TERP Winter 2009 by University of Maryland

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TERP

CONNECTING

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COMMUNITY

VOL. 4, NO. 2 WINTER 2009

Breaking Tradition Students ’ Travels

Life Less Reap ons 24

HELPING “MARTHA” SPEAK 15

DARWIN AT 200 20

INSPIRATIONAL INCENTIVE 31

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TERP PUBLISHER

Brodie Remington Vice President, University Relations ADVISORY BOARD

J. Paul Carey ’82 M.B.A. CEO, Enumerate 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 Chief Operating Officer, Baltimore City Public School System Lee Thornton Interim Dean, 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 Patricia Look ’08 Catherine Nichols ’99 Brian Payne Contributing Designers Monette A. Bailey ’89 Mandie Boardman ’02 Lauren Brown Denise C. Jones Cassandra Robinson Rebecca M. Ruark Tom Ventsias Writers Pamela Babcock Kelly Blake ’94 Dianne Burch Mercy Coogan Dave Ottalini Ellen Ternes ’68 Neil Tickner Lee Tune Contributing Writers Katherine Davis ’09 Anne McDonough ’09 Leonard Sparks ’09 Magazine Interns 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, IT IS “THE YEAR OF EVOLUTION,” a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th of the publication of On the Origin of Species. Turn to page 20 for a recap on the revolutionary scientist’s groundbreaking theory and its impact on science, society and many fields of study at Maryland. Education for Maryland students is also an evolutionary process. In past years, “giving back” was something that usually occurred after one graduated from the university. Today, however, we see our students engaged in year-round, hands-on learning that not only benefits them, but many others as well. In “Spring Break with a Conscience” on page 24, the socially minded trade the traditional spring break scene for volunteer work over spring, summer and winter vacations. The Alternative Breaks program propels students interested in disaster relief, HIV/AIDS and environmental sustainability, among other issues, to far flung, real-world classrooms from New Orleans and New York City to Peru. Teacher/student relationships are evolving, too. “Beyond Teaching,” on page 28, explores how teachers become mentors as they set their students on paths toward personal—not just intellectual—fulfillment. Any student will tell you that easy access to wireless technology greatly enhances all aspects of the college experience, including learning both in and outside the classroom. Turn to page 3 to read about the “Mobile Initiative,” which permits 150 lucky Maryland freshmen to take their studies with them wherever they go, right in the palms of their hands. The university’s ambitious strategic plan, fueled by Great Expectations, The Campaign for Maryland, ensures that this year’s freshman class, the 2012s, and future Terps, continue to find Maryland

a dynamic educational environment. This past fall, the Maryland family celebrated Great Expectations upon reaching its halfway mark. A recap of the event, including photos, is on page 32. Based on those attending the celebration, we know that it is not only students who enjoy the campus’ vibrant atmosphere. The university’s “Make Your Mark on Maryland” initiative encourages each of us to cheer the Terps, join the alumni association, share our knowledge, volunteer our time and reflect upon the success that our Maryland connections have helped us achieve. Indeed, these challenging economic times make it clear to all of us that the very concept of philanthropy is evolving. This winter, I encourage you to give thought to your Maryland experience, and consider how you can make your mark at our university. Turn to Maryland Live on page 18 for a wide array of opportunities for you and your family to tap into the energy of Maryland’s students, teachers and researchers as we evolve into a truly world-class university.

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

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2 BIG PICTURE Saving the diamondback terrapin; let them have iPods; and more 6 THE SOURCE A new twist on book clubs 7 ASK ANNE The many faces of Testudo; when Maryland students were cadets; and more 8 CLASS ACT Kiran Chetry stars on camera and at home; alumnus does well by doing good; a stock car champion; and more 12 M-FILE Noise-sensitive fish; up close and personal with Journalism’s Lee Thornton; a new appreciation for dirt; and more 16 PLAY-BYPLAY Terp wrestlers claim ACC prize 17 SPOTLIGHT Campus a cappella groups flourish 18 MARYLAND LIVE Spreading the Terrapin spirit; David Driskell lecture; meet campus authors; and more 31 IN THE LOOP Incentive Awards Program brings alumna full circle; celebration marks Great Expectations’ continued success; library retiree keeps on giving; and more 36 INTERPRETATIONS Fiscal challenges

departments

14 WHAT MAKES ICE, ICE? AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

Maryland scientists study the composition of ice to understand what happens to structures and systems exposed to freezing conditions.

features 20

DARWIN’S AMAZING THEORIES—THEN AND NOW

The university recognizes Charles Darwin by celebrating “The Year of Evolution” 200 years after his birth and 150 years since the publication of his seminal work On the Origin of Species. BY ELLEN WALKER TERNES

RETHINKING SPRING—AND WINTER AND SUMMER— BREAK

Destination spring break: Fort Lauderdale, Cancun or the Bahamas? How about an American Indian reservation? BY LAUREN BROWN

FACULTY MENTORS GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR STUDENTS

Outside-the-classroom direction and encouragement from faculty mentors can help students gain confidence and improve their academic performance. BY MONETTE AUSTIN BAILEY COVER DESIGN BY CATHERINE NICHOLS; AT LEFT, DANITA NIAS PHOTO BY MIKE MORGAN; ABOVE, ICE PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CUMINGS

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Save the Turtle: Good fences make good terrapin protection A TEAM OF Gemstone honors students will finish a four-year

project this year aimed at finding a solution to a troubling problem for all Terrapin fans. The diamondback terrapin—the inspiration for Testudo—is in trouble. Encroaching humanity, hungry predators and perhaps pollution are all playing a part in making the much-beloved reptile an endangered species. The Gemstone team took on this research project as freshmen and came up with a novel solution: Protect the diamondback terrapins by placing battery-powered electric fences around their nests. They built the fences and conducted research in three locations over the past two summers from their base at Cremona Farm in St. Mary’s County, headquarters for diamondback terrapin researchers from Maryland, Ohio University and other institutions. This school year, the Gemstone students are focusing on analyzing their data, writing a thesis and working to let everyone know about their research. “We’re hoping we can contribute to policies, and maybe the fences can be used on beaches to protect terrapin nests,” says Gemstone senior Marjorie Clemens, a neurobiology and psychology major. —DO The diamondback terrapin is endangered, but a team of students is working to reverse the odds against the university’s favorite reptile.

UM-Based Startup Wins Global Security Challenge AN INNOVATIVE HUMAN-TRACKING system developed by a university-based startup has earned top honors and a $500,000 federal contract in an international competition that identifies and coordinates research and development related to national security. TRX Systems, founded by Gil Blankenship, professor and associate chair of electrical and computer engineering, won the Global Security Challenge with its Sentinel tracking and monitoring technology, beating out competitors from the United States, Europe and Asia. One of the greatest dangers for firefighters is becoming injured and trapped inside a burning structure, unable to contact other emergency personnel for assistance, Blankenship explains. The TRX technology is designed to pinpoint a first responder’s location inside a multistory building, greatly improving rescue efforts for distressed or downed firefighters. TRX, a graduate of the university’s startup incubator program, collaborated with the university’s Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute in testing prototypes of the tracking software. The company now employs 17 people, with all but three university faculty, staff or alumni. —TV

Above: TRX personnel, front to back, counterclockwise: Carole Teolis, Gil Blankenship, Amrit Bandy, Eric Kohn, Ben Funk, David Lemus and Karina Drees.

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SAVE THE TURTLE PHOTOS BY DAVE OTTALINI

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Learning Anytime, Anywhere THE UNIVERSITY LAUNCHED an experiment last fall to learn how handheld devices like the iPhone, when juiced up with powerful software, can enhance students’ educational experiences. To begin this “Mobility Initiative,” 150 freshmen got a free iPhone or iPod Touch loaded with advanced technology. “Students are increasingly tech-savvy, mobile technology is advancing rapidly, and a world-class research university should be prepared to exploit the educational possibilities,” says Maryland Chief Information Officer Jeffrey Huskamp. Students and professors have teamed up to find ways to apply the technology in and out of the classroom. “We want to give students in this project an opportunity to gain experience integrating new technology into their studies,” says Provost Nariman Farvardin, the initiative’s main sponsor. The devices are equipped with software to help increase social and intellectual

networking. But the participants are also exploring ways to make the devices an active classroom tool— for example, allowing students to give professors instant feedback during a lecture. Also, the devices’ portability may help students squeeze in extra study time. Kent Norman, a psychology professor involved in the project, calls it the “anytime, anywhere” concept. While other schools are giving freshmen similar devices this year, few have focused so intently on maximizing educational benefits. As Undergraduate Admissions Director Barbara Gill puts it, “The technology has a great many possibilities, and we’re much more likely to discover them if we go about this in a systematic way.” —NT

YOURwords the fall 2008 issue included a story about the history of the university mascot (Testudo: More than a Mascot, page 16). Here, Herbert Siegel ’50 offers his recollection:

Top Quality and Great Value— Such a Deal! Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked Maryland in the Top 10 of public universities for providing students with a great education at an affordable price. The university placed ninth on the list of the “100 Best Values in Public Colleges,” a survey of 500 fouryear colleges and universities.

IN 1947, I was appointed chairman of an SGA-sponsored “Rally Committee”

whose charge was to foster student support for Maryland athletics. I was one of the returning veterans on campus, and we did not have much time or desire for school spirit. We were mainly responsible for promoting Terp football: pep rallies, football news, playing music. We helped design a card section for the new Byrd Stadium. … One of the committee goals was to create a mascot costume. I went to Jones Costumes, then located on Howard Street in Baltimore. They designed the first Testudo costume. I was the first to wear it at a Maryland home game. The costume has changed over the past 50 years, but those memories are still bright. I am a dedicated supporter of Maryland in academics and sports, and a member of the M Club and Terrapin Club.

PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; SGA AND SIEGEL PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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GROWTH spurt

aryland’s new and expanding academic programs are giving more exciting options to graduate and undergraduate students.

