research

Student-Athlete, Researcher Runs Toward Cleaner Air

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Three researchers from Andrew Jensen's lab, including student-athlete Ava King, present research at the University of Michigan
Ava King ’28 (second from left) was one of three students in Andrew Jensen’s air-quality lab who presented their research during an undergraduate conference at the University of Michigan.

When Ava King ’28 encounters a setback, she doesn’t panic.

As a member of Kalamazoo College’s cross country and track and field teams, she’s accustomed to difficult workouts, races that don’t go as planned, and the persistence required to keep improving. This summer, those same qualities have become just as valuable inside Assistant Professor of Chemistry Andrew Jensen’s research lab.

“There are a bunch of little things that can crop up that you don’t expect,” King said. “I think my experience athletically helps me find more humor in those situations as opposed to getting beat down. I still get frustrated, but being able to process those emotions differently has helped a lot.”

King is a biology major with aspirations for graduate school and a career in marine science. This summer, she is helping Jensen’s lab develop and test low-cost air-quality sensors that measure pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter, along with temperature and humidity. The long-term goal is to support community-based environmental research.

For King, the opportunity has expanded her understanding of how chemistry can intersect with environmental justice while introducing her to new technical skills.

“I’m lucky to be in this lab,” she said. “I feel like the opportunity came up at a good point in my academic career. It was a good way for me to begin to understand what environmental justice means, especially in a chemistry realm. I’m having a lot of fun learning a lot of coding, too, which is new for me.”

Her days vary depending on the stage of the project. Some are spent building and troubleshooting sensor systems. Others focus on determining whether the instruments are collecting reliable data. The team’s current system monitors ozone, particulate matter, temperature and humidity as researchers work toward deploying the equipment outdoors.

Student researchers from Andrew Jensen's summer lab pose with an air-quality monitor
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Andrew Jensen (second from right) stands with his summer lab students including Ava King ’28 (bottom) with an air-quality monitor they developed.

King measures success less by flawless experiments than by how effectively the team responds when challenges arise.

“I think day-to-day success is whether we can come back from little problems that crop up or things that were confusing,” she said. “Being able to come out the other side and understand it, that’s what it means to be successful.”

That mindset reflects lessons she’s learned as a student-athlete, where progress often comes through perseverance rather than perfection.

The opportunity to explore beyond a single field was part of what King sought at K. Although biology remains her primary academic focus, working in an atmospheric chemistry lab has helped her see connections across scientific disciplines.

“I feel like it fills in a lot of gaps,” she said. “I would like to go to grad school, preferably in some sort of marine science. We’re doing atmospheric chemistry, and the atmosphere and the oceans go hand in hand.”

Although she originally hoped to attend a West Coast university with a marine science program, King said K ultimately proved to be the right fit. She credits the College’s collaborative chemistry department for opening the door to research opportunities early in her undergraduate career.

Balancing research with summer training for cross country and track has been manageable thanks to the flexibility of both pursuits. After spending the day in the lab, she heads out to complete the mileage assigned by her coaches while staying connected with teammates through summer running challenges.

King hopes to continue contributing to the air-quality project throughout her time at K, eventually sharing findings with the community while helping advance the research toward new applications.

Jensen said King’s experience illustrates why student-athletes often thrive in research settings.

“I think Ava hit the nail on the head in terms of research taking a lot of resiliency and perseverance,” Jensen said. “I’d add that it takes a lot of teamwork with the ability to listen to feedback from others, whether that’s a professor, advisor or coach, and then modify what you’re doing to become better. In this lab, we’re working together toward one common goal.”

Those qualities make student-athletes valuable contributors in the laboratory, where breakthroughs rarely happen without persistence, collaboration and a willingness to learn from every challenge. For King, the same determination that carries her through miles on the course is helping move scientific discovery forward one experiment at a time.

In Athletics and the Lab, Resilience is a Part of the Game

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Mallory Gentry ’28 shows resilience in the summer lab of chemistry professor Daniela Arias-Rotondo.
Mallory Gentry ’28

On most fall mornings, Mallory Gentry ’28 and Simran Magnan ’29 can be found at swim practice or lifting weights. This summer, however, they’re in a chemistry lab at Kalamazoo College, working alongside Daniela Arias-Rotondo, the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, on research into manganese-based coordination complexes that could one day help improve solar energy technology.

Gentry, a swimmer from Pendleton, Indiana, and Magnan, a soccer player from Northville, Michigan, are both members of Arias-Rotondo’s lab, where they’re working to synthesize new compounds that absorb visible light.

According to Arias-Rotondo, the goal is to make new manganese compounds that might prove useful for capturing sunlight—compounds no one has made before.

Magnan, who was on crutches recovering from surgery, started her summer away from the lab bench, instead digging through research articles to help chart the lab’s next steps.

“I’m more so on the computer looking at research articles, trying to figure out next steps and what different types of ligands that we could use for these new molecules,” she said.

Both students say the extended, uninterrupted stretch of summer research, compared with the single weekly session they typically manage during the school year, has let them dig deeper into their projects.

“It gives me the time to actually do more things and be able to look into it,” Gentry said.

For Magnan, the structure of summer research keeps her connected to chemistry through the offseason. “It keeps me engaged and focused to slide right back into chemistry in the fall,” she said.

Both students found their way to Arias-Rotondo’s lab well before this summer. She was the first chemistry instructor at K for both, and both say their working relationship grew out of office hours conversations that started as early as freshman year.

“I really enjoy working with Dr. DAR,” Gentry said, referring to how students affectionately address Arias-Rotondo. “She’s very good at explaining things and open to questions. She’s very easy to talk to.”

Magnan agreed.

“The way that she teaches really works well for me,” Magnan said. “She gives us a couple first steps and then has us try it on our own. Later, we’ll come back to her and ask questions because she’s always available for questions, without giving away how to do something.”

