HWS News Top Stories
20 September 2023HWS Awarded $1M in NFS Astrophysics Grants
Grants from the National Science Foundation support the astrophysics work of Associate Professor of Physics Steve Penn, who contributed to the Nobel-winning research that confirmed the existence of gravitational waves.
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8 August 2023The Countdown to the Total Solar Eclipse
Each month, Hobart and William Smith will release an educational newsletter about the Sun leading up to the total solar eclipse that will pass over campus in April 2024.
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20 July 2023Dietsche ’25 Studies Molecular Networks at MIT
After developing lab skills on campus, biochemistry major Brogan Dietsche ’25 is interning this summer at MIT, designing and synthesizing agents to strengthen industrial polymers.
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13 July 2023Wassermans’ $500K Gift Supports HWS Science Center
HWS Trustee Dr. Richard Wasserman ’70 and his wife Tina are investing in the Colleges’ vision of a modern facility that fosters STEM teaching, learning, research and collaboration.
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24 June 2023VanWormer '22 Joins Regeneron
Building on the experience of an independent study and research work at Hobart and William Smith, Matthew VanWormer ’22 landed a position as an Associate Biotech Production Specialist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
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7 June 2023STEM Scholars Attend NSBE Convention
Three HWS STEM Scholars attended the 49th Annual Convention of the National Society of Black Engineers in Kansas City, Missouri.
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1 June 2023STEM Scholars Inducted
During a ceremony led by Provost and Dean of Faculty Sarah Kirk, Associate Professor of Geoscience Nick Metz and Associate Professor of Chemistry Kristin Slade, the Colleges inducted its newest cohort of 22 STEM scholars at a celebration in Bartlett Theatre this spring.
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9 May 2023Physics Competition Explores Teleportation, Uranium
Students presented their research during the Physics Department’s annual oratory competition, established to encourage and further the art of physics discourse and to memorialize former HWS President Albert Holland.
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14 April 2023Understanding the Atmospheric Rivers in the Northeastern U.S.
Associate Professor of Geoscience and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development Nicholas Metz is one of the authors of a recent research paper on atmospheric rivers in the northeastern United States.
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16 March 2023Boucher ’22 Pursues Ph.D. at Penn State
Colleen Boucher ’22 is pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Penn State University. Intent on becoming a professor, Boucher says she entered the program ahead of the curve, having gained research and teaching experience at HWS.
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5 January 2023Professor Bodenlos on Being the Change
A new book by Professor of Psychological Science Jamie Bodenlos offers practical guidance for activists to maximize their impact as agents of change.
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22 December 2022New Streams of Thought
A look at our innovative graduate program and three new academic minors, and examine the exciting possibilities for classroom learning, student research and future careers.
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15 December 2022Stein Family Commits $5 Million to Integrated Science Center Project
A generous gift from Kevin Stein ’88 and his family provides the financial foundation for a state-of-the-art building that will be the hub of scientific education at Hobart and William Smith.
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8 December 2022Physics: The Most Mind Blowing Discipline
Associate Professor Steven Penn teaches “PHYSX: Knowing the World,” instructing and advising first-year students on the Physics track.
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8 December 2022Dooley Presents on Spectroscopy Imaging in Artwork
Dr. Kathryn Dooley, a research scientist at the National Gallery of Art, presented on the use of multimodal imaging spectroscopy as the 2022 Hill-Franks Speaker in Chemistry.
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11 October 2022Tapper Fund Advances Student-Faculty STEM Research
Over the past year, Professor of Chemistry Christine de Denus and her research group have made significant headway in identifying molecular wire candidates, which may one day replace silicon chips in small electronic devices. Meanwhile, students across STEM disciplines pursued collaborative research projects through the Colleges’ summer science programs.
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10 August 2022Finding Autonomy: Layne ’25 Reflects on First Year at HWS
During his first year at the Colleges, Jadon Layne ’25 jumped right in to preparing for medical school. He declared a major in biochemistry, joined the HWS EMS squad and started a position with sports medicine on campus.
