Posted June 30, 2015

Bryn Mawr Students Shengjia Zhu ’16 and Alexandra Nagelski ’17 recently attended the 2015 Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Ithaca, New York, where they presented a poster presentation titled: “Molybdenum Pyranopterin Dithiolene Complexes: Modeling the Molybdenum Cofactor.” The students conduct their research in the lab of Chemistry Professor Sharon J. Nieter […]
Posted June 22, 2015

Though jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are on the rise nationwide, women, Latinos, and African-Americans remain underrepresented in the STEM labor pool. To help examine this issue, U.S. News & World Report will bring together leaders in education, industry and policy for the fourth annual STEM Solutions conference, taking place Monday, […]
Posted February 19, 2015
Following up on her recent blog post on the topic, Bryn Mawr President Kim Cassidy sent a letter to The New York Times in response to a recent Charles Blow column on the underrepresentation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and math. The letter is reprinted below. To the Editor: Charles M. Blow […]
Posted February 5, 2015

Bryn Mawr’s liberal arts focus and small classes create the perfect environment for mentorship to flourish. In one chemistry lab, Ben Williams, Ph.D. ’15 has been like “the older brother” who shows undergraduate researchers the ropes. By Kathy Boccella About five years ago, Meredith Skiba ’12 arrived on the Bryn Mawr campus as a transfer […]
Posted January 29, 2015
The Academic Impressions publication Higher Ed Impact takes a look at Bryn Mawr’s “First in the World” (FITW) project. From the “Why You Should Watch the Project” section of the article: “We are excited to watch this project and see how this just-in-time approach increases STEM success for underprepared students. If successful, it may also […]
Posted January 29, 2015

Throughout its history, the percentage of Bryn Mawr undergraduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in fields like chemistry, physics, and mathematics has been among the highest of any college or university. It is also true, however, that a majority of Bryn Mawr undergraduates in STEM disciplines go on to careers outside the academy. To […]
Posted September 30, 2014
To drive innovations in higher education that increase college completion, value and affordability, the Education Department today awarded $75 million to 24 colleges and universities under the new “First in the World” (FITW) grant program. Bryn Mawr has received a $1.65 million grant as part of the program that will fund research on improving student […]
Posted September 11, 2014
Research findings from 45 Bryn Mawr students who took part in the College’s Summer Science Research Program will be on display in Thomas Great Hall from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. this Friday for the program’s annual poster session. Since 1989, the Summer Science Research Program has provided students with 10-week research stipends to conduct independent research […]
Posted July 17, 2014

From gene research to the creation of new pharmaceuticals, biochemistry and molecular biology have revolutionized the way scientists view the natural world. Beginning this fall, Bryn Mawr students will have the ability to more easily study these fields thanks to the creation of a biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) major. An interdepartmental major between the […]
Posted July 10, 2014

When Carie M. Frantz wanted to study the chemical makeup of stromatolites from Wyoming to better understand the environment of the area during the warmest period of the Cenozoic Era, she knew she’d have to conduct her research in a lab with state-of-the art equipment, specifically an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). Frantz, who […]
Posted July 8, 2014
A group of Bryn Mawr faculty members is aiming “to transform the way we prepare STEM majors for the computationally intense world of modern-day science.” “Alumnae physics majors rate the ability to think algorithmically and program in at least one computer language at the top of those skills they most value having developed as Bryn […]
Posted June 26, 2014

Bryn Mawr Physics Chair Elizabeth McCormack is featured in the Spring 2014 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Bulletin for an article on professors who have sought to increase student engagement by “flipping” their classroom — sending lecture materials to students before class to allow for more interactive learning during class hours. From the HHMI Bulletin: At […]
Posted May 1, 2014

When the Chemical Heritage Foundation and app developer BlueCadet teamed up to create a virtual chemistry set for the IPad, one of the experts they called on to make sure they got the details right was Bryn Mawr Chemistry Professor Michelle Francl.
Posted April 24, 2014

