terp, fall 2009

7.24.09 12:50 PM

TERPVOL. 7, NO. 1 FALL 2009

CONNECTING

THE UNIVERSITY

OF MARYLAND

COMMUNITY

FIGHTING FROG EXTINCTION 14 I PRO-LIFIC PLAYERS 24 I SIX DECADES OF GIVING 35

FingerOn the Pulse

Maryland Leads Effort to PutDigital Health Records

in Your Hands 20

Terp Cover FALL 2009 FINAL:Terp Cover Summer -FINAL 9/18/09 3:43 PM Page covV

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

PUBLISHERBrodie RemingtonVice President, University Relations

ADVISORY BOARDJ. Paul Carey ’82 M.B.A.Managing Partner, JPT Partners

John Girouard ’81President and CEO, Capital AssetManagement Group

Anil Gupta Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Strategy and Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business

Beth MorgenChief Administrative Officer, Maryland Alumni Association


Vicki Rymer ’61, ’66 M.B.A., ’83 Ph.D.Teaching Professor,Robert H. Smith School of Business

Keith Scroggins ’79Chief Operating Officer, Baltimore CityPublic Schools

Lee ThorntonProfessor and Eaton Chair, PhilipMerrill College of Journalism

MAGAZINE STAFFLauren BrownUniversity Editor

Kimberly Marselas ’00Managing Editor

John T. Consoli ’86Creative Director

Jeanette J. NelsonArt Director

Joshua HarlessCatherine Nichols ’99Brian G. PayneContributing Designers

Monette A. Bailey ’89Mandie Boardman ’02Cassandra RobinsonRebecca M. RuarkTom VentsiasWriters

Kelly Blake ’94Michael Hoffman ’05Contributing Writers

Anne McDonough ’09Photographer’s Assistant

Kathy B. Lambird ’94Production Manager

Elizabeth Burzenski ’10Katherine Davis ’09Magazine Interns

E-mail [email protected]

Terp magazine is published by the Division ofUniversity Relations. Letters to the editor arewelcomed. Send correspondence to KimberlyMarselas, Managing Editor, Terp magazine,2101 Turner Building, College Park, MD20742-1521. Or, send an e-mail to [email protected].

The University of Maryland, College Park is anequal opportunity institution with respect toboth education and employment. Universitypolicies, programs and activities are in confor-mance with pertinent federal and state lawsand regulations on non-discrimination regard-ing race, color, religion, age, national origin,political affiliation, gender, sexual orientationor disability.

TERP

FROM TEXTING TO iPods, technology ischanging the way we live our lives.We’ve certainly come a long way sinceeight-tracks and street maps! AndMaryland’s world-renowned researchersare working to implement technologicaladvances to help improve the likes ofhealth care, energy, the environment andeven museum collections for “endusers” like you and me, in Maryland andacross the nation and the world. “Health IT” on page 20 explores the

challenges and opportunities in the raceto modernize medical record-keeping.Success would expand health-careaccess, improve quality and reduce costsand enable each of us to take bettercharge of our health. On page 12, read about Maryland

faculty from engineering, chemical andlife sciences and computer science whohave joined together to tackle energystorage issues. Their aim: to create “superbatteries” to power the next generationof automobiles and more. Our world-class university is also

leading a new climate institute with thegoal of providing detailed—and perhapslifesaving—weather information withthe help of technology. Read more onpage 5. And, get the scoop on technolo-gy’s marriage with the environment atMaryland straight from a botanist andundergraduate program director of envi-ronmental science and technology onpage 13.In collaboration with the university,

the Smithsonian Institution plans tomake a digital record of the more than137 million artifacts in the Smithsonian’scollection to keep up with the techno-logical times. Turn to page 3 for more

on that collaboration. At Maryland,thousands of recordings and books in theKeesing Collection of Popular Music,covered on page 17, have been madesearchable through University Libraries’catalog—making rock ‘n’ roll raritiesaccessible to fans all over the world.Even Terp is getting in on the tech

act. Can’t get enough of the magazinethat connects you to everythingMaryland? Starting with this issue, wepreview bonus Web content on page 6. And don’t forget to bookmark alum-

ni.umd.edu for all the goings-on aroundHomecoming and Reunion Weekend,Oct. 16-17. You won’t want to miss outon the members-only Backyard Bashbefore the Terrapins tromp theCavaliers. (See the calendar section inthe magazine’s center for more upcom-ing activities.)Signing off from my BlackBerry—Go Terps!

DearAlumniandFriends,

GRADUATION YEAR

S

Terp Cover FALL 2009 FINAL:Terp Cover Summer -FINAL 9/18/09 3:43 PM Page covVI

20 A SOUND RX FOR HEALTH CARE

University researchers advance ideas integral to health-care reform in the United States: developing technology, assessing costs and improvingcommunication between doctors and patients. BY TOM VENTSIAS

24 PRO-LIFIC PROGRAM

Maryland churns out a surprisingly large number of NFL players, and foot-ball Coach Ralph Friedgen’s methods on and off the field get the credit.BY MICHAEL HOFFMAN ’05

28 GIVING + RECEIVING

Maryland earns a national reputation in encouraging students’ interest inimproving their communities and the world.BY LAUREN BROWN

9 CLIMATE LEADER

A new climate institute at Marylandlinks researchers to improve long-range forecasts and climate changeprojections.

TERP FALL 2009 1CLIMATE IMAGE COURTESY OF NASA; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA HARLESS

2 BIG PICTURE International undergraduate enrollment expands; three deans named; leading new climate institute; and more 6 TERP ONLINE Ask a reading

expert; take a virtual stadium tour; and more 7 ASK ANNE Fallout shelters; oldest female graduate; and more 8 CLASS ACT Brothers spin successful Webs.com;

Hollywood Terp; and more 12 M-FILE Vanishing frogs; powerful ideas for cars; environmental professor rocks; and more 16 PLAY-BY-PLAY Gymnastics coach

familiar face 17 SPOTLIGHT Gems in popular music history 18 MARYLAND LIVE Homecoming and reunion details; the 2009 First Year Book; and more

31 IN THE LOOP Donor for 50-plus years; Divine Nine to the rescue; giving teaches giving; and more 36 INTERPRETATIONS New vigor in research-funding efforts

departments

features

Spring09terp DEPTS:p1-15;29-32 9/18/09 3:54 PM Page 1

MORRILL QUAD PHOTO BY DAVID TROZZO, 1986; GARDEN OF REFLECTION SKETCH BY SCOTT MUNROE; “TERPIARY” PHOTO PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF FACILITIES PLANNING

bigpicture

This year, Maryland was named a Tree Campus USA and designated an arboretum and botanical garden,recognizing the university's commitment to beautifying the campus, maintaining it as a learningresource and serving as an exemplary environmental steward.

GROWTHspurt

Honoring Tradition and ServiceHe’s covered in boxwoods and sits across the street

from Cole Student Activities Building. The Testudo

topiary, also known as “Terpiary” and designed by

Tennessee artist Joe Kyte, shares space on a traffic

plaza with two 50-foot flagpoles and a plaque honoring

those who have served and are serving in the U.S.

military. The memorial is a gift from the university’s Air

Force ROTC unit and the Class of 2004. Once funding

becomes available, says Dan Hayes, an architect with

Facilities Planning, the site will also feature flowering

trees in a grove and benches.

Connecting the Community to NatureNear Memorial Chapel, construction begins this fall on

the Garden of Reflection and Remembrance. Designed

as a place of solace, the garden will include a beautiful

and fragrant labyrinth, a reflection pool and all-weather

journals for visitors’ thoughts. It will also be the site of

a Vietnam veterans memorial, restored, designed and

funded by graduates from the 1980s. To demonstrate

sustainable practices, the garden will include recycled

PVC pipes for the walkways and other innovations.The

project is being supported by significant private dona-

tions.

Protecting HistoryHistoric Morrill Quad is being restored with assistance

from the Class of 2009. Located in the center of Morrill,

Tydings, LeFrak, Taliaferro and Shoemaker halls, it is

the site of the original campus quadrangle and is home

to some of the university’s oldest trees. Plans, pending

funding, call for creating a setting of historical high-

lights with a prominent gateway.

4 TERP FALL 2009


TERP FALL 2009 5KETTL BY CANDACE DICARLO; STEELE BY KIP MAY; TOWNSHEND BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; EARTH IMAGE COURTESY OF NASA

A NEW RESEARCH partnership led by

the University of Maryland may soon

provide long-range global forecasts

and warnings about the impact of cli-

mate change on the Earth’s ecosys-

tem, including water quality, disease

vectors, drought projections and the

health of marine life.

The Cooperative Institute for

Climate and Satellites, funded by up

to $93 million from the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, links Maryland

researchers with federal scientists

and faculty from North Carolina State

University and 16 other institutions.

These experts will collect data

from dozens of sophisticated NOAA

and NASA satellites orbiting the

Earth, providing information on

atmospheric water vapor, ozone lev-

els, sea-ice concentrations, sea

level, infrared radiation from the

planet’s surface, chlorophyll in the

ocean as well as rainfall and vege-

tation in specific areas.

“Ultimately, we want to provide

detailed information to end users—

people and officials who need to

make decisions based on our cli-

mate modeling and predictions,”

says Phillip Arkin, a senior research

scientist at Maryland who will lead

the new institute.

The institute will be based at

the university’s M Square research

park, where a cluster of climate and

weather-related research activities

are already established, including

the Earth System Science

Interdisciplinary Center and the

Joint Global Change Research

Institute. NOAA’s National Center

for Weather and Climate Prediction

is set to open there next year. —TV

Maryland Leads New Climate Institute

THE SCHOOL OF Public Policy, University

Libraries and the College of Behavioral and

Social Sciences this summer welcomed new

deans—two of whom replaced deans who

assumed positions in the Obama administration.

Donald Kettl, a well-known expert on govern-

ment reform and a prolific author, arrived in June

to lead the School of Public Policy.

A former scholar at the University of

Pennsylvania and a nonresident senior fellow at

the Brookings Institute, a respected think tank,

Kettl says he’s glad to come to Maryland as the

U.S. struggles with economic and political crises.

