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Fall 2023

Photo football team runs through "Go Terps" banner

Rewriting the Script

Popular Football Uniform Returns Full-Time This Fall

Post-Grad two gymnasts pose on horse

Underexposed

Can You Make Sense of This Horseplay?

Post-Grad food in test tubes

Lessons in Flavoring

Food Scientist Melds Chemistry, Culinary Passion at McCormick

Post-Grad Lynde Washington poses in front of his artwork

Brush With Greatness

Former Cornerback Tackles Subjects’ Essences on Canvas

Post-Grad Amie Ward portrait

Cheers to Safe Bars

Alum Serves Up Resources to Improve Health, Equity of Hospitality Industry

Post-Grad members of the Sugar Hill Sisterhood

The Sweetest Connection

From College Park to the Caribbean, Sugar Hill Sisterhood Celebrates 50th Gathering

Post-Grad fans watch as Mighty Sound of Maryland marches by

Alumni Association News

Meet the New Members; 3 Reasons to Return for UMD Homecoming

Features A white truck was driving down a country road

Roads to Recovery

In rural Maryland, a new “been-there-done- that” approach to the opioid crisis offers hope on four wheels.

Features Yellow taxi on the road

All Hail David Do

Alum named NYC taxi commissioner navigates ridesharing’s rise, drivers’ economic woes—and plenty of midtown traffic.

Features two students sit on WMUC couch. Inset photos: students install radio tower; students review tally sheets

‘Get Listening, Kids’

How do you track 75 years of college radio at Maryland? Decades of deejays replay history, hijinks and the music that made WMUC.

Explorations fire burns down houses

Burning Question for Babies’ Health

UMD Leads National Study on Long-Term Effects of Wildfires

Explorations Hal Daumé III behind projection of code

Building AI You Can Trust

Researcher Heading New $20M NSF-Backed Institute Says Systems Should Support Societal Good

Explorations Toucha11y rendering

An Ally for Access

Palm-sized Robot Navigates Touchscreens for Visually Impaired Users

Explorations Jennifer Smallwood-Holmes talks to kids in classroom

Preschool Director Explains How to Turn Tots’ Chatter Into Conversation

Ask an Expert: Advice for Real Life

Explorations holding hands

Better Together

We’ll Give Up a Lot to Share Experiences With Loved Ones, Study Shows

Explorations bus shelter with plant growing on top

Gimme (Green) Shelter

UMD-Grown, Plant-Packed Bus Shelters Debut Near Campus

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue
Ricardo Jackman headshot

90s

Ricardo Jackman

Ricardo Jackman ’95 was hired as a partner at the Washington, D.C., office of Morris, Manning & Martin, where he chairs the new sports and entertainment practice. Most recently, Jackman served as co-chair of Ballard Spahr’s sports and entertainment…

Passings

Robert Scherr ’66, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’83

Robert Scherr ’66, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’83 of Salisbury, Md., died on May 16, 2023, from cancer. He graduated from Baltimore City College before earning three degrees at UMD. He became a speech therapist in 1970 at the Educational Service Center in Salisbury,…

00s

Amit Singh M.S. ’03

Amit Singh M.S. ’03 was appointed chief financial officer of Despegar.com Corp, a Latin American online travel company. Singh most recently was CFO of Nasdaq-listed AgileThought, a global provider of digital transformation services and custom software…

80s

Michael Medick ’83

Michael Medick ’83 joined architecture firm Lessard Design as principal of land planning, single family and townhomes. He is a registered architect and urban planner whose notable works include the planning and architecture for Uptown Memphis, the Gulch,…

00s

Joe Palazzolo M.Jour. ’06

Joe Palazzolo M.Jour. ’06 co-bylined multiple stories as part of The Wall Street Journal team that uncovered financial conflicts of interest among officials at 50 federal agencies, winning this year's Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting.

Passings

John Newton ’61

John Newton ’61 died in Parkersburg, Va., on May 16, 2023, at age 84. Newton earned a bachelor's degree from UMD and a master's degree from Lehigh University, and retired from Dupont after 36 years as a chemical engineer. He was an avid sports fan,…
Mark Shmueli headshot

80s

Mark Shmueli M.A. ’89

Mark Shmueli M.A. ’89 joined Jaskot Law in Baltimore as senior counsel. He is an immigration attorney who earned his J.D. at the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Sean Scott headshot

10s

Sean Scott ’15

Sean Scott ’15 was promoted to supervisor accountant at Lanigan Ryan, a financial accounting and consulting firm in the D.C. metro area.