Terp Spring 2008 by University of Maryland

TERP

CONNECTING

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COMMUNITY

VOL. 5, NO. 3 SPRING 2008

Still

Life

Plants Blossom Into Art 2

INFORMATION MAKEOVER 4 I THROUGH THE AGES 20 I $510 MILLION STRONG 31

TERP PUBLISHER

Brodie Remington Vice President, University Relations ADVISORY BOARD

J. Paul Carey ’82 M.B.A. CEO, Enumerate Terry Flannery ’83, ’87 M.Ed., ’95 Ph.D. Assistant Vice President, University Marketing and Communications John Girouard ’81 President and CEO, Capital Asset Management Group Anil Gupta Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Strategy and Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business Danita D. Nias ’81 Assistant Vice President, Alumni Relations and Development Vicki Rymer ’61, ’66 M.B.A., ’83 Ph.D. Teaching Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Keith Scroggins ’79 Bureau Head of General Services, City of Baltimore, Dept. of Public Works Lee Thornton Professor and Eaton Chair, Philip Merrill College of Journalism MAGAZINE STAFF

Beth A. Morgen Executive Editor Kimberly Marselas ’00 Managing Editor John T. Consoli ’86 Creative Director Jeanette J. Nelson Art Director Joshua Harless Catherine Nichols ’99 Brian Payne Contributing Designers Monette A. Bailey ’89 Mandie Boardman ’02 Denise C. Jones Rebecca M. Ruark Tom Ventsias Writers Kelly Blake ’94 Karin Jegalian Cassandra Robinson Pamela Stone ’95 M.A. Ellen Ternes ’68 Neil Tickner Contributing Writers Jon Ambas Katherine Davis ’09 Ashley Gilmore ’08 Rena Hoffman ’08 Anne McDonough Cassandra Wilson ’08 Magazine Interns E-mail terpmag@umd.edu Terp magazine is published by the Division of University Relations. Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send correspondence to Kimberly Marselas, Managing Editor, Terp magazine, 2101 Turner Building, College Park, MD 20742-1521. Or, send an e-mail to terpmag@umd.edu. The University of Maryland, College Park, is an equal opportunity institution with respect to both education and employment. University policies, programs and activities are in conformance with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national origin, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

Dear Alumni and Friends, MAYBE IT’S the colorful blossoms around campus, but I seem to be consistently reminded that Maryland is growing— growing up, growing out and growing green. Outside my windows at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, the renovation of Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium is well underway with crews expanding Tyser Tower and building a mezzanine to hold 500 additional Terp fans. I can almost hear the victory song— Maryland will win—on the breeze. This season, the university is abuzz with designs for East Campus.Turn to page 3 for the latest details and an artist’s rendering. And M Square, the university's research park, is slated to house another major governmental tenant, IARPA. Read more on page 5. As the university grows, so does our leadership’s devotion to developing green spaces and environmentally friendly sustainability practices.Turn to President Dan Mote’s message on page 36 to learn how the Climate Action Plan Work Group will support the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. Some monumental news to report: Great Expectations,The Campaign for Maryland has reached a milestone: more than $500 million in contributions toward our goal of $1 billion. Terp magazine is celebrating this achievement with a redesign of the “In the Loop” department, featuring an enhanced special gifts section. Chart the campaign’s success with our favorite mascot, masquerading as the Testudo-meter, on page 31. The goal of Great Expectations is to raise Maryland to the ranks of a worldclass university by helping the country’s brightest students succeed through innovation and the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty. A new

Q&A feature premiering this issue gives Maryland faculty a place to describe their research passions in their own words. See page 13 for an interview with computer science professor Ben Shneiderman. Also be sure to see this issue’s feature stories, which cover the university’s expanding body of research on the human psyche, physiology and psychology—from infancy through adulthood. And keep in mind that Maryland’s impact extends far beyond our campus gates. For useful tips and programs brought to you by University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, turn to page 6. I hope you enjoy this issue of Terp, your connection to everything Maryland. Keep in touch, as we continue the second half of Great Expectations. See the calendar section in the magazine’s center for ways you can join in the excitement as Maryland continues to bloom—this summer and beyond.

Danita D. Nias ’81 Assistant Vice President, Alumni Relations and Development

2 BIG PICTURE Plants as high art; Maryland Day counts; East Campus welcomes music hall; a Web makeover; and more 6 THE SOURCE Extension services for home, pocketbook and health 7 ASK ANNE An unexplained sea turtle; a famous baseball player; plant collections moved; and Julie Andrews D.F.A. 8 CLASS ACT Brothers brew up charity; fighting terrorism; training dolphins; recruiting future Terps; and more 12 M-FILE Q & A with a computing pioneer; putting scorpions to work; invisibility comes into focus; engineering interest in science and math; and more 16 PLAY-BY-PLAY Uniforms on display 17 SPOTLIGHT Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center welcomes community 18 MARYLAND LIVE National Orchestral Institute concerts; Homecoming 2008; Classes of 1958 and 1968 reunions; International Year of the Potato; and more 36 INTERPRETATIONS The green university

departments

features 24 20 THE INNOCENT AGE

Babies reveal clues about the human brain and the body in motion. BY KARIN JEGALIAN

BALANCING MIDDLE AGE

Juggling family, career and the desire to do it all in life’s busiest years. BY MONETTE AUSTIN BAILEY

STRONG AT ANY AGE

A healthy body leads to better physical and mental stamina whether you’re 25 or 75. BY ELLEN WALKER TERNES

IN THE LOOP

80,000 donors carry campaign to halfway mark; undeclared majors win support; real estate program gets big boost; Eastern Shore family creates unique scholarship; introducing campaign volunteer Harvey Sanders ’72; and more.

COVER PHOTO OF BLOODROOT SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS BY ANDREA OTTESEN

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bigpicture In Bloom

10 Years of MD Day EACH APRIL, Maryland Day offers thousands of visitors the opportunity to experience the best our faculty, staff and students have to offer. From petting zoos to famous alumni to fabulous musical performances, what does it all add up to? Too much fun to measure. Here, we give it our best shot in a by-the-numbers recap of the first 10 Maryland Day celebrations.

572,000 total visitors

3,312

events, including fan favorites like the global village, microbe-making stations and mini archeological digs

8,100 volunteers in 2008, the most ever

277

volunteers who’ve worked all 10 Maryland Days

LIKE ANY GOOD botanist, doctoral student Andrea Ottesen loves being down in the dirt with plants. But

in her artistic photographs, the plant scientist reveals only the beauty she sees in those botanicals. Ottesen uses photography, digital imaging and other media to create exquisite renderings of flora that range from seaweed to sunflowers to chocolate. Some are highly detailed, others ethereal. All are scientifically accurate. Her remarkable photograph of Irish Moss seaweed won her a first place tie in the prestigious National Science Foundation international Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. Her work was chosen for a cover of the journal Science (and the cover of this issue of Terp). Even several of Ottesen’s Maryland professors have been immortalized in her work, in the form of art that reflects their contributions to plant science. After Ottesen earns her Ph.D., she plans to focus on how crop and horticultural land management practices affect public and environmental health. And she will continue her art. “Great science will always be made more accessible to so many more people through great art,” Ottesen says. —ET

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years of giving away free Maryland ice cream

victory for the team in Black at the annual spring football game. Since 2000, the game has featured Red vs. White.

OTTESEN PHOTO BY DEMETRIA SKALTSAS; BOTANIC IMAGES BY ANDREA OTTESEN; MD DAY IMAGES BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

YOURwords

Stage Set for East Campus Changes

Early renderings of the East Campus development include this park-like plaza.

SIGNIFICANT INPUT GATHERED through six months of public hearings continues to fuel the university’s East Campus redevelopment initiative. Last fall, it was announced that the venerable Birchmere plans to open a 500-seat venue in College Park. The music club—which attracts such diverse acts as Herbie Hancock and Lyle Lovett to its primary loca-

tion in Virginia—will complement offerings at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. "Our goal with the East Campus development is to give the community more entertainment, retail and restaurant options, and the Birchmere will be a key part in this effort," says Doug Duncan, university vice president for administrative affairs. “We’re very excited to have such a major player like the Birchmere join us in creating a world-class, mixed-use center in College Park,”adds Richard Perlmutter of Argo Investment Co., one of the private developers working with the university to redevelop the 38-acre site. When completed, East Campus will provide graduate housing, market-rate housing, office space, hotel and retail amenities. These attractions will support continued recruitment of the most talented faculty and students to the university and stimulate economic growth in the communities surrounding the campus. —MAB/TV

I WAS THRILLED TO SEE in the winter issue that Julius Becton (above) is going to receive the President’s Distinguished Alumnus Award this April. I have known Julius for decades, and served with him for two terms on the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Army War College— and never knew that he was an alumnus. One more reason to be proud of Maryland. —David R. Segal, Director for University of Maryland Center for Research on Military Organization

Illuminating Energy Savings UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS are installing 5,000 new volumetric light fixtures in hallways across campus, a move that will significantly reduce energy consumption and costs. The lights were first tested on the ground floor of the A.V. Williams Building last fall. Nine hallways were used as a test bed, with some painted differently to reflect light better and others having the lights dimmed slightly. In addition to energy use being carefully monitored, faculty and staff were asked to provide feedback on the quality of light available. The energy-efficient lights and decreasing light levels proved to be a winning combination, says

Marlowe Leafty, who headed the project for facilities management. The ultimate goal, Leafty says, is to lower the amount of energy needed to safely illuminate hallways in all campus buildings. When the new lights are installed, it will cost just $18 an hour to illuminate every hallway on campus, saving the university almost $5.6 million in energy costs over the next 10 years and reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent. For the very latest on projects and initiatives that are making the University of Maryland a showcase for sustainability, see Interpretations on Page 36 or go to www.sustainability.umd.edu. —TV

EAST CAMPUS RENDERING COURTESY OF FOULGER-PRATT; VOLUMETRIC LIGHT FIXTURE PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; BECTON PHOTO BY MIKE MORGAN; FIELD HOCKEY PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARYLAND CLUB FIELD HOCKEY TEAM

We Swung and Missed In the Play by Play section of the winter issue, we incorrectly identified a field hockey photograph. The picture featured was of Maryland’s Division I Field Hockey team, not the Maryland Club Field Hockey team [shown above]. Terp magazine regrets the error. Congratulations to both teams for their 2006 championship wins.

