25 Terp Innovations That Changed History

The heroes of holiday dinners are a far cry from the wild birds featured at the first Thanksgiving, but they’re also quite different from the lanky domesticated turkeys of the early 20th century. In the 1930s, eminent scientist Morley Jull, then the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s senior poultry researcher, and colleague Stanley Marsden planned the breeding of a compact yet meaty turkey that would fit in small residential ovens. They hatched the Beltsville Small White, which became popular in the midcentury marketplace. Jull soon took over as chair of UMD’s Department of Poultry Science, and the Beltsville Small White went on to provide part of the genetic foundation of modern turkeys.

For 20 years, scientists knew that raw liver helped cure once-fatal pernicious anemia, but didn’t know which of its components was responsible. That changed in 1948, when UMD poultry science researcher Mary Shaw Shorb’s breakthrough method measuring the growth of Lactobacillus lactis bacteria led to the isolation of vitamin B12, key in producing red blood cells, maintaining the nervous system and synthesizing DNA. It’s still relevant decades later, with B12 supplements counteracting vitamin deficiencies caused by common medications like Prilosec for stomach acid and metformin for blood sugar.

While never actually a red phone on a desk, the hotline was instrumental in preventing escalation at the height of the Cold War. Game theory expert Thomas Schelling is among those credited with establishing a teletype system in 1963 to allow direct, speedy communication between U.S. and Soviet leaders. Later teaching about foreign policy, national security and nuclear strategy as a Distinguished University Professor of economics and public policy at UMD, he earned the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005 for enhancing understanding of conflict and cooperation. The hotline has evolved significantly, operating as a secure computer link since 2008.

UMD’s roots in AI research stretch all the way to the 1964 launch of the Center for Automation Research (CFAR) by Distinguished University Professor Azriel Rosenfeld. Arguably the founder of the field of computer vision, he pioneered the study of computer image analysis, wrote the field’s first textbook and launched its first journal. The myriad applications inspired by CFAR proliferate at all levels of society, including facial recognition systems that unlock our phones, autonomous driving systems and medical imaging tools that help diagnose diseases earlier than ever before.

Longtime dairy science Professor Wendell S. Arbuckle, affectionately known worldwide as “Mr. Ice Cream,” had the scoop on tastier scoops. His extensive research into how the treat freezes and melts led to key smoothness strategies: Lower the “draw temperature” at which the ice cream is removed from the churning machine for smaller ice crystals, and freeze rapidly to lock those crystals into place. He compiled his findings into the 1966 textbook “Ice Cream,” which, seven editions later, is still widely considered the bible of the industry—even used by pint titans like Ben & Jerry’s.

The block of vertical black bars and spaces is so ubiquitous on nearly every product as to be almost unnoticeable, but the last half-century of commerce wouldn’t have been possible without the UPC. George Laurer ’51 invented the barcode as an engineer at IBM in the early 1970s; it was first used to register the sale of a pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum at an Ohio grocery store in 1974, speeding up the retail checkout process ever since. But because Laurer and IBM didn’t patent the UPC, they never made a dime from its use.

Chemistry and biochemistry Professor Emeritus Paul Mazzocchi was ultimately unsuccessful in developing an addiction-proof opioid pain reliever. But the resulting modified benzazepine molecule he presented in a 1979 paper was still able to bind to morphine receptors in the brain. Scientists at Pfizer who found the paper decades later used it as a framework to create varenicline, also known as Chantix, a revolutionary drug that reduced cravings and withdrawal symptoms to help millions quit smoking.

Reaching your online destination without a hyperlink is about as easy as eating soup without a spoon. The 6 billion worldwide web surfers daily have computer science Professor Emeritus Ben Shneiderman and UMD’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab to thank for the intuitive shortcut. In the 1980s, while working on an electronic encyclopedia for the future U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the idea of highlighting words in a paragraph to jump across documents struck Shneiderman. His team conducted experiments to determine the blue color still widely used today was best, visible on both white and black backgrounds. “Maryland was a world leader for developing user interface strategies in that period,” he says. “There was a fundamental belief in the need to bring these technologies to wider audiences.” That philosophy stretched to another of his human-computer innovations: smaller, high-precision touchscreens that activate when a user lifts their finger, allowing for today’s smartphone and tablet screens.

“No hugging, no learning”: That was the credo of Larry David ’76 and Jerry Seinfeld when creating “Seinfeld” (1989-98), the landmark sitcom that eschewed sentimental life lessons and character growth and proved audiences could love a squad of unlikable protagonists. Dubbed a “show about nothing,” it also “showed that you could do a sitcom about what should seem like little irritations of modern life,” says longtime Baltimore Sun TV critic and Goucher College communications and media studies Assistant Professor of Practice David Zurawik Ph.D. ’00. The series paved the way for shows like “Arrested Development, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and of course, David’s later series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Zurawik noted one other way the show changed culture: mainstreaming Jewish identity on network television.

Prefer reading on a Kindle over lugging around a hardcover book? The namesake of UMD’s IDEA Factory was on the same digital page. In 1989, engineering alum E.A. Fernandez ’69 patented the microprocessor-based simulated book, a mass storage system with a display screen, access to a large database of chapters and pages, and the look and feel of a novel or nonfiction. Foundational in e-reading devices, it’s one of the most cited U.S. patents by technology and publishing companies.

