Student Travel to Meetings

2000/2001 Academic Year

HHMI funds were used to support student travel to three national meetings. Three Geology majors gave talks at the Northeast Section of the Geological Society of North America, Northeast Section, meeting on 2-23, 2001 in Boston. Three Computer Science majors gave presentations at the meeting of the Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges, Northeastern Section, on April 20-21, 2001 at Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT. Three Biology majors presented posters at the Wilson Ornithological Society meeting in Fayetteville Arkansas, on May 3-6, 2001. The students also participated in a panel discussion in a symposium, The Value of Independent Research in Undergraduate Research Projects, organized by Colby Associate Professor, Herb Wilson.

2001/2002 Academic Year

HHMI funding provided opportunities for many students to attend and present at national scientific meetings. Sixteen Chemistry and Biology majors will present posters on their independent research at the American Chemical Society meeting in Orlando on April 7-11, 2002. Another Chemistry student was funded to present at the Northeastern meeting of the American Chemical Society in June, 2001. Six Colby Biology majors will present posters at the Wilson Ornithological Society meeting in Fort Myers, FL on April 11-14, 2002. Four Computer Science students will present posters at the meeting of the Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges, Northeastern Section, on April 19-20, 2002 in Worcester, MA. Seven Biology majors will present research posters at the Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference in Portland, ME on April 21-24, 2002.

Two Geology students received travel funds from HHMI to fly to San Diego where they joined an oceanographic cruise using the deep-sea submersible, ALVIN.

Role Models in Science

Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Biology Cathy Bevier organized two career workshops for students and faculty in the Division of Natural Sciences. The goal of these workshops is to use the power of role models to provide guidance to Colby science majors as they contemplate life after graduation. The information presented helps faculty better advise students as well. The workshops were planned by the Colby Women in Science Forum.

On Feburary 23, 2001, four Colby alumnae participated in a free-ranging panel discussion about career paths after graduating from Colby with a science degree. Yawa-Dise Anthony (Math, class of '97), Julie Rentz (Physics, '93), Heather Lunsbury (Chemistry, '94) and Heather Stewart (Biology, '93) were the panelists. Each of these alumnae has explored a number of career avenues.

A second career workshop was held on March 15, 2002. Karen Bossie (Biology, '96), Chad Sisson (Biology, '96) and Tina Goudreau (Chemistry, '98) were the panelists. Vicki Ferini (Geology, '95) had planned to join the panel but had to cancel. Like the first workshop, this event was well attended by Colby students and faculty.

Summer Research Assistants

During the summer of 2001, eight Colby students received stipends for summer research assistantships with Colby faculty. We supported one Computer Science students, one Geology student, four Chemistry students and two Biology students. Eight Colby faculty served as mentors for these students. HHMI funding will support fourteen summer Research Assistants during the summer of 2002.