UMD MATRIX Lab Strengthens Southern Maryland’s Aerospace And Defense Ecosystem

CALIFORNIA, Md. — University researchers, defense contractors and government officials gathered Wednesday at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland (USMSM) SMART Building to explore research partnerships and workforce opportunities during the University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering MATRIX Lab Industry Open House.

The Maryland Autonomous Technologies Research Innovation and eXploration, or MATRIX, Lab is the University of Maryland’s Southern Maryland hub for autonomous technologies and uncrewed systems. The lab supports work involving robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and vehicles designed to operate in the air, on land and in water, while connecting researchers and students with the U.S. Navy, defense contractors and other industry partners.

The open house was designed to bridge academic innovation with defense and commercial applications by creating opportunities for researchers to secure collaborative funding, develop industry partnerships, better align university research with federal priorities and support local technology development, student recruitment and networking.

Defense industry leaders, local startups and government agencies met with attendees throughout the day to discuss emerging technologies, research needs and potential collaborations. U.S. Navy leadership also participated, providing insight into future research and acquisition priorities.

The event featured open forums with industry partners, fireside chats and technology demonstrations, while highlighting the USMSM SMART Building. Opened in 2021, the facility allows Southern Maryland students to pursue electrical and mechanical engineering degrees locally without regularly commuting to College Park.

MATRIX Lab officials said Southern Maryland’s proximity to Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the region’s growing innovation ecosystem makes it an ideal location for expanding industry partnerships while preparing students for careers in defense, government and private industry.

Building Research Into Real-World Solutions

Reza Ghodssi, executive director of the University of Maryland MATRIX Lab and a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Institute for Systems Research, said the lab’s primary mission is to build partnerships among academia, industry, government and national laboratories to accelerate autonomous systems research while preparing students for careers in the region’s growing technology sector.

“One of our key functions is to establish bridges and collaborations between academia and industry and national labs and government,” Ghodssi said. “The ultimate goal is to provide opportunities for our students to interact with industry colleagues and also have opportunities to pursue employment upon their graduation.”

Ghodssi said the lab specializes in autonomous systems research, including drones, underwater vehicles and other autonomous technologies, supporting projects from initial design and manufacturing through testing, validation and evaluation. He said collaboration with industry leaders helps bridge the gap between academic research and commercial application by helping move laboratory prototypes into real-world applications.

“The idea here is not only to design these systems, but then test, validate and verify. We deal with design, development, manufacturing and more importantly, test and evaluation,” Ghodssi said. “We establish relations with industry to help shorten the actual translation and transition of those concepts into market.”

Ghodssi said Southern Maryland is becoming an industry-leading innovation hub where universities, defense contractors and government agencies can work together while providing students with direct access to internships, mentorship and employment opportunities with organizations such as NAVAIR and regional defense companies.

“Industry folks interacting with our students, mentoring our students, so then, by the time they’re ready to graduate, they have all the skills,” Ghodssi said. “This is becoming a hub. It’s becoming an epicenter for academics, industry folks and government to all work together toward a common goal.”

Southern Maryland’s Role In American Defense Innovation

Dale Moore, president of the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance and chair of the Maryland Aerospace and Technology Commission, said autonomous systems represent one of the most significant emerging technologies for Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the broader defense industry. He described the technology as a “force multiplier” capable of expanding military capabilities while allowing people to focus on more complex tasks.

“From a Pax River perspective, autonomous systems are a game changer and force multiplier,” Moore said. “It’s more efficient, it’s more effective and you’re adding capabilities at scale. We want to optimize the symbiosis between man and machine together to take performance to the next level.”

Moore said universities play a critical role by preparing students with the knowledge and research experience needed to develop next-generation technologies before they reach military acquisition programs. He said research institutions help advance innovation while creating a workforce pipeline that supports both government and private industry.

“Universities provide the knowledge, skills and abilities foundationally, and inspire and motivate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship,” Moore said. “You’re providing the foundation for students to apply the latest and greatest technologies, while research universities are working at the very edge of technology to push the envelope to the next level.”

