Deep in the bowels of the Science Center, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Camille Y. Jones labored away at the project that has become her White Whale: unlocking the secrets of the clathrate hydrates (molecules that form cage-like structures around various guest molecules). But as she ran the spectroscopy on the clathrates, she found the resulting spectra to be extremely complex—too complex to be interpreted. In order to facilitate Jones’ research, Kate Otley ’12, working under Associate Professor of Chemistry Ian Rosenstein, is spending her summer replacing some of the troublesome hydrogen atoms with its isotope, deuterium. More ...

Andrew Beyler and Kate Arpino, both members of the class of 2010 and chemical physics majors, presented their senior thesis research at the 17th International Conference on Dynamic Processes in Excited States of Solids. It took place at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago from June 20-25 and had 130 attendees. More ...

A group of Hamilton summer science researchers are studying ice-like compounds known as methane clathrates, cage-like structures of water molecules that form around a guest molecule. As the quest for alternative energy sources continues, scientists and engineers are exploring new options, and methane clathrates are a distinct possibility. More ...

The U.S. auto industry has caused some anxiety in these tumultuous economic times. The government takeover of General Motors in 2009 was a concrete indication of earlier warning signs of the industry’s problems; meanwhile Ford Motors has been able to avoid bankruptcy. Working under Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs Alan Cafruny and through a Levitt Center grant, Jeffrey Cardoni ’11 is investigating the business practices of Ford and GM that caused the two companies to succeed and fail respectively. More ...

For a country with a population smaller than that of Wyoming, Iceland drew a lot of attention this spring when a more typically dormant volcano erupted and brought European air travel to a stop. Over the next two weeks, several Hamilton students will be able to observe for themselves this spectacular country and its many unique geologic features. More ...

Working under Professor of Psychology Penny Yee, Clair Cassiello ’11, Lauren Liebman ’12 and Mary Meinke ’12 are designing a more reliable and accurate study to better assess the characteristics and behaviors associated with ADHD in adults. More ...

In the DNA of every cell in your body, segments of DNA are constantly jumping and shifting locations. These jumping segments are called transposons and they usually contain the building blocks for genes, but do not provide your body with blueprints like regular genes. But in a group of microorganisms called ciliated protists, some types of transposons (called Telomere-Bearing Element, or TBE, transposons) do contain genes, and they are sometimes even expressed. Working under Assistant Professor of Biology Wei-Jen Chang, Joseph Lobel ’13 is spending his summer trying to detect and sequence these elusive, mobile genes. More ...

Located less than an hour away from Hamilton’s campus, Green Lakes State Park can provide a relaxing day of sun and swimming for the casual tourist. But for many scientists who visit Green Lake, the trip is full of investigation and sampling; the lake is meromictic, meaning that the layers in the lake do not mix with one another. More ...

The Frosted Elfin is not much to look at. It is a small, brownish butterfly whose unspectacular markings help it blend in against the backdrop of bark and dead leaves and grasses in its natural habitat in the Rome Sand Plains. The elfin, however, is an essential part of a fragile ecosystem and its numbers, recently, are decreasing. Five Hamilton students—Dan Bruzzese ’12, Eddie Williams ’12, Jonathan Pinney ’11, Chloe Von Ancken ‘11 and Mary Lehner ’12—along with Associate Professor of Biology Bill Pfitsch, are spending the summer doing field work for a project called “Restoration Ecology of Common Blue Lupine in the Rome Sand Plains” to find out why the frosted elfin is disappearing and how to get it back. More ...

Imagine looking through a series of portraits and being asked to observe the faces of each one. What if suddenly you saw your own face on the screen? How would you react? According to Sam Briggs ’12 and Beril Esen ’13, a lot of that reaction depends on how you feel about yourself. More ...