B UL L E T IN
Summer 2011
INSIDE
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7 HMC Green Engineering Award
10 New Study Abroad Program in China
16 Student Research Projects
28 Alumni Weekend Review
IMPRESSIONS
A Moment for Celebration
Enjoying their moment in the sun are Class of 2011 graduates Heather Audesirk, Donald Lee Wiyninger, Allison Wynn, Andrew Xue, Brendan Smith (back), Kate Burgers, Becky Glick and Ann Johnston. Front: Christian Jolivet holding Brett Chapin. For more on the 53rd Commencement, see page 4.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
W
On the Right Track
hen Bill Gates visited our campus in March, he expressed how wonderful it felt to “be at a place that’s really getting it right.” I couldn’t agree more. For the past 54 years, there has been incredible innovation and creativity going on at this small College. Much of that is due to the passionate commitment of our faculty, staff and students and the pioneering spirit and vision of those who came before us. It was an honor to have 33 of the 41 living members of our Founding Class on campus for our most successful Alumni Weekend ever. Our Founding Class and faculty were true pioneers. They promoted a new concept in technical education: Learning humanities, arts and social science alongside mathematics and science makes you a better engineer, scientist or mathematician. As I look back on the accomplishments of the past five years, there is a sense of our reconnecting with that original pioneering spirit. This College started with a vision and, in 2006, we renewed our strategic vision for the future. Members of the HMC community spent six months identifying six themes, and, during the last five years, we have been advancing those themes. In this issue, we celebrate key successes inspired by the strategic vision and made possible by our hard working community. One such success story describes how our Computer Science Department tackled the gender gap in computer science. Through an innovative, three-part plan, the percentage of women CS majors has shifted from 12 percent to 35 percent and reached a high of 40 percent for the class of 2011.
Another achievement is a new elective created by the Department of Engineering that gives first-year students a hands-on, interdisciplinary lesson that allows them to design, build and program autonomous robotic vehicles. I encourage you to read more about these strategic vision victories as well as our accomplishments regarding diversity, whole-person development and global engagement. Also included in our list of successes is the new teaching and learning building. To prepare the next generation of leading scientists, engineers and mathematicians, world-class facilities are required. That’s why, this summer, we will tear down Thomas-Garrett and begin constructing a 70,000-square-foot academic building that will transform the campus and serve as a catalyst for innovation and the development of future leaders in science and technology. The vision upon which Harvey Mudd College was founded has been renewed. You are part of a new legacy and an integral participant in our progress. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating our successes and sharing our vision with those who care about STEM education. We want everyone to know that Harvey Mudd College is getting it right.
Maria Klawe President, Harvey Mudd College
Summer 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS Strategic Vision Milestones
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
20 High Five: Celebrating five years of HMC’s Strategic Vision in action
2 Campus Current Commencement, Accreditation kudos, Class of 2015, President’s Scholars recognition, Green Engineering Award, Faculty promotions and awards, Staff recognition, Student achievements Campus News Faculty News Staff News
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Innovation is impacting the computer science major Learning by spoofing (and other tactics) Diversity: More than numbers Benefits beyond the call (Homework Hotline) Costa Rican power plant reduces energy footprint Building for the future
28 Mudderings Alumni Weekend review, AABoG Awardees and new board members, Travel opportunities, Events
34 Class Notes Alumni Profile: Tony Award winner Greg Rae ’00 Alumni Weekend class photos Harvey Mudd College
BOO RA A RCH ITEC TS
Teaching and Learning Center Board of Trustees Meeting October 2010
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Student News
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Cover illustration by Jose Camarena
Find the Bulletin online at www.hmc.edu/hmcmagazine
STEVE SCHENCK
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ig ch h S t u de n t r e s e a r
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College News
Ready to Share the Joy of Science and Mathematics
WILL VASTA
CLASS OF 2011
Blake Shaw, Zara Seibel and Benjamin Liu
101 men and 76 women received bachelor of science degrees.
David Rolfe ’11
Notes & Quotes from Commencement “If you do not tell others about the importance of science, and the elegance of math, the world will become more illiterate in technical fields that govern all of our lives. Lawmakers may defund research and pass laws that demean science and prevent the next generation from understanding it. People may not vaccinate their kids or prevent global warming from spiraling out of control.” David Rolfe ’11, senior class speaker
Amy Musselman, Roque Muna and Ned Mills
Sabreen Lakhani
“Do something you are not ready to do. My life has been shaped by four major decisions to do things I wasn’t ready for. Four decisions that caused me to change my plan. As a naïve 18-year-old from Wisconsin, I moved 2,000 miles away from home to go to college. As a disheartened biology and chemistry major, I changed my major to symbolic systems when I could barely describe what it was. I moved to Zurich, Switzerland, for a summer to do research, despite the fact that I didn’t speak the language. And, in 1999, when I was graduating with my master’s, I chose to work at an unheard of tiny start-up with a ridiculous name. Each of these four decisions put me entirely in over my head, each in different ways.” Marissa Mayer, vice president, Consumer Products, Google
Video of the ceremony, including Rolfe’s and Mayer’s talks: www.hmc.edu/newsandevents/commencement-2011.html
Dan Rozenfeld and Rachid Grimes
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Commencement photos: www.flickr.com/photos/harveymudd-college/
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College News
WASC Accreditation Team Lauds HMC COLLEGE CALLED “OPEN, ENGAGING, TRANSPARENT, COLLEGIAL”
“Being a math, engineering or computer scientist in 2014 is not the same as being one in 1994,” said President Maria Klawe, in a recent address to the campus community. “If we want to continue to make sure our students are the best prepared after they graduate, whether going on to Ph.D. programs or work life, we have to be willing to constantly challenge what we’re doing and evaluate its success.” President Klawe was referring to HMC’s preparation for its three-part accreditation process, completed in March. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), through its Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, provides accreditation for HMC. To become or remain accredited, institutions must meet WASC Standards and satisfy WASC Criteria for Review. Accreditation confers a variety of benefits, especially the right to administer federal financial aid. In October 2009, HMC underwent its Capacity and Preparatory Review, which focuses on organizational capacity (e.g., purposes, integrity, stability, resources, structures, processes and policies). This past March, the College welcomed to campus a team of faculty and administrators from peer institutions to conduct the Educational Effectiveness Review, which focuses on student and institutional learning, including educational objectives and indicators of effectiveness. Visiting team member Dennis Berkey, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, was impressed with HMC’s open, engaging, transparent and collegial manner. “It’s wonderful to see how well you work with each other across disciplinary boundaries and across age differentials, all committed to a high-quality education and development of your students,” he said. The team’s March report stated, “…there was no doubt about the seriousness and care that characterizes the institution’s engagement with learning across its programs. HMC provides abundant evidence that it has used the review process to deepen its engagement with a range of important matters.” The WASC committee’s final report was delivered in late June.
“It’s wonderful to see how well you work with each other across disciplinary boundaries.”
Broadcom Seeks Klawe’s Expertise for Board Tapped for her management experience and scientific background, President Maria Klawe was elected to the board of directors of Broadcom Corporation, an Irvine, Calif.-based technology company. “Dr. Klawe is an important addition to our Board given the critical importance to our business of scientific and engineering innovation,” said Scott McGregor, Broadcom’s president and chief executive officer. “Her understanding of scientific research and the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) talent pipeline, as well as her experience in the management and operations of large organizations will be invaluable to our Board.” Klawe will be the first college administrator and one of the first educators to serve on the Broadcom Board, along with Broadcom’s co-founder, professor at UCLA’s School of Engineering Henry Samueli, who was also elected to the Board. Klawe now serves on the boards of two public corporations that are leaders in different areas of technology, Broadcom and Microsoft Corporation, which she joined in March 2009. “As president of a college whose mission is to prepare students to work on the cutting edge of science, technology, engineering and math, and to understand the impact of their work on society, I’m excited to join the board of Broadcom,” Klawe said. “Broadcom is a company dedicated to innovation in technology, including technology that many of us use to communicate daily, and was founded with the kind of entrepreneurial spirit we encourage at Harvey Mudd College.” Klawe is one of the 10 members of the board of Microsoft Corporation, a board member of the nonprofit Math for America, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a trustee for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and a member of the Advisory Council for the Computer Science Teachers Association. She is a past president of the Association of Computing Machinery, was elected as a fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery in 1996 and as a founding fellow of the Canadian Information Processing Society in 2006. She has held leadership positions with the American Mathematical Society, the Computing Research Association, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Canadian Mathematical Society.
WASC reviewer
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College News
Celebrating Student Scholars The third graduating class of President’s Scholars was honored, and a new group of finalists for the 2011–12 school year were introduced during the Annual President’s Scholars Recognition Dinner this spring. The event also recognized the corporations, foundations and individual donors that have sponsored this important program. Initiated in response to the College’s strategic planning initiative HMC 2020, PSP provides four-year, full-tuition scholarships for highly qualified students who are members of groups traditionally underrepresented on campus and in the fields of science and engineering. This includes a wide range of students, including women, ethnic minorities, students from rural areas and those who are the first in their families to attend college. PSP sponsors honored at the dinner were: The Beckman Coulter Foundation The Boeing Company Martin Caniff ’74 and Charisse Caniff HMC Trustee Neil Chriss and Natasha Chriss HMC Trustee Edward Johnson and Susan Johnson President Maria Klawe and the President’s Cabinet The John B. Kilroy, Sr. and Nelly Llanos Kilroy Foundation The Walter Lantz Foundation Microsoft Corporation Robert Prestezog ’97 and Anna Prestezog ’97/98 The Raytheon Company Paul Schulte ’81 and Elizabeth De Baan Schulte ’84 Southern California Edison Gary and Tammy Sugarman P14 Fred Tomblin ’63 and Barbara Brooks Tomblin (SCR ’66) David Wilbur ’68 and Linda Wilbur Jeff and Liesl Wilke Katy Kuey Wong ’97 and Greg Wong
KEVIN MAPP
PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARS RECOGNITION EVENT
Class of 2011 President’s Scholars Julia Diaz, Anna Cunningham and Thomas Avila
Welcome Class of 2015 A record number of 3,144 high school seniors from around the globe applied to be a part of HMC’s Class of 2015. The first of the admitted 195 students will arrive on campus June 29 for Summer Institute, with the remaining first-years arriving Aug. 25 for Orientation. “We are thrilled not only that we have landed at our target for the first-year class, but also excited by the remarkable quality of these students and their fit with HMC,” said Thyra Briggs, vice president for admission and financial aid. 195 admitted students 54 Early Decision 21% admit rate (record low) 56% students with ranking information 96% in top 10% of high school class 38% valedictorians or salutatorians 43% Female 57% Male Geographic distribution: CA (in-state) 30% International 12% 30 states represented and the District of Columbia
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Mathematics is Focus of Two Grants
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College News
Innovation in Coolness Celebrated HMC GREEN ENGINEERING AWARD GOES TO GREENWAY DESIGN GROUP For the fourth year, Harvey Mudd College awarded its Green Engineering Award at the Annual Orange County High-Tech Innovation Awards. Energy firm Greenway Design Group, Inc. was recognized for its energy-saving evaporative pre-cool misting technology designed for commercial and residential central air conditioning systems. Greenway Design Group, Inc. is the innovator of “pre-cool” solutions, marketed under the trademark “Cool-n-Save,” that reduce the cost of operating conventional air conditioning systems by as much as 30 percent. Greenway Independent studies, field tests and Greenway’s residential and commercial customers show that Cool-n-Save evaporative pre-cooling systems may produce energy cost savings as much as 30 percent, with an average savings of about 26 percent from air conditioning use during peak heat seasons. Based in Huntington Beach, Calif., Greenway Design Group, Inc. has been an innovator of commercial and residential solutions for HVAC systems that conserve energy and equipment since 2005. “We are grateful to have received this tremendous honor for our work of the last five years,” says Darius Jakubik, Greenway’s senior vice president. “Cool-n-Save could be the answer to a country in search of a way to significantly reduce energy consumption and cut carbon output. We developed Cool-n-Save to be cost-effective and practical. Many of our customers have seen enough savings to make up the cost of their investment in less than 12 months.” “Greenway has led the way in designing technology for energy saving air conditioning systems,” added David Money
Harris, professor of engineering, who presented the award on behalf of the College and its engineering department. “I grew up in the Mojave Desert, where evaporative cooling was the most cost-effective way to keep a building comfortable in the dry summers. It is exciting to see the technology applied to improve the efficiency of air conditioning by about 25 percent even in normal climates. As air conditioning is one of the major consumers of energy in the United States, this technology will make a huge impact.” The Cool-n-Save pre-cool system raises a “pre-cool shield” of treated water mist into the air around an HVAC unit. Flash evaporation causes the mist to evaporate almost instantly. The result is an adiabatic boundary, a shield that literally insulates the HVAC from excess heat. Ambient air temperature around the unit drops by as much as 30°F. That means that if the ambient air temperature is 98°F, Cool-n-Save will reduce it to 68°F. The air then acts on the fins and increases heat exchange efficiency. Two Certificate of Merit awards were also presented to finalists in the HMC Green Engineering category: Amonix, Inc., the leading designer and manufacturer of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems, and Fisker Automotive, an American premium electric vehicle manufacturer with a mission to redefine the luxury automobile. The Green Engineering Award, established in 2008, was sponsored this year by Mavenlink LLC. Their CEO Ray Grainger ’88, is also a trustee of Harvey Mudd College and chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee.
