Those visiting the Science Center recently will have noticed the tables set out in the atrium and a number of students in dress clothes or the distinctive green "Shieldslab" shirts. On July 29-31 Hamilton hosted the sixth annual MERCURY (Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate Computational Chemistry) Computational Chemistry conference.
The MERCURY group is an organization of investigators, faculty and undergraduate students at seven liberal arts colleges in the United States, funded by a National Science Foundation NSF-MRI grant. Their annual conference is designed to promote undergraduate research in computational chemistry.
Lecturers included Joe Francisco of Purdue University, Anne B. McCoy of Ohio State University, George Schatz from Northwestern University, Nigel Richards at the University of Florida, Elfriede Kraka from the University of the Pacific, and Ed Sherer from Rib-X Pharmaceuticals. The speakers concentrated their discussions on structural biochemistry, protein folding, and computer-aided drug design.
The students presented their work to a collected audience of 95 which MERCURY director George Shields, Winslow Professor of Chemistry at Hamilton, explained was at least 25 people larger than in previous years. The numbers also included an unprecedented 50 student speakers.
On Monday afternoon the students gathered in the Science Building's Kennedy Auditorium to give short talks about their research. After an hour and a half of presentations, the students mingled during a more interactive poster session.
The Hamilton students were especially colorful thanks to their group shirt. Bright, chemical green, the Shieldslab shirts were an adaptation of the Laser Cats Saturday Night Live sketch. The front featured a computer labeled "Shieldslab" and the back the beginning of the skit script, altered to apply to the lab. "We used to watch the video all the time," explained presenter Elena Wood '10. "And it seemed like every time we turned it on, a tour would go by or the professor would come in."
As the Shieldslab shirts suggested, the unofficial theme was of the conference was green. Students from several schools concentrated on aerosols, cloud formation, water cluster patters, all with anti-global warming applications, while many of their colleagues worked on the chemistry of fuel cells. A large number of students also addressed medical issues such as cancer drugs, HIV protease inhibitors, DNA chemistry, and protein structure.
Although the MERCURY group is seven U.S. colleges, the attendees were from a much larger area than that. The poster session featured such diverse locations as Brock University, St. Catherine's in southern Ontario; Westminster College, Salt Lake City; the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Queensborough Community College of CUNY.
The Hamilton participants admitted to some nerves at presenting before such a large group. Amanda Salisburg '08, attending her third MERCURY conference, said that she gets nervous when facing large groups, although she enjoys the one on one poster sessions. "I memorize my abstract and try to say as much as possible without stuttering," she joked. Tom Morrell '10, returning for his second conference, added that it got easier. And no one's nerves were bad enough to put it off for good; all the students at the conference agreed that they would be back next summer.
Some, such as Salisburg, will not be coming back because by next summer they will have graduated. Shields explained that one of the benefits of conferences such as this one was the networking possibilities. MERCURY invites students, faculty and professionals and encourages them to mingle; the result is a significantly expanded network of potential employers, professors, and collaborators. Shields posited an example and Salisburg provided a real life one, explaining that she had received an offer for graduate school at a conference she had attended earlier in the year.
A fondness for Youtube videos aside, the 12 Hamilton students who presented at MERCURY had more than earned the applause they received for their pertinent research topics and detailed posters. July 31 marked the end of the 10-week research period and the aura in the Science Center was one of excitement and success. Although most of the students will go home to vacation during the month of August, their posters will remain on display outside the Kennedy Auditorium to show passers-by the amount of work that goes on at Hamilton during the summer.
-- by Lisbeth Redfield
The MERCURY group is an organization of investigators, faculty and undergraduate students at seven liberal arts colleges in the United States, funded by a National Science Foundation NSF-MRI grant. Their annual conference is designed to promote undergraduate research in computational chemistry.
Lecturers included Joe Francisco of Purdue University, Anne B. McCoy of Ohio State University, George Schatz from Northwestern University, Nigel Richards at the University of Florida, Elfriede Kraka from the University of the Pacific, and Ed Sherer from Rib-X Pharmaceuticals. The speakers concentrated their discussions on structural biochemistry, protein folding, and computer-aided drug design.
The students presented their work to a collected audience of 95 which MERCURY director George Shields, Winslow Professor of Chemistry at Hamilton, explained was at least 25 people larger than in previous years. The numbers also included an unprecedented 50 student speakers.
On Monday afternoon the students gathered in the Science Building's Kennedy Auditorium to give short talks about their research. After an hour and a half of presentations, the students mingled during a more interactive poster session.
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| Alexa Ashworth '09 and Elena Wood '10 |
As the Shieldslab shirts suggested, the unofficial theme was of the conference was green. Students from several schools concentrated on aerosols, cloud formation, water cluster patters, all with anti-global warming applications, while many of their colleagues worked on the chemistry of fuel cells. A large number of students also addressed medical issues such as cancer drugs, HIV protease inhibitors, DNA chemistry, and protein structure.
Although the MERCURY group is seven U.S. colleges, the attendees were from a much larger area than that. The poster session featured such diverse locations as Brock University, St. Catherine's in southern Ontario; Westminster College, Salt Lake City; the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Queensborough Community College of CUNY.
The Hamilton participants admitted to some nerves at presenting before such a large group. Amanda Salisburg '08, attending her third MERCURY conference, said that she gets nervous when facing large groups, although she enjoys the one on one poster sessions. "I memorize my abstract and try to say as much as possible without stuttering," she joked. Tom Morrell '10, returning for his second conference, added that it got easier. And no one's nerves were bad enough to put it off for good; all the students at the conference agreed that they would be back next summer.
Some, such as Salisburg, will not be coming back because by next summer they will have graduated. Shields explained that one of the benefits of conferences such as this one was the networking possibilities. MERCURY invites students, faculty and professionals and encourages them to mingle; the result is a significantly expanded network of potential employers, professors, and collaborators. Shields posited an example and Salisburg provided a real life one, explaining that she had received an offer for graduate school at a conference she had attended earlier in the year.
A fondness for Youtube videos aside, the 12 Hamilton students who presented at MERCURY had more than earned the applause they received for their pertinent research topics and detailed posters. July 31 marked the end of the 10-week research period and the aura in the Science Center was one of excitement and success. Although most of the students will go home to vacation during the month of August, their posters will remain on display outside the Kennedy Auditorium to show passers-by the amount of work that goes on at Hamilton during the summer.
-- by Lisbeth Redfield