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bigpicture

GROWTH spurt

eading about Maryland is great, but seeing and hearing about exciting research and events taking place is out of this world. That’s exactly where we have introduced new media outlets—on the World Wide Web. It’s our way of extending the classroom walls and reaching out to the community.

Information Makeover Who says a new home page can’t be exciting? Take the latest technology, throw in several new features, add lots of curb appeal and you have a brand new homepage at www.umd.edu. Advanced features and a host of multi-media tools improve navigation and help users get the information they want faster. The most popular links can now be found in the Discover Maryland section. Audio, video and slideshow clips in four new sections engage users the moment they arrive at our online home. This redesign completes phase one of a project that will ultimately improve the look and functionality of all university sites. Stop by and see how we look.

Knowledge Download It’s everything you love about downloading, but with an academic edge—and it’s absolutely free. Check out the University of Maryland section of iTunes U at www.umd.edu/iTunesU for presentations, performances, lectures, demonstrations, debates, tours and even Fear the Turtle videos. iTunes U is based on the iTunes Store, where millions of people already get their music, movies and TV shows. Maryland faculty can now post content they create for their classes, and administrative departments can add clips of newsworthy events. Download what you want, then use your MP3 player, Mac or PC to watch, listen and learn at your convenience.

UM on YouTube Maryland’s latest public service announcement (left) and winning entries from last year’s Sci/Terp video competition are just some of the clips now playing on Channel UMD2101, the official University of Maryland video page hosted by YouTube. The popular Internet site has become the primary destination for viewing and sharing online video clips. Subscribe today at www.youtube.com/UMD2101 and be one of the first to watch newly uploaded clips. Anyone can join. Viewing and subscribing are free.

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Strategic Plan Approved sweeping strategic plan that will chart the course of the University of Maryland for the next decade and beyond was recently approved by the University Senate and President Dan Mote.The 10-year plan—to be implemented in stages beginning this fall—was prepared by a steering committee that received significant input and feedback from alumni, faculty, staff and students over a period of almost seven months.“Every segment of our university community helped in preparing a bold, ambitious plan that will transform this institution immensely,” says Provost Nariman Farvardin, who chaired the committee. Readers are encouraged to go to www.sp07.umd.edu to view the entire document.

KEY INITIATIVES OF THE PLAN INCLUDE: Revamping the general education requirements for every undergraduate by enhancing mathematics, communication and crossdisciplinary skills that better prepare students for success in their academic programs and in their personal, professional and civic lives after graduation. Increasing engagement with the global community by expanding opportunities for students to travel, study and work abroad, and by further augmenting research, business and social partnerships with the large and vibrant international community in and around Washington, D.C. Enhancing the local community by redeveloping the East Campus site to better serve the needs of both the university community and local residents, while also working with local governments to advance environmental stewardship, sustainability and smart growth in the region. —TV

PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; ILLUSTRATION BY MARGARET HALL

• IARPA Joins M Square AN INNOVATIVE GOVERNMENT

research agency is the latest tenant to join M Square, the university’s 124-acre research park. The Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity, or IARPA, is a new federal agency that works collaboratively with university researchers and scholars to explore scientific opportunities of importance to the nation’s intelligence community. “Our unique strengths in areas such as computer vision, quantum science and technology, cultural modeling, information assurance and language technology are well positioned to support the mission of IARPA,” says Mel Bernstein, Maryland’s vice president for research. At full capacity, M Square will be the region’s largest university research park, with more than 2 million square feet of lab and office space available. In addition to IARPA, other major M Square tenants include:

• The Center for Advanced Study of Language, the nation’s largest foreign language laboratory

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (opening in 2009), where government scientists will work closely with Maryland faculty involved in the earth and space sciences, including climate change

• The National Foreign Language Center, investigating the strategic impact of language and crosscultural communication

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, conducting research on food safety and food defense, and offering worldwide training on food safety

• The American Center for Physics, home to the nation’s major physics organizations —TV

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the Source THE MANY BRANCHES OF UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, A PROGRAM CONNECTED TO THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES, STRETCH TO UNEXPECTED PLACES. WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING FOR LANDSCAPE ADVICE, FINANCIAL TIPS OR INFORMATION ON AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS. YOU CAN FIND IT ALL THROUGH EXTENSION.

New Communities Project Bay-Wise

H OT L I N E

Reduce pollutants in local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay by keeping a healthy landscape. The Maryland Bay-Wise program, led by Master Gardeners with advanced training in Bay-Wise Landscape Management, focuses on homeowner education and offers tips on lawn fertilization, pest control, best locations for planting trees and more. Download the Maryland Yardstick and learn how to make your backyard more environmentally friendly. You can even follow steps to get it certified.

JumpSmart Part of the Food Stamp Nutrition Education program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, JumpSmart is an interactive program for young teenagers that teaches nutrition and physical activity through jump roping. Members develop new skills as they create routines and learn about healthy eating. JumpSmart began at after-school sites in Baltimore City in 2003 and has since expanded to sites in St. Mary’s County, Garrett County, Carroll County and Baltimore County. JumpSmart trains staff at afterschool programs on the nutrition and jump rope curricula.

Financial Management Most of us worry about money, and Maryland Cooperative Extension offers all kinds of resources for help with managing finances. Use the extension’s Web site to get in touch with local county offices and learn about upcoming financial management classes in your area— or you can set up a class. Education is emphasized through financial counseling and training, and courses are offered throughout the year to address different concerns and age groups.

Maryland’s Children, Youth and Families at Risk New Communities Project is an initiative to enhance school-aged youth development programming in underserved areas. Programs in Frederick, Garrett and Somerset counties expand agriculture education, enhance computer literacy and increase reading skills through technology. Frederick County offers a typing tournament and book club; Garrett County has several new sites to serve youth; and Somerset County’s program won an Annie E. Casey Family Strengthening Award that will help enhance family involvement.

THE MARYLAND BAY-WISE

JUMPSMART:

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

CYFAR NEW COMMUNITIES

PROGRAM:

For details, call 301.405.7765 or e-mail llachenm@umd.edu.

RESOURCES:

PROJECT:

To find your local jurisdiction’s contact information, visit www.extension.umd.edu/local/index.cfm.

Learn more by visiting http://cyfar.umd.edu.

For more details, see www.baywise.umd.edu.

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BAY-WISE AND NEW COMMUNITIES PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARYLAND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

ask Anne Questions for Anne Turkos, university archivist for University Libraries, may be sent to terpmag@umd.edu.

“Ask Anne” needs you!

For once, we are reversing the roles and

hoping our readers can help solve a mystery. There is a giant sea turtle in the University Archives that was transferred here during the renovations of the Gossett Football Team House. The plaque on the base states that the turtle was given to the university on April 19, 1952, by Captain J.L. Enyart, the Commanding Officer of the Naval Medical School in Bethesda. We have always speculated that this turtle was part of a bet about the 1952 Sugar Bowl, but we have never been able to confirm this.

Q. What happened to the Botany Herbarium? As a graduate student in the early 1960s I collected plants and put them in the herbarium. —Charles Philipp ’63 M.S. A. This collection is now known as the Norton-Brown Herbarium and is under the care of Charles F. Delwiche. We have the personal papers of John Biting Smith Norton and James Reveal among our historical manuscript collections here at the university, and those two men played such a formative role in creating and sustaining the herbarium. According to Delwiche, they are still collecting specimens, albeit on a limited basis.The Maryland Department of Natural Resources staff is the largest contributor of specimens at present, and we also receive exchanges from other herbaria.

Q. Do you know something about this giant creature (pictured below)? If so, contact “Ask Anne” at terpmag@umd.edu.

Q. In April 1948, I saw the Terps play Yale in baseball. Obviously I didn't know at the time, but Yale had a first baseman by the name of George H. W. Bush. I am wondering if he was in the lineup that day. —Fran Zeltman A. It took some digging, but we finally found the answer to your query! President George H.W. Bush did play that day, but the Terps shut him down at the plate. He went 0-4, but recorded 10 putouts and one assist. Q. Is it true that Julie Andrews received a degree in fine arts from your university? —Greg Jaszai, Budapest, Hungary A. Julie Andrews (right) was never a student here, but she received an honorary D.F.A. (Doctor of Fine Arts) degree at commencement in 1970 in recognition of her lifetime achievements.

IMAGES COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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Climbing the Ladder One Pint at a Time Brothers Matt M.B.A. ’05 and Rich M.P.P. ’06 Fleischer have brewed up an unusual combination of American pastime and charitable giving to create a heady business venture—one that revolves, quite successfully, around beer. With names like Backdraft Brown and LIGHTER, the brothers’ craft beers carry a little something extra in each keg and bottle.That’s because the mission of their Hook & Ladder Brewing Co. is twofold: to produce great beer and to support firefighters in the communities where their products are sold.With each sale, the company and its wholesalers donate cash to firefighter burn foundations or hospital burn centers. In one year, they took their beer from three states to 15, expanded from seven to 70 wholesalers and mapped out a plan that should have their product in most of the country by the end of 2008. They’ve gone from making 4,000 barrels of beer annually to an expected 50,000 and plan to open a restaurant and brewery this fall. “We not only work hard,” says Matt. “We really enjoy the product we make.” The company began as a hobby for Rich, who was living in San Francisco and served up what would become the company’s Golden Ale at parties.Though product was pouring into glasses, there weren’t enough investors to keep the fledgling company afloat. So Rich teamed up with his brother. On Matt’s first day of classes at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, he stopped by the Dingman Center to present his business plan. He left with a scholarship and eventually a $10,000 seed investment. “One of the things that attracted me from the get-go was the integration of good product with an authentic charitable mission and a winning marketing

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concept,” says Adam Lehman, entrepreneur in residence at Dingman and now a member of Hook & Ladder’s board of directors. In just 18 months, the company gave more than $30,000 to charity, with gifts staying in the communities where beer is purchased. Contributions are a requirement for those who sell Hook & Ladder, and though the concept is unusual, there’s been little resistance.The brothers say people in all markets recognize the risks firefighters take for their communities. “It’s tied to our brand,” says Rich, a master firefighter himself. “We’re a beer company, but giving back to firefighters and making sure the gifts stay focused locally are part of what we do.” —KM

In addition to expanding their beer sales to 35 states, Matt (right) and Rich (left) Fleischer are converting a former Silver Spring, Md., firehouse into the Hook & Ladder Restaurant and Brewery. The menu will feature their craft beers (below), a subtle firefighter theme and some beer-inspired recipes.