Engaging with Cultures Arabic studies and Persian studies debuted undergraduate majors and minors last fall, and Latina/o studies began offering students a new minor. All three programs responded to students’ interest in learning about other cultures—not just their languages. A major in Arabic or Persian allows students to explore historical developments in culture and literature and prepares them for careers in government, business, education, communication and more. The minor in Latina/o studies is interdisciplinary and allows students to critically study the broad range of social and community experiences of American Latino/as.

Sustainable Energy Meets Engineering Adding to the university’s commitment to environmental sustainability, the A. James Clark School of Engineering announced the first master of engineering in sustainable energy engineering degree in the United States. The program, available both on campus and online through the Office of Advanced Engineering Education, will address a growing demand in the field. The first students will be admitted in fall 2009 and will study core topics such as renewable energy applications, advanced fuel cells and batteries, and solar energy, then choose a focus in nuclear engineering, energy systems or reliability engineering.

Understanding Healthy Ecosystems The new Department of Environmental Science and Technology in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources teaches the basics of environmental science and methods that address the impacts populations have on ecosystems and human health. Fifteen students currently span the undergraduate program’s four areas of concentration: ecological technology design, environmental health, soil and watershed science and natural resources management. Faculty members are advising 46 graduate students, who specialize in ecological technology design, soil and watershed science or wetland science. —KD

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ARABIC STUDIES PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS PHOTO BY EDWIN REMSBERG

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In a Class All Their Own:

The 2012s WHEN YOU HAVE more than 28,000 applicants vying

for 4,000 spots in your freshman class, you can be selective—very selective. Take the Class of 2012, an outstanding group of first-year students who bring diversity, intelligence and talent to the university. The academic prowess of the Twenty Twelves is irrefutable: n Approximately two-thirds ranked in the top 10 percent of their class. n Half earned SAT scores of 1240-1390 and composite ACT scores of 28-31. n One holds a patent for discovering bacteria that can be used in the treatment of E. coli in developing countries. n Another used his high school psychology class as a launching pad for conducting research into video game addiction. Both demographically and experientially, the Twenty Twelves reflect the university’s commitment to diversity: n Students of color represent 33 percent of the class. n They come from more than 100 countries, including China, France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. n They possess a range of skills and experiences. As a volunteer, one teaches Braille and another excels in Brazilian jujitsu. One is a competitive break dancer, another a Future Business Leaders of America state champion. In other words, the university’s Twenty Twelves are in a class all their own. —MC Bradley Weiner, Future Business Leader of America champion; Lamia Abseslem, volunteer and Braille reader; Maria Navarro, jujitsu champion.

AEROSPACE EXPERT DARRYLL PINES NAMED DEAN OF CLARK SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING ONE OF THE NATION’S top researchers in the development of aerospace technologies is now dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Darryll J. Pines, who most recently chaired the school’s Department of Aerospace Engineering, will lead the engineering school’s efforts in research, education and connectivity with

state, national and international partners. Pines was also named the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Engineering and took on both new roles in January. The endowed professorship is named for the former dean of the Clark School, who is now the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

STUDENT PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; PINES PHOTO BY MIKE MORGAN

“Building on the great work of my predecessors, I will continue to move the Clark School toward engineering excellence—solidly grounded in the foundations of discovery, invention and innovation,” says Pines. He earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and joined the Maryland faculty in 1996. —TV

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the Source FROM NEW TWISTS ON TRADITIONAL BOOK CLUBS TO TRIED-AND-TRUE AVENUES FOR MEETING AUTHORS TO UP-TO-THEMINUTE WAYS TO EXPLORE THE HUMANITIES, MARYLAND CONNECTS WITH YOU.

Children Punch In

Get Online

Assistant Director Anne Daniel picks a dozen books each semester that will appeal to 3- to 5-year-olds in the Center for Young Children’s Families Read Program. She gives each child a personalized punch card displaying book titles. As books are read, Daniel punches cards and gives young “critical” readers the chance to share their feelings about each book. Last spring, more than 100 families read at least four books and 65 families read all 12. One parent started a similar program at a homeless shelter. Daniel’s classic pick: Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey has been entertaining children for 60 years with parallel stories of Little Sal and Little Bear (and mothers) and their mixed-up adventures.

Looking for some new voices online? A partial list of university blogs is available at www.umd.edu/ blogs_twikis_wikis.cfm. Link to student blogs recounting dance ensembles and recent journalism projects or search the home page for more random topics; entomology professor Mike Raupp blogs on the bug of the week. While most blogs are primarily textual, some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog) and audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider network of social media. The possibilities are limitless. “There’s no way to know the total number of blogs being generated by people on campus because many of them are on commercial blog sites,” says Executive Director of Internet Communications Linda Martin, who, when not working, blogs as the Cupcake Queen. “They probably number in the hundreds.”

The longstanding “Writers Here & Now Series,” jointly sponsored by the Creative Writing Program and the Jimenez-Porter Writers’ House, had its start 40 years ago when Rod Jellema began an informal gathering of fellow poets and writers. The yearlong series culminates with the two student winners of the Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize and Academy of American Poets Prize reading from their works at 7 p.m., May 6 in the Special Events Room of McKeldin Library. On three previous evenings this winter, accomplished poets and writers read from their works: Arthur Sze and Joan Silber; Juliana Spahr and Selah Saterstrom; and A.Van Jordan and Charles D’Ambrosio. The free series attracts a devoted following of 200 to 300 word lovers for each event.

Readers Listen In The Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities, or MITH, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Its weekly seminar, “Digital Dialogues,” brings speakers to Maryland whose wide-ranging topics draw upon “the intersection of arts and the humanities and new digital technology,” says Matthew Kirschenbaum, associate professor of English. One recent talk: A computer scientist explained how three-dimensional imaging enables him to digitally unroll a fragile scroll to reveal its contents, safely. Another discussion featured Maryland faculty working on expanding the university’s International Children’s Digital Library. You can hear what other speakers had to say through downloadable podcasts.

FAMILIES READ PROGRAM

WRITERS HERE & NOW SERIES

MITH DIGITAL DIALOGUES

UM BLOGS

H OT L I N E

Incidentally, the Center for Young Children celebrates its 60th anniversary this Maryland Day.

Writers Speak Up

Contact Anne Daniel, Center for Young Children, 301.405.3170 or, visit www.terp.umd.edu.

Contact Johnna Schmidt, director, Jimenez-Porter Writers’ House, 301.405.0671 or visit www.writershouse.umd.edu.

Subscribe to MITH podcasts via www.mith.umd.edu Contact Matthew Kirschenbaum, 301.405.8505.

Go to: www.umd.edu/blogs_twikis_ wikis.cfm.

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

Q. The farther removed from

College Park, the more I miss it. I'm in Toledo, Ohio, and I’m looking for an aerial

picture of

Maryland as it stands today. Could you help me locate this? —Bill Hormann ’85 A. We have sent you one (above) taken by John Consoli, our university photographer. I also recommend checking out a great online resource that the archives maintains— University AlbUM, www.lib.umd.edu/digital/album.jsp.

Q. I have seen some vestiges of the last mascot before Testudo. He's a cute cartoon turtle and I'm not sure if he has a name. Is it possible to find items that feature this mascot? —Hallie Heaney A. The graphic depiction of Testudo has changed

greatly since the diamondback terrapin was adopted as our mascot in 1933, but the terrapin’s name has never changed. We have a file here in University Archives that contains examples of the different ways Testudo has been represented through the years that you can review. The smiling version of the terrapin was phased out in the later 1990s in favor of the current logo.

Q. My husband’s grandfather, Mario Garcia Menocal, fought in Cuba’s War of Independence and became the country’s third president. We are in the process of compiling information to write a biography. We came across photographs of him as a young man in a school military uniform. The captions reference Maryland Agricultural College. Was this a military school? Do you know the dates he attended or if any of his brothers also attended the school? —Maggie Menocal A. Our early student records list four members

of the Menocal family who attended the Maryland Agricultural College. Gabriel M., Gustavo and Mario G. all attended from 1882-83. And we have another record with the initials A.N. from 1876-77. Sadly, very little documentation has survived from that period of time, likely due to the campus fire of 1912. When the Menocals studied here, the Maryland Agricultural College was indeed a military school. The students were called cadets, and they had to wear uniforms wherever they went.

2008 AERIAL PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; IMAGES COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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classact Kiran Chetry Achieves Balance On and Off Camera “LIFE DOESN’T MOVE fast enough for you,” Kiran

Chetry’s mother used to tell her. Chetry is putting that to the test, as she balances roles as wife, mother and anchor of CNN’s “American Morning.” Chetry ’96 was bitten early by the broadcasting bug. After attending a magnet program and participating in a communications arts pilot, where she learned to work a camera and conduct and edit interviews, she earned early acceptance to the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. At Maryland, Chetry learned from the late journalism pioneer Ben Holman. She interned at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., and at News 21 in Rockville, Md., where she covered community news. The day she graduated, she started at News 21 as a full-time freelance reporter. After previously hosting “Fox & Friends First” and “Fox Friends Weekend” for FOX News, Chetry joined co-anchor John Roberts on CNN’s flagship morning program. Both bring “curiosity and a competitive spirit to delivering the news,” says Chetry. “American Morning” wraps at 9 a.m., but the day is only beginning. “It’s a grind,” says Chetry, who admits to being “married” to her Blackberry. But her grueling schedule has produced positive results in ratings and a Daytime Emmy nomination for coverage of the foiled London bombing plot. As the presidential race heated up in the fall, the journalist challenged the candidates she interviewed. “Hold the candidates’ feet to the fire on both sides,” Chetry says. “We’re helping viewers burst onto the scene of their day wellinformed, with useful information.” Chetry strives to balance truth seeking and empathy. Covering the Virginia Tech massacre was “a tough one for us,” she says. “I remember being a college student.” A photo taken of Chetry speaking with a young man on the campus still hangs in the CNN newsroom. “Being there, and being able to talk to those involved, it was very powerful. “It’s a subjective business, and it’s very unpredictable,” Chetry says of her career. Her husband, New York City’s WPIX weekend meteorologist Chris Knowles, gets it. There are no tricks to juggling broadcasting, marriage and children, Maya, 3, and Christopher, 10 months. “You sacrifice sleep; that’s what you do.” From grocery shopping to covering a hot news story, Chetry approaches her tasks with gusto: “We have a mission and know how to get it done.” —RR

Left: Chetry on assignment. Inset: Chetry ’96 covering California wildfires.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHETRY/CNN

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Alumnus Boxes Green Business MOST ENTREPRENEURS FIND success by thinking

travel 2009 Village Life in England’s Cotswolds July 19–27 Immerse yourself in the heart of the English countryside and discover this region’s enchanting natural beauty, historic treasures and village traditions.

