Archived News
Neha Sripathi received Portz Outstanding Honors Student Award
November 2024
The Portz Outstanding Honors Student Award is given to a student in each Honors program to celebrate their academic achievements, service, and leadership in and outside of the classroom. It was founded in 1978 in honor of Professor John Portz, the first director of the General Honors program.
Neha received the Portz Outstanding Honors Student Award at the Honors College fall citation ceremony on November 15, 2024. She is a third-year student (Class of 2025) and member of Team SUPERBUG. Neha also served as a co-director of CONNECT for the 2024-25 academic year; TA for BSCI222; ambassador for the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences; and member of a bioinformatics research team in the School of Public Health among many other campus involvement roles. Outside of UMD, Neha volunteers with Marland Mentor Corps to work with elementary school students in Prince George's County and spends her free time hiking, bouldering, painting, reading, and exploring the D.C. area. She was also recently awarded Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars award. Way to go, Neha!
Avery Parker awarded Gingrich Firebaugh Scholarship
November 2024
We are honored to continue the tradition of awarding the Sarah E. Gingrich Firebaugh Memorial Scholarship to a well-rounded Gemstone student studying science, math, or engineering. This year’s recipient is Avery Parker, a senior from Warrington, Pennsylvania majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. Congratulations, Avery!
They are a member of Team QCrypt, whose research goal is to examine how the security of novel post-quantum cryptographic systems compare to current-day encryption methods, as well as how these new cryptographic systems may affect cybersecurity as a whole. Avery also serves as the team financial liaison and manages their expenses and budget. They are also one of the instructors of CMSC398R, a student-run course focusing on exploiting and fixing common vulnerabilities in applications. Outside of academics, Avery enjoys playing tabletop roleplaying games, hiking, and creating maps.
Congratulations to junior teams who presented at Do Good Showcase!
November 2024
Our junior teams presented at the 7th annual Do Good Showcase on Monday, November 4. Congratulations to teams COAST, COLOR, and TOXINS, who received awards from the judges and will each receive funds from the Do Good Institute. Teams TOXINS and VIRAL won the "Audience Choice" awards and will receive funds from the Gemstone Program. The program also thanks the Do Good Institute for their continued partnership with us and donation of $1,500 to support Gemstone research.
Esohe Owie nominated 2024 Spirit of Maryland Finalist
October 2024
Gemstone's very own Esohe Owie was a finalist for the Spirit of Maryland Award for Homecoming 2024! The award is presented each year during half-time at the Homecoming football game to two seniors who demonstrate the "spirit of Maryland" through exceptional leadership, campus involvement, and community service. Congratulations, Esohe!
Team COAST trip to Scotland
August 2024
Team COAST visited Northern Scotland to get up close and personal with tidal turbines. With the help of their mentor, Dr. Niemeier, the team was able to connect with an operations manager at Meygen to tour the facilities and discuss their research.
Team EXO won second place overall at ASTM International Exo Games
August 2024
Congratulations Team EXO! This past August, Team EXO put their exoskeleton prototype to the test at ASTM International's Exo Games in Philadelphia. They won second place overall and first place in design.
Class of 2024 Citation Ceremony
May 2024
The Gemstone Honors Program hosted the annual spring Citation Ceremony on May 15, 2024 at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center to congratulate our seniors for earning their honors citation. We wish you the best of luck, Class of 2024!
Team MARINE presented at two Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meetings
May 2024
Team MARINE, mentored by Dr. Lance Yonkos, presented their research at both the regional chapter meeting in Baltimore and European meeting in Seville, Spain of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). Check out their poster and thesis!
Class of 2024 Thesis Conference
April 2024
The Gemstone Senior Class of 2024 defended their theses on Friday, April 12th 2024 in the 25th Annual Gemstone Honors Program Thesis Conference. Check out the booklet below to learn more about each team's research.
Esohe Owie won Inaugural Dushanka Kleinman Lightning Round Talk award
April 2024
Esohe Owie presented at the School of Public Health's Research and Practice Day on April 4, 2024. Her talk was titled "Examining Contributors to Maternal Health Disparities in Prince George’s County (Team Black Mamas Matter)." Congratulations, Esohe and Team BMM!
Yash Anand and Malcom Maas awarded Goldwater Scholarships
April 2024
Yash Anand from Team ASQ and Malcom Maas from Team TORUS were both named 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholars. Congratulations! Click below to read their features on the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) website.