The School of Public Policy is “uniquely suited

to grapple with the overwhelming policy challenges

facing government,” Kettl says. “I’m enormously

impressed by all the school has accomplished and

where it can go.”

Patricia Steele, a national leader in digitizing

information to improve academic libraries’

access, took her new post on Sept. 1. Previously

head of the libraries at Indiana University, she’s

known for her work on the Google Project to put

online up to 10 million volumes in important

library collections.

The new dean for the university’s largest

college, Behavioral and Social Sciences, is more

homegrown. John Townshend is former chair of

the Department of Geography, which he has

guided into a leader in global measurements

through satellite imaging. He hopes to attract to

the college more resources, more disciplinary

research on national and global concerns and a

more entrepreneurial spirit.

He takes over for Edward Montgomery, who is

now heading the Presidential Task Force on the

Auto Industry. Steve Fetter, former public policy

dean, was named assistant director in the White

House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

And if that’s not enough Maryland influence in

D.C., public policy Professor Ivo H. Daalder is the new

U.S. ambassador to NATO. —LB

3 Deans in, 2 Off to White House

KETTL

STEELE

TOWNSHEND

��

6 TERP FALL 2009

alumni bylinesWith so many graduates becoming authors,

we’ve expanded our By Alumni department to

include more great titles online.

revamping byrdCapital One Field at Byrd Stadium is

new and improved, with new suites

and mezzanine seating in Tyser Tower.

Take a virtual tour and check out the

sweet digs for yourself.

PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; BYRD SUITE PHOTO COURTESY OF MARYLAND ATHLETICS

terponline terp.umd.edu

more green goodnessTo remember why you fell in love

with Maryland’s tree-lined mall (and

see some of the plant life that helped

us become an official arboretum and

botanical garden), enjoy a slideshow

by photographer John T. Consoli ’86.

THIS FALL, WE’RE BRINGING YOU MORE OF WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT TERP ONLINE. EACH ISSUE, OUR WRITERS AND DESIGNERS WILL

PUT TOGETHER BONUS CONTENT RANGING FROM BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEOS TO A CHANCE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH MARYLAND FACULTY. YOU CAN

RECONNECT WITH FORMER CLASSMATES THROUGH CLASS NOTES, FIND OUT WHO’S BEEN PUBLISHED IN AN EXPANDED BY ALUMNI SECTION OR

SIMPLY DROP US A LINE TO TELL US HOW WE’RE DOING AND WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE ISSUES. OUR ADDRESS IS WWW.TERP.UMD.EDU.

BOOKMARK US. YOU’LL WANT TO VISIT OFTEN.

expert on callSchool is back in session, and for

some parents that means endless

battles over homework assign-

ments. Whether your student has

just mastered the alphabet, is reluc-

tant to pick up his first chapter book

or refuses to crack the cover of a

great American classic, our expert

can help. College of Education

Professor Jennifer Turner fields your

questions on developing a lifelong

love of reading.

terp.umd.ed

u/exp

erts

terp.umd.ed

u/alumni

terp.umd.ed

u/r

evam

ping

terp.umd.ed

u/g

reen


Q.My late great-grandmother, HenriettaSpiegel, was a student at the university inthe 1980s, and I believe she was the old-est woman ever to graduate from the uni-versity. Can you share any informationabout her?—Ryan Spiegel '00

A. I remember when your great-grandmother(right) graduated cum laude in Spring1989 at the age of 85. She earneda degree in English and a GPA of3.9. She holds two records: She isthe oldest person to complete anundergraduate degree at theUniversity of Maryland and theoldest woman inducted into PhiBeta Kappa. An award for creativewriting in the Department ofEnglish has been named for her.

IMAGES COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Questions for Anne Turkos,

university archivist for

University Libraries, may be

sent to [email protected] any fallout shelters located oncampus, and if so, where? —Al Barth

A. The Diamondback reported in December 1962 that 39 areas in

37 campus buildings had been prepared for fallout shelters. These

areas could accommodate a total of 7,462 people. The university

planned to create 20 more shelters, each stocked

with a two-week supply of food and water and

a radio kit. A shelter manager and two alter-

nates would be assigned to take charge during

emergencies.

By 1971 there were 42 buildings with fallout

shelters with a total capacity of 23,052. As far as

can be determined, none of these shelters exists

today. It is believed that most were converted to

other uses during major renovations of university buildings begin-

ning in the late 1970s. Fallout shelter signs were reported to exist

in Reckord Armory and at the Institute for Physical Science and

Technology Building, but no signs were found during a recent

check of these buildings.

Q. How does Rachel Carson fit into Maryland’s history? She was an adjunct faculty member in zoology, andI am curious to know more. —Andrea Morris

A. Even though she taught zoology, acourse we normally associate withUniversity of Maryland, College Park, ayearbook photo and faculty directoriesfrom the Baltimore campus confirmthat Rachel Carson (right) only taughtthere. Carson wrote “Silent Spring,” acall to action on the environment thatresounds loudly even today.

TERP FALL 2009 7

askAnne

Students participate in a fallout sheltercourse at Denton Dining Hall in 1966.


8 TERP FALL 2009 PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MOKHTARZADAS

alumniprofileclassact

Entrepreneurs andbrothers, clock-wise from left, D.Haroon, Zekeriaand IdrisMokhtarzada.

LOGGING PHYSICS FINDINGS in a journal,

investing in the stock market and attending

weekend math and technology courses

aren’t the kind of things most school kids do

for fun. Then again, not many people have

enjoyed the kind of success that brothers D.

Haroon Mokhtarzada ’01 and Zekeria “Zeki”

Mokhtarzada ’01 have as leaders in the Web

publishing world.

As children, Haroon and Zeki were forced

to flee Afghanistan with their family. Here in

their adoptive country, they learned survival

skills in life and work. “Our parents started

a business, which exposed us very early on

to two things: entrepreneurship and com-

puters,” says Haroon.

While at Maryland, the brothers used

their complementary skills to build a Web

site people could use to construct their own

sites for free—even as Haroon finished his

economics degree summa cum laude and

Zeki finished his double major in computer

science and mathematics.

Today, Haroon and Zeki are CEO and

chief technology officer, respectively, of

Webs.com, their hobby-turned-business.

Younger brother Idris, a senior majoring in

computer science, is a co-founder and senior

engineer. Each day, 20,000 new sites—for

personal, organizational and business

uses—are created using their simple and

streamlined site-building process, and each

month, more than 30 million unique visitors

hit on Webs.com.

“Webs.com has helped hundreds of

thousands of people generate income for

their families and causes,” says Haroon.

Now the brothers can add 2009

Outstanding Young Alumni to their résumés.

In April, Haroon and Zeki were named

Outstanding Young Alumni at the Maryland

Alumni Association Awards Gala. In their

acceptance speech, the brothers thanked

their parents and siblings—all Terps—as

well as their alma mater. “It’s great to know

that Maryland honors entrepreneurship and

innovation, things we really believe in,” Zeki

says. —RR

Brothers’ Hobby Becomes Web Wonder


TRAVEL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION; RANCIC PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT; “E! NEWS” LOGO COURTESY OF VIACOM

alumniprofile

AFTER EMIGRATING FROM Italy to

Washington, D.C., with her family at

age 7, Giuliana Rancic ’96 learned

English by watching television. She

grew up idolizing News 4 reporter

Barbara Harrison and dreaming of a

career in journalism.

Today she’s a well-known TV

anchor for the E! network, co-hosting

“E! News” daily with Ryan Seacrest,

tracking celebrity stories and work-

ing the red carpet at high-profile

events.

At Maryland, the then-Giuliana

DePandi reveled in the fast-paced

course work and demanding pro-

fessors. With her undergraduate

degree from the Philip Merrill

School of Journalism and a mas-

ter’s degree from American

University, she set out for Los

Angeles, knowing entertain-

ment news was her passion.

“My degrees set me apart

from my peers in

Hollywood—I wasn’t just

another blonde trying to be

an actress.”

She began her job at

“E! News” in 2002 as an

off-camera reporter, and

was promoted to anchor and

managing editor in January 2005.

“I became a stronger writer and pro-

ducer because of that initial work,”

she says. Since her promotion,

according to the network, the show’s

viewership has jumped more than 50

percent.

Rancic spends her days in a flurry

of shooting promos, writing stories

and seeking the latest celebrity

scoops. By night, she takes to the

red carpet, asking questions her

viewers would love to ask their

favorite celebrities, but can’t. “I pre-

pare by not preparing,” Rancic says.

“By thinking too much, it inhibits the

organic process and you miss the

spontaneity right in front of you.

Plus, my knowledge of pop culture is

a great safety net.”

In 2007, she cemented her own

role in pop culture, marrying Bill

Rancic, season 1 winner of “The

Apprentice.” Their Style Network

reality show, “Giuliana & Bill,”

debuted in August. The couple

recently traveled to campus, where

Giuliana served as presenter at the

10th annual University of Maryland

Alumni Association Awards Gala. “I

spent

the last nine

years working

nonstop, and

because of that I lost

touch with my past. I’m

ready to reconnect and give

back,” she says.

Rancic emphatically broadcasts

her Terp pride. “I love saying I am

from Maryland and representing the

Terps in Tinseltown.” —MLB

travel 2010Treasures of

Jordan

April 3-14

Encounter won-

ders both of

nature and of man:

lively Amman and rose-red Petra,

the ruins of Jerash, the resort life of

the Red Sea and the restorative

powers of the Dead Sea.

Holland and Belgium

April 20-28

Experience the beauty, history and

culture of Holland and Belgium by

cruising their legendary water-

ways. Join us aboard the MS

Amadeus Diamond and enrich your

life with an adventure you will

never forget.

Amalfi

June 2-10

Indulge in the majesty of the

Divine Coast, where you’ll travel a

fabled, serpentine ribbon of road

from destination to destination.

Along the way, take in the breath-

taking views and realize why it has

drawn royalty and celebrities for

decades.

For more details on these and other

tours featured in the Travel 2010 pro-

gram, visit www.alumni.umd.edu or

call 301.405.7870/ 800.336.8627.

