(Credit: Dylan Singleton)
The University of Maryland is a top five American producer of doctorates in several technology areas that are key to national security and science-driven innovation—including quantum science—according to a new study.
The study, released in June by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that UMD ranked in the top five universities in the number of Ph.D. graduates from 2000 to 2022 trained in each of five areas identified as critical by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: quantum science, artificial intelligence (AI), space technology, networked sensing, and data privacy and cybersecurity. UMD sits alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley in these rankings.
The study counted 258 quantum science dissertations at UMD, earning it the No. 5 spot, and noted that Maryland, like other universities on the list, was linked with a quantum science center. The study named JQI, along with the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, both longtime partnerships between UMD and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (UMD now has 10 quantum research centers.) The study also tallied 474 dissertations in networked sensing (No. 4), 578 in AI (No. 4), 201 in space technology (No. 5), and 124 in data privacy and cybersecurity (No. 2).
UMD’s rankings reflect investments that the university and the state have made in turning College Park into the Capital of Quantum and a hub of computer science and AI research.
"This recognition highlights the University of Maryland’s leadership in preparing the next generation of scientists to innovate in an ever-changing world," says UMD President Darryll J. Pines. "Our top rankings in critical technology fields reflect the strength of our faculty and research enterprise to make meaningful impact in addressing the grand challenges of our time.”
In January, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced the public-private Capital of Quantum initiative, which aims to pour $1 billion into efforts to recruit top quantum scientists and engineers, expand access to the National Quantum Laboratory, construct a new building for UMD’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, and support quantum startup development at UMD.
This text has been adapted with from a story originally posted by Maryland Today.