Alaska Discovery Sept. 9–16 Explore Alaska, where the mountains rival the Alps, the fjords surpass Norway’s in their grandeur, the glaciers are outnumbered only by

outside the box. Marty Metro ’92 found it by thinking about the box. Or boxes, actually, as in the $40 billion worth of cardboard containers produced annually in the United States and typically thrown away after a single use. Metro’s idea was as simple: Don’t toss it, use it again. Saving money while saving the planet is the idealistic, yet practical concept behind Metro’s company, Los Angeles-based Used Cardboard Boxes, UCB. “I’m very driven to make a difference while I’m on earth,” Metro says. “I found an opportunity to challenge cutting down a tree to make a box and then throwing the box away when you’re done.” Metro hatched the idea in 2002 while driving a packed-to-the-gills Audi on a cross-country move and noticing all the moving vans on the Texas interstate. Moving is a hassle, he thought, and it’s a drag trying to find boxes. UCB buys quality used boxes from companies that typically recycle them as scrap. Boxes are inspected and packed into kits with tape, box cutters and markers that can be shipped to any U.S. residential address. Metro says his business pays suppliers more than a recycler, and sells to

customers for less than retail. Each year, an estimated 42 million people move in the United States, Metro says. More than 90 percent of all products in the United States are shipped in corrugated cardboard boxes. That’s too many dead trees, he says, especially when one tree can filter up to 60 pounds of air pollutants annually. Metro launched UCB in 2006. The startup seemed the perfect way to blend his passions for technology, earning money and making a positive impact on the world. “There are a lot of entrepreneurs that say they have green startups, and nine out of 10 of them will fail because they forget about business fundamentals,” Metro notes. “I didn’t wake up and say I want to devote my life to being green. I said I want to build a business that I can be proud of.” Metro rides a Razor E300 from his home in L.A.’s historic Hancock Park to his Wilshire Boulevard office. Top speed is 10 mph, and Metro charges the scooter at the office. “I’m often at stoplights next to 9-year-olds with similar scooters,” Metro notes. “It sends a positive message, I think.” —PB

Greenland’s and Antarctica’s and the marine life is boundless.

The Romance of the Blue Danube Sept. 28–Oct. 12 Discover the Danube, steeped in beauty, legend and lore. Explore Roman ruins. Sail to Bratislava and tour cultural Vienna.

For more details on these and other tours featured in the Travel 2009 program, visit www.alumni.umd.edu or

Marty Metro ’92 leans against stacks of recycled cardboard boxes, the product of his green business.

call 301.405.0685/ 800.336.8627.

TRAVEL PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION; PHOTO COURTESY OF METRO

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Terp Holds Patent on Speed ALTHOUGH DRAG RACER Jim Yates ’75 may speed 200 mph down a straight quar-

ter-mile path in his Pontiac GXP, the path he followed to get to this point in his career took a few turns. As a 10-year-old watching his father work on hot rods in the garage, Yates learned to love cars and racing. After he graduated from the university with a degree in mechanical engineering, he went on to work for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as an examiner for clutches and transmissions. During that time, he bought his first auto parts store, which eventually grew into a successful chain of 23 Yates Auto Parts stores. But even with all his business success, racing was always in the back of his mind. In his first National Hot Rod Association, or NHRA, Pro Stock event in 1989, he almost beat the reigning champion. This fueled his desire to challenge himself, as an engineer and a competitive stock car driver. He began racing full time. “My brain helps me to figure out how to make the car go faster, but my competitive nature helps me to kick somebody’s butt on Sundays,” Yates says. In 2000 he made the tough decision to sell his business and devote himself to NHRA racing. In his 18 years of professional racing, Yates has won two PowerAde Pro Stock Championships, finished in the Top 2 five times, the Top 5 eight times and the Top 10 14 times. And on Nov. 2, Yates surpassed a career milestone—his 400th consecutive race, having not missed one since 1990. And while driving in a pro stock car is a one-man job, his career has become a family affair. His wife, Toni, and his three children, Jamie, Melissa and Jon, all play a role in the racing business their dad has built. They root for him on the track, but collegiate athletics is trickier. The family loyalty is divided Engineer and entreprebetween the ACC’s Maryland and Clemson, but Yates is a neur Jim Yates ’75 proud Terp. “If you ever were a Maryland Terrapin, you will added racecar driver to his résumé 20 years always be a Maryland Terrapin—you just bleed red; it’s a ago and has been full ’til-death-do-you-part scenario.” —MLB

speed ahead ever since.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF YATES/NASCAR

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BYalumni

Devotion to alma mater is a lifetime commitment for Eric Francis ’71 and his wife, Frann, who named the “Lifetime Member Wall” in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center to recognize others who become life members.

Flora: I Was But a Child, by Flora Singer ’75, M.A. ’78, is a gripping memoir that has touched the lives of people around the world. In this triumph of good over evil in Hitler’s Germany, readers experience the fortitude of the human spirit in the face of tragedy. Keith Rosen ’89 has created a playbook to help today’s managers realize the full potential of their sales teams. Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions shows readers how to develop their executive sales coaching skills to hire and retain top sales talent, train staff to perform at their peak level and boost sales efficiency.

Make your mark on Maryland cheer join share volunteer give

Start by taking a simple fourminute quiz to discover your color-coded exercise personality. The 8 Colors of Fitness by Suzanne Brue ’66 helps readers of all fitness levels achieve greater results from their conditioning program by introducing personalityspecific exercise plans and motivational activities.

www.makeyourmark.umd.edu

ALUMNI BOOK PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

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m-file Less Noise, Happier Fish?

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. “Chinese Americans occupy two ends of the spectrum. They are a very diverse population that is very, very complex to understand, and any simple model of them doesn’t express the depth of who they are.”

JOHN P. ROBINSON, SOCIOLOGY, ON HIS STUDY

LARRY SHINAGAWA, ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES AND

THAT FOUND THAT UNHAPPY PEOPLE WATCH MORE TV,

PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER OF STUDY CHALLENGING

WASHINGTON POST, NOV. 23

THE NATION’S FIRST approved off-

“It could be that watching television makes you unhappy, but there is also the question of whether people who are unhappy turn to television as a way to ward off their unhappiness.”

COMMON PORTRAITS OF CHINESE AMERICANS AS “MODEL” MINORITIES, LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOV. 14

“Congress has declared the Mall complete. Yet the Mall will probably always be a work in progress, susceptible to periodic improvisation and policy shifts. It has been shaped more by pragmatic considerations than by an overarching, coherent plan that is visionary and enduring.”

“Well, it means belly up to the bar in Washington and they’ll give ROGER K. LEWIS, ARCHITECTURE, IN A COLUMN ABOUT SHORTCOMINGS IN THE NATIONAL MALL'S you some cash DEVELOPMENT, WASHINGTON POST, DEC. 6 too after you’ve made foolish PETER MORICI, BUSINESS, ON decisions.”

shore wind farm could begin powering clean energy for Delaware and Maryland as soon as 2012. But what would be the impact of the underwater construction noise on unsuspecting fish? Biology professor and aquatic bioacoustics expert Arthur N. Popper and his colleague, assistant research scientist Michele Halvorsen, received a three-year, $880,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service to find out. “This study will provide the first data that directly measures the impact of high-intensity, human-generated sounds on a variety of fish species,” Popper says. Construction of wind farms, as well as bridges and piers, requires the use of pile-driving equipment to insert support poles deep in the sea floor, which creates high-intensity noise. Using a newly designed acoustic wave tube, Popper and Halvorsen will simulate pile-driving signals that have acoustic parameters similar to those that a fish is likely to be exposed to in the field. The test chamber in Popper’s Aquatic Bioacoustics Laboratory designed for this study is the only one of its kind in the world. —NT

THE PROPOSED AUTOMAKER BAILOUT, ABC WORLD NEWS WITH CHARLES GIBSON, NOV. 10

TERP WINTER

2009

AUTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN G. PAYNE; FISH ILLUSTRATION BY JEANETTE J. NELSON

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Dean Lee Thornton: Navigating the New World of Journalism LEE THORNTON, TELLY AWARD RECIPIENT (SHOWN LEFT) AND FORMER CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT, CNN PRODUCER AND NPR PROGRAM HOST, HOLDS THE PHILIP MERRILL COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM’S RICHARD EATON CHAIR IN BROADCAST JOURNALISM, AND SINCE JUNE HAS SERVED AS THE COLLEGE’S INTERIM DEAN. SHE CREATED, PRODUCED AND ANCHORED THREE AWARD-WINNING PROGRAMS FOR UMTV AND THE RESEARCH CHANNEL. AS A LONGTIME OBSERVER OF THE MEDIA, THORNTON HAS TAKEN A KEEN INTEREST IN THE INDUSTRY’S RECENT UPHEAVAL. SHE TALKED ABOUT THAT AND MORE WITH TERP’S LAUREN BROWN.

