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Assistant Professor of Mathematics Debra Boutin, gave an invited address titled "Distinguishing Geometric Graphs" at the "Graph Theory with Altitude" Conference in Denver, Colorado in May 2005. Distinguishing a graph is accomplished by labeling the vertices with the fewest number of integers so that each vertex can be uniquely identified by a combination of its position within the labeled graph and its own label. The research Boutin presented was conducted jointly with Michael Albertson of Smith College and generalizes distinguishing to the new area of geometric graphs.

"By the time the preliminary estimate of 1st quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is released on Thursday, it will mostly be old news," says former Federal Reserve economist and Hamilton economics professor Ann Owen. "While some revisions from the advance estimates released last month are likely, this information is only useful if it gives us a hint of where the economy may be going in the 3rd quarter.

Shayna McHugh '05 was featured in The News-Times (Danbury, Conn.) in the  article "Budding Scientist from Bethel wins Fulbright scholarship," (5/9/05) about her recent Fulbright scholarship award and upcoming trip to Brazil. The article describes McHugh's invitation to work with a research group in Brazil headed by Robert Berlinck, a prominent natural products chemist at the University of Sao Paulo.

"The Star Wars films, the first of which appeared 25 years ago, are steeped in the traditions bequeathed to us by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Heroes with doubtful parentage and no place to settle down, tutors with mysterious powers, immense journeys that represent whole lifetimes, the endless struggle against disorder and violence—all these are familiar to readers of the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid. It is gratifying to note that these immensely popular films bear witness to the enduring power of the ancient world."

The images of prize-winning LIFE Magazine photographer George Silk (1916 – 2004), in the first retrospective of his work in the U.S., will be on exhibit at Hamilton College's Emerson Gallery through Sunday, Sept. 11. His photographs will be accompanied by those of his daughter, Georgiana Bulfinch Silk, who is a graduate of Kirkland College and a professional photographer in her own right.

Rounds of applause filled Commons on May 16 as employees gathered to salute their administrative, staff and M&O colleagues for milestone service anniversaries. Co-workers also bid a fond farewell to seven employees retiring from the College with a combined total of more than two centuries of service!

Visiting Assistant Professor of English Katherine Terrell presented a paper on May 8 at the 40th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The paper was titled "'Lynealy descendit of the devill': Mythical Genealogy and Scottish Anglophobia in Verse and Chronicle."

Twenty members of Hamilton's class of 2005 were elected this month to the Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest honor society. They are Emily Barber, Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill, Emily Cooper, Malcolm F. Dias Jr., Joshua Dilk, Ashley Hatfield, Emily Kerr, Farrah Lakhani, Emily Lemanczyk, Brendan Mahoney, Tanya Namad, Molly O’Sullivan, Erica Otlowski, Heather Schrum, Alexandra Sear, Tatyana Stoilova, Sean Thorsen, Eleni Venturas, Alexander Webb II and Katharine Wright.

Former Baltimore mayor and dean of the Howard University School of Law Kurt Schmoke told Hamilton College graduates to “be aware of wonder and instill in your child or some other child the sense of wonder, discovery and an appetite for knowledge,” in his address at Hamilton’s 193rd commencement on Sunday, May 22. Bachelor of arts degrees were awarded to 423 Hamilton graduates at the ceremony, held in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.

Keeper of the Kohn, a documentary directed by David Gaynes '99 was mentioned in a USA Today article (5/17/05) about Middlebury lacrosse field manager Peter Kohn, whose life is chronicled in the film. The 73-year-old Kohn has been at Middlebury for 24 years. The film takes its name from the one or two freshmen, known as "keepers," selected each year to look after Kohn and ensure his daily needs are met. Kohn has demonstrated symptoms of mild autism since childhood, although he has never been formally diagnosed. Keeper of the Kohn won the Jury award for best documentary at the Vail Film Festival and the Audience award for best documentary at the Palm Beach Film Festival.