TEACHING AND LEARNING BUILDING On the Move
JOSH GILSON
Several moves are occurring this summer to prepare for the upcoming demolition of Thomas-Garrett Hall. Computing Information Services staff moved to the fifth floor of Sprague Center. Spaces in Parsons basement vacated by CIS will be occupied by those in Advancement who had offices in Thomas-Garrett: Communications, Reunion Programming, Phonathon and Annual Fund. Academic Excellence and the Writing Center, which were also located in ThomasGarrett, have also been temporarily located to Parsons basement offices before their final move to the new teaching and learning building, estimated to be completed by spring 2013.
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Faculty News
Adam Johnson
Promotions
New Chairs
At its May meeting, the Educational Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to promote Adam Johnson (chemistry) to the rank of full professor, effective July 1, 2011. Johnson is the recent recipient of a National Science Foundation grant for “RUI: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydroamination of Aminoallenes by Chiral Tantalum Cyclopentadienyl-amide-alkoxide Com-
Professor of Physics Peter Saeta has been selected to succeed Professor John Townsend as chair of the Department of Physics. Saeta has been a faculty member for 16 years. In the Computer Science Department, Ran LibeskindHadas will succeed Michael Erlinger as chair. LibeskindHadas, an HMC faculty member for 18 years, previously served as associate dean for diversity, research and experiential learning.
plexes” (August 2010). Faculty members approved for reappointment were David Vosburg (chemistry), Christine Alvarado (computer science), Sarah Harris and Nancy Lape (engineering), Susan Martonosi (mathematics), and Debra Mashek (humanities and social sciences).
Peter Saeta
Engineering Fellowships
Critchell Assistant Professor
President Klawe made three appointments to open Fellow positions in the Department of Engineering. The three new Fellows are Philip Cha, C. F. Braun and Co. Fellowship in Engineering; David Money Harris, Harvey S. Mudd Engineering Design Fellowship; and, Erik Spjut, Union Oil Company Design Fellowship.
Rachel Levy, assistant professor of mathematics, has been selected as the Critchell Assistant Professor. “Rachel has shown deep commitment to our students in the classroom, in the energetic ways she promotes and supports them in research, and in her commitment to the whole campus,” said Bob Cave, vice president and dean of faculty. “She exemplifies Rachel Levy a host of the traits that made the Critchells such an important part of the community.” The Critchell Professorship is awarded to a junior professor to recognize faculty who, in the early stages of their careers, have exhibited an unusual talent for mentoring and counseling students in all aspects of their lives. These are qualities that were hallmarks of the Critchells’ direction of the Bates program.
Darryl Yong ’96, associate professor of mathematics and associate chair, Department of Mathematics, has been appointed associate dean for diversity. He will work to further the College’s progress in diversity in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID). The associate dean for diversity position was first created in 2009 to extend the significant Darryl Yong ’96 strides made with the creation of the OID, participation in several multi-cultural forums, and diversity training programs for students and faculty. Yong will develop and enhance diversity efforts in the areas of hiring, faculty development, and support of admitted students.
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Associate Dean for Diversity
WILL VASTA
KEVIN MAPP
Faculty Promotions and Appointments
Mathematics is Focus of Two Grants
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Faculty News
Computer Science Pioneer Wins Mudd Prize
KEVIN MAPP
MICHAEL ERLINGER LAUDED FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES Michael Erlinger, among the first computer scientists at Harvey Mudd College and instrumental in building the Computer Science Department, was recently named the recipient of Harvey Mudd College’s 2011 Henry T. Mudd Prize. “I feel deeply honored to receive this award,” said Erlinger. “The list of previous awardees includes many of those who have served as my mentors. In my Michael Erlinger dealings with other college department chairs over the last few years, I have come to realize just what a special place HMC is. I feel extremely lucky having come to HMC and having the support of faculty and staff that allowed us to build one of the top computer science programs in the world.” Erlinger joined HMC 11 years prior to the establishment of the department for which he served as department chair for 10 years. His supportive and energetic leadership and creative thinking led to the recruitment of outstanding computer science faculty, increasing the size and quality of the department. He was successful in increasing the number and diversity of students in the department while offering them new opportunities such as joint majors and research opportunities. Erlinger was also lauded for his active outreach to the community through engagement with local primary and secondary schools. He is widely recognized for his leadership in undergraduate education and research. In recent years, his research has moved away from networking security and management to ways to infuse computer science into the K–12 education arena. He is co-project director with Elizabeth Sweedyk, associate professor of computer science, of a $580,033 grant from The National Science Foundation to advance a software development model that engages college and middle-school students. The three-year grant for “The Games Network: Games for Students, Games by Students” challenges HMC computer science students to develop educational games based upon learning objectives set by real-world customers: middle-school social studies teachers. He is also working with computer science Professor Zachary Dodds to develop a computer science course aimed at middle school students. Erlinger, Dodds and Sweedyk hope to shatter stereotypes about the computer science field by introducing younger students to the fun, creative side of software development and computer science.
The Henry T. Mudd Prize is awarded each year at commencement to a member of the College community whose service to the College and its mission is exemplary. Henry T. Mudd (1913– 1990), the son of Harvey S. Mudd, was instrumental in the creation and early development of the college named for his father. He served as a founding trustee and chair of the board for 23 years.
Baumgaertner Retires from HMC Carl Baumgaertner, who received a Silver Star for heroic service during World War II, retired this year from his position as clinical professor of engineering at Harvey Mudd College. Baumgaertner came to HMC from Honeywell, a manufacturer of civil and military avionics and other aerospace products. As chief engineer at Honeywell, he spent 17 years at the company’s plant in Minneapolis, Minn., before he was transferred to its West Covina, Calif., plant, where he was director of engineering for another 17 years. He soon became involved in the College’s engineering Clinic Program, first sponsoring a computer software project and then 11 more projects over the years. Upon retiring from Honeywell in early 1985, Baumgaertner’s colleagues at HMC suggested he come and work at the College. During the fall of 1985, he began working with the development office, selling Clinics to companies. After a year, he began teaching a Clinic and later an electronics class—the two things he continued until his retirement this year. “I absolutely love the students and the College,” said Baumgaertner. “The most rewarding thing I’ve done has been here at Mudd because I’m in a position to help others.” Baumgaertner received the Silver Star—the third highest military decoration awarded for gallantry in action—in 2008 after being awarded the medal in 1945 but never receiving it. He was a company commander, leading an infantry company of 187 onto Utah Beach in June 1944 under the command of General George Patton. Baumgaertner returned from the war in 1946 and then attended St. Thomas College (mathematics and physics) and University of Minnesota (master’s degree in electrical engineering) before beginning his Honeywell career.
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Faculty News
Wang Secures Global Opportunity for HMC Students
KEVIN MAPP
NEW EIGHT-WEEK SUMMER PROGRAM Through on-campus support and key relationships developed during his fall sabbatical in China, engineering Professor Ruye Wang secured an opportunity and helped launch a new study abroad program in Beijing, China. Participants in the eight-week summer program will study Chinese language, history and culture at Peking University. They will also attend an introductory engiRuye Wang neering course taught by Wang. Offered in collaboration with the China Studies Institute (CSI), all courses will be taught in English and course credits can be officially transferred back to HMC. Wang first became acquainted with staff and faculty at the China Studies Institute at Peking University while on sabbatical. His conversations with CSI Director Dr. Youli Sun inspired the idea for the collaborative program. “We agreed to try to set up a new program for students at HMC and elsewhere to take courses of interest in English, while staying on the Peking University campus in the summer,” Wang said. “Also, since most HMC students cannot afford to study
abroad without earning credits in technical courses, we decided to have a balanced curriculum consisting of a technical course (Introduction to Electrical Engineering), a social science course (Modern History of China), and a language course (Chinese).” Returning from sabbatical, Wang shared his vision with President Maria Klawe and Dean of Faculty Bob Cave, who expressed their support. He discussed the program specifics with Study Abroad Director Rhonda Chiles, who worked diligently with CSI staff to bring the idea to fruition and set the program in place in time for Summer 2011. Professors Chang Tan and Richard Olson in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts Department encouraged students to participate in the program. The HSA Department voted to allow credits from the program’s Chinese history and language courses to be transferrable to HMC. Officially launched, Wang hopes the new summer Chinese Studies program will grow so more HMC students can experience Chinese culture and language and prepare themselves for future careers in a progressively globalized environment. —Koren Wetmore
REMEMBERING TWO BELOVED FACULTY MEMBERS J’nan Morse Sellery Professor of Literature Emerita J’nan Morse Sellery died April 27. The first tenured female professor at HMC (1980) and mentor to many female faculty and students, she arrived at HMC in 1970, was chair for one year of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and was a faculty member until her retirement in 2005. In addition to her love of English, she pioneered HMC’s Media Studies program, which resulted in student-made, multi-screen image and sound projections that inspired critical thinking and creative expression. The course, now entirely digital, is taught by Rachel Mayeri, associate professor of media studies. Sellery was also a driving force behind the development of the Women’s Studies Program at The Claremont Colleges and served as its coordinator. She presented at meetings around the world on literature and women’s studies topics. She served on the editorial board and was senior editor of Psychological Perspectives, an international journal of analytical psychology. For several years, Sellery worked at the research affiliate Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University where she studied the “Gendered Voices” of Western Canadian writers Aritha van Herk and Robert Kroetsch.
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Mathematics is Focus of Two Grants Faculty and Staff News
CAMPUS CURRENT
Staff Excellence Celebrated COLLEGE RECOGNIZES TWO EMPLOYEES
Binder Prize
KEVIN MAPP
Hers was the friendly face that greeted you in the HMC Department of Mathematics. During her first year on campus, she helped launch the first HMC mathematics conference, now an annual event. Her positive attitude and work ethic earned her respect and renown. These are but a few reasons why Suzanne Frantz, math department coordinator, Suzanne Frantz was awarded the 2011 Mary G. Binder Prize. Awarded each year to a member of HMC’s support staff, the $500 prize recognizes those who combine a record of exceptional service with a helpful and friendly attitude toward students, staff and faculty. “I feel very honored to have won this special prize and truly blessed to work for such appreciative people as those in the math department,” said Frantz, who retired this summer after 12 years at HMC. She was described as “gentle, clear and friendly” by one of the faculty members who nominated her and as one who serves “not only the math department but the broader community.”
The Mary G. Binder Prize was established in 1997 with a gift from Professor Emeritus Sam Tanenbaum and his wife, Carol, in honor of Carol’s mother, Mary G. Binder, and in expression of their gratitude to HMC’s support staff.
Order of the Wart Advancement Services Director Liz Baughman, who has worked at HMC for 33 years, received the Order of the Wart, given by the Alumni Association Board of Governors in recognition of her significant contributions to the alumni of Harvey Mudd College (see photo, page 30). Baughman provides services and support for Alumni Relations and College Advancement, including prospect research, donor relations and stewardship, gift processing and special events. She supports the advancement goals of the College by managing the process for charitable contributions. The Order of the Wart award is given on behalf of all HMC alumni by the Alumni Association Board of Governors. Baughman said, “Harvey Mudd College and all it encompasses has been a part of my daily existence since 1978. The students who devote four years of their lives to the HMC education are a special group of individuals. I truly enjoy encouraging their efforts by supporting them and look forward to continuing to do so.”
Nathaniel Davis Professor Emeritus of Political Science Nathaniel Davis, who died May 16, joined the ranks of the HMC faculty as the first Alexander and Adelaide Hixon Professor of Humanities in 1983, after a distinguished career in the Foreign Service. He held posts in Czechoslovakia, Italy and the Soviet Union, and served as a U.S. ambassador to several countries including Guatemala, Chile and Switzerland. “Nat brought spectacular insight into world politics to HMC and shared this with students in his classes,” said Dean of Faculty Bob Cave. “His classes were highly sought after by students and they benefited both from his knowledge and kindness. In faculty meetings he was particularly adept at seeing the heart of an issue and offering wise counsel. He retired from the faculty in 2002, but continued to attend campus events and had a wonderful way of encouraging those whom he met—he will be missed.” Davis is survived by his wife and four children, Margaret Davis Mainardi of Boonton Township, N.J., Helen Miller Davis of Los Angeles, Calif., James Creese Davis of Barrington, R.I., and Thomas Rohde Davis of Boston, Mass., as well as eight grandchildren, two great granddaughters and two sisters.
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Student News
Annual Contest Achievements MUDDERS ARE WORLD-CLASS COMPETITORS
MCM/ICM: Can You Hear Me Now? Harvey Mudd College juniors Dylan Marriner, Daniel Furlong and Luis Ryan earned top honors in the 2011 International Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (MCM/ICM). Their team received an “Outstanding” rank, which was given to only eight teams out of 2,775 entries worldwide, for their resolution in reducing the number of radio repeaters needed to serve a geographical area. Tasked with determining the minimum number of repeaters for radio users in a 40-mile radius, the team used a clustering algorithm to group points in dense population areas and placed repeaters at the centers of each region. Their approach significantly increased the transmission capability of their network. HMC sent seven teams to the competition in February and all seven garnered high marks. In addition to the Outstanding team, one team earned a Meritorious designation (top 15 percent), three earned Honorable Mention (top 45%) and two were designated as Successful Participants.