TERP: You became a dean rather suddenly— what’s it like? THORNTON: Sudden, it was! But it was an honor to be asked to lead the college. It’s endlessly interesting, often very exciting. I never dreamed deans fulfilled quite so many roles. TERP: You were a longtime correspondent and producer. Journalism—newspapers in particular—has been taking a financial beating, with big chains buying out and laying off employees in the face of shrinking ad revenues and competition from the Internet. What went wrong? THORNTON: The way people consume news is totally different. People don’t depend on newspapers the way they once did. Until the mid1980s, people made it a point to watch the nightly TV news. There was no 500-channel universe, and 24-hour news delivery on cable was still quite new. Not only has all of that come to pass, the Internet turned everything on its ear. The business model changed as the industry was forced to take new technologies into account and to recognize those changing patterns of use. TERP: How is the Merrill College preparing its students for this changing market? THORNTON: We give them a grounded view of where the industry is today— but we continue to teach the bedrock of the profession.

PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

Good reporting, good writing. We’re incorporating new media. And of course we continue to give our students real-world experience through our Capital News Service bureaus. TERP: How will the $30 million Knight Hall, which next fall will replace the 1957 Journalism building, further the college’s mission? THORNTON: The learning labs will be superior. The 24-hour “news bubble” will be accessible to our students to work on podcasts, file stories, complete projects in groups. There’ll be a teaching theater. The new building will help in many ways. TERP: What do you tell new graduates asking how to get jobs in the rapidly evolving industry? THORNTON: We do pretty well on that score. We have about 80 percent of our graduates getting jobs straight out of our college. And we do tell them to be willing to start small. TERP: What’s your favorite memory in your journalism experience? THORNTON: My students. They’re just everywhere, and it’s a pleasure to watch their progress. I’ve been fortunate that my reporting career took me, literally, around the world—so that was an education in itself. And a show I produced at CNN, “Both Sides with Jesse Jackson,” was parodied on “Saturday Night Live.” I am surely the only professor (let alone dean) in America with that distinction! —LB

TERP WINTER

2009

m-file

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The Exciting World of Dirt. Who Knew? Visitors to our nation’s capital can get the latest dirt on the complexity and importance of soil in our daily lives, courtesy of Maryland faculty who helped design an interactive soil display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The 5,000-square-foot exhibit, called “Dig It!,” is designed to advance the public’s understanding of the physical and biological characteristics of soil, the processes that transform rock to soil, the uses and benefits of soil, the global links of soil to air, water and climate and the influence of soil on culture. “Most people think about soil as the plowed zone where crops or ornamental plants are planted, with little grasp of what a real soil profile is or how it functions,” says Martin Rabenhorst, one of five faculty members in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology who provided input to Smithsonian curators.

“Dig It!” runs through January 2010 and has seven major features, each demonstrating a different aspect of soil. The Get Soil Savvy! display, for example, has dramatic images and video to explore the importance of soil in land management and conservation. A Chef’s Challenge kitchen features two flamboyant “soil chefs” who create two very different soils from the same ingredients. Visitors can also activate two soil “breathalyzers” (infrared gas analyzers) and detect the amount of carbon dioxide produced by soil organisms in two dissimilar environments. “This exhibit will help people realize that at the living convergence of geological materials, that is of plants, animals, water and air, is the amazing soil,” says Rabenhorst. —TV

Now That’s Cool Ice may be common, especially this time of year, but its molecular structure is anything but ordinary. In fact, the structure of ice is a long-standing scientific puzzle that seems to violate one of the laws of physics. A team of engineers and physicists at Maryland has developed a new type of pseudo-ice that allows them to study the crystal lattice structure of ice and perhaps determine why hydrogen atoms in water ice (H200) don’t line up in an orderly fashion as the third law of thermodynamics predicts they should. “Developing an accurate model of ice would help architects, civil engineers and environmental engineers understand what happens to structures and systems

TERP WINTER

2009

exposed to freezing conditions,” says team leader John Cumings, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering. “It could also help us understand and better predict the movement of glaciers.” The ultimate impact of the research may go even beyond civil engineering and the environment, leading to computer hard drives with much higher capacities. “Although we’re mimicking the behavior of ice, our meta-material is very similar to patterned hard-disk media,” Cumings explains. “Magnetic ‘bits’ used in hard drives are usually placed at random, but memory density could be increased if they were in a tight, regular pattern instead.” —LT

ICE PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CUMINGS

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This Dog Has Some Vocabulary

An X-ray showing hundreds of small metal fragments inside a “bundle” may offer clues on African spiritual traditions during the early-Colonial era.

Discovery Suggests European and African Magic Mingled in Early Annapolis To the untrained eye, it didn’t look like much: just a sharpened stone surrounded by sand and clay. But standing in a pit dug near the Maryland State House, graduate student Matt Cochran suspected he’d discovered something amazing. “It looks African!” Cochran excitedly told Maryland archaeologist Mark Leone, director of the Archaeology in Annapolis program. A crucial X-ray, consultations and months of research confirmed that hunch. Leone now believes his team has uncovered the oldest North American example of African spirit practice. He dates it to about 1700—a period when English beliefs in witchcraft might have mingled more openly with the African. “This is remarkably early,” Leone says. “It’s African, not African-American. It was made here, but the spiritual traditions came directly from Africa.” The football-size “bundle” origi-

nally sat in public view by the door of a house. It was meant to ward off spirits. The X-ray above shows hundreds of small metal pieces inside. “We’re particularly intrigued by the placement of this bundle in so visible a spot, because it suggests a level of public acceptance,” Leone says. “All the previous AfricanAmerican spirit caches were from a later period, hidden away and used in secret. But in this generation both European and African magic may have been more accepted.” After consulting with Yale African art expert Frederick Lampe, Leone says the bundle may have cultural origins in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea among Yoruba or Mande speakers and was constructed in the image of a god. “We hope to open a scholarly debate to pinpoint its specific cultural identity,” Leone says. “We’re lucky to find it. But 30 years of disciplined, focused research in a single historic city helps.” —NT

AFRICAN X-RAY COURTESY OF MATT COCHRAN; “MARTHA SPEAKS” IMAGES COURTESY OF PBS

BEFORE “MARTHA” SPEAKS, Rebecca Silverman decides. The Maryland assistant professor is literally putting words into the mouth of the talking canine star of “Martha Speaks,” an animated PBS show whose goal is to build the vocabulary of children aged 4 to 7. As content director for the show, produced by Boston’s WGBH and the Vancouver-based Studio B Productions, Silverman collaborates with its writers on choosing words to teach and blending the words into each script. “It was exciting to see all of our efforts come to life,” says Silverman, who teaches special education and specializes in vocabulary development. Catherine Snow, Silverman’s graduate school advisor at Harvard University and a consultant for WGBH’s education programs, approached her about joining the show in 2006, just before Silverman began teaching at Maryland. “Rebecca knows the research on early vocabulary development as well as anyone I know, and had designed effective vocabulary interventions for young children,” Snow says. Airing on Maryland Public Television at 7 a.m. weekdays, the show is based on a series of books by Susan Meddaugh and follows the adventures of the feisty mutt, who begins speaking after eating a bowl of alphabet soup. Each episode is divided into two 11minute segments, both designed to teach five “sophisticated” words and five “basic” words. Each word is repeated at least four times. Working with the show’s writers is fun, Silverman says. “They make sure that the ideas are fun and creative, and I make sure that the definitions are explicit and that the kids will, hopefully, learn something from it,” she says. In September, Silverman and her husband watched the show’s debut with their 8-month-old son. “His eyes were peeled. He loved it,” she says. “It will be more exciting later on when he’s a little bit older and, hopefully, will see the show and start using some of the words that we’ve taught.” —LS

TERP WINTER

2009

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play-by-play SCOREcard

ACC Champs on the Mat

Under Armour chairman and CEO Kevin Plank ’97 is keeping it all in the Maryland family.

A HIT SONG from the

1980s said it best: It takes two to make a thing go right. The Maryland Terrapins defeated Navy by two touchdowns in Byrd Stadium’s dedication football game in 1950. It took two overtimes for the women’s lacrosse team to win its seventh straight national championship in 2001. Kristi Toliver made two free throws in overtime to give women’s basketball the decisive lead in its 2006 national championship. And for the Maryland wrestling team, it came down to two points—the team claimed the 2008 ACC Championship for the first time since 1973 by edging out Virginia. The Terps had five individual champions that day: Steven Bell, Jon Kohler, Brian Letters, Mike Letts and Hudson Taylor. Their wins helped propel the team to Maryland’s 21st overall ACC wrestling title, the best record in the conference. After becoming the first team outside North Carolina to win a tournament championship since 1977, Maryland is looking ahead to a new season under a new head coach. Kerry McCoy hopes to lead the team to a Top 10 finish in the NCAA championship. In his three seasons as head coach Sophomore Hudson Taylor sealed the team's 2008 ACC Championship triumph with his 10-5 decision over UNC Tarheel Dennis Drury.

TERP WINTER

2009

Left: 2008 ACC Championship team. Above: New head coach Kerry McCoy.

of Stanford, McCoy transformed the team with a losing record into a national contender. McCoy comes to Maryland with experience not only as a coach, but also as a wrestler—one with an impressive résumé. He is a two-time Olympian, a nine-time U.S. National Team member and a three-time All-American at Penn State. He also brings with him a motto: Take confidence in your preparation. “I use this often and I make sure we put the work in during the time before competition,” he says. On his quest to take the Terps to the NCAA championship, he says, “It’s going to be tough, but I will ensure we are ready for the postseason.” Another win in the Maryland records would be too sweet. —MLB

The Department of Athletics announced that Under Armour is the exclusive official outfitter of Maryland Athletics. The five-year, $17.5 million agreement gives Under Armour the right to provide uniforms, apparel and footwear to each of the Terps’ 27 varsity sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, lacrosse and soccer. Under Armour has previously signed apparel partnerships with Maryland’s football, men’s soccer and men’s lacrosse teams. Plank founded Under Armour after serving as a special teams captain of the Maryland football team. He earned his bachelor of science degree in business administration from Maryland and is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation.

