Geologic yardage
On a cold and rainy September afternoon, students taking Geology 215 met with Professor Constance Soja for the second lab of the semester. But this particular Thursday, they gathered under Andy Kerr Stadium, in the visiting team locker room. The mist outside didn’t seem to dampen spirits as Soja introduced the lab of the day, “Gridiron Geologic Time.” The goal: to create a graphic representation of geologic time, true to scale, on Colgate’s football field, placing flags as symbols of important geologic events along the 100 yards.


Geology 215 students created a true-to-scale geologic timeline on the football field. (photo by Constance Soja)

    Under Soja’s lead, the locker room was transformed into a classroom, where students, sitting on benches in small groups, brainstormed major events in Earth’s history. The class discussed the relative timing of events like the Cambrian explosion and the Pleistocene glaciation.
    In order to shrink 4.5 billon years of Earth time into 100 yards, the group determined that 1 yard on the field would represent 45 million years, and 1 inch, 1.25 million years. Using this scale, the students reviewed a list of nearly 30 geologic events and calculated their distances from the north goal line, which marked the origin of Earth at 0 yards.
    Soja gave each student two flags to place on the football field inside of bottles. Karen Bascom ’12 received “O2 and O3” (the accumulation of oxygen and ozone in the atmosphere) and “prokaryotes” (simple cells), which occurred 4 billion and 3.5 billion years ago, respectively. After placing the first flag on the white side line, near the north end zone’s 11-yard line, and the second near the 22-yard line, Bascom walked toward the other end zone, where she passed flags marked “algae,” “insects,” and finally, at approximately 99.94 yards (2 inches from the goal line), “first hominid.”
The visual treat of the lab was standing on the top row of the bleachers and looking down at the flags. The Earth’s earliest events, marked by green flags, were spread out mostly on the north side of the field, and then yellow, orange, and red flags clumped closer together near the south end zone. The red flags marked events that occurred within the last 40,000 years — or 2 inches — such as the birth of art and the Declaration of Independence.
    “Standing at the top of the field and seeing how long until anything we are familiar with comes onto the scene is really surprising,” Brittany Hanrahan ’11 reflected.
    “We’re living in the last inch of geologic time,” Bascom said. “That really puts everything into perspective.”
    After the students picked up the flags, Soja took a group picture and told them to get out of the rain. She was left in the locker room, smiling. “It was a little quirky to use the football field for another purpose,” she said.
    But it worked out just right.
— Kiki Koroshetz ’11

Worms, ants, and epiphytes, oh my! NSF awards major research grants
Three Colgate biology professors — Damhnait McHugh, Krista Ingram, and Catherine Cardelús — have been awarded more than $750,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation for three distinct projects that will involve student researchers.
    McHugh received $400,000 as part of a five-year joint grant with Auburn University, Texas A&M, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Kansas. Her research will help in assembling the annelid (worm) tree of life, using DNA sequences of diverse species to build evolutionary “family trees.” This work is important for documenting biodiversity, she said, and allows scientists to make inferences about the species’ long history on Earth, as well as aid in conservation efforts.
    “It is rewarding for the three of us in the department to receive this kind of validation of our work,” said McHugh. “And the grants present our students with terrific research opportunities.”
    Students working with McHugh will spend a summer at Auburn University, where they will learn to sequence entire genomes or collect worms from marine and terrestrial habitats in Australia and South Africa.
    Ingram’s grant of $180,000 allows her to continue her studies of circadian rhythms in ants, exploring how they organize their behavior without a leader. It turns out that ants rely on the same mechanism that humans use to organize our daily activities — an internal molecular rhythm generator called the circadian clock. Ingram is excited about how the grant will open more doors for her research and its applications for better understanding human behaviors. She plans to bring students to Arizona and Southeast Asia to observe self-organized ant behaviors and then continue those studies at Colgate.
    Cardelús said her $188,000 grant will assist her in conducting research on epiphytes, plants that reside in rain forest canopies. These plants will intercept much of the predicted increase in nutrients that are released due to increases in human industrial and agricultural practices. She will explore how the epiphytes respond to these nutrients, because they could have significant effects on processes in the canopy and on the forest floor. Her grant also provides for student involvement; they will have the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica to collect samples, analyze them in labs at Colgate, and then work on final papers.
    “It is thrilling to be supported for doing what I love — studying the rain forest,” Cardelús said.
— Kate Hicks ’11

