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"Stuffed" was the comment most commonly heard from students in the interdisciplinary Food for Thought class and the Kitchen Culture: Women, Gender and the Politics of Food class at the conclusion of the bicentennial Galaxy Dinner on Feb. 1. Despite being handicapped by a forkless table-setting, students gamely consumed a sumptuous serving of early 1800s dishes. The event was held with a bit of historical staging -- candlelight, fire roaring in the hearth,wooden utensils -- in the Great Room of Philip Spencer House.

Bicentennial Colleges and tours continued on Saturday of Kickoff Weekend. Faculty authors read from their works; Professors Douglas Ambrose and Robert Martin discussed the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton; and Professor Rick Werner talked ab out the idea of happiness as put forth in the Declaration of Independence.

Dean of Faculty Patrick D. Reynolds announced the appointment of two of Hamilton's most outstanding teacher-scholars to endowed chairs. Professor of Biology David Gapp was appointed to the Silas D. Childs Chair, and Professor of Psychology Jonathan Vaughan was appointed to the James L. Ferguson Chair. Both appointments were effective July 1.

When working with human afflictions such as hypothyroidism and diabetes, researchers find it beneficial to study model organisms that can exhibit the same conditions. Animals such as mice and turtles, for example, can provide insight about the biological traits and medical conditions they share with humans. This summer Melanie Hundt ’13, Nicole Nietlisbach ’13 and Max Vaickus ’12 examined hypothyroidism and diabetes in mice and tested for the hormone ghrelin in turtles. The students worked with Professor of Biology David Gapp.

One of the summer’s most labor-intensive student projects on the Hill is the maintenance of the Hamilton College Community Farm (HCCF) garden. Student workers are constantly brainstorming about ways to streamline the farming process, which begins in February with germination within the greenhouse and doesn’t end until the final crops are harvested in the fall. The most recent advance for the community farm was made by former farm manager Sarah Gamble ’13 and co-founder Andrew Pape ’11, who developed a comprehensive farm almanac through which they hope to pass on their knowledge and experience to future farmers.

Place your hand on your throat. Whether you know it or not, you’re holding your thyroid glands, some of the most important in your body. The team of Sloane Lipkin ’11, Andrew Brodsky ’11 and Evan Taddeo ’11, working under Professor of Biology David Gapp, are working this summer to determine the effects of decreased thyroid function, or hypothyroidism, on mice.