CS Spring 2001
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VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCE The last frontier From neurons to behavior, Vanderbilt researchers unlock brain’s secrets o the outside world, you might not look Indiana, such questions are more than mere A great place for neuroscience like a paragon of industry just now, zoned matters for idle musings. Harper is one of more Harper and other neuroscience majors have cho- T out on the couch or lingering over your than 100 College of Arts and Science undergrad- sen a great time and place to study neuroscience. morning coffee. Inside your head, however, there’s uate students majoring in neuroscience. Now only The new A&S dean, Richard McCarty, is a respect- no shortage of work being done and decisions being four years old, the neuroscience major is attract- ed authority in the closely aligned field of psy- made: Do you read this article word for word, or ing more students each year. chology. Completion of the human genome skim it to see if anything catches your eye? Do you “Understanding how the brain works is end- mapping has accelerated the rate at which new look at the illustrations, or turn the page? Do you lessly fascinating, in part because it is so intricate,” knowledge of the brain is unfolding. Researchers set the Cornerstone aside and read it later, recycle says Harper. “Almost everything else I study some- are uncovering essential clues to understand- it—or toss it in the trash? How do you decide? how touches on the brain and its workings.” ing disorders which have profoundly affected And how much of what you read right now will “Students are drawn to the neuroscience major millions of lives and defied understanding— you retain in a week, a day or an hour? by outstanding instructors and an intrinsically autism and Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia While your brain is busy making up its mind interesting subject,” says Terry Page, who directs and addiction. and processing information, it’s also directing plen- the Neuroscience Studies Program. Page is pro- Mental disorders, according to the U.S. Sur- ty of other subtle activities: How do your two eyes fessor of biological sciences, professor of biology geon General’s Report on Mental Health issued coordinate their movements to read these words? and chair of the department. “The program appeals in 1999, collectively account for more of the over- How do the fingers get the message to grasp the to students because it’s interdisciplinary. They can all burden of disease than do all forms of cancer. pages, and then to turn them? take advantage of courses and faculty in several Concepts such as awareness, intention, desire For students like Sarah Harper, a senior from different departments and schools at Vanderbilt.” (please turn to page 4) SPRING 2001 A & S News A & S News From Mars to Earth? McMinn Scholarships help women, minorities pursue careers in science cientists from Vanderbilt and the California Institute anderbilt senior Jessica Hutti has her sights set on earn- The summer stipend enabled Hutti to continue her S of Technology (Caltech) have used a powerful new Ving a PhD in biochemistry and becoming a college pro- research on amino acids in the EGF receptor, which she began microscope designed and built by scientists in Vanderbilt’s NEIL BRAKE fessor. In the meantime, the Louisville, Kentucky, native is studying in her junior year. “The progress that I made on Living State Physics Laboratory to establish that Martian working with James Staros, professor and chair of biological my project last summer really gave me a head start on my meteorites could carry microbial life from Mars to Earth sciences, to understand more about epidermal growth fac- honors research for this year,” says the molecular biology and without being heat sterilized. tor (EGF) and the role it plays in cancer. anthropology major. Joseph L. Kirschvinck, professor of geobiology at Cal- For senior YoungWha Lee, “science is a way of being wide Lee says the McMinn tech, collaborated with Vanderbilt scientists Franz Bau- awake in the world.” A native of Seoul, Korea, Lee has worked Scholarship provided her denbacher, research assistant professor of physics, and John for the past year with Carl Johnson, professor of biological with opportunities that DAVID CRENSHAW P. Wikswo, the A.B. Learned Professor of Living State sciences, studying biological clocks and circadian rhythms “would have been beyond Physics, to study samples of the famous Martian mete- in a variety of organisms. Like Hutti, she also plans to attend my means if not for the aid orite ALH84001 that Kirschvinck had been examining. graduate school. of the scholarship.” Their work resulted in an article published in the Oct. Physics and math major Wendy Roberson, a senior from “In addition to the 27, 2000, issue of the journal Science. While the scientists Franz