Terp—Spring 2012

SPRING 2012 / Connecting the University of Maryland Community

O LYM P I C D R E A M S KATIE O’DONNELL ’13 & KELI SMITH ’01 SWEAT, SACRIFICE ON WAY TO LONDON pg. 18

“ZACHING” GOES GLOBAL 12 / FORTUNE’S TELLERS 24 / TRACKING SIGNS OF AUTISM 28

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Letter from the alumni association president

spring 2012 / vol. 9, no. 3

P UBLIS H E d by Division of Universit y Rel ations ADVISeRS

Brodie Remington Vice President, Universit y Rel ations

Brian Ullmann

Assistant Vice President, Marke ting and Communic ations

Margaret Hall

E xecutive Direc tor, Creative Str ategies

Brian Shook

interim e xecutive direc tor, Alumni Progr ams

Beth Morgen

Chief Administr ative Officer, Maryl and Alumni Association m ag a z i n e s ta f f

Lauren Brown Universit y Editor

John T. Consoli ’86 Creative Direc tor

Joshua Harless Art Direc tor

Monette A. Bailey ’89 Mandie Boardman ’02 Beth Cavanaugh Karen Shih ’09 Rebecca Steiner Tom Ventsias writers

Patti Look ’08 Jeanette J. Nelson Catherine Nichols ’99 Brian G. Payne designers

Gail Rupert M.L.S. ’10 photography assistant

Kathy B. Lambird ’94 Produc tion Manager

Terp magazine is published by the Division of University Relations. Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send correspondence to Managing Editor, Terp magazine, 2101 Turner Building, College Park, MD 20742-1521. Or, send an email 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 nondiscrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national origin, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

It was a privilege to be part of the Maryland Alumni Association’s annual Awards Gala. What a pleasure to meet our distinguished alumni and see how they are making a name for themselves and a difference in the world.

I was particularly pleased to present the College of Arts and Humanities Distinguished Alumnus Award to former Baltimore Raven and current NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth ’04. We have become friends since I met Domonique at last year’s gala, and I have served with him in his outreach efforts to assist those less fortunate.

His work is a metaphor for the way so many Terps effectively give back to their community.

In Denver, Domonique built a teen center in honor of a slain Broncos teammate. In Baltimore, he founded a program to support low-income, middle school boys.

Two other athletes profiled in this issue of Terp, Keli Smith ’01 and Katie O’Donnell ’13, have much in common with Domonique and other Terps trying to make a difference. Both are members of the U.S. women’s national field hockey team heading to the Summer Olympics in London. Keli and Katie exemplify what we think about so many of our Maryland students.

They set goals and have high expectations for themselves. We are happy to root them on in their quest to be part of the best field hockey team in the world.

I saw the same determination, that laser focus, in both of my children, who played Division I lacrosse. Playing sports has a way of directing one’s efforts to achieve and excel—it offers a profound guide for facing life’s later challenges.

The Maryland Alumni Association is also striving to be the best. Please join us as a life member, stay connected online, and come by the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center when you’re in town!

KATIE O’DONNELL ’13 and KELI SMITH ’01 photographed by john t. consoli ’86

2 In Brief 6 Class Act 10 Campus Life

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14 Innovation 32 Giving 36 Interpretations

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18

Features

18 Heart & Goal

Two women’s field hockey players— a current student and a 2001 graduate—made difficult choices en route to winning spots on the U.S. team headed to the Summer Olympics.

By lauren brown

24 Fortune’s Tellers

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28 Baby Steps in Autism research

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The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center brings together the community to rediscover the identity of an 18th-century slave whose skeleton was used, without his consent, in medical research.

By karen shih ’09

A team of Gemstone students seeking to add to the science on diagnosing autism in babies get more than one kind of education.

By tom ventsias

24 Email

video

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terpmag@umd.edu

online

news

terp.umd.edu

terpvision.umd.edu newsdesk.umd.edu

fac e b o o k .c o m /UnivofMaryland

Timmy F. Ruppersberger ’77 President, Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors cover

Departments

f l i c k r .c o m /photos/wwwumdedu t w i t t e r .co m /UofMaryland v i m e o.c o m /umd yo u t u b e .c o m /UMD2101

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in brief

Joint Center Boosts FDA Oversight

Partnership to “MPower” UMD, UMB Research collaborations. Business development.

Student opportunities. All are about to expand through a new partnership between the University of Maryland and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

The initiative, called University of Maryland: MPowering the State, combines the complementary programs of each institution to increase efficiencies, expand academics and research in Montgomery County, and enhance their service to the state.

“Together, we’re going to magnify the scale and impact of our education, research and commercialization,” UMD President Wallace Loh says.

Top billing goes to the formation of University of Maryland Ventures, which will combine the resources of the two institutions’ existing offices that promote technology transfer and commercialization. The new joint institute will take discoveries and innovations from campus laboratories to the marketplace.

The institutions will also combine their efforts at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research at the Universities at Shady Grove, and expand coursework on that

2 terp spring 2012

campus in health, law, human services and the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). A dean will be appointed to oversee the campus and institute.

Already, the two are making strides on yet another component, establishing the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Imaging. It will bring together researchers in computer science and neuroimaging at UMD with experts in medicine and biology from UMB and the University of Maryland Medical System to address large-scale health issues.

“There’s been a surge of new data related to genomics and proteins,” says Amitabh Varshney, a UMD computer scientist who will direct the new center. “By combining that information with our world-class computing resources, we hope to identify specific disease markers that can help in the fight against cancer, diabetes or autism.”–lb

fold left arrow to meet right arrow.

University researchers are partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve the agency’s mission of reviewing and evaluating the nation's food supply, pharmaceuticals and new medical devices like implantable insulin pumps.

The University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (UM– CERSI) is the first center of its kind helping the FDA strengthen its position as a science-based regulatory agency, university officials say.

Launched last fall with an FDA grant of $1 million per year for three years, the center brings together researchers from College Park, the School of Pharmacy in

Baltimore and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research in Shady Grove, Md. Together, they are exploring emerging areas like nanoscale drug delivery, pharmacokinetics—what the body does to drugs, as opposed to what drugs do to the body—and genomic protein design that can result in new therapeutic strategies for disease.

“These partnerships represent a critical, necessary and creative investment—one that benefits not only the FDA and academia, but also American consumers and industry,” says FDA Chief Scientist Jesse L. Goodman.

A second key component of the new center is professional training programs at the

College Park campus for FDA employees. A third builds a consortium between university researchers, FDA scientists and private companies involved in FDAregulated research and development.

“We need to understand better how industry interacts with the FDA so that we can improve the science that allows for better, safer products that are brought to market more quickly and efficiently,” says William Bentley, chair of bioengineering at Maryland.–tv

other highlights of the partnership: Creating the Collaborative School of Public Health through combining and expanding the master’s of public health programs in Baltimore and College Park.

A talk by Kevin Clash, the longtime puppeteer of Elmo on “Sesame Street” and the parent of a current Terp, was one of the highlights of Maryland Day on April 28. An estimated 65,000 people flocked to campus to enjoy more than 460 events, including a cooking stage with “Today” show nutritionist Joy Bauer ’86, live performances, children’s workshops and a celebration of the 150th anniversary of land-grant universities.

Launching the University of Maryland Scholars Program to allow students from each institution to participate in research led by faculty at the other institution.

Riding High UM-Shuttle drew a record 3 million passengers this year, and the Department of Transportation Services celebrated that milestone rider, freshman psychology major Demi Kleeman, with confetti, balloons and free books for a year.

Streamlining the pipeline between College Park’s academic programs, including prelaw and premed, and the professional schools in Baltimore.

Illustration by Mira Azarm

million riders

Clash photo by Nate Langford / Illustration by Brian G. Payne / Maryland Day and Shuttle-UM photography by John T. Consoli

spring 2012 terp 3

Getting Engaged

ASK ANNE

Questions for Anne Turkos, the University Archivist

First Chief Diversity Officer to Celebrate Differences

Physical Sciences Complex Taking Shape

More than 30 years after earning her doctorate at Maryland, Kumea Shorter-Gooden Ph.D. ’78 appreciates the visible diversity she sees today.

Shorter-Gooden, who didn’t feel welcome as a black graduate student in the 1970s, returned in January as the university’s first chief diversity officer and associate vice president. As head of the Office of University Diversity, she’s eager to work with multicultural leaders across campus, including President Wallace Loh and a plethora of student organizations celebrating different identities.

But as far as the university has come, there’s still room to improve. Her top priorities include educating all students to thrive in a globalized society.

Underrepresented students, faculty and staff need access to the university as well as support once they’re here. The fast-growing Latino community requires special attention and engagement, she says.

“We’re building a culture and climate where people from all walks of life feel welcome and affirmed,” she says.–ks

A $128 million facility for research and teaching in astronomy, quantum physics and biophysics is on track for completion next fall.

The centerpiece of the Physical Sciences Complex will be the Laboratory for Advanced Quantum Science, part of a research partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The underground, state-ofthe-art lab will feature intricate controls to eliminate vibration and electromagnetic interference, critical to research in cryptography and advanced computing.–tv To preview the new complex, go to www.youtube.com/user/umdphysics.

Q A

4 terp spring 2012

We may never definitively determine who first called our beloved terrapin Testudo, but several possible sources for the name have been suggested: the scientific classification for turtles, testudines; testudo gigantea, a species of giant tortoise native to the Seychelles in Africa; or the Latin word testudo for a shelter held over the heads of soldiers, like a shell. Great question from some future Terps!

around 1914 played by the University of Maryland Ravens. Was that ever their nickname? —Paul Elstein

Extension, 4-H to Star at Smithsonian Folklife Festival One of the themes of the hugely popular event is “Campus and Community,” and the University of Maryland Extension, which runs 4-H programs for 95,000 youths, will demonstrate how the organization continues the land-grant mission of service to the state.

—Lynne Harvey and her fourth-grade class at Monterey Ridge Elementary School, San Diego

Q I came across a reference in an old sports book to a football game

From Crop Rotation to Robotics The university will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its land-grant heritage this summer on the Mall— the National Mall.

Maryland has been selected to showcase its role in the growth and evolution of 4-H at the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, running June 27–July 1 and July 4–8.

How did Testudo get his name?

A We were surprised to find three separate

4-H members at the exhibit will invite passersby to take the controls of robots they’ve built and computer programs they’ve created. They’re part of 4-H’s shift in focus from farming to the STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and math.–lb

Photography by John T. Consoli / Illustration by Patti Look

articles in the 1929 Washington Post referring to the team as the Ravens. We do not know why this was the case, and we were unable to find any corresponding references in any of our materials, including yearbooks and the student newspaper.

It’s possible that the paper coined the nickname in absence of the school having an actual mascot (Testudo did not come along until 1933). From 1900–1930, the team was variously referred to in publications as the Aggies, Farmers, College Parkers, Gridironers, Old Liners, Free Staters, Terrapins, Grids and Byrdmen.

Perhaps Ravens is a play on the last one, with a nod to Edgar Allan Poe and his Baltimore connections, as well as football coach and future UMD President Harry Clifton Byrd.

Questions may be sent to terpmag@umd.edu or @UMDarchives on Twitter. online

Q Back in Lefty Driesell's days at Cole Field House, the student

section used to sing an “Amen” chorus whenever the game was won or in the bag. Do you have any more information about this tradition?

—James Twark ’70

A Kent Baker states in his 1979 book Red, White and Amen that the first time the band played “Amen” was Jan. 28, 1970, after Maryland defeated Duke 52–50 on a 30-foot shot at the buzzer by Will Hetzel ’70.

Accounts in The Baltimore Sun suggest the song was not just played after games.

