Summer Science

IN LABS FROM ST. PAUL to Arizona, and in the field from Montana to Australia, more than 80 Macalester students spent their summers immersed in cutting-edge research. Following are a few Mac students who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge:

• Chase Kahn ’14 (Miami)—avian botulism in the Great Lakes (biology major)
• Erin O’Leary ’13 (Eau Claire, Wis.)—galaxy evolution at Kitt Peak National Observatory, near Tucson, Ariz. (physics with astronomy emphasis)
• Tony Thao ’13 (St. Paul)—at U of Arizona with Professor Raymond Runyan ’72, cell transformation in the embryonic heart (biology)
• Nikita Avdievitch ’13 (Bronx, N.Y.)—with Professor John Craddock, structural geology in Northeastern China (geology)
• Mira Hager ’14 (Madison, Wis.)—immune response to HIV (biology)
• Percy Griffin ’13 (Tema, Ghana)—synthesizingmolecules with implications for new drugs (biology, chemistry) 
• Maggie Molter ’14 (Cedarburg, Wis.)—graphene,with implications for ultrafast supercomputers (physics, music) 
• Hannah Wiesner ’14 (Madison, Wis.), Domi Lauko ’14(Milwaukee, Hungary), Caitlin Baker ’12 (St. Louis Park, Minn.)—researching mite harvestmen (tiny relatives of the daddy longlegs) in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area of Queensland, Australia(biology)
• Megan Whitney ’13 (Kennebunk, Maine) and McKenna Bernard ’14 (Mount Vernon, Iowa)—measuring baby dinosaur bones with Professor Kristi Curry Rogers (biology)