Olivia DrakeTwo faculty, one student and one alumnus made paper presentations at the 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Tex., March 17-21. The Planetary Science Conference brings together international specialists in petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geology and astronomy to present the latest results of research in planetary science. The five-day conference included topical symposia and problem-oriented sessions. During the conference, Marty Gilmore, chair and associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, presented a paper on the "Venus Exploration Roadmap to the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG)" on March 20. James Greenwood, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, presented "Hydrogen Isotopes of…
(more…)
Mike SembosLast summer, history and government major Shannon Welch ’14 was an intern at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. She was paging documents at the Center for Legislative Archives when she stumbled across a little known and disturbing proposed constitutional amendment on the books in her home state of Maryland. “I came upon this 13th amendment that was making slavery institutionalized for the rest of time,” she said. “The federal government could never touch it. Then I found a document that Maryland had ratified it, and I was shocked. They let me keep researching, and I found out that Maryland had…
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Jon Lubeck '14 from the Class of 2014. Q: Jon, what are you majoring in and what attracted you to Wesleyan? A: I am majoring in anthropology and am currently in the process of writing my senior thesis. Wesleyan first piqued my interest when I had a class in high school with a super-inspiring history teacher who was a Wes graduate. When I visited the school, I loved the small, liberal arts atmosphere, the active arts and music scene on campus, and the history of active student organizing. Wesleyan seemed like…
Amber Smith '14 understands the importance of having connections with others who understand the hardships faced as an amputee. Smith, an African American studies major, was born with an upper extremity amputation of her left forearm. On Nov. 6, Smith received a 2013 Ella T. Grasso Leadership in Action Grant from the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. The award will serve as seed money for starting up her social enterprise, "I AMputee," an online community designed for amputees and their families to connect with those of similar circumstances in an effort to create positive, reciprocal relationships grounded in common experience. I AMputee's…
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Jacqueline "Jackie" Soro from the Class of 2014. Q: Jackie, where are you from and what brought you to Wesleyan? A: I'm from Oak Park, Illinois, just outside of Chicago — one of the few Midwesterners on campus (I think there are more international students than Midwesterners, so I'm a rare bird)! I came to Wesleyan because I knew I wanted to attend a small, community-centered school somewhere other than the Midwest, and also because I decided that I didn't want to go to art school. I wanted a place where…
As part of Wesleyan's Giving Tuesday celebration, members of the Class of 2014 attended the semi-formal Senior Class Reception Dec. 3 in Beckham Hall. Seniors enjoyed live entertainment, listened to remarks by alumni, and learned about the Seniors of Wesleyan Annual Gift (SWAG). A tradition that dates back nearly 20 years, SWAG allows graduating seniors the opportunity to give back to Wesleyan and set the standard for joining the Wesleyan community of alumni. This year the Class of 2014 has a SWAG goal of $10,000. Photos of the event are below: (Photos by Ryan Heffernan '16) (more…)
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Edgar Pliaskis from the Class of 2014. Q: Where are you from and what attracted you to Wesleyan? A: I was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and moved to the U.S. about 10 years ago. For me, Wesleyan was always a small school and away from a big city—a beautiful environment to earn a degree and make lifelong friends. Q: What are you majoring in and why? A: I am double majoring in economics and Italian. I picked Italian because I was always interested in languages—Italian is a very beautiful language…
By examining highly-detailed satellite images, researchers can spot small channels formed on the sides of craters on Mars. These channels may be evidence of flowing water on Mars. Since scientists don't exactly know what the surface of Mars is composed of, Wesleyan student Peter Martin ’14 created a modeling program that can simulate the kinds of salty water, or brine, solutions that would possibly form on Mars. For his efforts, Martin was awarded the Thomas R. McGetchin Memorial Scholarship Award. The $1,500 prize is given annually by the Universities Space Research Association in honor of the former Lunar and Planetary Institute Director, and…
Anya Morgan is a member of the Class of 2014. Q: Anya, happy senior year to you! What are you majoring in, and why did you decide on these majors? A: Thank you! I'm majoring in English and French. I think I always knew I was going to be an English major, since my mom is an English teacher and raised me on books – it's in my blood. I've also got some serious French Canadian roots on both sides of my family, so I'm able to practice speaking French with my grandparents. I guess both majors were predetermined! Q:…
Oladoyin Oladapo ’14 received a $500 Enrichment Grant in 2013 from the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. This funding allowed her to get private training in HTML and JavaScript, which she will use in her entrepreneurial endeavors. During spring break, she spent time learning programming languages with Brian Macharia ‘14, a computer science major who has professionally developed websites for companies and students internationally since he was 14. "Learning to code in this short time was rigorous and challenging. I worked from 9 to 5 learning code. I worked on HTML for the first three days. This language was relatively…
Two Wesleyan students received honorable mentions from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Sam Factor '14, a physics and computer science double major, and Elliot Meyerson '14, a computer science and mathematics double major, each received a letter of congratulations and a certificate from the foundation. The 2013-14 Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,107 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. Factor, who hails from Madison, Wisc., hopes to pursue a Ph.D in physics and conduct research in physics,…