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Fletcher Malcom and Jennifer McGuire, both members of the class of 2003, are working with Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry Robin Kinnel trying to find anti-cancer compounds in algae that may have future pharmaceutical use. Malcom and McGuire, both chemistry majors, have enjoyed the opportunity to do serious research prior to their senior thesis’ projects, which will be completed in the upcoming academic year.

Shayna McHugh ’05, Julie Rizzo ’03 and Jakub Sroubek ’05 participated in Hamilton College’s Summer Science Research Program, which enables students to work with Hamilton professors on current science research each summer. McHugh, Rizzo and Sroubek took part in a study initiated by Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry Robin Kinnel. The study examines sponges from Guam and Palau for possible anti-cancer and anti-biotic compounds.

Johanna Carroll ’03 and Matthew Child ’04 are working with Assistant Professor of Biology Steven Festin on science research this summer. Carroll, a biology major and Festin’s advisee, is looking at the effects of estrogen and other proteins on gene expression in cancer cells. Child, a biochemistry major, is investigating how alpha-feta protein reduces tumors in breast cancer. The two students are participants in Hamilton’s Summer Science Research program, which enables students to gain first hand research experience an area of their interest. There are 90 students participating in the program this summer.

Slashdot.org, an online technical news magazine, reported Hamilton College’s national conference in undergraduate chemistry, which ran July 21-23. Organized by the MERCURY (Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate computational chemistRY) consortium, the conference featured speakers on a variety of topics from molecular recognition and drug design to using Beowulfs for research. The MERCURY system also features a 32 processor SGI and is housed at Hamilton College.

Four Hamilton College students are spending the summer in Professor of Biology Ginnie Garrett's laboratory. Joan Booth ’04, Elizabeth Ransom ’04, Heng Ming Chan ’05, and Ernest DiGiovanni ’05 are doing summer science research with Garrett. Booth is working with Garrett on a survey of ethics in undergraduate science curriculum, while Ransom, Chan and DiGiovanni are studying cloning genes and growing them in media of varying nitrogen levels.

The nine members of the class of 2006 applied to the program after receiving a newsletter from the college. Applicants submitted recommendations and a letter explaining why the experience would benefit them and how they were qualified for the opportunity. The summer science research program runs 10 weeks and will conclude in the final week of July.

Hamilton College is housing a new research consortium for undergraduate chemistry students, reports MSNBC.com. Led by Hamilton Professor of Chemistry George Shields, the Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate Conceptual Chemistry, or MERCURY, program enables undergraduates from Hamilton and six other liberal arts institutions access to a SGI Origin 300 for chemistry research.

Woodrow Wilson Fellow and Hamilton Government Professor Cheng Li was quoted in a Reuters article discussing the anticipated change in China's leadership. It is expected that Communist party chief Jiang Zemin and several other leaders will retire from their party jobs in September or October and from their government jobs at a party meeting next year. Li commented, "It seems highly likely that post-Jiang leaders, because of institutional restraints and their own limitations, will rely on power sharing negotiations and consultation more than their predecessors."

Rob Gordon '03, Ryan Palmitesso '03, Robert Parker '04, and Jeffrey Rubino '05 are four of the science fellows working on science research with Tim Elgren, associate dean of faculty and associate professor of chemistry, this summer at Hamilton. The work they are doing is based on research students have completed in the past and a paper Elgren recently published.

Hamilton alumnus Hugh "Tripp" Jones, '88, was featured in a Boston Globe article highlighting the work of his organization, the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassInc). Celebrating its fifth anniversary, MassInc is dedicated to promoting the vitality of the state's middle class. Promoted as a "non-partisan, evidence-based organization" MassInc has used research, education and journalism to further its four main policy initiatives of "economic prosperity", "safe neighborhoods", "lifelong learning," and "civic renewal." Jones commented, "For me, though, this is pretty basic...I love the business of politics and public policy, but I want a healthy family life, too." He continues, "I've seen what running for office does to people...having kids puts all the other stuff in perspective."