Terp Takes Tinseltown

TERP FALL 2009 9

Giuliana Rancic'sinterest in enter-tainment and jour-nalism led her to adream job at E!EntertainmentTelevision and herown reality show.


alumniprofile

10 TERP FALL 2009

classact

DAN HEIGES ’93 is surely one of only a few corporate executives whoget paid to eat baby food.A physics major who switched to food science, Heiges is now

vice president of food production at Sprout Foods, a nearly year-oldcompany that sells gourmet, organic baby food.Heiges says he was at Maryland when he realized he didn’t want to

be a physicist. “I had been cooking since I was 16,” he says. “The day I decided

to change course and become a chef, I stumbled on a foodscience fair. I’d never heard of [food science], a blendof culinary arts and science. Perfect.”Eventually, Heiges wound up as director of research

and development at Wild Oats Markets. He gotexcited during a meeting where Sprout Foodsfounders Max MacKenzie and celebrity chef TylerFlorence pitched their innovative baby food. “I was so impressed that I volunteered my help in

getting the company off the ground. When WholeFoods merged with Wild Oats, the writing was on the wall and Iasked if there was any chance Sprout Foods was hiring,” he says. He joined the company last March, helping to translate the

recipes and cooking processes to manufacturing scale. Sprout isavailable in more than 1,300 Publix and H.E.B. Fresh Foodsstores, and planned to add 500 to 1,000 locations during anationwide rollout in September.Heiges, dad to 3- and 6-year-olds, says people are initially

hesitant to try the pouches of roasted bananas, baked sweet pota-toes and peach rice pudding, but smile after their first bite. Heremembers his first meeting with Florence, who asked the group,“Why would you feed kids something that you wouldn’t eat?”Now, Heiges says, “I eat it all the time.” —MAB

Food Scientist Takes Baby Steps

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPROUT FOODS; AT RIGHT: ROTTER AT PODIUM BY LISA HELFERT;ROTTER WITH STUDENTS BY ANNE MCDONOUGH; ALUMNI BOOKS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI


TERP FALL 2009 11

BYalumniErnie Full of Energy by

Tara Iona ’91 is

a great

way for par-

ents and their

children to

begin a dialogue

about the frustra-

tions involved with

learning disorders,

particularly ADHD.

Ernie’s constant energy

and sometimes explosive behavior

confuse his parents, but through it

all they see their son’s special and

wonderful qualities.

University Professor

Anil C. Gupta and

Haiyan

Wang ’95

help busi-

ness leaders

develop robust

global strategies

by uncovering hidden

opportunities—and

challenges—presented

by the rapidly growing

economies of China and India.

In Getting China and India

Right, they reveal the secrets to

capturing the hearts, minds and

wallets of consumers there.

In Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah

and Joel Shlian ’67, Dr. Lili Quan

honors her mother’s dying

wish by traveling

to China,

where she

meets her

grandfather,

who made a

remarkable dis-

covery: the secret

to long life. This

earth-shattering find

could become a deadly

international game.

Rotter Plots New Course for Association

Dr. Steve Rotterspeaking (above) at a Maryland ringceremony, and withstudents (below) at awelcome event earlythis semester, is theboard of governors’new president.

DR. STEVE ROTTER ’82 believes that youget what you give in life. Grateful for theeducation and experience he received atMaryland, he is committed to giving backto his alma mater.In July, Rotter became the University of

Maryland Alumni Association board ofgovernors’ new president. Rotter hasserved on the board since 2005 and haschaired two committees: awards and recog-nition and membership and marketing. Healso serves on the College of Chemical andLife Sciences board of visitors.After graduating from Maryland, Rotter

went on to the University of Maryland School of Medicine and JohnsHopkins Hospital. He is now the owner and director of the Center forSkin Surgery & Skin Cancer Outpatient Surgical Hospital in Vienna, Va.And while Rotter spends most of his time in surgery or with his wife,

Fran ’82 and their two children, he takes his new post seriously and hasset goals for his two-year term. He plans on growing the alumni associa-tion’s life membership program and strengthening ties between the alum-ni association and the undergraduate and graduate student populations. He encourages all alumni to become involved. “This university is first-

class from top to bottom. All you have to do is see the campus and feelthe energy of what’s happening here.” —MLB


m-file

STUDENT EXPENSES ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN G. PAYNE12 TERP FALL 2009

NEWSdesk

IMAGINE A NEW breed of all-electric

cars that can travel 300 miles or more

before needing a quick recharge—

almost three times farther than cur-

rent hybrid models that rely on gaso-

line as a backup.

Innovative science in the university’s

recently launched Energy Frontier

Research Center may lead to such a

vehicle within a decade, says Gary

Rubloff, the Minta Martin Professor of

Engineering and director of the center.

Working with Sang Bok Lee, associ-

ate professor of chemistry and bio-

chemistry, Rubloff is developing “super

batteries” that can store more energy,

deliver more power and recharge much

faster than existing devices can. The

key, says Rubloff, is exploiting the hon-

eycomb patterns of nanoscale pores in

aluminum oxide, using arrays of these

nanowires to build compact yet

extremely efficient batteries.

Linking faculty from engineering,

chemical and life sciences and comput-

er science, the energy research center

was funded with $14 million from the

U.S. Department of Energy as part of a

new program that brings together

groups of leading scientists to address

fundamental energy issues. —TV

Powerful Ideas onEnergy Storage

“The Republicans were morenervous about giving Obama a bigvictory than in further erodingtheir diminished support amongHispanics. The Sotomayorvote signals that (Obama)needs to be very, very carefulabout going any further leftwith the next nominee.”

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY DEAN DONALD

KETTL, ON REPUBLICANS’ “UNFLINCHING”

OPPOSITION TO SONYA SOTOMAYOR, THEN A CAN-

DIDATE FOR THE SUPREME COURT, LOS ANGELES

TIMES, JULY 29

“Legalization in the U.S. might be amuch more commercial matter thanin pragmatic Holland, where the gov-ernment created a legally ambiguousregulatory system with minimal courtoversight. The U.S. might find it hardto prevent producers from using theirFirst Amendment rights to activelypromote the drug.”

PETER REUTER, CRIMINOLOGY, IN A FORUM ON

WHETHER ADDICTION WILL RISE IF MARIJUANA

IS LEGALIZED, THE NEW YORK TIMES, JULY 19

“The public is pulling formore—a lot more, no, but abit more, yes. There is defi-nitely political capital thereto move the ball forward andthat is pretty much universal.”STEVEN KULL, DIRECTOR, PROGRAM ON

INTERNATIONAL POLICY

ATTITUDES, DISCUSSING THE

POLL HE LED ON DIFFERENT

COUNTRIES’ BELIEF THAT CLI-

MATE CHANGE SHOULD BE A

GOVERNMENT PRIORITY, THE

(U.K.) GUARDIAN, JULY 30

“When students actually track those

expenses, they realize how much they arespending onlittle items.

And small things add up.”

JINHEE KIM, FAMILY SCIENCE, ENCOURAGING

COLLEGE STUDENTS TO WATCH THEIR DISCRE-

TIONARY SPENDING, USA TODAY, AUG. 15

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FACULTY ARE THE SOURCE NEWS MEDIATURN TO FOR EXPERTISE—FROM POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY TOSOCIETY AND CULTURE TO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.


PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

TERP: How do technology and the environment fit together in this new department?

BALDWIN: People hear “technology” and think “computers.” A lot of the research in our department helps design

ways to solve problems—an applied technology approach. Pat Kangas is using algae to clean wastewater and create

biofuels. Josh McGrath is working on a GPS/sensor system that lets farmers fertilize only exactly where

needed. Other faculty are working on how to use plants to purify indoor air or use bacteria to clean

up hazardous waste.

TERP:Why should students be interested in environmental science at Maryland?

BALDWIN: We’re one of the only universities that offer undergraduate concentrations in ecological and technology

design and in environmental health.

The university’s location is great. Maryland is physiographically diverse—there are wetlands

and forests, mountains and beaches. The university is surrounded by urban conditions, but we’re

only a few miles from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, which has

experimental farms, plus forests and fields. We’re also near a lot of federal and

state government agencies and nonprofits where graduates can

find internships and jobs.

TERP:What are the most pressing issues in your field?

BALDWIN: We need to learn more about ecosystem restoration.

Another big one is climate change; it’s changing precipitation patterns,

temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations.

TERP: How does your love of nature extend beyond the classroom?

BALDWIN: I’m a botanist—I go out and identify plants. Sometimes,

I’ll just take a walk with my field guide. I’ve tried to take my kids

out, but they say, “Nooooo.”

TERP: You're known for your enthusiasm for teaching in the

field. How do students respond?

BALDWIN: I tell the students, “We’re going to go out-

side,” and they don’t really believe me. One

time, it was raining and 35 degrees out, and

I saw one kid had on only shorts

and a T-shirt. After they do that

once or twice, they seem to be

more prepared.

TERP: You play bass, guitar and drums

and sing with a band, but you’re also the

college’s commencement singer. What’s that like?

BALDWIN: I sing the national anthem and the alma mater.

I try to spice it up, maybe a fist in the air. Then, usually, I

high-five the dean on the way back to my seat.

ANDREW BALDWIN, AN EXPERT ON WETLAND ECOLOGY AND ENGINEERING,

IS UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

HE JOINED THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND

NATURAL RESOURCES IN 1996 AND ENJOYS WORKING WITH STUDENTS

OUTDOORS, EVEN IN FREEZING RAIN OR SEARING HEAT. HE SAT DOWN

WITH TERP’S LAUREN BROWN TO TALK ABOUT HIS FIELD.

In Tune with His Environment


m-file

14 TERP FALL 2009

FROGS AND OTHER amphibians are mysteriously disappearing from the

planet, and biologist Karen Lips is racing against time to save them. One-

third of the 6,300 species of amphibians are in decline and 168 have gone

extinct in the last 20 years, with more disappearing each day. The

crisis has required Lips and her colleagues to act as detectives at a

crime scene, investigating sites where they find the bodies of thousands

of dead frogs to unravel what went wrong.

