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This past summer, scores of Hamilton College students pushed their mental boundaries by shelving their role as students and becoming student researchers. Dan Chandler ’08 (Orange, Conn.) was one of these intrepid students, but what makes his story particularly interesting is that rather than carrying out his research in the friendly confines of the Hamilton College Science Center, Chandler chose yet another challenge and conducted research at Yale University. Chandler, a neuroscience major, says he was immediately interested in studying the effects of repeated low blood sugar on the behavior of rats.

Hamilton has a proud history of entertaining the best and most famous experts in various fields. David Suzuki, Tom Brokaw and Al Gore have all spoken on the Hill in the recent past. No less impressive are the countless professors and professionals from across the country who find Hamilton a welcome place to share their findings and ideas. The Hamilton Diversity and Social Justice Project continued this tradition in excellent style by inviting Professor Leslie Thiele of the University of Florida to speak at the opening of its annual colloquium on September 8, a two-day event that also included student speakers from Hamilton, Union College and Colgate University.

 Famous psychologist and Hamilton alumnus B.F. Skinner once said, “The future of scientific research does not rest in the crowded halls of the professional scientist, but in the minds and hopeful projects of the young.” Skinner’s vision of the impact of undergraduate research rang in the voices of the 10 Hamilton College student researchers in chemistry who presented their summer work at Colgate University on July 27.  Hamilton student participants were: David Brown ’10, Janes Greisler ’10, David Hamilton ’09, Thomas Irvin ’09, Amy Klockowski ’09, Elijah LaChance ’10, Kurtis Magee ’08, Phil Milner ’10, Ben Saccomano ’09, and Evan Savage ’08. The students joined seven fellow researchers from Colgate in the 8th annual Colgate Hamilton Organic Group (CHOG) presentation session, together with Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry Robin Kinnel, Associate Professor of Chemistry Ian Rosenstein and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Nicole Snyder.

When most people think of turtles, they think of walking shields, animals that take their homes with them wherever they go. Certainly, the word "vulnerable" doesn't come to mind. Nevertheless, turtles are reptiles, one of the two classes of animals most affected by global environmental change (the other is amphibians.) Jillian Berkowitz '09 (Cranford, N.J.), Kristen Selden '09 (Southborough, Mass.) and Amy Klegarth '09 (Germansville, Pa.), under the advisement of Professor of Biology David Gapp and with the assistance of the Director of the Hamilton Microscopy and Imaging Facility Ken Bart, are realizing they don't have to travel too far to see the impact and make a difference. The team's research on the digestive tract of the painted turtle could shed much-needed light on how, and how many, toxins in the air and water make it into the bloodstream of these truly defenseless and extraordinary animals.

Only half an hour from the Hamilton College campus, near Fayetteville, N.Y., there is a rare biological spectacle lying hidden from casual eyes. Green Lake is one of the few meromitic lakes in the world. The term "meromitic" refers to that while most lakes have constant water cycling (water that was at the top of the lake one week could be at the bottom the next) Green Lake has virtually none, leading to portions of water that have been on the bottom of the lake for hundreds of years. For practical purposes, such as swimming or boating, the distinction makes little difference but Greg Ray '08 (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Tara Apo '10 (Maui, HI) and their research advisors Professor of Biology Jinnie Garrett and Assistant Professor of Biology Michael McCormick aren't there to swim. Instead, the team is working to gain new insights into the levels, patterns, and characteristics of diversity in one of the world's most unique and understudied ecosystems.

When most people thinking of harvesting material from apis mellifera, they think about honey. Apis mellifera is, after all, the scientific name of the honeybee. That's not the case for Sarah Bertino '09 (Natick, Mass.), working under the advisement of Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the Neuroscience Program Herman Lehman. When Bertino sets out to harvest from bees, she's after their brains. She has about 30 seconds to extract the brain from the bee on the dry ice beside her and isolate it in a small test tube before the brain liquefies. That's just the beginning of a bizarre and captivating trail leading to an intimate connection with the human brain that holds the promise of yielding answers to the mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Any scientist knows that research is time-consuming. Most researchers, both at Hamilton and in the world at large, will wait years to see the results of their labor, but Jonathan Wexler ’08 (Beverly, Mass.) anticipates seeing his work put into operation before the end of the summer. Under the advisement of Associate Professor of Physics Gordon Jones and Professor of Mathematics Larry Knop, Wexler will update and perfect existing programming – as well as creating new computer code – for programs integral to the Spallation Neutron Source in Tennessee Oakridge National Labs in Nashville. Beginning in mid-July, Wexler will spend a month installing these programs and overseeing their operation at the facility, which provides a controlled source of neutrons for experiments regarding subjects as diverse as the composition of antimatter and the origin of the universe.

A soldier in today’s armed forces is a human being called to a field containing scenes of utter inhumanity. In the course of defending family and homeland, a soldier will often be forced to see and do terrible things. As General Douglas MacArthur said, “A soldier must cease to be a man in battle.” Unfortunately, the means of comforting these individuals when they return to society have not kept up with the means of destruction they operate. Still today we are confronted with the trouble of what to do when the enemies we endeavor to destroy cease to be physical and move inside the mind. Through their summer research at Hamilton, Jen Sadowsky ’08 (Allendale, N.J.) and Abby Crimmins ’09 (Elmira, N.Y.) are part of the effort to rebuild the minds of those who have received severe psychological shocks.

"It's amazing," says Nate Schreiber '08 (Sudbury, Mass.) as he's sitting across from me, "people have been working with robots for 30-plus years, and still the most advanced robots can't even walk up stairs." Annie Dickson '09 (Ottawa, Canada) agrees, and as the two bounce ideas and questions off each other, it becomes obvious why they make such a good team, "an excellent working team," as their research advisor, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Jonathan Vaughan, says. "Wait a minute," I say. "What does robotics have to do with psychology?"

Imagine rolling down the street in a brand-new convertible, secure in the knowledge that your latest extravagance is powered by renewable hydrogen fuel cells. Now consider the terrible implications if the hydrogen cannot be stored safely. Hydrogen in its pure form is an exceedingly reactive gas that must be kept at extreme pressures and temperatures not safe using traditional metal or plastic containers. Developing a light, low-cost receptacle that can withstand these conditions is the work of Sarah Cryer '10 (Stamford, Conn.) under the advisement of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Camille Jones.