Gas prices are rising with no end in sight, which would seem to indicate bad timing for a proposed gas tax hike in Maryland. Even with more pain at the pump, a tax increase could be the needed catalyst for Americans to shift to alternative energy sources. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Charles Olson talks about how a gas tax increase in Maryland could help encourage the use of natural gas as an alternative fuel.

Smith faculty present their latest research on topics that matter to you and your organization. Each presentation is followed by an opportunity to network with alumni and regional business leaders at one of Smith’s convenient local campuses in Washington, D.C., or Baltimore, Md.

The annual Top 10 Summer Reading List for Business Leaders – as recommended by Robert H. Smith School of Business faculty and staff - is several and months and a change-of-season away. Perhaps something to whet reader appetites for the 2012 summer list, a few Smith leaders reflected on books they have recently read and recommend for winter reading. The following selections cover "behavioral" economics and finance, “dark” secrets of the Internet, the revolutionary effect of the shipping container, social media as a driver of social change, and more.

The summer humidity hangs over Washington – along with another hot and sticky issue: What to do about the federal budget and the looming legally limited ceiling on how much money our nation can borrow. With a fast-approaching Aug. 2 deadline, lawmakers have spent months squabbling about the problem, which could have big impacts on the global economy. “The answer is clear – we have to raise the ceiling. And we need to get serious about reducing the long-term deficit,” says Curt Grimm, dean’s professor of supply chain and strategy. “There are plenty of ways to do this.”

When the largest earthquake to ever strike Japan rocked the country on March 11, it triggered a devastating tsunami leaving a wake of destruction and disaster at a nuclear power plant. It also shut down production for many major global manufacturers in Japan— in particular, those related to the auto and hi-tech industries.

College Park, Md. – October 15, 2010 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today named Mark Holifield – senior vice president of global supply chain for the Home Depot – as the 2010 “Person of the Year.”

Hallway space was limited in Van Munching Hall, as recruiting booths and enthusiastic students alike packed the Pownall Grand Atrium for Industry Day. Swag-covered tables, bright signs and information-laden booths attracted students who were eager to network with recruiters and learn about exciting internship and job opportunities in the supply chain management field.

With constant change, economic challenges and the havoc that events such as Gulf oil spills, natural disasters and terrorist threats can create, old models of balancing supply and demand are no longer effective. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Sandor Boyson, research professor and co-director of the Supply Chain Management Center, discusses the new risks for today’s supply chains and how organization can deal with volatility.

College Park, Md. – November 11, 2009 – The University of Maryland was recognized as No. 16 in the world for the strength of its faculty and quality of research in business and economics in the 2009 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) released Nov. 4. The rankings are compiled by the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. The University of Maryland also ranked No. 17 in the broader field of social sciences, which includes business and economics.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is pleased to welcome the following new faculty members for fall 2009. Accounting and Information Assurance Carolyn Levine, assistant professor; PhD, Carnegie Mellon University James Staihar- Assistant Professor; PhD, University of Michigan Decision, Operations and Information Technologies Karen Gold, Tyser Teaching Fellow of statistics, UCLA Canan Savaskan-Ebert, visiting assistant professor; PhD, INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France Finance