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Last month, the US EPA administrator Michael Regan moved to regulate a group of long-lasting, human-made chemicals (known as PFAs) that pose health risks to millions of Americans. These chemicals, which are used in everything from non-stick pans, water and stain proof fabrics, food packaging to personal care products, have been linked to a range of health problems from cancers to reproductive harms.

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in early 2020, Lecturer in the Department of Art Mollye Bendell felt a growing anxiety that the last time she would see her loved ones might be on a video call. Bendell, who works with electronic media to explore themes of vulnerability, visibility and longing, began to attempt to preserve her friends and family through her work using images of their faces from video chats. In her video project “Sketch for Sleepers,” Bendell projects those images in 3D onto stock digital silhouettes of human bodies that float across a screen.

VisiSonics, a University of Maryland startup focused on 3D spatial audio technologies, has partnered with a leading aviation communications company to provide military pilots with an advanced audio system designed to improve their performance.