What is the best pathway to unlock opportunities that will allow Americans to realize their dreams? And is that route lined with government programs or free enterprise? Those questions were at the center of a debate tour recently hosted by Maryland Smith’s Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets, in partnership with The Steamboat Institute.

When we think about AI, we don’t normally picture it evaluating telehealth calls or monitoring patients after surgery. But those are some of the ways that artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare, says Maryland Smith’s Gordon Gao.

Maryland Smith’s Michael Fu received a National Science Foundation grant for research to improve kidney transplants. The project combines technological advances in medical science with operations research and artificial intelligence-based approaches to dramatically improve the kidney donor-recipient matching process to lead to better outcomes for end-stage kidney disease patients.

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has named Russ Wermers as the Paul J. Cinquegrana ’63 Endowed Chair in Finance. Named for the late Paul J. Cinquegrana ’63, the newly created endowed professorship was established by a gift bequeathed to Maryland Smith by his late wife, Betty Cinquegrana.

Across business industries, leaders are interested in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to their work, but knowing when to apply them is just half of the battle. The bigger challenge is knowing how to make sense of data and leverage it to make the right operational and strategic decisions.

“The reason we do research is for all those moments of true inspiration,” Maryland Smith’s Rajshree Agarwal told a group of undergraduate students last Thursday. “My PhD students inspire me as they showcase how entrepreneurship and innovation helps create solutions to the world’s thorniest challenges and unmet needs.”

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has recently established a partnership with Ashesi University, a private university in Accra, Ghana. This partnership will first involve a yearlong faculty development program, focused on enhancing Ashesi’s scholarship of teaching and learning. The initiative also taps Maryland Smith faculty in the top 2% of the most-cited scholars and scientists worldwide and ranked No. 16 in the University of Texas at Dallas’ Top Worldwide Business School Rankings.

Recognized for her tireless efforts toward enhancing the student experience and mission of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Ritu Agarwal received the UMD President’s Medal during the 38th Annual Faculty and Staff Convocation on Wednesday.

As courses convene for the new academic year, Maryland Smith is welcoming eight new scholars to its faculty. Tejwansh (Tej) Anand is joining the decision, operations and information technologies department as a clinical professor. Anand earned a PhD from Columbia University.

Maryland Smith’s Ritu Agarwal was elected as a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). The honor is in recognition of her lifetime contributions to the profession and is reserved for only the very top academics and professionals in the field.