Putnam: Problem Solving with the Stars In a test so challenging that this year’s median score was “2” out of a possible 120 points, landing on the Top 200 list—with a score of 50+—is nothing short of a stellar performance. The 39 HMC students who faced more than 4,000 competitors to earn their place in the 2010 William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition shined like stars. Seven seized spots in the Top 200 List for the individual category: Palmer Mebane ’12, Craig Burkhart ’12, Jackson Newhouse ’12, Jacob Scott ’11, Kevin O’Neill ’13, Tum Chaturapruek ’14 and Lee Wiyninger ’11. Seven made the Top 500 List: Emil Guliyev ’13, Jennifer Iglesias ’12, Andrew Carter ’13, Louis Ryan ’12, Ryan Muller ’11, Aaron Pribadi ’12 and Peter Fedak ’13. Additionally, Mebane, Iglesias and Fedak placed 21st in the competition’s team category. Only five other, much larger schools—Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Stanford and Waterloo—had more than seven students in the Top 200, said math professor and Putnam Seminar Coach Francis Su.
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Stuart Pernsteiner ’12, David Fielder ’11, Anak Yodpinyanee ’12 and ACM coach Zachary Dodds.
ACM: Local Champions, World Final Veterans For the second consecutive year, a team of three students from Harvey Mudd College competed against the world’s smartest computer programmers at the IBM-sponsored Battle of the Brains. The contest, held this year on May 30 in Orlando, Florida, challenges students to solve a semester’s worth of real-world problems under a grueling five-hour deadline all in the pursuit of the World’s Smartest Trophy and prizes from IBM. Computer science majors Daniel Fielder ’11, Stuart Pernsteiner ’12 and Anak Yodpinyanee ’12 successfully answered three of 11 problems in 601 minutes, earning Honorable Mention in the competition. Zhejiang University, China, placed first with eight of 11 problems solved. Harvey Mudd College is one of only 18 U.S. schools and 105 total universities to earn a spot in the prestigious contest. This was the trio’s second year winning the Southern California Regional contest and earning a spot at the world finals. In 2010, they attended the competition in Harbin, China, where they also earned an honorable mention. The team was coached by Zachary Dodds.
Mathematics is Focus of Two Grants
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Student News
Cunningham to Study Cancer-fighting Compounds FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP WILL TAKE CHEMISTRY MAJOR TO IRELAND positive impact on my experience here at Mudd,” Anna said. “His advice about classes, applying to grad schools and writing my proposals for the Fulbright Scholarship and the National Science Foundation was invaluable.” Vosburg said that Cunningham quickly distinguished herself as an exceptional student. “Her initial project in my laboratory during her sophomore year was to screen a range of green catalysts for enantioselective and chemoselective reductions of citral,
WILL VASTA
A Fulbright scholarship is allowing chemistry major Anna Cunningham ’11 to spend the coming academic year investigating pyrrolobenzoxazepine (PBOX) compounds—chemicals that show promise as a weapon against cancer. Part of her investigation will entail spectroscopic analysis of how PBOX compounds synergistically interact with other known cancer drugs that also work by binding to tubulin. This, she hopes, will reveal possibilities for new, even more effective anticancer treatments. It’s an approach, she says, “that has the potential to revolutionize current methods of cancer therapy.” Supervising her work will be Clive Williams, a prominent investigator of new cancer-fighting drugs, whose laboratory she will use at Trinity College in Dublin. “I’m excited to be working at one of the leading research institutions in Ireland,” said Cunningham, who hails from Seattle, Wash. “With sufficient work, this project could result in publication of a scientific paper and presentation at an international conference.” Cunningham’s travel to Ireland will mark the second time in as many years that she has traveled abroad in the quest for greater knowledge. During part of her junior year at HMC, she studied at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Her interest in cancer research was sparked last summer while participating in an internship program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. “As a chemistry major, I found it fascinating to be able to approach cancer from a chemical or biochemical perspective,” she said. In addition to the Fulbright Scholarship, Cunningham was inducted into the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Her scholastic strengths also earned her departmental honors in chemistry and recognition as an HMC President’s Scholar and a member of Phi Lambda Upsilon (chemistry honorary society). During her time at HMC, Cunningham tutored freshmen in chemistry (and underprivileged local high school students in all subjects) and was active in the performing arts. As a sophomore and junior, she was a member of the school’s ballroom dance team. As a freshman, she joined the Claremont Colleges Concert Choir and, more recently, the Claremont Colleges Chamber Choir. (Adding to Anna’s excitement about the cancer research project at Trinity College is the opportunity it affords to indulge a newfound appreciation of Irish folk music.) Cunningham credits David Vosburg, assistant professor of chemistry, with being one of the faculty members who most influenced her. “He has been so supportive, and made a huge
Anna Cunningham ’11 seeks to revolutionize cancer therapy methods.
a natural fragrance from lemongrass oil. Several of the catalysts she screened were not commercial, and she showed great facility with solid-phase peptide synthesis and other procedures to prepare them.” Cunningham’s later experiments led to her co-authorship of an article that appeared earlier this year in the Journal of Chemical Education, Vosburg noted. He said Cunningham also impressed him with her choice of senior thesis topic—mercury resistance in flavobacteria—and reports that her involvement with a research group led by Prof. Nancy Hamlett helped convince Cunningham to set her sights on a career in the biological sciences. Upon her return next year from Ireland, Cunningham will begin postgraduate studies in pursuit of a doctorate in biochemistry. The Fulbright Scholarship, a highly competitive, federally funded program, annually goes to 8,000 of the nation’s best and brightest college seniors and provides them grants to study, research or teach overseas. —Rich Smith
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CAMPUS CURRENT
Student News
Sure there was lots of giggling and squirming. But there was also plenty of curiosity among the youngsters who visited campus this spring at the invitation of two Mudders. Nate Pinsky ’13 and Elly Schofield ’13 taught math to 23 third graders from Chaparral Elementary School in Claremont for several weeks this spring, then led them on a tour of the Harvey Mudd College campus in May. “I think exploring what it’s like to be a teacher in a classroom is really valuable,” said Schofield of her experience. “It is really amazing to see the look on kids’ faces when they get a concept. It is very rewarding.” Pinsky and Schofield decided to design an independent study project that addressed the need to improve mathematics literacy of elementary school students. With the help of advisor and mathematics Professor Michael Orrison, Pinsky and Schofield teamed up to develop five interactive lessons of educationally enriching and fun activities to get third graders excited about learning math. “Since I’ve gone to Mudd, I’ve found myself more and more interested in elementary math education,” said Pinsky. During their first year at HMC, both students became interested in math education while working at Homework Hotline, a call-in tutoring service that helps elementary and middle school students with math and science homework.
Chemists Hear About HMC Student Research Twenty-five Harvey Mudd College students presented the results of their research at the 241st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Anaheim, Calif., March 27–31. Three students gave oral presentations: Brette Chapin ’11 spoke on “Asymmetric hydroamination of aminoallenes catalyzed by titanium and tantalum complexes of chiral sulfonamide-alcohols;” Kanny Wan ’11 spoke on “Concise, biomimetic syntheses of natural furanyl terpenoids;” and Michelle Hansen ’11 spoke on “Catalytic asymmetric hydroamination with tantalum complexes of chiral amino alcohols.” In addition, Adam Brown ’13, Arthur Vasek ’11, Cassie George ’11, Daniel O’Neil ’11, Hayden Hatch ’12, Ha Seong Kim ’11, Heidi Linder ’11, Jessie Roy ’11, John Cvitkovic ’11, John Robinson ’12, Karen Heinselman ’13, Kristine
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CHRISTINE VASQUEZ
Are You Smarter Than a Third Grader Who’s Been Mentored by a Mudder?
Elly Schofield ’13 and Nate Pinsky ’13 share their enthusiasm for science and math.
This May, to encourage their interest in science, math and engineering, Chaparral third graders toured the HMC campus led by Pinsky, Schofield and other HMC students. The third graders were able to participate in a hands-on experiment in the chemistry lab and visit the rocket and computer science labs. Pinsky and Schofield hope to expand their project with elementary school students in the coming years.
Fong ’11, Laura Collins ’11, Laura Poindexter ’11, Malous Kossarian ’12, Mary Van Vleet ’12, Millie Fung ’11, Nagiko Hara ’12, Thomas Aldrich ’12, Thomas Avila ’11, Veerasak “Jeep” Srisuknimit ’12, and Zara Seibel ’11 presented posters of their work in fields as far-flung as characterization of green surfactants, drug discovery and new materials for solar energy conversion. Alumni co-authors included Caitlin Olmsted ’10, Mark Cyffka ’10, Chiara Giammanco ’10, Nancy Eisenmenger ’09 and Eric Nacsa ’10. The American Chemical Society is the world’s largest scientific society with over 165,000 members. Roughly 14,000 scientists attended the conference to make 9,000 presentations in hundreds of half-day oral sessions and nearly 100 poster sessions.
Mathematics is Focus of Two Grants
CAMPUS CURRENT
Student News
Braineaters are No. 1 in Ultimate Frisbee
Cheering Section HMC Athletes in CMS Sports, selected results CMS won the Men’s (64.5 pts), Women’s (63.5) and Combined (128) All-Sports Trophies. CMS won an SCIAC record 11 titles this year and the point totals for the women and combined are the highest all-time.
“This season is going to be a special one for the Braineaters, so stay tuned!” Such was the promise on the website of the 5-College Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Team, aka the Claremont Braineaters. The team of 24 men from CMC, Harvey Mudd (6 men), Pitzer and Pomona won the men’s Division III nationals in Buffalo, N.Y. on May 22. There were 16 teams at the tournament, out of approximately 80 D-III teams in the entire country, that competed in the ultimate disc competition, a sport using flying discs that is a cross between soccer and football. The Braineaters spent last year rebuilding the team after losing a strong senior class. This year, with clear leadership, which included team captain Zack Purdy ’13, and a disciplined practice schedule, they posted strong wins, including finishing well enough to be ranked No. 24 in the USA Ultimate D-I rankings. They were considered the favorites going into their first Division III nationals, which began last year. Purdy said, “We were especially good this year because of star players Markham Shofner (PO ’11) and Tommy Li ( PO ’12), as well as an excellent regular season consisting of a tournament win in San Diego in late February, and second place at a tournament in Las Vegas in early March.” The Mudders participating at the Division III nationals were Purdy, Edmund (Ned) Mills ’11, Kevin Black ’12, Jon Witte ’12, Jack Newhouse ’12 and Taylor Brent ’14.
CMS ATHLETICS
Ned Mills ’11 lays out for a disc in the end zone for a goal against Swarthmore at the Division III nationals. The 5-C Braineaters went on to win 12-9.
Men’s Swimming & Diving SCIAC Dual Meet Record 6–1; SCIAC Championships 1st; SCIAC finish 1st (third straight title); NCAA Championships, Team 17th Vincent Pai ’12 (pictured)– SCIAC Champion 100 & 200 Breast; All-American 200 Breast (3rd), honorable mention All-American 100 Breast Brad Perfect ’13– SCIAC Runner-Up 200 Breast Devin Bowers ’12 Thomas Carey ’13 Alex Flake ’14 Alexander Lee ’14 Chris Ramos ’11 Elliot Smith ’11 Women’s Swimming & Diving SCIAC Dual Meet Record: 7–0; SCIAC Championships 1st; SCIAC finish 1st (ninth straight title); NCAA Championships, Team 7th Jenni Rinker ’11– SCIAC Champion 50 Free; SCIAC Runner-Up 200 Back; All-American 400 Free Relay Ashley Kretsch ’13, Jaclyn Olmos-Silverman ’13 Women’s Lacrosse: 16–3 overall, 10–0 in SCIAC (1st); SCIAC Champions Margaret Rogers ’11 Men’s Tennis: 27–3 overall, 8–0 in SCIAC (1st) Trevor Apple ’13, Brandon Wei ’12 Track and Field: Women, SCIAC Co-Champions; Men placed 2nd in SCIAC HMC athletes included seniors Dillon Ayers, Matt Cummins, Blake Shaw, Kyle Stewart, Kramer Straube and Matt Streshinksy. Georgi Dinolov ’11 competed at NCAA Championships in 1500 meters and Bennett Naden ’13 was 2nd Team All-SCIAC in steeplechase. Women from HMC included Sara Sholes ’12 and Kate Crawford ’13.
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s t u de n t
r e se a r c h
p r e c i o u s p r o b l e m s Written by CHRISTINE VASQUEZ and KOREN WETMORE
Research and Clinic projects require exploration of new and interesting problems, creative thinking and teamwork in order to achieve solutions. There were many successful projects presented during this year’s Presentation Days (May 2 and 4) and Projects Day (May 3), which represented work in every academic department. A key attribute of the research at HMC is the collaboration of students and faculty, who are partners in the process of discovery. The selection that follows represents a small portion of the many projects performed by more than 200 students under the direction of faculty advisors and, in some cases, external liaisons.
The device has an angled tip to improve the surgeon’s visibility and a squeezable handle with a spring-loaded hook design and notched rod system that ensures precise wax delivery. Its heating element is powered by a 9-volt battery. About 10 inches in length, it is both sterilizable and disposable, which makes it practical and economical, Challener said. The device is patent-pending. Challener, Annie Jensen ’12, Cassie Nguyen ’11, Vincent Pai ’12, Matthew Phillips ’11, and Kristen Schunter ’12, worked with advisor Elizabeth Orwin, professor of engineering and biology, to complete the Clinic project.
