Despite the hope that President Obama’s clear victory last November might lead to a reduction in partisan polarization, the results of new survey conducted by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College indicate that American are as divided as ever. Full poll results will be released on Tuesday, May 21, at 10:30 a.m. at www.hamilton.edu/PostElectionPoll.

The Hamilton College Chapter of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society, elected 18 students to associate membership on May 7.

Senior biology majors Rebecca Knipp, Ethan Ayres and Matthew Combs presented at the annual meeting of the Helminthological Society of Washington, the nation’s oldest parasitology research society.  The Society met on April 27 at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Ashleigh Smythe also attended.

The students in Associate Professor of Government Sharon Rivera’s introductory comparative politics course (Government 112) participated in a mock election debate in the fictitional country of West Europa on April 30 in the Kennedy Auditorium.

Associate Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa and Hamilton seniors Paige Cross and Anna Zahm presented papers at the Northeastern Anthropological Association Conference.

The Chicago Sun-Times featured alumnus Kendall Weir ’12 and Professor of Economics Stephen Wu’s study, “The Effects of Character on NFL Draft Status and Subsequent Performance,” in an article discussing the upcoming National Football League draft and the prospects of Notre Dame linebacker Mante Te’o. New Jersey's largest news website, NJ.com, also devoted a column to the research.

Students and faculty in the Classics Department participated in the 8th annual Parilia conference, held this year at Colgate University.  Each year the Classics Departments from Hamilton, Colgate, Skidmore and Union Colleges come together in late April (close to the date of Rome's birthday, said to be April 21) for an undergraduate research conference.  Three students from each of the four schools give papers at this day-long conference; after each paper there is lively conversation.

Seven Hamilton College students presented their research at the 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting. The conference, held from April 7 to 11 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, attracted more than 14,000 attendees and featured research presentations and posters spanning 37 sub-divisions of chemistry.  Chemistry department faculty Karen Brewer, Saritha Nellutla and Adam Van Wynsberghe also attended.

Twelve of Hamilton’s outstanding female science students are the first recipients of the Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Award. The new annual award will fund up to 12 female scientists each summer over the course of three years as Clare Boothe Luce Scholars in the fields of computer science, physics and chemistry. The $144,600 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation will be matched with funds from Hamilton.

Kimberly Bogardus ’14 has been named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar for the 2013-14 academic year. She is among 271 scholars from across the U.S. to receive the Goldwater, the premier national undergraduate award in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Robert Hayden ’14 and Christopher Richardson ’14 received honorable mention.