FLEISCHER BROTHERS BY KEITH BARRACLOUGH; BEER PHOTO COURTESY OF HOOK & LADDER

alumniprofile

Protecting Her Adopted Home travel 2008 Treasures of Peru: With Machu Picchu & Lake Titicaca October 6–16 Explore the ancient ruins and breathtaking landscapes of fascinating Peru—from the magnificent view of the terraced stonework of Machu Picchu to the historic capital of Lima. Village Life in the Dordogne October 9–17 Discover one of France’s best-kept secrets—the treasures of the Dordogne River Valley. Stroll the medieval lanes of Rocamadour and savor Perigord’s world-renowned

AFTER THE FALL of South Vietnam in 1975, Investigative Service (NCIS). This time Anh Duong ’82 and her family fled to the she embarks on a mission to help United States as refugees of war. A 15-year identify terrorists through forensic old feeling scared and lost in her adopted analysis of left-behind weapons, cell country, Duong was resilient. Her gratitude phones, bomb fragments and other for the American and South Vietnamese clues. Duong’s team rapidly designs, troops who saved her life and earned her a creates and deploys Joint second chance in America has been her Expeditionary Forensics Facilities for driving force; more than 30 years later, U.S. forces in Iraq. Information generDuong works for the Department of ated from these mobile “labs in a box” Defense keeping her new country safe. can help identify, target, detain and After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, prosecute terrorists. Duong was charged with designing a way to In 2007, Duong was awarded the Service At 5-foot-1, with destroy tunnels and bunkers used as terrorist to America Medal for National Security for degrees in chemical engineering, hideouts to spare U.S. troops from having to her contribution to our country. Although she computer science clear them out. In only 67 days, she led a team views the recognition as a great honor, she and public adminof more than 100 scientists, engineers and tech- istration, Anh says, “the award is much less a reflection of Duong ’82 is a nicians from concept to product—the United my very humble accomplishments than it is a major threat to State’s first thermobaric bomb. reflection of this great land and its people.” terrorists. “With the fresh image of the Sept. 11 From a scared freshman entering victims in our minds and the prospect of U.S. casualties Maryland on the first morning of fall semester to a conin those cave battles, all of us were motivated beyond fident and poised graduate ready to take on the world’s belief,” says Duong. “Failure was not an option.” problems, Duong can’t help but think that a new sign Today, Duong is science advisor to both the Deputy should mark the entrance to campus. “Welcome to the Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans and World” it would read. She says, “Maryland did indeed Strategy and to the Director of Naval Criminal open the world for me.” —MLB

culinary delights. Marvel at prehistoric cave art in the medieval town of Sarlat-la-Caneda. Umbria Hill Towns

Nominations Needed!

October 22–30

Alumni Awards Gala Enters Milestone Year

Experience a land of rolling hills, verdant countryside, picturesque vineyards and turquoise lakes. Admire the magnificent basilicas in Assisi and the churches in Motefalco, known for their stunning works of art. For more details on these and other tours featured in the Travel 2008 program, visit www.alumni.umd.edu or call 301.405.7870/ 800.336.8627.

THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION is now accepting nominations for the 10th Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala. At this milestone event, alumni across several disciplines will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to their professions, to society and to the university. We are seeking the names of trailblazers, leaders and inspirational alumni. Do you know of indi-

viduals who inspire you with their commitment to the world and to Alma Mater? Let us know! This event brings the Maryland community together to recognize the university’s shining stars. For a complete list of awards and to nominate a fellow Terp online, go to www.alumni.umd.edu. Or contact Cornelia Kennedy at ckennedy@umd.edu, 301.405.7118 or Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, College Park, MD 20742-1421

TRAVEL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION; ANH DUONG COURTESY OF ANH DUONG

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Answering the Dolphins’ Call “MY MOTHER CALLED me her ‘tomboy in lace,’ ” says Rhonda Handler ’98, who would return home as a child covered in dirt from her latest wildlife adventure. From pets to marine mammals, life is still something of a zoo for the senior animal trainer at Discovery Cove in Orlando, Fla., an interactive park where guests may snorkel with exotic fish and rays and swim with dolphins. Handler’s career with the SeaWorld family of parks has evolved into one focusing on dolphins, however, the animal trainer and Maryland alumna has also worked with sloths, birds, anteaters and even elephants. A biological sciences major, Handler was introduced to marine mammals when she worked as an intern at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. “I think there are many traits that we as a society value in people that dolphins seem to exhibit,” says Handler of the connections between humans and marine mammals. “Dolphins are highly intelligent and they form strong social bonds with each other.” Caring for animals always seemed second nature to Handler, whose career path took her to the National Institutes of Health, where she worked with primates, before she trained animals for both the small and the silver screens. Today, she is working her dream job—albeit not all glamorous. Long before sunrise, she prepares fish to feed the park’s 40 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins she is charged with training. Handler also mentors Discovery Cove staff who gather guests in the park’s lagoons for guided dolphin interactions. Even more than creating lasting memories of getting up close and personal with one of nature’s more human-like animals, Handler hopes that her work fosters in people “a better understanding of marine life.” By facilitating these meetings across the species, she educates guests on their marine mammal cousins and on the environment dolphins inhabit. From courses focusing on conservation and psychology to working for the College Park Animal Hospital and learning to scuba dive, Handler’s Maryland experience was a springboard for her professional aspirations. “My career has been an amazing one,” she says. Having traded her lacy girl’s dresses for wetsuits, the proud Terp is an inspiration to adventurers and animal lovers alike. —RR

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SeaWorld’s 35 years of experience with marine mammals led to Discovery Cove, a park providing guests memorable interactions with birds, stingrays, sharks and bottlenose dolphins, like Dixie, pictured here with senior animal trainer, Rhonda Handler ’98.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DISCOVERY COVE

BYalumni James R. Heintze ’72 has created the first ever comprehensive reference book on America’s Independence Day. The Fourth of July Encyclopedia brings attention to persons, places and events of historical significance, while focusing on the Fourth of July as it has been commemorated over the span of more than two centuries.

Recruit-a-Terp Alumni Help Attract Top Talent rewarding,” says Gene Wasserman ’92, a Recruit-a-Terp volunteer. “As a native Terps, the Alumni Association and the Office Marylander, I am very proud of my alma of Undergraduate Admissions.The result is a mater.The Recruit-a-Terp program has given program called Recruit-a-Terp. me the opportunity to extol the virtues and Recruit-a-Terp is looking for alumni volopportunities a Maryland education and expeunteers across the country to help enlist rience can provide.” prospective students during the school year. As the university continues to rise in Enthusiastic alumni have the opportunity to stature, Maryland advocates are needed across share their Maryland experiences with the country. “Alumni bring the Maryland prospective students and their families at various events.These include regional recruitment story to life—they are tangible examples of what it means to be a Terp,” says Remy receptions for talented high schoolers and Shaffer Gomes ’00, director of student and summer send-off programs for incoming young alumni programs for the Maryland students Alumni Association. and their parents. To join Recruit-a-Terp, Many alumni have Recruit-a-Terp even hosted visit www.alumni.umd.edu Volunteer Responsibilities recruitment activito fill out the volunteer ties in their own form. For more infor Dedicate 10–20 hours of your homes. mation, contact Monica time during the academic year Review training materials “The opportunity Press ’07, graduate Personally call students to meet and connect assistant for student in your area with prospective stuand young alumni Attend various regional events dents and their parents programs, at throughout the year as well as meet other mpress@umd.edu or Spread Terp enthusiasm across the nation alumni locally is very 301.405.7891. —MLB

MIX ENERGETIC ALUMNI, promising future

ILLUSTRATION BY JEANETTE J. NELSON; ALUMNI BOOKS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

The new urban fantasy Wicked Game, brought to you by award-winning author Jeri Smith-Ready ’00 is the first in a series featuring a radio station controlled by vampires in a fictional Maryland town. Smith-Ready tells the story of con artist Ciara Griffin, who, after taking an internship at a local radio station, soon finds herself with higher stakes and graver perils than any con game she’s ever played. Infertility Counseling: A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians, Second Edition, co-edited by Sharon N. Covington ’70 and Linda Hammer Burns, is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary textbook for all health professionals providing care for individuals facing reproductive health issues. The handbook is considered the most thorough and extensive book currently available for clinicians in the field of infertility counseling.

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m-file NEWSdesk UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FACULTY ARE THE SOURCE NEWS MEDIA TURN TO FOR EXPERTISE—FROM POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY TO SOCIETY AND CULTURE TO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. “Thinking of ‘Stars’ just as entertainment, you can start to explain its appeal … by saying it is something for everybody—a Marie Osmond for one taste, Emmitt Smith for another—a kind of postmodern variety show. But in a parallel and deeper way, it’s also a very diverse show, with the producers being very careful that they start out with a pretty broad range of celebrities that often go against stereotypes. And that’s where it really starts to get interesting.” SHERI PARKS, AMERICAN STUDIES, BALTIMORE SUN, MARCH 17, ON THE POPULAR TELEVISION SHOW, “DANCING WITH THE STARS”

“Creating useful innovations ought to be self-rewarding. If you need a prize, then maybe it’s not an invention worth pursuing.” ROBERT FRIEDEL, HISTORY, NEW YORK TIMES, MARCH 17, ON COMPANIES, THE GOVERNMENT AND CONTESTS DRIVING ADVANCES IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH REWARDS

“One thing is announcing it, it’s another to implement, and another is the time it takes to take effect and hit household spending.Those are very long lags. It’s the right direction … but lags are significant and the snags are many. Fact remains, you don’t heal balance sheets overnight.You just don’t.”