En Guarde, Film Pirates
Swifter than a sword, the right algorithm can battle the peskiest pirate site on the Internet. So when Paramount Pictures needed to assess which bootleg film content sites presented the most risk to their industry, they tasked HMC students with developing a program and browser extension that offered a danger-ranking system. The Computer Science Clinic team developed an algorithm that presents a weighted average of popularity (number of users accessing a site) and sleekness (how legitimate a site looks Wax On in appearance) to designate the risk level KOREN WETMORE Working with Insight Surgical Inof piracy websites. Their study revealed struments, LLC, HMC students that more than half of the pirate sites were have developed a tool that accurate“unsleek,” so they tuned the algorithm ly applies bone wax without blockto weigh a site’s popularity score as three ing a surgeon’s view. times more important than sleekness. The Bone wax is applied to cut bone method proved successful in accurately assurface to block blood flow during sessing risk level. minimally invasive spinal surgery. The team also built a Firefox extenCurrently surgeons use a spatulasion that nabs a screenshot of the sites and like instrument, called a Penfield, identifies the advertisers and ad networks which requires them to warm the promoted on them. “Much of what you wax between their fingers before ussee in search results for keywords such as ing the Penfield to place it on the ‘watch movies online’ are sites containing bone surface. pirated content,” said team member Dan The students’ prototype conCiliske ’12. “Advertising on piracy webtains a heating element to warm sites, if removed, would make these sites the wax and a delivery system that Students developed a practical and thrifty bone wax applicator. no longer viable.” places a precise amount of wax on Ciliske, Jessica Blevins ’11, Rebecca Green ’11 and Moira bone. “Bone can and does heal around the wax, but too much Tagle ’11 worked with advisor Christine Alvarado, assistant wax can delay the healing process and weaken the bone. So we professor of computer science, to complete the project. wanted to reduce the amount of wax used,” said clinic team member Tim Challener ’11.
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Tropical Curves Max B. Kutler ’11, advised by mathematics Professor Dagan Karp and University of Texas at Austin Professor Eric Katz, discussed his work on tropical algebraic geometry, a new area of mathematics. In part due to its close ties to other fields—including classical algebraic geometry, graph theory and combinatorics—tropical geometry has become an active area of research over the past two decades. Researchers in this field use an alternate notion of the basic operations of addition and multiplication, and study how this affects the geometry of objects that are defined by polynomial equations. Kutler studied tropical curves, and group actions and divisors on the tropical curve. He found new information about the structure of the group of divisors, which could potentially play an important role in this young field.
team’s design modified an existing tool, which was so successful a provisional patent is underway. Their portable, cheaper, lightweight, more ergonomic solution has durable blades that are quick to change and sterilize. The tool’s adjustable angles allow several different kinds of grafts. An improved tool could expedite the creation of more plants to better feed growing populations. Valerie Loew from the Fullerton College Horticulture Department lent her expertise as the project client.
Set It, and Forget It Two Engineering 4 teams worked on the design of a year-round, convenient, “set and forget” solution to combat mice infestation, which can present a significant health hazard, particularly in summer homes, cabins and camps in rural areas. The device, designed by Josh Edelman ’14, Stephen Pinto ’14, Jean-Claude de Sugny ’14 and Michelle Liu ’14, is a mouse repellent dispensary system that employs a membrane design to dispense coyote urine pellets in oneounce doses every two months. Client Mark Howard requested that the device be economical, low-maintenance, easy to use, small, lightweight and durable. The device also must withstand sub-freezing conditions and must not kill the mice or use messy liquid repellent. The team concluded that dispensers would be needed throughout a home to adequately control the mice population.
Critical Issues Through the required Critical Inquiry class, second-semester first-year students explored social, political and economic issues—echoing the College’s mission to create socially conscious and responsible scientists, mathematiSTEVE SCHENCK A better plant grafting tool, like the HMC students’ design, cians and engineers. could improve plant production. Beverly Yeh ’11 looked at the effect of video games from a A Better Grafting Tool unique perspective: that is, their ability to promote pro-social A plant grafting tool is an essential part of a grower’s toolkit. It behavior. She used primary psychological research to evaluate the allows users to attach a stem cutting of one plant to the strong accuracy of this claim about video games. She argued that proroot system of another to get an exact genetic match of a fruit or social video games, in which the player helps other characters in flower. This is especially helpful in getting fruits that taste exactly the game—such as City Crisis, a rescue helicopter pilot game, as they should from generation to generation. The Engineering 4 and Nintendogs, a virtual pet simulation game—are linked to team of James Best ’14, Kate Kryder ’14, Kyle Siegel ’14 and Abe “helping” behavior and feelings of empathy. Yeh reported that McKay ’14 was one of three teams that designed an improved people who play pro-social video games are more likely to help plant grafting tool. Designs addressed the challenges faced with others, even when doing so is personally risky, compared to peocurrent tools on the market: bulky designs, pricey blades, steril- ple who do not play pro-social video games. Yeh’s advisor was ization challenges and dullness. The Best-Krider-Siegal-McKay psychology Professor Debra Mashek.
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Jeffrey Burkert ’11 was one of several students who explored techniques that might improve mathematics education among elementary and middle school students. He discussed research and advances in the field of mathematics and shared ways to engage students using innovative approaches to teaching. In contrast to the traditional lecture model is a technique called spaced repetition—learning less material more often versus learning more material less often. Efforts in this area, he said, could raise mathematics literacy and help the nation remain competitive on a global scale. Burkert’s advisor was political science/environmental science Professor Paul Steinberg.
Tied in Knots Surgery on the vocal cords requires the physician to manuever inside a small tube with very long instruments, similar to trying to tie one’s shoelaces with barbecue tongs. Brian Wong of the Beckman Laser Institute asked four Engineering 4 teams to create a knot-tying assist device for ENT (ear, nose and throat) surgical applications, such as robotic surgery, endoscopic surgery, cancer and voice surgery of the head and neck. This 30-minute procedure requires specialized skill and involves using two graspers to manipulate sutures to tie knots inside the small space of a laryngoscope. Wong requested that teams’ devices work in a 10- to 15-inch-long space that is 1 to 2 cm in diameter and that they create knots that would not slip. The team of Neil Pearson ’14, Vijay Ramakrishnan ’14, Brent Stapleton ’14 and Brianna Thielen ’14 created five prototypes, including an oversized version to test the concept. They focused on creating a simple, easy-to-use design that ties knots quickly while minimizing tissue damage. Their semi-automated knot-tying device, resulting in a seven-minute procedure, pushes one loop of the knot at a time down the laryngoscope and into place on the tissue by threading the suture through two holes in the device. The project advisor, engineering Professor Patrick Little, said that each of the teams came up with interesting and creative designs. “It speaks to the creativity of the students in the class that we could develop so many good solutions to a very difficult problem,” he said.
dusty areas, must be cleaned frequently to maximize their efficiency. Soil-resistant mirror coatings are available, but they must be tested before applying to the mirrors. Clinic sponsor National Renewable Energy Laboratory sought ways to quickly test the durability and effectiveness of various coatings. The team of Julia Diaz, Sam Keene, Ashley Nelson, Evann Gonzales, Dalar Nazarian and Ethan Susca analyzed soil from several CSP plants using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction, and sought answers to questions like “what makes mud sticky?” Team members plan to present their soil research in Spain at the conference for SolarPACES, an international cooperative network of experts who focus on the development and marketing of concentrating solar power systems. The team also built an apparatus with simulated day and night cycles that applies the soil to mirrors using the same mechanisms as the natural environment. “The results of the soiling studies were very interesting where a novel platelet structure was found in clay materials,” said Cheryl Kennedy, senior scientist who leads the Advanced Materials Team at NREL.
KEVIN MAPP
s t u de n t
Mirror, Mirror Large mirrors are used at Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants to concentrate sunlight so that thermal energy can be converted to electricity. But these mirrors, often located in dry,
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A Clinic team will present their soil research at the SolarPACES conference in Spain.
STEVE SCHENCK
Hufsa Ahmad ’11 describes her team’s solar thermal energy storage system.
Using the Energy in Dirt Their task was challenging: use inexpensive, natural materials to capture and store solar energy for use during India’s four-month monsoon season. Their solution was nothing short of brilliant. The six-student Harvey Mudd College Global Clinic team designed a system that collects thermal energy with water and stores it in dirt. “We tested all kinds of soil—loam, sand, rocky soil, compacted and not compacted—to determine their effectiveness as a storage medium,” said summer Team Leader Hufsa Ahmad ’11. “The system worked on all soil types and, since you can find dirt almost anywhere, it can be used almost anywhere on the planet.” Powered by a 9-volt lithium battery, the system’s pump circulates water in a tube that runs through a single solar collector. The cold water heats up in the collector, then passes through a series of refurbished refrigerator condenser coils buried in 10.6 cubic meters of soil housed in an insulated, underground cylinder. The water transfers thermal energy into the soil as it passes through the condenser coils—which act as heat exchangers— and comes out cold again. The cool water then travels back to the collector and the cycle resumes. The process continues for eight months, storing thermal
energy and raising the soil temperature to about 149-degrees Fahrenheit (65°C) at its coolest point and 194-degrees (90°C) at its warmest. To extract the thermal energy from the soil, the process is reversed. Cool water is pumped through the condenser coils, heat from the soil transfers into the water, which is then deposited into an insulated water storage tank. Designed for use in rural India, where residents have no access to a centralized power grid and rely heavily on solar sources to meet their energy needs, the system solves the puzzle of how to provide power during times of insufficient sunlight. The Global Clinic team—comprised of Jennifer Lee ’11, Andrew Xue ’11, Hufsa Ahmad ’11, Allie McDonnell ’12, Julie Lapidus (Scripps) and Niger Washington (Pomona)—worked on the capture and storage components of the project. Team members coordinated with a second student team at the Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) in Ranchi, India, which focused on how to convert the stored thermal energy into electricity for use in rural Indian homes. “The [HMC] team had to learn what materials were accessible and what the people were willing to use,” said Global Clinic Director L.G. de Pillis. “Working with a team from the area gave them good information about what was acceptable and doable. They also learned about working with people from a different culture and language.” The BIT team determined there were two potential ways of converting the thermal energy from the water into electricity to power homes. The first would be to use a Stirling Engine to convert heat to electricity, but it may be too costly, Ahmad said, since few companies manufacture the engines. The second, more feasible option would be to employ an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), which uses low-grade heat to power a turbine and generate electricity. “An ORC would be ideal for our system for two reasons: 1) its operating temperature range is appropriate for our soil system, and 2) we’re outputting heat into a water tank, which stores water as the working fluid for the ORC,” said spring semester Team Leader Jennifer Lee ’11. The system works theoretically, but will require more work before a prototype can be installed and tested. “To make the [storage] system feasible, we need to determine the pump requirements, model the heat extraction process, merge the collector system with the water system model and determine the tank insulation thickness,” Ahmad said.
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ive years ago, the HMC community came together to examine all that it does, in view of the challenges and changes in the world today. Priorities were set around six themes: I nnovation, leadership, and impact, especially in engineering, science and mathematics Focus on experiential and interdisciplinary learning Unsurpassed excellence and diversity at all levels Nurturing and developing the whole person Global engagement and informed contributions to society Improvement of infrastructure and resources to support HMC’s commitment to excellence and building community
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Then, we rolled up our sleeves, and got down to work, making these goals a reality on campus, within the local community and abroad.
In just five years we’ve:
CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF
HMC’S STRATEGIC VISION IN ACTION
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Created new experiential learning opportunities Designed innovative interdisciplinary courses Revised the core curriculum to be as rigorous as ever yet flexible and innovative Introduced a new writing course to teach the communication skills our students need to succeed as leaders Admitted the largest entering class of women in the College’s history Developed unique Clinic and Global Clinic opportunities with far-reaching impact Expanded our mentoring programs and Summer Institute Instituted methods to continually assess and improve our educational experience Approved plans for a new, state-of-the-art teaching and learning building
And, we’re just getting started. With help from philanthropic institutions, individual donors, and the hard work of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees and friends, we’re making our vision a reality. Read about some of our creative, collaborative initiatives in the stories and timeline that follow.
STRATEGIC VISION
Innovation, leadership, and impact, especially in engineering, science and mathematics
Milestones 2006–2011
INNOVATION IS IMPACTING COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR Sometimes diversity isn’t about opportunity so much as perception. Such was the case for the gender gap between male and female computer science majors at Harvey Mudd College. Although plenty of opportunities existed for female students, few opted to pursue the major. When the HMC Computer Science Department tackled the issue, it resolved to give first-year women students a broader view of computer science, a glimpse of women working in the field, and a chance to discover they could understand and apply the science. To achieve these goals, CS faculty created a new introductory CS course, took students to a conference that celebrates women computer scientists and offered summer research suitable for students with only one or two CS courses under their belts. “The three initiatives work together in a synergistic way,” says Christine Alvarado, associate professor of computer science. “Our new CS5 gives students a broad view of what computer science really is, summer research helps them gain confidence in what they can do with the knowledge they learn in the classroom, and trips to the Grace Hopper Celebration show them there are interesting jobs in CS and interesting people who do them.” Faculty harnessed the role model power of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computer Science and used it as a recruitment tool. E-mails were sent to first-year women and funding from multiple sources helped cover the costs. Eight first-year students attended the inaugural trip in 2006. By 2010, that number rose to 35. The three-part approach has shifted the percentage of women CS majors at HMC from 12 percent to 35 percent—most recently 40 percent for the class of 2010. (The class of 2013 has an overall lower percentage of women—36 percent— which affects the average for the major.) Revamping HMC’s introductory CS course involved changes to both its content and structure. Efforts focused on demystifying the science and getting students immediately immersed in writing programs they would enjoy using. Content was broken into a series of five modules on core topics, such as functional programming and computer organization. More advanced topics include object-oriented programming, with applications based around ideas from Artificial Intelligence. One module steps away from programming entirely to examine what computers can and cannot do, introducing students to the concept that a program’s limits may be set by something other than their programming ability. The course was refined into two tracks to accommodate students’ CS experience level—Black for those with some experience and Gold for those with none. Both cover the same core content using the same science and engineering themes, but the Black track goes into a little more depth and looks at some more advanced applications and ideas. More recently, a CS5 Green was added to introduce the same core content but in a biology context. Shedding the belief that “students had to complete at least three CS classes to have meaningful research experiences,” in 2007, CS faculty created research projects suitable for students who had completed only one or two CS courses. This gave more women, who typically don’t have CS experience prior to college, an opportunity to do research after their first year. In operation for the past four summers, the program offers rising sophomore women (and men) the chance to practice their new skills working with ongoing projects in artificial intelligence, robotics and games.