While pollution and other environmental factors are taking their toll

on frogs, Lips and others discovered that it’s an unusual fungus, called

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, that’s causing massive frog die-offs

in locations as disparate as Panama, Australia and the National Zoo in

Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, these experts don’t know where this fungus

originated and don’t know how to stop it. They do know that it likes cool, wet

climates, where frogs also thrive, and that it spreads rapidly.

After Lips documented the disease’s rapid and devastating impact on

frogs in Costa Rica and Panama, her colleagues rushed to evacuate frogs

from the forests of Central Panama to save them from the advancing fun-

gus. Today, their facility shelters 58 species of frogs—including some of

the rarest on earth.

Lips is also investigating the fungus’s impact in the U.S. and whether it has

caused the decline of several species of salamanders in Appalachia, which has

the highest biodiversity of salamanders in the world. In addition, she is docu-

menting the impact that these extinctions are having on ecosystems.

“Once amphibians are eliminated from an ecosystem, everything else

changes,” she explains. “Snakes disappear, algae grows, sediments accu-

mulate and affect water quality. We don’t know yet how many of these

changes are irrevocable.” —KB

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN G. PAYNE

Where Have All the Frogs Gone?


TERP FALL 2009 15

A UNIVERSITY OF Marylandneuroscientist is collaboratingwith experts at the JohnsHopkins University School ofMedicine to advance a treat-ment for Alzheimer’s disease,the debilitating neurologicaldisorder that afflicts more than5.3 million Americans and isthe sixth-leading cause of deathin the United States.Hey-Kyoung Lee, an associ-

ate professor of biology in theCollege of Chemical and LifeSciences, links her previouswork in neuroplasticity—thebrain’s ability to reorganizeneural pathways—with JohnsHopkins scientists who arestudying innovative treatmentsfor Alzheimer’s.

Current Alzheimer’s treat-ment relies on medications thatcan only delay or manage thedisease’s most prevalent symp-toms: the loss of memory andthinking skills. In researchfunded by the NationalInstitutes of Health, Lee andthe Johns Hopkins researchersare attempting to actually stemthe disease by preventing theaction of an enzyme calledBACE1, which produces linked

amino acids called peptides.Many scientists believe that

an overproduction of a peptidecalled A-beta is the cause ofAlzheimer’s. The concern is thatby eliminating the BACE1enzyme in laboratory mice,some of the test animals becameconfused and aggressive.Lee and her students pin-

pointed these abnormalities,and the researchers are nowsearching for a pharmaceuticalsolution that can eliminate thebehavioral side effects causedby BACE1 inhibition.“Learning what is happening atthe cellular level gives us thetools to circumvent what iscausing the brain to functionabnormally,” Lee explains.Ultimately, Lee says the

research team is hoping to dis-cover a cure for Alzheimer’s.“That’s the holy grail—to beable to first show we can safelyinhibit the production of A-betapeptides in laboratory animals,and then move on to clinicaltrials that can lead to an effec-tive treatment,” she says. —TV

For more details, go towww.chemlife.umd.edu/biology/leelab#.

THE SOMETIMES-AWKWARD transi-

tion from adolescence to adulthood

is a period of intense physical, men-

tal, emotional and social change.

While most young people can cope

with these growing pains without

much consequence, others may

struggle and engage in harmful

behavior to suppress their uncom-

fortable feelings.

Research in the university’s

School of Public Health may soon

give counselors new tools to identify

at-risk youths prone to negative

behaviors like substance abuse,

juvenile delinquency and unpro-

tected sex.

Stacey Daughters, ’98, M.A. ’03,

Ph.D. ’05, assistant professor of

public and community health and

director of the Stress, Health and

Addictions Research laboratory, is

investigating the biological and

psychological mechanisms underly-

ing distress tolerance, which is the

ability to tolerate intense emotional

discomfort without reverting to

avoidant or impulsive behavior.

“The substance abuse or other

non-acceptable behaviors may be

symptoms of a core emotional vul-

nerability we want to identify,” says

Daughters, who recently completed

a distress intolerance assessment of

150 Prince George’s County high

school students ages 14 to 17.

“The school system can definite-

ly benefit from new approaches to

early intervention at this critical

stage of development for our

youth,” says Heather Iliff, a member

of the Prince George’s County Board

of Education.

The project is funded by the

National Institute of Drug Abuse and

follows up on distress tolerance

research Daughters is doing with

recovering drug addicts and alco-

holics at an inpatient treatment

center in Washington, D.C.

The high school students

played a series of computer games

that involved adding numbers or

tracing the outline of a star using

the computer mouse. To increase

stress, the task included forced

failure in the form of a quickened

pace followed by a loud buzzer.

The students were told that the

better they performed, the greater

their reward at the end of the

session—yet they also had the

option to quit the task at any time.

Students who quit early (show-

ing they had low distress tolerance)

were also more likely to report drug

or alcohol abuse and other harmful

behaviors identified through a

follow-up questionnaire.

The next step is to develop inter-

ventions. “If you can identify these

kids right away with the tools that

we have, and give them treatment,

then that’s the key,” says Daughters.

—TV

New Tools to Identify At-Risk YouthsResearchers Team Up to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease


play-by-play

PHOTO BY GREG FIUME, MARYLAND ATHLETICS

Balance of Power

16 TERP FALL 2009

AFTER 31 YEARS, 19 winning seasons and 493victories, Bob Nelligan is no longer the face ofwomen’s gymnastics at Maryland.But the new face looks familiar: The

team’s head coach is now his son, Brett.Bob Nelligan, who everyone calls Duke,

retired in June as the university’s longest-tenured coach, just after being named the2009 NCAA Division I Southeast RegionCoach of the Year.Brett, who served six years under his dad

as an assistant coach, knows that taking thegrips from him is no small feat.

“For his retirement, 200 gymnastics alumni came back—each with their ownstory about how Duke personally impactedtheir life. It’s intimidating,” Brett says.Duke was exposed to gymnastics early on,

in elementary school, and developed his ownphilosophy as a coach even before coming toMaryland at age 28.By the time gymnasts got to college, he

soon found, many were no longer enjoying thesport that brought them so much joy as a kid. “My role was to be not just a coach but a

caretaker,” he explains. “By helping them findexcitement in the sport again, it created astronger program.”His role as caretaker extended outside the

gym. To senior BrandiGeorge, he became her family away from home.“Duke makes the gym enjoyable, but he’s also afather to all of us. When my roommate and I arrived from Florida inshorts and flip-flops, he drove us around untilwe found the perfect winter coats.” He also became known for encouraging

his athletes to remain committed to school,and his squad won the President’s Cup TeamGPA award nine times since the program wasfounded 13 years ago. Brett says he’s up for the challenge of

maintaining the program’s strong tradition andplans to implement a more aggressive trainingand recruiting program. Says his father: “Brettis a better businessman for the program.” Losing only one student from the 2009-10

team, Kelsey Nelligan ’09, Duke’s daughterand Brett’s sister, and welcoming four newtop-notch gymnasts, Brett has high expecta-tions for the team and himself for the seasonstarting in January. Duke intends to remain a proud supporter

of Maryland gymnastics. Says George: “I’m notsure what retirement will bring, but I don’t seehim going anywhere anytime soon.”—MLB

SCOREcardThe 2008-09 school year as

one of the most successful in

Terps’ athletics history.

Men’s soccer, women’s

basketball, field hockey,

women’s lacrosse and

wrestling all brought home

ACC tournament champi-

onships this year, making it

the first time since 1964-65

that five Terps teams won

ACC titles in the same

season.

Women’s basketball, field

hockey and women’s and

men’s lacrosse finished first

in their ACC regular-season

standings, giving Maryland

four regular-season champs

for the first time since

1996-97.

All five of Maryland’s ACC

tournament championship

teams saw continued suc-

cess in the NCAA tourna-

ment, with men’s soccer

and field hockey winning

national championships last

fall. Women’s basketball

played in its second consec-

utive regional championship

game, women’s lacrosse

made it to the national

semifinal round and

wrestling tied for its best

national finish ever, placing

10th at the NCAA champi-

onships.

Bob “Duke” Nelligan(left) passed theresponsibilities ofcoaching Maryland’swomen’s gymnasticsteam on to his son,Brett (center).


spotlight

TERP FALL 2009 17KEESING COLLECTION PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

Music to Researchers’ EarsIN 1996, RETIRED Maryland professor and popular

music collector Hugo Keesing made his first gift

to the University of Maryland Libraries.

He gave generously: The gift consisted of 2,708

books, 1,529 journals and 175 linear feet in paper

and memorabilia items. It has grown into the Hugo

Keesing Collection of Popular Music, housed in the

Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, or MSPAL,

at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The

books, serials, recordings, sheet music, auction

lists, clippings and memorabilia span the 1910s to

the 1990s. While the collection is comprehensive, a

significant amount of material is related to Elvis

Presley, the Beatles, Fats Domino and Roy Orbison.

The collection recently opened to the public, with

new resources available to guide amateur and

expert researchers.

“Recordings are essential for understanding

rock music,” says Vincent Novara, curator for

Special Collections in Performing Arts within

MSPAL, “and Keesing has given us thousands.”

From the primary source materials in this collec-

tion, researchers gain access to more than the

music of former generations; they gain access to

the history of 20th century America. Says

Novara, “I’m always surprised to see younger

students researching the artists their grandpar-

ents listened to.”

Unfortunately, the sources that cultural and

music historians rely on are often dismissed by

some scholars and may be in danger of not being

preserved, says Professor Andrew Kellett, who

received his doctorate in history from Maryland in

2008. “The sources I found in the Keesing

Collection, like interviews with Pete Townshend of

The Who and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin in the

’70s fanzine Zig Zag, brought my research to life.”

They proved crucial to Kellett’s analysis of the

British appropriation of American blues music in

the creation of “classic” rock. “It’s so commend-

able that collections like the Keesing Collection

exist,” he says.

