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November, 2005

Just For Grins: alumni return to celebrate Sotherland's 20th

Throughout his 20 years of teaching at Kalamazoo College, Dr. Paul Sotherland has endeavored to engage his students in the process of science and with the wonders of nature. On November 5th, a group of twelve alumni and two current students paid tribute to Paul and the lasting impression he has made upon them. Organized by alumnus Mike Finkler, the day of celebration included a series of short seminars in which participants spoke about their time at K and their current work. Through this event many current students also met and talked with alumni about their post-graduate experiences and careers.

Participants, with their current affiliations, included (front row, L to R):

• David Marcinek, K 93; Department of Radiology, University of Washington Medical Center
• Karen Carney, K 93; AAAS Fellow and US Agency for International Development
• Brock Selbo, K 06; Department of Biology, Kalamazoo College
• Michael Finkler, K 91; Dept. Natural, Information, and Mathematical Sciences, Indiana Univ. Kokomo
• Tess Killpack, K 06; Department of Biology, Kalamazoo College
• Tara Darcy-Hall, K 97; W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University
• Michael Glista, K 06, Department of Biology, Kalamazoo College

(back row, L to R):

• Mairi Noverr, K 96; Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University
• Wendy Reed, K 92; Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University
• Edward Dzialowski, K 93; Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas
• Paul Sotherland, Department of Biology, Kalamazoo College
• Jeffrey Wilson, K 91; Dept. Geological Sciences and Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan
• Timothy Muir, K 03; Graduate Program, Department of Zoology, Miami University
• Sarah Bouchard, K 95; Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Otterbein College
• Markus Boos, K 00; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Chicago
• Aaron Bommarito, K 97; Humanities and Fine Arts Department, Saint Paul College

Kirsten Weir (K '99) has taken a position in the communications department of Sea Grant, at the University of New Hampshire. Sea Grant's mandate is to foster the sustainable development of the nation's coastal resources through scientific research, community outreach, and communication. Established by Congress in 1966, Sea Grant now has programs in 30 universities across the country. Following her graduation from Kalamazoo College, Kirsten received an M.A. in science and environmental reporting from NYU in December 2001, and has worked for magazines including Natural History and Current Science. [posted March 2005]

David Campbell (K'71 Biology) recently published "A Land of Ghosts: The Braided Lives of People and the Forest in Far Western Amazonia" (Houghton Mifflin, 2005). Writing what he calls "descriptive natural history," this book was born out of Campbell's thirty years of field work in the western Brazilian rain forest. His scientific research focuses on understanding how species evolve and how they manage to coexist. "A Land of Ghosts" broadens his approach to include language and diversity, both biological and cultural, in the Brazilian Amazon. Professor of Biology at Grinnell College, "A Land of Ghosts" represents Campbell's fourth work of descriptive natural history. "The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica" won the Burroughs Medal, the PEN Martha Albrand Award for Nonfiction, the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award, and was chosen as one of the best books of 1993 by the New York Times Book Review. Read a recent NY Times review of "A Land of Ghosts" [posted March 2005]

Theodora Ross (K'86 Biology), Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Michigan, received the 2004 Jerome W. Conn Award for Excellence in Research from the University of Michigan. This honor recognizes her outstanding contributions to cancer research in the field of tumorigenesis. Ross's research focuses on altered receptor tyrosine kinase stability, specifically as it pertains to the dysregulation of the lathrin binding HIP1 family of proteins. In 2001, Theodora also received a prestigious Scholar Award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Visit her lab homepage [posted March 2005]

Eddy Price (K'99 Biology), now a PhD student at the University of Montana (Missoula), was recently awarded a three year NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. These awards are highly competitive, with only about 250 grants given nationally in biology each year. Eddy plans to study the physiology of avian migration. Specifically, he would like to investigate how diet influences performance during migration, as well as how birds achieve such high VO2max and fatty acid transport levels. [posted April 2004]

Mike Finkler (K'91 Biology) recently was promoted to associate professor and granted tenure at Indiana University. Mike is a member of the biology faculty in the Department of Natural, Information, and Mathematical Sciences. Visit Mike's homepage to see what he is up to. [posted April 2004]

Mike was also recently honored with the Claude Rich Award for Teaching Excellence at IU-Kokomo. This award is given in recognition of consistently excellent teaching over the years. In 2002, Mike was also the recipient of a Trustee Teaching Award that recognizes innovative, student-centered teaching. Courses currently taught by Mike include Human Physiology, Cell Physiology, Comparative Animal Physiology and a seminar courses entitled " Dinosaurs: an Introduction to Integrative Science." [posted May 2004]