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Maria Klawe named fifth HMC president (July 1)
HMC named “One of New Ivies,” Kaplan/Newsweek No. 1 undergraduate engineering program, U.S.News and World Report Global Clinic Program begun to prepare students for the challenges of functioning as innovative engineers and scientists in a global context West Dorm renovated Strategic planning process begins. Over six months, HMC community strategizes size, structure, curriculum, student body makeup, and impact upon society. Meetings, roundtables, workshops, debates result in six themes. Campus sustainability audit at The Claremont Colleges spearheaded by Richard Haskell, professor of physics HMC noted as a Top Design School, BusinessWeek Science Bus volunteers inspire youngsters at local elementary schools with hands-on science lessons. Clinic project for The Aerospace Corp., launched into space. Original design of camera circuitry boards on picosats were developed by 2003–04 Clinic team. Lead Project led by chemistry Professor Hal Van Ryswyk. First-year chemistry lab students and local elementary students study lead poisoning in children.
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HMC 2020 funds awarded to campus community enables programs and initiatives addressing strategic vision themes
New student organizations created: Mudders Organizing for Sustainability Solutions and Engineers for a Sustainable World
–Koren Wetmore
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Milestones
Focus on experiential and interdisciplinary learning
2006–2011 2007 continued from page 21
learning
Strategic Vision Diversity Committee assesses campus climate for diversity and identifies strategies for improvement; Multicultural Forum held Walter and Leonore Annenberg Fund for Leadership Development inaugurated with first speakers To reach a more diverse population, HMC begins accepting ACT test scores. Record numbers of applications received, 18% higher than previous year Mae Jemison is first woman and 11th recipient of HMC honorary doctorate of engineering degree. She addresses 161 graduates. Global Clinic expands to Singapore East Dorm renovation project includes new native plant garden and drip irrigation HMC noted as a Top Engineering College, U.S. News and World Report $579,600 National Science Foundation S-STEM grant for scholarships received Platt Campus Center up graded: Additions include meeting space, music rooms, gamelan room, study areas 42.3% of Class of 2011 is female; 63% from outside Calif. HMC named one of 25 cutting-edge schools, Kaplan Publishing HMC named one of 25 New Ivies, Kaplan/Newsweek Strategic Vision Curriculum Committee studies Core and curriculum
BY SPOOFING (AND OTHER TACTICS) Experience is said to be the best teacher. So how better to introduce first-year students to the engineering and computer science fields than to give them a taste of what engineers and computer scientists actually do? Enter E11, a first-year engineering elective where students design, build and program an autonomous robotic vehicle. The interdisciplinary course delivers a hands-on introduction to mechanical, chemical, electrical and computer engineering, computer science, design, controls and energy. Piloted in fall 2010, E11 guided 39 students through a series of lectures and six labs in which they drew and 3-D-printed a robot chassis, soldered a circuit board, assembled a gear box, built sensor circuits, built and Student teams test their robots. tested fuel cells, programmed in C, and generated and detected binary sequences, called Gold codes, for use in navigation. They also resolved problems along the way, using the knowledge and skills acquired in their lecture and lab sessions. “A great majority of students learn best by doing,” says engineering Professor David Money Harris, who co-created the E11 course with colleague Nancy Lape, associate professor of engineering. “When you run up against a problem and you must work to solve it, that makes the knowledge more memorable.” The course gave Matthew Keeter ’11 and Madeleine Ong ’11 a chance to teach their peers. The two spent last spring and summer working on the course, developing the circuit boards, the chassis and the final competition game, and creating the labs. They also served as section instructors and, in the lab sections, were each responsible for a group of 10 first-year students. Once their robots were built and tested, students paired up to optimize them for a Capture-the-Flag-style contest. Robots were placed on a 4-foot by 8-foot playing field surrounded by eight beacons that broadcast one of two Gold codes by flashing an LED on and off at 4KHz. Whichever team claimed the most beacons within two minutes was declared the winner. The teams employed innovative tactics, such as using spoofing beacons so their opponent’s robot would be drawn to their robot instead of the actual beacons. “The freshmen came in with very little knowledge about autonomous vehicles, yet they were so eager to learn and showed so much growth by the end of the semester,” Harris says. “We certainly reached our goals, and the student survey results show the students really got an idea of what engineers and computer scientists do,” says Lape. “It also helped them build confidence in their skills and decide on a major.” Of the 39 students who took the pilot course, 17 said they expected to major in engineering and 12 were considering computer science. E11 will be offered again in fall 2011 to 50 first-year students, and students from the pilot class will serve as lab assistants. –Koren Wetmore
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STRATEGIC VISION
Unsurpassed excellence and diversity at all levels
Milestones 2006–2011
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diversity: MORE THAN NUMBERS The College celebrated a milestone in 2010 with an entering class that consisted of more women than men for the first time in its history. Women now make up about 36 percent of the student body compared to an average of 20 percent as recently as during the 1990s. Even more impressively, the number of female faculty has increased to 35 percent overall. This places HMC at the top of the list of institutions with leading undergraduate programs in these areas. However, the College still seeks to improve diversity with respect to race and backgrounds among students, faculty, senior leadership and staff. Creating a campus that is equally accepting and supportive of all its members is consistent with the College’s mission and honor code. Working in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Diversity, Darryl Yong ’96, a mathematics graduate, associate professor of mathematics, and recently appointed associate dean for diversity, is determined to find ways to ensure the campus is a more diverse and inclusive place for all. “My personal goals for Mudd are centered around equity, diversity and inclusion,” says Yong, who helped develop HMC’s Homework Hotline, serves on the steering committee for Math for America Los Angeles and is co-director of the HMC Professional Development and Outreach Group, which supports Los Angeles-area middleand high-school mathematics teachers. “Diversity is sometimes thought of in terms of having more representative numbers of people from different demographic groups. It’s important that when we think about diversity we go beyond just considerations of representation and also think about how to make the campus a more inclusive place so that everyone here feels they have access to opportunities to succeed and achieve their goals. “For faculty, we want to make sure our hiring and evaluation practices, and institutional policies and structures are fair, flexible and honor each individual’s circumstances and professional goals. I believe it’s especially important that our students have equal access to learning opportunities and that they don’t experience bias either inside or outside the classroom.” Yong, says that a major focus during his three-year appointment will be to address the graduation rate of students of color and women. A tangible sign of this commitment is Summer Institute, a program that offers an early introduction to campus life at HMC and helps entering students—specifically, those traditionally underrepresented—negotiate a smooth transition from high school to college. Yong has been working with Ran Libeskind-Hadas, former associate dean for diversity, research and experiential learning, and the Office of Institutional Diversity to include a new academic component, Writing 1, and targeted workshops that will help students succeed in core classes, particularly physics and mathematics. “I see my role as a catalyst to start conversations,” says Yong. “The wonderful thing about this community is that we all really do believe it’s important to work toward increasing diversity and making our campus a more inclusive place.” –Stephanie L. Graham
Strategic Vision Diversity Committee holds forums on Race and Ethnicity and on Gender and Sexual Orientation
First HMC/AEA Green Award given to celebrate green engineering and organizations with a commitment to the environment Graduating class surpasses all previous classes with most students (38) who spent part of undergrad years abroad President Klawe travels to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing with four other Claremont Colleges presidents to seek collaborations and exchange ideas and talent. HMC is ranked No. 1 for percentage of grads who go on to earn Ph.D.s in science and engineering Students organize Earth to Claremont, first-ever consortium-wide environmental fair hosted by HMC Center for Environmental Studies $579,600 National Science Foundation grant enables 36 scholarships $1.5 million granted by Howard Hughes Medical Institute for lab support, instruction, curriculum President Klawe signs American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and appoints campuswide Sustainability Committee, comprised of members from all stakeholder groups BOT Physical Plant and Campus Planning Committee sponsor Engineering Clinic to evaluate recommendations for improving sustainability at HMC. Students work with faculty to measure utility consumption of dorms and to do a lighting survey of resident halls Annenberg Foundation grants $1 million for scholarships Engineer/actor Bill Nye, commencement speaker, addresses 176 graduates HMC named one of nation’s 50 Best Value private colleges, Princeton Review
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Nurturing and developing the whole person
STRATEGIC VISION
Milestones 2006–2011 2008 continued from page 23
BENEFITS BEYOND THE CALL
NSF names HMC a leader among private baccalaureate U.S. colleges in percentage of graduates who earn Ph.D.s in science and engineering $25-million gift, pledged by Shanahans, largest gift in HMC’s 53-year history Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, draws record crowds with talk “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” Curriculum committee suggests modifying the Core in order to advance goals of strategic vision and to adapt to changing backgrounds and needs of students Data from “Sustainability audits on the Claremont campuses” move College closer to determining “carbon footprint,” a basis for setting goals, measuring progress and conserving energy $500,000 pledge by Malcolm ’67 and Cynthia Lewis establishes Patton and Claire Lewis Fellowship in Engineering Professional Practice $800,000 NSF grant underwrites Department of Mathematics postdoctoral fellowship program focused on teaching and research Plans for new teaching and learning building begin with support from Wayne Drinkward ’73, who funds and leads initial planning phase
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LEARNING STUDIO
HMC named a Best Value Private College, Princeton Review
President Klawe named to board of directors, Microsoft; becomes 10th member, second woman President Klawe elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
KEVIN MAPP
Learning Studio funded with $750,000 gift from Fletcher Jones Foundation; gift enables educational technology infrastructure upgrade.
Better collaborator. Better listener. Better teacher. HMC Homework Hotline tutors proclaim these to be some of the personal benefits of helping local junior high and high school students with their math and science homework. Open since February 2010, the Homework Hotline employs around 20 HMC tutors, who are available Sunday through Thursday evenings from 6 to 10 p.m. during the school year. Student callers speak to tutors and have access to district-adopted mathematics textbooks, as well as supplemental math resources. Tutors seek to reinforce math concepts, develop problem-solving skills and help callers become independent learners. The program, funded by a $125,000 grant from donors James and Marilyn Simons, is based on the successful Homework Hotline model at RoseHulman Institute of Technology, an Indiana college that, like HMC, specializes in engineering, science and mathematics education. Rosalie Carlson ’13 is one of the 27 high-achieving math and science students who trained in over-the-phone tutoring. She works with about six other tutors during her two- to four-hour shift. “I see tutoring as a collaborative process,” she said. Often tutors work together on more difficult problems during a call. “A lot of what I have learned has helped me with the private tutoring that I do.” Alex Kohn ’13 said that tutoring others has helped him become more patient. “It has even helped how I work on homework with peers,” he said. Gabriela Gamiz-Gomez, former director of Upward Bound, a program for first-generation high school students, is Homework Hotline administrator. Gamiz-Gomez said she has established good relationships with local schools and has expanded the number of schools served. “During our first year of operation, 2,278 students received guidance with their homework (80 percent of all tutoring calls were for mathematics, 10 percent for science and Andy Kearney ’13 is one of the original Homework Hotline tutors. 10 percent for other subjects). In April and May, we guided more than 300 student callers in solving mathematics and/or science homework questions.” The Homework Hotline averages 150 callers per month. Input from the tutors is helping to drive improvements to the Homework Hotline, which will reopen Sept. 6. “The tutors witness the young students move from uncertainty to confidence,” said Gamiz-Gomez. “I’ve seen the program be just as transformative for them as it is for the callers.” —Stephanie L. Graham
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STRATEGIC VISION
Global engagement and informed contributions to society
Milestones 2006–2011 2009 continued from page 24
COSTA RICAN POWER PLANT
REDUCES ENERGY FOOTPRINT
NSF CAREER grants awarded to biology Professor Robert Drewell and engineering Professor Nancy Lape
A seven-member Harvey Mudd College team headed to Costa Rica this summer to install a micro-hydroelectric station along a stream in a 150-acre nature reserve. The student-built station will produce an estimated 48 kWh of energy daily and potentially serve as a model other ecology centers can emulate. The project was funded by the Shanahan Student-Directed Project Fund and Mudders Making a Difference. Led by HMC engineering Professor Adrian Hightower and biology Professor Donald McFarlane (Pomona College), the team installed the station along Terciopelo Creek on the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology reserve in Baru, Costa Rica. Unlike The Mudders’ micro-hydroelectric station will produce large stations that require dams, which about 48kWh of energy daily. alter the local environment, the microstation will work with the existing ecology, diverting only a fraction of the creek’s water to generate electricity. The diverted water will flow through a PowerSpout turbine generator and then return to the creek. Power produced by the micro-station will supplement the ecology center’s energy needs. Students Jinhwa Chun ’12, Alice Conant ’13, Abigail Korth ’13 and Lisbeth Santana ’12, and alumnus Brandyn Carlson ’11 spent June 5–11 setting up and testing the system. They also worked extensively with local experts and ecology center staff to ensure the system meets the needs of the people who will use it. “In many cases, it’s this social aspect of the project that is most challenging for students. Especially those not accustomed to worrying about that part of a project and those unfamiliar with the culture and customs of the people,” said Hightower. “We could build a great system, but if it doesn’t fit in with what they typically do, or if it adversely affects some of their policies or processes, it won’t be a successful installation.” Working on the station honed not only social understanding but also management skills for student project manager Jin-Hwa Chun ’12. “The project opened my eyes about areas that most new engineering majors overlook,” said Chun. “I thought this would be a purely technical project, but it required lots of non-technical work such as collaboration with the University of Costa Rica, arranging meetings, requesting a budget and leading the team. The project definitely provided an opportunity to practice management and leadership roles.” The team designed the system using materials available locally in Baru, so the ecology center can replace parts quickly, if needed, and work with local partners such as the University of Costa Rica to maintain the system.