Carlsmith receives Stanford University fellowship
Psychology professor Kevin Carlsmith has been awarded a one-year fellowship at the prestigious Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Carlsmith hopes that collaboration with other top scholars at the center will provide valuable insights into his research, which focuses on attitudes about torture and aggressive interrogation techniques.
    About two dozen fellowships, which are extremely competitive, are awarded each year to scholars from a diverse range of fields that includes the five core social and behavioral disciplines of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Most scholars at the center are from much larger research institutions such as Harvard and the University of Chicago.
    As the first faculty member from Colgate to be selected for the fellowship, Carlsmith said he is excited about the prospect of approaching his research, which is funded through the National Science Foundation, in innovative ways that cross disciplines. He is working with a historian who studies the legal and political history of torture, and with a communications studies scholar who studies how journalists approach torture.
    “The center creates an environment in which you can contemplate by yourself, but also interact with top scholars from related disciplines,” he said. “It offers us a full year of uninterrupted study in hopes that we will make ‘big idea’ breakthroughs that are difficult in the context of busy academic lives.”

A new kind of summer school
“Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide.” With these words, Homer began his epic Odyssey, but he could have been describing the first cohort of Summer on the Hill participants. Sixty intrepid members of the Colgate community journeyed to Hamilton for the four-day event, June 27 through July 1. They engaged with each other, learned from leading professors, and expand-ed their comfort zones. They also discovered that reliving the liberal arts experience is a bit like riding a bike.


Summer on the Hill participants test out the climbing wall. (photo by Jennifer McGee)

    In classrooms across the quad, small groups bonded over Homer, the Bible, and other founding texts of the Western world; they explored art, psychology, memoir writing, and more.
    “Spending time with professors like Tony Aveni, Bob McVaugh, David Dudrick, and Scott Kraly reminded me of how talented the faculty remains and how lucky all of us were to study under this type of guidance,” said Bruce Wright ’74.
    Tim Byrnes, professor of political science, began his class on the presidency and executive leadership by taking questions. Alumni, friends, spouses, and parents were happy to oblige:
    “Why is it so cold here?”
    “Why doesn’t the media educate America on cloture and the filibuster?”
    While addressing each one, Byrnes skillfully segued his audience into the assigned text, which he also uses with undergraduates in Political Science 211.
    Course options were numerous and varied, thanks to the vision of RuthAnn Loveless MA’72, vice president for alumni affairs, and her staff. “We committed ourselves to developing a rigorous academic program,” said Tim Mansfield, director of alumni affairs. “We wanted attendees to have a true Colgate experience.”
    Registrants chose three courses from a menu of nine options and divided into a trio of sessions throughout the morning and early afternoon hours. Professors posted reading lists on colgateconnect.org prior to the first class meeting so that conversation could commence immediately.
    Each day, after the last bell rang, students enjoyed electives like Tai Chi, Thai cooking, rock climbing, and zip-lining. Evenings offered more time for bonding with fellow alumni and parents. There were cocktail parties and meals, a trivia competition hosted by trivia master and senior regional advancement director Doug Chiarello ’98, a trip to Cooperstown for dinner and a tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and a night of dancing to Dixieland jazz in the Hall of Presidents.
    Thursday morning, as adventurers prepared to depart, President Jeffrey Herbst arrived for brunch. It was his first day in the post, and his first official meeting as chief executive. He outlined his vision and noted his determination “to make sure that Colgate is the best university in the country.”
    After reencountering the liberal arts and interacting with campus leaders and fellow students, each participant seemed to carry a look of deep reflection. The first night’s handshakes were replaced by less-formal farewell hugs and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a member of the Colgate community.
    “Everything I’ve done here reminds me what a great group of people are involved with Colgate,” said Board of Trustees chairman and program participant Christopher Clifford ’67, P’93.
    Summer on the Hill will return next year with a new round of courses and activities. Watch colgateconnect.org for details.

Junior’s research receives Botanical Society award
Weston Testo ’12 was in the Costa Rican rain forest in May, studying ferns with his mentor, biology professor James “Eddie” Watkins, when he was notified that he had won the Undergraduate Student Research Award from the Botanical Society of America (BSA). He received the award for his proposal titled “Desiccation tolerance and calcium requirements of gametophytes of American Hart’s-Tongue Fern, Phyllitis scolopendrium var. americana.” It is “the most prestigious award given out to students at Wes’s stage,” said Watkins. As part of the award, the BSA had invited Testo to present his research in early August at its annual meeting, Botany 2010.