The study of music strikes a personal chord for

Novara. “My earliest childhood memory is of listen-

ing to ‘Hey Bulldog’ by the Beatles over and over

again. Ever since then I have been hooked, and I

look forward to helping students utilize the

sources Keesing assembled over decades.”—RR

A sampling of music and memo-rabilia from the Hugo KeesingCollection of Popular Music:

Rare sheet music from the WWII musicalpropaganda campaign

The ’60s album “Sands ofTime” from Jay and theAmericans that has neverbeen reissued on CD oriTunes

A Four Seasons greatest hits recordingwith liner notes written by Dick Clark

Elvis milk bath

A Rock ‘n’ Roll brand beer canfeaturing Chuck Berry

The first issues of RollingStone magazine

Metal lunchboxes and thermoses featuring

Bobby Sherman, the BeeGees and Kiss

A Pepsi can advertisingthe 1984 Jackson Tour


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Presents Dave Eg

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utho

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“What Is the W

hat”

NOVEM

BER 5, 5:30 P.M.

0130 Tydings Hall

Eggers offers Maryland’s freshmen insight into

the power of community amid chaos in an

overlooked part of the world with this

year’s program selection. His book,

provided to all first-year students, is a

novelized biography of one of the

more than 20,000 children who fled

during the Second Sudanese Civil

War. Eggers chronicles the harrow-

ing, sometimes humorous and

always inspiring journey of

Valentino Achak Deng, who

eventually settled in Atlanta.

Alumni Association

Mem

bers-Only

Backyard Bash

OCTOBER 17, THREE HOURS PRIOR TO KICKOFF

Sponsored by GEICO

Sam

uel R

iggs IV

Alumni Center

This members-only event features complimentary

tailgate fare and beverages and live music. Reunite

with former classmates and friends at this exclusive

party held just for m

embers in the Samuel Riggs IV

Alumni Center’s Moxley Gardens. Be sure to carry

your membership card on

Homecoming for

entrance to this

special celebration!

Step Afrika!

NOVEM

BER 12-13

8 P.M.

$37/$9

Clarice Smith

Performing Arts Center

Step Afrika delivers the high-

energy tradition of stepping, an

art form born at African American

fraternities and based in African

traditions, to the Ina and Jack

Kay Theatre. With its intri-

cate kicks, stomps and

rhythms mixed with

spoken word, the

troupe seeks to build

connections between

people and to highlight

the similarities in dance

forms, lives and communities.

To mark the company’s 15-year

anniversary, Step Afrika will per-

form some its most celebrated

works with a remarkable choral

collaboration.

“Voices of the Vanqu

ished:

Censored Print Pub

lication

sfrom

Postw

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5-1949

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Materials From the Gordon

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THROUGH DECEM

BER 30

Hornbake Library

University Libraries shed light on the

world of print publications during the

first years of the Allied Occupation of

Japan, with a display that includes

books and short stories censored by the

Allies, pulp fiction, children’s textbooks

on democracy and materials related

to the drafting of the Japanese

Constitution of 1947. Discover Japan

as it rebuilt, recovered and redefined

itself after World War II.

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Reunion

Weekend

OCTOBER 16-17

Throughout cam

pus

Reunite with old friends and make

new ones, as you rediscover

Maryland during Homecoming and

Reunion Weekend. The campus will

be buzzing with a variety of festive

activities:

• Hom

ecom

ing parade, including

floats, live music, special guests

and more. October 16, Main

Administration Building

• 50th reunion for the Class of

1959, featuring the Emeritus

Alumni Club induction with a for-

mal medallion ceremony and an

Alumni College event with a faculty

speaker. October 16, Samuel Riggs

IV Alumni Center

• An All-Reunion Lunch for all

Maryland classes, with celebrity

host and nutritionist Joy Bauer ’86,

where guests will enjoy a student

performance. October 16, Samuel

Riggs IV Alumni Center

• Maryland Alum

niAssociation

Hom

ecom

ing Festival

with activities for the

entire family, game fare and

beverages. October 17, Samuel

Riggs IV Alumni Center (three

hours prior to kickoff)

• Maryland vs. Virginia. The Terps

take on the Cavaliers in this ACC

match-up. October 17, Capital One

Field at Byrd Stadium

Visit w

ww.alumni.umd.edu for a

complete list of events.

ALU

MNI A

SSOCIATION

301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627, w

ww.alumni.umd.ed

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An Rx for Health Care

By Tom Ventsias

Health ITIt’s been 15 years since University of Maryland researchers

invented the technology to allow doctors to get a

compact overview of patients’ information—office

visits, hospitalizations, medications and lab

results—on a single computer screen.

But today, only 8 percent of the nation’s 5,000

hospitals and 17 percent of its 800,000 physicians are

using computerized record-keeping systems. The

federal government is racing to meet its self-imposed

deadline of digitizing all Americans’ health records by

2014.

“Changing the way medical professionals work is not

easy … and turning an academic idea into a commercial

success is sometimes a long and difficult process,” says

computer science Professor Ben Shneiderman, who with

senior research scientist Catherine Plaisant guided the

research efforts to modernize medical records.

RX

TERP

x-ray

Feature 1.indd 20 9/16/09 1:32:43 PM

creo

The problem has taken on new urgency with $19 billion of this year’s economic stimulus earmarked for bringing the nation’s health-care records into the digital age. The president and Congress continued to debate health-care reform into the fall, with the president stopping on campus in September to hold

a reform rally.The solution lies with the use of health information technology, or health IT,

which can expand health-care access, improve quality, prevent medical

errors and reduce costs.Maryland faculty are already

leaders in this fi eld, creating software that can spot trends in patients’ medical histories, developing tools to train senior citizens in online “health literacy” and study-ing the fi nancial impact of improved communication in hospitals.

It seems like it should be a no-brainer for all the stake-

holders in health care to embrace information technology, says Ritu

Agarwal, the Robert H. Smith Dean’s Chair of Information Systems. After all,

it’s been more than two decades since the U.S. banking industry discovered that elec-

tronic banking could greatly speed up transactions, reduce errors and attract customers.

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But Agarwal says signifi cant hurdles—besides the cost, estimated at as much as $150 billion—are holding up the revolution in health IT: Insurance companies may not believe it’s in their best interest to empower consumers. Hospitals are reluctant to invest in expensive health information technology if doctors aren’t going to use it. And consumers have a number of serious concerns—from a digital health record provider going out of business (taking scores of medical records with it), to the fear of unauthorized users accessing their personal health information.

“There isn’t any rigorous evaluation of what the benefi ts of using these technologies are, so people are reluctant to make [large-scale] investments of both time and money,” says Agarwal, founder and director of the Smith School of Business’s Center for Health Information and Decision Systems, or chids.

That’s where her work comes in. In one study, Agarwal is evaluating how the use of electronic prescribing—which allows a doctor to write a prescription on a computer notepad and send it directly to your pharmacy—can change the work-fl ow in small physician practices.

Researchers in chids are also at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., determining whether its new IT system for input-ting and tracking physician’s notes has affected the way attending physicians and consultants do their rounds, especially doctors who are attending to patients with complex illnesses and injuries.

to debate health-care reform into the fall, with the president stopping on campus in September to hold

a reform rally.The solution lies with the use of health information technology, or health IT,

which can expand health-care access, improve quality, prevent medical

errors and reduce costs.

leaders in this fi eld, creating software that can spot trends in patients’ medical histories,

improved communication in hospitals.

a no-brainer for all the stake-holders in health care to embrace

information technology, says Ritu Agarwal, the Robert H. Smith Dean’s

Chair of Information Systems. After all, it’s been more than two decades since the

U.S. banking industry discovered that elec-tronic banking could greatly speed up transactions, reduce errors and attract customers.

Bringing health-care records into the digital age could give patients better access to their records and the ability to make more informed choices.

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Bringing health-care records into the digital

their records and the ability to make more

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TERP fall 2009 21

Feature 1.indd 21 9/18/09 4:53:38 PM

Funded by the National Library of Medicine, the project is led by Assistant Professor Bo Xie, whose goal is to improve training techniques that boost health literacy. “For this age group, we have discovered that people pick up the knowledge faster if they are working together with their peers. That collaborative learning is very important,” Xie says.

In the university’s School of Public Health, faculty are also involved with improving health literacy—especially for underserved groups—as well as studying demographic factors that influence the effectiveness of online health information.

Nancy Atkinson, director of the school’s Public Health Informatics Research Laboratory, special-izes in developing health IT education programs. While social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are popular with support groups for weight loss or other health issues, she says consumers need to learn how to evaluate the quality and validity of health information they are getting online.

Atkinson says reliable online health tools can help people make decisions in a safe environment and teach them about health in an engaging way. “You can’t force people to sit down and listen to a lecture, but if you can give them an online health-risk assessment that has interactive features, there is a much better chance of the person participating in making informed decisions about their health care,” she says.

One example might be an online shopping game in which people could practice buying food, then get feedback on the nutritional benefits of items they purchase. After playing a similar game aimed at children, Atkinson says, young research subjects then told their parents: “I need to eat more breakfast!”

With U.S. hospitals potentially wasting almost $12 billion a year because of communication inefficiencies, Agarwal says, it is important to build a model for quantifying the cost of these inefficiencies.

Taking Charge of Your HealthDr. Sidney Wolfe, acting president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, says it is essential for people to have unfettered access to their personal health records—as well as a basic understanding of what those documents represent.

He says patients who can review their records might discover a documenting error that could have serious consequences down the road, such as being denied life insurance or health insurance. The digi-tizing of health records also allows consumers an awareness of test results or consultations that doctors should generally be telling patients about, but sometimes don’t, he adds.

“The more a patient knows about their own diagnosis and treatment, the better they can partici-pate in their own health care,” Wolfe says.

Making informed health-care decisions, however, first requires sufficient health literacy, or the ability to obtain and understand basic health information and services.

Research in the College of Information Studies, Maryland’s iSchool, is helping seniors—who are more prone to medical problems yet less likely to be computer-savvy—improve their health literacy and learn the basics of accessing health information online.

Twice a week, iSchool graduate students meet at a Prince George’s County library with small groups of predominantly African-American women over the age of 60. These adults are taught how to distinguish valid health information from online advertising and also learn computer skills like how to navigate the Internet or use a mouse.

x-ray

TERP

Feature 1.indd 22 9/16/09 1:32:43 PM

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New Health IT ToolsFor health IT to really blossom, says Ben Shneiderman, doctors need to get on board. “The key word for medical professionals is interoperabil-ity,” he says. “They are interested in helping people get better, not having to learn two or three new computer systems.”

