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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
Thomas Grafton Lee headshot

Passings

Thomas Grafton Lee ’76

Thomas Grafton Lee ’76, of Poolesville, Md., died on April 15, 2024, at age 71. He graduated from UMD with an accounting degree and spent his career as a CPA. He enjoyed traveling with his wife, spending time with his children and grandchildren, working…
Paul Mider headshot

Passings

Paul Mider ’72

Paul Mider ’72 died in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 20, 2024, after a long bout with Lewy body dementia. He was 77. Mider was born in Cincinnati and attended Muskingum College for one year on a football scholarship before enlisting with the U.S. Air Force,…

90s

Athena Petersen ’90

Athena Petersen ’90 is the new regional manager and senior vice president of Long & Foster’s Baltimore/Eastern Shore/Western Maryland region. Petersen most recently served as managing broker of its Reston and Fairfax Centre locations in Northern…

10s

Johnny ’14, Danny ’10 and Ronnie Dubbaneh ’09

Z&Z Manoushe Bakery in Rockville, Md., owned by brothers Johnny ’14, Danny ’10 and Ronnie Dubbaneh ’09, was named to The New York Times’ 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C. Right Now in April. The review called the crust of Z&Z’s classic…
Colleen T. McClellan headshot

90s

Colleen T. McClellan ’99

Colleen T. McClellan ’99 was promoted to chief consumer officer at Datassential. McClellan has worked for the company since 2015 as a regional director and most recently as vice president of customer experience.
John Ratigan headshot

90s

John Ratigan ’92

John Ratigan ’92 was promoted to interim CEO of Comtech, a global telecommunications company. He was previously Comtech’s chief corporate development officer and before then served as CEO and president of iDirect Government and as an executive committee…
Christopher Neely headshot

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…

00s

Tyler Hereth ’06

Tyler Hereth ’06 joined Weber, Kracht and Chellew Attorneys at Law as an associate attorney. Before then, Hereth worked at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. He earned his J.D. degree from Drexel University and previously served in the U.S. Army.