Spring 2026

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May 20, 2026

Jeff Kinney ’93 was a shaky student and failed newspaper cartoonist with a big dream. Recounting some of his own misadventures, he reveals that despite being one of the world’s top-selling authors, he’s still figuring things out.

Parting Shot

May 20, 2026

Light-rail vehicle travels on campus during overnight testing

Post-Grad

May 20, 2026

An ‘Underexposed’ photo from UMD history

Post-Grad

May 20, 2026

Alum infuses tricks with numeric principles on stage and in the classroom

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Post-Grad

May 20, 2026

Alum leads country’s biggest urban national park

Post-Grad

May 20, 2026

The Alumni Excellence Awards

Explorations

May 20, 2026

On nation’s 250th anniversary, UMD celebrates and reflects through the arts

Explorations

May 20, 2026

Researcher helps establish possible DNA link to ‘Mona Lisa’ artist

Explorations

May 20, 2026

In new book, historian depicts American Revolution as global war

Explorations

May 20, 2026

UMD-built AI system amplifies a Universal-NVIDIA partnership

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Explorations

May 20, 2026

Armed with AI, researchers cook up greener alternatives for everyday products

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Explorations

May 20, 2026

Ask the Expert: Advice for Real Life

Explorations

May 20, 2026

Professor develops field guide for providing services to help communities facing challenges

Campus Life

May 20, 2026

How Maryland Athletics recruited 3 top local athletes

Explorations

May 20, 2026

Can engineering researchers make data centers better neighbors?

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

00s

Joshua Newman Ph.D. ’05

Joshua Newman Ph.D. ’05 was named dean of the School of Education & Human Sciences at the University of Kansas. He was previously the associate dean for research and Sara Lavinia de Keni Endowed Professor at Florida State University’s Anne Spencer…

00s

Brian G. Smith Ph.D. ’09

Brian G. Smith Ph.D. ’09 was named director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Richard T. Robertson School of Communication. Smith comes to VCU from the University of Mississippi, where he served as professor and chair of the Integrated Marketing…

Passings

Kerry Dean ’69

Kerry Dean ’69, 79, died Jan. 20, 2026, at home in Richmond, Virginia, of cancer. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, and majored in geography at UMD. He joined the U.S. Navy where he earned his wings and flew the F-4 Phantom. As a civilian, he went to work…

90s

Blake Wetzel ’91

Blake Wetzel ’91 joined Entelligence, the leader in AI-powered professional services for enterprise software, as chief operating officer. He previously worked in leadership roles at CenturyLink, Qwest Communications and Rackspace.

10s

Melinda Nguyen ’13

Melinda Nguyen ’13 was named the first-ever coach of the women’s flag football program at the University of Texas at Arlington. Nguyen joins UTA after three seasons as the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan. She was the head coach and quarterback of two club…

90s

Kevin Gillen ’96

Kevin Gillen ’96 is the author of “Echo of Atlantis,” the first installment of a six-book sci-fi fantasy series that follows four teenage descendants of Atlantis who discover their extraordinary gifts at a hidden academy in the American Southwest. The…

10s

Renata “Ren” Southard ’14, M.Arch. ’17

Renata “Ren” Southard ’14, M.Arch. ’17 was nominated by Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott as planning director. She joined Baltimore in 2018, first with the Department of Planning, where she was the urban design division principal, before moving to the…

10s

Alexander Ziv Stough M.E. ’16

Alexander Ziv Stough M.E. ’16 was promoted to senior associate at James Posey Associates, an engineering consulting firm. He specializes in infrastructure-related, high-performance building, government and corporate office projects. Stough joined JPA in…