HMC launches Twitter account For first time, HMC has two Churchill Scholarship recipients in same year Students spend 16 days in Kenya on educational mission to share solar water purification method at secondary school. Trip is supported by Trustee Andrea Leebron-Clay and husband, Jim. Merck/AAAS gives $60,000 to biology and chemistry departments Pinky Nelson ’72 inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Annenberg Foundation gives $1 million for scholarships Inventor Dean Kamen delivers commencement address to 164 graduates HMC holds community meetings about campus and new teaching and learning building HMC purchases 11.46 acres, expanding campus, preparing for future opportunities HMC ranked No. 2 Best Engineering College by Salary Potential, PayScale HMC Engineering program ties for No. 1 in nation. U.S. News & World Report Impact Project launched to learn about successes, contributions and aspirations of alumni $419,000 award from Mellon Foundation supports Core Curriculum revision efforts HMC named a Top Value College, 100 Best Values in Private Colleges, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance $1-million gift establishes Kenneth A. and Diana G. Jonsson Professorship in Mathematics and the Jonsson Endowed Fund for Mathematics Department travel
—Koren Wetmore
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STRATEGIC VISION
Milestones
Improvement of infrastructure and resources to support HMC
2006–2011
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HMC team wins Southern California regionals and honorable mention at World Finals, ACM ICPC
HMC named an environmentally responsible college, Princeton Review Guide to 286 Green Colleges HMC Homework Hotline, created in cooperation with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, takes first calls $1 million for scholarships granted by Rose Hills Foundation Students create HMC’s first Rube Goldberg machine Clinic turns 40 HMC voted 5th Happiest College, Daily Beast Board of Trustees approve teaching and learning building architectural design At Commencement, Freeman A. Hrabowski III awarded honorary doctorate and addresses 164 graduates
BUILDING HarveyFOR Mudd College Teaching and Learning Buildin THE FUTURE Popularity grows for Summer Institute, which supports diverse students. For first time in program’s history, the number of applicants exceeds the number of enrollment slots. $1-million Vickery Family gift goes to Global Clinic Program HMC students return to Kenya to work on water quality improvement for secondary school HMC graduates are highest earning in nation, PayScale 2010–11 College Salary Report HMC is No. 6 in Community Service among liberal arts colleges, Washington Monthly The Ocean Research and Conservation Association launches portable deep-sea webcam, a 2001 Clinic project
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It is a building that is destined to transform the student and faculty experience at HMC. It will serve as a catalyst for innovation and the development of future leaders in science and technology. The long-awaited, much-needed HMC teaching and learning building is on its way. Demolition of Thomas-Garrett Hall is scheduled to occur this summer, and the new building is expected to open its doors at the start of the 2013–2014 academic year. “Existing facilities have served the College well, but as HMC continues to develop global leaders—with graduates making significant contributions to industry, academia, government and the arts, as well as earning the highest starting salaries of any undergraduates in the U.S.—our students and faculty deserve world-class facilities,” said President Maria Klawe. The HMC Board of Trustees voted Jan. 29 in favor of proceeding with the construction of the building, which will be the first teaching and learning space to be erected on campus since the Olin Science Center was built in 1993. The board’s historic vote represents the culmination of over a year of careful planning, community discussion, and a commitment to advance what the College does best—educate leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics who understand the impact of their work on society. HMC will replace the fondly remembered, but now outdated Thomas-Garrett Hall (dedicated in 1962), with a modern and architecturally inspiring 70,000–
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STRATEGIC VISION
C’s commintment to excellence and building community
ng
Milestones 2006–2011
BOORA ARCHITECTS
square-foot academic building. At a cost of approximately $43 million, the new building will provide flexible and technologically-advanced classrooms, lecture halls, faculty offices and public spaces to support the widest range of pedagogies and learning styles—for today and tomorrow. Designed as the new focal point of campus, the building will contain public spaces, classrooms and offices and will offer formal and informal learning spaces to encourage student and faculty interaction—a hallmark of the HMC experience. The modern structure is being designed by Boora Architects as a highly sustainable building (planned LEED Gold certification, and possible LEED Platinum). The building plans meet the criteria of the President’s Climate Commitment signed by President Klawe in 2008, which requires that all new campus construction meets at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard or equivalent. Green aspects planned for the structure include an innovative “bubble deck” structural system (the first of its kind in the United States), extensive day-lighting, an exterior façade of durable, energy-efficient metal shingle, and rooftop terraces pre-wired for the future installation of photovoltaic solar panels. Architects The building has beenBoora designed to achieve important goals developed by faculty, trustees, students, alumni and staff during an open, collaborative planning process. Goals include: Doubling the teaching and learning spaces available to faculty and students, supporting core curriculum enhancements and new programs. Fostering faculty and student interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration, hallmarks of the HMC experience. Helping HMC to continue to attract and retain the best faculty and students throughout the nation and the world. Nurturing the tremendous creativity of HMC faculty and students with state-ofthe-art digital media and electronic music studios, an expanded Writing Center, gallery space for artistic exhibitions, and large venues for public musical, theatrical and dance performances. Serving as the new focal point of campus, the primary gateway through which to welcome visitors. Uniting the HMC community, serving as a bridge between the academic and residential sides of campus, and as a vibrant gathering place and crossroads for interdisciplinary learning of all kinds. Serving as a national model for the future of campus building design and construction—a highly sustainable, or “green,” building.
2010 continued from page 27 New student mentor program initiated to provide advising for first-year students New Core curriculum launched. Provides rigorous broadbased knowledge and experience, creates flexibility to pursue intellectual passions, new interdisciplinary electives or foreign language Female enrollment (52%) in Class of 2014 surpasses male enrollment for first time in College’s history Writing instruction integrated into new Core. Full-time faculty from each department working to incorporate writing instruction throughout curriculum HMC named a Top Value college (#37 of 100), Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Learning Studio opens in Sprague Center HMC receives $50,000 grant from AAUW to help increase women’s representation in science and math
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Bill Gates visits HMC and participates in Annenberg Speaker Series
$367,461 NSF grant funds undergraduate computer science summer research HMC named a Best Value College, Princeton Review Board of Trustees votes to move forward with construction of teaching and learning building; groundbreaking set for summer HMC graduates average $1.7 million ROI on educational investment, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, PayScale Google Vice President Marissa Mayer is Commencement speaker, addressing 177 graduates at 53rd Commencement
Read more at www.hmc.edu/building
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MUDDERINGS Alumni and Family News and Events
Alumni Weekend by the Numbers
Alumni, families and friends who visited campus during Alumni Weekend Apr. 29–May 1 participated in three days of activities, which included a memorable celebration for Founding Class members who celebrated their—and the College’s—first 50th reunion.
Al
um
en d 2 0 1 k e e 1 ni W
Alumni participants
JEANINE HILL
75
FIVE-CLASS COMPETITION
740 28
467
Alumni
Total Participants
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80%
Strawberry Donuts
104
Class of 2006 attendees Largest reunion class
JEREMIE FREMAUX
100
of the Founding Class celebrated their 50th Reunion.
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MUDDERINGS Alumni and Family News and Events
Alumni Weekend Awardees
Lifetime Achievement Award The family of Elise Mudd Marvin (in portrait), niece of Harvey S. Mudd, celebrates her Lifetime Achievement Award. Nephew Murray Marvin (with award) accepted the honor on behalf of the family.
JEREMIE FREMAUX
Lifetime Achievement Award Emeritus Trustee John “Jim” B. Kilroy, Sr. and Nelly Llanos Kilroy are longtime supporters and have established two endowed scholarship funds.
Lifetime Achievement Award Walt ’69 P99 and Csilla Foley P99 are Mudd parents and longtime HMC supporters. Walt was the first alumnus to make a $1-million gift to the College.
Lifetime Achievement Award Esteban (Steve) Sandoval, maintenance mechanic in the Office of Facilities and Maintenance, celebrates 41 years at HMC.
Order of the Wart Advancement Services Director Liz Baughman has worked at HMC for 33 years.
Call Call for for 2012 2012 Award Award Nominations Nominations The The Board Board of of Governors Governors Selections Selections Committee Committee is is seeking nominations for 2012 awards. seeking nominations for itsits 2012 awards. • Outstanding Alumni Award – For significant contributions to to humanity or or society. contributions humanity society. • Order of the Wart – For alumni and friends who have made imrortant contributions to the who have made important contributions to HMC the community. HMC community. • Lifetime Recognition Award – For alumni and friends who have provided outstanding dedicafriends who have provided outstanding tion to HMC over many years. dedication to HMC over many years. Outstanding Alumni Award recipients are strategic planner James Dewar ’66, energy advisor R. Thomas Weimer ’71/72, chemistry Professor Ann McDermott ’81 and space scientist Gael Squibb ’61.
For more about the awardees go to hmc.edu/newsandevents/aabog-awards-2011.html
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To submit nominations, please contact Jim Jacobs at at jim_jacobs@hmc.edu 909.621.8557. jim_jacobs@hmc.edu or or 909.621.8557.
MUDDERINGS
New Board of Governors Members Elected Alumni have elected the following new members to the Board of Governors. They will serve three-year terms beginning July 1. Brooke C. Basinger ’01, a resident of Long Beach, Calif., was an engineering major at HMC who went on to earn both her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California in engineering and biomedical engineering, respectively. She now works as a project engineer for Abbott Medical Optics where she conducts research and development of intraocular lenses and other Brooke C. Basinger ’01 implantable medical devices. She has been an active member of her class reunion committee and, as a student, served on both the Social and Curriculum Committees and was president and proctor of West Dorm. She is a former Watson Fellowship recipient. Robert J. Herling ’67, a resident of Skokie, Ill., was an engineering major who earned his M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is president of Tri Lite, Inc., a small manufacturing firm that makes electrical products for the material handling, safety and office products markets. Earlier in his career, Bob developed air polRobert J. Herling ’67 lution testing methods that led to
the federal testing methods for measuring particulate pollutants from motor vehicles and methods for sampling ambient air particulate matter. As a student, he was secretary/treasurer of East Dorm and served as class treasurer. As an alumnus, Bob has served as an admission volunteer at local high school college fairs. Dee R. West ’65 P92/93 is from Lincolnshire, Ill. He earned his B.S. in engineering from HMC and his M.S. in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. As a management consultant with Dee R. West Consulting Service, he provides expertise in all aspects of materials management, supply chain management, operations planning and Dee R. West ’65 P92/93 improvement, including economic analysis and business process improvement. As a student, Dee was a member of the student court and a proctor for North Dorm. As an alumnus, he has served as a representative at numerous college nights. His son, Scott, received a B.S./M.S. degree from Mudd and his daughter, Julie, graduated from Scripps College in 1990. Board members who were re-elected to three-year terms (all California residents) include vice president Glen Hastings ’93 of La Verne, David Sonner ’80 of Walnut, Jessica Spaulding ’03 of San Diego and Jason Fredrickson ’99 from Pasadena, who had served on the board previously.
Alumni Volunteer Opportunity: Parent Orientation, August 25 Would you like to help make sure that members of the Class of 2015 and their parents receive a warm welcome during Orientation on Thursday, Aug. 25? The Office of Alumni and Parent Relations is looking for alumni to meet and greet the new students and their parents from 8 a.m. to noon. Duties might include providing campus directions, helping unload a car or just extending a warm welcome. If interested, contact Angie Pfeiffer, assistant director of parent relations, at 909.621.8334 or angie_pfeiffer@hmc.edu.
