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The untrod sands of the Egyptian Deserts hold a mystery much older than the construction of the pyramids: hundreds of naturally formed “desert eyes” unblinkingly turned toward the sky for tens of millions of years. Yet, despite their age, these structures have almost no topography; in fact, until the advent of Google Earth, these formations, which lie in the desert west of the Nile, were never studied. Josh Wolpert ’16, is working with Professor of Geosciences Barbara Tewksbury on the Desert Eyes Project, funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Patrick Reynolds, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, announced the appointment of new faculty for the 2014-15 academic year, including six tenure-track appointments, 24 visiting professors and instructors, and three teaching fellows.

Courtney Smith ’86, P’16 has created several internship opportunities for Hamilton students this summer through the Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation in Lewisburg, W.V. As the executive director of the foundation, Smith contacted local nonprofits to see if any of the organizations would be interested in taking on summer interns. Several offered to host interns and Meredith Garner ’15, Liz DaBramo ’15, and Medjine Lucien ’16— were selected. 

Every day, one billion viewers tune in for the variety of shows broadcasted by China Central Television (CCTV).  One subchannel, CCTV America is the English-language news channel run by Chinese state broadcaster, developing programming for English-speaking audiences worldwide. Liza Strauss ’15 is interning with CCTV America in Washington D.C. this summer.

How College Works, a book co-authored by the Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Sociology Daniel Chambliss, continues to receive attention in the national media, this time as a Chronicle of Higher Education “Book Club” selection. Chambliss, along with his co-author and former student Christopher Takacs ’05, will initiate discussions of the book’s chapters by supplying weekly entries on the publication’s site for six weeks. They will also be tweeting with the hashtag #ChronBooks.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics Courtney Gibbons served on a panel during the 2014 MathFest held Aug. 6-9 in Portland, Ore. The national meeting is sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

Scrutinizing the pages of Where’s Waldo?, searching for that pesky beanie and striped shirt, your brain is working hard to spot the elusive traveler. This summer, four students are examining various components of visual attention with Assistant Professor of Psychology Alexandra List. Katie Callahan ’15, Christi Westlin ’15 and Alex Mitko ’16 are each working on one of the three elements of the study, “Visual Attention: Failures, Dynamics and Interaction with Auditory Attention,” and Hannah Zucker ’15 is doing an interdisciplinary project.

Adirondack Adventure, Outreach Adventure and eXploration Adventure Hamilton’s pre-orientation programs for new students, welcomed 283 members of the Class of 2018 on Friday, Aug. 15.

The Cantos, by 1905 Hamilton alumnus Ezra Pound, is an 800-page, unfinished epic poem that is divided into 120 sections, or cantos. The work is widely regarded as controversial due to its experimental style, being loosely structured and arcane, and Pound’s publicized fascist sympathies. “A good deal of the political and economic material in the Cantos is [infamously] wrong-headed,” John Rufo ’16 stated, “but the poetic method and forms are not inherently fascist or anything like that.”

Although processing clay may not sound like the most amusing way to spend the summer, Lesley Klose ’15, an art major with a focus on sculpture, is enjoying her time at the Red Dirt Studio in Mt. Rainier, Maryland, nonetheless. Her summer project is made possible through the support of the Kevin W. Kennedy ’70 Internship Fund for the Arts.