UMD Alumnus and Arcode Corporation Founder, President to Deliver 2016 Winter Commencement Address

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland announced that David M. Baggett, a UMD alumnus and founder and president of Arcode Corporation, will deliver the university's winter commencement address on Dec. 20, 2016. He will be joined by this year's student speaker, Jacob Lowenstein, who is graduating with degrees in accounting and finance.

An innovative thinker who has been writing software since childhood, Baggett is always searching for new ways that technology can solve everyday, practical problems. The son of an electrical engineer and cookbook writer, Baggett earned degrees in computer science and linguistics from the University of Maryland in 1992. By the time he graduated, he had already founded companies that designed video game development systems and published interactive fiction.

While pursuing his master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he became part of the team behind the groundbreaking and wildly popular Sony PlayStation video game "Crash Bandicoot." Besides giving Sony a mascot, the game series from Naughty Dog Inc., where Baggett was a programmer and vice president, was pioneering in its graphic speed and detail.

In 1997, Baggett co-founded ITA Software, which revolutionized how people could travel with the help of cheaper and more powerful computer programs. By assisting airlines like America West and websites like Orbitz, the company's software greatly expanded the choices and convenience of booking flights. As COO, Baggett oversaw software development, operations and customer relations, expanding the company from 20 employees to more than 500, with revenue topping $70 million a year. In 2011, Google acquired ITA for $700 million.

More recently, Baggett, founder and president of Arcode Corp., has focused his creative and entrepreneurial spirit on email and messaging: his new startup's product Inky makes it easy for anyone to encrypt their email with any mail account, ensuring confidentiality and preventing identity theft and phishing attacks.

Named a distinguished alumnus by both the College of Arts and Humanities and the Department of Computer Science, Baggett has supported undergraduate scholarships and post-baccalaureate fellowships at UMD in linguistics research.

About University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 56 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.9 billion operating budget, and secures $560 million annually in external research funding. For more information about the University of Maryland, College Park, visit www.umd.edu.

SOURCE University of Maryland

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