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MUDDERINGS Alumni and Family News and Events
Alumni Travel Opportunities The Office of Alumni and Parent Relations will offer alumni and parents a number of opportunities to travel the globe in 2011–2012 in the company of fellow Mudders on trips often led by faculty members. A recent tour was a 7–College weekend in London, hosted by Michael ’63 and Jane ’64 (SCR) Wilson, featuring visits to some of London’s leading museums. From Aug. 11 to 14, we’ll join with Scripps College for the annual tour to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. A family camping trip to beautiful Pismo Beach State Park is planned for Oct. 14–16, led by Professor of Biology Steve Adolph. Located off Highway 1, Pismo Beach offers numerous attractions—hiking, swimming, surf fishing and digging for the famous Pismo Clam. There are tree-lined dunes and the beach is a popular one with bird watchers. Pismo Beach is also well-known for the largest over-wintering colony of monarch butterflies in the United States. In addition, Adolph will serve as the ‘resident naturalist’ and will lead several hikes during the weekend. Upcoming trips The Cultural Season: St. Petersburg, Russia, Oct. 27– Nov. 4. The trip cost includes a seven-night stay at the deluxe Angleterre Hotel and an extensive meal program, all-daily excursions, the services of a professional campus director and expert guides, and more. Voyage of Discovery: Enjoy the wonder of the Galapagos Islands, aboard the M.V. Santa Cruz, Feb. 10–18, 2012. Led by Professor of Biology Cathy McFadden, this tour sails from Quito, Ecuador, and will stop at several of the Galapagos Islands. A trip to Australia to view the 2012 solar eclipse is planned for Nov. 6–15. Further details and information will be available soon. For further information about any of these trips, contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at 909.621.8342 or alumni@hmc.edu.
Alumni-HMC Career Fair Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 Noon to 3 p.m. Linde Activities Center Look for a job. Recruit for your business or employer. For details, contact the Office of Career Services, 909.621.8091 or judy_fisher@hmc.edu
Corrections We regret the following errors made in the last issue of the HMC Bulletin (spring 2011): On page 25, the first photo caption should read that Lori Ives (née Grace Wilcox) arrived during the second semester of 1958–59, not 1957–58. In the bottom, right photo of page 25, David Howell ’61 is helping break ground for the Jacobs Science Center, not the Platt Campus Center. On page 30, Bill Spiesman ’81 was incorrectly identified as Bill Spierings.
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MUDDERINGS
Upcoming Events Summer Sendoff Parties These parties are a great opportunity for incoming students and their parents to ask questions about campus life and academics and to meet alumni and other members of the Mudd community living in the same geographic location. Centennial, Colo. | Saturday, July 23, 2011 Host: Richard Hoyt P12 and Sylvia Hoyt P12 New York, N.Y. | Sunday, July 24, 2011 Home of Greg and Silvia Parks P14 Claremont, Calif. | Friday, July 29, 2011 Harvey Mudd College Campus
Presidential Prose The books of first and second HMC presidents Joseph Platt and Kenneth Baker are now available online via Scholarship@Claremont, an open access repository that contains works produced by those at The Claremont Colleges. Joseph Platt: Harvey Mudd College: The First Twenty Years http://scholarship.claremont.edu/hmc_facbooks/2/ Kenneth Baker: Harvey Mudd College: The Third Decade Plus, 1976-1988 http://scholarship.claremont.edu/hmc_facbooks/1/
San Diego, Calif. | Sunday, July 31, 2011 Home of Ken Gross P13 and Leslie Mark P13 Reston, Va. | Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 Mama Lucia of Reston Pasadena, Calif. | Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011 Home of Bill Ukropina P13 and Linan Ukropina P13 Sammamish, Wash. | Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011 Home of Gary Keizur P12 and Linda Keizur P12 More Events Parent Orientation 2011 Wednesday, Aug. 24–Friday, Aug. 26 Alumni-HMC Career Fair Friday, Oct. 28 Nelson Speaker Series Celebrating the International Year of Chemistry October–December 2011
Harvey Mudd College Legacy Society Leave a legacy at HMC while providing yourself and your family with significant tax benefits. Creative planned giving options include: • A bequest in your will or revocable trust • A beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy, 401(k) plan or IRA • IRA Charitable Rollovers for those aged 70 ½ and older (Deadline: Dec. 31, 2011) • Life income gifts such as charitable gift annuities • Gifts of retained life estate If you choose to include HMC in your estate plans, please let us know so we can thank you. Contact Maya Chalich at 909.607.0899 or maya_chalich@hmc.edu.
Winter Receptions December 2011–January 2012 Family Weekend 2012 Friday, Feb. 10–Saturday, Feb. 11 Alumni Weekend 2012 Friday, Apr. 27–Sunday, Apr. 29 The latest information is available at www.hmc.edu/alumni or www.hmc.edu/parents.
UPDATE: Deadline for IRA Charitable Rollovers Extended to Dec. 31, 2011. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 extended the IRA Charitable Rollover through 2011. The IRA Charitable Rollover allows individuals age 70½ and older to make direct transfers totaling up to $100,000 per year to 501(c)(3) charities, without having to count the transfers as income for federal income tax purposes. Visit us online at www.hmc.edu/giving/waystogive/plannedgiving
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CLASS NOTES
1959
Peter Loeb, a member of HMC’s first graduating class, returned to HMC for Alumni Weekend. Peter is a well-known mathematician whose solution to a longstanding problem regarding the use of probability theories and infinitesimals was named after him. “Loeb spaces” have also applied to mathematical economics, game theory, mathematical physics and ordinary number theory. Loeb retired in 2009 from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after 40 years on the faculty. He continues to teach and enjoys traveling and photography.
1974
John Lavrakas was selected by the Small Business Administration as its 2011 Small Business Person of the Year for Oregon. John’s company, Advanced Research Corporation, located in Newport, Ore., is a small R&D company providing GPS consulting services and web-based solutions in Fisheries Information Systems. They recently delivered a fish traceability program for the Gulf of Mexico, called Gulf Wild (mygulfwild.com) and a salmon fishery database for Oregon (pacificfishtrax.org). Since moving to Oregon, John started a technology group in the county to unite technology professionals.
1978
Indiana University physicist Charles Horowitz is among 143 scientists from 22 countries being honored by the American Physical Society (APS) for excellence in assessing scholarly manuscripts submitted to the society’s publications. Charles, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Physics Department and a researcher in the Nuclear Theory Center at IU Bloomington’s Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter, was recognized from within a group of 45,000 active referees. Charles was named a fellow of APS, considered the pre-eminent organization of physicists in the United States, in 2009 for his contributions to research involving dense nuclear matter. He earned a Ph.D. from Stanford in 1981, then conducted postdoctoral research at Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. In 2007, while Horowitz was at IU, his work received international attention for leading to the first-ever modeling of the chemistry of a neutron star.
19 8 8
A second daughter, Lily Alexandra Sherman, was born to Heather Sherman and David Fandel ’86 on Feb. 28. Big sister, Noelle, is excited and has already suggested mommy and daddy have another baby in another seven years.
19 9 1
Peter Schwartzman is associate professor and chair of environmental studies at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. Since moving to Galesburg in 1998, Peter has been active in the community as cofounder of The Center and The People in Galesburg, as well as co-director of The Lunch Spot, a successful enterprise that helped feed kids during an extended winter break. Peter recently won a seat as a city councilman in Galesburg, and he took office in May. He co-authored an article entitled “A Solar Transition is Possible” by the Institute for Policy and Research (http://iprd.org.uk/) and was also featured on Redwood Community Radio KMUD based in California.
19 9 3
Zachary Mason received his Ph.D. in computer science from Brandeis. He is currently principal scientist at Efficient Frontier, a Silicon Valley start-up. Zach just published his first novel, The Lost Books of the Odyssey. It is being translated, so far, into Italian, French, Russian, Portuguese and (less trivially than one would expect) British. It was reviewed in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle and also on National Public Radio. Ellen Heian and John Stimson ’94 were married on Nov. 26, 2010 in Indianapolis, Ind. Cliff McCarthy ’94 (best man), Deborah Swarts, Matthew Morse ’95, Catherine Humowiecki Berry ’96 and Cameron Kellough ’98 were in attendance. Ellen and John’s daughter, Aryl Anne, was born Mar. 18. They currently live in Azusa, not too far from the Donutman! continued on page 36
Share the good news Please send news about your new job or promotion, travel experiences, sport or hobby, marriage or kids, or any other proud moment. Deadline fall/winter issue: Sept. 30. Electronically www.hmc.edu/alumni/class-notes.shtml Postal Office of Alumni and Parent Relations Harvey Mudd College 301 Platt Blvd. Claremont, CA 91711
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ALUMNI PROFILE
Greg Rae ’0 0 is co-producer of the Tony Award-win
ning play “Th e Normal
Hear t.”
ALL HEART
PH O
Written by LINLEY ERIN HALL ’01
H
MC alumni have done many interesting things, but this is a new achievement: Tony Award winner. Greg Rae ’00 is one of the producers of “The Normal Heart,” which was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three. “It’s just an incredible experience. It’s my first time out, and it’s like we hit a home run,” said Rae, an HMC Trustee and computer science/ mathematics alumnus. “It’s the right time to bring this to Broadway. People are ready for political plays.” “The Normal Heart,” set in New York City during the early days of the HIV epidemic, won for Best Revival of a Play. Also, Ellen Barkin, making her Broadway debut, won best actress in a featured role in a play, while John Benjamin Hickey won best actor in a featured role. The play follows a group of friends as they struggle to understand the disease killing otherwise healthy gay men and to persuade doctors, politicians, and the press to give AIDS the attention it deserved. The play originally was performed off-Broadway in 1985; this was its Broadway debut.
“It’s important to get that story out there and remind people that AIDS is still a problem.” “A lot of people in my generation don’t understand what happened in the 1980s with HIV,” Rae said. “It’s important to get that story out there and remind people that AIDS is still a problem.” Although Rae has invested in several other creative projects, “The Normal Heart” is his first experience as a Broadway producer. Unlike most Broadway shows, which may have 30 to 40 producers, “The Normal Heart” has only six. This has allowed Rae to be much more involved in the production. Although a producer’s primary responsibility
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is to raise money to finance the production, Rae has worked on its marketing as well. Part of what Rae brings to the table is experience in using the Internet, and social media in particular, to get a message out. “The other five producers use Facebook and Twitter, but they learned how to use these late in their careers. They didn’t grow up with the Internet and are not used to the online world as a way of thinking,” he said. Rae, on the other hand, worked at Google and was the technical lead for the No on 8 (Proposition 8, which prohibited same-sex marriage in California) campaign. Preparations for “The Normal Heart” were rushed. Rae had only two weeks to fulfill his funding commitment—the same two weeks that the actors had to rehearse. But one would never know from the rave reviews and pile of award nominations “The Normal Heart” has amassed. The production has also won a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation and Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, Drama League Awards, as well as two Theatre World Awards. When not producing, Rae is “looking for fun projects to do.” In general, he splits his time between investing and political activism. When investing, Rae searches for high-quality productions that tell a good story and have the opportunity to change people’s minds. Clearly his methods are working, and “The Normal Heart” is not the only example: He also was an investor in The Scottsboro Boys, which is nominated for 12 Tony Awards, as well as in a film called The Green, which is currently playing at film festivals. He also serves as treasurer of Fight Back New York, a political action committee that promotes marriage equality. Rae isn’t sure if he wants to be a producer as a full-time gig, but this first experience has been a great one for him.
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CLASS NOTES continued from page 34
1995
Jodi Oliver and Andrew Oliver welcomed a daughter on Mar. 4. Quinn Ann Oliver was 8 lbs., 3 oz. and 19 in. She joins big brother Jeremy.
Alumni Support the Next Generation HMC Alumni generously donate to pooled scholarships that benefit current students. Congratulations to the students receiving these class and honorary scholarships over the past year.
1998
Francis Carr’s résumé has converged! 1998: Harvey Mudd to MIT, 2,500 miles. 2003: MIT to CSDL Inc., 0.5 miles. 2008: CSDL Inc. to ITA Software, 0.2 miles. 2011: ITA Software to Google, 0 miles.
Class of ’61 Endowed Scholarship Jeffrey Wong ’11 Barbara and Anthony Fallon ’61 Memorial Endowed Scholarship Narayan Propato ’11 Kimberly Sheely ’12
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Bryan Teague just completed an extreme adventure race with an irresistible name: Tough Mudder, a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project. Billed as “probably the toughest event on the planet,” the May 8 race in which Bryan competed was held in Mount Snow, Vt. The 1012-mile obstacle course was designed by British Special Forces to test all-around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie. Finish times aren’t important. Simply completing a Tough Mudder is a badge of honor. Bryan is seeking brave fellow alumni to join him for an upcoming event.
Class of ’63 Endowed Scholarship Rosalie Carlson ’13 Class of ’64 Endowed Scholarship Daisy Gamboa ’14 Class of ’67 Endowed Scholarship David King ’12 Class of ’74 Tory Davis Memorial Endowed Scholarship Linnea Shin ’14 Class of ’75 Endowed Scholarship Emily Fischer ’14
ALYSSA PIERSON
Dotty and Art Campbell Endowed Scholarship Alexander Kohn ’13
Bryan Teague ’10 (center) competed in a Tough Mudder race.
SwoopThat, a website that streamlines textbook buying, was featured in the article “Campus Heroes: Textbook Entrepreneurs Work to Crack the Bookstore Monopoly” Apr. 21 in the North County Times-The Californian (San Diego). The article features company founders Jonathan Simkin, Kevin King and Ben Carson, and programmer Dan Halloran. The article notes that the company is preparing for investment and expansion. “We need more programmers,” Simkin said.
