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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

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.
Martha A. Busser headshot

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.
Colleen Vacelet headshot

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…
Sheila Farahpour headshot

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…
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.
“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,…
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…