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Professor of History Maurice Isserman has published an essay in Academe (September-October 2005) titled “Whose Truth?” In the piece Isserman relates details of a 2002 invitation he made to David Horowitz, and Horowitz's recollection of that invitation, during a February 2 appearance on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor.

Hamilton College has announced the names of the two honorary degrees recipients who will be awarded Doctors of Science degrees during the dedication ceremony for Hamilton's new science center. The dedication ceremony and conferring of the honorary degrees will take place Friday, Sept. 30, at 5:30 p.m., in the science center.

Diane Fox, the Freeman Postdoctoral Fellow in Asian Studies, participated in a Rockefeller funded initiative called “Culture, Art, Trauma, Survival, Development: Vietnamese Contexts” at the University of Massachusetts, Boston on September 17. Fox presented a report based on her scholarly work and on a public education project in which she is involved titled “The Agent Orange Education Project,” which offers educators and community groups resources to educate their students or groups on the lingering consequences of the chemicals used during the war in Vietnam. The project is also drawing together artwork from Americans and Vietnamese; the show of Vietnamese art opened in Hanoi on September 24 and then will come to the United States, where U.S. veterans will contribute art work and poetry.

Steven Yao, assistant professor of English, recently published an article in Comparative Literature titled "The Unheimlich Maneuver: or the Gap, the Gradient and the Spaces of Comparison." This article lays out an alternative model for conceptualizing the category of difference as a foundation for the act of comparison. Yao is also serving on the advisory board for the American Comparative Literature Association.

A selection of more than 100 Hamilton College art and artifacts from the permanent collection will be on display at Hamilton College’s Emerson Gallery from Thursday, Sept. 29, through Friday, Dec. 30, in an exhibit titled “A Century of Curiosities: The Story of Hamilton College Collection.” This exhibition, the third in a series, highlights some of the 5,000 objects included in the Hamilton College Collection, which has grown substantially since its beginning in 1873.

Tim Elgren, associate professor of chemistry, recently published a paper titled "Immobilization of Active Hydrogenases by Encapsulation in Polymeric Porous Gels" in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. The manuscript describes the successful incorporation of hydrogenases into glass-like materials and the demonstration that the enzymes remain fully active in this environment. Hydrogenases are capable of generating hydrogen gas from protons and electrons. They are also capable of catalyzing the reverse reaction, which represents the catalytic core of a hydrogen fuel cell. The work was initiated and completed on Elgren's recent sabbatical at Montana State University and was funded by grants from the American Chemical Society and the Research Corporation. A patent disclosure on this novel application has been filed, the first for a scientific invention from Hamilton College.

Jared Diamond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel, The Fates of Human Societies, will give the James S. Plant Lecture at Hamilton College on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall as part of the College’s science center dedication weekend “Celebrating Science at Hamilton College.” It will be followed by a book-signing and reception. The new $56 million science center is the largest construction project in the College’s history.

Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields presented a seminar for Syracuse University's Department of Chemistry on September 20.  His lecture, titled "Water Clusters in the Atmosphere: An Overview of Computational Chemistry Research at Hamilton College," featured the atmospheric chemistry work of Tim Evans '05, Frank Pickard '05 and Goldwater Scholars Meghan Dunn '06 and Mary Beth Day '07.  His talk also encompassed the collaboration between his group and his colleague Ted Dibble at the SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry. This work involves Marco Allodi '08 and Kristin Alongi '08, both of whom worked in the Shields lab over the summer and are continuing their research this fall. Dan Tomb '08, Ngoda Manongi '08, Pragyan Praghan '08, David Hamilton '09 and Jared Pienkos '09 also contributed to atmospheric chemistry research this past summer. Research progress in computational chemistry has been enhanced by the ongoing contributions of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Karl Kirschner.  Shields briefly reviewed the biochemical research of Sarah Taylor '03, Damien Ellens '03, Lorena Hernandez '03, Abby Markeson '04, Sarah Felder '07, Katrina Lexa '05, and Karilyn Larkin '06.

The Hamilton College Contemporary Voices and Visions Series opens the 2005-06 season with the Ethos Percussion Group and the Masters of Indian Music on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m., at Wellin Hall in the Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts.

The Brookings Institution has announced the appointment of Hamilton College government professor Cheng Li as Nonresident Senior Fellow for the year 2005-06.  Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, is part of the Brookings Institution's China Initiative, a group of scholars who develop timely, independent analysis and policy recommendations to help U.S. and Chinese leaders address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.