Skip site navigation

Spring 2024

collection of Terp license plates

Features

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.
cooking utensils and lock

Explorations

May 21, 2024
Researchers Use Recipes to Test Tool for Analyzing DoD Classification Guidelines
Melvin Edwards poses with statue

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
Lauren Champion rowing

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
Jeanette Epps in astronaut gear

Post-Grad

May 17, 2024
Alum Astronaut Joins International Space Station
volunteers hold bags

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.
two baby deer near mailbox

Explorations

May 17, 2024
Is Neighborhood Wildlife Spreading COVID?
one person whispers into another's ear

Explorations

May 17, 2024
Gabbing About Others Offers Unexpected Benefits in Social Groups, UMD and Stanford Researchers Find
three cartoon brains exercising

Explorations

May 17, 2024
Researcher Finds That Moderate Movement Can Protect Memory and Cognition
SHELBI NAHWILET MEISSNER portrait

Explorations

May 17, 2024
Professor Tells Stories Behind Her Traditional Tattoos
Frederick Douglass statue

Explorations

May 17, 2024
New Center Links Humanities, Social Change

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

70s

Myrna Chandler Goldstein M.A. ’73

Myrna Chandler Goldstein M.A. ’73 with Dr. Mark A. Goldstein ’68 wrote the book “Treatments for Anxiety: Fact Versus Fiction,” being released on July 25. It examines 25 well-known and well-studied options for combating anxiety. She is an independent…
Shinta H. Hernandez headshot

20s

Shinta H. Hernandez Ph.D. ’21

Shinta H. Hernandez Ph.D. ’21 was honored with a Washington Business Journal Diversity in Business Award. Hernandez is the first dean of Montgomery College’s virtual campus, and previously served as department chair of sociology, anthropology and criminal…

Passings

Ellen Marie Johnson Lawther Kowalyk ’55

Ellen Marie Johnson Lawther Kowalyk ’55 died on April 9, 2024, at age 90. She was a third-generation Washingtonian. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in three and a half years from UMD’s College of Home Economics and was a member of Kappa…
Ahmed Zaman headshot

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.

00s

Kaycie Bowen ’04

Kaycie Bowen ’04 was named upper school principal at the independent Indian Creek School in Crownsville, Md. She previously served as an assistant principal at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn and as a teacher in Anne Arundel County Public…
Jennifer Disharoon headshot

90s

Jennifer Disharoon ’94

Jennifer Disharoon ’94 was included in Women We Admire’s Top 50 Women Leaders of Maryland for 2024. Disharoon is the Chief Marketing Officer at GRF CPAs & Advisors. She is also the secretary of Iona Senior Services, where she has served on the board…
Ali M. Tafreshi headshot

90s

Ali M. Tafreshi ’91, M.S. ’92, Ph.D. ’97

Ali M. Tafreshi ’91, M.S. ’92, Ph.D. ’97 was appointed chief information officer of Goddard Systems. He previously served as chief information officer at Authority Brands, LLC and served as an IT leader for the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport,…

Passings

Emily Ann Sakakini Murray ’69

Emily Ann Sakakini Murray ’69 died on April 10, 2024, in Hockessin, Del., at age 77. She graduated from Granby High School, and from UMD magna cum laude with a degree in library science. She was a lifetime member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and the…