Business

Tracking drones and robots with pinpoint precision in an open air-land lab; watching students build and test their prototypes in a large project assembly space; creating an autonomous school of robotic fish in a water tunnel – it’s all in a day’s work for the people who study, teach and conduct research in the Southern Maryland Autonomous Research and Technology (SMART) Building, on the campus of the University System of Maryland Southern Maryland (USMSM).

The University of Maryland recently acquired the College Park headquarters of a scientific group that last year inked a big lease in downtown D.C. The American Center for Physics Inc. sold its 107,274-square-foot home at 1 Physics Ellipse last month for $35.5 million, according to public records and the University of Maryland.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has added several new or returning flights this year with more planned going into 2024 as airlines change offerings to meet the post-pandemic leisure travel boom. BWI added at least five routes so far this year, with at least one announced going into 2024. This year’s new routes range from tropical destinations to returned services across the country, many of which had been halted since 2020.

Chesapeake Corporate Advisors, a business advisory and investment banking firm in Baltimore, signed a lease with Harbor East Management Group for 5,283 square feet of space in Harbor East and plans to relocate from its current offices at Brewer’s Hill by December. The company will relocate approximately 20 employees to 1001 Fleet St., a nine-story mixed-use building featuring more than 270,000 square feet of space.

Former Maryland Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein is set to head an important state-wide board that oversees hospital rates starting next month, but the change doesn’t come without some controversy. Sharfstein, who headed the Maryland Department of Health under Gov. Martin O’Malley, will chair the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission.

TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent $200,000 investment in Escalate from its Social Impact Funds. Escalate, based in Silver Spring, developed an innovative proprietary support platform focused on minimizing turnover of frontline employees. Through this platform, Escalate facilitates a community of support, provides opportunities for workers to learn and grow in their fields and works to end the current talent crisis.

Dill Dinkers is going national with its pickleball business as the nation’s fastest-growing amateur sport attracts more players and investors. The Howard County pickleball startup has signed deals with three developers to open 45 locations in Washington, D.C., Charlotte, North Carolina, and San Antonio, Texas, within 10 years.