CARMEN REINHART, ECONOMICS, ABC NEWS, APRIL 8, “It takes more energy to think about ‘is it ever ON THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE going to have meaning for me.’ A lot of people, they just don’t want to deal with it.That’s why some people turn to the equivalent of a personal trainer to sort through what to keep and how to organize it.” JONATHAN KANDELL, DIRECTOR OF THE COUNSELING CENTER, ON CLUTTER, BALTIMORE SUN, MARCH 23

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Living with the Ghosts of the Slave Trade HISTORIC PRESERVATIONIST Donald Linebaugh lives close to his work these days. He makes his home on an endangered 18th century estate that he and the university have pledged to preserve— an arrangement that will provide his students a unique laboratory. The estate, known as Bostwick, sits on a hill in the town of Bladensburg, Md., hidden from the road by a modern office building. In 1746, a wealthy merchant and major slave importer, Christopher Lowndes, built the mansion in the new river town. The home is one of the oldest in Prince George’s County. “Bostwick is a remarkable treasure, and much more than just a big, old house,” says Linebaugh, who directs the Historic Preservation Program in Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. During the week, he stays in the laundry house adjacent to the mansion. “This building—the whole property—was once operated by slaves and indentured servants,” he says. “Living here makes me especially sensitive to their untold stories. I’m intrigued to see what our historic research and archaeology will reveal.” The town of Bladensburg, which owns Bostwick, gave the university full educational access to the site. Faculty and students will do preservation work there and use the site as an integral part of the preservation curriculum. “We want to save more than the building—we want to preserve the cultural landscape of the entire site and town,” Linebaugh says. “There are many historic buildings in Maryland that are seriously endangered, and with this agreement Bostwick won’t be one of them.” —NT

CLUTTER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RENA HOFFMAN AND JOHN T. CONSOLI; BOSTWICK PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

A Glimpse Of Pioneering Professor’s World Of Technology From hypertext to keyboards on ATMs and handheld personal computing devices, computer science professor Ben Shneiderman has played a role in developing some of the most common devices for human-computer interaction. Founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab in the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Shneiderman is author of 13 books and more than 300 scientific articles.This year, the International Journal of HumanComputer Interaction honored his nearly four-decade career with a special issue. Terp’s Denise Jones talked with Shneiderman about his work.

TERP: When we hear the phrase “computer-user interface,” what does that mean to the non-technical person? SHNEIDERMAN: We think of the userinterface design as enabling users to enter and display information that could be visual, auditory or tactile. But it’s the user’s experience that we’re trying to improve. The success of the iPod and iPhone are indications that design matters. Another important point is the idea of universal usability. Everyone should be able to benefit from this remarkable technology, from the savvy tech types to people who have less knowledge, low literacy or disabilities. TERP: Creative visualization is an area of specialization for you. An example would be your innovative Treemap design, in which large amounts of information are presented in an ordered and colorful way. For example, someone who wants to buy a digital camera can view a range of prices and features in one screen on a Web site. Can you talk a bit about that? SHNEIDERMAN: Good designs enable users to discover patterns in patient histories, trends in stock market data or exceptions in gene expression data to identify disease processes or their cures. This gives us a remarkable opportunity to help people understand the world around them, much as the telescope, microscope or X-rays have in the past century.

PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; ILLUSTRATION BY JEANETTE J. NELSON

TERP: What do you think about the influence of YouTube, MySpace and Facebook on users today? SHNEIDERMAN: It’s enormously exciting. The opportunities for people to publish their videos have transformed the nature of communication. It’s quite remarkable that high school kids can produce quite impressive videos that only Hollywood studios could have produced 30 years ago. It’s the design of the user interfaces for those technologies that made it possible to create innovative videos that are often fun, clever and sometimes have great importance. TERP: Given that you are an innovator of technologies in personal computing, do you use any of the sites? SHNEIDERMAN: Sure, I enjoy Facebook. I’m quite active on Flickr and somewhat on YouTube. I do like trying the new technologies. The Nintendo Wii was just great fun. I was happy to buy an iPhone and try Amazon’s new book reader, the Kindle. It’s a small device about the size of a paperback book, and you can download about 200 books. It’s quite nice for travelers because you can get a lot of books on it.

TERP SPRING

2008

m-file Leveraging Engineering Design to Spur Interest in Science and Math BUILDING A ROBOT or a bridge for a national competition. Designing an assistive-technology device for the disabled. When high school students get involved in projects like these, they get excited about science and their fears of classes once thought to be “too hard” melt away. Finding a way to assure the academic quality of these problem-solving design projects and luring more students into advanced math and science is the goal of a national initiative based at the College of Education. Educators from high schools, colleges and professional organizations across the country have teamed up to form the Strategies in Engineering Education K-16 (SEEK-16) collaborative.They are working to create a common framework for teaching engineering practices in secondary schools and to help position engineering studies as a mainstream educational pathway. As the technology demands of a global economy have grown, the number of American students pursuing advanced courses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) has continued to shrink. Government and industry leaders first sounded the alarm more than a decade ago, but efforts to attract more students to technical disciplines have had only minimal success. “We know that in order to fill the STEM pipeline we must appeal to students who are math and science phobic, students

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2008

who would not typically even dream of taking an advanced math course,” says Leigh Abts, co-chair of the SEEK-16 initiative.“But at the same time, these special engineering-based programs need to represent the gold standard in education with a focus on the scientific method and design principles that will truly help prepare students for college-prep math and science.” The academic framework being developed by the SEEK16 team will map out specific principles and skills that quality pre-college engineering programs should help students develop. Students will store their work digitally and demonstrate to teachers or college admissions officers the skills they have mastered. First prototypes will be tested this summer with support from the National Science Foundation and the federal Department of Education. —CR

Two mosquitoes, one killed with wild fungus (at left) and one killed with the fungus engineered to express a scorpion toxin gene. The engineered fungus is nine times more virulent and causes the muscles to contract so that the wings are outstretched when the insect dies.

MOSQUITOES COURTESY OF RAYMOND ST. LEGER

Now You See It, Now You Don’t ATTENTION HARRY POTTER FANS: the bespectacled teenage wizard’s invisibility cloak may not be confined to the realm of fiction for much longer. Researchers in the A. James Clark School of Engineering are using an emerging technology known as plasmonics to create the world’s first invisibility cloak for visible light. Led by Christopher Davis, professor of electrical and computer engineering, the Clark School team is able to bend light under very controlled conditions, making an object appear invisible. Generally speaking, when we see an object, we see the visible light that strikes the object and is reflected back to us. The invisibility cloak refracts (or bends) the light that strikes it, so that light moves around and past the cloak—reflecting nothing—leaving both the cloak and its contents invisible. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation and Clark School Corporate Partner, BAE Systems, has attracted a great deal of attention within the scientific community, industry and government agencies. The cloaking device is comprised of a two-dimensional pattern of concentric rings created in a thin, transparent acrylic plastic layer on a gold film. Plastic and gold each have different refractive properties, and structuring plastic on top of gold in different areas of the device creates “negative refraction” effects, explains Davis.

This in turn bends plasmons—electron waves generated when light strikes a metallic surface under precise circumstances—around the cloaked region. The plasmon waves appear to have moved in a straight line, when in reality they have been guided around the cloak much as water in a stream flows around a rock, concealing the cloak and the object inside from visible light. The team is also using plasmonics to develop superlens microscopy technology, which can be integrated into a conventional optical microscope to view nanoscale details of objects that were previously undetectable. The superlens microscope, for example, may one day image living cells, viruses, proteins, DNA molecules and other samples, operating much like a point-and-shoot camera. —TV

Professor Christopher Davis (above, left) with Research Scientist Igor Smolyaninov (above, right) are conducting groundbreaking research in plasmonics to produce the world’s first invisibility cloak. This greatly magnified image (left) shows plasmon waves scattering around a thin, transparent acrylic plastic layer on a gold film, redirecting the light waves and thus making the object “invisible.”

In the Scorpion’s Lair A STING FROM a fat-tailed scorpion, one of the most dangerous scorpion

species in the world, can kill a human being within two hours. But humans aren’t the only ones at risk. This scorpion’s venom also contains toxins that are entirely specific to insects. Entomology professor Raymond St. Leger has manipulated scorpion genes to create a hyper- virulent fungus that can kill dangerous insects without the environmental contamination linked to chemical pesticides. With a colleague from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he bioengineered a new version of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae to inject mosquitoes, caterpillars and coffee borer beetles with the scorpion toxin and kill them within a few days. “A scorpion kills by stabbing its prey,

LAB PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; INVISIBILITY CLOAK IMAGE COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER DAVIS

so we were looking for a way to get the toxin into the insect without the scorpion,” says St. Leger. “Fungi are really good at that because they are naturally infective. They land on the insect’s outer surface, insert little tubes called hyphae and grow within the insect. You could almost see them as tiny hypodermic needles.” In Australia, the fungus is used to target locusts and grasshoppers that decimate food crops. In Africa, sheets with fungus spores are hung inside houses to kill mosquitoes. “The problem is it takes quite a few fungal spores to kill the mosquito, and it is slow,” says St. Leger. “It reduces the number of mosquito bites that people get, but it doesn’t keep people from getting malaria or dengue (fever).” To produce a faster, insect-killing fungus, St. Leger created a synthetic scorpion gene, which he inserted into the fungus. He also created an “on/off switch” in front of the gene so the fungus produces the toxin only when it is in the insect’s blood. The resulting transgenic fungus was nine times more virulent than the wild version in killing mosquitoes and 30 times more virulent to the coffee borer beetle. —KB