Weston Testo ’12 (right) and Professor Eddie Watkins examining tropical ferns in Costa Rica (photo by Mel Oliver, University of Missouri)

    The Upstate Institute, a Colgate initiative supporting research and a reciprocal transfer of knowledge between the university and regional partners in central New York, sponsored Testo’s award-winning research. In his project, Testo explores the ecophysiology of P. scolopendrium, a rare fern with 90 percent of its populations in central New York. But those populations have recently been in decline. Testo’s data suggest that the  gamete-producing stage (the gametophyte) of ferns may be negatively impacted by even modest increases in temperature and are sensitive to desiccation, which may lend support to claims that the population decline is the result of climate change.
    Testo’s research is ongoing, and he is now preparing the first of two manuscripts for publication. “I hope that my work will not only support conservation efforts,” he said, “but also help people in the area realize that one of the rarest and most unique plants in North America can be found a lot closer to home than they might think.”
— Jason Kammerdiener ’10

Dino camp
“It’s hot and humid out there today,” geology professor Constance Soja told a classroom full of students in July. “It feels like the Mesozoic out there.” In the absence of Colgate students, who are mostly off campus for the summer, Soja was presenting to students of a different ilk as she addressed the second- and third-graders attending Hamilton’s Junior Paleontologists Camp.


Young paleontologists take notes at the Robert M. Linsley Geology Museum during their visit to campus. (photo by Jason Kammerdiener ’10)

    Pat McGill, a reading specialist at Hamilton Central School, runs the two-week program often referred to as “dinosaur camp.” After two weeks of instruction from McGill and activities in their own classroom, the campers traveled to Colgate to hear from Soja, a professional paleontologist, and to visit Colgate’s dinosaur egg in the Robert M. Linsley Geology Museum.
    The junior paleontologists came prepared for the experience, eagerly participating in Soja’s presentation. “When you ask a question to these younger kids,” marveled Soja, “every hand in the classroom goes up! Every kid wants to answer the question.”
    The campers rose to the challenge of even Soja’s most difficult questions. For instance, she displayed a picture of a Tyrannosaurus rex and asked what kind of food it ate, plants or animals. When the students answered that it was carnivorous, she explained that the scientific process required they back up their hypothesis with evidence.
    The campers were able to offer tooth shape, fossilized stomach contents, and even the dinosaur’s eye placement as evidence that it was a carnivore. Likewise, they recognized that a few features, like the dinosaur’s small forelegs, might contradict their hypothesis.
    McGill started the camp, offered free to campers, in 2005 with the help of geology professor Richard April. “Children are innately fascinated with dinosaurs,” commented April, “so we thought this would be a wonderful way for students to experience a little bit of paleontology to understand more about earth and earth processes, time, animals, and extinction and what that means.”
    McGill and April cooperated in securing external funding sources, receiving a grant from an old telephone company, NYNEX. McGill also took advantage of various Colgate outreach programs to educate herself more thoroughly on the subject of paleontology so that she could teach the subject with more depth.
    The camp is anything but just a summer class. “Not that I don’t like what I do during the year,” said McGill, “but this is hands-on learning. I don’t need to worry as much about ‘you need to sit here. You need to stay focused.’ It’s not that kind of teaching. It’s more exploration.”
    For camper Aidan Woods, such exploration is hard to narrow to a favorite subject. “I like all the dinosaurs!” he exclaimed.
    The campers’ experience also has a lasting impact. Liam Stahl, now heading into seventh grade, was one of the first junior paleontologists. His word of advice for future campers? “Pay attention. Some of the stuff you learn is really useful later. And even if isn’t, it is sometimes just good to know.”
— Jason Kammerdiener ’10

Live and learn

Last spring, 22 Benton Scholars spent 12 days in India, traveling to Delhi, Agra, Chennai, Mamallapuram, Kottayam, and Kochi. Janna Minehart ’13 reports:

Because the Benton Scholars Program emphasizes global engagement and leadership, India was chosen as our destination country due to its increasing importance on the global stage. In one class, we studied India’s role as an emerging economic power. We also took a core world cultures class about India. Padma Kaimal, the professor from that class, as well as Tim Byrnes, the professor who oversees the program, accompanied us on the trip.



While there, we saw some important cultural sights, such as temples. We met with someone in the U.S. Foreign Service who works at the American Center in Delhi. We were on a show called The Youth Express on Indian national television, discussing the importance of engaging a population to participate in democracy. We visited a high school and talked with students about their daily lives and future ambitions. Some of us also went out in small groups to explore the nearby cities and villages.

