Semester Snapshots SMALL INSECT, BIG IMPACT Drosophila looks harmless enough, but this common fruit fly can transmit bacteria to humans, often with devastating effects. Albion biology professor Roger Albertson and and students Marissa Cloutier, ’14, Jack Manquen, ’15, and Allison McClish, ’15, recently presented their research on Wolbachia, one of these bacterial strains, at the 55th Drosophila Research Conference. They believe their findings could improve human health in developing countries.
WHEN IN ROMANIA . . .
“Most people were impressed that we were presenting research, as less than 10 percent of attendees were undergraduates,” Cloutier says. “People were very receptive. It was a great feeling to present new data to people who are experts in the field.” Wolbachia is the causative agent of several tropical diseases, including elephantiasis and river blindness. More than 200 million people are infected, according to Albertson. “This research conducted at Albion College is part of an international effort to control Wolbachia,” he says. The University of California, Florida International University, and the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, are among other research institution collaborators.
It’s a story to warm a teacher’s heart:
AuH20 FOR CHEM MAJOR
D. LAWRENCE PHOTOS
The nanoparticles did it. Stephanie Sanders’ two years of research on nanoparticles so impressed the judges that this spring she was one of only six students in Michigan to receive a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2014-15. Sanders, ’15, joins the 286 science, math, and engineering students selected from among 1,166 applicants nationally. After working at Albion with chemistry professor Kevin Metz, the chemistry and math major next will spend fall 2014 on a research semester at Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory. “The Goldwater is incredibly competitive, and it rewards the top students in the STEM disciplines,” notes Albion chemistry professor Vanessa McCaffrey. “Stephanie really excels in everything she does. I’m not at all surprised she was chosen for this award.”
As a middle-school student, Logan Woods, ’14, randomly chose the country of Romania for a social studies project. From that assignment, he gained an abiding interest in the country. Now, as the recipient of a 2014-15 Fulbright Student Award, Woods, who graduated in May with majors in English and history, will spend nine months in Romania teaching English in a school setting. “I’m very honored to be a representative of our country and of Albion College,” says Woods, the fourth Albion Fulbright recipient in the past three years. “This is a confluence of interests I’ve had for a long time. . . . My goal is to not just teach English—I want to learn Romanian as well.” Woods stands a good chance of being placed in a city on the Black Sea. “Politically, with what’s going on in Eastern Europe at this time, Romania could be a very interesting place,” he says. “I’m expecting there may be some heightened emotion in people and students around me.”
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