Often referred to as “superwoman” by colleagues for her tireless work, Ritu Agarwal has dedicated her career to enhancing the experience of students at Maryland Smith. Now, the Distinguished University Professor and Dean’s Chair of Information Systems will be recognized for her hard work and accomplishments as the recipient of the highest honor the University of Maryland bestows, the President’s Medal.

Maryland Smith’s Ritu Agarwal was elected as a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). The honor is in recognition of her lifetime contributions to the profession and is reserved for only the very top academics and professionals in the field.

Income, educational attainment and political ideology all play into racial disparities in vaccination rates that have left African Americans more vulnerable to COVID-19, Maryland Smith researchers found. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they write that “structural inequities pose a serious threat to progress” in the push for nationwide vaccination.  

The chance to repay a favor could be a more powerful motivator than personal gain, new research by University of Maryland information systems researchers found. 

A groundbreaking study from Maryland Smith’s Center for Health Information and Decisions Systems is the first to examine how reciprocity could be used as a motivator to influence behaviors.

A study of the world’s top researchers identifies 18 from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in the top 2% of the most-cited scholars and scientists worldwide.

The pandemic has changed so much about the way we live and work. And some of those changes are here to stay.