Tag: STEM

Amherst College Science Center

Building a Brain with Dr. Barresi

By Andrea Yan and Henry Sun Michael Barresi, a Professor of Biological Sciences at Smith College, was the speaker for the Biology Monday Seminar on December 4th. A prominent developmental biologist specializing in the development of vertebrae brains, he is a co-author of the widely-used textbook Developmental Biology. In his talk, he guided us through…

Insights from an Algebraist on Pure Math and Social Consciousness

On September 25, 2024, Gabriel Sosa Castillo delivered a talk about his research on reconstructible monomial orderings at the Amherst College Math Colloquium. Sosa Castillo previously worked at the College as an assistant professor in the Mathematics Department and now works at Colgate University. Sosa Castillo specializes in computational and combinatorial commutative algebra, which refers…

Nobel Prize Winner Moungi Bawendi Lectures at Amherst College

Moungi Bawendi, Nobel Prize winner

On Friday, April 5, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Moungi Bawendi lectured at Amherst College. The lecture was held in Lipton lecture hall and was titled “Quantum magic and quantum dots: a synthesis unlocks a nano-world of opportunities.” Bawendi opened his talk by explaining how electrons have different properties at the quantum level.  “So…

Recent Research News and Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a prime topic for research due to its vast impact on memory and cognitive decline. In recent years, there has been a surge of information regarding AD research, including reports of fraud from highly cited studies and a new potential treatment. The following article will break down these aspects and offer…

Episode 11: An Inside Look at the SURF Experience

I will be interviewing two sophomores who participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program this summer (who happen to be two of my close friends). They discuss what they researched, why they decided to participate in SURF, advice they have for students considering SURF, and what Amherst is like over the summer. …

Spilling the Peas on STEMsibs

This piece was co-authored by Amy Zheng. STEMsibs, derived from “STEM siblings,” is a student group with a mission to guide new and undeclared students throughout their STEM journey at Amherst College. The STEMsibs offer monthly informational panels hosted by upperclassmen to form a tight-knit STEM community.  Tavus Atajanova, one of the group’s organizers, describes…