Assistant Professor of Chemistry Adam W. Van Wynsberghe presented a seminar titled “Hitting the Target: Simulations of the ligand binding pathways of influenza neuraminidase” on Oct. 16 at Colgate University. The seminar was co-sponsored by Colgate’s chemistry and biology departments and primarily described the work of three undergraduate researchers in the Van Wynsberghe lab: Erica Losito ’12 and Carmen Montagnon ’13, as well as Jeffrey Sung of the University of California-San Diego.

Hamilton students are now pursuing their studies on all seven continents. On Oct. 10, Chief Scientist Eugene Domack, the J. W. Johnson Family Professorship of Environmental Studies, began an 18-day cruise to Antarctica along with two Hamilton students and two alumni. Students are writing blog updates about their trip each day.

Psychology major Beril Esen ’13 spent the early months of this summer conducting a study on the recently discovered concept of defensive self-esteem. But when her psychology research ended in late June, her academic plans for the summer were hardly complete. Esen was also awarded a Summer Research Fellowship by the Levitt Center for Public Affairs to study the issue of domestic violence in her native city of Istanbul, Turkey.

One of the most common methods of combating the influenza virus is to utilize an inhibitor to prevent the binding of the viral protein neuraminidase with cell surface receptors terminating in a sialic acid moiety. While this may sound like a complex process, it’s actually relatively simple to understand once the scientific jargon has been translated. In order for a virus like influenza to continue its life cycle, its neuraminidase enzyme needs to bind to and cleave a sialic acid molecule away from the human cell receptors.

Ben Salzman ’13 has always been fascinated with science, space exploration and music, but upon entering Hamilton, his chosen academic path gravitated toward the areas of music and art. He has since discovered a unique method of combining art and science in working with Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Music Sam Pellman to create visual accompaniments for musical compositions.

While studying in Dublin, Ireland, Genevieve Nierman ’13 constantly came across references to early 20th century author James Joyce and his famed work Ulysses. She became intrigued by Dublin’s obsession with the novel and was awarded an Emerson Foundation Summer Research Grant to study the relationship between Ulysses and Dublin and to discern what attributes of the novel are responsible for its international success.

World politics major Martin Lavallee ’14 has taken up the cause of disenfranchised rural farmers in Honduras by conducting a Levitt Summer Research Project to investigate possible land reform solutions to their plight.

With an interest in Russian that began in high school, Grace Lee ’13 spent the past year studying in St. Petersburg where she was surprised by the prevalence of Russian folklore symbols even in the busy city.  This summer she pursued a research project on the interplay between Russian folktales, culture and politics with the support of an Emerson Foundation Summer Research Grant.

Melissa Mann ’13 hopes to help alleviate the growing problem of brownfields by conducting research with an organization that utilizes federal and state grants to clean up and redevelop these vacant plots of land. She received a Levitt Summer Research Fellowship to work with the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corps. to complete the first of the Brownfield Opportunity Areas program three grant application steps.

Although Nicholas Yepes ’15 had traveled to Paraguay just three years ago, he was nonetheless surprised by the precarious state of the indigenous migrant population upon his arrival in the capitol city of Asunción this year. He is seeing some of the most economically depressed areas of Paraguay as he studies how best to meet the basic needs of indigenous migrants through a Levitt Research Fellowship.