Every student knows how exciting it can be to focus on one particular theme in an independent study or tutorial. For those interested in pursuing a longer-term study of a specific subject, Lawrence encourages students to work on honors projects. "For most students, an honors project ends up being almost a year-long, intensive independent study…culminating in a long, written project," said Faith Barrett, Assistant Professor of English and Chair of the University Committee on Honors.
For many students who journey up to Björklunden, helping chef Steve Martin prepare meals in the kitchen is one of the more exciting "opportunities" to take advantage of. Steve, with his thick Boston accent, his dog Sheddy, and of course, his delicious meals, has been at Björklunden for 15 years and is one of the trademarks of the estate.
Coming to Lawrence from the warmer climes of Texas, California and Utah, Assistant Professor of English David McGlynn is the resident creative writer of the department. Among the many things on his plate at the moment -- kids, teaching, swimming, writing -- McGlynn is preparing to have his first book published.
As someone who fondly remembers her childhood hobbies, I am comforted when I meet fellow Lawrentians that have continued to act on their non-academic passions while in college. While many have fallen to mislabeling practice time and reading 18th century literature as hobbies, freshman Emily Blair, a self-proclaimed hobbyist, makes up for the rest of us.
Radiocarbon dating is easily among the most important developments of recent science. The method, developed soon after World War II by Willard F. Libby, takes advantage of the fact that all living things, during their life, ingest carbon and stop doing so when they die.
As for his beginnings with science, senior biochemist Ben Glover stated, "I have always been driven by my curiosity and that's what science is all about. Science lets people figure out how things work and apply this knowledge to solve problems." His first research experience was in chemistry here at Lawrence learning different techniques for testing water quality, as well as testing the level of polychlorinated biphenyls in the Fox River by looking at zebra mussel tissue.