In Case You Missed It

If you’ve been away from Hamilton’s news site this summer you’ve missed a lot!  Many students kept academics at the top of their summer “To-Do” list by collaborating on research projects with faculty. Others explored possible careers through internships supported by the College. See some highlights below and read news stories about other student summer research and internships.

Research projects

• Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Strong conducted local research with two groups of students. Emely Chacon ’22, Lucille Kline ’22, and Pauline Santry ’21 traversed both wetlands and the village of Clinton to gather data on carbon output and better understand methane production.
• Another group – Ravena Pernanand ’21, Rachel Pike ’21 and Abigail Roller ’21 – worked with local townships on climate change issues. They helped the Town of New Hartford produce a climate change risk assessment.
• Through an Emerson grant, Kathmandu native Ishan Mainali ’21, researched the 1960s and ’70s hippie movement in Nepal.

• Barry M. Goldwater scholar Katherine Ryczek ’21 spent her summer in Germany working with Assistant Professor of Physics Kristen Burson and a team of physicists from around the world at the Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. Ryczek collected and analyzed low energy electron diffraction (LEED) data, a process which enabled her and her fellow researchers to learn more about the structure of materials.
• Under adviser Associate Professor of Mathematics Courtney Gibbons, Maggie Ryan ’21 worked on an Emerson project that investigates non-commutative algebra – a type of algebra that can help solve one-way information problems and has applications in quantum physics.

• In a Levitt Center-sponsored research project, “Combating Deception in Genocide,” Alex Cook ’20 was trying to understand how perpetrators of genocide deceive the international community into believing that genocide is either not occurring or not worth an intervention.
• Peter Kelly’s ’21 computer science research involved genetic programming, under the direction of Assistant Professor of Computer Science Tom Helmuth.
• Amy Glanzer ’21 and Holly Hutchinson ’21 were summer research assistants for Associate Professor of Chemistry Max Majireck, ultimately trying to synthesize, or man-make, a natural product called melokhanine A. 

• Savannah Kelly ’21 conducted a Levitt Center research project on the effects of the Guatemala-Belize border dispute on Belize’s indigenous communities.

Internships

• Among College–supported internships, Gabe Linden ’20 spent the past couple months assisting the practice’s orthopedic research manager with various clinical studies at the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center.

• Biology major Brigit Humphreys ’21 interned with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Great Falls, Mont. At Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, she collected samples to be tested for selenium toxicity concentrations.

• 

  Digital Humanities Initiative (DHi) intern Zhaosen Guo ’21 focused his research on Chan Laisun, the first Chinese student to enroll and study at Hamilton College.
• Caroline “Cat” Washington ’21 interned with The Gordon Square Arts District, supporting the art scene in this vibrant community near the west side of Cleveland, Ohio.
• Two students –  Ryan Wall ’20 and Jay Carhart ’21 – stayed on campus to contribute to Hamilton’s growing culture of environmentalism as summer sustainability interns.

• It wasn’t ALL play for Craig Engert ’21, who interned at toymaker Hasbro as a global finance and operations intern.
• Theatre major Kenny Letts ’21 was lead intern and performance intern for the Broadway Dreams Foundation, while Natalie Halpin ’21 explored two areas of interest– fine arts and human rights – as an intern with The Wardrobe Union (Local 764) in New York City.
• Prospective journalist Alex Medina ’22 spent this summer working at two internships – at Latino Equality Alliance and as a writer for the Boyle Heights Beat.

In all, 200 Hamilton students conducted research or completed an internship supported by the College. Visit the news site throughout the academic year to read more about student and faculty research, publications, and student career-related experiences.