Baudenbacher, research assistant professor of physics, Tucker, Georgia, originally wanted to be an astrophysicist, financial aid, receiving the For more information about do not claim that microbial life actually traveled from Mars designed and built the Ultrahigh Resolution Scanning SQUID but decided that she would enjoy teaching more. “I am excit- scholarship was a big the College of Microscope. He is holding a sample of a meteorite blasted from Arts and Science, to Earth, they do conclude that the famous meteorite’s ed about working with young students to help them discover encouragement,” she con- Mars about 15 million years ago and crash-landed on the visit our Web page at interior remained cool enough to allow such a thing to the scientific and mathematic fields,” she says. tinues. “It meant a lot to Antarctic ice about 11,000 years ago. http://www.vanderbilt.edu happen. Hutti, Lee and Roberson are the current recipients of me that others thought I /AnS/cas.htm The instrument that made this study possible is called generated by living tissue, like the heart, brain, and even the William A. and Nancy F. McMinn Scholarships in the had the capability to become You can also access the an Ultrahigh Resolution Scanning SQUID Microscope. some plants. But it is also ideally suited to measuring natural sciences. Established in 1993 by Houston alum- a biologist.” main alumni Web page at Developed by Baudenbacher, it is the only instrument the weak fields found in meteorites.” nus and Vanderbilt trustee William A. McMinn Jr., BA’52, Roberson hopes to teach high school physics and math One of three recipients of the www.vanderbilt.edu in the world capable of measuring the extremely weak Other scheduled experiments with the microscope and his wife, Nancy, the scholarships benefit students before pursuing a graduate degree. “Although I am excited McMinn Scholarship in the /alumni magnetic fields within the meteorite with the precision include measuring the magnetic fields of algae, develop- majoring in the natural sciences, particularly those from about graduation,” she says, “my four years at Vanderbilt natural sciences, senior Jessica Hutti plans to become and the on-line version of required by this study. mental currents in embryos, and injury currents produced underrepresented groups such as women and minorities. have been a wonderful lesson in life as well as in physics and a college professor in the field the A&S Cornerstone at “The Vanderbilt instrument is a stunning advance with by ischemic cardiac tissue, all of which are difficult to detect Awarded to rising juniors with exceptionally strong acad- math, and I think my experiences will help me connect to of biochemistry. www.vanderbilt.edu profound applications in the earth and planetary sciences,” with more conventional approaches. In addition, the emic records, the scholarships provide tuition for two years, the students that I will be teaching in the next few years.” /alumni/publications/ cornerstone.html says Kirschvinck. scientists are lining up microscope time to study more a stipend for summer research, and monies for research —Rebecca Folmar “There’s no other instrument in the world like it,” says Martian meteorites, lunar samples and some of the oldest supplies and travel to scientific conferences. Baudenbacher. “We designed it to study the magnetic fields rocks on Earth. A&S CORNERSTONE© is published by the College of Arts World-class mathematician joins A&S and Science in cooperation with the Walter Sullivan retires after 50 years at Vanderbilt Division of Institutional Planning and Advancement’s Office of hen the Soviet Union split up a decade ago, many his grandson. Maxim is a member of the mathematics fac- Alumni Publications. You may alter Sullivan, professor of English, emeritus, ended in turn, has inspired many other young writers. For exam- W of its brightest minds began to emigrate to the West. ulty at Moscow State University, and Kirill is a graduate contact the editor by e-mail at [email protected] or by W his 51-year career at Vanderbilt by retiring from ple, James Patterson, MA’70, writer of the popular thrillers At first, Alexander Ol’shanskii, one of the world’s top math- student in mathematical statistics there. U.S. mail at VU Station B357703, the active faculty in December 2000 at age 77. Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, credits Sullivan ematicians, resisted offers to join the faculties of the world’s Ol’shanskii received an MS degree in 1968, a PhD in 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, Sullivan graduated from the College of Arts and Sci- with encouraging him to pursue his dream of writing books Tennessee 37235-7703. Copyright leading universities. Until now. 1971, and a Doctor of Science in Mathematics in 1979, © 2001 by Vanderbilt University. ence in 1947. He joined the faculty in 1949 after serv- during graduate school at Vanderbilt.