Student Research

Through independent projects, the Senior Program, research with faculty members, and summer internships, Hamilton provides an increasing number of opportunities for students to engage in significant — often publishable — research at the undergraduate level.

Hands-On Collaborative Research

Summer Research

Hamilton offers its students outstanding opportunities to conduct research in all disciplines. Approximately 120 students receive grants each summer.

Programs

Publish & Present

Whether it’s during the academic year or the summer, Hamilton students collaborate with professors on original research. Often their work results in articles published in peer-reviewed journals or in presentations at national conferences.

Recent Publications & Presentations

Student Stories

Research & Discovery

During the academic year and over the summer, Hamilton students put into practice the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom, lab, and studio. Every student graduates having completed a capstone experience, which typically involves significant research or an original artistic creation. Here are some recent examples.

Latest News

Bailey Black ’24 presented her research “Activism and Digital Queer Culture in the Hispanic World.”

Show and Tell

More than 125 Hamilton students conducted research with faculty this summer, and the results of that work were on display in poster sessions held during Fallcoming. Some student researchers in the sciences and the Levitt Public Affairs Center talked with student writer Dana Blatte ’26 about what they learned.

From left to right: Bri Padilla ’25, Will Burns ’24, Naima Akter ’24, Prof. Natalie Nannas, and Kayli Franco ’25 in the biology research lab.

Nannas, Students Replicate Genetic Anomalies

Genetic inheritance might seem straightforward enough. Middle schoolers around the country learn the formulaic predictions of Punnett Squares, and for the most part, the science appears cut-and-dry. Chromosomes passed on through sperm or eggs have a 50-50 shot at inheritance. Right?

Grisha Hatavets ’25, left, works with mathematics professor Sally Cockburn in the math lounge in Christian Johnson building.

Optimizing Orientation

While traversing the scenic peaks of the Adirondacks or canoeing through quiet backcountry streams, few first-year students are thinking about algorithms and linear optimization. But these mathematical ideas are as much a part of Hamilton orientation trips as any pack or paddle: they ensure that incoming students have the most worthwhile experience possible.

Beyond the Classroom

green lakes 2021 — A Perfect Research Opportunity Right Next Door – This past summer, four Hamilton students studied bacteria samples from the lake, which is exceptional for being meromictic, meaning the layers of water never mix.

prof Doug Ambrose, Luis Colli '22 — Rethinking Revolutions – Professor of History Doug Ambrose and Luis Colli ’22 chat about Colli’s Emerson research on South American revolutions.

Mahala stewart reserach 2021 — Students Examining Pandemic’s Impact on Families – Continuing a project that began last summer, four students worked with sociology professor Mahala Stewart.

x-rary binary with accretion disc — Zhang ’24 Studying Neutron Stars at Caltech – Hongyu Zhang ’24 is working with data from NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope.

Luke Cohen-Abeles '23 — Cohen-Abeles ’23 Researching Parkinson’s at Biogen – Luke conducted research as a neurodegenerative disease intern at a biotechnology company.