What's behind the door?

At any given time, on any given day, myriad things are happening — noisy or quiet, high tech or manual, caffeinated or laser activated — all over campus. Many would be a familiar sight to just about any student or graduate who walked the halls and through the doorways of Colgate’s buildings. Other moments are just as vital to the workings of a college, but take place behind the scenes. Photography by Andrew Daddio


107 Ho Science Center

Ashish Shah ’10 uses lasers to research the quantum mechanics of light in Professor Kiko Galvez’s optics laboratory. “Quantum theory predicts that a single photon can interfere with itself, which is really spooky, because it shouldn’t have anything to interfere with,” Shah said. “We are trying to test that.”




Men’s basketball lounge, Reid Athletic Center

Anthony Hill ’12 takes to the magnetic “court board” in a post-practice meeting. After a new play is introduced, each first-year player is called up to show his understanding of it.


 
Greenhouse, Ho Science Center

Elsie Denton ’09 carefully transfers pollen grains from one four o’clock flower to the female stigma of another. Selective cross-pollinating allows her to study genetic associations between pigments and other aspects such as scent, reproductive success, resistance to predators, and other factors, for her senior biology thesis.




Max Kade German Center, Lawrence Hall

In fellowship at the weekly Wednesday Kaffeestunde (coffee hour), both fluent and beginning German speakers get to practice the language.


 
Locksmith shop, Buildings and Grounds

Cores and pins as small as .002" sit ready for locks to be re-keyed. "We are responsible for about 5,000 keys to individual doors," said locksmith Bernie Whitacre.




Garden level practice room, Memorial Chapel

India Rosse '12 had quit the piano in high school, but took up lessons again when she got to Colgate.  "I practice whenever I can," she said. "The morning is usually a good time."


 
LASR System, Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology

The three-story Library Automated Storage and Retrieval System hold books, periodicals, and other media in its bin stacks.




Paul J. Schupf Studio Arts Center

Meagan Sheff-Atteberry '09 describes her drawings to internationally renowned printmaker and installation artist Xu Bing. While on campus as part of Colgate's "A Year of Chinese Art" series, Bing took time to offer critiques of all the senior art majors' projects.


 
Judd Chapel

A Hindu altar is part of a recent renovation to the interfaith worshop space on the Garden Level of Memorial Chapel.




Prep room, Frank Dining Hall

Fresh cantaloupes for the lunch crowd