WRESTLING PHOTOS BY GREG FIUME; PLANK PHOTO COURTESY OF UNDER ARMOUR

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spotlight Everything Old is New Again: A cappella voices raise spirits—and the roof—at Maryland Men’s Glee Club, 1951

A CAPPELLA, LATIN for “from the chapel,” can bring to mind Gregorian chants or Baroque music or, in the last century, barbershop or Bobby McFerrin. Today’s extracurricular a cappella groups at Maryland honor the music’s history and push the boundaries of all-vocal arrangements while giving members an outlet to hone and share their talents. Maryland has seven registered a cappella groups, up from two started in the 1980s and mirroring the national trend. Collegiate a cappella is enjoying a resurgence nationwide, growing from 200 groups in the early 1990s to more than 1,200 today, according to abcnews.com. The university’s troupes include the all-male Generics, Maryland’s first a cappella group, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, along with six other registered groups, including a comedic ensemble. Startups include a troupe that sings East Indian and Western music in several languages. The ensembles of 12 to 16 members perform on and off campus. One of Maryland’s popular Jewish groups, Kol Sasson, has sung at Maryland’s Homecoming and at the White House Hanukkah celebration. Song selections for the student-run acts range from hip-hop to country, reggae to rock, Hebrew hymns to Israeli pop. Group members—most are not music majors—hail from all colleges and schools and they discover talents, like a knack for

vocal percussion or “beatbox,” that they didn’t know they had. When Russel Valle, a science student by day and bass singer by night, tells his friends he’s a member of PandemoniUM, a co-ed a cappella group, “they’re shocked,” he says. “It’s as if I’m living a double life. To them, I’m a hard-studying biochemistry major.” Members of the Generics jokingly refer to themselves as “a singing frat without the dues.” A cappella’s popularity on campus is rooted in choral performances. The 1958 yearbook shows a barbershop quartet number performed by the Men’s Glee Club, and traditional four-part harmony isn’t lost today. —RR Kol Sasson’s 2005 album, Shake Well Before Opening, won a track on a Best of Jewish a cappella compilation. (top left)

GLEE CLUB PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES; PHOTOS PROVIDED BY EACH A CAPPELLA GROUP

Crisis Control, an album by Faux Paz (top right), Maryland’s first co-ed a cappella ensemble, was nominated for a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award. The Generics’ album, Still Hungry, Still Singing, includes the tune “Sir Duke,” sung barbershop style. (bottom left) PandemoniUM (bottom right) is one of seven all-student a cappella groups registered at Maryland. Not pictured, but also active student a cappella groups: Mockapella, Anokha and Rak Shalom. TERP WINTER

2009

resulting in seamless works of art.

collagraphs, photography, painting, fiber, sewing—

through different media—etching, monoprints, silk

blurs the distinction between “high” and “low” art

in the Lacrosse Day of Rivals

College and Stanford University, respectively. w-lacros/sched/md-w-lacros-sched.html

www.dayofrivals.com

Men’s lacrosse team competes

Maryland women face off against Boston http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/

• APRIL 11 M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

• MARCH 21, 29 College Park

Baby, it’s cold outside—unless you’re watching Terp lacrosse!

Coal: Moving Mountains

APRIL 23 | 8 P.M. | $40 Kathy Mattea, country music star

LITHOGRAPH BY EMMA AMOS, “GIZA, EMMA AND LARRY,” 1992, FROM “SUCCESSIONS: PRINTS BY AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS FROM THE JEAN AND ROBERT STEELE COLLECTION,” A TRAVELING EXHIBITION PRESENTED BY THE DAVID DRISKELL CENTER; DAVID GONZALES AND KATHY MATTEA PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

301.405.0800 www.lib.umd.edu

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

www.marylandday.umd.edu

MARYLAND DAY 2009

301.314.2615 www.driskellcenter.umd.edu

DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER

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

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

301.314.7070 (Ticket Office), umterps.cstv.com

ATHLETICS

301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627, www.alumni.umd.edu

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

JUNE 18, 6 P.M. MIDTOWN LOFT

• NEW YORK CITY

MAY 14, 6 P.M. LOS ANGELES COUNTY ART MUSEUM

• LOS ANGELES

APRIL 29, 6 P.M. M&T BANK STADIUM

• BALTIMORE

updates and more details.

association Web site for

West coasts. Visit the alumni

local environmental groups and students for this special commemoration.

gatherings on the East or

with fellow alumni and meet

resources management, public policy,

Join visiting artist Kathy Mattea (above),

World with Neal Conan, narrator

Enjoy refreshments, connect

Alumni Association

Hosted by the Maryland

on the Road

Taking the Terrapin Spirit

SAVE THE DATE:

special guests at alumni

Earth Day 2009: Living in Our Landscape

First Person: Stories from the Edge of the

The 11th annual Maryland Day celebrates everything that makes Maryland great! Explore booths showcasing advances in science, technology, business and agriculture. Also returning: the Big Top, live performances, Terp athletics, great food and much more.

APRIL 25 | 10 A.M.–4 P.M. | FREE

Campuswide

Maryland Day 2009

Part of the University of Maryland Libraries Speakers Series, the School of Public Policy’s Mark Sagoff speaks on The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law and the Environment. Following the lecture, books will be available for purchase and for signing by the author.

APRIL 22 | 4:30 P.M. FREE

McKeldin Library

Speaking of Books … Conversations with Campus Authors

and experts from the fields of natural

APRIL 22 | FREE Earth Day 2009: Living in Our Landscape

APRIL 19 | 7:30 P.M. | $35 Ensemble Galilei, featuring music, images and narrative

Wounded Splendor

APRIL 4 | 3 P.M. AND 8 P.M. | $25 David Gonzalez (inset above), storyteller, musician, poet and performer

earth. Programs include:

consider our responsibility as citizens of the

annual renewal of spring in asking us to

“Living in Our Landscape” will draw on the

BEGINNING APRIL 4

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

cusses the works of Emma Amos

Professor David Driskell dis-

David C. Driskell Center, Cole Student Activities Building

Eighth Annual David C. Driskell Lecture in the Visual Arts Featuring Artist Emma Amos APRIL 16 | 4:30–6:30 P.M.

Winter’s chill may be keeping you indoors, but these Maryland events should warm your imagination until spring arrives. From athletic events to the performing arts, and from alumni gatherings to our campus open house, there will be plenty of ways to welcome the new season.

with the artist. A painter, printer and weaver, Amos

“Living in Our Landscape” A Series of Peformances Celebrating the Natural World

18-19_Live_out:p16-17 3/25/09 12:43 PM Page 1

H OT L I N E

resulting in seamless works of art.

collagraphs, photography, painting, fiber, sewing—

through different media—etching, monoprints, silk

blurs the distinction between “high” and “low” art

in the Lacrosse Day of Rivals

College and Stanford University, respectively. w-lacros/sched/md-w-lacros-sched.html

www.dayofrivals.com

Men’s lacrosse team competes

Maryland women face off against Boston http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/

• APRIL 11 M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

• MARCH 21, 29 College Park

Baby, it’s cold outside—unless you’re watching Terp lacrosse!

Coal: Moving Mountains

APRIL 23 | 8 P.M. | $40 Kathy Mattea, country music star

301.405.0800 www.lib.umd.edu

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

www.marylandday.umd.edu

MARYLAND DAY 2009

301.314.2615 www.driskellcenter.umd.edu

DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER

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

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

301.314.7070 (Ticket Office), umterps.cstv.com

ATHLETICS

301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627, www.alumni.umd.edu

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

JUNE 18, 6 P.M. MIDTOWN LOFT

• NEW YORK CITY

MAY 14, 6 P.M. LOS ANGELES COUNTY ART MUSEUM

• LOS ANGELES

APRIL 29, 6 P.M. M&T BANK STADIUM

• BALTIMORE

updates and more details.

association Web site for

West coasts. Visit the alumni

local environmental groups and students for this special commemoration.

gatherings on the East or

with fellow alumni and meet

resources management, public policy,

Join visiting artist Kathy Mattea (above),

World with Neal Conan, narrator

Enjoy refreshments, connect

Alumni Association

Hosted by the Maryland

on the Road

Taking the Terrapin Spirit

SAVE THE DATE:

special guests at alumni

Earth Day 2009: Living in Our Landscape

First Person: Stories from the Edge of the

APRIL 25 | 10 A.M.–4 P.M. | FREE

Campuswide

Maryland Day 2009

APRIL 22 | 4:30 P.M. FREE

McKeldin Library

Speaking of Books … Conversations with Campus Authors

and experts from the fields of natural

APRIL 22 | FREE Earth Day 2009: Living in Our Landscape

APRIL 19 | 7:30 P.M. | $35 Ensemble Galilei, featuring music, images and narrative

Wounded Splendor

APRIL 4 | 3 P.M. AND 8 P.M. | $25 David Gonzalez (inset above), storyteller, musician, poet and performer

earth. Programs include:

consider our responsibility as citizens of the

annual renewal of spring in asking us to

“Living in Our Landscape” will draw on the

BEGINNING APRIL 4

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

cusses the works of Emma Amos

Professor David Driskell dis-

David C. Driskell Center, Cole Student Activities Building

Eighth Annual David C. Driskell Lecture in the Visual Arts Featuring Artist Emma Amos APRIL 16 | 4:30–6:30 P.M.

with the artist. A painter, printer and weaver, Amos

“Living in Our Landscape” A Series of Peformances Celebrating the Natural World

18-19_Live_out:p16-17 3/25/09 12:43 PM Page 1

H OT L I N E

“As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life Life,, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever branching and beautiful ramifications.”

