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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
You are working on a 15-page essay at 2 in the morning, and just as you start your concluding paragraph, a burst of pain shoots to your head. The pain lingers for another 4 hours before you call it quits and decide to write the rest of your essay after a good night’s (or morning’s?)…
In the early weeks of Fall 2016, Prof. Janice Hudgings of Pomona College tasked the sophomores in her Modern Physics course with identifying the scientists whose work was presented in the course textbook. The results: of the credited scientists, 99% were male, and 98% were white. These statistics are only the beginning. Since the late…