"Centers of Learning, Discovery and Renewal" highlighted student research from each of Haverford's three interdisciplinary academic centers.
The Haverford community got a crash course in the innovations and benefits of the College's three interdisciplinary academic centers in“Centers of Learning, Discovery and Renewal,” held Thursday, October 4 from 4-5:30 p.m. in Sharpless Auditorium. The event featured a panel discussion with the directors of the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC), the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center (KINSC), and the Hurford Humanities Center (HHC), and a research symposium highlighting the work of selected students.
Director Parker Snowe '79 spoke of the CPGC's offerings before turning the microphone over to Jenny Rabinowich '08 and Corey Chao '08. Rabinowich's talk, entitled“Health Care for the Poor in Urban Kenya,” focused on the semester she spent interning with WOFAK (Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya), which was founded in 1994 by HIV-positive women in Nairobi.“Working on issues I care about, I found my passion, and saw how it could manifest in my life after Haverford,” says Rabinowich, whose experience has inspired her to write her senior thesis on positive images of HIV.
Corey Chao's presentation,“Appalachian Media Made Home,” centered on his summer internship with Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky (two hours from his home town), a media program created by the Appalachian people to convey their lives and experiences from their own perspectives.“The CPGC was a great source of motivation for me,” says Chao.“It was important to be able to carry out a project so close to home for me, both academically and personally.”
After opening remarks from KINSC director and Associate Professor of Physics Suzanne Amador Kane, students Emily Hinchcliff '08 and Hernan Sanchez '08 discussed their research. Hinchcliff has been working with Professor of Biology Jenni Punt on a project titled“Cytoskeletal Polarization in Mature and Immature T-cells.”
Hernan Sanchez assists Assistant Professor of Chemistry Alexander Norquist on a project called“Crystal Engineering in Templated Oxomolybdates.”“To be able to fully get into research, and to do it myself, is an experience I never dreamed I'd have as an undergraduate,” says Sanchez, who came from Argentina to Haverford specifically to study chemistry.“I'm honored to be here, and to have the opportunity to go beyond my greatest expectations.”
HHC director and Professor of English Kim Benston outlined Humanities Center programs and introduced Jacob Carroll '09 and Mari Christmas '08. Carroll was a research assistant for Assistant Professor of English Theresa Tensuan, helping her with Breaking the Frame, her book in progress about autobiographical comics.“Working with my professor and building a close relationship with her has allowed me to look within myself and broaden my perspective on this topic,” he says.
Mari Christmas shared details from her summer internship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, assisting the Department of City and Regional Planning in recreating the survey of Philadelphia's 7th Ward conducted by W.E.B. DuBois in 1896.“I always had the perspective that being directly involved with service was the best way to help a community,” she says.“Now I see that understanding the issues at hand, and using history as a source of that understanding, is critical for opening up dialogue and bringing people together.”
After the talks, other students from various disciplines presented their research at a poster show in Zubrow Commons. Topics ranged from the development of a flash animation tool for conjugating verbs in foreign languages to an analysis of the efficacy of treatment protocols for people infected with the Ebola virus.