For Arias-Rotondo, having student-athletes in her lab isn’t a scheduling accommodation, it’s an asset.

“Having student-athletes in the lab is awesome because they know how to fail and recover from failure, which is so important in research,” she said.

With a research success rate she estimates at around 20 percent, resilience matters, Arias-Rotondo said.

“They already have that resilience, that willingness to just pick yourself back up and try something again,” she said, adding that athletes also tend to bring strong time-management skills to the lab. “They already have some incredible qualities that they’ve learned through sports that can translate.”

Both students see the connection clearly in their own experience. Magnan described a similar overlap between soccer and chemistry.

“Coming at it from a soccer angle versus coming at it from a chemistry angle just provides more opportunities and strategies for me to approach problems,” she said. “That skill building is probably what I’m going to remember more than the chemistry or the soccer combined.”

Arias-Rotondo said she thinks carefully about lab chemistry of a different kind: how her students work together.

“I think the lab is more like the swim team, where in most cases they have their own events, but they are still rooting for each other,” she said. “A win for one of them is a win for all of us.”

She praised both students’ work ethic and problem-solving under pressure, noting that when experiments don’t go as planned, they think about their next step and how something can work the next time.

Both students say K’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and its emphasis on undergraduate research, played a role in their decision to enroll at K. Their advice to fellow students weighing whether to pursue summer research: do it.

“It gives you time to fully focus on what you’re doing and learn, and also gives you a community in the science,” Gentry said.

Magnan echoed the sentiment: “You get to go so much more in depth and get much more individualized learning. There’s just so much growth possible.”

For Magnan, the summer has also offered an unexpected benefit beyond the science.

“Being here has been so much better mentally for me than being at home, just on the couch,” she said of recovering from her surgery in the lab rather than away from campus. “It really gives my brain something else to focus on.”

Simran Magnan '29 shows reilience while working in the summer lab of professor Daniela Arias-Rotondo.
Simran Magnan ’29
Mallory Gentry '28 working in the summer lab of Dr. Daniela Arias-Rotondo
Mallory Gentry ’28
Simran Magnan '29 shows resilience while working in the lab of Daniela Arias-Rotondo
Simran Magnan ’29

One Lab, Three Student-Athletes and Some Tiny Worms

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Student-athlete Sara Cate Finks '27 works in the summer lab of Dwight Williams
Sara Cate Finks ’27 is one of three student-athletes performing summer research alongside Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry.

At 10 p.m., when many college students have called it a day, Sara Cate Finks ’27 is still waiting on worms.

The rising Kalamazoo College senior and distance swimmer isn’t pulling a late night because of an upcoming exam. The microscopic C. elegans she studies operate on their own biological clock, meaning experiments happen when they’re ready, not when it’s convenient.

It’s the kind of schedule that might overwhelm some students. But for Finks, and a growing number of student-athletes at K spending their summers in chemistry labs, it’s simply another example of the discipline, adaptability and persistence they’ve already learned through athletics.

Finks works in the research group of Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry, known affectionately to his students as Dr. D. Her project uses microscopic worms to study neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. By tracking how the worms respond to their environment, she can measure changes in memory and determine whether experimental drugs might reverse the effects of disease-related genetic mutations.

Her path to the project began with a simple question from Williams after she completed his organic chemistry course.

“How do you feel about worms?” He asked.

“Worms are fine,” Finks replied.

That answer launched a research experience that now shapes her summers, informs her academic future and serves as the foundation for her Senior Integrated Project.

Finks’ willingness to adapt to unpredictable schedules is one reason Williams believes student-athletes often thrive in research environments.

“It’s beneficial because it just gives us another perspective on the student experience and how students are actually making the most out of the K-Plan as a whole,” Williams said. Their presence in the lab, he added, also helps other students see what’s possible when they pursue multiple passions at K.

Just a few feet away from Finks, two fellow student-athletes also are hard at work in the Williams lab.

Julia Kozal ’27, a member of the women’s lacrosse team, is synthesizing an asymmetric maleimide derivative, a natural-product compound connected to antimicrobial resistance. Her goal is to create four versions of the molecule and test how small structural changes influence its ability to combat bacteria.

Landrie Fridsma ’27, a softball player, is spending her second summer in Williams’ lab synthesizing chromone compounds that may help protect neurons from damage associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The compounds are designed to interact with receptors in the brain that help prevent harmful calcium buildup linked to neurodegeneration.

Although their projects differ, all three students share something beyond chemistry: experience balancing demanding commitments.

Ask Williams what sets student-athletes apart in the lab, and time management comes immediately to mind. In a research environment where experiments, reactions and data collection often unfold simultaneously, Williams said athletes arrive with an understanding of how to organize their schedules and remain productive amid competing priorities.

Student-athlete Landrie Fridsma '27 working in the summer lab of Dwight Williams
Landrie Fridsma ’27
Student-athlete Julia Kozal '27 works in the summer lab of Dwight Williams
Julia Kozal ’27
Sara Cate Finks works in the summer resesarch lab of Dwight Williams
Sara Cate Finks ’27

The students see the connection, too. Fridsma, who regularly spends full days in the lab during the summer, credits softball with teaching her persistence as much as planning. She also values the collaborative atmosphere among her fellow researchers.

With several student-athletes working in the lab, questions often get answered through conversations with peers before anyone seeks out Williams. Kozal traces her own approach to research directly to lessons learned on the lacrosse field.

“I am a very goal-oriented person, so having that and having determination, and not really wanting to quit ever is helpful,” she said.

Long days in the lab don’t feel unusual, she added. The same mindset that gets her through early morning practices helps her push through difficult experiments.

Finks sees a similar connection between swimming and science. Having competed for 18 years, she says athletics taught her to finish what she starts.

“Once I start a project, I need to get to the end of it,” she said. “It’s the same thing with swimming. Once I start a race, I have to finish that race. There’s no stopping halfway through.”

