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Hamilton alumnus and former FBI agent Christopher Whitcomb '81 is the author of a new novel, Black (2004, Little Brown & Company). Publishers Weekly says: "Whitcomb (Cold Zer Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team) parlays the experiences and expertise of a 15-year career with the FBI into a cutting-edge counterterrorism thriller. Imaginative plotting, rock-solid prose, fascinating technology and blasts of furious action will hold readers hostage until the last surprising pages...This is a stellar thriller from an exciting new voice."  

Matt Smith '06 knows all about how confidence can equate to better play in athletics. One of the most versatile athletes at Hamilton, Smith's versatility and broad interests led him to question the powers of self-evaluative thoughts. "I wanted to look at the concept that thoughts affect performance and how it is applicable to many situations," says Smith.

Daniel Griffith '07 wanted to stand out as a Hamilton research student and hoped to work on not just one, but two different projects this summer. Griffith and Frank Pickard '05 worked together on an investigation of enediynes, potential anti-cancer agents that may eventually result in an anti-cancer drug. Griffith's other project involves him calculating values for phenols and organic acids that can be important in the process of designing medications.

Director of Adventure Programs Andrew Jillings published the article "Mental Safety Skills" in July/August 2004 issue of American Whitewater magazine.

Professor of Psychology Jonathan Vaughan was elected as a fellow of the American Psychological Association for 2004. The American Psychological Association is based in Washington, D.C. According to the APA Web site, the association is the largest association of psychologists in the world working to "advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare."

After spending a year abroad in Paris, Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill '05 came back to campus with a sense of focus. Even though he has grand visions for himself in the future, Bentsi-Enchill has been concentrating on his psychology major and his current investigation on how values influence the development of teenagers.

In June, Austin Briggs, Tompkins Professor of English Literature, Emeritus, taught at the Inter University Centre in Dubrovnilk, Croatia. The two-week graduate program on James Joyce featured an international roster of faculty assembled at the IUC, a center for advanced studies whose member institutions include such universities as Johns Hopkins, MIT, Cornell, Oxford, Upsalla, Parma, Beijing and Tokyo. Briggs delivered a lecture, conducted a seminar and participated in group reading sessions devoted to Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. Before Dubrovnik, Briggs attended the International James Joyce Symposium in Dublin, where he spoke on two panels, one of which -- on Joyce and the menstrual cycle -- he organized and chaired.

Associate Professor of Chemistry Tim Elgren assumed the presidency of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in June. He is also serving a three-year term on the CUR executive board. CUR is an organization that supports faculty and institutions that seek to promote undergraduate research on their campuses. Elgren also presented talks at CUR's national conference in La Crosse, Wis., in June.  The talks were titled "So You Have Tenure, Now What?," "Report on the NSF Summit on Undergraduate Research" and "International Programs with Research Opportunities."  

Plumbing, electrical and painting are difficult trades to enter without proper experience and training. To help make it possible for other members of physical plant to work their way up the ladder, the college reinstated its apprenticeship program last year.  The program provides training in various maintenance vocations and the opportunity to become a member of the College’s skilled trades crew.

Jonathan Rick '05, an editorial intern at Time magazine in New York City, continues to contribute to the Notebook section. Rick received credit in Time’s Milestones section (August 9, 2004). Credit in this section can include any number of assignments, including fact checking, writing the Performance of the Week, or compiling Milestones, Verbatim or Numbers.