Moore described Naval Air Station Patuxent River as “the busiest flight test center in the world,” responsible for research, development, testing, evaluation and program management for naval aviation systems. He said events like the MATRIX Lab open house help connect researchers, industry and government while increasing awareness of top-class opportunities throughout Maryland’s aerospace and defense sectors.

“There’s ripple effects to knowledge,” Moore said. “We get to an understanding, then we get to action — action to do new and better things.”

Commercializing Innovation, Building Maryland’s Workforce

Among those attending was Bill Bentley, director of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) and a University of Maryland professor, whose organization helps translate university research into commercial products.

“We try to help with the translation of innovative ideas into commercial practice, and that’s what today is all about,” Bentley said. “So, it’s an opportunity to engage with the community.”

Bentley said the MATRIX Lab open house was essential for connecting researchers with businesses and government partners. He said one of academia’s greatest challenges is moving promising research beyond the laboratory by identifying real-world problems that industry needs solved, and universities often generate new knowledge but require industry partnerships to identify industry needs and transition technologies into the marketplace.

“We have these great innovative ideas, and we think we can solve the problem, but we really don’t know what the problem is that needs to be solved,” Bentley said. 

Bentley also said the MATRIX Lab and the University of Maryland play a critical role in strengthening Maryland’s workforce by connecting students with industry projects before graduation. Keeping graduates in Maryland through partnerships with local companies, he said, helps reduce “brain drain” while supporting the state’s long-term economic growth and aerospace and defense industries.

“If they’ve been engaged in a project with a company, then they’re taking that education and they’re putting it into Maryland’s commercial sector,” Bentley said. “If you have technology that is commercialized in Maryland, and you have students in Maryland, then they don’t need to go to MIT and be hired in Boston.”

Engineering Education Close To Home

Students and MATRIX Lab interns attending the event had opportunities to network with potential employers, learn more about career pathways in Southern Maryland, explore research partnerships and showcase capstone projects to industry-leading aerospace and defense companies.

Lucas Wendland, an electrical engineering student at the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering’s Southern Maryland program and a MATRIX Lab intern, said the facility has given him opportunities that would have been difficult to find on the College Park campus. He said smaller class sizes, greater access to laboratory space and close relationships with faculty have allowed him to spend more time experimenting with robotics and autonomous systems while receiving individualized mentorship.

“Part of it was locality. Not having to go to College Park is a big bonus,” Wendland said. “Here, it’s very much a close relationship with people. I get access to lab spaces, and I don’t have to go fight for it.”

Wendland said events like the open house expose students to Southern Maryland’s growing network of technology companies and demonstrate career opportunities that many students may not realize exist close to home. He said partnerships between the university and local employers helped students gain practical experience while creating a pipeline of engineers for the region’s aerospace and defense industries.

“The local community gets very well-trained engineers, and in return you get a job from that,” Wendland said.

Wendland said studying at the Southern Maryland campus has allowed him to spend more time applying engineering concepts through hands-on work rather than competing for limited laboratory access.

“The lab becomes our classroom,” Wendland said. “We do the learning in the lab, and then we can take that and directly transfer it at the same time because we’re not fighting for lab spaces.”

Building Southern Maryland’s Innovation Ecosystem

Holly Meyer, president and CEO of the St. Mary’s County Chamber of Commerce, said the open house showcased how the MATRIX Lab is helping position St. Mary’s County as a regional hub for technology, research and innovation. She said the facility connects entrepreneurs, researchers and industry partners while strengthening the county’s role in Southern Maryland’s growing aerospace and defense economy.

“The MATRIX Lab is an amazing space for new business to collaborate with researchers and contribute to the Southern Maryland workforce,” Meyer said. “We need to share the resources and capabilities here to let people know that this is available.”

Since it opened, the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland’s SMART Building has expanded access to University of Maryland engineering programs in Southern Maryland while providing research space for the MATRIX Lab. Organizers said the facility continues to serve as a bridge connecting students, researchers, government agencies and industry partners, helping strengthen the region’s role in autonomous systems research, technology commercialization and workforce development.

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