The most important experience I had was only arranged in part by the program. My dad lived in India from the time he was 12 until he left for college. His parents and his younger siblings remained. When my grandfather died, some of his ashes were scattered in India. My uncle died unexpectedly just a couple of weeks before I left for India, and I was able to take some of his ashes to the Taj Mahal. The Taj has a presence, a power, and a peace. Scattering his ashes there felt like I was completing a cycle. It felt so right to be there, fulfilling my grandparents’ and my parents’ legacy. Going to India felt like I was coming home somehow, learning about my own history in a deeper way.

To see a gallery of Janna’s photos from the trip, visit www.colgate.edu/indiaphotos.

Conference builds on Colgate’s literary legacy
Author Dennis McFadden, a veteran of the Colgate Writers’ Conference, found himself blazing a slightly different trail when he returned to the event this year. Rather than attending as a student, McFadden found himself reading his own work to the participants who were once his peers.
    Hart’s Grove, the novel that he had workshopped at the conference several years ago, will soon be published by the recently revived Colgate University Press. “Having attended the conference twice, in ’06 and ’08, it was fun seeing the podium from the other side, although I enjoyed both experiences a great deal,” McFadden said. “I always enjoy my time there, and I intend to return.” McFadden’s reading was just one of many highlights from this year’s program, which was held June 20 through 26.
    Each year, the conference offers a series of public craft talks, shop talks, and readings from Colgate faculty authors, as well as visiting published authors. The conference also offers the opportunity for veteran and novice writers alike to workshop their manuscripts of fiction, poetry, or literary nonfiction with the faculty.
    Like McFadden, nearly half of this year’s 50 students had participated before. Among the accomplished visiting writers on the faculty were 2000 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Guggenheim Fellow Bruce Smith and John Robert Lennon, author of Happyland.
    Several alumni also made an appearance. Dan Wald ’82, author of Ad Asylum, discussed the digital aspects of the publishing world and the impact of quickly evolving technological advances on what it means to be a writer, from Kindles and iPads to the newer trend toward DIY publishing.
    Jennifer Smith ’03, an associate editor at Random House and author of two acclaimed novels, The Comeback Season and You Are Here, gave a voice to the often academically ignored — but nevertheless influential — genre of young adult novels. Andrea Barzvi ’95, a literary agent, spoke of her role in the publishing process, as did Jennifer Pooley ’97, a senior editor with HarperCollins.
    The conference explored both breadth and depth in its topics this year, and demonstrated strong support for Colgate’s literary legacy.
    “I wouldn’t mind if this book was judged by its cover,” quipped McFadden, praising the dedication of the conference staff and the role of the Colgate University Press in its publication. “It came out beautifully.”
— Avi Israel ’10

Faculty appointments
During the summer, two members of the faculty were recognized through new appointments.
    D. Kay Johnston, professor of educational studies and women’s studies, has been named Presidential Scholar through June 30, 2013. Having served on Colgate’s educational studies faculty since 1986, Johnston specializes in adolescent development, moral development, and elementary education.
    Jyoti Khanna, of the Department of Economics, has been promoted to full professor. Khanna’s specialties include public economics, statistics, microeconomics, and international economics.



Syllabus
FSEM 126 Outbreak! Historical Pandemics and Emerging Infectious Diseases
TR 9:55–11:10 a.m., Olin Hall 104A
Geoffrey Holm, Asst. Professor of Biology

Course description: Infectious disease outbreaks have altered the course of human history and dramatically influenced human activity. While improvements in sanitation and public health have mitigated the effects of certain pathogens, human encroachment into new disease reservoirs has introduced novel biological agents into the population, to sometimes disastrous consequences. Sensational- istic media coverage contributes to misunderstandings and confusion.    
    This first-year seminar (also a Core Scientific Perspectives course) uses three historical pandemics (The “Black Death,” mid-19th century cholera, and 1918 “Spanish flu”) and recent outbreaks, including SARS and H1N1 influenza, to investigate basic epidemiological principles; the microbiologic, social, and environmental factors that contribute to disease pathogenesis; and our preparedness for future outbreaks.

On the reading list: Kenneth Rothman, Epidemiology: An Introduction; John M. Barry, The Great Influenza; Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map; John Kelly, The Great Mortality; Richard Preston, The Hot Zone

Key assignments/ activities: Five response papers.

In-class laboratory exercises: Sanitation and Bacterial Growth and H1N1 Pandemic 2009.

Final group project: research paper plus presentation

The “Expand your horizons FSEM requirement”: Students must attend four on-campus events of their choosing: a science lecture or colloquium, a social science “brown bag lunch” or colloquium; an event highlighting aspects of another culture; and one other educational outside-of-coursework event, such as a play, concert,
or musical.