News & Events
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 Paola Rojas, a current Gemstone junior! Congratulations, Paola!
Paola Rojas is double majoring in neuroscience and human development. She is from Rockville, MD. Paola has exhibited great involvement in the field of neuroscience research ever since her first year at UMD. Starting as an undergraduate research assistant at the LEAD Lab led by Dr. Romeo, where she presented a poster project on the intersectionality between theory of mind and bilingualism in children–part of the larger Preschool Language and Neural Engagement Study (PLANES). She has also displayed great passion for collaborative research settings as part of Team GABA, a team currently in the midst of data collection aimed to uncover how past and current stressors influence gastrointestinal health in college students.
Sustaining involvement in Gemstone, Paola also serves as co-director of GEMS101, a newly launched course that supports first-year Gemstone students as they transition into research and life in Gemstone.
Outside of Gemstone, she is a team leader for the Latino Student Fund tutoring program, supporting a group of over 40 mentors working with Prince George’s County students. She is also actively involved in several campus organizations, serving as VP of Academic Affairs for Sister to Sister, Vice President of Schools for Smiles, and Secretary of the Coalition of Latinx Student Organizations. Ultimately, nurturing lifelong commitment to the fields of public health, education equity, and cultural engagement. Amidst a busy schedule, Paola enjoys making pipe cleaner crafts, trying new coffee creations, playing badminton, and collecting pins.
Class of 2025 Citation Ceremony
May 2025
The Gemstone Honors Program hosted the annual spring Citation Ceremony on May 19, 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 2025!
Class of 2025 Thesis Conference
April 2025
The Gemstone Senior Class of 2025 defended their theses on Friday, April 11th in the 26th Annual Gemstone Honors Program Thesis Conference. Check out the booklet below to learn more about each team's research.
Clara Abdelmalek awarded Goldwater Scholarship
April 2025
Congratulations to Clara Abdelmalek (Class of 2026, Team TOXINS) on receiving the Barry Goldwater Scholarship! This scholarship recognizes students' amazing accomplishments in science, engineering, and mathematics research. Read more about Clara's work, research interests, and post-grad goals here. Great job, Clara!
Tami Mumuney & Esohe Owie 2025 Do Good Semi-Finalists
March 2025
Tami Mumuney (Class of 2026, Team TOXINS) and Esohe Owie (Class of 2025, Team BMM) were chosen as semi-finalists in the 2025 Do Good Challenge!
Tami is a member of the Pre-Health Global Brigades team, which focuses on increasing access to quality healthcare in under-resourced communities. This year, Tami traveled to Guatemala to provide medical aid and hygienic supplies to local communities.
Esohe is on the Terrapin Think Tank team, which is UMD's first student-led policy incubator. Their project this year focused on equitable healthcare in Prince George's County in partnership with UMD's School of Public Health. Check out the article here!
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.