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2008

play-by-play Athletic Uniforms Are Fashion Forward

Jacket, 1983/1986

Game warm-up jacket, 1991/1993

Women’s basketball game jersey, late 1970s

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2008

SCOREcard TRENDSETTING. VIBRANT COLORS. Embellishment. No,

you haven’t stumbled onto the pages of Vogue or ELLE— these are all descriptions of Maryland athletic uniforms. The University of Maryland did not always feature the four official colors of the state’s flag. Early athletic uniforms were either gray or maroon and gray. Starting in the 1920s, black and gold were added to the color palette. Then in 1942, former football coach Clark Shaughnessy switched the uniforms to red and white. Black and gold remained accents and were the predominant color on men’s basketball jerseys in the mid1980s, a color choice resurrected during the 2008 men’s basketball season. Today, all four Maryland colors are featured on Terps athletic uniforms. As far back as 1961 Maryland teams were setting uniform trends. The football team was the first college football team in the country to feature players’ names on jerseys. During a practice session before a crowd of media, coach Tom Nugent introduced Hank Poniatowski ’64, fully suited up in a uniform featuring his name in three-inch white letters across his chest. The addition signified individual effort in team sports and honored courageous play on and off the field. Uniform trends for women’s sports often reflect the fashion trends of the time. In the 1970s, women’s basketball players wore skirts and polos as they made lay-ups and defended the ball—but today’s uniforms rival the men’s in comfort and style. In the new millennium, Maryland became one of the first universities to start testing and using clothes from the new—and local—brand Under Armour, the athletic clothing company started by former football captain Kevin Plank ’97. “These uniforms have provided a brighter, more solid look and the fabrics have been lighter and more breathable,” says Ron Ohringer ’85, equipment manager for athletics. Maryland uniforms have always represented the Terps proudly. “If you can establish a tradition of wearing a certain clean look, you build an identity,” says Ohringer. “With so many games on TV these days, you want the fans at home to be able to click through the many channels showing games, see our team, and know by looking at the uniforms that they are watching Maryland.” Fashion designer Bill Blass once said, “When in doubt wear red.” There is no doubting Terp pride. Red is a definite—and white, black and gold, too.—MLB

Here are a few recent accomplishments of Terps who have donned the red, white, black and gold: Men’s Basketball Coach Gary Williams ’68 in his game day suit—fist pumping the entire way—earned career victory No. 600 on February 6. Williams is the Terrapins alltime winningest coach and eighth among active college coaches. The Maryland wrestling team claimed the 2008 ACC Championship, the first for the Terrapins since 1973. Maryland’s win is the first time a team outside North Carolina has won a tournament championship since 1977. With this win, the team has 21 overall titles and leads the conference. Women’s basketball player Crystal Langhorne ’08 became the first female to score 2,000 points for the Terrapins. She is Maryland's only four-time, all-conference pick and is one of only 10 players in the history of the league to earn first team AllACC nods. The WNBA’s Washington Mystics this spring drafted Langhorne sixth overall. Langhorne’s jersey now hangs in the rafters of Comcast Center alongside other Terrapin greats.

UNIFORMS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES; UNIFORM PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

spotlight Creating Connections Through Art WHEN COMPOSER AND

performer Daniel Bernard Roumain—better known as DBR—wanted to talk with audience members at Gildenhorn Recital Hall, he invited them onstage and used singing, piano and acoustic and amplified violin to enhance the conversation.The event, part of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s free Take Five series and the beginning of DBR’s extended residency, enthralled participants. Building lasting relationships with community ties is a mission at the heart of the center. Artists from all areas of performance are sought to provide a variety of interactive experiences for audiences. Opportunities for engagement with new and exciting work abound, and many events are free. “We want to be meaningful and relevant to our communities,” says Ruth Waalkes, director of artistic initiatives. Take Five features artists who encourage participation and have a lot to say about their craft.“Attendance has been great—a good mix of campus and community members,” says Waalkes. Other no-cost experiences include an instrument petting zoo for children and a salsa dance class.The public can learn about free events both through an insert in the Prince George’s County Gazette and the center’s Web site. Also online are video interviews, facts about performances and blogs.Waalkes sees student blogs as terrific for acquainting the public with the center’s activities.“They give a window not only into Clarice Smith Center but into what is happening at the university and in the hearts and minds of our students,” she says. Many events come out of extended residencies—repeated visits from artists over a period of time.They form collaborative, enduring bonds between community, artist and the center. Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne performed in 2006 and led a master class—one-on-one work with students in front of an audience.The response was enthusiastic, ROUMAIN PHOTO COURTESY OF CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

and this year Horne led more master classes and discussions—one with soprano Evelyn Lear and School of Music professor and baritone Dominic Cossa.The events were designed to appeal to all levels of musical interest. Focused and ongoing collaborations with a few area schools are another part of the center’s outreach. Playwrights of the Future is an annual program with Hyattsville Middle School, and Chamber Music Connections is a program through the center and the School of Music, serving Mount Rainier and Hollywood elementary schools. The center also brings experiences into the broader community. Blind Summit Theatre recently held a free puppetry conversation at the Puppet Company Playhouse in Glen Echo Park. And last fall the center presented a screening of the 1939 documentary The City, which features the city of Greenbelt, with a live orchestra accompaniment of Aaron Copland’s film score. Audience members were then invited on a field trip that included a panel discussion in Greenbelt.“The most ideal situation is when we can connect with both the campus and the community,” says Waalkes. —KD

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR to his fans) was the star of one of many free community performances.

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2008

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Avoid the crowds in the District and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and head to College Park for a Fourth of July celebration, featuring a spectacular fireworks display.

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JULY 5 Independ

In its 21st season, the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland School of Music offers an intensive, four-week experience in orchestral musicianship and professional development for musicians on the threshold of their careers. Each week culminates with a public performance in the center’s Dekelboum Concert Hall, including:

8 p.m. | $20 ($7 student)

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

THROUGH JUNE 28 National Orchestral Institute Concerts

James Ross, conductor Sofya Gulyak, piano, and winner of the 2007 William Kapell Piano Competition Program: Claude Debussy: Fetes; Johannes Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 1; Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 1; Edward Elgar, In the South.

Bold Strokes

JUNE 14

Program: Maurice Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin; Frank Martin, Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments; Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 92 “Oxford.”

Featuring NOI participants

JUNE 7

Andrew Litton, conductor Program: Gustav Mahler: Blumine; Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1 “Spring;” Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1 “Titan.”

Titan’s Roots

JUNE 28

Michael Stern, conductor Program: Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Suite; David Diamond, Music for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel).

Beloved and Beholden

JUNE 21

This summer, the university celebrates the International Year of the Potato with exhibits around campus—and the 21st season of the National Orchestral Institute with four public performances. Fall is around the corner, bringing seven home football games and reunions for Golden and Ruby Terps. Save the date!

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H OT L I N E

NOI PHOTO BY STAN BAROUH; M COLLAGE BY JENNIFER PAUL; FOOTBALL IMAGES COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

ATHLETICS 301.314.7070 (Ticket Office), http://umterps.cstv.com

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627, www.alumni.umd.edu

campus.

at libraries around

Visit the displays on view

importance of this ubiquitous tuber.

collection of resources that focus on the

the Potato, University Libraries highlights a

In observance of the UN International Year of

Various University Libraries

THROUGH AUGUST 22 SPUDS! University Libraries Celebrates the International Year of the Potato

Enjoy live music before the show and limited refreshments on site.

SPUDS! EXHIBIT, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

301.405.9065 www.lib.umd.edu/CLMD/SpecColl/spuds.htm

301.405.ARTS (Ticket Office), www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

HOMECOMING GAME

CAROLINA STATE AT THE OCT. 25

• CHEER THE TERPS TO VICTORY OVER NORTH

HAS TO OFFER

• REDISCOVER ALL THE EXPANDING CAMPUS

NEW ACQUAINTANCES

• RECONNECT WITH OLD FRIENDS AND MAKE

MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

GUEST, GARY WILLIAMS ’68, TERRAPINS’

• ENJOY THE COMPANY OF SPECIAL REUNION

MASON ’58 AS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER

AUTHOR AND PRODUCER CLARE CRAWFORD-

FEATURING A MEDALLION CEREMONY AND

ANNIVERSARY AT THE GOLDEN TERP BRUNCH,

• HONOR TERPS CELEBRATING THEIR 50TH

Golden and Ruby Terps—alumni of the Classes of 1958 and 1968—and Emeriti Terps—alumni of the Classes of 1957 and earlier, join other treasured alumni this coming fall as we:

CLASS OF 1958 AND 1968 REUNIONS Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

To join a reunion committee, help us locate missing classmates or learn about the class gift, contact Cheryl Talbert Smith at 301.405.4396 or smithche@umd.edu.

HELP US PLAN REUNION WEEKEND 2008!

The countdown to Homecoming 2008 begins! The alumni association is busy planning a multitude of activities for the entire Maryland family. Join us at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center to rally the Terrapin spirit before the Terps tackle North Carolina State. Enjoy food, fun and a variety of festivities.

OCTOBER 24–25 Homecoming/Reunion Weekend 2008

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TERP WINTER 2008

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A baby provokes all kinds of reactions in adults— protectiveness and delight, cooing and silly faces, and, in a small segment of the population concentrated in the University of Maryland faculty, curiosity— curiosity about what these small beings can reveal about the unadorned human brain.

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TERP WINTER 2008

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Why Study Babies? ▲ In Amanda Woodward's lab, set up like small theaters, researchers track how long babies watch various behaviors and use eye trackers to reveal exactly what a baby is watching. e experiments yield insights into human development and provide practical insights on how

“They’re an interesting population because they’re close to just what nature brings,” says Amanda Woodward, professor of psychology, who studies cognitive development in infants as young as 3 months old. Infant researchers maintain that looking at behavior before experience, language or even the ability to walk have shaped the mind helps reveal what it means to be a human being. Infant researchers want to understand how experience interacts with our innate biology to understand normal development and also to put the study of developmental disorders—such as autism, language disorders and motor disorders—on sounder footing. For example, says Jeﬀrey Lidz, an associate professor of linguistics who studies language acquisition,“If you can’t understand how unimpaired kids learn language, you will never understand what can go wrong in the process.”

babies learn— not through

Studying Inarticulate People

technologies like

Infant research takes patience. One way researchers try to infer the thoughts of babies, who may barely be able to control their heads let alone answer questions, is by measuring what they look at and for how long.While infant researchers’ waiting rooms are typically brightly decorated, their test labs tend to look like sparse theater spaces. Dark, or at least plain, surroundings keep the focus on just a few key elements.With parent and baby seated, a toy and a hand may peek out from behind a drape.A camera discreetly videotapes the baby’s face; an undergraduate researcher in another room taps out where the baby is looking—now the toy, now the hand— in fraction-of-second increments. Researchers test what catches babies’ interest. Woodward, who studies how babies view people, gathers data from watching large numbers of babies and pools the data to infer what interests babies in general. She has found that as early as 3 months, babies distinguish people from inanimate objects. For example, after a baby repeatedly sees a hand reaching for one of two toys, 6-month-old or even 3-month-old babies suddenly

videos but by interacting with the world.

