2026. (Photos courtesy of Gupta)

Q: What are your goals after graduation and how is UMBC helping you?

A: My goal is a research career with significant meaningful work, ideally a faculty position at a strong university, where I can keep pushing on affordable health-sensing technology and train the next generation of researchers. I’m early in the journey, but that’s the direction I’m building toward.

UMBC has pushed me toward independence by owning my research direction, presenting my work at top venues, and building the depth I came here for. Serving on a graduate committee has also grown skills I didn’t expect to develop: representing others, navigating institutions, and turning feedback into real change.

Q: How has the Computing for Social Good Award impacted your education?

A: The COEIT Computing for Social Good Award directly supports my research to make blood pressure monitoring affordable and accessible using only a commodity smartphone, with no specialized hardware and no clinic visit required. Beyond the tangible support, being recognized specifically for the social good of the work, rather than only its technical side, has shaped how I choose research problems: it pushes me to keep asking who my work actually helps, and to keep people who can’t easily access conventional care at the center of what I build.

Q: How did it feel to win this award?

A: Receiving the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award felt meaningful in a way I didn’t expect. I came to UMBC from a career in industry because I wanted my work to matter beyond a product. Being recognized for the research’s social impact felt like confirmation that I’d chosen the right path. It was also humbling as a reminder that affordable health technology isn’t an abstract goal but something real people are rooting for, and it left me more motivated to deliver on the promise the award recognizes.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

What does it take for a single cell to become a functioning organism—and what does it take for a scientist to thrive amid the systems that govern the research enterprise? Mayank Chugh is exploring both questions at once. As an assistant teaching professor in biological sciences and director of UMBC’s Applied Molecular Biology (AMB) accelerated master’s program, he is entering his second year in a role that blends hands-on teaching, program leadership, and research that extends beyond the lab.

In developmental biology, Chugh investigates how organs take shape, focusing on the inner ear in zebrafish and the role physical forces play in its development. Through his ReForm Lab, launched during his postdoc at Harvard Medical School, he turns the same careful eye toward the institutional policies and hidden costs that influence who gets to do science. A new paper published in Nature Biotechnology led by Chugh examines the real-world burdens international postdocs face to maintain their visas and continue their work.

In the conversation below, Chugh talks about the unusual mix of responsibilities that defines his position, the students and skills at the heart of the AMB program, what drew him to science policy, the collaborations and community he has found at UMBC, and how others might begin expanding their own work beyond traditional research.

Q: What are the components of your role at UMBC, and how is it unique?

A: My primary role is director of the Applied Molecular Biology program, our department’s accelerated one-year master’s. I lead everything from recruitment through teaching and collaborations with other faculty, taking the students from when they apply all the way to graduation. It’s primarily a teaching position, but it’s unusual because I also have access to the teaching lab for my own developmental biology research. So in addition to teaching, I can recruit students to pursue research with me. Right now I have two high school students, one undergraduate, and one recent graduate working in the lab with me. We’re studying how the inner ear forms in zebrafish and how mechanical forces shape organ development and influence cell decisions. I collaborate with UMBC developmental biologist Rachel Brewster on the fish work. We share microscopy resources and she’s generously offered me space in the fish facility.

Q: Can you explain the purpose of the AMB program and who could benefit from it?

A: I believe the program is underrated. It’s an intensive one-year master’s that combines coursework with rigorous research and builds skills that can transfer anywhere. The students practice communication through weekly presentations, develop their writing skills through reports, and improve their time and project management out of necessity as they design and run experiments—all skills useful within and beyond science. 

The program is great for undergrads with strong grades who lack substantial lab experience to gain a sense of what graduate-level science is like, so they can decide from an informed place whether a Ph.D. is right for them. A part-time option also serves working professionals who want to advance their skills. UMBC undergraduates can transfer up to 12 credits from their bachelor’s program if they plan ahead, which saves them time and money. AMB graduates head onto a range of next steps including jobs in industry, medical school, academic positions, and more.

Q: Why did you branch into science policy alongside developmental biology? What do you find most meaningful about that work?

A: I love basic research, but I’ve always cared about how science integrates into society. During my postdoc at Harvard I realized I did not want a traditional tenure-track path. I launched the ReForm Lab to examine the institutional structures and policies that govern who gets to do science, how we do it, and how it is evaluated. It’s highly interdisciplinary—today I collaborate with social scientists and others I never expected to work with.

My first ReForm Lab paper looked at postdoctoral compensation in the Boston area and showed how NIH salary guidelines ignore cost-of-living disparities across the country. Within two months of it being published, several institutions changed their policies. I got so many emails saying “thank you.” That tangible impact felt different from anything I’d experienced in basic research. 

My new paper expands on that work. We surveyed hundreds of postdocs and quantified the often-invisible time, money, and psychological costs international scholars face, like having to travel back to their home country to renew their visas. We frame it as an administrative burden with real consequences for well-being and opportunity. The paper focuses solely on the data, but my personal opinion is that institutions could simply start with greater sensitivity toward scholars facing these challenges and offer practical support, like greater flexibility.

I’m also formally affiliated with the Human Context of Science and Technology program at UMBC. I love being part of that program; it gives me the chance to teach topics like the future of science and talk about race and gender in STEM. I recently organized a movie screening and discussion about Henrietta Lacks, whose local story is ongoing. Johns Hopkins is now constructing a Henrietta Lacks building in collaboration with her family. 

Q: What do you appreciate about the UMBC community?

A: UMBC hits a Goldilocks size—neither too small nor too large. People are approachable and kind, and the department has been welcoming from day one. I’ve already begun collaborations and feel supported in doing interdisciplinary work. And the students are exceptional. Even those who arrive with limited lab experience repeatedly surprise me with how quickly they grow. The small size of the AMB program gives me the chance to connect with each student on a deeper level and continue to mentor them after they graduate, if they choose. I’ve helped students with their CVs, run mock interviews, and helped them make connections for opportunities. I’d say that has been one of the most rewarding parts of the role.

Q: What advice would you give others interested in expanding into science-policy work?

A: Use existing professional appointments as platforms. Join groups like the Scholars Strategy Network that connect scholars with policymakers and community builders. And for anyone at UMBC, feel free to just email me—maybe we could get a science and policy interest group started. The expertise is already here to engage in that way and benefit society with our work; we should put it to good use.