Working with colleagues in the univer-sity’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Shneiderman has designed a new computer interface called Lifelines2 that is compatible with almost any existing health IT system. The technol-ogy gives physicians an overview of the patient’s history—up to 100 years or 10,000 medical events—and it lets doctors pull up groups of patient histories to see any emerging health patterns.

This feature can help in busy emergency depart-ments, says Dr. Greg Marchand, senior attending physician of emergency services at Washington Hospital Center. “We can run blood work and immediately see if it matches certain patterns of irregularities in other patients we’ve admitted,” Marchand says. “This technology saves time and gives us another important diagnostic tool.”

Marchand is part of a group of physicians at the hospital testing the Lifelines2 technology.

“In its most basic form, medicine is people helping people,” he says, “Still, these new technolo-gies will not only make for better care by doctors, but also help patients make healthier choices on their own.”

To view a video showcasing

Lifelines2 technology, go to

www.terp.umd.edu.

Lifelines2, the computer inter-

face designed by Professor Ben

Shneiderman, is compatible

with almost any existing health

IT system. It can give doctors a

quick view of a medical history

and spot health problems.

TERP

Only 8 percent of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals and 17 percent of its 800,000 physicians are using computerized record-keeping systems.

Feature 1.indd 23 9/16/09 1:32:47 PM

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24 TERP fall 2009 FOOTBALL IMAGES COURTESY OF MARYLAND ATHLETICS—PHOTOGRAPHERS: BILL VAUGHAN, GREG FIUME AND PEYTON WILLIAMS

Feature 3.indd 24 9/18/09 4:57:50 PM

Friedgen and football staff pump out “players for life.”by Michael Hoffman

Darrius Heyward-Bey had already gotten the magic phone call from Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable telling him he was the team’s first-round selection and the No. 8 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. But the star Maryland wide receiver didn’t believe it until his name scrolled across the TV screen in his house and his family exploded in cheers.

Maybe Heyward-Bey, a lightning-fast athlete who racked up 45 catches, 694 yards and five touchdowns last year, shouldn’t have been surprised.

He joins 36 other Terrapins who were listed on NFL rosters as of press time. In fact, head coach Ralph Friedgen’s team has produced the 13th-highest number of current NFL players of any college, according to an NFL database. Some of college football’s elite, including Virginia Tech and Alabama, trail Maryland.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA HARLESS, PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

creo

TERP

ARYLAND PLAYERSare going beyond just making

NFL teams, too; they’re leaders. D’Qwell Jackson registered 150 tackles last season to lead the Cleveland Browns, and Shaun Hill beat out a former No. 1 draft pick this preseason to win the start-ing quarterback position for the San Francisco 49ers. Minnesota Vikings middle linebacker E.J. Henderson ’02 directs one of the NFL’s most-feared defenses, which includes his brother and fellow alumnus Erin Henderson, as well as safety Madieu Williams ’03.

“I think Maryland is very underrated. Every year we have somebody go in the first round. Every year we have four or five guys get drafted. Not only do we get drafted, we do well in the NFL,” Heyward-Bey says.

The coaching staff says it’s all about the players, but former players point to Friedgen ’70, M.A. ’72 and his staff ’s guidance on—and off—the field as the secret to their success. Whether it’s the pro-style schemes employed by the staff, the rigorous strength and conditioning program or the coach’s dedication to developing his players into men, former players say they have an advantage.

“When I got to the NFL, I knew it was going to be tough but Coach Friedgen really got us ready and once I got past the shock of, ‘I’m in the NFL,’ I realized it was a lot like what we did at Maryland every day,” says former Maryland tight end Joey Haynos ’07, who now plays for the Miami Dolphins.

Friedgen himself spent time coaching in the NFL. He was an assistant with San Diego when the Chargers lost to the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX. That experience has helped Friedgen prepare players to make the jump to the pros, but it also gives him credibility when NFL scouts ask about his players.

“He’s spent so many years in the NFL that when Ralph puts his stamp on a player, you know it is legitimate,” says Bobby DePaul ’86, senior director of pro personnel for the Chicago Bears and a former Terps linebacker.

Haynos said his exposure to Friedgen’s complex offense made it easier to learn the different offensive schemes and elaborate NFLplaybooks. It also helps Maryland players get drafted because NFLscouts know they can make the transition faster, DePaul says.

Friedgen says some players have come back and even told him his practices were tougher: “Many of them have remarked to me that it is easier in the NFL than it is playing for us.”

His strength and conditioning coach, Dwight Galt M.A. ’89, trains all Maryland players on NFL combine events such as the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and bench press from the first year they

arrive on campus. Much has been made about how well Maryland players, including Heyward-Bey and tight end Vernon Davis, now with the 49ers, performed in the combine.

“The strength program by Dwight Galt definitely has gotten me ready for the physical aspect of the NFL,” says defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre ’09, who plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Galt, who has spent 21 years at Maryland, says this latest run of Terrapins going pro is special—and he doesn’t expect it to slow down.

“We have some really good football players coming to Maryland, and we are also doing a better job of getting them ready to make that jump,” Galt says.

Well before then, Friedgen sets out to develop “players for life.” When recruiting, he talks up the school rather than the football team or its potential to send athletes to the NFL. During senior quarterback Chris Turner’s recruiting visit, Friedgen says he stressed internship opportunities in nearby Washington, D.C., just as much as his passing drills.

“A lot of our competitors, that’s all they sell is the NFL,”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA HARLESS

creo

Friedgen says. “If I was a parent of a player, I would run so far away from that school. I would rather talk to our players or recruits about the fact that this decision is about the next 40

years of their life.”Once players arrive in at Maryland, Friedgen demands those who skip class run stairs in Byrd Stadium. He and

his wife, Gloria M.A. ’73, reward players with the high-est class attendance rates and GPAs with dinner at

their home. Gloria, a former biology teacher who works as alumni and outreach coordinator in the

School of Public Health, also tutors players.“What we do is really try to develop a family atmosphere with the team right from the start,” Gloria Friedgen says.

“Ralph looks for high-quality individuals, and it’s great to see how they mature over

time. Some move to the NFL, which is great, too, but we want to see all players succeed in life.”

A new book by a Maryland alumnus, sportswriter and devoted Terps football fan chronicles the team’s history, from the first game in 1892 to its successes under coach Ralph Friedgen today.

John McNamara ’83 uses words, historic photos and replicas of rare memorabilia to

create a vivid scrapbook of sorts titled “The University of Maryland Football Vault: The History of the Terrapins.”

“The book was a very personal undertaking,” says McNamara, who covers the Terps at The Capital newspaper in Annapolis. “I have followed Maryland football—first as a fan, then as a

journalist—for the last 35 years. Many of the players mentioned were people I watched, interviewed and got to

know. I even met my wife, also a Maryland journalism student at the time, after a Maryland-North Carolina football game in 1981.”

He combines stories about legends including Harry C. “Curley” Byrd 1908, Jack Scarbath ’54, Jerry Claiborne, Boomer Esiason ’84 and E.J. Henderson ’02 with materials drawn from Maryland’s athletics department and archives. Johnny Holliday, longtime radio play-by-play announcer, wrote the foreword and Friedgen provided the afterword.

“VAULT” HOLDS TERPS FOOTBALL HISTORY

“I think Maryland is very underrated. Every year we have somebody go in the first round. Every year we

have four or five guys get drafted. Not only do we get drafted, we do well in the NFL.”—HEYWARD-BEY

TERP

creo

28 TERP fall 2009

TERP fall 2009 29

The students chat with the residents, who are leaving behind abusive relationships, drug addictions or unemployment and heading to work or school. Back on campus, the students attend seminars on homelessness, meet guest speakers and consider such questions as: What perceptions about homelessness did they bring to the shelter? How had they changed?

Stephanie Rivero, a senior majoring in family science, called the work “inspiring.”

The women slowly “opened up to us and we saw just how dif-ficult their lives were,” she says, recalling how the shelter’s coordina-tor got her and her peers to think about how the women there had lost everything. “And after we got that, it was even more fulfilling when they did talk to us.”

This isn’t just volunteerism. It’s a national trend called civic engagement. The University of Maryland is a leader among colleges encouraging students to become citizens who act to improve their communities.

People born between 1982 and 2000 are America’s first “civic generation” since the 1930s and 1940s, according to Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais Ph.D ’73, authors of the 2008 bestseller “Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics.” Interest in public service has gained further traction with the election of President Barack Obama, who has championed community service, and Congress’s passage last spring of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a broad outline to expand service opportunities and reward people who take part.

Campus Compact, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting com-munity service, civic engagement and service-learning in higher education, has grown from 500 participating schools in 2006 to more than 1,100 now, representing 6 million students.

Carrying pillows and sleeping bags from their

dorm rooms, a few Maryland students arrive at

Calvary Women’s Shelter in Washington, D.C.,

at 10 p.m. Their task for a few nights of the

semester seems simple enough: Answer the

phone or door. Try to sleep. Get up at 6 and put

out breakfast and a pot of coffee. Make sure the

25 women who live there are out the door by 8.

By Lauren Brown

CivicFeaturev3.indd 29 9/18/09 5:16:23 PM

30 TERP fall 2009

“The growth preceded Obama,” says Elizabeth Hollander, former executive director of Campus Compact and now senior fellow at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University. “But what he did was reinforce it in a huge way.”

She praised Maryland’s “innovative” efforts to get students thinking about their role in society, and in particular its efforts to measure the growth in student involvement—whether in one-day stream cleanups, yearlong mentoring and literacy programs at elementary schools or alternative breaks spent rebuilding homes on the Gulf Coast. U.S. News & World Report also consistently ranks the university’s service-learning opportunities on its list of

“Programs to Look For.”Anecdotal evidence of the boom at Maryland abounds. Pre-

registration for Terp Service Weekend jumped from 300 in 2008 to 560 this past April. The Coalition for Civic Engagement and Leadership reached thousands of students in the last academic year

through its 2-year-old Web site, www.TerpImpact.umd.edu. Terps for Change, a volunteer placement program formed

last fall through the university’s Leadership and Community Service-Learning unit, already has a waiting list of students seeking long-term opportunities.