You’d need a patent librarian to keep track of the lifesaving biomedical inventions—more than 200 in all—that have poured from the mind of Robert E. Fischell M.S. ’54, Sc.D. (honorary) ’96. Several have reshaped cardiac care: A rechargeable pacemaker battery inspired by the physicist’s work with spacecraft batteries ended the need for frequent surgeries for replacement, while a series of coronary stents he introduced with sons David, Tim and Scott in the 1990s have helped maintain cardiovascular function for millions of patients. Today, a vast replica of his stent design towers over the ground floor of UMD’s A. James Clark Hall. Upstairs, researchers work toward new advances in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices.

Self-serve kiosks can equal convenience when checking in at the airport or running a post office errand, but that wasn’t always the case for people with disabilities. A lack of haptic or audio feedback made the machines inaccessible for blind users, for example, and people with limited motor control might struggle to tap buttons precisely. The Trace Research and Development Center sought to “touch” more lives with the introduction of EZ Access in the 1990s. The set of interface enhancements to touchscreens, including a tactile keypad and speech output, has been implemented in tens of thousands of kiosks worldwide.

Until physicist Christopher Monroe’s 1995 experiment at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., quantum computing was only an exciting theory. He led the team that proved trapped ions could be used as “qubits”—units of computing information that can encode not just a 0 or 1, but potentially both at once—launching the global race to build superpowered computers. They hold the promise of both breaking and protecting secure systems, designing new materials and reinventing finance, healthcare and logistics. Monroe later became a Distinguished University Professor at UMD, where his group also was the first to demonstrate “long-distance quantum teleportation” of information, and then co-founded IonQ, one of the world’s leading quantum computing firms, based in College Park. Niccolo de Masi, IonQ chairman and CEO, remembers being inspired as an undergraduate by Monroe's seminal paper about the experiment: "That moment was a shot heard about the world for anyone passionate about quantum mechanics, and it cemented my commitment to this company's mission." 

As special teams captain for Maryland, Kevin Plank ’96 described himself as “the sweatiest guy on the football field.” Seeking a solution to his soaked cotton tees, he researched and sourced a synthetic, sweat-wicking material. The stretchy, form-fitting shirts that he sold out of the trunk of his car to athletes and former teammates became the foundation of his new company: Under Armour. He soon produced a range of game-changing gear for heat—with fast-drying, chafe-free material—and for cold—with dual-layer fabric to keep athletes cool inside and dry outside. The clothing technology inspired competitors to follow suit. “They were the trailblazers,” says Maryland head football coach Mike Locksley, whose team wears Under Armour uniforms. “They’re allowing you to be more productive because of the gear that you have on.”

If you’ve peeked at the 10-day forecast on your phone’s weather app, you’ve benefited from the work of atmospheric and oceanic science Distinguished University Professor Eugenia Kalnay. A pioneer in numerical weather prediction, she developed an ensemble forecasting method, running multiple forecasting models with slight variations in conditions instead of relying on just one; this more accurately measures forecast uncertainty. That, along with her improved data assimilation systems using satellites and radar, made possible useful extended forecasts. While working at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, she also cleared the clouds on more than 40 years of global climate data with a 1996 reanalysis paper that became one of the most widely cited atmospheric datasets in history.

Around-the-clock yacht rock, podcasts spanning NPR to pro wrestling, and UFO conspiracy talk shows are all at our fingertips—or in our earbuds—through crystal clear, commercial-free radio conceived and designed by Terps. Alumna Martine Rothblatt was the first to petition the FCC to broadcast from space in a little-used section of the frequency band, while satellite communications expert Robert Briskman M.S. ’61 led the technical development of the system that debuted in 2002. That included his revolutionary, patented method to ensure listeners on the move would never hit the dead spots common in FM radio by smoothly combining the signals of multiple satellites. Based in part on the strength of Howard Stern, who brought his army of listeners to Sirius in 2004, it absorbed rival XM radio to form SiriusXM radio in 2008.

Oculus lit the fuse on consumer virtual reality when its 2012 Kickstarter campaign demonstrated demand for an immersive gaming headset. Cofounded by University of Maryland alums Brendan Iribe, Michael Antonov ’03 and Andrew Reisse ’01, the company created devices that were far cheaper and performed better than the research-oriented products that preceded them. Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition in 2014 supercharged the venture, and the consumer Rift launched in 2016, reshaping immersive computing. “Oculus took virtual reality out of the research lab and put it in people’s hands, opening new possibilities for how we learn, experience and reimagine the world,” says computer science Professor Amitabh Varshney, dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences and a leading expert on VR and related tech. 

Terp computer scientists helped launch the revolution in language AI that led to today’s eerily capable chatbots—with a nod to Jim Henson ’60’s Muppets. Computer science Associate Professor Mohit Iyyer Ph.D. ’17 co-authored the 2018 paper introducing ELMo (Embeddings from Language Models), a breakthrough that allowed word meanings to change based on context. That same year, Jacob Devlin M.S. ’09 led Google’s BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) team, which introduced a powerful new way to train a models known as “masked language modeling.” Together they ushered in the “Muppet Model” era with a pre-training approach that underpins modern AI language models, plus a naming tradition that grew to include Big Bird, ERNIE, RoBERTa and more.