A MONTH IN THE SCIENCES
While most students perform winter-term projects off campus during the month of January, the pulse of the Science Center at Oberlin College continues to thrive. With uninterrupted access to laboratories, professors, and equipment, and no other classes to compete for time, students have the opportunity to continue projects started during the academic school year or get involved in research they’ve always wanted to learn about.
“This (laser) project is directly related to my physics major as well as my personal goal of pursuing physics in graduate school and eventually a career in experimental AMO research.”
Down the hall from the laser lab, Ry Currier ‘22 and Alex Khate ‘22, embark on a synthesizer build.
Physics major Daniel Mukasa ‘19 works best at night, so tweaking the construction of his prototype at 7:30 p.m. in Professor Stephen FitzGerald's lab makes perfect sense. The mechanism he designed focuses on separating out the rare but very useful isotope of hydrogen, called deuterium. "Daniel's prototype allows us to easily keep the separating tube at any desired temperature all the way down to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, -320 F," explains FitzGerald.
“Cocrystal research is one of the newest fields in chemistry and has the potential to change how we think about pharmaceuticals.”
Associate Professor of Neuroscience Gunnar Kwakye, Megan Thomas '19, Joaquin Cardoco '22, and five other students perform neurotoxicology research.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) is also used in Professor of Neuroscience Leslie Kwakye's lab for research on how attention affects multisensory integration and the brain. Information from the experiment is transmitted into an adjoining analysis room and viewed by Lauriel Powell ‘22 and Tawni Hosein ‘22, pictured below.
Corinne Marble '21 (seated) and Margaret Sammon '20 conduct face perception research in the psychology department's Electroencephalogram (EEG) lab.
Izzy Schwob ‘21 (left) and Tyler Roberts ‘21 (right) mount specimens on slides in Associate Professor Tracie Paine's neuroscience lab.
Chemistry major William Dresser '19 uses Professor Mathew Elrod's biochemistry lab to conduct atmospheric research, a study that looks closely at compounds in the environment.
“Astronomers love having a spectrum, because it lets you learn all sorts of things about what the galaxy is doing, like how many stars it’s forming, or if the black hole at the center of the galaxy is trying to grow.”
Loubna El Idrissi ‘21 (right) has a winter-term goal—to preserve a subset of data with detailed information taken from thousands of galaxies. Assistant Professor of Physics Jillian Scudder (left) illustrates how the data is collected.
Luke Buck '21, a biochemistry major on Oberlin's premed track, performs analytical chemistry research in Professor Robert Thompson's lab.
“I knew I wanted to be premed since I was a kid.”
Before taking on research this winter term in Professor Robert Thompson's analytical chemistry lab, Natasha Powell ‘20, has gone the extra mile in her medical shadowing requirements for Oberlin’s premed program. She has shadowed doctors at private practices, orthopedic and pediatrician offices, and has observed surgical procedures.
Lauren Fries ‘19, Mia Fox ‘21, Magdalen Chouinard ‘20, and Samantha Westeman ‘19 work on Alzheimer's research in Visiting Professor Monica Mariani's neuroscience lab.
Professor of Geology Karla Hubbard catalogs specimens in her department's Geology Archive Room.
Zoe Hecht ‘21 and Emily Bermudez prepare soil samples in the geology department.
Clara Margaret Flood teach students how to abstract geographic data using Geographic Information Systems.
It's 8 p.m. and Jason Zhong '22 is finishing up for the day. Zhong is working on the synthesis of sulfur-based analogues of porphyrins.