Olivia DrakeMarshall Johnson’s research is out of this world. For the past two years, the senior astronomy major used the Van Vleck Observatory’s 24-inch Perkin Telescope to study the transits of “exoplanets,” or planets outside our solar system, that orbit another star. His study, titled “First Results from the Wesleyan Transiting Exoplanet Program,” explains a refined orbital period of a newly-discovered planet named WASP-33b (Wide Angle Search for Planets). Ultimately, Johnson may prove that he’s discovered another planet, WASP-33c. “Here in Connecticut, with clouds and haze, we don’t have the best observing conditions, but I was still able to obtain high-quality…
Eric GershonSarah Kopac, a Ph.D student in Professor of Biology Fred Cohan’s lab, has won a $20,000 NASA grant for research on ecological aspects of bacterial evolution in Death Valley National Park. The grant, announced Jan. 11 by the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium, will support Kopac’s study of Bacillus subtilis, a bacterium commonly found in soils that can endure extreme conditions, such as high heat levels. Kopac, a third-year Ph.D candidate, is focused on identifying bacterial species that evolved within a gradient of salty soils – part of a broader effort to understand how ecological factors influence the spawning of…
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On July 11, Craig Malamut ’12 photographed a pacific solar eclipse 2,500 miles west of South America. As a Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium Summer Fellow, summer exchange student, Malamut had the opportunity to travel to Easter Island with a group from Williams College. The last time an eclipse occurred over the island was in 591 A.D. The expedition was led by Jay Pasachoff, the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams College and chair of the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Eclipses. This was Pasachoff's 51st solar eclipse study; it was Malamut’s first. “Before getting this position, I was…
In some models of origins of life, hot springs are considered to be one of the first environments inhabited by life. During the 2010-11 academic year, biology BA/MA student Jane Wiedenbeck '10 will use a NASA-funded Graduate Fellowship to study the evolution of certain microorganisms to discern how life may have originated and evolved under extreme conditions. Wiedenbeck, who applied for the fellowship during the fall 2009 semester, received a $20,000 award from the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium. The Consortium is a member of the NASA-funded national Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, and serves to promote and support…
Several Wesleyan faculty, graduate students and alumni participated in the 2009 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting Oct. 18-21 in Portland, Ore. Suzanne O'Connell, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, director of the Service Learning Center, presented a research poster and delivered a presentation titled "Techniques and Tools for Effective Recruitment, Retention and promotion of Women and Minorities in the Geosciences." She spoke about the grant-funded organization Geoscience Academics in the Northeast (GAIN), which was established to build a community of academic geoscience women within a small geographic area. Johan Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science,…
Earth and environmental sciences graduate student George Bennum '08 received an honorable mention for his student research poster titled "3D Modeling of Synsedimentary Faults in the Capitan Reef, Guadalupe Mountains, NM/TX" at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists "Rocky Mountain Rendezvous of Geoscience Students and Employers." Phil Resor, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, is Bennum's advisor.
For six weeks, Jeff Katzin ’10 studied with museum curators and art faculty, took behind-the-scenes tours of museums and helped execute an exhibition. Katzin was one of 15 students who participated in the Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies (SIAMS) at Smith College from June 15 to July 24. He received a Certificate in Art Museum Studies upon completion of the highly-selective program. "At SIAMS, I met with current professionals, I learned about issues and debates regarding museums and their collections from the program's directors and visiting speakers, and I visited many museums and saw a lot of great art,"…
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one out of every three black men between the ages 20 and 29 is in prison, on probation or on parole. Of these men, 94 percent are fathers. English and African American Studies major CaVar Reid '11 is curious to discover how prison affects a man's ability to be a father. "I want to ask them, 'What were your expectations about your relationships with your children when you were incarcerated? How do you think your incarceration has affected your children? How did you stay involved with your children?'" Reid says. As a 2009-11…