For Rachel Hager ’15, the effects of climate change aren’t just something she hears about on the news. Working with Assistant Professor Thomas Mozdzer, the junior biology major has been studying Phragmites australis—an invasive species that some have dubbed a Super Weed—to understand the impact of rising CO2 in the air and nitrogen in the […]
Posted April 17, 2014

Angie Chen ’16 has developed a free Blue Bus app that is currently available for Android phones. The app provides users with access to each day’s updated Blue Bus schedule, as well as an option to search for a pick up at a specific time and date. Angie, a computer science major who created the […]
Posted March 12, 2014
Marian Bechtel ’16 was selected as a presenter at the TEDxTEEN event held in New York City on March 1. Her presentation, “Banjos, Landmines, & Saying Yes,” described her research; combining a love of music with an interest in landmine detection, and the decisions she made to make it all happen. “The minute I walked on […]
Posted February 6, 2014
Ashley Gavin ’10, recently was featured in a Google Developers Live video feature focusing on her work with technology teaching organizations Hopscotch and Girls Who Code. In the video, Gavin, a curriculum consultant to schools, nonprofits, and companies, is interviewed by fellow alumna Julia Ferraioli ’07, a Developer Advocate for Google Cloud Platform. Gavin and […]
Posted January 30, 2014
More than 60 students from Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore colleges gathered as 14 teams in Haverford’s Founders Great Hall over the weekend for the first-ever Tri-Co Hack-a-Thon. As noted in this Haverford College post on the event, the teams “had just 48 hours to conceive, develop, and present web and mobile technology ideas” and […]
Posted January 30, 2014

Throughout the year, Bryn Mawr’s academic departments and various student groups invite alumnae back to campus to give current students a sense of the diverse paths their degree might take them. The Bryn Mawr chapter of the Society of Physics Students recently welcomed back to campus Padmini A. Menu ’98, Emily Gallagher ’85, Mary Kutteruf […]
Posted January 28, 2014
Carter Wall ’83, who was a biology major at Bryn Mawr and who is currently the director of the solar operations division at a Boston-area electrical construction company, is an ambassador for the Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Initiative and the first profile in the department’s new #WomeninSTEM video series. Wall on […]
Posted January 23, 2014

When Bryn Mawr’s biology department was looking for a new laboratory lecturer, they hoped to find someone who could help change the introductory biology lab from a somewhat traditional, structured environment featuring experiments with predicted outcomes to one that might better reflect the sort of work an advanced researcher does. All while still teaching students necessary core concepts.
Posted November 14, 2013
Bryn Mawr students Danyelle Phillips ’14, Emily Garcia ’14, and Nancy Toure ’15 and Haverford student Abby Fullen joined Assistant Professor Pedro Marenco at the Geological Society of America’s national meeting in Denver, Colo., last month. Alumnae Julie Griffin ’11 and Anna Woodson ’12 also presented research at the conference. The students gave poster presentations […]
Posted November 7, 2013

In this Chemistry World podcast, Bryn Mawr Chemistry Professor Michelle Francl is interviewed by Chris Smith, best known as the creator of the BBC radio program “The Naked Scientists,” about Chemophobia. Francl first tackled this topic in a the February Slate article, “Don’t Take Medical Advice From the New York Times Magazine: The Dangerous Chemophobia […]
Posted October 3, 2013
Research findings from more than 40 Bryn Mawr students who took part in the College’s Summer Science Research Program were on display in the Campus Center last month, where a steady stream of students, faculty, and staff stopped by to ask questions and find out more from the participants during the program’s annual poster session. […]
Posted August 29, 2013

Since being formed five years ago, the Institute for Personal Robots in Education (IPRE), a joint effort between Bryn Mawr College and Georgia Tech sponsored by the National Science Foundation, has created an entire suite of materials, including textbooks and low-cost robots, for teaching introductory computer science at every level. The bulk of research done […]
Posted May 8, 2013