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16 July 2022Dwyer ’23 Earns Goldwater Scholarship
Alex Dwyer ’23 has been selected for the Goldwater Scholarship, the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
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7 July 2022Introducing the New Aquatic Sciences Minor
A new minor in aquatic sciences capitalizes on the campus’ long history of limnologic research and leverages the Colleges’ location on Seneca Lake.
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24 June 2022Sipos '23 Honored by Botanical Society of America
Biology major Erika Sipos ’23 is one of only six students nationwide to earn a 2022 Undergraduate Student Research Award from the Botanical Society of America.
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17 June 2022Rundlett ’22 Accepted to University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine
Emily Rundlett ’22, who graduated cum laude with a B.S. in chemistry, will attend the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine in the fall.
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6 May 2022Lewis '23 Conducts Research in Stockholm
While studying abroad, Ethan Lewis ’23 is serving as a research assistant with Science for Life Laboratory.
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4 May 2022HWS Alum and Parent Trip to Cuba
Hobart and William Smith professors will be leading a week-long trip to Cuba, designed for HWS parents and alums.
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27 April 2022Downs ’22 Headed to Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
Building on his bachelor of science in biology, Garrett Downs ’22 will attend Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in the fall to earn a master of science in nursing, a prerequisite for the doctoral program.
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1 April 2022Student Scholarship the Focus of Senior Symposium 2022
The Center for Teaching Learning will host the 13th annual Senior Symposium on April 15, a daylong conference where seniors and graduate students present their intellectual passions to the HWS community.
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24 January 2022HWS to Host Feingold as ACE Fellow
Statistical Geneticist and University of Pittsburgh Dean Eleanor Feingold joins HWS this spring.
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10 December 2021Mathematics Research Students Win Awards
The Department of Mathematics summer Research Experience for Undergraduates provided students with close faculty mentorship, research opportunities and insight about graduate study in the field.
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9 December 2021Donors Step Up to Fund Repairs to The William Scandling
Thanks to the generosity of the Fred L. Emerson Foundation and other benefactors who value the work HWS performs both on campus and in the community, the Colleges’ floating laboratory will continue its educational voyage.
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23 November 2021Plant Evolution and Water Quality
Students present at the annual Rochester area science conference.
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15 November 2021Masses in the Stellar Graveyard
More than 30 new black hole events are detailed in a new report from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA international scientific collaboration, which includes Associate Professor of Physics Steve Penn.
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22 October 2021Nature's Remedy
A labyrinth will offer the HWS community a new site for spiritual restoration.
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22 October 2021Medical Careers Start Here
Why HWS is an ideal place to prepare for a career in the health professions.
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16 September 2021Widing '22 Earns Research Scholarship to Germany
With the support of a prestigious scholarship, Charlie Widing '22 will research water purification techniques at the Technological University of Berlin this summer.
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3 September 2021Discovery During Medical Rotations
Tyler Fuller 18 is finishing his fourth year in medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical Universitys Rural Medical Scholars Program. He completed his pediatrics, emergency medicine, family medicine
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13 August 2021Slippery Duck Theorem Wins National Mathematical Writing Award
A paper coauthored by Assistant Professor Jocelyn Bell won the 2021 award for best expository mathematical writing.
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30 June 2021Wagner '21 Accepts Position with Liberty Mutual Insurance
Peggy Wagner '21 Lands Post at Liberty Mutual Insurance Economics major and mathematics minor Peggy Wagner '21 accepted a position with Liberty Mutual Insurance.
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18 June 2021Cultures, Aesthetics and Politics Collide in Global Video Games
In a new Media & Society course, HWS students explore the cultural contexts of video games and produce games of their own.
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10 June 2021HWS Awarded Nearly $50K for Finger Lakes Research
Two new grants support HWS researchers in their exploration of harmful algal blooms, both historical and contemporary, in the Finger Lakes.