Iris and Howard Critchell Aeronautical Annual Scholarship Benjamin Liu ’12 Ron and Lee Vaughan Memorial Endowed Scholarship Matthew Jamison ’11 Samuel Delich ’62 Memorial Endowed Scholarship Raymond Hurwitz ’14 Jean and Joe Platt Endowed Scholarship Nicole Crisosto ’11 Noah Duncan ’12 Ryan Muller ’11 Emma Taborsky ’12 Mildred P. and Clements H. Ferguson Endowed Scholarship Eric Autry ’13
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CLASS REUNIONS ALUMNI WEEKEND 2011
1961 Back Row: Dick Chrystie, Mike Harvey, Bob Ashenfelter, Boyd
Mac Naughton, Bill Leppo, Joe Knowles, Don Gross, Richard Metcalf, Don Williams. Middle: Gael Squibb, Bob Downs, Mike McKinney, Terry Beckett, Walter Naumann, Ken Wright, Larry Hallanger, John Murray, William Jenisch, Alan Latham, Alden Simmons, Don Pellinen, Ralph Carpenter, Ken Pope, Jim Barden, Dave Howell, Gene Moore, Kelley Crossman. Front: Maury White, Dave Goodsell, Don Trapp, Lori Ives, Ken Stevens, Jerry Van Hecke.
Founding THE T
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1966 Back row: Robert Charrow, James Dewar, Patrick Barrett, Don Chamberlin, Michael Beug. Front: Gary Seeger, Dennis Rich, Dennis Eaton, Charles Brown.
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HMC’s First 50th Reunion
CLASS REUNIONS ALUMNI WEEKEND 2011
1971
Back row: Gary Kiefer, Ludd Trozpek, Will Haas, R. Andrew Duncan, Paul Beemer, Robert Prodan, James Fake, David Sweetser. Middle: Peter Hoyt, Thomas Weimer, Robert Jardine, Harvey Kaslow, Ronald Hidinger, James Johnson, Chi-Yin Pang, Jay Rubin, William Keppel, Ben Wise, Steve Groff, Christopher Powell, unidentified, Howard Krausz, Robert Hettel, Art Wong. Front: Robert Busch, John Kenbarger, Don Albrecht, Michael Thompson, John Yoachim, Peter Brumbaugh.
1976
Back row: Jerome Jackson, Michael Heckrotte, Paul Baker, Thomas Weldon, Steven Berman, Blane Eisenberg, Eric Kim, John Carter, Gil Maxey, Peter Gumaer. Front: Khai Le, Kevin Murphy, Robert Sill, Sherman Chan, Nancy Smith, Rick Simon.
1981
Back row: Kenneth Lehmer, Ronald Jackson, James Sonner, James Martin, Shun Cheung, Eric Alan, William Ervin, Shawn Bujalski. Middle: Zee Duron, Ann McDermott, Kirk Norenberg, David Abe, Robert Berkowitz, Patrick Myers, John Matthews, Erik Sowa, Ned Freed, James Widergren, Robert Bergstedt. Front: Diane Berger, Mary Carpenter Abe, Suzanne Hawley, Lynn Kistler, Denise Fisher Widergren, Patti Vaitaitis.
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1986
Back row: David Chi-Ching Ho, John Xavier, Steven Woo, Keith Gollwitzer, Paul Frankel, Keith Frost, Todd Hancock, Asad Haroon, Edward Monahan, John McDonough, Peter Barbour. Front: Crystal Leonard, Nancy Young, Shelly Miller, Mark Byrnes, Heidi Kirkpatrick, Katherine Freeman.
1991 Back row: Tom Wayman, Mark Wilkins, Clark Allen, Tushap Nandwana, Kenji Hashimoto, Eric Burke, Mark Roedersheimer, Hung Pham, Chang Hee Kim,
1996 Back row: Nicholas Melosh, Glenn De Lucio, Mark Strachan, Erik Haus, Ocie Mitchell, Hans Purkey. Middle: Grace Credo, Jill Sakata, Ina Jung Lee, John
Trager, Eric Furze, Surya Jayaweera, Daniel Snyder, Christopher White, Roland Muschenetz, Jacob Garcia, Darryl Yong. Front: Valerie Barron, Nikki Bailey, Lorraine Heikkila, Rachele Cawaring, Catherine Snyder, Elecia White, Alice Lee-Dutra.
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JEANINE HILL
Duane Kuroda, Daren Kitajima. Middle: Rob Carrillo, Jon Ball, Roderick Lee, Peter Martin, Kevin Doyle, Jeremy Billones, Yen Pham, David Maurice, Steven J. Yukawa, Alan Peltier, Mark Gustafson, David Small, Gene Mason, Keith Kuwata, Benjamin Giese, John Urata. Front: Jana Allen, Nicole Nunes, Michelle Kimura, Mischelle Mische, Cybele Hijar Gabris, Adrienne Johnson, Eileen Giese.
2001 Back row: Bryce Nichols, Stephanie Nichols, Jennifer Godwin, Zehao Chang, Blaine Hackman, Peter Kasting, John Benediktsson, Neville Khambatta,
David Herman, Tyson Macdonald, Daniel Smith, Eric Distad, Michael Hutchinson, Roy Pollock, David Mann, Michael Beebe, Bryan Tysinger, Tim Buchheim, Claire Launay. Row 2: Ross Leungen, Aaron Schuler, Brooke Basinger, Benjamin Feinstein, Michelle McGraw, Richard Trinh, Michael Aung, Jeremy Liu, Jonathan Hsu, Timothy Morgan, Thomas Discoll, Ronalee Lo, Erik Nelson, Jillian Wallis, James Brooks, Mike Lane, Jill Sohm. Row 3: Clare Schoene, Libby Schoene, Zeke Burgess, Katherine Wade, Christina Dinh, Linley Hall, Anna Marie Geisler, Valrie Arndt. Front: Angie Luengen, James Speros, Mike Sakasegawa, Peter Grossmann, Jay Trautman, Gillian Allen, Nicholas Barratt.
2006
Back row: Sarah Adelman (Amazing tee), Conrad Harter, Sheldon Logan, Mark Kegel, Esteban Molina-Estolano, William Shipley, Robert Sweney, Joe Majkut, Sean Fogarty, Sarah Rodenburg, Karen Shakespear, Reid Howard, Jed Levin, Stephanie Levin, Arran McNabb, Jason Arold, Janna DeVries, Erik Shimshock, Amanda Rainer, Robert Panish, Sara Hummel, Tiffany Himmel, Alex Himmel, James O’Grady. Row 5: Christopher Erickson (green shirt), Meghan Driscoll, Sarah Mann, Cris Cecka, Daniel Halperin, Stephen Edwards, unidentified, Susanna Ricco, Mac Mason, James Castelaz, Mark Brenneman, Erika Laiche, David Coyne. Row 4: Marshall Pierce (black shirt), Ajay Shah, Catherine A. Meyer, Kenneth, Maples, Shannon Woods, Li Tian, Kaitlyn Gray, Karen Shi, Elaine Hart, Megan Yarnall, Liam Robinson, Annie Tan, Jessica Riley, Victoria Tuck-Lee, Michaela Reagan, Joshua Slater. Row 3: Ekaterina Kniazeva (black and white dress), Sara Al-Beaini, Travis McQueen, Benson Tsai, Eph Lanford, Laura Angell, John McCullough, Mary Chen, Hope Runyeon, Teresa Pineda, Russell Osborn, William Gannett, Sarah Taliaferro, Stephanie Feldman Majkut. Row 2: Sarah Thomson (light blue, kneeling), Karen Hsin Wnuk, Tristan Sharp, Tyler Jank, Michael Bigelow, Moana Evans, Andrew Fischer, Alan Davidson, Paul Dossa. Front: Nathanael Yoder, Andrew Worhees, Chris Dahlberg, Robert D. Chambers, Dustin Brekke, Kevin Lloyd, Kawika Maunupau, Tracy Fox ’07, Sam Feldman, George Malikov, Octavi Semonin, Alice Rusmevichientong.
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CLASS REUNIONS ALUMNI WEEKEND 2011
SUMMER 2011 Volume 10, No. 3
FEEDBACK
by offering a taste of the graduate-school experience. “The program offers two valuable experiences: 1) first-hand knowledge of the enjoyment brought by the challenges and practice of computer science research and 2) the intense experience of pursuing a problem further than others have done before,” said Zach Dodds, computer science professor and REU mentor. “The satisfaction in making progress on a difficult problem can inspire a student to pursue graduate work not because it’s ‘the next thing to do,’ but because it’s something they find worthwhile and rewarding.” Students work alongside faculty mentors conducting research in computer systems, artificial intelligence, and computational biology. Those who complete the program receive oncampus housing and meals, plus a $5,000 summer stipend. This year’s program runs from June 6 through August 12 and features the following research projects:
Designs and tests algorithms, using them in software tools that help biologists analyze real-world data to determine how two species may have co-evolved. Students will work with the “Jane” software, which applies computational techniques to analyze and reconcile the evolutionary histories of ecologically linked species to determine if and how they may have impacted each other’s development. The Summer 2010 REU project collaborated with more than 30 biologists and computer scientists to determine the co-evolution of 200 fig species and the wasp species that pollinate them. To date, it is the largest co-speciation hypothesis validated computationally, and its computations were made feasible by the algorithms that grew from the HMC REU.
The HMC Bulletin is produced three times per year by the Office of Communications
Letters to the Editor
Vice President for College Advancement Dan Macaluso
Creates efficient algorithms for memory management within Dear Editor, garbage-collected computer languages such as Java. Students study the basics of garbage collection (reclaiming memory ocWhat a nice surprise to seeby objects the noLego base” cupied longer in“holonomic use), examine recent research, and produce original research that enhances the state-of-the-art I constructed in Prof. inDodds’ 2001 robotics class make memory management. an appearance in the spring 2011 Bulletin (photo, right). Monocular Robot Mapping Tests machine-learning and computer-vision–based algorithms difficulties involvedfrom in “low-level” processBuilding it is one of myto address fondthememories myvisual time at ing. Using a mobile robotic platform—ARDrone quad-rotor equipped with web cameras—students will create HMC, and the originalhelicopters assignment page our team turned and compare autonomous approaches for mapping and navigation. in is still online at www.cs.hmc.edu/~dodds/projects/ RobS01/Assignment4/holo.htm. “Holonomic,” in case you were wondering, means that the device is able to move in any or all of its degrees of freedom simultaneously—in this case, it can simultaneously and 1 0 H a rrotate vey Mudd C o l l e g e translate S P R I N G 2 0 1 1 in any direction in the plane. A movie of the base in action can be found at www.cs.hmc.edu/courses/2001/spring/cs154/projects/ Movies/holo.mpg (although the eagle-eyed will notice that the movements in this video don’t require true holonomicity). Prof. Dodds and I still keep in touch occasionally, usually to discuss a new example of a maxim of his: “If it can be done, it can be done in Lego.” He always tells me that he still keeps that old project and proudly shows it off to visitors. Makes me wish I’d spent more time on it! Cheers to Prof. Dodds and the rest of the CS Department faculty.
Senior Director of Advancement, Communications Judy Augsburger Director of Communications, Senior Editor Stephanie L. Graham
Zach Dodds, computer science professor, will mentor students this summer as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
Associate Director of Publications, Graphic Designer Janice Gilson Editorial Contributors Linley Erin Hall ’01, Rich Smith, Christine Vasquez, Koren Wetmore The Harvey Mudd College Magazine (SSN 0276-0797) is published by Harvey Mudd College, Office of Communications, 301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, CA 91711 www.hmc.edu Nonprofit Organization Postage Paid at Claremont, CA 91711 Postmaster: Send address changes to Micki Brose, Harvey Mudd College, Advancement Services, 301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, CA 91711 Copyright © 2011 Harvey Mudd College. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in the HMC Bulletin are those of the individual authors and subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of the College administration, faculty or students. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without the express written consent of the editor.
Find the Bulletin online at www.hmc.edu/hmcmagazine
The Harvey Mudd College Bulletin staff welcomes your input: communications@hmc.edu or HMC Bulletin Harvey Mudd College 301 Platt Boulevard Claremont, CA 91711 Find issues online at www.hmc.edu/hmcmagazine
KEVIN MAPP
Garbage Collection Project
Peter Kasting ’01, computer science Dear Editor, We are gratified to read Richard Silver’s response to the article on Mudders in Kenya in the fall/winter 2010 Bulletin. Like Mr. Silver, we have seen too many good intentions go awry in Africa and agree that without partnership, economic sustainability and adequate on-going oversight, even the best ideas can fail. With those concepts in mind, Project Education began with a partnership. Our agreement was that the village would provide the labor and we would provide materials and expertise. Later, the success of micro-enterprises and a micro-lending program enabled village participation in funding both the school and agriculture. Our director is from the village, but we have assisted in training and oversight. The impact of the ESW/MOSS students from Harvey Mudd College has done much for the people of Ngomano. Young people no longer leave the village in search of a better future. They are actively pursuing ideas for sustainable entrepreneurship. The Mudders who came to the village didn’t just install a solar system for delivering water. They taught the people how to use it and keep it going. Their involvement has made a huge difference in how students in Ngomano think about both science and their own possible futures. Mudders also gave those of us who worked with them pride in how a Harvey Mudd education is impacting the future. Andrea Leebron-Clay P99
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The Class of 2013 shows their enthusiasm for the 5-Class Competition during Alumni Weekend. The technology company Yelp sponsored the competition. For more images from the festivities held Apr. 29-May 1, see page 28-30 and class photos beginning on page 37.