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perk up when a hand grabs a new toy, more than if the hand reaches for the same toy in a new position. “In almost every experiment, incidental changes in how a hand moves are uninteresting, but changes in goals are riveting,” explainsWoodward. If a mechanical claw performs the same behavior, babies look at new movements and new “goals” with equal interest.Apparently, babies care about the intentions of people but not of mechanical devices. Language acquisition researchers, like Lidz and Rochelle Newman, associate professor of hearing and speech sciences, also use visual preference experiments. They find, for example, that babies will look longer when a sound matches what they’re seeing, whether a moving mouth or an oscillating pattern of sound waves. Language acquisition researchers also use a method called head-turn preference, in which lights flash in front of and then on either side of a baby in coordination with particular sounds. The researchers can measure what babies like to listen to. Lidz studies how babies learn linguistic concepts to explore humans’ innate sense of grammar.“The way we see what’s innate is by seeing how we learn,” he says. For example, babies seem to have an inborn sense of how words are grouped into meaningful phrases.Also, babies learn the meanings of words from context. He found, for instance, that 16-month-old babies understand the meaning of the invented word “blicket” differently when one says,“He’s tapping the blicket,” or “He’s tapping with the blicket.” Newman, who studies speech perception in people ranging in age from 4 months to adulthood, has tested babies’ ability to hear words through noise. She has found that infants less than a year old are sensitive to background noise and not able to hear their name if the surrounding noise is as high as it is, say, in the average daycare. She has also found that babies are attuned to

LAB PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

illy delight unadorned innate ve diﬀeren

distinguish

“Babies are developmental machines,” says Woodward. “ey are built to actively create the learning experiences that they need.” specifics.“Babies are surprisingly sensitive to irrelevancies,” she says, such as pitch, tone or whether a word is spoken by a man or woman. It takes time for them to distinguish important differences in language from those irrelevancies. Being exposed to the same words in a breadth of ways—as babies who spend part of their time in daycare might be— gives babies a chance to sort out which variations matter. Newman has been tracking a relatively small group of children from 7 months into their early school years to test what skills early on predict language skills later. Like Newman, Jane Clark, professor and chair of kinesiology, follows relatively small groups of babies as they grow. Clark studies posture control, or how babies systematically learn to balance the segments of their body—from the head to the trunk to the legs—to sit up, stand up and then walk. She uses virtual reality experiments to tease out the links among the four senses that tell us where our bodies are: our eyes, our sense of touch, the vestibular system in our inner ears that gives us a sense of balance, and the proprioreceptors in our joints and muscles that give us a sense of how our limbs are positioned. By seeing how babies respond to divergent inputs through these senses, Clark studies how these senses are fused. In her testing lab, light displays on the walls can give babies an artificial sense of motion. Similarly, a moving touch bar may give another, possibly conflicting, indication of motion. Infants sit or stand on a platform that tracks their center of gravity, and sensors attached to babies’ heads, shoulders and lower backs track subtle body movements. By looking at motor skills in babies, before the skills become routine, Clark studies how the brain gains mastery over the body.“My research is focused on how the brain connects to the muscles to do the things we do almost automatically,” she says.“The mapping of the environment to the brain to the muscles is very complicated.”

BABY PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

e Payoff of Studying Babies Babies can shed light on the core abilities of our species. Among these are walking, talking and being attuned to other people. Studies also prove when babies learn particular skills and what constitutes normal variation. In motor development, we know that whether babies walk at 9 months or 18 months does not predict their motor skills and development later. In language acquisition, it’s not yet clear what early skills may or may not be a harbinger of later skills, a question Newman is addressing. Studying infants also gives clues to those trying to raise them on how to promote their development,or at least not get in the way.For example,Clark suggests that“vestibular stimulation”—rocking babies of 3 or 4 months back and forth while they are standing on our thighs—can promote their sense of physical mastery.By making sure babies’spaces aren’t too cluttered, we can encourage their exploration and give them“a sense of efficacy.”Excessive background noise can impede language development,but exposing babies to a variety of speakers can encourage it,Newman’s research suggests. Whatever it is that babies need,they certainly don’t seem to need instructional technology. Simply interacting with the world fills their minds.“Babies are ► Expose babies to a variety developmental of speakers so they learn machines,”says general rules for language Woodward.“They are and what’s irrelevant. built to actively create the learning experiences ► Make sure babies that they need.” TERP

Take these baby steps to nurture your baby

aren’t exposed to loud background noise all the time—they can’t hear individual words as clearly when there’s too much interference.

Courtesy of Maryland professors who work with infants and toddlers.

►

Remove clutter to help babies move around easily.

►

Allow babies to play with many toys (even something as simple as pulling a cloth to move a toy on top) to provide insight into how the world works.

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By Monette Austin Bailey

As the soundtrack to midlife begins, the music is focused and relaxed, kind of smooth jazz. We waited later to have children, so we can spend more time with them. Many of us acquired higher levels of education than our parents, earning better paying jobs that reward us with life-comfortable salaries. We have a bit more to juggle as we start families and our build careers, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cool. We're confident that we can manage it all, right? Then, punctuated by the sounds of kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; soccer games and discussions about domestic divisions of labor, the rhythm of life picks up in intensity.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN T. CONSOLI, ASHLEY GILMORE AND BRIAN PAYNE

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We—men and women—worry about doing all of it right.We feel as if we don’t spend enough time with our well-housed and carefully scheduled children. So we attempt to cram more into the same amount of waking hours afforded our ancestors. And in some respects, we can.Technology allows us to dash off a quick e-mail to the office on our laptop, while watching little Ashley execute a practice dive and between snatches of conversation on our cell phone. The perception about how we spend our time is not matching the reality, though.“Mothers, despite increasing work [outside of the home], spend as much time as ever, on average, with their children,” says university sociologist Suzanne Bianchi. She says that while parents have re-oriented even their leisure time to be kid-friendly, cultural pressures can make them feel that child-rearing time could be better spent. Mothers talk to therapists or friends about how overwhelming it all feels. They lament the loss of personal and spouse time.The soundtrack becomes a dirge, though the intonation may depend on the gender. “There’s an element of just because mothers have gone into the labor force, it doesn’t relieve them of being there for their children,” says Bianchi.“And a good dad is a provider.The expectations have ratcheted up.” Tom Ruggieri, coordinator of the university’s Faculty Staff Assistance Program, calls the gender disconnect “classically universal.” Couples seeking his counseling services often find themselves at odds over the quantity and even the quality of household tasks. Because dad is usually doing more than his father, he assumes he is carrying his weight.When he looks more closely, dad discovers that he often is not. According to recent data from time diaries kept as part of a four decades-long study first led by Maryland sociologist John Robinson, dads do report a half-hour more of free time than moms per day. Moms often report that same 30 minutes is time spent on personal care or sleeping. Maybe not free time, but it’s definitely spent on self.

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Perceptions of time spent also are colored by emotions, offers Melissa Milkie, associate professor in sociology.Though mom may not be involved in a child-care activity, she can’t really enjoy her pedicure because she’s thinking about the play date she orchestrated that afforded her some solo time. “Single moms also report positive interactions with kids, but also are the most time stressed, and in terms of believing they have to make sacrifices at work and in family life. “About half of both moms and dads report they have too little time with their children, but it’s more linked to stress with moms,” Milkie says. What surprises her and fellow researchers is how mothers think they could be spending more time with their children.There are only so many non-working, awake hours available. Focused

PARENTS

time is important, but if a child is in a parent’s presence, does that count? Or if a teen can reach his mom with a text message, is that considered child-centric time? “Accessibility we can’t get at with time-diary data,” says Milkie. Society, says Bianchi, may be able to shoulder some blame and relieve some of the guilt.“It’s less sanguine, [but] parents are more fearful of letting kids out on their own,” so they hover over them for protection rather than just letting them hang out in the neighborhood. She adds that statistics reinforce that parents are doing better than they may think. More than 80 percent of parents report daily positive interaction with their children.A majority also says they show

affection and offer praise regularly. Ruggieri agrees that while some of the guilt won’t go away, parents need to get into a feel-better groove when it comes to their time. Recognize what they’re doing right and be realistic with their to-do lists. He adds that there is reason to remain upbeat, even though there will always be some form of guilt or worry associated with our children.“How can there not be? I think that there is probably more guilt about not spending time with your kids when they are younger.And again when it is the first kid. “When I asked parents if they had the option to do it another way, most say that they enjoy the ability to do both [work full-time and raise families],” he says.“They just want a better balance.” TERP

are doing better than they think. S L O W I N G T H E PA C E , A S S U A G I N G T H E G U I L T Learn from those who seem to have achieved a harmonious relationship with time. Some tips on balancing priorities and time-use, courtesy of Tom Ruggieri, a counselor with the Faculty Staff Assistance Program:

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Strong AT ANY AGE

By Ellen Walker Ternes

Exercise and Aging Back in the ’70s, when kinesiology professor Jim Hagberg started doing some of the nation’s first research on how exercise affects aging, there wasn’t a lot of evidence that exercise made much difference in the health of people over 60. One of Hagberg’s first studies would blow that misconception sky high. “We looked at older athletes who ran 30 miles a week,” Hagberg says, “and found that physiologically and metabolically, these folks looked like they were in their 20s.” Today, Hagberg and fellow faculty in the School of Public Health’s Department of

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Kinesiology are national leaders in research on exercise and aging. Ranked third in the nation, the department is also one of only two centers in the country that study how genes affect the way people respond to exercise. Hagberg and his colleagues have compiled data that show, without a doubt, even moderate, regular cardiovascular, resistance and balance exercise can slow, or even reverse, the effects of aging. And, unfortunately, they’ve found that some of those unhealthy aging demons also return almost as soon as you dump the workout for the couch.

Cardiovascular While Hagberg’s early study of unusually fit people was good news, there were bigger questions about how the average person responds to exercise. “So we got older folks, aged 60-69, who had been sedentary and put them through training,” Hagberg says. “They improved dramatically. In terms of cardiovascular fitness, they had turned the clock back almost 20 years, with three days a week of 4050 minutes of moderately high intensity exercise.” Then Hagberg started measuring risk factors, things

that get worse as we get older: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cholesterol.The results, again, were almost startling, with good news and bad. After seven days of 40 minute workouts, formerly sedentary people with type 2 diabetes saw glucose levels drop to normal.The bad news? “Ten days after people stopped exercising, their glucose levels looked like those of a sedentary person again,” says Hagberg. Hagberg’s hypertension studies with older subjects

show benefits from walking three times a week. And the number of endothelial progenitor cells, which help heal blood vessel damage caused by heart disease, increased with exercise, then quickly decreased when exercise stopped. Hagberg is now looking at “genetic misspellings that identify people who will respond the best to exercise training, in terms of reducing blood pressure or treating other conditions.”

