UMBC faculty and graduate students developed a multiagent system that was part of an international research project selected as one of eight finalist in the 2003 EU Descartes Prize. Led by Dr. Steven Willmott of the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, the Agentcities team entered the Agentcities project, the first global network providing tailored services to internet users. Team members included researchers and students from more than 15 research organizations and universities worldwide.

The UMBC group was led by Professors Tim Finin and Yun Peng and involved many graduate students, including Youyong Zou, Harry Chen, Rong Pan and Li Ding. The group integrated the TAGA travel agent service to the larger Agentcities entry.

The Descartes Prize is organized by the European Commission's Science and Society Program and aims to encourage the best researchers and teams to become involved in and be committed to European research, and to increase the visibility of outstanding research findings produced by European researchers. The prize recognizes the collaborative nature of research that is at the heart of any major scientific breakthrough.

The Descartes Grand Jury brought together representatives from academic, industrial and public life. Chaired by Professor Erne Ergma, Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Estonia, the Jury includes Professor Helena Illnerová, President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Mr. Pantelis Kyriakides, Vice President of the European Patent Office; Professor Anna Roosevelt, curator of the Field Museum in Chicago; Dr. Ion Siotis, a physicist and, until recently, President of the National Hellenic Research Foundation; and Rudi Thomaes, President and CEO of Alcatel Bell.

The final winner will be announced at a Ceremony on 20 November 2003 in Rome, hosted by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.