—Charles Darwin, 1856

TERP

winter 2009

by ellen walker ternes illustrations by brian payne

t was a lucky stroke for science, says Maryland’s Thomas Holtz, that Charles Darwin was prone to seasickness. Darwin was sailing as a scientist aboard the HMS Beagle in 1836 for a mapping expedition of South America, observing and accumulating specimens to help him explore how and why species change. One of the places the Beagle went was the Galapagos Islands. “Because he got seasick, Darwin took every opportunity to get off the ship,” says Holtz, director of the College Park Scholars Earth, Life and Time program, and leader of ﬁve student study-abroad trips to Galapagos.

It was on his walks around the Galapagos Islands that Darwin gathered some of the most important evidence for his theories of evolution. Darwin published them 23 years later in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Those theories have underpinned all major biological breakthroughs since, and they drive much of today’s biology research at the University of Maryland. This year, the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth, the University of Maryland, along with scientists and universities the world over, is recognizing the signiﬁcance of Darwin’s work by celebrating “The Year of Evolution.” “Evolutionary theory had a profound scientiﬁc and social impact. The two don’t always go hand in hand,” says Chuck Delwiche, an associate professor of cell biology and molecular genetics.

TERP

winter 2009

“

A major misconception is that Darwin’s theory explains how life came to be,” Salzberg says. “But it doesn’t. It explains how once life appeared, it separated into distinct forms that led to the wonderful diversity on our planet.

”

BIG BANG

While theories of evolution had been bubbling among scientists, and farmers had long observed that animals changed with generations, Darwin’s publication arrived with a bang. “What excited scientists and upset society,” says Charles Mitter, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology, “is that Darwin said that all present-day species descended from a common ancestor.” It was a notion that, even today, some people have trouble reconciling with religious and cultural beliefs. Steven Salzberg, director of the university’s Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, works on gene sequencing of viruses and bacteria. “A major misconception is that Darwin’s theory explains how life came to be,” Salzberg says. “But it doesn’t. It explains how once life appeared, it separated into distinct forms that led to the wonderful diversity on our planet.”

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Gene sequencing shows with stunning clarity that species do evolve to survive when the going gets tough. Perhaps the poster children for evolution are viruses and bacteria, which rapidly reinvent themselves to fend off threats like antibiotics and vaccines. Salzberg was on a research team that completed the first sequencing of more than 200 species of the influenza A virus, which causes flu in humans. Scientists hope to use the results to help them prepare the right vaccine for each flu season. Biology professor Thomas Kocher and assistant biology professor Karen Carleton use gene sequencing to study the forces of nature that have driven the cichlid fish to evolve into hundreds of different species within the confines of several lakes in Africa. Their research may help scientists predict how modern problems, such as pollution, could affect the fish’s future diversity. These gene maps also have led scientists down some new evolutionary paths, says biology assistant professor Eric Haag, who studies microscopic worms for insights into how different species evolve, sometimes for no apparent reason. “While it would make sense that species change their DNA only to adapt to their surroundings, genome sequencing shows the opposite. It does it even when things don’t need to be fixed,” Haag says.

GENES AND EVOLUTION

A 20th-century scientific breakthrough gave new proof of evolution in a way that Darwin couldn’t have imagined. In 1980, the first genes were sequenced, or mapped out. It meant scientists could compare the genetic makeup of species and see where even changes in just a few genes could alter a species. Comparing genetic codes shows that even after a billion years, humans share many of the same genes with life forms as lowly as E. coli. New genetics discoveries led researchers like Delwiche and Mitter to create the Tree of Life, a National Science Foundation-funded project that’s mapping out how all organisms alive today are genetically connected. With gene sequencing, Delwiche’s research team identified a group of algae that are the closest living relatives to the first land plants that emerged 470 million years ago, moving a step closer to understanding how land plants came to dominate the planet.

TERP

winter 2009

WHAT’S UP WITH TERMITES?

One mystery that baffled Darwin—in fact delayed publication of his theory by more than 20 years—is the case of the social insects: termites, bees, wasps and ants. The question continues to intrigue scientists today. “Social insects were a showstopper for Darwin,” says entomology professor Barbara Thorne, who studies the evolutionary biology of termites. “Where almost all other species survive because the adults reproduce and pass on their genes, most individuals in a social insect colony are sterile. Only the queen and king reproduce.” And yet these colonial creatures are overwhelmingly successful survivors, Thorne says. “If you could weigh the biomass of all the social insects, they would encompass 75 percent of all the insects of the world.”

MARYLAND’S YEAR OF EVOLUTION Thorne’s discoveries about one of the oldest species of termites have proven what Darwin suspected—that these social insects evolve as a social unit that survives by protecting the few members who can reproduce. EVOLUTIONARY RESILIENCE

Insects of all sorts may be one of the evolutionary superheroes that keep on keeping on, in spite of humans’ efforts to eradicate them. Take mosquitoes, says Mitter. “Our efforts to get rid of them have failed because of evolution. They have evolved to become resistant to insecticides,” a survival skill that has thwarted virtually every attempt to rid the world of malaria. Mitter and his students study the evolutionary biology of plant-eating insects. Working with the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, they recently helped create a new exhibit on butterflies, plants and evolution. “Maryland is doing research that will result in understanding the evolution of moths and butterflies, which include a major portion of the insects that eat agricultural plants,” says Mitter. THE FUTURE OF EVOLUTION

Biology professor Gerald Wilkinson is a leading researcher of species evolution, but his latest research may be revolutionary evolutionary. Wilkinson is collaborating with linguistics professor Juan Uriagereka and computer science professor Jim Reggia to uncover clues to how language may have evolved in humans. And they’re doing it in a computer. “We’re simulating evolution,” says Wilkinson. “We’re coming up with ways to create little computer agents that are allowed to evolve and communicate.” Computer evolution is a long way from Galapagos, but it may add yet another chapter to the explosion Charles Darwin set off more than 150 years ago. “The history of evolution is like a catalogue to the museum of life,” says Mitter. “If you want to understand why things are the way they are today, you have to know what the ancestors were.” TERP

One hundred and ﬁfty years after he published On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory continues to have a profound scientiﬁc and social impact. It provides the organizing principle that guides modern biology, biomedical research, genomics and many other disciplines. Yet a recent Gallup poll found that 44 percent of Americans reject evolution as a cause for human origins. Teaching about Darwinian theory in schools nationwide remains under attack. To engage teachers, the university and the surrounding community in a discussion about the importance of evolutionary theory, the College of Chemical and Life Sciences organized several events to coincide with Darwin’s 200th birthday year.

TEACHING EVOLUTION Secondary school teachers from all over the state of Maryland attended a special session at the university’s annual Bioscience Day in November that focused on teaching evolution in classrooms where faith and science sometimes clash.

CHALLENGING INTELLIGENT DESIGN Federal court Judge John E. Jones III, who ruled in the 2005 landmark Pennsylvania court case (Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District) that teaching intelligent design in public school science classes was

unconstitutional, will give a special lecture on campus March 23 to discuss the case and the ongoing challenges to teaching evolution in schools. A key witness at the Kitzmiller trial, Brown University biology professor Kenneth Miller, also gave a special lecture at Maryland in September. Miller is Roman Catholic and a strong opponent of creationism and the teaching of intelligent design. He is author of the book Finding Darwin’s God (A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution).

CELEBRATING DARWIN’S LEGACY Faculty from across campus will participated in a Darwin Day Teach-In on Feb. 12 (Darwin’s 200th birthday) to highlight the continuing impact of Darwin’s work on disciplines as diverse as psychology, philosophy, anthropology, music, art, sociology, government and biology. —KB

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last spring in New arrived Orleans’ Ninth Ward , ready to gut a home submerged an d ruined by Hurric ane Katrina. She helped remove the mattress that had fl oa ted from its bed to block the front door and hauled out rotte d, stinking clothes and shoes, furniture and even graded sch oo l papers. The groceries left be hind in the fridge by the owners who fled the 2005 storm had turned toxic, as had the water in the toilet. Mold wa s everywhere. Then Salmon tripp ed over a toolbox ho lding up a bed upstairs, and the fet id water held inside for 30 months spilled out. “Katrina, until then , was a foreign conc ept,” she says. “I always thought I was aware of world pr ob lems. Then my bubble was burst .” Salmon is an avid su pporter of and parti cipant in Maryland’s Alternative Br eaks program, which expanded this year from spring breaks to those in the wint er and summer. Sponsored by the Ad ele H. Stamp Studen t Union Center for Campus Life, th e program links stu dents interested in social issues such as disaster relief, HIV /AIDS and environ mental sustainabili ty with communiti es across the country, the Caribbean and South America. Th ey spend a week fulﬁlling those com munities’ needs wh ile getting engaged in learning in a mea ningful way. In other words, this is not the traditiona l spring break spent sprawled on the beach. “I believe that this program is helping students to connec with their passion,” t says Craig Slack, th e university’s assistan director in the Stam t p Student Union fo r leadership and community service learning. “It’s provid ing students with life experiences that complement their les sons in the classroom.”