During the infamous 31–30 “stall-ball” game between the Terps and South Carolina on Jan. 9, 1971, the band performed the song while the game was in progress! And, at a 1975 home game versus Navy, the band played it before the contest, as a way to aggravate the Midshipmen.

L. Richmond Sparks, associate director of bands, says former coach Gary Williams, who arrived in 1989, asked him to stop playing the tune, saying it represented another era and rubbed the opposing team’s nose in their loss.

lib.umd.edu/univarchives / b l o g lib.umd.edu/blogs/univarch_exhibits / fac e b o o k University of Maryland University Archives

spring 2012 terp 5

class notes

class act

To submit notes, send an email to terpmag@umd.edu.

 alumni profile / doron petersan ’02

’00s

For Cupcake Queen, Life Is Sweet With her tattooed arms, long ponytail and shelf of bangs, Doron Petersan ’02 comes across on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” as a creative, rockabilly risk-taker.

In her vegan bakery in downtown D.C., however, she’s an unabashed baking-science nerd and businesswoman who just released her first book and recently launched a wholesale line of Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats goodies.

“My advice to everyone is to take business classes no matter what you do. It’s important to know how money works,” she says.

Petersan decided to pursue a degree in dietetics shortly after becoming vegan. In an effort to find delicious alternatives to some of the required ingredients—eggs, for instance, in a simulated restaurant class— she focused on ways to replicate their important properties without using animal products.

“It’s totally fun, so scientific. After that class, I thought, ‘I could do this.’ I fell in love.” She opened her store five months after graduation.

She first competed, and won, on “Cupcake Wars” with head chef Jenny Webb in 2010 and emerged as the all-star victor in their third appearance in February. Their spur-of-the-moment treats included “Rolling Stones Brown Sugar” and “Man in Black Johnny Cashew.”

Back in her cozy storefront, she’s excited about Sticky Fingers’ items going on sale in mid-Atlantic Whole Foods Markets, MOM’s Organic Markets and Roots Markets. A partnership with the venerable Clement’s Pastry Shop Inc. allows her to supply the stores with plenty of Jenny’s Fudgetastic Brownies (made with three types of chocolate), cookies and other sweets.

She’s also balancing a husband, two dogs and a toddler whose taste preferences include Post-It notes. And the cookbook, “Sticky Fingers’ Sweets: 100 Super-Secret Vegan Recipes,” has been selling well.

Her café also sells vegan lunch fare, such as quesadillas and brunch items like biscuits and gravy and gluten-free pancakes. But it’s best known for the original cupcake creations with names like Bunny Huggers and George Carmelin.

Petersan credits her staff for helping invent the clever names and such treats as the signature Sticky Buns.

“I mean, Rachael Ray isn’t sitting somewhere thinking up all of her recipes, right?”–mab

“My advice to everyone is to take business classes no matter what you do. It’s important to know how money works.”

Gabriel deGuzman ’03

and Andrea Buccine ’03 welcomed a daughter, Eleanor Gail deGuzman, on Feb. 10. They’re already looking forward to her enrolling in Maryland and graduating in 2034.

In The Clutter Book: When You Can’t Let Go, Marcie Lovett ’83 shows how to let go of what you don’t need and find room for what you value. Whether your clutter is caused by things, commitments or thoughts, Lovett encourages you to make the choices to conquer your challenges.

The Resurrection of Nat Turner spans more than 60 years, sweeping from the majestic highlands of Ethiopia to the towns of Cross Keys and Jerusalem in Southampton County, Va. Award-winning author Sharon Ewell Foster ’79 uses extensive research to reveal long-buried secrets about this tragic hero.

’90s Adam Goldman ’95 and

Cherished by Kim Cash Tate ’88 explores the story of two women who recover from their mistakes and find the freedom to pursue their dreams and relationships once they realize God’s unconditional love.

­— doron petersan ’o2

Making the Terp Connection Database Links Volunteers, Opportunities Love Maryland-related causes? Enjoy hanging with fellow Terps? Want to volunteer, but need some direction? The Maryland Alumni Association now offers a new online resource for volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Connections contains a wide range of ways to get involved—virtual, regional and on campus—to appeal to alumni wherever they live. It’s searchable, so users can find exactly what they’re looking for, including college fairs, alumni association events and service projects in the community. Users can also post volunteer opportunities.

“We consistently receive requests from 6 terp spring 2012

Photography Doron Petersan

by Johnimage T. Consoli courtesy / photo of Melissa creditsNyman

alumni to help them find a way to volunteer their time. This connects alumni to opportunities to give back to Maryland with their time, resources and networks,” says Mario Peraza M.Ed. ’04, director of alumni volunteer programs.

He hopes the service will increase awareness of the vast number of opportunities available for alumni to give back and increase the number of volunteers. To learn more, visit alumni. umd.edu/volunteer. –mlb Terps participated in the Humane Society of Charlotte, N.C.’s annual Pet Palooza, one of the kinds of opportunities available on the new website.

Pet Palooza image provided by Danny Fischer / Book and Polisar images by John T. Consoli

three colleagues at the Associated Press (AP) won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. They detailed the New York Police Department’s widespread spying program in Muslim neighborhoods.

’70s The 2012 Grammywinning Best Children’s Album featured a song

by Barry Louis Polisar ’77. Decades after he wrote “The Song of Round,” it was included on “All About Bullies Big and Small,” a fundraiser for the Pacer Center‘s National Bullying Prevention Center. It’s his second shared Grammy.

President Obama has named Peter W. Bodde ’76 the new U.S. ambassador to Nepal. He was previously the assistant chief of mission for assistance transition in Iraq and coordinator for minority issues at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. spring 2012 terp 7

“If the Capitol doesn’t look the way it looks today in 100 years, I haven’t done my job.”

Alumni Travel

Egypt & The Eternal Nile

—stephen ayers ’85

March 20–April 5, 2013

For more information about upcoming trips, visit alumni.umd.edu or contact Angela Dimopoulos ’07 at 301.405.7938 / 800.336.8627 or adimop@umd.edu.

 alumni profile / michael ealy ’96

Ealy’s Second Act Is Comic Relief

Lori Beecher ’87 (right), longtime producer for Katie Couric, accepts the Philip Merrill College of Journalism Distinguished Alumna Award from world-class soprano and Professor Carmen Balthrop ’71 at the 12th annual Maryland Alumni Association Awards Gala in April. For a full list of honorees, visit alumni.umd.

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When Michael Ealy ’96 left for New York after graduation to pursue an acting career, his family took bets on how long he’d last, and no one guessed more than a year. Ealy won.

The handsome native of Silver Spring, Md., has become known for strong secondary performances in film and TV dramas, and had his first starring role in the recent hit comedy “Think Like a Man,” based on radio personality Steve Harvey’s popular advice book. Ealy also shares top billing in USA Network’s new buddy cop sitcom “Common Law.” Ealy says the romantic, funnier characters are more like him, and he’s as thankful for the switch in roles as he is for steady work in a finicky industry.

“What I do doesn’t cure cancer,” he says. “I know now that I don’t have to take it or myself so seriously. It’s been liberating.”

Ealy has worked with top names, such as director Spike Lee and actors Will Smith and Taraji P. Henson, and landed roles on TV shows “Sleeper Cell” and “The Good Wife,” and the TV movie “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”

He didn’t always think his future lay in acting, though. An English major, he concentrated on African-American studies. Professors thought Ealy was on the verge of becoming the next Cornel West, the fiery black intellectual and activist.

Ealy enjoyed the coursework and the professors who respected his perspectives, he says, and the result was “the best degree I could possibly get. I was just enthralled.”

Then two childhood friends asked him to perform in their film after his sophomore year.

He caught the acting bug and did some local plays. “I realized I was passionate about both [my studies and acting].” Once he earned his degree, Ealy felt he could risk “figuring out this dream.”

Ealy, now a Los Angeles resident, says he’s been “blessed to make a lot of good decisions,” allowing him a life that includes attending red carpet movie screenings and being “Uncle Mike” to five godchildren.

“I can fall asleep on the couch and no one takes pictures. No special treatment,” he says.

“It’s nice.”–mab

Aaron McGruder ’98, creator of “The Boondocks,” the critically acclaimed comic strip and TV series, provided the opening animation sequence for “Think Like a Man,” through his company, Partner Rumble Studio. It depicts how courtship rituals have changed over time.

 alumni profile / stephen ayers ’85

Capitol Conservator With just 10 Architects of the Capitol preceding him in American history, Stephen Ayers ’85 is in rare company.

“It’s really an honor,” he says. “The scope of responsibility has expanded over the centuries. It grew from just one person designing and constructing in 1791 to the office today where I’m an administrator and leader working behind the scenes enabling the Congress and Supreme Court to carry out their duties.”

Ayers oversees 2,600 employees and a $600 million budget and describes his job as threefold: to make sure Congress has the buildings and infrastructure it needs to do its business; to be a good steward of the nation’s heritage; and, through his role in several federal and city commissions and councils,

advise on historic preservation matters.

“These are our nation’s treasures, and my job is to conserve them in a beautiful state for our future generations,” he says. “If the Capitol doesn’t look the way it looks today in 100 years, I haven’t done my job.”

Ayers joined the office of the Architect of the Capitol in 1997 as assistant superintendent for the Senate office buildings. In 2010, he was nominated by the president and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to his current post. He is serving a 10-year term, which is renewable.

In recent years, he has overseen the completion of the Capitol Visitor Center, opened in 2008, which provided the first educational opportunity for visitors coming to

Gala image by Mike Morgan / Ealy image by DeWayne Rogers / Ayers image by John T. Consoli

the Capitol, and the renovation of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

His major projects now include the restoration of the Capitol Dome, which includes repainting, resealing and repairing any damage it has sustained since its last restoration more than 50 years ago; an extensive renovation of the Cannon House Office Building; and an increase in sustainability across the buildings and grounds.

An avid Terps fan—he has season tickets for football and basketball—he remembers his time at Maryland fondly, and he credits the weekly critiques he endured in the architecture school for giving him thick skin.

“It serves me well in my job today,” he says.–ks

spring 2012 terp 9

campus life

Glamour Honors Two Terps Two of the nation’s

Masterpiece

“ D ream”awith China Becomes Reality y ow would Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s H Dream” sound if performed in two countries by a cast speaking two languages? Like a unique cultural exchange, say organizers in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.

Two dozen Maryland faculty and students are colDesign students in the master of fine arts program designed laborating with peers at the National Academy of Chinese the renderings for the sets Theatre Arts to put on the play, first on campus in and costumes of “A Midsummer September, then in Beijing. They’ve been working out the Night’s Dream,” challenges of a production with double sets and locations, including for Theseus along with the language barrier and 7,000-mile distance (left), Cobweb between participants. (above) and Moss (right).

“Splitting a production in two—it sounded impossible.

We really had to sit down and figure out how you do it,” said theatre Professor Mitchell Hébert, who is co-directing the production with Yu Fan Lin in China.

Noted costume designer and Professor Helen Huang first shared the idea for a co-production while teaching a master class at the National Academy and quickly won the support of faculty there.

Emails, Skype meetings, translators and visits in both Beijing and College Park facilitated the process, and by February 2011, the group decided it could be done.

Maryland faculty and students will design and construct the costumes and set, and play the parts of the fairies and mechanicals. Their Chinese counterparts will build a duplicate set in Beijing and take on the roles of the court, lovers and supernatural characters. Shared responsibilities include directing and technical aspects, such as lighting.

All actors will perform in their native language. Audiences in both countries will read translations through supertitles.

