On October 21, 2022, Dr. Sierra Marker King, a candidate for the biochemistry professor position at Amherst College, led this week’s Cheminar. She presented her doctoral and postdoctoral research. She began her higher education at SUNY Broome Community College and obtained an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. From there, she graduated from SUNY…
They say that first impressions are everything – but did you know that assumptions are made about you as soon as the first seven seconds? It only takes one-tenth of a second for someone to decide if you’re trustworthy (Willis & Todorov, 2006). It similarly takes just fractions of a second for them to draw…
Long time no see, everybody! It has definitely been a productive and exciting summer, and I cannot wait to tell you all about it! As I mentioned in my introductory post, this summer I worked on my psychology thesis. This project explores the emotions, threats, and prejudices that underlie evaluations of people who engage in…
Hi everybody! My name is Sarah Lapean, and I am a rising senior at Amherst College double majoring in English and psychology. I am doing a thesis in each of my majors, and this summer I received funding through the Gregory S. Call Summer Student Research Program to do preliminary work on my psychology thesis…
On March 29, Presidential Scholar Chanda Prescod-Weinstein gave a talk in the Science Center called “Cosmic Probes of the Dark Sector.” Prescod-Weinstein is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Core Faculty Member in Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire. She began her talk by telling the audience that “there are no stupid questions,…
Ingrid Wefing is a senior, a thesis student, a Psychology and Asian Languages and Civilizations double major, and an absolute delight to talk to. I sat down with Ingrid to talk about her upcoming thesis that examines the relationship between belongingness and mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Did you know you wanted to study…
In 2007, a performance artist named Stelarc permanently integrated a synthetic ear into one of his arms in hopes of “amplifying” his body. As unorthodox and unrealistic as this sounds, it offers an iconic example of BioArt: an art practice where artists and researchers work with cells, tissues, organisms, bacteria, and even organs such as…
Prof. Trapani joined Amherst College in 2011. He is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department and also contributes to the Neuroscience program. He has chaired the Biology department since July this year. His research involves the use of the model organism larval zebrafish to look at how hair cells encode information which leads to…
The following statement comes from Claire Hawthorne ‘21, a Social Media coordinator for the Amherst College STEM Incubator Program. The Incubator is a 6-week skills-development program based on a multidisciplinary STEM-focused curriculum that fosters a stronger sense of belonging, strengthens research and career-readiness, and increases the retention and success of our underrepresented minority (URM) and…