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VIDEO NEWS: St. Olaf summer research ranges from swallows to politics

By Andrew Watt '11 and David Gonnerman '90
August 12, 2009

SummerResearch09lg
Assistant Professor of Psychology Gary Muir (top), Blake Hedstrom '10 and Tim Buff '11 (not pictured) spent the summer studying directional brain cells. They were among the nearly 80 students who recently presented the results of their research.
As at most colleges, the pace of life at St. Olaf slows down during the summer months. But it's still not difficult to find labs buzzing with activity as students and faculty take advantage of summer hours to concentrate on a variety of research projects.

This summer, 55 students (including two in Siberia) worked with 35 faculty members to spend more than 21,000 hours researching such topics as directional brain cells, the role of political blogs in the 2008 election, water quality, and genetic differentiation among cliff swallows. In addition, some two-dozen McNair scholars researched topics ranging from the Hmong language to biogenic amines. The researchers presented their findings during a recent public event in Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. (Eight students presented their humanities, social science and fine arts research -- on such topics as the "Religious Sensibility of Abraham Lincoln" and "Somali American Voices: A Pilot Study Regarding Religious Freedom" -- during a public forum in July.)

Associate Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Matt Richey says that something good always comes out of summer research: "Sometimes a publication, sometimes a presentation at a conference, oftentimes it helps focus a career path," he explains. "It's a valuable experience for everyone." (Learn more about the value of undergraduate research through an interview with Charles Umbanhowar Jr., director of summer research at St. Olaf.)

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.