All News

Vancomycin is an effective antibiotic that interferes with cell wall synthesis in bacteria. Because it is so powerful, vancomycin is only used after other antibiotics have failed in order to reduce the development of resistant bacteria; however, vancomycin-resistant bacteria have emerged despite these precautions. Gail Corneau '10 (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Lydia Rono '11 (Eldoret, Kenya) are working with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Nicole Synder to develop a vancomycin derivative incorporating an unnatural carbohydrate to overcome this bacterial resistance.

Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, the Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Comparative Literature, gave a plenary address titled "Tragedy's Women as Subjects and Objects of the Gaze," at the biennial Celtic Classics Conference held in Cork, Ireland, July 9-12. Rabinowitz was also a co-organizer of the "Vision and Power" workshop at the conference.

Molly Faerber '10 is the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship from Lighthouse International. The organization honors gifted and motivated students for their outstanding courage in overcoming the challenges of vision loss. Faerber received the Judy Van Nostrand Arts Award.

When in doubt, look at what's right around you. Dan Rudel '10 (Metuchen, N.J.) knew he wanted to pursue a research project this summer, but was unsure exactly what to study. He thought about possibilities in the area: "I was looking for things that are interesting about Utica," he says. "I didn't realize how interesting it was until I started research."

Robert Paquette, the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History, has been nominated by President George W. Bush as a member of the National Council on Humanities for a term expiring January 26, 2014. The Council is charged with advising the chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

More than 60 Hamilton students, employees and alumni and their family members participated in the 31st annual Boilermaker, a 15k road race in Utica, on July 13. Hamilton's top finisher was Peter Kosgei '10, who came in 14th with a time of 47:33, among the 9,770 runners. In May Kosgei finished first in the 5,000-meter run and claimed his second national title in as many days at the NCAA Division III men's outdoor track and field championships. The Boilermaker annually attracts elite runners from all over the world, including Olympians and world record holders. The 9.3 mile Boilermaker is rated as one of the top 100 races in the U.S. by Runner's World magazine.

Where did the American founders get their ideas from, anyway? Kaitlyn Bishara '09 (Lewiston, N.Y.) is investigating this question in a summer research project titled "Evolution or Revolution: The Role of the Classics in the Founding of America." Bishara is working in collaboration with Edward North Professor of Classics Carl Rubino on the project, which is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant program.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Jean Burr, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Mark Oakes and Tori Nygren '11 presented their paper "An Implicit Association Test to Measure Relational Aggression: Preliminary Results and Directions for Future Research" at the 3rd Research Conference on Relational Aggression in Philadelphia on June 23.

While many Hamilton students this summer are heading to internships in various professions, trading in their jeans, textbooks and flip-flops for business suits, Lizzie Marris '10 is making a different kind of transition. "I think the prominent departure in this internship is not from academic to professional, but rather from privilege to disadvantage," she says of her job this summer. Marris, a native of Erieville, N.Y., is working with migrant children as a teaching assistant with the Cortland Migrant Education Outreach Program (CMEOP).

Summer research at Hamilton isn't always about being in the lab. Kristen Selden '09 found that out last summer when she spent many days out in the field trying to trap turtles. This year she is back out looking for more turtles in addition to frogs and tadpoles. Last summer she focused on disproving Andrew (1959) and Ballmer (1949) who stated that the turtle gastrointestinal tract is one big long tube that has no morphological differentiation between the esophagus, stomach, and various sections within the intestine.