Maryland Supports Research Professorships at Six Higher Education Institutions
Maryland Institute College of Art, Loyola University Maryland, McDaniel College, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland, College Park raised matching funds to promote research and technology through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund
BALTIMORE, MD (August 20, 2025) – The Maryland Department of Commerce today joined the Maryland Institute College of Art, Loyola University Maryland, McDaniel College, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, College Park in endowing more than $23 million to fund new research professorships. The endowment was made through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), a state program created to spur basic and applied research in scientific and technical fields at colleges and universities. The universities raised $11.7 million in private funding for the positions, and Maryland Commerce approved matching grants of $11.45 million to support the endowment.
“These six colleges and universities are some of the most important drivers of cutting-edge research and innovation in Maryland,” said Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker, Jr. “Innovation fuels economic growth, and our goal is for these E-Nnovation grants to help unleash discoveries and technologies that will help make our economy stronger and more competitive.”
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) received a $500,000 award, matched by $500,000 in qualified donations, to retain Professor Ryan Hoover as the Endowed Chair of Biodesign—a transdisciplinary area of innovation that works with living organisms and biological processes to create novel products, materials, and systems. MICA is a nationally recognized leader in biodesign research and education, and will be launching new degree programs in the emerging field.
Loyola University Maryland received a $1.5 million award to establish the Simon Professorship in Entrepreneurship; the grant was matched by $1.5 million in qualified donations to the university. This professorship will allow the university to support Jon Weinstein, assistant teaching professor and entrepreneur-in-residence at the university’s Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, in his innovative curricular and co-curricular activities that bring together students and community members to support hands-on entrepreneurship both in the center and directly through his experientially focused undergraduate teaching. The center supports entrepreneurs both on campus and from the Greater Baltimore area, including faculty, students, and community-led ventures.
McDaniel College received a $2 million award, matched by $2 million in qualified donations, to establish the Endowed Professorship in Computational Innovation and Emerging Technologies. The professor will integrate experiential learning and industry collaboration into McDaniel’s Mathematics and Computer Science department curriculum while developing coursework focused on emerging technologies. In addition to overseeing student-led research and entrepreneurship projects, the professor will build partnerships with Maryland tech companies to help meet the evolving needs of employers.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science received a $1 million award, matched by $1 million in qualified donations, to establish the Thomas Miller Endowed Professorship at the university’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons. The endowment will allow the university to recruit an assistant professor focusing on one of the institution’s core strengths: fishery science, ecology, geochemistry, and toxicology.
Johns Hopkins University received $1.25 million from Commerce to establish the T. Boone Pickens Rising Professor at the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The award was matched by $1.5 million in donations from the university, which was part of a larger gift made to Wilmer by the Boone Pickens Foundation. This endowment will allow the university to provide support for Dr. Kunal Parikh, a word-class innovator in the field of nanomedicine, and to reinforce entrepreneurial activities focused on preventing vision loss, improving surgical outcomes, and transforming treatment of neurological disorders.
Hopkins also received a $1.5 million award to establish the Neurosurgery Translational Research Center at the School of Medicine to support Dr. Chetan Bettegowda, a world-renowned neurosurgeon exploring innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of brain and spine disorders. The grant was matched by $1.5 million in qualified donations to the university, which was part of a larger tribute campaign to recognize former longtime chairman, Dr. Henry Brem.
The University of Maryland, College Park received a $2 million award, matched by $2 million in qualified donations, to establish two professorships at the A. James Clark School of Engineering. The Edward and Jennifer St. John Endowed Professors in Bioengineering will work within the Clark School’s Fischell Department of Bioengineering and will be jointly appointed to the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). They’ll work with the newly created Edward and Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine (CTEM), an innovative collaboration between UMCP and UMB focusing on tackling health challenges and driving medical innovations, improving treatments for patients and empowering them to live healthier lives.
The Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund was created by the General Assembly during the 2014 legislative session and has provided more than $98 million in funding to leverage more than $108 million in private donations. The funding can be used to pay salaries of newly endowed department chairs, staff, and support personnel in designated scientific and technical fields of study; fund related research fellowships for graduate and undergraduate students; and purchase lab equipment and other basic infrastructure and equipment.
About Maryland Commerce
The Maryland Department of Commerce stimulates private investment and creates jobs by attracting new businesses, encouraging the expansion and retention of existing companies, and providing financial assistance to Maryland companies. The Department promotes the State’s many economic advantages and markets local products and services at home and abroad to spur economic development and international investment, trade and tourism. Because they are major economic generators, the Department also supports the Arts, film production, sports and other special events. For more information, visit commerce.maryland.gov.
