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

90s

Troy R. Anderson MBA ’95

Troy R. Anderson MBA ’95 was named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Kelly, a global specialty talent solutions provider. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Universal Technical…

00s

Leon Smith ’01

Leon Smith ’01, a longtime social studies teacher at Haverford High School, was named the teacher of the year in Pennsylvania. He also serves as the African American cultural enrichment adviser, freshmen boys’ basketball coach and mentor, who started a…

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

Roy Rosenbaum ’97

Roy Rosenbaum ’97 was hired as senior vice president of investments for the east region of CenterPoint Properties. He comes to the post from DRA Advisors, where he was director of acquisitions for the New York City-based team. He holds a master’s in real…

10s

Ryan Merkel M.A. ’10

Ryan Merkel M.A. ’10 was hired as principal gifts officer at the National Gallery of Art. He most recently was chief development officer at Washington’s Arena Stage, and he began his career in development at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing…

90s

Mindi B. (Pollak) Levin ’98

Mindi B. (Pollak) Levin ’98 received the Ernest Lyman Stebbins Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for educational excellence. The award is presented to a member of the faculty annually for…

00s

Bonny Ghosh ’02, M.S. ’06

Bonny Ghosh ’02, M.S. ’06 was named editorial director of Inc. magazine. For the past two years, Ghosh had been producing programming for Apple’s global events team at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. She previously served as the managing editor of…

70s

Howard A. Janet ’76

Howard A. Janet ’76, a founding and managing principal with Janet, Janet & Suggs LLC, was named to The Daily Record’s 2024 Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Law Power List. He has been named “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers four times for…