For Williams, their experiences illustrate the opportunities K students have to pursue multiple interests without having to choose between them—including demanding research and college athletics.

“Our students get a chance to do both,” Williams said.

Beyond the science itself, all three students describe the lab as a community built on mentorship, trust and encouragement.

Kozal returned to Williams’ lab for a second summer because she wanted to continue a project she had already begun. She credits him with helping students become more independent and confident researchers. Fridsma agrees.

“He definitely pulls the best out of each and every one of us, and he takes the time to learn all of us and how we perform best,” she said.

Williams sees those relationships as one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

“I think they add an aspect of diversity to my lab in particular,” he said of his student-athletes. “It’s a lot of fun.”

For Finks, Kozal and Fridsma, the summer has reinforced a lesson they first learned through athletics: meaningful progress rarely happens all at once. Sometimes it’s measured in a faster race. Sometimes it’s measured in a successful experiment. And sometimes it’s measured at 10 p.m., waiting for a tray of microscopic worms to be ready.

K Students Sweep Ecology Conference Awards

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Three students and a faculty member at the Ecological Society of America conference
Annaliese Bol ’26 (from left), Mia Crites ’26, Hailey Yoder ’26 and Professor of Biology Binney Girdler attend the Ecological Society of America Great Lakes Chapter Conference in Cleveland.

Three students recently represented Kalamazoo College at the 2026 meeting of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in Cleveland, Ohio, where two of them swept the top undergraduate honors for their research presentations. 

Annaliese Bol ’26 received the conference’s award for Best Undergraduate Talk, while Mia Crites ’26 earned Best Undergraduate Poster. Fellow student Hailey Yoder ’26 also attended the conference alongside Professor of Biology Binney Girdler to present Senior Integrated Project (SIP) research.  

Bol presented findings from research she conducted with Assistant Professor of Biology Clara Stuligross, examining how heat waves affect blue orchard bees, a native solitary bee species that plays an important role in agricultural pollination. 

“Two hundred to 300 of these blue orchard bees can do the same work in an acre of almond trees as two hives of honeybees,” Bol said. “Two hives is about 90,000 honeybees, so these bees are efficient pollinators.” 

Her project explored whether heat stress during the bees’ larval stage hurts their future ability to reproduce. Bol said her findings offered some encouraging news amid broader climate concerns. 

“We found some interesting evidence that the bees aren’t being affected by heat waves in the way that we studied them,” she said. “It’s rare to find good news when you’re working with climate-change science.” 

Bol said the conference gave her valuable experience presenting research ahead of K’s Diebold SIP Symposium for the Department of Biology, and she connected with ecologists from across the Great Lakes region, including participants from the United States and Canada. 

“It was just a super fun experience,” Bol said. “If any students have the opportunity to go present their work, they should just do it.” 

After graduating this spring, Bol plans to pursue a master’s degree in animal behavior at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Crites presented research from her SIP completed in the lab of Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas. Her project investigated whether adaptation to pollution affects the ability of Atlantic killifish populations to respond to thermal stress. 

“My main goal with this SIP was just to gain some experience in the lab as an undergrad, specifically in designing and running an experiment, and then writing the paper afterward,” Crites said. “I accomplished most of my goals, got a taste of what research is really like, and feel more prepared leaving K to venture on in the scientific world.” 

The conference marked the first time Crites had attended and presented at a professional academic gathering. 

“Talking to other conference goers that share a similar love for biology helped me to solidify that this is something that I want to continue to be involved in and have a large passion for,” she said. 

At the conference banquet, Bol and Crites received award certificates, $150 prizes from the ESA and gift baskets that were presented by the Great Lakes Chapter’s past chair, Andrea Corbett of Cleveland State University. 

Crites said the experience reinforced her interest in pursuing ecology and evolutionary biology after graduation. 

“As of right now, I don’t have any plans locked in for after graduation, but I’d like to travel a bit, ideally find a seasonal job or two working in a biology lab, and then eventually go back to grad school to study ecology and evolutionary biology,” she said. 

More Ecology Research

Also presenting at the Great Lakes ESA conference was Hailey Yoder ’26, whose SIP has made waves of its own with her hands-on coral reef restoration work in the Galápagos Islands. Read more about her SIP. 

Student Annaliese Bol receives an award for her ecology research
Bol receives rewards from former ESA Great Lakes past-Chair Andrea Corbett for earning Best Undergraduate Talk honors at the ESA ecology conference.
Student Mia Crites receives an award for her ecology research
Crites receives rewards from former ESA Great Lakes past-Chair Andrea Corbett for earning Best Undergraduate Poster honors at the ESA ecology conference.

ACS Conference Proves K ‘Punches Above its Weight Class’

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Kalamazoo College students, faculty and alumni attend the American Chemical Society (ACS) Conference
Kalamazoo College students, faculty and alumni attend the American Chemical Society (ACS) Conference. Pictured (from left) are Caden Frost ’26, Will Tocco ’26, Baylor Baldwin ’26, Ellen Robertson ’08, Ava Schwachter ’27, ACS president-elect Christina Bodurow ’79, Associate Professor of Chemistry Blakely Tresca, Bea Putman ’26, Devi DeYoung ’26 and Christopher Aldred ’26.

Will Tocco ’26 joined an elite group this spring as one of just six undergraduates nationwide selected from more than 1,400 nominees to present at the American Chemical Society’s Presidential Symposium in Atlanta. 

Tocco’s selection came through two pathways. He had already been approved to present at a specialized inorganic chemistry symposium at the ACS National Meeting, one of the field’s premier annual gatherings. Separately, because Kalamazoo College offers an ACS-certified degree, the chemistry department was invited to nominate a student for the Presidential Symposium and put Tocco’s name forward. 

“I felt very honored,” Tocco said. “It was a great experience to network, meet people and learn how professionals found their way, because I’m still figuring out what I want my career to look like.” 

Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo and Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry Regina Stevens-Truss nominated Tocco. For Arias-Rotondo, sending students to conferences is central to her lab’s mission. 