® ®

It’s natural to lose muscle as we age.Women start in their 40s, men their 50s, losing 6 percent of their muscle mass and 12 percent of strength a decade. Muscle mass loss, a condition called sarcopenia, “can have profound consequences in older people,” says kinesiology’s Ben Hurley. “There is a high mortality rate from things like falls that can be related to muscle loss.” When Hurley’s group started looking for the genes that determine how muscles respond to exercise, Hurley thought they would identify

Muscle a few genes that did all the work. Instead, they found a complex biological pathway that will take, Hurley says, a lot more work to unravel. What Hurley’s group has confirmed with research, however, is that 30 minutes of resistance exercise, three times a week can reverse muscle loss in older people in a short time. “In the first two months of training, you can increase muscle mass by 12 percent,” Hurley says. “Regular resistance exercise will help you maintain that.”

® TERP SPRING 2008

® 29

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John Jeka asks his volunteer subjects, many of them 70 or older, to climb into what he calls the “virtual cave,” where they get strapped into a harness to see how stimuli like moving lights and tilting foot boards affect their balance. But in the real world, where there is no harness, losing balance becomes a greater risk with aging. Falls and their complications are a leading cause of death in people over 65. Says Jeka, “One of the difficulties with balance is that it’s multifaceted, not just related to a single factor. So we’re looking at how to

improve the balance itself, not all the conditions that might cause it.” Working with Michael Pecht in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jeka is developing a sensor system of small devices worn in the ear and on the ankle to prevent falls. In the meantime, Jeka says exercise can help reduce loss of balance. “For anyone over 50, balance exercise should be included in their workout routine. Balance has to be continually challenged, yet safe. I think within the next 20 years, all health clubs will have balance machines.”

Steve Roth looks at the big picture of what he describes as “how our genetics set us up for our life paths,” especially in regard to exercise. Roth was surprised with one result of his research into dna changes that exercise brings about. He knew that telomeres, age-buffering elements of dna that help cells reproduce, shrink in length as we get older. Roth’s team discovered that people who exercise have longer, or “younger,” telomeres than sedentary people. The surprise was that moderate exercisers also had younger telomeres than master athletes. “This fits a lot of emerging data that moderate rather than extreme physical activity is a benefit,” Roth says.

Just Do It The day when a doctor can prescribe an exercise-medication regimen based on your personal genome is not that far off. Even then, the biggest challenge, say all of these researchers, is figuring out how to get people to exercise in the first place. “We know exercise is beneficial for so many things,” Roth says, “yet 40 percent of the population is sedentary. No one has come up with a successful strategy for motivating people to exercise.”

See the Winter 2007 issue of Terp for a story on kinesiology professor Bradley Hatfield’s research that shows exercise also helps the aging brain, even delaying symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. TERP

TERP SPRING 2008

Genes

Balance

Keep you brain and your body young, with these tips courtesy of kinesiology doctoral candidate Jo Zimmerman, a certified health and fitness instructor: In your 20s and 30s, when you’re juggling career and family, fit activity in and do things together. Get off the

Metro one stop earlier or walk at lunch. Join a fitness club or play a team sport after work. ®

In your 40s and 50s, bank on maturity by rebalancing priorities for your own health. Get health screenings. Try new games or activities to keep your outlook fresh and your brain and body working.

In your 60s and 70s, create new networks to maintain your social health and an independent life using strength, aerobic and flexibility exercises. In your 80s and beyond, keep going. Respect your bones by trying yoga, weights, Pilates and swimming.

theloop

510,000,000!

$166 M for Students | $102 M for Faculty | $116 M for Environment | $126 M for Innovation

Great Expectations Tops Halfway Mark $1 BILLION 900 M 800 M 700 M 600 M 500 M 400 M 300 M 200 M 100 M

Great Expectations netted $510 million as of this spring, well on the way to $1 billion by December 2011.

PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

A $6 MILLION GIFT from long-time Maryland benefac-

tor Robert H. Smith ’50 has taken both the university’s performing arts programs and Great Expectations,The Campaign for Maryland to a new level.The late March gift pushed the campaign past the halfway mark of its $1 billion goal just ahead of the chronological mid-point of the seven-year effort. Funds raised by March 31 totaled more than $502 million, and giving has continued at a steady pace since then. “The Maryland family is proving we can rise to the challenge of our lofty goal,” says Alma Gildenhorn ’53, campaign co-chair and trustee of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation.“With the support of more than 80,000 donors so far, we have already surpassed the total amount raised over the full course of our last campaign.” Gifts to Great Expectations are having a transformational impact on the university.The Smith Family Foundation’s commitment to academic programs in music, dance and theater, for example, will set a new direction for educating artists and scholars and extend the university’s reach as a national artistic and intellectual center.The March gift will provide resources for student, faculty and programmatic enhancements to achieve true national distinction. Growing support for the campaign can already be seen across the university. Hundreds of new scholarships are creating opportunity for more students. Endowed chairs and professorships in new areas are attracting more distinguished faculty. New facilities like the Chemistry Teaching Wing dot the landscape, and new programs like the Robert E. Fischell Department of Bioengineering are expanding our academic offerings. “We still have much work to do, but our goal of providing the resources that will help assure the growth of a worldclass university is within our grasp,” says Gildenhorn. —CR

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in theloop Harvey Sanders ’72 is as excited to see the Terps win today as he was during the years he played basketball at Maryland.The former journalism major has paved a successful career in the world of business becoming president and ceo of Nautica Enterprises, Inc. in 1978, and later, chairman of the board. Since 2004, he has been a director of Under Armour. Sanders serves on several foundation boards including the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees. —DCJ PLACE OF BIRTH:

NewYork City

I enjoy playing basketball every weekend. HOBBIES:

RECENTLY READ BOOK:

Tuesdays with Morrie

by Mitch Albom FAVORITE MOVIE:

Forrest Gump

GREATEST INFLUENCES: My

father,Albert Sanders, taught me how to distinguish right from wrong.Tom Davis, who was my basketball coach at Maryland, taught me about discipline and hard work. Try to do the right thing, and hard work pays off. PHILOSOPHY:

SOMETHING EXCITING I WOULD LIKE TO DO:

I would like to play golf in Scotland. I’ve heard it’s a great experience. MEANINGFUL MARYLAND MOMENT:

Witnessing Maryland beat Indiana 64–52 and win the 2002 ncaa Men’s Basketball Championship. I was there and it was great!

TERP SPRING 2008

Campaign Volunteer Spotlight

HARVEY SANDERS ’72 A BUSINESSMAN FOR ALL SEASONS

Undeclared Majors Get Scholarship Boost “THERE’S A PURPOSE to education beyond careerism,” says

Betty J. Beckley, the first director for Letters and Sciences and former assistant dean for the Office of Undergraduate Studies.“I want people to have the freedom to explore and find out what is right for them, and not be discouraged from doing that.”To further academic exploration, the Betty J. Beckley Award for Letters and Sciences Students is the first scholarship to support sophomores who are undeclared majors. After Beckley’s retirement in 1997, colleagues set up a scholarship in her name. Beckley contributed to the fund over the years, which has increased to more than $79,000. Last year, she and university officials finalized details on the scholarship. “We are grateful to Betty Beckley for recognizing these terrific students, and for highlighting a critical need for this program,” says Donna Hamilton, associate provost and dean of undergraduate studies. Beckley scholarships are awarded annually to three outstanding students who have not determined a major at the time of application. Such students are housed in the Letters and Sciences division, which offers them advising and other support services.Among the inaugural 2007 recipients, Mary Feng says the award has been “an incredible resource.As an Asian American from an immigrant family, I have endured both academic and financial challenges.” Feng, a College Park Scholar, is now a psychology and marketing major. Pursuing a degree in international business and management, Stephanie Murphy says Letters and Sciences “expanded my awareness of community service activities on-campus, assisted me in building business skills and setting long-term career goals.” “The general campus culture often assumes that the student who explores is not the student who is really equipped academically. I don’t believe that to be the case,” says Beckley.“We want students to be open to all subjects and be better prepared for the life ahead.” —DCJ Student Mary Feng '10, left, was one of three inaugural recipients of the Betty J. Beckley Award for Letters and Sciences Students. The scholarship is named in honor of Beckley, right, former assistant dean for the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

“Many Eastern Shore families must still struggle to cover the cost of college.This is a thank you for all the past help we received from that special community.” —irma jean mcnelia

Scholarship Sprouts from Eastern Shore Roots MECHANICAL ENGINEERING student Dustin Butler ’08 credits the solid work ethic instilled by his small hometown of Preston on Maryland’s Eastern Shore for helping him adjust to academic challenges he found at Maryland. But it was another Eastern Shore connection that saw him through his final year to graduation. A new scholarship, funded by a native Eastern Shore family, the McNelias, bridged the gap in Butler’s financial need, paving the way for his next steps to law school and a career as an intellectual property attorney protecting the rights of inventors. The son of a single mother with three other children, Butler says the scholarship and community support were key in his success. “On the Eastern Shore, we have very closeknit communities. Everyone helps each other,” he says. “I hope to further that kind of camaraderie in my career as a lawyer.” The McNelia Scholars Fund is built on family and community. It was created by Megan McNelia Frantz ’98 and her husband, Mark, in 2004 as a gift to her parents, John Franklin ’60 and Irma Jean ’61, M.Ed. ’83, on their 45th wedding anniversary to honor their love for the University of Maryland and their Salisbury roots.“We wanted to capture the essence of who they are and where they came from,” says Megan (with Mark, right), an alumna of the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI AND LISA HELFERT

