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Spring 2025

Spring 2025 collage of receipt, court documents, photo of two women and red string connected by red pushpins

Criminal Calculations

How Students in UMD’s Forensic Accounting Club Helped Crack a Murder Case

 Features portraits of IAP Cohort 1 on colorful background

A Second Family, a Limitless Future

A unique scholarship program has transformed the lives of hundreds of UMD students. Twenty-five years later, its pioneers share how.

 News map showing core quantum entities in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia: federal agencies and labs, quantum companies, quantum resources and university-affiliated research centers

State, UMD to Build ‘Capital of Quantum’

High-Tech Field Will Bring Transformative Advances, Leaders Say

 News group of nine holds documents at table with UMB, UMD tablecloth

$10M Gift Propels New Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine

State Initiative Adds $12.5M to Investment From Edward and Jennifer St. John

 Campus Life student in red shirt leads tour by Do Good statue

New ‘Image,’ Name for UMD’s Tour Guides

Walk Back Through 40 Years of Fun Facts and Surprising Perks

 Campus Life gloved hands hold 3D-printed peace medals

Tribal History Meets Modern Tech

Piscataway, UMD Team Up to 3D-Print Replicas of Peace Medals

 Campus Life student walks by four framed images of playing cards

Students Put Their Stamp on the Stamp

Art Purchasing Program Puts Terps in Charge of Creative Choices for Gallery’s Collection

 Campus Life baby goat drinks from a bottle

New Kids on the Farm

Campus Farm Welcomes First Dairy Goats

 Campus Life Kermit the Frog

An Unforgettable ‘Kermencement’

Alum Jim Henson’s Beloved Muppet Named Speaker for Campus Ceremony

 Campus Life archival photo of men's lacrosse team

Sticking to Success

Powerhouse Men’s Lacrosse Program Celebrates 100th Season

 Campus Life football player with money sign on jersey and dollar bills in background

The X’s and O’s of Revenue Sharing

What to Know as Colleges Could Begin Paying D-I Student-Athletes

 Explorations two students point to cream pan they dug up

Crystal Clear

Centuries-Old Stones Uncovered by Archaeologist Reveal Stories of Ireland’s Mystical Past

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How to Be Your Own Fact Checker

Ask the Expert: Advice for Real Life

 Explorations cartoon brain with hands holding dumbbell, papers, phone, ball, book, briefcase

Heart-Healthy Lifestyles Can Also Delay Brain Aging, UMD Researchers Find

Diet, Exercise and Other Behaviors Can Impact Dementia Risk, Study of 20K Brain MRIs Shows

 Explorations Marsha Laufer talks to student

A Vote for Civic Education

Gift to Maryland Democracy Initiative Supports Political Engagement, Literacy

 Explorations tornado coming out of laptop

A New Twist on Tornado Tracking

Undergrad Coproduces First Database Documenting Events Worldwide

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Losing a Game of Risk

Insurance Expert Proposes Plan to Save Homeowners’ Coverage

 Explorations five roads diverging on yellow background

Bottleneck Buster

After Key Bridge Collapse, Engineer Seeks to Ease Commutes in Baltimore

 Features cracked eggshell with dark background

Solutions to Bird Flu Hatched

On the farm and in the lab, researchers are fighting a virus that’s pushing up food prices and threatening a new pandemic

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue
Megan Kanefsky

00s

Megan Kanefsky ’05

Megan Kanefsky ’05 was promoted to director of human capital at J.F. Lehman & Co., a middle-market private investment firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors. She joined the firm in 2021.…

Passings

Michael Courlander M.A. ’78

Michael Courlander M.A. ’78, of North Potomac, Md., died on April 20, 2025, at Belmont Gardens retirement community in Lake Ridge, Va. He was 74. Courlander graduated from the University of Michigan, then earned a master’s degree in criminology from UMD.…
Katherine Polasek

90s

Katherine Polasek ’99

Katherine Polasek ’99 was named dean of SUNY Cortland’s School of Professional Studies, effective July 3. She was chair of the university’s kinesiology department. Polasek earned an M.S. in kinesiology from the University of Illinois, Chicago and a Ph.D.…

70s

Adele L. Abrams ’74

Adele L. Abrams ’74 joined Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, as senior counsel in its Washington, D.C. office. Abrams previously led an Occupational Safety and Health Administration practice across…
Meriem Soliman

90s

Meriem Soliman ’98

Meriem Soliman ’98 was promoted to chief brand officer of hotel brand Ace Group International. Soliman joined Ace in 2012 in the role of general counsel. In 2021, she took on the role of resident in addition to the general counsel role. Soliman earned a…

10s

Susan Holcomb ’10

“Wolfbaby,” a collection of short fiction by Susan Holcomb ’10 about what it means to mother, won the 2023 Cupboard Pamphlet Contest and was published this spring. She holds an M.F.A. in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and studied for a…
Jennifer Nelson

10s

Jennifer Nelson MCLFS ’12

Jennifer Nelson MCLFS ’12, the 2024 Hampton County (S.C.) High School Teacher of the Year and District Teacher of the Year, was named a finalist for the South Carolina State Teacher of the Year award. The state's top educators cited her passion for STEM…

Passings

Dr. Tyzz-Lang “Ted” Chen M.A. ’67

Dr. Tyzz-Lang “Ted” Chen M.A. ’67 died on April 1, 2025, in New York City. He was 86. Born during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Chen graduated from National Taiwan Normal University and was awarded a scholarship to pursue a master’s at UMD. He earned…