Laree Lentz, a master of fine arts student who helped design the costumes, worked closely with the Beijing academy students to develop ideas that represented both cultures. “Through this process of two cultures coming together,” she says, “we realized that no matter how different we seemed to be, we are actually similar in so many ways.”–bc 10 terp spring 2012

Agard photo by John T. Consoli / Glamour photos by Brian Marcus / Chincoteague illustration by Jeanette J. Nelson

best college female students are Terps, according to Glamour magazine.

Juniors Colleen Gulick (left) and Ola Ojewumi were profiled in its annual “Top 10 College Women” feature in May, were honored in New York City and received a cash prize.

Gulick, an engineering major and aspiring orthopedist, is a top-ranked cyclist and the first woman ever to medal in a men’s race. She’s also a starter on Maryland’s national champion field hockey team.

Ojewumi, a government and politics major profiled in Terp’s Winter 2012 issue, received a heart and kidney transplant and founded an organ donation foundation.

Visit www.glamour.com/ about/top-10-college-women-2012 for the full article.–lb

Crossword Cruncher What can you do in a minute and 50 seconds? Brush your teeth? Heat up your lunch?

Freshman economics major Erik Agard can solve The New York Times crossword puzzle.

“With other types of puzzles, when it’s all over you're just looking at a bunch of numbers,” says the Honors student. “With crosswords I always get that ‘Aha!’ moment, whether it's from picking up on the theme or just figuring out a clever clue.”

His biggest “Aha!” moment to date was at the American Crossword Puzzle 1 Tournament in March, where

he placed 17th out of more than 600 competitors—the highest ranking for a rookie.

Inspired by his high school math teacher, a crossword whiz himself, he now does at least four puzzles a day.

Now, Agard has branched out to crossword construction.

“It’s a lot harder,” but he likes challenging his friends with his latest creations. “If I ever get good enough to do it for a living, I’ll do it.”–ks Test your own skills! With some UMD trivia and clues from the magazine thrown in, Agard’s made a puzzle just for Terp readers (solution on page 33): 2

3

4

5

6

8

11

12

13

14

15

Across 1. Chinese partner for Shakespeare 8. School grp.

11. Toronto’s province 12. Unit of resistance 13. Words to the wife 14. Opposite of post15. Hangs on a clothesline, e.g.

16. For Henson ’60, “it’s not easy being ___” 18. Daughter’s brother 19. Poke fun at 20. Location of Fear the Turtle ice cream 22. Reads digitally 24. ACT alternative 27. Indian metropolis that sounds like an eatery 28. Exploratory spacecraft 30. Baltimore ___ 31. Skin pigment 33. Striped official 34. Main ingredient in guacamole 35. Stat for defensive back Cameron Chism: Abbr.

36. Muscleman Zach

7

16

10

25

26

17

19

18 20 22

21

23

24

27

28

30

31

33

34

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36

Down 1. Community in rural Montgomery County 2. First month of the año 3. “___ the hole!” (golf course shout) 4. Shade of 16-Across 5. Angers 6. Actress Long 7. One who eats a lot 8. Benedict XVI et al.

9

29

32

9. Number of Petersan appearances on “Cupcake Wars” 10. Pious-sounding b-ball chant: 17. Baltimore Raven Lewis or Rice 19. “My country ___ of thee...”

20. “Well, lah-di-___!”

21. Diamondback terrapin, for one 22. Number of Missy

Meharg’s NCAA championships 23. Like some chins or lips 24. Submarine detector 25. Put up with 26. Pavarotti, notably 27. Afghan language (anagram of RAID) 28. Walk heavily 29. Maryland Formula SAE Team competition 32. Night before a holiday

The former Journalism building reopened in April with a new name and identity. Following a major renovation to make the building greener and more tech-friendly and open, it’s now called Chincoteague Hall and houses a portion of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Tenants include the offices of the Department of Government and Politics, all three university peace chairs, graduate and research assistants, and visiting international scholars. The Philip Merrill College of Journalism moved into its new home, Knight Hall, in 2010.

spring 2012 terp 11

ROCK OF AGES “As crazy as it sounds, I like to say I have been blessed with cancer.”—Zach Lederer

play by play

Posing in the Face of Cancer Fans of Terps men’s basketball saved some of their loudest cheers of the season for a student who was supposed to mop the sweat off the court.

Freshman journalism major Zach Lederer, the team’s student manager, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor for the second time in his short life. Following surgery to remove a tumor in January, he groggily struck a muscleman pose with his arms to reassure friends and family that he was strong. That pose (center) has inspired not only his team and the university community, but also cancer patients around the world.

Lederer first faced the disease at age 11. After a harrowing surgery to install a shunt down his spine, followed by a medically induced coma, radiation and his relearning to walk, Lederer recaptured his normal life in Howard County. In his senior year, he even played on the football team despite the potentially catastrophic consequences of any injury to his head.

Lederer returned to famed Johns Hopkins Hospital pediatric surgeon Ben Carson in January after feeling numbness in his arm and leg and learned the cancer was back.

“When Dr. Carson told us the news, he said to consider it an opportunity,” he says. “As crazy

as it sounds, I like to say I have been blessed with cancer.”

Following Lederer’s operation to remove part of the tumor, his father posted online the photo of Lederer doing his strongman pose, and it went viral.

High school friend Raymond Kim created a website, zaching.tumblr.com, that invited others to send in their “Zaching” photos.

With help from ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt, Baltimore Raven Torrey Smith ’10 and even comedian Dane Cook, the word spread. Photos have poured in from as far away as Australia and Russia, including many from cancer patients.

Lederer appreciates those the most.

“Support Zach, but do it for those who may not have the same support system that I do,” Lederer says.

Coach Mark Turgeon applauds Lederer’s determination to make this something bigger than himself. “He’s sending a great message. He’s an inspiration to me—I know he’s an inspiration to the other coaches and players.”

While Lederer was forced to take the spring semester off while he undergoes chemotherapy and radiation, he wasn’t forgotten at all. All of Comcast Center stopped to cheer Lederer at the Boston College game, the coaching staff wore white sneakers (defying superstition) in his honor during another. And at the May 6 Race for Hope in D.C., Lederer led more than 1,000 people to strike his pose together. –mab

Kim and two other high school classmates of Lederer are raising money for a 4,000-mile bike trek to raise cancer awareness. For more information, email zaching27@gmail.com. see more of zach’s story at TerpVision.umd.edu.

Rapper B.o.B (“Airplanes,” “Nothin’ on You,” “Price Tag”) was the headliner at Art Attack in May, the latest in a long string of big musical acts performing on campus. Here’s a look back at a few: black eyed peas

may 4 byrd stadium

bob dylan & Joni Mitchell

nov. 5 cole field house pearl jam

april 3 ritchie coliseum The Zaching phenomenon has moved people around theworld, including cancer patients, spring breakers and celebrities including comedian Adam Sandler, rapper Lil Wayne, race car driver John Andretti and New Orleans Hornet and former Terp Greivis Vasquez.

queen

Blended Learning Courses toss tradition Architecture major Jessica Kent contributes to her class discussion at 2 a.m. via a wiki thread. Economics major Jeni Huezo views most of her lectures online at a dedicated Vimeo site, allowing for a quick “replay” of any course material giving her trouble.

Both students are taking “Environmental Geology,” one of 10 undergraduate courses introduced this spring in a new “blended learning” format. The classes, most of which are taken half online and half in the classroom, feature social media tools like blogs, wikis and Twitter that are complimented by live discussions using high-tech graphics.

“With blended learning, we can offer an educational environment of the highest quality, while also making use of new technologies that allow quite a bit of innovation for teaching and learning,” says Ann Wylie, senior vice president and provost.

Wylie’s office offered $400,000 last year for the blended learning curriculum, providing technical support and other 12 terp spring 2012

Illustration by Brian G. Payne / Zaching photos courtesy of zaching.tumblr.com

incentives to more than a dozen faculty members whose instructional proposals were chosen to launch the effort.

“It’s just a better way to present the science,” says Saswata HierMajumder, an assistant professor who teaches the geology class.

Hier-Majumder says the biggest benefit for students is the range of choices they have to interact with the course material. Some students prefer visual learning, he says, while others may want the option of listening to the lecture on their iPhone while jogging.

Kent, who admits to “not being a big science fan,” says she appreciated the Flash movies that detailed how ocean waves form a tsunami after a large earthquake. “It’s really beneficial to ‘see’ the science that we’re reading about,” she says.

Other blended learning offerings this spring focused on topics including professional writing, molecular genetics, advanced Spanish grammar and composition, and motor development.

Pending review of this spring’s courses, university officials expect to increase the number of blended learning classes this fall, when the new general education curriculum will launch.–tv Photographs courtesy of University Archives, SEE Productions archive

april 2 cole field house elvis

sept. 28 cole field house harry belafonte

nov. 12 cole field house

spring 2012 terp 13

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How valuable would an instantaneous focus group of say, 10 million people, be to a political candidate or ad agency?

A researcher with the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies is developing an application for computers, tablets and smartphones that can instantly aggregate huge volumes of data.

While on sabbatical last semester, computational linguist Philip Resnik began testing React Labs during the Republican presidential debates. As the candidates spoke, participants who had downloaded the app could respond with “Agree,” “Disagree,” “Spin” or “Dodge.”

Polls and focus groups are too removed from the event, says Resnik, who has done similar data-mining work for federal agencies looking for trends in online information in other countries. Social media is full of immediate opinions ripe for analysis, but on the downside, it’s a mess … and harder to ask specific questions.

“React Labs is an attempt to hit the sweet spot between those two extremes,” he says.–MAB

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Future STEM Teachers are “Drawn to Science” Educating the next generation of science teachers just might start with a handful of crayons.

Professor of education Randy McGinnis and his team are studying how students’ views of their own teaching methods evolve by having them draw pictures of themselves teaching science.

With $1.6 million in support from the National Science Foundation, the research, known as Project Nexus, is providing new insight into how aspiring teachers think of themselves—and what they still need to learn.

“The drawings allow us as researchers 14 terp spring 2012

to study, in a creative way, science classroom teaching identity and how it changes over time,” McGinnis says.

Producing more, well-prepared teachers and graduates in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields is an urgent topic at the state and national levels.

Part of the challenge of preparing those science educators, McGinnis says, is making STEM more interesting to young students so they will pursue these disciplines in college.

“We need to keep STEM from becoming too rigid, so we’re linking formal

science education with informal science education,” he says. “We want future science teachers to practice merging the formal education norms we know, like classrooms, standardized tests, grading systems, etc., with informal science education, like the voluntary learning we do when we visit museums, zoos and aquariums.”

He says teachers who give schoolchildren experiences that connect them to scientific principles can impart an understanding of real-world application.

The pictures he asks his students to draw at the beginning and end of the course bear out students’ grasp of formal Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

and informal teaching methods. A gallery of drawings on the project’s website, DrawnToScience.org, depicts stick-figure teachers standing in front of a classroom, overseeing students working together or encouraging students to “Go explore!”

Elementary education major Jem Ace ’12 said after student teaching in Prince George’s County this semester, she’d draw herself differently a third time, outside with students.

“I’ve learned through this experience that science is more than opening up a textbook,” she says.–RS

Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

Clark School bioengineers recreated the university’s logo using fluorescent E. coli bacteria to demonstrate how programmable biofabrication can be used to put living cells where desired. Placing and maintaining live cells in specific locations can expand researchers’ understanding of bacterial infection and antibiotic resistance and allow them to develop new ways to diagnose ailments, regenerate tissue and personalize medical care.

spring 2012 terp 15

NewsDesk

University of Maryland faculty are the source news media turn to for expertise.

faculty Q & A

Bioengineers Combat Deadly Catheter Infections

White House Rules By day, Tim Nusraty ’92 is assistant general counsel in the White House Office of Management and Budget. By night, he teaches Honors College students about U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan. He talked to Terp about how he ended up advising senior administration officials, including the U.S. president on occasion, and how he’s making his class so memorable.

