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
David Robert Ellis headshot

Passings

David Robert Ellis ’61

David Robert Ellis ’61 of Atlanta, died peacefully on May 5, 2024, at age 85 after a long battle with dementia. Ellis graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and earned an accounting degree at UMD. He worked for Arthur Anderson in various roles in…

00s

Chris Clarkson ’08

Chris Clarkson ’08 wrote the book “That Summer Night on Frenchmen Street,” in which two teens from vastly different backgrounds discover that sharing their strengths may be the path to finding wholeness within themselves. It is set in New Orleans, where…
Melissa M. Bissen headshot

90s

Melissa M. Bissen ’96

Melissa M. Bissen ’96 was included in Women We Admire’s Top 50 Women Leaders of Maryland for 2024. Bissen is vice president and controller of Whitney, Bailey, Cox, & Magnani and has provided professional accounting services to Baltimore-area…
Benjamin P. Kirtman headshot

90s

Benjamin P. Kirtman Ph.D. ’92

Benjamin P. Kirtman Ph.D. ’92 was a speaker at the University of Miami’s commencement ceremonies. He is the William R. Middelthon III Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences, director, NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, and deputy…
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…

80s

Juan Navarro ’82

Juan Navarro ’82 was named president and chief executive officer at Advanced IT Concepts.

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.
Houri Tamizifar headshot

00s

Houri Tamizifar ’03

Houri Tamizifar ’03 was included in Women We Admire’s Top 50 Women Leaders of Maryland for 2024. She is founder, president and CEO of Cynuria Consulting. She also recently accepted a position as an advisor for the Transformative Leadership Program at…