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

Parting Shot

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

At Home With a Continent’s Cultural Heritage

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

Post-Grad

Pup ‘Reels’ in the Likes

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

Post-Grad

Creating a Cartoon You

Terp Promotes On-Screen Representation by Making Avatars More Customizable

Post-Grad

Alumni Association News

The Alumni Excellence Awards

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

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.

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

Explorations

silhouette with scribble brain and garbled words coming out of mouth

Lost (and Found) in Translation

Migraines Rob Doctoral Student of Words. He Helps Youths Find Theirs.

Explorations

Commuter Crunch

Management Researcher Eyes Steps to Improve Escalator Efficiency

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

AI Confronts Seagoing ‘Rogues’

System Can Predict Approach of Giant Waves

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

Campus Life

students sit at round tables as professor lectures; screens show slide reading, "What are the most pressing social issues of our time?"

Freshmen Philanthropists

For 10 Years, iGive Students Have Learned by Awarding Grants to Nonprofits

Campus Life

women's rifle team lies on ground to shoot

Steady Eye on the Target

Hoops Shooters and Sharpshooters Pioneered Terp Women’s Sports a Century Ago

Campus Life

collage of Edmond Dédé, flowers and musical notes

A ‘Mind-Blowing’ Premiere, 130 Years Later

UMD to Debut Oldest Existing Opera by Black Composer

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

00s

Naseema Shafi ’00

Naseema Shafi ’00, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health, was named to the Washington Business Journal’s 2024 Women Who Mean Business list, which recognizes the region's most influential women. In her 17-year tenure, she has overseen the development of over…

Passings

Robert Noble ’68

Robert Noble ’68 died on Sept. 6, 2024, in Severna Park, Md., at the age of 79. The son of military veterans who served in World War II, he was born in an army camp. Noble graduated from Towson High School, then from UMD with a degree in education and…

Passings

Thomas Dercola ’63

Thomas Dercola ’63 of Catonsville, Md., died on Nov. 29, 2024. He majored in business at UMD and later worked for the U.S. Department of Energy as a contract analyst. During the 1950s and ’60s, Dercola founded and played keyboards in the band Tommy Cole…

90s

Keri Mattox ’99

Keri Mattox ’99 was appointed to the newly created role of chief business officer at Parexel, a clinical research organization. She most recently served as chief communications and administration officer at Zimmer Biomet, a global leader in medical…

90s

Kimberly Thomas ’94

Kimberly Thomas ’94 was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court for an eight-year term. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a professor of law at the University of Michigan.

90s

Ted Halpern ’91

Ted Halpern ’91 sold Halpern Financial, the Ashburn, Va., investment advisory firm he founded in 1991, to MAI Capital Management and joined it as regional president.

10s

Amaiya Davis ’13 and Matthew Wynter ’10

Amaiya Davis ’13 and Matthew Wynter ’10 were married Oct. 10 at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in New York City; a reception followed the next day at Ravel in Long Island City. She is the vice president of media and cultural impact and engagement at…

10s

Jacqueline Marsh MRED ’11

Jacqueline Marsh MRED ’11 was appointed the first director of Loudoun County (Va.)’s Office of Real Property Asset Management and Planning. She began working for the county in 2016, most recently as assistant director in the Department of Planning and…