All kinds of organizations on campus are putting the “learning” in “service-learning.” Leadership and Community Service-Learning has students—like those who volunteered at the women’s shelter—come together for refl ective discussions on their work, where they wrestle with their preconceptions and evaluate the success of social systems. Students in CIVICUS, a two-year living and learning program in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, take special classes about societal challenges and write in their journals about their experiences in nonprofi ts, governmental agencies and schools. In College Park Scholars, another living and learning community, all 900 freshmen participate in a service day around the Washington area every August.

“Overall, we’re seeing more involvement both by individual students doing service-related projects, as well as fi nding faculty who are very interested in creating those kinds of experiences for students,” says Martha Baer Wilmes, associate director for student affairs in College Park Scholars.

After all, faculty members want their students to learn, and stu-dents generally prefer to learn by doing rather than through lectures. Students also know they can learn leadership skills as part of their community service experience, and build their résumés.

A critical component of service-learning is stressing its recip-rocal nature: While volunteering is a one-way act, participants in service-learning give and receive.

“The old—the bad—way to go in thinking was, ‘We know what you need. We’re here to solve your problems,’” says Barbara Jacoby, senior scholar at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union-Center for Campus Life. “Now we consider the community in terms of its assets as well as its needs.”

She gets much of the credit for the university’s commitment to focusing on that difference. This year, Jacoby ’71, M.A. ’72, Ph.D ’78 published her fourth book on service-learning and civic engagement, “Civic Engagement in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices.” She and colleague Susan R. Jones in the College of Education are seeking a grant to study how students develop a civic identity.

“We have these resources here that really inform what we do,” says Craig Slack, the Stamp’s assistant director for leadership and community service-learning. He helped establish the university’s year-old minor in leadership studies, which connects theory to students’ identity, major and interests in the community.

Jacoby was a founder of the university’s Coalition for Civic Engagement and Leadership, which shows faculty how to incorporate civic engagement into their classes and integrated the concept into the education of a large majority of Maryland students, through required English 101 classes. The Terp Impact Web site has won accolades nationwide for pulling together all of the civic engagement and leadership opportunities for students on and off campus, encouraging collaboration and reducing duplication of efforts.

“Students were telling us that they knew so much was going on in the way of civic engagement, but they couldn’t fi nd it,” Jacoby says.

She adds that there’s no way to measure the coalition’s success because that’s ultimately refl ected in the community and around the world, as more civic-minded graduates go on to nurture commitments to their neighborhoods, professions, families and faith communities.

But she’s encouraged by examples like Stephanie Rivero, who planned to return to the women’s shelter this fall and hopes to become a family and marriage counselor, and Matthew “M.J.” Kurs-Lasky, a senior majoring in marketing. He came to Maryland as a College Park Scholar, created a service day for Jewish students, interned for nonprofi ts for the past two summers and is seeking a career in the nonprofi t sector.

Civic engagement, Kurs-Lasky says, “is something that might not have been formulated in my head coming to Maryland, but Maryland solidifi ed it for me. I can put in a great deal of work, and at the end of the day, there’s noticeable change in the community.” terp

PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI

CivicFeaturev3.indd 30 9/18/09 5:16:26 PM

WITH THE ECONOMY IN A TAILSPIN earlier this year, long-time WTTG–TV reporter Karen Gray Houston was distressed to learn an endowed scholarship honoring her late husband would not generate enough income for a 2009 award.

The scholarship, named for Maryland journalism alumnus Chris Houston ’85, provides � nancial aid to a broadcast journalism student in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. It recognizes

Chris Houston’s passion for the news industry, exempli� ed by his 18 years at WUSA–TV in Washington, D.C. There he advanced from reporter trainee to senior assignment manager before losing a battle with pancreatic cancer three years ago at age 42.

“I was determined not to let the scholarship lapse,” Karen Houston says.

“I knew how strongly Chris had felt about the value of an education, and I

also recognized the slow economy was probably a� ecting students, too, making it even more di� cult to pay for college.”

Houston provided additional funding to the K. Christopher Houston Scholarship, with Jolie Doggett, a sophomore from

Newport News, Va., named as this year’s recipient.In April, Doggett was invited to a reception at Karen

Houston’s home in Silver Spring, Md., where the aspiring jour-nalist met a who’s who of broadcast media from Washington, D.C.

When it came time for Doggett to accept her award, the brief notes she had written on index cards fell by the wayside. Doggett broke into tears, expressing gratitude for the scholarship, but also sharing concerns about making ends meet for her second year at Maryland.

Her heartfelt remarks struck a chord with the audience, Houston says, with many of them immediately writing checks—totaling more than $4,000—to the scholarship fund, assuring that Doggett could receive additional support.

Two weeks later, Houston had a leather-bound journal delivered to Doggett that was signed by dozens of reporters who attended the reception, sharing words of wisdom about their experiences in the news industry and life. “That means so much to me,” Doggett says.

“I can look at it for inspiration whenever I’m having a hard day.”Houston says the experience touched her as well: “I just want

people like Jolie to be able to follow their dreams, just as I did…just as Chris did.” —TV

A Memory to Keep

, with Jolie Doggett, a sophomore from

TERP fall 2009 31

Jolie Doggett

(left) with Karen

Gray Houston.

K. Christopher

Houston (above

left).

Honor Roll of Donors Online The generous support of alumni and friends raised $112 million in new gifts and pledges last year*. To show our gratitude, individual benefactors are recognized in the Honor Roll of Donors, available exclusively online at www.honorroll.umd.edu. *2009 fi scal year (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009)

$1 BILLION

$500 M

campaign total

$650 MILLIONas of Sept. 1, 2009

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In the Loop.indd 31 9/18/09 5:34:48 PM

32 TERP fall 2009 DIVINE NINE ILLUSTRATION BY JOSHUA HARLESS

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THEY CALL THEMSELVES THE DIVINE NINE: the nine historically African-American Greek-letter fraternities and sorori-ties that form the National Pan-Hellenic Council, or NPHC. And Maryland alumni members of each organization are rallying around a new cause to bene� t current students.

Led by Nicole Pollard ’91, a new member of the Colonnade Society Council and the alumni association’s Board of Governors, these alumni created the Divine Nine Emergency Tuition Assistance Fund this year.

“Members of our organizations were leaders at Maryland, and this fund bene� ts those students who are following in our footsteps and taking on leadership roles today,” says Pollard, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., who was seeking ways to encourage more alumni to give back to Maryland.

The Divine Nine, who share a common purpose of commu-nity service and leadership development, held their � rst alumni reunion on May 2 to get the fund-raising ball rolling. The more than 200 alumni who came

together to reminisce also contributed nearly $17,000 to the fund. Others who couldn’t attend the event connected on the group’s Facebook page and expanded the fundraising momentum online. The goal is to raise $25,000 by Homecoming, which will endow the tuition assistance fund and ensure its perpetual impact.

“I strongly believe that people give to the things that they are close to, and this event renewed connections to Maryland for many African-American alumni,” says Pollard.

The tuition assistance fund will support members of NPHC orga-nizations who have no other � nancial resources available to handle emergency situations, with priority given to students who are within one or two semesters of graduation.

“These students have invested two, three or more years in getting their education,” Pollard says.

“We don’t want them to have to walk away from their accomplishments

and lose opportunities simply because of � nancial need.”

Ultimately, the group hopes continued contri-

butions will grow the fund to a level that will allow full scholarships to be awarded. —CR

“Divine” Intervention for Students in Need

the divine nine

• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

• Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc.

• Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

• Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.

• Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.

• Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.


CREDIT

ΑΚΑ ΑΦΑ

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Turf Grad Sets Others on Right CourseWHEN FRANK DUDA ’07 was � nishing his undergraduate degree in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, his classmates joked that he was the type of person who might one day have a college building named after him.

Maybe someday. Duda was known then for his dedication to his studies in the col-lege’s turf and golf course management program as well as his leadership and work as a peer mentor. Now he’s an alumnus who’s found another way to show his com-mitment to the college.

Immediately after graduating, and at only 21 years of age, Duda established a scholarship to bene� t others in the turf program. His gift makes him one of the university’s youngest alumni to fund a scholarship.

“I knew I wanted to give back,” Duda says, “especially to the turf program, because there are not a lot of scholarships available in that discipline, and I wanted to help the program’s reputation grow.”

Now an assistant superintendent at the Miacomet Golf Course in Nantucket, Mass., he can see � rsthand the value of the education he received at Maryland. “The plant sciences part of the program is invalu-

able, and you also learn a commitment to environmentally friendly turf management practices that are becoming the standard in the industry today.”

Steve Hutzell, a senior in plant sciences and University Honors with a 3.98 GPA, is

the � rst recipient of the Frank Duda Turf Grass Scholarship. Hutzell completed an internship this summer in golf course man-agement at the Chevy Chase Club, and says he learned that a large part of the business involves managing human resources along

with taking care of the greenery.He hopes to follow in Duda’s footsteps

not only in his career track, but also in his � nancial support of Maryland’s turf and golf course management program. “I don’t think Frank could have done a better thing

for the University of Maryland than to give back to the same program he was in,” says Hutzell. “I am thinking that maybe a year or two after I am done with my degree that I can do something similar.” —TV

“I knew I wanted to give back,” , “especially to the turf program, because there are not a lot of scholarships available in that discipline, and I wanted to help the program’s reputation grow.”

Hutzell. “I am thinking that maybe a year or two after I am done with my degree that I can do something similar.” —TV

DUDA AND TURF PHOTOS BY EDWIN REMSBERG; HUTZELL PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI TERP fall 2009 33

DUDA

HUTZELL


GIVING TREE BY BRIAN G. PAYNE; MEAGHER PHOTO COURTESY OF SARA MEAGHER

IN THE MOST LITERAL SENSE the seed money o� ered by Bruce and Karen ’76 Levenson to expand philanthropy and non-pro� t management studies at Maryland is a gift that keeps on giving.

The couple has made a three-year commitment to the School of Public Policy to fund development of a program that produces graduates committed to advancing the work of nonpro� ts and introduces students to the importance of philanthropy in society and their own lives.