“Every opportunity for students to share their work and practice presenting is valuable,” she said. “Conferences give them the chance to get feedback from experts in the field and expose them to perspectives they may not encounter on campus.” 

One highlight of the experience was a private reception hosted by the ACS president the evening before the symposium, where Tocco mingled with leading scientists and industry professionals. He met a senior scientist from Pfizer, the president of the Goldwater Foundation and the president of the ACS. He also connected with ACS president-elect Christina Bodurow ’79, a K alumna and member of the College’s Board of Trustees. 

Absorbing Light, Moving Electrons 

The opportunity stemmed from research Tocco has been developing in Arias-Rotondo’s lab at the intersection of chemistry and renewable energy. Building on work started by Maxwell Rhames ’25, he has helped develop single-molecule dyes capable of absorbing light and converting it to electricity, an approach with potential applications in next-generation solar panels and hydrogen fuel production. 

“They can be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and then you can burn that hydrogen as a fuel source,” Tocco said. 

Tocco synthesized one such complex and demonstrated that it can move electrons through nearly every step of the energy-transfer process. 

“It can absorb the light and do everything up until the handoff, but it doesn’t want to release the electron,” he said. “A solar panel needs to absorb light and give off electrons.” 

Unlocking that final step by enabling the compound to release its electron and complete the cycle will be the focus of future work in the lab after Tocco graduates. His contributions have already refined procedures for synthesizing key molecules, giving future students a strong foundation to build on. 

“Will is a strong synthetic chemist, and his work is opening the door for new students to join this project and make contributions,” Arias-Rotondo said. “It is impossible to overstate his contributions to our research group, both scientifically and personally. He is always willing to support and encourage others.” 

Tocco’s presentation was well received, particularly at the inorganic symposium as more of the audience was familiar with the topic. Ahead of the conference, he contacted faculty at the University of Notre Dame, where he will begin his doctoral studies this fall, and one professor made a point to attend. 

“He had his own presentation, but he took the time to come see mine,” Tocco said. “That was really inspiring.” 

Tocco also earned an honorable mention for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), a highly competitive award that provides three years of funding for graduate study. Although the honorable mention does not include funding, it is a significant distinction. 

“As an undergrad, getting that honorable mention is big because I’m a year behind most others applying,” he said. He plans to apply again next year as a first-year doctoral student. 

From Math Major to Chemist 

American Chemical Society Conference presenter Will Tocco
Tocco presents his research at the ACS Conference.
American Chemical Society Conference Presenter Devi DeYoung
DeYoung presenting at the ACS Conference.
K Reps in Atlanta for Chemical Conference
K representatives attend the ACS Conference in Atlanta.
Two students, an alumna, a faculty member and the president of ACS
Arias-Rotondo, Bodurow, Frost, Tocco and ACS President Rigoberto Hernandez at the ACS Conference in Atlanta.

Tocco did not arrive at K intending to pursue chemistry. He planned to major in mathematics, entering with dual enrollment calculus credits, before taking General Chemistry I with Arias-Rotondo. 

“I just had so much more fun than I did in any other class,” he said. “Even what some might consider boring felt kind of cool.” 

On the first day of class, Arias-Rotondo—known to her students as Dr. DAR—mentioned her research and invited interested students to speak with her. By the next term, Tocco had joined her lab, where he has worked since. 

“When I first started chemistry, I thought I’d get my bachelor’s degree and find a job,” he said. “But I kept going to conferences, kept learning and realized I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. A lot of that was Dr. DAR’s influence.” 

Tocco also credits Associate Professor of Chemistry Blakely Tresca, who organized a group of graduate student mentors to help K students navigate the demanding GRFP application process. 

“I wouldn’t have started it without his help,” Tocco said. 

The process also strengthened his Senior Integrated Project, as feedback on his grant proposal turned into improvements. 

Tocco’s undergraduate experience also has included a Research Experience for Undergraduates fellowship at Duquesne University and a study abroad term in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He will graduate this spring with a major in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. 

A Lab Community in Atlanta 

Tocco was not the only K student to attend the conference. He was joined by fellow chemistry and biochemistry students Caden Frost ’26, Ava Schwachter ’27, Bea Putman ’26, CJ Aldred ’26, Jack Bungart ’26, Max Plesscher ’26, Baylor Baldwin ’26 and Devi DeYoung ’26, along with Arias-Rotondo and Tresca. The students shared an Airbnb, and the trip became as much a bonding experience as a professional one. 

“We went to the Georgia Aquarium, went to dinner, hung out and watched movies,” Tocco said. “It was a great experience to be professionals and also just spend time together.” 

That blend of close community and high-level research is what Tocco sees as distinctive about K. 

“Kalamazoo College punches above its weight class,” he said. “Our professors are well connected, so if we don’t have an instrument, we know someone who does. I’ve built relationships with all of the chemistry faculty, and that wouldn’t always happen at a larger institution.” 

Arias-Rotondo has seen the impact firsthand. After returning from Atlanta, she led students through a debrief, reflecting on what they learned. 

“Every time we take students to conferences, colleagues from other schools tell me how well our students present,” she said. “We could see the growth that happened in just a few days.” 

Looking ahead, Tocco imagines returning one day to a lab that has continued to evolve. 

“It’ll be exciting to see what others build,” he said. “That’s what makes it special.”

Study Abroad Leads to Marine Research Adventure

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A student and professor performing marine research in the Galapagos Islands
Hailey Yoder ’26 (right) teamed up with Cheryl Logan, a professor at Cal State Monterey Bay, on labeling tubes for data collection in the field.
A view from the shore in the Galapagos Islands where Hailey Yoder performed marine research
Yoder’s favorite hike in the Galapagos Islands took her to a tide-pooling area where she saw starfish, small fish, crabs and small octopi.

When Hailey Yoder ’26 tells people she researches coral reefs, their response is often the same: “You live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. How do you do that?”  

