Spring 2024

May 17, 2024

UMD-themed vanity plates are the highway four-leaf clovers we love to spot. We share some of the best—and the tales behind the tags.

Explorations

May 21, 2024

Researchers Use Recipes to Test Tool for Analyzing DoD Classification Guidelines

Parting Shot

May 17, 2024

Sculpture Dedicated to Late Groundbreaking Artist

people hold hands along Baltimore Avenue

Post-Grad

May 17, 2024

An ‘Underexposed’ Photo of UMD History

Post-Grad

May 17, 2024

Terp, Teammate Complete Race Across Atlantic in Record Time

collage of Lee Mendelowitz, Di Zou and Benjamin Eidelberg

Post-Grad

May 17, 2024

3 Alums Crunch Numbers as Sports Analytics Experts for Pro Teams in the DMV

Post-Grad

May 17, 2024

Alum Astronaut Joins International Space Station

Post-Grad

May 17, 2024

Terps ‘Do Good’ on Campus and Beyond

A couple sits behind a table with some card games on it

Features

May 17, 2024

A Fluctuating, Ever-Changing, Up-and-Down Journey to Gaming Success

The image is a stylized, futuristic illustration that depicts a hilly landscape with a car winding through it.

Features

May 17, 2024

Ninety-second battery fill-ups. All-day range. Unparalleled safety. UMD researchers are powering up EVs to save the planet.

Explorations

May 17, 2024

Is Neighborhood Wildlife Spreading COVID?

Explorations

May 17, 2024

Gabbing About Others Offers Unexpected Benefits in Social Groups, UMD and Stanford Researchers Find

Explorations

May 17, 2024

Researcher Finds That Moderate Movement Can Protect Memory and Cognition

Explorations

May 17, 2024

Professor Tells Stories Behind Her Traditional Tattoos

Explorations

May 17, 2024

New Center Links Humanities, Social Change

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

20s

Alyson “Aly” Nesson MBA ’21

Alyson “Aly” Nesson MBA ’21 was named director of people and culture at Stratacomm. Previously, Nesson was head of people at With Double and director of human resources at Bonterra Tech.

80s

Martha A. Busser ’86

Martha A. Busser ’86 joined the financial services firm Janney Montgomery Scott’s new wealth management office in Bethesda Md., as its first major hire. Busser spent nearly 15 years at Wells Fargo Advisors before joining Janney in April.

00s

Colleen Vacelet ’02

Colleen Vacelet ’02 was selected as the Baltimore Business Journal’s “2024 Mentor of the Year.” She is the founder of Intreegue Design, an Elkridge-based landscape architecture firm, and last year acquired Order Green Supply, a Baltimore firm that…

00s

Sheila Farahpour ’02

Sheila Farahpour ’02 joined the Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts as senior vice president of development, Americas. She was with Marriott International for 16 years, most recently as vice president of luxury and mixed-use development. In 2021, Farahpour was…

00s

Ahmed Zaman ’09, M.Arch. ’11

Ahmed Zaman ’09, M.Arch. ’11 was named to the Washington Business Journal’s 2024 list of 40 Under 40. He is a senior associate at the global architecture and design firm Perkins Eastman.

“The Witch of Pungo: Grace Sherwood in Virginia History and Legend” book cover

10s

Scott Moore Ph.D. ’15

The second book by Scott Moore Ph.D. ’15, “The Witch of Pungo: Grace Sherwood in Virginia History and Legend,” was published in May by the University of Virginia Press. He is an associate professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University.

10s

Andrew Bassan ’10

Andrew Bassan ’10 won $10,200 and placed second competing on “Wheel of Fortune” in January. “It was also extra special to be one of the few contestants to play on Pat Sajak's final season,” he says. Bassan, a lawyer with the D.C. firm Kiernan Trebach,…

10s

Christopher Neely ’14

Christopher Neely ’14 was part of the team at Lookout Santa Cruz that won a 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of catastrophic flooding and mudslides that displaced thousands. He is a politics and policy correspondent at the…