Winter 2025

Winter 2025 Kan Cao holds flask as she works in lab

A UMD researcher of a rare disease that fatally ages children has discovered how an obscure blue compound could help us all look younger.

Explorations

strawberry holding umbrella with crabs on it; a pear holding a "RIPE" sign shaking hands with a banana; a sparkling steak

Fresh Takes on Fighting Food Waste

Researchers Devise Spoilage-Stopping Tech That Could Change How We Grow, Buy and Store Produce

Photo

Kermit sits with statue of himself and Jim Henson on UMD campus

Kermit Comes Home

Famed Frog Makes a Rainbow Connection With Terps

Post-Grad

Ag Day A-moo-sment

An ‘Underexposed’ Photo of UMD History

Post-Grad

Creating a Cartoon You

Terp Promotes On-Screen Representation by Making Avatars More Customizable

Post-Grad

Pup ‘Reels’ in the Likes

Antics of Alums’ Goldendoodle Bring Joy to Millions on Social Media

Post-Grad

At Home With a Continent’s Cultural Heritage

Alumna’s Book Weaves Together African Design Principles and Contemporary Decor

Post-Grad

Alumni Association News

The Alumni Excellence Awards

Features

collage of photos: cars driving on Route 1 at night; students standing in Rendezvous; students dancing; students standing outside on sidewalk; man wearing hat playing pinball with beer; man in aviator sunglasses

The Lost Haunts of Route 1

No matter the decade, Terps found refuges and ‘Rendezvous’ points on College Park’s Main Street

Features

Joi Howard poses by brick columns and greenery

A Fresh Start for ‘Maryland’s Shame’

Joi Howard ’03 seeks to turn a shuttered, segregated psychiatric hospital into a working farm and wellness site for the Black community.

Explorations

one person says "Bonjour!" and the other says "Tres bien!"

How to Make a Second Language Second Nature

Ask the Expert: Advice for Real Life

Explorations

house with fertilizer, salt shaker, cleaning products, cinder block and ice melt

Salt Life

Take a Home Tour to Learn How We’re Worsening Salinity Around the World

Explorations

AI Confronts Seagoing ‘Rogues’

System Can Predict Approach of Giant Waves

Explorations

Jill Bradbury signs in front of stage next to electronic sign that reads, "Welcome to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center"

Signs of Accessibility in Performing Arts

School’s First Deaf Leader to Expand Options to Guests

Explorations

Commuter Crunch

Management Researcher Eyes Steps to Improve Escalator Efficiency

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

90s

Raul Fernandez ’90

Raul Fernandez ’90, president and CEO of the government contractor DXC Technology, was named to the Washington Business Journal Power 100 of 2024. He serves as vice chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Washington Capitals and…

10s

Amber Wendland ’10, M.Arch. ’13

Amber Wendland ’10, M.Arch. ’13, associate principal at Ayers Saint Gross, was named to the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2024 class of 40 Under 40 honorees, spotlighting the next generation of local business leaders.

00s

Sara Goodman Confino ’02, M.Ed. ’03

“Behind Every Good Man,” a novel by Sara Goodman Confino ’02, M.Ed. ’03, was nominated for Goodreads’ Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction of 2024. The bestselling author of “Don’t Forget to Write,” “She’s Up to No Good” and “For the Love of Friends” also…

20s

Julia Joseph ’21

Julia Joseph ’21 has been working as a reporter at News12 Brooklyn for two years. She was previously an associate producer on the Foreign Desk at CBS News.

Passings

Bonni Anne Carr DiRenzi ’89

Bonni Anne Carr DiRenzi ’89 of Telford, Pa., died on Dec. 4, 2024, at the age of 57. Born and raised in South Jersey, she graduated from Audubon High School and earned a journalism degree at UMD and a Master of Business Administration in marketing from…

Passings

Dr. Joseph Hall Jr. ’69

Dr. Joseph Hall Jr. ’69 of Columbia, Md., died on Aug. 3, 2024, at the age of 78. Raised in a military family, Hall lived in Japan, Germany, California and Ohio before graduating from the University of Maryland with a sociology degree; Hall was also a…

20s

Ray Islam (Mohammad Rubyet Islam) Ph.D. ’23

Ray Islam (Mohammad Rubyet Islam) Ph.D. ’23 is the author of “Generative AI, Cybersecurity, and Ethics,” a textbook and a reference guide for policymakers published by Wiley. He previously served as a lecturer in UMD’s ACES program and is now an adjunct…

00s

Indira Sharma ’03

Indira Sharma ’03 joined Locke Lord’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Her experience spans complex contract and commercial disputes to matters involving commercial leases and real estate. Sharma joins Locke…