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10 June 2021Dental School for HWS Grads at Harvard, UPenn, Conn, BU
Four recent Hobart and William Smith alums have been admitted to some of the premier dental schools in the world, including programs at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. Between his cours
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8 June 2021Beckley '20 Earns Graduate Award from Wisconsin
A graduate student in atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ian Beckley '20 was recognized with the Schwerdtfeger Award for academic achievement.
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8 June 2021Smith '21 Lands Policy Internship on Capitol Hill
Graduating magna cum laude in biology with a minor in economics, Amelia Smith '21 has landed an internship with the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources.
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30 April 2021Improving Filtration for Cleaner Water
Using water pressure and a series of filters, reverse osmosis is a common method of water purification.
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30 April 2021Foisy '22 Interns at MathWorks
Isabelle Foisy '22 begins a finance internship at the mathematics computing software company in May.
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27 April 2021New STEM Research Stipends for HWS Students
HWS research students are not laboratory assistants; they are co-investigators into our unknown world.
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16 April 2021Lewicki '21 Earns NIH Research Training Award
Sarah Lewicki ’21 is the recipient of a prestigious award that will support up to two years of hands-on biomedical research training at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
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9 April 2021Robitaille '21 Pursues Med School with Air Force Support
The wealth of opportunity and academic rigor here at HWS have been crucial in preparing me for this next step.
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12 March 2021Pirate Plants of the Caribbean
A new study led by Professor of Biology Meghan Brown documents that Cuba is home to hundreds fewer invasive plant species than expected.
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6 January 2021Stein '88 Establishes Summer Science Research Fund
Kevin Stein 88 has established an endowed fund to support on-campus summer science research opportunities like those he had as a student.
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9 December 2020Announcing the HWS STEM Scholars Program
A new program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges is designed to support more inclusion of racially and ethnically underrepresented scholars in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
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3 November 2020The Substance (and Science) Behind the Art
From painting and literature to comedy and country music, first-year students at HWS probed the making and meaning of a wide range of artistic media.
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9 October 2020HWS Awarded NSF Grant on Evolution in Cities
A new grant from the National Science Foundation will support a collaborative research project that, through a study on eastern gray squirrels, will explore the ways cities shape animal evolution.
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25 June 2020Honors Students Demonstrate Academic Rigor
Twenty-eight students in the Classes of 2020 have graduated with Honors, demonstrating academic rigor and excellence in written and oral communication.
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3 June 2020Konradi '24 Interns with Dallas Mavs, Competes in Euro Lax Championship
As an intern for the Dallas Mavericks in 2019, Alexander Konradi '24 gained professional experience in both information technology and community relations.
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27 May 2020Paleontology Class Visits Carnegie Museum of Natural History
David Kendrick, students research the mysterious lives of prehistoric plants and animals.
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9 January 2020Tate '23 Coaches Robotics Team
With seven years of experience as a member and leader of FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams, Joseph Tate '23 was a natural candidate when FLL Coach Sandra Chu decided to start a team for Geneva school children.
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3 January 2020Solar Magnetic Activity May Impact Infrastructure
In a lecture given at HWS in December, Professor Frederick M. Walter of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, N.Y. highlighted the risks facing America's power grid due to the sun's magnetic activity.
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22 October 2019HWS Hosts State's Geological Association
The HWS Department of Geoscience hosted the New York State Geological Association's annual meeting this fall.
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28 August 2019H.I.V., Justice and the Law: Beyrer '81 in NYT
Dr. Christopher C. Beyrer ’81, a past president of the International AIDS Society and an internationally renowned epidemiologist, co-authored a New York Times op-ed this month, decrying the gap between scientific understanding of H.I.V. and the attitude of the legal and criminal justice system toward people living with the disease.
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23 August 2019Lamanna '97 to Deliver Convocation Address
Renowned paleontologist Matt Lamanna '97 will give the keynote address during Hobart and William Smith Colleges 2019 Convocation ceremony, which marks the official start of the academic year.
