Category: News

Amherst College Science Center

Climate Action Plan: Overview

Carbon neutrality by 2030. It is a pledge made by Amherst College to tackle climate change. One of its efforts includes the Climate Action Plan (CAP). For context, Amherst College has been and is reliant on fossil fuels. It went from individual coal boilers to centralized coal-fired steam plant to natural gas to a cogeneration…

Ripple Effects: How Early Relationships Influence Health

On Wednesday, November 10, the Psychology Department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee invited their first outside speaker to campus. Dr. Evelyn Mercado is a professor at UMass Amherst in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Her talk “Exploring Relationship Behaviors, Emotions, & Biological Processes that Impact Health Across the Lifespan” drew a large crowd…

AI and the Future of Your Mind by Dr. Susan Schneider

Dr. Susan Schneider published “Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind” in 2019. On October 19, 2021, she gave an eponymous talk at Amherst College, discussing AI-based brain enhancement at a rate higher than biological evolution and analyzing the merging of human mind and AI from a philosophical perspective. Image above: Hybrid event,…

Back in Action: Psychology SURF Presentations

On Friday, September 24, nine students from the psychology department presented their summer research in the Powerhouse to a crowd of students and professors. Topics ranged from prejudice to mental health to child development, and everyone was excited to share their findings. The first poster in the lineup was presented by Nyla Guadalupe ‘23, who…

Protein Research and Being Human in STEM: Professor Jaswal wins 2021 Carl Branden Award

The Protein Society presents the Carl Brändén Award to an outstanding protein scientist who demonstrates dedication to service and education. Professor Sheila Jaswal received this year’s award for pioneering Being Human in STEM (HSTEM) at Amherst in addition to her research on protein structure and dynamics. I had a lovely discussion with Dr. J about…

A Letter to the Biology Department: Improving Curricula and Access to Research

After careful review of curricula and research opportunities within the Biology Department, Danielle Reed ’21, Eva Nelson’22, and Andrea Mirow’22 (with the support of 105 signatories as of May 11, 2021) call for the following steps to further integrate anti-racist values and practices within the Biology Department. Reed’21, Nelson’22, and Mirow’22 would like to thank…

The Psychology of Trauma

A series by the Peer Advocates for Sexual Respect and the Psychology Department The Amherst College Department of Health Educations put on a video series inviting psychology professors to answer questions about trauma. Professors from the Psychology Department were asked various questions regarding trauma; their responses are summarized below. There are also links to the…

Being Present, Making Change

On April 14, the Amherst College Department of History hosted the 2020-21 Hawkins Lecture, “Why Diversity Makes Science Not Just Fairer, but Better,” with Dr. Naomi Oreskes. The Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University and author of Why Trust Science? walked us through a fast-paced and compelling presentation on…

How Do the Humanities and AI Connect?

More than 20 curious students, faculty, and members of the Pioneer Valley community hopped onto Zoom on March 24th, 2021 to find the answer to the question, “How do the humanities and artificial intelligence connect?” The talk was facilitated by Visiting Professor Lee Spector, who founded Amherst College’s Arts in the Liberal Arts initiative this…

Remember Your “Why”: How Psychology Majors Become Educators

On March 9th, Professor Palmquist led the latest conversation of the Psychology Department Spring 2021 Lecture Series. She spoke with Anna Vuong ’18 and Sydney “Kramer” Peterson ’17 about how they went from psychology majors at Amherst to their current jobs as teachers. Anna was a psychology major who was involved in Ed Pros, QuestBridge,…