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With support from the Geoscience Department’s Dickson Rogers Fund, Aubrey Coon ’16 is working this summer to help understand the sediment budget of Sylvan Beach, on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake.

Patrick Reynolds, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, announced the appointment of new faculty for the 2013-14 academic year, including five tenure-track appointments, 21 visiting professors and instructors, and six teaching fellows. New tenure-track appointments are Courtney Gibbons, Alexandra List, Max Majireck, Seth Schermerhorn and Xavier Tubau.

Mathematical logarithms and history might seem unrelated to one another, but this summer Turner Trapp ’15 is conducting interdisciplinary research into the role mathematical developments have in history. In his Emerson Foundation project, “The Discovery of Logarithms, Their Application to Ballistics, and Their Role in the Royal Navy’s Rise to Dominance in the Age of Sail,” he is working with Professor of History Kevin Grant to examine how the development of logarithms relates to England’s rise to naval dominance.

Working as a grant writer this summer, Candice McCardle ’15 is helping the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) raise funds to support the many services they offer.  From youth and senior services to day care programs, the CPC benefits the community in New York City’s Chinatown.

Andy Chen ’16, John McGuinnis ’16 and Zachary Pilson ’16 are applying the science behind a survivalist water-collecting technique to develop an alternative energy-generating device. With a Levitt Research Group Grant, the team is utilizing a method similar to solar stills to generate energy from falling condensation.

In speeches and debates, contemporary politicians often relate their values back to the principles of America’s founding fathers. However, how well they actually represent those ideals is disputable. In her Emerson Foundation project, “What Would Jefferson Do? The Jeffersonian Ideal and Modern Day Environmental Policy,” Claire Zurlo ’14 is examining how Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy relates to today’s environmentalism.

Many Hamilton students consider themselves environmentally conscious and aware of the consequences of putting profits ahead of environmental conservation. Oil extraction, whether it is from shale deposits, sea floors or sands, can threaten natural habitats and introduce environmental pollutants. This summer, Nicholas Anastasi ‘15 is researching government transparency and rhetoric surrounding oil sand development in Alberta, Canada.

The New England Center for Children (NECC), a school for children diagnosed with autism, has a long-standing close relationship with Hamilton College.  NECC was founded by Hamilton alumnus, Vincent Strully Jr. ’69, who serves as chief executive officer. Each semester, students interested in education and psychology work and take courses there as part of Hamilton’s cooperative education program, managed by James L. Ferguson Professor of Psychology Jonathan Vaughan.  Rosmery Rodriguez ’15 is interning as a full-time teacher with the Center’s students this summer.

Many Hamilton students do not begin serious internship experiences until their sophomore or junior years. However, through a program called First Year Forward, 33 first-year students are working with the Career Center to participate in workshops throughout the academic year and complete career-related experience the summer following their first year at Hamilton. One such student is Sharon Yam ’16, who is interning with an education firm, Independent Placements.

Associate Professor of Sociology Stephen Ellingson is the author of a chapter in Religion in Consumer Society: Brands, Consumers, and Markets.  In his chapter, "Packaging Religious Experience, Selling Modular Religion: Explaining The Emergence and Expansion of Megachurches," Ellingson shows  how the growth and success of megachurches has been fueled by their ability to create new religious practices that are easily adapted across theological and denominational boundaries.