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"I read some comics when I was younger, but not too many," says Brendan Conway '09 (North Caldwell, N.J.) on his experience in the field of superhero literature. Now, however, he is spending the entire summer reading comics. After a friend recommended Watchmen by Alan Moore, one of the greatest graphic novels ever written, Conway started looking for other superhero comics that showed the same level of depth and complexity…"and one led to another," he says. "Eventually, I was knee-deep in superhero lore, and I was finding it fascinating."

Due to the limited capacity of the brain to repair itself, strokes are the leading cause of adult disability. Although physical and occupational therapy can encourage damaged brain circuits to recover by enhancing their activity, such strategies are hampered by patient participation, limited ability to increase the therapy "dose" and the labor-intensive nature of the methods. However, several new classes of drugs have recently been developed that stimulate brain activity after strokes, possibly leading to increased neural repair and recovery.

A critical concern for U.S. policymakers is how to secure a reliable source of energy in the coming years. Even as fears about a decline in global petroleum reserves lead the country to use the range of its diplomatic options to achieve "energy security," competition for resources is intensifying with the economic growth of countries like Russia, China and India. As a Levitt Fellow this summer, Cameron Gaylord '09 (Westport, Conn.) is delving into these issues, studying the global political arena to assess the challenges that finite energy resources present for international policy.

Although Cristina Garafola '11 (Sparta, N.J.) only started learning Chinese this year, she has a long-standing interest in languages. Garafola studied German and Latin in high school, and continued learning German in her first year of college. Having taken several different languages with different teachers, she noticed that as a student, her mastery of the language depended on the methods of instruction. "The way the teachers taught really affected how much we were able to learn," she says. This summer Garafola is researching how different teaching methods contributed to the acquisition of Chinese as a second language at study abroad programs in Beijing.

This weekend, the Stanley Theatre will open its doors for a unique piece of community action and entertainment. For the Good Inc., a non-profit organization started by Kirkland alumna Cassandra Harris-Lockwood '74, has collaborated with the youth of Utica and Cornhill to stage The Wonderful Wizard of Was, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's children's classic set in Utica. The show, which is written and produced by Harris-Lockwood, features some of the best-known songs from Quincy Jones' The Wiz and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The Utica production is directed by T. K. Howard. Doris Yager, originator of the locally famed Rhythmlites, is the associate producer, and Hamilton Professor of Music Michael "Doc" Woods serves as music director, as well as the arranger and pit conductor.

Although Hamilton students have traveled to different sites across the country this summer in pursuit of research opportunities, conducting fieldwork doesn't necessarily involve traveling to a remote area. Some sites are found right in Central New York. Megan Fung '10, Katie Giuliano '10 and Ryan Jorrey '10, working with Joel W. Johnson Family Professor of Geosciences Eugene Domack, are studying a well-known local landmark, mapping the sedimentology of the east end of Oneida Lake.

"If you give a man a fish, you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime." The proverb is familiar to many, but for social entrepreneurs, fishing lessons are still inadequate. According to Bill Drayton, founder of the Ashoka organization, "Social entrepreneurs are not content with providing a fish or teaching how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry." Social entrepreneurs use commercial principles to organize and run ventures that work for social change.

Dealing with the ins and outs of a new job, a new country and new language at the same time isn't easy. For Brendan Carroll' 10 (Saxtons River, Vt.), however, the chance to learn on so many levels at once was the perfect work opportunity. Carroll is spending the summer working for El Instituto para el Desarrollo Humano (IDH), an NGO (non-governmental organization) based in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The organization focuses on a variety of issues including human rights, social and preventative medicine, gender equality, and environmental protection, as well as conducting cultural, socio-political and economic research.

For Matthew Arnold '09, the experience of studying abroad is something he just can't leave behind. "I wouldn't be doing this research at all if I didn't go to India," says the rising senior from Cazenovia, N.Y., who is using the summer to research how globalization has affected Indian education and social freedoms. After spending fall 2007 in India and writing a research paper at the end of the semester, Arnold says that he wanted to continue the research he conducted there "in any way possible." His summer project, on which he collaborates with Assistant Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa, is funded by the Research Fellows Program run by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center. Arnold plans to incorporate parts of his project into his senior thesis in history, and hopes to attend graduate school to continue learning about the topic.

Although school is out for the summer, Hai Lin '10 is still keeping busy on campus. The rising junior is working on two separate projects in the math department, one with Professor of Mathematics Larry Knop studying regression towards the mean, and another investigating preferential recruiting with Associate Professors of Mathematics Sally Cockburn and Timothy Kelly.