Ben Peterson ’12 is entering his senior year with two years of research examining plant proteins and neuron function already under his belt. He also has earned one of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships for aspiring scientists.
As a sophomore, Peterson perfected the technique of growing, preparing and examining plant samples for more advanced research in chemistry on how outside stimuli affect genes and protein compounds that protect plants from predators.
Mastering fundamentals of solid research early at Geneseo, Peterson says, helped him win his first internship.
This summer, he’s expanding his perspective on how nature works at the University of Buffalo, exploring how the tiny C elegans worm senses and how its tiny neurons fire. Such research could lead to a better understanding of how the human brain functions.
“There are a lot of opportunities to get experience like this early on at Geneseo,” says Peterson, who aspires to become a university professor.
Those experiences helped Peterson recently win a highly competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program award.
Peterson is the latest — and 15th Geneseo student since 1991 who has won the scholarship.
“The achievements of our Goldwater scholars in their academic work and as leaders in society highlight the talents of our students and reflect what a Geneseo education offers,” says Carol Long, provost and vice president of academic affairs. “From their first day on campus, our students are invited to engage with their faculty and student colleagues to explore real problems and to answer big questions.”
In their careers — as doctoral candidates, post-doc fellows and experts in their disciplines — Geneseo’s Goldwater scholars have helped put their alma mater on the map for 20 years with their innovative ideas and global reputations.
Brian DeMarco ’96, a world-class scientist of ultracold quantum gases, helped discover a new form of matter in 1999, just three years after graduating from Geneseo. As an associate professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, DeMarco leads groundbreaking studies that can lead to innovations in technology and energy conservation.
Without a doubt, says DeMarco and the other Goldwater scholars, the same opportunities Peterson has found at Geneseo are responsible for providing a foundation for their own success.
“Looking back on my life and the opportunities Geneseo gave me, I wouldn’t change a thing,” says Michael Duff ’97, a radiation oncologist at Western New York Cancer Care. “I can’t imagine a better education.”
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Making their mark
Rebecca Surman ’93 was the first Geneseo student to win a Goldwater award, in 1991.
She discovered her calling working beside Distinguished Teaching Professor Stephen Padalino in the nuclear accelerator lab and later earned a summer internship at Argonne National Laboratory, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's oldest and largest national centers for science and engineering research. She went on to earn her doctorate in physics and astronomy.
Ultimately, she chose to be a professor at Union College, where she works exclusively with undergraduate students to study how the heaviest elements like gold and platinum are formed.
An author of dozens of publications who lectures throughout North America and Europe, Surman also is a beloved teacher. In 2007 she won Union College’s Stillman Prize for Teaching — chosen by students.
The most recent Geneseo Goldwater alumni is Jessica Gucwa ’07, now pursuing a doctorate in cellular and molecular medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In the nontraditional program, advances Gucwa and other researchers make killing leukemia cells in the lab ultimately influence how doctors treat their patients, and therapy outcomes used in the clinic influence what the researchers study.
“It bridges the gap between clinical medicine and basic science research,” says Gucwa, who began leukemia research as an intern at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “It’s a newer approach to things. You get more of the whole picture.”
Geneseo alumni who have won the prestigious Goldwater scholarship excelled in biology, biochemistry, math and physics — and all have established equally impressive resumes.
Each has earned an advanced degrees in mathematics, medicine or a physical science, distinguishing themselves in varied fields.
Among the group? There are physicians and researchers who specialize in disease prevention and treatment. Heart specialists and veterinarians. Celebrated teachers at colleges and universities who are tackling America’s science education gap. Esteemed researchers examining elements and matter that advance technology and affect all life on Earth.
One even followed an entirely different direction to become a marketing maven at one of the world’s largest online print companies.
Though Scott Meckler ’06 was a math major, he says his liberal arts learning helped him succeed in a field he never studied. As a student, he tried to spread himself in as many other areas as he could — music, creative writing, philosophy and language.
Studying such diverse topics helped him draw connections and gave him an ability to see the world in a new perspective, he says. That foundation was vital when he switched gears to private industry after earning a master’s degree in theoretical mathematics.
“Everything felt like it started to come together,” says Meckler, marketing analyst at Vistaprint. “If I had just taken math, I’m not sure I would have seen that so much. The value of the liberal arts education is that you not only see connections, you start to form connections.”