“The United States can no longer afford to keep tens of millions of acres of ‘public’ land locked up and out of service.”

Doctors often rely on catheters

to deliver medications, carry away bodily wastes and monitor vital signs in patients suffering from serious medical conditions.

These same catheters, however, can lead to deadly health risks like septic shock if they become infected with bacteria, especially bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Researchers in the A. James Clark School of Engineering, with significant support from a Baltimore-area foundation, are developing new tools to combat catheter-based and other infections without provoking bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

“This is a key area in which engineers can assist physicians,” says William Bentley, chair of the Clark School’s Fischell Department of Bioengineering. “We anticipate that our research will one day give physicians new drugs, new drug development systems and new in vivo bacteria sensors and treatment systems that will help improve life for millions of people.”

Clark School bioengineers are working on a prototype drug that can trick bacteria cells into thinking there are not enough of them to form a “quorum.”

— Robert H. Nelson, public policy, in an op/ed advocating for the federal government to update its public land policies, The Los Angeles Times, March 7, 2012.

Your parents emigrated from Afghanistan. How did their culture influence your outlook? I grew up in a house-

hold where we spoke Dari and followed the Afghan culture and way of life. That meant family comes first. My father passed away when I was in seventh grade, but he instilled in me and my two brothers that anything’s possible with education.

How did your Maryland experience shape your path?

I took a prelaw class my junior year and was fascinated. Around the same time, my uncle, who was a father figure to me, encouraged me to pursue a career in law. Here I am 20 years after graduating from Maryland, a very happy attorney.

You started out as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. How did you end up working for the U.S. Department of State and the president? It was 9/11 that

changed my career path.

Suddenly, my Afghan-American background and my Dari skills thrust me into a new arena, foreign policy and international affairs. I went on assignment from the Justice Department to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, where I worked for the U.S. ambassador, which led me to the State Department, which led me to the National Security Council at the White House.

What’s it like to work there?

It’s surreal to work at the White House and to advise the president on one of the top foreign policy priorities of the administration. In the fall of 2009, President Obama wanted a topto-bottom review of our policies in Afghanistan. To be able to examine the programs and policies in place, to be working so close to the president and his national security team and trying to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong—and here I am just a few years ago, an attorney with no ties to the White House.

How do you make the subject of Afghan foreign policy come alive to students?

I don’t want my students to hear only from me, so I’ve brought in guest speakers—including a

former U.S. ambassador, a former Afghan minister, a Foreign Service officer and a military officer. It gives them a broad range of viewpoints. We also have a field trip to the White House, where they’re briefed by an administration official on foreign policy issues in Afghanistan. Most interestingly, through video teleconferencing, the students talk with their peers at the American University of Afghanistan. It’s amazing to see the students have such a frank exchange.

What do you like best about this new teaching career?

The Honors students are a pleasure to work with and they keep me on my toes. Sometimes they’ll ask really tough questions.

Students often assume that professors know it all, so I try to keep a couple of questions handy in my toolkit like, “What do you think about that?”

“Individuals don’t really know how much caffeine they’re consuming because the label does not require disclosure of caffeine content.”

— Amelia Arria, director, Center on Young Adult Health and Development, on energy drink overdoses, “Today,” March 21, 2012.

“(White parents) sort of have this view that if you talk about race, you are creating a problem, and what we’re finding is that children are aware of race very early.”

— Melanie Killen, human development, on a new study finding that African Americans are more optimistic on race than whites, on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360°,” April 2, 2012.

16 terp spring 2012

Nusraty photo by Doug Ray

Hear more University of Maryland experts in the media at twitter.com/UMDNews.

Others are seeking ways to interrupt the bacteria cells from forming a biofilm—the first stage of an infection—in order to stem off catheter infections that can increase mortality rates by 35 percent and hospitalization costs by more than $35,000.

The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation has provided more than $2 million in funding toward this research. Other support comes from the National Science Foundation and several agencies within the Department of Defense.–TV

Clark School researchers are seeking to interrupt the growth of biofilms—pictured here in a microfluid test bed—which can cause bacterial infections in catheters.

3 .6

$

MILLION

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), based at Maryland, has received $3.6 million in new funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to continue its work in understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism.

Biofilm photo by Mike Morgan / Illustration by Brian G. Payne

spring 2012 terp 17

Training for Olympics an Exercise in Commitment, Compromise for Katie O’Donnell ’13 & Keli Smith ’01



by lauren brown

Keli Smith ’01 begins her day at 5:30 a.m. in a one-bedroom sublet of magenta, orange and green. She feeds a bottle to her smiley 5-monthold son, Ian, nudges 2-year-old Xavi toward a plate of pancakes and has them dressed and out the door before 7.  Katie O’Donnell ’13 ends her day by 9 p.m., after calling her boyfriend in Virginia, who she last saw over a month ago, and reading or talking with her roommates over a 1,000-piece puzzle.  In between these hours, Smith and O’Donnell have a singular focus: preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

18 terp spring 2012

Photograph by John T. Consoli

Keli Smith ’01 Katie O'Donnell ’13 Position: Striker international games: 102* national titles @UMD: 2 *as of April 2012

Position: Striker international games: 160* national titles @UMD: 1

spring 2012 terp 19

he two have earned starting positions on the U.S. women’s field hockey team going to London in July, and their full-time job until then is a never-ending routine of practicing, weightlifting and running.

Both women are aggressive, intense and highly accomplished—between them they were named All-American seven times and won three national championships. Smith competed in Beijing in 2008, and O’Donnell was named the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2010 Sportswoman of the Year, an award previously won by Serena Williams and Mia Hamm.

They’re fueled by the excitement of competing before an international audience and the potential glory of being recognized among the best in the world. But the life of these elite athletes is far more grind than glitz.

“The final outcome of all is very nice,” says O’Donnell, 23. “But it’s sometimes hard to keep your eyes on it when it’s so far away.”

O’Donnell has put half her education on hold. She left campus three of the four previous spring semesters and took this entire academic year off to train with the national team in Chula Vista, Calif., so her Maryland friends have already graduated. She’s planning to start her senior year in August, after going home for the first time since Christmas.

Smith, at 33 the oldest member of the team, is also its first mom. She hustled to get back into shape postpartum twice in two years to play in what she knows is her last Olympics. Now she’s balancing the demands of her sport with those of her little boys.

Her husband, the field hockey coach at Miami University of Ohio, is still at home, and their online calendar for the run-up to the Olympics of who is where with which sons is a marvel of logistics.

“In 2008, it was okay to sacrifice, to miss weddings and family,” Smith says. “But the only way I could play now is to have my children with me.”

A STAR’S PATH O’Donnell got her first hockey stick at age 3. She was the baby of four siblings growing up in a Philadelphia suburb, and their parents encouraged them to participate in lots of sports. Her brother played lacrosse at St. Joseph’s, while her twin sisters played field hockey at Drexel. O’Donnell was a natural at every sport she played—soccer, basketball, track. By the time O’Donnell was 14, she was competing in international tournaments on the under-21 national field hockey team. At 16, she was the youngest woman ever selected to the senior national team.

National Coach of the Year Missy Meharg ’90, who’s led Maryland’s program since 1988, closely monitored the

Katie O’Donnell was the Division I National Player of the Year in 2010, when she won her second NCAA championship with the Terps.

“You can’t miss her hand speed, coupled with her will. She’s going to die before she loses. It’s a special trait, and Katie has it.”

— Missy Meharg ’90, head coach, Maryland's women's field hockey team

Field Hockey Coach to Supply ABCs to NBC Nine-time—and current—Division I Coach of the Year Missy Meharg ’90 (left) is highly respected in field hockey circles for her passion for the game. Now she’ll be sharing it with a global audience.  NBC Sports has hired Meharg, the 24-year coach of the Terps women’s team, as its analyst for the men’s and women’s tournaments in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Throughout the Games, she’ll be based at NBC Studios in New York City, providing analysis and insight into the rivalries, players and their backstories.  Since Maryland’s squad won the 2011 national championship—the seventh under Meharg—she’s been researching the top men’s and women’s national teams and traveling around the world to watch them play.  “I’ve got two goals: to bring in people who don’t know the game, and to talk about the intricacies and tactics of the game for the people who do,” rotated out; she says. 

phenom. O’Donnell started coming to College Park as a seventh-grader with her summer club team, and returned every year for more instruction.

“You can’t miss her hand speed, coupled with her will,” Meharg says. “She’s going to die before she loses. It’s a special they’ve put twin beds side by side for seating trait, and Katie has it.” in their “movie room;” and In her four years on the Terp team, O’Donnell became there’s little in the freezer besides the most decorated player in its history. She was the 2010 paper cups of ice and 4-month-old ice cream.

National Player of the Year and twice won the Honda Sports They eat most of their meals at the training facility.

Award, given to the top female collegiate athletes in 12 sports.

When she faced a rare disappointment, she took it hard. Sleeping in means 7:30 a.m.

“I’ve postponed having a normal life,” says O’Donnell.

Her freshman year, the Terps lost in the NCAA tourna“Sometimes I miss the normal aspects—getting coffee, going ment quarterfinals; the Final Four would take place on campus. Meharg rallied the team to stay, tailgate and watch. to work every morning, having dinner with your family.”

Adds housemate Michelle Kasold: “There are plenty Every player did but “OD,” as she's known to her teamof days we all want to quit because you’re not just here to mates, who quietly went home to Pennsylvania. have a great time.”

In 2008, she fully expected to make the 2008 Olympic At practice, though, O’Donnell is in her element, chatty team roster. Instead, she was named an alternate. and laughing, until Coach Lee Bodimeade blows his O’Donnell didn’t go home. She stayed at the Olympic whistle. In one offensive drill, she repeatedly passes the training facility in California to help the starting team ball to a teammate with the force and precision of a guided practice. And to start training for 2012. missile. During short breaks, she dribbles the ball on each side of her stick like she’s cutting with a Ginsu knife. And in games, her speed is explosive.

HOME IS WHERE THE TEAM IS “The best compliment I can give Katie is she’s a real pest,” She’d already been living a second life in San Diego, trainBodimeade says. “Her job is to press the opponent, to force ing for the 2008 Olympics, then the 2010 World Cup, the them to make a mistake, and she is relentless.”

2011 Pan Am Games (where the team secured its berth in Less than three weeks after the gold medal is awarded the 2012 Olympics—its earliest ever) and now these Games. in London, O’Donnell will resume classes at Maryland O’Donnell now shares a condo with three teammates to work on her degree in family science. Then she and an Olympic high jumper. It’s an wants to coach. “I like the idea of making insular existence, as the hockey people better by showing them what I players share a workplace, know,” she says. (continued ) social circle and home.

They have a mishmash of furniture O’Donnell (left) spends post-practice downtime left by former with roommates Michelle Kasold and Maren players who’ve Langford, who share her ambitions—and

frustrations. “Once you’ve gone through an Olympic year, you’ve been through the wringer,” O'Donnell says. “It’s a feat unto itself.”

20 terp spring 2012

Meharg portait and O'Donnell photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

Photo by John T. Consoli

spring 2012 terp 21

Track Coach Wins Top Role with U.S. Team

“THE EPITOME OF HARD WORK” Smith, like O’Donnell, is a small and feisty forward with a long blond ponytail and California tan, but the similarities end there. She lived her teammate’s life a decade ago.

