How Centre folks are spending the summer: Part 2

RELEASED: July 19, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—With the Centre community, even a small request can generate a huge response. When the call went out to faculty, staff and students to tell us how they're spending their summers, it came as no surprise that the responses were quick, plentiful and interesting! Here's Part 2 of a multi-part series showcasing the cool ways in which the Centre community is spending the summer. (Check out Part 1 of this series, too.)

Ben Cooley, junior, Batesville, Ind.
This summer I'm doing undergraduate research at Indiana University School of Medicine. I'm living in a studio apartment in downtown Indianapolis with my brother because we both have jobs here for a short time. I'm working in the radiology department of the IU Cancer Center. We're looking into and designing particular compounds that can potentially serve as radioactive tracers for PET imaging scans (used in diagnosing patients with cancer and determining where the tumor is located). At the end of the summer I'll participate in a poster presentation seminar at Purdue University, where many undergrads will present work they've accomplished over the summer.


Ayumi Deeny, senior, Ft. Collins, Colo.
This summer I'm working on making bird porn! I'm working with Dr. Brian Cusato, Centre assistant professor of psychology. We're researching how the sexual behavior of Japanese quail can be manipulated and increased through classical conditioning. To do this, we place male and female birds in a test chamber and teach them to associate a light or a tone with sexual opportunity (i.e., tone is played and birds get a chance to mate). We expect to see that the quail that are conditioned will have more sexual success than those that are not. In order to determine how often mating is taking place, we must videotape all of the proceedings and later watch to track the quail's behaviors. So we are, in fact, making bird porn. Sexy!

Chase Martin, junior, Winchester, Ky.
I'm working with the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation in Lexington this summer. The BGT administers a program that gives plaques to the owners of historic properties, which designates those properties as worthy of preservation. This program has been around since about 1972, so the files were in a mind-bogglingly unorganized state when I got here. One perk about completing the files was getting to walk around Lexington with the Trust's camera, taking pictures of historic buildings. I've also given a few tours of the Hunt-Morgan House, a historic home owned by the BGT. One week, they threw a party there to celebrate the release of a new documentary about the Civil War, which was pretty swanky (the party, not the Civil War); we're talking white tents and hors d'ouvres here. I've learned a lot about working for a non-profit.

Alex McAllister, associate professor of mathematics
I'm spending my summer rebuilding a 100-year-old house. I learned how to do wiring a month ago and I'm about to tackle the plumbing—hopefully we won't wind up with any leaky pipes.

I'm also studying non-Euclidean geometry with Centre junior Rachel Stamper. In high school most folks study Euclidean geometry in which every line has exactly one parallel line through some given point not on the original line. In non-Euclidean geometry you can have more than one parallel line—some really strange and amazing things happen in non-Euclidean space. Interestingly enough, non-Euclidean geometry is just what Einstein needed to develop his theory of relativity. In some ways our universe is Euclidean on the local level that we see day-to-day here on Earth, but non-Euclidean on the cosmic scale. It's turning out to be a fun and interesting summer!

Mike Norris, communications director
A trip to Alaska earlier this summer inspired me, in Scagway, to buy a copy of Jack London's The Call of the Wild. (You'll remember, it's the narrative of a dog, Buck, who's stolen and taken North to be part of a sled team in the time of the Alaskan gold rush.)

I read the story 35 years ago, and this time, if anything, I'm enjoying it even more. I love the relentless drive with which London moves the tale forward, his intimate knowledge of the Northwest, and his animating philosophy of the irresistible power of the primitive.

And I love the first two sentences, which create one of my favorite openings in literature:
"Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the northland."

I had my own adventures in Alaska, including an encounter with a polar bear. But as you'll see from the pictures, as with Buck, once I managed to come to terms with my more primitive instincts, harmony with nature was restored.

