Solar systems like ours begin as pancakes of dust and gas left over after a star forms. Over time, the dust within these “circumstellar disks” coagulate into planetesimals that will eventually form planets like the Earth. During this early stage of solar system evolution, these circumstellar disks are called “protoplanetary disks” because planets have not…
In his colloquium “Polyhedra: Plato, Archimedes, Euler,” Professor Robert Benedetto explains the mathematical history of the Archimedean solids – which include geometric forms like the truncated icosahedron, very reminiscent of a soccer ball but with flat faces instead of imposed on a spherical surface – and the proof that defines this set of 13 polyhedra….
The ,William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is the preeminent mathematics competition for undergraduate college students, consisting of two 3-hour sessions, with 6 problems each. The exam is so difficult that the median score is usually only 0 or 1 out of 120. Ethan Spingarn, a sophomore at Amherst College, participated in the 2019 Putnam Competition…
Would George Floyd still be alive if J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao took action against Derek Chauvin violently asphyxiating Floyd for eight whole minutes? Would countless numbers of women have been saved from sexual harassment if Quentin Tarantino spoke out against the acts of Harvey Weinstein that he was very much aware…
Considering applying for STEM internships? Interested in experiences inside or outside of academia? Unsure how to get funding for these exciting opportunities (as a U.S. citizen, international, or undocumented student)? It can be hard to find summer opportunities while studying for midterms and completing coursework. Fortunately, Spectra (Amherst College’s very own Physics, Biophysics, and Astronomy…
Image source: Amherst College Faculty & Staff Page Professor Wu Orr is a new Biology Professor who joined Amherst College this year. She is teaching Biochemistry this fall and will be teaching BIO-191 Molecules, Genes, & Cells in the Spring. I spoke with Professor Wu Orr to learn more about her research and her experience…
Named in honor of Professor McGeoch, who passed away in 2019, the ,,McGeoch Fellows assist the computer science department by holding TA hours, grading assignments, and serving as a support system for other students. This month, I caught up with Lesley Zhang ‘21, Jessica Yu ‘22, Maggie Drew ‘22, and Conrad Kuklinsky ‘21. Zhang works…
Introduction This post is the third in a series highlighting the fantastic astronomy research Amherst College students have conducted this summer. For more information on the series, visit ,,this post. This week, Astronomy Department Editor William Balmer (that’s me) interviewed Joe Palmo ‘21, who interned this summer at NASA via the Student Airborn Research Program…
Professor O’Hara is the chair of the Amherst College Biochemistry-Biophysics department. She investigates aspects of the intersection of food and human biochemistry in her lab, as well as other topics of research. Outside of the lab, Professor O’Hara engages with questions relating to food in other, fascinating ways in her scholarship and teaching. I spoke…
Introduction This post is the third in a series highlighting the fantastic astronomy research Amherst College students have conducted this summer. For more information on the series, visit ,,this post. This week, Astronomy Department Editor William Balmer (that’s me) interviewed Lena Treiber ’23E, who presented at the Chandra Time-Series Conference this fall. Lena attended the…