UMBC's work with NASA Presented at Congressional Showcase

On April 21, 2026, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) co-hosted the Congressional Showcase, “Igniting Discovery: How NASA Funding Advances American Science” at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. UMBC and its NASA centers were well represented: Dr. Mehdi Benna (CSST), Dr. Brent McBride (ESI), and Dr. Zhibo Zhang (GESTAR II, GPHI) joined Dr. Karl Steiner, Vice President, and Ms. Crocetta Argento, Executive Administrative Assistant, of UMBC’s Division of Research and Creative Achievement at the UMBC booth.

Dr. Benna presented the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) instrument, which will provide in-situ lunar measurements when it is deployed on the Moon during Artemis IV. Dr. McBride spoke about UMBC's connection with the PACE mission through HARP2 and HARP CubeSat; members of both ESI and GESTAR II are involved with PACE instruments, data retrieval, and research. Dr. Zhang discussed GESTAR II and the variety of earth science research being conducted between NASA and UMBC; he also discussed the Sun, space weather, solar wind, and other heliophysics topics. The UMBC team spoke with Congressional staffers from both the House and Senate, and with several staffers from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen's office.

From the AGU blog The Bridge: "Today’s [congressional] showcase, Igniting Discovery, highlights the breadth and ambition of NASA-funded science, bringing together researchers from across the country to share their work with policymakers and advocates who believe in its importance." To quote Dr. Zhang, “Science advocacy is a responsibility we all share, and events like this one is where it happens.”

Photo: Zhibo Zhang, Crocetta Argento, Mehdi Benna, Brent McBride, and Karl Steiner stand together in the Atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building. The atrium consists of a light marble floor and Alexander Calder's 51-foot-tall black steel sculpture "Mountains and Clouds" (previously with four black aluminum clouds above). Credit: Provided by C. Argento.
Photo: In front of the UMBC booth, attendees mix with researchers and administration from UMBC and its NASA-related centers. Credit: C. Argento.
Photo: Mehdi Benna discusses the LEMS with a Congressional staffer at the UMBC booth. Credit: C. Argento.

• Attached Inline Image for UMBC's work with NASA Presented at Congressional Showcase
• Attached Inline Image for UMBC's work with NASA Presented at Congressional Showcase
• Attached Inline Image for UMBC's work with NASA Presented at Congressional Showcase