Smith associate professor Sean Cao, co-founder and director of the Smith AI Initiative for Capital Market Research, received two best paper awards for research showing how humans and artificial intelligence work together to improve stock analysis and corporate disclosure in capital markets.

Stephen Loeb, retired University of Maryland Smith School professor and former department chair, was named a leading accounting ethics scholar by the Journal of Accounting Literature, which cites his foundational research and ranks UMD first among institutions in the field.

P.K. Kannan, dean’s chair in marketing science at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, will be inducted into the 2026 American Marketing Association Fellows cohort, honoring his influential research, teaching and service at conference in Madrid.

Smith School faculty continue to make remarkable research contributions. Over three years, they’ve published nearly 500 articles—half in top journals. Twenty-one professors rank among the world’s top 2% most-cited scholars, with research influencing U.S. policy, AI ethics, and global management practices.

Twenty-one Smith School professors were named among the top 2% most cited researchers globally, according to Elsevier’s 2025 study across 22 fields. Representing both current and emeritus faculty, their impactful research advances business knowledge and global academic excellence.

The Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted AI Lightning Talks on Oct. 23, 2025, featuring 15 faculty and PhD presenters sharing fast-paced insights into recent AI research topics, from healthcare and entrepreneurship to generative AI and visual design.

Led by President Rebecca Ratner, the Association for Consumer Research held its 2025 conference in Washington, D.C., exploring “Buying and Beyond.” Ratner emphasized social connection in her address, highlighting research on loneliness, consumer behavior, and marketing’s role in fostering connection.

Wedad Elmaghraby, Dean’s Chair of Operations Management and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, was elected president-elect of INFORMS, the top international association for operations research, analytics and AI professionals, beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

S. Raghu Raghavan, Dean’s Professor of Management Science and Operations Management, was named an INFORMS Fellow—one of the field’s highest honors—for pioneering research in operations research, analytics, and AI, recognizing his lifetime academic, research, and professional contributions.

Doctoral student Eunseong Jang at the Smith School developed new statistical models to expand incomplete datasets, giving law enforcement and policymakers tools to fight drug trafficking. His NSF-funded research, guided by Margret Bjarnadottir and S. Raghu Raghavan, earned a $6,000 award for its societal impact.