All News

While many of his classmates remain on campus to do their research, Daniel Campbell ’08 (Pittsford, N.Y.) is working off-campus this summer, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Campbell is working on several projects, but his main one deals with improving the accuracy of the results of a previous neutron experiment. He is trying to simulate the effects of redesigning two pieces of his apparatus in the hopes of reducing neutron collision.

Professor of Biology Pat Reynolds contributed a chapter to a new book, The Mollusks: A Guide to their Study, Collection, and Preservation. Reynolds' chapter is on the class Scaphopoda, known as the tusk shell because of their hollow, curved, conical tube shape. The book is a publication of the American Malacological Society, which according to its website, is "a dynamic international society of individuals and organizations with an active interest in the study and conservation of mollusks." Reynolds is editor-in-chief of Invertebrate Biology, the journal of the American Microscopical Society.

Timothy Fox ’08 (Montclair, N.J.) is spending his summer in the lab with the good company of Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. He is working with Professor of Geology Eugene Domack studying glacial rocks from Namibia and East Greenland in the hopes of better understanding the implications of global ice covering episodes (glaciations) that have occurred in the past, and the associated effects on long-term climatic stability.

Robert Brande ’08 (Glen Rock, N.J.) got a surprise visit from his aunt and uncle last year when they brought him some objects they had dug up on their Missouri farm. Brande, an archaeology major, did what he was trained to do: he examined and asked questions. “I thought, what if I could turn this into a project?” Later, Brande applied for and received an Emerson Grant to investigate this farm in the hopes of determining “how different people have used the land in different ways over time.”

Associate Professor of Economics Ann Owen was an organizer of the second annual Conference on Macroeconomic Research at Liberal Arts Colleges, hosted by Vassar.  Owen organized this year’s conference with colleagues at Smith, Colgate & Vassar. Its two primary goals are to create an open forum that allows macroeconomists at liberal arts colleges to expose their work to a group of peers to gain valuable feedback and to build a network of colleagues with whom to share ideas and collaborate on research projects. Owen will chair a panel on monetary policy at the conference. Hamilton has been selected to host a future conference.

Assistant Professor of Japanese Kyoko Omori gave a presentation titled “The Art of the Bluff: Youth Migrancy, Interlingualism, and the Popular Fiction of Tani Jôji” at the International Conference on Japanese Language Education at Columbia University. The conference theme was “Japanese Language Education: Entering a New Age.”  Conference presentations included: Japanese literature and culture, research on second language learning, linguistics, and classroom teaching practice.  This conference was the first Japanese language education conference held outside of Asia.

When orientation starts, there will be 10 members of the Class of 2010 who will already know the campus well. Hamilton is in a partnership with the National Science Foundation's STEP (Science Talent Expansion Program) and the Henry and Camille Dreyfus Foundation, both of which allow the science department to fund summer research for students before they even matriculate.

Dane Johnson ’07 (Red Bank, N.J.) is on campus this summer for research into macroeconomics. The mathematics and economics double major is writing a computer program which will help Johnson study the effects of technological progress on business cycles. Advised by Professor of Economics Chris Georges, Johnson is working on a project titled “The Creation of a Computer Program which Simulates the Effect of Technological Progress on Fluctuations in the Business Cycle.”

Stephen Knapp '69 of Worcester, Mass., uses glass and light the way many artists use paint and brush. A recent article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette highlighted Knapp's process for creating "light paintings" using glass and light.

Tim Elgren, professor of chemistry, has received a $259,000 award from the National Science Foundation in support of his continuing research. Elgren's lab focuses on understanding how enzymes work, particularly those that contain metal ions. He and his Hamilton undergraduate students prepare catalytically active biomaterials that contain the enzyme. These materials allow them to probe the natural activity of the enzyme catalyst. The award provides funds to support student participation in the project, a postdoctoral research position, and equipment.