While she began swatting balls in the yard at age 6 with her older sister, Kara, Smith didn’t play on a team until 13. Four years later, she was named All-America, even as she lettered in basketball and track at high school in Selinsgrove, Pa. “What really stuck out with me is there are very few women who will bite the turf to score a goal or stop an opponent, and Keli is one of them,” Meharg says. “She is the epitome of hard work and relentless competitiveness.”

A double major in communication and psychology, Smith started in every game of her Terp career. She led the team to a 77-15 record, including the 1999 national title, even as she served as captain of the U.S. under-21 and under20 squads in 1999 and 2000.

Her work ethic was legendary, and today the Maryland field hockey program gives the Keli Smith Award to the player showing the most passion for and success in the sport.

She joined the senior Terps’ 2012 national team in 2001, and has olympic Roster spent her adult life in transit, ping-ponging between training Terps are no strangers to the Olympics. We’ve and coaching. She volunteered had more than 30 to date, including gymnast at American University, was Dominque Dawes ’02 and basketball players hired by Georgetown, then Vicky Bullett ’89 and Tom McMillen ’74.

Virginia, played professionally Besides Katie O’Donnell and Keli Smith, for a year in Barcelona, where a handful of Maryland athletes past and her husband, Inako Puzo, has present are among the hopefuls for the family, and competed at the 2012 Games in London.

World Cup and Pan Am Games.

Kinesiology major Ashley Nee ’14 Smith also served as head (below) is one of three women competing coach of the U.S. Futures proat the World Cup in June for the single U.S. gram for girls in Virginia and women’s spot in slalom kayaking. launched Field Hockey Life, Three track and field athletes under which offers girls camps, clinics Terps and Olympic coach Andrew Valmon and clubs. Then she returned are heading to the Olympic trials June 22– to Chula Vista full-time.

July 1: Kinesiology major Kiani Profit ’12, She scored the team’s first Maryland record holder in the pentathlon, goal of the 2008 Games; the will compete in the heptathlon, while U.S. ultimately placed eighth in Adam Durham ’08 and Dominic Berger the tournament. ’09 will race in the 400- and 110-meter Smith says she hurdles, respectively. was “very, very nerFor a full list of past Terp Olympians, vous” telling Bodimeade visit www.lib.umd.edu/ in June 2009 that she was univarchives/macmil/ pregnant. She blurted it leto.html. out in a hotel lobby, and

22 terp spring 2012

Smith fights for the ball with an Argentinian player during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She plans to retire afer the 2012 games.

he jumped up to congratulate and hug her. Less than five months after giving birth to Xavi, she returned to the team lineup.

The second time around, she was three months along and sharing a hotel room with a teammate in Argentina. She announced her news after realizing how silly it was to hide in the bathroom every time she had to change her shirt and risk exposing her baby bump. A few teammates were suspicious anyway, since Smith had stopped diving for the ball or mowing down opponents in practice.

Ian arrived on Aug. 31, just after Puzo was hired in Ohio and they’d bought a four-bedroom colonial in the suburbs.

Oxford is cute and quaint, perfect for raising a family, she says—and just the kind of place she and her husband would have made fun of in their younger, hipper years.

Yet 3½ months postpartum, Smith was back on the pitch, scoring two goals in a series against Australia. To earn her way back to the Olympics, she’d begun a grueling training and exercise regimen, and joked on her blog about being an old lady.

“I’m not getting any better physically,” she says, “but I’m not heading downhill, either.”

In fact, her toned muscles would be—and are—the envy of athletes 10 years her junior.

team, Bodimeade’s nanny watches the boys.

Her parents and husband helped with Xavi’s and Ian’s travel arrangements during spring tournaments in Barcelona and New Zealand, and her mom, Sharon, flew them out to Chula Vista in early February. A stomach bug followed close behind.

The sleep-robbing, vomit-mopping experience made her grateful for the support she had all around, but a little lonely, too. It’s not like she has mommy teammates to commiserate with.

“The team is so supportive,” she says, “but no one really gets it. Eighty percent of them are buying Cosmopolitan at the airport, and I’m buying Good Housekeeping. It’s just different.”

She adds that because she’s a mom to Xavi and Ian, she’s not a mom to her teammates—“I treat them all like they’re 30,” she says. But she’s still a leader.

“The experience she brings, being a longtime member— the players look up to her for leadership and guidance,” Bodimeade says. “She knows there’s more to life than the game, and that shows her commitment. She doesn’t have to be here.”

Smith will retire from the team after these Games. She’ll resume flying every other weekend from Ohio to coach her club team in Charlottesville. She’s thinking of pursuing a master’s in sports psychology.

“When I’m done playing, we’re going to go through a little bit of withdrawal, and start a normal life,” she says. “I’m looking forward to settling down.”

Keli Smith moved back to San Diego to train full-time in January after settling all the logistics to have her sons Xavi, 2, and Ian, born in August, join her. “I made the decision to play based on the fact I would have my children with me.”

Twenty years ago, Maryland track and field coach Andrew Valmon won gold for the second time for the U.S. at the Olympics. Now he’s about to see the Games from the other side.  Valmon, who was on the winning U.S. 4x400 relay teams in 1988 and 1992, is head coach of the 68 runners, sprinters, jumpers and field athletes going to London.  He also coached the Americans at the world outdoor championships in 2010 and 2011, part of USA Track & Field’s strategy to provide consistency. It has no national team or staff that trains together, so Valmon has the unique challenge of uniting and managing the group following the trials that end July 1.  He sees himself as a facilitator, managing all the logistics of the trip to London, easing the athletes’ transition. “We’ll figure out what we need to do as a staff to give them every opportunity to be successful,” Valmon says. 

“(Smith) knows there’s more to life than the game, and that shows her commitment. She doesn’t have to be here.”

— Lee Bodimeade , head coach, U.S. women’s national field hockey team

A UNIQUE GAME PLAN Smith couldn’t train for the Olympics without moving to Chula Vista. And she wasn’t going without her sons. Here’s how she made it happen.

She found a rare short-term lease on a furnished apartment in San Diego, then moved all the Mexican sculptures and glass furniture out of kids’ reach and covered the tile floor with colorful foam mats. She and Puzo packed her Passat with toys, a playpen and car seats and had it shipped to her. She hired Maryland’s standout goalie, Melissa Vassalotti ’11, as a part-time nanny. When Vassalotti practices with the national

Keli Smith photo by John T. Consoli / Valmon portait courtesy of Maryland Athletics / Ashley Nee courtesy of USA Canoe/Kayak

spring 2012 terp 23

Clarice Smith Center, Community Honor a Slave story by Karen Shih illlustration by Brian G. Payne

As far as anyone knew, the skeleton was named Larry. For more than 200 years, it had been handed down and passed around in Waterbury, Conn., then displayed for several decades at a local museum. It eventually ended up in storage. m Some townspeople thought he might have been a Revolutionary War hero. Others thought he had been a felon, hanged for his crimes. m But Larry turned out to have a real name: Fortune. Fortune had been a husband and a father of four– and a slave.

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Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

spring 2012 terp 25

art, rooted in history This year, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center brought Fortune’s story to Maryland through a series of musical performances and discussions, celebrating him and considering the questions that surround his life and death. Why couldn’t his family bury him? Why was his story lost for so many years? Beyond that, what are the ethical implications of his body’s journey after his death?

“Fortune is part of our history, and he speaks to all of us,” says Community Engagement Manager Jane Hirshberg.

“It’s art that has a subject matter.”

The Clarice Smith Center reached out to neighboring counties and Washington, D.C., particularly the African-American and faith communities, to bring locals to campus for discussions with faculty and other experts.

“We really see ourselves as trendsetters in committing to not just people who come out for a single night’s performance and move on, but who stay engaged,” says Director of Artistic Initiatives Paul Brohan, emphasizing that the performing arts center’s mission goes beyond putting on big-ticket productions. “People have been asking probing questions and exploring what Fortune’s story means to us in Maryland.”

26 terp spring 2012

“Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem” was the main event in February, based on poems written by Connecticut poet laureate Marilyn Nelson. First performed in Waterbury, it was brought to Maryland to anchor the series and give more depth and understanding to the issues surrounding Fortune’s story.

The poems were set to music by Ysaye M. Barnwell, a noted Washington-area composer and the curator of the series.

They were performed by a full symphony orchestra, three choirs, seven soloists and a chorus of African bells.

“A requiem is really a process, an artistic process through which we celebrate the life of someone who has died and memorialize that person in some way,” Barnwell says. “We all hope, as human beings, for some closure at the end of a life. Fortune didn’t have that, so that is what we are trying to do.”

A Slave in Life and Death Little is known about Fortune—including whether that was his first or last name.

What historians and scientists have discerned is this: He was a slave to physician Preserved Porter, who owned a 75-acre farm in Waterbury. Fortune likely worked the fields and tended to livestock.

His background is unclear. He could have been among the thousands who came on ships from Africa— which is what he named one son—or perhaps he was born in the Colonies.

His wife, Dinah, outlived him and Porter, continuing to serve Porter’s widow and family. His other son, Jacob, also served the Porter family, but there are no details about his two daughters or Africa.

Fortune died suddenly in 1798 at the age of 60. A snapped vertebra in his neck indicates a quick death, but his bones show years of wear and tear, including injuries to his shoulder, hands and feet.

After Fortune died, Porter took his body apart, boiled it down to the bones and labeled each of them carefully. He was a specialist in

bone-setting, and this might have been the doctor’s first opportunity to study a full human skeleton. He lived in an era without cadavers readily available for scientific study, forcing physicians to find their own methods—sometimes gruesome—to further their knowledge.

Fortune’s skeleton was valued at $15 in Porter’s will and was passed down to his descendants, generations of whom continued to practice medicine.

“When Fortune died, he did not cease to be the physician’s property,” says Barnwell. “That’s what’s horrifying to so many people. Understanding that Fortune is many of us and we are in many ways Fortune, how do we change the circumstance of our lives in society so these kinds of horrors don’t continue to take place?”

His Story, Our Story Fortune was an early example of unethical treatment, but he wouldn’t be the last. More than a century later, the Tuskegee syphilis study caused hundreds of African-American men to suffer the effects of a treatable disease, all in the name of science. In the 1950s, Henrietta Lacks unwittingly provided the first set of regenerating cells to the biomedical community to fuel research and discoveries, but she did not receive any recognition for decades. The mistreatment of AfricanAmericans fostered a distrust of the medical community that lasts to this day.

“These aren’t comfortable conversations,” says Rhonda Dallas, interim director of the Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council (PGCAHC).

“But with the programming and artistic elements and the diversity of voices represented, it brings a greater understanding to a difficult issue.”

The planning committee for “Fortune’s Bones” included members of many local community organizations, including the PGCAHC, the MarylandNational Capital Park and Planning Commission, and the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, along with University of Maryland faculty and staff from College Park and the schools

Medical illustrator William Westwood created this image of Fortune, based on his skeleton, for the museum where the bones are stored. In the background is an excerpt of a 1780 anatomy notebook.

Above Connecticut Poet Laureate Marilyn Nelson, author of “Fortune’s Bones.” right Scenes from the “Fortune’s Bones” performances in Feb. and April.

of Medicine and Law in Baltimore, clergy and local artists and activists.

“It’s so easy [for a performing arts center] to be insular and present what they present and call it a day,” says Steven Newsome, a Prince George’s County arts activist. “Cultural organizations must, in order to survive, engage a broader public and engage people in meaningful ways.”

The series featured small musical events, including a community sing and a “ring shout,” one of the oldest forms of African-American cultural and religious expression.

On-campus discussions touched on slavery, its lesser-known history in the North and its role in the university’s past.

Other discussions, held in libraries in Baltimore and Prince George’s County, focused on medical ethics.