In a recent piece for Slate, Bryn Mawr Chemistry Professor Michelle Francl writes about how “doing chemistry that pushes beyond the boundaries of the classroom” inspired her to pursue the life of a scientist. Writing in connection to the case of Kiera Wilmot, a 16-year-old who has been expelled and may even face criminal charges […]
Posted May 2, 2013

After looking to better understand Earth’s most devastating mass extinction, Assistant Professor of Geology Pedro Marenco and his students have now turned to a period in which life flourished dramatically. “Contrasting long-term global and short-term local redox proxies during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event: A case study from Fossil Mountain, Utah, USA” is the second […]
Posted February 6, 2013

The work of Chemistry Professor Sharon Burgmayer’s research group was recently highlighted by the Journal of the American Chemical Society. “This article is the culmination of decades of research in my labs devoted to creating a model compound for the reactive center in molybdenum enzymes,” says Burgmayer. Molybdenum is a chemical element found in all […]
Posted January 17, 2013
Click to view the 2012 Year in Review slideshow. As the spring semester gets underway, we take our annual look back at the year that was. Faculty News Fellowships. Prestigious fellowships included a Sloan Research Fellowship awarded to Assistant Professor of Physics James Battat, a Guggenheim to History of Art Professor Lisa Saltzman, and two […]
Posted November 8, 2012

Not every dominant plant today will be dominant under climate change–but some may because of an advantage. Plants better at altering their anatomy and physiology can come out ahead under a wide range of environmental changes, according to a study by Bryn Mawr Assistant Professor of Biology Thomas Mozdzer. Mozdzer worked with ecologist Patrick Megonigal […]
Posted October 18, 2012

Last fall Evan Rivers was a sophomore who had planned on being a chemistry major but was thinking about switching to Geology. At the same time, Kelsey Meisenhelder, a Haverford student majoring in Geology at Bryn Mawr, was spending a semester in Hawaii, led by her interest in volcanoes. An article on Bryn Mawr’s website […]
Posted October 4, 2012

Bryn Mawr College was well represented at this year’s biannual gathering of the American Chemical Society. Eight undergraduate chemistry majors from Bryn Mawr and eight graduate students joined faculty members Sharon Burgmayer, Jonas Goldsmith, and Bill Malachowski at the conference, which took place in Philadelphia in August. The participating undergraduate students were Roselyn Appenteng ’13, […]
Posted September 20, 2012
Research findings from more than 40 Bryn Mawr students who took part in the College’s Summer Science Research Program were on display in the Campus Center last week, where a steady stream of students, faculty, and staff stopped by to ask questions and find out more from the participants during the program’s annual poster session. […]
Posted September 13, 2012
As we reported in July, a team of six geology majors and their faculty adviser, Assistant Professor Selby Cull, were in Houston this summer taking part in NASA’s Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, in which student researchers are able to do experiments in near-zero gravity aboard a specially modified Boeing 727 that’s been dubbed “The […]
Posted September 6, 2012

This summer, Jacqueline Koldin Levine ’46 and her husband, Howard Levine, have reinvigorated Bryn Mawr’s extensive collection of works on paper thanks to an extraordinarily generous gift of nearly 500 pieces. “Over the course of 20 years, Jacqueline and Howard have assembled an unparalleled collection of works by 19th and 20th century artists,” says Brian […]
Posted July 26, 2012

A team of six geology majors and their faculty advisor, Assistant Professor Selby Cull, were in Houston this month taking part in NASA’s Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, in which student researchers are able to do experiments in near-zero gravity aboard a specially modified Boeing 727 that’s been dubbed “The Vomit Comet.”
Making up the team was Alice Clark ’12, Simona Clausnitzer ’14, Hannah Gatz-Miller ’12, Christina Lee ’12, Danyelle Phillips ’14, Mary Schultz ’12, and Anna Woodson ’12. Woodson was unable to travel to Houston.
Posted July 26, 2012