For Yoder, a Kalamazoo College double major in biology and Spanish, the answer is both simple and extraordinary: It started with sending an email.  

That email, sent during her study abroad program in Ecuador, connected her with Margarita Brandt, a biology professor at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, who works with Galápagos Reef Revival. What began as a conversation about potential research ideas soon evolved into an opportunity to study coral reef restoration in the Galápagos Islands.  

“We just clicked and worked really well together,” Yoder said. “She invited me onto a project, and I really was just hoping that it would work out.”  

Bringing Coral Reefs Back to Life  

Yoder’s research starts with how climate change and ocean acidification have affected coral reefs in the Galápagos. The islands once boasted several coral reefs, but many have been wiped out by bleaching, leaving remaining structures vulnerable to complete destruction.  

The restoration process involves collecting coral fragments from around the islands and growing them in underwater gardens, where they’re suspended from ropes and nourished by ocean currents. Once mature, researchers implant them into the seafloor in organized patterns. To assess the impact, Yoder used GoPro cameras mounted in waterproof cases and weighted with zip ties—nothing fancy, she noted—placing them at consistent locations near restored coral sites. Through snorkeling expeditions, she positioned the cameras to capture the ecosystem unfolding around eight or nine individual corals. All the research was done under permits from Galápagos National Park and CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.  

The results have been striking. At the first site Yoder analyzed, two new fish species appeared after restoration. Afterward, four or five additional species flourished.  

Community at the Center  

What distinguishes this research is its deep connection to local communities. The project employs Galápagos residents, including one community member who maintains and monitors the corals year-round. Researchers also lead programs bringing women and children—particularly those without previous opportunities to explore their island’s underwater world—on snorkeling expeditions to witness the restoration firsthand.  

“There are intricacies to coming into someone else’s home to perform research,” Yoder said. “I tried to focus on community and the local knowledge that people have.”  

This community-centered approach culminated in a symposium in the Galápagos, where Yoder presented her research entirely in Spanish. She created a Spanish-language research poster and discussed her findings with community members invested in their island’s ecological future.  

“They were all super excited about it and thought it was really cool,” she said. “It was pretty fun to be able to have that connection, too.”  

Taking Marine Research to the National Stage  

Yoder’s work has gained recognition beyond the islands. This January, she traveled to Portland, Oregon, to present a poster at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) conference, arriving just before K’s winter term began and returning during the first week of classes.  

The conference provided invaluable networking opportunities. A postdoctoral student from Boston’s National Institute of Health, who had previously worked with the same corals and researchers, offered career guidance and suggestions for future research directions. Yoder connected also with fellow undergraduates navigating similar paths.  

“With these conversations, I recognized that there’s not necessarily a right or wrong path to going into some sort of research like this,” Yoder said. “That was reassuring.”  

K’s Role in Marine Success  

Yoder credits K’s biology and Spanish departments along with the Center for International Programs with making her research possible. In all, they provided funds through: 

  • The Betty R. Gómez Lance Award in Latin American Studies, which was established by Lance after her retirement from K. It has been awarded posthumously until her passing in 2016; 
  • Jim and Deanna Tiefenthal Endowed Foreign Study Fund: established by Jim and Deanna (members of the class of 1966) in 2016 to support student international learning opportunities through K’s study abroad program; and 
  • Seminary Hill Sustainability Internship: established by Doug Doetsch ’79 and his wife, Susan Manning, to fund internships focused on sustainable agriculture or architecture.    
Marine research team poses near the ocean after a day of collecting data
Emma Saso (back row, from left), Daniel Velasco, José Barrios and Ava Besecker with Logan (front from left), Yoder and Catalina Ulloa after a full day of collecting data for marine projects.
Student in snorkeling gear while performing marine research
Yoder waited on the rocks right off of the bay where the coral sites are located, just after placing video cameras. “We waited here for 15 minutes as to not disturb the fish community and be out of the way before recollecting the cameras,” she said.
Student prepares to perform research in a wet suit
Yoder prepares to place cameras before snorkeling around to get a feel for the location and different plots and determine the most efficient way to take quality videos. 
An underwater view of a coral reef and a shark
Yoder had GoPro cameras mounted in waterproof cases and weighted with zip ties so they could be placed at consistent locations near restored coral sites.

Associate Professor of Biology Santiago Salinas has been particularly supportive, helping Yoder refine her research question while providing guidance as she writes her SIP. Professor of Biology Binney Girdler has assisted with data visualization and helped Yoder narrow her focus. The department also helped fund her Portland conference trip.  

“They were supportive and beyond excited for me,” Yoder said. “To have a professor you look up to say that you’re doing something they’re proud of is so cool.”  

An Unexpected Love for Corals  

Yoder admits she initially gravitated toward sharks within the field of general biology, not coral reef or fish. However, the research transformed her perspective.  

“I gained this strong love for corals, because the way they work is so interesting, and they provide so many amazing services for the land and fish that they’re near,” she said.  

Her biology major, enhanced by marine research experience, positions her well for graduate school. She has applied to a master’s program to work with a different researcher studying the same coral reefs, with hopes of returning to the Galápagos over the next year to collect data from different reefs and expand her video collection. Her ultimate goal is to publish her research.  

“My knowledge is so much stronger because of the undergrad opportunity,” Yoder said. “But this master’s program will be a huge thing as well, because it will allow me to dive into the specifics and work more closely with coral scientists.”  

Advice for Future Hornets  

For prospective biology students, Yoder emphasized the opportunities available to those willing to pursue them. But opportunity requires initiative.  

“Sending the first email was just the first step of all of the things I’ve had a chance to do, because K gives you so many opportunities,” Yoder said. “You just need to be able to take advantage of them. Those resources will be there, but you have to reach out and ask for them. The answer is going to be ‘yes,’ if they can make it work.”  

Her message is clear: “Send the email and do the thing you want to do. Advocate for yourself.”  

