search

UMD    AML





Professor Shapour Azarm and Alex Mehr (M.S., Ph.D. ’03), 2012 Whiting-Turner Lecture

Professor Shapour Azarm and Alex Mehr (M.S., Ph.D. ’03), 2012 Whiting-Turner Lecture

 

While a graduate student at the University of Maryland (UMD), Alex Mehr (M.S., Ph.D. ’03) valued the opportunity to work with top-notch engineering faculty while developing his expertise in experimental research. He also knows firsthand that scholarships can be a game-changer for students; he himself is a past scholarship recipient, having been awarded a Northrup Grumman Fellowship while he worked towards completing his master’s and doctoral degrees.

Now Mehr is paying it forward in a big way, with a $500,000 gift to the Department of Mechanical Engineering to establish two new funds: the Alex Mehr Endowed Distinguished Graduate Fellowship and the Design Decision Support (DDS) Laboratory Research and Education Fund.

The Fellowship will provide support for at least one student each year whose areas of interest include design decision-making, data-driven systems, systems optimization and/or systems engineering. The DDS Fund, meanwhile, will provide critical operating support for the laboratory, headed by one of Mehr’s most valued mentors, Professor Shapour Azarm.

More generally, Mehr says, the gift reflects his gratitude to the university for equipping him with knowledge and skills that fostered his future success. “UMD brought me to this great country and gave me a platform and an opportunity.”

Mehr’s most recent success includes the establishment of Retail Ecommerce Ventures, and purchasing struggling retail brands—such as Pier 1 Imports and DressBarn—to transition them into successful e-commerce businesses.

 



Related Articles:
Giving Spotlight: Alex Mehr
From Composites to Competition: Grad Student Wins at Dance Championship
Alumnus Receives National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Sean and Sarah Durbin Endowed Scholarship: Terps Give to Promote Global Opportunities
NASA's Douglas-Bradshaw a Role Model for STEM Students
Boundless Curiosity
Alumna Project Manager for NASA’s First Mission to Study Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids
Creating Equitable Access to Energy Opportunities
Srebric Named Margaret G. and Frederick H. Kohloss Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Alumnus Mark Paulus Receives 2021 Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award

September 30, 2020


«Previous Story  

 

 

“UMD brought me to this great country and gave me a platform and an opportunity.”

Alex Mehr (M.S., Ph.D. ’03)

Current Headlines

Search Open for Full-Time Faculty Positions in Mechanical Engineering

Das Named Pioneering Researcher by Chemical Communications

UMD Part of $10 Million DOE Hydrogen Grant

Maryland Engineering: #16 in the Country for Undergraduate Engineering

Dutt Receives NSF CAREER Award

Srebric Named Associate Dean for Research

Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices invests $200K in the future of biomedical devices, cultivating up-and-coming investigators and immersing them in successful multidisciplinary teams

UMD Center for Risk and Reliability: Celebrating Summer Internship Achievements

UMD’s Zhao to Lead New Dynamic PRA Study

Maryland Engineering and Partners Win $26M to Develop Better HVACR Systems and Fight Climate Change

 
 
Back to top  
AML Home Clark School Home UMD Home ENME Home