CAMPUS CURRENT
Faculty News
New Faculty Will Communicate Physics and Study Smog STUDENTS WILL HAVE NEW RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Vivien Hamilton joins the Depart- ment of Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts as an assistant professor of history of science. She will earn her Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science and technology from the University of Toronto in 2012. Ham- ilton’s research includes exploring the interaction between physics and the 19th- and early 20th-century medical community.
Vivien Hamilton
Q. How did you decide to focus on this area of research?
A. I have always been fascinated by physics—my undergradu- ate degree is in physics—but of all the sciences, it has a repu- tation for being abstract and inaccessible. Given this reputa- tion, I am very interested in how physics gets communicated to wider audiences. Doctors are a fascinating audience to study because they are trained in the natural sciences but in no way self-identify as physicists. They often express resignation rather than enthusiasm for the physics section of their education. I’m interested in how this education, along with their exposure to popular accounts of physics, has affected their professional relationships with physicists and their attitudes toward complex technology like x-ray machines.
TERACTIONS WITH EARLY X-RAY AND ELECTROTHER- APY EQUIPMENT INTO THE HISTORY THAT I WRITE.
Q. How will students be involved in your research? ”
A. I am hoping to involve students in the part of my research where I interact with actual material objects. Historians tend to focus mainly on textual evidence, but I am very interested in in- corporating my interactions with early X-ray and electrotherapy equipment into the history that I write. I plan on developing a course that will allow students to replicate historically significant experiments so that we can explore what kinds of insights these hands-on experiences can offer to a historian.
“I AM VERY INTERESTED IN INCORPORATING MY IN-
Q. When not working at HMC, what are you most likely to be doing?
A. I am most likely to be practicing T-ball with my 4-year-old daughter or crawling around on the grass with my 10-month- old son.
Lelia Hawkins joins the Department of Chemistry as an as- sistant professor of chemistry. She earned her Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanogra- phy in 2010, and most recently served as a teaching and research postdoctoral associate in the Chemistry and Biochemistry De- partment at the University of San Diego. Hawkins is an analytical chemist who studies the organic component of atmospheric par- ticles as they relate to climate.
Q. So, what’s this about a hole being cut in the Keck roof for you?
A. Most people think I’m kid- ding when I claim to have come to Claremont partly for the Los Angeles pollution. One of the perks of my research is that I can do “field” work right here in my lab. To do this, I’ll need an aerosol inlet directly from the atmosphere (our fair Claremont air) to my research lab. This re- quires a hole in the lovely roof as well as some infrastructure for a weather station. The first step is do trial runs with a flexible tube so we can determine the area unaffected by building exhaust.
Lelia Hawkins Q. How will students be involved in your research?
A. Students working with me will be able to use their analyti- cal chemistry prowess to measure chemical components, mainly organic, of the particles we collect. These particles mostly origi- nate from car exhaust in the greater L.A. area and concentrate here due to prevailing winds. We will also be measuring the light absorption of these particles, and be looking for connections be- tween where the air came from, the composition and the light
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Har vey Mudd College FALL/WINTER 2011
WILL VASTA
WILL VASTA
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