For Yoder, that single email led to underwater gardens in the Galápagos Islands, international research presentations, professional connections across the marine biology field, and a future dedicated to understanding and protecting coral reef ecosystems—all from Kalamazoo, Michigan.  

Pitcher’s Thistle Protectors Collaborate on Beaver Island

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Three students taking notes on plants on Beaver Island
By the end of the summer, Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 had recorded data on nearly a thousand Pitcher’s thistle seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall, on Beaver Island.
A bee gathers pollen from a Pitcher's thistle plant
Pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds rely on Pitcher’s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms.

Surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan, between the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, three Kalamazoo College students spent their summer with Professor of Biology Binney Girdler, studying a small species of plant that fulfills big roles.

Caleb Jenkins ’26, Willow Hayner ’27 and Mairin Boshoven ’25 devoted their days to researching and protecting Pitcher’s thistle, a rare and threatened yet important plant on Beaver Island, where the students spent a couple of months at a remote hub for scientific activity: Central Michigan University’s Biological Station.

Pitcher’s thistle grows only on the shores of the western Great Lakes, Jenkins said, where it began to spread thousands of years ago as a huge glacier traveled northward, depositing minerals and sand.

“As the glacier melted, it gave us our Great Lakes,” Jenkins said. “From that, Pitcher’s thistle established roots deep within the Earth. As it grows, it collects more and more sand as the sand drifts and storms wash up deposits, assisting dune grasses in building dunes. Those dunes have developed into areas like the Sleeping Bear Dunes and Wilderness State Park.”

Studies in Wisconsin have shown that entire swaths of Pitcher’s thistle have been wiped out by an invasive weevil called Larinus planus, which destroys the plant’s seeds. Beaver Island is unique because researchers have yet to find any evidence of the weevils there. Their absence helps make the island an ideal spot for the pollinators that rely on Pitcher’s thistle for food in the early spring before much else blooms. It also provided Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven with a perfect environment for their research, conducting tests and measurements that contribute to the plant’s conservation.

Even the deer on Beaver Island, whose growing numbers are hurting populations of other plants, seem to be having less impact on Pitcher’s thistle.

“The seedlings of the Pitcher’s thistle tend to be the most vulnerable,” Boshoven said. “The deer might step on a few or bite them, but the plants tend to be very resilient. Humans would be much more of a threat to the plant’s population than deer.”

CMU’s Biological Station is a nucleus for scientists and students from across the country. Hayner said K’s representatives were collecting data during the day while evenings brought talks from visiting researchers from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.

“These groups often gave lectures on their research, and it was amazing to meet them and learn about their work,” Hayner said. “We also got to work in Binney’s lab, right next to the shores of Lake Michigan. As an added bonus, we were able to participate in the end-of-summer open house and poster show to present our research to the public.”

Much of the team’s daily work involved close observation—very close observation.

“There was a lot of crawling involved,” Jenkins recalled with a laugh. “We’d be hunched over the plants in the sand, and when people walked by asking what we were doing, we’d pop our heads up like groundhogs and say, ‘We’re measuring plants!’”

By the end of the summer, the group had recorded data on nearly a thousand seedlings, some barely a half-centimeter tall. Beyond the data, the project connected the students with the island community, whose residents deeply value Beaver Island’s natural plant and animal systems and appreciate research on species vital to the island’s ecology.

“You don’t have to convince anyone there why conservation matters,” Boshoven said. “They already know. One of my favorite moments was sharing our findings at the open house and seeing how excited people were about the research. It felt like conservation was happening in real time.”

All three students credit Girdler for fostering an environment that balances challenges with encouragement.

“Binney never pressured us just to produce results,” Jenkins said. “I could lay out what I’d learned and what I understood and say, ‘Here’s where I am.’ She was more than happy to meet us in the middle. That level of understanding is an extra bit of humanity you usually don’t get in academic settings.”

“She met us where we were and encouraged us to keep going, even when things went wrong.” Hayner added. “She’s an outstanding mentor. I learned so much just being part of her lab and hope to continue working with her on data analysis this year.”

For Boshoven, the experience has been transformative.

“My first summer there opened my eyes to what fieldwork could be,” she said. “Now I know I want to go to grad school not just for the degree, but for the process of doing the research. It really taught me how and why I want to structure my work in the future.”

Boshoven expects such enthusiasm to spread to the next generations of K students.

“The program Dr. Girdler has built is so well thought out,” Boshoven said. “Academically, it’s a great experience; she will follow it through with you all the way to publishing research, which is impressive for undergraduates. It has made me an exponentially better researcher. On the other hand, it was also just a great time.”

Jenkins said the experience solidified his own dream of becoming a conservation biologist.

“Anyone who knows me knows I’m a plant guy,” he said. “If I can spend the rest of my life studying plants and teaching people about them, I absolutely will.”

Hayner, too, found the project has influenced her long-term goals.

“I’m not totally sure where I’ll end up, but I know I want to keep doing fieldwork,” she said. “This showed me how passionate I am about plant ecology.”

Three students research Pitcher's thistle on Beaver Island
Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven joined Professor of Biology Binney Girdler this summer on Beaver Island to research Pitcher’s thistle, a threatened species of plant.
Three people on a ferry to Beaver Island
The remote location of Beaver Island required the research team to take a ferry from Charlevoix, Michigan, to their summer home.

Professor Proud of Students, Beaver Island Research

Professor of Biology Binney Girdler said she’s proud of all of her students who perform research, especially Jenkins, Hayner and Boshoven, who did so in such a remote place.

“From Kalamazoo, it’s a three-and-a-half-hour road trip followed by a two-hour ferry ride,” she said. “There is one small grocery store on the island, one gas station where gas is $6 a gallon and four restaurants. But on the plus side, the students had 300 feet of sugar sand Lake Michigan beach at their disposal, and the lake to go jump in whenever they wanted. I was incredibly proud of each of them for their creativity and dedication. Each student had their own piece of the puzzle. I was really impressed with what a great team these three scholars made. Even though they each had ownership of a different part of the project, they coordinated their work well so that they traded jobs and supported each other through challenges, especially when I was off-island. My students were professional and engaging, and community members told me what a great job they did presenting.”