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Geneseo is a foundation for success
Why do Geneseo students have such a rich track record of Goldwater success? It begins with talent, says Distinguished Teaching Professor Robert O’Donnell.
During his 24 years at Geneseo, he has taught thousands of students and collaborated with more than 120 on cancer-related and other research studies. He never fails to be impressed. In an intimate liberal arts environment, he says faculty can provide students with opportunities often reserved for graduate students at larger institutions.
“We get a lot of outstanding students who are able to really stand out in a brilliant way and get support to pursue the Goldwater scholarship, go to esteemed labs, and be competitive at a national level,” says O’Donnell. “It’s a mixture of opportunity for undergraduate research and the students’ innate ability to do that type of work.”
The college’s commitment to the student experience is evidenced by steady investment through the years, including $53 million to build the state-of-the-art Integrated Science Center.
Last year, The Geneseo Foundation helped to fund more than 300 research grants, 372 scholarships, 132 student awards, leadership seminars and a variety of other initiatives — across all disciplines.
“Every opportunity builds on the next one,” says Weiss, a veterinarian who is pursuing advanced training in animal neurology.
According to Geneseo’s Goldwater scholars, this level of support — providing opportunities for practical experience outside of class early in a student’s education — is key in building a foundation for success.
Through their experiences, they built on their skills and knowledge and found their niche. Looking back, the scholars say it wasn’t the equations they solved or the samples they examined that defined them.
It was the professors.
“The professors pushed me to strive to be the very best I can be,” says Duff.
Their gentle guidance inspired, says Amy Cocina ’99, and they were masters at identifying how to engage undergraduate students in research in meaningful ways, adds DeMarco.
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Giving back, in the Geneseo tradition
At Geneseo, Professor Harold Hoops gave Cocina just the right balance of knowledge, guidance and freedom to build confidence to reach her own best decisions.
She can’t imagine her life now, without his guidance.
“He helped me really believe in myself,” says Cocina. “ … When I left Geneseo, I felt like I had all the tools to be whoever I wanted to be, and I felt very prepared.”
Cocina still draws upon Hoops’ soft-handed approach as an internist at a large New York state hospital . She takes pride in teaching patients about their conditions, so they can comfortably make the extremely tough decisions.
“That style has influenced how I help people come to grips or make decisions about their care,” says Cocina.
Surman, DeMarco, Summer Raines ’03 and Matthew Fleming ’04 have chosen to give the next generation of scientists the same outstanding education they received at Geneseo.
Fleming will soon defend his doctoral dissertation at Yale University and is continuing to research how a specific type of drug may be able to treat fragile X syndrome, the leading genetic cause of mental retardation.
Fleming aspires to teach cellular and molecular physiology at a research institution, but never considered that path until he came to Geneseo. He says he wants to share the same excitement with students that Geneseo faculty shared with him.
Raines is preparing for a career that blends research with outreach, to provide better science education for under-represented populations and minorities.
Such desire is contagious. Surman says her experience at Geneseo not only motivated her to choose to teach at an undergraduate institution, but inspires the way she teaches.
“My experiences at Geneseo have absolutely shaped how I approach my job as an instructor, academic adviser and research supervisor,” says Surman. “I try to model my teaching style after my favorite Geneseo professors, who taught intellectually demanding courses with great passion for their discipline and equally great concern for their students.”
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Potential to make a difference
Running particle accelerator experiments in the basement of Geneseo’s Green Hall, DeMarco gained his first sense how great it feels to figure things out with students and faculty, and to learn from and with them.
The experience of true collaboration convinced him that he wanted to dedicate his life to teaching and inquiry.
Geneseo’s latest Goldwater scholar, Ben Peterson ’12, isn’t sure what his focus will be — cell metabolism or neurobiology. He’s just getting started. But he knows he wants to teach and to keep asking questions to “contribute to the body of science as a whole.”
That nature of inquiry can be tedious, says DeMarco. Every scientist spends countless hours tightening nuts and bolts for experiments: “There’s a lot of hard work that’s not always exciting.”
As a Geneseo student, DeMarco didn’t know he would discover a new form of matter and transform the way the world can study superconducting physics. But he believed he could. He passes that message on to his own students. It’s a lesson he can show students like Peterson by example.
“You, as an individual, can really have that opportunity,” says DeMarco. “I tell my students that now … You can really have a big impact – and it can be you who does it.”