Spring 2008 Event Highlights

Commencement Speaker Geerat Vermeij, Former Zoology Faculty Member, Kicks off Darwin’s 200th Birthday Year

L to R: Dean Norma Allewell; Brett Kent (PhD, ’81, Zoology); Miriam Smyth (MS ’82, PhD ’86, Zoology); Michael Berenhaus (BS, ’81 Zoology); Andrew Pope, (BS, ’73 Zoology); Suzanne Hamilton (PhD, ’79 Zoology)

The College was honored to have Dr. Geerat J. Vermeij, Professor of Geology at the University of California at Davis and a pioneer in the field of evolutionary biology and paleontology, as this spring’s commencement speaker. The College also inducted Dr. Vermeij into the Circle of Discovery, an honor bestowed on members of the extended College of Chemical and Life Sciences community for their visionary leadership and outstanding research in the biosciences or chemistry. Dr. Vermeij studies marine mollusks, living as well as extinct, and is known for his research on the role animals play in shaping each other’s evolutionary fates. Vermeij gave a seminar, " Innovation, Fossil, and Time: Is Evolutionary History Predictable" attended by faculty, staff, and alumni who he advised during his tenture as a faculty member of the UM Department of Zoology (now Biology) from 1971-1989. His visit coincided with the start of a year of celebration and exploration of topics related to evolution coinciding with Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday year. This year's Bioscience Research and Technology Review Day (November 12, 2008) will be organized around the theme of evolution.

Cherry Blossoms Welcome Plant Biologists

L to R: ASPB Public Affairs Director, Brian Hyps, ASPB Executive Director, Crispin Taylor, keynote speaker Ralph Quatrano, and host Heven Sze.

The Mid-Atlantic section (MAS) of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) and the Arabidopsis thaliana Research Initiative at University of Maryland (ATRIUM) co-organized a two-day spring symposium on March 28-29, 2008 in the Bioscience Research Building. Professor Ralph Quatrano from Washington Univ. (St. Louis) gave the keynote address on "Physcomitrella: the system and genome to address plant functions".  The two-day symposium included presentations by undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members from universities and research institutes in the Mid-Atlantic region as well as government agencies including USDA and NSF. At the symposium, undergraduate student M. Belen Pappa from Dr. Caren Chang's laboratory and graduate student Faten Deeb from Dr. Steve Wolniak's laboratory won the Marsho Award for the best undergraduate and the best graduate student talk, respectively. Faten Deeb is also a recent recipient of a USDA National Needs Graduate Fellowship in Plant Functional Genomics.  The symposium was chiefly organized by CBMG faculty Dr. Zhongchi Liu, who is the current chair of the MAS-ASPB, and by UMBI-Center for Biosystems Research faculty Dr. Shunyuan Xiao.

7th Annual Eastern Auditory Retreat (EAR) Meeting Draws More than 150 From Leading Research Institutions

On June 6, 2008, the Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing (CCEBH) and the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) co-hosted the 7th annual meeting of the Eastern Auditory Retreat (EAR meeting). The meeting took place in the new Bioscience Research Building, which proved to be an outstanding venue for presentations and numerous discussions. Support for the meeting was provided by CCEBH and the publisher Springer, New York. Over 150 people attended the meeting including faculty and students from east-coast institutions such as MIT, Harvard, CUNY, Rutgers, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Maryland, and the NIH. The program included 17 presentations by graduate students and postdocs, and a keynote presentation on hearing and aging in humans was presented by Professor Sandra Gordon-Salant of the UM department of hearing and speech sciences.

Alumni Face Off with Faculty for Third Annual Golf Outing

The College’s third annual golf outing at the UM golf course brought together faculty, staff, and alumni to enjoy 18 holes, in spite of the drizzly spring weather. The winner was alumnus Jay Nixon. The best score for the faculty was Dr. Jeff DeStefano (CBMG). Afterward, Dean Allewell joined the group for happy hour at Mulligan’s Bar. Pictured l to r: Jeff DeStefano; Dean Norma Allewell; Doug Walker, Zoology BS ’81; Bill Higgins, Biology; and Jay Nixon, Entomology MS ’73.

"Meet Your Terp Neighbors" Party Brings Together College Alumni, Students, and Families in Potomac, MD

Alumni Joyce (Crimology, ‘79) and Phil (Biochem, ‘79) Schneider (pictured at left with Dean Allewell) hosted a lively Meet Your Terp Neighbors reception in their Potomac home on June 8. About 75 alums, parents, students, and prospective students gathered to enjoy some wonderful Mexican food and beverages with their friends and neighbors. This was the first College event held at the home of alumni, and we thank the Schneiders’ for their generosity and hospitality.

Assistant Coach Chuck Drissell, the guest of honor, provided a set of insights into Maryland sports and his career at Maryland that ranged from humorous to inspirational. Dr. Schneider reminisced about his experience at Maryland, and the importance of alumni support of the University.  Dean Allewell and Brodie Remingtron, Vice President for University Relations, spoke about the University’s accomplishments and its vision for the future, and the importance of the Capital Campaign in achieving that vision.  

All College Staff Retreat Provides Opportunity for Bonding and Creativity

More than 70 CLFS staff participated in an all day retreat on June 2nd, filled with opportunities to get to know colleagues better, discuss communication styles, and to have fun with play-doh and puzzles!

View the 2008 All College Staff Retreat photos >>