Posts Tagged ‘science’

Summer Research Students Sample Ocean Water in Gulf of Maine

July 26th, 2017 by Rebecca Fater

Students standing on the deck of a research vessel help lower canisters into the ocean water.

Students Ciro “CJ” Aprea ’18 and Caroline Fleming ’18 steady a lift filled with canisters as a winch lowers the contraption into the ocean. Using the canisters, or “Niskin bottles,” the students sampled ocean water at different depths to measure the temperature, salinity and density of the water, and to assess the amount of phytoplankton present. The trip off the Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of Maine, which included a visit to the Shoals Marine Lab, was part of the Weiss Summer Science Research Program. Aprea and Fleming, both biology majors, are research students working in the lab of Assistant Biology Professor Justin McAlister.

Math Majors Present Research at Conference

January 16th, 2014 by

MathMeeting

From left, Lauren Buckley ’14, Alison Wilkman ’14, Mathematics Professor Dave Damiano, Gopal Yalla  ’15, Molly Lynch ’14 and Melissa McGuirl ’15 at the 2014 Joint Mathematics Meeting in Baltimore. The five mathematics majors each presented posters on the summer math research they conducted at Holy Cross last year.

Two Holy Cross Students Serve as American Cancer Society Research Fellows

August 7th, 2013 by

Seniors Lauren Testa, of Winchester, Mass., and Timothy Murphy, of Niantic, Conn., spent the summer serving as American Cancer Society research fellows. Testa, a psychology major and chemistry minor with a premed concentration, worked at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Murphy, a biology major with concentrations in premed and biological psychology, worked at Massachusetts General Hospital. They are pictured at a reception for the fellows.

Students Share Science-Inspired Creative Writing in Science Library

April 18th, 2013 by

Twelve Holy Cross students pose before reading selected passages from their science-inspired creative writing in the O’Callahan Science Library in Swords Hall. Passages from the students’ writing were on display in the science library in poster sized renditions. The second annual event, titled “Opposites Attract: Exploring the Bond Between Science and Literature,” is part of a course taught by Leila Philip, associate professor of English. Front row, from left, are Barbara Merolli, science librarian, and Philip.

Photograph by John Morton ’15

Holy Cross Alumni Are Everywhere

October 3rd, 2011 by

Frank Barbiero ’13, an anthropology major in the premed program, stands beside James Picone ’80 at the 53rd annual American Society for Radiation Oncology conference in Miami Beach, Fla. Barbiero conducted research with physicians at the Yale School of Medicine last summer, and was exhibiting his research titled “Intralesional Hemorrhage in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma Treated by Gamma Knife Radiation.” During the conference, he happened to meet Picone, who is on the physics staff at the Yale School of Medicine.  “I thought this was a perfect example of how Holy Cross is everywhere,” says Barbiero.

Holy Cross Welcomes New Faculty Members to Campus

September 6th, 2011 by

First-year students aren’t the only new faces on campus. A large group of professors join the Holy Cross community this academic year, including 17 faculty members, 14 in tenure-track positions and three postdoctoral teaching fellows. First row, left to right: Matthew Dinan, Jack Miller-Veritas Fund Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Political Science; Lorelle Semley, assistant professor of history; Daniel DiCenso, assistant professor of music; Alice Hsiaw, assistant professor of economics; Ben Kain, assistant professor of physics; second row, left to right: Lisa Fluet, assistant professor of English; Jonathan Young, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in History; John Gavin, SJ., assistant professor of religious studies; Peter Fritz, assistant professor of religious studies; Robert Green, Jr., Bishop James A. Healy Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Religious Studies; Alex C. Yen, assistant professor in economics and accounting; Scott Malia, assistant professor of theatre; Juan Ramos, assistant professor in theatre; and Nadine Knight, assistant professor of English. Not pictured are Alo Basu, assistant professor in psychology, Kevin Walsh, instructor in mathematics and computer science and Melissa Weiner, assistant professor in sociology and anthropology.

Photograph by John Buckingham

Class of 2009 Valedictorian Returns to Take In ‘Hogwarts at Holy Cross’ Event

May 1st, 2011 by

Elizabeth Morse, valedictorian of the Class of 2009, talks with Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president, during “Hogwarts at Holy Cross: Snape’s Dungeon.” The event is sponsored by the Science Ambassadors, a group of more than 60 Holy Cross students who work with local children to develop an interest in the sciences. Morse, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biology at Yale University, was a co-chair of the Science Ambassadors during her junior and senior years at Holy Cross.

Photograph by Dan Vaillancourt

You Can See It, But You Can’t Touch It

May 1st, 2011 by

Ken Mills, associate professor and chair of chemistry, holds his five-year-old son Dean, as they look at a 3-D illusion at the Physics table during the “Hogwarts at Holy Cross: Snape’s Dungeon” event. Learn more about the event, and view a photo gallery.

Photograph by Dan Vaillancourt

Holy Cross Students Present Research at Mathematics Conference Held on Campus

April 9th, 2011 by

As part of the Spring Eastern Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society, Maria Cavicchi ’11, a mathematics major in the health professions advisory program, gives a talk titled “An Alternative Perspective for Modeling HIV” during an undergraduate research session. Hundreds of mathematicians from higher education institutions across the globe attended the conference which was held on the Holy Cross campus on the weekend of April 9 to 10.


Ryan Elizabeth Prendergast ’11, a mathematics major with a concentration in biological psychology in the health professions advisory program, gives a talk titled “Determining the Rate Constant Matrix for a Two Compartment Pharmacokinetic Model.”


Kenneth Golden, a professor of mathematics at the University of Utah, delivers the plenary address titled “Mathematics and the Melting Polar Ice Caps” in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom.

Photography by Cristina Sato ’11

Holy Cross Students Conduct Sleep Education Program for Elementary School Children

March 21st, 2011 by

About a dozen Holy Cross students donning pajamas and slippers visited Vernon Hill Elementary School to educate children about the benefits of sleep. Gabriela Velazquez ’12 and Julie Turpin ’11 teach a group of children how to prepare for a good night’s sleep through healthy eating.


Sarah Schwartz ’11, left, and Christina Kyriakos ’11, who founded the program, explain the importance of a regular bedtime routine using the mnemonic READY: Relax before bedtime, Eat a Healthy snack, Always get ready for bed at 8, Did I wash and brush?, and Yes! It’s bedtime.


Invited guest Worcester Mayor Joseph C. O’Brien hands out sleeping bags and sleeping kits, containing bedtime essentials such toothbrushes and socks.


From left, Kyriakos, Schwartz ’11, O’Brien, Amy Wolfson, professor of psychology and associate dean for faculty development at Holy Cross, and Irene Logan, principal of Vernon Hill.

Photography by John Buckingham