News

As SPH doctoral student Ibiyinka Amokeodo listened to Tanzanian farmers’ worries about the safety of the water they use on their crops and in their homes. She had her lightbulb moment: Aquasafe. The project supports farmers by providing affordable water testing kits and education on water quality management, including how to improve crop safety and local public health through monitoring contamination in irrigation water.

Four scientists from the University of Maryland's Department of Geology traipsed through mud to collect garnets from woods, mines and coastlines on the island south of the Australian mainland affectionately called “Tassie.” Garnets are a multicolored mineral widely used in jewelry and industry, but to geologists, they’re treasured time capsules containing secrets of Earth’s past.

University of Maryland anthropologist Stephen Brighton research spotlights the decades in Ireland before and after the 19th century potato famine, a period of abject poverty under British rule. The associate professor of anthropology is the only American licensed to lead excavations on the Emerald Isle, and part of a small group of archaeologists dedicated to that time period in Ireland.

Jody Olsen Ph.D. ’79 reflects on her six decade career in the Peace Corps. Olsen reflects on how the Peace Corps changed the way she views the world and herself, the commonalities she discovered across vastly different cultures, and how building relationships grounded in trust and respect can change communities and save lives.

Six Global STEWARDS Fellows to visit Tanzania, hailing from across UMD and bringing diverse expertise to the pressing and interrelated issues of food, energy and water (FEW) in a changing climate. The fellows travelled to Tanzania to engage, learn and share knowledge with local partners, farmers and researchers who are working towards sustainable solutions.

Dennis Kivlighan, professor at the University of Maryland College of Education, will study how attitudes toward group counseling vary across the globe and whether group therapy models can be translated across different cultures. The team will also examine how group composition and cohesion influence group therapy’s effectiveness and what characteristics make for stronger, more efficient results.