With two sold-out performances of the requiem, standing-room-only crowds at several of the discussions, and a number of first-time visitors drawn in by the unique story, the Clarice Smith Center achieved its goal for the series. The community partnerships established through “Fortune’s Bones” will continue, Hirshberg says, as the center looks for new projects to pursue together.

Centuries Later, Bringing People Together Today, Fortune’s skeleton is still in storage at the museum—but his story has traveled far beyond it.

Fortune image from the Collection of the Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Conn. / Event photography by Jeff Martin / Cell illustration by Brian G. Payne

Many questions remain: Should he be buried? Should he be put back on display?

Should his bones be studied further, with ever-improving technology, to see what more we can learn?

That’s a decision for his descendants, Barnwell says. She hopes they might come forward if Fortune’s story is told throughout the country.

Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, artistic director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale in Toronto,

Canada, flew in for the performances and hopes to bring “Fortune’s Bones” to his city next winter, emulating Maryland’s discussion-based approach.

“It’s wonderful that a university would see the benefit in bringing the community around his issue,” he says. “It’s fantastic to see a man who was little known in his life, in the remembrance of his death, is bringing people together.”

Hello, HeLa Freshmen Discover Henrietta Lacks Henrietta Lacks contributed to some of the biggest scientific discoveries of the last six decades, including the vaccine for polio.

But she never knew, and her family was kept in the dark for years.

Her story was chronicled in the bestseller, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” given to all freshmen this academic year.

“It’s science, it’s history, and it’s a local story,” says Lisa Kiely, assistant dean for undergraduate studies, who heads the First Year Book program. “It’s a lesson to our students: You may see a new discovery, and you should know where it came from.”

In 1951, Lacks was treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the only medical center in the area that would accept African-American patients. She died that year, but her cells, taken as samples by doctors, lived on and continued to regenerate—something doctors had never seen before. The immortal cell line was nicknamed “HeLa” and is still used in biomedical research today.

But HeLa’s origins were kept secret, and it took decades for her family to discover the truth and receive recognition.

One of her sons, David Lacks, speaking as part of the “Fortune’s Bones” series, now celebrates her contributions.

“She was a giving and proud person,” he says. “If she was living today, she would have given anyway.”–ks spring 2012 terp 27

Gemstone students design “motion capture” technology to help identify infants at risk for autism \ By Tom Ventsias

h y won’t my baby smile at me? Is it normal she doesn’t babble? Or make eye contact? Or respond to cuddling?

Spoken aloud or etched on concerned faces, these are the kinds of questions that haunt parents who fear their child is at risk for autism. Now imagine the anxiety of a parent of a child with autism whose younger sibling is showing the same disturbing symptoms.

The lifelong developmental disability affects one of every 88 children in the United States, yet the incidence rate jumps twentyfold if a baby has an older sibling with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The cause of autism is unknown, and there is no cure. But early diagnosis of high-risk infants can translate into early treatment, giving them a better chance at happy, productive lives.

A long-term study by a team of Maryland students has provided new insight into the onset of ASD symptoms. Using “motion capture” technology that zeroes in on body movement, 14 students in the Gemstone living and learning program spent more than three years looking for diagnostic “signatures” related to posture and other neuromotor controls in at-risk infants.

They conducted research on real babies—almost unheard-of for undergraduates—designing a testing “suit” for them and developing software that analyzes neuromuscular control points in 3D. The Gemstone team also received $2,500, part of a grant that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute awarded to the university to encourage undergraduate research.

“Research that is done well has a lot of practical applications, especially when students can discover the relevance of team-based science,” says David Asai, a cell biologist and director of precollege and undergraduate science education at the institute.

spring 2012 terp 29

Richard Landa ’13 \mechanical engineering\ Intern at medical technology company

The students, now brand-new Maryland alumni scattering to graduate schools, medical or law schools or the workforce, didn’t get as far as they’d hoped, but say the project wasn’t just for the science.

“Previous volunteer work made had me aware of the challenges parents of children with autism face,” says Kesshi Jordan ’12. “So while it’s great to learn about the science, it’s also incredibly rewarding to share the process with the families we are helping.”

Toddlers usually aren’t diagnosed with autism until age 3, through telltale symptoms like little or no verbal communication to socialize, or abnormal reactions to visual or auditory sensations. An autism expert in Baltimore, however, thinks slight movement or coordination quirks in infants as young as 6 months of age may also offer a clue.

“Infants in the first year of life are busy

the language of the body,” says Aloimonos, a computer scientist.

The two researchers felt that if his technology—a cloth suit embedded with sensors that are tracked by infrared cameras—could pick up minute abnormalities in adults with Parkinson’s, it might also identify early symptoms of ASD. They took the idea to the Honors College’s Gemstone program, which immerses some of the university’s brightest undergraduates in meaningful interdisciplinary research over their four years at Maryland.

Launched in 1996, Gemstone has seen dozens of student teams take on big issues like finding alternatives to a proposed nuclear waste site in Nevada, or protecting the nesting areas of diamondback terrapins in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“They come here as bright and innovative, yet inexperienced 17- and 18-year-olds, and leave as mature, accomplished researchers

The 14 members of team AMIRA (Analyzing Movement of Infants at Risk for Autism) are ready to pursue the next step in their professional or academic careers.

I am unaware of any other research that has successfully developed a motion tracking system for small infants, so that was a real breakthrough.

\ Yiannis Aloimonos \ faculty researcher and mentor

developing healthy neural connectivity, and interruption in those connections may be reflected through motor control abnormalities,” says Rebecca Landa, director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Researchers at Kennedy Krieger are interested in addressing ASD symptoms early, Landa says, when therapies such as cognitive or motor control exercises to stimulate brain connections can prove especially beneficial.

For much of the past decade, she has observed infants at high risk for ASD, looking for indicators like poor postural control in certain head movements, or difficulty in performing specific hand or arm motions.

Landa and Yiannis Aloimonos, a faculty researcher at Maryland, talked several years ago about his use of motion capture cameras to study older patients with Parkinson’s disease, another disorder that affects neuromotor control.

“Movement is a window to the nervous system. You can measure it. You can see it. It’s

30 terp spring 2012

who really understand how science and technology can intersect with society,” says program Director James Wallace.

For the freshmen who formed team AMIRA (Analyzing Movement of Infants at Risk for Autism) in early 2009, the idea of pursuing the autism research proposed by Aloimonos and Landa was exciting.

“It appealed to us because it was more than basic ‘bench science’—we knew we would be interacting with people,” says Kevin Chodnicki ’12.

It wasn’t long, however, before reality reared its ugly head.

The team immediately discovered that the $60,000 motion-tracking suit used by Aloimonos couldn’t be scaled down from an adult’s to an infant’s size. Plus, the test subjects didn’t stand or walk at 6 months old, they would be crawling or sitting, completely throwing off computer algorithms used to track their movement.

Rachita Sood ’12 \ physiology and neurobiology, government and politics\ Medical school

James Tanner ’12 \computer science, mathematics\ Doctoral program, Universit y of Southern California

Kevin Chodnicki ’12 \ physiology and neurobiology\ medical school

Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

Duncan Graham ’12 \architecture\ D.C. architectural firm job

Nathan Destler ’12 \ psychology\ L ab management job

Conrad Merkle ’12 \bioengineering\ Doctoral program, Universit y of California, Berkeley

Eileen Chai ’12 \biochemistr y\ Biotech company job baby Audrey ’33 \fashion technology\ Modeling Career

Brendan Wray ’12 \biology, computer science\ Federal government job

The Gemstone team used motion capture markers placed on infants to track their movements with a set of infared cameras.

The movements were then represented as dots on a computer screen (simulated below) that could be analyzed over time.

Jillian Chavis ’12 \accounting and histor y\ l aw school

Timothy Crisci ’12 \ physiology and neurobiology, and sociology\ Clinical research job

“That was our biggest challenge, when we realized the limitations of the existing technology,” says Jillian Chavis ’12.

The students designed a new outfit, using a head cap, bib and wristbands embedded with sensors to run their subjects through repeated range-of-motion tests like reaching for a toy or pulling themselves up to a sitting position.

Several team members wrote new software that could seamlessly track the data from the reconfigured sensors. “I am unaware of any other research that has successfully developed a motion tracking system for small infants, so that was a real breakthrough,” says Aloimonos.

Other problems arose when the students attempted to recruit test subjects. Their

Photography by John T. Consoli Consoli / photo credits

Kesshi Jordan ’12 \bioengineering\ Doctoral program, Universit y of California, Berkeley Soh Park ’12 \chemistr y and psychology\ Teaching position, private school for children with autism

original research proposal sought 25 infants identified as at high risk for ASD, and another 25 who weren’t high-risk. Families involved in other studies of high-risk infants at Kennedy Krieger were asked to participate in the Gemstone study, and some felt two studies would be too much.

In the end, the Maryland team was able to identify and test fewer than 10 high-risk infants. While impressive for an undergraduate research project, it was not enough to draw firm conclusions.

“We had hoped to find something substantial, yet also understood the immense variability of working with humans, particularly infants,” says Chavis.

For Chodnicki, the Gemstone project was

Christopher Pa xton ’12 \computer science\ Doctoral program, Johns Hopkins Universit y

all about “adding pieces to the puzzle.” While not identifying a specific motion signature for autism, he says, “we’ve still come up with really good data that the next set of researchers can build upon.”

Safeguarding the integrity of that data, developing strict protocols for working with infants, and presenting their initial research findings at a national conference were all noteworthy accomplishments, adds Jordan.

“To have been a part of that process at our age, and at this level of our education, was really quite novel,” she says. “We weren’t just a cog in the wheel of a faculty member’s research project—we drove the wheel.”

To view a video of the team’s Gemstone experience, visit vimeo.com/35904126

spring 2012 terp 31

GIVING

Bringing in the Bacon CONTEST WITH ACTOR AWARDS BIG PRIZES TO THE BIGHEARTED

A CLEVER CAMPUS CONTEST promoting philanthropy this semester

Couple Draws New Future for Philanthropy Program Giving Maryland students thousands of dollars to put their classroom education on philanthropy into practice? That was just the beginning.

Bruce and Karen ’76 Levenson (below), who provided the seed money for the School of Public Policy’s (SPP) philanthropy and nonprofit management program, have made a significant new gift to dramatically expand its mission.

Through innovative programs, research and partnerships, the new Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership intends to prepare students for careers in the field and ensure that every Maryland graduate is informed and

motivated to give.

“We want students to know that philanthropy is not necessarily defined by how big of a check you write,” says Bruce Levenson. “There are many other opportunities to do good. The center is alerting college students to those opportunities.”

Bruce Levenson, who co-founded United Communications Group and is an owner of the Atlanta Hawks, and Karen, a teacher by trade, have each served on the board of nonprofit foundations focused on children and education. She says she’s enjoyed seeing the focus on philanthropy at Maryland broaden students’

perspective and open their eyes to the possibilities of careers in nonprofits.

In 2010, the Levensons funded SPP’s experiential program on philanthropy. It included hiring Director Robert Grimm, an expert in the field, and creating a graduate-level nonprofit leadership program and popular undergraduate courses on “the art and science of philanthropy.”

Undergraduates in these courses learn about the theory, history and roles of philanthropy, then apply that knowledge.

They determine a mission, request and review grant applications from area nonprofits, interview leaders and go on site visits before awarding $10,000.

Students have consistently called the class “life-changing.”

The center will offer additional courses and guest speakers on campus

and expand a program that provides paid fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students in conjunction with the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.

Other hallmarks of the center will be cutting-edge research and partnerships that will boost the impact of nonprofits around the globe.

The center also aims to infuse a culture of philanthropy across the university by enrolling more students in its innovative classes and launching unique campuswide ventures.