Bryn Mawr Geology Chair Arlo Weil is featured on the cover of the July edition of GSA Today, the Geological Society of America’s monthly science and news magazine. Weil’s ongoing research to try to unravel the mystery of bended mountain ranges is the subject of the magazine’s lead article, “Buckling an Orogen: The Catabrian Orocline.”
Posted July 24, 2012

New research findings by Assistant Professor of Geology Pedro Marenco–aimed at understanding the environment following Earth’s most dramatic mass extinction–will appear in the August print edition of Geology and are now available online.
Posted May 31, 2012

Bryn Mawr College has received a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to help the College build on its already-impressive history of preparing young women to become leaders in science research and medicine. Bryn Mawr’s grant is one of 11 Capstone Awards made to longtime recipients of HHMI funding. “These schools, collectively […]
Posted May 3, 2012

Bryn Mawr Provost Kim Cassidy and Eduardo Glandt, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, signed an agreement last week that made official a new program that allows Bryn Mawr students majoring in math and science to earn a master’s degree from Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science with […]
Posted April 19, 2012
Bryn Mawr students majoring in math and science now have an opportunity to earn a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science with only one additional year of study. Called the Four Plus One partnership, the agreement will be made official at a signing ceremony on Wednesday, April 25. […]
Posted March 29, 2012

The Corporation of National and Community Service has honored Bryn Mawr College with a slot on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. This is the fourth year Bryn Mawr has been honored with this award. The Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, is the highest federal recognition a school can […]
Posted March 29, 2012

The wait is finally over for the more than 2,600 students who applied to be members of Bryn Mawr’s Class of 2016. Decision letters were sent late last week and students could go online as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, to find out whether they had been accepted. “I screamed once I realized […]
Posted March 29, 2012
This March 22 Associated Press article on increased tourism in Myanmar quotes Barbara Ruttenburg ’57, who was traveling as part of trip sponsored by the Alumnae Association. For more about the Alumnae Association’s travel program, visit its website. From the article: “There are so few places left that haven’t been taken over by McDonald’s and […]
Posted March 22, 2012

Computer Science Professor Doug Blank and his colleague Jennifer Kay from Rowan University teamed up to coordinate a “Robot Circus” during the 43rd Association for Computing Machinery Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), held February 29 – March 3 in Raleigh, N.C. The SIGCSE Symposium is held yearly to address problems common among educators […]
Posted February 23, 2012
Professor Deepak Kumar of the Bryn Mawr College Computer Science Department is featured in a recent video from the National Science Foundation’s Center for Science of Information. In the video, scientists from the Center explain the reasons behind its founding and its necessity in our changing world. Kumar appears at about the 2:30 mark and speaks […]
Posted February 16, 2012

In the latest issue of India Abroad, Lakshmi Somasundaram ’13 writes about how Bollywood and the Indian IT industry can change the face of autism in India. Somasundaram has written for the magazine’s “Teenspeak” section since age 12. Her latest article is based on a final paper from her “Autism Spectrum Disorders” class last semester […]
Posted February 16, 2012

Assistant Professor of Physics James Battat is among the outstanding U.S. and Canadian researchers to receive a 2012 Sloan Research Fellowship, announced the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation on Feb. 15. The Sloan Fellowship will help support Battat’s related research with two groups. Battat is a member of the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) […]
Posted November 17, 2011

Two Bryn Mawr students will have the chance to join Geology Lecturer Lynne Elkins on a trip to the waters north of Iceland next summer as Elkins and her fellow researchers try to better understand volcanic activity in the area. The researchers plan to explore the mechanisms driving the production of new ocean crust occurring […]
Posted October 28, 2011
POST UPDATED NOV 3 Five of the most important short-fiction writers working today—Frank O’Connor Award finalist Robin Black and four of the New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” honorees, Chris Adrian, David Bezmozgis, Rivka Galchen and Karen Russell—discussed the place of the short story in America, as well as their work and influences, at Bryn Mawr […]