“We see this as a way for us to leverage our own philanthropic endeavors in a way that can’t be achieved by focusing on any indi-vidual charity,” says Bruce Levenson. “There are numerous good causes, but most charitable decisions are made spontaneously. We want to encourage a more informed approach to giving that will bene� t the greater community.”

Karen Levenson, who worked with high school students in a Jewish youth philanthropy program, saw the impact of actively engaging them in giving decisions.

“I’ve seen how excited young people become when they are part of the process, when they learn how to give in an educated manner,” she says. “We hope the Maryland program can expand on that idea.”

The Levinson gift will enable the hiring of a new professor of the practice, who will develop a robust curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students, with the � rst course to be o� ered this spring.

An anticipated hallmark of the program is a hands-on philan-thropy project that would allow undergraduate student groups up to $10,000 to distribute for philanthropic purposes based on their studies. Dean Donald Kettl says the school also envisions eventually establishing a center for philanthropy and nonpro� t management.

“Our hope,” says Bruce Levenson “is that we can prove some-thing through this seed program that will attract students and other donors in a large way and enable expansion of this into something more signi� cant for the future.” —CR

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

A love of horses

was required to be

a recipient of the

Equine Studies

Scholarship, and

Sara Meagher’s

long list of activities working

with and caring for horses made her

an easy fi rst choice.

A senior double major in animal

sciences and agricultural science

and technology, the honor student

was an active member of the Animal

Husbandry Club and the Equestrian

Club where she was both an

instructor and rider on

the Intercollegiate

Equestrian Team. She

volunteers with the

Maryland Network for

Injured Equestrians and

helps plan equine events

for the Maryland Cooperative

Extension Service.

Meagher (above) assisted in

teaching a horse management

course last year and after gradu-

ation hopes to foster good

management practices and an

educated and passionate equine

community.

The scholarship was estab-

lished in 2007 by Martha Asberry in

memory of her brother John Bruce

Dodson ’68, who had a passion for

horses and riding. It is awarded

annually to a student who demon-

strates a commitment to the equine

industry through education and

hard work.

Rose Weiss, (right) a senior his-

tory major, loves working as a park

ranger at the Frederick Douglass

National Historic Site to help pay

34 TERP fall 2009


TERP fall 2009 35

For 59 Consecutive Years, Alumnus Supports Terps

for school, but admits it takes a toll

on her studies. The Hugh F. and

Glen Hannah Cole Financial Aid

Scholarship for Students in the

Arts and Humanities allowed Weiss

to reduce her work hours last year

and take advantage of some special

academic opportunities.

As part of a course exploring the

relationship of slavery to the found-

ing of the University of Maryland,

she participated in research trips

to Alexandria, Va., and Philadelphia

to search through archives contain-

ing papers of some of the school’s

founders. Weiss says having time

for that kind of primary source

research and for working one-on-

one with distinguished faculty

members in independent study

projects was possible only with

fi nancial support from scholarships.

For Patrick McTamney, a fi fth-year

biochemistry doctoral student who

graduated in August, the fellow-

ship funded by Herman Kraybill

provided more than money to sup-

port his research. It also led to a

close relationship with the donor, a

noted biochemist retired from the

National Institutes of Health.

McTamney, (bottom left) whose

research focuses on the chemistry

of iodide salvage in the thyroid,

says he enjoys his discussions and

interactions with Kraybill, including

sharing research articles of mutual

interest. Thankful for the fellowship

support, McTamney prominently

acknowledged it in three articles he

wrote this year.

Make your mark on Marylandcheer join share volunteer give

OSCAR LINE MISSED HIS GRADUATION

CEREMONY back in Spring 1950—he’d already been shipped o� to serve in Korea. Despite his meager Navy wages, he managed from his overseas post to send his � rst donation to Maryland.

He’s mailed at least one check to his alma mater every year since.

Now 90, Line is one of the university’s most consistent supporters, helping to fund athletics, student scholarships and other priority needs.

“I’ve tried to make it a little better o� for others than what I had,” he says.

Line (right) came to Maryland in 1946, after serving as a Navy � ghter pilot in World War II. He’d already lost his dad, and his mother died while he was stationed in the South Paci� c.

The pre-law major lived on campus and worked at the university bookstore; he laughs now as he recalls students o� ering him “bribes” of cold bottled milk in exchange for books. Line refused to take any shifts on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons because he never missed a football game.

He carried on that same devotion to the football team as soon as he returned from Korea after three years, two months and � ve days. Line earned a law degree at American University and began a long career in

Department of Defense intelligence. He still can’t talk about most of his work.

Line remains a huge Maryland football fan and likes to tailgate with fellow alumni in the Maryland Club at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.

“He loves the people, he loves the music we play. He’s always the � rst one here,” says Brian Shook, director of individual philanthropy and regional programs and a friend of Line’s.

Over the years, Line increased his giving substantially, and in March of this year made a bequest to support the operation of the alumni center. A space in the building will be named in Line’s honor, a � tting tribute to a man who makes Riggs his game-day home. —LB

OSCAR LINE BY ANNE MCDONOUGH; SAMUEL RIGGS IV ALUMNI CENTER BY ROBERT SULLIVAN ; WEISS PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSE WEISS; MCTAMNEY/KRAYBILL PHOTO BY ANDREA MORRISOSCAR LINE BY ANNE MCDONOUGH; SAMUEL RIGGS IV ALUMNI CENTER BY ROBERT SULLIVAN ; WEISS PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSE WEISS; MCTAMNEY/KRAYBILL PHOTO BY ANDREA MORRIS


36 TERP FALL 2009 PHOTO BY JEREMY GREEN

Interpretations

ONLY A FEW milesfrom the nation’s capi-tal, the University ofMaryland has alwaysbeen affected by newpresidential adminis-trations. This year theinfluence has beeneven more pro-nounced, calling onthe university’sresearch strengths inareas of criticalnational priority, suchas energy, climatechange and national

security. With the new administration committed to pro-moting science and technology and the stimulus packageproviding a wellspring of funding, the university’s researchefforts have been infused with new vigor. In April the U.S. Department of Energy created an

Energy Frontier Research Center at the university.Discovering the science and creating the technology neededto build a 21st-century energy economy, our center focuseson new electrical energy storage capacity. The center is fund-ed in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Actand complements the administration’s new $400 millionAdvanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.Building on the University of Maryland’s talented

teams of climate scientists, the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, or NOAA, selected the uni-versity in May to lead a new climate research partnershipof 17 institutions. The nationwide consortium, theCooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, or CICS,will receive up to $93 million in funding over the nextfive years from NOAA. With one of the nation’s largestclusters of federal and university scientists, the CICS willfocus on satellite observations and Earth system modelingto develop tools that will make our climate change pre-dictions and assessments useful to policymakers and localcommunities.

National security is another research area receivingcontinued attention in Washington, D.C. This year theDepartment of Defense has awarded the university arecord-breaking four primary program awards from thehighly competitive Multi-disciplinary University ResearchInitiative, or MURI. The MURI program supports multi-disciplinary basic research in areas that have high potentialboth for defense and commercial applications. Our topicsfor this year include research into the electronic propertiesof graphene at the nanoscale, new phases of matter forquantum information/computing, quantum-optical cir-cuits of hybrid quantum memories and practical super-conductors.These MURIs complement a new Physics Frontier

Center, awarded in September 2008 to the Joint QuantumInstitute, a partnership between the University ofMaryland and the National Institute of Standards andTechnology. Focused on cutting-edge investigations ofquantum science, the center is funded by $12.5 millionover five years from the National Science Foundation, orNSF, and is pursuing the physics of quantum informationand quantum computing. Discoveries are needed to createcomputers that can undertake very large database searchesand create unbreakable data encryption that is not possiblewith the best conventional computers.University researchers have been ahead of the curve for

decades, creating innovative solutions to many challengesthat are now pressing on the national agenda. Since over70 percent of the university’s research funding comes fromfederal sources such as the NSF, NASA, the Department ofDefense, the National Institutes of Health, the Food andDrug Administration and the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, the university has always been a leader inconnecting basic research to federal as well as practicalobjectives. With the presidential administration’s newcommitment to science, Maryland is strongly positionedto influence fundamental scientific advancement and thenational science and technology agendas.

—Dan Mote, President

Changing Times

“With the presidential administration’s new commitment to science,Maryland is strongly positioned to influence fundamental scientificadvancement and the national science and technology agendas.”


Terp is the magazine that keeps you connected with the University of

Maryland, passing on news of the latest research, interesting alumni

and fun happenings on campus. These tough economic times are making it more challenging to

deliver the print edition of Terp to your mailbox. We produced it in a

Web-only format in the spring to trim expenses and used the opportunity

to expand our online content and collect feedback from our readers.

But we want to continue to make the print version available to alumni

who like settling into a favorite chair with the magazine.If you enjoy our stories—such as our Spring feature about military

veterans transitioning to life at Maryland, or this issue’s article about

our research to make your health records easier to access—please

consider a tax-deductible contribution to support your alumni magazine.

Yes, I want to support Terp magazine. Enclosed is a tax-deductible gift to the Terp Magazine Fund in the amount of $

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Send your contribution to: Maryland Fund for Excellence, 4511 Knox Road, Suite 205, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740-3380.

You can also make your donation online at www.supportum.umd.edu or call the Maryland Fund for Excellence at 301.405.7749 or 877.TerpGive.

Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc., an affi liated 501(c)(3) organ-ization authorized by the Board of Regents. Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax adviser for details. PYYA0 | TERP MAGAZINE TEAR OFF | MAILING 1 | CPAF TERPTO, M1


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Return to alma mater for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend

October 16 -17, 2009

Welcome to Terp Town! Bring the whole family to your alumni home on campus, the Samuel

Riggs IV Alumni Center, for Homecoming Festival 2009, beginning three hours before kickoff,

Saturday, Oct. 17. Gear up for the game with activities to delight Terps of all ages,

including live Terp tunes, Terptivities for the kids and refreshments for

purchase at the Terp Tavern and Tailgate Grill. Alumni Association

members are invited to the exclusive Backyard Bash with complimentary

tailgate fare, beverages and live music. See page 18-19 for details.

All-Reunion Lunch

PLACE

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