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Alumni Stories
Kelly Fast (M.S. ’93, Ph.D. ’05, astronomy) is NASA’s acting planetary defense officer, overseeing U.S. efforts and global coordination to survey the sky, calculate orbits, study physical properties and identify possible impact risks of near-Earth objects.
The Code They Couldn't Talk About
Eileen Buckholtz (M.S. ’73, computer science) is publishing a book, "Queens of Code: Inspiring True Stories from NSA’s Computing Women," in November 2026.
UMD Alumni Bring Local Law into the AI Age
University of Maryland alumni Denis Peskoff (Ph.D. ’21, computer science) and Joe Barrow (Ph.D. ’22, computer science) developed the largest machine-readable collection of local law ever assembled in the country.
Marcie Occhi (B.S. ’09, M.S. ’11, geology) digs her work mapping the history of Virginia’s rocks and minerals.
John Biddle (Ph.D. ’13, physics) is developing smart sensing systems to ‘see’ inside packages, boxes and bags—and detect potential threats.
Cole Miller’s (B.S. ’24, mathematics) lifelong passion for mathematics and sports helped him score an ‘awesome’ job as a scouting assistant in the NFL.
