Fall 2021

Terp Group’s Virtual Performance Earns First Place in International A Cappella Competition

Jones-Hill House, Named for Athletics Trailblazers, Features Tech-Filled Training Areas, a Tricked-Out Locker Room and Plenty of Maryland Pride

Campus Life

‘Inclusion Matters’

New Program Enrolls UMD Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Explorations

Vaccine Distrust Gets a Trim

Program to Make Barbers and Stylists Ambassadors for Public Health Goes Nationwide

Explorations

Harriet Tubman’s ‘Training Ground’

Professor Helps Discover Site of Eastern Shore Cabin Owned by Abolitionist’s Father

Post-Grad

Open Secrets

Alum Leads Renovation of NSA Museum—and Shares Some of its Treasures

Post-Grad

‘Freedom House’ at 50

Nyumburu Celebrates Milestone Anniversary as Center for Black Culture on Campus

News

Making Rooms for History

Pyon-Chen Hall Opens, Honoring Pioneering Terps

Campus Life

The ‘Ripple’ Effect

Terps to Build Sustainable Structures Near Burning Man Festival Site

Explorations

Conservation Crime Fighter

Geographical Sciences Researcher Shapes New Way to Understand Offenses Against the Earth

Explorations

Sniffing Out Climate Change

New Lab Detects Subtle Differences in Methane to Pinpoint Sources of Pollution

Explorations

How the ‘Diet Soda Effect’ Cuts the Benefit of Climate-Friendly Cars

Explorations

Diagnosis: Rude

Business Research Finds Everyday Unpleasantries Affect Doctors’ Performance

Post-Grad

An Imagined History

Alum Finds Success With Debut Novel on Vietnamese Family Immigrating to U.S.

Post-Grad

Reaching New Heights

Entrepreneur Creates Taste of Mountain Adventure in Midwest

Explorations

The Big Question

Where Should Infrastructure Investments in the U.S. Start?

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

80s

Brian Gibbons ’84

Brian Gibbons ’84, chairman of the board and CEO of Greenberg Gibbons, was named a 2021 Influential Marylander by The Daily Record. Since joining the company in 1998, he has led many of the Baltimore region’s premier developments, including the Village at…

00s

Evandro Valente ’03, M.S. ’06

Evandro Valente ’03, M.S. ’06, co-founder and chief technology officer at unmanned aircraft systems company Agility in UMD’s Discovery District, was selected among Forbes magazine’s “Next 1,000 Upstart Entrepreneurs Redefining the American Dream.”

10s

Juliana Prezelski ’18, M.S. ’19

Juliana Prezelski ’18, M.S. ’19 recently accepted the position of coordinator of football operations at Mississippi State University in Starkville.

80s

Chris Kubasik ’83

Chris Kubasik ’83 was named CEO of L3Harris Technologies, a Melbourne, Fla.-based defense and information technology contractor, formed from the merger of Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies Inc. The former president and chief operations officer of Lockheed…

00s

Michelle Asha Cooper Ph.D. ’06

Michelle Asha Cooper Ph.D. ’06 was appointed the deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. She had served as president of the Institute for Higher Education…

10s

Varun Murthy ’14

Varun Murthy ’14 married Rashmitha Vasa on Aug. 28 at the Grandover Resort and Spa in Greensboro, N.C., according to the New York Times. Murthy is a computer engineer in Washington for the U.S. government.

90s

Emily Smalley ’99, MFA ’01

Emily Smalley ’99, MFA ’01 was named CEO of Calmer Choice, a thought leader in secular mindfulness, and social emotional health and wellbeing in schools and communities. Smalley, who joined Calmer Choice in 2017, previously served as the organization’s…

90s

Juan Sempertegui ’98

Juan Sempertegui ’98 was appointed deputy general counsel of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Previously, Sempertegui served as assistant general counsel and senior vice president at Bank of America, N.A. and is an alum of the State of Maryland’s…