While most students will be doing their very best to get as far away from campus as possible once finals are done, there are a good handful of us who have the pleasure of sticking around. Why? Summer research, of course!
This summer will be my second spent on campus doing independent research under the guidance of faculty members. Last year I joined the lab of Dr. Dave Hall, who is the biochemistry professor here and who currently conducts research in yeast metabolism and translational brewing. If you have no idea what that means, then don’t worry – I didn’t either. Basically, what we did (and what I do during the school year as well) is learn about the metabolic and aging functions of different yeast species and then relate our findings to the brewing industry.
Just a small corner of the disaster that is my life.
We’ve worked on several projects under this general theme, with one example being the comparison of mitochondrial membrane potentials between yeast strains used in different styles of brewing (lagers, ales, etc.). This summer will focus instead on yeast hybridization and the attempt to create new strains of yeast that could be of benefit to brewers. I’ve actually been working in Dr. Hall’s lab since the winter before last, and so this summer will be the continuation of a large part of my life here at Lawrence.
For science!
However, I’ll also be starting a brand new project this summer with Dr. Allison Fleshman. Professor Fleshman is the physical chemistry professor here, but oddly enough I won’t be doing any P-chem at all! Instead, we’ll be working with a 15th century illuminated Book of Hours as well as a newly-acquired 16th century manuscript. Students like Caren Sullivan have made some incredible progress with manuscript analysis, and so my job will be to focus on identifying the blue inks via Raman spectroscopy as well as identifying which animal (or animals) the parchment was made out of.
Summer research at Lawrence is an amazing experience that allows students to get their hands dirty, learn organizational skills, prepare for laboratory work or graduate school after Lawrence, and start figuring out what doing research actually means. (Hint: it’s mostly about being wrong and then being wrong again and then being wrong some more). It’s also a great time to determine whether or not you enjoy the laboratory setting at all! Overall, the experience has definitely been a critical component of my Lawrence education.
Well, this will be my last blog entry for awhile as the school year settles down. So – here’s to a summer of river bugs, attempting (failing) to cook like a proper adult, and many hours spent in lab. I wouldn’t ask for anything else.