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13 August 2019Polentes '21 Named NOAA Hollings Scholar
Jack Polentes '21 has been awarded the prestigious Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship, giving the geoscience major a paid 10-week internship with researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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16 May 2019Schrader '21 Wins Holland Prize
Andrew Schrader ’21 was recently named the winner of the Physics Department’s 2019 Albert Holland Physics Lecture Competition, after the delivery of his presentation, “Archimedes’ Principle: What Else Will Float Your Boat?”
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16 May 2019Bringing Disciplines Together Through Open-Source Data Analysis
When it came time for Professor of Geoscience Nan Crystal Arens to teach a data science class, she took an entrepreneurial approach.
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13 June 2018Stein '88 Named President, CEO of TransDigm
Kevin Stein '88 has been named president, chief executive officer and director ofTransDigm Group Incorporated, a global designer and manufacturer of highly engineered aerospace components for commercial and military applications. As a public company, TransDigm Group today sits on the S&P 500 and is considered by Forbes Magazine to be one of the Worlds Top Innovation Companies.
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11 June 2018Tapper '64 Funds Scientific Research
Working closely with the HWS science faculty, fellow alums and supporters of the Colleges programs in science, Dr. Edward Tapper '64 is making dreams and opportunities for student research in the
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31 May 2018Defying the Laws of Physics and Dance
As Hobart Colleges' first dance major, Drew Scammell '18 took to the Deming Theatre stage for the final performance of his college career in April.
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11 April 2018HWS Theatre Hosts Frame/Works Talk on Waiting for Godot
HWS Theatre concludes the 2017-2018 Frame/Works series on Friday, April 13, with a talk by Professor of Physics Donald Spector who will present, What Waiting for Godot Can Teach Us about Multipl
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11 October 2017Hebb Advancing Exoplanet Research
Assistant Professor of Physics Leslie Hebb is collaborating with a group of scientists from across the country on a project that improves with previously unattainable precision the ability to observe exoplanets in other solar systems.
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4 October 2017Nobel Prize Awarded for Gravitational Waves Discovery
The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded for the historic discovery of gravitational waves, a scientific breakthrough made possible thanks to a global research team of which Professor of Physics
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22 September 2017Hebbs Planetary Research Profiled in New York Times
A recently published study by Assistant Professor of Physics Leslie Hebb and her colleagues has made the search for extraterrestrial life a little simpler. The study measured the radii of more than
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25 August 20172017 Solar Eclipse Viewing Party
A wave of excitement came over a crowd gathered on the Scandling Patio at Hobart and William Smith as a partial solar eclipse overtook the Geneva N.Y. sky on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
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20 August 2017Exploring the Eclipse and Galaxies in 2017
The last partial solar eclipse of this magnitude overtook the Geneva sky in the 1970's and on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, the Hobart and William Smith community will gather to observe the historic events return to the Finger Lakes.
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27 July 2017DeLuccia '15 Pursues Career in Robotics
Luke DeLuccia '15, who got his start in robotics at HWS, is poised to play a central role in shaping the robots of the future since graduating from the University of Pennsylvania this spring with an engineering masters degree in robotics.
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21 April 2017Piersante '18 Pursues Atmospheric Research
Jeremiah Piersante ’18, a double major in Geoscience and Spanish & Hispanic studies, was recently selected to take part in the Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric (SOARS) program through the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
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17 April 2017HWS Presents at National Physics Conference
Bringing the Finger Lakes to Atlanta, Assistant Professor of Physics Ileana Dumitriu, physics lab technician Peter Spacher Ph.D. and Christopher Demas ’17 recently presented their respective research at the winter conference for the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), the largest conference for physics teachers across the globe.
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31 March 2017Miller and Students to Dispel Food Myths
You are what you eat, but because of cryptic marketing and labeling on food products, what you're eating isn't always clear.
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15 February 2017Physics Truck Brings Experiments on Wheels
Students experimented with professional physics equipment in the Food Truck for the Physics Mind on Feb. 8 and 9 outside of the Scandling Campus Center.
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3 February 2017Discovery Receives Breakthrough Prize
Associate Professor of Physics Steven Penn is among the international team of scientists being recognized this month for their pioneering discovery of gravitational waves.
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