Brandon Gish, senior, Owensboro, Ky.
This summer I'm conducting research in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Our specific project is the design of nanoparticles for use in drug delivery and MRI imaging of the plaques of arteriosclerosis. Nano-science is a growing field at many of the top research institutes and is useful for its smaller size and subsequent specificity.  

I've also been studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which I took on July 13, but in my spare time I've been able to explore the many outdoor activities of Austin, which includes a popular pastime of Austin's residents: floating on tubes down the many rivers and creeks in the area. Austin also is a popular music city, and many restaurants and venues support local musicians in and outside of Austin. My research program has been exciting and allows me to work with people from all over the country, including New Jersey, Illinois, Montana and Texas.

Caitlin Rhodes, junior, Louisville, Ky.
This summer I've returned to my neighborhood summer league swim team, for the first time as a coach. Dean Brownley, the head coach of Centre's swim team, and Tyler Foote, another Centre junior who also grew up swimming on the team with me, are my co-coaches. It's been a great season: we achieved a winning dual meet record for the first time in several years!  

I'm also taking a trip out West to visit my brother, who lives just outside of Phoenix. I haven't seen him since March, so I'm really looking forward to it—even if it's supposed to be well over 100 degrees out there!

Annie Maggard, senior, Catlettsburg, Ky.
I'm working as an archaeology intern with the Heritage Resources division of the U.S. Forest Service in Norwood, Colo. I do high-elevation fieldwork (10,000-12,000+ feet) for cultural inventories in the Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, as well as some paperwork and data entry.

Benjamin Gowen, junior, Bardstown, Ky.
I'm doing an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY, studying how to create new tumor-targeting anti-cancer drugs.

Carolyn Jacoby, junior, Lexington, Ky.
This summer I'm working at the Lexington law firm Bubalo, Hiestand and Rotman. This is my third summer working for them. I'm staying very busy with the preparation of seven trials in the next year and helping the lawyers with medical and legal research. This summer I've also been in charge of coordinating mock trials and analyzing the statistics provided to us by jurors.

Clyde Madison, senior, Lexington, Ky.
This summer I moved to Columbus, Ohio, from Lexington, Ky., to do a marketing internship for Victoria's Secret at their corporate offices. From never having been in a store physically, to discussing how to increase bra sales by giving away free panties: I'd have to say it has been quite an interesting experience so far.

Bryce Meredith, junior, Leitchfield, Ky.
I'm working with the Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program at Centre this summer. I'm writing the RA blog for the program. Check it out at GSP CENTRE.

Cameron Comstock, junior, Fisherville, Ky.
I'm working as an acting intern for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Louisville. I play Baptista in the Taming of the Shrew. Our show on July 10 was in Old Louisville's Central Park.  

Rachel East, senior, Danville, Ky.
I'm interning at Lexington Investment Company in Danville, with Centre grad Roger "Erv" Yankey.

Tyler Foote, junior, Goshen, Ky.
Our Sigma Chi national headquarters hosts a leadership conference each summer in Snowbird, Utah. I spent June 10-17 in the most beautiful place in the world and woke up each morning to the amazing Rocky Mountains. Sigma Chi headquarters chooses only 150 men to go on this trip, so it was a pretty big deal that I was selected. Each day we participated in different challenges that helped us learn about our own leadership styles and how to better adapt those styles to the needs of other people. The week included an extremely difficult ropes course that challenged me more than I expected; a hiking adventure in the Rockies that ended with a gorgeous view over Snowbird; and several long discussions that allowed us to connect with other Sigma Chi's from all over the United States. I learned a lot about myself that will not only help me as a leader, but also will benefit the Sigma Chi chapter at Centre.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.

Brandon Gish goes tubing during his free time; otherwise he's doing biomedical engineering research.

Annie Maggard on top of Matchless Mountain (12,382 feet) after completing a survey for a bighorn sheep habitat project.

Tyler Foote spent a week in what he calls the most beautiful place in the world (Snowbird, Utah) and woke up each morning to the amazing Rocky Mountains.

Clyde Madison works for Victoria's Secret.