On the Cutting Edge of Biomathematical Research
It’s one thing to develop new mathematical equations describing biological processes. It’s quite another to be performing scientific assays to see if your equations have real biologic underpinnings. Professor of Mathematics Mary Lou Zeeman is doing just that as she pioneers the field of biomathematics to determine a mathematical formula for the menstrual cycle.
Read more »
A Pipeline Runs Through It: Leading Africa's Big Dig
Professor of Anthropology Scott MacEachern co-led the largest archaeological preservation program ever undertaken in central Africa. After scrambling over knife-edge cliffs, trudging through leech-filled swamps, MacEachern and his colleagues uncovered prehistoric farming villages and stone tools that may be as much as 100,000 years old. Read More »
As the Nest Turns: Racy Research From Bowdoin's Birdman
Bowdoin ornithologist Nat Wheelwright has a field day with sparrow-mating research at the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island. The Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences has worked with student researchers to pursue the mysteries of the Savannah sparrow for going on 20 years, with some surprising results. Read More »
Acclaimed Novelist Talks about Writing, Teaching at Bowdoin
Bestselling author Margot Livesey has been described as “a writer’s writer,” because of her exquisite precision of language and mastery of subtle suspense. She has been sharing her expertise with Bowdoin students since 2006, teaching the art of fiction as Bowdoin’s John F. and Dorothy Magee Writer-in-Residence. “One thing that startled me when I first started teaching at Bowdoin was how fearless and ambitious my students can be,” she says. Read More »
It's Constitutional: Exploring the Economics of Invention
Associate Professor of Economics B. Zorina Khan published a patently fascinating book on the creative “machinery” behind America’s industrialization: the democracy of invention. Unlike other Western nations, the U.S. purposefully created patent and copyright rules that were market-oriented, she said. “A housewife can patent as much as a senator.” Read More »
Karofsky Prize Honors Outstanding Bowdoin Teachers
Each year one Bowdoin faculty member is recognized as “an outstanding Bowdoin teacher who best demonstrates the ability to impart knowledge, inspire enthusiasm, and stimulate intellectual curiosity”. The Karofsky Prize is among the College’s most prestigious honors and is awarded on the basis of student evaluation of teaching.
View the last six Karofsky winners below or see the full list.
Bowdoin faculty members are leading scholars, performers, researchers, and artists who live what they teach. They are here because they truly enjoy the give-and-take of teaching undergraduates.
You’ll find that their passion for their subject illuminates the classroom, from introductory courses to upper-level seminars. They take the time to connect with students as individuals, working one-on-one in small classes, in laboratories, performance halls, and during generous office hours.
Many opportunities exist to work alongside faculty on independent studies, research, or creative projects. Whether formal or informal, generations of Bowdoin students describe their relationships with faculty members as among the most important of their lives.
Bowdoin faculty were awarded more than $3 million in grants and fellowships in support of their research, scholarship and exhibitions during the 2007-2008 academic year. Read more »