“We will touch a lot of students, demonstrate that innovation and entrepreneurship are the core of philanthropy, and make philanthropy a pillar of the Maryland experience,” Grimm says.–LB

separated students one degree from Kevin Bacon.

The new Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership and the actor’s SixDegrees fundraising organization teamed up for the “Do Good Challenge.” It encouraged students to create a charitable project or volunteer for a student group or nonprofit. More than  teams answered the call and raised an average of ,.

Finalists made their pitches in an “American Idol” type of event before Bacon and other judges: former Terps men’s basketball coach Gary Williams ’ and “Today” show nutritionist Joy Bauer ’.

The Food Recovery Network took the top prize of , for its efforts to recover more unserved meals than ever from dining halls and athletic venues, and deliver them to homeless shelters in Washington.

The volunteer group will use the money to expand to campus shops and cafes, eventually doubling the number of meals collected at Maryland annually to ,. It also plans to offer grants to extend the network to universities around the country, says junior and network spokesman Andrew Bresee.

“It will be an amazing opportunity to spread the Food Recovery Network nationally,” he says.

Other finalists included a breast cancer awareness campaign by Zeta Tau Alpha and a fundraiser to finish building an elementary school in Honduras.

“What I see here today is so incredibly inspirational,” Bacon said at the event. “I hope that we can keep the ball rolling and that we can move on from this.”–LB

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE ON PAGE 11.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS, THE CAMPAIGN FOR MARYLAND BY THE NUMBERS / AS OF MAY 11, 2012

4,200+ STUDENTS CONTRIBUTED A TOTAL OF $677,000

$346M+ RAISED FOR SCHOLARSHIPS & STUDENT PROGRAMS

$295,000,000 CAMPAIGN TOTAL 32 TERP SPRING 2012

RAISED FOR FA C I L I T I E S & LIBRARIES

123,007 DONORS CONTRIBUTED A TOTAL OF 367,587 GIFTS Levenson photo by Mike Morgan

Chalk illustration by Catherine Nichols / Kevin Bacon illustration by Brian G. Payne

SPRING 2012 TERP 33

36.6 FEET THE HEIGHT OF KESSING’S ENTIRE COLLECTION OF 11,000 45-RPM RECORDS

State Scholarships Expand Terp Nation THE MARYLAND SPIRIT is growing

in Texas—and in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.

Alumni from these four states have recently established need-based scholarships for students from their home states. North Carolina alumni are gathering support to follow suit.

Greg ’ and Patti ’ Schaub of Dallas established the first such offering, the Texas Terp Scholarship, in . They are confident it encourages standout high school graduates to attend Maryland.

“We’re looking to plant the Terp flag in all major cities and to create that national footprint,” says Schaub, a member of the Maryland National

Volunteer Council and an admissions ambassador in the Recruit-A-Terp Program. “This scholarship is an easy way to create national visibility and elevate Maryland over in-state schools.”

In addition, the Schaubs say, state scholarships enhance connections between alumni and increase philanthropic generosity.

“I think that scholarships like this one do encourage students to go out-of-state because it provides better finance options,” says chemical engineering major Donald Park ’, who received the first , Texas Terp Scholarship. “I cannot thank the donors enough for creating a better situation for learning.”–RS

HOW THE KEESING COLLECTION STACKS UP

5.6 FEET AVERAGE HEIGHT FOR ROCKING OUT

3.3 FEET 1,000 45-RPM RECORDS

Oracle, UMD to predict Future of Health IT CALL IT “TRENDING” for medical professionals.

A grant from the Oracle Health Sciences Institute is helping Maryland researchers develop visualization software to quickly spot dangerous drug interactions. The technology lets doctors compare case histories from tens of thousands of patients undergoing long-term medication regimens.

“We want physicians to immediately spot trends involving millions of variables—we call them overlapping interval temporal patterns—that might otherwise take days, if not weeks, using traditional data mining methods,” says Maryland computer scientist Ben Shneiderman (left).

Ultimately, he says, his team’s LifeFlow visual analytics software could potentially summarize the medical records of up to  million patients on a single screen.

“We’re committed to expanding the horizons of health IT innovation,” says Neil de Crescenzo, senior vice president with the Oracle Health Sciences Institute. “The Maryland research complements our vision of health IT rapidly advancing new treatments and therapies.”–TV

34 TERP SPRING 2012

“WE WANT PHYSICIANS TO IMMEDIATELY SPOT TRENDS INVOLVING MILLIONS OF VARIABLES.” BEN SHNEIDERMAN

Photography by John T. Consoli / illustration by Catherine Nichols / infographic by Joshua Harless

Hail! Hail!

Rock ‘n’ Roll

.033 FOOT AVG. 45-RPM RECORD THICKNESS

Retired Professor Donating 11,000 Records to UMD Libraries

Hugo Keesing (above) says the inspiration for buying his first vinyl record at age 12 wasn’t complicated: “I had begun to take notice of girls,” he recalls, “and soon discovered that they were more interested in boys that knew something about music.”

His initial purchase—89 cents for the Platters’ 1955 classic, “The Great Pretender”—sparked a passion that a half-century later is now a goldmine for musical history buffs to sift through.

In December, Keesing donated 1,000 45-rpm records from the golden era Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

of rock and roll to the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, the first installment in his gift of 11,000 vinyl 45s. The initial gift includes everything from early songs by Elvis Presley and Fats Domino to the doo-wop sounds of the Belmonts (“I Wonder Why”) and the Penguins (“Earth Angel”).

They all reside, along with a trove of other popular music memorabilia, in the Hugo Keesing Collection of Popular Music and Culture, established by Keesing and his late brother Wouter in 1996.

“Through his gifts to this library, Hugo Keesing has transformed the holdings of primary sources in popular music from nonexistent into something comprehensive and, for some materials, unique,” says curator Vincent Novara.

Keesing says parting with his cherished records is only mildly bittersweet. “I was literally running out of room to safely store everything,” he says. “Now, they’re somewhere that others can experience the same sounds I did while growing up.”–TV

SPRING 2012 TERP 35

class notes

Jeff Parsons ’00 has

’10s Miss District of Columbia Ashley Boalch ’12 was awarded the Miss America pageant’s first journalism scholarship in the name of late Associated Press writer John Curran. She will use the $1,000 award to seek a master’s degree in communication.

Timothy M. Phillips M.R.D.’11 has been named

land acquisition manager at Bozzuto Land Company. He was previously an investment real estate broker and adviser at Marcus & Millichap. He also spent eight years as an officer in the Navy. He holds a bachelor’s from the U.S. Naval Academy, and is pursuing a research degree in sustainable urban development at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

’00s

Reginald Dwayne Betts ’11 has been

appointed to President Obama’s Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

His memoir, “A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison,” received the 2010 NAACP Image Award for nonfiction.

Betts was recently awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship to Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies.

Meredith Lidard ’09

has been hired as an account coordinator with Himmelrich PR, a Baltimore-based public relations firm. She previously worked in marketing and communications at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

that has been in Jones’ family for six generations, according to The Baltimore Sun. Bernadette Wackerle M.S. ’07 is featured

in the Navy’s newest recruitment campaign. An engineer with Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division’s Applied Technology Department, she was among six civilian workers chosen.

joined Baltimore’s Kramon & Graham as an associate in the firm’s litigation and transaction groups.

His practice will focus on business litigation and professional liability matters, as well as corporate real estate transactions.

Following graduation from the University of Maryland School of Law, he served as a judicial clerk on the Court of Special Appeals.

engaged to marry Amanda L. Jones in May 2013 in Wabash, Ind. He will begin a master’s program in school counseling at Indiana University-Purdue University in the fall. The couple met while teaching in Brooklyn, N.Y,. and moved into a farmhouse

36 terp spring 2012

CLASS NOTES_terp_Spring_2012.indd 36-37

Devlyn Ray ’06 has been

promoted to executive chef at Vino Rosina, an upscale wine bar and restaurant in Baltimore. He previously worked as a chef at Sam's on the Waterfront in Annapolis.

Laura Mancuso M.A. ’05 has been appointed

Dean B. Layman ’08 is Arika Burton ’06 was crowned Mrs. DC America in March. The financial consultant from Oakton, Va., will take a financial literacy platform to Mrs. America later this year.

’90s

Sarah Schaffer ’98, M.J. ’03 has been named

president and editor-in-chief of Capitol File magazine. She was chief of Philadelphia Style magazine before being named publisher of Capitol File in 2010.

in developing the school’s diversity plan. She is also chair of the newly formed diversity committee and teaches a course on race, gender and media at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Kim M. LeDuff M.A. ’97, associate professor and associate director in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi, was named the 2012 Black History Month Educator of the Year. She played a key role

Keith Marler ’95, morning meteorologist for KMSP-TV in Minneapolis, was voted “America’s Favorite Weather Forecaster” in a recent national poll by Weatherist.com. Marler was recognized for his entertaining style as well as the accuracy of his forecasts.

Charles Bieneman ’99 has been elected to

Steven A. Book ’06 has

Renee Nyack ’11 served

as a production intern this spring at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ DeVos Institute of Arts Management. Last fall, she worked as a production assistant for No Rules Theatre Company’s production of “StopKiss.”

Sara Ann Danford Hartenstine ’05 is engaged to marry Phillippe Salem Alepin in September in Paso Robles, Calif.

She is a high school teacher with Montgomery County Public Schools and studying for her master of fine arts degree in photography and digital imaging.

been appointed athletic director of Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Md. A 1995 graduate of the school, he has taught business education classes there for the last 10 years.

He was an assistant coach for the men's varsity basketball team and co-chaired the Student Government Association for three years.

historian of Brookfield, Ct. She was previously a construction grants coordinator with the state’s Historic Preservation Office.

Barbara Martin DeLaguila ’04 was named

as one of the 50 Most Powerful in Washington in

the February issue of GQ magazine. In 2009, she co-founded BrandLinkDC, a public relations, events and marketing firm that focuses on the luxury market. She is also a co-founder of the District Sample Sale. The charitable fashion event has donated more than $250,000 to women's and children's charities since its founding in 2006.

Mounya Elhilali M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’04, an assistant

professor at the Johns Hopkins University, has been awarded $170,000 a year over three years through the Office of Naval Research’s Young Investigator Program. The award will fund her project investigating how our brains are able to effortlessly recognize sounds.

Abigail Bradfield ’02

Erin M. Edgerton ’01

has joined the law firm of Miles & Stockbridge P.C. as its business development manager. Bradfield previously held practice development positions in the Washington, D.C., offices of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and White & Case LLP.

has been hired as senior director, health marketing and communications, at the Atlanta office of Danya International, a communications, research and technology firm. She most recently served as the director of new media and strategic communication at the White House Office of the National Drug Control Policy. She has a master’s in health communication from the Emerson College/ Tufts School of Medicine collaborative program.

James Bremer ’01, an

Abigail Bradfield ’02

assistant professor at the University of California, Davis, has won a $50,000 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation research fellowship. He is a mathematician studying wave reflections from complex objects.

He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University in 2007 and joined the UC Davis faculty in 2007.

has joined the Baltimore law firm Miles & Stockbridge P.C. as its business development manager. She previously held practice development positions in the Washington, D.C., offices of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and White & Case LLP.

Ross Kaplan ’01 has been promoted to senior managing director from managing director at Newmark Knight Frank Retail in its New York City office.