COLLAGE BY CATHERINE NICHOLS

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was launched in spring 2004 with three trips and about three dozen students, he said. This spring, more than 250 students will participate in 17 trips to 16 destinations, including New York City, the Bahamas and San Francisco. The concept has been gaining traction nationwide as well. Break Away, the largest national organization dedicated to developing alternative break programs, estimates that 48,000 students in the United States participated in alternative spring breaks in 2007. “From what we know, alternative programs started in the 1980s and have grown steadily ever since,” says Samantha Giacobozzi, programs director at the Atlanta-based nonproﬁt.“Universities and colleges have taken more interest in offering these experiences to these students. “The students we meet are interested in learning in the world around them, and that’s tied to their interest in social justice, active citizenship and being involved in their community,” she says. That was the case for junior David Zuckerman, who had no interest in a typical spring break. He went to New Orleans his freshman year, and last year he traveled to Lima, Peru, where his team painted a large community center and day care in an impoverished neighborhood. He says he initially thought, “It’s going to push me out of my comfort zone and I could learn a lot. And I did. The trip is not necessarily about effecting change, but education—what we would bring back, and how we would broaden our horizons from an international perspective.” This spring, Zuckerman’s going to be a program leader, helping to organize the logistics of a trip. He’s also hoping to ﬁnagle time off from an internship to participate in a third alternative break in Washington, D.C. He says that out of 18 participants on his 2008 trip, seven are now in leadership positions in the program. The leadership aspect is key to alternative breaks, says Mei-Yen Hui, graduate assistant coordinator of community service learning. While she organizes the yearlong schedule of recruiting, selecting participants and 16-week training sessions, she says student trip leaders learn to “own the experience” by taking charge—researching the social issue, connecting with community organizations, arranging the itinerary and lining up speakers on the social issue they’re addressing.

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Besides the participants and trip leaders, a student or faculty advisor joins each team to handle the money, sign paperwork and support the students, even while working alongside them. Laura Barrantes, program coordinator for Student Entertainment Events, served as a staff advisor on last spring’s trip to the Oglala Lakota reservation in Pine Ridge, S.D. During this immersion in American Indian culture, participants crafted several bunk beds for children who were sleeping on floors and worked on the homes of three tribal elders. Amid winds whipping across the plains and 30-degree temperatures, they built an access ramp for disabled people and painted and re-sided exteriors. In their free time, they toured a school, a restaurant and trading posts on the reservations and visited the Badlands and Wounded Knee. Barrantes says she’d return in a heartbeat: “My eyes have been widened. I’m using a much more critical eye when it comes to Native American issues.” Salmon goes a step further, calling the program “lifechanging,” a description used by many participants. One of the founders of the new winter alternative break, she says she keeps in contact with team members from her previous trips and some of the people she met on her trips to New Orleans—a city that she loves and hates. She says she plans to move there someday and that the program has drawn her to Teach for America, a prospect she never considered before. “I know I can help other people,” she says. “I know how I can serve.” Students contribute to the cost of their trip, with the university covering the bulk of it. That’s part of why organizers limit the number of participants—but it also has its advantages, in that it creates a more intimate and thoughtful learning experience. Organizers also say they would love to meet the demand for alternative breaks from everyone—from students to staff and faculty. “It will take a community effort to ensure that everyone who wants an alternative break experience can have one,” Stack says. “Leadership is not the responsibility of one. It’s the responsibility of all.” terp

by monette austin bailey illustration by jeanette j.nelson

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ut mentoring at the university,

whether arranged formally or generated through shared interests, isn’t just about leading and following. The emphasis is on the faculty member supporting students, and allowing them to make their own discoveries—and mistakes—to deepen their experience. The university doesn’t have a program that joins students with particular faculty members, but many students successfully rely on their own matchmaking skills. Cherry Kwunyeun M.B.A. ’08 became interested in Michel Wedel’s work on eye-tracking technology and its use to study consumer attention to visual marketing while taking his marketing analytics course. Wedel, who holds the Pepsico Chair of Consumer Science at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, encouraged Kwunyeun to complete an independent study project analyzing the Web site of her newly launched handbag company, and others, using the technology.

Using principles she learned under his guidance, she is creating a site that communicates the social impact of her company, Blumpari, as well as her products. “My team and I found that the best aspect of our study was Dr. Wedel’s mentorship,” she wrote in a letter to marketing associate professor Robert Krapfel. “Dr. Wedel is dedicated to imparting to students high-level, analytical, problem-solving skills to tackle the competitive landscape of business.” In another competitive arena, members of Terp Racing won the international Formula SAE West championship last summer, after being given plenty of resources and freedom to make decisions, says the team’s advisor, Greg Schultz. An adjunct associate professor in mechanical engineering, he maintains that his role was more of a fundraiser and organizer. “It’s a balancing act of how much you get involved. Part of it is trying to teach them, getting the student leaders to learn to make decisions and handle

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people,” he says, adding that students joked with him for not spending enough time with them. “It’s teaching them how to do things, not telling them what to do,” says Schultz. Rafael Lorente agrees. A lecturer in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and Annapolis bureau director for Capital News Service, or CNS, he took a team of graduate and undergraduate students to cover the Democratic National Convention in Denver earlier this year. Student stories, from both conventions, went to several news publications, a news-radio station, a statewide public television network and several online services. Lorente says he drew from his experience as a father of two to shape his interaction with the four students in his charge. “I thought, ‘I have to get them to tell me how they’ll do it. What are you trying to do? What have you tried?’ Help them come to it on their own,” he says. A challenge for him was to make sure both the media clients and students got what they needed out of the experience. Robert Waters, associate vice president and special assistant to the president, has enjoyed being a mentor for Incentive Awards Program scholars for four years. He appreciates just as much, however, relationships that develop when a faculty member seeks to nurture a student's interest or a student seeks out a teacher for guidance. For at least four years, Corey Powell ’05, M. Arch. ’07 has called School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation Professor Gary Bowden friend and mentor. An African American, Powell saw few fellow students who looked like him and Bowden on the faculty. He had been assigned a mentor through the school, “which was great, but it was good to establish a second layer of connection,” says Powell, adding that he was also drawn by Bowden’s reputation as a talented architect. Their frank discussions have helped shape Powell’s career

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and he’s considering teaching part-time, based partly on Bowden’s example. Bowden says it’s been a rewarding friendship— he attended Powell’s wedding last summer—and that Powell’s seeking him out “made me more aware of the responsibility I had to him.” Rhonda Malone, director of faculty mentoring and development, says being connected, especially on such a large campus, is critical. “The No. 1 way to retain students of color, for example, is to retain faculty of color.” She works with Associate Provost Ellin Scholnick and Arthur N. Popper, associate dean in the College of Chemical and Life Sciences, to host workshops for faculty. They also created a guide on mentoring junior faculty. University administrators are additionally trying to foster more faculty-student interaction beyond the classroom, in hopes of replicating meaningful connections such as the relationship shared by Powell and Bowden. Waters says it seems to be a welcome idea, as professors participate in evening events with students, such as readings or talks and last spring’s well-attended facultystudent dinner. “Most faculty were really excited and knew at least five students who they wanted to invite,” he says. Adrianne Flynn, CNS Washington, D.C., bureau director, adds that “if you're any kind of teacher at all,” you’ll never pass up an opportunity to offer something extra. Students, however, need also to reach out when they need help, she says. Some of the emphasis on mentorship flows from renewed attention to supporting stronger faculty-to-faculty relationships. The newest version of the Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure process calls for all junior faculty to be appointed a mentor. One criterion for tenure is how good a mentor faculty member is to students. The university’s strategic plan calls for departments to “articulate explicit expectations for faculty mentoring. Quality of mentoring will be an important factor in the review of faculty for promotion and merit pay.” No matter its structure, mentoring can enrich the academic experience for all involved. Lorente says he loves his interaction with students. “They’re really smart.You just give them a little direction and then trust them.” TERP

Live Your Dream, Alumna Says Yavona Pirali ’06 did not have to go

far to land her dream job: She teaches biology and health at her alma mater, Baltimore City College High School. The first from the school to receive a Maryland Incentive Awards Program scholarship, she says, “I love my job because I love to see people grow, whether I’m teaching them science or teaching them how to become a responsible adult.” Gifted in math and science, she was encouraged by family and friends to become a doctor. Yet she felt a tug from another direction. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.” One of her mentors, former mathematics department chair Raymond Johnson, helped her realize something. “Instead of living everyone’s dream for my life, I had to discover my passion,” she says. After graduating from Maryland, she taught at a Prince George’s County middle school, where she was honored for her service in the community. Pirali went on to Towson University and in one year completed a master’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in biology. She always knew she would return to her hometown. “At the core of her career

interest was Baltimore. She wanted to build bridges that would improve the city,” says Maryland Incentive Awards Program Director Jacqueline Lee. “Academically driven and mature beyond her years, Yavona is exemplary of the kind of student the program seeks to attract.” Created nearly a decade ago, the Incentive Awards Program provides full, four-year scholarships to high school seniors from difficult life circumstances in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. A key component of the program is ensuring that scholarship recipients stay connected to their high schools where they can serve as role models to students. Among the first Maryland Incentive Awards scholars, Pirali is grateful to another mentor, Murray A. Valenstein ’40, one of the program’s first major benefactors and a graduate of the same high school. Teaching primarily ninthand 10th-graders, Pirali also tutors students after school and helps juniors and seniors prepare for the PSAT and SAT. Balancing

her roles as a teacher and mother of 1-year-old Ariana, she says, “I feel like I’ve come full circle. It seems that everything fell into place, and I’m helping the students just as my teachers and mentors helped me. It’s just very fulfilling.” —DCJ

Yavona Pirali ’06 has discovered her passion for teaching.

