Olivia DrakePosted 09/17/07 Deciphering codes and genomes, DNA replication and biological catalysis are among topics to be discussed during the 8th Annual Molecular Biophysics Program on Sept. 20 at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown beginning at 10 a.m. The event is open to the public. This years keynote speaker is Stephen J. Benkovic, the Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at Penn State University. Benkovic will speak on DNA replication. Benkovic is one of the leading mechanistic enzymologists in the world, noted for the versatility of his research. His work on the chemistry of biological systems has made important contributions…
Posted 09/06/07 Adriana Cohen Rostoker 08 always had a curiosity about how the body works. This summer, she had the opportunity to get a closer look as she worked with physicians and researchers on a rare type of cancer syndrome. As a 2007 Alvan T. and Viola D. Fuller American Cancer Society Junior Research Fellow, Cohen Rostoker was awarded a $4,000 grant from the American Cancer Societys New England Division to complete a 10-week fellowship. She applied for the fellowship last year, seeking an opportunity to learn more about the molecular basis and function of cells. I have always been…
Posted 09/06/07 Nine Connecticut mathematics teachers were named PIMMS Fellows on July 11 following 15 months of study directed through the PIMMS (Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science) Mathematics Leadership Academy (MLA) and a summer intensive program in 2007. This group the first to earn the distinction since 2001 will join more than 650 others awarded the title since the inaugural Vanguard Mathematics and Science Fellows of 1984. The MLA project, directed by PIMMS in partnership with the Hamden and Ansonia Public schools, was initiated in Spring 2006, with training provided during the summer and throughout…
President Michael Roth has begun an online weblog, or blog, for the Wesleyan community. Posted 09/06/07 Wesleyans new president has barely settled into his office and home, but has already started something will further engage him with the Wesleyan community. President Michael Roth has begun a blog. Titled Roth on Wesleyan, the blog will be updated periodically with Roths views on Wesleyan and related topics. He also welcomes comments from readers. The blog can be found at: http://www.roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu.
Kate Ten Eyck, art studio technician for the Center for the Arts, teaches students how to properly use mechanical equipment. Posted 09/06/07 Early in life, Kate Ten Eyck developed a knack for understanding how things work. As a teen, she learned to fix cars, reconstructed a sewing machine and enthusiastically studied human anatomy. While she went on to pursue a career in the arts, she never lost her natural curiosity for mechanics. In the Center for the Arts and the Art and Art History Department, where she has worked since 2000, Ten Eyck meshes her passions for art, teaching…
Pictured in center, Vicky Zwelling, associate director of the Career Resource Center, talks with CRC peer career advisors Anthony Christiano 10 and Chenelle Tanglao 08 in the CRC library in Butterfield Unit A. Posted 09/06/07 Q: Vicky, what brought you to Wesleyan?A: I have spent nearly my whole adult life working at Wesleyan to which Im clearly devoted. I came to the area in 1967 with my first husband who was offered a position on the faculty at Wesleyan. However, I did not start working at Wesleyan until I was hired as a part-time librarian for the Career Resource…
Gail Winter, assistant director of International Studies, says between 45 and 50 percent of Wesleyan students spend at least one semester studying abroad. Posted 09/06/07 Q: Gail, how many years have you worked at Wesleyan?A: It will be 14 years in November. I started working at Wesleyan as a long-term temporary administrative assistant in 1993, first in Academic Affairs and then in the Office of International Studies. I became the permanent OIS administrative assistant in October 1994 and was promoted to assistant director in 1999.Q: What is the main purpose of the Office of International Studies?A: Our primary work…
FIELD TRIPS: Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Emeritus, took students enrolled in his Graduate Liberal Studies Program SCIE 641 Earth Resources course to the Old New Gate prison and copper mine in East Granby, Conn. July 12. Here, he points out copper sulfate in the mine ground's walls. Students walk near a malachite mineral-rich rock, inside the former copper mine, which opened in the early 1700s and later became Connecticut's first prison in 1773. De Boer uses a particle detecting instrument to locate uranium in the copper mine. His summer class studied the…
Valerie Gillispie, assistant university archivist, holds a rare book, which was featured on PBS's History Detectives in July. The book is stamped with the name and address of a 19th century female anarchist and possibly belonged to a deceased Wesleyan alumnus. Posted 08/07/07 In June 2006, a book was discovered in the Wesleyan stacks related to the Chicago Haymarket Tragedy marked with an unusual stamp on the cover. The book, written by August Spies, was titled Auto-Biography, and appeared to be stamped with the name and address of Lucy Parsons, a 19th century bi-racial anarchist who promoted better labor conditions.…
Neuroscience and Behavior major Jeff Walker 08 speaks about his research titled Does inhibition lead to greater spike timing precision? during the Hughes Program in the Life Sciences Poster Session Aug. 3. Walkers faculty mentor is Gloster Aaron, assistant professor biology, neuroscience and behavior. Posted 08/07/07 In the United States, approximately 80,000 adolescents try cigarettes for the first time each day. Psychology major Michael Raymond 08 was curious to know why. As a fellow in the Hughes Program in the Life Sciences, Raymond had the opportunity to identify predictors of nicotine dependence onset in adolescents. He spent his summer working…
As part of the new Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC)-sponsored apprenticeship program, Max Wu 08 worked with Steve Stemler, assistant professor of psychology and Cynthia Matthew, visiting assistant professor of psychology, on a project titled The Concept of Responsibility Within Organizational Structures." Posted 08/07/07 Students had the opportunity to attend daily classes, workshops and conduct research with Wesleyan faculty this summer as part of the new Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) apprenticeship program. The 10 undergraduate students enrolled in the program took classes in the morning, usually taught by Manolis Kaparakis, director of the QAC, or by another Wesleyan faculty member. In…
A formal dedication of the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center will take place in the courtyard at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 7. Posted 08/07/07 For those of us on campus, there is no mistaking that construction is nearing completion on the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center. As is the nature of a project of this scope, the building is continuing at a rapid pace in this final month in order to complete the building for new students arrival on August 28. Leading up to arrival day, quite a bit of detail work is being completed. Over the next two weeks, several…