A $32K Gift to Advance Tech Research that Solves Societal Challenges

Akshay Java, M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’08, computer science, together with the Java-Rijhwani family, recently established the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award with a $32,190 founding gift of Google stock. This contribution uniquely qualified for a corporate matching gift from Google, bringing the total impact even higher and demonstrating the impactful potential of philanthropic giving strategies. 

This inspiring gift speaks directly to UMBC’s mission of research excellence and social purpose.

Now leading efforts with Google's Responsible AI Research and Engineering teams, Akshay sees daily both the extraordinary promise and potential risks of modern technology. His intent in creating this endowment is to ensure our student researchers are recognized and supported when they harness the power of computing to solve pressing societal challenges.

Click here to read more about Akshay and his motivations for establishing this award. 

The gift itself was structured to make an immediate impact. A $2,000 bridge gift allowed Jeanne van Briesen, Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, and COEIT to honor two inaugural student awardees at COEIT Research Day on May 1, 2026, while the $30,190 endowment ensures support for the award in perpetuity. The award is also open to contributions from the community.

“Structuring gifts this way allows donors to see immediate results,” notes Kim Robinson, director of major gifts in the Office of Institutional Advancement. “This approach serves as a framework for future philanthropy.”

2026 Award Recipients

ASM Mobarak Hossain (Sajib) recently graduated from UMBC with an M.S. in information systems and joined IBM as a Senior Developer and AI Specialist. 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. Sajib was selected for the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award for his project “A Multi-Modal Agentic Framework for Auditing Wheelchair Accessibility.” 

After spending five years as a mobile engineer, Rishav Gupta 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. Rishav was selected for the COEIT Computing for Social Good Award for his project “Enabling Affordable and Accessible Blood Pressure Monitoring Using Only a Commodity Smartphone.” 

Both of these projects illustrate why Akshay’s gift is so resonant. Please join me in thanking Akshay, and his family. Gifts like these showcase the real impact of alumni partnership and reinforce the values that define our Retriever community.