Fall 2023

Parting Shot

football team runs through "Go Terps" banner

Rewriting the Script

Popular Football Uniform Returns Full-Time This Fall

Post-Grad

Underexposed

Can You Make Sense of This Horseplay?

Post-Grad

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

Cheers to Safe Bars

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

Post-Grad

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

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

Burning Question for Babies’ Health

UMD Leads National Study on Long-Term Effects of Wildfires

Explorations

Building AI You Can Trust

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

Explorations

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

Better Together

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

Explorations

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

10s

Dr. Steffi Thomas ’11

Dr. Steffi Thomas ’11 joined the Methodist Medical Group-Rheumatology practice in the Memphis Medical District. She is a board-certified physician who completed a residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at the University of…

20s

Leya Prezelski '23

Leya Prezelski '23 joined the Minnesota Vikings as football operations associate.

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.

70s

Charlie DeSando ’78

Charlie DeSando ’78 was featured in the May issue of Milwaukee Magazine and on the local radio show “This Bites,” for his YouTube series, “Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders,” in which he welcomes community leaders to his home for an interview and…

00s

Ann Claycomb ’01

“Silenced,” a #metoo fairy tale and the second novel by Ann Claycomb ’01, was published by Titan Books. "Fans of feminist fairy tales will find plenty to enjoy,” according to Publishers Weekly. She is director of faculty recognition at Colorado State…

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

Robert Haas Jr. ’52

Robert Haas Jr. ’52, a longtime Beltsville, Md., resident, died on May 20, 2023, at age 100. Haas was a Pennsylvania native who served as a chief warrant officer in the army during WWII. Through the GI Bill, he received an accounting degree from UMD,…

90s

Nedelka Phillips ’95

Nedelka Phillips ’95, senior vice president of the United Way of Central Maryland, was named to the Washington Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business list for 2023. She recently helped secure a $20 million grant for the organization from…