Shannon Ganley and Nathan Roy Inaugural Excellence in Research Awards recipients
April 2024
Last spring, Shannon Ganley (Class of 2024, Team SOLAR) and Nathan Roy (Class of 2025, Team ANDRR) were recognized by the Office of Undergraduate Research for their excellent research and poster presentations at the annual Undergraduate Research Day. Congratulations, Shannon and Nathan!
Owen Mank won Dinah Berman Memorial Award
April 2024
The A. James Clark School of Engineering holds an annual award celebration to recognize outstanding undergraduate students. Owen Mank, on Team SCOOT, received the Dinah Berman Memorial Award for excellence in academics, leadership, and service.
Do Good Showcase
November 2023
Gemstone Honors Program partnered again with the Do Good Institute for the 6th annual Do Good Showcase, which took place on November 6, 2023. Our fourteen junior Gemstone teams presented an update on their research with a special focus on what urgent societal issue their projects are addressing and how their research contributions will Do Good.
A panel of five judges selected three teams to receive $500 each to support their research efforts. The panel included two Gemstone alumni, Lara Fu '17 (Director Of Development and Communications at DC Prep) and Christina Hnatov '19 (Lecturer with the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UMD), as well as Allison Lansverk (Associate Director, Gemstone Honors Program), Brianna Lucas (Program Manager for Student Engagement, Gemstone Honors Program), and Katlin Gray (senior program manager, Do Good Institute).
The winning teams for the 2023 Do Good Showcase were team BELI, team FUNGI, and team Supa’Hot. Each team will receive $500 to support their research endeavors. In addition, team SCOOT was selected as the Audience Choice Award recipient, a Gemstone awarded honor, and will also receive funds to continue their research. Gemstone is proud of the hard work, dedication and passion of all the junior teams.
Gemstone Student wins scholarship from The Society of American Military Engineers
December 2022
Tasnim Ullah, a second year Gemstone student studying Bioengineering and Information Science, has been selected as a recipient of a prestigious scholarship from The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). SAME’s mission is to "lead collaborative efforts to identify and resolve national security infrastructure-related challenges,” and one of the ways The Mid-Maryland Post of SAME supports that mission is by providing scholarships to deserving students in engineering, architecture, or related fields.
Tasnim is a member Team BELI, who are investigating the changes in the gut throughout the menstrual cycle. She is also the co-head of the Sisters’ Committee in the Muslim Student Association and member of the Society of Women Engineers. She hopes to pursue a career path in biotech.
Gemstone Team Wins 2nd Place in Bioscience Day Poster Competition
October 2022
Seniors Nora Fadul and Macaela Wolcott of Gemstone team BCIPRO represented their team at UMD's Bioscience Day, receiving second place in the poster competition under the Bioengineering category. Congratulations to BCIPRO!
Gemstone Student Selected for Gingrich Firebaugh Scholarship
October 2022
Hannah Bao, a third-year Gemstone student studying Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Sarah E. Gingrich Firebaugh Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was established in honor of Sarah Gingrich Firebaugh, B.S. '00, chemistry, who was among the first students to participate in the Gemstone program, and it supports well-rounded students in Gemstone majoring in engineering or science, with a preference given to Pennsylvania residents.
Originally from Montgomery County, PA, Hannah is a member of Gemstone’s team VERDANT (Vegetated Walls to Enable Reuse, Detoxification, And Natural Treatment of Greywater), who are investigating ways to design green walls that can filter greywater for reuse. As one of the team clerks on team VERDANT she has helped coordinate project goals, develop timelines, and conduct systematic literature reviews. She is also a member of the University of Maryland chapter of the American Meteorological Society and is involved with climate data analysis and visualization research on campus. In her free time, she enjoys birdwatching, playing the flute, baking, and reading.
Gemstone Students Featured in the Diamondback
September 2022
Katie Brown '23 and Roman Kassaraba '24 were among a few students featured in a Diamondback article about their team research projects and their contribution to the tech and health fields. Kudos to Katie, Roman, and their research teams, Team MINIGUT and Team UNITED!
Gemstone Student Spotlight: Esohe Owie
September 2022
Esohe is a first-gen Honors Terp and a sophomore in the Gemstone Honors program majoring in public health science and minoring in French studies.