Marquette University High School in Milwaukee inducted Andrew Kirk ’00 into its Hall of Fame in February. The 1996 graduate of the Jesuit high school is one of its most honored soccer players. Named the High School National Player of the Year in 1995, Kirk played at Maryland. He also played on several European and MLS teams.

serve as 2011-12 chair of the State Bar of Michigan Information Technology Law Section. He is a partner at Rader, Fishman & Grauer PLLC. Jonathan Penn ’99 has

been named senior vice president of national sales at Involved Media, a social advertising platform. He most recently served in the same post for Magnetic, a search retargeting company.

Jeff Terwin Ph.D. ’99

has been hired as the head of the Upper School of the Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio. Terwin currently serves as head of the Upper School at Chase Collegiate School in Waterbury, Conn.

passings Shirley Ann Hess Ph.D. ’99, of Orrtanna, Pa., died March 17 at Chambersburg Hospital. She was 61.

Since 2001, she taught in the master’s program in counseling and college student personnel at Shippensburg University. She received multiple awards and published more than 30 research studies. Surviving are her partner, Jill Schultz; sisters Doris Ortman, Julia Decassios, Sylvia Kilheffer and Debbie White; brothers Bill, Jim and Frank Hess; 17 nieces and nephews; and seven great-nieces and nephews. Hess was predeceased by her parents, Grace and William M. Hess Sr., and a brother, Jeffrey D. Hess.

spring 2012 terp 37

6/6/12 3:33 PM

research at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. A climate modeler, he has been with the Rosenstiel School for five years.

Tim Benter ’91 has

been named to the board of directors of Phoenix Suns Charities. He is the vice president and deputy general counsel of Republic Services, an environmental services firm based in Phoenix. He earned his J.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla.

Zenita Wickham Hurley ’97, a director with the Maryland Department of Transportation, has been named special secretary of the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs. She had led the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Minority Business Enterprise Program since 2007.

Shyam Kuttikkad M.S. ’94, Ph.D. ’98 has been

named vice president of engineering at 33Across. He most recently spent over six years at Yahoo! leading engineering teams responsible for many display advertising products and platforms. He has patents awarded or pending in the fields of behavioral targeting and digital mapping automation.

among other projects. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Maryland.

Gina Adams Zentz ’93,

a commercial real estate attorney, has joined Venable LLP in Baltimore. She arrives from the Baltimore office of Gallagher Evellus & Jones LLP, where she had practiced since 2000.

Jon H. Tung ’94 has

named been named associate with Keast & Hood Co. in Washington, D.C. He has worked as a project manager since 2009, overseeing emergency stabilization and design for the company’s involvement at the National Cathedral,

officer and principal of WMS Partners LLC, to its board of directors. He will serve a three-year term.

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Baltimore Affiliate, has elected David M. Citron ’92, CFA,

partner, chief investment

38 terp spring 2012

CLASS NOTES_terp_Spring_2012.indd 38-39

Jessica Ippolito ’92 has

been named Teacher of the Year in Franklin Township, N.J. She has taught various levels of English there since 1995, including Advanced Placement and Honors.

Additionally, she has presented teacher in-service programs, been a member of the district professional development steering committee and served as a mentor for new teachers, and as a teacher leader for the English department.

Benjamin Kirtman M.S. ’92, Ph.D. ’92 has been

named associate dean for

David Fike ’91 has

been named to the board of directors at Talbot Bank. He is regional vice president and publisher at ACM Chesapeake, whose publications include The (Easton) Star Democrat.

He is past president of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and Press Services and serves as CEO and president of the Brighter Christmas Fund and is a Cecil County Chamber of Commerce board member.

Christopher Shieh ’91

has been promoted to master sergeant in the Marine Corps, where he serves in the Marine Chamber Orchestra. He joined “The President’s Own” in 1996 and serves as principal viola.

’80s

David Molinaro M.S. ’89 has been promoted to

site/civil division manager in the Wilkes-Barre office of Pennoni Associates, an engineering, design and consulting firm headquartered in Philadelphia. He has more than 26 years of experience in site/civil and transportation engineering.

Ellen Zavian ’84, the first female attorney/agent to represent NFL athletes and coaches, was recently inducted into the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Adam Nachlas ’89 has

been appointed to a threeyear term on the board of directors of Learning Inc. A 21-year real estate industry veteran, Nachlas serves as senior vice president and director of brokerage at Manekin, LLC in Columbia.

Carlos F. Acosta ‘85, M.A. ’91 has been named

inspector general for the Prince George’s County Police Department, overseeing its Internal Affairs Division. Acosta is also an adjunct associate professor at American University. He earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.

Daniel Pino ’82 is the new director of engineering at Axiom Engineering Design, based in Columbia, Md. He has more than 25 years of civil engineering design and entitlement approval experience and has served as an expert witness in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the city of Rockville.

Avis Richards ’80 was

Allen G. Lim ’84 was

recently named “Asian American Engineer of the Year.” A Filipino American, he is a principal assistant program manager of the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command.

nominated for three New York Emmys this year for her weekly TV series, “Lunch NYC,” which promotes sustainable, healthy living in the city. She is founder and CEO of Birds Nest Foundation, a nonprofit that produces documentaries, short videos and public service announcements for charitable organizations.

Her newest venture, the Ground Up Campaign, is dedicated to planting hundreds of indoor gardens in schools across the country.

Both were inspired by her award-winning documentary “Lunch,” about unhealthy school lunch programs.

’70s The Journal of College Reading and Learning has named Karen Bromley Ph.D. ’78 the recipient of the 2011 Article of the Year award for her article, “Picture a World Without Pens, Pencils, and Paper: The Unanticipated Future of Reading and Writing.” Bromley, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Binghamton University, is a noted expert in the fields of reading and literacy.

James R. Kahn M.A. ’78, Ph.D. ’81, the John

F. Hendon Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University, has won an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for 2012. For the past 20 years, he has focused his work on the Amazon, establishing an exchange program with the Federal University of Amazonas in Brazil, where he has been a collaborating professor since 1992.

Steven Schwartz M.A. ’78, Ph.D. ’80 has been

named a managing director of the global forensic and dispute services practice at professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal in New

York. He was previously senior vice president at NERA Economic Consulting in White Plains, N.Y.

first harvest in 2009 and did its first bottling in 2010.

After bottling, the winery won three gold medals and one “Best of Class” in the prestigious Maryland Governor’s Cup competition.

Bank Board, as well as with two international nonprofit organizations.

Patricia Aluisi ’76 is the

Louis A. Mezzullo ’67, M.A. ’76, is the 2012-13 presi-

new chief administrative officer and senior vice president of support services at MB Real Estate. She previously served as the general counsel and director of corporate administration for London-based Bovis International. She graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law.

dent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

He is a partner with McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, based in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Widely published and a prolific speaker, Mezzullo frequently serves as an expert witness in matters related to estate, tax, and business planning and trust administration.

David C. Curtis ’75

has been appointed to a three-year term on the California Department of Water Resources’ Climate Change Technical Advisory Group. He is vice president, Northern California of WEST Consultants, as well as president of the National Hydrologic Warning Council.

Amy Rubin ’74 has been

named managing partner of the West Palm Beach, Fla., office of Fox Rothschild LLP. Rubin focuses on complex commercial litigation and is a certified specialist in civil trial and business litigation law by the Florida Bar. Rubin earned her J.D., cum laude, from Saint Louis University School of Law. Richard Seibert ’73,

co-owner and managing partner of Knob Hall Winery, has been named president of the Maryland Wineries Association. His winery, in Clear Spring, Md., had its

Bruce Rossi ’72 has been named first vice president of the Provident Bank’s Small Business Administration (SBA) lending division. Rossi has nearly 40 years of banking experience. Before joining Provident, he managed the SBA lending operation at Valley National Bank.

’30s

Christine M. Warnke ’72, M.S. ’75, a senior gov-

ernmental affairs adviser at Hogan Lovells, has been named the Washington, D.C., chair for the White House Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to igniting the leadership of women in business and politics.

’60s William E. Dobrzykowski ’67

has been designated chief financial officer of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Previously, he held chief financial officer responsibilities with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and the Federal Home Loan

Jane Grindel ’39 of Frostburg, Md., celebrated her 100th birthday on May 6 with a special service and dinner at the Frostburg Presbyterian Church. The celebration followed several other events in Frostburg honoring Grindel. After earning a sociology degree at Maryland, she completed her master’s degree in guidance and counseling at Columbia University. She is a retired teacher and guidance counselor and has lived in the same home for 97 years.

passings Bert Sugar ’57, a well-known boxing writer, editor and TV and radio commentator, died March 25 in Mount Kisco, N.Y. He was 75. He earned business and law degrees at the University of Michigan, but instead of going into law, he moved to New York City and worked for a time in advertising, according to The New York Times. He began his career in sports journalism in the early 1970s, purchasing Boxing Illustrated and a handful of lesser-known, short-lived sports publications. Sugar wrote dozens of books, including a 1971 biography of Muhammad Ali, “Sting Like a Bee,” with the boxer Jose Torres, and he co-wrote with Angelo Dundee, Ali’s longtime cornerman, Dundee’s autobiography, “My View From the Corner: A Life in Boxing.”

Sugar is survived by his wife, the former Suzanne Davis, whom he married in 1960; daughter Jennifer Frawley; son J.B.; a brother, Steven; and four grandchildren.

spring 2012 terp 39

6/6/12 3:33 PM

interpretations

The I&E University

We Got Next food recovery network Andrew Bresee ’13, Mia Zavalij ’13, Ben Simon ’13, Evan Ponchick ’12 / do good challenge winners

Our goal is simple but “ ambitious: to educate tomorrow’s innovator and entrepreneur.

—wallace d. Loh

”

The University of Maryland is one of our nation’s great research universities, generating about half a billion dollars a year in external funding. But a great university in the 21st century has to be more than a great research university.

It must also be an innovation and entrepreneurship university. It has to translate “Ideas” to “Impact.” “I·2·I” is putting knowledge into action in order to make a difference: to expand the economy and to create jobs; to enhance the quality of life; to solve the grand challenges of our era—how to feed, heal, house, educate and fuel in a more sustainable way in a globally connected world.

The research university is a powerful institution where knowledge is created, discovered and transmitted. This knowledge from basic research is the seed corn of innovation. Therefore, the 21st century research university will have, at its base, innovation incubators and startup accelerators.

We are in the process of making innovation and entrepreneurship a signature feature of the University of Maryland. Our goal is simple but ambitious: to educate tomorrow’s innovator and entrepreneur. Every student at Maryland, in every academic major, will be exposed to education and hands-on experience in social and/or economic value creation—how to do good, how to do well, or both.

We are also in the process of combining our technology commercialization operations with those at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The two institutions generate a combined $1 billion in research funding annually.

Our goal is to create tomorrow’s jobs and high-tech companies. Every year, our campus spins off about five startup companies based on our research.

Together with the Baltimore campus, we will grow that number, and stimulate the state’s and the region’s knowledge economy.

For the United States to maintain its supremacy among the rising economic powers of the world, we must heed the words of President Obama and “out-educate, out-innovate and out-build the rest of the world.” By preparing our students for the realities of today, and for the opportunities of tomorrow, the University of Maryland will empower them, and our country, “to win the future.”

A/V recording forensics Ravi Garg Ph.D. ’13 and Professor Min Wu (Not pictured: Avinash Varna Ph.D. ’11) Office of Technology Commercialization Invention of the Year / information science category

quiet, concealable breast pump Susan Thompson ’06, Andrew Thompson ’06 / Mtech 75K Business Plan Competition winners

We are the next generation of UMD entrepreneurs / and proud to follow those who came before us / Under Armour / Google / Sirius XM Satellite Radio / Our innovations will change the world, too.

—Wallace D. Loh, President

40 terp spring 2012

Portrait by John T. Consoli

Photography by John T. Consoli / photo credits

spring 2012 terp 37

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