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sign up today—it's free! On This Day1864 — Nathaniel Hawthorne, Class of 1825, dies in Plymouth, New Hampshire. StorePurchase Bowdoin merchandise online. |  The dedication of the R/V Laine For those passing through the northeast side of campus last Friday, it was hard to miss the 21-foot Seaway research vessel perched high and dry outside of Cleaveland House—the centerpiece of an event honoring Ed Laine, associate professor of Earth and Oceanographic Science, in recognition of his retirement to emeritus status. Colleagues, students, and friends of Laine gathered in the noon sun while the coastal motor vessel was christened the R/V Laine—a fitting tribute to a faculty member who has been introducing Bowdoin students to boat-based oceanographic research for years, among many other contributions to marine science at the college. Read more.  Leslie Shaw (1955-2012) The McKeen Center’s annual awards ceremony, which every year recognizes a few Bowdoin community members for their volunteer service, was extra special this year. The final award that President Barry Mills presented at the ceremony, which was held last week to honor campus members for their community service, was for Leslie Shaw, a beloved faculty member who is missed. John Cross ’76 received the award on behalf of his late wife, who passed away unexpectedly last August. Shaw taught anthropology at Bowdoin for 14 years and contributed greatly to the Native American culture on campus. Read the full story here.  Bowdoin College held its 17th annual Honors Day ceremony yesterday evening to recognize the academic achievements of Bowdoin students and faculty. The ceremony was held at Kanbar Auditorium, Studzinski Recital Hall.
Lecturer in Chemistry Michael Danahy, recipient of the 2012 Sydney B. Karofsky Prize for Junior Faculty, delivered the Honors Day address, “Better Living Through Chemistry?” in which he described the often serendipitous nature of discoveries in chemistry, and both the good (new medicine) and the bad (drug addiction) these discoveries can bring into the world. “As you continue through Bowdoin and one-day leave us, remember that what you do with your intellectual discoveries is in your hands,” Danahy said. “Please strive to apply your knowledge in a positive way and help further the “common good.” Read the full story here.  A Roman senate meeting in Michael Nerdahl’s class “The Republic of Rome and the Evolution of Executive Power” (Illustration credit: Abby McBride) “All in favor?” says Lucius Manlius, surveying a sea of raised hands in the Roman senate. “Thus granted. Sweet.” Manlius, a.k.a. Bowdoin senior Luke Lamar, was recently elected as consul by his fellow senators—otherwise known as the students of Classics 214, “The Republic of Rome and the Evolution of Executive Power.” The students are immersed in a month-long simulation of the Roman senate of 190-187 B.C., in the aftermath of the Second Punic War. As it happens, today’s biggest buzz is that the dreaded Hannibal was recently spotted in the east. Taught by Lecturer in Classics Michael Nerdahl, Classics 214 might just be the world’s most lively history and government class. After spending an introductory segment learning the basics of Roman government, the students have been assigned Roman identities, complete with hometowns, ages, offices, family trees, patrons, and clients. Read more.  Associate Professor of Government Michael Franz Associate Professor of Government Michael Franz analyzes the record spending on ads for the 2012 presidential campaign—and what difference it made in the elections—in a guest post on The Monkey Cage. One implication is that Romney’s defeat could be related to his heavier reliance on advertising by outside groups. 
This story is a follow-up to an earlier preview about the trip. The students in Nadia Celis’ Spanish class who traveled to Colombia over spring break came back with more than just a deeper academic understanding of Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Although the focus of the trip was to explore the historical and cultural context of García Márquez’s work, Celis said students gained another lesson. They also developed a new perspective on their identities as foreigners and Americans. Read the full story here.  Alicia Eggert gives a talk at TED2013 in Long Beach, Calif., earlier this year (Photo credit: Ryan Lash) Alicia Eggert, assistant professor of art at Bowdoin, has been featured in an interview on the TED Blog. A conceptual artist who creates sculptural works using words as found objects, Eggert was awarded a TED Fellowship last fall. In the interview Eggert talks about her artistic origins and inspirations and describes her recent experience touring around the U.K. with a neon sculpture titled “You are (on) an island.” Eggert’s work is showcased on her website and blog.  Nat Wheelwright, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences As part of Maine Public Broadcasting’s “Music That Moves Me” audio diary series, biology professor Nat Wheelwright talks about the orchestras and symphonies that his grandfather introduced him to as a boy, when his “world opened up to bird song.” (Bowdoin Professor of Music Robert Greenlee gets in the mix on this clip, too.) Additionally, research by Professor Wheelwright and colleagues, H. Williams, Iris Levin ’05, D. R. Norris, and A. Newman, recently appeared in Scientific American‘s “60-Second Science” series. The Hunger Games, Revisited from Bowdoin College on Vimeo. Kristen Ghodsee (right, John S. Osterweis Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies) and Aviva Briefel (Associate Professor of English and Film Studies) sit down to talk about the movie The Hunger Games. Briefel and Ghodsee recently held a panel discussion on this topic with librarian Jeanne Madden of Falmouth Memorial Library, following a screening of the film in Smith Auditorium.  Michael Kolster Michael Kolster, associate professor of art at Bowdoin, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to support his photographic project “Take Me to the River,” a collection of unique glass plate photographs that depict American rivers as amalgams of human and natural forces. The award was announced today in The New York Times. Read more. | On This Day in Civil War History…Bowdoin Talks: Lectures, Discussions and Events |
