 We have been making history
during the last few months at the Clark School—in the achievements of our students, our former
leaders and our donors.
Historic Flight
Without a doubt, the most thrilling accomplishments of the last six months have been the record-setting flights of Gamera, the human-powered helicopter designed and built by a team of 50 Clark School graduate and undergraduate  students and piloted by Judy Wexler, a biology student and competitive cyclist. As certified by the National Aeronautic Association, in May Gamera set U.S. records for the duration of a human-powered helicopter flight, and the duration of a human-powered helicopter flight by a female pilot, at 4.2 seconds; the flight is now under evaluation by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale for possible world records in the same categories. And just last week, the team flew an enhanced Gamera for an unofficial 12.4 seconds, shattering their previous record; we are awaiting certification of the new time.
On behalf of the team, I wish to thank the thousands of people who viewed and followed our flights via live streaming video, Twitter, and major newspapers and websites, and gave us so much encouragement and so many helpful ideas. The team will hold flights this fall in an effort to win the American Helicopter Society’s Sikorsky Prize, which no team has come close to doing since the prize was founded in 1980. Also this fall the University of Maryland’s Solar Decathlon team, including Clark School students, will build and demonstrate their solar-powered house at West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. Please plan to join us for this exciting event.
Historic Leadership
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| Left to right: Darryll Pines, Nariman Farvardin,
Herbert Rabin, William Destler and George Dieter |
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The Clark School has always served as a loyal member of the campus community, helping to drive the University of Maryland to new heights of intellectual performance, impact on society and standing within academia. One very significant contribution we have made is in university leadership—not once, but twice. This point was driven home on May 30, when we held a farewell send-off for Nariman Farvardin. Dr. Farvardin is the former University of Maryland provost—and Clark School professor, department chair and dean—who has now become president of the Stevens Institute of Technology. His farewell event was hosted by William Destler, who in an amazing coincidence is also a former University of Maryland provost and Clark School professor, department chair and dean, and now president of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Also on hand were all of the three other living Clark School deans: George Dieter, Herbert Rabin, and myself. I know I speak for all of us in wishing Dr. Farvardin the greatest success in his new role. Patrick O’Shea, who introduced Dr. Destler at the event, will likewise now go on to contribute to the university’s progress—he has been named the new Vice President for Research at the University of Maryland. View video of this event.
Historic Generosity
 This May the Clark School exceeded its fundraising campaign goal—$185 million, the largest portion of the University of Maryland’s $1 billion Great Expectations Campaign. But we did not stop there. As of June 1 we had reached $191.6 million, and we plan to continue onward in an effort to reach $225 million or more by campaign end. Among the many recent donors who contributed to our exceptional performance were: |
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The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, which is contributing $1 million over four years to create the Whiting-Turner Scholarship-Internship Program for 12 civil engineering students; |
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The Deutsch Foundation, which renewed its support for our
nano-biotechnology research with a second gift of more than
$1 million; |
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Anchen Lin (pictured), widow of beloved professor of
electrical and computer engineering Hung Chang “Jimmy”
Lin, who endowed a new fund in her husband’s name to
support entrepreneurship; |
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Sikorsky Corporation, which gave new funding of $110,000
for scholarships, fellowships, and a new colloquium series; |
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SAIC, which provided $200,000 in support of Mtech, the
Cybersecurity Center, and student clubs and competitions; and |
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LGS Innovations (part of Alcatel-Lucent), which provided new
funding of $50,000 to support research in optics and photonics. |
| By focusing intently on the campaign, we hope not only to secure further support for our students and faculty, but also to help the university achieve its enormous goal. Please help us do so by contacting Leslie Borak and discussing a gift that matches your interests and your financial goals. Please be part of this historic show of support for the Clark School and the University of Maryland. |
Darryll Pines
Dean and Farvardin Professor
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