At $580 million , Great Expectations is well past the halfway mark.

photo by john t. consoli

Campaign Milestone Celebration Lights Up the Armory From the crowd gathered

around the outdoor Robotics@ Maryland staging area to the marching band bursting into song inside the Reckord Armory, the Halfway Celebration of the university’s fundraising campaign showcased how it is enhancing research, academics, athletics, the performing and visual arts and community partnerships. Well ahead of schedule, the university has raised $580 million for Great Expectations, The Campaign for Maryland. The campaign, with its unprecedented $1 billion goal, has already exceeded the total amount received in Maryland’s last major fundraising effort. The four key fundraising areas were highlighted at the celebration: students, faculty, environment and innovation. Students from Maryland’s living and learning programs talked about their experiences in CIVICUS, Hinman CEOs and College Park Scholars. Faculty members wowed visitors with their research,

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such as the three-dimensional virtual helicopter that shows updates on roadwork, accidents and traffic patterns every two minutes. Daniel Perez, associate professor of veterinary medicine, discussed how he is closer than ever to discovering a vaccination for avian influenza. University officials showed off plans for the development of East Campus, which would bring mixed-use residential-commercial buildings, a plethora of businesses and a pedestrian-friendly look to the Route 1 corridor. Sports fans had fun with the interactive football and golf set-ups. Beautiful paintings from the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora were on display, and visitors chatted with the director of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. At every turn, the university showcased how, with the help of generous supporters, it is making its mark on the state, the nation and the world. —DCJ

photography by mike morgan and amy jones

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Librarian Closes Book With Gift Retired College of information Studies librarian Bill Wilson dedi-

cated 34 years of his life to the university, twice drawn back from retirement by his love of the work and the people here. This deep commitment to the college was reflected again as Wilson made plans for his third retirement with a charitable gift annuity targeted to support renovations and operations of the university libraries. “When I came to the university, I never thought that I would stay 34 years. It turned out to be a rather rewarding career in many ways,” says Wilson. “My gift to the college recognizes the need to change with the times while being loyal to an institution, which has been very meaningful in my life.” The $40,000 gift in memory of his favorite aunt, Bertha K. Wilson, a former medical librarian, will provide needed resources for the libraries in years to come.

Additionally, the gift annuity will provide a guaranteed, fixed stream of income for Wilson during his retirement years. John McKee, director of gift planning at Maryland, says the charitable gift annuity is one of the most popular instruments donors use to achieve their financial and philanthropic goals. In return for a contribution of cash or securities, donors receive a one-time tax deduction and the university agrees to pay the donor and up to one other person for their lifetimes. The remainder goes to support programs the donor designates. “A gift annuity does two good things at once: Donors make a significant gift to whatever program or fund they wish to support at Maryland, while simultaneously securing lifetime income and tax benefits for themselves,” says McKee. “Gift annuities allow donors to help themselves and the university at the same time.” For more information about charitable gift annuities and other gift arrangements, visit the Planned Giving Guide at giftplanning.umd.edu or call toll-free 866.646.4UMD. —CR

specialGIFTS Spotlight on Innovation

Development of a biochip that is, in effect, a nanoscale drug-testing laboratory is the goal of a crossdisciplinary research effort at

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Foundation, will aid the creation of a new generation of drugs to combat bacterial infections without stimulating resistance-building mutations. Loaded with the chemical machinery of cells, the biochip can william bentley and gary rubloff determine a drug’s ability to interrupt the chemiMaryland in the emerging field of cal signals of bacteria, preventing bionanotechnology. The project, them from achieving levels virulent initially funded by a $1 million enough to cause disease. William grant from the Robert W. Deutsch Bentley, chair of the Fischell

Bioengineering Department, says the Deutsch grant enabled chemical and electrical engineers to come together with biologists, material scientists and bioengineers in this collaborative effort and positioned them to win a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The team includes researchers from the A. James Clark School of Engineering, the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Pharmacy.

photos by john t. consoli

Make your mark on Maryland cheer join share volunteer give

Expanding the Alumni Association’s Family J. Keith Scroggins ’79 became actively involved in the Maryland Alumni Association six years ago because he was impressed with its warmth and family-like atmosphere. “It made me want to be a part of it and to play an integral role in helping the alumni association,” says the chief operating officer of the Baltimore City Public School System.

“I developed lifetime friendships at the university with people who are like my extended family. I feel a sense of gratitude for those experiences.” For the past four years, he’s led the alumni association’s Advocacy Committee, which spreads news about Maryland’s achievements and the overall importance of higher education in the state. A lifetime member of the alumni association, he’s been making his mark on Maryland by organizing receptions and meetings with

costs of climate change

Calculating the impact of global climate change goes beyond the frequently projected environmental devastation. Researchers in the School of Public Policy are at the forefront of efforts to also assess how the basic systems and services of individual cities and states may be affected. In research supported by a $120,000 grant from the Environmental Defense Fund, Matthias Ruth (left) and the Center for Integrative Environmental Research, or CIER, found that climate change will likely cost several states billions of dollars in

alumni and government leaders from Prince George’s and Montgomery counties to Baltimore and Annapolis. “My advocacy work is about reconnecting with the university, for me as well as the person that I’m reaching out to,” Scroggins says. “I developed lifetime friendships at the university with people who are like my extended family. I feel a sense of gratitude for those experiences. Also, Maryland is a great institution and it offers everything you could want in an education and more.” Promoting the importance of keeping that quality education accessible to all backgrounds is a primary goal of the Advocacy Committee. “The Maryland Incentive Awards Program, for example, touched me more than any other program,” he says. “When I think about the stories these kids tell, I admire them for what they have had to overcome to be successful.” Among his goals for the university, Scroggins hopes to see Maryland recognized as one of the Top 5 universities, public or private, in the country, even more diversity among the students, faculty and administration—and a “significant” number of national championships for the football and basketball teams. Learn how you can make your mark by sharing the good news about Maryland as a member of the alumni Advocacy Committee.Visit alumni.umd.edu/give_back. —DCJ

changed infrastructure needs including sewers, aquifiers, highways and energy systems, and will harm public and ecosystem health. CIER researchers are developing strategies and tools to help guide state and federal agencies in making policy and investment decisions. Making a Scene

Before the actors utter a word, the tableau of the stage setting begins

photo at top by ned bonzi; at right by sean urbantke; at left, courtesy of engineering

to carry audience members far beyond the confines of a theater. Students in the Department of Theatre’s master of fine arts program are expanding the boundaries of creativity in scenic design, thanks to a recent $6 million gift from the Smith Family Foundation to support the performing arts academic units. The funds are enhancing the assistantships of graduate students like Daniel Pinha and Sean Urbantke, who are using the latest in computerassisted design and animation programming (see example, left) to create compelling sets and to simulate scene changes for a complete production even before construction begins. —CR

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Interpretations Navigating Troubled Waters THE DOWNWARD SLIDE of our national economy has affected all of us, and the university is no exception. We depend on state funding, endowments and tuition for more than half of the operating budget. We are navigating these turbulent fiscal waters to reduce expenditures while ensuring that students’ programs are not compromised and tuition remains affordable. A state-mandated furlough was unwelcome news to our employees, especially around the holidays. Reversion of state funds to Annapolis began in October and continues into 2009. Our endowment value decreased 20 percent in 2008 and undergraduate residential tuition has been held constant for three years. In short, our picture looks much like that found at universities across the country—less money coming in and more money going out. In addition to trimming spending we are also raising money. The Great Expectations campaign has already raised more than $150 million toward its $350 million scholarship goal and more than $580 million overall. External research funds, raised by faculty from federal agencies, industry and other government sources, support students across a range of disciplines. Last year research funds raised topped $400 million. This year research funds could exceed support from the state and from tuition, too. Entrepreneurship is thriving through a host of special services supporting transfer of technology to the marketplace. Last year we served about 400 companies started by faculty and students and other entrepreneurs. Several entrepreneurship programs

attract undergraduate students in droves: the Dingman Center, Hillman Entrepreneurs and Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities program, for instance. One quarter of the students in the Hinman CEOs have formed companies before graduating and many are partners after graduation. Our professional education programs also bring in resources through tailored courses and training beyond the campus. Evening classes on professional topics and special training programs and tailored degree programs for international professionals enhance both our resources and our global impact. Finally, we are pressing forward with our 10year strategic plan. It focuses us on our long-term goals: very high-quality education for talented students; research and creative contributions by a top faculty; and creation of a vibrant community around the campus. The execution of this plan will transform the university, the region and the state, too. (To review the plan, go to www.umd.edu/strat_plan.) To alumni, friends, faculty and staff, I thank you for your faithful support of the university. I have been touched by your realizations that our

“We are navigating these turbulent fiscal waters to reduce expenditures while ensuring that students’ programs are not compromised and tuition remains affordable.”

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goal of building a great university for the state is a worthy one. Encouragements have come from staff, faculty, parents, alumni and students. They have reminded me that our strength derives from the whole of our community, and that tough times inspire people to come together on their common goals. As we move forward from here, focusing on our goals and on our community spirit will be our greatest assets. —Dan Mote, President

PHOTO BY JEREMY GREEN

Leave your legacy one brick at a time Through the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center Legacy Brick Campaign

The Maryland Alumni Association is pleased to announce the revitalization of the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center Legacy Brick Campaign. With plans for the first installation over the 2009 academic year, the bricks and pavers will adorn the center’s plaza level and Dessie M. & James R. Moxley Jr. Gardens. ■

Etch your name into the history of alma mater.

■

Give a grad the gift of Terrapin Pride.

■

Mark a special occasion.

■

ommemorate a member of the Maryland C family or your favorite team, club, chapter, fraternity or sorority.

Standard Riggs Alumni Center Legacy Brick (regularly $500)

$450 alumni association members

8” x 8” Paver (regularly $1,000)

$900 for current alumni association members and donors

Purchase a personalized brick or paver, and you will have a presence at—and an opportunity to give back to—your alumni home on campus. For more information, call 301.405.4678/800.336.8627 or visit www.alumni.umd.edu.

Join the alumni association and receive 10 percent off your brick order!

88726_cvr_out:Terp Cover Summer -FINAL 3/25/09 1:17 PM Page covIV

Saturday, April 25, 2009

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rain or Shine U Admission and Parking are Free

www.marylandday.umd.edu

and friends to our Bring your family and 11th annual Maryland Maryland Day Saturday, April 25 5 for a day of on Saturday, learning, exploration exploration and fun. intera active exhibits, More than 400 interactive workshops and live performances p provide an an exciting exciting journey journey through t hr o u g h provide our world-class world - class university. universit y. our ge et the most Plan your day and get informatio on at up-to-date information www.marylandday y.umd.edu. www.marylandday.umd.edu.

Division of University Relations College Park, MD 20742-8724 Change Service Requested

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 10 College Park, MD