Fall 2023

Explorations

water from air absorbing into black cube

Water Out of Thin Air

Invention Offers Trickle of Hope for Climate-Driven Crisis

Explorations

‘Mallpark’ Figure

How MLB Stadiums Scored With Fans by Adding Shopping, Theme Park Elements

Campus Life

five Team USA lacrosse players pose with gold medals

Sports Briefs

5 Terps Win Gold in Lacrosse Championship; Shortstop Becomes UMD’s Highest MLB Draft Pick

Campus Life

‘Tau-ring’ Over Maryland’s Record Books

After Setting Nearly Every Terps Passing Mark, Star Quarterback ‘Not Done Yet’

Campus Life

‘Rising’ Awareness

Libraries Exhibit Looks at Century of Student Activism

Campus Life

Blast From the Past—and Into the Future

75 Years After Its Groundbreaking, Revived UMD Wind Tunnel Revs Up

Campus Life

Summ-AR Immersion

Using Emerging Tech, Students Create Innovative Art, Interactive Games in Incubator Program

Campus Life

UMD’s Stumble Bees

Gardens Host Pollen-Fueled Rager, Earning National Recognition

Campus Life

A Commencement Speech Fit for a King

News Anchor Gayle King ’76 Recalls Life, Love and Ledo on First Return to Campus

News

electric Shuttle-UM bus at charging station

Electrifying!

$40M Grant to Fund Climate-Friendly Shuttle-UM Buses

News

Rendering of new basketball performance center

Basketball Performance Center Breaks Ground

Facility Will House Practice Court, Locker Rooms, Strength and Conditioning Areas, and More

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

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.

Passings

James T. Brannon III ’71

James T. Brannon III ’71 died on May 17, 2023, at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at age 74, He was a graduate of LaSalle High School in Cumberland, Md., and earned a football scholarship to UMD, where he earned a degree in journalism.…

00s

Vernon Davis ’08

Former NFL star Vernon Davis ’08 released his debut rap album, “Showtime,” under the stage name “Vern.” The D.C. native filmed the music video for his single, “Bounce Like Dis,” at FedEx Field, one of the many stadiums where he played as a tight end.…

Passings

Allen Lee Dawson ’07, M.S. ’10

Allen Lee Dawson ’07, M.S. ’10 of Mt. Airy, Md., died on June 9, 2023, at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center from injuries received nine days earlier. He was 47. Born in Westminster, he was the son of the late Marshall Ellsworth Dawson and…

10s

John Devlin M.M. ’11, D.M.A. ’15

John Devlin M.M. ’11, D.M.A. ’15 received a 2023 Georg Solti Career Assistance Award, given to 22 young conductors by the Solti Foundation U.S. His contract as music director of the Wheeling (Va.) Symphony has been renewed for four years, and he was…

10s

Marcus Hamlett ’10

Marcus Hamlett ’10 served as a diplomatic security service liaison at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand over the summer.

80s

Scott Van Pelt ’88

Scott Van Pelt ’88 joined the cast of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown.” He will add this once-weekly assignment to his existing job as host of the 11 p.m. edition of "SportsCenter."

00s

Nathan Leslie M.F.A. ’00

Apprentice House (Loyola University Maryland) published the 12th book of fiction by Nathan Leslie M.F.A. ’00, the short story collection “A Fly in the Ointment.” It paints a portrait of 21st-century America in a steady state of decline. He won the 2019…