What is Pitcher’s Thistle?

  • Named after: Zina Pitcher, a U.S. Army surgeon at Fort Brady and an amateur naturalist. He discovered the plant in the 1820s along Lake Superior.
  • Scientific name: Cirsium pitcheri or CIPI for short.
  • Range: Native only to the dunes of Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior.
  • Status: Federally threatened in the U.S., federally endangered in Canada.
  • Ecological role: Stabilizes sand dunes with deep roots; blooms early to feed pollinators such as bees, monarchs and hummingbirds.
  • Biggest threat: Shoreline development and a seed-eating invasive weevil, Larinus planus.
  • Why Beaver Island matters: It’s one of the few places with no reports of weevil damage, offering a refuge for healthy populations.
  • Kalamazoo College connection: Professor of Biology Binney Girdler and her students have studied the species for years, contributing to its conservation.

Grant Backs Williams Lab, Brain Disease Research

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For Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College, persistence has paid off. After nearly a decade of research and one unsuccessful grant application, Williams has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his work developing new molecules that could help protect brain cells from dying from neurodegenerative diseases.  

The grant, worth nearly $385,000, is a milestone for both Williams and his students, who have played a central role in shaping the project since its inception.  

“After an unsuccessful application in 2018, I went back to the basics and sought guidance and mentoring from my networks, which ultimately strengthened the resubmission,” Williams said. “Receiving this award is such an encouragement, not only for the research ahead, but also for the opportunities it generates for Kalamazoo College’s students.”  

Tackling Neurodegeneration  

Williams said that while neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Glaucoma each begin in different ways, they have been found to share a common cellular process that significantly damages or kills brain cells. His lab focuses on ways to block or reduce this process, extending the health and function of brain cells.  

Over the course of the grant, Williams and his students will aim to synthesize and test five families of compounds, each consisting of several unique molecules, for their neuroprotective potential. Results will be shared with the broader scientific community through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.  

Expanding Opportunities for Students  

The NIH funding represents more than just progress in the lab. It directly supports K students by providing stipends for two of them each summer for the next three years, ensuring that financial barriers don’t prevent their participation in research.  

“Many of our students want to engage in scientific research, but limited funding has often been the biggest barrier,” Williams said. “This award helps bridge that gap by expanding access to meaningful research experiences.”  

In addition to stipends, the grant will allow the lab to acquire new equipment and instrumentation, speeding up experiments and enabling access to data that previously wasn’t possible for the lab to collect. These upgrades, Williams said, will help his students grow as independent scientists while working on a project with real-world significance.  

Williams defines success in part by the progress of his student researchers. His aim is to help them strengthen their scientific identity, deepen their research independence, and prepare for graduate school, professional careers and leadership roles.  

“Being awarded this funding shows the scientific community the incredible talent and aptitude of the young scholars here at K,” Williams said. “The majority of the data used in this proposal was produced by our students. That is very impressive to me.”  

Dwight Williams stands in his lab with four of the students who worked under his guidance this summer
Dwight Williams, the Kurt D. Kaufman Associate Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College, has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his work developing molecules that could help protect brain cells from neurodegenerative diseases. The grant is a milestone for both Williams and his students, who have helped shape the project.

Williams Thanks …

“I want to thank my many mentors, Dr. Yan Zhang and Dr. Jill Bettinger of Virginia Commonwealth University; Dr. Laura Furge; and Dr. Syliva Fitting of UNC-Chapel Hill, who have helped me bring this together. I am also deeply grateful to every young scholar who has contributed to this project over the years. Their dedication and creativity have been essential to moving the work forward. I am especially thankful to:  

  • Suma Alzouhayli ’17  
  • Myles Truss ’17  
  • Rachel Chang ’18  
  • Natalie Hershenson ’18  
  • Christina Keramidas ’18  
  • MinSoo Kim ’18  
  • McKinzie Thiede ’19  
  • Madeline Harding ’22    
  • Skyler Rogers ’23  
  • My-Anh Phan ’23  
  • Rhys Koellmann ’24  
  • Jenna Beach ’24  
  • Cassy Bennett ’25  
  • Katya Koublitsky ’25  

Thank you for sharing your skills and talents with the Williams Lab and for contributing uniquely to this project since its inception. This award is a reflection of your hard work.” 

Since Williams arrived at K in 2015, he has mentored dozens of students in the lab, recalling each by name and recognizing the role they played in advancing the work. “Their dedication and creativity have been essential to moving the work forward,” he said. “This award is a reflection of their hard work.”  

Persistence and Gratitude  

Williams also acknowledged the challenges of securing federal research support at a time when funding is increasingly limited. The lab’s first NIH application in 2018 was administratively withdrawn and rejected. The resubmitted proposal, sent in February 2024, required patience while awaiting the decision.  

“Knowing that the federal funding landscape is changing only reinforces the necessity of persistence, perseverance and patience,” Williams said. “Things are going to be very different moving forward, but I am continually encouraged by our students because I know they can face tough challenges, execute excellent science and solve big problems by working together—all while having fun and building community along the way.”  

Williams added that his faith has guided him throughout the process.  

“I must first thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ,” he said. “Without Him, this opportunity would not have been possible.”  

He also expressed gratitude to mentors at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and K, as well as to colleagues such as former Director of Faculty Grants Jessica Fowle ’00.   

Looking Ahead  

For Williams, the NIH grant represents both an achievement and a launching point. It will allow him to pursue ambitious research goals, expand opportunities for student scientists, and share discoveries that might one day contribute to new treatment strategies for people around the world.  