The idea began with Mark. “We knew how much the McNelias enjoyed their time at Maryland and how much they valued education and the opportunities that come from it,” he says. “This seemed like the perfect gift to give them.”The Frantzs continue contributing with the goal of one day funding full-tuition scholarships. “This really makes us feel like a true Maryland family,” says Irma Jean (above, with John Franklin). “We are extremely proud of being graduates of the university.”Their son, John Andrew ’93, is a mechanical engineering graduate. The entire family grew up with Maryland.“Every Sunday we’d drive through campus after church and end up at The Dairy for ice cream treats,” Megan recalls.“It now feels good to give back to something that is so much a part of my foundation.” John Franklin and Irma Jean are so proud, in fact, that they are also contributing to the scholarship fund.The first in their families to attend college, they recall the tremendous financial strain on their family.“Many Eastern Shore families must still struggle to cover the cost of college.This is a thank you for all the past help we received from that special community,” says Irma Jean. The scholarship is awarded to Eastern Shore students following in the McNelias’ footsteps and majoring in engineering, education or business. —CR TERP SPRING 2008

“I do not believe there will be a real estate development program in the country that can compete with our access to the leaders of this industry.”—john colvin ’69

Bright Future for Real Estate Program: Colvin gift supports smart development As a youngster barely tall enough to see the blueprints on the dining room table, John Colvin ’69 (right) was curious about the world of real estate. His mother, Neomie Colvin, was one of Maryland’s first female commercial real estate brokers, having shattered every glass ceiling in a man’s arena. Today, a successful commercial real estate developer, her son is cultivating the next generation of developers with a $3 million gift to the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.The gift from Colvin and his wife, Karen, a professor at the University of Baltimore, strengthens the university’s comprehensive graduate program in real estate development launched in the fall of 2006. The Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development goes beyond traditional real estate education and covers the principles of urban planning and design, construction management, finance and investment, land-use and environmental regulation and asset and property management—all with an emphasis on smart growth, sustainable design and affordable housing. Upon completion of the program, Colvin Institute Director Margaret McFarland says “students will know how to obtain the best from their architect, their lawyer, their financiers and how to engage in effective public-private partnerships.The program takes seriously its motto ‘collaborative education for a sustainable future.’” First-year graduate student Andrew Rose ’06 is already seeing enormous benefits from the program. Currently working for a commercial real estate brokerage firm, Rose says,“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to work and the information that I’ve learned in class helped get me up to speed.” Tiphanie Jones ’06, a second-year student with an interest in office and retail

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space acquisitions and dispositions, says the comprehensive program and access to industry leaders are major assets of Maryland’s program. Leslie Hristov, a second-year student who is an associate property manager, agrees. Hristov is working for the Peterson Companies on the National Harbor project, a commercialresidential waterfront development on the Potomac in Prince George’s County.All students are required to work one-on-one with a developer on a capstone project.“In many programs, you don’t get that kind of access to professionals,” says Hristov. The Colvins’ gift will fund program enhancements, including study tours, applied research publications, symposia and visiting professionals exploring emerging issues facing the industry, such as greater use of mixed-income residential communities, sustainable development in all phases and effective strategies for public-private partnerships. “I do not believe there will be a real estate development program in the country that can compete with our access to the leaders of this industry,” says Colvin, citing the university’s close proximity to the nation’s capital. Moreover, he notes the institute is an unparalleled laboratory for the study of real estate development, from the historic preservation of Annapolis to the redevelopment of a post-industrial Baltimore, from environmental sensitivity around the Chesapeake Bay to multi-use developments in theWashington area. “It is my privilege to give back to my alma mater and my chosen profession,” says Colvin.“I look to many of my colleagues to join me in making this the best source of education in real estate development.” —DCJ A team of students (below) from the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development won a $15,000 first-place prize in a national real estate development case competition based on their plans for a full-scale redevelopment of a Rosslyn, Va., site (top). Their proposal transformed the site into "Roosevelt Gateway," a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly environment with a luxury hotel, street-level shopping, sweeping public spaces and a walkway connecting Rosslyn to Roosevelt Island—a National Park Service site just beyond the reach of the city.

PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI, LISA HELFERT AND MARYLAND ATHLETICS

For more on Great Expectations, The Campaign for Maryland, go to www.greatexpectations.umd.edu.

specialGIFTS focusing on student support

Announcer Johnny Holliday (right) has long been “the voice of the Terrapins,” and he is also a dedicated community volunteer. Now the Youth Leadership Foundation, an organization he supports, has found an innovative way to honor Holliday and support disadvantaged youth from Washington, D.C. An annual golf tournament funds scholarships for students to attend academic and character building programs and supports the Johnny Holliday Scholarship Fund at Maryland, which provides tuition assistance for a foundation participant attending the university. Deron Campbell ’08, (with Holliday above) a bioscience major who plans to apply to medical school, was the first recipient of the Holliday Scholarship. In the past, Holliday has given his time and support to a variety of Maryland programs, including athletics, University Libraries and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Jenny Collins ’09, (far right) a member of the women’s lacrosse team, was the 2008 winner of the Dean and Etta Ray Griffin Scholarship. A kinesiology major who has won academic honors, Jenny chose Maryland for its combination of athletics and academics over Duke, Princeton and Georgetown. Dean ’58 and Etta Ray Griffin established the endowed scholarship in intercollegiate athletics with a contribution of $50,000.

Sahar Rasolee ’09 and Melissa Rothstein ’09, the first recipients of the Nancy Clarvit Design Scholars and Travel Awards, were busy exploring Korea and Spain on respective study abroad trips during the spring semester. The College of Arts and Humanities selected the two students for $2,500 awards, thanks to support from Clarvit ’78. She made a gift of $100,000 to provide scholarships and travel awards for art students, particularly those specializing in the design field. The gift will also support new technology for design majors. Sonia Franckel ’09 majors in computer science and juggles internships and fieldwork to round out her academic experience. With the support of the Raj Khera and

Tripti Sinha Scholarship Fund, Franckel’s load became a little more bearable this spring. A University Honors student, she has interned with the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel and works for the university’s Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory during the school year. Raj Khera ’86, M.S. ’88 and his wife, Tripti Sinha, director of networking and telecommunications for the university’s Office of Information Technology, established this scholarship for computer science undergraduates like Franckel with a commitment of $25,000. Khera is chair of the Board of Visitors of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

TERP SPRING 2008

Interpretations A Model for the Future

OUR GREAT CAMPUS has long been known for its iconic green spaces. Now, more than ever, the University of Maryland’s impact and future depend on our developing and promoting sustainable environmental practices. Sustainability affects all that we do on the campus, in the greater metropolitan area, across the nation and around the globe.The dramatic effects of climate change that are underway shape our teaching, research, infrastructure and partnerships. Maryland is fast becoming a national model for the “green university.” Virtually every university department here is working to reduce energy consumption, increase environmental awareness, create technologies and policies, and expand commitments to sustainable practices. When I signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007, I pledged that our university would take significant steps to

TERP SPRING

2008

reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I charged a 50-member Climate Action Plan Work Group to create a strategy for climate neutrality. Our new Office of Sustainability will support those objectives, providing education, fostering collaboration and implementing environmentally conscience initiatives. Among dozens of measures introduced so far: Shuttle-UM buses use fuel supplemented by used cooking oil; the new EcoHouse living and learning community allows students to explore environmental challenges and live their solutions; and Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building standards are in place for all new construction and major renovations. Results from our programs are promising. Last year, Grist magazine named Maryland one of its Top 15 green colleges and universities nationally. This spring, we hosted the third Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference to encourage and support other universities as they follow our lead. Like the green movement itself, we continue to gain momentum. When operational in 2009, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction—located in M Square, the university’s research park—will partner with Maryland faculty to generate forecasts for atmospheric and oceanic conditions that affect weather and climate. Our Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center and Joint Global Change Research Institute have just moved into a new building next to NOAA to foster partnerships and collaborations.The University of Maryland Energy Research Center is advancing the frontiers of environmentally friendly energy creation and use focusing on approaches to

alternative energy generation and storage. The scientific work in Maryland’s laboratories has profound implications for our global landscape. Last semester, professors Steve Hutcheson and Ron Weiner proved this connection with the formation of Zymetis, an incubator company dedicated to developing biofuel alternatives to gasoline.They developed a process using Chesapeake Bay bacteria to convert plantbased waste into ethanol.The technology is a win for the state, the university and the environment. It also exemplifies the importance of transformational basic research and of our incubator, which moves ideas into practices. Our students are also committed to the environment.Their off-the-grid, solar house entry in the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition was the top

Like the green movement itself, we continue to gain momentum. U.S. finisher and demonstrated our students’ determination to advance environmentally sound architecture, communication and engineering. Another student group working on the international level is the university chapter of Engineers Without Borders, which develops sustainable water, energy and sanitation projects in remote sites. Sustainability efforts ultimately depend on individuals reducing their ecological footprints.We must all consider our impact, whether here at the university or elsewhere in the world, because we are all connected to the environment.Watch for more initiatives from our Climate Action Work Group or visit www.sustainability.umd.edu. —Dan Mote, President

PHOTO BY JEREMY GREEN

A simple equation for Maryland’s future When you combine the extraordinary brainpower of the University of Maryland with the bold determination of our students, faculty, staff and alumni, you get a powerful resource that sets the state in motion. As Maryland’s only world-class public research university, our innovative educational environment and groundbreaking research fuel valuable discoveries that create jobs, advance lives and drive the state’s economy. Add it all up and you could even say we’re the brains behind Maryland’s economy. With that kind of momentum behind us, there’s no limit to what we can do. Fear the Turtle.

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Life Membership... Devotion to Alma Mater is more than an annual obligation—it’s a perennial passion. Show your Terrapin pride today by becoming a life member. When you join, your loyalty will be on display for all to see on the Eric S. & Frann G. Francis Lifetime Member Wall. The wall is located on the grounds of the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center across from Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.

Eric ’71 and Frann Francis

To reserve your place on the wall, join by July 25, 2008.* In addition to receiving name recognition, you will receive a Life Member Card—neverending access to member benefits—along with a perpetual connection to the Maryland family and the enduring thanks of your alumni association. For more information, contact the alumni association at 800.336.8627/301.405.4678 or visit www.alumni.umd.edu. *Payment of $850 (single) or $950 (joint) must be made in full to be included on the Eric S. & Frann G. Francis Lifetime Member Wall.

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