Welcome
The Gemstone Honors Program at the University of Maryland is a unique multidisciplinary four-year research program for selected undergraduate honors students of all majors. Now in it's seventeenth year, the Gemstone Honors Program continues to challenge and support students in the development of their research, teamwork, communication and leadership skills. Learn more about Gemstone.
News and Announcements
Gemstone Citation Ceremony & Awards Celebration 2018: May 17th
May 4, 2018
Join the Gemstone Honors Program as we congratulate our Gemstone Class of 2018 on receiving their Gemstone Citations and all Gemstone awards recipients! The Gemstone Citation Ceremony and Awards Celebration will be held on Thursday, May 17th at 7pm in the Memorial Chapel at the University of Maryland. Doors will open for families and guests at 6:15pm, and seating is first-come, first-served. The presentation of citations will be by team.
All Gemstone awards will also be presented. Friends and family are invited to attend. More information about the awards are available at go.umd.edu/gemstoneawards.Parking instructions are available at on our FB event here. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Congratulations Library Award Recipients
April 25, 2018
Three sophomore teams were recently awarded the Library Award. Team E-JUSTICE won the Donald and Katherine Buxton Award (first place) and Teams TISSUE and VISOR placed second. We want to congratulate them on a job well done so far and wish them luck in their future research endeavors.
Congratulations Unnati Mehta!
April, 2018
Unnati Mehta, a Gemstone alumni from the class of 2016, has been awarded the 2018-2019 Fulbright Award! She will be spending the year in India conducting research and teaching english. She will be researching the impacts of ambient air pollution on respiratory health in New Delhi. She will begin her Ph.D. at Harvard in 2019. We are very excited for her and all the adventures she will have. Good luck Unnati!
Congratulations Rae Herman and Candela Cerpa!
March 2, 2018
Congratulations to Gemstone senior, Rae Herman, on Team GOLD, who received the prestigious The Fulbright Program award for the 2018-2019 year to research in the Netherlands! Because smoking is one of the most preventable causes of death and smoking relapse occurs with frequency, Rae will investigate its neurobiological mechanisms with her affiliate, Dr. Nathan Marchant at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She also plans to volunteer at an addiction treatment clinic to learn about Dutch patients’ perspectives on addiction and treatment options, and interview the directors of treatment centers to place her research in a broader context. Rae hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Cognitive-Behavioral Neuroscience or a related field in the future. We wish Rae the best of luck in all her future endeavors. Congratulations to Gemstone junior, Candela Cerpa, on Team E-JUSTICE, who received the NOAA's Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship! We cannot wait to see what you accomplish in the future! Good luck!
Dr. Hu Creates "Super Wood"
February 19, 2018
Dr. Liangbing Hu, former Team NATURE mentor, and his team modified the mechanical and material properties of natural wood to make stronger and tougher wood. This is an amazing achievement as it has huge potential implications in replacing current structural materials. Congratulations Dr. Hu!
Click here to read more about this innovation!
Gemstone Terps Give Back
January 29, 2018
After Hurricane Irma's widespread devastation and destruction, Gemstone Terps for St. Martin came together to help provide hurricane relief efforts specifically for the island, home to first-year student Kyeisha Laurence. By the end of the fall semester, our students were able to donate 44 boxes of donations that were shipped to the island late December. Watch the video below on how this group of Gemstone first-year students and the entire Gemstone community came together to support the cause!
Junior Colloquia 2017
December 16, 2017
Our juniors, the Class of 2019, recently presented their research at the annual Junior Colloquia. We were very impressed with the work they have done and progress they have made on their respective projects! FedCentric, a proud sponsor of the event, attended the event and awarded an inaugural monetary prize. Congratulations to Teams SPACE, DIVA, and OYSTER! Also, congratulations on the entire Class of 2019 on yet another successful milestone in their Gemstone career!
Congratulations Natalya Gallo!
December 16, 2017
Our alumni are doing big things even after graduating from the University of Maryland and Gemstone! Our very own Natalya Gallo, a member of Team BREATHE (2011), was featured as one of Forbes' 30 under 30 for the science category. Congratulations Natalya and good luck with all future endeavors! Click here to learn more about her and the amazing work she is doing!
Donate to the Cause!
November 6, 2017
Team MICRO is a junior team aiming to develop a progressive liver on a chip model to revolutionize current pharmaceutical testing methods. Please consider supporting us, any amount is greatly appreciated! Click here to view their campaign and donate to their research!
Gemstone Alumni and Mentor Partner Program
November 2, 2017
Calling all alumni and current students! The Gemstone Alumni and Mentor Partner Program is a mentoring program which pairs current students and recent graduates with Gemstone alumni. This experience is primarily virtual and takes place over the course of Fall 2017 and Spring 2018.
For more information, click the PDF below and to participate and complete the following form at go.umd.edu/gemstoneampp by November 14th by 11:59pm. Questions? Email gems@umd.edu!
Click the image to see the full PDF.
Friends and Family Happy Hour!
November 2, 2017
Join us on Sunday, November 12th from 4-6pm at The Hotel for a Gemstone Friends and Family Happy Hour! Click here to RSVP!
Congratulations Rachel and Sarah!
October 9, 2017
This year's Gingrich recipients are Rachel Wills and Sarah Young, who are both on Team FEELS (2020)! Congratulations to these brilliant young ladies! Read more about them here:
Sarah is a sophomore bioengineering major from Glenmoore, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the newly formed UMD chapter of Engineering World Health. She is a member of Team FEELS. She is also a research assistant in the Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Lab run by Dr. Ryan Sochol.
Over this past summer, Rachel participated in a Research Scholar program at Lehigh Valley Heath Network where she conducted research and shadowed numerous physicians. In addition, she resumed volunteering at Peaceable Kingdom, an animal rescue shelter, for which she has been involved the past 6 years. While at the University of Maryland, she is an executive board member for the Biomedical Engineering Society and will soon begin volunteering at a local hospital. Post-graduation, Rachel plans to attend medical school and aspires to become an emergency medicine physician.
GFF Family Weekend Tailgate
September 25, 2017
Please join us for our GFF Family Weekend Tailgate on Saturday, October 14, 2017. Meet on the lawn outside the back of Ellicott Hall (Diner side) 2.5 hours before game time. RSVP here!
Gemstone Alumni Hard at Work
September 25, 2017
Curtis Bennett, a former member of Team Saving Testudo was featured for his environmental work in his local community. We are so proud of Curtis for all that he does! Read more about his outreach programs here.
Gemstone Students Doing Amazing Things
September 11, 2017
Jaishri Shankar (Gemstone Alumna, Class of 2013) was featured on national television on Friday through XQ America and talks about how her school (Washington Leadership Academy) uses the power of technology to transform education (start at 39 min mark to see the school's segment).
Also, two of our first year students, Morgan Robinson and Ryan Utz were featured in Terp magazine as "incoming incredibles!" Read more about it here.
Congratulations Team CLOT!
September 7, 2017
Congratulations Team CLOT (2015) on their publication in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research! Our alumni have been hard at work even after graduating from Gemstone and the University of Maryland 2 years ago to achieve this publication! Click here to read the amazing work they have done!
Fall 2017 Welcome Events Calendar!
August 10, 2017
See the calendar below for upcoming events this fall!
Click image to enlarge
Congratulations Cara Schiksnis!
August 3rd, 2017
Cara Schiksnis of Team OYSTERS (2019) is one of four students to be awarded the 2017 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. The scholarship entails an exciting summer with NOAA, gaining hands on training in science, research, technology, policy, management and education. Congratulations Care on this amazing opportunity! Click here to learn more about Cara and the other recipients!
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