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Three longtime members of Hamilton’s science faculty retired during the last academic year. Eugene Domack, Timothy Elgren and Ernest Williams had a combined 79 years of service at Hamilton.

The untrod sands of the Egyptian Deserts hold a mystery much older than the construction of the pyramids: hundreds of naturally formed “desert eyes” unblinkingly turned toward the sky for tens of millions of years. Yet, despite their age, these structures have almost no topography; in fact, until the advent of Google Earth, these formations, which lie in the desert west of the Nile, were never studied. Josh Wolpert ’16, is working with Professor of Geosciences Barbara Tewksbury on the Desert Eyes Project, funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Scrutinizing the pages of Where’s Waldo?, searching for that pesky beanie and striped shirt, your brain is working hard to spot the elusive traveler. This summer, four students are examining various components of visual attention with Assistant Professor of Psychology Alexandra List. Katie Callahan ’15, Christi Westlin ’15 and Alex Mitko ’16 are each working on one of the three elements of the study, “Visual Attention: Failures, Dynamics and Interaction with Auditory Attention,” and Hannah Zucker ’15 is doing an interdisciplinary project.

Although the number of cases of Lyme disease has been decreasing since 2009, according to the CDC, nearly 30,000 Americans fell prey to the tick-born illness in 2012 alone1. This summer, a group of student researchers is assisting Associate Professor of Biology William Pfitsch with an ecological examination of the relationship between honeysuckle and tick populations. 

According to the American Heart Association’s 2014 heart disease and stroke statistics, stroke is responsible for one out of every 19 deaths in the United States.1 Although stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability, Amy Wright ’15 has learned “that strokes can be preventable and manageable, to an extent.”

This summer, Abby Quirk ’16, Becca Rees ’16 and Rohan Arcot ’16, under the guidance of Associate Professor of Psychology Jen Borton, are researching defensive self-esteem and its effect on autobiographical memory.

Between the open curriculum, independent studies and interdisciplinary majors, Hamilton’s dedication to intellectual flexibility is evident. Although most students staying on campus are pursuing research in their field of study, Carly Poremba '15 is embracing the breadth of opportunities offered by the College. Poremba is a neuroscience and creative writing double major who is pursuing an Emerson project, “Horticultural and Historical Exploration of Botanico-Vegetable Medicine.”

Professor of Physics Ann Silversmith attended the International Conference on Luminescence in Wroclaw, Poland. She presented a poster with three coauthors:  Hamilton students Alexandra Huss '14 and Kevin Rovelli '15, and Professor Daniel Boye  of Davidson College.

John DeGuardi ’16 and Allie Eckert ’15, both chemistry majors, are researching ‘organic radicals’ with Associate Professor of Chemistry Ian Rosenstein this summer. Generally, the students explain, electrons are paired within an atom and have opposing spins that help stabilize the atom. A radical, however, is an atom with an unpaired electron in its outer shell. Since the electron in the outer shell does not have a counterpart, the atom is unstable and highly reactive.

As you look at this screen, the array of colors you see is created by rare earth metals. Although the luminescence of these metals has been extensively studied, four students are working with Professor of Chemistry Karen Brewer to make the synthesization process more efficient by reducing the time, energy and funds needed to create them.