“The work supported by this grant has the potential to benefit people far beyond our campus,” Williams said. “And the students engaged in this work will carry forward skills that will influence communities and fields for years to come.”  

Student, Faculty Research Partners Earn National Recognition

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Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, are receiving national recognition for their three years of work together that culminated in Rhames’ Senior Integrated Project (SIP).

Arias-Rotondo’s synthetic inorganic chemistry lab works to find ways of converting light into energy. In Rhames’ SIP, that meant examining what alternative metals could possibly be used to make things like solar panels less expensive, one day assisting a global shift toward renewable energy.

“When you have some sort of inorganic complex that absorbs light, that light can get transformed into chemical energy in the form of electricity,” Rhames said. “A common example is with solar panels, but the metals that they use in them are rare, and as a result, incredibly expensive. We were looking at taking some cheaper metals that you could find anywhere in a much more sustainable way and asking whether they can work.”

For their efforts, the two have received an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem. The award, given through the American Chemical Society, has three divisions between national labs, research universities and institutions that primarily consist of undergraduates. Rhames and Arias-Rotondo were honored in the primarily-undergraduates category, which covers scientists from hundreds of schools across the country.

“The traditional photoactive metals are iridium and ruthenium, and we’re looking at manganese, which is the third-most abundant transition metal on Earth,” Rhames said. “In the state we use it in, it’s stable and nontoxic, so it’s a great alternative. We’re looking at how we can bridge the gap between saying, ‘this could be really cool,’ and actually getting it to where we could apply it in some of these areas.”

Arias-Rotondo said she and Rhames use spectroscopy to understand what kind of light the compounds they create absorb and what happens after they absorb it.

Student and professor with national Undergraduate Research Award
Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Kalamazoo College’s Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Endowed Chair in Natural Science, have received national recognition with an honorable mention in the 2024 Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award for Undergraduate Research, which recognizes research that students and faculty perform in tandem.

“One of the problems that we’re finding is that once our compounds absorb light and get to what we call an excited state, that excited state doesn’t last long enough yet for them to be useful,” she said. “But Max’s work has been instrumental because he was the first one in the group to make these kinds of compounds. Now that we’ve been able to understand their properties and investigate some of them, other students in our lab can understand how to make them better. We are making a name for ourselves by laying the groundwork for making these compounds.”

Rhames has discussed his SIP at the Inter-American Photochemical Society and American Chemical Society conferences, where his fellow scientists were enthused about his work on a national scale.

“That’s been the coolest thing, because when you put something out there, you don’t know what people are going to think of it,” he said. “And generally, their reactions have been super rewarding. I enjoy doing the work myself, but it’s even cooler to know that other people find it equally exciting. It’s an added bonus.”

Rhames won’t be the first or the last in his family to graduate from K when he walks the stage at Commencement in June. Both of his parents, Frank ’92 and Jody ’92, are alumni, and his sister, Claire ’27, is a current student. However, he’s clearly found his own path having performed research in Arias-Rotondo’s lab ever since his first year on campus. In addition, he will start a Ph.D. program at the University of Delaware in fall, and he hopes to one day serve as a faculty member at an institution like K.

“K is small, so you get to make a lot of good connections with your professors,” Rhames said. “I was three or four weeks into my first term as a college student, and all of a sudden, I’m in a lab doing the work with the research. There are no post-docs or graduate students. It is just the undergraduates and the faculty doing all of the work. That would’ve been a lot harder to do had I not gone to K.”

Grant Seeds Petroleum Byproduct Research at K

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A new grant awarded to a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will provide seed money for new research and support Kalamazoo College students performing lab work over the next two years.

Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo, affectionately known to her students as Dr. DAR, has earned an American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund award. The honor bestows $50,000 to her work while backing her lab’s upcoming research regarding petroleum byproducts.

Arias-Rotondo’s lab traditionally develops molecules that absorb energy from light while transforming that energy into electricity. The grant will allow her and her students to take molecules they have designed to act as catalysts and unlock chemical transformations through a process called photoredox catalysis. In this case, those transformations involve petroleum byproducts and how they might be used.

“When you extract petroleum, you get crude oil, and crude oil gets refined to make things like diesel fuel and the gasoline that you put in your car,” Arias-Rotondo said. “The petroleum byproducts that come with it are compounds that we cannot use in our cars or to generate electricity. But if we can turn those molecules into plastics, pesticides or medicines, for example, we would add value to the byproducts. It’s a highly desirable research avenue because we can potentially turn this waste into something we can use.”

Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo, pictured with her lab students this summer, has earned an American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund award. The honor bestows $50,000 to her work while backing her lab’s upcoming research regarding petroleum byproducts for the next two years.

The grant requires that at least 40% of the funds be used to support students. Some students currently working in Arias-Rotondo’s lab note how grateful they are, not only to work alongside her, but to be paid for their efforts thanks to similar grants. Will Tocco ’26, for example, said that being able to do summer lab work prepares him for classes and labs during the academic year and can set him apart on grad school applications when institutions look for research experience.

“The grants that Dr. DAR has received in the past have made it possible to be here this summer,” Tocco said. “They paid for me to attend the national American Chemical Society Conference this last spring and present a poster there. They have sponsored my research and all of the expenses that go along with that. They’re the reason why I’m able to be do this work.”

Unayza Anika ’26 added that the lab work reflects the kind of experience students can expect at K.

“It’s obviously rigorous, and it’s teaching me so much more than what I would have learned in classrooms,” Anika said. “It also involves a lot more personal attention that I can get from a faculty member who has a Ph.D. I’ve personally grown a lot.”

“What I really appreciate about this grant is how much of a focus there is on supporting students,” Arias-Rotondo said. “It’s going to help us give students the chance to be in the lab and not have to decide between that and affording something else. The grant helps them do exciting research, and they will learn a lot that’s not just about chemistry. It will also teach them how to conduct themselves in a lab, how to manage their time and how to think like scientists. That’s going to be super important for the future.”