Leaders from Amazon Research Initiatives and AWS visited UMD’s Smith School on Nov. 10, 2025, to explore research collaborations. Faculty shared innovative projects in AI, logistics, sustainability, and digital marketing, strengthening Smith’s partnership with Amazon and highlighting opportunities for future funding.

Three Robert H. Smith School of Business seniors — Urszula Cieslak, James Miller and Victoria Rush — were among 18 undergraduates honored as Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars by the University of Maryland on Nov. 7, recognizing student achievement and mentorship excellence.

Bobby Zhou’s research highlights three strategies any company can use to grow like tech giants: open to third parties, connect customers, and reach customers’ customers. These platformization methods harness network effects, building defensible, scalable, and innovative businesses across industries.

More than 37,000 learners worldwide have joined the Smith School’s free AI and Career Empowerment course—designed for transitioning federal workers but open to all—building AI literacy and career skills through expert-led, self-paced modules.

Smith School and Merrill College faculty joined journalists to explore innovative business models, AI tools and cross-disciplinary solutions to help local news organizations adapt to declining revenue, shrinking readership and the disruptive impact of digital platforms.

Smith School associate professors Liye Ma and Bobby Zhou were named 2024 MSI Scholars by the Marketing Science Institute, recognizing their influential research. The honor fosters collaboration among mid-career marketing academics, shaping the field’s future through scholarship and real-world impact.

Google faces major antitrust cases for monopolizing digital advertising and search. Research Professor Kislaya Prasad suggests that ending exclusive agreements could increase competition, while Associate Professor Bobby Zhou emphasizes breaking up business units like Google’s search could benefit competitors, advertisers, and consumers.

Self-preferencing by large tech companies, like Amazon, faces scrutiny, with Congress considering the AICOA and OAMA bills to restrict the practice. Research by Smith professor Bobby Zhou suggests these regulations could unintentionally raise consumer prices by reducing competition between sellers.

Team USA's gold medal win at the Paris 2024 Olympics coincided with NBCU's viewership surge, averaging 30.6 million viewers. Smith School marketing professor Bobby Zhou attributes this to Paris's allure, favorable time zones, and the Olympics' unifying effect.